Maglor

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Maglor
Noldo
Elena Kukanova - Maglor.jpeg
"Maglor" by Elena Kukanova
Biographical Information
PronunciationS, [ˈmaɡlɔr]
Other names"the Minstrel"
Kanafinwë (Q, fn),
Makalaurë (Q, mn)
LocationEldamar, Maglor's Gap, Amon Ereb
AffiliationOath of Fëanor, Union of Maedhros
LanguageQuenya and Sindarin
BirthBetween Y.T. 1190 and 1362
Tirion
DeathFate unknown (possibly suicide[1])
Family
HouseHouse of Fëanor
ParentageFëanor & Nerdanel
SiblingsMaedhros, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod and Amras
SpouseUnnamed wife[2]
ChildrenFostered Elrond and Elros
Physical Description
GenderMale
HeightTall
Hair colorDark
GalleryImages of Maglor
"Maglor was mighty among the singers of old, named only after Daeron of Doriath."
Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"

Maglor was the second of the Sons of Fëanor. He was known for his poetry and singing,[3] but in Tirion he swore the Oath of Fëanor and shared in the woes it bred.[4]

History[edit | edit source]

Maglor was present at the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. To what degree he participated in the slaughter is unknown, but later he composed the lament Noldolantë, the Fall of the Noldor, in memory of the terrible event.[4] Following Fëanor into exile, Maglor witnessed his father die after he had fought Gothmog.[5]

The wife of Maglor. Art by Marya Filatova

The sons of Fëanor settled in the eastern part of Beleriand. Maglor's ward was the opening in the hills between the two arms of the Gelion River, which acquired the name of Maglor's Gap. Due to the lack of hills, the Gap was a natural route for attacks from the north, and the Noldor kept a strength of cavalry in that region.[6]

Maglor's Gap was held for four and a half centuries. However, in the Dagor Bragollach the dragon Glaurung invaded and laid waste to Maglor's land, forcing Maglor to flee to the fortress of his brother Maedhros on the hill of Himring to the west.[7] Sixteen years later, he and Maedhros marched to the great battle that the Elves hoped would see their revenge upon Morgoth, but they were defeated, partly by the treachery of Uldor the Accursed. Maglor himself slew Uldor, but all of the sons of Fëanor were wounded and they were forced to retreat to Mount Dolmed. The heavy loss led to the name of the battle thereafter: the Nirnaeth Arnoediad or the "Battle of Unnumbered Tears." Maglor and his brothers took to a wild woodland life in Ossiriand.[8]

Prior to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, one of the three Silmarils had been recovered from Morgoth's Crown.[9] From his parents, Dior Eluchíl received the jewel and brought it to Doriath. True to their oath, the sons of Fëanor (led by Celegorm) demanded the Silmaril. When Dior refused to surrender it the brothers assaulted Thingol's ancient kingdom. Celegorm, Caranthir and Curufin all fell, as did Dior and his wife, Nimloth of Doriath. But the four remaining brothers - Maglor, Maedhros, Amras and Amrod - did not recover the Silmaril, for Elwing, the daughter of Dior and Nimloth, escaped.[10]

Maglor's Fosterling by Turner Mohan

Eventually the three brothers heard tiding that Elwing possessed a Silmaril and dwelt at the Mouths of Sirion. Driven by their Oath, the remaining sons of Fëanor made a sudden attack upon the refugees of Gondolin and Doriath. However they were again thwarted, for Elwing escaped with the Silmaril across the Sea to her husband Eärendil. Together, they sailed into the West and their voyage would eventually cause the downfall of Morgoth. Meanwhile, Elrond and Elros, Eärendil and Elwing's sons, captured in the battle, were adopted by Maglor, and it is said that love grew between them. It is also said that Maglor's heart grew sick with the Oath of Fëanor.

Maglor Casts a Silmaril into the Sea by Ted Nasmith

After Morgoth's fall, the last two Silmarils were recovered from his Iron Crown. By this time, only Maedhros and Maglor remained of Fëanor's sons. In weariness and loathing, they demanded the jewels from Eönwë, the herald of Manwë. Eönwë refused them the Silmarils due to their many evil deeds. Still driven, the two brothers crept into the camp of Eönwë and stole the jewels. Though they were caught, Eönwë let them depart. Each brother took one jewel, but their evil deeds caused the holy Jewels to burn their hands. Maedhros in despair cast himself into a fiery fissure. Maglor, the last surviving son of Fëanor, threw his Silmaril into the Sea. Legend says that he still wanders the shores of the World, singing laments for his despair and regret.[11] It is possible that some time later Maglor cast himself into the Sea, meeting his eventual doom.[1]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Maglor is not glossed in the mature Sindarin, but being the Sindarized version of the Quenya name Makalaurë,[12] it would mean "Forging Gold".[13] In a pure Sindarin rendition it would have been Magalor.[12]

In the Noldorin phase of the name, it is interpreted as "Gold-cleaver", also coming from Makalaurë.[14]

Other names[edit | edit source]

His father-name was Kanafinwë, a name which in Quenya means "Strong-voiced Finwë". The shorter form was Káno. It is derived from káno, a noun which means "commander", added to the name of his grandfather.[13]

His mother-name was Makalaurë. Its meaning is unclear, but it is generally interpreted as "Forging Gold", being a prophetic reference to his skill in harping, whose sound was golden (here laurë being a poetic word and not referred to the metal).[13]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

Mahtan
b. Y.T.
 
Míriel
d. Y.T. 1170
 
Finwë
d. Y.T. 1495
 
Indis
b. Y.T.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nerdanel
b. Y.T.
 
 
 
Fëanor
Y.T. 1169 - 1497
 
Findis
b. Y.T.
 
Fingolfin
Y.T. 1190 - F.A. 456
 
Írimë
b. Y.T.
 
Finarfin
b. Y.T. 1230
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Maedhros
d. F.A. 587
 
MAGLOR
b. Y.T.
 
Celegorm
d. F.A. 506
 
Caranthir
d. F.A. 506
 
Curufin
d. F.A. 506
 
Amrod
d. F.A. 538
 
Amras
d. F.A. 538
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Celebrimbor
d. S.A. 1697
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 131, (undated, written late 1951): "The last two sons of Fëanor, compelled by their oath, steal [the Simarils], and are destroyed by them, casting themselves into the sea, and the pits of the earth."
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "Notes", p. 318, note 7
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
  4. 4.0 4.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Flight of the Noldor"
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Return of the Noldor"
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beleriand and its Realms"
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beren and Lúthien"
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Doriath"
  11. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
  12. 12.0 12.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "From The Shibboleth of Fëanor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 41, July 2000, p. 10
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "XI. The Shibboleth of Fëanor", "The names of the Sons of Fëanor", pp. 352-353
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", "MAK-"