Akallabêth

From Tolkien Gateway
Revision as of 08:31, 30 September 2020 by LorenzoCB (talk | contribs) (There is no need of including links that are already given in text. Also)
The Silmarillion chapters
  1. Ainulindalë
  2. Valaquenta
  3. Quenta Silmarillion
    1. Of the Beginning of Days
    2. Of Aulë and Yavanna
    3. Of the Coming of the Elves
    4. Of Thingol and Melian
    5. Of Eldamar
    6. Of Fëanor
    7. Of the Silmarils
    8. Of the Darkening of Valinor
    9. Of the Flight of the Noldor
    10. Of the Sindar
    11. Of the Sun and Moon
    12. Of Men
    13. Of the Return of the Noldor
    14. Of Beleriand and its Realms
    15. Of the Noldor in Beleriand
    16. Of Maeglin
    17. Of the Coming of Men
    18. Of the Ruin of Beleriand
    19. Of Beren and Lúthien
    20. Of the Fifth Battle
    21. Of Túrin Turambar
    22. Of the Ruin of Doriath
    23. Of the Fall of Gondolin
    24. Of the Voyage of Eärendil
  4. Akallabêth
  5. Of the Rings of Power

The Akallabêth is the fourth part of The Silmarillion, edited by Christopher Tolkien from his father's later texts.

It tells the story of the destruction of the realm of Númenor after the Númenóreans, the descendants of those Men who aided the Elves in their fight against Morgoth during the First Age, turned by degrees against the Valar, and were later corrupted by Sauron. The Akallabêth was written by Elendil near the end of the Second Age.

Synopsis

The Akallabêth is an account of the history of Númenor from its foundation to its destruction. At the end of the First Age, the Edain, who alone among the race of Men were loyal defenders of the Elves during their war against Morgoth, were given a new land of their own in reward for their efforts, free from the troubles and sadness of Middle-earth. It was located in the middle of the Great Sea, between the western shores of Middle-earth and the eastern shores of Aman, where the Valar lived.[1]

The Eagles of Manwë by Ted Nasmith

The Men of Númenor were forbidden by the Valar to sail westward so far that they could no longer see the island, so the majority of their voyaging was eastward and in time they returned to the shores of Middle-Earth. The Númenóreans established remote colonies in Middle-earth and made contact with the Men of Middle-earth and taught them many crafts and skills. They made alliance with Gil-galad and the Elves and aided them in the war against Sauron where he was defeated by the power of the Númenóreans.

Overtime many began to speak openly of their envy of the Eldar's immortality and in defiance of the Ban. The people of Númenor became split between the King's Men, those loyal to the King and prone to oppose the restraints upon Númenor, and the Faithful, those who remained true to their friendship with the Eldar and loyalty to the Valar.[1]

Sauron re-emerged to challenge the power of Númenor in Middle-earth and their colonies along the shores were assailed by him and his armies. The king, Ar-Pharazôn, responded and came with a great host to Middle-earth and bade Sauron to come before him and swear fealty. To the surprise of many, Sauron did as he was asked. But the King was not content with his show of obedience, and brought Sauron back to Númenor as a hostage. Sauron gave the impression that this was against his will, but in truth it was exactly what he wanted. Sauron exploited his power to corrupt the King to his will. Soon he became his adviser, and most of the Númenóreans obeyed his will and turned to the worshipped Morgoth.

Sauron convinced the King, who was now in his twilight years, to assail Aman in order to gain immortality. Thus Ar-Pharazôn led his Great Armament and landed on Aman. However, as this was done, the Valar appealed to Eru Ilúvatar and he destroyed the Great Armament, Ar-Pharazôn and his host was buried under hills, and the whole of Númenor was sank under the Great Sea. Arda was made spherical and Aman was put beyond it, out of the reach of mortal Men.

The Ships of the Faithful by Ted Nasmith

Just a few people still uncorrupted by Sauron managed to escape the catastrophe; they fled Númenor by ship. This group of Faithful Númenóreans was led by Elendil the Tall and his two sons, Isildur and Anárion. They landed in Middle-earth, where the followers of Elendil established two kingdoms which came to be known as the realms of Exile: Gondor in the south, and Arnor in the north. Some of the King's Men, enemies of Elendil, who were in Middle-earth at the time of the Downfall established other realms in exile to the south; of these the Haven of Umbar was the chief. Sauron, although greatly diminished and bereft of shape, had survived the Downfall and returned to Middle-earth to continue troubling its inhabitants.

Legacy

The study of Númenor's history was suppressed in the realms of Exile because it was seen as a vain pursuit, "breeding only useless regret". Only one story from the former home of the Dúnedain remained generally known: the cautionary tale of the pride of Ar-Pharazôn and his "impious armada", which corresponds to the last half of the Akallabêth.

Etymology

Akallabêth is an Adûnaic word meaning "She that hath Fallen" or "The Downfallen", from the verb kalab ("fall down"). The Quenya translation of this word is Atalantë, derived from the verbal stem talat-. The word refers to 'The Downfall of Númenor'.[2]

Akallabêth/Atalantë was also a general name for the island of Númenor after its Downfall. The Exiles became reluctant to speak of the land by any other name, or indeed much at all; but at times "they turned towards the West in the desire of their hearts" and remembered Akallabêth, their former home.

Inspiration

As the word Atalantë makes obvious, Númenor is a retelling of the story of Atlantis in the setting of Arda. Even so, as Tolkien himself noted, the Quenya root TALÁT ("slope, sliding") dated back to c. 1918, well before he invented the legend of Númenor. The similarities of "talat" and "Atlantis" are a convenient coincidence.

History of composition

The story originated with The Lost Road, an abandoned time-travel novel. The Lost Road, and the supporting legends Tolkien devised at the same time (which are the true germ of the Akallabêth itself), was written in the mid-to-late thirties. Tolkien abandoned The Lost Road before writing much of it, but he began to develop the tale of Númenor's Downfall further when writing The Notion Club Papers in the 1940s. At this time he made two traditions concerning Númenor's history, each with its own retelling of the Downfall: The Fall of Númenor, a more Elvish version, and a "Mannish" form, The Drowning of Anadûnê. These texts can be found in Volume IX of The History of Middle-earth, Sauron Defeated.

Tolkien's final revisions of the Akallabêth were published in the last volume of The History of Middle-earth, The Peoples of Middle-earth. It was from this version that Christopher Tolkien got the document that he published in The Silmarillion. Since the latest version of the Akallabêth contained references to Ælfwine, Christopher Tolkien had to edit it somewhat and remove them, since he believed that Ælfwine did not fit in his father's later conception of the Elder Days "tradition".

See also

External links

References