Eluréd
| Eluréd | |
|---|---|
| Half-elf | |
 | |
| Eluréd (beside his twin brother) in "Descendants of Thingol" by Jenny Dolfen | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Location | Ossiriand, Doriath |
| Language | Sindarin (Doriathrin) |
| Birth | F.A. 500 near Lanthir Lamath |
| Death | Fate unknown |
| Family | |
| House | House of Bëor |
| Heritage | Half-elven father, Elf mother |
| Parentage | Dior and Nimloth |
| Siblings | Elurín (twin) and Elwing |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Gallery | Images of Eluréd |
Eluréd was a son of Dior Eluchíl and Nimloth. He had a twin brother named Elurín and a sister Elwing, and all three had been born in Lanthir Lamath while Beren and Lúthien lived there. However, after the host of the Naugrim had plundered Menegroth, Dior brought his family to the Thousand Caves to renew the kingdom of Doriath.
But soon, after not many years had passed, a messenger brought the Nauglamír to Dior, which told him that Beren and Lúthien were gone from the world. The news that Necklace of the Dwarves, which bore one of the Silmarils, was in Dior's keeping provoked the sons of Fëanor to attack Menegroth. Dior and Nimloth were slain and Eluréd and Elurín were captured (Elwing escaped with the Silmaril). The two young boys were taken into the woods by the servants of Celegorm and left to starve. Maedhros repented and sought for the two but never found them and their fate remained unknown.[1]
It is said that the brothers were lost and died,[2] but it is said also that they were saved by wild birds, and eventually found their way in secret back to Ossiriand.[3]
Genealogy
| Elu Thingol | Melian | Bëor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lúthien | Beren | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dior Eluchíl | Nimloth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eärendil | Elwing | ELURÉD | Elurín | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elrond | Elros | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Etymology
The Sindarin name is said to mean the same as the boy's father's name, Eluchíl, that is, "Heir of Elu".[4]
Other versions of the legendarium
In an early stage, Eluréd was called "Elbereth", an Ilkorin name containing the word bereth "valor". During the writing of The Lord of the Rings, the name was applied to Varda, and the original meaning[note 1] was struck out and the character was renamed "Eldún".[5]
In the genealogical table of the House of Bëor, "Eldún"'s date of birth was given as F.A. 492 (and he was not a twin). He and his brother did die in 506 but their father died in 511. In commentary following the table, Christopher Tolkien explained the year of 511 for Dior's death was incorrect and that in later sources the two brothers were twins born in F.A. 500.[2]
Notes
- ↑ Thus probably envisioned as *"star-valor"
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Doriath"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Two. The Later Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of Men into the West (Chapter 14)", (i) The House of Bëor
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "The Grey Annals": §5
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Index of Names"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", entries BARATH, BER
