Quenta 6 — Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor
Chapter 6 of the Quenta Silmarillion
Summary
At the end of his three ages, Melkor was brought before Manwë and, feigning repentance and begging pardon, was released from his bonds and suffered to walk once more among the Valar. But his heart was the same as ever, and in secret he turned to the Noldor, envying them their craft and sowing lies against the Valar. In the same years the makers of the Noldor were Fëanor, “the spirit of fire”, eldest son of Finwë, whose mother Míriel had departed to the halls of Mandos after his birth. Fëanor wedded Nerdanel and begot seven sons, and his skill and pride grew so that about him gathered the most eager of the Noldor. Melkor watched with increasing desire and hatred, and his whispering turned the minds of many princes toward restlessness and toward thoughts of far lands and bright works. The chapter ends with Melkor plotting to draw the Noldor out of Valinor, and the seeds of the “Unrest” already rooting in Tirion.