Arda Kompendium

Beren

the one-handed; the Man who wed an Elf and won a Silmaril

personmanedainberenluthiensilmaril

Name and Lineage

Beren — son of Barahir and Emeldir, of the House of Bëor — the mortal whom the tale raises higher than any Man of the First Age: the outlaw of Dorthonion who, through the theft of the Silmaril and the loss of his hand to Carcharoth, became Beren Erchamion (“the One-handed”), the friend of Finrod and the husband of Tinúviel.

The Outlaw of Dorthonion

After the Dagor Bragollachst of the Mortal Men in love with the Elves — the tale of the Man who dared the impossible for love, in which Tolkien invested (as he wrote to Christopher) the deepest personal meaning of his life. His quest begins the long chain that brings a Silmaril to Eärendil, salvation to the Eldar, and his bloodline to the kings of later ages.f (a hunter) of the wild, until doom bent him toward Doriath.

The Love and the Quest

  • The meeting: Riding (hunting) by the kindreds’ marches he saw Lúthien dance in the dusk of the woods of Doriath, and loved her “at first sight” — the love at the heart of the legend.

  • The bride-price: Thingol, refusing him, set the impossible price — a Silmaril. Finrod bound by oath-of-Barahir’s ring went with him; the quest passed through Sauron’s dungeons (Finrod’s death), Lúthien’s rescue, the werewolf-hound Huan’s aid, and the enchantment that laid the host of Angband asleep, until Beren cut the Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown. In the flight he was bitten by the great wolf Carcharoth, which had swallowed the jewel; the wolf’s death, the recovery of the Silmaril, and Beren’s own death followed —.

  • The return from Mandos: Lúthien’s song moved Mandos to pity, and the Vala restored him — at the price that Lúthien, too, should die and pass beyond the circles of the world. Beren and Lúthien dwelt together at Tol Galen, and their son Dior was born; Beren at last died the death of Men, the Quenta: — and they passed from the world.

Significance

Beren is the first and greatest of the Mortal Men in love with the Elves — the tale of the Man who dared the impossible for love, in which Tolkien invested (as he wrote to Christopher) the deepest personal meaning of his life. His quest begins the long chain that brings a Silmaril to Eärendil, salvation to the Eldar, and his bloodline to the kings of later ages.

Verknüpfte Seiten

BarahirEmeldirFinrod FelagundDiorLúthienHuanThingolHouse of BëorThe Ring of BarahirNauglamírThe SilmarilsConcordance — A to ZWerewolvesCarcharothDraugluinThuringwethilThe Houses of the EdainThe Kinship of the Half-elvenThe Line of ThingolThe Half-elvenThe Quest of the SilmarilMelianTol-in-GaurhothNargothrondMenegrothOssiriandLadrosAdurantTol GalenDorthonionDoriathSarn AthradAscarBeren and Lúthien (book)Lay of LeithianQuenta SilmarillionThe Lays of BeleriandQuenta 19 — Of Beren and LúthienElwingNimlothGorlimBelegundBëorBaragundDaeronAmariëCelegorm
Werke: die Quellen sind seitenübergreifend die Bücher von J.R.R. und Christopher Tolkien (Silmarillion, Hobbit, Herr der Ringe, Unfinished Tales, History of Middle-earth, Nature of Middle-earth u. a.) — eigene Zusammenfassung. Siehe die Concordance und den README der Quelle für die Einzelbelege.
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