- "Peace makes things slack"
- —Berelach, in The Peoples of Middle-earth, "The New Shadow"
Berelach was the son of Borlas of Pen-arduin,[1] and the grandson of Beregond.[2]
Biography
Berelach was the youngest child and only son of Borlas. During his youth, he was a friend of Saelon.[2]
Berelach served in the Fleet of Gondor, and for several years he was stationed at Harlond. He sometimes visited his father at Pen-arduin to ease his grief and loneliness, often accompanied by Saelon.[2]
During the year 217 of the Fourth Age, his visits became short and not very often, as he had been given a high command, and thus spent many of his days at sea. But even when he was on land, his duty often kept him within Pelargir.[1]
When Berelach had last visited his father before leaving again in April of the year 220, he told him of a recent incident in which a few Shipmen and a small vessel of the King's ships had disappeared. Berelach makes the assumption that the shipmen must have left without leave on some task of their own and drowned. Berelach reasoned that the Shipmen were unskilled and deserved their fate, serving as evidence that the Ships had too few skilled sailers and that fish were more profitable.[2]
Later in the month of June, Borlas quoted Berelach's tale to Saelon, only for Saelon to contradict Berelach by saying that the Shipmen were skilled sons of fishermen and that there had been no storms along the coast for a long time.[2]
It is unknown whether it was Berelach or Saelon who spoke the truth of the tale.
Etymology
Berelach is an unglossed Sindarin name with an unclear meaning consisting of beren ("bold")[3] and lach ("flame")[4][5] or lhach ("leaping flame").[6][7][8]
In other versions
In the first manuscript of the story, Berelach's name was originally written as Berthil, before being changed to Bergil,[9] and then finally to Berelach, the current form.[2]
Line of Baranor
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XVI: "The New Shadow", pg. 421 (note 14)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XVI: "The New Shadow", pgs. 416-7
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", entry "BER"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, XI: The War of the Jewels, Part Four: "Quendi and Eldar", C. The Clan-names, Sindar, pg. 384
- ↑ Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, pg. 65
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
- ↑ "Berelach" on eldamo.org
- ↑ A Gateway to Sindarin, pg. 344
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XVI: "The New Shadow", pg. 421 (note 15)