Every in-depth discussion of Middle-earth’s pseudo-history eventually gets around to the parentage of Gil-galad. In November 1996, I read The Peoples of Middle-earth for the first time and decided to set out for everyone (who could find this information) to see just what the authoritative sources had to say regarding Gil-galad’s parentage. But I also wanted to document the other members of the Finwëan family who had, until that time, been unheard of by most fans.
The genealogies are not really as important for the study of the pseudo-history as they are for the study of how Tolkien constructed it. But in and of themselves, the genealogies are interesting (in my opinion) because each name represents a story. In some cases, the stories amount to little more than an anecdote or footnote. But Tolkien seemed to want to say something about every member of the Elf kings’ families.
And while people generally don’t dispute the accuracy of this compilation, the value of the “Final Eldarin Genealogy” to the understanding of Middle-earth has been questioned. For that matter, there seems to be little hope of anything like a consensus on what the proper context for this genealogy should be. After all, it contradicts the published Silmarillion, and even Christopher Tolkien’s own admission that he should not have tampered with his father’s ideas as much as he did doesn’t justify raising this genealogical information above that provided in The Silmarillion (in the eyes of some readers). So, this material must be regarded carefully, and presented to others with a certain caution.
Finally, I should point out that I take the majority of the following text from an article I posted to the Tolkien news groups in November 1996. It represents more accurately my initial understanding of the final genealogy. I have updated the material a little bit for this discussion.
A number of names and ideas have been introduced in this volume which we have hitherto not seen before. Some will appear to be quite radical.
For instance, it appears that Miriel Serindë was born in Valinor. There is a discussion of the phonetic shift of the initial consonant in “Serindë” where Tolkien indicates the Noldor consciously engaged in this shift while in Aman. He writes:
The change…must therefore have been a conscious and deliberate change agreed to and accepted by a majority of the Noldor, however initiated, after the separation of their dwellings from the Vanyar. It must have occurred after the birth of Miriel, but (probably) before the birth of Fëanor. The special connexion of these two persons with the change and its later history needs some consideration. (From: “The Shibboleth of Feanor” in The Peoples of Middle-earth)
Well, I can’t go into all that consideration, but it’s evident that Tolkien envisioned Miriel as being native to Aman.
Another interesting item that develops concerns Indis’ relationship to Ingwë. In Morgoth’s Ring she is is said to be the sister of Ingwë, yet in The Peoples of Middle-earth we are told that she is the niece of Ingwë (the daughter of his sister). Finwë apparently had an eye for the young ladies, or perhaps waited so long to find a spouse that he had no choice but to look among the younger generation.
There are two references to the “kin of Miriel”. The second reference says “the names of her kin are not recorded”, which I think is a shame. It would be interesting to see what Tolkien would have devised for her family.
It also appears that Nerdanel, the wife of Fëanor, came of a clan of Noldor who possessed auburn hair (called “reddish-brown” by Tolkien). This is the only place I know of where such hair color is said to occur among the Eldar. It is also told that she had a ruddy complexion. I’m not sure of what to make of this. Mahtan, Nerdanal’s father, was also called *rusco*, “fox”. His hair must therefore have been a firey red.
Of the sons of Fëanor and Nerdanel, Maedros, Amrod, and Amras all had red hair. Amrod is here said to have died in one of the ships burned at Losgar. The consequences of incorporating this tradition with the published Silmarillion seem to have daunted Christopher Tolkien, but I don’t see why it should have. He could merely have changed all references to the twins to a reference to Amras. JRRT surely would have done at least this much in an effort to incorporate the tradition.
Two names are provided for the second daughter of Finwë: Irimë and Irien. Christopher Tolkien suggests that Irien may have been intended to replace the older form Irimë. She was in Middle-earth known as Lalwen but there is really nothing more recorded of her history, unless something is buried in the reams of linguistic material that has yet to be published.
A third daughter, Faniel, is not mentioned. In a note, Christopher Tolkien writes:
[In The War of the Jewels I referred to a set of Elvish genealogies with a clear resemblance to those of the Edain given in that book: see XI.229, where I noted that the former are followed by notes expressly relating to them and dated December 1959. These genealogies are almost exclusively concerned with the descendants of Finwë, and are set out in four separate tables, all apparently belonging to much the same time, and showing the same sort of development in stages as is seen in those of the houses of the Edain. At least eight years and probably more divide them from the present ‘excursus’, whose date is fixed as not earlier than February 1968; but my father clearly had them in front of him when he wrote this, and alterations made to the latest of the four agree with statments made in it. In all these tables there are still three daughters of Finwë and Indis: Findis, Faniel, and Irimë (see X.207, 238, and also X.262, where Finvain appears for Irimë), and no correction was made. In the excursus Faniel had disappeared, and the younger daughter appears as both Irimë and Irien (see note 28).]
