Arda Kompendium

Nan Elmoth

the wood of enchantment; the forest of Eöl and the meeting-place of Thingol

placeforestnan elmothmelianthingol

Name and Position

Nan Elmoth — the “wood of Elmoth” — is a dark forest of great trees in the east of Beleriand, the Quenta: “Nan Elmoth, the deepest wood” — the tall, shadowed old-growth where — its dimness and its antiquity made it the haunt of enchantment: the place of the meeting of things that change the world.

The Two Meetings

  • The meeting of Thingol and Melian: In the dim twilight of Nan Elmoth, the Elvish prince Thingol (Elwë) wandering came upon the Maia Melian — gaze held by gaze for years; the enchantment of the wood sealed the first and greatest marriage, and from their union (the mother of Lúthien) all the fair line of the Half-elven descends.
  • The home of Eöl: Later the dark smith Eöl, the “Dark Elf”, dwelt in Nan Elmoth — and it was here that the restless Aredhel wandered into his power, and their son Maeglin grew up in the shadow of the wood before the tragedy of Gondolin.

Significance

Nan Elmoth is the “wood of fateful dusk” — the enchanted grove where the two greatest unions-betrayals of the age take their first turning (the marriage of Melian; the possession of Aredhel); its darkness is the counterpoint of the “light” of the Blessed Realm, the place where the twilight itself holds power.

Verknüpfte Seiten

ThingolMelianEölAredhelMaeglinDoriathThe Girdle of MelianConcordance — A to ZThe Celon
Werke: die Quellen sind seitenübergreifend die Bücher von J.R.R. und Christopher Tolkien (Silmarillion, Hobbit, Herr der Ringe, Unfinished Tales, History of Middle-earth, Nature of Middle-earth u. a.) — eigene Zusammenfassung. Siehe die Concordance und den README der Quelle für die Einzelbelege.
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