Quote:
Thrice was Fingolfin with great blows
to his knees beaten, thrice he rose
still leaping up beneath the cloud
aloft to hold star-shining, proud,
his stricken shield, his sundered helm,
that dark nor might could overwhelm
till all the earth was burst and rent
in pits about him. He was spent.
His feet stumbled. He fell to wreck
upon the ground, and on his neck
a foot like rooted hills was set,
and he was crushed--not conquered yet;
one last despairing stroke he gave:
the mighty foot pale Ringil clave
about the heel, and black the blood
gushed as from smoking fount in flood.
Halt goes for ever from that stroke
great Morgoth...
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Clave: Past tense of Cleave, to divide by or as if by a cutting blow : SPLIT and; to penetrate or pass through something by or as if by cutting synonym see TEAR
It would seem that Morgoth, being almost giant in stature, couldn't fit his entire foot on Fingolfin's neck, because his foot was so large. So the heel was exposed and Fingolfin cut the bottom of Morgoth's foot near the heel. Ever step on a nail or a sharp rock? That'd cause you to limp too. From The Silmarillion I get the impression that his foot was cut all the way off, but from reading the Lays of Beleriand I get the feeling it was just a pretty bad wound, but that's just how everything is with Tolkien so it seems.