Morgoth

Morgoth, by DymondStarr
Morgoth
Biographical information
Other names	Melkor, Bauglir, First Enemy, Great Enemy, Black Foe of the World, Black Hand
Titles	Dark Lord, King of the World, Lord of the Dark, Elder King, Master of the Fates of Arda
Birth	Before the Ainulindalë
Death	Immortal
Realms	Utumno (initially), Dor-na-Daerachas, much of Middle-earth and Beleriand for a time
Siblings	Manwë
Weapon	Powers of the Valar, Grond, mace, sword, hammer, black spear
Physical description
Race	Ainur
Culture	Valar (Aratar) until he was cast out

"I am the Elder King: Melkor, first and mightiest of the Valar, who was before the world, and made it. The shadow of my purpose lies upon Arda, and all that is in it bends slowly and surely to my will. But upon all whom you love my thought shall weigh as a cloud of Doom, and it shall bring them down into darkness and despair. Wherever they go, evil shall arise. Whenever they speak, their words shall bring ill counsel. Whatsoever they do shall turn against them. They shall die without hope, cursing both life and death."

—Morgoth to Húrin, The Children of Húrin, pg. 64

Melkor (Quenya: "He who arises in might"), commonly known as Morgoth (Sindarin: "Black Foe of the World"), was the rebel Vala, the first Dark Lord, and the primordial source of evil in Eä in the Elder Days. He coveted Arda and all that it contained, but when he was rejected in his lordship by his fellow Ainur, he sought instead to destroy, corrupt or pervert all that which they would create or steward. Defying the will of his creator, Ilúvatar, and sowing discord among the Ainur, Melkor would be at the root of virtually all the misfortunes which befell Eä and those who dwelt within it.

The First Age and preceding eras saw him destroy many works of the Valar, such as the Two Lamps and Two Trees of Valinor, and clash with the Ñoldor for his theft of the Silmarils. Defeated by the Host of Valinor in the War of Wrath, Morgoth was banished from Middle-earth into the Timeless Void, though some believe that he will one day return for Dagor Dagorath. Regardless, his will remains as a part of Arda even after his physical expulsion, a whisper in the hearts of Elves and Men that would turn to evil those who heed it.

Biography

Melkor (front) weaves his music with Eru's

Ainulindalë

Melkor was created by Eru Ilúvatar in the Timeless Halls at the beginning of creation; he was greater in power and knowledge than the other Ainur. His brother was Manwë.

Impatient with the emptiness of the Void outside the Timeless Halls, and desiring to create things of his own, he often entered the Void seeking the Airefëa, but the Flame was of Ilúvatar and an aspect of his being, and as such Melkor never discovered it. Melkor continued to search, however, and as such was often alone and apart from his fellow Ainur. It was during these lonesome periods that he began to have ideas and thoughts of his own that were not in accordance with his fellow Ainur.

Melkor entering Arda, by Kip Rasmussen

When the Ainur sang the Great Music before Eru, he wove some of these alien thoughts into his music, and straightaway a Discord arose around him. Some of those nearby attuned their music to his, until two musical themes were warring before the Throne. To correct the Discord, Eru introduced a Second theme, of which Manwë was the chief instrument. However Melkor succeeded in overwhelming it, and the Discord grew worse. Eru then introduced a Third theme, which was wholly apart from the Ainur. This was the theme of Elves and Men, a musical representation of the natures of the Children of Ilúvatar. While this Third theme was not snuffed out by the discord as the Second theme was, it too failed to correct it. By this point, Melkor's discord had grown to the point where many of the Ainur had simply ceased their song altogether, and Eru rose from his throne with a terrible countenance to bring the music to an end.

Following this, he rebuked Melkor, praising his strength but reminding him that, as an aspect of his creator's thought, anything that he could bring into being ultimately had its source within Eru himself. As such, even the Discord would redound in the end to the glory of Eru's work. This rebuke shamed Melkor and brought with it a secret anger. Thereafter, Eru revealed the Music to have been the pattern through which his Creation was to manifest. So when he incarnated Music as Arda, it was already flawed through the Discord, and immoderate heat and great cold stalked it. Melkor then took in the interest of the World and descended to it with the other Valar.

First War

When the Valar entered into Arda and began to shape the unformed matter, Melkor descended into the world along with his kin. Initially, Melkor deceived himself into believing that he wanted to order the world for the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar as his brethren did. In truth however, Melkor became jealous of the gifts that he knew Ilúvatar would bestow upon the Children, and wished for them to obey his will. As such, he claimed the field of Arda for his own and attempted to assert his lordship over the other Valar, but they rebuffed him. They remembered perfectly well the Discord of Melkor, and did not trust that his desires were for anything other than himself. Instead, they chose Manwë, the chief instrument of the Second Theme, to be their lord. For while Manwë was not nearly as powerful as Melkor, he understood the thought of Eru better than any of his peers.

Bitter, Melkor set himself against the other Valar. Whenever they worked to better the world, Melkor disrupted their efforts. For a long while, Melkor fought alone against the might of all the other Valar and Maiar of Arda, and he long held the upper hand. During this time, though Arda was kept effectively barren, it began to take an unintentional shape through the constant upheavals caused by the First War. Then one day, the mighty Vala Tulkas descended to Arda, and his strength tipped the balance in favor of the Valar. Melkor fled before him, and left Arda for a time.

Spring of Arda

After Melkor's departure, the Valar managed to quiet the tumults of the world, and set about ordering it in preparation for the coming of the Elves. To give light to the world, they constructed two Great Lamps in Middle-earth and set their place of dwelling in the midst of them. During this time, Melkor re-entered Arda with the various Maiar spirits who had attuned themselves to his music (creating both Sauron and Balrogs), and delved a mighty fortress at the very north-most part of the World and named it Utumno. To defend it, he raised the Iron Mountains as a ring around the north. Decay arose in the North, and the Valar thus knew that Melkor had returned. Before they could begin to search for him however, Melkor came forth from Utumno with sudden war, and cast down the Lamps. They broke upon the ground and the fire within them was loosed upon Middle-earth, scorching much of it. Attempting to contain the resulting catastrophe kept the Valar occupied long enough for Melkor and his forces to retreat to Utumno.

