Noldor
Also calledDeep Elves, Golodhrim, The Wise, Tatyar (the Second), The Exiles, Gnomes (in the earliest usage)
The Noldor are the Deep Elves, the second kindred of the Eldar and the greatest in craft and knowledge, whose king Finwë led them to Aman. Their rebellion under Fëanor, their exile to Middle-earth and their doomed war for the Silmarils are the central matter of the Elder Days.
Description
Origins
The Noldor were the second clan of the Elves at Cuiviénen, the Tatyar in the oldest reckoning. Finwë was their chieftain and one of the three ambassadors who saw the Two Trees; he returned to lead his whole people west. On the Great Journey they marched second, behind the Vanyar, and crossed the Sea with them on the island drawn by Ulmo. In Aman they built Tirion upon the green hill of Túna in the Calacirya, a white city with a tower whose lamp could be seen far out to sea, and Finwë was its king.
What sets them apart
The Noldor were the most eager for knowledge of all the Elves. They were the pupils of Aulë, and became the greatest of smiths, masons, and gem-makers. They discovered gems in the earth and learned to shape them, and their greatest craftsman, Fëanor, made the palantíri and the Silmarils and devised the Tengwar script. They were also the loremasters of the Eldar, the first to study language for its own sake. With this brilliance went pride, restlessness and a quickness to anger, and it was among the Noldor, not the other kindreds, that Melkor found willing ears.
Most Noldor were dark-haired, though the house of Finarfin had the golden hair of the Vanyar through Indis, and the sons of Fëanor included red-haired Maedhros. Grey eyes were the mark of the royal house. The Noldor of Aman were the tallest and strongest of the Elves, and even in Middle-earth the Exiles were plainly greater than the Sindar in body and in fierceness of spirit.
Houses and princes
The royal house of the Noldor was the house of Finwë, and its three branches decided the history of Beleriand. From Míriel Finwë had one son, Fëanor, whose seven sons swore the Oath: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, and the twins Amrod and Amras. From Indis he had Fingolfin and Finarfin. Fingolfin's children were Fingon, Turgon and Aredhel; Finarfin's were Finrod, Orodreth, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel. The three houses were seldom at peace with one another, and the feud between Fëanor and Fingolfin, though healed in public, ran beneath the whole war.
The rebellion and the exile
The history of the Noldor turns on the Silmarils. Melkor, released from Mandos, spread lies among the Noldor of Tirion, setting Fëanor and Fingolfin at odds and whispering that the Valar had brought the Elves to Aman to keep them from ruling Middle-earth. Fëanor drew a sword on his brother and was banished to Formenos, and Finwë went with him. Then Melkor and Ungoliant destroyed the Trees, slew Finwë at Formenos, and took the Silmarils. In the darkness Fëanor swore his terrible Oath, and the greater part of the Noldor followed him out of Aman. At Alqualondë they slew the Falmari for their ships, the first Kinslaying, and for this Mandos pronounced the Doom: exile, treachery, and sorrow for the house of Fëanor and all who followed. Finarfin turned back with a remnant and ruled the Noldor who stayed in Tirion. Fëanor burned the ships at Losgar, and Fingolfin's host crossed the grinding ice of the Helcaraxë on foot.
The war in Beleriand
The Exiles landed in Middle-earth at the first rising of the Moon and Sun. Fëanor fell almost at once; Maedhros was captured and rescued by Fingon; and Fingolfin became High King. For nearly four hundred years the Noldor besieged Angband and held all the north of Beleriand: Fingolfin in Hithlum, Finrod in Nargothrond, Angrod and Aegnor in Dorthonion, Maedhros on Himring, and Turgon hidden in Gondolin. The Sindar of Doriath held aloof, and when Thingol learned of the Kinslaying he banned the Quenya tongue, so that the Noldor adopted Sindarin as their daily speech.
The Dagor Bragollach broke the Siege in F.A. 455, and thereafter every realm of the Noldor fell in turn: Dorthonion at once, Hithlum after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in 472, Nargothrond to Glaurung in 495, Gondolin by the treason of Maeglin in 510. The Oath drove the sons of Fëanor to sack Doriath and then the refuge at the Mouths of Sirion. When the Valar at last came, Beleriand was drowned, and the Silmarils were scattered into sky, sea and earth.
The later ages
After the War of Wrath the Exiles were pardoned and many returned West. Those who remained were ruled by Gil-galad in Lindon. Celebrimbor, the last of Fëanor's line, founded Eregion beside Moria and there, deceived by Sauron, made the Rings of Power. Eregion was destroyed, Gil-galad fell in the Last Alliance, and after that the Noldor of Middle-earth were a remnant: the household of Elrond in Rivendell, Galadriel in Lothlórien, and wandering companies like that of Gildor.
