| Fëanor | |
|---|---|
| Tolkien character | |
 | |
| In-universe information | |
| Aliases | Fëanáro, Curufinwë |
| Race | Elves |
| Book(s) | The Silmarillion (1977) |
Fëanor (Quenya pronunciation:[ˈfɛ.anɔr]) is a fictional character inJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Silmarillion. He creates theTengwar script, thepalantír seeing-stones, and the threeSilmarils, the skilfully forged jewels that give the book their name and theme, triggering division and destruction. He is the eldest son ofFinwë, the King of theNoldor Elves, and his first wife Míriel.
Fëanor's Silmarils form a central theme ofThe Silmarillion as Men and Elves battle with the forces of evil for their possession. After theDark LordMorgoth steals the Silmarils, Fëanor and his seven sons swear theOath of Fëanor, vowing to fight anyone and everyone—whetherElf,Man,Maia, orVala—who withholds the Silmarils.
The oath commands Fëanor and his sons to press toMiddle-earth, in the process committing atrocities against their fellow Elves, the first Kinslaying, at the havens of the Teleri. Fëanor dies soon after his arrival in Middle-earth; his sons unite in the cause of defeating Morgoth and retrieving the Silmarils, but end up causing further harm among the Elves.
The Tolkien scholarJane Chance has seen Fëanor's pride as leading to his downfall, alongside Morgoth's corruption of Elves and Men as reflectingSatan's temptation ofAdam and Eve, and the desire for godlike knowledge as in theGarden of Eden. Others have likened Fëanor to the Anglo-Saxon leaderByrhtnoth whose foolish pride led to defeat and death at theBattle of Maldon.Tom Shippey writes that the pride is specifically a desire to make things that reflect their own personality, and likens this to Tolkien's own desire tosub-create. John Ellison further likens this creative pride to that of the protagonist inThomas Mann's 1947 novelDoctor Faustus, noting that both that novel and Tolkien's ownlegendarium were responses to World War.
Fëanor's father isFinwë, the first King of theNoldor; his mother, Míriel, dies, "consumed in spirit and body", shortly after giving birth to him.[1] Fëanor "was made the mightiest in all parts of body and mind: in valour, in endurance, in beauty, in understanding, in skill, in strength and subtlety alike: of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and a bright flame was in him." Finwë remarries and has several children, including Fëanor's half-brothersFingolfin andFinarfin. Fëanor studies under his father-in-law Mahtan, who was a student of the godlike ValaAulë. He becomes a craftsman and gem-smith, inventor of theTengwar script, and the creator of the magical seeing-stones, thepalantíri.[T 1]
Fëanor, "in the greatest of his achievements, captured the light of theTwo Trees to make the threeSilmarils, also called the Great Jewels, though they were not mere glittering stones, they were alive, imperishable, and sacred."[T 2] Even theValar with their godlike powers could not copy them. In fact, Fëanor himself could not copy them, as part of his essence goes into their making. Their worth is close to infinite, as they are unique and irreplaceable. The Vala "Varda hallowed the Silmarils so that thereafter no mortal flesh, nor hands unclean, nor anything of evil will might touch them, for it would be scorched and withered."[T 2]
Fëanor prizes the Silmarils, and grows suspicious of the Valar andElves who he believes covet them. The ValaMelkor, recently released from imprisonment and now residing inValinor, sees an opportunity to sow dissent among the Noldor. Fëanor refuses to communicate with Melkor, but is still caught in his plot. Fëanor angrily warns Fingolfin not to spread lies, and threatens to kill him. As punishment, the Valar exile Fëanor to his remote home Formenos for twelve years. Finwë too withdraws to Formenos.[T 2]
