Eärendil

"I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess." — Sam

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The name Eärendil refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Eärendil (disambiguation).

"Eärendil was a mariner

that tarried in Arvernien

he built a boat of timber felled

in Nimbrethil to journey in..." ― Eärendil by Bilbo Baggins

Eärendil the Mariner was one of the Peredhil (S. "Half-elven"), and an important figure in the legends of the Elder Days. Descended from all the Three Houses of the Edain, he was the first known person to reach Aman in the First Age. He was crucial in the War of Wrath and the patriarch of the line of the Kings of Númenor through his son Elros.

edit] History

The son of Tuor and Idril, daughter of King Turgon, Eärendil was raised as a child in Gondolin. Eärendil was seven years old when Gondolin fell, and narrowly escaped death at the hands of his kinsman Maeglin during the battle. He was borne out on the shoulders of Idril's house-carle Hendor. As they rested in Nan-tathren, the waters of Ulmo awoke the sea-longing in both father and son.[1]

He lived afterwards in Arvernien by the Havens of Sirion. Eärendil later became the leader of the people who lived there, and married Elwing, daughter of Dior, the son of Beren and Lúthien. They had two sons, Elrond and Elros.

With the aid of Círdan the Shipwright, Eärendil built a ship, Vingilótë (or Vingilot), and sailed around the seas west of Middle-earth, leaving his wife behind in Arvernien. At this time Elwing had in her possession the Silmaril that Beren had wrested from Morgoth. News of this came to the remaining sons of Fëanor, and they attacked the people living in Arvernien, killing most of them. But Elwing, rather than be captured, threw herself and the Silmaril into the sea. The Silmaril was not lost, however:

Eärendil and Elwing by by Steamey

For Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek Eärendil her beloved. On a time of night Eärendil at the helm of his ship saw her come towards him, as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star over the sea moving in strange courses, a pale flame on wings of storm. And it is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of Vingilot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of her speed, and Eärendil took her to his bosom; but in the morning with marveling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her hair upon his face, and she slept.

—Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath

Hearing of the tragedy that had befallen in Arvernien, Eärendil then sought after Valinor, and he and Elwing found their way there at last. Eärendil thus became the first of all mortals to set foot in Valinor. Eärendil then went before the Valar, and asked them to aid the Men and Elves in Middle-earth and fight against Morgoth; and the Valar accepted his plea.

Because Eärendil had undertaken this errand on behalf of Men and Elves, and not for his own sake, Manwë forbore to deal out the punishment of death that was due. Because both Eärendil and Elwing were descended from a union of Elves and Men, Manwë granted to them and their sons the gift to choose to which race they would be joined (a gift that was further passed to the children of Elrond, who became known as the Half-elven). Elwing chose to be one of the Elves. Eärendil would have rather been one of the Men; however, for the sake of his wife, he chose to be one of the Elves.

But when all was spoken, Manwë gave judgement, and he said: 'In this matter the power of doom is given to me. The peril that he ventured for love of the Two Kindreds shall not fall upon Eärendil, nor shall it fall upon Elwing his wife, who entered into peril for love of him; but they shall not walk again ever among Elves or Men in the Outer Lands. And this is my decree concerning them: to Eärendil and to Elwing, and to their sons, shall be given leave each to choose freely to which kindred their fates shall be joined, and under which kindred they shall be judged.'

—Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath

Eärendil and the Battle of Eagles and Dragons by by Ted Nasmith

The Valar, having listened to Eärendil's plea, went with a mighty host to Middle-earth and overthrew Morgoth, binding him with a chain forged by the smith Aulë. Eärendil took part in the battle. His ship Vingilótë was blessed by the Valar, filled with a shining white flame, and sent to the skies. He sailed at its helm with the Silmaril bound upon his brow. Alongside Thorondor and the Eagles, he slew the great dragon Ancalagon the Black and cast his body down onto Thangorodrim, the event which, along with the sheer devastation caused by the War of Wrath, led to the Ruin of Beleriand.

edit] Legacy

See also: Star of Eärendil

Eärendil lived in Valinor, and the gleaming of the Silmaril upon his brow could still be seen in the skies of the distant West as the bright Evening Star.[2] Those who remained in Middle-earth called it Gil-Estel (S. "Star of High Hope").