After the destruction of the Lamps, the Valar withdrew to the continent of Aman and there built Valinor. In doing so, however, they gave Melkor virtually free rein in Middle-earth. As a result, the continent languished in darkness, and Melkor filled its lands with terrible creatures and decay. During this time, Melkor built his second, lesser fortress of Angband in the west, as a defense in the West should the Valar attack. Angband was delved into the Iron Mountains, and was given to Sauron to command. As the Valar were unsure where and when the Children of Ilúvatar would awake, they were reluctant to wage war against Melkor, fearing the clash of powers might result in massive collateral damage the likes of which they had not seen since the Lamps were destroyed. Indeed, they were no longer even certain that the Children would awake at all given how terribly the world had been devastated by their last confrontation with Melkor. As such, most of them remained in Aman and forsook Middle-earth. Due to this, Melkor discovered the Elves before the other Valar. Bitter over his inability to create life in the manner of Ilúvatar, Melkor captured many of the newly awakened Elves and, out of spite, transformed them by torture and other foul craft into the first Orcs. Of all the evils he committed, this was said to have been his most terrible, and his most hateful to Ilúvatar.

Morgoth's own face, imagined by Spiros Gelekas

First Age

Chaining of Melkor in Valinor

When the birthplace of the newly created Elves was discovered by the Vala Oromë, the Valar took immediate action against Melkor, instigating the War of the Powers. The Valar quickly leveled Angband and met Melkor and his forces in battle. The Valar were victorious, and Melkor and his remaining servants retreated back into Utumno. After a grievous siege there, the Valar rent its doors open, entered, and captured him. Melkor was bound with Angainor and brought back to Valinor. There, he pled for pardon, but was cast into the Halls of Mandos for three Ages. However, in their haste to overthrow Melkor, the Valar left many of Utumno's pits and vaults unexplored, and Sauron remained at large. Additionally, they did not capture or destroy the Balrogs, who gathered at the ruins of Angband and went into a long hibernation, awaiting Melkor's return.

After the passing of three Ages, Melkor was brought before Manwë, and feigned repentance. Unable to comprehend the evil of Melkor, being himself free of all evil, Manwë believed Melkor's entreaty and ordered him released. Indeed, it at first seemed as though Melkor's contrition was genuine, for all who sought his counsel and aid in that time benefited greatly from it. However, Tulkas and Ulmo were both very slow to forget Melkor's evils, and watched him closely. In truth, Melkor was more filled with malice than ever, hating the contentment of the Valar and beauty of their realm. He thus began to put his extraordinary cunning to use in devising a way to ruin Aman. Seeing the bliss of the Elves and remembering that it was for their sake that he was overthrown, Melkor desired above all things to corrupt them. Of all the three primary groups of Elves, he found the Ñoldor to have a perfect balance of usefulness and open ears, and so worked his malice almost exclusively among them. Many of the Ñoldor became enchanted with Melkor's peerless depths of knowledge, and he revealed to them much of the world that they had never so much as guessed at. He began to use this to his advantage by insinuating that the Valar had not revealed to the Elves those secrets that he could tell them out of jealousy for what the Ñoldor could become. This began to breed subtle disquiet amongst the Ñoldor, and sowed seeds of pride and vanity that would go on to bear terrible fruit.

When Melkor deemed that his influence amongst the Ñoldor was sufficient, he began to spread rumors concerning the intentions of the Valar in bringing the Elves to Aman. Particularly, he revealed to the Elves the coming of Men, the very existence of which the Valar had never spoken of to the Elves. Due to his carefully crafted lies, many of the Ñoldor came to believe that the Valar had kept the existence of this race of newcomers from them purposefully, in an attempt to diminish the Elves so that the Valar would never be outshone. Those who were deceived by Melkor concluded that the Valar had only brought the Elves to Aman so that the race of Men might inherit Middle-earth, and claim the lands and the glory that could have been theirs. Melkor's cunning in this endeavor was such that not only did he go completely undetected, but those who expounded on his deceptions believed that the conclusions they reached were of their own devising, rather than Melkor's. In this way, he grew to be ever more trusted by the Ñoldor, many of whom came to quite resent the Valar for supposedly restricting them.

Eventually, a shadow fell upon the Ñoldor, and they began to openly speak against the Valar. Chief amongst the disgruntled Ñoldor was Fëanor, the firstborn son of the Ñoldor King Finwë. Though he hated and feared Melkor, his arrogance and fiery temperament saw him become the most vocal of the Ñoldor in expressing discontent. For their part, the Valar too remained unaware of Melkor's influence, and saw Fëanor as the source of the Ñoldor's unrest. Though perturbed, they let the situation continue until Fëanor threatened his brother Fingolfin with violence, at which point the Valar summoned him to the Ring of Doom in Valinor to explain his unlawful actions.

Morgoth with Ungoliant, by John Howe

Fëanor's testimony at last revealed Melkor's malice, and Tulkas immediately left the Ring of Doom to recapture him. But Melkor could not be found. After a time, Melkor went to Formenos and feigned friendship to Fëanor in order to acquire the Silmarils. But Fëanor, perceiving Melkor's greed, refused him and shut the doors of Formenos in the face of Arda's mightiest being. Melkor then passed unseen to the south, and came upon Ungoliant. Promising to sate her unrelenting hunger, she and Melkor came back to Valinor, intending to destroy the Two Trees of Valinor. Then, during a time of festival, Melkor and Ungoliant suddenly attacked. Melkor thrust a great spear into the Trees and Ungoliant drank the sap that poured from the wounds, draining the Trees and poisoning them. The Trees quickly withered and died, plunging Aman into complete darkness for a time. Ungoliant also drank the nearby Wells of Varda dry, and this in addition to the power she had consumed from the Trees swelled her to a shape so vast and hideous that even Melkor grew wary.

In the fear and confusion that followed, Melkor sped to Formenos and broke into the fortress. There, he slew Finwë, father of Fëanor, and stole the Silmarils along with all the other gems that lay there. The Silmarils burned Melkor's hand, causing him immeasurable agony, but he would not release them. He and Ungoliant fled to the North, and the Valar gave chase, but the Unlight of Ungoliant bewildered them and the duo escaped. The two thieves rushed across the Grinding Ice of the Helcaraxë and entered into Middle-earth, completing Melkor's revenge.

In Lammoth, Melkor and Ungoliant approached the ruins of Angband, where Melkor hoped to abandon Ungoliant and leave his promise to her unfulfilled. Ungoliant saw through his plan and stopped with him before they reached the fortress. She demanded that he surrender the treasure of Formenos to sate her hunger as he had promised, and begrudgingly he gave her the lesser treasures he had taken. She then demanded from him the Silmarils, but these Melkor would not surrender. For his refusal, Ungoliant attacked Melkor, weaving her dark webbing about him. His resulting cry of pain roused the Balrogs from their slumber in the darkest depths of Angband. They came swiftly to his aid and drove Ungoliant away with their flaming whips. The Balrogs made to pursue her, but Melkor checked them and they returned to Angband with him. Melkor then began to rebuild his fortress, and gathered his servants there. When Fëanor found his father was slain, he cursed Melkor and named him Morgoth, meaning "Dark Enemy", and by that name was he known ever after to the Eldar.

