his war against Elves, and to assuage his wrath upon the Orcs. The fame of the deeds upon the marches and the prowess of Beleg the Gnome and Túrin son of Húrin against the Orcs is brought to Thingol and to Morgoth. One only of Túrin’s band, Blodrin Ban’s son, hates the new life with little plunder and harder fighting. He betrays the secret place of Túrin to the Orcs. Their camp is surprised, Túrin is taken and dragged to Angband (for Morgoth has begun to fear he will escape his curse through his valour and the protection of Melian); Beleg is left for dead under a heap of slain. He is found by Thingol’s men come to summon them to a feast at the Thousand Caves. Melian heals him, and he sets out to track the Orcs. Beleg is the most skilled in tracking of all who have lived, but the mazes of Taur-na-Fuin bewilder him. There in despair he sees the lamp of Flinding son of Fuilin, a Gnome of Nargothrond who was captured by Orcs and had long been a thrall in the mines of Morgoth, but escaped.
Of Flinding he learns news of the Orc-band that captured Túrin. They hide and watch the host go by laden with spoil along the Orc-road through the heart of the forest, which the Orcs use when in need of haste. They dread the forest beyond the road as much as Elf or Man. Túrin is seen dragged along and whipped. The Orcs leave the forest and descend the slopes toward Dor-na-Fauglith, and encamp in a dale in sight of Thangorodrim. Beleg shoots the wolf-sentinels and steals with Flinding into the camp. With the greatest difficulty and direst peril they carry the senseless Túrin away and lay him in a dell of thick thorn-trees. In striking off his bonds Beleg pricks Túrin’s foot; he is roused, and demented thinks the Orcs are tormenting him, he leaps on Beleg and kills him with his own sword. The covering of Flinding’s lamp falls off and seeing Beleg’s face he is turned to stone. The Orcs roused by his cries as he leaped upon Beleg discover his escape but are driven far and wide by a dreadful storm of thunder and deluge. In the morning Flinding sees them marching over the steaming waste of Dor-na-Fauglith. Beleg is buried with his bow in the dell.
Flinding leads the dazed unwitting Túrin towards safety. His wits return by Ivrin’s lake where are the sources of Narog, and he weeps a great while, and makes a song for Beleg, the ‘Bowman’s Friendship’, which afterwards became a battle-song of the enemies of Morgoth.
Flinding leads Túrin to Nargothrond. There Túrin gains the love and loves against his will Finduilas daughter of Orodreth, who had been betrothed before his captivity to Flinding. He fights against his love out of loyalty to Flinding, but Flinding seeing that Finduilas loves Túrin becomes embittered.
Túrin leads the Gnomes of Nargothrond to forsake their secrecy and hidden warfare, and fights the Orcs more openly.1 He has Beleg’s sword forged anew, into a black blade with shining edges, and he is from this given the name of ‘Mormakil’ or black-sword. The fame of Mormakil reaches even to Thingol. Túrin adopts the name instead of ‘Túrin’. For a long while Túrin and the Gnomes of Narog are victorious and their realm reaches to the sources of Narog, and from the western sea to the confines of Doriath. There is a stay in the might of Morgoth.
Morwen and Nienor are able to journey to Thingol leaving their goods in the care of Brodda who had wedded a kinswoman of Morwen. They learn at Thingol’s court of the loss of Túrin. News comes to them of the fall of Nargothrond. Morgoth had suddenly loosed a great army on them, and with them one of the first and mightiest2 of those Dragons that bred in his deep places and for a long while troubled the Northern lands of Men and Elves.3
The host of Narog is overwhelmed. Flinding wounded refuses Túrin’s succour and dies reproaching him. Túrin hastes back to Nargothrond but the Dragon and Orcs come thither before he can put it in defence, and all the fair halls beneath the earth are plundered, and all the women and maidens of Narog herded as slaves in captivity. Túrin seeks to slay the Dragon, but is held immovable by the spell of his eyes, while the Dragon Glórung4 taunts him. Glórung then offers him freedom either to follow seeking to rescue his ‘stolen love’ Finduilas, or to do his duty and go to the rescue of his mother and sister who are living (as he lying says) in great misery in Hithlum. Túrin forsakes Finduilas against his heart (which if he had obeyed his uttermost fate would not have befallen him) and believing the serpent goes to seek Hithlum. Glórung lies in the caves of Narog and gathers beneath him all the gold and silver and gems there hoarded.
