94 pages • 3 hours read
J. R. R. TolkienThe Silmarillion
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1977A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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BetaParts 4-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 4: “Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor”
After the downfall of Melkor at the end of the First Age, the Edain (Men who aided the Elves against Melkor) are given Númenor, an island of their own, away from the terrors of Middle-earth. It is located in the middle of the sea, between Middle-earth and Valinor. The Men there learn from the Elves and could “easily have surpassed the evil kings of Middle-earth in the making of war” (128) but choose peace instead. On Númenor, Men are forbidden to sail toward Valinor. Eventually, they begin to envy the Elves’ immortality, to the point where the Valar have to send a messenger to reason with them. For 2,500 years Númenor grows stronger; their ships sail far and wide, building colonies in Middle-earth where they are revered.
During this time, Sauron rises in power and becomes the second Dark Lord and makes Mordor his home. The Men of Númenor help the Elves (led by Gil-galad) who remain in Middle-earth as they fight against Sauron. As time passes, Men become more resentful and envious, as encouraged by Sauron. Eventually, they rebel against the Valar and the Elves. Their rebellion lasts almost 1,500 years. A line of kings continues this resentment until Tar-Palantir, the penultimate ruler, repents for his ancestors’ mistakes but it is too late.
He is succeeded by Ar-Pharazôn, who marries Tar-Palantir's daughter Tar-Míriel against her will (and against the law). Ar-Pharazôn is an arrogant man who makes war on Sauron so that he can take the title of King of Men. He sails to Middle-earth and challenges Sauron to a battle. On seeing how strong Ar-Pharazôn’s army has become, Sauron decides to use his cunning and pledges loyalty to Ar-Pharazôn. Unconvinced, Ar-Pharazôn takes Sauron prisoner. On Númenor, Sauron uses his magic to become Ar-Pharazôn’s chief adviser. He corrupts Númenor, encouraging human sacrifice and cutting down the White Tree. Númenor grows more powerful but at a great cost: They begin to worship Melkor.
Sauron convinces the dying Ar-Pharazôn to attack the Valar and demand immortality by force. A man named Amandil attempts to warn the Valar and sails west, though it is forbidden. He is never seen again. As Ar-Pharazôn’s army grows, a dark cloud appears on the horizon in the shape of an eagle. It begins to attack, which the Men credit to the Valar, so they launch their war against the Valar. Manwë calls upon Eru, who destroys the world and recreates it in a new image. Ar-Pharazôn and his army are destroyed and Númenor sinks into the sea. The entire world becomes a sphere. Aman and Valinor are forever removed from the world. Sauron’s physical body is destroyed, but his soul escapes and flees back to Middle-earth, where it resides in the One Ring before he “wrought himself a new guise” (136). Amandil’s son is waiting with a group of Men aboard ships. They survive the collapse of Númenor and travel to the newly made Middle-earth where their culture becomes dominant.
Part 5: “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”
After the demise of Melkor, Sauron hides in Middle-earth. The lands and rivers are reshaped and the surviving Elves makes themselves new homes. They form a friendship with the Dwarves and a peace descends over Middle-earth, even though the lands are “for the most part savage and desolate” (137). Sauron decides that the Valar have forgotten about Middle-earth and decides to try and bring it under his rule. He begins to corrupt the Men, though fears (at first) the Men of Númenor. He even gives himself a new name—Annatar, the Lord of Gifts—and tries to bring the Elves to his side.
As he is trying to ingratiate himself to the Elves, he sees that they make “many rings” (138), but he makes himself a ring in secret, “One Ring to rule all the others” (138). Much of his strength passes into the ring that controls and binds all of the others. The Elves realize his motivation and remove their own rings; Sauron is so angry he wages war against the Elves, demanding all of the rings. The Elves flee with only three of their rings, though they are the most powerful.
The war rages for a long time. Moria is closed; the Elves found Rivendell. Sauron distributes the other rings among the people of Middle-earth, hoping his One Ring will help him control the wearers: seven to the Dwarves, nine to Men. The rings corrupt the wearers: Among Dwarves, it increases their lust for gold; the nine Men who wear rings become incredibly powerful but eventually fall entirely under Sauron’s control. They become the Nazgûl, “the Ringwraiths, the Enemy's most terrible servants” (138).