The War of the Great Jewels

The peaks of Thangorodrim

During Morgoth's three Ages of imprisonment, his servants in Middle-earth had not been idle. Sauron in particular had seen to a significant amount of work in restoring Angband and in breeding armies of Orcs, but with Morgoth returned, the pace of the work dramatically increased. In particular, the mountains of Thangorodrim, the three tallest peaks that would ever exist in Middle-earth, were created by Morgoth from the slag and debris of his re-delving of Angband. His forces vastly swelled with Orcs and other fell beasts, and the Silmarils were mounted into the Iron Crown.

Unbeknownst to Morgoth, Fëanor had managed to persuade the vast majority of his people to come with him to Middle-earth against the counsel of the Valar, hoping to recover the Silmarils and avenge his father. This action triggered the tragic War of the Great Jewels, in which the Elves would be utterly defeated in the end.

Upon learning of the arrival of the Ñoldor in Middle-earth, Morgoth sent armies of Orcs against Fëanor's host, hoping to destroy them before they could establish any viable defenses. Though the Ñoldor were outnumbered, the light of Valinor was still fresh within them, and they swiftly and completely defeated the Orcs. Only a handful remained left to retreat to Angband. But Fëanor, in his pride and vanity, thought to come at Morgoth himself and pursued them. Soon he and his vanguard had drawn far ahead of their main host, and the Orcs, seeing this, turned and gave battle at the gates of Angband. Due to the engagement's proximity to Angband, a number of Balrogs emerged to aid the Orcs, and the Elves with Fëanor were quickly killed. Fëanor long fought on alone, but was eventually struck down by Gothmog, the great Lord of Balrogs. Though a relief force under the command of his sons saved him from being killed on the field of battle, Fëanor's wounds were mortal and he perished soon after.

Shortly after Fëanor's death Morgoth sent an embassy to the Ñoldor offering a truce, and even promising a Silmaril. Maedhros, Fëanor's heir, agreed to the parley, but both sides expected treachery and arrived with greater force than was agreed upon. Unfortunately for the Elves, Morgoth's force was the greater of the two, and was accompanied by Balrogs. The Elven company was quickly slain with the exception of Maedhros, who was captured. Morgoth sent word to the Ñoldor, promising to release Maedhros on the condition that the Elves would depart from the North and cease their war against him. However, the Elves knew that Morgoth would not honor his word and sent no reply. Morgoth then hung Maedhros by his right hand from one of the many precipices of Thangorodrim and left him to die in torment.

It was at this time that the host of Fingolfin, which had been betrayed and abandoned by Fëanor's host in Aman, came at last to Middle-earth. Tension between the two hosts quickly developed and Morgoth, seeing that the Ñoldor were divided, made plans to destroy his distracted foes. To his dismay, however, the Valar revealed the creation of the Sun and the Moon, which confounded Morgoth and his servants for a time. To counter these new lights, Morgoth sent up nigh-impenetrable clouds of smoke from the Iron Mountains to darken Hithlum.

During this time of confusion and inaction among Morgoth and his forces caused by these new lights, Fingon traveled to Angband, aided by the very darkness Morgoth had set upon Hithlum, and rescued Maedhros. In doing so, he set into motion a series of events that healed the rifts between the hosts of Fëanor and Fingolfin and allowed them to establish mighty kingdoms in Beleriand and Hithlum. Thus when Morgoth sent his renewed armies against the Ñoldor, they were utterly destroyed by the united Elven kingdoms. The Ñoldor then set a siege upon Angband, hoping to forever contain the evil of Morgoth. When he had waited many years, Morgoth made trial of his foes, causing the Iron Mountains to erupt and sending an army of Orcs down through the passes, but to no avail, for the Orcs were easily defeated by the Ñoldor in the Dagor Aglareb. After this failure, Morgoth took to capturing what Elves he could, breaking them with the power of his will and chaining their lives to his. These Elves became his spies amongst the Ñoldor, and they kept him apprised of the movements and plans of his enemies.

Morgoth as imagined by Guillem Pongiluppi

The burning of Ard-galen at the beginning of the Dagor Bragollach, by Marya Filatova

One hundred years after Dagor Aglareb, Morgoth sent an army into the north to approach Hithlum from the side, but an army under the command of Fingon destroyed them yet again in the Battle of the Firth of Drengist. At this point, Morgoth came to realize that the Orcs unaided were no match for the Ñoldor in anything less than overwhelming numbers, and began experimenting with ways to create deadlier creatures for his armies. Another century passed, and the fruits of Morgoth's labors were revealed when Glaurung, the first dragon, emerged from Angband. Glaurung's sudden appearance scattered the Elves in the immediate vicinity of Angband, but a company of archers under Fingon's command engaged him before he could do much more than frighten the Elves. As Glaurung was barely half-grown, his hide could still be pierced by the arrows of the Elves, and he eventually fled the field. Morgoth was displeased with Glaurung for revealing himself before the appointed time, but ultimately the dragon's youthful foray was of little consequence.

Some time later, when men first arrived in Beleriand, it was revealed that Morgoth had left Angband and walked among the fathers of Men. Hoping to corrupt them to his service, he spread his lies among them, and found them to be considerably easier to sway than the Elves had been. However, the strengthening of the Elven kingdoms worried Morgoth, and he returned to Angband before his labors were complete. Nevertheless, most Men believed or half-believed his lies. Some would join with Morgoth's forces, while most would simply forsake the North altogether, believing the Elven war against Morgoth to be none of their concern. However, a small group of men that became known as the Edain resisted him. Many of them settled in the north of Beleriand and befriended the Sindar and Ñoldor already established there. The Elves found these Men to be exceptionally hardy, and they would often aid the Elves by perform scouting and reconnaissance of Angband in the most inhospitable areas imaginable.

