Lúthien

Lúthien, also known as  Tinúviel, was an Elf Maiden of Doriath, the wife of Beren Erchamion, and the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar that has ever lived. Her love of the man Beren, for which she was prepared to risk everything, even death itself, was legendary and lamented forever in song and story. She and Beren braved Morgoth's horrors, eventually winning the Silmaril and the respect of Thingol. Though their actions later resulted in both their deaths, their deeds won them the pity of Mandos and a second life in Middle-earth.

Early years
 And thus in anguish Beren paid for that great doom upon him laid, the deathless love of Lúthien, too fair for love of mortal Men; and in his doom was Lúthien snared, the deathless in his dying shared; and Fate them forged a binding chain of living love and mortal pain. — The Lays of Beleriand, "The Doom of Lúthien"

Lúthien was the daughter of Elu Thingol, King of Doriath, and his Queen, Melian the Maia. Throughout the years before she met Beren, she lived as all the Elves of Doriath did: in a state of perfect blissful peace. She was a woman of incomparable beauty and grace, with night-dark hair, sparkling grey eyes, luminous skin, and a clear heartbreakingly lovely voice that was said to cause winter to melt into spring - ''"the song of Luthien released the bonds of winter, and the frozen waters spoke, and flowers sprang from the cold earth where her feet had passed". ''She also often enjoyed dancing in the woods of the realm to the music of her good friend Daeron's flute. He himself soon came to love her jealously, but she did not return it.

The Quest for the Silmaril
Lúthien was remembered in the Lay of Leithian as the first Elven woman to have fallen in love and married a mortal man, Beren, a Man of the House of Bëor whom she met in the woods of Doriath. Their relationship was unlikely from the beginning: Lúthien was not only the cherished single daughter of the most powerful Elven King in Beleriand, but also the daughter of a Maia, a powerful angelic being of the race of the Ainur. Beren was a mortal man on the run from the first Dark Lord Morgoth.



Thingol was desperate not to let Beren marry his daughter, and set an impossible task as the bride price: Beren had to bring to Thingol one of the Silmarils from Morgoth's iron crown. Against monstrous odds, being kidnapped by the Sons of Fëanor and the death of Finrod Felagund, as well as a confrontation with Sauron, the couple achieved the task with help from Huan, the Hound of Valinor, but Beren died as soon as it was completed. In grief, Lúthien lay down and died, passing to the Halls of Mandos. There she sang to Mandos, and for the first time he was moved by her grief. But Mandos had no authority to allow Beren to live again, so he went before Manwë for advice, who in turn sought out the counsel of Eru Ilúvatar himself. Two choices were then placed before Lúthien; she could either dwell in Valimar with the Valar in bliss forever as reward for all that she had accomplished, or she could be restored to life again with Beren, on the condition that they would both be mortal and die the death of Men. For her love of Beren, Luthien chose the latter.

Later years


After this, she became a mortal and returned to Middle-earth with Beren, and lived briefly in Tol Galen. They had a son, Dior, who was called Elúchil, the Heir of Thingol.

After the sack Menegroth, Beren returned there and ambushed the dwarves and took Nauglamir back to Luthien. Her beauty combined with the splendor of the gem and necklace to make her home of Tol Galen the fairest land ever to have existed east of Valinor. On her death the Nauglamír was delivered to her son Dior, which led to the ruin of Doriath.

Legacy
The union of Beren and Lúthien was the first between a mortal Man and an Elven maid. Their lineage passed down to the royal House of Elros of the Kingdom of Númenor, and then on to the Dúnedain, men living in exile in Middle-earth, and on to the Kings of the Reunited Kingdom and beyond. Lúthien's romance with Beren is one of the great stories of the Elder Days, and is mirrored by the later romance between Aragorn and Arwen Evenstar. According to legend, her line will never be broken as long as the world lasts.

Etymology
The name Lúthien means "Daughter of Flowers", from the Sindarin luth ("flower"). In Doriathrin, Luthien and Noldorin Lhūthien means "enchantress", which is derived from luktiēnē ("enchantress"). Lúthien may have been derived from the Old English word Lufien, which means "love".

Tinúviel means "Nightingale", from the Quendian tindōmiselde. In Sindarin, it means "Daughter of Twilight", from tinnu ("dusk, twilight") and the feminine suffix -ien ("daughter").

Behind the Scenes
Lúthien is supposed to have been based on Edith Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien's wife. Edith Tolkien was buried in Wolvercote Cemetery (North Oxford) and this name appears on her plaque:

EDITH MARY TOLKIEN - LUTHIEN 1889–1971

The name of Beren also appears on J.R.R. Tolkien's plaque:

JOHN RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN - BEREN 1892 – 1973

Earlier versions
In the various versions of The Tale of Tinúviel, Tolkien's earliest form of his tale, as published in The Book of Lost Tales Parts 1 and 2, her original name is Tinúviel (Lúthien was invented later), Beren is an Elf, and Sauron has not yet emerged. In his place, they face Tevildo, the Prince of Cats, a monstrous giant cat.

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