Behold, he was rejoiced…to see the Gods before his gates. Now would he gladly welcome them, yet for the poverty of his abode not more than two…could he fitly entertain;…Should this not be to their mind then would he fain hearken to Manwë’s herald and learn what it were the Gods so greatly desired that they must leave…Valinor for the bleak places where Melko laboured humbly and did his toilsome work.A part of Langon's message to the Valar in The Book of Lost Tales Part One
Langon, also known as the Shadow Messenger, was a servant of Melkor appearing in the earliest version of the legendarium given in The Book of Lost Tales.[1]
Biography
Langon was originally a servant of Námo, but became a renegade before being perverted by Melkor.[2]
When the Valar besieged Utumna in the Great Lands after Melkor had locked himself inside by shutting the huge gates in their faces, Tulkas tried and failed to break them down before Oromë blew them open instantly with his horn. After hearing Manwë's immeasurable voice bidding him to to issue forth at the gates, Melkor became doubtful and remained in hiding "deep down within Utumna". Instead, the Dark Lord sent his servant Langon to the gates to negotiate with the Valar, claiming that only the herald of Manwë, Nornorë, can enter and speak to Melkor. However, Langon caused the wrath of the Valar because his message was full of insolence and flattery.[1]
After Melkor destroyed the Two Trees, Langon was sent to "the gates of Valmar" in Valinor as a messenger to state Melkor's demands and to confuse the Valar. When he demanded to speak to all of the Valar, they asked who sent him there. When Langon revealed his servitude to Melkor, Tulkas wanted to kill him by hurling "stones from the walls", byut was overruled by the other Valar despite their shared anger. They allowed Langon leave to speak in "the great square of gold that was before Aulë's courts". When all of the Valar and the Elves were settled there, Langon did not speak immediately, but rather moved next to "the needle of pure gold" that contained Aulë's "story of the kindling of the Tree of gold". It was only after being commanded by Manwë that Langon spoke his message.[2]
After speaking a part of his message, Langon's voice became louder and so full of insolence that he provoked the wrath of the Valar, causing "Tulkas and several of his house" to leap down and seize him. When Manwë tried to stop the violence, the Elves and the Valar had a great council where Varda, Aulë, and Tulkas convinced Manwë to outlaw Melkor and his followers from Valinor. When Manwë told the results of the council to Langon and demanded that he return to Melkor, the Elves and the Valar disobeyed and took Langon to the top of Taniquetil, where they charged him with lying that he was a herald. With the mountain and the stars supposedly acting as witnesses, they threw him so far off the mountain that he landed on "the boulders of Arvalien", ending his life in the process. Langon's spirit was taken to the deepest caves of the Halls of Mandos.[2]
Etymology
Langon is a name that may be related to the Gnomish word langon ("great bell"),[3] which is comprised of the elements lang ("to blare, clang, ring")[3] and -on ("noun suffix").[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter IV: "The Chaining of Melko", pg. 102
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter VI: "The Theft of Melko and the Darkening of Valinor", pg. 146-8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Parma Eldalamberon 11, "I-Lam na-Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of the Gnomish Tongue", pg. 52
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon 11, "I-Lam na-Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of the Gnomish Tongue", pgs. 38-9