Ingwion

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Ingwion
Vanya
Karolina Węgrzyn - Ingwion.jpg
"Ingwion" by Karolina Węgrzyn
Biographical Information
Other namesIngwil (Q)[1]
PositionLeader of the Vanyar in the War of Wrath
LocationMiddle-earth
Valinor
AffiliationHost of the West
LanguageVanyarin
BirthBefore the Great Journey[1]
Cuiviénen
Family
HousePossibly the House of Ingwë[2]
ParentageIngwë and Ilwen[1]
SiblingsUnnamed siblings[3]
Physical Description
GenderMale
GalleryImages of Ingwion

Ingwion[note 1][4] was the son of Ingwë, the High King of the Elves, and the leader of the Vanyar in the War of Wrath.[5][6]

History[edit | edit source]

War of Wrath by Elena Kukanova

Ingwion was born at Cuiviénen before the Great Journey to Ingwë and his wife Ilwen.[note 2][1]

Several thousand years later, he led the Vanyar of the Host of the West to Middle-earth to fight in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age.[6]

Nothing else is known about his fate, either during the war, or after it.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The name Ingwion is in Quenya, and is a compound of the name of his father Ingwë + the Quenya patronymic suffix -ion ("son of"), which is translated as "Son of Ingwë".[7]

Other names[edit | edit source]

The name Ingwion was changed from an earlier form Ingwiel,[5] which was itself changed from Ingwil.[8] The meanings of these earlier forms are unclear, but they all contain the name of his father Ingwë as one of their elements.[7]

However, in The Nature of Middle-earth, from a text dating c. 1959, the form Ingwil reappears again.[1][9]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Imin
awoke in Y.T. 1050
 
Iminyë
awoke in Y.T. 1050
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ilion
b. Y.T.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
unknown
father
 
unknown
mother
 
Ingwë
b. Y.T.
 
Ilwen
b. Y.T.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Míriel
d. Y.T. 1170
 
Finwë
d. Y.T. 1495
 
Indis
b. Y.T.
 
 
INGWION
b. Y.T.
 
 
 
unknown
children
 
 

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

The Book of Lost Tales[edit | edit source]

The earliest literary precursor of the character of Ingwion was called Ingil, according to the early version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales. For more information, see: Ingil.

The Later Annals of Beleriand[edit | edit source]

According to the early version of the legendarium from the Later Annals of Beleriand (late 1930s), Ingwion's (in that text he was called Ingwiel) role in the War of Wrath was slightly more fleshed out than in the later texts.

There, Ingwiel, the "prince of all the Elves", was the commander of the force that landed and captured the haven of Eglarest (in the text it was called Eglorest) in one of the first battles of the war, driving away the Orcs from the shore.[10]

Notes

  1. Even though Ingwion doesn't appear in the published Silmarillion, Christopher Tolkien has concluded that the omission of the character was based on a mistake made by his father.
  2. This information comes from The Nature of Middle-earth, from a text dating c. 1959, in which the character of Ingwion is called Ingwil. There, in addition to being the son of Ingwë and Ilwen, he is also the elder brother of Indis, the second wife of Finwë - even though in almost every other text she is portrayed as either being Ingwë's sister or else his niece. In that text, Ingwil also had another, unnamed younger sibling.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: XVII. Generational Schemes", p. 128
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "XI. The Shibboleth of Fëanor", "The case of the Quenya change of Þ to s", p. 334
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Three. The Later Quenta Silmarillion: (II) The Second Phase: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor", p. 258
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Shaping of Middle-earth, "III. The Quenta: Commentary on the Quenta, [Section] 17", pp. 196-7
  5. 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Two. The Later Quenta Silmarillion: The Last Chapters of the Quenta Silmarillion", p. 246
  6. 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part Two: Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings, VI. Quenta Silmarillion", p. 326
  7. 7.0 7.1 Paul Strack, "Q. Ingwion m.", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 18 April 2022)
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Shaping of Middle-earth, "VII. The Earliest Annals of Beleriand: Notes [to text AB I]", note 68, p. 313
  9. Paul Strack, "Q. Ingwil m.", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 18 April 2022)
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part Two: Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings, III. The Later Annals of Beleriand", pp. 143-4