Note that Back to Middle-earth Month 2007 was not originally hosted on the SWG's website, which was less than a year old at the time of the event, but on our LiveJournal community. The original text for the challenge and daily quotes are compiled here, unedited, for historical purposes.
March Is Back to Middle-earth Month
Once again, it is March! And March--as many of you know--is Back to Middle-earth Month.
Different groups and individuals have plans for Back to Middle-earth Month this year. Last year's meme asked Tolkien fans to choose a day of the week and make an effort to post something Tolkien-related to their blogs or journals on that day. Just like last year, those of you who will be using March as a time to remember and reflect upon your own discoveries of Middle-earth are welcome to share your entries here as well.
However, I can't help but to feel that the spirit of B2MeM is somewhat lost for many of us. After all, we continue to journey to Middle-earth through stories, artwork, and discussion every day. So going back to Middle-earth doesn't exactly describe the journey for many of us, who feel that we have never left.
And so when thinking about the best way for SWG to commemorate Back to Middle-earth Month, I was somewhat at a loss. After all, how do we go back when we're still there? And recalling the heyday of the movie trilogy does little to promote The Silmarillion, which is what this group is about. And then I started to think about my own relationship with Tolkien's world and how it compares to the purpose of B2MeM, and I realized how much my focus has narrowed since I read The Silmarillion for the first time three years ago. I used to devour any piece of writing that I could find that mentioned Tolkien's world. Now, I have my favorite characters and my preferred eras of history. Rarely do I venture outside of these bounds. Running SWG, writing my own stories, beta-reading, and researching means little time to take chances on new authors and new ideas.
Sound familiar?
For many of us, I think that it will.
And so for B2MeM 2007, I think of it not so much as going back to Middle-earth as trying to look anew at the world that has enriched our lives. Each day for the month of March, I offer a quote from The Silmarillion from a different "stop" along our journey through the history of Arda. What should you do with these quotes? Why, whatever you'd like! Perhaps they will inspire stories or drabbles or poems. Or maybe allow you to recall an old favorite story that you haven't read in years and wish to share with others. Or draw a picture. Or just read and remember the first time you went to Nan Elmoth or Alqualondë or Avallónë. If the quotes inspire something that you wish to share, of course, feel free to share it or a link to it on that day's post.
The journey begins with the creation of Arda and can be found here.
Daily Quotes
March 1: Arda
For the first day of B2MeM, we start back at the very beginning of history, at the creation of Arda, when the Ainur had first sight of the embodiment of their Music.
But the other Ainur looked upon this habitation set within the vast spaces of the World, which the Elves call Arda, the Earth; and their hearts rejoiced in light, and their eyes beholding many colours were filled with gladness; but because of the roaring of the sea they felt a great unquiet. And they observed the winds and the air, and the matters of which Arda was made, of iron and stone and silver and gold and many substances: but of all these water they most greatly praised. And it is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.
-The Ainulindalë
March 2: The Isle of Almaren
As the Ainur begin their early work upon the world, they dwell on the Isle of Almaren where the light of the lamps of Illuin and Ormal mingle.
Then the seeds that Yavanna had sown began swiftly to sprout and to burgeon, and there arose a multitude of growing things great and small, mosses and grasses and great ferns, and trees whose tops were crowned with cloud as they were living mountains, but whose feet were wrapped in a green twilight. And beasts came forth and dwelt in the grassy plains, or in the rivers and the lakes, or walked in the shadows of the woods. As yet no flower had bloomed nor any bird had sung, for these things waited still their time in the bosom of Yavanna; but wealth there was of her imagining, and nowhere more rich than in the midmost parts of the Earth, where the light of both the Lamps met and blended. And there upon the Isle of Almaren in the Great Lake was the first dwelling of the Valar when all things were young, and new-made green was yet a marvel in the eyes of the makers; and they were long content.
