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COTW Silm: Tables: 'Genealogies; The Sundering of the Elves', 'Index of Names'

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Matthew T Curtis

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Feb 23, 2007, 7:24:43 PM2/23/07
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This seems like an easy CotW, but I got to thirteen footnotes before I
Even got past the Noldor...

1. The House of Finwe[0] and the Noldorin descent of Elrond and Elros

Finwe is the only Elf to marry twice[1]. By his first wife Miriel he
has one son, Feanor, who has seven sons: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm,
Caranthir, Curufin[2][3], Amrod and Amras[4][5]. An asterisk is by
Curufin's name, and a footnote informs us that he is the father of
Celebrimbor[6].

By his second wife Indis of the Vanyar, Finwe has two sons, Fingolfin
and Finarfin[7]. Fingolfin has three children[8]. The first son,
Fingon, has one son, Gil-galad[9]. The second son, Turgon, has a
daughter, Idril Celebrindal, who marries Tuor, with one son, Earendil,
who marries Elwing, producing Elrond and Elros. A daughter Aredhel
marries Eol, with one son, Maeglin.

Finarfin marries Earwen of Alqualonde[10], with five children, Finrod
Felagund[11], Orodreth[12], Angrod, Aegnor, and Galadriel[13]. The
only issue noted of the next generation is Orodreth's daughter
Finduilas.

2. The descendants of Olwe and Elwe

Olwe and Elwe are brothers[14]. Olwe's daughter Earwen marries
Finarfin, and their children are as in table 1, except that Galadriel
marries Celeborn of Doriath[15], with one daughter, Celebrian, who
marries Elrond, with three children: Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen, who
marries Aragorn.

Elwe (surnamed Thingol[16]) marries Melian the Maia, with one child
Luthien, who marries Beren Erchamion, with one child, Dior Thingol's
Heir[17], who marries Nimloth of Doriath, with one child noted[18],
Elwing, who marries Earendil as per table 1, producing Elrond and
Elros. The latter is annotated as Tar-Minyatur, and a broken line
indicates a long direct descent therefrom, through Numenor, Andunie,
and Arnor, over two ages, to Aragorn.

3. The House of Beor and the mortal descent of Elrond and Elros

Beor the Old[19] is separated by a dotted line representing several
genarations[20] from Bregor, who has two sons, Barahir and Bregolas.
Barahir marries Emeldir, producing one son, Beren Erchamion, who
marries Luthien, with issue as per table 2.

Bregolas has two sons, Belegund and Baragund. Belegund's daughter Rian
marries Huor, producing Tuor, who marries Idril Celebrindal as per
table 1, and this line is reunited with Barahir's when Earendil
marries Elwing[21].

Baragund's daughter Morwen Eledhwen marries Hurin, producing Turin
Turambar and Nienor Niniel.

4&5. the House of Hador of Dor-Lomin, and the People of Haleth
(Haladin of Brethil)

These two families are placed together, with two intermarriages.

Like the Beorians, there is a dotted line from the ancestor Marach[22]
to Hador Lorindol[23]. He has two sons, Gundor (no issue) and Galdor,
who marries Hareth of the People of Haleth, with two sons: Hurin
marries Morwen, with issue as in table 3. Huor marries Rian, producing
Tuor, who marries Idril and produces Earendil[24].

Hador's daughter Gloredhel marries Haldir of the other clan.
Halmir[25] is the father of Haldir and Hareth[26]. Haldir and
Gloredhel produce Handir, who is the father of Brandir[27][28].

The Sundering of the Elves and some of the names given to their
divisions

Quendi, the elves, are divided into Eldar and Avari; the former went
on the Great Journey from Cuivienen, the latter didn't.[29]. The Eldar
are divided into Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri[30]; the Teleri are again
divided, into those who went to Aman, those that remained in Beleriand
(known as Sindar), and those that left the march on the other side of
the Misty Mountains, Nandor. Some of the Nandor later entered
Beleriand, becoming the Laiquendi, 'Green-elves of Ossiriand'.

The Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri of Aman are collectively called
Calaquendi, High Elves or 'Elves of the Light [of the Two Trees]'. The
Sindar, Nandor and Laiquendi were collectively the Umanyar. The Avari
and Umanyar are collectively known as Moriquendi[31].


0. Names will be spelled throughout without diacritical marks.

1. These family trees use the equals sign (=) to indicate marriage and
its issue . Some genealogists use it purely for illegitimate issue,
using an italicised m. for marriage; but I suspect the question does
not arise in Middle-Earth, which is suffused with the Catholic
presumption against coupling outside wedlock.

2. Curufinwe is said to be Feanor's name in ch. 6; presumably given by
his father, as Feanor is what his mother called him. In the
_Shibboleth of Feanor_ (in HoME XII), Feanor's name was initially
Finwe, later extended to Kurufinwe in recognition of his talents
(_curu_, skill, as in _Curunir_). In ch. 5 we learn that Curufin was
'the Crafty, who inherited most of his father's skill of hand'. Why
was Curufin alone of the seven sons known by his patronymic?

3. Throughout the Silmarillion, the sons of Feanor are often mentioned
in pairs,: Maedhros and Maglor, Amrod and Amras, Celegorm and Curufin;
but only the last two are not next to each other in birth order, being
separated by Caranthir. In a note to the Shibboleth [see below],
Curufin is fourth and Caranthir fifth.

4. Tolkien never gave an explanation of the _epesse_ names of the sons
of Feanor, but he did give a list of their father-names and
mother-names in a note to the _Shibboleth_:

Maedhros Nelyafinwe Maitimo
Maglor Kanafinwe Makalaure
Celegorm Turkafinwe Tyelkormo
Curufin Curufinwe Atarinke
Caranthir Morifinwe Carnistir
Amrod Pityafinwe Ambarto or Umbarto
Amras Telufinwe Ambarussa
- The _Shibboleth_ has an excursus on the mother-names of these last
two

5. In the _Shibboleth_, Amrod died in the burning of the ships at
Losgar. In the Silmarillion he died attacking Earendil's people at the
Mouths of Sirion.

6. Celebrimbor is the only Feanorian named from this generation; but
nowhere is it said that there were no others.

7. The _Shibboleth_ tells us that these names are Sindarinisations of
the original Nolofinwe and Arafinwe.

8. The _Shibboleth_ notes a third son, Arakano/Argon, who died in
Fingolfin's first fight with the Orcs (probably for the best that he
was left out, his name sounds too much like an element). Footnotes
here and in the later _Quenta Silmarillion_ in HoME XI refer to a set
of genealogies from 1959 which give three daughters to Finwe and
Indis: Findis, Faniel and Irime; one version gives Fingon two
children, Ernis/Erien and Finbor, but according to the final version
he 'had no child or wife'.

9. Gil-galad was placed here, as Ereinion son of Fingon, by
Christopher Tolkien during the preparation of the Silmarillion, but
later came to believe this was a mistake.
In _The Fall of Numenor_ in HoME V he was the son of Felagund. This
remained the case while LotR and _Of the Rings of Power_ were
written; and Galadriel was his sister in this version.
In the _Grey Annals_ (HoME XI) Finrod had no issue. Orodreth was
moved down into the second generation as the son of Angrod (and
renamed Arothir), and Rodnor Orodreth's son was Gil-galad, and
Finduilas his sister. At other times - such as in the original version
of _Aldarion and Erendis_ - Gil-galad's original name is given as
Finellach. The version of A&E in UT was edited to conform with the
Silmarillion lineage.
The identification of Gil-galad as Ereinion son of Fingon was found
only on a scribbled note to the Grey Annals; but this seems to have
been quickly abandoned, and Tolkien, if he settled on this matter,
seems to have settled on Finellach son of Amrothir son of Angrod.

10. It is to be noted that Elves of mixed kindred reckoned their
lineage through the father; with the possible exception of Maeglin.

11. Felagund (Inglor Felagund in early versions) is the only Elf to be
commonly known by a non-Elvish name (dwarven Felak-gundu, cave hewer).

12. Who should really have been named Amrothir and placed as the son
of Angrod: see note 9. In _Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn_ in UT
Galadriel does not list Orodreth among her brothers.

