← “The Silmarillion”: Chapter by Chapter
Lesson
Lesson 1. Breakdown: what matters and what's interesting
Understand how the Elves settled in Aman, the founding of Tirion, and the genealogy of the houses of the Noldor.
Guide: what this chapter is about
Summary
A chapter about how the Elves settled in the blessed West and who became their lords.
The Vanyar and the Noldor reach Aman first. The Teleri lag behind: some of them, led by Elwë (now Thingol), stayed in Beleriand. To carry the Teleri across the sea, Ulmo uses a huge island as a ship, and so Tol Eressëa comes to be.
In Aman the Elves build their own land, Eldamar (“Elvenhome”). On the hill of Túna they raise the city of Tirion with the white tower Mindon. The Noldor live there, and their favorite work is craft, knowledge, and the making of gems. The Teleri settle on the shore, at the haven of Alqualondë (“the Haven of the Swans”), and build marvelous ships.
The chapter lists the lords and their offspring: Ingwë, High King of all the Elves (the Vanyar); Finwë, King of the Noldor; Olwë, King of the Teleri at Alqualondë. Finwë's family matters most.
Lesson notes
Summary
A chapter about how the Elves settled in the blessed West and who became their lords.
The Vanyar and the Noldor reach Aman first. The Teleri lag behind: some of them, led by Elwë (now Thingol), stayed in Beleriand. To carry the Teleri across the sea, Ulmo uses a huge island as a ship, and so Tol Eressëa comes to be.
In Aman the Elves build their own land, Eldamar (“Elvenhome”). On the hill of Túna they raise the city of Tirion with the white tower Mindon. The Noldor live there, and their favorite work is craft, knowledge, and the making of gems. The Teleri settle on the shore, at the haven of Alqualondë (“the Haven of the Swans”), and build marvelous ships.
The chapter lists the lords and their offspring: Ingwë, High King of all the Elves (the Vanyar); Finwë, King of the Noldor; Olwë, King of the Teleri at Alqualondë. Finwë's family matters most.
The house of Finwë: the root of the coming tragedy
Finwë, King of the Noldor, is the key figure. Almost the whole drama of “The Silmarillion” comes from his descendants.
— Finwë's first wife is Míriel; their son is Fëanor, the most skilled of the Elves. Míriel died, having given all her strength in bearing him.
— His second wife is Indis (of the Vanyar); their sons are Fingolfin and Finarfin.
So Fëanor is the eldest son, his mother's only child; Fingolfin and Finarfin are his half-brothers.
This split of the house of Finwë into three lines (the descendants of Fëanor, Fingolfin, and Finarfin) is the genealogical “skeleton” of the whole later history of the Noldor. Remembering these three branches matters most: around them are built the alliances, quarrels, kingdoms, and ruin of Beleriand. Fingolfin will become High King of the Noldor in exile; from Finarfin come, among others, Galadriel and Finrod.
Who you already know
— Galadriel from “The Lord of the Rings” is Finwë's granddaughter, Finarfin's daughter; that is, she belongs to this very house of the Noldor and saw the light of the Two Trees. Her greatness and her age come from here.
— Tirion upon Túna and its light are a lost ideal that the Elves of Middle-earth will long for forever (hence the motif of Elvish sorrow and of departure into the West).
— Alqualondë and the ships of the Teleri are where Elves will soon shed the blood of Elves for the first time (the Kinslaying), which will lie as a curse on the Noldor.
— The differences between the peoples become fixed: the Vanyar stand by the throne of the Valar; the Noldor are craftsmen and future exiles; the Teleri are mariners. These roles will decide who perishes or is saved, and how.