Morgoth

The Dark Lord

The Enemy

The Great Power

The Dark Power

The Prime Dark Lord

The Black Foe

King of Arda

Master of the Fates of Arda

Lord of the Darkness

The Elder King

Belegurth

The Great Enemy

The Corruptor

The Darkness

The Enemy in the Great Darkness

The Shadow

Master of Arda (self-proclaimed)

Blackheart (by Ungoliant)

Ruler of Beleriand (all formerly)

First Dark Lord of Middle-earth

Grond

Mace

Sword

Hammer

Black spear

Immortality

Shapeshifting (formerly)

Great strength

Great stamina

Telepathy

Telekinesis

Illusions

Curses

Necromancy (possibly)

Mental manipulation

Omnimalevolence

Corrupting and destroying all in his path.

### Goals

Corrupt the Music of the Ainur with discord and his own vanity (succeeded).Plunge the world into darkness by destroying the Two Lamps and the Two Trees (succeeded) and then the Sun and the Moon (failed thus far; succeeded if the Prophecy of Dagor Dagorath comes true).Steal the Silmarils (succeeded; temporarily).

Conquer Middle-earth and rule all of Arda (succeeded, briefly; failed).

Break down the Door of Night and return to the world (ongoing; succeeded if the prophecy comes true).

Gather all of his dark forces, destroy all good and initiate the apocalypse (ongoing; if the Prophecy comes true, succeeded, but then backfired when Turin defeats him).

### Crimes

Spiritual corruptionCreating discord

Attempted omnicide

Terrorism

War crimes

Mass murder

Unethical experimentation on living beings

Conspiracy

Mass arson

Battery

Brainwashing

Rebellion

Manslaughter

Mutilation

Trespassing

Torture

Attempted rape

Theft

Usurpation

Vandalism

Slavery

Kidnapping

Unlawful banishment

Malefic

Treason

Endangerment

Mass destruction

Genocide

Regicide

Slander

Stalking

Innumerable other offences

“ You say it. I am the Elder King: Melkor, first and mightiest of all the Valar, who was before the world and made it. The shadow of my purpose lies upon Arda, and all that is in it bends slowly and surely to my will. „ ~ Morgoth boasting of himself to Hurin while lying about creating Arda before cursing him, The Words of Hurin and Morgoth.

**Morgoth**, originally named **Melkor**, is the overarching antagonist of the *Middle-earth* legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien.

He is the main antagonist of both the mythopoeic novel *The Silmarillion* and *The History of Middle-earth*, and the posthumous overarching antagonist of *The Children of Húrin* and *The Lord of the Rings*.

He is an evil Vala and the first Dark Lord of Middle-earth, as well as the master and predecessor of Sauron and the de-facto ultimate evil of the whole universe, known as Eä. He was the mightiest of the Ainur created by Eru Ilúvatar, but he rebelled against his master and sought to control Arda for himself.

## Personality

“ …hatred devoured him, and in the domination of his servants and the inspiring of them with lust of evil he spent his spirit. „ ~ The Silmarillion (on Morgoth).

Morgoth was a fearsome opponent, because the presence of Ilúvatar had given him godly powers. He was a skilled, influential, and manipulative politician and could charm his enemies, as he tried to do with Hurin.

When seen as Melkor, he was perceived as resplendent, majestic, and noble, even by his enemies, but when he became Morgoth, he became a giant looming threat, feared by even the greatest warriors on Earth. Only six characters are known to have challenged him: Fingolfin & Thorondor, Beren and Lúthien, Húrin, and Eärendil, of which Fingolfin alone faced Morgoth in single combat. Although Morgoth won the duel, Fingolfin and Thorondor gave him seven wounds, which never healed.

Unlike the other Valar, Morgoth knew fear and pain; possibly as a result of his own misdeeds. He could feel the pain of the Silmarils, and also the wounds given to him by Thorondor and Fingolfin. Lúthien commented that Morgoth's life was a "burden", and she rid him of this for a while by putting him into sleep.