13. Galadriel has been shoehorned-in here; she is not part of the
Silmarillion as Tolkien originally conceived it, and, like Gil-galad,
has to be retro-fitted to accord with LotR.

14. Ergo, they cannot be from the first generation to awaken at
Cuivienen; either those of the first generation were all siblings in
each other's eyes. Finwe and Ingwe, presumably, were not first
generation either. _Quendi and Eldar_ in HoME XI gives the names of
the first three elves to awaken at Cuivienen, who became founders of
the three kindreds: Imin, Tata and Enel. One might just convince
oneself that the first and third of these might have become Ingwe and
Elwe; but Tata cannot morph into Finwe, and there is no place in this
schema for Olwe.

15. _Of Galadriel and Celeborn_ (UT) gives several versions of their
relationship. In one, they met while she dwelled in Alqualonde and
Celeborn was a grandson of Olwe, making G&C first cousins; but this
contradicts LotR Appendix B. In another (earlier?) version there is a
third brother to Olwe and Elwe, Elmo, whose son Galadhon was father to
Celeborn and Galathil, who was father to Nimloth, making them second
cousins

16. Thingol's original name is given in Quenya, but his _epesse_ in
Sindarin.

17. The Silmarillion text (ch. 20) gives Dior's name as Dior Aranel,
and translates _Thingol's Heir_ as Eluchil, and he is Dior Eluchil
henceforth.

18. Evidence that these tables are not comprehensive: Silmarillion ch.
22 gives two brothers to Elwing, Elured and Elurin.

19. Beor is said in Silmarillion ch. 17 to have originally named
Balan; Beor means 'vassal' and he adopted this name when he entered
the service of Finrod Felagund. his son is here named Baran, and
another descendant is named, Bereg.

20. A fuller version of the House of Beor genealogy is given in the
later _Quenta Silmarillion_ section of HoME XI (and another one,
immediately preceding, is mentioned); I shall not recapitulate itfully
here, but to summarise:
It gives birthdates for all Beorians, and deathdates for many (Beren
gets two of each; rare humour for a Tolkien genealogy).
When the death is in battle, a dagger is placed by the deathdate.
(These two notations are also used in the Marachian and Haladin family
trees).
There are three generations between Beor and Bregor: Baran (Beor the
Young), Boron, Boromir.
There is a line from Beor's second son: his great-great granddaughter
Emeldir marries Barahir. Her father's name is Beren, so his grandson
was named after him (also noted in the Index).
Baran has a second son, Baranor, who is the father of Bereg, who
leaves Beleriand. (Bereg's descent is noted in the Index)
Bregor has a sister, Andreth of _Athrabeth_ fame.
Bregor has three daughters; one, Bregil, has a daughter Beldis, who
is mother to Brandir the Lame.
Beren's epithet is Gamlost, with Erchamion as an alternative. In the
published Silmarillion (ch.19), he is called Camlost.
Morwen's epithet is spelled Edhelwen.
Dior's sons are named as Eldun and Elrun.

21. Earendil and Elwing are therefore third cousins once removed on
the Beorian side; and according to the genealogy mentioned in note 23
below, fifth cousins once removed on the Marachian..
Celebrian and Elrond are also third cousins once removed, on the
Sindarin side; second cousins twice removed on the Noldorin side; and
if the Elmo line (see note 15 above) is accepted, third cousins twice
removed as well.
I think.
Aragorn and Arwen doesn't even bear thinking about.
The Hobbits must have loved this...

22. In Silmarillion ch. 17, Marach' son is named as Malach. His son is
Magor, whose son is Hathol, father of Hador Lorindol. Amlach is named
as 'one of [Marach's] grandsons'.

