Ungoliant

From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.

Ungoliant was a giant spider and an ally of Morgoth in Middle-Earth.

[edit] Life

She was possibly either a creature from the Void, or a fallen Ainu, created by the discords of Melkor in the Music of the Ainur. After she helped him suck the life out of the Two Trees she escaped with Morgoth into Middle-Earth where she attempted to strangle him. The immediate arrival of Sauron, Gothmog, and a small army of Balrogs freed Morgoth from the evil spider's webs during Ungoliant's betrayal. Later Ungoliant fled to Ered Gorgoroth, only to find the entire nest, and nearly all of the other spiders who had inhabited it, destroyed completely. The creatures that later infested the area were her surviving offspring and descendants, as was her daughter, Shelob who dwelt on the borders of Mordor. Later it is said when Ungoliant had no one else to turn on, she traveled far into the South, when in her uttermost hunger she devoured herself at last.

[edit] Alternate Death

According to the History of Middle Earth, when Eärendil traveled to the Southern Wastes in Vingilot he met, fought and slaughtered Ungoliant, although this later appears to have been dropped.