Editing Beleriand (section)

== Fictional history ==

[[File:Downfall of Númenor.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Beleriand was lost beneath the sea at the end of the [[First Age]].<ref name="Shippey 2005 p324">{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|pp=324–328}}</ref> The outlines of the continents are purely schematic.]]

{{further|Quenta Silmarillion}}

Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in the second half of the ''[[Quenta Silmarillion]]'',<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=chs. 13–24}}</ref> which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of [[Norse mythology]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=John |title=Book Review: ''The Silmarillion'', ''The World of Tolkien'' |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/23/archives/the-world-of-tolkien-tolkien.html |date=23 October 1977}}</ref> Beleriand also appears in the works ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Tritel |first=Barbara |title=Book Review: ''The Book of Lost Tales'', Language and Prehistory of the Elves |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/27/books/language-and-prehistory-of-the-elves.html |date=24 May 1984}}</ref> ''[[The Children of Húrin]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Crace |first=John |author-link=John Crace (writer) |work=[[The Guardian]] |title=Book Review: ''The Children of Húrin'' by JRR Tolkien |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/apr/28/jrrtolkien.fiction |date=4 April 2007}}</ref> and in the epic poems of ''[[The Lays of Beleriand]]''.<ref name="Tolkien 1985" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1985|loc=Preface}}</ref>

The land is occupied by [[Teleri]] [[Elves (Middle-Earth)|Elves]] of King [[Thingol]] from the east, who founded the city of {{Visible anchor|Menegroth}} in the [[Trees and forests in Middle-earth|forest realm]] of Doriath. Other Elves, the [[Vanyar]] and [[Noldor]], cross the [[Belegaer]] sea to [[Valinor]]. Some of the Noldor return to Beleriand to retrieve the [[Silmarils]] from the evil [[Valar|Vala]] [[Morgoth]], but they are resented by the Teleri. Later, [[Men (Middle-earth)|Men]] arrive from the east.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=268}} Morgoth gathers an army of [[Orc]]s, [[Balrog]]s and [[Tolkien's monsters|other monsters]] in his fortress of {{visible anchor|Angband}} beneath the {{Visible anchor|Thangorodrim}} mountains in the north of Beleriand, and attacks the Elves repeatedly. Despite the threat, Thingol refuses to fight alongside the Noldor. One by one, the realm of Doriath as well as the Noldor kingdoms Nargothrond and Gondolin fall to assaults, assisted by betrayals and disputes among Elves, Men, and [[Dwarves (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]].{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=287–296}} Finally, Earendil crosses the Belegaer Sea to ask the Valar to stop Morgoth. They send an army to overcome Morgoth in the [[War of Wrath]]. This ends the  [[First Age]] of Middle-earth: Angband is destroyed, and Morgoth is banished to the void. Beleriand's inhabitants flee, and much of Beleriand sinks into the sea.<ref name="Voyage" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 24 Of the Voyage of Earendil and the War of Wrath}}</ref> Only a small section of the eastern edge of Beleriand survives, including part of the [[Ered Luin]] (Blue Mountain) range and the land of [[Lindon (Middle-earth)|Lindon]], which became part of the far northwestern shore of Middle-earth.<ref name="Foreword" group=T/>