23. Again, there is an extended version of this genealogy in the
later _Quenta Silmarillion_, entitled: The 'folk of Marach' (nothlir
Maracha) later and usually called the 'House of Hador'. The salient
points:
A footnote to Malach notes: '[He] took the Elvish name of Aradan. His
decendants all could speak the Elvish speech, and took Elvish names;
but their own ancient tongue was not forgotten.'
The three generations between Marach and Hador are Malach (Aradan),
Magor (the Sword), and Hathol (the Axe).
Amlach (see note 22) is son of Marach's second son Imlach (this is
also noted in the Index).
Malach's daughter Adanel marries Belemir of the house of Beor,
becoming great-grandmother to Beren Gamlost.
A footnote to Hador Lorindol notes: 'Magor and Hathol served no
Elf-lord; they dwelt near the sources of Teiglin. Hador served the
Elf-lords of Hithlum and was first lord of Dor-Lomin.'
This table gives Hurin's epithet Thalion, and Tuor's epithet Eladar.
This is the only table to list Hurin's other child, Urwen Lalaeth.

24. Elwing and the twins are omitted on this table. I think the reader
can place them without too much difficulty, however.

25. No connection is shown with the ancestor for whom this people is
named. In the Silmarillion ch. 17, Haleth unites the disparate Haladin
and is said to be daughter of Haldad and twin sister of Haldar. she is
succeeded by her nephew Haldan. Another leader, Halmir, is mentioned
in ch. 18 and 20, and is father of Haldir; but only in the index is he
mentioned as son of Haldan. All these Hal- names get confusing after a
while.

26. Brother-and-sister marrying brother-and-sister. In the next
generation two brothers marry cousins. All this intermarriage can't
have done much for the gene pool.

27. Turin and Brandir were second cousins in both the Marachian and
Haladin line, and second cousins once removed in the Beorian.
Christopher Tolkien comments: 'A genealogical situation to delight the
heart of Hamfast Gamgee'.

28. Again there is an extended genealogy in the later _Quenta
Silmarillion_, entitled: The Haladin or the'folk of Haleth' (nothlir
Haletha). The salient points:
Haldan is here named Hardan.
Brandir the Lame is said to be named after his mother's brother.
There is a brother to Haldir and Hareth, named Hundar; he is father to
Hunleth and Hundad, who is father to Hunthor and Harathor.
_The Wanderings of Hurin_ (HoME XI) mentions some alterations made to
this table:
Harathor becomes Hardang, and his brother Hunthor moves to a new line,
descending from Hiril, sister to Haldir, Hundar and Hareth, who
marries Enthor (see below), with a daughter Meleth, who marries
Agathor, with two sons, Hunthor and Manthor.
The _TWoH_ text briefly mentions Enthor as brother to Hunthor and
Manthor, revised to Ebor, a henchman of Manthor.

29. Although presumably some of them later migrated westward to become
the Sylvan Elves of Mirkwood and Lorinand. Evidence for this is in
_Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn_ (UT), especially the story of
Mithrellas: the handmaiden of Nimrodel who married Gimilzor the
Numenorean and became ancestress of the Princes of Dol Amroth. Since:
a. LotR Appendix A states that there were just three marriages between
Eldar and Edain;
b. Legolas perceives Elvish ancestry in Imrahil (LotR book V), thereby
rendering this union or anything similar canonical;
c. Gimilzor was a Numenorean, and therefore Adan by definition - and
even if he be non-canonical, the Princes were surely Dunedain in
ancestry;
therefore Mithrellas, or whatever the name of the Princes' Elvish
ancestor, must have been Avari.

30. This is not in accord with _Quendi and Eldar_, in which the three
kindreds exist from the first awakening when they form around Imin,
Tata and Enel, and were thus present in both Avari and Eldar (except
for the Vanyar, who were all Eldar). The Silmarillion text (ch.3) can
be interpreted either way - but by my reading it leans towards _Q&E_.

31. The classification breaks down with Thingol, who had been to Aman
and was thus a Calaquende, but was counted among the Sindar. This is
noted in the Index.

***

The Index of Names

There being little use in a point-by-point recapitulation of the
Index, I shall here note some of the information revealed only in the
index and not in the Silmarillion text. (If I miss something
important, or if I include something in error, please correct me. If I
don't, please say something else, so that I may know that my
endeavours were not in vain.) Translations given here of Elvish names
will not be noted unless especially important. Some items found in the
Index may be noted in the above.

