#niënor níniel

[anghraine]

Another Tolkien rant before I (finally!!) go back to BG3:

By and large, heredity and ethnicity in Tolkien cannot be understood through blood quantum logic. I don't think this is even seriously debatable, really—it does not work.

Yes, Imrahil of Dol Amroth is many generations removed from his nearest Elvish ancestor. Yes, he's still visibly part-Silvan to someone like Legolas, and is Silvan-style pretty to everyone else, and his sister was mystically susceptible to Mordor's miasma and died of sea-longing.

Yes, Théoden has as much Númenórean ancestry as Eldacar, a literal Númenórean King of Gondor, and has the same Elvish ancestor as Imrahil. No, Théoden is not a Dúnadan and does not inherit Silvan features. Tolkien specifically contrasted the visible Silvan Elvish heritage of Imrahil and his nephews Boromir and Faramir with Théoden and Éomer's lack of them, though in some versions, Éomer inherited remarkable height from his Númenórean ancestry (but not specifically Elvish qualities like beardlessness).

The only known member of the House of Eorl to markedly inherit the distinctive Elvish appearance of the House of Dol Amroth is Elfwinë, son of Imrahil's daughter Lothíriel as well as of Éomer, and Elfwinë's appearance is attributed firmly to Lothíriel-Imrahil rather than Théodwyn-Morwen.

Aragorn and Denethor are descendants of Elendil removed by dozens of generations, and Elendil himself was many generations removed from Elros. Aragorn and Denethor's common heritage and special status results in a strong resemblance and kinship between these incredibly distant cousins, including innate beardlessness and various powers inherited from Lúthien, and a connection to the Maiar presumably derived from Lúthien's mother Melian (great-great-grandmother of their very distant ancestor Elros).

Galadriel has one Noldo grandparent (half as much Noldorin heritage as Théoden has Númenórean). She has ties to her Telerin and Vanyarin kin and inherits some of their traits (most notably her silvery-gold hair), but she is very fundamentally a Noldo.

Túrin Turambar is a member—and indeed, heir—of the House of Hador via patrilineality. However, he's strongly coded as Bëorian in every other way because of his powerful resemblance to his very Bëorian mother, while his sister Niënor is the reverse, identified strongly with Hadorian women and linked to their father, whom she never met.

Elrond and Elros have more Elvish heritage than anything else, but are defined as half-Elves regardless of choosing mortality or immortality. In The Nature of Middle-earth, Tolkien casually drops the bombshell that Elros's children with his presumably mortal partner also received a choice of mortality vs immortality (and then in true Tolkien style, breezed onto other, less interesting points). Elrond and his sons with fully Elvish Celebrían are referred to as Númenóreans as well as Elves, with Elladan and Elrohir scrupulously excluded from being classed as Elves on multiple occasions. Their sister Arwen, meanwhile, is a half-Elf regardless of how much literal mortal heritage she has but also is identified with the Eldar in a way they never are.

There's a letter that Tolkien received in which a fan asks how Aragorn, a descendant of Fíriel of Gondor, could be considered of pure Númenórean ancestry when Fíriel was a descendant of Eldacar, the "impure" king whose maternal heritage kicked off the Kinstrife. Tolkien's response is essentially a polite eyeroll (and understandably for sure), but it's not like ancestry that remote (or far more so) doesn't regularly linger.

The point, I guess, is that there's no hard and fast rule here that determines "real" ethnicity in Middle-earth or who inherits what narrative identification. It's clearly not dependent on purebloodedness (gross rhetoric anyway, but also can't be reconciled with ... like, anything we see). It's not based on upbringing or culture alone. Túrin and Niënor, for instance, are powerfully identified with the Edain narratively despite their upbringings. Their double cousin Tuor, however, is a more ambiguous figure in terms of the Elves, whom he loves and lives among and possibly even joins in immortality—yet Tuor's half-Elf son Eärendil, whose cultural background is overwhelmingly Elvish, is naturally aligned with Men and only chooses immortality for his wife's sake.

