Elentir

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Elentir
Númenórean
Juliana Pinho - Míriel and Elentir.png
"Míriel and Elentir" by Juliana Pinho
Biographical Information
LocationNúmenor
AffiliationThe Faithful
LanguageQuenya
Family
HouseHouse of the Lords of Andúnië
ParentageNúmendil
SiblingsAmandil
Spousebetrothed to Tar-Míriel; never married
Physical Description
GenderMale
GalleryImages of Elentir

Elentir was the brother of Amandil and the lover of Zimrahil according to an alternate version of the legendarium.

History[edit | edit source]

Elentir was a character that J.R.R. Tolkien created and then abandoned during the writing of the Akallabêth. Tolkien originally wrote that Míriel, the daughter of Tar-Palantir, was forced to marry her cousin, Ar-Pharazôn. After completing and then expanding a second version of the Akallabêth Tolkien toyed with a different version of their relationship and introduced Elentir, the son of Númendil and the brother of Amandil as part of this new concept.[1] In four separate texts, labeled (a) through (d), Christopher Tolkien set forth the "rise and fall" of Elentir:

  • In text (a), Elentir was in love with Zimrahil (an early name for Míriel) but she became infatuated by Pharazôn's beauty and wealth. Despite the laws of Númenor the two first cousins married.[2]
  • In text (b), Elentir was betrothed to Zimrahil when she turned to Pharazôn. This text was written in very poor handwriting so the course of the story was obscured.[3]
  • In text (c), Elentir loved Zimrahil, she loved him, and they were about to be betrothed when... At this point this abandoned text ended but it appeared that soon Zimrahil would have turned to Pharazôn.[4]
  • In text (d), Elentir and the story of Zimrahil's love for Pharazôn are absent.[4]

Christopher concluded that (b) and (c) were not expansions on (a) but simply repetitions, and that (d) represented a final abandonment of the alternate version of the marriage of Míriel and Pharazôn. With a return to the original concept of a forced marriage there was no need for the character Elentir and so he vanished.[5]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

As suggested by Eldamo, Elentir could be Quenya for "Star-gazer", from elen ("star") + tir- ("to watch over, guard, heed; to look at, gaze, observe").[6]

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "V. The History of the Akallabêth", Note on the marriage of Míriel and Pharazôn, p. 159
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "V. The History of the Akallabêth", Note on the marriage of Míriel and Pharazôn, p. 160
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "V. The History of the Akallabêth", Note on the marriage of Míriel and Pharazôn, p. 161
  4. 4.0 4.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "V. The History of the Akallabêth", Note on the marriage of Míriel and Pharazôn, p. 162
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "V. The History of the Akallabêth", Note on the marriage of Míriel and Pharazôn, p. 163
  6. Paul Strack, "Q. Elentir pn.", Eldamo (accessed 26 November 2022)