Morgoth loved challenging people and reducing their wills to dust. He prided himself on his immense powers, giant size, and intelligence, and knew that he would most likely come off better in any confrontation. However, these tables got turned in his downfall.

## Appearance

“ And he descended upon Arda in power and majesty greater than any other of the Valar, as a mountain that invades in the sea and has its head above the clouds and is clad in ice and crowned with smoke and fire; and the light of the eyes of Melkor was like a flame that withers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold. „ ~ The Silmarillion on Morgoth's coming to Arda.

When he first came to Arda (the mortal world), Melkor took the form of a colossal ice-white humanoid. This form was the size of a mountain, with his head touching the uppermost clouds. This projected his arrogance, greed for power, and hatred of his Valarian siblings on the early Arda, and it severely damaged the world with its mere presence.

The more time Morgoth spent in the world, and the more his presence corrupted it, while his own divinity proportionately diminished. As time went on, his shapeshifting abilities were lost. His true form isn't described other than in vague terms.

As the Dark Lord, he was superhumanly tall, "like a tower", clad in black armor, and covered in dark storm clouds and a dark aura which humbled all who saw him. He wore an Iron Crown at all times, and he placed the Silmarils in his crown until they were recaptured by Luthien.

## In J.R.R. Tolkien's books

### *The Silmarillion*

#### In the Beginning

Melkor was, in the beginning, one of the Ainur (equivalent to angels) created by Eru Ilúvatar (equivalent to God) in the Timeless Halls. He was brother to Manwë, the future ruler of Arda. Of all of the Ainur, Melkor was gifted with the greatest power and knowledge, and had a share in all of the gifts given to his fellow Ainur by Eru.

Melkor became greedy and hungry for Light, so desiring to create great things of his own and knowing of but not understanding the Flame Imperishable, he often went forth into the Great Void outside of the Timeless Halls in search of this flame. His quest was vain for he found not the Flame Imperishable for it lies with Eru alone. Seeing it was inaccessible to him, he turned to Dark, coveting it. Afterwards, Melkor grew ever more impatient of the unclear designs of Eru, and was often alone and apart from his fellow Ainur. It was during this lonesome period that Melkor began to have ideas and designs of his own that were not in accordance with his fellow Ainur.

When the Ainur sung the Great Music before Eru, Melkor attempted to take it over and wove into it his own chords of vanity. This brought great discord to the once harmonious Music and each time Eru sounded the beginning of a new theme, Melkor would once again interfere with it. Soon Melkor marred the Great Music of the air with his selfish and materialistic ambitions and inspired fear and corruption amongst his brothers and sisters, and by seducing many angels and corrupting them for his course, he filled Dark with a fear for all future life. There was no longer any unity or harmony, but a sea of chaos, turbulence, and confusion before the throne of Eru. Eventually, Eru rebuked Melkor for his pride by reminding him that pride was his weakness; he arose with great might and the Music ceased, and spoke to Melkor, saying that although he is mightiest amongst the Ainur, he could not create or play a theme, which does not first come from Eru, nor can the Music be altered.

Full of shame, Melkor withdrew, but secretly harbored great anger and thus began his rebellion. When Ilúvatar showed the Valar His new creation: Arda (equivalent to Earth), Melkor longed to possess it. So, when Arda was created, it was already flawed by Melkor's discord, and he then entered it with the rest of the Valar (equivalent to archangels), in the form of a giant, mountain-sized ice-white humanoid, with smoke and flames at the top of his head. He gained a foothold on Arda's newly created surface, and fell into battle with his brethren, which lasted all through Arda's early history.

#### Before the Two Trees

During the creation and shaping of Arda, Melkor sought to claim Arda as his own. However, Manwë was chosen to be the leader of the Valar instead because even though he was not as powerful as Melkor, he understood Eru's thought better than the other Valar. While the other Valar were working to better the world, Melkor thwarted their efforts, marring the world, and while the Valar started to build their kingdom of Almaren, Melkor corrupted many of the Ainur first (including Mairon, who would eventually become Sauron); he dwelt in The Void outside Ea at the beginning of the World, but he later built a new underground fortress in the north of Middle-earth. Naming it Utumno, he built it behind the Iron Mountains (Ered Engrin) in the far north of Beleriand. To defend it, Melkor raised the Mountains of the East in the northeast of Middle-earth.

