Ainulindale

• Iluvatar creates the Ainur, (Holy Ones) as an extension of thought

• The Ainur sing before Iluvatar, at first alone, then as they grow in understanding of their brethren, together as a chorus.

• The great music is created, each singing his part in an endless interweaving melody

• Melkor, who amongst the Ainur had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and so a share of all the gifts of his brethren, interweaves his own visions into the music, causing discord, the music divides and falters

• The discord spreads, till it is a storm upon the throne of Iluvatar

• Rising, Iluvatar responds to the opposing melodies, by adding a third melody of great sorrow, that whenever the melody of Melkor reached its heights, attempting to drown out the other music, the new melody would make those notes its own.

• The music ceased

• Iluvatar declares There is no music played that hath not its uttermost source in me, Behold your music, and he points into the void where there was now a vision of a new world before them. They saw then that the third melody had created the children of Il’uvatar, the Elves and Men.

• Iluvatar proclaims Ea, Let these things be, and sent forth the flames imperishable into the world. To those that would of the Ainur, they entered into this world, to remain forever bound to it, as the Valor, and began the great works to forge this world into that of their vision.

• Melkor proclaims this world as his own, Manwe counters thou shalt not take for thy own, wrongfully, for many others have laboured here no less than thou. To work they went to ready the world for the elves, always at odds with Melkor, who would destroy their works upon completion. Slowly, nonetheless the Earth was fashioned

• Aulee, from his great desire for the coming of the children, made first the Seven Father’s of the Dwarves, in a hall under the mountains in middle-earth. Iluvatar approaches Aulee, and says “what have you done? Know you not these children can only live by the gifts by which you are endowed?” Hearing these words, in great sorrow, Aulee takes up his hammer to smite his children. Iluvatar stops him, these gifts I will accept. Let them now sleep until the first children arrive. Then I will awaken them, though often will their strife between my children be. Those that I have chosen, and those I have adopted

• Yavanna in fear that her trees cannot protect themselves, speaks to Manwe, who proclaims in the forests shall walk the Shepards of the Trees (Ent’s)

                            The arrival of the Elves

• The Elves awaken to the sounds of flowing water, they walk the Earth in wonder, and began to make speech, and give names to things, themselves they named the Quendi (those that speak with voices) Orome discovers them, and names them the Eldar, though this name was only retained by those that followed him upon the western road.

• The elves are afraid, for they have already encountered Melkor (the hunter) who would steal them away amidst the night, never to return. (presumed to have been transformed into the Orc armies)

• The Valar make war upon the fortress of Melkor, and there bring him into captivity, to protect the children. Melkor despises forever after the Elvish kind for his ruin, Sauron remains hidden deep inside.

• The Valar summon the elves to Valinor, where stood the two great trees of light and power. There Orome speaks to the great elvish Kings Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe. Swayed by the speech of the Valar, they bring the Eldar with them, causing the first great sundering of the Elves, (those that followed, and those that preferred the starlight and the wide open spaces of Middle-Earth to the rumors of the trees. (the Elves of Darkness)

                   The pilgrimage to the lonely Isle

• Thingol and Melian wed (Luthien their child)

• Galathilion planted in Valimar, the Elvish City on the Lonely Isle (one of its seedlings the White Tree of Numenor)

• Feanor, Fingolfin, and Finfarin born to Finwe, King of the Noldor

• Galadriel born to Finfarin

• Osse teaches the Elves the art of ship-building

• Melkor unchained, brought to Valmar, where he pleads to be allowed to teach the Elves, His request is granted

• Feanor crafts three jewels from the light of the great Trees, the Silmarils

                                The great Darkness

• Melkor whispers deceit into the ears of Feanor, In rage from these words, Feanor draws his sword upon his half-brother, Fingolfin, and threatens him within the halls of Valmar, for this act Feanor and his seven sons are banished, they build a fortress on the hills, in which the simarils are kept locked in an iron box.

• Melkor goes into hiding, speaks to Feanor of the Simarils, Feanor in anger sends him away in great shame

• Melkor seeks out Ungoliant, the great spider

• Fingolfin forgives his Brother Feanor, they shake hands in front of the trees of light, stating “May no new grief divide us” Fingolfin promises to follow the rule of Feanor, in that hour, Melkor unleashes Unigoliant on the trees of light, she and Melkor destroy them

• Melkor breaks into the fortress of Feanor, there he slays Finwe, King of the Noldor, and steals the simarils

• Feanor curses Melkor, names him Morgoth, the black foe of the world

• Morgoth returns to his fortress of old, and calls to him his armies, Ungoliant and he battle over the Simarils, Morgoth wails in pain, and frightens the spider, who hides in the dark recesses of the south, there her descendants remain

