Utumno, also named Udûn, was the first fortress of Melkor in the far North of Middle-earth, before the First Age.
Description
Utumno was delved very deep into the flesh of the Earth. Melkor built and delved many subterranean halls and dungeons of obsidian, fire and ice beneath it .[1]
History
When the world was young and Arda was bathed in the light of the two lamps Illuin and Ormal, Melkor first dug the great Pits of Utumno deep beneath the mountains of the North. The fortress was constructed in the North in the Iron Mountains over one thousand miles from the later location of Angband, where the light of the lamps was almost nonexistent.[1]
Here were gathered all the evil powers of the World under the Lord of Darkness. Their numbers were vast, and Melkor had twisted many beautiful things into horrifying and dreadful forms. Many of the great evils of the world were bred in this place, such as trolls, "made in mockery of the ents" as stated by Treebeard. It is probable that the Orcs were first bred here also, by the mutilating and corruption of lost Elves. Cruel spirits, phantoms, wraiths, and evil demons stalked the halls of Utumno and haunted the surrounding forests. All were under the command of Melkor and his fallen Maiar servants; Gothmog the Lord of the Balrogs and Sauron the Sorcerer.
From Utumno, Melkor poisoned and interfered with all the Valar's work done during the Spring of Arda. Soon afterwards, Melkor and his servants waged his war against the lamps of the Valar and struck them down, ruining the world, and forcing the Valar to move further west to the continent of Aman.[3]
Utumno endured for many more millennia well into the early years of the Elves at Cuiviénen during the Years of the Trees when Middle-earth lay in the light of stars. Taking advantage of the new arrivals, Melkor captured some of them and thus, the hideous race of orcs was bred. Knowing that Melkor would continue to be a blight upon the world, the Valar decided to protect the elves by ending his power in the north. Amidst the sounding of the trumpets, the Valar came out of the west, and after the Battle of the Powers Utumno was besieged and destroyed in VY 1099 [2], and Melkor was chained for about three thousand years.[4]
Etymology
Utumno was the Quenya word for "Underworld", also known as Udûn (Sindarin for 'Hell').[5]
Earlier versions of the legendarium
Earlier texts referred to Utumno as the Fortress of the North[6] or Utumna.[7]
Also, its location had once been north of the Iron Mountains rather than within them.[8]
Translations around the World
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Amharic | ዑቱምኖ |
| Arabic | أوتومنو |
| Armenian | ՈՒտումնո |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Утумно |
| Bengali | ঊতুম্ন |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Утумно |
| Chinese (Taiwan) | 烏圖姆諾 |
| Chinese (Mainland) | 乌图姆诺 |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 烏塔莫 |
| Georgian | უთუმნო |
| Greek | Ουτούμνο |
| Gujarati | ઊતુમ્નો |
| Hebrew | ותומנו |
| Hindi | ऊतुम्नो |
| Kannada | ಊತುಮ್ನೊ |
| Kazakh | Ұтұмно (Cyrillic) Utumno (Latin) |
| Korean | 우떰노 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Утумно |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Утумно |
| Marathi | ऊतुम्नो |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Утумно |
| Nepalese | ऊतुम्नो |
| Pashto | وتومنو ? |
| Persian | وتومنو |
| Punjabi | ਊਤੁਮ੍ਨੋ |
| Russian | Утумно |
| Sanskrit | ऊतुम्नो |
| Serbian | Утумно (Cyrillic) Utumno (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | යුටුමෝ |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Утумно |
| Tamil | ஊதும்நொ |
| Telugu | ఊతుమ్నొ |
| Thai | อูทุมโน |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Утумно |
| Urdu | عثومنو |
| Uzbek | Утумно Cyrillic) Utumno (Latin) |
| Yiddish | וטומנאָ |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Introduction"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: [[./Morgoth's_Ring]], The Annals of Aman
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter I: "Of the Beginning of Days"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter III: "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter X: "[[./Gilfanon's_Tale:_The_Travail_of_the_Noldoli_and_the_Coming_of_Mankind]]"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter III: "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, IV: "The First Silmarillion Map"