As decay arose from the North, the Valar knew Melkor was active, and began searching for him. However, from Utumno, Melkor waged five massive wars against the Valar, flattened Almaren, and destroyed the Great Lamps. The fire from the Great Lamps scorched a large amount of Arda, which kept the Valar occupied and gave Melkor and his forces enough time to retreat back to his fortress of Utumno. It is likely that in this time Melkor delved his second, lesser fortress of Angband in the west, as a defense from the other Valar should they attack. Angband was delved into the Iron Mountains, and was given to Sauron to command. While the Valar were unsure where the Children of Ilúvatar would awake, they were reluctant to wage war against Melkor, fearing the clash of powers might result in massive collateral damage. It is in this time that Melkor discovered the Elves first, captured many of them, and transformed them by torture and other foul craft into Orcs.

#### Before the Sun and Moon

When it was discovered by the Vala Oromë where the elves were, the Valar decided to protect the race of elves, and took immediate action against Melkor, causing the War of Powers. Both Angband and Utumno were razed, and Melkor was captured and brought back to Valinor, bound in the chain of Againor. He pleaded for pardon, but was cast into the Hall of Mandos for three-thousand years. However, many of Melkor's servants (including Sauron and the Balrogs) were not found, since in their haste, the Valar did not wholly destroy Angband.

For some years, Middle-earth was allowed to prosper. At last Melkor was brought before the Valar to be judged, but he feigned redemption. To the Valar, he seemed to have changed and mellowed such that Manwë, the Lord of the Valar, ordered his chains removed. However, Ulmo and Tulkas kept an eye on Melkor, being very slow to forget his evil. Nevertheless, most of them were deceived, and Melkor wished to continue waging war against them. He saw the Elves and remembered them, desiring above all things to corrupt them. Of the three primary groups of elves, he found the Ñoldor to be the most useful to him. Melkor spread lies among them, such as the one about the Valar's intentions to bring the elves to Aman so the race of Men would inherit Middle-earth, which the other Valar have not revealed. Because of Melkor's schemes, the Ñoldor began to rebel against the Valar. One of them was Fëanor, son of Finwë. Even though he hated and feared Melkor, Fëanor's pride caused him to become the most vocal of the Ñoldor in expressing discontent. The Valar were unaware of this, seeing Fëanor as the source of the Ñoldor's unrest. However, they let the situation continue until he threatened Fingolfin, his brother, with violence. Because of this, the Valar have summoned Fëanor to the Ring of Doom in Valinor so he would explain his unlawful actions. His testimony exposed Melkor's lies.

Immediately after this did Tulkas leave the Ring of Doom to recapture Melkor, but he could not find him. Soon after, Melkor went to the elven city of Formenos, feigning friendship to Fëanor to acquire the Silmarils, three gems crafted by him before the First Age. However, Fëanor knew that Melkor was greedy, and refused him, shutting the gates to Formenos in Melkor's face. Passing through the south of Arda unseen, Melkor then saw Ungoliant, who had an issue with her unrelenting hunger. Melkor promised to satisfy her hunger, and she became his ally. Together, they had plotted on destroying the Two Trees of Valinor.

During a time of festival, Melkor and Ungoliant both suddenly attacked. Melkor thrust his spear into the trees while Ungoliant drank the sap pouring from the wounds. They had successfully destroyed the Trees of the Valar, and soon, Melkor broke into Formenos. He slew Finwë, father of Fëanor and Fingolfin, and stole the gemstones known as the Silmarils, and other gems that were there. However, the touch of the Silmarils burned Melkor's hand, causing him immeasurable agony, but he would not release them. Morgoth and Ungoliant then fled to the North, with the Valar giving chase. However, Ungoliant used her weapon and cloak of Unlight (an all-encompassing darkness which was also inexplicable), bewildering the Valar (even Oromë and Tulkas). Ungoliant and Melkor had escaped and crossed the Grinding Ice of the Helcaraxë, and had entered Middle-earth. Ungoliant became the first Great Spider of Middle-earth, and Melkor, who was once part of the Valar (equivalent to archangels), became the first Dark Lord.

