| Revision as of 21:19, 16 April 2006 editCarcharoth (talk | contribs)Administrators73,576 editsm →Biography: typo in Maedhros!← Previous edit |
Latest revision as of 08:42, 31 January 2023 edit undoSahaib (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers148,925 editsNo edit summaryTags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
| (336 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
|
⚫ |
#REDIRECT ] |
|
{|align=right |
|
|
|
|
|
|- |
|
|
|
{{Redirect category shell| |
|
|{{Infobox LOTR | |
|
|
|
{{R to section}} |
|
image_character = MaedhrosShadow.jpg | |
|
|
|
{{R with history}} |
|
image_caption = ]'s portrayal of Maedhros | |
|
|
character_name = Maedhros | |
|
|
character_alias = the Tall, Nelyafinwë, Maitimo, Russandol | |
|
|
character_title = Prince of the ]<br>Ñoldorin King<ref name="king">"...after the death of Fingofin...the Ñoldor then became divided into separate kingships under Fingon, son of Fingolfin, Turgon his younger brother, Maedros son of Fëanor, and Finrod son of Arfin ; and the following of Finrod had become the greatest." ({{ME-ref|12}})</ref><br>Lord of ] | |
|
|
character_race = ] | |
|
|
character_culture = ], ] | |
|
|
character_gender = Male | |
|
|
character_realm = ], ] | |
|
|
character_sub_realm = | |
|
|
character_lifespan = ] ? – ] 587 | |
|
|
character_weapon = Sword |
|
|
}} |
|
}} |
|
|} |
|
|
|
|
|
In ]'s ], '''Maedhros''' (] ? – ] 587) was the first son of ] and ]. He had auburn hair,<ref name="auburn">{{ME-ref|12|"The Shibboleth of Fëanor"}}</ref> which was inherited from his mother’s kin — specifically, his grandfather, ], whom Maedhros was said to be alike in face and disposition<ref name="sarmo">{{ME-ref|12|"The Shibboleth of Fëanor"}}</ref> — and a tremendous height, earning him the appelation, '''the Tall'''. In ], he was also known as '''Nelyafinwë''', which was his father name for “] the third "; '''Maitimo''', his mother name for “well-shaped one”, for he was noted for his comeliness; and '''Russandol''' “copper-top”, an affectionate nicknamed used by his friends and family.<ref name="coppertop">{{ME-ref|12|"The Shibboleth of Fëanor", pg. 352-353}}</ref> |
|
|
|
|
|
{{spoiler}} |
|
|
|
|
|
==Biography== |
|
|
Maedhros was born to Fëanor and Nerdanel during the Years of the Trees in ]. He was the eldest and the most diplomatic of their seven sons: ], ], ], ]; and twins ] and ]. With their father, they often traveled far and wide in Aman, always seeking the unknown. |
|
|
|
|
|
During this time, Maedhros befriended ], son of ], whose family Fëanor had no love for. The friendship of Maedhros and Fingon proved to be true and lasted their entire lives. |
|
|
|
|
|
]'s portrayal of Maedhros standing aside as a refusal of participation in the burning of the ships in ].]] |
|
|
|
|
|
Following his father’s banishment from ], Maedhros lived in ] with his family. They returned to Tirion, however, after Maedhros brought tidings of Finwë’s murder and the theft of the ]li to his father and ] in {{ME-date|YT|1495}}. Fëanor’s fiery words led the ] to Middle-earth and the Fëanorians to swear their father’s terrible oath to pursue anyone who kept the Silmarilli from their possession.<ref name="oath">"Be he foe or friend, be he foul or clean / Brood of Morgoth or bright Vala, / Elda or Maia or Aftercomer, / Man yet unborn upon Middle-earth, / Neither law, nor love, nor league of swords, / Dread nor danger, not Doom itself / Shall defend him from Fëanáro, and Fëanáro’s kin, / Whoso hideth or hoardeth, or in hand taketh, / Finding keepeth or afar casteth / A Silmaril. This swear we all… |
|
|
Death we will deal him ere Day’s ending, / Woe unto world’s end! Our word hear thou, / Eru Allfather! To the everlasting / Darkness doom us if our deed faileth… / On the holy mountain hear in witness / and our vow remember, / Manwë and Varda!" ({{ME-ref|3}})</ref> |
|
|
|
|
|
Although he participated in the ], he stood aside at the burning of the ships at ]; for when Fëanor and his sons secretly sailed to ], Maedhros had thought they would return for Fingolfin and his host. |
|
|
|
|
|