"Of the Beginning of Days"
March 3: Ezellohar
In an act of creation that will change the fate of Arda forever, Yavanna brings forth the two Trees Laurelin and Telperion upon Ezellohar.
And as they watched, upon the mound there came forth two slender shoots; and silence was over all the world in that hour, nor was there any other sound save the chanting of Yavanna. Under her song the saplings grew and became fair and tail, and came to flower; and thus there awoke in the world the Two Trees of Valinor.
"Of the Beginning of Days"
March 4: Cuiviénen
The first Elves awaken in the darkness, in Middle-earth, at Cuiviénen.
By the starlit mere of Cuiviénen, Water of Awakening, they rose from the sleep of Ilúvatar; and while they dwelt yet silent by Cuiviénen their eyes beheld first of all things the stars of heaven. Therefore they have ever loved the starlight, and have revered Varda Elentári above all the Valar.
In the changes of the world the shapes of lands and of seas have been broken and remade; rivers have not kept their courses, neither have mountains remained steadfast; and to Cuiviénen there is no returning.
"Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
March 5: Tirion
The Elves are summoned to Valinor, and the Noldor build the city of Tirion.
Even among the radiant flowers of the Tree-lit gardens of Valinor they longed still at times to see the stars; and therefore a gap was made in the great walls of the Pelóri, and there in a deep valley that ran down to the sea the Eldar raised a high green hill: Túna it was called. From the west the light of the Trees fell upon it, and its shadow lay ever eastward; and to the east it looked towards the Bay of Elvenhome, and the Lonely Isle, and the Shadowy Seas. Then through Calacirya, the Pass of Light, the radiance of the Blessed Realm streamed forth, kindling the dark waves to silver and gold, and it touched the Lonely Isle, and its western shore grew green and fair. There bloomed the first flowers that ever were east of the Mountains of Aman.
Upon the crown of Túna the city of the Elves was built, the white walls and terraces of Tirion; and the highest of the towers of that city was the Tower of Ingwë, Mindon Eldaliéva, whose silver lamp shone far out into the mists of the sea. Few are the ships of mortal Men that have seen its slender beam.
"Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
March 6: Alqualondë
Ossë consents to teach the Teleri the art of shipbuilding so that they may join their friends the Noldor, and Alqualondë is founded.
There they dwelt, and if they wished they could see the light of the Trees, and could tread the golden streets of Valmar and the crystal stairs of Tirion upon Túna, the green hill; but most of all they sailed in their swift ships on the waters of the Bay of Elvenhome, or walked in the waves upon the shore with their hair gleaming in the light beyond the hill. Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the shores and scattered in the pools; marvellous were the beaches of Elendë in those days. And many pearls they won for themselves from the sea, and their halls were of pearl, and of pearl were the mansions of Olwë at Alqualondë, the Haven of the Swans, lit with many lamps. For that was their city, and the haven of their ships; and those were made in the likeness of swans, with beaks of gold and eyes of gold and jet. The gate of that harbour was an arch of living rock sea-carved; and it lay upon the confines of Eldamar,
north of the Calacirya, where the light of the stars was bright and clear.
"Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
March 7: Avathar
In the deep shadows of Avathar, Melkor and Ungoliant plot the destruction of Valinor.
Thus unseen he came at last to the dark region of Avathar. That narrow land lay south of the Bay of Eldamar, beneath the eastern feet of the Pelóri, and its long and mournful shores stretched away into the south, lightless and unexplored. There, beneath the sheer walls of the mountains and the cold dark sea, the shadows were deepest and thickest in the world; and there in Avathar, secret and unknown, Ungoliant had made her abode.
"Of the Darkening of Valinor"
March 8: Helcaraxë
At the Grinding Ice, the Noldor face the first acts of both treachery and bravery that will come to define the history of their people.