Elladan and Elrohir, as mentioned above, are sons of an Elf, Celebrían, and of Elrond, a half-Elf who chose immortality and established a largely Elvish community at Rivendell. But the twins have a centuries-long affinity with their mortal Dúnadan kin and delay choosing a kindred to be counted among long after Arwen's choice.

Patrilineal heritages are more often than not given priority, which has nothing to do with how much of X blood someone has, only which side it comes from. Queen Morwen's children and descendants are emphatically Rohirrim who don't ping Legolas's Elvishness radar (though Elfwinë might, later on; we're not told). King Eldacar is firmly treated as a Dúnadan with no shortening of lifespan or signs of Northern heritage. Finwë's children and grandchildren are definitionally Noldor.

But this is by no means absolutely the case. The Elvishness of the line of Dol Amroth is not only inherited from Mithrellas, a woman, but passes to some extent to Boromir and Faramir through their mother Finduilas. Denethor and Aragorn's descent from Elros primarily comes through Silmariën, a woman (and also through Rían daughter of Barahir and Morwen daughter of Belecthor for Denethor, and Fíriel daughter of Ondoher for Aragorn). And of course, Elros's part-Maia heritage that lingers among his descendants for thousands of years derives from women, Lúthien and Melian.

So there's not some straightforward system or rule that will tell you when a near or remote ancestor "matters" when it comes to determining a character's identity, either to the character or to how they're handled by the narrative. Sometimes a single grandparent, or great-grandparent, or more distant ancestor, is fundamental to how a character is treated by the story and understands themself. Sometimes a character is so completely identified with one parent that the entire other half of their heritage is negligible to how they're framed by the story and see themself. It depends!

[theworldsoftolkein]

Niënor Níniel

[anghraine]

I was looking for a different old post on my blog and found your art for the Túrin/Tuor/Niënor AU! I hadn't thought about that AU in a long time, but this is still so cool <3

anghraine: hadorian OT3 

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

"In the first beginning of the year Morwen gave birth to her child, the daughter of Húrin; and she named her Nienor, which is Mourning." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar"

[ID: an edit comprised of six posters in muted shades of grey, brown, white, and green.

1: A close-up of Charlotte Carey Tampubolon, an indonesian-british model with light brown skin and bleached hair. She is looking at the viewer with one hand raised to her face, and wears a jeweled ring and earrings. White text in the center of the image reads "niënor," and below it in cursive, "mourning" / 2: Rapids and a steep waterfall among outcroppings of rock and a few conifers. Same format as Image 1, but the text reads "níniel" and "tear-maiden" / 3: The hand of a white marble statue, reaching out from beneath sculpted robes. Same text as Image 2 / 4: A tan-skinned person in a white dress walking away from the viewer amidst tall shrubbery. Same text as Image 1 / 5: A close-up of the eye of an alligator. It is yellow with a slit pupil. Same text as Image 4 / 6: Charlotte Carey Tampubolon, this time facing the viewer with her hair fluffed out around her face and a worried expression. Same text as Image 3 //End ID]

[paula-zotter]

Looking down upon Túrin she cried:

'Farewell, O twice beloved! A Túrin Turambar turun ambartanen: master of doom by doom mastered! O happy to be dead!'

[sea-of-machines]

I went to check Níniel's page on Tolkien Gateway and this was sending me although it's not funny

[who-needs-words]

Listen listen. You’ve probably heard of Finduilas/Nienor and maybe you’ve heard of Nellas/Nienor. I’m proud to introduce Finduilas/Nienor/Nellas.

Timelines don’t matter when you have two immortal elves. They [spins wheel] save Elurín and Eluréd and raise them before [spins wheel] Finduilas becomes Gil-galad.

This is coherent and definitely not me throwing darts at a board labeled ‘fun silm AUs’

[bretwalda-lamnguin]

I'm well aware of how horrifying it is, but I'm absolutely in love with how Túrin and Nienor meet. Túrin sees the ghost of a naked woman lying on a grave by a flash of lightning and almost jumps out of his skin, only to then realise she isn't a ghost but a living woman with no memory of who she is. He somehow takes all of this as a good omen, presumably because he has never encountered a good omen before. Nienor immediately recognises Túrin on some level even though they have never met, and is comforted at his touch. It's so unhinged, I'm obsessed with it.

