Nan Dungortheb

Nan Dungortheb or the No Land was the name of the wilderness south of Ered Gorgoroth and Dorthonion, east of Dimbar and the river Mindeb, west of Dor Dínen and the Esgalduin, and north of Neldoreth and Doriath.

History

Before Ungoliant, Nan Dungortheb was probably just another peaceful land of Beleriand. The land's name was inspired by Ungoliant, who resided there after escaping the Balrogs of Morgoth in Lammoth. It was also named for its proximity to the Ered Gorgoroth, where Ungoliant's spider-like children, along with their many lesser fathers from the Mountains of Terror, haunted the deep vales of the mountains and its closeness to the shadowy webs of the Girdle of Melian.

The region was a perilous land of fear to travel through, as the waters were polluted by the darkness produced from the webs of Ungoliant's children, and because of the chaos caused by the conflicting powers of Ungoliant's demonic offspring, Sauron's malevolent sorcery, and the maze-like defenses of the Girdle of Melian. All who were foolish enough to drink from its waters were filled with madness and thoughts of despair.

No one would travel through there unless they had no choice or were lost and the Eldar, Edain, and even Morgoth's own armies largely bypassed this region as much as possible during the Elder Days.

When Aredhel sought the Sons of Fëanor, she and her party being turned away from Doriath, tried to pass through this land and were separated from her. She managed to escape to Himlad but her companions were driven out by the brood of Ungoliant and afterwards they believed her lost in its darkness. This was then reported to Turgon who despaired at the thought that she was lost.

As the forces of Morgoth sought to destroy Barahir and his XII Bëorings, Beren, the last surviving member was so hard-pressed and desperate to live that he was forced to enter this land, and barely survived. Afterwards, Beren would not speak of it for fear that the memory of such a horrible experience would return to his mind. Nan Dungortheb suffered the same fate as Beleriand and sank below the sea, but the spider creatures that bred there survived in Middle-earth in dark places during later ages.

Etymology

Nan Dungortheb was a Sindarin word that meant 'Valley of Dreadful Death'.

In other versions

In earlier versions of the legendarium, Nan Dungorthin was described as being a dark, unholy place where 'nameless gods have shrouded shrines' were worshiped; and the gods themselves were even older than Morgoth and the Valar. Túrin and Flinding (Gwindor) came to this land, which is described in The Lay of the Children of Húrin:

There the twain elfolded phantom twilight
and dim mazes dark, unholy,
in Nan Dungorthin where the nameless gods
have shrouded shrines in shadows secret
more old than Morgoth or the ancient lords
the golden Gods of the guarded West.
But the ghostly dwellers of that grey valley
hindered nor hurt them, and they held their course
with creeping flesh and quaking limb.
Yet laughter at whiles with lingering echo
as distant mockery of demon voices
there harsh and hollow in the hushed twilight
Flinding fancied, fell, unwholesome

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	ናን ዹንጎርትሀብ ?
Arabic	نان دونغوثوثب
Armenian	Նան Դւնգորտհեբ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Нан Дунгортhеб
Bengali	নান দুনগর্থেৱ
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Нан Дунгортеб
Georgian	ნან დუნგორთები
Greek	Ναν Δύνγορθεβ
Gujarati	નેન દુન્ગર્થાહેબ
Hebrew	נאן דונגורטב
Hindi	णन डुंगोर्टहेब
Japanese	ナン・ドゥンゴルセブ
Kannada	ನಾನ್ ದುಂಗೋರ್ಥೆಬ್
Kazakh	Нан Дұнгортһеб (Cyrillic) Nan Dungortheb (Latin)
Korean	난 던 고르 테브
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Нан Дунгортhэб
Macedonian Cyrillic	Нан Дунгортхеб
Marathi	नेन दुंगोर्हेब
Mongolian Cyrillic	Нан Дунгахэб
Nepalese	नान डुंगरीब्याब
Pashto	نان ضونګورتهېب ?
Persian	نان ضونگورتههب
Punjabi	ਨੇਨ ਦੁਗੋਰਥੈਬ
Russian	Нан-Дунгортеб
Serbian	Нан Дунгортхеб (Cyrillic) Nan Dungortheb (Latin)
Sinhalese	නන් ඩන්ගර්ටෙබ්
Tamil	நன் டுஙொர்த்ஹெப்
Telugu	నాన్ దుంగార్ట్హెబ్
Thai	นะนดุงโรตหเบ
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Нан Дунґортгеб
Urdu	نان ڈونگورٹیب
Yiddish	נאַן דונגאָרטהעב