In the region of Lammoth in Beleriand, Ungoliant and Melkor approached the ruins of the latter's fortress, Angband, with Melkor wanting to leave his promise with Ungoliant unfulfilled and escape. However, Ungoliant knew Melkor would break his promise, and they both stopped. Ungoliant demanded that Melkor gives the gems of Formenos so her hunger would be satisfied. Melkor refused to give the Silmarils but surrendered the other gems to her, and she became an even more monstrous size. Because Melkor would refuse to surrender the Silmarils, Ungoliant attacked him and weaved her dark webbing around him. Melkor's cries alerted the Balrogs, and they knew he was in danger. Being protective of their master, they drove away Ungoliant. Melkor then began to rebuild Angband, and gathered his servants.

After this point, Fëanor found his father was slain, and cursed Melkor and titled him "**Morgoth Bauglir**", meaning Dark Enemy in Sindarin. The name Melkor was never spoken again by his enemies in Beleriand and Middle-earth. Occasionally people referred to him as Belegurth, The Great Death, a perversion of Belegur, the Sindarin form of Melkor.

Upon fleeing back to Middle-earth, he rebuilt Angband as his center of operations, and reared the tallest mountains to have ever been in Middle-earth, the three volcanoes of Thangorodrim, over its gate. Thangorodrim was adorned with walls and gates, and functioned as a guardian fortress to Angband proper, which was underground.

Another war began, the War of Great Jewels, in which the Ñoldor waged a long and ultimately hopeless war against Morgoth for the recovery of the Silmarils. This war lasted through the whole of the First Age of the Sun, where the Elves would be utterly defeated.

After learning about the Ñoldor's arrival to Middle-earth, Morgoth sent his army of orcs against Fëanor and his host, wanting to kill them before they could make any defenses. However, the Ñoldor were able to destroy the Orc armies, since only a handful of orcs were able to come back to the fortress of Angband. However, Fëanor was prideful in his heart, and thought to charge Morgoth himself. He and his vanguard went away from the main host for a while, but the orcs saw this, and went to battle with Fëanor and his crew at the gates of Angband. However, his elves were quickly killed off. Fëanor, with his vanguard dead, fought by himself, but was struck down by Gothmog, the Lord of the Balrogs. Although his sons rescued him from the battlefield, Fëanor eventually perished from his wounds.

#### The Cursing of Húrin

Morgoth is also well known for the imprisonment of Húrin of the House of Hador during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (Battle of Unnumbered Tears). In the last hours of the battle Húrin and his kin defended Turgon, for he was the last heir to the throne of Gondolin and of Fingolfin after his brother, Fingon, fell in battle. Turgon narrowly escaped the clutches of the host of orcs due to the valor of Húrin and Huor and their men.

Unfortunately, all but Húrin fell after the onslaught of Morgoth's forces. After slaying 70 trolls, Húrin was bound by Gothmog with his flaming whip and, thus, sent him to Angband. There, after a nightmare of chained torment in Thangorodrim's chambers, Húrin still defied Morgoth Bauglir and refused to tell him where Gondolin lay. Thus, Morgoth sent Húrin to the top of Haudh-en-Nirnaeth and cast a mighty curse on Húrin and his family and told him that his Shadow would be with them wherever they went, and his hate would pursue Húrin's family to the end. Melkor threatened Húrin that all Húrin loved would be rendered extinct with Melkor's evil thoughts, and wherever they went, evil would transpire.

And so Húrin stayed was chained atop Thangorodrim, forever watching his homelands fall under the shadow of Morgoth until he releases him. Túrin, who was valiant and powerful, nearly escaped the curse, as feared by Morgoth, but could not leave it. He and his sister perished. Thus, the curse of Morgoth on the Children of Húrin was fulfilled.