Relations with other peoples
The Noldor were the first Elves to befriend Men and made the Edain their allies and vassals. They traded profitably with the Dwarves of Belegost and Nogrod and later of Moria. Their relations with the Sindar were troubled by the Kinslaying and their pride, and with the Falmari they were never reconciled. The Orcs and Balrogs of Morgoth were their enemies from the first day.
Fate
The Noldor of Aman remain there under Finarfin. Of the Exiles, almost none were left in Middle-earth by the Fourth Age: Elrond and Galadriel sailed in T.A. 3021, and the last Noldorin households went after them. Their works endured longer than they did, in the Tengwar, in the palantíri, in the memory of Gondolin, and in the blood of the kings of Gondor.
Physical traits
The Noldor were tall, strong and grey-eyed, and for the most part dark-haired; the golden hair of Finarfin's house and the red hair of Maedhros and the twins were exceptions traceable to Vanyarin blood and to Nerdanel's kin. The light of Aman shone in the eyes of the Exiles, and Men who met them said they seemed to burn from within. They were the most vigorous and fierce of the Elves, and their wrath was dreaded.
Culture
The Noldor were craftsmen first: masons, smiths, jewel-wrights, and makers of weapons. They were also the loremasters of the Elves, students of language and history, and Fëanor's alphabet became the standard script of the West. In Aman they spoke Quenya, which in Beleriand became a language of lore after Thingol's ban; in Middle-earth they used Sindarin. They were governed by the High King of the house of Finwë and by princes of the three branches, and their society valued personal renown highly, which fed both their heroism and their feuds. Their cities, Tirion, Nargothrond and Gondolin, were among the greatest works of the Elder Days.
Origins
The second clan of the Quendi, led to Aman by Finwë and taught by Aulë, the Noldor became the most gifted of the Eldar and the most dangerous to themselves. The making of the Silmarils and the lies of Melkor turned their gifts to ruin.
Fate
The Exiles of Beleriand were forgiven after the War of Wrath and dwindled through two ages until the last of them sailed at the end of the Third. Finarfin still rules the Noldor of Tirion in the Undying Lands.
Notable figures
High King of the Noldor (claimed)
Fëanor
NoldorFëanor, eldest son of Finwë, was the greatest craftsman and the most fiery spirit ever born among the Elves, maker of the Silmarils and of the Tengwar. His Oath to recover the jewels from Morgoth drove the Noldor into rebellion and exile, brought about the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, and shaped the whole tragedy of the First Age.
Tirion, then FormenosHigh King of the Noldor
Fingolfin
NoldorFingolfin, eldest son of Finwë and Indis, was the first High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth, who led his people across the grinding ice of the Helcaraxë after Fëanor abandoned them. He held Hithlum through the long Siege of Angband and died in single combat with Morgoth at the gates of Angband, the most famous duel of the Elder Days.
HithlumKing of Nargothrond
Finrod
NoldorFinrod Felagund, eldest son of Finarfin, was the wisest and most generous of the Noldorin princes in exile. He founded Nargothrond, was the first Elf-lord to befriend Men, and kept his oath to Barahir by going with Beren on the quest of the Silmaril; he died in Sauron's dungeon killing a werewolf with his bare hands to save his mortal friend.
NargothrondLady of Lothlórien
Galadriel
NoldorGaladriel, only daughter of Finarfin and the greatest of the Noldor after Fëanor, left Valinor in the rebellion, learned wisdom from Melian in Doriath, and outlived every other leader of the Exiles by three Ages. Bearer of Nenya, founder with Celeborn of the realm of Lórien, and a member of the White Council, she refused the One Ring when Frodo offered it, threw down Dol Guldur, and at last sailed West with the Ring-bearers.
LothlórienHigh King of the Noldor
Gil-galad
NoldorEreinion Gil-galad was the last High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth. Sent to the Havens as a child, he took up the kingship after the fall of Gondolin, ruled Lindon through the whole of the Second Age, refused Sauron the gates of his realm, received two of the Three Rings, and led the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with Elendil. He died with Elendil on the slopes of Mount Doom overthrowing Sauron.
LindonLord of Himring
Maedhros
NoldorMaedhros, eldest son of Fëanor, was the tallest and most temperate of the seven brothers, the captive of Thangorodrim rescued by Fingon, and the lord of Himring who anchored the eastern Siege of Angband. Bound by the Oath, he led the last two Kinslayings and ended his life by casting himself and a Silmaril into a chasm of fire.
