Mahtan was a renowned Ñoldorin metallurgist of Aman and the father of Nerdanel, the wife of Fëanor.
Biography[]
Mahtan was a skilled smith in Valinor who learned the arts of metal and stonework under direction of the Vala Aulë.[2] He wore a copper circlet around his head and was known for his fondness for metal above gold. Mahtan passed on his knowledge to his eager pupil and son-in-law, Fëanor, who surpassed his teacher by becoming the greatest of all Elven craftsmen. When Fëanor and certain Ñoldor became more proud and suspicious of other Ñoldor kin due to the lies of Melkor, and began forging armaments for what would be Valinor's first war, Mahtan came to regret teaching him. Later, Nerdanel became estranged from Fëanor and retired back to Mahtan's house. The servants of Aulë counselled against joining the Revolt of the Ñoldor, and therefore Mahtan chose not to rebel, and remained in Valinor in peace forever after.[1]
Mahtan had a beard, which was unusual for an Elf, especially a young one. J.R.R. Tolkien tells that Elves could only grow beards from the "third cycle" of their lives, while Mahtan was an exception, being only early in his second cycle. It is unclear what these "cycles" actually refer to.[3]
Etymology[]
The name Mahtan might be from the Quenya mahta- ("to handle"), referring to the arts and skill of making. His devotion to Aulë had earned him the name Aulëndur ("Servant of Aulë")[4] from -ndur ("to serve").[5] The earlier form of this name was Aulëndil, which was later used by Sauron during his treachery to Númenor.
Mahtan's other name Urundil means "Copper-lover"[4] from urun ("copper") and -ndil ("lover, friend").[5][6] His alternate epessë, Rusco, meant "Fox", a reference to his red-brown hair.[1]
House of Fëanor[]
| Finwë |
| Míriel |
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| Fëanor |
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| Nerdanel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Maedhros |
| Maglor |
| Celegorm |
| Caranthir |
| Curufin |
| Amrod |
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| Celebrimbor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ማህታን |
| Arabic | ماهتان |
| Armenian | Մահտան |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Маhтан |
| Bengali | মাহ্তান |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Махтан |
| Chinese | 瑪哈坦 |
| Georgian | მაჰტანი |
| Greek | Μάχταν |
| Gujarati | મહતાન |
| Hebrew | םאהתאנ |
| Hindi | मह्तन |
| Japanese | マハタン |
| Kazakh | Маһтан (Cyrillic) Маһтан (Latin) |
| Korean | 마흐탄 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Маhтан |
| Laotian | ມະຫຕະນ |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Махтан |
| Marathi | महतान |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Маhтан |
| Nepalese | मह्तन |
| Pashto | ماهتان |
| Persian | ماهتان |
| Punjabi | ਮਹਾਤਨ |
| Russian | Махтан |
| Sanskrit | मह्तन् |
| Serbian | Махтан (Cyrillic) Mahtan (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | මහ්තන් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Маҳтан |
| Tamil | மஹ்தந் |
| Telugu | మహ్తన |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Магтан |
| Urdu | ماہتن |
| Uzbek | Маҳтан (Cyrillic) Mahtan (Latin) |
| Yiddish | מאַהטאַנ |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter VI: "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"
- ↑ "From The Shibboleth of Fëanor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 41, July 2000, pg. 9
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", Note 61
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names