Bauglir

Bauglir is the Black Speech epithet of Melkor, who became Morgoth, the principal antagonist of Tolkien’s legendarium. The name appears as part of the epithet Morgoth Bauglir and is used by the Elves and later by scholars to designate the Dark Lord. The exact meaning is not definitively attested, but it is commonly translated as “the Dread Lord” or “the Dark Lord.”

Origin and role: Melkor was one of the Valar who entered Arda at its awakening. He soon rebelled, taking the name Morgoth and turning to domination and destruction. As Bauglir, he established the fortress of Utumno and later Angband in the north of Beleriand, and he waged a prolonged war against the Elves and the Edain. He bred or corrupted various evil beings, most notably Orcs and the Balrogs, and he sought to thwart the designs of Ilúvatar. His opposition precipitated much of the early history of Middle-earth and shaped the fates of many of its peoples.

End and legacy: After the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, Morgoth was defeated and cast into the Timeless Void by the Valar. The name Bauglir thus survives primarily as a historical epithet in the lore of Middle-earth. In the broader storytelling, the fall of Morgoth sets the stage for Sauron’s later rise as the Dark Lord in the Second and Third Ages, though the epithet Bauglir itself is less emphasized in later periods.