Fëanor

Fëanor was a Ñoldorin elf and one of the Elven kindred that departed from Valinor in the land of Aman, where they had lived with the Valar.

He was born in Valinor, the only child of Finwë, High King of the Ñoldor, and Finwë's first wife Míriel Therindë. He was renowned as a craftsman, gem-smith, and warrior, the maker of the Silmarils and inventor of the Tengwar script. He was also the creator of the seven Palantíri. He was made the mightiest in all parts of body and mind; of beauty, understanding, skill, and subtlety, of all the Children of Ilúvatar. However, his personality was riddled with flaws, foremost among them selfishness and pride, that ultimately led to him causing his people untold anguish.

Early Life


Fëanor drew so much of Míriel's life energy when he was born that she grew weary of living and her spirit voluntarily left her body, leaving her family for the Halls of Mandos. After a time, Finwë remarried and had four more children; Fëanor's half-brothers Fingolfin and Finarfin, and half-sisters Findis and Irimë. Though he loved his father as dearly as a son could, Fëanor was not fond of his stepmother Indis nor her children, and so lived apart from her and his half-siblings. In his youth, he quickly discovered his outstanding talents for craftsmanship and language. He invented the Elven system of writing, known as Tengwar, and became a student of Mahtan, a great smith who had learned his craft at the feet of Aulë himself. From Mahtan, he learned much of metallurgy, and at some point he wedded Mahtan's daughter Nerdanel, who bore him seven sons: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, and Amras.

The Making of the Silmarils
Fëanor spent most of his time either alone or in the company of his sons, and in his solitude he created many wonders. But by far the greatest of his crafting achievements was the creation of the Silmarils, also called the Great Jewels. To make them, Fëanor captured some of the intermingled light from the Two Trees of Valinor, and, by unknown means, locked it into three large, diamond-like gems. His creations garnered him great praise, and he came to prize the Silmarils above all else. However, the longer he had them, the more he coveted them, and the more suspicious he grew that those around him wished to steal them, despite the fact that this was untrue. As time wore on, he also increasingly ignored the fact that the light which lay in the gems and gave them their beauty was not of his own making. Fëanor alternated between vainly displaying the jewels and jealously guarding them from all but his immediate family, though eventually he came to the point where they almost always remained under lock and key.

The Wiles of Morgoth


After three ages of imprisonment, Melkor, the mightiest of the Valar and the world's primordial source of evil, deceived the Valar with a false show of repentance. Pardoned and residing in Valinor, his malice had in fact reached hitherto unprecedented levels, and it's primary target quickly became the Elves, as it had been for their sake that he had been overthrown. He found that, of the three primary groups of Elves in Valinor, the Ñoldor were the easiest to manipulate due to their thirst for knowledge and willingness to listen. Focusing his efforts solely on the Ñoldor, he subtly spread lies amongst them that the Valar were keeping them imprisoned in Valinor so that the race of Men might inherit Middle-earth and claim the glory that could have been theirs. Although Fëanor mistrusted and feared Melkor, in his arrogance and impatience he often unwittingly repeated the lies of Melkor. He quickly became the most prominent of the restless Ñoldor, to the point where the other Valar, not knowing of Melkor's lies, saw him as the source of the Ñoldor's distemper.

Melkor coveted the Silmarils and hated Fëanor, but he hid his intentions from the Ñoldor and the Valar as the situation continued to deteriorate. Melkor's lies eventually came to the point where rumors began to circulate amongst some that Fëanor's half-brother Fingolfin was planning not only to usurp his place as heir to Finwë, but also to seize the Silmarils for himself. In his pride and vanity, Fëanor took little convincing, and his hostility grew to the point to where he threatened Fingolfin with violence. The Valar, having put up with Fëanor's rabble-rousing for some time, could not ignore the transgression of breaking the peace of Valinor, and so summoned Fëanor to the Ring of Doom to explain himself. Fëanor's testimony revealed the malice of Melkor and his lies, and Tulkas immediately left the Ring to apprehend him again. However, despite Melkor having been the true root of the Ñoldor's unrest, Fëanor's crime had been of his own making, and for this, the Valar exiled him to Formenos. He took a substantial treasure with him, including the Silmarils, which he put in a locked box. In a show of support for his eldest son, Finwë also withdrew to Formenos and renounced the kingship so long as Fëanor remained in exile.



Some time later, Melkor unexpectedly appeared at Formenos where he tried to sway Fëanor to his side, proclaiming that the Valar had treated him unjustly. However, he realized that Melkor's true goal was to obtain the Silmarils, and he vehemently dismissed Melkor. Melkor left in a rage and fled from Valinor. He feigned to go north, but ultimately turned south, passing as a cloud to the unexplored southern coast of Aman. The Valar later sought to mend the breach between Fëanor and Fingolfin, and invited them to Valinor to make peace. Fingolfin offered a hand to his half-brother, recognizing Fëanor's place as the eldest, but it was returned only grudgingly.

