Summary
Barahir and his companions would not leave Dorthonion, and they were enough of a thorn in Morgoth’s side that he eventually sent Sauron to hunt him down. Sauron was able to capture Barahir’s companion Gorlim using the image of his lost wife as bait, and promised him to reunite him with her if he told where to find Barahir. After he did so, Sauron told him that his wife was dead, but he would keep his word that Gorlim could join her. He was tortured to death.
Barahir’s son Beren was away from the camp when the Orcs attacked, and was visited by Gorlim’s ghost who confessed his treachery and urged Beren to go and warn his father. He came too late, swore vengeance, and followed the Orcs that had killed his father. Their captain had taken Barahir’s hand, wearing the ring given him by Felegund, to present to Sauron as proof of Barahir’s death. Beren killed the captain, recovered his father’s hand and ring, and spent the next four years living as a solitary outlaw in defiance of Morgoth. Word of his deeds spread far and wide, and eventually Sauron was sent again, this time with an army, to find and kill Beren. He was forced to flee Dorthonion, and headed south towards Doriath. Crossing the Mountains of Terror, infested with the spawn of Ungoliant, was one of Beren’s greatest feats, but he never spoke of it so great was the horror. But he survived, and fate guided him through the Girdle of Melian, as Melian herself had foreseen.
He saw Lúthien dancing in the forest, and was enchanted by her beauty. Through the autumn and winter he wandered, enchanted and mute, but in the spring he saw her again and regained his voice, and called her Tinúviel (“Nightingale”). Lúthien saw him then, and fell in love in her turn. For the next few months they met secretly in the forest, and it was a time of great joy for them.
But Daeron the minstrel also loved Lúthien, and saw her meeting with Beren, and told Thingol, who was pissed. Lúthien wouldn’t say a word until Thingol promised not to kill or imprison Beren, but when he did so, she told her father where to find Beren. Thingol questioned him angrily and Beren spoke of his love for Lúthien, and his determination that nothing would keep them apart. Thingol, therefore, declared his desire for a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown, and said that was the price of Lúthien’s hand - thereby sending Beren to his death without breaking his oath. Beren laughed, and said Thingol was selling his daughter cheaply, and promised that when next they met Beren’s hand would hold a Silmaril. He departed Menegroth, and Melian warned Thingol that things would come to grief whether Beren succeeded or failed in his quest.
In need of help and council Beren headed for Nargothrond, where Felegund was delighted to receive the son of Barahir. Finrod recognized this as the quest he had foretold to Galadriel, and agreed to accompany him. But the sons of Fëanor Celegorm and Curufin had been living in Nargothrond since the Dagor Bragollach, and spoke against Beren and his quest - the Oath they had sworn required that the Silmarils were theirs and theirs alone. They swayed enough of the crowd that Felegund cast aside his crown and asked for any who would accompany him so he didn’t leave as a beggar. With ten companions, Felegund and Beren departed.
Finrod used his art to disguise them as a party of Orcs, and they set off north. But they passed by Sauron’s abode on Tol-in-Gaurhoth, and he saw them and was suspicious that they didn’t check in. So they were brought to Sauron’s presence, and there was a battle of wills and power between Sauron and Finrod. Sauron ultimately won, and their disguises were stripped from them. He knew he’s captured a great lord of the Noldor, but didn’t know who, and threw them into a dungeon. Werewolves came to devour Finrod and Beren’s companions one by one, but no one betrayed Finrod’s identity to Sauron.
Lúthien learned of Beren’s captivity from her mother, and would have gone to him, but Thingol had her imprisoned in a house high up in the trees. But she was able to use her own powers to enchant her guards and grew her hair to climb down from the house, and she escaped. She soon met Celegorm and Curufin, who were out hunting accompanied by Celegorm’s hound Huan. She revealed herself to them, thinking them allies, but they took her back to Nargothrond and imprisoned her. But Huan, who was a hound of Valinor, took pity on Lúthien and helped her escape.
Meanwhile all of Beren and Finrod's companions had by this point been eaten by werewolves. When the next appeared, intending to eat Beren, Finrod fought to protect him. He killed the werewolf, but died in the process. Lúthien and Huan appeared at this point, and she sang a song of power and challenge. Sauron sent werewolves against her, but Huan killed them all. Sauron then took on the form of a great wolf himself (it being foretold that Huan would only die after facing the mightiest wolf to ever live). They fought long and hard, but Huan was victorious, and Lúthien spared Sauron in exchange for him giving up control of the island. She then used her power to bring down the tower, free all the prisoners, and she was reunited with Beren.
Huan and the freed captives returned to Nargothrond and told of the death of Finrod and the deeds of Finrod, Beren, and Lúthien. Public sentiment turned against the sons of Fëanor, and Finrod's brother Orodreth exiled them.
