The One Wiki to Rule Them All
Register
Advertisement
The One Wiki to Rule Them All

Finwë was the first King of the Ñoldor who led his people on the journey from Middle-earth to Valinor in the blessed realm of Aman. He was a great friend of Elu Thingol, the King of Doriath. He was the father of Fëanor, Fingolfin, Finarfin, Írimë, and Findis. As founder of the House of Finwë, he and his first and second wives were the sires of the three noble houses of Fëanor, Fingolfin, and Finarfin, who afterwards ruled great realms in Middle-earth and succeeded him in Aman. His bloodline also mixed its way into the race of Men.

Biography[]

Finwë was born in Cuiviénen during the Years of the Trees to unnamed parents, and his father was the direct descendant of Tata and Tatië.[2] When the Vala Oromë found the Elves during his travels in Middle-earth, he loved them and urged them to travel with him to Valinor to see its wondrous beauty. The Elves, however, were suspicious of this call and were afraid. Oromë chose ambassadors from the three Elven kindreds--the Vanyar, Ñoldor, and Teleri--to return with him to Valinor. They would, in turn, report what they had seen to their kin. One of these ambassadors was Finwë, who, along with Ingwë and Elwë, went to the Blessed Realm with Oromë. When they returned, they were able to convince the Elves to go on the Great Journey into the far west.

There was great friendship between Finwë of the Ñoldor and Elwë of the Teleri. Then each became leaders of their own Elven-kindred. Thus, Finwë became the Lord of the Ñoldor who led his people on the Great Journey. And eventually, Finwë and the Ñoldor arrived in Valinor directly behind the Vanyar. There he and his people settled and Finwë thus became the First High King of the Ñoldor.

Steamey - Finwe near his wife Miriel Serinde

Finwë near his wife Míriel Serindë, by Steamey

Finwë started a family, first marrying Míriel Serindë who had also come with her people the Ñoldor to Aman. They had a son called Fëanor, but her labors in giving birth to him drained her of most of her life, and she surrendered her soul to the Halls of Mandos shortly after bearing him. After a period of mourning, he married again. His second wife was Indis of the Vanyar. Indis bore him four children: Fingolfin, Finarfin, Findis, and Írimë.

When Melkor, now free from the Halls of Mandos, began spreading lies amongst the Ñoldor attempting to corrupt them, Finwë sought to moderate his people and lead them back to the Valar. But it was too late; the Ñoldor had already begun to envision for themselves plans and new dominions they could rule in Middle-earth and were proud. Fëanor in particular mistrusted the Valar and believed Melkor's lies. He began to hoard his treasures and would only allow his beloved father or his sons to see the Silmarils. He also began to suspect his half-brother was trying to usurp him as the favored son, and made trouble in Tirion by drawing his sword on Fingolfin. For this he was banished from the city, but Finwë loved his elder son greatly and shared his exile. They went northward and built the fortress of Formenos.

There Finwë lived with his son and his grandchildren and some of the rest of his house. Later, when Fëanor was summoned to Valmar to make peace with Fingolfin, Finwë did not go out of bitterness over the exile of his son; nor did he wish to meet the rest of his people because he no longer felt like their king. Thus he was slain in Formenos when Melkor, seeking the Silmarils, attacked it. This act was the catalyst that led to the Revolt of the Ñoldor.[3][4]

Etymology[]

Finwë's name is not fully translated. The glossary in The Silmarillion translates Fin as "hair"; other sources say that it means "skill".[5]

House of Finwë[]

The Heraldic Device of the House of Finwë.

