- Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from
J. R. R. Tolkien 'sMiddle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth.The Second Age began after the banishment of
Morgoth into the Void by the Lords of the West led byEönwë the Herald ofManwë .It lasted for 3441 years, and ended with the downfall of
Sauron , when he was defeated by theLast Alliance of Elves and Men following the downfall ofNúmenor .This age was characterized by the rise of Númenor, the rise of Sauron in Middle-earth (which saw the creation of the
Ringwraiths ), and the early wars of the Rings between Sauron and the Elves.The 3441 years of the Second Age are, for the most part, unchronicled, unlike the
First Age which is largely recounted in "The Silmarillion ", and theThird Age , which is the time period during which "The Lord of the Rings " is set. Besides the hints about the Second Age found in "The Lord of the Rings", several shorter writings fill in some of the gap between the downfall of Morgoth at the end of the First Age and the first downfall of Sauron which marked the beginning of the Third Age."The Tale of Years" in Appendix B of "The Lord of the Rings" outlines the major events of the Second Age, especially as they relate to the Rings of Power and the events and characters of "
The Lord of the Rings ". Appendix A of "The Lord of the Rings" contains genealogies of the royal house of Númenor, and several sections of "Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth" deal extensively with Númenor and several of its kings. There are several other writings dealing with the Second Age, but because of the many stories only hinted at in the extant sources, the Second Age remains vague."See also: Timeline of the Second Age".
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