Understand the Oath of Fëanor, the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, the Prophecy of the North, and the burning of the ships; grasp how the Doom of the Noldor begins.
Chapter guide
What this chapter is about
The most tragic chapter of the first half of the book: here the Noldor doom themselves.
Seized by grief and fury, Fëanor and his seven sons swear the Oath: to pursue anyone — be it Vala, Elf, Man, or any other being — who dares to keep a Silmaril from them. He raises a revolt against the Valar and leads most of the Noldor out of Valinor to Middle-earth, in pursuit of Morgoth.
To cross the sea, Fëanor demands ships from the Teleri, the sea-Elves of Alqualondë. They refuse. Fëanor attacks: the Kinslaying (the slaughter at Alqualondë) follows, the first time Elves kill Elves. Through a herald the Valar pronounce the Prophecy of the North (the Doom of Mandos): a curse falls on the Noldor. Reaching the north, Fëanor burns the stolen ships at Losgar, leaving Fingolfin's host behind.
Lesson notes
What this chapter is about
The most tragic chapter of the first half of the book: here the Noldor doom themselves.
Seized by grief and fury, Fëanor and his seven sons swear the Oath: to pursue anyone — be it Vala, Elf, Man, or any other being — who dares to keep a Silmaril from them. He raises a revolt against the Valar and leads most of the Noldor out of Valinor to Middle-earth, in pursuit of Morgoth.
To cross the sea, Fëanor demands ships from the Teleri, the sea-Elves of Alqualondë. They refuse. Fëanor attacks: the Kinslaying (the slaughter at Alqualondë) follows, the first time Elves kill Elves. Through a herald the Valar pronounce the Prophecy of the North (the Doom of Mandos): a curse falls on the Noldor. Reaching the north, Fëanor burns the stolen ships at Losgar, leaving Fingolfin's host behind.
Key concepts
— The Oath of Fëanor — an irrevocable vow sealed with the name of Eru Ilúvatar. It can be neither broken nor revoked; it will drive Fëanor's sons to evil deeds until the very end of the First Age. The image of a fatal oath recurs throughout Tolkien.
— Alqualondë — “the Haven of the Swans” in Quenya (alqua, “swan”), the city of the Teleri. Their ships were shaped like swans.
— Teleri — “the Last,” the third kindred of the Elves, lovers of the sea; their king is Olwë. With the slaughter, their ships became the very instrument of strife.
— The Prophecy of the North / the Doom of Mandos — the curse pronounced by Námo Mandos: the deeds of the Noldor will turn to treachery and sorrow, and the Silmarils will bring them no happiness.
— Losgar — the place where Fëanor burned the ships.
Important: not all the Noldor are equally guilty. Finarfin repented and returned to Valinor; Fingolfin and his people went on, but on foot, across the deadly ice (chapter 11).
The Fall and its price
— The Fall of the Noldor. This chapter is an “expulsion from Paradise”: the Elves willingly leave the Blessed Realm and lose its light. The parallel with the biblical Fall is obvious and deliberate on Tolkien's part.
— The Oath as a trap. Fëanor's sons are bound by their word as Gollum is bound by the Ring: they will do evil not because they are evil from the start but because they cannot free themselves from the vow. This will echo directly in the third Kinslaying and in the fate of Maedhros and Maglor.
— The burning of the ships at Losgar is the first of the great betrayals within the Noldor themselves. It will split the people into “the house of Fëanor” and “the house of Fingolfin,” a rift that will never heal.
— Link to “The Lord of the Rings”: Galadriel, Finarfin's daughter, took part in the Flight. The ban on her return to Valinor is lifted only at the end of the Third Age. When she refuses the Ring in that book, it atones for the Noldor's ancient rebellion.