The Complete Tolkien Companion (63 page)

Significantly, in their strange story and unhappy fate can be seen the seeds of the same destiny which overtook the very noblest of the High People: the Númenoreans. For despite the vast gulf between them, both peoples experienced the same hunger for power unmatched by spiritual growth, and in both cases this resulted in an overreaching of ambition and eventual destruction. So, while the cultural differences among the Mannish peoples were (and still are) immense, ultimately, they were (and are) cancelled out by the great factors in common, most notably Free Will, the gift of all Free Peoples, and the possession of immortal souls tempered by Mortality: the Gift of Men.

Their common Inheritance was realised by the wise even before the fall of Númenor had tied the destiny of Men irrevocably to Middle-earth. Indeed, the Third Age was as notable for the alliances forged among Mannish peoples as for the surviving enmities; and although Easterling and Southron peoples assailed the Western Kingdoms throughout the Age, the aftermath of the War of the Ring brought many signs of renewed hope that, one day, those ancient hostilities might be eradicated. King Elessar (Aragorn) himself set the first example by pardoning and freeing all those of alien Mannish race taken during the War, and though it was not recorded that he achieved the lasting peace he sought, by his example he indicated the direction to be pursued.

Menegroth
‘Thousand Caves' (Sind.) – The name given by the Grey-elves of Doriath to the great underground fortress and Palace of their king Elwë Thingol, excavated and built (with the aid of the Dwarves of Belegost) early in the First Age. It lay underneath a stony hill in the centre of Doriath, and its doors were guarded by the river Esgalduin. Menegroth was said to be the strongest and the fairest of all kingly halls in Middle-earth, and long indeed it stood. But in the end, like all cities and palaces of the Eldar, it was sacked and defiled: on the first occasion by Dwarves (though not of the kindred which had assisted in its building); and on the second by Elves. Both groups of attackers were independently attempting to steal the Silmaril which was lodged there.

Meneldil
‘Lover-of-the-Heavens' (Q.) – From Year 2 to 158 Third Age, the third King of Gondor; the son of Anárion and grandson of Elendil the Tall. Meneldil was born in Minas Anor before the ending of the Second Age and remained there throughout the War of the Last Alliance. Near the end of this War, in 3440 Second Age, Anárion was slain at the gates of the Barad-dûr; therefore after the Fall of Sauron in the following year, his brother Isildur was obliged to tarry in the South-kingdom, instructing his young nephew in the art of kingship. For two years Isildur acted as Regent before marching away to his own death at the Gladden Fields.

During Meneldil's long reign the South-kingdom was healed of many of the hurts it had sustained in the War against Sauron. His son Cemendur succeeded him.

Meneldor
– A swift young Eagle of the Misty Mountains and a close comrade of the mighty Gwaihir the Windlord. Together with his liege-lord, and Gwaihir's brother Landroval, Meneldor rescued the Ring-bearers from certain death at the feet of the volcano Orodruin, when the completion of Frodo's mission brought about the final venting of the titanic forces which were imprisoned there.

Meneldur (Tar-Meneldur)
– From 740–883 Second Age, the fifth King of Númenor. Though the youngest of the three children of Tar-Elendil (fourth King), he, rather than his elder sister Silmariën, inherited the Sceptre (in his son Tar-Aldarion's time the Númenorean laws of succession were profoundly changed so that the Sceptre descended to the eldest child, whether man or woman). The descendants of Silmariën later carried the Númenorean succession back to Middle-earth. Meneldur was a great astronomer and built a mighty tower for this purpose in the northernmost heights of the Forostar. For this he was called
Elentirmo
‘Star-watcher'.

Menelmacar
‘Heavenly-swordsman' (Q.) – The High-elven form of the Grey-elven name
MENELVAGOR
.

Meneltarma
‘Pillar-of-the-Heavens' (Q.) – The highest mountain of Númenor, situated in the middle of that island, most westerly of all mortal lands. From its hallowed summit the farsighted could make out the White Tower which marked the Haven of the Eldar in Eressëa, part of the Undying Lands, which lay even further West, forever beyond the reach of the Númenoreans. Its lower slopes were gentle, but the sides of the peak grew ever steeper as one ascended it; only by means of a specially-cut approach-road were people able to achieve the summit. Here – before the degeneration of the Númenoreans – was the holiest place in the land.
2

Menelvagor
‘Heavenly-swordsman' (Sind.) – The Grey-elven name for the constellation Orion, derived from Q.
Menelmacar.

