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Location
The wide ocean between Aman and Middle-earth
Pronunciation
be'legire ('g' as in English 'guide'; 'ire' to rhyme with 'fire' or 'tire')
Meaning
'Great Sea'1
Bays and gulfs
Bay of Balar, Bay of Belfalas, Forochel, Great Gulf, Gulf of Lhûn, Haven of Umbar
Islands
Enchanted Isles, Himling, Isle of Balar, Isle of Meneltarma, Númenor, Shadowy Isles, Tol Morwen, Tolfalas
Other names
Great Sea of the West, Great Water, High Sea, Sundering Seas, Water, Western Sea
Titles
The Shoreless

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 13 March 2014
  • Updates planned: 1

Belegaer

The Great Sea

Map of northern Belegaer
The northern parts of Belegaer (somewhat conjectural)2
The northern parts of Belegaer (somewhat conjectural)2

The Great Sea; the mighty ocean that lay between Middle-earth in the east and Aman in the west, in the midst of which the island kingdom of Númenor lay during the Second Age.


Notes

1

The word aer for the Sea developed from a root meaning 'terror' or 'dread', describing the feelings of the Elves when they first encountered the Great Sea at the end of the Great Journey. Thus the name Belegaer for the 'Great Sea' could be rendered etymologically the 'Great Dread' or 'Great Terrifier'.

2

The map shown here is based on sketch maps reproduced in volume IV of The History of Middle-earth. These belong to an early phase of Tolkien's mythology, and aren't perfectly consistent with the more familiar geography of his world, but they do show Belegaer in its entirety. The better known regions of northwestern Middle-earth would appear along the Great Sea's northeastern shores, in approximately the region labelled 'Beleriand' on this map.

See also...

Arda, Belthil, Dark Elves, Elves, Elves of the Havens, Encircling Sea, Gaerys, Great Sea of the West, Great Water, Inner Seas, Sea-elves, Sundering Seas, The Great

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 13 March 2014
  • Updates planned: 1

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

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Belegaer

The Great Sea

Location
The wide ocean between Aman and Middle-earth
Pronunciation
be'legire ('g' as in English 'guide'; 'ire' to rhyme with 'fire' or 'tire')
Meaning
'Great Sea'1
Bays and gulfs
Bay of Balar, Bay of Belfalas, Forochel, Great Gulf, Gulf of Lhûn, Haven of Umbar
Islands
Enchanted Isles, Himling, Isle of Balar, Isle of Meneltarma, Númenor, Shadowy Isles, Tol Morwen, Tolfalas
Other names
Great Sea of the West, Great Water, High Sea, Sundering Seas, Water, Western Sea
Titles
The Shoreless

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 13 March 2014
  • Updates planned: 1

Belegaer

The Great Sea

Map of northern Belegaer
The northern parts of Belegaer (somewhat conjectural)2
The northern parts of Belegaer (somewhat conjectural)2

The Great Sea; the mighty ocean that lay between Middle-earth in the east and Aman in the west, in the midst of which the island kingdom of Númenor lay during the Second Age.


Notes

1

The word aer for the Sea developed from a root meaning 'terror' or 'dread', describing the feelings of the Elves when they first encountered the Great Sea at the end of the Great Journey. Thus the name Belegaer for the 'Great Sea' could be rendered etymologically the 'Great Dread' or 'Great Terrifier'.

2

The map shown here is based on sketch maps reproduced in volume IV of The History of Middle-earth. These belong to an early phase of Tolkien's mythology, and aren't perfectly consistent with the more familiar geography of his world, but they do show Belegaer in its entirety. The better known regions of northwestern Middle-earth would appear along the Great Sea's northeastern shores, in approximately the region labelled 'Beleriand' on this map.

See also...

Arda, Belthil, Dark Elves, Elves, Elves of the Havens, Encircling Sea, Gaerys, Great Sea of the West, Great Water, Inner Seas, Sea-elves, Sundering Seas, The Great

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 13 March 2014
  • Updates planned: 1

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
The Discus DISC report is available in more than thirty languages, covering all of the world's largest demographics.