The Complete Tolkien Companion (39 page)

First Battle (of Beleriand)
–
See
BATTLES OF BELERIAND
.

Firstborn
– The Elves.

First House (of the Edain)
– The House of Bëor (
see
LINES OF DESCENT
).

First Kindred (of the Eldar)
– The
VANYAR
.

First Line (of Rohan)
– All the Kings of the Mark in direct descent from Eorl the Young to Helm the Hammerhand.
See also
BARROWFIELD
and
SECOND LINE
(
OF ROHAN
).

Firth of Drengist
– A narrow gap in the Echoing Mountains, between Lammoth and Nevrast, through which a torrential river (
see
CIRITH NINNIACH
) flowed to the Sea. On the west of the mountains lay a long firth, or deep-water estuary. At the mouth of this Firth, a place called Losgar, Fëanor landed with his fleet, after his flight from Eldamar. Here also he burned those same ships.

Fladrif
– One of the three elder Ents of Fangorn Forest. His name was translated by Treebeard as ‘Skinbark', and he was said to be much attached to birch-trees. Many of his folk were destroyed by Orcs of Saruman in the late Third Age, and Fladrif then retreated into the high places of the mountains, where he remained ever after.

Flame Imperishable, Flame of Anor
– The
SECRET FIRE
.

Flame of Udûn
– The Balrog, as addressed by Gandalf during their epic confrontation on the Bridge of Khazâd-dûm.
8
The Sindarin word
UDÛN
is translated ‘Hell' or ‘the Underworld', so this epithet means, literally, ‘Hell-fire' – the dark, unclean flame which constituted both the intrinsic nature and the chief weapon of the demonic Balrog.

Flammifer of Westernesse
– The Star of Eärendil; it was so called by the Edain because it shone like a beacon and guided them across the Western Seas to Númenor.

Flet
‘Floor' – A tree-platform, much used by the
Galadhrim
or ‘Tree-people' of Lothlórien, who called them
telain
(sing.
talan
).

The Floating Log
– A tavern of the Shire; the chief inn of Frogmorton and district.

Flói
– A Dwarf-warrior of Erebor and one of the companions of Balin son of Fundin in the ill-fated attempt to establish a colony in Moria. One of the first casualties of that expedition, Flói was killed by an orc-arrow in 2989 Third Age, during the clearing of the first halls. He was buried ‘under grass' near Lake Kheled-zâram (the Mirrormere), as the Dwarves had not yet regained access to the main halls and therefore could not follow the custom of laying their dead in tombs of stone.

Flower of Silver
–
ISIL
(the Moon).

Foamriders
– The Teleri of Aman, as they are called in the
Lay of Leithian.
It is an approximate translation of
Falmari
(Q.).

Folca
– From 2851–64 Third Age, the thirteenth King of Rohan.
See also
BOAR OF EVERHOLT
.

Folcred
–
See
FASTRED AND FOLCRED
.

Folcwine
– From 2864–2903 Third Age, the fourteenth King of Rohan, and the strongest leader to arise since the evil days of the Long Winter. His first act was the re-conquering of the Dunlending-occupied lands of the Westmarch, between the rivers Isen and Adorn. Later, to honour the Oath of Eorl, Folcwine sent a force of cavalry to the aid of Steward Túrin II of Gondor. This force was captained by his twin sons Fastred and Folcred, who fell in battle at the Crossings of Poros (2885).

Followers
– A translation of the Quenya word
Hildor;
the race of Men.

Folde
– The northern part of Rohan's Eastfold. The home of Éomer third Marshal of the Mark, before the War of the Ring.

Ford of Brithiach
– The only crossing-place of the upper Sirion between Tol Sirion and the Andram; it lay downstream from the former confluence with the Dry River, and somewhat to the north of the northern eaves of Brethil.

Ford of Bruinen
– The Ford of Rivendell, where the Great East Road crossed the river Loudwater (Bruinen). It was protected by a high bank on the further (eastern) side. Like the enchanted stream of Mirkwood, the Bruinen was under the power of an Elven-lord and, upon his command, would rise to bar the Ford.

Ford of Carrock
– A fording-place across the upper Anduin in northern Wilderland; it was marked by the great rock of Carrock. The crossing was kept open by the Beornings who charged a (reportedly high) toll for this service. Further south, the Old Ford provided the only other crossing-point for many hundreds of miles in either direction.

Ford of Stones
– A translation of the Sindarin name
Sarn Athrad;
the ford across the Gelion where the Dwarf-road from the Blue Mountains crossed from Thargelion into East Beleriand.

Fords of Aros
– The Arossiach.
See
AROS
.

Fords of Isen
– A translation of
Ethrain Engrin.
The chief crossingpoint of the river Isen between its source in the Wizard's Vale and its confluence with the Adorn. The Fords (which lay some ten leagues south of Isengard) were a strategic keypoint in many a war, and a matter of conflict between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings from the early days of the Mark.

Forelithe
– The sixth month of the Shire Reckoning, coming immediately before the Lithedays, the three-day Mid-year period. In Bree this month was itself termed
Lithe.

Forest-between-the-rivers
– A translation of
TAUR-IM-DUINATH
.

Forest of Brethil
– The largest wood in West Beleriand. Properly speaking, it was but the western outlier of the far greater forests of Doriath (Neldoreth and Region), but the river Sirion flowed between, and although in early times Thingol had accounted Brethil as part of his realm, he was later persuaded to grant this land to Mannish people: the Haladin, newly come to Beleriand and already in grievous need of a permanent refuge from the evils of the time. Thingol, therefore, granted Brethil to the people of Haleth (the Haladin), on condition they guarded his western flank. The Haladin accepted these terms, and dwelt within the wood for the remainder of the First Age.

