Elu Thingol or Elwë Singollo is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is t ...

legendarium Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of ''The Silmarill ...

. He appears in ''

The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel ...

'', ''

The Lays of Beleriand ''The Lays of Beleriand'', published in 1985, is the third volume of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume book series, ''The History of Middle-earth'', in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. Book Inscrip ...

'' and ''

The Children of Húrin ''The Children of Húrin'' is an epic fantasy novel which forms the completion of a tale by J. R. R. Tolkien. He wrote the original version of the story in the late 1910s, revised it several times later, but did not complete it before his deat ...

'' and in numerous stories in ''

The History of Middle-earth ''The History of Middle-earth'' is a 12-volume series of books published between 1983 and 1996 that collect and analyse much of Tolkien's legendarium, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. The series shows the development over ti ...

''. Depicted as the King of Doriath, King of the

Sindar In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Elves or Quendi are a sundered (divided) people. They awoke at Cuiviénen on the continent of Middle-earth, where they were divided into three tribes: Minyar (the Firsts), Tatyar (the Seconds) and Nelya ...

, High-king, p. 21, "Fingolfin...acknowledged the high-kingship of Thingol"; p. 380, Thingol is also acknowledged high-king by Círdan and his following: p. 410, the Grey-elves of Mithrim acknowledged Thingol as high-king. and Lord of

Beleriand In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-e ...

, he is a major character in the

First Age In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univer ...

of Middle-earth and an essential part of the ancestral backgrounding of the romance between

Aragorn Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arno ...

and

Arwen Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in the novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. Arwen is one of the half-elven who lived during the Third Age; her father was Elrond half-elven, lor ...

in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

''. Alone among the Elves, he married a

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; la, Maia), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daugh ...

, Melian.

Etymology and characteristics

Thingol is

Sindarin Sindarin is one of the fictional languages devised by J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his fantasy stories set in Arda, primarily in Middle-earth. Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the Elves. The word is a Quenya word. Called in Eng ...

for "grey cloak". The

Quenya Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in ''Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed la ...

form of his name, Singollo, has the same meaning., annotated index entry for "Thingol" He is said to be "the tallest of all the

Children of Ilúvatar The cosmology of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium combines aspects of Christian theology and metaphysics with pre-modern cosmological concepts in the flat Earth paradigm, along with the modern spherical Earth view of the Solar System. The create ...

" and the "mightiest of the Eldar save

Fëanor Fëanor () is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Silmarillion''. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel. As a great loremaster and creator, he improved the Sarati alphabet, inventing T ...

only"., pp. 21, 25.

Fictional biography

In ''

'', Thingol is introduced as Elwë, one of the three chieftains of the

Elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

who departed from

Cuiviénen In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal. They feature in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. Their history is described in detail in ''T ...

with

Oromë The Valar (; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are "angelic powers" or "gods", #154 to Naomi Mitchison, September 1954 subordinate to the one God (Eru Ilúvatar). The Ainulindalë describes how those of the ...

as ambassadors of

Valinor Valinor ( Quenya'': Land of the Valar'') or the Blessed Realms is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the home of the immortal Valar on the continent of Aman, far to the west of Middle-earth; he used the name Aman mainly to m ...

, and who later became Kings. Upon his return, he persuaded many of his kindred, the

Nelyar In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Elves or Quendi are a sundered (divided) people. They awoke at Cuiviénen on the continent of Middle-earth, where they were divided into three tribes: Minyar (the Firsts), Tatyar (the Seconds) and Nelyar ...

, to follow him back to Valinor. This host became known as the

Teleri In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Elf (Middle-earth), Elves or Quendi are a sundered (divided) people. They awoke at Cuiviénen on the continent of Middle-earth, where they were divided into three tribes: Minyar (the Firsts), Tatyar (the Se ...