[findekano]

Just wanted to say your tags on that Niënor art are such a gut punch I love them

-@outofangband

i am having a normal one about niënor today... the glue of níniel & its dissolution after glaurung and how niënor can't be niënor anymore without níniel - níniel is the one who loved túrin and married him; her identity is tied up with a self that shouldn't have existed. niënor-níniel cannot be uncoupled without the whole person falling apart but to niënor, níniel is horrific and to níniel, niënor is bereft of a brother and a husband and a child.

who is she? who can she be? who should she be? she can't and won't decide.

[tolkienosaurus]

If you have a different favourite quote, choose your favourite one of these and then comment yours down below. Only dialogue quotes.

[ladyespera]

Niënor Níniel

[anghraine]

I just cleaned my kitchen and did some boring stuff for class, so that means I get to give myself the gift of another poll I won't vote in:

Vote for the best as siblings, not necessarily as best characters or best people.

[hailturinturambar]

“Hail, Niënor, daughter of Húrin. We meet again ere we end. I give you joy that you have found your brother at last. And now you shall know him: a stabber in the dark, treacherous to foes, faithless to friends, and a curse unto his kin, Túrin son of Húrin! But the worst of all his deeds you shall feel in yourself.”

The Children of Húrin, Narn i Chîn Húrin by J. R. R. Tolkien

Túrin Turambar & Niënor Níniel, the hardest doomed siblings

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

Túrin and Fëanor parallels

I think the parallels between Túrin and Fëanor are really interesting, and the more I think about them, the more parallels I seem to find. There are differences too, of course: Túrin is said to speak little, whereas Fëanor is a great linguist and orator; Túrin is said to be quick to pity, but Fëanor is not. But it’s fascinating just how many similarities there are.

They are both very proud and self-willed.

Túrin, despite being a Man, is said to be very Elf-like (hence the name Adanedhel), and Fëanor, despite being an Elf, has many qualities in common with mortal Men.

They are both described as being like their mothers: Fëanor is similar to Míriel in her creative and linguistic skills and interests; Túrin is similar to Morwen in mood and appearance—he also inherited his seemingly Elvish qualities from her.

The loss of a family member defined both their childhoods: the death of Míriel for Fëanor and the death of Lalaith for Túrin (in addition to the absence of his father).

They both have a personal hatred of Morgoth because of the loss of their fathers: Finwë killed by Morgoth, and Húrin taken captive.

Fëanor means spirit of fire; Túrin is said to have “the fire of his father” in him.

They both commit acts of violence and go into exile as a result: Fëanor does this twice, first after threatening Fingolfin and then after the Kinslaying; Túrin kills Saeros and leaves Doriath in exile.

They both want love and validation from their father/father figure, but don’t know how much they are loved: Fëanor thinks Fingolfin is usurping his place and Finwë’s love, but Fëanor is actually Finwë’s favorite son; Túrin doesn’t think Thingol will forgive him for killing Saeros, so he leaves Doriath, unaware that Thingol has already decided to pardon him.

They are both natural leaders and easily persuade others to listen to them and follow them: Fëanor is able to stir the Noldor to rebellion with his words alone; Túrin finds himself the leader of, or influential among, every groups of Men and Elves he meets—including convincing Orodreth to follow his counsel.

They are both critical of the Valar: Fëanor’s speeches in Tirion, especially after the Darkening of Valinor, describe the Valar as tyrants who have deceived the Noldor and held them captive; in Túrin’s speech in Nargothrond, he says the Valar have forsaken them. (In an interesting contrast, Fëanor thinks the Valar favor Men over the Noldor, whereas Túrin believes the Valar hold Men in scorn.)

They both accidentally kill someone they love: Túrin accidentally kills Beleg, not knowing who he is in the darkness; Fëanor, in the Shibboleth version of the story, unknowingly burns Amrod alive when he sets fire to the ships.

They are both overconfident in battle, leading to defeat: Fëanor pursues Morgoth’s forces to Angband, only to be surrounded by an army of Balrogs that mortally wound him; Túrin counsels Orodreth to meet Morgoth’s forces in open war, but it proves to be a disastrous defeat for the Noldor.

