Note:
This
was put together as a potentially useful guide rather than a rigid framework
and I would not regard anything here as set in stone. Tolkien did quite a bit
of work on the legends after drawing up his final chronologies and might very
well have changed many of the dates if he’d ever reached the point of
publishing The Silmarillion. It was
complied from three of Tolkien’s chronological writings:
‘The
Annals of Aman’; published in The History of Middle-earth: Morgoth’s
Ring Part Two
‘The
Grey Annals’; published in The History of Middle-earth: The War of
the Jewels Part One with final section and revisions in Part Three section
I
‘The
Tale of Years’; published in The History of Middle-earth: The War of
the Jewels Part Three section V
These
dates are from the Annals of Aman. How
precisely you think they should be interpreted is up to the individual. They are all in Valian years which according
to Tolkien’s opening description were each roughly equivalent to ten Sun years
(strictly 9.582 Sun years, if you want to be exact). At other times he had other views on the relationship between
elven years and mortal years, but I will not go into those here as he did not
have them in mind when compiling the Annals.
1
Valar first enter Arda
1500
Tulkas enters Arda
1900
Valar set up the great Lamps
3400
Melkor begins to make Utumno
3450
Melkor destroys the Lamps
3500
The Two Trees are created
The
Ages of the Trees
These
annals also are all in years of the Valar.
This section is largely from ‘The Annals of Aman’ (including Tolkien’s
later additions and amendments recorded in Christopher Tolkien’s notes), but
some of the Beleriand entries are from ‘The Grey Annals’. Year 1 was marked by Tolkien as equivalent
to Year 3501 of the old reckoning, which slightly contradicts the previous
annal.
Incidentally
I think the early sections of this chronology would certainly have been revised
if Tolkien had returned to them, since the text titled ‘Quendi and Eldar’
(published in The History of Middle-earth: The War of the Jewels
Part Four) implies a much longer gap between the Awakening of the Elves and the
Great Journey than appears here. The
later section might also have been compressed – fifty odd Sun years seems an
inordinately long time for the Noldor to be wandering around Northern Aman, and
Tolkien seems to have been partly influenced by the need to give Morgoth time
to build Angband, a problem he later solved by making Angband an already
existing fortress he repaired.
I’ve
placed the coming of Orcs into Beleriand under the Grey Annals date as that is
part of the main text, whereas the one in the Annals of Aman (1320) is a later
addition that could have been a mistake by Tolkien; however the chronological
position is the same under either date.
1
The Two Trees are created
1000
Varda begins to make the great constellations
1050
Elves awaken
1085
Oromë meets the Elves
1090
Valar attack Morgoth
1099
Breaking of Utumno
1100
Binding of Melkor
1101
Valar summon the Quendi to Valinor
1102
Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë brought to Valinor
1104
Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë return to Cuiviénen
1105
Elves set out on the Great Journey
1115
Nandor abandon the March
1125
Vanyar and Noldor reach Beleriand
1128
Teleri reach Beleriand
1130
Elwë meets Melian
1132
Vanyar and Noldor leave Middle-earth
1133
Vanyar and Noldor reach Valinor
1140
Tirion completed. Ingwë leaves Tirion
1150
Olwë and other Teleri
leave Middle-earth
1151
Grounding of Tol Eressëa
1152
Elwë returns to the Sindar
1161
Teleri reach Valinor
1165
The last Vanyar leave Tirion
1169
Birth of Fëanor
1170
Death of Míriel
1185
Marriage of Finwë and Indis
1190
Birth of Fingolfin
1200
Birth of Lúthien
1230
Birth of Finarfin
1250
Dwarves enter Beleriand. Fëanor creates
a new alphabet for the Elves
1280
Marriage of Finarfin and Eärwen
1300
Thingol builds Menegroth. Daeron invents the Runes. Birth of Turgon and of Finrod
1330
Orcs enter Beleriand
1350
Nandor enter Beleriand
1362
Births of Aredhel and of Galadriel
1400
Melkor released
1449
Fëanor begins work on the Silmarils
1450
Fëanor completes the Silmarils
1490
Banishment of Fëanor
1492
Melkor visits Formenos
1495
Darkening of Valinor. Death of Finwë and flight of the Noldor. First
Kinslaying.
1496
Doom of Mandos. Finarfin turns back
1497
Morgoth attacks Beleriand. Fëanor
reaches Middle-earth and burns the ships.
Death of Fëanor. Capture of
Maedhros
1498
Maedhros sent to Thangorodrim
1500
Rising of the Moon and the Sun. Hiding
of Valinor. Fingolfin reaches
Middle-earth.