The Noldor came at last far into the north of Arda; and they saw the first teeth of the ice that floated in the sea, and knew that they were drawing nigh to the Helcaraxë. For between the land of Aman that in the north curved eastward, and the east-shores of Endor (which is Middle-earth) that bore westward, there was a narrow strait, through which the chill waters of the Encircling Sea and the waves of Belegaer flowed together, and there were vast fogs and mists of deathly cold, and the sea-streams were filled with clashing hills of ice and the grinding of ice deep-sunken. Such was the Helcaraxë, and there none yet had dared to tread save the Valar only and Ungoliant.
"Of the Flight of the Noldor"
March 9: Nan Dungortheb
Evil turns on evil, and Morgoth strives against Ungoliant, forcing her to flee to Nan Dungortheb, a region that she will afterwards hold in thrall.
Between Mindeb and the upper waters of Esgalduin lay the no-land of Nan Dungortheb; and that region was filled with fear, for upon its one side the power of Melian fenced the north march of Doriath, but upon the other side the sheer precipices of Ered Gorgoroth, Mountains of Terror, fell down from high Dorthonion. Thither, as was earlier told, Ungoliant had fled from the whips of the Balrogs, and there she dwelt a while, filling the ravines with her deadly gloom, and there still, when she had passed away, her foul offspring lurked and wove their evil nets; and the thin waters that spilled from Ered Gorgoroth were defiled, and perilous to drink, for the hearts of those that tasted them were filled with shadows of madness and despair.
March 10: Menegroth
While the Noldor undertake deeds both great and tragic, the Sindar thrive also in the heart of Beleriand.
But the Elves also had part in that labour, and Elves and Dwarves together, each with their own skill, there wrought out the visions of Melian, images of the wonder and beauty of Valinor beyond the Sea. The pillars of Menegroth were hewn in the likeness of the beeches of Oromë, stock, bough, and leaf, and they were lit with lanterns of gold. The nightingales sang there as in the gardens of Lórien; and there were fountains of silver, and basins of marble, and floors of many-coloured stones. Carven figures of beasts and birds there ran upon the walls, or climbed upon the pillars, or peered among the branches entwined with many flowers. And as the years passed Melian and her maidens filled the halls with woven hangings wherein could be read the deeds of the Valar, and many things that had befallen in Arda since its beginning, and shadows of things that were yet to be. That was the fairest dwelling of any king that has ever been east of the Sea.
"Of the Sindar"
March 11: Lammoth
In a region forever poisoned by the screams of Morgoth, the first of the Noldor set foot upon Middle-earth.
And even as the Noldor set foot upon the strand their cries were taken up into the hills and multiplied, so that a clamour as of countless mighty voices filled all the coasts of the North; and the noise of the burning of the ships at Losgar went down the winds of the sea as a tumult of great wrath, and far away all who heard that sound were filled with wonder.
"Of the Return of the Noldor"
March 12: Hildórien
The Sun and Moon are launched across the firmament and mark two important events in the history of Middle-earth. With the first moonrise, the people of Fingolfin enter Beleriand. With the first sunrise, Men awaken in Hildórien.
At the first rising of the Sun the Younger Children of Ilúvatar awoke in the land of Hildórien in the eastward regions of Middle-earth; but the first Sun arose in the West, and the opening eyes of Men were turned towards it, and their feet as they wandered over the Earth for the most part strayed that way.
"Of Men"
March 13: Mithrim
In Mithrim, a tentative reconciliation is achieved between the Houses of Fëanor and Fingolfin, and the battle against Morgoth is fully underway.
But as the host of Fingolfin marched into Mithrim the Sun rose flaming in the West; and Fingolfin unfurled his blue and silver banners, and blew his horns, and flowers sprang beneath his marching feet, and the ages of the stars were ended.
"Of the Return of the Noldor
March 14: Gondolin
As the people of the Noldor forge new alliances and settle in new realms, many nonetheless long for what was left behind. Compelled by his longing and the command of Ulmo, Turgon begins to set the first plans for the realm of Gondolin.
