"...and they came to the
Enchanted Isles and escaped their enchantment; and they came into the
Shadowy Seas and passed their shadows..."
Quenta Silmarillion 24
Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath
The Shadowy Seas formed the western part of the Great Sea between Aman and Middle-earth. They took their name from the treacherous fogs and mists that swirled across their surface: the so-called Shadows of the Shadowy Seas. Though it isn't certain whether the Shadows were created by the Valar, they played their part in protecting the shores of Aman from vessels out of the east.
The term 'Shadows' is also sometimes used more broadly for the apparently magical darkness found far beyond the Shadowy Seas. Significantly, Sauron's domain of Mordor was also known as the 'Land of Shadow', and there are several references to the mysterious Shadow in that region. In cases like these, the singular form 'Shadow' is almost always used, but there is a notable exception: the rhyme of the One Ring makes reference to the 'Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie' (for example, in The Fellowship of the Ring I 2, appropriately titled The Shadow of the Past).
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- Updated 13 November 2008
- Updates planned: 2
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