Aredhel, also known as Aredhel Ar-Feiniel,[2] "White Lady of the Ñoldor", was the only daughter and third child of Ñoldorin High-prince Fingolfin and his wife, Anairë. Aredhel was the sister of Fingon, Turgon, and Argon, and the mother of Maeglin.
Biography[]
Aredhel Ar-Feiniel dressed in white and silver in the forest of Nan Elmoth, by Marya Filatova
Aredhel was born in YT 1362, the same year as her cousin Galadriel,[1] and lived in Tirion. She followed her father and brothers through Helcaraxë and dwelt in Nevrast with her brother Turgon until Gondolin was complete, and when it was she went with him to the hidden city. But after two hundred years, the longing for the forests and wide lands overcame her, and she asked leave to depart. Turgon was unwilling, fearing the exposure of the Hidden Kingdom, but eventually relented and allowed her to leave.
Riding with companions Glorfindel, Ecthelion, and Egalmoth,[3] they were denied entrance to Doriath, it being closed to the Ñoldor. But they did tell her of the best way to find the Sons of Fëanor, and so they went around to the north, where she was separated in the dangerous region of Nan Dungortheb and reported lost. However, she reached Himlad safely, and waited there to meet Celegorm who was abroad, but eventually she wandered out of boredom and became lost in the forest of Nan Elmoth.
Eöl welcomes Aredhel, by Ted Nasmith
Aredhel, by Līga Klavina
Eöl the Dark Elf ruled those woods; seeing Aredhel and noticing her beauty, he set enchantments about her so that she could not escape the forest. Eventually, she wandered to Eöl's dwelling in the woods, where he finally revealed himself to her. After marrying him, she stayed with him many years. They had a son named Maeglin, and telling him of her former life and home, she desired to see them again, and left Nan Elmoth with Maeglin while Eöl was away. They reached Gondolin (not realizing that Eöl was following them all the while), and were received with rejoicing. Eöl was also discovered and brought before Turgon, but rather than accept Turgon's judgment to remain, he attempted to kill his son for disobeying him with a poisoned javelin concealed in his cloak. Aredhel stepped in front of it and was hit by it and because of its poison, she died that night from the wound.
Eöl was cast down from the city walls and died, while Maeglin became mighty in Gondolin but later betrayed it to Morgoth.[2][4]
Character[]
Aredhel was tall and strong, fond of hunting and riding in the forests. Her skin was pale and her hair dark; she always wore silver and white. Though fond of the Sons of Fëanor, she never fell in love with any of them.[2]
Etymology[]
Her name in Quenya was Irissë.[5] The names Aredhel ("noble elf")[6] and Ar-Feiniel ("noble white lady") were both originally intended to stand alone, and be used as her primary name. It should be pronounced AR-ethel.
While preparing The Silmarillion for publication, Christopher Tolkien could not discover which name was intended to be used as her final name, and he therefore chose to use both - a decision he later stated in The History of Middle-earth series was possibly mistaken.
In other versions[]
In earlier versions of the legendarium, the character was named Isfin, daughter of Fingolma.[7]
House of Fingolfin[]
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| Fingon |
| Turgon |
| Elenwë |
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| Idril |
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| Eärendil |
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| Elrond |
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Gallery[]
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Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Arabic | اردهيل |
| Armenian | Արեդհել |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Аредель |
| Bengali | অরেধেল |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Аредхел |
| Chinese | 雅瑞希尔 |
| Georgian | არედელი |
| Greek | Αρεδχελ |
| Gujarati | એરેહલ |
| Hebrew | ארדל |
| Hindi | अर्ऐध्ऐल |
| Japanese | アレゼル |
| Kannada | ಅರೆದೆಲ್ |
| Kazakh | Аредһел (Cyrillic) Aredhel (Latin) |
| Korean | 아레델 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Арэдhэл |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Аредхел |
| Marathi | अरेढेल |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Арэдhэл |
| Nepalese | अरेडेल |
| Persian | آرهدل |
| Polish | Aredhela |
| Punjabi | ਏਰੈਡਲ |
| Russian | Аредэль |
| Sanskrit | आरेधेल् |
| Serbian | Аредхел (Cyrillic) Aredhel (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | ඇරඩෙල් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Аредбер |
| Tamil | ஆரெத்ஹெல் |
| Telugu | ఆరేదెలా |
| Thai | อาเรเดล |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Аредель |
| Uzbek | Аредҳел (Cyrillic) Aredhel (Latin) |
| Yiddish | אַרעדהעל |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, The Annals of Aman, "Commentary on the fourth section of the Annals of Aman"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter V: "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, III: "The Fall of Gondolin"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVI: "Of Maeglin"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Index of Names
- ↑ The Fall of Gondolin, The Earliest Text