Saeros

From Tolkien Gateway
Saeros
Guest-elf
Ted Nasmith - Saeros' Fatal Leap 2.jpg
"Saeros' Fatal Leap" by Ted Nasmith
Biographical Information
Other namesOrgol (see below)
PositionCounsellor to Thingol
LocationDoriath
AffiliationGuest-elves[1]
LanguageDoriathrin
BirthYears of the Trees[2]
DeathF.A. 484[3]
Tributary of Esgalduin[4]
Family
ParentageIthilbor[2]
Physical Description
GenderMale
ClothingShield[5]
WeaponrySword[5]
GalleryImages of Saeros

Saeros was an Elf of the Nandor[2] who lived in Doriath.

History[edit | edit source]

Saeros was a member of the court of King Thingol, taking refuge there after the fall of his lord Denethor in the First Battle. In Menegroth, he won the esteem of the king and the friendship of Daeron. When Túrin came to Doriath as a fosterchild five centuries later, Saeros had become a counsellor to the King, and was jealous that such honor should be given to a Man.[6]

When Túrin was twenty, Saeros insulted him at a royal dinner, comparing the Men of Hithlum to animals. In his anger Túrin struck him with a goblet, injuring him. The next day Saeros ambushed Túrin in the woods, but was overcome. Túrin went on to strip him naked and told him to run back to Menegroth like an animal. While running in terror Saeros fell into a ravine and died. Túrin, fearing King Thingol's wrath, fled Doriath[6], calling himself Neithan ("The Wronged").[7]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Saeros' name is difficult to translate, but might mean "Bitter Rain" in Sindarin (from saer = "bitter" and ross = "rain").[source?] If "bitter" is the root word of his name, then Saeros is probably a epithet.[source?]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

Ithilbor
b. F.A.
 
 
 
 
 
 
SAEROS
d. F.A. 484
 


Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

Saeros was named Orgof in The Grey Annals, The Later Annals of Beleriand and earlier version of The Silmarillion.[8][9] He never confronted Túrin in the woods, but is killed at the dinner party by the goblet Túrin threw at him.[10]

In an accompanying note to The Grey Annals, Tolkien wrote the name Orgol in the margin;[1] in the appendix to The Children of Húrin, Christopher Tolkien made the following comment on the issue:

It seems, incidentally, certain from a closer understanding of the relations of the manuscripts that my father rejected the name Saeros and replaced it by Orgol, which by 'linguistic accident' coincides with Old English orgol, orgel 'pride'. But it seems to me too late now to remove Saeros.
J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Children of Húrin, "Appendix 2: The Composition of the Text", p. 287

In one variant of the Narn, during his first introduction, Saeros is described as the kinsman of Daeron, and in another, his brother.[11]

References