But Turgon remembered the city set upon a hill, Tirion the fair with its tower and tree, and he found not what he sought, but returned to Nevrast, and sat in peace in Vinyamar by the shores of the sea. And in the next year Ulmo himself appeared to him, and bade him go forth again alone into the Vale of Sirion; and Turgon went forth, and by the guidance of Ulmo he discovered the hidden vale of Tumladen in the Encircling Mountains, in the midst of which there was a hill of stone. Of this he spoke to none as yet, but returned once more to Nevrast, and there began in his secret counsels to devise the plan of a city after the manner of Tirion upon Túna, for which his heart yearned in exile.
March 15: Nan Elmoth
In the wood of Nan Elmoth, the love of Thingol and Melian changed the fate of Middle-earth. Now a second marriage kindled in the enchanted shadows will become both a blessing and a curse for the Noldor.
In that wood in ages past Melian walked in the twilight of Middle-earth when the trees were young, and enchantment lay upon it still. But now the trees of Nan Elmoth were the tallest and darkest in all Beleriand, and there the sun never came; and there Eöl dwelt, who was named the Dark Elf. Of old he was of the kin of Thingol, but he was restless and ill at ease in Doriath, and when the Girdle of Melian was set about the Forest of Region where he dwelt he fled thence to Nan Elmoth. There he lived in deep shadow, loving the night and the twilight under the stars.
"Of Maeglin"
March 16: Ossiriand
In the forests of Ossiriand, the Children of Ilúvatar--Elves and Men--finally meet.
Now men awoke and listened to Felagund as he harped and sang, and each thought that he was in some fair dream, until he saw that his fellows were awake also beside him; but they did not speak or stir while Felagund still played, because of the beauty of the music and the wonder of the song. Wisdom was in the words of the Elven-king, and the hearts grew wiser that hearkened to him; for the things of which he sang, of the making of Arda, and the bliss of Aman beyond the shadows of the Sea, came as clear visions before their eyes, and his Elvish speech was interpreted in each mind according to its measure.
"Of the Coming of Men into the West"
March 17: Dorthonion
The barren land of Dorthonion becomes one of the first to fall after the ending of the Siege of Angband, though several brave among Men continued to challenge Morgoth.
Now the forest of Dorthonion rose southward into mountainous moors; and in the east of those highlands there lay a lake, Tarn Aeluin, with wild heaths about it, and all that land was pathless and untamed, for even in the days of the Long Peace none had dwelt there. But the waters of Tarn Aeluin were held in reverence, for they were clear and blue by day and by night were a mirror for the stars; and it was said that Melian herself had hallowed that water in the days of old. Thither Barahir and his outlaws withdrew, and there made their lair, and Morgoth could not discover it.
"Of Beren and Lúthien"
March 18: Doriath
One love will change the fate of Elves and Men for the better, kindled in the mysterious forest of Doriath.
There came a time near dawn on the eve of spring, and Lúthien danced upon a green hill; and suddenly she began to sing. Keen, heart-piercing was her song as the song of the lark that rises from the gates of night and pours its voice among the dying stars, seeing the sun behind the walls of the world; and the song of Lúthien released the bonds of winter, and the frozen waters spoke, and flowers sprang from the cold earth where her feet had passed.
"Of Beren and Lúthien"
March 19: Tol-in-Gaurhoth
Beren, Finrod Felagund, and their companions are taken the captives of Sauron, and the dark history of the Noldor once again proves their downfall.
Softly in the gloom they heard the birds
Singing afar in Nargothrond,
The sighting of the Sea beyond,
Beyond the western world, on sand,
On sand of pearls on Elvenland.
Then in the doom gathered; darkness growing
In Valinor, the red blood flowing
Beside the Sea, where the Noldor slew
The Foamriders, and stealing drew
Their white ships with their white sails
From lamplit havens. The wind wails,
The wolf howls. The ravens flee.
The ice mutters in the mouths of the Sea.
The captives sad in Angband mourn.
Thunder rumbles, the fires burn--
And Finrod fell before the throne.