In the Second Age, the descendants of the Edain followed the Star of Eärendil to reach Elenna. When Númenor fell under the Shadow, Tar-Atanamir mentioned Eärendil's fate to argue about immortality to the Messengers of the Valar. The Messengers responded that his was a fate apart as a Half-elven, and he was bound to the sky, unable to return, whereas the Númenóreans demanded the liberties of both Elves and Men.[3]

Bilbo Baggins wrote the Song of Eärendil[4] and the legend of Eärendil also inspired the poem Errantry.[5]

edit] Genealogy

edit] Names and etymology

Eärendil was known by many epithets: Eärendil Half-elven[6], Eärendil the Blessed[7], Bright Eärendil[2][3], and Eärendil the Mariner.[2][8]

Eärendil was his given father-name. Eärendil is a Quenya name, meaning "Devoted to the Sea", literally "Sea lover" (eär + -ndil).[9] There is no specific Sindarin translation for this name, but experimental Sindarized forms, such as Aerendil and Aerennel, were used by Tolkien in certain manuscripts,[10] as well as a direct translation: Seron Aearon.[11]

His mother-name was Ardamírë, a prophetic name, as it means "Jewel of the World". Its Sindarin version was Mír n'Ardhon.[11]

Eärendil was translated as Azrubêl in Adûnaic, from azar ("sea") and the stem bel-.[12]

Tolkien used the original Old English name Eärendel for all drafts previous to The Lord of the Rings, and first he related it with the Elvish words ea ("eagle") and earen ("eyre"), but the exact meaning of the name remained unclear within the Legendarium until he remade the name into Quenya to Earendil.[13]

edit] Other versions of the legendarium

In an early sketch of the voyages of Earendel in the Lost Tales, Tolkien considered to have him meet Wirilómë (later Ungoliant) in his travels, which Christopher Tolkien found surprising.[14] In the first sketch of the Silmarillion (1926) intended to "reboot" the Legendarium, Earendel slew Ungoliant.[15]

edit] Inspiration

One of the two Heraldic Devices Tolkien designed for Eärendil

While Eärendil is a Quenya name inside the Legendarium, Tolkien created the name based on Old English literature. Tolkien himself stated that the name was derived from the Anglo-Saxon éarendel.[16] He says that he was struck by the "great beauty" of the name as early as 1913, which he perceived as "entirely coherent with the normal style of A-S, but euphonic to a peculiar degree in that pleasing but not 'delectable' language."

There is a poem by Tolkien dated to 1914 entitled The Voyage of Eärendel the Evening Star.[17] Tolkien was also aware of the name's Germanic cognates (Old Norse Aurvandill, Lombardic Auriwandalo), and the question why the Anglo-Saxon one rather than the Lombardic or Proto-Germanic form should be taken up in the mythology is alluded to in The Notion Club Papers.[18] The Old Norse together with the Anglo-Saxon evidence point to an astronomical myth, the name referring to a star, or a group of stars, and the Anglo-Saxon in particular points to the Morning Star as the herald of the rising Sun (in Crist christianized to refer to John the Baptist).

Tolkien was particularly inspired by the lines in Christ:

éala éarendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended

"Hail Earendel, brightest of angels / sent over Middle-earth to men."

which can be taken as the inspiration not only for the role of Eärendil in Tolkien's work, but also for the term Middle-earth (translating Middangeard) for the inhabitable lands.

The first line is paralleled by Frodo's exclamation in Shelob's Lair, "Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!"[19] which is in Quenya and translates as "Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars!". Frodo's exclamation was in reference to the "Star-glass" he carried, which contained the light of Eärendil's star, the Silmaril he wore upon his brow.