Ingil

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Ingil
Teler
Biographical Information
Other namesIsilmo (Q)
Gilweth, Githilma (G)
PositionLord of Tol Eressëa
LocationGreat Lands
Tol Eressëa (Kortirion)
Valinor
LanguageQenya
BirthBefore the March of Liberation
Family
ParentageInwë
ChildrenAt least one (Ingil was the grandfather of Meril-i-Turinqi)
Physical Description
GenderMale

Ingil was the son of Inwë, the King of the Eldar, according to the early version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales.[1]

History

Cortirion by J.R.R. Tolkien, depicting the Tower of Ingil

Ingil belonged to the Inwir, the royal clan of the Teleri, descendants and kin of Ingil's father Inwë,[2] who perished leading the Elves of Kôr in the expedition to the Great Lands to free the enslaved Gnomes after the fall of Gondolin, against the wishes of the Valar.[3] Due to this, the Elves were forbidden to return to Valinor,[4] and instead relocated to Tol Eressëa, where Ingil (who also participated in the war against Melko) became their leader.[1]

There, he founded the city of Koromas in the middle of the island, and built a great tower, from which the city's other name, Kortirion, came from.[1] The island of Tol Eressëa also became known as Ingilnórë,[5][note 1] in honour of Ingil.[6]

His granddaughter, Meril-i-Turinqi, later became the Lady of Tol Eressëa, possibly after Ingil's eventual return to Valinor.[3][note 2]

Etymology

The name Ingil is in Qenya. It contains the earlier name of his father Inwë, Ing + the suffix -'il, possibly derived from the early primitive Elvish root GILI, meaning "shine (white)".[7]

Other names

The Gnomish cognate of Ingil is Gilweth, with Githilma (changed from earlier Githlon[8]) being the Gnomish equivalent of his other name Isilmo.[9]

Other names for the character include: (Qenya) Ingilmo,[10] Ilwir,[11] Veril (a name which was afterwards applied to his granddaughter, Meril), and (Gnomish) Githlim (changed from Ithlim),[10] Gwethil and Ithlin.[12]

Genealogy

Inwë
 
 
 
 
INGIL
 
 
 
 
unknown
child
 
 
 
 
Meril-i-Turinqi

Other versions of the legendarium

Ingil and Telimektar

In one of the outlines for the continuation of The Book of Lost Tales, there appears an entirely different conception of Ingil's fate.

There, it is said that, when Melko broke free of his second imprisonment (after Inwë's expedition to the Great Lands), he went to Tol Eressëa in order to sow dissension between the Gnomes and the Solosimpi, who sent for help to Valinor. However, the only aid that came from the Valar was that of Tulkas, who in secret has sent his son Telimektar to Tol Eressëa to aid them.

There, Telimektar, with the help of Ingil, surprised Melko and wounded him, and chased him up the Pine of Tavrobel all the way to Ilwë. However, Melko kept attacking the Sun and the stars, and in the end caused the death of Urwendi the steerer of the Sun-vessel.

Finally, the Valar decided to cut down the great Pine, which left Melko stranded out of the world.

However, Ingil and Telimektar had to remain in the sky, guarding ceaselessly until Melko's return in the Great End. There, Varda periodically gives Telimektar stars in order to replace the ones Melko destroys and to remind the world of the Valar's watch - and the constellation of Orion is afterwards seen as Telimektar's image in the sky.[13]

After Ingil's "ascent into heaven, when in likeness of a great bee bearing honey of flame he followed Daimort",[note 3] he acquired the (Gnomish) name Gil, which was also used as the name of the star Sirius.[8] The image of Ingil in the sky, Sirius, was also known as Nielluin.[14]

Later legendarium

In later versions of the legendarium, the character evolved to Ingwion, the son of Ingwë.

Notes

  1. In later outlines of the Lost Tales, Tol Eressëa ceased to be identified with England. Instead, the island of Luthany appears as a precursor to England, from which the Elves of the Great Lands sail to Tol Eressëa, now a separate island. In that conception of the legendarium, the name Ingilnórë ceased to be a name for Tol Eressëa, and instead became a name for Luthany/England.
  2. Although it is said in the Lost Tales that the Elves were forbidden to return to Valinor after the expedition to the Great Lands, it is evident that at least some of them returned eventually, since it is said of Ingil that he "went long ago back to Valinor and is with Manwë".
  3. Daimort was another name for Telimektar.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "I. The Cottage of Lost Play", p. 16
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "II. The Music of the Ainur", Commentary on the Link between The Cottage of Lost Play and The Music of the Ainur, p. 50
  3. 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "V. The Coming of the Elves and the Making of Kôr", p. 129
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "VI. The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales", outline 3, p. 280
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon", in Parma Eldalamberon XII (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. xvii
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon", in Parma Eldalamberon XII (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 42
  7. Paul Strack, "ᴱQ. Ingil m.", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 18 April 2022)
  8. 8.0 8.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "I-Lam na-Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of the Gnomish Tongue", in Parma Eldalamberon XI (edited by Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 38
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I, entry "Isil"
  10. 10.0 10.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Sí Qente Feanor and Other Elvish Writings", in Parma Eldalamberon XV (edited by Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), "Name-list to The Fall of Gondolin", p. 25
  11. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Sí Qente Feanor and Other Elvish Writings", in Parma Eldalamberon XV (edited by Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), "Names and Required Alterations", p. 7
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Alphabet of Rúmil & Early Noldorin Fragments", in Parma Eldalamberon XIII (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), "Early Chart of Names", p. 99
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "VI. The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales", outline 4, pp. 281-2
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "VIII. The Tale of the Sun and Moon": "Notes and Commentary", p. 200