Theft of the Silmarils
Melkor stole away to Avathar in the south of Aman to seek out the evil, spider-like creature Ungoliant and secured her as an ally. During the festivities at which Fëanor and Fingolfin had reconciled, Ungoliant helped Morgoth destroy the Two Trees, bringing darkness to Valinor. Morgoth and Ungoliant then went to Formenos. Melkor, surrounded by an impenetrable black fog, went to Fëanor's vault in Formenos. There, he slew Finwë and ransacked the vault, taking many valuable jewels, including the Silmarils. They escaped by crossing the Helcaraxë, or Grinding Ice, in the north to Beleriand in Middle-earth.

The Valar quickly realized that, with the Trees dead, their light survived only in the Silmarils. To restore the Trees and foil Melkor's malice, Yavanna asked Fëanor to give up the Silmarils so that they could be broken, and the light within them released. But Fëanor emphatically stated that he would not give up his Silmarils of his own free will, and proclaimed that if the Valar forced him to do so that they would be no better than Melkor. Ultimately however, Fëanor's selfishness made little difference, for a messenger from Formenos then arrived to deliver the news of Finwë's death and the loss of the Silmarils.

The Flight of the Ñoldor


Fëanor, upon learning of his father's murder and the theft of his prized Silmarils, named Melkor "Morgoth", or "Black Foe of the World" (literally "Black Enemy"). As he did so, a great rage and despair gripped him, for his love for his father had run deep, and he fled in grief from the Ring of Doom. Now King of the Ñoldor after the death of his father, Fëanor returned to Tirion, ignoring the fact that he was still technically exiled, and gave one of the most impassioned speeches ever delivered in Arda, which he unwittingly filled with Morgoth's lies and half-truths. He railed against Morgoth, but because of Morgoth's influence and his anger he also blamed the Valar for Morgoth's deeds, claiming that they should have been able to stop Morgoth and had failed. He spoke of the fact that, because Morgoth had attacked and badly marred the kingdom of the Valar without consequence to himself, there was neither bliss nor surety of safety to be found in Aman any longer. He evoked images of the kingdoms his people could build in Middle-earth, and the glory that could be theirs once they regained the Silmarils. Fëanor then swore an oath by the name of Ilúvatar himself that he would suffer none, no matter their race or reasons, to withhold a Silmaril from him, and that he would pursue with violence any who attempted it. The Oath of Fëanor was also taken by his seven sons below the tower of the Mindon Eldaliéva in the Great Square of Tirion. This oath was the cause for great tragedy for Fëanor's family, and for the Eldar in general. However, despite his impassioned speech and tremendous oratory skill, many of his kinsmen were unconvinced or only half convinced. For Fëanor, though he was High King, was not particularly popular amongst the Ñoldor, and most instead deferred to Fingolfin. However, Fingolfin had sworn to uphold his brother's rights as the eldest, and furthermore he did not wish to leave those who did want to go with Fëanor to his brother's rash and often selfish courses of action. He commanded a second, larger host than Fëanor, and Finarfin commanded a third, smaller, and quite reluctant host. However, even with the three sons of Finwë leading the way, many amongst the Ñoldor chose simply to stay in Tirion, believing Fëanor's quest to be a fool's errand.

The First Kinslaying


Seeking a way to get to Middle-earth, Fëanor went to the shores of Aman, where the seafaring Teleri lived, and demanded the use of their ships. The Teleri refused and Fëanor angrily demanded their use a second time, citing that the Teleri owed them for the teachings of the Ñoldor in the arts of crafting buildings and cities. But the Teleri again refused, rebuffing in friendship what they saw as great folly by Fëanor. However, Fëanor would not take no for an answer. He understood that many of his people had been inflamed by his impassioned words, and knew that haste was essential to keep cooler heads from swaying the Ñoldor to a more reasonable course. As such, he persuaded his host to aid him in taking the ships by force. This he attempted, and the Teleri fought back, casting many of the the Ñoldor into the sea and thrice driving them back despite being far more lightly armed than the Ñoldor. However, Fingolfin's host, which had been slower and less eager to start the journey, came upon the battle in progress. Believing that the Teleri had been the aggressors, perhaps on the orders of the Valar themselves, Fingolfin's host came to the aid of his brother's and the Teleri were overcome. The ships were stolen, and many of the Teleri were wickedly slain. After commandeering the ships, the Ñoldor, their hosts lessened by battle and by terrible storms conjured by Ossë in vengeance for the Teleri, encountered a figure that may have been Mandos himself. This figure uttered a terrible Doom, exiling the Ñoldor and foretelling that their war against Morgoth would cause them only misery. Due to their wickedness in slaughtering their kin, they would be utterly forsaken in the eyes of the Valar, and would receive neither welcome nor aid from Valinor in their struggles. Additionally, Fëanor and his house were cursed, and Mandos foretold great suffering and hardship would be their lot, due in no small part to the oath they had taken to regain the Silmarils at all costs. Above all, the figure made it explicitly clear that any war made by the Ñoldor against Morgoth would be utterly hopeless, for the Ñoldor, being Elves, did not have the power to overcome a Vala. Hearing this Doom, and having not participated in the Kinslaying, Finarfin and his host and turned back, cursing Fëanor.[See Note] They were accepted by the Valar, and Finarfin ruled as High-King of the Ñoldor in Valinor. Fëanor, however, defied the Doom and proceeded onward. However, the Ñoldor did not have enough ships to bear their entire host, and as such the journey northward began to grow more and more troublesome. The land became ever darker, and the temperatures began to drop dramatically as the Ñoldor began to approach the Helcaraxë, a region of arctic ice which formed a bridge between Aman and Middle-earth. Many of the Ñoldor, already reluctant to follow Fëanor, began to openly express dissatisfaction with his actions as conditions continued to deteriorate.



