The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Destroyed in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age
Location
A subcontinent in the northwest of Middle-earth, westward of the Blue Mountains
Races
Primarily populated by Elves, but Men and Dwarves also later crossed the Blue Mountains into this land
Divisions
The Elves of this region were originally Sindar, later joined by Noldor returning from Aman
Settlements
Thingol's kingdom of Doriath was ruled from Menegroth; when the Noldor came to Beleriand they made many new cities and strongholds, of which the most important were Gondolin and Nargothrond
Other names
Effectively equivalent to Beleriand; this land was an important part of Elfinesse
Note
The details given here treat the 'Land of the Elves' as equivalent to Beleriand, as intended in its specific recorded use; throughout history there were many other lands of the Elves across Middle-earth and Aman

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About this entry:

  • Updated 9 September 2025
  • Updates planned: 1

Land of the Elves

The land west of the Blue Mountains

A name that might in principle apply to any of numerous realms of the Elves throughout history, but in practice is used to describe Beleriand and its surrounding regions. This was a wide western land beyond the Blue Mountains in the northwest of Middle-earth, filled with realms and cities ruled by the Elves. Some of these realms, most importantly the forest kingdom of Doriath, were the domain of the Sindar who had settled there at the end of the Great Journey. When the Noldor returned to Middle-earth, they too established homes for themselves, notably in the northern land of Hithlum that was the seat of their High King.

The Land of the Elves was confronted to the North by Morgoth's land of Dor Daedeloth, and in the last centuries of the First Age the Dark Lord's armies pushed southwards against the Elves and their allies the Edain. The Elf-realms were consumed one by one, until the wide Land of the Elves was reduced to a few pockets of survivors. In the War of Wrath that followed, the Valar sent their forces against Morgoth, and that cataclysmic war saw Beleriand sunk beneath the waves of the Sea. In later Ages, then, only a fringe of land survived beyond the Blue Mountains. Nonetheless this small shoreland realm, Lindon, would remain a Land of the Elves until at least the end of the Third Age.


Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 9 September 2025
  • Updates planned: 1

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