Beren and Lúthien, meanwhile, had almost returned to Doriath. Lúthien told him that, whether or not Beren tried to fulfill his oath and retrieve a Silmaril, she wasn’t going to leave his side again. At this point when Celegorm and Curufin came upon them, seeking to kill Beren and kidnap Lúthien. Huan chose (finally) to forsake Celegorm his master, and Celegorm and Curufin were humiliated and driven off. Safe in Doriath, Beren sneaked off during the night, leaving Lúthien safely behind. He rode north, and was getting near to Angband when Lúthien and Huan overtook him. He tried to dissuade Lúthien, but ultimately recognized that he wasn’t going to win the argument. Huan left them then, for he knew he was not fated to accompany them into Angband, and Beren and Lúthien went north disguised as a werewolf and a vampire. There they found the great wolf Carcharoth, bred by Morgoth specifically to battle Huan. Carcharoth mistrusted them despite their disguises, and challenged them, but Lúthien revealed herself and brought forth her power, and Carcharoth fell stricken.
Beren and Lúthien entered Angband, and reached the throne of Morgoth. Lúthien revealed herself again, and offered to sing for Morgoth as a minstrel. Morgoth took the time to enjoy it, delighting in his imaginings of the horrors he would do to this beautiful girl, and Lúthien sung a song of such beauty and power that he and all his courtiers were blinded. She continued singing, and Morgoth and all of Angband were cast into sleep. Beren used the knife Angrist to cut one of the jewels free from Morgoth’s crown, and it permitted his touch. He then thought to go beyond his oath and retrieve all three, but such was not the fate of the other two. Angrist snapped when he tried to free them, and a shard cut Morgoth on his cheek and he began to stir. Beren and Lúthien fled, and were able to make it to the gate before Angband fully awoke, but they found Carcharoth awake and waiting for them. Lúthien was spent, but Beren held forth the Silmaril and tried to use its light to drive back Carcharoth. Carcharoth then bit off and swallowed Beren’s hand, Silmaril and all, and the holy jewel began to sear and burn him from the inside. In madness and pain, he fled south towards Beleriand. Beren (direly wounded) and Lúthien (out of strength) might have died there, but they were rescued by Thorondor, lord of the Eagles, and taken to the border of Doriath. They rested, and Lúthien healed Beren, and Huan returned to them. Lúthien was willing to spend their lives wandering together, forgetting all else, but Beren held to his oath, and felt that to live like that would dishonor Lúthien. So they returned to Menegroth.
Meanwhile, Melian was withholding her counsel from Thingol, saying he must let what he had begun play out. The messengers from Nargothrond, telling Thingol that the sons of Fëanor had kidnapped Lúthien and Celegorm planned to marry her, enraged him; later word came of her escape, and Thingol had messengers searching far and wide for her. They didn’t find her, but they did (eventually) find Carcharoth, rampaging southwards in pain and madness. The Girdle of Melian didn’t stop him, and Thingol was preparing to go and confront Carcharoth, when Beren and Lúthien returned. Beren said that he had fulfilled his vow, and that a Silmaril was in his hand. Unfortunately the aforementioned hand was inside the belly of a wolf, but on hearing the tale of their deeds, Thingol relented and gave them his blessing.
But the Quest wasn’t done, and Thingol, Beren, Huan, Beleg Strongbow, and Mablung of the Heavy Hand went forth to hunt the wolf. Beren was struck down by Carcharoth, and wounded, and the fight between Huan and Carcharoth was the greatest ever between wolf and hound. Huan was victorious, but mortally wounded, and so met his destiny. Mablung opened the belly of the wolf and retrieved the Silmaril (still clutched in Beren’s hand) and gave it to Beren, who proclaimed the full achievement of his quest. They bore him back to Menegroth before he died, and Lúthien bade him wait for her in the West. Her spirit left her body, and she went to the Halls of Mandos. There she pleaded with Mandos, and sang the most beautiful song that has ever been sung in Arda, and Mandos, for the first and only time, was moved to pity. He put the matter to Manwë, who told Lúthien that the Valar did not have the power to withhold death from Men, as that was a gift given by Ilúvatar himself. But he offered her a choice: she could be re-embodied and dwell in Valinor, forgetting all her griefs, and Beren’s spirit would go on. Or she and Beren could both be returned to Middle-earth, for a time, but then they would both die indeed when the time came. This second choice Lúthien chose, and she became the first (and, for a long time, only) Elf to die in truth and depart from Arda.
Commentary
Holy shit that was difficult to write. The whole summary feels like a colossal disservice to Tolkien - it’s like if I summarized Book 1 of Fellowship by saying, “Bilbo gave Frodo the Ring. Gandalf learned it’s true nature, and told Frodo to flee. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin made it to Rivendell, with help from Aragorn.” It’s true, but it’s so pared down that it’s almost meaningless.
