The Great Journey
the march of the Eldar from Cuiviénen toward the West
Definition
The Great Journey is the long westward march of the first Elves — the Eldar — from the awakening at Cuiviénen toward the summons of the Valar and the light of Aman; the event that divided the Elves into the Eldar (those who came) and the Avari (those who stayed), and that, through its many partings and turnings, produced the whole landscape of the First Age’s peoples.
The Course
-
The summons and the three kings: Oromë (who had found the Elves) brought the message of the Valar; at the counsel of the three “ambassadors” (Ingwë, Finwë, Elwë), the hosts set out led by their princes — the Eldar traveled “by twilight and darkness”, guarded against the shadow.
-
The sundering at the Anduin: At the great river (the later Anduin), a division: the Nandor turned aside; the main hosts pressed north and west.
-
The loss of Elwë: In the woods of Beleriand, Elwë (Thingol), wandering, met Melian in Nan Elmoth and was lost to his people — the Teleri lingered, sought him, and part stayed behind as the Sindar; the rest, led by his brother Olwë, crossed at the shore into Aman. Thus the three kindreds, once one host, became the Vanyar, Noldor, Teleri (in Aman) and the Sindar/Nandor (in Middle-earth).
-
The crossing: The Teleri, taught by Ossë, took ship; and the Great Journey ended with the settling of the three kindreds in Aman (Valinor, Tirion, Alqualondë) in the years of the Two Trees.
Significance
The Great Journey is the Elvish “Exodus”: the prototype of the destined westward road (the “wandering the long road”) that recurs through all the mythology — the migration by which the Eldar received the Light, and by whose partings the stage of the First Age’s history in Beleriand was set.