Seeking refuge in HITHLUM during Bragollach

[Nóm]

Sometimes I open to a random page and see which question arises that can be posted. Here is one from this morning:

Of the Ruin of Beleriand
...and he returned to Dorthonion; but most of his people fled from their homes and took refuge in the fastness of Hithlum.
So great was the onslaught of Morgoth that Fingolfin and Fingon could not come to the aid of the sons of Finarfin; and the hosts of Hithlum were driven back with great loss to the fortresses of Ered Wethrin, and these they hardly defended against the orcs.

In this battle Dorthonion and Ered Wethrin were reached by the sudden flames of Morgoth, and both of the realms were at war. Why did Barahir's people leave one for another, especially when they could have gone to Nargothrond instead? The people of Beor had great friendship with Finrod anyhow, so I can't see them chosing Fingolfin over him if the King's themselves were the major factor. Could the people of Hador have been a factor? Special friendships between the two houses of Edain? Or the very fact that Men lived in Hithlum?

There is another reason, a bigger reason, that I wonder why they chose Hithlum. Why seek refuge in another land that is at war too? Men were dying in defense at Ered Wethrin, and the battle was big and bad enough that no aid was spared for Dorthonion, and Finrod was cut off.

And by which route did the Edain reach Hithlum? We know there was Fighting to the North in the Pass of Sirion, and to the East of Ered Wethrin. And surely going to Nargothrond is a better option that going around the loooong way and entering Dor-lomin by the gate the the Noldor? Was there some easy mountain pass that was closer, and was not under attack? Did they take the Pass of Sirion, or go further south along the river before crossing?

What do you think of this whole thing about them going to Hithlum when they did?

[Starbrow]

I always assumed it was because Hithlum was much closer. Nargothrond was a long way to go with few defences available along the way.

[Maggot]

I agree with Starbrow it would off been to risky to go to Nargothrond without any defenses.

[Arvegil]

Perhaps the armies of Fingolfin could cover their retreat, even as they were being driven back. And, of course, the presence of other Edain might have been a factor.

[Aiwendil2]

I seem to recall that the people of Beor went first to Brethil, and only later did some go on to Dor-lomin. We don't know how long this took - it could very well have been months or even a few years before most were settled in Hithlum. So it could very well be that the worst of the Bragollach was over by that time.

I can't see a migration to Nargothrond as very likely. Nargothrond was a hidden kingdom and it seems a bit unlikely that Felagund would accept so many human refugees. Moreover, I imagine that the folk of Beor would rather live among fellow Edain than in an underground city of Elves.

[baragund]

Here are some more thoughts on why the Men of Dorthonion fled to Hithlum:

Geography: Hithlum was better protected by the mountains of Ered Wethrin. Dorthonion was a highland that featured gentle slopes leading to Ard-galen. It seemed that Ered Wethrin was a big help in the defence of Hithlum during the Dagor Bragollach and I would imagine that was not lost to the refugees of Dorthonion, and that was why not many of them decided to settle in the forests of Brethil, even thought they would have to make a longer and more difficult journey to get to Hithlum. Even though Brethil was a greater distance from Angband than Hithlum, it was more accessible.

Strength in Numbers: Makes sense to me. Multiple smaller settlements can be attacked more easily than a single large community, especially if it's in a location that can be well defended.

Segregated Societies: Certainly the Men of Dorthonion were great friends of the Elves of Nargothrond, but I never got the sense that there was widespread intermingling of the races (with notable exceptions of course!). And I can't think off the top of my head of any instances in Tolkien's stories where there was a large-scale integration of different races. Famous individuals would dwell among other races of course but I don't think there are any instances of entire societies (elves/men, elves/dwarves, men/dwarves) blending together to live in a single place.

...oh shoot! I just remembered the town of Bree! There's an example of Men and Hobbits living together in an integrated community. Well at least there are no cases of Men and Elves living together in such a way... I think