Eriol

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This article is about discoverer of England. For the the first man who discovered Tol Eressëa, since Eärendil,, see Ælfwine.

Template:Noncanon Ottor Wǽfre, the son of Eoh was born in Angeln, between the Flensburg Fjord and the Schlei River. After his father was killed by his uncle, Beorn, he fled to the island Heligoland where he married Cwén.

He is the father of Hengest and Horsa.

While sailing the Sea, Ottor followed the directions of an old man who turned out to be Ulmo, and was cast away on Tol Eressea. He was welcomed by the Elves there and talked with Rúmil, Eltas and Gilfanon, who taught him the origin of the World and the Elder Days. The Elves gave him the name Eriol which means "Lone dreamer".

Other versions of the legendarium

Eriol's arrival to Eressea is the frame story of The Book of Lost Tales, the first conception of Tolkien's legendarium.

The story follows Ottor's exploration of the Isle and meeting with the Elves who are willing to narrate their lore about the creation of the world, Elves, Dwarves and Men, their wars against the Enemy and the origins of Luthany (Britain); each Elf narrates another part of the history, forming what would be consist The Silmarillion decades later.

Later in the story, Ottor narrates his own background and how he came to arrive to Eressea; the Elves also tell him their prophecies concerning their return to Luthany and the rekindling of the Two Trees.

In later works of Tolkien, the figure of Eriol was renamed Ælfwine and was given a different background. However, neither Eriol or Ælfwine appear in the published Silmarillion.