Nerdanel

Nerdanel, also known as Nerdanel the Wise, was the daughter of the Ñoldorin smith Mahtan and the wife of Fëanor.

Nerdanel was a sculptor of great note and is said to have made statues so lifelike that people thought them to be the real thing.

History
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After marrying Fëanor, Nerdanel bore him seven sons: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod and Amras (see: Sons of Fëanor). Nerdanel, unlike her husband, was of a peaceful nature and sought to moderate his fiery temper and pride with wisdom. For a time, she was the only one able to influence him.



Nerdanel refused to follow her husband to Middle-earth and their parting was not a happy one. When it became clear that he intended to leave Valinor for good, she came to him and pleaded with him to let her youngest sons, Amrod and Amras to remain with her. Fëanor would hear nothing of it and accused her of being against him and in league with the Valar, namely Aulë saying that they wished to follow and obey their father and if she did not follow him she would be abandoning all of their children. She then scorned him saying that he would not have them all and then she left, possibly retiring to her father's house where she apparently still lives in Aman.

By refusing to join her husband in revolt, she herself avoided the Doom of Mandos but her sons did not. The last remnant of her family survived through her grandson Celebrimbor, the forger of the three Elven Rings of Power.

Behind the scenes
Nerdanel's family is interesting to fans of Tolkien's elves because they are the only attested examples of elves with red hair. Nerdanel's father Mahtan and three of her sons (Maedhros, Amrod, and Amras) are described by Tolkien as having red hair (actually a reddish brown) and this is described as a trait "of Nerdanel's kin". Nerdanel's own hair color is never specifically stated, although it is said that she possessed a ruddy complexion and it may be assumed that Tolkien did indeed intend Nerdanel to have red hair.