• Morgoth casts for himself a great crown, on which he sets the Simarils, though this forever burns his hands, he declares himself King of all the World

• Feanor makes an unbreakable oath that the Elves would remain forever at war with Morgoth until the Simarils are regained

• Feanor leads his people to the Alqualonde (the sea elves) Olwe refuses to give Feanor his ships, enraged, the Alqualonde are slaughtered (the kinslaying)

• Feanor and his sons take the ships to middle-earth, with only those who had participated in the kinslaying, they leave the others behind, Finfarin stays in Valmar, Fingolfin leads his people on the great march to middle-earth. Galadriel goes with him, eager to find a new home for her people

• Meanwhile, on middle-earth, during the three-ages of Melkor’s captivity; The dark elves of King Thingol, in Beleriand, meet with the Dwarves, teach them much, there greatest city Khazadum flourishes. Together the peoples build great works in middle-earth. Rumors pass of dreadful beasts to the north, the dwarves become nervous, create a great store of weapons and armor

• Melkor sends hosts of Orc armies to besiege the Elves in Beleriand, the Elves earn their victory at great cost. Feanor lands his ships upon the Firth of Drengist, and burns them at Losgar

• Yavanna finds upon the two great trees, two growths, upon Telperion one great flower of silver, and Laurelion a single fruit of gold. She gives them to Aule, whose people craft for them vessels, upon which they are borne to the sky, and remain there as a ray of hope, the Sun and the Moon.

• The sun marks the awakening of man, the moon cherishes the memory of the elves

• Melkor besieges Tilion, is turned back, the Valar, who refuse to battle Melkor in middle-earth, for fear of the great damage caused by the first war, fortify Valinor

                             The return to Middle-earth  

• The Eldars find the humans, name them the second people, and many other names (followers, sickly, children of the sun, night fearers, mortals)

• A host of orcs attack Feanor as he burns ships, the elves, though outnumbered, and taken by surprise, defeat the orcs easily (the Battle under the Stars (for the moon had not yet risen) Feanor is surrounded by Balrogs, and delivered a mortal wound. He is taken off by his children, he begs them halt, curses Morgoth twice, tells his children to hold to their oath, and dies.

• Melkor offers peace, sends embassy to meet with Maedhros, son of Feanor, he agrees, sends army to meet envoy, who likewise send an army to ambush the elves, the armies clash, the elves are all slain, except for Maedhros who is hung from the a precipice upon Thangorodrim by a metal band about his wrist. (who since he is immortal, stays there for some time)

• Fingolfin, at the end of the great march, arrives upon the gates of Angband, the elves are divided, those that followed Feanor, and those upon the Great March shun each other

• Fingon, one of the Elves of the great march, was once a close friend of Maedhros, sets out to rescue his friend. Finds him on the ledge, and with the help of the Great Eagles cuts off Maedhros hand below the wrist. They are carried by Thorondor; King of the Eagles to Mithram. The rift is healed in the Eldar, though the crown is taken from the House of Feanor

• King Thingol closes his kingdom in the caves to the newcomers from the west (for fear of the many princes who had newly arrived to claim new lands)

• The Elves go their many ways, except for Finrod, and his sister Galadriel, who remain the guest of King Fingol, in his caves with the dark elves.

• Morgoth realizes his orc’s are no match for the elves, sends dragons from out of his fortress

• Galadriel tells Melian (Thingols wife) of the Simarils, and the destruction of the trees, speaks not of the kinslaying. She relays this news to King Thingol.

• Rumurs spread, till finally King Thingol learns of the evil deeds of the noldar. When Finfarin, goes to visit his sister Galadriel, Thingol asks why he concealed the slaying of his mother’s people (Thingols niece) Decrees that none should ever speak in the tongue of the kinslayer again (the noldar) Only the exiles continued to use the language thereafter.

• Turgon goes in secret to Gondolin, rules there till his death. Eol, of the green elves confronts the Noldor, claims his son, insists that he leaves, when Maeglin refuses, Eol attempts to slay with a concealed javelin, Aehdril, (Eol’s wife, sister of Turgon) intercepts, and dies from the poison. Maeglin stays; falls in love with Idril (his cousin) she does not share his love. Dark seeds from the kinslaying are thus set in motion.

• Beor leads men from the west; they meet the green elves of the woods, and are given a land to dwell in. Thingol, proclaims no man shall ever set foot into his kingdom. Melian whispers to Galadriel, that one will come, “and the girdle of Melian shall not restrain him, for doom greater than my power shall send him; and the songs that spring from that coming shall endure when all middle-earth has changed”

                                  The Fourth Battle                                         

• Morgoth sends out armies of orcs, accompanied by Balrogs and Dragons, fight a great war (The Battle of Flame) Morgoth meets Fingolfin in battle, is dealt seven wounds, at last, Fingolfin falls weary, and Morgroth smites the Great King. Sauron rises to power, a powerful necromancer, captures Minas Tirith, and makes it into a great watchtower. Hurin, a mortal, finds the hidden city of Gondolin. He befriends King Turgon, is allowed to leave, with a vow to never reveal its location. Afraid for the survival of the Noldar, Turgon builds a fleet of ships in secret; they arrive in the hour of greatest need to defeat the forces of Morgoth.

