The approximate location of Formenos within Valinor (highly conjectural)1
The approximate location of Formenos within Valinor (highly conjectural)1
After Melkor was released from his three ages of captivity, he feigned contrition, while secretly working to sow dissension among the Eldar in Valinor. In this he succeeded, persuading the headstrong and proud Fëanor that his half-brothers were working to undermine his standing as the eldest son of Finwë. Fëanor became so convinced of this that he went so far as to draw his sword against his brother Fingolfin. The plot was uncovered by the Valar, and for his actions Fëanor was banished from Tirion for twelve years.
Fëanor went into exile in the north of Valinor, near to the Halls of Mandos, and with him went his father Finwë and his seven sons.2 There he built a fortress, to act as a stronghold and a treasury for his many weapons and gemstones. He named this fortress Formenos, and deep within it, secured in an iron chamber, he placed the Silmarils. Meanwhile, with the ruling line of the Noldor now all in exile, those who remained in Tirion took Fëanor's half-brother Fingolfin as their leader (and so the very thing that Fëanor had falsely feared did indeed come to pass).
While these events were unfolding, Melkor - the cause of Fëanor's strife - had hidden himself in the far south of Aman. Now he travelled to Formenos, planning to turn Fëanor fully against the Valar. Melkor came close to succeeding in his plans, but ultimately the Elf saw through his deceits, and shut the gates of Formenos in the tempter's face.
Manwë the Elder King decreed a festival of reconciliation, and called on the Eldar to come to his halls on the mountain of Taniquetil. By Manwë's command, Fëanor attended, though reluctantly, and his father and brothers chose to remain in Formenos. As the Valar and Eldar feasted on the mountaintop, a sudden darkness fell across the land: Melkor had returned, and with his ally Ungoliant he had slain the Two Trees that had shed their Light on Valinor. Then Melkor and Ungoliant travelled on to Formenos, hidden within a cloud of darkness, and there they slew King Finwë at the gates of the stronghold. Melkor took the Silmarils from their iron chamber, and with his monstrous companion he escaped from Aman into Middle-earth.
Those watching from Taniquetil at first saw only that the Trees had darkened, without understanding the cause. The Light of the Trees still lived within the Silmarils, and - not yet knowing that they had been taken by Morgoth - Yavanna asked Fëanor to break those Jewels and so rekindle the Light of the Trees. Fëanor refused, and soon learned of his father's death and the loss of the Silmarils. In rage he departed to Tirion, swearing an Oath to recover the Jewels, and setting out to follow Morgoth to Middle-earth. His sons,3 and the greater part of the Noldor, set out with him on the long journey, never to return to Valinor. Thus neither Fëanor nor any of his kin returned to their abandoned northern stronghold of Formenos.
Notes
1 |
Our resources for understanding the geography of Aman are meagre, and that is doubly true when it comes to the location of Formenos. It is stated to have been northward within Valinor (a fact confirmed by its name, which means 'northern fortress'), but we have little beyond that, other than a selection of references that place it near to the Halls of Mandos.
Tolkien's later work on the Silmarillion texts gives a little more geographical detail, stating that Formenos but was built 'in the hills near to the Halls of Mandos', and that another range of hills, named as the Green Hills, rose farther northward still. These comments - which are to be found in The Later Silmarillion in volume X of The History of Middle-earth - seem to imply that Fëanor's stronghold was somewhat inland from the Halls of Mandos, which stood on the shores of the Outer Sea.
Taken together, these comments suggest a location for Formenos that was at least relatively close to that shown on the map here, but its precise position is a matter of unavoidable conjecture.
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2 |
But not his wife. According to The Later Quenta Silmarillion in volume X of The History of Middle-earth, Fëanor's wife Nerdanel chose not to accompany her family into exile, and instead remained behind with Indis, the second wife of Finwë.
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3 |
The published Silmarillion does not offer an explanation of how Fëanor's sons, who had been at Formenos when Morgoth descended upon it, later appeared in Tirion to swear the Oath of Fëanor. A more extensive account in volume X of The History of Middle-earth explains that they were away from the fortress, riding in the hills, when the darkness came down. Fear of that darkness caused their horses to throw them, and so they could do nothing to intervene as Morgoth escaped with the Silmarils. They then evidently made the journey southward to reach Tirion and meet their father there.
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See also...
Black Foe of the World, Darkening of Valinor, Exiles from Valinor, Fëanor, Finwë, High King of the Noldor, Jewels of Fëanor, Oath of Fëanor, Silmarils, Three Jewels, Unrest of the Noldor, War of the Great Jewels
Indexes:
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- Updated 19 May 2026
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