It is also said that:
…after the death of Fingofin…the Noldor then became divided into separate kingships under Fingon, son of Fingolfin, Turgon his younger brother, Maedros son of Fëanor, and Finrod son of Arfin [Finarfin]; and the following of Finrod had become the greatest.
[Note: I’ve altered the meaning of this passage by leaving out the original context. The point conveyed above is implied by the discussion.]
It’s interesting that Finrod’s following is said to have been the largest. We know from The Silmarillion that Turgon took a third of Fingolfin’s Noldor into his own kingdom of Nevrast. And we know that after the Ruin of Beleriand (in the wake of which Fingolfin fought Morgoth in single combat) that some of the Fëanorian Noldor settled in Nargothrond.
But this is the first time we find a statement which indicates there was a single kingship of the Noldor prior to Fingolfin’s death. This is odd, since Finrod and Turgon at least were said to be kings already. Maedros was hitherto only given an implied kingship in a couple of passages in The Silmarillion referring to how the three kings of the Noldor dealt with the Edain.
Fingolfin’s wife, Anairë, was of the Noldor and she stayed in Aman when the Noldor left, apparently because of her friendship with ëarwen, the wife of Finarfin.
Orodreth was apparently intended (in the final form) to be Finrod’s nephew, rather than his brother. Another surprising alteration is the denial to Fingon of wife or children, and the assignment of Gil-galad (Rodnor Gil-galad) to Orodreth as a son. The consequences of these alterations, although significant, would have resulted in minimal changes to the published Silmarillion: (1) the reference to Ereinion being sent to the Havens after Fingolfin’s death would have been removed, and (2) Orodreth could not have held Minas Tirith for Finrod after Nargothrond was established. Possibly, Angrod would have been removed from Dorthonion and given command of Minas Tirith (where he would, perhaps, have died) and Aegnor alone would have held Dorthonion.
Fingon actually had been given an unnamed wife and two children in the aforementioned four tables, but Christopher writes: “…in the final table they were struck out, with the note that Fingon ‘had no child or wife’.”
The ubiquitous Gildor Inglorion, sadly, is nowhere mentioned in the section dealing with Finwë’s descendants. I’m not sure of whether Tolkien decided the House of Finrod was to be something else, or if perhaps Gildor came over to Middle-earth in the Second Age with Glorfindel. This last inference, although improbable, derives from the fact that Tolkien writes that Finrod did not have any children in Middle-earth:
Finrod left his wife in Valinor and had no children in exile.
This passage also states:
“…Angrod’s son was Artaresto [Artaher –> Arothir –> Orodreth], who was beloved by Finrod and escaped when his father was slain, and dwelt with Finrod. Finrod made him his ‘steward’ and he succeeded him in Nargothrond. His Sindarin name was Rodreth (altered to Orodreth because of his love of the mountains…. His children were Finduilas and Artanaro = Rodnor later called Gil-galad. (Their mother was a Sindarin lady of the North. She called her son Gil-galad.) Rodnor Gil-galad escaped and eventually came to Sirion’s Mouth and was King of the Noldor there.
This change in the history of Gil-galad is substantial and conflicts with the tradition of the rise of Arvernian, the ruler of which was Eärendil (and perhaps Tuor before him). How does Gil-galad become associated with Cirdan? Who were all these Noldor living at the Mouth of Sirion? What was to become of the exiles of Doriath and Gondolin who were to found Arvernien? Tolkien doesn’t say. We could contrive an explanation by suggesting that Cirdan took in the young Gil-galad, who removed to Balar, and that the exiles of Doriath and Gondolin therefore found only a small population of Noldor at the Mouth of Sirion (if any of Gil-galad’s people would have remained there at all).
It is conceivable that Gildor is actually mentioned on one of those four unpublished genealogies (if ever I should meet Christopher Tolkien, I will have MANY questions for him ). Inglorion could be related to Ingalaurë, which appears to be an earlier name for Finarfin, later called Ingoldo before Finrod took on that name.
On the other hand, the discussion uses the name Ereinion for Gil-galad, and it states that “he was the last king of the Eldar in Middle-earth, and the last male descendant of Finwë except Elrond the Half-elven.” Gil-galad’s parentage is not given in this part of the discussion, but is provided in a later section, where the name Ereinion does not appear (but instead Artanaro –> Rodnor is used). Christophar says in a note that he took the name Ereinion for Fingon’s son in The Silmarillion from this essay.
I do have a problem with the statement that Elrond was a male descendant of Finwë. He was male, he was a descendant, but he was not descended of a male line. I’m not sure of what significance Tolkien may have attached to Elrond in this respect, unless it means that “after the fall of Gil-galad the lineage of the High-elven Kings was also in Middle-earth only represented by their descendants” (From “Appendix A: The Numenorean Kings, Numenor” in The Lord of the Rings). Of course, Galadriel’s daughter Celebrian was a descendant of Finwë. But these statements would seem to exclude Gildor Inglorion from the House of Finwë completely.
The name Irissë appears to be the original name of Aredhel. Her history is a bit confusing and I won’t attempt to recap it here.
Fingolfin’s third son, Argon, was added to the genealogy relatively late. His “story” was changed twice before Tolkien decided that he died in the Battle of the Lammoth, which occurred when Fingolfin’s host reached Middle-earth. This is an alteration of the history of the Noldor in that the published Silmarillion says that the Orcs hid themselves when Fingolfin’s host passed through. There is no indication that this battle would have become one of the major battles of the Wars of Beleriand.
There is an interesting note concerning Finrod’s name, Felagund. It appears that when Nargothrond was established, the Dwarves of Ered Luin drove out the Petty-dwarves who were still living there. This is not stated in the published Silmarillion (which says only that the Dwarves helped in the making of Nargothrond).
It appears the greatest loremasters of the Noldor in Middle-earth (during the Wars of Beleriand) were: Fëanor, the captains of Gondolin, Finrod, and Orodreth (although these are but examples of the quality of the loremasters).
Here is the genealogy, given in four tables (no known relation to the four Christopher keeps referring to):
? Ingwë - - - [sister] | | Mahtan Miriel =:= Finwë =:= Indis Olwë | | +----+----------+-----+ | | Nerdanel = Fëanor Findis Fingolfin Irimë Finarfin = Eärwen | = Anairë | Maedros | Finrod Ingold Maglor Fingon Angrod Celegorm Turgon = Elenwë Aegnor Curufin - - - + Argon | Galadriel Caranthir | Itaril Amrod | Irissë = Eöl Amras | | Celebrimbor Maeglin Olwë | Finarfin = Eärwen | +--------------+-------------------+----------+ | | | | Finrod Ingold Angrod = Edhellos Aegnor Galadriel | Orodreth | +-------+ Gil-galad Finduilas The House of Fëanor: Finwë = Miriel Mahtan | | Fëanor = Nerdanel | +----------+-----+--------+--------+-------+-----+ | | | | | | | Maedros Maglor Celegorm Curufin Caranthir Amrod Amras | Celebrimbor The House of Fingolfin: + - - - - - + : Ingwë (sister) | Finwë = Indis | Fingolfin = Anairë | +--------+--------+------+------+ | | | | Fingon Turgon = Elenwë Argon Irissë = Eöl | | Itaril = Tuor Maeglin | Eärendil = Elwing | +----+-----+ | | Elrond Elros The House of Finarfin: + - - - - - + : Ingwë (sister) + - - - - - + | | | Finwë = Indis Olwë Elwë = Melian | | | Finarfin = ëarwen Luthien | +----------------+----------------+---------+ | | | | | | Aegnor | Finrod = Amarië Angrod = Edhellos Galadriel = Celeborn : | | (descendants Orodreth Elrond = Celebrian in Aman?) | | +-------+------+ +------+---------+ | | | | | Gil-galad Finduilas Elladan Elrohir Arwen
It should, perhaps, be noted here that this genealogy serves to clear up the question of succession among the High Kings of the Noldor which often arises in discussion. People have frequently asked through the years why it is that Gil-galad does not succeed Fingon as High King in the published Silmarillion. Some people look to Maedhros’ words to Fingolfin in “Of the Return of the Noldor” in The Silmarillion, where Maedhros abdicates in favor of Fingolfin:
…For Maedhros begged forgiveness for the desertion in Araman; and he waived his claim to kingship over all the Noldor, saying to Fingolfin: ‘If there lay no grievance between us, lord, still the kingship would rightly come to you, the eldest here of the house of Finwë, and not the least wise.’ But to this his brothers did not all in their hearts agree.
One of the difficulties with this passage, however, is that the language is ambiguous. Maedhros ruled over the Noldor in Hithlum after Fëanor’s death for an indeterminate but significant period of time. During that time he was King to his people. So, “waiving” his claim to kingship after having succeeded his father as king is not the same as waiving a claim before asserting it. Maedhros abdicated, but in the end he retained authority over those Noldor who stayed with him.