Although Fëanor was killed in the ] in {{ME-date|YT|1497}}, ]'s forces suffered a crushing defeat. He sent peace emissaries and Maedhros agreed to treat with them. He brought more forces than had been agreed to the parley — for Maedhros was not fooled by Morgoth’s peace offers, but unknown to him, ] were among Morgoth’s party, and the Elven company was overwhelmed. Maedhros was taken captive and hung by the wrist of his right hand upon ] in great pain. For many years, he languished there while Fingolfin brought his hosts into ]. In {{ME-date|YS|5}}, Fingon found him, but Maedhros begged his friend to end his torment by shooting him with his bow. However, with the help of ], Fingon was able to free him though he was forced to cut off Maedhros’s right hand in the process. This daring rescue, along with Maedhros’s repentance for the desertion of Fingolfin's hosts in ] and relinquishment of his claim as Finwë’s heir to kingship over all the Ñoldor in favour of his uncle<ref name="kingship">"...and the hatred between the houses of Fingolfin and Fëanor were assuaged. For Maedhros begged forgiveness for the desertion in Araman; and he waived his claim to kingship over all the Noldor, saying to Fingolfin: 'If there lay no grievance between us, lord, still the kingship would rightly come to you, the eldest here of the house of Finwë, and not the least wise'" ({{ME-ref|Sil}})</ref> (which last caused the Fëanorians to be known as “the Dispossessed”), did much to repair the ill feelings between the ] and the ]. |
|
|
|
|
|
His brothers, however, were not all pleased by their eldest brother’s actions, and Maedhros, sensing that they would cause feuds with their kinsmen,<ref name="feud">"It is indeed said that Maedhros himself devised this plan, to lessen the chances of strife, and because he was very willing for the chief peril of asault should fall upon himself; and he remained for his part in friendship with the houses of Fingolfin and Finarfin, and would come among them at times of common counsel" ({{ME-ref|Sil}})</ref> moved them out of ] and to the lands around the ], which became known as the '''March of Maedhros'''. Allied with Fingolfin, he won the battle of ] and set the ]. The siege was broken, however, in the ] in which many Elven kingdoms were destroyed. Due to Maedhros's valour and deadly skill with the sword, Himring was successfully defended, though it was surrounded by the enemy. This led many of the surviviors from ] and ] to rally to Maedhros. |
|
|
|
|
|
] rescuing Maedhros from ]]] |
|
|
|
|
|
Taking hope upon hearing the deeds of ] and ], he gathered his brothers, and united with other Elven Houses to create the '''Union of Maedhros''', an alliance of Elves, ], and ] to drive the ] from ] and lay siege to Morgoth’s fortress of ]. Under his leadership, the Union won several battles and regained the territory lost in the ''Dagor Bragollach''. When the joint attack on Angband itself was to be launched, Maedhros was delayed due to the treachery of an ], ] the Accursed, who was a spy of Morgoth in the service of Caranthir, and the forces of the Union were utterly destroyed in the ]. Himring was taken by the Orcs and six of the Sons of Fëanor who remained were wounded.<ref name="amrod">Amrod, who had secretly planned to return to Aman, stayed in the ship. When Fëanor ordered the ships to be burned, Amrod died and did not set off on the shores of Middle-earth. Therefore, only six of the Sons of Fëanor remain. "...In the morning the host was mustered, but of Feanor’s seven sons only six were to be found. Then Ambarussa went pale with fear. ‘Did you not then rouse Ambarussa my brother (whom you called Ambarto)?’ he said. ‘He would not come ashore to sleep (he said) in discomfort.’ But it is thought (and no doubt Fëanor guessed this also) that it was in the mind of Ambarto to sail his ship back and rejoin Nerdanel; for he had been much by the deed of his father." ({{ME-ref|12|"The Shibboleth of Fëanor"}}).</ref> They retreated to ], and eventually came to live with the ] in ]. |
|
|
|
|
|
During {{ME-date|YS|504 — 505}}, the brothers learnt of the possession of the ] recovered by Beren and Lúthien in the hands of ], the new King of ]. Maedhros restrained his brothers’ urge to attack, and instead, sent a message to Dior demanding that he yield the Silmaril to them, but Dior ignored it. Celegorm’s words convinced the Fëanorians to launch an assault. Dior was killed and the brothers emerged victorious. Upon learning that Celegorm’s servants had sent Dior’s twin sons, ] and ], to starve in a dark forest, Maedhros went on a long search for them, but it proved to be fruitless. |
|
|
|
|
|
Maedhros and his surviving brothers then dwelt on ] in ]. When they heard that Elwing, who had escaped from Doriath with the Silmaril, was now living at the Havens of ], Maedhros, repenting of his deeds at Doriath, foreswore his oath and counseled against trying to regain the jewel by force. But the unfulfillment of the oath came to torment the brothers heavily, so they sent messages of friendship but with firm demands to surrender the Silmaril, but the people refused, arguing that they could not negotiate while their leader and Elwing's husband, ], were away at sea. In {{ME-date|YS|532}}, the Fëanorians attacked Sirion — but ] cast herself and the jewel into the sea and they did not gain what they sought. Elwing was ultimately rescued by the power of ] and reunited with Earendil in the West. |
