GLOSS —
Words and Proper Names Explained
ber: primitive Elvish root word meaning "valiant"

Edain: Elf-friends, the three mortal Houses who joined the Elves in the battle against Morgoth

Esgalduin: the river that flows through Doriath

fëa: spirit, soul, considered separately from the whole person as a natural unity of mind and body. Plural fëar.

Firstborn, Eldar: Elven words for themselves

hröa: the body, considered apart from the whole person, composed of the elements of the earth. Plural hröar.

the Ice,  the Helcaraxë: the frozen straights crossed by the Noldor host to reach Middle-earth after their abandonment by Fëanor in the stolen Ships.

Lord of Caves: literal translation of Finrod's title "Felagund," derived from the Dwarvish for the same.

Lord of Fetters: title of the Fallen Vala Morgoth ("Bauglir")

Mandos: title of Namo, Valar of Death and Justice.

Master of Wolves, the Necromancer: titles of the Fallen Maia Sauron, Morgoth's chief commander, who both employed werewolves and could transform into one at will.

Minas Tirith: "Tower of Guard," another name for Tol Sirion, the river-fort built by Finrod Felagund that guarded the access through the mountains between the plains of Ard-galen and Southern Beleriand; renamed Tol-in-Gaurhoth, Isle of Werewolves, after its capture by Sauron.

Nargothrond: hidden cave-city-fortress, capital of the largest Elven kingdom in Beleriand, founded by Finrod.

Neldoreth: a northern region of the kingdom of Doriath, where Beren and Lúthien met.

Noldor: the second host of the Eldar to travel to Aman, masters of scientific and artistic knowledge, and the first to become warriors.

Quenya: the language of the Elves spoken in Aman, an older form than that spoken by those who remained in Beleriand, Sindarin. It would have been used by the Host crossing the Ice, but was no longer generally in use by this time, when Sindarin had become the common tongue of Elves and Men.

Secondborn, Atani, the Sickly Ones: Elven words for mortal Men

thangail: "spear-hedge", Sindarin name for the defensive shield-wall formation also called sandastan in Quenya..


AFTERWORD