Míriel
   
   
Finwë
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Indis
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Fëanor
   
   
Nerdanel
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Findis
   
   
Fingolfin
   
   
Anairë
   
   
Irimë
   
   
Finarfin
   
   
Eärwen
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Maedhros
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Maglor
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Fingon
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Finrod
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Celegorm
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Turgon
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Angrod**
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Caranthir
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aredhel
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Aegnor
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Curufin*
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Argon
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Galadriel
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Amrod
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Amras

(*Father of Celebrimbor)
(**Father of Orodreth)


Other versions of the legendarium[]

The story of Finwë went through many revisions. A precursor to the character of Finwë was likely the Gnome Nólemë. In one of the earliest accounts, the father of Fëanor was Bruithwir, son of Maidros.[6] In another, the leader of Gnomes in the Great Lands was Gelmir, son of Golfinweg and brother of Gwindor. Thus, he had as lieutenants his sons Golfin, Delin, and Oleg. His standard "bore upon a silver field a crown of gold".[7] Later, the name Golfinweg was reused for Finwë himself.[4] In another account, Nólemë led his people during their exile in the Great Lands when they waged war against Melko. At the river Sirion, the Gnomes met with the Ilkorins, led by Tareg, and Ermon and his folk (their mannish allied). There the Elves held a "Feast of Reunion" to seal their alliance against Melko and then that they fought together at Gorfalong in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears against Melko and his host of monsters and wicked Men.[8] In the battle died Fingolfin and his father. Thus, Turgon, Fingolfin's son, led the sons of Fëanor, who was caught and tortured, and his people after the battle.[9]

In J.R.R. Tolkien's first drafts of the genealogy, Finwë had four sons: Fëanor, Fingolfin, Finrod, and Finrún. However, the last son was dropped, and Finarfin replaced Finrod as Finwë's youngest son.[10]

In a later version, Finwë had three daughters added by Indis: Findis (as their first child), Faniel (as their third), and Finvain (as their youngest). In yet later versions, Faniel was apparently dropped, while Findis and Finvain were kept. Finvain (renamed Írimë) was moved to being just younger than Fingolfin, making Finarfin again the youngest child of Finwë.

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Amharic ፊንወ
Arabic فينويً
Armenian Ֆինւե
Belarusian Cyrillic Фінвё
Bengali ফিংয়ে
Bosnian Finve
Bulgarian Cyrillic Финве
Chinese (Hong Kong) 芬威
Georgian ფინუე
Greek Φίνγουε
Gujarati ફિન્વે
Hebrew פינווה
Hindi फ़िन्वे
Japanese フィンウェ
Kannada ಫಿನ್ವೆ
Kazakh Фінве (Cyrillic) Finve (Latin)
Korean 핀웨
Kyrgyz Cyrillic Финвэ
Macedonian Cyrillic Финве
Marathi फिनवे
Mongolian Cyrillic Финвё
Nepalese फ़िन्वे
Persian فینوه،
Punjabi ਫਿਨਵ ?
Russian Финвэ
Serbian Финвеа (Cyrillic) Finvea (Latin)
Sinhalese ෆින්වෙ
Tajik Cyrillic Финве
Tamil பின்வெ
Telugu ఫైన్వే
Thai ฟินเว
Ukrainian Cyrillic Фінве
Urdu فینوے
Uzbek Финве (Cyrillic) Finve (Latin)
Yiddish פינווע
High King of the Ñoldor
Preceded by
None
Finwë Succeeded by
Fëanor (in Middle-earth)
Finarfin (in Valinor)
Years of the Trees

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth, Chapter XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor"
  2. The Nature of Middle-earth, Part One: Time and Ageing
  3. The Silmarillion: Quenta Silmarillion
  4. 4.0 4.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I, The Book of Lost Tales Part One, where he is sometimes given the name Golfinweg, which is Gnomish (the equivalent later of Sindarin)
  5. The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
  6. The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter VI: "The Theft of Melko and the Darkening of Valinor"
  7. The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, chapter I: "Prose Fragments Following the Lost Tales"
  8. The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, chapter X: "Gilfanon's Tale: The Travail of the Noldoli and the Coming of Mankind", The History of the Exiled Gnomes according to the later outline, pg. 240
  9. "Sí Qente Feanor and Other Elvish Writings", Parma Eldalamberon, n. XV
  10. The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, chapter III: "The Quenta"
Advertisement