Himring and the March of MaedhrosKing of Gondolin
Turgon
NoldorTurgon, second son of Fingolfin, was the founder and king of the hidden city of Gondolin, built in secret at Ulmo's prompting and kept from Morgoth for nearly four centuries. He became High King of the Noldor after the Nirnaeth, received Tuor and Ulmo's warning, and died when the city fell through the treason of his nephew Maeglin.
GondolinPrincess of the Noldor
Aredhel
NoldorAredhel, the White Lady of the Noldor, was the daughter of Fingolfin and sister of Fingon and Turgon, a restless huntress who left Gondolin, was taken to wife by the Dark Elf Eöl, and bore him Maeglin. Fleeing back to Gondolin, she died of a poisoned javelin her husband had thrown at their son.
GondolinLord of Eregion
Celebrimbor
NoldorCelebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor, renounced his father Curufin's deeds and became the greatest smith of the Second Age. As lord of the Elven-smiths of Eregion he was deceived by Sauron in the guise of Annatar and forged the Rings of Power, but he made the Three alone and hid them when he perceived the One. Sauron destroyed Eregion and slew him, and his body was borne as a banner before the enemy host.
EregionLord of Himlad
Celegorm
NoldorCelegorm the Fair, third son of Fëanor, was a hunter and friend of Oromë, master of the great hound Huan. With his brother Curufin he seized Lúthien in Nargothrond and tried to force a marriage, lost Huan and his honour, and died in the sack of Doriath at the hands of Dior.
HimladLord of Himlad
Curufin
NoldorCurufin the Crafty, fifth son of Fëanor, was the son most like his father in skill and temper, and the father of Celebrimbor. With Celegorm he schemed for the lordship of Nargothrond, tried to kill Lúthien, and was repudiated by his own son; he died in the sack of Doriath.
HimladHigh King of the Noldor
Fingon
NoldorFingon the Valiant, eldest son of Fingolfin, rescued Maedhros from Thangorodrim and so healed the breach in the Noldor, drove Glaurung back at his first appearance, and succeeded his father as High King. He was slain by Gothmog at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the battle he had helped to plan.
HithlumLord of the House of the Golden Flower
Glorfindel
NoldorGlorfindel was lord of the House of the Golden Flower in Gondolin, golden-haired and reckoned among the mightiest of the Noldor of the Hidden City. He died killing a Balrog above the pass of Cirith Thoronath so that the refugees of Gondolin could escape, and by long tradition he is the same Glorfindel who returned to Middle-earth, routed the Witch-king at Fornost, carried Frodo to the Ford of Bruinen, and sat at the Council of Elrond.
Gondolin, later RivendellPrincess of Gondolin
Idril
NoldorIdril Celebrindal, only child of Turgon of Gondolin, married the mortal Tuor and bore Eärendil, the mariner who saved both kindreds. Her foresight built the secret way out of the hidden city, and by it she led the survivors of Gondolin's fall to safety. She was the second union of Elves and Men, and the ancestress of the Half-elven.
GondolinLord of the House of the Mole
Maeglin
NoldorMaeglin was the son of Eöl the Dark Elf and Aredhel of the Noldor, born in the shadowed wood of Nan Elmoth and brought by his mother to Gondolin, where he rose to be the greatest of Turgon's counsellors. His unlawful desire for his cousin Idril soured into hatred; taken alive by Orcs, he bought his own life and the promise of Idril by telling Morgoth where the hidden city lay, and Tuor threw him from its walls when it burned.
GondolinLord of Maglor's Gap
Maglor
NoldorMaglor, second son of Fëanor, was the greatest singer and harper of the Noldor, who held the gap between Himring and the Blue Mountains and fostered Elrond and Elros after the Third Kinslaying. Last of his brothers, he cast his Silmaril into the Sea and wandered the shores of Middle-earth in grief, singing.
Maglor's GapLord of Dorthonion
Aegnor
NoldorAegnor, youngest son of Finarfin, held the northern slopes of Dorthonion with his brother Angrod for four centuries of the Siege of Angband. His name means Fell Fire, for the fierceness of his spirit in battle, and he died in the flames of the Dagor Bragollach beside his brother.
DorthonionLords of the south of East Beleriand
Amrod and Amras
NoldorAmrod and Amras, the red-haired twin sons of Fëanor and the youngest of the seven, were hunters who held the wide woods of southern East Beleriand. They followed their brothers through every battle and both Kinslayings in Beleriand and died together in the assault on the Havens of Sirion.