#### Fall of Gondolin

Though he was unable to force Húrin to reveal the location of the last great Elven kingdom, Morgoth eventually captured Maeglin, sister-son of Turgon, the King of Gondolin. Threatened with unimaginable torment, Maeglin offered the secrets of Gondolin's defenses in exchange for his own well-being. Additionally, he made a promise to kill Tour personally, and was given permission by Morgoth to take Idril for himself. With the promise of having Idril, Maeglin became one of Morgoth's servants willingly, and Morgoth sent him back to Gondolin to aid the invasion from within when the time came.

Soon after, Morgoth assailed Gondolin, the last great realm of the Noldor and, with a vastly superior force and Maeglin's treacherous information, the city was beleaguered without hope and quickly fell.

With the sacking of Gondolin and the defeat of the Noldor and their allies, Morgoth's triumph was complete. The great kingdoms of the Elves had all fallen, save for the Havens of Cirdan and the survivors of the Mouth of Sirion, and these were ruled by Earendil; and Morgoth esteemed them as nothing. He even came to care nothing for the Silmaril that had been taken from him, and laughed when he saw the last and the most cruel Kinslaying when the Sons of Feanor destroyed the dwelling at Arvernien.

#### Final Defeat

Eventually Melkor claimed Kingship over Arda and declared himself god of the realm. However, Morgoth's triumph was short-lived, and it took the combined efforts of Elves, humans, Valar, and all of the Free Peoples of the world to defeat him. Due to the plea actions of Earendil, the Valar were persuaded once again to take up arms against Morgoth's tyranny. Morgoth himself did not expect that the Valar would ever respect the Noldor's wishes after the terrible sins that they committed, and did not forsee the assault from Aman. But the Valar took pity on the Noldor, and a great battle began between Morgoth and the Host of Valinor. Morgoth emptied all of Angband, and his devices and engines and army of slaves were so various and powerful the fighting spilled across all of Beleriand.

In the end, Morgoth's forces were utterly defeated. The Balrogs were destroyed (save some few that fled and hid themselves in caverns at the very roots of the Earth), and most of the Orcs were slaughtered. Then, Morgoth quailed, and dared not come forth himself, but he had one last weapon at his command: the monstrous Winged Dragons. From out of the pits of Angband they issued, and so sudden and ruinous of their attack, with great power and a tempest of fire, they drove back the host of the Valar. But then Earendil came with Vingilot, accompanied by Thorondor and all of the great birds, and Earendil slew Ancalagon the Black, whose great bulk fell upon the volcanoes of Thrangorodrim, destroying them in his ruin. Angband was destroyed and, though Morgoth tried to call up more and more beasts of the shadows to aid him, he was eventually defeated by the mighty Host of Valinor.

Morgoth, utterly defeated, stood at bay, and was yet unvaliant. He fled into the deepest of his mines and sued for peace and pardon, but the Valar came and captured him. They hewned his feet from under him, cast Morgoth on the face, beat the Iron Crown into a collar for his neck, and thrust him through the Door of Night into the Timeless Void bound in a great chain, Angainor.

#### Legacy

Amongst the Maiar (equivalent to normal angels) that Melkor corrupted was Sauron, who was the greatest Maia that has been created. Sauron became most like Melkor in corruption. Melkor handed some of his powers to Sauron to corrupt and govern Arda, but Sauron was not defeated until some 3,500 years after Melkor's defeat. Melkor's lies and illusions live on and are sowed in the souls and hearts of humans and Elves, who have inherited the world, and take shape in men as the fear of death. They were a seed that did not die and could not be destroyed, but ever and anon sprouted anew, and bore dark fruit ever after.

Death began as a gift to humans from Ilúvatar, allowing them to separate from the world and go to astral parts unknown (possibly Eru's original inhabitance, where the Valar dwelt before coming to Valinor as Ainur), which elves cannot do, as they are bound to it eternally. He warped this gift to be perceived as a curse and an insult, as if immortality had been stolen from Men. Sauron later uses this to his advantage on the Black Númenóreans.

