 | |
| Island | |
| Isle of Balar | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Location | South-west of the Bay of Balar, on the edge of Belegaer |
| Type | Island |
| Description | Large islands, eastern tip of what was Tol Eressëa |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Eldar, Edain |
The Isle of Balar was a refugee camp for the Eldar and Edain of Beleriand.
The Isle of Balar was located in the great Bay of Balar to the south of Beleriand.[1] According to legend, it was the eastern tip of Tol Eressëa, which had broken off when Ulmo ferried the Eldar to Aman.[2] Great numbers of pearls could be found in the shallow waters about the island.[3]
Before the Dagor Bragollach, Elves of Nargothrond, with ships built by the Falathrim, explored the Isle of Balar, looking to it as a potential safe haven in time of need.[4] Some companies of the Gondolindrim had also been sent there by Turgon to build ships and send messengers to Aman, but none of those ships ever arrived there and few of them returned.[5]
During the Fall of the Falas, some Falathrim survivors escaped the Havens on ships, with Círdan and Gil-galad; they reached Balar, where they established a safe refuge, keeping also a foothold of ships at the Mouths of Sirion. Hearing this, Turgon once more sent messengers there asking for Círdan's help. Círdan built seven ships to send to the West, but no news of their fate came to Balar; and only one Elf, Voronwë, survived and returned to Middle-earth.[6]
The two refugee camps remained in close contact, and Círdan assisted Eärendil of Arvernien in building the ship Vingilot (Vingilótë), with which he sought for Valinor, to ask for the pardon of the Valar.[7]
Many of the Elves dwelling in the Isle of Balar went to Lindon until the Elves were summoned to Valinor. It is unknown whether or not the Isle of Balar survived beyond the First Age.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Sindar"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beleriand and its Realms"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
| Isle of Balar | ||
|---|---|---|
| Belegaer | Cape Balar, Falas Arvernien | Mouths of Sirion, Nimbrethil |
| Belegaer |  | Bay of Balar |
| Belegaer | Belegaer | Bay of Balar |