One of the most daunting things about reading The Silmarillion is keeping all of the names straight. I love this, so I want to make it more accessible for the general reader with brief character profiles.
- Name: Thingol
- Immediate Family:
- Sibling: Olwë
- Wife: Melian
- Daughter: Lúthien Tinúviel
- Home: Middle-earth, primarily Doriath in Beleriand
- Claim to fame: He was the only Elf to have married a Maia, one of the angelic race.
- Why I think he’s interesting: Thingol is a fascinating mix of wisdom and pride, love and wrath. Yeah, he wanted to kill Beren even though Lúthien loved him–but when Lúthien died, Thingol literally aged because of his grief at her death. That level of complexity can’t be ignored.
Photo Credit: Alex Ristea
I actually felt sorry for Thingol when the Noldor came back to Middle-earth; he was after all the King of the Elves in Beleriand (though self-proclaimed).
What happened with him and the Dwarves later on in The Silmarillion, was rather shocking and sad, actually.
Definitely! Thingol had a tough time of it. Finding out that most of the princes who were taking over his lands had also killed some of his kin in Valinor certainly didn’t make things better.