House of Finarfin
The third house of the Noldor; the Elf-friends
The House of Finarfin
The Line
The House of Finarfin is the third house of the Noldor, descended from ‘’‘Finarfin’‘’, the youngest son of ‘’‘Finwë’‘’ and ‘’‘Indis’‘’, and his wife ‘’‘Eärwen’‘’ of the Teleri (daughter of Olwë). Its members in exile:
- Finrod (Felagund), the eldest, king of Nargothrond;
- Angrod and Aegnor, lords of Dorthonion;
- Galadriel, the sister who passed beyond the circles of the world; - (in Aman) their father Finarfin and his other children — Orodreth (son of Angrod) is counted of the house.
Character
The means of the house: the friendship of the Teleri — through Eärwen, and the gentlest blood of the Noldor; “the fairest and most wise” — their mother’s kin made them the least arrogant, most balanced of the three houses, and they alone of the Noldor had no hand in the Kinslaying at Alqualondë.
History
- The parting: When Fëanor’s oath compelled the Exile, Finrod’s children followed the host — against their father’s stay — for the love of the eldar of Middle-earth — Finarfin remained in Aman (the only one of Finwë’s sons to do so) and was made its King of the Noldor; his house in the exile is therefore often called “the house of Finrod”.
- In Beleriand: Finrod, “the friend of Men”, was the first to meet the Edain, ruled Nargothrond, made the pact with Beren, and died in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth releasing Lúthien — He was slain by the werewolf in the rescue of Beren. Angrod and Aegnor fell in the Dagor Bragollach. Orodreth held Nargothrond after Finrod and fell with it. Galadriel alone survived every age.
- The final kingship: After Turgon’s fall, the High Kingship of the Noldor passed to Gil-galad, son of Fingon (per one tradition) or of Orodreth (per another) — in the common genealogy he stands with the house of Finarfin; the remnant of the Noldor under his banner carried on to the Last Alliance (Second Age).
Significance
The House of Finarfin embodies the “third way” of the Noldor: honest, open, touched by the sea-light of the Teleri and the wisdom of the Elf-friends. Its children bind together the whole of the legendarium — Finrod the model of the Elf-knight, Galadriel the last and greatest survivor — and its blood, through Galadriel and the Half-elven, reaches to the far shores of the history.