1. Aegnor means 'Fell fire', which seems an oddly warlike name for
Finarfin to give his son in Aman.
2.The Ainulindale was written by Rumil.
3. Anglachel was forged from meteoric iron. Silmarillion ch. 21 has
'iron that fell from heaven as a blazing star'; but the word
'meteoric' just has a more round-world, heliocentric feel to it.
4. The word Atani was originally meant for all Men, and was so used by
Iluvatar, but the Elves in exile came to use it just for the Three
houses.
5. Beleriand was named after the Bay of Balar.
6. The term Dark Elf as used by the Noldor in Exile often excluded the
Sindar. When used of Eol, it was a term of personal abuse.
7. The Calaquendi were also called Tareldar.
8. Elrond means 'Star-dome,' Elros 'Star-foam' and Elwing
'Star-spray'; whatever those are supposed to mean. Tolkien thought of
the names before attaching a meaningful translation to them. See _The
Problem of Ros_, HoME XII.
9. Beren's mother Emeldir had the epithet 'Man-hearted', which manages
to be a personal compliment and a gender insult at the same time.
10. The name Gelmir was used for two elves, which I believe is unique
in Tolkien's work.
11. The star Helluin is Sirius.
12. The last element in the name Hollowbold is a noun relating to the
verb 'to built'.
13. Irmo means '"Desirer" or "Master of Desire"'. This presumably
relates to his position as Vala of dreams.
14.Kelvar and Olvar are Elvish words: 'living things that move' and
'growing things with roots in the earth'.
15. Lembas is a shortening of the (much harder-to-say) lenn-mbas.
16. The constellation Menelmacar is Orion.
17. The region Mithrim derives its name from the Sindar who lived
there.
18. Nandor means 'Those who turn back', but it is a misnomer; they
stayed where they were, or went on later, but did not turn back.
19. Nevrast means 'Hither shore', in contrast to _haerast_, the 'Far
shore' (i.e. Aman).
20. Orome appears in the Lord of the Rings as Araw. The name means
'Horn-blowing' or 'Sound of horns', and was thus presumably given by
the elves when he discovered them when hunting.
21. The word Quenya does not appear in the Silmarillion text.
22. The index describes the Silvan Elves as (apparently) Nandor; this
is contradicted by _Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn_. See note 29
above.
23. There are several possible origins for the name Sindar
(grey-elves): the first Elves the Noldor met on their return were
under the grey skies of Mithrim; they were not considered to be of the
Light, nor of the Dark; or from Thingol's grey cloak.
24. The constellation Valacirca was the Great Bear.
25. Varda is mentioned in LotR as Elbereth; with Orome (Araw), the
only two Valar mentioned therein.
25. The constellation Wilwarin ('butterfly)' was probably Cassiopeia.
I once had a cat called Cassiopeia...
--
Matthew T Curtis mtcurtis[at]dsl.pipex.com
HIV+ for 25 Glorious Years!
The most scandalous charges were suppressed; the vicar of Christ was
only accused of piracy, murder, rape, sodomy, and incest.
- Edward Gibbon

Tar-Elenion

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Feb 23, 2007, 10:18:09 PM2/23/07
to
In article <d3uut2hge51vbi3lc...@4ax.com>,
little...@dsl.pipex.com says...
<snip>

>
> 9. Gil-galad was placed here, as Ereinion son of Fingon, by
> Christopher Tolkien during the preparation of the Silmarillion, but
> later came to believe this was a mistake.
> In _The Fall of Numenor_ in HoME V he was the son of Felagund. This
> remained the case while LotR and _Of the Rings of Power_ were
> written; and Galadriel was his sister in this version.
> In the _Grey Annals_ (HoME XI) Finrod had no issue. Orodreth was
> moved down into the second generation as the son of Angrod (and
> renamed Arothir), and Rodnor Orodreth's son was Gil-galad, and
> Finduilas his sister. At other times - such as in the original version
> of _Aldarion and Erendis_ - Gil-galad's original name is given as
> Finellach. The version of A&E in UT was edited to conform with the
> Silmarillion lineage.
> The identification of Gil-galad as Ereinion son of Fingon was found
> only on a scribbled note to the Grey Annals; but this seems to have
> been quickly abandoned, and Tolkien, if he settled on this matter,
> seems to have settled on Finellach son of Amrothir son of Angrod.

