Finrod

Lineage and youth

Finrod was the eldest child of Finarfin, third son of Finwë, and of Eärwen, daughter of Olwë of Alqualondë. He was thus a grandson of both the King of the Noldor and the King of the Teleri of Aman, and the gold hair of his mother's kin marked all his house. His siblings were Orodreth, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel. In Tirion he was the close friend of his cousin Turgon, and he loved Amarië of the Vanyar, who did not go into exile. When Fëanor roused the Noldor, Finrod went with the host of Fingolfin, not for the Oath's sake but because he would not be parted from his people and his friends; he took no part in the Kinslaying, and when his father turned back after the Doom of Mandos, Finrod went on and crossed the Helcaraxë.

Nargothrond

In Beleriand Finrod's house held the lands between Sirion and the Sea. Because his mother was Olwë's daughter, he alone of the Noldorin princes was welcome in Doriath, and he became Thingol's friend. Menegroth stirred in him the wish for a hidden stronghold of his own, and Ulmo sent him and Turgon a dream on the banks of Sirion warning them to prepare refuges against the day Angband broke out. Thingol told him of the caves in the gorge of the Narog, and there, with the help of the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains, Finrod delved Nargothrond. The Dwarves named him Felagund, Hewer of Caves, and for them he had the Nauglamír made, the necklace of the Dwarves that was the greatest work of their craft. He also raised the tower of Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion to guard the pass, and gave it to Orodreth to hold. As King of Nargothrond he was overlord of the largest Elvish realm in Beleriand, ruling from the Falas to the borders of Doriath.

Friend of Men

In F.A. 310 Finrod was hunting with the sons of Fëanor in the east when he came upon the first Men to cross the mountains, the people of Bëor camped in Ossiriand. He entered their camp at night, took up a harp while they slept, and sang; they woke to the music and thought him a god. He stayed with them, learned their tongue quickly, and taught them; they called him Nóm, Wisdom, and his people the Wise. Bëor took service with him and went with him to Nargothrond, and Finrod settled the House of Bëor in Dorthonion under Angrod and Aegnor. His interest in Men and his kindness to them were unusual even among the house of Finarfin, and the Edain repaid it with a loyalty that outlasted him.

The Bragollach and the oath

When the Siege of Angband was broken in F.A. 455, Finrod came north to the aid of his brothers and was cut off with a small company in the Fen of Serech. Barahir, Bëor's descendant, broke through with his men and saved him. Finrod swore an oath of friendship and help to Barahir and all his kin, and gave him his ring, the twin serpents with golden eyes that had come from Valinor. That ring became the Ring of Barahir and passed down to the kings of Númenor and of Arnor and at last to Aragorn. Both Angrod and Aegnor died in the Bragollach, and Sauron took Tol Sirion in 457, so that Finrod's realm was reduced to Nargothrond and its southern lands.

Beren

In F.A. 465 Beren, son of Barahir, came to Nargothrond wearing the ring and asked Finrod's help in winning a Silmaril for Thingol. Finrod saw that the quest was likely to kill him and that the Oath of Fëanor would set its swearers against anyone who touched a Silmaril; but he had given his word. Celegorm and Curufin, then living in Nargothrond as guests, spoke so persuasively against the venture that the people would not follow their king. Finrod laid down his crown before them, and only ten warriors, chief among them Edrahil, went out with him and Beren. Orodreth was left to rule.

Tol-in-Gaurhoth

They killed a company of Orcs in the north and took their gear, and Finrod disguised them all by enchantment; but as they passed the isle of Tol Sirion, now Sauron's fortress, Sauron saw through the spell and had them brought before him. There Finrod fought Sauron with song, a contest of power in which the Elf sang of trust and freedom and Sauron of treachery and darkness; and as the Kinslaying of Alqualondë rose in Sauron's song Finrod's strength failed and he fell. Sauron stripped their disguises but could not learn their names or errand, and threw them into a pit where a werewolf devoured them one by one. When the wolf came for Beren, Finrod broke his bonds and killed it with his hands and teeth, but was mortally wounded. He told Beren that he went to a long rest beyond the Sea, and died in the dark. Lúthien and Huan overthrew the tower soon after and Beren buried Finrod on the isle. Alone of those who died in Beleriand, Finrod is said to have been released from the halls of Mandos to live again in Valinor with his father.

Legacy

Finrod was the least tainted of the exiled princes: he held no part in the Oath, took a kingdom by building rather than conquest, and died for a promise to a mortal. His hidden city outlived him only thirty years, brought down through the pride of Túrin and the treachery of its own bridge; but the ring he gave Barahir went to the Dúnedain and the line of kings, and the name Felagund stood in Elvish memory as the measure of a faithful lord.

Killed by a werewolf in the dungeons of Tol-in-Gaurhoth in F.A. 465 while defending Beren; buried on Tol Sirion by Beren, and afterwards released from Mandos to dwell in Valinor.