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"Manwë will not descend from the Mountain until the Dagor Dagorath, and the coming of the End, when Melkor returns."

― Unfinished Tales, "The Istari"

The Last Battle, also known as the Second Prophecy of Mandos, but probably best known as the Dagor Dagorath (Sindarin, "Battle of all Battles"), is an apocalyptic event prophesied by Mandos. According to Christopher Tolkien, the Dagor Dagorath was abandoned by Tolkien.

The Last Battle

In the 1977 Silmarillion, the Dagor Dagorath is only mentioned as the Last Battle in two ocassions:

"... Many other of the ancient stars she gathered together and set as signs in the heavens of Arda: [...] and Menelmacar with his shining belt, that forebodes the Last Battle that shall be at the end of days."

― Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor

"But Ar-Pharazôn the King and the mortal warriors that had set foot upon the land of Aman were buried under falling hills: there it is said that they lie imprisoned in the Caves of the Forgotten, until the Last Battle and the Day of Doom."

― Akallabêth

The Prophecy

According to the prophecy, included in both The Shaping of Middle-earth and in The Lost Road, Melkor will eventually discover how to break the Door of Night, allowing him to escape his imprisonment beyond the world. Intent on regaining his dominion over Middle-earth and avenging his previous defeat, the fallen Ainu will recreate his greatest servants (including Sauron) and destroy the Sun and the Moon. For the love of these, Eärendil will return from the sky and meet Tulkas, Manwë (or Eönwë his herald) and Túrin Turambar on the plains of Valinor. All the Free Peoples of Middle-earth will participate in this final battle, Elves, Men, and Dwarves alike. Also in the Battle will be Ar-Pharazôn and the Númenóreans who broke the Ban and landed at Aman in S.A. 3319. These Númenóreans of the Great Armament were not destroyed, but are imprisoned in the Caves of the Forgotten, where they await the ending of the world. The role that they have to play in the Last Battle is unknown.

Thus assembled, the forces of the Valar shall fight against Melkor. Tulkas will wrestle with him, but it will be by the hand of Túrin that finally death and utter defeat will be dealt to Melkor. Túrin will run his black sword Gurthang (Iron of Death) through Melkor's dark heart, thus avenging the Children of Húrin, and the Pelóri Mountains will be leveled. In other versions of the legendarium, however (see The History of Middle-earth), Eönwë, then called Fiönwë, is the one who will kill Morgoth for his love for Arien (previously named Urwendi), instead of Túrin. This is said at the end of The Hiding of Valinor.

After the battle, the Silmarils will be recovered from the Earth, Sea, and Sky. Fëanor's spirit shall be released from the Halls of Mandos, and he will finally surrender his prized creations to Yavanna, who will break the Silmarils and use their Light to rekindle the Two Trees. With the flattening of the Pelóri, the light of the Trees will cover all of Arda. The battle will end and renew Arda's existence: all the Elves shall awaken and the Powers will be young again, in the state of a Renewed Arda. Also, according to Dwarven legends, they will help their maker Aulë recreate Arda in all its glory again.

Following this, there will be a Second Music of the Ainur. This song will sing into being a new world. Both Elves and Men will sing with the Ainur. It is unknown what the fate of the old races, or of the old world, will be in the new one. Even the Ainur do not know anything of the second world or the Second Music. All the Ainur know is that the Second Music will be greater than the First Music.

External links

• Why Did Tolkien Leave Out the Second Prophecy of Mandos? by Michael Martinez=

References

Varda rejecting Melkor. Illustration by Marya Filatova

Things I can't get

• The Battle of the Eastern Field: in Mallorn 12
• The Happy Mariners poem, version of June 1920, in The Stapeldon Magazine
• All three poems in A Northern Venture
• The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien: A Brief Account of the Book and its Making: in Mallorn 14