Morgoth answering Fingolfin's summons - by Laura Betz

Dagor Bragollach

Morgoth duels Fingolfin - by Ted Nasmith

About 455 years after Fingolfin came to Middle-earth, Morgoth deemed that the time was ripe to destroy the Elves and their allies. One cold winter night, when the Elven watch was least vigilant, Morgoth sent forth terrible rivers of fire and lava from Thangorodrim and poisonous fumes from the Iron Mountains. The Elves were completely unprepared for such an assault, and a great many Ñoldor perished on the Ard-galen as the fires consumed it and transformed it into a lifeless wasteland, forever after known as the Anfauglith. In the wake of these fires there came Glaurung, now fully grown, the Balrogs, and armies of Orcs and other monsters in numbers such as the Elves had never conceived of. Thus began the Dagor Bragollach. The Siege of Angband was broken and the forces of the Elves and their allies were scattered. So swift and overwhelming was Morgoth's assault that the various Elven kingdoms were unable to marshal their forces in any sort of unified front, and as such Morgoth was able to engage the Elven forces in a piecemeal fashion, greatly blunting the effectiveness of any resistance.

"Morgoth and Fingolfin", by Eric Velhagen

The battle went disastrously for the Elves. With the exception of Maedhros and his fortress upon the hill of Himring, the sons of Fëanor and Finarfin were overthrown and utterly defeated. Fingolfin and Fingon only just barely managed to defend Hithlum from Morgoth's onslaught, as the mountains surrounding it provided an effective barrier against Morgoth's fires. The Elves were completely driven from the forests of Dorthonion, and many of the Sindar forsook the war altogether and went to Doriath. When news came to Fingolfin of the totality of Morgoth's triumph, a great despair came upon him. Believing the Ñoldor to have been defeated beyond any hope of recovery, he rode forth alone from Hithlum in a wrath so potent that he was said to have resembled Oromë himself. His rage was so terrible that even Morgoth's mightiest servants dared not trouble him even as he rode to the very gates of Angband. There he smote upon the doors of Morgoth's fortress and challenged the Dark Lord to come forth to single combat. Morgoth did not wish to do so, as though he was said still to be the "mightiest of all things in this world", he alone of the Valar knew fear. But Fingolfin's challenge was heard by all of Angband, and was given in such an insulting manner that to ignore it would have been to lose face before his captains.

Morgoth issued forth in black armor from Angband to confront Fingolfin. Wielding the terrible hammer Grond, Morgoth repeatedly attempted to smite the Elven king, but succeeded only in carving many fiery pits in the ground from his missed strikes. Fingolfin long managed to avoid Morgoth's blows, and wounded the Dark Lord seven times. But at last Fingolfin grew weary, and Morgoth battered Fingolfin with his enormous shield, which thrice drove the Elven king to his knees. Fingolfin arose each time to continue the fight, but eventually he stumbled backwards into one of the many pits formed by Morgoth's missed attacks. Morgoth then set his foot upon Fingolfin's neck and killed him, but not before Fingolfin, with his last stroke, hewed Morgoth's foot with his sword. Then Morgoth broke the Elf's body and prepared to feed it to his wolves. But Thorondor, the King of the Eagles, swooped down upon Morgoth, marring his face with his talons, and rescued the body of the elf-king. Fingolfin's last stroke gave Morgoth a permanent limp, and the pain of his seven wounds could not be healed, nor were the scars ever erased.

Despite his great victory, Morgoth quickly came to understand that he had made a critical mistake. So great had been his malice and his desire to destroy the Elves that he had struck before his designs were fully realized. Additionally, in his hatred and contempt he had underestimated the resolve and valor of his foes, and of the Edain he had made no accounting at all. Now Morgoth found that the Elves and Edain, recovering from the initial shock of his onslaught, had begun to make small gains against his outlying forces. He therefore checked his advance, and withdrew the main host of Orcs to Angband. For though he knew that his victory had been decisive, his own losses had been as numerous as those accrued by his enemies. Afterwards, Morgoth sent out many spies, and he sent messengers to Men, feigning pity. When the Edain refused his false offers of peace, he summoned the Easterlings over the Blue Mountains to harass them militarily. Seven years passed before Morgoth renewed his offensive. He assailed Hithlum with great strength but just as he was on the verge of victory, Círdan and a host under his command came at the last moment and helped Fingon to turn the Orcs back.

The Quest of the Silmaril

Some time later, the Elf-maiden Lúthien and her human lover Beren began a quest to recover a Silmaril at the bidding of Lúthien's father Thingol. The Sindar king had sent Beren on the quest alone, hoping that the demand of a Silmaril as a bride price for his daughter would doom Beren. Lúthien later followed after him against her father's will, and she and the hound of Oromë, Huan, managed to defeat Sauron while seeking Beren. In doing so, Huan somewhat incidentally killed two of Sauron's most powerful servants, Thuringwethil and Draugluin. They then used the pelts of these two creatures, along with some of Lúthien's magic, to disguise themselves and journeyed to Angband.

At Angband's gates, they encountered their guardian, the terrible werewolf Carcharoth. Beren and Lúthien introduced themselves by way of their disguises and bade Carcharoth allow them passage through the gates. However, word that Draugluin was dead had reached Angband ahead of Beren and Lúthien, and Carachaoth grew suspicious. He quickly caught the true scents of the two interlopers but Lúthien cast a spell of sleep upon him before he could raise any alarm or attack. They then journeyed deeper into Angband, and managed to evade detection all the way to Morgoth's throne room. Once there however, Morgoth's otherworldly perception pierced through Lúthien's disguise, though Beren was able to evade his sight in the dark of the court. Though revealed, Lúthien was undaunted by Morgoth and offered to sing for him. As she sang, Morgoth conceived of a lust and an evil more abominable than any he had yet committed, and allowed her to continue singing. But as he delighted in his dark thought, sudden shadow hid her, and she sang a song of great and terrible power that cast another spell of sleep.

Lúthien and Morgoth, by Luca Michelucci

All Morgoth's court was cast down in slumber by her song, but the Silmarils burned brightly, and Morgoth himself grew weary. The Iron Crown, to him, suddenly felt as a tremendous burden, and his head sagged upon his chest. Lúthien's spell then at last overcame him. His sleeping form toppled from his throne, and the Iron Crown rolled away from him. Beren then cut a Silmaril from it with the knife Angrist. However, rather than leaving immediately with his prize, Beren thought to take all three jewels. But as he attempted to pry the second loose, his knife snapped. One shard struck Morgoth's face, and he began to awaken, and with him all of Angband. Beren and Lúthien fled in terror, but without pursuit, as the whole of Angband was only stirring. At the gates however, Carcharoth had just recovered from Lúthien's previous spell, and barred the lovers' escape. Lúthien's efforts in putting Morgoth to sleep had left her too weakened to cast another spell, but Beren held forth the Silmaril, and attempted to use it to frighten Carcharoth into stepping aside. Carcharoth was undaunted however and bit off Beren's hand at the wrist, ingesting both it and the Silmaril it held. Burning from the inside at the touch of the holy jewel, Carcharoth went mad and fled in wrath from Angband, slaughtering all who stood in his path. Then Morgoth awoke, and in a rage he and his court roared up in pursuit, only to see Thorondor carrying off the raiders. Morgoth's fury at the loss of the Silmaril caused the Iron Mountains to begin erupting, terrifying all those who bore witness to the cataclysmic upheaval. Ultimately however, Morgoth was unable to recover the gem.

