F.A. 587-588: The End of the War and the Fate of the Silmarils
F.A. 587:
The final battles of the War of Wrath. Morgoth, as his last desperate assault, looses the winged dragons, which have not been seen before; and they drive the Host of the Valar back for a day and night; and Eärendil and the great Eagles and other great birds fight against the dragons. In the night Eärendil kills Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the dragons, and Ancalagon is so vast that when he falls upon the three peaks of Thangorodrim they are destroyed in his fall.
In the morning the Host of the Valar prevails, and nearly all the dragons are destroyed. All the pits of Angband are broken and unroofed, and Morgoth's many thralls are freed. Morgoth flees to his deepest pits, and will not fight, and at the last sues for pardon; but his feet are cut from under him, and he is bound with the chain Angainor that was used during his previous captivity in the Halls of Mandos. His iron crown is beaten into a collar for his neck, and the Silmarils are taken from it and given to Eönwë to be guarded.
In the course of the War of Wrath and the clash of the great armies of the Valar and of Morgoth, Beleriand is destroyed, and nearly all of it sinks beneath the sea.
Maedhros and Maglor, though in weariness and loathing, continue to try to fulfill their Oath, sending a message to Eönwë demanding the Silmarils. Eönwë tells them that they have lost the right to the Silmarils because of their evil deeds in service to the Oath, especially the Second and Third Kinslayings; and that the Silmarils will be brought back to Valinor, and if Maedhros and Maglor want them they must go to Valinor and abide by the judgement of the Valar on the matter.
Maglor desires to surrender, being grieved and weary - first arguing that they can wait and may receive the Silmarils peacefully in time, and then that if the Oath is unbreakable they are doomed to the Everlasting Darkness regardless, and will at least do less harm in breaking it than keeping it. But Maedhros will not agree, and Maglor goes along with him. They disguise themselves and sneak into the camp of Eönwë, kill the elves guarding the Silmarils, and take the jewels; the camp is alerted and they are surrounded, but Eönwë will not let them be killed and they depart unfought and flee far away.
They choose to each take one Silmaril, but the Silmarils, hallowed against the touch of evil beings, burn them unbearably; Maedhros casts himself into a chasm of fire holding the jewel, and Maglor throws his Silmaril into the ocean and remains on the shore, lamenting.
Family Trees
Optional Readings
If you want to read the parts of The Silmarillion covering the events described in this post, they are found in the following chapters:
Chapter 24, “Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath,” paragraphs 26-37 (from “Then, seeing that his hosts were overthrown…” to “…one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires in the heart of the world, and one in the deep waters.”).