Amlach by Himring

Amlach is one of the Edain, the three houses of Men who crossed the Blue Mountains in the First Age and encountered the Elves fighting against Morgoth in Beleriand. Amlach is an early member of the House of Marach, the largest of these groups that later became known as the house of Hador. He is the grandson of Marach, under whose leadership the house crossed into Beleriand, and the son of the younger brother of Malach.¹ Malach is the early leader of the house of Marach before Hador, who is the most enthusiastic in aligning his fate to the Elves, both as ally in their war against Morgoth and in his preference for their company and their lifestyle. Despite their close family connections, Amlach’s attitude to the Elves and the war is very different from Malach's, at least to begin with. He is among those who fear the Elves, particularly those from Valinor, and he publicly argues against the alliance, until an unexpected twist of fate changes his mind and turns his whole life in a different direction.²

From the beginning, the narrator of The Silmarillion leaves little doubt that for the Edain to become allies in the war against Morgoth will eventually come at a heavy cost to their people—because of the great power of Morgoth, but also because their main allies among the Elves, the Noldor, have compromised their chances of success by previous actions.³ However, because of the consistent portrayal of Morgoth and his forces in Angband as outright evil, the implication that opposing them is the moral stance is not lessened by the risk. The majority of the Edain decide to follow the lead of Malach and of Bëor and his descendants, and it is the fate of this majority that the narrative of The Silmarillion is mainly concerned with. However, not all Edain adopt this position; Amlach is one of the two named Edain who question it most strongly, the other being Amlach’s temporary ally, Bereg of the house of Bëor.

Of course, the Haladin, the house of Haleth, represent a different stance from Malach and Bëor as well. Haleth’s determination to remain independent and her rejection of Caranthir’s offer receive more attention, both from the narrator and from fannish readers, than Amlach and his faction. But Haleth, while bargaining for independence, is less comprehensive in her rejection of Elvish allies and fully commits to opposition against Morgoth. She is also not involved or present during the dissension that surrounds Amlach, as the Haladin took a different route during their migrations.⁴

The key scenes in Amlach’s story take place in Estolad. This is the area in East Beleriand that Finrod temporarily settled the newly arrived Edain in, primarily chosen to remove them quickly from the hostility of the Laiquendi in Ossiriand, but also a relatively safe space away from the front lines of the Siege of Angband further north. Amlach apparently was born and grew up there.⁵ At the time, the Edain are already migrating away from Estolad, towards the north and west, originally impelled by their own desire to proceed further westward, but at the invitation of the princes of the Noldor. This movement brings them closer to the front lines. It is not entirely clear how far migration has proceeded at the time when the dissension arises; it is described as a movement that gradually picked up numbers and took place over a period of about fifty years, before it ceased.⁶

In the assembly that is called because of the dissension fomented by Amlach and Bereg, none of the advocates for the Elvish alliance are individually named characters but are collectively presented and quoted as Elf-friends (a term that anticipates the later split among the Edain’s descendants in Númenor along similar lines).⁷ What we are told does not really allow us to deduce which relatives of Amlach and Bereg might be present, either because they are still in Estolad or because they have temporarily returned for the assembly. But Amlach and Bereg are junior members of the leading families of the Edain opposing the politics of senior members, whether these are present or not. How much personal ambition might be a factor in this disagreement is unclear, but they have gained a substantial following that necessitates the assembly.

Amlach and Bereg’s position is already outlined before the assembly is called. It is given in direct speech for both together, apparently as a distillation of repeated arguments made by either:

We took long roads, desiring to escape the perils of Middle-earth and the dark things that dwell there; for we heard that there was Light in the West. But now we learn that the Light is beyond the Sea. Thither we cannot come where the Gods dwell in bliss. Save one; for the Lord of the Dark is here before us, and the Eldar, wise but fell, who make endless war upon him. In the North he dwells, they say; and there is the pain and death from which we fled. We will not go that way.⁸

This position is not unmotivated. The Edain repeatedly describe themselves elsewhere as having tried to escape into the West from darkness, although the details of this flight remain untold.⁹  From that point of view, being roped into fighting Morgoth is a derailment and achieves almost the opposite result.  Of course, the reader of The Silmarillion is aware, especially on rereading, just how unattainable that earlier goal always had been. The obstacles barring access to the West to Men are not only temporary or due to the actions of the Noldor, and insisting on this goal will eventually lead to disaster for the Edain's descendants at the end of the Second Age. However, Amlach and Bereg do accept that impossibility and are not arguing that the Edain should continue to try to reach Valinor. Nevertheless, some of the wording, as reported by the narrator, indicates that there may be something more sinister underlying this refusal to get involved in a doomed enterprise than self-interest. The points made about the Valar and Morgoth and the description of the Eldar are not precisely wrong, but the phrasing hints at possible influence by propaganda from Angband. The narrator has already prepared the reader for the likelihood of Morgoth’s meddling.

At the beginning of the assembly itself, the first exchange is between the Elf-friends and Bereg, arguing for and against involvement. But now there comes a further twist: we are warned by the narrator that Amlach who now apparently arises in the assembly to argue with the Elf-friends is not, in fact, Amlach at all, while those present continue to believe Amlach is speaking. It is not revealed how Morgoth's messenger was able to supplant Amlach at this important meeting, which he surely must have planned to attend, which adds to the aura of mystery and menace that surrounds the episode.