Nírnaeth Arnoediad

Soon after, Morgoth became aware that Maedhros was creating a great league against him, and driving his Orcs off the northern heights of Beleriand. As such, he took counsel against them and prepared his forces for a major confrontation. When the Elves eventually made it to Angband, the Battle of Nírnaeth Arnoediad began. Ultimately, the battle was a complete and decisive victory for Morgoth. The power of the Elves, their Edain compatriots, and the Dwarves of Beleriand to make war against Morgoth was utterly and permanently broken. All of the great kingdoms of the Ñoldor in Beleriand except Gondolin and Nargothrond were destroyed, and Hithlum was at last taken as well. The Edain who did not flee were enslaved by Easterlings, and Húrin was taken captive.

The Cursing of Húrin

Morgoth was also well known for the imprisonment of Húrin of the House of Hador during the Nírnaeth Arnoediad. In the last hours of the battle, Húrin and his kin defended Turgon, for he was the last heir of the house of Fingolfin after Fingon fell in the battle. Turgon narrowly escaped the clutches of the host of Orcs due to the valor of Húrin, Huor, and their men.

Morgoth sentences Húrin, by Ted Nasmith

Unfortunately, all but Húrin fell after the onslaught of Morgoth's forces. After slaying untold numbers of Trolls and Orcs single-handedly, Húrin was captured by Gothmog and taken to Angband. Morgoth knew that Húrin had been to Gondolin, and therefore knew the city's location. He sought to extract the information from him. Lungorthin, the lesser Lord of Balrogs and the second most mighty of the fire demons, smoted Hurin across the mouth with a whistling whip. Despite inflicting terrible torment upon his captive, Lungorthin and in turn Morgoth were unsuccessful in gaining any answers.

From a distance Morgoth put the son and daughter of Húrin, Túrin and Niënor, under a species of diabolic oppression: his thought followed them and gave them bad luck, though they were not possessed. By this means he drove them at last to madness and despair; though there is doubt as to whether in the extremity of his malice he cheated himself, as their madness saved them from damnation.

Behold! The Shadow of my thought shall lie upon them wherever they go, and my hate shall pursue them to the ends of the world.
—The Children of Húrin

Then, continuing his curse, he said:

But all whom you love my thought shall weigh as a cloud of Doom, and it shall bring them down into darkness and despair. Wherever they go, evil shall arise. Wherever they speak, their words shall bring ill counsel. Whatsoever they do shall turn against them. They shall die without hope, cursing both life and death.
—The Children of Húrin

And so Húrin stayed and was chained atop Thangorodrim, watching his homelands fall under the shadow of Morgoth until he released him. Túrin, who was valiant and powerful, nearly escaped the curse, as feared by Morgoth, but in the end did not. He and his sister Niënor perished. Thus, the curse of Morgoth on the Children of Húrin was fulfilled.

Fall of Gondolin

It was said that Morgoth hated and feared the House of Fingolfin most among the Houses of the sons of Finwë, especially Fingolfin's son Turgon, as it was prophesied that his doom would come from the House of Turgon. Following Turgon's escape from the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, Morgoth sought to find and destroy the last of the free kingdoms of the Ñoldor; Gondolin, where Turgon reigned.

Morgoth's servant Maeglin

Though he had been unable to force Húrin to reveal the location of the last great Elven kingdom, Morgoth eventually captured Maeglin, sister-son of Turgon. Threatened with unimaginable torment, Maeglin offered the secrets of Gondolin's defenses in exchange for his own well-being. Delighted, Morgoth secured Maeglin's genuine loyalty by promising him the rule of Gondolin and more importantly, the hand of Turgon's daughter Idril. Having lusted after Idril for decades, Maeglin became the Dark Lord's willing servant. After learning all he could from Maeglin, Morgoth sent him back to Gondolin to aid the invasion from within when the time came.

Soon after, Morgoth assailed Gondolin. With Maeglin's treacherous information, Morgoth's forces advanced upon the city nearly undetected, during a time of festival and over the mountains where the watch was least vigilant. By the time the Elves realized their peril, the city had been beleaguered by Morgoth's overwhelmingly superior forces, and quickly fell.

With the sacking of Gondolin and the defeat of the Ñoldor and their allies, Morgoth's long-sought triumph was complete. The great kingdoms of the Elves had all fallen, save for the isle of Balar and the survivors at the Mouths of Sirion, which were ruled by Eärendil, and Morgoth esteemed them as nothing. He even came to care nothing for the Silmaril that had been taken from him, and laughed when he saw the last and the most cruel Kinslaying (when the Sons of Fëanor destroyed the dwelling at Arvernien).

Final defeat

The War of Wrath

Persuaded by Eärendil to take pity on the Elves and Edain, the Valar soon decided to come to Middle-earth and confront Morgoth's tyranny. Unable to understand compassion, Morgoth did not expect that the Valar would ever aid the Ñoldor after their evil deeds and did not foresee the assault from Aman. But the Valar mustered their forces, and a great, tumultuous battle occurred between Morgoth and the Host of Valinor. Morgoth emptied all of Angband, and his devices and engines and armies of slaves were so various and powerful that the fighting spilled across all Beleriand.

In the end, Morgoth's forces were utterly defeated. The Balrogs were destroyed, save some few that fled and hid themselves in caverns at the very roots of the earth, and the Orcs were slaughtered. Then Morgoth quailed, and dared not come forth himself, but he had one last weapon at his command: the monstrous Winged Dragons. From out of the pits of Angband they issued, and so sudden and ruinous was their attack, with great power and a tempest of fire, that they drove back the host of the Valar. But then Eärendil came with Vingilot, accompanied by Thorondor and all the great birds, and Eärendil slew Ancalagon the Black, greatest of Morgoth's dragons, and his carcass fell upon the towers of Thangorodrim, breaking them.