These
are years of the Sun. The first is
equivalent to the last year in the ‘Annals of Aman’ (or presumably to the tail
end of it, given what Tolkien said about years of Aman, although it’s not
entirely clear how time was calculated between the death of the Trees and the
rising of the Sun). After writing ‘The
Grey Annals’ Tolkien revised his chronology to put the first appearance of Men
further back, and I’ve followed that revision here.
The
early dates on the history of the Edain are therefore taken from Tolkien’s
chronological notes on his own writing, extracted from Christopher Tolkien’s
notes in The History of Middle-earth: The War of the Jewels Part
Two Section 14. One annal ended up
rootless, initially dated 402 it recorded an Orc attack on the Pass of Aglon
repelled by Maedhros, Maglor and the sons of Finarfin “and Bëor was with
them”. Since this was two years after
Finrod met Bëor the new chronology dating would be around 312, but Tolkien
failed to relocate this annal.
1
Rising of the Moon and the Sun.
Fingolfin reaches Middle-earth.
2
Fingolfin arrives in Mithrim
5
Fingon rescues Maedhros and the Noldor are reunited.
7
Sons of Fëanor leave Mithrim.
20
Fingolfin holds the Feast of Reuniting
52
Finrod begins to build Nargothrond
53
Turgon discovers the site of Gondolin
60
Dagor Aglareb. Morgoth invades
Beleriand and is defeated.
64
Turgon begins the building of Gondolin
67
Thingol bans Quenya from Doriath
102
Nargothrond is completed
116
Gondolin is completed
150
Caranthir makes contact with the Dwarves
155
Morgoth attempts to attack Hithlum and is driven off
260
Glaurung invades Ard-galen and is repelled by Fingon
310
Finrod meets Bëor
312
Haladin enter Beleriand
313
People of Marach enter Beleriand
316
Aredhel encounters Eöl
320
Birth of Maeglin
355
Death of Bëor
369
Bereg leads some of the Edain back to the East
375
Haleth becomes chief of the Haladin
376
Haladin settle in Estolad
390
Haladin leave Estolad
400
Aredhel and Maeglin ride to Gondolin.
Deaths of Aredhel and Eöl
410
Boromir of the House of Bëor becomes lord of Ladros in Dorthonion
416
Fingolfin gives Dorlómin to Hador
420
Death of Haleth
432
Birth of Beren
441
Birth of Húrin
443
Birth of Morwen
444
Birth of Huor
455
Dagor Bragollach. Deaths of Angrod and
Aegnor.
456
Death of Fingolfin
458
Morgoth attacks Brethil and is driven off with help from Doriath. Húrin and Huor visit Gondolin.
460
Death of Barahir
462
Morgoth attacks Hithlum and is driven off with help from Círdan
463
Easterlings enter Beleriand
464
Beren enters Doriath. Birth of Túrin
465
Beren comes to Nargothrond. Death of
Finrod
466
Beren and Lúthien take the Silmaril
467
First deaths of Beren and Lúthien
468
Maedhros begins to construct the Union against Morgoth
469
Maedhros retakes Dorthonion. Beren and Lúthien return briefly to Doriath
470
Birth of Dior Eluchíl
472
Nirnaeth Arnediad. Death of
Fingon. Capture of Húrin. Birth of Tuor. Morwen sends Túrin to Doriath
473
Birth of Nienor. Túrin reaches Doriath.
Morgoth attacks and devastates the Havens of Círdan.
484
Túrin leaves Doriath
487
Beleg joins Túrin’s band
488
Tuor captured by Easterlings
489
Death of Beleg.
490
Túrin comes to Nargothrond.
491
Tuor escapes from the Easterlings
494
Morwen and Nienor come to Doriath
495
Fall of Nargothrond and deaths of Orodreth and Finduilas. Orcs attack Brethil. Tuor leaves Hithlum.
496
Tuor comes to Gondolin. Morwen and
Nienor leave Doriath. Túrin meets
Nienor
498
Túrin and Nienor marry
499
Deaths of Glaurung, Nienor and Túrin.
500
Morgoth releases Húrin.
501
Death of Morwen
502
Marriage of Tuor and Idril. Húrin kills
Mîm. Húrin comes to Doriath
This
section was particularly difficult.
‘The Grey Annals’ end abruptly, and the last years of the First Age are
chronicled only in a series of brief and often altered listings. This is my best interpretation of Tolkien’s
last intentions.
503
Death of Thingol. Birth of
Eärendil. Birth of Elwing
504
Dior becomes king of Doriath
506
Second Kinslaying and death of Dior
509
Maeglin captured by Morgoth
510
Fall of Gondolin and death of Turgon
511
Survivors of Gondolin reach Sirion
532
Birth of Elros and Elrond
538
Third Kinslaying
542
Eärendil reaches Valinor
545
Host of Valinor lands
587
Destruction of Angband. Maedhros and
Maglor seize the Silmarils. Death of
Maedhros
590
Morgoth thrust into the Void. End of
the First Age