The great crown of Morgoth

After stealing the Silmarils from Valinor, Morgoth escaped to Middle-earth, where he re-established his stronghold of Angband.

There he "forged for himself a great crown of iron, and he called himself King of the World". He set the Silmarils in the crown, and "never took it from his head, though its weight became a deadly weariness".

Nearly five centuries later, Beren and Lúthien dared to confront Morgoth. Lúthien enchanted Morgoth to sleep, and the Iron Crown slipped from his head to the floor. Beren prised one of the Silmarils from the crown with the knife Angrist, and then he and Lúthien escaped.

After nearly another century, at the end of the First Age, the Valar launched the War of Wrath against Morgoth and his forces. This culminated in the defeat and capture of Morgoth himself; the two remaining Silmarils were taken from his crown, and it was beaten into a iron collar for his neck. The Valar then bundled Morgoth through the Doors of Night, and he remains in the Void until the End of Days, with his former symbol of power tight against his throat.