#how he came to be called 'singollo' in the first place

[ladysternchen]

Headcanon explained/character study- Elu Thingol, part 1

Alright, MY elf at last (this is going to be long. Very long). First things first though, I know that he’s considered a controversial character, and many don’t like him, which is fine, I’m not trying to convince anyone to change their mind. I always read him the way I’ll describe/base my headcanon/fics on, knowing that many disagree. I neither can nor want to judge who’s right. I’m just saying that I do not agree with fanon here, I don’t see him as a racist, prideful idiot who mistakes possessiveness for love and who’s ultimate downfall is his greed and his not listening to his wife. (Just no. So if that’s your opinion of him, this post is not for you. It’ll just annoy you and I do NOT want to annoy anyone.) Oh, and maybe second things second, I’ll probably answer the question of why Elu is my elf, why I identify more with him than with any other fictional (or real) character (in any book I’ve ever read, or movie I’ve ever watched): I just know that feeling so well of trying to do it right, and still failing in the worst possible way. I can relate to one’s mistakes somehow always weighing more heavily than others’. I can also relate to not belonging anywhere, and -frankly- to change being one’s arch-enemy. He is my brother at heart, the to whom I flee in my imagination when reality is just too freaking much. Am I mad? Hm, yeah, perhaps. That doesn’t bother me one bit, though. But enough waffling, on to the headcanon. Elwë was born by the waters of Cuiviénen as the last prince of the Nelyar that was descended in the firstborn-son-to-firstborn-son-line from Enel and Enelyë (though nobody knew it then, obviously. Tata’s line was broken with Maedhros dying childless, Imin’s probably still continues, but certainly did until Ingwion). He was a quiet, shy child, but once he warmed up a bit, he would eagerly join the games of the other children, would sing and dance just like everyone else, so his being rather withdrawn bothered nobody, and once Olwë was born and he the big brother, that shyness vanished entirely. From birth on, his cousin Nowë (I headcanon Círdan’s father to be the brother of Elwë’s mother, though canon of course does not specify ‘close kin’) was his friend and his protector -Nowë took great pleasure in being the older and wiser one and have his little cousin toddle after him and look up at him in utter admiration. Their friendship would persist throughout times, as would their roles in it. To Elwë, Círdan would always be the advisor, and to Círdan, Elwë would ever somehow remain the little elfling that sat beside him by the water’s edge, trying to catch the stars that were reflected in the smooth surface of the lake instead of the boats crafted from bark and leaves that Nowë had made for his amusement. Nowë was mildly annoyed by that back then, but he did get his eager disciple when Olwë was born, while Elwë had by then befriended Finwë as well. Those two soon became inseparable and -frankly- unstoppable. Finwë’s and Elwë’s relationship might be worth a post of its own, so I won’t go too deeply into this now, but they were each other’s perfect counterparts. Where Finwë was reckless and too quick to judge, Elwë was the more considerate, the one to reserve judgement until he could truly assess the situation. And where Elwë was unwilling to move even a quarter of an inch out of his comfort-zone and would keep to himself rather than face his insecurities and engage with others, Finwë encouraged him and kindled his curiosity. They often lay, hands firmly entwined, and swore that they would never abandon the other, that they would always stay together. Where you go, I go. They were both perfectionists to a fault, Finwë in his crafting, Elwë in living up to responsibilities, but soon, and for reasons truly known to nobody, those two had built themselves up a following consisting of all the children of the Tatyar and the Nelyar, or at least those that didn’t prefer to join Nowë and Olwë in their exploring of boat-crafting. They would get themselves into all sorts of adventures, and be loved and admired by the younger children. There was only one incident during the year of his childhood that Elwë did not particularly like to be reminded of (and still ironically was constantly reminded of, at least for the rest of his life in Middle-Earth), and that was his infamous fall into the lake, that had resulted in his uncle -Nowë’s father- to fish him out and, chuckling, wrap him up in his cloak. Tall and lanky as Elwë had always been, he still was very much a child then, and the mantle covered him head to toe (which he was quite glad about then, because the hood hid the tears of humiliation that ran down his face), which lead to Nowë calling him teasingly ‘Greycloak’- a name that stuck with him, and that, in the course of the following millennia, he came to love and hate in equal measure.

[absynthe--minded]

Silmarillion Starter Pack: Quenya Names Edition

Continuing in the vein of yesterday’s recommended reading post, I’m going to try and break down Quenya vs Sindarin names - I know I use the former pretty much exclusively in fics about the Noldor, and I also know that tracking down each individual translation can be a pain.

Noldorin names are (so far as we can tell) three-parted, a little like Anglophonic ones, and each name has a different level of formality associated with it. First is the father-name, which is given to a child by the father and is usually the publicly used name. Second is the mother-name, given to the child by their mother and usually (but not always) associated with casual acquaintance or at least some level of informality. Mother-names can be prophetic in some way, indicating something about the child’s fate. Last is the patronym, which is essentially the family name, and denotes whose child this is (ex: Curufinwë Fëanáro Finwion). Sindarin names, as far as we can see, usually have two parts, the birth name and the patronym (ex: Legolas Thranduilion). Both naming traditions also make use of nicknames/epithets that can be used in place of any of those other options (ex: Beleg Cúthalion, Nelyafinwë Russandol). Generally, elves don’t have the same names if they belong to the same ethnic group, though we have one notable exception to the rule, which is that Fëanor (father-name Curufinwë) named his son Curufin after himself.

