The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Returned to Middle-earth shortly1 before the first rising of the Moon and Sun; the last of the surviving Exiles returned into the West by the end of the Third Age
Location
Spread across Beleriand during the First Age; some remained in Lindon in later Ages, and some of these in turn founded the land of Eregion
Origins
Those of the Noldor who followed Fëanor back into Middle-earth from Aman
Race
Division
Family
The leaders of the Exiles were descendants of Finwë, variously members of the Houses of Fëanor, Fingolfin and Finarfin
Settlements
Numerous, but notably Barad Eithel, Gondolin, Himring and Nargothrond
Meaning
The name given to those Noldor who exiled themselves from the Blessed Realm
Other names
Exiles from Valinor

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About this entry:

  • Updated 29 July 2018
  • This entry is complete

Exiles

The followers of Fëanor

"...and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains."
From the Doom of Mandos
Quenta Silmarillion 9
Of the Flight of the Noldor

Those of the Noldor who chose to follow Fëanor in his pursuit of Melkor into Middle-earth. Against the will of the Valar, and doing terrible deeds of desperation along the way, Fëanor led his people out of Valinor and into the far north, seeking the narrow ways into the Great Lands.

Those that reached the far north were given a last warning in the Doom of Mandos. The Valar foretold the misery and suffering they would find in Middle-earth, and declared Fëanor and his followers exiled from Aman.

Not all of the Noldor became exiles. Some had rejected Fëanor's call to leave Valinor, and remained there when the main host set out. After the dreadful foretellings of Mandos, others also abandoned the pursuit, and followed Fëanor's half-brother Finarfin back to Valinor, where they were pardoned by the Valar.

For those that did pass across the Sea, the exile lasted for millennia, but was not permanent. For example, Galadriel was among the Noldor who followed Fëanor, and so fell under the ban, but she was ultimately forgiven by the Valar and allowed to return into the West.


Notes

1

The Annals of Aman (in volume X of The History of Middle-earth) provides more precise dating for the Exile of the Noldor. According to that account, the Noldor made their Return to Middle-earth in Valian Year 1497. Converting Valian to solar years, the Exiles therefore first set foot in Middle-earth at a point about twenty years before the Moon and the Sun first rose.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 29 July 2018
  • This entry is complete

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