However, Fëanor's most loyal forces had maintained control of the Teleri fleet after having seized it. As the dissent grew worse, Fëanor decided to simply abandon all those whose loyalty to him was not absolute, and he and his followers slipped away one night in the ships. They arrived at Losgar, in the land of Lammoth, in the far west of Beleriand, where Morgoth and Ungoliant had passed not long before. Fëanor decided to burn the ships and leave the followers of Fingolfin behind. The earth, being flat in those days, allowed the remaining Ñoldor to see the flames, and they perceived that they were betrayed. Fingolfin now had the choice of either returning to Tirion in disgrace, or proceeding to Middle-earth across the treacherous Helcaraxë. Fingolfin and his people chose to attempt the crossing, as many of Fingolfin's host wished to continue and many, including him, were eager to confront Fëanor and his people over their betrayal. The journey was a long and terrible one, and Fingolfin's host suffered great losses along the way, which added to the bitterness they felt for Fëanor and his sons.

Final Battle and Death
Learning of the Ñoldor's arrival, Morgoth summoned his armies from his fortress of Angband and attacked Fëanor's encampment in Mithrim. This confrontation was called the Battle under the Stars, or Dagor-nuin-Giliath, for the Sun and Moon had not yet been made. The Ñoldor won the battle handily, and destroyed Morgoth's armies. But Fëanor, exhilarated by the victory and ever prideful, pressed on toward Angband far ahead of his army with only a small vanguard. As he approached Angband, the Orcs, seeing that Fëanor's numbers were so few, turned and gave battle. Due to their proximity to Angband, they were reinforced by a number of Balrogs, who quickly slew most of the Elves. But Fëanor was undaunted, and though he was dealt many wounds, he long fought on alone. At last however, he was stricken to the ground by Gothmog, the Lord of the Balrogs. Fortunately for Fëanor, his sons arrived with a substantial relief force. The Balrogs returned to Angband, and Fëanor's sons took him from the battlefield. However, Fëanor knew that wounds were mortal, and bade his sons to stop. He looked upon Angband and cursed Morgoth thrice, but gazing upon the sheer scope of Morgoth's stronghold, he understood at last the truth of Mandos's words; that no force of the Ñoldor would ever overthrow the Dark Lord. Nevertheless, he instructed his sons to keep to their oath and avenge their father. As he died, his fiery spirit left his body and burned it to ash.

Legacy
On Fëanor's passing, his son Maedhros became High King of the Ñoldor. Maedhros, however, met Fingolfin soon after and gave the kingship to him out of respect, a desire to keep his people united, and an acknowledgment that, as Finwë's oldest surviving son, the kingship ought to pass to him by right of birth. Fingolfin's descendents would reign over the Nôldor until the death of Gil-galad many centuries later. Fëanor's remaining sons were still bound by the Oath to recover the Silmarils, which would cause two more Kinslayings, each worse than the last, and would work to undermine the Elven war against Morgoth in many important ways. He would be remembered as the extraordinary craftsman that he was, but also as the cause of most of the Ñoldor's most grievous misfortunes. The Doors of Durin would later bear the emblem of the House of Fëanor: a single star with many rays.

Etymology
Originally named Finwë or Finweminya after his father, and later Curufinwë ("Skillful [son of] Finwë"), he was the greatest of the Ñoldor, and very briefly their king. His name is a compromise between the Sindarin Faenor and the Quenya Fëanáro, meaning "Spirit of fire".

Appearances in the Books

 * The Silmarillion: Quenta Silmarillion
 * The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth
 * The Lord of the Rings (mentioned only)