. He later met Melian the

and fell in love with her. They had a daughter, Lúthien, who in turn fell in love with the mortal Man Beren. Disapproving of their relationship, Thingol set numerous quests that he thought impossible for Beren, so as to prevent him from marrying Lúthien. One of these was to recover one of the

Silmaril The Silmarils (Quenya in-universe ''pl''. ''Silmarilli'', ''radiance of pure light''J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien, J. R. R., "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part Two" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in ''Vinyar Teng ...

s from the crown of the

Dark Lord In fiction and mythology, a dark lord (sometimes capitalized as Dark Lord or referred to as an Evil Overlord, Evil Emperor etc. depending on the work) is an antagonistic archetype, acting as the pinnacle of villainy and evil within a typicall ...

Morgoth Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Valar, from Tolkien's legendarium. He is the main antagonist of ''The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', ''Beren and Lúthien'' and ''The Fall of Gondolin''. ...

; but even that quest succeeded. With the return of the Noldorin Elves to Middle-earth, perhaps threatening his kingdom, Thingol's mood darkened. After he learnt the truth of the Kinslaying at Alqualondë perpetrated by the Noldor on the Teleri, Thingol banned the use of their language Quenya in his lands, and Sindarin became the most prevalent Elven tongue in Middle-earth. He took successively darker actions, moving further and further from the light, so that even when he received the Silmaril from Beren, he knew neither how to appreciate it nor how to use it. He fought numerous wars with Morgoth; finally, he was killed by the Dwarves over a dispute about ownership of Nauglamír, the Necklace of the Dwarves, which bore his Silmaril. The Sons of Fëanor, who swore a terrible oath to recover the Silmarils on behalf of their father, later sacked Doriath to recover the Silmaril set on Nauglamír.

Analysis

Verlyn Flieger Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author, editing, editor, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland at College Park, where she taught courses in comparative mythology, medi ...

writes that Thingol's actions may seem unjustified thematically, but in terms of plot they make sense in terms of his politics and dynastic needs. She contrasts him with Beren, who though a

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

is constantly drawn towards the light. Evans drew a further parallel between Thingol and the Noldor: like them, he turned away from the Light, and chose to remain in Middle-earth with Melian, who could stop time and its changes.

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

writes that Thingol is part of the tightly-woven trap of ''The Silmarillion''. There are three Hidden Elvish Kingdoms including Doriath; these were founded by three relatives, including Thingol; and they are each betrayed and destroyed; they are each penetrated by a mortal Man, again all relatives, in Doriath's case Beren; and the sense of Doom, which Shippey glosses as "future disaster", hangs heavy over all of them in the tale. The medievalist

Marjorie Burns Marjorie Burns is a scholar of English literature, best known for her studies of J. R. R. Tolkien. Biography Marjorie Jean Burns was born in 1940. She gained her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. She is an emeritus professor of En ...

states that Thingol gained "great power" through his marriage to Melian, noting that she resembles

Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

's infinitely desirable

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest tradition ...

muse, Ayesha of his novel '' She: A History of Adventure''. Lisa Coutras drew attention to Thingol's later depiction as a prideful king who rarely listens to his wife's counsel, even though she is defined as a character with immense foresight and wisdom; notably, Thingol's reckless actions and refusal to heed Melian's advice about the Silmarils brought about the downfall of his kingdom, while the hero

Tuor Tuor Eladar and Idril Celebrindal are fictional characters from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. They are the parents of Eärendil the Mariner and grandparents of Elrond Half-elven: through their progeny, they became the ancestors ...

is wiser by comparison for listening to his wife Idril. Robley Evans observed that Thingol's marriage with Melian seemed to "promise a model union of diverse created beings" on first impression, but noted that Thingol is the "complementary opposite of Feanor in Tolkien's structural counterpoint" in that he is ultimately destroyed by his own version of Feanor's oath, since the act of claiming the Silmaril recovered by Beren placed his kingdom under the Doom of Mandos.

Genealogy

The House of Thingol, Elmo, and Olwë

References

Primary

Secondary

Sources

* * {{Elves Grey Elves High Elves (Middle-earth) Teleri Middle-earth rulers Fictional kings Fiction about regicide Characters in The Silmarillion Characters in The Children of Húrin Literary characters introduced in 1977 de:Figuren in Tolkiens Welt#Thingol pl:Lista Calaquendich#Elwë