                                          Beren and Luthien

• Beren, a mortal, of the house of Beor, has a vision of his father’s death; he finds then his father’s bones, and shortly thereafter, the patrol of orcs responsible for his death. The captain holds the hand of his father in the air, to boast his deed. Beren, leaps upon him by surprise, taking the hand, and his fathers ring, he escapes.

• Beren enters the Hidden Kingdom; there he spies Luthien (daughter of King Thingol and Melian) dancing in the moonlight. Falls instantly in love with the most beautiful of all the elves. He stays in the woods

• Beren encounters Luthien again, as she sings, he calls out to her. Doom falls upon her, and she loved him, she slips away from his arms.

• The lovers continue to meet, but Daeron the minstrel, also loved Luthien, and betrays them, they are summoned to the King. Beren proclaims his love

• When Thingol accuses him of creeping as a spy of Morgoth, Beren produces his fathers ring, given to Barahir on the battlefields to the north by the Noldor for his bravery. Its gems are those that the Noldor had devised in ancient Valinor. Its crest was that of the house of Finfarin.

• Thingol answers, a fathers deeds, even rendered to me, avail not, Bring to me, in your hand, a simaril from Morgoth’s crown, then, if she will, Luthien may set her hand in yours.

• Beren makes his way to the Kingdom of Finrod, there he tells his tale. The King vows to protect him from the wrath of the sons of Feanor.

• Finrod and Beren with ten companions make their way to Morgroth disguised as orcs, Sauron sees them fail to report, attacks them. The company is defeated, however their purpose remains secret. Sauron casts them into a pit.

• Luthien’s heart fills with dread, she escapes from her fathers captivity to rescue Beren, she is found by the Mighty hound Huan, who takes her to his master, Celegorm, a son of Feanor. He devises a plan to force Thingol to give Luthien to him in marriage; however, Huan, has a great love for her, and helped her to escape to the north.

• Finrod sacrifices his life to protect Beren from the werewolves that attacked them in the pit. Luthien comes to him in the pit, rescues him. Sauron seeks to capture them, sends many wolves, Huan battles them off. Sauron hears of this, and devises a plan to destroy the hound (the prophecy that Huan will die to the mightiest wolf of all) Sauron takes wolf form, battles the hound, Huan is victorious.  

• The sons of Feanor spy the lovers, and attack them; Huan betrays his master, chases the sons of Feanor away after a fierce battle.

• Beren enters into the fortress of Morgoth, the dark one is asleep, he pries a simaril from the crown, then goes for a second, the knife shatters, the blade piercing the cheek of Morgoth, he groans, and stirs, they flee

• They pass the gates, where the mighty wolf, Carcharoth awaits. The wolf bites off the hand in which Beren holds the Simaril. Seeing their peril, Thorondor, carries them away.

• Beren arrives to the Kingdom of Thingol, and tells him, the quest is ended; even now the simaril rests in my hand. He produces his right arm. From that day forth he is named the empty-handed

• Beren and Thingol go together to hunt down the wolf, they find Huan is at their side. Carcharoth deals Beren a terrible wound, Huan gives the wolf a great fight. Both perish in the battle. The simaril is recovered.

• Luthien gives up her immortality, weds Beren. Dior (Thingols hier) is born to them

                                          The Fifth Battle

• Thingol refuses to surrender the Simaril to the sons of Feanor. They vow to slay him, and his people

• The armies of Morgoth meet with those of Elves, Dwarves, and men, the forces of Morgoth win the battle. Men from the east join the battle for Morgoth, this cause’s great distrust amongst men and elves. Takes Hurin captive, and forces him to watch from a great tower at the ruin upon the land.

• Turin, the mortal son of Hurin, is taken to live as the son of Fingol, in honor of his father’s great sacrifice. After nine years, there is a dispute with one of the elves, Turin accidently slays him. In fear he flees the land.

• Beleg, who saw the events, tells the story to Thingol, who offers forgiveness, Beleg  offers to seek out Turin

• Turin becomes the Captain of a Band of Outlaws, they capture Beleg. Seeing his friend of old in chains, Turin releases him, Beleg tells him of his pardon. Turin, proudly refuses, they part ways.

