# The flooding of Beleriand and The War of Wrath



## ssgrif (Jan 7, 2003)

Ok, I might be getting ahead of myself here as I've only reached up to the Ackallbeth in the Silmarillion, But I'm confused about the Flooding of Beleriand.

The Valar leave the Belssed Realm and come to Middle Earth, kick Morgoths butt, and save the day and at the end of it all the whole of the west of Middle Earth gets upheaved and flooded.

So does this mean that all living things in the West of ME drowned? Are we led to believe that the only survivors of the flood were those that were in the ships?

Any insight would be great 

Griff


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## Link (Jan 7, 2003)

That confuses me also. When Eonwe (herald of Manwe, commander of the forces of Aman) chains up Morgoth and regains the silmarils, he is still in Beleriand, and the war is over, but Beleriand was not sunken yet. When Maeglos and Maglor steal the silmarils from Eonwe's "base camp", they take them and run away. Then Maeglos jumps in a fiery chasm in the earth b/c the silmaril's burn drove him mad. Maglor cast his in the sea, b/c he cold no longer bear the burden. It says that he forever roamed the shore, and sings a lament, which is said to be the saddest of all songs. So Beleriand must not have been sunken immediately after or during the war, but perhaps when it people abandoned it to go back to either Aman or travel southeast to Middle-Earth.


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## ssgrif (Jan 7, 2003)

what bugs me is that if the land wasnt flooded at the end of the War of Wrath, then did any of the people of Beleriand get any forwarning of the flooding? If they did, then the bad guys, like the orcs and Sauron would have found out and fled. So what would have been the point?

If they didnt then innocents would have been caught up in the turmoil and drowned.

I hope that its explained somewhere, if its not in the bits of the Sil I've got left to read, then where?

I dont think anyone got any warning, Sauron escaped along with the good guys, like Galadriel and Elrond etc. Just luck I guess


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## gate7ole (Jan 7, 2003)

The breaking of Angband and the battle of Eonwe with Morgoth was not a quick event. It took 50 years. During this time, most of the non combatant population could have left Beleriand and marched east to avoid the war. The flooding of the lands was a slow procedure, caused by the terrible powers of the two sides. Beleriand didn't just disappear in a moment (like for example happened with Numenor, where Eru intervened). Even after the final overthrow, many islands existed where the elves and men of the good side could have rested. 
Just thoughts without proof.


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## ssgrif (Jan 8, 2003)

Is the flooding described in more detail in any other book from JRRT? as it doesnt really state clearly in the Silmarillion how long it took, or how some of the residents of Beleriand may have escaped the doom


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## Rúmil (Jan 8, 2003)

No, in the published material, that's all that is said. It's something he failed to entirely clarify (like how do you evacuate an entire continent?) I read it as a more mythical and distant part of the tale, not as solid as actual history — as is said in the foreword by Christopher.


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## ssgrif (Jan 9, 2003)

Thanks for your insight on the Flooding Rumil. Helps me to get it round my head a little better.


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