Q: Why Did Ulmo withdraw his Power from the Waters of Middle-earth at the end of the First Age?
ANSWER: There is a passage in The Silmarillion where messengers from Ulmo deliver a stern warning to Nargothrond:
Now it came to pass, when four hundred and ninety-five years had passed since the rising of the Moon, in the spring of the year, there came to Nargothrond two Elves, named Gelmir and Arminas; they were of Angrods people, but since the Dagor Bragollach they dwelt in the south with Círdan the Shipwright. From their far journeys they brought tidings of a great mustering of Orcs and evil creatures under the eaves of Ered Wethrin and in the Pass of Sirion; and they told also that Ulmo had come to Círdan, giving warning that great peril drew nigh to Nargothrond. Hear the words of the Lord of Waters! said they to the King.
Thus he spoke to Círdan the Shipwright: The Evil of the North has defiled the springs of Sirion, and my power withdraws from the fingers of the flowing waters. But a worse thing is yet to come forth. Say therefore to the Lord of Nargothrond: Shut the doors of the fortress and go not abroad. Cast the stones of your pride into the loud river, that the creeping evil may not find the gate.”
This passage may read as though Ulmo is intentionally withdrawing his power from Middle-earth, but there is a passage in “Narn i Chin Hurin” where he explains what is happening to Tuor when they meet at Vinyamar in Nevrast (Turgon’s former home by the sea):
“Thus thou shall walk under my shadow,” said Ulmo. “But tarry no more; for in the lands of Anar and in the fires of Melkor it will not endure. Wilt thou take up my errand?”
“I will, Lord,” said Tuor.
“Then I will set words in thy mouth to say unto Turgon,” said Ulmo. “But first I will teach thee, and some things thou shall hear which no Man else hath heard, nay, not even the mighty among the Eldar.” And Ulmo spoke to Tuor of Valinor and its darkening, and the Exile of the Noldor, and the Doom of Mandos, and the hiding of the Blessed Realm. “But behold!” said he, “in the armour of Fate (as the Children of Earth name it) there is ever a rift, and in the walls of Doom a breach, until the full-making, which ye call the End. So it shall be while I endure, a secret voice that gainsayeth, and a light where darkness was decreed. Therefore, though in the days of this darkness I seem to oppose the will of my brethren, the Lords of the West, that is my part among them, to which I was appointed ere the making of the World. Yet Doom is strong, and the shadow of the Enemy lengthens; and I am diminished, until in Middle-earth I am become now no more than a secret whisper. The waters that run westward wither, and their springs are poisoned, and my power withdraws from the land; for Elves and Men grow blind and deaf to me because of the might of Melkor. And now the Curse of Mandos hastens to its fulfilment, and all the works of the Noldor shall perish, and every hope which they build shall crumble. The last hope alone is left, the hope that they have not looked for and have not prepared. And that hope lieth in thee; for so I have chosen.”
So his power was diminished in part by Melkor’s own power (as he had diffused his strength throughout Middle-earth in order to self-identify with it) and in part because he had to allow the Valar’s curse to unfold. Ulmo would not directly oppose the will of the Valar as the Noldor were punished for their rebellion and the Kinslaying at Alqualonde.
Ulmo’s self-restraint illustrates just how careful the Valar were not to interfere directly in the affairs of the Children except at the uttermost need. I think this reflects both Tolkien’s passion for Tragedy and his attempt to show that Free Will could not be hindered. The Valar had to allow things to unfold despite all the suffering that innocent peoples like the Sindar and the Edain endured for the sake of their friendships with the Noldor.
Ulmo’s conversation with Tuor was the last direct action by the Valar prior to the War of Wrath. It set into motion the events that would lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy of a messenger who would represent both Elves and Men in a mission to the Valar. That messenger, of course, was to be Tuor’s son Eärendil.
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Yes I too think that it’s the combination of inentional withdrawal and Morgoth’s power tainting the waters. While we are told that water in itself is the least tainted element it doesn’t mean that specific water bodies could not be warped (after all this dark magic tainted also Morgulduin in Imlad Morgul so it released noxious vapours) I also wonder while Morgoth never actually made war by sea (at least after the incident with Osse and his tries to destroy seas vapourizing the water with heat) could he twist or breed some kind of sea monsters? Gandalf seems to indicate that ,,there are many things in deep waters” (and the presence of Watcher in the Water says soemthing 🙂 ) so maybe? What do you think?
I don’t think Tolkien envisioned Morgoth having much power in water but he obviously felt that, at some point, Morgoth would be able to extend his power into the waters of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion says that Melkor had a part in the gifts of all the Ainur. That would include water.