The Valar learn that Melkor is manipulating Fëanor, and send one of their number,Tulkas, to capture Melkor, but he has already escaped. Fëanor wisely realises that Melkor's goal is to obtain the Silmarils, "and he shut the doors of his house in the face of the mightiest of all the dwellers inEä."[T 2] The Valar invite Fëanor and Fingolfin to Valinor to make peace. Fingolfin offers a hand to his half-brother, recognising Fëanor's place as the eldest. Fëanor accepts, but soon Melkor andUngoliant destroy The Two Trees,[T 3] leaving the Silmarils as the only surviving light of the Trees. The Valar ask Fëanor to give them up so that they can restore the Trees. Fëanor replies: "It may be that I can unlock my jewels, but never again shall I make their like; and if I must break them, I shall break my heart."[T 4] He refuses to give up the Silmarils of his own free will. Messengers from Formenos tell him that Melkor has killed Finwë and stolen the Silmarils.Yavanna is thus unable to heal the Two Trees.[T 4]
For this deed, Fëanor names Melkor "Morgoth", "Black Enemy".[T 4] Fëanor rails against the Great Enemy, blaming the Valar for Morgoth's deeds.[T 4] He gives a speech in the Elvish city of Tirion, persuading most of his people to return toMiddle-earth to avenge Finwë and free themselves from the Valar. Together with his seven sons, they swear the Oath of Fëanor:[T 4]
They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by the name even of Ilúvatar, calling the Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not... ...vowing to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf or Man as yet unborn or any creature, great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from their possession.
To get to Middle-earth, Fëanor goes to the shores of Aman, and asks the seafaringTeleri for their aid. When they refuse, Fëanor orders the Noldor to steal the ships. The Teleri resist, and many of them are killed. The battle became known as the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, or the first kinslaying.[T 4] His sons later commit two other acts of warfare against Elves inMiddle-earth in his name. In repentance, Finarfin, Finwë's third son, takes his host and turns back. They are accepted by the Valar, and Finarfin rules as High-King of the Noldor in Valinor. The remaining Elves, those who follow Fëanor andFingolfin, become subject to the Doom ofMandos, that they will come to harm if they continue their rebellion against the Valar. There are not enough ships to carry all the Noldor across the sea, so Fëanor and his sons lead the first group.[T 4] Upon arriving in the far west ofBeleriand, they decide to burn the ships and leave Fingolfin and his people behind. Fingolfin, furious, returns to Beleriand by the long and hard land route, via the northern ice.[T 4]
Morgoth summons his armies from his fortress ofAngband and attacks Fëanor's encampment in Mithrim. This battle was called the Battle under the Stars, orDagor-nuin-Giliath, for the Sun and Moon had not yet been made. The Noldor win the battle. Fëanor presses on toward Angband with his sons. He comes within sight of Angband, but is ambushed by a force ofBalrogs, with few Elves about him. He fights mightily withGothmog, captain of the Balrogs. His sons come upon the Balrogs with a great force of Elves, and drive them off; but Fëanor knows his wounds are fatal. He curses Morgoth thrice, but with the eyes of death, he sees that his Elves, unaided, will never throw down the dark towers ofThangorodrim.[T 4]
The Oath of Fëanor affects the loversBeren andLúthien. They steal a Silmaril from Morgoth, leading to Kinslaying and years of strife among the Elves,[T 5] untilEärendil carries the Silmaril off into the West.[T 6] That Silmaril is lost to the Sons of Fëanor, but the other two remain in the crown of Morgoth. They too are stolen, one ending in the earth, one in the sea.[T 6]
According to Mandos' prophecy, following Melkor's final return and defeat in theDagor Dagorath, the world will be changed and the Valar will recover the Silmarils. Fëanor will be released from theHalls of Mandos and will give Yavanna the Silmarils. Fëanor will break them, and Yavanna will revive the Two Trees. ThePelóri Mountains will be flattened and the light of the Two Trees will fill the world in eternal bliss.[T 7][T 8]
