The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Originated approximately 3,300 years before the first rising of the Sun;1 the lands of the Eglath in Beleriand were sacked I 506, and destroyed at the end of the First Age2
Location
The chief land of these people was Eglador (later known as Doriath) in the central forests of Beleriand
Origins
Those Elves of the Teleri who were left behind in Beleriand when their kin departed across the Great Sea
Race
Division
Settlements
The chief city of this people was Menegroth within Eglador
Pronunciation
e'glath
Meaning
Other names

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 10 November 2024
  • Updates planned: 1

Eglath

The Forsaken People

A branch the Teleri, who were the followers of their lord Elwë Singollo. Near the end of the Great Journey, while the Teleri waited in Beleriand for Ulmo to draw them across the Sea, Elwë became lost. When at last Ulmo carried the rest of their people away on the island of Tol Eressëa, the people of Elwë remained behind, still seeking their lord.

After the departure of the other Teleri, Elwë was at last discovered: he had been enchanted within the wood of Nan Elmoth by Melian the Maia. As King and Queen, Elwë and Melian created the forest kingdom of Doriath in the heart of Beleriand, and the Forsaken Elves became the people known to history as the Sindar.


Notes

1

Those Teleri who departed from Beleriand on the journey into the West are recorded as setting out in Valian Year 1150. Those left behind in Beleriand, seeking their lost lord Elwë, saw themselves as being abandoned in Middle-earth, and so this division of the Teleri gave rise to the Eglath or Forsaken People. Converting Valian Years into solar years is not a straightforward matter, but using the most common method of conversion, this event would have taken place 3,354 years before the first rising of the Moon and Sun.

2

Although Doriath, the old land of the Eglath, came to an end before the close of the First Age, many of its people survived and remained in Middle-earth. Probably the most prominent among these was Celeborn of Lórien, who had originated as one of the Eglath (and indeed had been close kin to Elwë their lord).

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 10 November 2024
  • Updates planned: 1

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

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2007, 2017, 2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
The powerful, accurate, cost-effective DISC personality test developed and improved for 30 years.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry