The Kinslaying at Alqualondë was the first slaying of Elf by Elf, and was the act that banned the Ñoldor from returning to Aman, the lands of the West, for centuries.
Prelude
When Fëanor intended to leave Valinor, he needed ships to get to Middle-earth without great loss, but the Ñoldor possessed no ships, 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, to give him their ships. However, the Teleri would not help 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 take "no" for an answer, the Ñoldor started taking the ships and sailing them away. This angered the Teleri, and they threatened the Ñoldor with rocks and arrows, and they threw many of Fëanor's followers out of the ships and into the harbor. They also began to attempt to block the harbour; however, it is only slightly possible that the Teleri drew first blood.
The battle
Then the Ñoldor drew swords, and the Teleri their bows, and there was a bitter fight that seemed evenly matched, if not even in favor of the Teleri, until 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 they joined the fight.
Consequences
In the end many Teleri were slain and the ships taken and many of the stolen ships were wrecked in the waves. All that continued towards Middle-earth were therefore cursed by Mandos. The act also had repercussions in Middle-earth, when the Sindar, especially those of Doriath, found out about it, costing the Ñoldor the support of the Sindar in their war against Morgoth; the Sindar King Thingol barred those of the House of Fëanor, or any others that took place in the Kinslaying, from entering his kingdom. He also forbade the use of Quenya in his domain.[1]
Translations
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Basque | Alqualondëko sarraskia |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Убийството от Алквалонде |
Catalan | Matança d'Alqualondë |
Chinese (Hong Kong) | 澳闊隆迪親族相殘 |
Czech | Alqualondské vraždění rodných |
Dutch | De Broedermoord bij Alqualondë |
Estonian | Alqualondë Sugulased tapmine |
Finnish | Alqualondën sukusurma |
French | Fratricide à Alqualondë |
German | Sippenmord von Alqualondë |
Hebrew | מִשׁפָּחָה הֶרֶג ְּאלקולונדה |
Irish Gaelic | Marú Teaghlaigh ag Alqualondë |
Italian | Fratricidio al Alqualondë |
Latvian | Alqualondë Ģimenes slaktiņš |
Lithuanian | Alqualondë Šeima skerdimas |
Manx | Slaughtral Kynnee yn Alqualondë |
Polish | Bratobójstwo w Alqualondë |
Portuguese | Fratricídio de Alqualondë |
Romanian | Rude ucidere în Alqualondë |
Russian | Первая резня при Альквалондэ |
Scottish Gaelic | An Murt Teaghlach aig Alqualondë |
Spanish | Matanza de Alqualondë |
Turkish | Alqualondë'deki Akrabakıyımı |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Різанина родичів на Альквалонде |
Welsh | Lladd Teulu yng Alqualondë |
References
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX: "Of the Flight of the Noldor"