East Beleriand south of the AndramLord of Dorthonion
Angrod
NoldorAngrod, third son of Finarfin, held the northern highlands of Dorthonion with his brother Aegnor through the Siege of Angband. He was the first of the Noldor to be received by Thingol as a messenger, and the one who, stung by Caranthir's insult, told the king the whole truth of the Kinslaying. He died in the fires of the Dagor Bragollach.
DorthonionLord of Thargelion
Caranthir
NoldorCaranthir the Dark, fourth son of Fëanor, was the harshest and quickest to anger of the brothers, lord of Thargelion beside Lake Helevorn. He grew rich in trade with the Dwarves, quarrelled with the house of Finarfin, took in the people of Haleth, and died in the sack of Doriath.
ThargelionLady of Rivendell
Celebrían
NoldorCelebrían, daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn, married Elrond of Rivendell and bore him Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen. In T.A. 2509 she was captured and tormented by Orcs in the Redhorn Pass; though rescued by her sons and healed in body by Elrond, she could find no joy in Middle-earth and sailed into the West the following year.
Lothlórien, then RivendellLord of the House of the Fountain
Ecthelion
NoldorEcthelion of the Fountain was lord of one of the twelve houses of Gondolin and the warden of its Great Gate, a captain famous for the beauty of his voice and the music of his people's flutes. When the Hidden City was stormed he held the square before the king's tower against the Balrogs, and there he and Gothmog their lord destroyed each other.
GondolinKing of the Noldor in Aman
Finarfin
NoldorFinarfin, youngest son of Finwë and Indis, was the wisest and fairest of the princes of the Noldor. He alone turned back from the rebellion after the Doom of Mandos and ruled the Noldor who remained in Tirion; his children Finrod, Orodreth, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel went on to Middle-earth.
TirionPrincess of Nargothrond
Finduilas
NoldorFinduilas, daughter of Orodreth and granddaughter of Finarfin, was the last princess of Nargothrond. Betrothed to Gwindor before the Nirnaeth, she could not love the broken thrall who came back from Angband and gave her heart instead to Túrin, who would not take her. She was taken in the sack of the city, speared to a tree by the Orcs at the Crossings of Teiglin, and buried in the mound called Haudh-en-Elleth.
NargothrondKing of the Noldor
Finwë
NoldorFinwë is the first King of the Noldor, who led his people to Aman as one of the three ambassadors and ruled them in Tirion. Father of Fëanor by Míriel and of Fingolfin and Finarfin by Indis, he was slain by Melkor at Formenos, the first death by violence in the Blessed Realm.
TirionPrince of Nargothrond
Gwindor
NoldorGwindor, son of Guilin and a prince of Nargothrond, charged out of the line at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in grief for his brother Gelmir and so broke the plan of the battle. Taken alive and enslaved in Angband for fourteen years, he escaped, guided Beleg to Túrin, brought Túrin to Nargothrond, lost Finduilas to him, and died at Tumhalad warning him that her life stood between him and his doom.
NargothrondKing of Nargothrond
Orodreth
NoldorOrodreth, second son of Finarfin in the published Silmarillion, held the tower on Tol Sirion until Sauron drove him out, and became King of Nargothrond when his brother Finrod left on the quest of the Silmaril. Under the sway of Túrin he abandoned the secrecy that had kept the city safe, and he was slain at the battle of Tumhalad in the year Nargothrond fell.
NargothrondMariner of Gondolin
Voronwë
NoldorVoronwë, son of Aranwë of Gondolin, was the only survivor of the ships Turgon sent to seek Valinor. Spared by Ulmo and cast ashore at Nevrast, he met Tuor at Vinyamar and guided him through the Fell Winter to the hidden city, so that Ulmo's warning reached Turgon.
Gondolin- Noldor
Gildor Inglorion, a Noldo of the House of Finrod, led the company of wandering Elves who met Frodo, Sam and Pippin in the Woody End on the first night of their journey, drove off a Black Rider by their coming, and sent word of the Ring-bearer's peril across Eriador. He passed West with the last riding of the Elves in T.A. 3021.
Wandering; Rivendell and Lindon Queen of the Noldor
Míriel
NoldorMíriel Serindë was the first wife of Finwë and the mother of Fëanor, the most skilled needleworker among the Noldor. Worn out by the birth of her son, she chose to release her spirit to Mandos and refused ever to return, and her death opened the rift in the house of Finwë.