|
|
|
|
|
After the ], Maedhros and Maglor, the last of the Fëanorians, told ] that the remaining two Silmarils captured from Morgoth should be given to them, but Eönwë replied that the Silmarils would not suffer them to hold them and that the brothers had to face judgment from the ] in Aman. Maglor was willing to listen, but Maedhros reminded Maglor that in their oath, they had sworn that none, even the Valar, could release them from their oath, and because of this, it would curse them into committing evil deeds in Aman.<ref name="curse">"But Maedhros answered that if they returned to Aman but the favour of the Valar were withheld from them, then their oath would still remain, but its fulfilment be beyond all hope and he said: 'Who can tell to what dreadful doom we shall come, if we disobey the Powers in their own land, or purpose ever to bring war again into their holy realm?' / Yet Maglor still held back, saying: 'If Manwë and Varda themselves deny the fulfilment of an oath to which we named them in witness, is it not made void?' / And Maedhros answered: 'But how shall our voices reach Ilùvatar beyond the Circles of the World? And by Ilúvatar we swore in our madness, and called the Everlasting Darkness upon us, if we kept not our word. Who shall release us?'" ({{ME-ref|Sil}})</ref> Resigned, the brothers stole the Silmarils, but the jewels burned their hands. Unable to endure the suffering, Maedhros threw himself into a fiery chasm of the Earth, thus ending his life. |
|
|
|
|
|
==Trivia== |
|
|
*Maedhros's ] name is '''Doegred Winsterhand''' ''(]. 'Doegred'=dawn, daybreak, 'Winsterhand'=left-handed)''. ] thinks that Doegred is a reference to the color of Maedhros's hair, though this is not certain.<ref name="shapingofmiddle-earth">{{ME-ref|4}}</ref> |
|
|
*Tolkien, when deciding Maedhros’s name, came up with the sound of it first (which is pronounced ''My’thros''), and then decided a suitable meaning for the word. The translation of Maedhros was originally “glitter of metal”, but later changed it to “well-formed/shapely copper” {{ME-lang|lang=S|maed|shapely|ros|copper}}. Tolkien explained that the translations of the ] roots were meant to match the meaning of Maedhros’s Quenya names, Maitimo and Russandol. However, around the last four years of his life, Tolkien encountered a problem when he realized that he had stated that ros, which was meant to reference Maedhros’s reddish-brown hair, translated into “spray/spindrift”. He later made a note suggesting that he might change Maedhros to Maedron instead.<ref name="problemofros">{{ME-ref|12|"The Problem of Ros"}}</ref> |
|
|
*Tolkien sometimes wrote Maedhros's name as 'Maedros'<ref name="king">"...after the death of Fingofin...the Ñoldor then became divided into separate kingships under Fingon, son of Fingolfin, Turgon his younger brother, Maedros son of Fëanor, and Finrod son of Arfin ; and the following of Finrod had become the greatest." ({{ME-ref|12}})</ref> or 'Maidros', especially in early versions. When the latter name first appears, however, it does not designate the eldest son of Fëanor but his grandfather: Fëanor's father is named Bruithwir-go-Maidros.<ref name="elfstone">"He gives the green stone to Maidros...The Green Stone of Fëanor given by Maidros to Fingon." ({{ME-ref|11|pg. 176-177}})</ref> |
|
|
*Maedhros and his grandfather, who, aforementioned earlier, shared similar temperaments and appearance, both wore copper circlets around their heads.<ref name="copper">{{ME-ref|12|"The Shibboleth of Fëanor"}}</ref> |
|
|
*The Dragon-helm of ] was given to Maedhros by ] during the Years of the Trees, in gratitude for saving the ]-lord's life, with whom Maedhros forged an alliance with. Maedhros later passed it on to Fingon in proof of their friendship. In earlier drafts, it is not the Dragon-helm Maedhros gives to Fingon, but the ], in which Maedhros received from his dying father.<ref name="elfstone">"He gives the green stone to Maidros...The Green Stone of Fëanor given by Maidros to Fingon." ({{ME-ref|11|pg. 176-177}})</ref> |
|
|
*Although it was Maglor who, in '']'', took pity on the sons of Elwing, earlier versions portrayed Maedhros as the one who saved Elrond (Elros not appearing until later drafts).<ref name="saviour">{{ME-ref|4|Quenta pg 153}}</ref> |
|
|
|
|
|
==See also== |
|
|
*] |
|
|
|
|
|
==References== |
|
|
<div style="font-size: 90%"> |
|
|
<references /> |
|
|
</div> |
|
|
|
|
|
==External links== |
|
|
*. URL accessed on ]. |
|
|
* at the Annals of Arda |
|
|
|
|
|
] |
|
|
] |
|
|
|
|
| ⚫ |
] |
|
|
] |
|
|
] |
|
|
] |
|