Morgoth was utterly defeated, fled into the deepest of his mines, and sued for peace and pardon, but the Valar crippled him and cast him upon his face. He was bound with the chain Angainor, his Iron Crown was beaten into a collar for his neck, and he was taken from the Earth and thrust through the Door of Night into the Timeless Void, outside Time and Space and outside Eä altogether. The two remaining Silmarils were recovered from him, though shortly thereafter they were again lost.

Legacy and prophesied return

The Door of Night, by John Howe

By the end of the Second Age [Sauron] assumed the position of Morgoth’s representative. By the end of the Third Age (though actually much weaker than before) he claimed to be Morgoth returned.
—The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, "Letter 184"

Morgoth's lies, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men, would continue to sprout in new, changing ways. Sauron (once Mairon) succeeded him as the new tyrant of Arda and sought dominion over all life. In the late Second Age, Sauron was captured and held prisoner in Númenor, but managed to corrupt its last king, Ar-Pharazôn, and his subjects, into revering Morgoth as a deity. In the Third Age, Sauron claimed to be "Morgoth returned" and was held as such by his servants.

Morgoth's taint of Arda was more than symbolic as, like the One Ring with Sauron, Morgoth dispersed a great portion of his essence into Middle-earth and like the Sauron's Ring, Arda became the physical container for Morgoth's spirit/will. While the Dark Lord lost a great deal of strength infusing his essence into the world so he could increase his hold over the world, it also meant that even banished, his malevolence would still permeate everything and corrupt the creatures of the world. There are even hints in Tolkien's writings and notes that Morgoth could even reach out from the Void and make his voice heard like a silent whisper tempting the Children of Eru towards evil or at the least his essence acted like an echo and similarly to the Sauron's Ring had its own dark will that served Morgoth's ends in his stead.

Dagor Dagorath

According to material in some of Tolkien's writings compiled (but not published) by his son, in the last days Morgoth will learn how to break the Door of Night and re-enter the World, and initiate the Dagor Dagorath, the Battle of Battles. In this battle Morgoth himself would be slain by Túrin Turambar, returned to life or by Eönwë as written in The Hiding of Valinor. Thus the Children of Húrin and all Men will be avenged.

However, the published Silmarillion does not include this information, and instead asserts that, if the Valar know how the end of Arda will present itself, they have not revealed it.

Etymology

The name Melkor is Quenya, meaning "One who arises in Might"; his name in Sindarin was Belegûr or Belegurth ("Great Death"). Tolkien wrote that he derived "Melkor" from malkū, which is an Akkadian word meaning "king", equivalent to Hebrew מלך ('mélekh').

The name Morgoth, given by Fëanor at Valmar after Melkor stole the Silmarils, meant "Dark Enemy", even though it was "Black Foe of the World" that Fëanor named him out loud. He was also known as Melkor Bauglir when he returned to Angband; bauglir meant "the Constrainer".

Other names

Melkor was the world's first Dark Lord, and sometimes gave himself titles such as King of the World, Elder King, and Master of the Fates of Arda (when speaking to Húrin). Sador called him "Black King", and Amlach "Master of Lies". Before his defeat in the Battle of the Powers, fearful Elves of Cuiviénen called Melkor the Dark Hunter. After his defeat in the War of Wrath, his servant Sauron called him "Lord of All and Giver of Freedom" and "Lord of the Dark" when trying to align the corrupted Númenóreans with him.

• Bauglir, (S. "the Constrainer") given after his return to Angband at the beginning of the First Age. It was often combined with the name Morgoth to become the full title Morgoth Bauglir.
• Belegûr (S. "he who arises in might") or Belegurth ("Great Death")
• Black Hand, called thus by Beleg
• Black King
• Dark King, given by Edain
• Dark Lord
• Dark Power of the North
• Elder King, title of Manwë, claimed by Morgoth when speaking to Húrin
• Great Enemy, used once by Aragorn
• King of the World, given by himself after his return to Middle-earth
• Lord of All and Giver of Freedom, used by Sauron when he encouraged Ar-Pharazôn to worship Melkor
• Lord of the Dark, given by Edain
• Lord of the Darkness, used by Sauron when he encouraged Ar-Pharazôn to worship Melkor
• Master of Lies, given by Amlach
• Master of the fates of Arda, used by him when speaking to Húrin.
• Melko, Belcha, Melegor, Melekō, earlier forms of his Elvish names.

In earlier stages

As shown in The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien had named him Melko (most often), Belcha (from the Quenya velka meaning 'flame'), Ulban(d) ("monster"), Melegor, and Meleko, from the Primitive Quendian term melek, "great, mighty, powerful".

Material in The Lost Road and Other Writings refers to Melkor as Melko, Alkar, and Mardello.

His Old English name is once given, Manfréa Bolgen, from Old English words man ("evil, wickedness"), fréa ("lord"), and bolgen ("wrathful").

Powers & abilities

Morgoth obtaining the Silmarils after destroying Formenos - by Justin Gerard

Melkor was initially the strongest being of Arda, second only to Eru Ilúvatar. In his prime, he spilled oceans and destroyed mountain ranges. While Eru had blessed the other Valar with a portion of his thoughts and insights, making each absolute in their respective specialties, Melkor was blessed with greater power and a wider breadth of knowledge. However, he did not know all and never realized that Airefëa was a power to create that belonged solely to Eru.

Though tremendously powerful, able to alter or transform the world in many ways, Melkor could only twist or corrupt what already existed, not create anything new. In his desire to take control of all Arda, he dispersed his essence and power throughout the world to the point that Arda as a whole was corrupted, and even after his banishment, his evil would continue to plague the world by corrupting men and making the gift of immortality unbearable for the Elves. The more he dispersed his power throughout Arda, the more control he had over it.

Even while greatly weakened, Melkor could create massive firestorms, huge craters, and curse his foes to sorrow and death (e.g. the family of Húrin), though, the diminishing of his power was to his disadvantage in times such as his struggle with the empowered Ungoliant.

Character

Depiction of Melkor unmasked

Of all of the Valar, none were so unique as Melkor and it was this uniqueness that ultimately played a part in his descent into rebellion against Eru and evil over all of Arda. All of the Valar were created from the largest portions of Eru's knowledge and awareness making them highest among the Ainur. They were powerful entities born from the concepts and ideas within Eru's mind. The concepts they were created from heavily influenced their personalities. Tulkas created from the concept war and combat making him courageous and hot tempered while Mandos born from the concept of death and inevitability was grim and stoic. However, Melkor was created from the largest portion of knowledge Eru manifested and was imbued with the knowledge of many concepts. He alone was the closest to Eru in power and shared in all of the knowledge the other Valar possessed. Eru had made Melkor to be the most independent of the Valar with the most personal agency. This had the result of isolating Melkor from his brothers and sisters as he had no peers and could see and understand more than any of the other Valar individually. This led to Melkor spending large periods of time alone in the void with his thoughts. The defining trait of Melkor was to be the ultimate outsider and always apart from others.