The adjacent Forests of Neldoreth and Region were composed largely of beech- and holly-trees; but Brethil was a birch forest, as indeed its name tells us. In shape, it was rather like the faraway forest of Lothlórien in the east of Middle-earth, for it lay between the converging arms of two rivers, the Sirion and the swift Teiglin. The forest measured perhaps twenty leagues across at its widest point, and narrowed like a spear-head the further one journeyed south-west. In the centre of the wood there rose a tall hill, Amon Obel, on which the Woodmen later built a stockaded hill-fort, Ephel Brandir. Fifteen leagues to the south of Amon Obel and five beyond the southern border of Brethil, stood the lonely height of Amon Rûdh.

Forest of Neldoreth
–
See
NELDORETH
.

Forest of Region
–
See
REGION
.

Forest River
– A river which rose in the Grey Mountains, flowed through northern Mirkwood and entered the Long Lake towards its southern end. It was the main highway of riverborne commerce between the Men of Lake-town and the Wood-elves of Thranduil's realm in Mirkwood.

Foreyule
– The last month of the Shire Reckoning (known as
Yulemath
in Bree and the Eastfarthing).

Forgoil
‘Straw-heads' – A Dunlendish word applied as an epithet by the (dark) Dunlendings to the (blond) Rohirrim. It is the only example of this ancient language recorded in the Red Book.

Forlindon
‘North-Lindon' – That part of Lindon which lay north of the Gulf of Lune. In the Second and Third Ages it was peopled mainly by Elves.

Forlond
– The ‘Northern-haven' of the Gulf of Lune.

Forlong the Old
– At the time of the War of the Ring, Forlong (then known, somewhat irreverently, as ‘Forlong the Fat') was Lord of Lossarnach in Gondor. To the Siege of Minas Tirith (March, 3019 Third Age), he led two hundreds of his own folk. Although Forlong fought valiantly, in the end he was surrounded and cut down by Easterlings on the Pelennor Fields.

Note:
the name
Forlong
is of pre-Númenorean origin, unlike most of the personal names used in Gondor, which were of Grey-elven (Sindarin) form.

Formen
– The Quenya word for ‘north'; also the title of Tengwa number 10, which represented the sound
f.
It was also used to indicate (directional) North – or even ‘right-hand region', since the Eldar numbered the cardinal points W,S,E,N, and orientated all maps with W at the top.

Formenos(t)
‘Northern-citadel' (Q.) – The name given by Fëanor to the city he built in the north of Eldamar during the twelve years of his exile from Tirion. There he kept the Silmarils – until they were stolen. It was abandoned when Fëanor and his sons went into exile in Middle-earth.

Forn
– The name by which Tom Bombadil was known to Dwarvish folk. The Eldar knew him as
Iarwain Ben-adar
(‘Old Fatherless').

Fornost Erain
‘Northern-fortress of the Kings' (Sind.) – The chief stronghold of Arnor and later the capital of
ARTHEDAIN
(from 861 Third Age). It was known as ‘Kings' Norbury' in the Common Speech.

With the rise of the Witch-king of Angmar, and the fall of Rhudaur and Cardolan, Fornost became the principal fortress of the remaining Dúnedain of the North. It survived until 1974, when Angmar defeated King Arvedui, and the Witch-king captured the great burg on the North Downs. Although the Witch-king was himself defeated the following year (
see
BATTLE OF FORNOST
), the North-kingdom never arose again and Fornost became desolate. Men of the westlands later feared to go near the ruin, and it became known as ‘Deadmen's Dike'.

Forochel
– In the Third Age all that remained of Angband, the once great realm of Morgoth the Enemy, was the icebound bay and cape of Forochel, then inhabited only by the
Lossoth
or Snowmen of that region.
See also
ICE BAY OF FOROCHEL
.

Forodwaith
‘Northern-folk' – The lands of the far North, named after the Men who dwelt there during the First Age. Their Third Age descendants were the
Lossoth,
the ‘snow-people' of Forochel.

Forostar
‘Northlands' (Q.) – The northernmost province of
NÚMENOR
, a great north-pointing cape about 300 miles from base to tip, rising from infertile stony plains to chilly, windswept highlands and ultimately towering sea-cliffs.

Forsaken Elves
–
See
EGLATH
.

The Forsaken Inn
– The most easterly tavern on the Great East Road. It was one day's journey from Bree, on the edge of the Wild.

Forsaken People
– A translation of the Grey-elven word
EGLATH
.

Forthwini
– A prince of the early Éothéod; son of
MARHWINI
.

Forweg
– A leader of the outlaw-band joined by Túrin after his flight from Doriath; he was slain by Túrin.

Fourth Age
– Although the Third Age was generally held to have ended with the Downfall of the Lord of the Rings on March 25th, 3019, the Fourth Age proper did not begin until the Passing of the Three Rings, some two years later, on September 22nd, 3021. For purposes of record-keeping, however, the Fourth Age was officially begun (in the New Reckoning of the Reunited Kingdom) on the anniversary of Sauron's fall, being the equivalent of March 25th, 3021 in the older system.

It was the epoch in which Men came into their final inheritance, while all other ‘speaking peoples' – Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits – correspondingly declined.

Fourth Battle (of Beleriand)
– The
BATTLE OF SUDDEN FLAME
.

Fragrant Trees
– A translation of
Nisimaldar
(Q.), the name given by the Númenoreans to the region around the city of Eldalondë in the west of their realm where many species of sweet-smelling and beautiful trees, brought as gifts by the Eldar of Eressëa, throve and grew tall. These included
oiolairë, lairelossë, nessamelda, vardarianna, taniquelassë, yavannamirë
and
malinornë
(mallorn).