Nerdanel
Nerdanel | |
---|---|
Noldo | |
Biographical Information | |
Other names | "the Wise" |
Affiliation | Not Oath of Fëanor |
Language | Common Eldarin and Quenya |
Birth | During the Years of the Trees |
Family | |
House | House of Mahtan |
Parentage | Mahtan |
Spouse | Fëanor |
Children | Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, and Amras |
Physical Description | |
Gender | Female |
Hair color | Presumably red[note 1] |
Gallery | Images of Nerdanel |
Nerdanel (Q, pron. [ˈnerdanel]) was the daughter of the Noldorin smith Mahtan and the wife of Fëanor.
She bore Fëanor seven sons: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, and Amras (see Sons of Fëanor). Nerdanel, unlike her husband, was of a peaceful nature and sought to moderate his fiery temper and pride with wisdom. For a time she was the only one able to influence him. Called "the Wise", Nerdanel refused to follow her husband to Middle-earth, and apparently still lives in Aman.[1]
Nerdanel was a noted sculptor. She is said to have made statues so lifelike that people thought them real.
On a minor note, Nerdanel's family is interesting to fans of Tolkien's Elves because they are the only attested examples of Elves with red hair. Nerdanel's father Mahtan and three of her sons (Maedhros, Amrod, and Amras) are described by Tolkien as having red hair (actually a reddish brown) and this is described as a trait "of Nerdanel's kin". Nerdanel's own hair color is never specifically stated; although it is said that she possessed a ruddy complexion and it may be assumed that Tolkien did intend for Nerdanel to have red hair.
Etymology
The name Nerdanel is given no clear meaning or etymology in the published writings of Tolkien. The original (rejected) version of her name was Istarnië.[2]
Editor and linguist Patrick H. Wynne has suggested that the element nerd- in Nerdanel perhaps derives from nerdo ("large, strong man"), noting that the name "might refer to her strength of body and mind, and her pursuits of crafts more commonly practiced by men." Wynne also suggests that Istarnië derives from Quenya ista- ("know"), apparently "referring to her 'desire for knowledge'".[3]
Genealogy
Mahtan | Míriel | Finwë | Indis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NERDANEL | Fëanor | Findis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maedhros | Fingolfin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maglor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Celegorm | Irimë | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Caranthir | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Curufin | Finarfin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amrod | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amras | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Celebrimbor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Her kin all had red-brown hair. See J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "XI. The Shibboleth of Fëanor" pp. 353 & 365-6
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Three. The Later Quenta Silmarillion: (II) The Second Phase: Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor", p. 273
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Eldarin Hands, Fingers & Numerals and Related Writings — Part One" (edited by Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 47, February 2005, p. 33-4