Tirion- Noldor
Nerdanel, daughter of the smith Mahtan, was the wife of Fëanor and the mother of his seven sons. A sculptor of great skill and a woman of patience and judgement, she alone could restrain her husband for a time; she parted from him before the flight of the Noldor and remained in Aman.
Tirion
Relations with other peoples
- Enemy ofBalrogs
- Allied withDwarves(Belegost, Nogrod, and the friendship of Eregion and Khazad-dûm)
- Allied withEdain
- Descended fromEldar
- Enemy ofFalmari(the Kinslaying at Alqualondë)
- Enemy ofOrcs
- Allied withSindar(uneasy alliance in the war of the Jewels; two kinslayings against them)
- Related toVanyar(shared Tirion; intermarriage through Indis)
- Enemy ofDragons
- Enemy ofFire-drakes(Ard-galen and Nargothrond)
- Allied withGreat Eagles(guardians of Gondolin; rescuers of Maedhros and Fingolfin's body)
- Allied withHounds of Valinor(Huan was given to Celegorm)
- Enemy ofWerewolves(the death of Finrod and his companions)
- Allied withBroadbeams(fought in the host of Maedhros at the Nirnaeth)
- Allied withLongbeards(friendship with Eregion in the Second Age)
- Enemy ofPetty-dwarves(dispossessed of Nargothrond by Finrod)
- Allied withFalathrim(friendship of Círdan and Finrod, and later Gil-galad)
- Descended fromHalf-elven(Idril and Celebrían)
- Enemy ofTeleri(the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, and later at Doriath and Sirion)
- Allied withEasterlings(Bór's people served Maedhros faithfully)
- ServedHouse of Bëor(Finrod, Angrod and Aegnor)
- ServedHouse of Hador(Fingolfin and Fingon, High Kings in Hithlum)
- Allied withHouse of Haleth(rescued by Caranthir; fought under Fingon)
Places
Fought at
- AlqualondëCitythe first Kinslaying
Originated in
- CuiviénenLake
Ruled
- DorthonionRegion
- GondolinCity
- HimringFortress
- HithlumRealm
- NargothrondCity
Homeland
- TirionCity
Timeline
- Y.T. 1132
Arrival in Aman and building of Tirion
Finwë's people cross the Sea and raise their city on the hill of Túna.
- Y.T. 1169
Birth of Fëanor
Míriel bears Finwë's eldest son and afterwards passes to Mandos; Finwë remarries, sowing the first division of the house.
- Y.T. 1450
The Silmarils
Fëanor makes the three jewels that hold the light of the Trees.
- Y.T. 1490
Fëanor banished
Melkor's lies bear fruit; Fëanor draws his sword on Fingolfin and is exiled to Formenos.
- Y.T. 1495
Death of Finwë and theft of the Silmarils
The Trees are destroyed, Finwë is slain at Formenos and the jewels taken.
- Y.T. 1495
Oath, Kinslaying and Doom
Fëanor swears his Oath, the Noldor slay the Teleri at Alqualondë, and Mandos pronounces the Doom of the Noldor.
- F.A. 1
Return to Middle-earth
Fëanor lands at Losgar and burns the ships; Fingolfin crosses the Helcaraxë; Fëanor dies in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath.
- F.A. 60
Dagor Aglareb
The Noldor win the Glorious Battle and begin the Siege of Angband.
- F.A. 455
Dagor Bragollach
The Siege is broken and Dorthonion falls; Fingolfin dies in single combat with Morgoth.
- F.A. 472
Nirnaeth Arnoediad
The Union of Maedhros is destroyed and Fingon slain; Hithlum is lost.
- F.A. 495
Fall of Nargothrond
Glaurung sacks the realm of Finrod.
- F.A. 510
Fall of Gondolin
The last Noldorin kingdom in Beleriand is betrayed and destroyed; Turgon dies.
- F.A. 587
War of Wrath and pardon
Morgoth is overthrown; the Exiles are pardoned and many return to Aman.
- S.A. 750
Eregion founded
Noldorin smiths under Celebrimbor settle beside Khazad-dûm.
- S.A. 1697
Destruction of Eregion
Sauron sacks the realm and slays Celebrimbor; Elrond founds Rivendell.
- S.A. 3441
Fall of Gil-galad
The last High King of the Noldor dies in the overthrow of Sauron.
- T.A. 3021
Departure of Elrond and Galadriel
The last great Noldor of Middle-earth sail West.
Sources
- The SilmarillionQuenta Silmarillion chapters 5 to 9, 11, 13 to 24; Of the Rings of Power
- The Lord of the Rings: AppendicesAppendix B; Appendix F
- Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earthThe History of Galadriel and Celeborn