For completeness, Gil-galad was first conceived of as a descendant of
Feanor (see the Rivendell chapters in HoME 6) (through which son is not
stated).

<snip>


> 14. Ergo, they cannot be from the first generation to awaken at
> Cuivienen; either those of the first generation were all siblings in
> each other's eyes. Finwe and Ingwe, presumably, were not first
> generation either. _Quendi and Eldar_ in HoME XI gives the names of
> the first three elves to awaken at Cuivienen, who became founders of
> the three kindreds: Imin, Tata and Enel. One might just convince
> oneself that the first and third of these might have become Ingwe and
> Elwe; but Tata cannot morph into Finwe, and there is no place in this
> schema for Olwe.

As well, like Elwe, Ingwe could not have been first generation
(Unbegotten) as he also had a sibling, either Indis or Indis' mother
(depending on version). The Unbegotten all awoke with their destined
spouse. As Elwe wed Melian, he could not be Unbegotten, and Miriel was
born (her mother-name was _Ţerinde_), likely in Aman.
<snip>
--
Tar-Elenion

He is a warrior, and a spirit of wrath. In every
stroke that he deals he sees the Enemy who long
ago did thee this hurt.

Tar-Elenion

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Feb 23, 2007, 10:27:47 PM2/23/07
to
In article <MPG.20494e4bc...@newsgroups.comcast.net>,
tar_e...@hotmail.com says...
Meant to add: Thus, Finwe could not have been of the Unbegotten either.

William Cloud Hicklin

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Feb 24, 2007, 11:19:13 AM2/24/07
to
On Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:24:43 -0500, Matthew T Curtis
<little...@dsl.pipex.com> wrote:

> 9. Gil-galad was placed here, as Ereinion son of Fingon, by
> Christopher Tolkien during the preparation of the Silmarillion, but
> later came to believe this was a mistake.

To clarify: GG was "placed" in this position by JRRT, in the Grey Annals.
CRT simply accepted it as authoritative back in the 70's. Further
research convinced him that the GA text should have been deleted or
emended.

--
Tolkien's written work is characterized by disputes over the ownership of
jewelry, and the hand injuries that occur as a result.

Emma Pease

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Feb 24, 2007, 1:55:17 PM2/24/07
to
In article <d3uut2hge51vbi3lc...@4ax.com>, Matthew T
> Curtis wrote:

> 25. Varda is mentioned in LotR as Elbereth; with Orome (Araw), the
> only two Valar mentioned therein.

I assume you are not including the appendices.

Varda also is named as Varda in Galadriel's song. One could also
classify Lorien as being mentioned in the LoTR. Did Galadriel call
Lothlorien after the Valar or after his dwelling place? Treebeard
translated Lothlorien as Dreamflower.

The Valar as a group are mentioned: "May the Valar turn him aside!"

Indirectly Manwe is also mentioned; the Elder King in Bilbo's song
about Earendil.

Emma

--
\----
|\* | Emma Pease Net Spinster
|_\/ Die Luft der Freiheit weht

Matthew T Curtis

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Feb 25, 2007, 7:15:10 PM2/25/07
to

Thanks, I thought I remembered something about GG being a Feanorian,
but I couldn't find it.



><snip>
>> 14. Ergo, they cannot be from the first generation to awaken at
>> Cuivienen; either those of the first generation were all siblings in
>> each other's eyes. Finwe and Ingwe, presumably, were not first
>> generation either. _Quendi and Eldar_ in HoME XI gives the names of
>> the first three elves to awaken at Cuivienen, who became founders of
>> the three kindreds: Imin, Tata and Enel. One might just convince
>> oneself that the first and third of these might have become Ingwe and
>> Elwe; but Tata cannot morph into Finwe, and there is no place in this
>> schema for Olwe.
>
>As well, like Elwe, Ingwe could not have been first generation
>(Unbegotten) as he also had a sibling, either Indis or Indis' mother
>(depending on version). The Unbegotten all awoke with their destined
>spouse. As Elwe wed Melian, he could not be Unbegotten, and Miriel was
>born (her mother-name was _Ţerinde_), likely in Aman.
><snip>

Good catch.


