Húrin and Morgoth

After the Battle of Unnumbered Tears Morgoth commanded the Orcs pile to the bodies of his enemies in the battlefield plains. It was known as Haudh-en-Ndengin, the Hill of the Slain. Morgoth began the torture of Húrin seeking to learn all he could about Turgon, now High King of the Noldor, but Húrin could not be broken. Morgoth promised to release his captive for information but Húrin denied him for he knew no promise of Morgoth could be trusted.

Morgoth then took Húrin to Haudh-en-Ndengin and set him upon it. The reek of death was all around as it was new built. Morgoth had Húrin to look upon his homeland while the Black Lord cursed his wife and son were now dependent upon the mercy of Morgoth. And the two strove back and forth in words and will. Morgoth boasted of his power and domination of Middle-earth; Húrin countering with the knowledge that Morgoth was but an escaped thrall of the Valar and Men had once escaped his grasp. In the midst of this debate Morgoth again laid a curse on Húrin's kin: "'The shadow of my thought shall lie upon them wherever they go, and my hate shall pursue them to the ends of the world'" (p. 65, The Children of Húrin).

At last Morgoth took Húrin back to Angband but he did not slay him. Rather Morgoth sat Húrin in a chair, and did not allow Húrin to move or die. And he cursed Húrin saying: "'Therefore with my eyes you shall see, and with my ears you shall hear, and nothing shall be hidden from you'" (p. 65, The Children of Hurin). "And so it came to pass; but it is not said that Húrin asked ever of Morgoth either for mercy or death, for himself or for any of his kin" (p. 197, The Silmarillion). This curse I think is a worse sentence then death. To see with Morgoth's eyes of malice and untruth. How can Húrin make heads or tails of anything? How can he maintain hope? In my own life where do I fix my eyes? If not in the right place I lose touch with reality very quickly. So a worse torture for Húrin could not have been devised.

Middle-earth timeline: First Age, 472
Today's reading comes from: The Silmarillion, page 197; The Children of Húrin, pages 62-65, The Silmarillion, page 197