Because here’s the thing. In many ways, the story of Beren and Lúthien was Tolkien’s life’s work, until he began on LotR, and then after he finished LotR he went back to this. It was the tale he always held to be the heart of Quenta Silmarillion, and this chapter is itself only a bare summation of the events.
Seriously, this would be a tome every bit as big or bigger than LotR. There are things I skipped over entirely, or almost entirely, (Gorlim’s spirit warning Beren of his treachery, Beren crossing the Guarded Plain, Curufin shooting Beren with an arrow and Lúthien healing him, etc.) could easily be expanded to chapter length.
Now, there is a book recently published by Christopher Tolkien called Beren and Lúthien. I haven’t read it yet (so many books, so little time), but after revisiting this I am going to bump that way up the queue. This is as epic a tale as any I’ve ever read.
So much awesome. Finrod generally being awesome and honorable, and his fight with Sauron and sacrifice to save Beren. Huan is without doubt the Best of Bois, the Greatest of Doggos. I’ve made the joke often enough about Sauron losing a fight to a dog to emphasize my point that he’s not really a fighter. It’s true, but losing a fight to the Hound of Valinor isn’t exactly something to be ashamed of. Huan is just wonderful. I particularly love the whole “permitted to speak only three times” thing (which I didn’t actually mention in the summary, come to that.) For those only reading the summary: Huan had the ability to speak precisely three times before his death. He used his first to give Lúthien counsel when he helped her escape Nargothrond. He used his second to give her and Beren counsel when they parted company close to Angband. And he used his third to say farewell to Beren as they both lay dying.
<I’m not crying, you’re crying! … OK, yeah, I’m totally crying.>
Thingol, you poor, proud, doomed fool. Remember the history of Elwë Singollo: taken to Valinor as the emissary of the Teleri, but never to return there because he and Melian were busy staring at each other and he missed the boat island. So he got to behold the light of the Trees, but only the once. And since he heard of the Silmarils, he has known that the last of that light was in MIddle-earth, and not so far from his own halls - it’s easy to see how it grew on him. But in declaring his desire, he got Doriath caught up in the Doom of Mandos, where previously it had been exempt. More on this later.
I particularly love the way Melian treats him after he sends Beren on his doomed quest - remember that Lúthien is Melian’s daughter every bit as much as Thingol’s. She basically tells him “you made this bed, now lie in it” while they wait for things to play out.
Lúthien. I’ve said often enough that she is much more interesting than her great-great-grandaughter, and it’s not hard to see why I feel that way. Arwen is a very passive presence in LotR. Lúthien is anything but. She asserts herself with her father about Beren in a way that we never see Arwen do about Aragorn. She escapes when Thingol confines her, Rapunzel-style. She rescues Beren from Sauron’s dungeons, literally bringing down the fortress in the process. She gets them past Carcharoth, and she puts Morgoth and all of Angband to sleep. And she pleads successfully with Mandos himself, the only person EVER to pull that off. What I find particularly interesting is that Lúthien, in all her badass self, isn’t presented as the man-with-breasts that “strong female characters” so often are. (see the previous chapter for a brief mention of Beren’s mom “Emeldir the Manhearted.”) She is, in every sense of the word, feminine. Now I know there’s a lot to be said about stereotypical gender roles and such, but I’m going to cut Tolkien a little bit of slack here given that he was born in the 19th century. Lúthien is, to my mind, the very quintessential strong female character that isn’t crafted from a traditionally male archetype and adding boobs and a vagina.
Beren is rather old-fashioned in comparison. Lúthien is all set to go off with Beren, and to hell with what Thingol wants - it’s Beren who insists on getting his approval and not “dishonoring” her.
I’m going to wrap up here, because this was emotionally draining to summarize and comment on. I’m going end on this letter Tolkien wrote to his children after his wife Edith passed away. It’s pertinent.
I have at last got busy about Mummy's grave. .... The inscription I should like is: EDITH MARY TOLKIEN 1889-1971 Lúthien brief and jejune, except for Lúthien, which says for me more than a multitude of words: for she was (and knew she was) my Lúthien.* Say what you feel, without reservation, about this addition. I began this under the stress of great emotion & regret – and in any case I am afflicted from time to time (increasingly) with an overwhelming sense of bereavement. I need advice. Yet I hope none of my children will feel that the use of this name is a sentimental fancy. It is at any rate not comparable to the quoting of pet names in obituaries. I never called Edith Lúthien – but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief pan of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire (where I was for a brief time in command of an outpost of the Humber Garrison in 1917, and she was able to live with me for a while). In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing – and dance. But the story has gone crooked, & I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos.
I’m giving all of you internet hugs, my friends. Tolkien himself passed away two years later, and was laid beside Edith. Their children added his name to Edith’s tombstone, and gave him the epitaph “Beren.”
Whew. That was a lot to write. Hopefully it’s worth the reading.
Next week, things don’t really get much more cheerful when we read Of the Fifth Battle. Just a heads-up.
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