Thorondor
| Thorondor | |
|---|---|
| Eagle | |
 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Other names | Sorontar |
| Titles | Lord of the Eagles |
| Location | Taniquetil Thangorodrim Crissaegrim |
| Affiliation | Manwë |
| Language | Quenya, Sindarin |
| Notable for | helping Fingon rescue Maedhros; wounding Morgoth; rescuing Beren and Lúthien; rescuing the survivors of the Fall of Gondolin |
| Family | |
| Children | Unknown; ancestor of Gwaihir and Landroval |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Weaponry | Beek, claws |
| Gallery | Images of Thorondor |
Thorondor, the Lord of the Eagles, was the greatest of the Eagles of Manwë king of the Valar. It is said that Thorondor had a wingspan of thirty fathoms.[1]
History
Thorondor was sent to watch over the Noldor after they arrived in Beleriand. The Eldar first encountered him when he helped Fingon rescue Maedhros from imprisonment from Thangorodrim.[2] After that, Thorondor and the rest of the Eagles settled in the Crissaegrim.[3] When Gondolin was built, Thorondor became the ever vigilant guardian of the city. He rescued Fingolfin's body from defilement after Morgoth killed him, giving the Dark Lord a scar on his face.[4] He and two other Eagles rescued Beren and Lúthien when Angband was aroused.[5] When Gondolin fell, Thorondor rescued the survivors.[6] During the War of Wrath, Thorondor and Eärendil led the Eagles in battle with the Dragons, and may have fought with Ancalagon the Black.[7] In Tolkien's writings, Thorondor is not mentioned after the War of Wrath.[note 1]
Genealogy
| THORONDOR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father of Gwaihir | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Great Eagle | Gwaihir | Landroval | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Etymology
The name contains thoron "eagle" and taur, -dor "king". The Quenya cognate is Sorontar.
In earlier versions of the legendarium he was called Thorndor and Throndor (Gnomish), containing the roots thorn "eagle" or thrond "pinnacle",[8] and Thorntor (Ilkorin).
See also
Notes
- ↑ Fans have suggested that Thorondor perhaps returned to Valinor, although his descendants remained behind. Cf Thorondor at LotRPlaza.com.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Shaping of Middle-earth, "III. The Quenta: [Section] 8", pp. 102-3 (also p. 173)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Return of the Noldor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Noldor in Beleriand"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beren and Lúthien"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I p. 266 (see Sorontur)
| Named Eagles | |
| Thorondor · Gwaihir · Landroval · Meneldor | |