Túrin after long wandering goes to Hithlum. But Morwen and Nienor are in Thingol’s court, when survivors tell of the fall of Nargothrond, and of Túrin, and some say Túrin escaped alive, and some say he was turned to stone by the eyes of the serpent and lived still in bondage in Nargothrond. Morwen and Nienor at last get Thingol to give them men to go against Glórung, or to spy out his lair at least.
Túrin slays Brodda in his hall, in his anger when he finds Morwen’s hall and lands empty and despoiled. Repenting his deed he flies from Hithlum again, and seeks no more after his kin. Desiring to forget his past he takes the name of Turambar (Turmarth) ‘Conqueror of Fate’, and gathers a new people, ‘Men of the Woods’, east of Narog, whom he rules, and lives in peace.
The expedition of Thingol, with whom ride Morwen and Nienor, views Narog from a hill-top. The Elves ride down towards the lair,5 but Glórung coming out lies into the stream and a huge hissing and great vapour goes up, so that their horses turn and fly. Morwen’s horse and Nienor’s are also panic-stricken and gallop wildly in the mist. When the mist clears Nienor finds herself face to face with the Dragon, whose eye holds her, and a spell of darkness and utter forgetfulness comes upon her. She wanders witless in the woods. At last her senses return but she remembers little.6 Orcs see her and chase her, but are driven off by a band of ‘Woodmen’ under Turambar, who lead her to their pleasant homes.
As they pass the falls of Silver Bowl a shivering touches her. She lives amid the woodfolk and is loved by Tamar the Lame, but at last weds Turambar, who calls her Níniel ‘the Tearful’ since he first found her weeping.
Glórung begins to raid across Narog, and Orcs gather to him. The woodmen slay many of them, and Glórung hearing of their dwelling comes crawling and filled with fire over Narog and through the woods against them. He leaves a blasted track behind him. Turambar ponders how the horror can be warded from his land. He marches with his men, and Níniel foreboding evil rides with him,7 till they can see the burning track of Glórung, and the smoking place where he lies. Between them runs a stream in a deep-cloven ravine after falling over the high falls of Silver Bowl. Turambar asks for volunteers and obtains six only to lie in the ravine over which the Dragon must pass. The seven depart. They climb the far side of the ravine at evening and cling near its edge in the trees. The next morning all have slunk away and Turambar is alone.
Glórung creeps over. Turambar transfixes him with Gurtholfin8 ‘Wand of Death’, his black sword. Glórung coils back in anguish and lies dying. Turambar comes forth to retrieve his sword, and places his foot upon Glórung and exults. But the venom of Glórung gushes out as he tugs out his sword, and he falls in a swoon. The watchers see that Glórung is slain, but Túrin does not return. Níniel goes in search of him and finds him lying beside Glórung. As she is tending him, Glórung opens his eyes and speaks, and tells her who Turambar is, and lifts his spell from off her. Then she knows who she is, and knows his tale true from things Turambar has told her. Filled with horror and anguish she flies and casts herself over Silver Bowl and none ever found her body again. Tamar followed her and heard her lament.
Túrin comes back in triumph. He asks for Níniel, but none dare tell him. Then Tamar comes and tells him. Túrin slays him, and taking Gurtholfin bids it slay him. The sword answers that his blood is sweet as any other’s, and pierces him to the heart. Túrin is buried beside Silver Bowl, and his name carved in characters of Nargothrond upon a rock. Beneath is written Níniel.
Some say Morwen released from spell by Glórung’s death came that way and read the stone.