Menelya
‘Heavens'-day' (Q.) – The fifth day of the
enquië
or ‘week' in both the Elvish calendar and the ancient Númenorean system of Kings' Reckoning, which was ultimately adopted by most of the folk of Middle-earth who used the Common Speech. It was named after the Firmament (which to the Elves meant the Heavens themselves rather than that which they contained). The Dúnedain used the Sindarin form of this name,
Ormenel;
the Hobbits' translation was
Hevensday,
later
Hensday.

Men-i-Naugrim
‘Way of the Dwarves' (Sind.) – The
OLD FOREST ROAD
.

Men of Westernesse
–
See
NÚMENOR
.

Mere of Dead Faces
–
See
DEAD MARSHES
.

Meresdei
– An archaic form of the Hobbits' name for the sixth day of the week. The original name for this day was Eärenya, ‘Sea-day' (Q.), given by Men of the (maritime) realm of Númenor, and established in their system of Kings' Reckoning, which was ultimately adopted by the Hobbits. The Shire-folk had, of course, no knowledge that the original (Elvish) week included only six days, and that the ‘Sea-day' had been added by the Númenoreans. In fact, most Hobbits loathed the very idea of the Sea, and few ever gave thought to the origins of the (translated) names found in their calendar. By the end of the Third Age,
Meresdei
had been shortened to
Mersday.

Meres of Twilight
– A translation of the Grey-elven name
Aelin-uial.

Mereth Aderthad
‘Feast of Reunion' (Sind.) – The name given by Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor, to the great feast and celebration which he decreed in the 21st Year of the Sun; it was held near the sources of the river Narog in West Beleriand, at the Pools of Ivrin in the southern vales of the Mountains of Shadow. The occasion was to celebrate the reuniting of the Noldor with the Sindar – and of the House of Fingolfin with the House of Fëanor.

Merethrond
– The ‘Great-Hall-of-Feasts' (Sind.) of the city of Minas Tirith, where Occasions of State were celebrated in the usual manner.

Meriadoc ‘the Magnificent'
– One of the most distinguished Hobbits of history, remembered in the Annals of the Shire not only for his deeds as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, but for his deep interest in the origins of the Hobbits themselves, as shown by his many contributions to the sum of Hobbit-scholarship (made after the War of the Ring, during his years as Master of Buckland).

Meriadoc, more usually known as ‘Merry', was born in Buck-land in the year 2982 Third Age (1382 Shire Reckoning), the only child of the Master of the Hall, Saradoc ‘Scattergold' Brandybuck and his wife, the former Esmeralda Took (sister of Thain Paladin II). Merry was therefore cousin to his great friend Peregrin Took and second cousin to his other (slightly older) good friend, Frodo Baggins. As his name perhaps implies, Merry's disposition was cheerful, even irrepressible; and, like his cousins, he exhibited a strong strain of the Fallohidish ‘adventurous' temperament.

Yet even in the midst of the adventures that were to follow Meriadoc was already showing signs of his developing interests in ‘deeper' matters. Of the two younger Hobbits of the Company he was undoubtedly the more mature, and unlike Peregrin, he took the Quest seriously from the first, characteristically spending a good deal of time in the libraries of Rivendell, studying maps of the lands which lay far beyond his knowledge.

Since Meriadoc was later to become deeply attached to one of these lands, Rohan, it is perhaps worth recounting just how his admiration for Théoden, the old King of the Mark, brought this to pass. Being of ‘aristocratic' (Hobbit) background himself, from the start Merry was able to express this admiration in the correct manner – by formally pledging his service to the King, a gesture which greatly pleased the aged ruler, though doubtless he continued to regard the Hobbit more as a ward than a warrior. Nonetheless, Meriadoc of the Shire accompanied the Riders of Rohan on their epic journey to the aid of Gondor during the War of the Ring. And in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields he stood by Théoden after the King had been struck down by the Chief Nazgûl, and was one of the two valiant warriors who brought about the Ring-wraith's downfall.