| Mahtan | Míriel | .svg){kind=icon} Finwë of theNoldor | Indis of theVanyar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nerdanel | Fëanor maker ofSilmarils | Findis |  Fingolfin | Lalwen | Finarfin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maedhros | Maglor | Celegorm | Curufin | Caranthir | Amras | Amrod | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Celebrimbor maker ofRings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kings of the Noldor inValinor
High Kings of the Noldor in Exile (in Middle-earth)
All the characters shown areElves. The above tree follows the late noteThe Shibboleth of Fëanor.[T 9] In the published Silmarillion, the birth order of Fëanor's sons is Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin (father of Celebrimbor), Amrod, and Amras; Fëanor's half-sisters Findis and Lalwen do not appear.[T 10]
Fëanor was originally namedCurufinwë ("skilful [son of]Finwë") in Tolkien'sfictional language ofQuenya. He is known asFëanáro, "spirit of fire" in Quenya, fromfëa ("spirit") andnár ("flame"). Fëanáro is his "mother-name" orAmilessë, the name given by an Elf's mother at, or some years after, birth and it was one of their true names.[T 11]
Tolkien wrote at least four versions of the Oath of Fëanor itself, as found inThe History of Middle-earth. The three earliest versions are found inThe Lays of Beleriand: inalliterative verse (circa 1918–1920s), in chapter 2, "Poems Early Abandoned"The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor. Lines 132–141;[2] in rhymingcouplets (circa 1928), in chapter 3, "The Lay of Leithian". Canto VI, lines 1628–1643; and in a different form as restated by Celegorm, third son of Fëanor, in chapter 3, "The Lay of Leithian." Canto VI, lines 1848–1857.[3] A later version is found inMorgoth's Ring.[4] Fëanor is among those major characters whom Tolkien, who also used toillustrate his writings,supplied with a distinct heraldic device.[5]
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TheTolkien scholarJane Chance sees Morgoth's corruption of Elves and Men as clearly Biblical, as it "mirrors that ofAdam and Eve bySatan; the desire for power and godlike being is the same desire for knowledge of good and evil witnessed in theGarden of Eden."[7] She treats the Silmarils as symbols of that same desire. She identifies Fëanor's wish to be like the Valar in creating "things of his own" as rebellious pride, and that, like Melkor, he "succumbs to a 'greedy love'" of his creations that causes his downfall. She points out that Fëanor's rebellion is echoed by that of theNúmenórean man Ar-Pharazon, and then at the end ofThe Silmarillion by the (angelic)Maia,Sauron, who becomes theDark Lord ofThe Lord of the Rings.[7]
| Tolkien | Bible | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgoth | corruptsMen,Elves | Exiled, his fortress ofAngband destroyed,Beleriand drowned | |
| Satan | corruptsAdam and Eve | fallenangel | |
| Fëanor | rebellious pride, desire for pride and godlike being, creates theSilmarils | downfall: his death, disaster for his people, ruin of Beleriand | |
| Adam and Eve | desire for godlike knowledge of good and evil | Fall of man, expelled fromGarden of Eden |
The philologistElizabeth Solopova suggests that the character of Fëanor was inspired by the Anglo-Saxon leaderByrhtnoth, and in particular his appearance in the poem "The Battle of Maldon". The poem tells how he is slain inthat battle, which took place in the year 991. Tolkien wrote a short play in verse,The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son[T 12] on the character's misplaced pride,[8] and described Byrhtnoth as misled by "pride and misplaced chivalry proven fatal" and as "too foolish to be heroic".[T 13] Fëanor is similarly driven by "overmastering pride" that causes his death and that of countless followers.[6]
The Tolkien scholarTom Shippey comments that Fëanor and his Silmarils relate toThe Silmarillion's theme in a particular way: the sin of the Elves is not human pride, as in theBiblical fall, but their "desire to make things which will forever reflect or incarnate their own personality". This Elvish form of pride leads Fëanor to forge the Silmarils, and, Shippey suggests, led Tolkien to write his fictions: "Tolkien could not help seeing a part of himself in Fëanor andSaruman, sharing their perhaps licit, perhaps illicit desire to 'sub-create'."[10]