"Of Beren and Lúthien"
March 20: Angband
The army from the West at last destroys the lair of Morgoth and, under the tumults of war, the shape of the land begins to change.
Thus an end was made of the power of Angband in the North, and the evil realm was brought to naught; and out of the deep prisons a multitude of slaves came forth beyond all hope into the light of day, and they looked upon a world that was changed. For so great was the fury of those adversaries that the northern regions of the western world were rent asunder, and the sea roared in through many chasms, and there was confusion and great noise; and rivers perished or found new paths, and the valleys were upheaved and the hills trod down; and Sirion was no more.
"Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
March 21: Númenor
To the most valiant and faithful of the Men, a gift is given and a new island rises from the sea.
Then the Edain set sail upon the deep waters, following the Star; and the Valar laid a peace upon the sea for many days, and sent sunlight and a sailing wind, so that the waters glittered before the eyes of the Edain like rippling glass, and the foam flew like snow before the stems of their ships. But so bright was Rothinzil that even at morning Men could see it glimmering in the West, and in the cloudless night it shone alone, for no other star could stand beside it. And setting their course towards it the Edain came at last over leagues of sea and saw afar the land that was prepared for them, Andor, the Land of Gift, shimmering in a golden haze.
Akallabêth
March 22: Avallónë
As Númenor is nearer to Valinor than to Middle-earth, friendship between Elves and Men is kindled, but the temptation of the Deathless Lands remain in sight for the people of Númenor.
But the wise among them knew that this distant land was not indeed the Blessed Realm of Valinor, but was Avallónë, the haven of the Eldar upon Eressëa, easternmost of the Undying Lands. And thence at times the Firstborn still would come sailing to Númenor in oarless boats, as white birds flying from the sunset. And they brought to Númenor many gifts: birds of song, and fragrant flowers, and herbs of great virtue. And a seedling they brought of Celeborn, the White Tree that grew in the midst of Eressëa; and that was in its turn a seedling of Galathilion the Tree of Túna, the image of Telperion that Yavanna gave to the Eldar in the Blessed Realm. And the tree grew and blossomed in the courts of the King in Armenelos; Nimloth it was named, and flowered in the evening, and the shadows of night it filled with its fragrance.
Akallabêth
March 23: Umbar
The pride of Ar-Pharazôn hastens the Númenoreans' undoing as he sets sail for Umbar with intentions of claiming kingship over all Men.
And men saw his sails coming up out of the sunset, dyed as with scarlet and gleaming with red and gold, and fear fell upon the dwellers by the coasts, and they fled far away. But the fleet came at last to that place that was called Umbar, where was the mighty haven of the Númenóreans that no hand had wrought. Empty and silent were all the lands about when the King of the Sea marched upon Middle-earth. For seven days he journeyed with banner and trumpet, and he came to a hill, and he went up, and he set there his pavilion and his throne; and he sat him down in the midst of the land, and the tents of his host were ranged all about him, blue, golden, and white, as a field of tall flowers. Then he sent forth heralds, and he commanded Sauron to come before him and swear to him fealty.
Akallabêth
March 24: Armenolos
Sauron's hold of Númenor tightens and the island moves toward its inevitable and tragic end.
But Sauron caused to be built upon the hill in the midst of the city of the Númenóreans, Armenelos the Golden, a mighty temple; and it was in the form of a circle at the base, and there the walls were fifty feet in thickness, and the width of the base was five hundred feet across the centre, and the walls rose from the ground five hundred feet, and they were crowned with a mighty dome. And that dome was roofed all with silver, and rose glittering in the sun, so that the light of it could be seen afar off; but soon the light was darkened, and the silver became black. For there was an altar of fire in the midst of the temple, and in the topmost of the dome there was a louver, whence there issued a great smoke. And the first fire upon the altar Sauron kindled with the hewn wood of Nimloth, and it crackled and was consumed; but men marvelled at the reek that went up from it, so that the land lay under a cloud for seven days, until slowly it passed into the west.