For these deeds Merry won great honour and renown among the Rohirrim, who named him
Holdwine
in their language and gave him rank and much esteem in their land. He later became a close friend of King Éomer and remained greatly attached to Rohan for the rest of his long life, visiting the Mark often and learning its language. For this tongue – a form of which was common enough among Men of the northern vales of Anduin – greatly interested Meriadoc, who fancied he could detect many names and words in it akin to his own Hobbit-speech. Therefore, after his return to the Shire, he made further study of the ancient language links between Hobbits and Northern Men, eventually producing at least one work on the subject, a short treatise on
Old Words and Names in the Shire.

Another subject which later captured the interest of this intelligent and widely travelled Hobbit was the calculation of years, and to this end he studied various forms of calendar reckoning used by some of the races of western Middle-earth. Finally, Meriadoc also seems to have been a fair botanist, with yet another scholarly work,
Herblore of the Shire,
to his credit. It seems quite likely that Merry's initial work in this particular field grew out of his great interest in (and fondness for) ‘pipe-weed', the origins and history of which obviously held a special fascination for him.

Nonetheless, while all these varied academic accomplishments doubtless earned him respect, this could not compare with the great honour which Meriadoc's hereditary office and youthful heroics brought him in the eyes of the Shire-folk. For, although he arguably accomplished greater deeds on foreign fields of battle, it is certain that he was most esteemed by his fellow Hobbits for his adroit handling of the police action known as the Scouring of the Shire, in which he captained the Hobbitry-in-arms with sharp professional skill and admirable attention to detail.

At the age of fifty, in 1432 Shire Reckoning, Merry succeeded his father Saradoc as Master of Buckland. Two years later, after Peregrin had been made Took and Thain, King Elessar appointed the Thain, the Master and the Mayor of Michel Delving (Samwise) as Counsellors of the North-kingdom; and for some fifty years more these old comrades continued to work together, shouldering the civic responsibilities of the Shire. Finally, in 1484 Shire Reckoning (Year 63 Fourth Age) Meriadoc and Peregrin took counsel together and resigned their offices. Handing over their chattels and estates to their sons, they rode away south, leaving the Shire for ever. The two elderly Hobbits first travelled to Edoras in Rohan, where Merry saw his old friend Éomer for the last time (the King died that autumn). Then they continued their journey to Gondor, where they dwelt with King Elessar in great honour and Splendour for some years before they, too, passed away and were laid to rest in the Hallows, in the House of the Kings.

Note:
Meriadoc wedded Estella Bolger, and although no children are recorded for them in available genealogical tables, on the basis of the penultimate entry in Appendix B, one must assume that Merry had at least one son, who in turn became Master of Buck-land.

Mering Stream
– The name in Rohan for the boundary-stream between Rohan and Gondor. It rose in the Firienwood, on the edges of the White Mountains, and flowed north and east – separating the Eastfold of Rohan from the province of Anórien – before joining the river Entwash. In Gondor it was called the
Glanhir.

Merlock Mountains
–
See
‘
THE MEWLIPS
'.

Merry Brandybuck
–
See
MERIADOC
‘
THE MAGNIFICENT
'.

Merry Gamgee
– The second son (and fourth child) of Samwise Gamgee, named after Meriadoc ‘the Magnificent'.

Mersday
–
See
MERESDEI
.

Messenger Service
– The system of communication most used in the Shire, since lettered Hobbits wrote continually to their friends, and expected prompt replies. The Messenger Service, which also included the Quick Post, carried all the mail plus any worthwhile news among the four Farthings. The office of Mayor was held responsible for its efficient functioning.

Methed-en-Glad
‘End of the Wood' (Sind.) – A stronghold in Dor Cúarthol used by Túrin.

Methedras
‘Last-Peak' (Sind.) – The southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains. Below it, in a great cleft or fork, lay the coomb of
Nan Curunír,
the ‘Wizard's Vale' of Isengard.