--
Matthew T Curtis mtcurtis[at]dsl.pipex.com

HIV+ for 25 glorious years!
What Mrs Whitlow had sewn together out of her dress was a lot more
substantial than a bikini. It was more a *newzealand* - two quite
large respectable halves separated by a narrow channel.
- Terry Pratchett

Dirk Thierbach

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Feb 26, 2007, 1:29:07 PM2/26/07
to
Matthew T Curtis <little...@dsl.pipex.com> wrote:
> This seems like an easy CotW, but I got to thirteen footnotes before I
> Even got past the Noldor...

:-)

Shippey has in RtME also an interesting take on the genealogies:

This [...] introduces another point in which /The Silmarillion/
follows Norse belief, if not Norse convention: this is the conviction,
shared also by the Beowulf-poet, that people are their heredity.
Sagas commonly introduce characters with a list of their ancestors,
often significant in their distinction, wisdom, ferocity, or
unreliability. Tolkien did not trespass so far on the short patience
of modern times, but he did supply diagrams and family-trees; it
is essential that these should be born in mind. Thus one could easily
say that the central tragedy of the Noldor is one between [...]
full-brothers, half-brothers and cousins, a tragedy of mixed blood.

He then goes on to look at some cases in detail, among others:

The whole story of the ruin of Doriath, for instance, might be said to
run from the moment when Caranthir, fourth son of Feanor, reacts
angry to the fact that his Teleri-descended cousins have been talking
to their maternal great uncle Elwe Thingol, to whom he is not
related at all. [...] The reader who has forgotten his genealogies
[...] is left at loss. The tension of the moment, the skewed relation
between truth and whole truth, pass him by. And once the thread
is lost, the bitter resentment of Angrod seventeen pages later, the
cold mood in which Nargothrond is founded, the whole structure indeed
of /The Silmarillion/ lose their connections and begin to seem mere
happenstance.

> The Sundering of the Elves and some of the names given to their
> divisions

Shippey (again) points out that all these classifications of elves are
some sort of "calque" of the confusing uses of "elf" in the sources we
have: There are light-elves, black-elves, dark-elves, sea-elves,
wood-elves, water-elves, and lots more. So Tolkien invents a
pseudo-history that explains those names, and their relationship
to each others.

- Dirk

hen...@swirve.com

unread,
Mar 2, 2007, 3:40:17 AM3/2/07
to
On Feb 26, 7:29 pm, Dirk Thierbach <dthierb...@usenet.arcornews.de>
wrote:
> Matthew T Curtis <littleblee...@dsl.pipex.com> wrote:

<snip>

> The whole story of the ruin of Doriath, for instance, might be said to
> run from the moment when Caranthir, fourth son of Feanor, reacts
> angry to the fact that his Teleri-descended cousins have been talking
> to their maternal great uncle Elwe Thingol, to whom he is not
> related at all. [...] The reader who has forgotten his genealogies
> [...] is left at loss. The tension of the moment, the skewed relation
> between truth and whole truth, pass him by. And once the thread
> is lost, the bitter resentment of Angrod seventeen pages later, the
> cold mood in which Nargothrond is founded, the whole structure indeed
> of /The Silmarillion/ lose their connections and begin to seem mere
> happenstance.
>
> > The Sundering of the Elves and some of the names given to their
> > divisions
>
> Shippey (again) points out that all these classifications of elves are
> some sort of "calque" of the confusing uses of "elf" in the sources we
> have: There are light-elves, black-elves, dark-elves, sea-elves,
> wood-elves, water-elves, and lots more. So Tolkien invents a
> pseudo-history that explains those names, and their relationship
> to each others.
>
> - Dirk

Shippey was a Secret Ent. He refused to get out of the closet, which
is why Wandlimb, who was a more or less normal person, though she did
stay wood for a long time, refused to have anything further to do with
him.
Any normal person wuld realize that.But then, you are not a normal
person.

Horus Engels

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