Contents of this entry
From outlaw to an impossible questThe Silmaril, the hand and the second lifePrimary referencesRelated encyclopedia entries
From outlaw to an impossible quest
After the destruction of his father’s company, Beren survives alone before reaching Doriath. There he encounters Lúthien, daughter of Thingol and Melian. Thingol’s demand that he bring a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown is intended to place their union beyond reach.
Beren seeks Finrod’s help through the memory of Barahir’s earlier rescue of the Elven king. Finrod honours that debt even when his own people refuse the undertaking under pressure from Celegorm and Curufin. Their expedition ends in Sauron’s captivity, where Finrod dies defending Beren. Lúthien and Huan accomplish the rescue, making the quest a shared undertaking rather than the solitary achievement of a mortal hero.
The Silmaril, the hand and the second life
In Angband, Lúthien’s power enables Beren to cut a Silmaril from the crown. Escape costs him his hand when Carcharoth bites it off with the jewel. The apparent fulfilment of Thingol’s impossible terms does not bring the story to a safe conclusion: the hunt for the maddened wolf leads to Beren’s death.
Lúthien’s appeal in Mandos gives the tale its extraordinary continuation. She accepts mortality, and the pair return for a second life together. Their son Dior carries the family’s significance into the history of Doriath and eventually the line of Elwing.
The later volume Beren and Lúthien documents changing versions of this material. This entry follows the published Silmarillion account; names, creatures and the framing of the earliest tale should not be silently merged into it.
Primary references
The Silmarillion, “Of the Coming of Men into the West”, “Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin” and “Of Beren and Lúthien”; Beren and Lúthien, edited by Christopher Tolkien.
