Most of the Elves welcome them, and they are given fiefs throughout Beleriand. These are the Edain, descendants of those Men who have rebelled against the rule of Morgoth's servants and journeyed westward. Three centuries pass, during which the first Men appear in Beleriand. Together with the Sindar of Beleriand, they proceed to lay siege to Angband, and establish new strongholds and realms in Middle-earth, including Hithlum ruled by Fingon, Nargothrond by Finrod Felagund and Gondolin by Turgon. In addition, after some time the Noldorin Elves forsake Valinor and pursue Morgoth to Middle-earth in order to take vengeance upon him. However, the Elves manage to stay his assault, and most of their realms remain unconquered one of the most powerful of these is Doriath, ruled by Thingol. From his fortress of Angband he endeavours to gain control of the whole of Middle-earth, unleashing a war with the Elves that dwell in the land of Beleriand to the south. It begins five hundred years before the action of the book, when Morgoth, a Vala and the prime evil power, escapes from the Blessed Realm of Valinor to the north-west of Middle-earth. The first versions of the long lays fit chronologically in with Tolkien's earliest writings, as recounted in The Book of Lost Tales Part One, but the later versions are contemporary with the writing of The Lord of the Rings.The history and descent of the main characters are given as the leading paragraphs of the book, and the back story is elaborated upon in The Silmarillion.

In addition to these two poems, the book also gives some shorter, soon abandoned poems. The first tale is in alliterative verse, and the second is in rhyming couplets. Although Tolkien abandoned both of these before their respective ends, they are both long enough to occupy many stanzas, each of which can last for over 10 pages. The Lays of Beleriand, published in 1985 (the third volume of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series, The History of Middle-earth), contains the long 'lays' or poems Tolkien wrote: these are the Lay of the Children of Húrin about the saga of Túrin Turambar, and The Lay of Leithian (also called Release from Bondage) about Beren and Lúthien. Tolkien, and the first chapter of The Lays of Beleriand. The Lay of the Children of Húrin is a lay written by J.R.R. For a list of other meanings, see Children of Húrin (disambiguation). The name Children of Húrin refers to more than one character, item or concept.

This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of article quality. ' I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess.' - Sam

The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien