Eöl: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 20:47, 21 May 2015

"The wise will stay here and hope to rebuild our town..." — Master of Lake-town
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Eöl
Elf
Ted Nasmith - Eöl Welcomes Aredhel.jpg
Biographical Information
Other namesDark Elf
LocationNan Elmoth
BirthDuring the Years of the Trees
DeathF.A. 400
Gondolin
Notable forforging of Anglachel (Gurthang) and Anguirel; inventing Galvorn
Family
SpouseAredhel
ChildrenMaeglin
Physical Description
GenderMale
HeightTall
ClothingGalvorn
WeaponryJavelin and Anguirel
GalleryImages of Eöl

Eöl, known as the Dark Elf, was an Elf of the Elder Days. It is said that he belonged to the kin of Thingol[1][2][3]

History

"You are of the house of Eöl, Maeglin, my son, and not of the Golodhrim. All this land is the land of the Teleri, and I will not deal nor have my son deal with the slayers of our kin, the invaders and usurpers of our homes. In this you shall obey me, or I will set you in bonds."
The Silmarillion, Of Maeglin

Eöl was originally part of the royal house of King Elu Thingol. Eöl was unhappy in his homeland of Doriath, and when the Girdle of Melian was raised around the kingdom, he left to dwell in the dark forest of Nan Elmoth, east of his homeland.

Eöl was a skillful craftsman and master sword smith. Among his greatest works were two swords made from the iron of a meteorite, Anglachel and Anguirel. Anglachel he gave to Thingol as payment for dwelling in Nan Elmoth, and it would later become the sword borne by Túrin Turambar. Eöl's smith craft was especially admired by the Dwarves, and he shared a rare friendship with the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains. Eöl also devised the metal known as galvorn, from which he forged the armor that he used when traveling far from Nan Elmoth.

In the early third century of the First Age, Eöl came upon Aredhel, the sister of King Turgon and called the White Lady of the Ñoldor. She had become lost in Nan Elmoth, and Eöl used his enchantments to draw her deeper into the wood and ensnare her. She became his wife, and in the year 320 bore him a son, Maeglin.

In the summer of F.A. 400, Eöl travelled into the Blue Mountains to feast with the Dwarves of Nogrod, and returned home to find that his wife and son had left two days earlier. Mounting a horse, he gave chase. Along the way he was waylaid and taken before Curufin who counseled him to stop his chase predicting his death should he continue. He eventually discovered them at the Ford of Brithiach. Realizing that Aredhel was returning to Gondolin with his son, Eöl followed them. He found his way to the Dry River, and that secret way led him to the gates of Gondolin itself. There he was captured and taken to the King.

Turgon at first welcomed Eöl as a kinsman, but under the King's Law one who had found the way to the Hidden City was not permitted to leave, on pain of death. Enraged at the loss of his freedom, Eöl chose death, for himself and his son, and cast a poisoned javelin at Maeglin. Aredhel stepped in front of her son, and the poison in the dart soon killed her. In punishment for his crime, the Gondolindrim cast Eöl over the steep cliff of the Caragdûr.

Etymology

The meaning of the name Eöl is unknown, and also to which language it pertains. The word is neither Quenya nor Sindarin.[4] It has been suggested that the name could be an Avarin word.[5]

Genealogy

 
 
 
 
Fingolfin
Y.T. 1190-F.A. 456
 
Anairë
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EÖL
d. F.A. 400
 
 
 
Aredhel
Y.T. 1362-F.A. 400
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Maeglin
F.A. 320-510
 
 
 
 
 


See Also

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Maeglin"
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Three. The Wanderings of Húrin and Other Writings not forming part of the Quenta Silmarillion: III. Maeglin"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Four. Quendi and Eldar: Editorial Notes [to Quendi and Eldar]", Note 33: "It is curious that - as in the original text of Maeglin, where he was 'of the kin of Thingol' - in my father's very late work on the story Eöl becomes again 'one of the Eldar' (p. 328), though consumed with hatred of the Noldor"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Three. The Wanderings of Húrin and Other Writings not forming part of the Quenta Silmarillion: III. Maeglin", p. 320
  5. Helge Fauskanger, "Avarin: All Six Words" at Ardalambion (accessed 19 December 2010)