(Edit: I’m willing to swear that the patronyms are canon, but I don’t have a source immediately for that; I’m including them because they’re universal, but I cannot confirm with 100% veracity that they’re canonical.)

The names in the published Silmarillion are Sindarin names, except in a few cases. The Noldor who came to Beleriand translated their names into Sindarin, and that’s how they were remembered. Most of the fans tend to use their Quenya names at least occasionally, and personally I find the Quenya a lot more distinctive and easy to remember? But that’s a personal thing. Basically what I’m setting out to do here is detail if someone will likely be referred to with multiple names, and what those names are, so that people who need a reference guide have one. If a mother-name is not known, it’s omitted here.

Elwë Singollo = Elu Thingol

Curufinwë Fëanáro Finwion = Fëanor

Nerdanel Istarnië = Nerdanel

Nelyafinwë Russandol Maitimo Fëanárion = Maedhros (seen here with the epithet ‘Russandol’, indicating his red hair) Accepted fanon holds his intimate friends and family (mostly his brothers) also call him ‘Nelyo’, an affectionate shortening of his father-name. I’ll be including those intimate nicknames where they’re applicable. (edit: thanks to @epilepticgalahad for confirming their canonicity! I didn’t have the right volume of lore on hand)

Kanafinwë Macalaurë Fëanárion, intimate nickname Káno = Maglor

Turcafinwë Tyelkormo Fëanárion, intimate nickname Tyelko or Turko (the latter confirmed by canon, the former fanon-only) = Celegorm

Morifinwë Carnistir Fëanárion, intimate nickname Moryo = Caranthir

Curufinwë Atarinkë Fëanárion, intimate nickname Curvo = Curufin

it’s a very common fan theory that Curufin named his son Celebrimbor after himself, making Celebrimbor’s full Quenya name Curufinwë Tyelperinquar Curufinwion with his intimate nickname being Tyelpë. this isn’t canon, but it’s everywhere, and so it’s included here for simplicity’s sake

Telufinwë Ambarussa Fëanárion, intimate nickname Telvo = Amras

Pityafinwë Ambarussa Fëanárion, intimate nickname Pityo = Amrod. In the most widely accepted version of the story, which is different from the published Silmarillion, Amrod was originally given the same name as his twin brother, as you can see there, but his mother Nerdanel had a vision of his doom and wanted to name him Umbarto (“the doomed/ill-fated”). Fëanor objected to this, changing it to Ambarto (“uplifted/upward”). So Amrod could be called either of those things as well as the rest of his name. You may also see him and his brother referred to as ‘the Ambarussar’ or ‘the Ambarussat’ - the former is just Ambarussa but plural, the latter uses an ending meant to denote a matched pair of things.

Nolofinwë Finwion = Fingolfin. He has two possible mother-names, Ingoldo and Arakáno. The first mother-name is only present in a few early drafts and is of very dubious canonicity, the second appears later. If the second is in fact intended canon, it means that he named his youngest son after himself.

Findekáno Nolofinwion = Fingon. Fan theory likes to hold that his mother-name is Astaldo (“valiant”) since he’s called Fingon the Valiant very often.

Turukáno Nolofinwion = Turgon

Írissë Nolofinwiel = Aredhel

Arakáno Nolofinwion = Argon, the youngest son of Fingolfin, who doesn’t appear in the published Silmarillion but who is present in the drafts and who dies shortly after crossing the Ice.

Írimë Lalwendë Finwiel = Lalwen, a sister of Fingolfin who doesn’t appear in the published Silmarillion but who appears in the drafts and goes to Beleriand with her brother.

Ereinion Artanáro Gil-galad = Gil-galad, last High King of the Noldor, featured prominently in The Lord of the Rings. The published Silmarillion says that he’s Fingon’s son, and Christopher Tolkien himself admitted that this was an editorial error and that Gil-galad’s parentage should have been kept ambiguous. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that Fingon had no wife or children.

Arafinwë Finwion = Finarfin. Like his brother, he has two potential mother-names, Ingoldo and Ingalaurë. The first is said to be shared with Finrod, the second appears only in very early drafts.

Findaráto Ingoldo Arafinwion = Finrod. If you have to pick someone to name Ingoldo, pick him; that’s way less dubiously canonical.

Angaráto Angamaitë Arafinwion = Angrod. ‘Angamaitë’ is his epithet, not his mother-name, which we don’t know.

Artaresto Angarátion = Orodreth. There are drafts where Orodreth is Arafinwë’s son rather than grandson, and so “Artaresto Arafinwion” is also canonical, but the most common interpretation that I’ve seen has him as Angrod’s son.

Ambaráto Aikanáro Arafinwion = Aegnor

Artanís Nérwen Arafinwiel = Galadriel. Alatáriel is an epithet given to her by Celeborn specifically, so only he uses it, and before she met him it wouldn’t have been used.

That about covers it, I think! I tried to indicate what was canon and what wasn’t, but if there are questions, feel free to ask me!