Summary
From the Hobbits to the Fell Beasts, the rich lore ofThe Lord of the Ringscomprises several different races, each with their own mythology and backstory. However, J. R. R. Tolkien also includes many characters with unexplained origins (some more intentionally than others), which also the mysterious entities, the Nameless Things. Little to nothing has been shared about them inThe Lord of the Ringsseries, and even Gandalf refuses to divulge any information about his encounter with them. While he is fighting with Durin’s Bane in TA 3019, they both fall from the Bridge of Khazad-dûm into a deep chasm.
They land in a freezing lake and continue to battle until the Balrog flees into dark tunnels — where the Nameless Things reside. Gandalf follows the Balrog to escape from them: “In that despair my enemy was my only hope.” After finally defeating the Balrog and beingresurrected as Gandalf the White, he says to his companions, “Now I have walked there, but I will bring no report to darken the light of day.” His reluctance to speak of them confirms their dark and terrifying nature — which raises the question: what really are these monstrous abominations?
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What Are the Nameless Things Below Moria?
Gandalf states, “Far, far below the deepest delving of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he.” The fact that even Gandalf — who isone of the Maiaand has, hence, lived for thousands of years — cannot identify the creatures suggests that they are from ancient times. The book ofThe Hobbitholds more clues: “There are strange things living in the pools and lakes in the hearts of mountains […] Even in the tunnels and caves the goblins have made for themselves there are other things living unbeknown to them […] Some of these caves, too, go back in their beginnings to ages before the goblins, who only widened them and joined them up with passages, and the original owners are still there in odd corners, slinking and nosing about.” While the Nameless Things are not specifically mentioned here, they are known to have dwelled under the Misty Mountains, in tunnels that are “not made by Durin’s folk” — thus, strongly implying that they may be the subject of this passage.
Gandalf’s lack of knowledge about these creatures also suggests that the Valar may also be unaware of them — disproving any theory that the Nameless Things might be their creation. It can be assumed that they must have been created from the Music of the Ainur (the song from which Eä, the universe, was conceived). Eru Ilúvatar, its creator, had allowed the Ainur to weave their own ideas into the Music, but the vision ofMelkor, the first Dark Lord, clashed with Eru’s themes and created disharmony: “Out of the discords of the Music – not directly out of either of the themes, Eru’s or Melkor’s, but of their dissonance with regard one to another – evil things appeared.” It is likely that the Nameless Things are among these creatures, which would also explain how they are older than Sauron: bythe time he entered Eä, they already existed in a place called the Timeless Halls (where, as the name suggests, there was no concept of time). Moreover, they did not serve Melkor, but are actually an independent evil force.
Another theory worth exploring is that they originate from the Void. While the origins ofUngoliant, the mother of Shelob, are largely unknown, it is believed that she could have been an incarnation of “the darkness that lies about Arda”, who eventually descended into the world. Similarly, the Nameless Things, being a force of darkness, seem to be akin to Ungoliant. They could have also been wrenched from the Void, after which they manifested themselves as the Nameless Things.
A popular theory suggests thatthe Watcher in the Watermay have actually been a Nameless Thing. Gandalf comments that the tentacled creature “crept, or [was] driven out of dark waters under the mountains. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.” While the latter part of this quote can also refer to the Balrog, it could just as easily be linked to what he says about the Nameless Things later on. The dark lake beside the West-gate of Moria was actually created by the damming of the Sirannon river. It is possible that, as the pool of water grew deeper, the rocks underneath may have cracked, forming tunnels to the old passages beneath Moria. As a result, the Watcher may have been one of the Nameless Things that climbed its way up to the surface through these tunnels. Its presence was first recorded duringBalin’s expedition to Moria, but it is possible that it lived in the waters much before that.
Were the Nameless Things Created By Melkor?
Many also claim that the Nameless Things may be Melkor’s followers after all, probably brought to life in his fortress of Utumno, or much before, during the Days before days. Just as he corrupted most of the evil creatures in Middle-earth, like the Balrogsor even the Orcs, he could have also created the Nameless Things: “Melkor bred many other monsters of diverse shapes and kinds that long troubled the world.” Even after the War of Wrath, the Valar were unable to locate all the vaults and caverns “hidden with deceit” under Utumno, which could mean that the creatures continued to exist in the foundations of the earth.
Another piece of evidence is that, during the Years of the Trees,Melkor raised the Misty Mountainsto hinder Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar — probably because he knew that the Nameless Things remained underneath the mountains, posing a threat to any visitors.
However, this theory is not as plausible compared to the others, mostly due to the fact that there is no record of these creatures actually doing Melkor’s bidding or contributing to his cause in any way. Secondly, if he had created them, Sauron (who was Melkor’s chief lieutenant) would not have been oblivious about their existence.
