Saeros
| Saeros | |
|---|---|
| Nando | |
 | |
| "Saeros' Fatal Leap" by Ted Nasmith | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Other names | Orgol (see below) |
| Position | Counsellor to Thingol |
| Location | Doriath |
| Affiliation | Guest-elves[1] |
| Language | Doriathrin |
| Birth | Years of the Trees[2] |
| Death | F.A. 484[3] Tributary of Esgalduin[4] |
| Family | |
| Parentage | Ithilbor[2] |
| Physical Description | |
| Gender | Male |
| Clothing | Shield[5] |
| Weaponry | Sword[5] |
| Gallery | Images of Saeros |
Saeros was an Elf of the Nandor[2] who lived in Doriath.
History[edit]
Saeros was a member of the court of King Thingol, taking refuge there after the fall of his lord Denethor in the First Battle. In Menegroth, he won the esteem of the king and the friendship of Daeron. When Túrin came to Doriath as a fosterchild five centuries later, Saeros had become a counsellor to the King, and was jealous that such honor should be given to a Man.[6]
When Túrin was twenty, Saeros insulted him at a royal dinner, comparing the Men of Hithlum to animals. In his anger Túrin struck him with a goblet, injuring him. The next day Saeros ambushed Túrin in the woods, but was overcome. Túrin went on to strip him naked and told him to run back to Menegroth like an animal. While running in terror Saeros fell into a ravine and died. Túrin, fearing King Thingol's wrath, fled Doriath[6], calling himself Neithan ("The Wronged").[7]
Etymology[edit]
Saeros' name is difficult to translate, but might mean "Bitter Rain" in Sindarin (from saer = "bitter" and ross = "rain").[source?] If "bitter" is the root word of his name, then Saeros is probably a epithet.[source?]
Genealogy[edit]
| Ithilbor b. F.A. | |||||||||
| SAEROS d. F.A. 484 | |||||||||
Other versions of the legendarium[edit]
Saeros was named Orgof in The Grey Annals, The Later Annals of Beleriand and earlier version of The Silmarillion.[8][9] He never confronted Túrin in the woods, but is killed at the dinner party by the goblet Túrin threw at him.[10]
In an accompanying note to The Grey Annals, Tolkien wrote the name Orgol in the margin;[1] in the appendix to The Children of Húrin, Christopher Tolkien made the following comment on the issue:
It seems, incidentally, certain from a closer understanding of the relations of the manuscripts that my father rejected the name Saeros and replaced it by Orgol, which by 'linguistic accident' coincides with Old English orgol, orgel 'pride'. But it seems to me too late now to remove Saeros.
— J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Children of Húrin, "Appendix 2: The Composition of the Text", p. 287
In one variant of the Narn, during his first introduction, Saeros is described as the kinsman of Daeron, and in another, his brother.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part One. The Grey Annals", pp. 112-3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Narn i Hîn Húrin (The Tale of the Children of Húrin)", "Túrin in Doriath", p. 77
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "The Grey Annals": §259
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Children of Húrin, "Túrin in Doriath", p. 90
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Children of Húrin, "Túrin in Doriath", p. 85
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Children of Húrin, "Túrin in Doriath"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Children of Húrin, "Túrin among the Outlaws", p. 101
- ↑ 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. 321
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Shaping of Middle-earth, "II. The Earliest 'Silmarillion' (The 'Sketch of the Mythology')", pp. 28 & 58
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part One. The Grey Annals"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Narn i Hîn Húrin (The Tale of the Children of Húrin)", "Notes", p. 147, note 8
