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A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 3 - Page 6

© Michael Martinez

Ibid, p. 294. Claiming that this king was actually named Durin may be erroneous. The passage says only: "Of the Dwarves few fought upon either side; but the kindred of Durin of Moria fought against Sauron." If he was named Durin, then he could not have been Durin III, because that was the Durin who opposed Sauron in the War of the Elves and Sauron (Unfinished Tales, p. 238). So, he was either Durin IV or Durin V. I have elected to call him Durin IV for lack of any information concerning either. It is also strange that Tolkien says "...the kindred of Durin..." in referring to these Dwarves. Elsewhere he writes that most of the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost migrated to Khazad-dum early in the Second Age. They seem to have retained their distinctive lineages until the end of the Third Age as the Appendix to The Return Of The King says "Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were descended from Dwarves of Moria but were not of Durin's line" (p. 361).

The Silmarillion, p. 293. Also, The Return Of The King, p. 365.

The Silmarillion, p. 293. Cf. note 30 above.

The Return Of The King, p. 55. "'...For at Erech there stands yet a black stone...and it was set upon a hill, and upon it the King of the Mountains swore allegiance to [Isildur] in the beginning of the realm of Gondor. But when Sauron returned and grew in might again, Isildur summoned the Men of the Mountains to fulfil their oath, and they would not: for they had worshiped Sauron in the Dark Years.'"

The Treason Of Isengard, p. 310. This pass was the source of the river Harnen in the southern mountains of Mordor.

The Silmarillion, p. 293. The existence of such a council is speculative. The passage says only "now Elendil and Gil-galad took counsel together...." However, it's unlikely so grave a decision would have been made by these two alone.

I have inferred that Gildor and Glorfindel may have been involved in the Last Alliance. Gildor's history is attested only from the Third Age year 3001, when Bilbo said farewell to Gildor's folk in the Shire (The Fellowship Of The Ring, p. 92). However, he was the lord of a company of Noldor and his surname, Inglorion, means "scion of Inglor". Inglor was the original name of Finrod Felagund. Gildor also said he was "of the House of Finrod", and Finrod was the original name of Finarfin. It seems Tolkien originally intended a connection between Gildor and Galadriel's family, but this connection was not maintained when revisions were made to The Lord Of The Rings. So Gildor is enigmatic, but given that he is weary of the mortal lands by the end of the story, I have concluded he must have been quite ancient at the end of the Third Age.

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