In terms of his personality, perhaps his most defining attribute was his overweening pride. As Eru gifted Melkor with the largest portion of knowledge and to share in all the gifts afforded to the other Valar, Melkor was very aware of his personal superiority as compared to the other Ainuar. From nearly the beginning of his existence, Melkor wished to have the power of creation, a power that only Eru Ilúvatar possessed. Yet he searched in vain not realizing that the Flame Imperishable was not some external force or object but the power of Eru himself to create. When the music Eru used to create the universe of Arda commenced, Melkor reasoning that if he couldn't make the universe he could at least shape it to his will, created discordant music in opposition to Eru as a bid to wrest control of Arda from Eru. This would foreshadow the other great aspect of Melkor's character. Whatever Melkor wanted, he would do everything in his power to try and make it his. To own it or dominate it.

When Melkor discovered that he would never be able to possess Arda, Eru admonished him by telling him that all that he could accomplish had its utmost source in Ilúvatar himself as Melkor could only shape or twist what Eru had already created and even Melkor's existence was by Eru's design. This shamed and humiliated Melkor and he began to descend into anger and bitterness. When Arda came into being, he desired lordship of it for the sake of his own self-aggrandizement rather than for the sake of ordering it according to the will of Ilúvatar. It wasn't enough to simply rule Arda, Melkor wanted absolute control to the point were anything he didn't build or craft he destroyed simply because it wasn't his. This meant that anything the Valar tried to do when shaping middle-earth, he destroyed. This led to another defining trait. He would do anything to take what he desired and when he was denied it, he began to squander his gifts in wasteful and wanton destructiveness, using his vast power to ruin the works of the other Valar. He also envied anyone who possessed anything in greater quantity than himself, and that which he could not control, he grew eventually to hate.

He began with a desire for light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he turned instead to darkness. His power and knowledge, both of which were greater than all the other Valar, he perverted to manipulation and deception, and he became an absolute and consummate liar. Ever denied the lordship and worship he so coveted, he squandered his power in fashioning evil servants who would give him these things, dispersing himself, his power, and his malice into the very fabric of Arda.

Initially, Melkor could take on any form he chose. The Ainur took on forms reflective of their moods and might. Melkor, in his arrogance, malice and power, took on a form recorded as:

...a mountain that wades in the sea, and has its head above the clouds, and is clad with ice and crowned with smoke and fire, and the light of the eyes of Melkor was like a flame that withers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold.
—The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë

It is said that out of all the Valar, Melkor was most like Aulë for his craftsmanship. Originally the brightest, most beautiful, most powerful Ainu, he fell through jealousy, pride and hatred of others, into Darkness with ever after a desire to conquer and to rule. When he built Utumno he took on a form shaped roughly manlike but great in size, "a Dark Lord, tall and terrible." This form was chained by the Valar. When he walked in Valinor he wore a much fairer form, so noble and lofty and benevolent not even the Elves (save only Fëanor and Galadriel) are recorded as seeing through it to the malice underneath. This he cast off to escape unclad from the hunt of the Valar, and when he faced Ungoliant he put back on the form of the tyrant of Utumno. In that form he remained ever after. As he spent his might and poured out his power into the very fabric of matter, as well as into all his creations, he grew more stooped and less majestic, and his hands were burned black from the touch of the Silmarils. His eyes shone with a daunting light.

There is some dispute over Morgoth's size. The Silmarillion states:

He stood over the king as a tower...and...cast a shadow over him like a storm cloud.
—Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"

As Elves typically reached about six feet tall, or close to seven feet for the Ñoldor, Morgoth must have stood at least twice this length, and with the shadow he robed himself in he may well have seemed taller. In most artistic renderings Morgoth is depicted as towering over other beings, most notably Elves (Fingolfin in particular) of the FA.

Morgoth set his foot upon his neck, and the weight of it was like a fallen hill.
—Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"

Initially, Melkor's power was so great that he could contend with all the other Valar and Maiar of Arda and beat them (ere Tulkas came). Over time, however, his power was dispersed into the fabric of Arda and into his servants, lessening his might. At the time of his visit to Fëanor at Formenos, Melkor was still referred to as "the greatest being in Eä", though this was before his capture and final defeat by the Valar. It is unknown how much of his power he put into his various slaves after returning to Angband.

Despite his overwhelming might, he was also known to be remarkably cowardly, reluctant to personally engage in battle even when victory was completely assured. Part of this was because, alone of the Valar, he eventually became bound to a physical form which could be destroyed. He possessed virtually peerless cunning, most notably as he deceived and manipulated most of the other Valar except for Tulkas and Ulmo, both of whom were slow to forgive his past transgressions. Many of his most terrible deeds in Arda were achieved through treachery, manipulation, misdirection, and lies, and he seduced many Maiar to his service with false promises. However, as an utterly pitiless and merciless being, acts of compassion, mercy, or pity were entirely beyond his comprehension, and he seemed to have a serial tendency to underestimate the valor and capabilities of his foes.

Minions & allies

• Sauron
• Gothmog - Lord of Balrogs and High-Captain of Angband; slain by Ecthelion
• Durin's Bane - One of the Balrogs; usurped Moria and was later vanquished by Gandalf
• Ungoliant - Former servant, spirit of darkness and shadow in the shape of a giant spider devourer of the sapped Two Trees
• Glaurung – Father of Dragons; slain by Túrin
• Ancalagon – Greatest of the winged dragons; slain by Eärendil
• Draugluin - First of the Werewolves of Angband; slain by Huan
• Carcharoth - Greatest of the Werewolves of Angband; slain by Huan and Beren
• Thuringwethil - Vampire Herald of Sauron; presumably slain by Huan
• Ulfang - Chieftain of Easterlings
  • Uldor - Son of Ulfang, secretly in league with Morgoth; slain by Maglor
  • Ulwarth and Ulfast - Sons of Ulfang, secretly in league with Morgoth; slain by the sons of Bór
• Lorgan - Lord of the Easterlings in Hithlum
  • Brodda - Easterling chief in Hithlum; slain by Túrin
• Maeglin - Coerced turncoat, revealed the location of Gondolin in exchange for Idril; slain by Tuor