Akallabêth
March 25: Tol Eressëa
Thus in after days, what by the voyages of ships, what by lore and star-craft, the kings of Men knew that the world was indeed made round, and yet the Eldar were permitted still to depart and to come to the Ancient West and to Avallónë, if they would. Therefore the loremasters of Men said that a Straight Road must still be, for those that were permitted to find it. And they taught that, while the new world fell away, the old road and the path of the memory of the West still went on, as it were a mighty bridge invisible that passed through the air of breath and of flight (which were bent now as the world was bent), and traversed Ilmen which flesh unaided cannot endure, until it came to Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, and maybe even beyond, to Valinor, where the Valar still dwell and watch the unfolding of the story of the world. And tales and rumours arose along the shores of the sea concerning mariners and men forlorn upon the water who, by some fate or grace or favour of the Valar, had entered in upon the Straight Way and seen the face of the world sink below them, and so had come to the lamplit quays of Avallónë, or verily to the last beaches on the margin of Aman, and there had looked upon the White Mountain, dreadful and beautiful, before they died.
Akallabêth
March 26: The Grey Havens
Upon the meager remains of Beleriand, a city that joins Middle-earth with the West arises.
Upon the shores of the Gulf of Lhûn the Elves built their havens, and named them Mithlond; and there they held many ships, for the harbourage was good. From the Grey Havens the Eldar ever and anon set sail, fleeing from the darkness of the days of Earth; for by the mercy of the Valar the Firstborn could still follow the Straight Road and return, if they would, to their kindred in Eressëa and Valinor beyond the encircling seas.
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
March 27: Ost-in-Edhil
In the thriving city of the Elves, both light and darkness awaken.
It was in Eregion that the counsels of Sauron were most gladly received, for in that land the Noldor desired ever to increase the skill and subtlety of their works. Moreover they were not at peace in their hearts, since they had refused to return into the West, and they desired both to stay in Middle-earth, which indeed they loved, and yet to enjoy the bliss of those that had departed. Therefore they hearkened to Sauron, and they learned of him many things, for his knowledge was great. In those days the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before; and they took thought, and they made Rings of Power.
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
March 28: Gondor
The loyal people of Númenor build a city in the south of Middle-earth that will endure through the ages.
The chief city of this southern realm was Osgiliath, through the midst of which the Great River flowed; and the Númenóreans built there a great bridge, upon which there were towers and houses of stone wonderful to behold, and tall ships came up out of the sea to the quays of the city.
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
March 29: Mordor
With Angband drowned beneath the sea, a new darkness rises in the south of the land.
Then Gil-galad and Elendil passed into Mordor and encompassed the stronghold of Sauron; and they laid siege to it for seven years, and suffered grievous loss by fire and by the darts and bolts of the Enemy, and Sauron sent many sorties against them.
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
March 30: Imladris
In a world torn by darkness and war, Imladris remains a place of both safety and beauty.
In all the days of the Third Age, after the fall of Gil-galad, Master Elrond abode in Imladris, and he gathered there many Elves, and other folk of wisdom and power from among all the kindreds of Middle-earth, and he preserved through many lives of Men the memory of all that had been fair; and the house of Elrond was a refuge for the weary and the oppressed, and a treasury of good counsel and wise lore.
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
March 31: The Straight Road
A new age begins in Middle-earth but a tenuous link--the Straight Road--still connects what was and what is.
In that time the last of the Noldor set sail from the Havens and left Middle-earth for ever. And latest of all the Keepers of the Three Rings rode to the Sea, and Master Elrond took there the ship that Círdan had made ready. In the twilight of autumn it sailed out of Mithlond, until the seas of the Bent World fell away beneath it, and the winds of the round sky troubled it no more, and borne upon the high airs above the mists of the world it passed into the Ancient West, and an end was come for the Eldar of story and of song.
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
All of the 2007 B2MeM quotes can be viewed here.