#### Prophesied Return

In later writings of Tolkien's, it becomes apparent that Melkor was not merely bound, but unhoused, after his final capture, being “beheaded” and thus “killed”, that is, the body to which he had become so bound was destroyed, after which execution his spirit, still bound with the enchanted chain Angainor, was cast out through the Doors of Night. His “will” is spoken of as an active force in the world, tempting and urging in thought, and sometimes in phantom manifestation; and it is foretold that at the end of the world, his old strength will come back to him, that he will overcome the guard upon the Door, and reenter Arda. This will initiate the Final Battle and the Day of Doom, the Dagor Dagorath.

According to material in some of Tolkien's writings complied (but not published) by his son, in the last days, Melkor will learn how to break the Door of the Night and re-enter the World. He will destroy the Sun and Moon, plunge the world into Darkness, and raise his great armies of evil to battle all good in Dagor Dagorath, the Battle of Battles. Tulkas will fight Morgoth and wrestle him to the ground, and Túrin Turambar will ram his Black Sword through Morgoth's heart, killing him once and for all. Morgoth's armies shall all die, ending Dagor Dagorath, resulting in the Second Music of the Ainur which will create a new world. Nothing is known of the Second Music, except that it will be greater than the First.

However, the published *Silmarillion* does not include this information, and instead asserts that, if the Valar know how the end of Arda will present itself, they have not revealed it. Early accounts of this battle have him being slain by Turin Tumbar who will run his black sword Gurthang, “Iron of Death”, through him. This however does not appear in later versions of *The Silmarillion*; and indeed is inconsistent with the above late conception, unless Melkor re-incarnates himself after entering Arda, as he already has been slain by the Valar like a common criminal.

### *The Lord of the Rings*

#### Mentions

Morgoth never appears in this novel, as he is currently in the Timeless Void; however, he is mentioned several times. In the chapter *A Knife in the Dark*, Aragorn recounts the story of the Elven princess, Lúthien (also known as Tinúvel), and while doing so, speaks of “the Great Enemy” (Morgoth), “of whom Sauron of Mordor was but a servant”. In the chapter *The Mirror of Galadriel*, Legolas talks about Durin's Bane, saying, “It was a Balrog of Morgoth, of all elf-banes the most deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower.” In the chapter *Treebeard*, Treebeard says, “Then when the Darkness came in the North, the Entwives crossed the Great River…” (“the Darkness” he was referring to was Morgoth). Later on, in the same chapter, he says that Trolls were made as a mockery to the Ents by “the Enemy in the Great Darkness” (Morgoth). In the chapter *The Tower of Cirith Ungol*, Frodo says “the Shadow” (Morgoth) who bred the Orcs cannot create new things, but only mock. “I don't think it gave life to the Orcs, it only ruined them and twisted them,” he says.

## In Sir Peter Jackson's films

Morgoth never appears in Peter Jackson's film trilogies; however, a few references are still made to him. Legolas calls Durin's Bane a “Balrog of Morgoth” in the Extended Edition of *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*, and Gandalf calls him the same thing while talking to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*. In *The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies*, Galadriel calls Sauron a “Servant of Morgoth”. It is very likely that similar events to *The Silmarillion* including Morgoth occurred in the past.

## In Other Media

### *Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor*

Morgoth himself never appears in this game; however, there is a graven idol representing him, which can be found in the western part of Udûn.

### *One Ring to Rule them All*

* Morgoth appears as a character in Legendary Frog's parody series of flash videos, *One Ring to Rule them All*. Ironically, he only appears in the third video. In the 3rd video, Melkor acts as Sauron's old master (or college roommate), and gives him a visit. However, he steals his spices and seasonings for Legolas.

## Powers and Abilities

Morgoth was the greatest of the Valar, and the greatest of all the beings Eru Ilúvatar had created. He was gifted with the greatest power and the greatest intelligence, second only to Eru.

