Tevildo

File:Telvildo.jpg

Tevildo, The Prince of Cats, mightiest of all cats, ‘possessed of an evil spirit’, a close companion of Morgoth. He is one of the fay, one of the Sprites.

Biography

His physical features included his being black as the starless night, and having blood red eyes. He had servants that were cats, and they were huge because Morgoth (Melkor), the first dark lord, put a spell on them which made them massive in size, utterly ferocious, and deadly when fighting. Two of the most famous servants of Tevildo were Oikeroi and Umuiyan.

Tevildo, along with being given massive size, was also given a mystical collar made of gold that enhanced his power even further. This collar was later taken from him by Huan, a hound of Valinor. Huan then forced Tevildo, in return for Huan's not killing him, to give up the words that Morgoth had used to enchant Tevildo's cat servants. That ended the cats' enchantment, and they (though not Tevildo) returned to their normal size. Morgoth was furious when he learned that the cats had betrayed him.

Etymology

Other names

His full name was Tiberth Bridhon Miaugion. The Elves simply called him "Tevildo". His Gnomish name was Tifil, coming from tif ("resentment, ill-feeling").

Behind the scenes

He was Morgoth's servant in the early writings of Tolkien's legendarium, and was the "Lord of the Cats".

Tevildo's character was the forerunner to the Maia Sauron.

In Beren and Luthien this story has been readapted into the story as another character a close companion of Morgoth, separate from Sauron (Thu the Necromancer). However his evolution as a forerunner to Sauron is still mentioned in the footnotes.