The arguments that pseudo-Amlach brings up are unlike those made before. In essence, what he proposes is a conspiracy theory: both the Valar and Morgoth were invented by the Elves. The existence of Orcs is acknowledged but it is suggested that undisturbed coexistence with them would be possible, if the Elves did not interfere. This position sounds radically secular, but is a lot less plausible in a geographical position that is not very far south from Angband. Pseudo-Amlach’s speech is, however, very effective. It does not so much alleviate his audience’s fear of Morgoth, as intensify their fear of the Elves. Rather than only refusing to join the Eldar, they now wish more strongly to avoid them entirely and leave Beleriand.

The deception, which may have worked so well only because the Edain did not suspect Morgoth’s capabilities yet, cannot last, for Amlach is not dead or captive. Whatever kept him from the assembly, he reappears and, of course, denies that he was the speaker they heard. But the discovery does little for many to lessen the fear generated; fear of Morgoth resurges doubly, but not therefore a willingness to confront him. Bereg leaves Beleriand with a sizable following from the House of Bëor. Many former followers of Amlach also leave, but under a new leader. Amlach is not with them.

For Amlach reacts differently:

But Amlach repented, saying: 'I have now a quarrel of my own with this Master of Lies, which will last to my life's end'; and he went away north and entered the service of Maedhros.¹⁰

It would be possible to interpret this as the reaction of a proud man who perceives himself to have been personally insulted by the impersonation. There may be more to it than that, however. In our own society, identity theft can have very severe repercussions. In a situation such as Amlach’s, his position in Edain society could have been threatened by the incident. He loses many of his followers, at any rate, and perhaps not only because they choose to leave Beleriand. Amlach’s emotions are certainly strong enough that they overcome his fear of the Noldor, as well as making him willing to seek out direct confrontation with Morgoth’s forces.

Why does Amlach choose to join Maedhros to fight Morgoth, rather than go to Hithlum and join Fingolfin, as one might expect for a relative of Malach? Should we see this as implying a negative assessment of both Amlach and Maedhros: both on the right side, for now, but nevertheless morally compromised? Could it be shame that makes Amlach choose a different path or personal tensions lingering after the earlier controversy? But it is also worth bearing in mind that the movements of the other early descendants of Marach before Hador and the settlement of Dor-lómin were complex and did not take all of them straight to Hithlum; Malach’s close relations to Fingolfin appear to have been personal, rather than involving all his family right away.¹¹

Maedhros was clearly willing to accept Amlach’s service, although nothing else is said about their subsequent relationship. It is possible to read the sons of Fëanor as reacting with indifference to the arrival of the Edain, although this would be mainly an extrapolation from Caranthir’s initial treatment of the Haladin. However, Maedhros, at least, may have issued an invitation to the Edain alongside the other princes of the Noldor. An earlier version of the text states that he had done so, but few, or possibly none, had taken up that invitation yet, perhaps in part simply because he was to the east of the westward direction they had been aiming for.¹² Amlach may have found a few Edain already in service in Himring or he may have been accompanied by a few remaining followers; we cannot tell.

The relations between the Eldar and the Edain in Beleriand have been viewed very critically in some more recent discussions. To read them through a postcolonial lens, in the narrower sense of postcolonial, would be to ignore that the Edain arrive in Beleriand very clearly later than the Noldor and initially enter relations with Eldar according to their own motivations, without any coercion. This is not to say, however, that there is nothing problematic about these relations, which are further complicated by the clash of very different cultures and lifespans. Tolkien himself touches on these issues occasionally, however, even if he does not fully resolve them. Amlach, and his temporary ally, Bereg, are an instance of this that sometimes gets overlooked.

Works Cited

1. The most detailed account of the early descendants of Marach is given in the genealogical tables of the house of Hador associated with The Later Quenta Silmarillion and accompanying notes. Here the birth date of Amlach is given as 337, the same year in which his uncle Malach married. See The History of Middle-earth, Volume XI: The War of the Jewels, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West," Commentary, (ii) The House of Hador.
2. All events of Amlach’s story discussed here are recounted in The Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West." References are to this chapter unless indicated otherwise. The text for the most part closely follows The History of Middle-earth, Volume XI: The War of the Jewels, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West," with Amlach’s story covered in §§17-22.
3. This is explicitly spelled out a little later: "All these were caught in the net of the Doom of the Noldor" (The Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West").
4. The migrations of the Haladin are mainly recounted after the account of Amlach, but are happening concurrently (The Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West"). Compare Oshun’s biography of Haleth.
5. This is based on the dates in the genealogical tables mentioned above (The History of Middle-earth, Volume XI: The War of the Jewels, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West," Commentary, (ii) The House of Hador).
6. The Tolkien Gateway entry on Amlach apparently assumes that the assembly happened at the end of the fifty-year period (Amlach, Tolkien Gateway, January 14, 2022, accessed September 29, 2023).
7. The Silmarillion, Akallabêth.
8. The Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West."
9. Compare Bëor’s statement: "'A darkness lies behind us,' Bëor said; 'and we have turned our backs upon it, and we do not desire to return thither even in thought. Westwards our hearts have been turned, and we believe that there we shall find Light.'" The Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West."
10. Ibid.
11. More details on the movements of the early Marachians is found in  The History of Middle-earth, Volume XI: The War of the Jewels, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West," Commentary, (ii) The House of Hador.
12. The History of Middle-earth, Volume XI: The War of the Jewels, The Later Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Coming of Men into the West."