War of Wrath - The History of Middle-earth Accounts

The History of Middle-earth Accounts

The Silmarillion account closely follows the Quenta Silmarillion and is in agreement with it on the events of the war varying mostly in nomenclature.

Nearly contemporary to the Quenta Silmarillion are the Annals of Beleriand, a complementary, separate account with a different point of view. The two main versions, early and late, of the Annals are in agreement with the events but are at variance with nomenclature and dates. They provide a good deal of incidental detail otherwise lacking in the various parallel versions of the Silmarillion. The Later Annals are the final version of the War of Wrath in this form. There are versions of events and aspects of the war in the Annals that are in conflict with those in Quenta Silmarillion beyond minor inconsistencies in nomenclature and dates. Most notably, the Annals, in contrast to the Silmarillion and Quenta traditions, hold that Morgoth leaves Angband passing over Taur-na-Fuin to contest the passage of Sirion.

Other details do not conflict with the Silmarillion, because of the difference in mode between Annal and Quenta some are just not present in the Quentas. The landing of Ingwë's son and his victory in the Battle of Eglarest is a significant example. The Later Annals provide additional details about the battle including the driving of the Orcs from the shore and then entire Host of Valinor driving both Orcs and Balrogs across Sirion followed by the long struggle of the hosts of the West and North for passage of the River Sirion which lay between the Hosts.

It is only in the Annals versions and the earliest Quenta that Eönwë is stated to be leader, or captain, of the Host of the West and that Ingwion is captain of the Vanyar. In The Silmarillion, Eönwë is called 'the Herald of Manwë'. As captains, The Silmarillion mentions Finarfin leading the Noldor of Aman and Thorondor "captain of the great birds of heaven". Lay of Leithian speaks directly of Balrog captains leading Orcs:

"the Orcs went forth to rape and war, and Balrog captains marched before.".

The Later Annals of Beleriand expand on detail and reintroduce the encampment of the Host beside the River Sirion that goes back to the earliest fragments of the story. There a camp is made in Tasarinan, Land of Willows, the place mentioned in Treebeard's song in the Two Towers, "the willow-meads of Tasarinan". Further, some subsidiary battles to the campaign of the Great Battle are mentioned there briefly, as well as in the tale of The Fall of Gondolin where the Battle of Tasarinan is described as a surprise attack by the Goblins on the Noldor of the Host. Another battle is that of the Silent Pools, or Twilight Pools which is Umboth Muilin, or Aelin-uial. Here it is suggested that the Easterling Men of Hithlum descend from the north and attack the flank of the Elves. The early traditions for this battle are in some serious contradiction at points with the later tales in that it is held here that Tulkas and Morgoth and other Valar are present whereas later only the Maiar, Eönwë for the Host of the West, and the Balrogs, for the Hosts of Angband, take the field.

Throughout all the varied stories and time the terrain over which the War of Wrath is fought remains remarkably the same, in particular, the River Sirion. The course of the river is never changed on the maps and its character stays consistent. It is the mighty river that divides East and West Beleriand. As early as the Lays of Beleriand until the Children of Húrin it is described as uncrossable on foot except at a very few places: far north at Eithel Sirion, at the ford of the Brithiach, over the Guarded Bridge near the tributary Esgalduin and over the land bridge of the Andram above the Gates of Sirion. This makes Sirion a formidable obstacle to an army trying to cross it in the face of opposition. Without the further use of the ships of the Telerin fleet the Host of the Valar cannot be ferried to East Beleriand flanking the line of Sirion in the south but must fight their way across at one or more of those crossings. Advancing north west of Sirion does not allow a northern flanking of the line of Sirion as there is only a ford near Eithel Sirion and only a couple of easily defended and widely separated passes through the mountains of Ered Wethrin. This explains the long deadlock of bitter conflict between Eönwë leading the Host of the West and Morgoth's Host of the North described in the Annals and the Tale of the Years as lasting over forty years.