However, he used his gifts for evil purposes, such as torturing Elves into Orcs and creating creatures which were not in accordance with Ilúvatar or the Valar (including Trolls and quite possibly Dragons).

### Powers

* **Immortality/Enhanced Longevity**: Morgoth, like Sauron, was functionally immortal; failing that, seemingly very long lived having existed with and without a physical form for the better part of several thousand years. (Morgoth was created before the physical realm of Arda and Middle-earth was established, thus his age is unquantifiable. Assuming a consecutive lifespan, he is at least 50,000 years old.)
* **Vast Physical Strength**: By using his mace, Grond, Morgoth can cause lightning strikes and create pits where lava and smoke come out of the ground.

### Abilities

* **Necromancy**: Morgoth could give curses to his foes, such as when he cursed Húrin.
* **Shapeshifting**: Morgoth was given the ability to change form, such as his mountain-sized humanoid form. In that form, he was able to do excessive damage to Arda while the other Valar were doing work there. However, after his long list of crimes, this ability was eventually taken away from him.
* **Pyrokinesis**: Like his servant Sauron, he was capable of altering the physical substance of the world around him by mere effort of will. He could cause massive firestorms and create huge craters.

## Servants of Morgoth

### Morgoth's Commanders

* Sauron
* Gothmog

### Followers and Armies

* Ungoliant (rebelled)
* Balrogs
* Durin's Bane
* Ancalagon
* Glaurung
* Orcs
* Watcher in the Water
* Carcharoth
* Shelob
* Black Númenóreans
* Great Spiders
* Trolls
* Goblins
* Easterlings
* Werewolves
* Dragons
* Scatha
* Maeglin
* Wargs
* Morgoth's army
* Sauron's army
* Snaga
* Fire-drake of Gondolin
* Uldor
* Gothmog's army
* Hobgoblins
* Bats
* Vampires
* Giant Bats
* Gorgol
* Gostir
* Balcmeg
* Giants
* Draguluin
* Amnon
* Boldog
* Gilim
* Lorgan
* Lungorthin
* Ogres
* Ocrabal
* Shadow Messenger
* Tevildo
* Thuringwethil
* Wicked Dwarves
* Were-worms
* Úvanimor
* Ulfang
* Uldor
* Ulwarth
* Blodren
* Other corrupted creatures

## Quotes

### Said by Morgoth

“ This shall be my own kingdom; and I name it unto myself! „ ~ Morgoth before the beginning of Arda, proclaiming the world as his own.

“ Do as I bid; and if thy hunger still when all is done, then I will give thee whatsoever thy lust may demand. „ ~ Morgoth telling Ungoliant to follow him and giving her a false promise.

“ Yet I may come at you, and all your accursed house; and you shall be broken on my will, though you all were made of steel. „ ~ Morgoth to Hurin.

“ Behold! The shadow of my thought shall lie upon them wherever they go, and my hate shall pursue them to the ends of the world. „ ~ Morgoth

“ Fool, little among Men, and they are the least of all that speak! Have you seen the Valar, or measured the power of Manwë and Varda? Do you know the reach of their thought? Or do you think, perhaps, that their thought is upon you, and that they may shield you from afar? „ ~ Morgoth to Hurin about the Valar.

“ What wouldst thou have more? Dost thou desire all the world for thy belly? I did not vow to give thee that. I am its Lord. „ ~ Morgoth to Ungoliant.

“ Nay! Thou hast thy due. For with my power that I put into thee thy work was accomplished. I need thee no more. These things thou shall not have, nor see. I name them unto myself forever. „ ~ Morgoth refuses to give Ungoliant the Silmarils.

### Pertaining to Morgoth

“ Then Ilúvatar spoke, and he said: ‘Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor; but that he may know, and all the Ainur, that I am Ilúvatar, those things that ye have sung, I will show them forth, that ye may see what ye have done. And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.’ „ ~ J.R.R. Tolkien about Ilúvatar despising Morgoth about his music, The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë.