• Turin befriends Mim the Dwarf

• The armies of Morgoth March, Mim betrays Turin, and leads orcs upon them in the night. Turin is captured, Beleg discovers Turin is alive seeks him once again. Finds his friend, releases him. Thinking Beleg an orc, come to torment him, Turin kills Beleg. Seeing what he has done goes insane. Escapes. Is captured by a band of elves, they befriend him, his speech bearing that of the ancient kingdom of Doriath, they forge for him anew the Sword Anglachel, which he named Gurthang, Iron of Death.

• Finduilas falls in love with Turin, forsaking her husband.

• The armies of Morgoth advance, on the field of battle, Turin meets the dragon Glaurung.The dragon speaks “Evil have been all thy ways, son of Hurin”

• Turin gathers a great force of men, and defeats the orcs

• Turin falls in love with Niniel

• Turin slays Glaurung,

• Turin learns Niniel is his sister, kills himself.

• Thorondor frees Hurin, he finds Mim, slays the Dwarf. Confronts Thingol, and then casts himself into the western sea.

                                     The fall of Doriath

• Thingol asks the Dwarves to remake the Nauglamir (the great necklace of the dwarves), with the simaril set inside. He placed it on his neck, in jealousy he is slain.

• The Dwarves steal the Nauglamir, and flee. The Dwarf-elf battles follow, the elves are slain

• Beren and Luthien hear of this, lead a great elvish army upon the dwarves, Beren wrests the Nauglamir from the neck of the Dwarvish King, gives this to Luthien, Dior, then departs to rule over the elves. There he abodes with his sons and daughter Elwing (mother of Elrond and Elros, of the Kings of Numenar)

• The green elves deliver the Nauglamir to Dior who wears it, this arouses the sons of Feanor, who in the Battle of the Thousand Caves, destroy Doriath. Elwing escapes with the Simaril

• Earindal, the half elven born (503 years after the coming of the Noldor) Seven years later, Gondolin, discovered by Morgroth, is attacked, and destroyed, Earindal escapes, joins with the people of Elwing. They marry, bare half elven children

• The sons of Feanor learn of the whereabouts of the simaril (the third elf slaying) Earindal and Elwing escape to the sea, Elrond and Elros captured, and raised as sons by the final two surving sons of Feanor (Maedhros and Maglor) Those others that survive, join up with Gil-Galad

• Earindal and Elwing set sail to Valinor, and approach the Valar, They are givin the choice of which race they will represent, as are are their children. They remain elves (excepting Elros) They were forbade to walk again middle-earth, and Earindal takes to flight (the morning star) most sacred to the Elves

• In the final battle Earindal joins the fight, slays the dragon from the skies. Morgoth is captured, the simarils taken from the Crown of Morgoth, and given two the sons of Feanor. In anguish, Maedhros leaps with one into a firey pit, and Maglor, cast the other into the ocean depths.

• The Elves begin their return to the west

                                         The Akallabeth

• Elros reigns as the king of the Numenoreans four hundred and ten years

• The houses of the three great Kings, the Dunedain flourish under the protection of the valor

• The white tree Nimloth is planted in Armenelos

• The men Of Numenor become resentful that they should die, they divide, the elf-friends, and the Kings-men

• Sauron, disguised as fair and beautiful man, teaches the elves to make the rings of power, he creates the one ring, and the elves see who he is when he dons it. Sauron demands they return all the rings to him. They go to war, the three elvish rings, unsullied by Saurons dark powers are hidden amongst the wise.

• Moria is shut, Rivendell is built, Sauron gathers all the other rings of power, and seven are given to the Dwarvish Lords, nine to men.

• Ar-Pharazon marches army of Dunedain to the gates of Barad-dur, demands the audience of Sauron, who is taken hostage to Numenor, soon Sauron becomes the Kings closest advisor. He tells him that they have been deceived by the Valar, Melkor, whos name they dare not speak is the true master of Freedom, and shall make you stronger than they. The King turns to the dark arts

• Isildur steals a fruit from the white tree, and plants it in secret, Sauron has the White Tree chopped down in Armenelos

• The Lords of the West go to war with Numenor, it is destroyed

• Avallone and the land of Aman vanish from the Earth

• Sauron gathers his armies, destroy Minas Ithil, Isildar, escapes with a sapling from the white tree there

• The armies of Gil-Galad, and Elendil meet Sauron, Elendil and Gil-Galad are slain, Isildar takes up his fathers sword, severs the ruling ring from the hand of Sauron

• Isildar takes the ring, is slain, the ring lost

• The sword of Elendil, broken, the shards are held by Elrond who says the sword will not be forged anew till the ruling ring is found

• The wizards arrive, sent from over the sea, they reveal themselves to Elrond

• The White Council is formed, Saruman made its leader (Gandolph refuses position)

• Frodo destroys the ring

• The last of the Elves depart to the Western Sea