Kinslaying at Alqualondë

This article is about the the first kinslaying. For the other occurrences, see Kinslaying (disambiguation).

The first Kinslaying at Alqualondë, as depicted by Ted Nasmith

The Kinslaying at Alqualondë was the first slaying of Elf by Elf in history, by the forces of Fëanor to hasten their pursuit of Morgoth who had fled with the Silmarils to Middle-earth. This act banned the Ñoldor from returning to Aman, the lands of the West, for centuries. It occurred soon after the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor, towards the end of the First Age.

History

Prelude

When Fëanor intended to leave Valinor, he required ships to reach Middle-earth without great loss, but the Ñoldor possessed none, and Fëanor feared that any delay in their departure would cause the Ñoldor to reconsider. The Ñoldor, led by Fëanor and his sons, tried to persuade their friends, the Teleri of Alqualondë, the Swan-haven, to give him their ships. However, the Teleri would not aid in any way against the will of the Valar, and in fact attempted to persuade their friends to reconsider, and stay in Aman. Unwilling to concede, the Ñoldor started taking the ships and departing with them. This angered the Teleri, who threatened the Ñoldor with rocks and arrows, and threw many of Fëanor's followers out of the ships into the harbor. They also began to attempt blocking the harbour; however, it is unlikely that the Teleri drew first blood.

The battle off the shore, by Ralph Damiani

The battle

Then the Ñoldor drew swords, and the Teleri their bows, and there was a bitter fight that seemed evenly matched, if not in favor of the Teleri. Three times the Ñoldor assailed the Teleri harbor, and three times were thrown back. Then the second Host of the Ñoldor led by Fingon arrived together with some of Fingolfin's people. Misunderstanding the situation, they assumed the Teleri had attacked the Ñoldor under orders of the Valar, and joined the fight against them.

Consequences

Many Teleri were slain, and all their ships commandeered. Though forbidden by the Valar from directly interfering, Ossë, who loved the Teleri deeply, conjured terrible storms that wreaked many of the stolen ships and killed many Ñoldor. Those who continued toward Middle-earth were thereafter cursed by Mandos. This act also had repercussions in Middle-earth when the Sindar, especially those of Doriath, learned of it; this cost the Ñoldor the aid of the Sindar in their war against Morgoth. The Sindar king Thingol barred those of the House of Fëanor from entering his kingdom. He also forbade the use of Quenya in his domain. Though the kin of Fingolfin had participated in the Kinslaying, Thingol judged that the unspeakable hardships that they had endured crossing the Helcaraxë redressed their unwitting crimes.

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Azerbaijani	Alqualondë-də Qohum Öldürmə
Basque	Alqualondëko sarraskia
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Убийството от Алквалонде
Catalan	Matança d'Alqualondë
Chinese (Hong Kong)	澳闊隆迪親族相殘
Czech	Zabíjení rodných v Alqualondë
Danish	Frændemordet i Alqualondë
Dutch	De Broedermoord bij Alqualondë
Estonian	Alqualondë Sugulased tapmine
Finnish	Alqualondën sukusurma
French	Fratricide d'Alqualondë / Massacre d'Alqualondë
German	Sippenmord von Alqualondë
Greek	Αδελφοκτονία στη Αλκουαλόντε
Hebrew	טבח השארים באלקוואלונדה
Irish Gaelic	Marú Teaghlaigh ag Alqualondë
Italian	Fratricidio al Alqualondë
Japanese	アルカロンデでの兄弟殺し
Korean	제1차 동족살상 / 1차 동족살해
Latvian	Alqualondë Ģimenes slaktiņš
Lithuanian	Alqualondë Šeima skerdimas
Manx	Slaughtral Kynnee yn Alqualondë
Occitan	Fratricidi a Alqualondë
Polish	Bratobójstwo w Alqualondë
Portuguese	Fratricídio de Alqualondë
Romanian	Rude ucidere în Alqualondë
Russian	Первая резня при Альквалондэ
Sardinian	Fratricìdiu a Alqualondë
Scottish Gaelic	An Murt Teaghlach aig Alqualondë
Sicilian	Fratricidiu à Alqualondë
Spanish	Matanza de Alqualondë
Telugu	ఆల్క్వాలోండే వద్ద సోదర హత్య
Thai	สงครามประหัตประหารญาติ (First Kinslaying)
Turkish	Alqualondë'deki Akraba Kıyımı
Turkmen	Alqualondë Şäherinde Garyndaş Gyrgynçylygy
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Братовбивство в Альквалонде
Uzbek	Алқуалондэ шаҳридаги қариндош-уруғларни ўлдириш (Cyrillic) Alqualondë shahridagi qarindosh-urug'larni o'ldirish (Latin)
Venetian	Fratricidio al Alqualondë
Welsh	Lladd Teulu yng Alqualondë