“ Yet this is held true by the wise of Eressëa, that all those of the Quendi who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes. For the Orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar; and naught that had life of its own, nor the semblance of life, could ever Melkor make since his rebellion in the Ainulindalë before the Beginning: so say the wise. And deep in their dark hearts the Orcs loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the maker only of their misery. This it may be was the vilest deed of Melkor, and the most hateful to Ilúvatar. „ ~ J.R.R. Tolkien about how Morgoth created the Orcs, The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion: Of The Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor.

“ Now news came to Hithlum that Dorthonion was lost and the sons of Finarfin overthrown, and that the sons of Fëanor were driven from their lands. Then Fingolfin beheld… the utter ruin of the Noldor, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses; and filled with wrath and despair he mounted upon Rochallor his great horse and rode forth alone, and none might restrain him. He passed over Dor-nu-Fauglith like a wind amid the dust, and all that beheld his onset fled in amaze, thinking that Oromë himself was come: for a great madness of rage was upon him, so that his eyes shone like the eyes of the Valar. Thus he came alone to Angband’s gates, and he sounded his horn, and smote once more upon the brazen doors, and challenged Morgoth to come forth to single combat. And Morgoth came. „ ~ J.R.R. Tolkien about Morgoth face-to-face with Fingolfin, The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin.

“ Therefore Morgoth came, climbing slowly from his subterranean throne, and the rumour of his feet was like thunder underground. And he issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like a stormcloud. But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice. „ ~ J.R.R. Tolkien describing Morgoth's might as the latter and Fingolfin are about to challenge each other, The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin.

“ Morgoth held hurled aloft Grond, Hammer of the Underworld, and swung it down like a bolt of thunder. But Fingolfin sprang aside, and Grond rent a mighty pit in the earth, whence smoke and fire darted. Many times Morgoth essayed to smite him, and each time Fingolfin leaped away, as a lightning shoots from under dark cloud; and he wounded Morgoth with seven wounds, and seven times Morgoth gave a cry of anguish, whereat the hosts of Angband fell upon their faces in dismay, and the cries echoed in the Northlands. „ ~ J.R.R. Tolkien recounting the duel between Morgoth and Fingolfin, The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin.

“ Morgoth set his foot upon his neck, and the weight of it was like a fallen hill. „ ~ J.R.R. Tolkien about Morgoth defeating Fingolfin, The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin.

## Trivia

* Morgoth is an analogy for Satan, being an angelic like creature that rebels against his creator and creates all evil in his world.
* How Morgoth created the Orcs is up for much debate, because Tolkien himself says, “Who has explored the mind of Morgoth?” This being said, the creation of Orcs is entirely open to speculation.
* While not appearing in the film series (most likely because he no longer existed in the world at the time of the said series because of his banishment to the Void in the War of Wrath in *The Silmarillion*), Morgoth's most powerful servants, such as Sauron, still thrive, and Morgoth was mentioned in ​*The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers* since when Gandalf speaks of his battle with the Balrog (Durin's Bane), he refers to it as "the Balrog of Morgoth". He was also mentioned in *The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies* when Galadriel calls Sauron a "Servant of Morgoth". He did, however, get a cameo appearance in the 2019 film *Tolkien* which chronicles the author's life. In this film, Morgoth appears to Tolkien as a gigantic fiery humanoid smoke form in the Somme battlefield.
	+ Ironically, Morgoth was not even mentioned in the novel of *The Hobbit*, because by that time, Tolkien had not yet conceived his mighty mythology, and he had only begun to create the barest aspects.
	+ Morgoth appears in his earliest incarnation in the novels *Unfinished Tales* which compare the earliest scripture of *The Lord of the Rings* with the final version. In this version, Morgoth is named **Melko** instead of Melkor, and is either another name for him or an epithet of Melkor itself.
* Sauron is said by Tolkien to have been certainly more successful than Morgoth, given that Sauron was far more cunning, and possessed shape-shifting and deception to fool others. Morgoth is compared to Sauron by Tolkien because the whole Earth was "Morgoth's Ring". However, Morgoth is much more powerful and majestic than Sauron, and is not to be overlooked or taken lightly.