Characters from older concepts

• Langon - Messenger, sent to negotiate with the Valar when they besieged Utumno
• Fankil - Lieutenant, escaped from Utumno after its fall, leader of dark armies in the East (Palisor)
• Tevildo - Cat possessed by an evil spirit, companion
  • Oikeroi - Tevildo's guard; slain by Huan
  • Miaulë - Cook of Tevildo
  • Umuiyan - Tevildo's Doorkeeper
• Lungorthin - Balrog-lord
• Boldog - Orc-chieftain sent to attack Doriath; slain by Thingol
• Othrod – Orc-lord during the Fall of Gondolin; slain by Tuor
• Balcmeg - Orc-general during the Fall of Gondolin; slain by Tuor
• Lug - Orc-warrior during the Fall of Gondolin; slain by Tuor
• Orcobal - Orc champion during the Fall of Gondolin; slain by Ecthelion
• Gorgol - Orc of renown; slain by Beren

In other versions

In J.R.R. Tolkien's early concept of the Children of the Ainur, Melkor had a son Kosomot (later Gothmog) with an ogress, Ulbandi.

Nienna, the Vala of Mourning, was Manwë and Melkor's sister until Tolkien made her the sister of Námo and Irmo instead.

In other writings, it was said that Melkor wanted to claim the Maia Arien as his wife and ravished her, to "destroy and disdain her, not to beget any fiery offspring".

In some versions, Melkor will be defeated by Eönwë during the Dagor Dagorath, driven by his love for Arien, instead of by Túrin Turambar.

In adaptations

In The Hobbit film trilogy

In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, during the Attack on Dol Guldur, after Elrond and Saruman defeated the Nazgul, Sauron appears, reviving his servants, and predicted the fall of the West and the rise of Angmar, declaring the Elves' time is up and the Orcs' time has come. With his appearance, Galadriel arises in her spectral form with her phial, dueling Sauron in a battle of wills. One of the titles she taunted him with was "Servant of Morgoth", mocking him as bearing no name or face or form before casting him out, forcing him to retreat to Mordor.

In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, when the Fellowship encounters goblins and Orcs in Moria after entering Balin's tomb, they eventually fight their adversaries for a long period of time, until a deep roar scatters them away, accompanied by a sprouting of fiery columns, as the Orcs and goblins flee. Eventually, as it comes nearer, Gandalf recognizes the creature as a Balrog of Morgoth from the Elder Days, a demon of the ancient world. Gandalf is immediately alarmed and tells his companions to frantically run, as this enemy's power was beyond their capacity to overcome. Legolas also describes it as such to Galadriel when speaking of the Wizard's demise.

Although not Morgoth himself, the design for Sauron (in particular, his armor) seen during flashbacks to the War of the Last Alliance was taken in part from the narrative description of Morgoth.

In The Rings of Power series

Morgoth's shadow extinguishing the lights of the Two Trees of Valinor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

In the first episode of the The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Morgoth's shadow is briefly glimpsed in a flashback causing the death of the Two Trees, thus resulting in the Darkening of Valinor.

Gallery

Morgoth about to fight Fingolfin

Morgoth displaying his power

Morgoth fighting Fingolfin

Morgoth and Fingolfin

Lúthien in Morgoth's court

Depiction by Jenny Dolfen

Morgoth in a community-made expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

Depiction by Thomas Rouillard

Morgoth with the Silmarils on his helmet by Spenta Mainyu

Appearances

• The Silmarillion
• Unfinished Tales
• The Children of Húrin
• Beren and Lúthien
• The Fall of Gondolin
• The History of Middle-earth

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	መልኮር
Arabic	ملكور (Melkor) مورجوث (Morgoth)
Armenian	Մելկոր (Melkor) Մարգոտն (Morgoth)
Belarusian Cyrillic	Мелькор (Melkor) Моргот (Morgoth)
Bengali	মেলকোর (Melkor) মোরগত (Morgoth)
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Мелкор (Melkor) Моргот (Morgoth)
Catalan	Mélkor/Mórgoth
Chinese (Hong Kong)	米爾寇 (Melkor) 魔苟斯 (Morgoth)
Georgian	მელკორი (Melkor) მორგოთი (Morgoth)
Greek	Μέλκορ (Melkor) Μόργκοθ (Morgoth)
Gujarati	મેલ્કોર (Melkor) મોર્ગોથ (Morgoth)
Hebrew	מלקור (Melkor) 'מורגות (Morgoth)
Hindi	मेल्कोर (Melkor) मोर्गोथ (Morgoth)
Japanese	メルコール (Melkor) モルゴス (Morgoth)
Kannada	ಮೇಲ್ಕೋರ್ (Melkor) ಮೊರ್ಗೊತ್ (Morgoth)
Kazakh Cyrillic	Мелкор
Korean	멜코르 (Melkor) 모르고스 (Morgoth)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Мэлкор
Lithuanian	Melkoras
Macedonian Cyrillic	Мелкор (Melkor) Моргот (Morgoth)
Marathi	मेल्कोर (Melkor) मॉर्गथ (Morgoth)
Mongolian Cyrillic	Мэлкор (Melkor) Моргот (Morgoth)
Nepalese	मेल्कोर (Melkor) मोर्गोथ (Morgoth)
Pashto	مېلکور
Persian	ملکور (Melkor) مورگوت (Morgoth)
Punjabi	ਮੇਲ੍ਕੋਰ (Melkor) ਮੋਰੋਗਥ (Morgoth)
Russian	Ме́лькор (Melkor) Мо́ргот (Morgoth)
Sanskrit	मेल्कोर् (Melkor) मोर्गोथ् (Morgoth)
Serbian	Мелкор (Cyrillic) Melkor (Latin) Моргот (Cyrillic) Morgot (Latin)
Sinhalese	මෙල්කොර් (Melkor) මෝගෝට් (Morgoth)
Tajik Cyrillic	Мелкор (Melkor) Моргот (Morgoth)
Tamil	மேல்கோர் (Melkor) மோர்கோத்தால் (Morgoth)
Telugu	మేల్కొర్ (Melkor) మొర్గొథ (Morgoth)
Thai	เมลคอร์ (Melkor) มอร์กอธ (Morgoth)
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Ме́лькор (Melkor) Морґотом (Morgoth)
Urdu	میلکاور (Melkor) مورگوت (Morgoth)
Uzbek	Мелкор (Cyrillic) Melkor (Latin)
Yiddish	מעלקאָר (Melkor) מאָרגאָטה (Morgoth)