Menegroth

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Menegroth, the 'Thousand Caves', was the city in the land of Doriath which was home to King Thingol and Queen Melian of the Sindarin people. Lúthien the Fair, their daughter, was born here. The gates of Menegroth were carved into a rocky hill alongside the Esgalduin river, and the vast caverns beneath were considered one of the finest works of the Elves of the Elder Days in either Middle-earth or Valinor. Dwarves were employed in its construction, having had far more experience in building underground. Its halls were carved to look like a beech forest, complete with birds and animals.

[edit] The Sack of Menegroth

It was from Menegroth that the quest of Beren to gain a Silmaril began; when Beren brought the Silmaril to Thingol (F.A. 469) he stored it in one of his many vaults. Thingol commissioned a group of Dwarves from Nogrod to incorporate his Silmaril into another great treasure he had received from Húrin: the Nauglamír, the Necklace of the Dwarves. After the Dwarves finished their work, they demanded the Nauglamír be kept by them. Enraged, Thingol insulted them and refused to pay for the work. The Dwarves slew him (F.A. 503). Filled with sorrow Melian departed for Valinor, ending the protective 'girdle' which she had held over Doriath. This allowed the Dwarves to sack Menegroth with ease, and steal the Nauglamír. However, on their journey back to Nogrod they were waylaid and routed by a force led by Thingol's son in law, Beren, and the Nauglamír was retrieved.

[edit] Restoration and Fall

Beren and Lúthien's son, Dior, later restored Doriath (F.A. 504) and ascended the throne, receiving the Nauglamír, which Lúthien had worn until the end of her life. Upon learning that a Silmaril was in Dior's possession, the sons of Fëanor sent a letter to him stating their claim to it. Upon not receiving a reply they organised an attack on Doriath. In this Second Kinslaying, Dior and Celegorm slew each other in the halls of Menegroth, the ending of the other two of the sons of Fëanor Caranthir, Curufin is unknown, but they perished as well. His wife Nimloth was slain during this battle, and his two sons, Eluréd and Elurín, were left to die in the forest, of which Maedhros repented the act and sought in vain for them. However, Dior's daughter Elwing escaped to the havens of Círdan at the mouths of Sirion with a remnant of her people, and with her went the Nauglamír and the Silmaril within it. Menegroth, along with the rest of Doriath, was left in ruins, never to rise again.

[edit] See Also

Oath of Fëanor

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