Dates
Race
Division
Family
Pronunciation
eray'nion gi'l-ga'lad
Meaning
Ereinion means 'descendant of kings'; Gil-galad is 'Star of Radiance'
Titles
Note
This Elf-lord's name is usually known simply by his epessë or 'after-name', Gil-galad
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 6 September 1998
- This entry is complete
|
" Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
the last whose realm was fair and free
between the Mountains and the Sea."
Sixth and last of the High Kings of the Noldor. The only son of High King Fingon, Gil-galad was born in Beleriand late in the First Age, and was still a child at the time of the Dagor Bragollach; his father sent him to Círdan at the Havens for safekeeping when Morgoth broke the Siege of Angband in that battle.
Fingon was lost in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, but the crown passed to Gil-galad's uncle Turgon in Gondolin, rather than Gil-galad himself (presumably because of his youth at that time). When Gondolin was lost, Gil-galad received the Kingship of the Noldor; he dwelt with the Exiles of that city at the Mouths of Sirion during the remainder of the First Age.
After the destruction of Beleriand during the War of Wrath, Gil-galad founded a kingdom in Lindon in the far northwest of Middle-earth, between the Blue Mountains and the Great Sea. There he and his people prospered, until Sauron returned; the Dark Lord came first to Lindon disguised in the form of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, but Gil-galad and Elrond rejected him.
Departing from Gil-galad's realm of Lindon, Sauron found more eager pupils elsewhere in Middle-earth. The Elves of Eregion readily accepted his teachings, and with his aid they forged the Rings of Power, as well as Three Rings that were made free of their teacher's influence. Through these Rings, they discovered that Sauron had tricked them, creating a Ruling Ring of his own to dominate the bearers of the lesser Rings. His subterfuge uncovered, Sauron waged war against the Elves, and the Elves of Eregion sent two of the Three Rings north from Eregion to Gil-galad for safekeeping. In time he passed the Rings on to others: Vilya was given to Elrond to keep in Rivendell, and Narya went into the keeping of Círdan, and through him to Gandalf.
After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil and his sons came to Middle-earth and formed an alliance with Gil-galad: the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. They marched on Mordor and besieged Sauron's Dark Tower. Sauron was defeated, but Gil-galad met his death in that war.
Notes
1 |
In The Silmarillion, Gil-galad is described unambiguously as the son of Fingon, but in fact this statement serves to conceal rather complex textual development that leaves his line of descent less certain than it might initially appear.
At the time he was writing The Lord of the Rings, it seems clear that Tolkien imagined Gil-galad to be the son of Felagund (later named Finrod) of Nargothrond, and this is stated explicitly in early drafts of the Tale of Years.
After it became established that Finrod had no children, however, Tolkien amended his line of descent to make Gil-galad the son of Finrod's brother Orodreth, and then, in another amendment, Finrod's great nephew. This final arrangement reorganises the family relationships described in The Silmarillion to a considerable degree, but still leaves Gil-galad as heir to the Kingship of the Noldor (if through a rather circuitous line of descent). It seems, therefore, that the notion of Gil-galad as son of Fingon was probably not Tolkien's final intention.
A full treatment of this situation is given by Christopher Tolkien in volume XII of The History of Middle-earth (in notes to The Shibboleth of Fëanor). There he states that Gil-galad's connection to Fingon was 'an ephemeral idea', and indicates that, with hindsight, he would have preferred to leave Gil-galad's parentage indefinite in The Silmarillion. Nonetheless, this relationship is established in the published text, and the complexity of the underlying textual situation makes it impractical to unravel. |
See also...
Anardil, Annatar, Barad-dûr, Battle of Dagorlad, Black Years, Blue Ring, Círdan the Shipwright, Ciryatur, Dark Lord, Dead Tree, Eärendil, Elendil, Elf-kings, Elf-towers, Elostirion, [See the full list...]Elrond, Elven-kings, Elven-rings, Elves of Eregion, Elves of Harlindon, Elves of Lindon, Elves of the Havens, Elvish World, Emyn Beraid, Entulessë, Epessë, Falathrim, Fall of Sauron, Fragrant Trees, Galadriel, Golden Tree, Great Battle, Green-elves, Guardian of the Third Ring, Guild of Venturers, Half-elven, Haven-finder, Havens of the Ships, Havens of the Shipwrights, High King of the Noldor, Hithaeglir, House of Fingolfin, Isildur, Isle of Balar, Isle of Kings, King of Númenor, King of Númenórë, King of the Eldar, King of the Elves, King of the Noldor, Laiquendi, Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Last Riding of the Keepers of the Rings, Lindon, Lord of Rivendell, Lord of the Black Land, Lord of the Havens, Malinorni, Mariner-king, Master of the Grey Havens, Meneldur, Minastir, Misty Mountains, Mordor, Narya, Ring of Fire, Ring of Isildur, Ring of Sapphire, Ring of Water, Rings of Power, River Anduin, Ruling Queen of Númenor, Siege of Barad-dûr, Spear of Gil-galad, Star-watcher, Starlight, Tar-Minastir, ‘The Fall of Gil-galad’, The Great, The Lords, The Red, The Ring, The Towers, Third Ring, Three Keepers, Three Rings, Turuphanto, Ulbar, Vice-regent of Eriador, Vilya, War of the Alliance, War of the Last Alliance, West-shores, White Towers
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 6 September 1998
- This entry is complete
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2000. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.
|
SHARE