John Ellison, writing inthe Tolkien Society's journalMallorn, draws a comparison between Fëanor and theFaust legend, in particularThomas Mann's version in his 1947 novelDoctor Faustus. In Ellison's view, the life history of both characters is of "genius corrupted finally into insanity; the creative drive turns on its possessor and destroys him, and with him a good part of the fabric of society."[9] He describes as parallel Mann's depiction of his Faust character Leverkühn in a collapsing Nazi Germany and Tolkien's starting his mythology amidst the collapse of pre-1914 Europe in theFirst World War. Fëanor is, he writes, not an exact equivalent of Doctor Faustus: he does not make apact with the devil; but both Fëanor and Leverkühn outgrow their teachers in creative skill. Ellison calls Leverkühn "a Fëanor of our times", and comments that far from being a simple battle of good versus evil, Tolkien's world as seen in Fëanor has "the creative and destructive forces in man's nature ... indivisibly linked; this is the essence of the 'fallen world' in which we live."[9] He adds that Fëanor is central to the whole ofTolkien's legendarium, "the hinge on which the whole great Tale ... turns."[9]
| Tolkien's Fëanor | Mann's Leverkühn |
|---|---|
"genius corrupted finally into insanity" | |
"creative drive turns on its possessor and destroys him", and much of society | |
| Tolkien sees England's "green country ruined and despoiled by industrial or commercial development" | Mann sees early 20th century Germany "about to slide into barbarism" |
Like Shippey, Ellison relates Fëanor's making of the Silmarils to what he supposes was Tolkien's own belief: that it was "a dangerous and impermissible act" that went beyond what the Creator had intended for the Elves.[9] Further, Ellison suggests that while Fëanor does not directly represent Tolkien, there is something about his action that can be applied to Tolkien's life. Tolkien calls Fëanor "fey"; Ellison notes that Tolkien analysed his own name astollkühn, with the same meaning. Further, Tolkien seems, Ellison writes, to have felt a conflict between his own "sub-creation" and his Catholic faith.[9]
Shippey and the Tolkien scholarVerlyn Flieger both note that Tolkien intended ancestry to be a guide to character.[11][12] Shippey writes thatThe Silmarillion echoesNorse mythology in this belief, and that one perhaps needs to study the family trees to see clearly how it all works:[11]
| Character | Ancestry | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Fëanor | pureNoldor from both father and mother | Creative, headstrong, selfish |
| Fëanor's half-brothersFinarfin andFingolfin | mother (Indis) is of "'senior' race",Vanyar | "Superior" to Fëanor "in restraint and generosity" |
| Finarfin's childrenFinrod andGaladriel | mother (Eärwen) is of "junior" race,Teleri | Relatively sympathetic |
| Fingolfin's children, e.g. Aredhel | "mixed Noldor/Vanyar" | "Reckless" |
| Fëanor's sons | pure Noldor | Aggressive, unsympathetic |
Flieger writes that Fëanor's fire drives his creativity, making the beautiful letters of the Fëanorian script, and jewels, including, fatefully, the Silmarils. She comments that Tolkien, choosing his words very carefully, calls Fëanor both "subtle", by etymology fromLatinsub-tela, "under the warp (of a weaving)", hence the crosswise weft threads that go against the grain, a dangerous part of the fabric of life; and "skilled", by etymology fromIndo-Europeanskel-, "to cut", like the Noldor as a whole tending to cause division among the Elves; and indeed his choices, and the Silmarils, lead to division and war, to theKinslaying of Elf by Elf, the theft of the Telerin Elves' ships in Aman, and in turn to further disasters across the sea in Beleriand.[13]
| Tolkien's terms | Etymology | Implications |
|---|---|---|
| "subtle" | Latin:sub-tela, "under thewarp" of a weaving | A person who goes against the grain, dangerous |
| "skilled" | Indo-Europeanskel-, "to cut" | A divisive person, one who causes conflict |