Sauron begins to control much of Middle-earth and becomes known as the Dark Lord. This time is known as the Black Years. The only people who fight back are the Númenóreans and Sauron eventually travels to Númenor and causes the reordering of the entire world. His spirit escapes the destruction and returns to Mordor, plotting future war.
Men form new cities in the reformed Middle-earth, led by Elendil the Tall and his two sons Isildur and Anárion. Elendil founds Arnor in the north and Isildur and Anárion rule over Gondor. Sauron’s presence is slowly felt. He has made himself a terrible new body. He begins a war and Elendil and his sons fight back, forming an alliance with the Elves. They drive Sauron back and lay siege to Mordor. Eventually, Sauron leaves his fortress and a great battle occurs. Sauron kills Elendil but, in doing so, allows Isildur to cut off his hand and take the One Ring. Freed from his body, Sauron escapes again into Mordor.
This is the beginning of the Third Age of the World. Elrond begs Isildur to destroy the One Ring but he does not. Later, he is attacked by Orcs and—while his family is killed—he escapes by wearing the ring (that turns him invisible). He loses the ring while trying to escape in a river. Isildur’s sword, Narsil, shattered when he attacked Sauron and it is left broken: Elrond prophesizes that it will be reforged when Sauron returns. While many kingdoms of men struggle, Gondor grows strong before eventually waning. Much diminished in number, the Elves live in Rivendell and Lórien.
After “the One and the Seven and the Nine are destroyed; and the Three have passed away,” the Third Age ends and “the Tales of the Eldar in Middle-earth draw to then-close” (143). Sauron slowly returns. Around this time, the Istari first appear in Middle-earth. They are wizards, sent by the Valar “to contest the power of Sauron, if he should arise again” (143). There are Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, and others. Gandalf is concerned with Sauron’s return and calls a council between the wizards and the Elves. Gandalf confirms that Sauron has returned and is trying to collect together all of the rings, but Saruman preaches caution, refusing to believe that Sauron will ever find the One Ring again. No one realizes that Saruman’s mind has already “turned to dark thoughts” (144). Saruman withdraws to Isengard and fortifies it and studies the history of the rings, hoping to find the One Ring for himself.
The council tries to strike against Sauron, but he is ready for them and retreats into Mordor. The Orcs begin to arm and prepare for war. The One Ring is found by chance. It dwells in the possession of “the Halflings” (146) for a while before Sauron learns of its existence and sends his Nazgûl to take it. The war begins and the Third Age ends.
The heir of Isildur rises in the north, reforges the sword of Elendil, and goes to war. His name is Aragorn. The One Ring is destroyed by an unlikely hero—“Frodo the Halfling” (145)—and Sauron’s forces are defeated. Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and peace spreads over the land. At last, it is revealed that Gandalf had long guarded the third and most hidden of the Elvish rings. It was given to him by Círdan, who then left on the sea. The last of the Noldor leave Middle-earth forever “and an end was come for the Eldar of story and of song” (145).
Parts 4-5 Analysis
Akallabêth” and “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” are not technically part of The Silmarillion. Instead, they function more as a compendium for the wider world, linking the text to Tolkien’s other works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. However, there are several interesting points to consider and analyze in the context of the novel.
After the age of Elves, the age of Men is shown to be similarly ridden with war and misunderstanding. The Men are more morally dubious and, while they are not as powerful or as skilled as they Elves, the antagonist they face is not as powerful as Melkor. Sauron is more of a trickster, more bound by the rules of Middle-earth than Melkor. He is a Maia rather than a Valar, so his power is impressed but limited. While the Men consider the Valar to be gods, Sauron is a conquerable enemy. Nevertheless, he almost succeeds in doing what Melkor could not. Sauron convinces the Men to make war against the Valar. Though they fail with remarkable speed, this failure results in the reshaping of Middle-earth. Men, like Elves, were not able to simply exist in a contented fashion. While “Akallabêth” and “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” demonstrate the juxtaposition between how Elves and Men operate and exist in Middle-earth, the result is very similar.
Due to the failed attack on Valinor, Middle-earth is broken and remade. This is a literal and figurative setting of the stage for other novels in the series. Characters such as Saruman and Gandalf are introduced, as are the nine rings of power (and the One Ring itself). Even the geography of the world is changed to accommodate the other stories; the entire slate is swept clean and made ready for the next stories. By doing this, Tolkien is able to add depth and clarity to his earlier novels, while still adhering to the novel’s role as a mythological text.
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By J. R. R. Tolkien