So, within the context of the published Silmarillion, the kingship passed from the Line of Fëanor to the Line of Fingolfin (and this is stated in the text: “Therefore even as Mandos foretold the House of Fëanor were called the Dispossessed, because the overlordship passed from it, the elder, to the house of Fingolfin, both in Elendë and in Beleriand,….”). Hence, Maedhros did not set a precedent in establishing how succession should be determined. Or, rather, that precedent was established in Aman upon the death of Finwë (although “The Shibboleth of Fëanor” tells us that both Fëanor and Fingolfin claimed the kingship in Aman, Fëanor because he was the eldest son and Fingolfin because he had governed the majority of the Noldor while his father and brother lived in exile).
So, with the precedent of son-succeeding-father having been established in both Aman and Beleriand, it follows that subsequent changes in kingship had to follow that order. Therefore, when Fingolfin died, the High Kingship passed to Fingon, his elder son. Now, because Christopher should NOT have made Gil-galad the son of Fingon in the published Silmarillion, if we accept the correct placement of Gil-galad in the family line as the son of Orodreth, then the succession of Turgon to the High Kingship upon his brother’s death makes perfect sense.
And that only means that Christopher did not catch this error in logic when he was editing The Silmarillion for publication. By making Gil-galad the son of Fingon, Christopher led the readers into much unnecessary confusion and debate. For, after Turgon’s death, the High Kingship then passed down the male line to the descendants of Finarfin, and Gil-galad — being the last son of the male line of that family — succeeded Turgon as High King.
Finally, let me share some of those anecdotes I mentioned at the beginning of this discussion. For example, Fingolfin had a third son, Argon. What happened to him? It turns out that he made the journey to Middle-earth with his family, but he was slain while defending the Noldor against Orcs. Fingolfin’s people were ambushed as they entered Hithlum and Argon led a counter-attack. He had never married and so had no children. Tolkien notes, however, that the Eldar honored his memory by naming many sons after him.
Angrod’s wife, Edhellos, was a Noldo of Aman. Her name in Quenya was Eldalotë and the fact that it was given a Sindarin equivalent means she went into exile. So, what happened to her? None of the published texts say, but it seems probable that she died with Angrod in the Dagor Bragollach. Also, it is most probable that Tolkien intended to assign Angrod command of the fortress Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion after Finrod settled in Nargothrond. That would mean that Aegnor alone held the northern heights of Dorthonion, and that Orodreth would have led the retreat south from Minas Tirith after his parents were slain.
All that we are told of Orodreth’s wife is that she was a Sindarin lady from northern Beleriand. But we may thus infer that both Gil-galad and Finduilas were born in Middle-earth, presumably after the Noldor scattered across Beleriand.
And though I did not include it in my original attempt to document the Eldarin families, I’ll include here a genealogy for the family of Elwë and his brother(s). Elmo is called “a shadowy figure” in Unfinished Tales, and many people don’t like to include him. Instead, they prefer to accept Tolkien’s decision in the last year of his life to make Celeborn a grandson of Olwë in Aman. However, Tolkien had established in previously unpublished writings that the Eldar did not marry their first cousins. He would have had to do some fancy explaining to justify the marriage of Celeborn and Galadriel. So, it is at least consistent with more sources (including the published Silmarillion) to accept Celeborn as the grandson of Elmo (whose name might have been altered had he been retained in the full genealogy).
The Telerin Kings and Lords *- - - - - - - - - - - > Cirdan's family : : +--------------------+------------------+ | | | Elwë = Melian Olwë Elmo | | | Beren = Luthien ëarwen Galadhon | | | Dior = Nimloth | +-----+------+ | | | Galadriel = Celeborn Galathil | | Celebrian Nimloth = Dior *- - - - - - - - - > (Elwë, Olwë, & Elmo) : : : - : - : : : Elmo Cirdan ? = Aranwë | | Galadhon Voronwë
In “Of the Coming of Tuor to Gondolin” (Unfinished Tales), Voronwë tells Tuor that his mother is a Sindarin lady who is related to Cirdan, so that is why I included Voronwë, his father, and his unnamed mother in the family tree. Eöl is said in some sources to be related to Elwë and in one source to be a Tatyarin (Avari) Elf. I normally include him in the Teleri genealogy but there is not enough room to do so here. He would, however, probably not be Cirdan’s brother (in my opinion — but then, Tolkien doesn’t always agree with me).