Beren (also known as Beren Erchamion, "the One-handed", and Beren Camlost, "the Empty-handed") is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7 is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F He appears in The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in

Character overview

He was the son of Emeldir and Barahir, a Man of the royal House of Bëor of Dorthonion. In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium, the House of Bëor (ˈbɛɔr were the family of Men who ruled the over the eldest of the Barahir is a Fictional character in the Fantasy -world Middle-earth of the English author J The race of Men in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth books such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to See also House of Bëor Haleth Marach House of Bëor In the fictional world of J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth, Dorthonion ("Land of Pines" later Taur-nu-Fuin, was a highland region of the His romance with the Elf Lúthien is one of the great stories of the Elder Days. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. Character overview Lúthien was the only child of Elu Thingol, king of Doriath, and his queen Melian the Maia. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Elder Days are the first Ages of Middle-earth.

Appearances

Literature

The Battle of Sudden Flame occurred during Beren's youth, bringing about the ruin of his kingdom. Battle of Sudden Flame Initial Phase 455 First Age It began on a winter's night in the beginning of the year 455 of the First Age, with the eruptions of the volcanic Thenceforward the young Beren lived with his father and ten loyal followers in the highlands of Dorthonion, at Tarn Aeluin, and they performed many acts of bravery, to the great frustration of Morgoth, the Dark Lord of Angband. Minor places in Beleriand#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning There are many elements that show up throughout the fantasy genre in different guises In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional world of Middle-earth, Angband ( Sindarin for 'Hells of Iron' although the literal meaning is 'iron prison' is After the ruin of the Outlaws of Dorthonion, Beren exacted revenge on the murderer of his father, Barahir, and led a life of solitary outlaw with the aid of animals until he had established such a high reputation that the price on his head was equal to that on Fingon, high king of the Noldor elves. Character overview He was a Noldorin Elf, the eldest son of Fingolfin, older brother of Turgon, Aredhel, and Argon Beren had also recovered the ring of Barahir, a present given to his father by Finrod Felegund, who offered the ring as a symbol of his aid to Barahir and all of his descendants for Barahir's rescue of Finrod when he was surrounded. This ring was passed down eventually to Aragorn. Aragorn II is a fictional character from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. Beren was forced from the land of his birth by Sauron and Draugluin as they completely defiled Dorthonion. Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy This is a list of all animals that appear in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium He crossed a path of terror, penetrating an impenetrable boundary by the will of fate, into Doriath, where he saw and fell in love with Lúthien, princess of the Sindar and daughter of Thingol and Melian. Edhel redirects here See Éðel for the Anglo-Saxon term In the works of J In The Silmarillion Thingol originally known as Elwë, is introduced as one of the three chieftains of the Elves who depart from Cuiviénen Character Overview A visual description of Melian is given in the Lay of Leithian There Melian came the Lady grey and dark and long her

Thingol haughtily refused to give Lúthien's hand in marriage. He said that he would only allow the marriage if Beren recovered one of the Silmarils, the three hallowed jewels which the Noldor Elves had lost to Morgoth, from the Iron Crown of Morgoth. The Silmarils ( Quenya pl Silmarilli, radiance of pure light) are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees The task was intended to be impossible, but Beren and Lúthien, with the aid of Finrod of Nargothrond and Huan the Great Hound (both of whom died protecting Beren), braved many perils (even besting Sauron, then Morgoth's most powerful lieutenant) and finally reached Angband and came before Morgoth. Character Overview In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, Finrod Felagund was a Noldorin Elf, the eldest son of Finarfin and A hound is a type of Dog that assists Hunters by tracking or chasing the animal being hunted. Beren was able to capture a Silmaril when Lúthien had made the Dark Lord fall asleep through her singing. He then attempted to take another Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, but the tip of his dagger Angrist broke and cut Morgoth. The following list of weapons and armour of Middle-earth includes all weaponry and Armour directly taken from J When they wanted to escape from Angband, the great wolf Carcharoth, whom Morgoth had bred, attacked them. Inspiration Tom Shippey, in The Road to Middle Earth (pp 193–194 says that the hunting of the great wolf recalls the chase of the boar Twrch Trwyth Beren held out the Silmaril, hoping that its radiance would avert the beast, but he was mistaken. Carcharoth bit off his hand swallowed it and the Silmaril (thus Beren was called Erchamion, One-hand), and proceeded to run rampant through Doriath. Lúthien and the unconscious Beren were rescued by the Eagles of Manwë. In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the eagles were immense flying Birds that were sapient and could speak Background Manwë was (with his brother Melkor ie Morgoth the greatest of the Ainur and the one that best understood the will of Eru. They eventually returned to Thingol, where Beren claimed that he was holding the Silmaril in his hand; when he showed the king the stump of his arm, the king was moved to compassion for Beren. Beren participated in the hunting of Carcharoth, in which the beast was slain and the Silmaril recovered; the quest was accomplished, but Beren was mortally wounded.

Lúthien's love for Beren was so strong that, hearing of his death, she laid down and died. Her soul went to the Halls of Mandos, where she moved Mandos to pity through her singing. The Valar (singular Vala) are characters in J R R Tolkien 's legendarium. Both she and Beren were restored to life, but both of them would die the death of Men, and go beyond the walls of Arda to a place unknown. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings Thus Beren and Lúthien lived again, and dwelt on Tol Galen in the middle of the river Adurant in Ossiriand. Minor places in Beleriand#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: Beleriand, a location from There they stayed apart from other mortals; Beren was involved with the events of the First Age only one further time, when he waylaid a group of Dwarves who had destroyed Doriath and stolen the Nauglamír in which the Silmaril was set. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar in full is the first documented time period and the setting "Arkenstone" redirects here For the composer of electronic and new age music see David Arkenstone.

Lúthien bore Beren a son, named Dior, Thingol's heir, considered to be one of the fairest beings to ever live, for in him flowed the blood of Men, Elves and Maiar (Ainur). Dior Eluchíl is a Fictional character in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium The Maiar (singular Maia) are beings from J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy legendarium. Through his descendants, the blood of Beren and of Lúthien was preserved among the Eldar and the Edain. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, the Elves are a sundered people

Adaptations

The BBC Radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings includes a scene from The Fellowship of the Ring in which Aragorn summarizes the story of Beren and Lúthien for Frodo Baggins and his companions. In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J Aragorn II is a fictional character from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. Frodo later comes to realise the connection between their story and that of Aragorn and Arwen. Literature Arwen was the youngest child of Elrond and Celebrían; her elder brothers were the twins Elladan and Elrohir.

The animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings includes a similar scene in which Aragorn is relating the story of Beren and Lúthien for the Hobbits, but here there is no connection made between the two to Aragorn and Arwen, since the latter does not appear. JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated Fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi.

The special extended edition of Peter Jackson's movie version of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) contains a brief mention of the story. Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first During the journey from Bree to Rivendell Frodo hears Aragorn singing quietly to himself one night and asks who the woman is of whom he is singing. Bree is a fictional town in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth east of the Shire and south of Fornost Erain. Rivendell ( Sindarin: Imladris) is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a Fictional realm created by J Aragorn replies that he is singing of Lúthien. When Frodo asks what happened to her Aragorn replies, "she died". This is true enough, and can be seen as a reflection of Aragorn's concern over Arwen's renunciation of immortality for his sake.

Concept and creation

The story of Beren and Lúthien, though mentioned only briefly in The Lord of the Rings, was a central part of the legendarium. The Lord of the Rings is an epic Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7 is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F Tolkien once referred to it as "the kernel of the mythology" ^[1]. He went on to say that it "arose from a small woodland glade filled with 'hemlock'"^[2], which he visited while serving in the Humber Garrison in 1918 (during World War I). Poison hemlock redirects here For other uses of "hemlock" see Hemlock. The Humber Forts are two large Fortifications in the mouth of the Humber estuary in northern England: Haile Sand Fort ( and Bull Sand Fort Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

In the earliest versions of the legendarium as depicted in The Book of Lost Tales, Beren was a Gnome (a Noldorin Elf), son of Egnor (which might have been an early name for Aegnor). The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J In the works of J R R Tolkien, the Noldor (meaning those with knowledge) were those of the second clan of the Elves, the Tatyar, who came In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, the Elves are one of the races of Arda.

It is widely believed that the story and the characters were largely inspired by the young Tolkien's romance with Edith Bratt, his future wife, who danced for her husband in the woodland glade. Edith Mary Tolkien née Bratt (21 January 1889 – 29 November 1971 was the wife of writer J

The surname Tolkien derives from the German Toll-kühn meaning "Foolishly brave" [1]. The name Beren also means "brave" in Sindarin and some believe that this is intentional by the author. Sindarin is an Artificial language developed by J R R Tolkien.

The tale of Beren and Lúthien also shares an element with folktales such as the Welsh Culhwch and Olwen and others— namely, the disapproving parent who sets a seemingly impossible task (or tasks) for the suitor, which is then fulfilled. Culhwch and Olwen ( Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors that survives in only two manuscripts

It may also have real-life parallels: some sources indicate that Edith's Protestant family strongly disapproved of Tolkien's Catholic Faith. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. ^[3] In addition, Tolkien's guardian, a priest of the Birmingham Oratory, forbade him from having any contact with Edith until he turned 21. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities Birmingham Oratory is a Catholic oratory and church, also known as Little Rome in Birmingham. Tolkien's guardian clearly feared that his young charge was in danger of losing the Faith. Tolkien obeyed to the letter, but telegraphed Edith on his 21st birthday. Although she was engaged to another man, she returned the ring and announced her engagement to Tolkien instead.

After Edith's death, Tolkien had her headstone engraved EDITH MARY TOLKIEN Lúthien 1889 – 1971, and when he died two years later he left orders for his own name to be written JOHN RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN Beren 1892 – 1973

Line of the Half-elven

See also

• The Tale of Beren and Lúthien

References