Olwë
King of the Teleri in Aman; lord of Alqualondë
Name and Position
Olwë — the brother of Thingol (Elwë), and like him one of the earliest and noblest of the Teleri; when Elwë was lost at Nan Elmoth, Olwë took command of the Teleri and led them on the Great Journey, eventually ferrying them across the sea to Aman. There he founded Alqualondë, the Swan-haven on the coast of Valinor, and became King of the Teleri — the sea-elves’ king, friend of Ossë and Uinen.
The Father of the Sea-light
The gateway of the Telerin blood into the Noldor’s royal house: Olwë’s daughter Eärwen was wed to Finarfin — the first great marriage of Noldor and Teleri, humble in origin, decisive in outcome (through it the House of Finarfin, Galadriel and their line share the sea-elf’s heritage).
The Kinslaying
His role in the age’s tragedy is forced on him: when the host of Fëanor came to Alqualondë and demanded the swan-ships, Olwë — “the friend of the foe” — refused, foreseeing ruin for his people, and his refusal was answered by the First Kinslaying: the Teleri were slaughtered on their own quays. The outrage made the name of Olwë’s house the accusation-bearing memory of the Noldor — the Doom of Mandos names it; and ever after the friendship of his house was poisoned. He who had been kind to the exiles lost three of his kindred.
Significance
Olwë is the quiet, hospitable power behind the age’s second great kindred: brother of the Sindar-king, father of the sea-light in the Noldorin houses, and the king whose realm bore the first blow of the Noldor’s fall. His city, his grief and his forgiveness (he suffered the later repentance and was among the first to receive the returned) frame the great divide of the Eldar.