![]() Which of these two fortresses did Tolkien envision or write about first? Did he create Utumno as part of the backstory for the War of the Jewels, waged against Angband? Or did he actually develop that part of Morgoth's story in closer to chronological order? The older, stronger fortress, from which Melkor did more damage to the world, is a must less prominent element of the legendarium, and I have sometimes found myself wondering why. In contrast, Angband at the territory around it, including the desert Anfauglith before its gates and the mountains of Thangorodrim above it, are among the most important elements of the setting. After Melkor's poisonous corruption flows out of Utumno near the beginning of The Silmarillion, bringing an end to the Spring of Arda, very little is said about the Dark Lord's original seat. ![]() Since most of Tolkien's tales of the Elder Days take place in Valinor and Beleriand, the second fortress, Angband, is the more prominently featured of the two. Later, after the Darkening of Valinor, the Dark Lord (now known to the Eldar as Morgoth) returned to Middle-Earth and ruled from Angband, which had originally been a secondary outpost of Utumno. Utumno was the older and greater fortress, but it was destroyed by the Valar in the War for Sake of the Elves. In the First Age, Melkor had two fortresses, first Utumno and then Angband.
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