Looking at the parts on NĂșmenor in Unfinished Tales (and the LOTR appendix chronology) made me notice something Tolkien does with the history of NĂșmenor that is very thoughtful, very important, and often neglected by other fantasy authors: he distinguishes between fighting on the right side and being the good guys, and he even delves into how those two things can work against each other.
Three times in particular, the NĂșmenoreans help to defend Middle-Earth against Sauron. In Aldarionâs time, in the 800s, Aldarion spends much time establishing and rebuilding a port/haven on the coast of southern Eriador, to guard against invasion of the north through what will later be the Gap of Rohan. In 1700, Tar-Minastir sends a large force to drive back Sauron and rescue Gil-galad and Elrond and their people after the forging of the Rings and the destruction of Eregion. And, of course, near the end of the Second Age Ar-Pharazon sends the vast fleet and army that takes Sauron captive.
And each of these times are associated with successive stages in NĂșmenorâs moral decline.
Aldarion is the first warning sign. His father, Tar-Meneldur, a wise man, discourages his voyaging, accurately fearing that it âsows the seeds of recklessness and the desire of other lands to holdâ. Aldarion likewise marks the beginning of NĂșmenoreans regarding nature as something to be valued for its use rather than for itself: trees as timber, not as forests. This is also when the NĂșmenoreans begin to log Eriador - their logging will eventually be so extensive that, whereas virtually the whole area from the coast to the Misty Mountains to the Gap of Rohan was forested at the start of the Second Age, by the time of LOTR only the tiny fragment of the Old Forest remains. Itâs not for nothing that the trees there are hostile to Men (and Hobbits). (This may not have been happening in the same way in Aldarionâs time - in NĂșmenor he spends great efforts on replanting trees, nothwithstanding the ecological distinction between âtree plantationsâ and âforestsâ, and he may have done the same in Middle-earth - but itâs still the starting point.)
And he does work extensively in Middle-earth to build defences against Sauron (or âthe shadow in the eastâ; they donât know itâs Sauron yet) and is described as âthe friend and counsellor of Gil-Galad.â Yet the very growth in power, pragmatism, and expansionism that is involved in doing this is the start of NĂșmenorâs downward path.
Next, we have Tar-Minastir, who drives back Sauron from Eregion during the War of the Elves and Sauron, following the forging of the Rings of Power, when Gil-galad, Elrond, and the Elves of Eregion are almost defeated. Unfinished Tales says âhe loved the Eldar but envied themâ and built a high tower to gaze westwards towards Valinor. And it is in the immediate aftermath of his rule that NĂșmenor enters its phase of exploitative imperialism: his son Tar-Ciryatan is âa mighty king, but greedy of wealth; he built a great fleet of royal ships, amd his servants brought back great store of metal and gems, and oppressed the men of Middle-earth.â The next king, Tar-Atanamir, likewise âexacted heavy tribute from the men of the coasts of Middle-earthâ, and was the first to be openly hostile to the Valar and the Eldar. The Silmarillion describes Ciryatan and Atanamir as âproud men, eager for wealthâ who âlaid the men of Middle-earth under tribute, taking now rather than givingâ.
(As an aside: this is a period where Iâm particularly curious about what Gil-galad and Elrond were thinking, and the decisions they had to make. The NĂșmenoreans have just recently decisively rescued them, and it may not be going too far to say the Elves of Eregion and Lindon are military dependent on NĂșmenor. And yet the NĂșmenoreans are now mistreating and oppressing the men of Middle-earth. How to balance military/political pragmatism and ethics? Are the NĂșmenoreans friends or not? Should they be trying to do anything to stop NĂșmenorean empire? Can they do anything? Does benefitting from NĂșmenorean military might while not doing anything make them complicit? Do they try to talk to the NĂșmenoreans? And for Elrond in particular, on top of the moral vs pragmatic concerns, thereâs the knowledge that itâs his brotherâs descendents and successors who are doing this - in a sense, the only family he has left.)
And lastly, of course, we have Ar-Pharazon, who defeats Sauron but without being any better than Sauron, and who is corrupted by him, wreaks devastation on the men of Middle-earth and on his political opponents at home, and leads NĂșmenor to its destruction.
It feels like this reinforces the themes of The Lord of the Rings, that victory over evil is not one by seeking to overpower it, but by renunciation of power. The downfall of NĂșmenor highlights this by contrast by showing the corrupting force of accumulated imperial power, even when used against a foe that is genuinely evil.
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