The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
A title held by Thorondor in the First Age, and by at least one other Eagle in the late Third Age1
Location
Thorondor's eyrie was originally on Thangorodrim and later the Echoriath; in the Third Age the Eyrie of the Lord of Eagles was in the northern Misty Mountains
Race
Settlements
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 5 April 2018
  • Updates planned: 1

Lord of Eagles

Greatest of the birds of Middle-earth

The title of the chief Eagle of Middle-earth. In the First Age, this was Thorondor, and there was also at least one Lord of Eagles in the Third (perhaps Gwaihir, though the identity here is not certain).


Notes

1

We know of two birds that were given the title 'Lord of Eagles': the mighty Thorondor in the First Age, and the chief Eagle encountered by Bilbo Baggins and his companions in the Misty Mountains long afterward in the Third Age. It is far from clear whether the title is applied to these birds in the same way, or whether there was any kind of succession in place. In other words, we can't be sure whether any later 'Lords of Eagles' held the same title as Thorondor in the First Age.

It also remains unclear whether Gwaihir the Windlord should be counted as a Lord of Eagles, or indeed whether he was the same Eagle encountered by Bilbo. Gwaihir is never strictly identified as any kind of lord or chief, though he is said to be the mightiest of the Eagles of that time, and a descendant of Thorondor. We might therefore reasonably extend the time of the Lord of Eagles at least to the end of the Third Age and on into the Fourth.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 5 April 2018
  • Updates planned: 1

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