Nerdanel

Daughter of Mahtan

Nerdanel was the daughter of Mahtan, a great smith of the Noldor who was among the most loved pupils of Aulë. From her father she learned metalwork and stonework, and she became a sculptor whose figures were so lifelike that they were sometimes mistaken for the living. She was not accounted among the fairest of the Noldor, but she was strong-willed and steady, and she was one of the few who could match Fëanor in craft. In some accounts her father's kin were red-haired, which explains the copper hair of Maedhros and the twins.

Wife of Fëanor

Fëanor met her while both were young, wandering the length of Aman, and she was the one companion he sought. They married and she bore seven sons: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin and the twins Amrod and Amras, more children than any other of the Eldar are known to have had. In the years of Fëanor's brilliance she was a moderating influence; he listened to her when he listened to no one else, and the Elves called her the Wise. But as his pride grew and the lies of Melkor worked on him, she could no longer hold him. When he was banished to Formenos she did not go with him, and their estrangement was complete before the Darkening.

Remaining in Aman

Nerdanel refused to follow Fëanor into exile, and it is said that she asked to keep the youngest of her sons with her and was refused. She stayed in Tirion under the rule of Finarfin while her husband and all seven of her children went to Middle-earth and, one by one, to their deaths. Nothing more is told of her in the published texts.

Legacy

Nerdanel is the foil to Fëanor in the story of the Noldor: the maker who did not need to possess, the strong will that did not turn to pride. Her sons inherited her hair and something of her skill, and in Maedhros and Maglor perhaps something of her judgement, though not enough to save them from the Oath.

Remained in Aman when Fëanor and her sons went into exile; her later life is unrecorded.