They both strive to oppose Morgoth, but end up playing right into his hands: Fëanor, by believing Morgoth’s lies, and by bringing even more death to Valinor than Morgoth himself did; Túrin, by causing the fall of Nargothrond, believing Glaurung’s lies, abandoning Finduilas, and marrying Niënor.

They both struggle in vain to achieve their goals: the more Fëanor and his sons try to fulfill the Oath, the less they succeed; the more Túrin tries to avoid Morgoth’s curse, the less he can escape it.

Finally, they both realize an important truth before their deaths that was previously hidden from them: Túrin learns that Níniel is his sister, and takes his life; Fëanor, as he is dying of his wounds, looks back at Thangorodrim and knows “with the foreknowledge of death that no power of the Noldor would ever overthrow them.”

[outofangband]

Geographic resource: Islands in (and after) Beleriand

Flora, fauna, geography and environment Masterlist

Other geographic resources are at the bottom of the list

Tol Sirion

Tol Sirion was a river isle in northern Beleriand. It was an island located in the Northern reaches of the river Sirion, only a distance Southward from the source of the river at Eithel Sirion. The Isle of Wolves or Tol-in-Gaurhoth was the name Sauron gave Tol Sirion after he took it over after the Dagor Bragollach

Tol Galen

Tol Galen (Sindarin: Green Island) was an island on the river Adurant in the land of Ossiriand in Eastern Beleriand. Adurant was a tributary to the river Gelion, and was its southernmost tributary. It has a small branching course that stretches out around the island. This was the island Beren and Lúthien lived for the rest of their lives and where Dior’s children were born. Elwing was named for a waterfall, Lanthir Lamath, by the house of Dior upon the isle.

Isle of Balar

The isle of Balar was an island located off the coast of southwest Beleriand. It was off the coast of Arvernien and was the haven of Círdan the shipwright after the destruction of the havens of Falas. Turgon built settlements here and it was explored by the people of Nargothrond

-There are three islands that are created when Beleriand is flooded. These are Tol Fuin, Tol Himling and Tol Morwen.

Tol Fuin, the Isle of night is located where Dorthonion once was. After the Dagor Bragollach, Dorthonion was overrun by Morgoth’s armies and its pine forests grew dark and sickly. It was called Taur nu Fuin or the forest under nightshade. After the drowning of Beleriand, a small area remains above the water

Tol Himling, the Isle of Himring was located where northeast Beleriand once was. The fortress of Himring where Maedhros once took counsel against Morgoth upon a bare hill rising above the rest of his lands

Tol Morwen, the only island named for a person, was once in the forest of Brethil, located west of Doriath. Upon the isle remains the memorial to Túrin Turumbar and Niënor Níniel and to Morwen, their mother, Morwen Eledhwen of the house of Bëor, who traveled through great hardships to try to find them, only to find their grave and to be buried alongside Túrin (Niënor’s body never being recovered).

I have a post here about her grave before the sinking of Beleriand.

[micelangelooo]

Turambar lamented, but carried on and with all his will climbed up the narrow to the dragon's position. Then he took his sword Gurthang and stabbed Glaurung's belly to the hilt. Crying in pain, the dragon crossed to the other cliff with the sword still embedded. He twisted in agony, falling in the ground. Turambar almost fainted, but with great strength he left the ravine and approached the dragon. Mocking the dragon, Turambar took back his sword, but a blood stream sprayed his hand, and he fell unconscious. 

The lifeless body of Túrin was later found by his wife. “For at the cry of Níniel Glaurung stirred for the last time, and a quiver ran through all his body; and he opened his baleful eyes a silt, and the moon gleamed in them, as gasping he spoke: ‘Hail, Niënor, daughter of Húrin. We meet again ere we end. I give you joy that you have found your brother at last. And now you shall know him: a stabber in the dark, treacherous to foes, faithless to friends, and a curse unto his kin, Túrin son of Húrin! But the worst of all his deeds you shall feel in yourself.’ 

–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Children of Húrin. 

“The Death of Glaurung”. The scene were Túrin have just brought  an end to the evil of Glaurung, the father of dragons. Although, Glaurung had one last revelation..