The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Raised after the slaying of Finduilas in I 495
Location
At the Crossings of Teiglin on the western borders of Brethil
Origins
Raised as a grave-mound for Finduilas by the Men of Brethil
Race
The grave of an Elf, made by Men
Division
Finduilas was of the Noldor; the Men of Brethil belonged to the Edain
Culture
Finduilas was an Elf of Nargothrond; the Men who buried her belonged to the Haladin of Brethil
Family
Finduilas descended from the House of Finarfin
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 14 September 2025
  • This entry is complete

Mound of the Elf-maid

The grave of Finduilas

Map of the Mound of the Elf-maid
The Mound of the Elf-maid at the Crossings of Teiglin (somewhat conjectural)1
The Mound of the Elf-maid at the Crossings of Teiglin (somewhat conjectural)1

After the Sack of Nargothrond, the victorious Orcs led off their prisoners into the North, and among those prisoners was Finduilas the daughter of Orodreth. The Orcs had travelled as far as the Crossings of Teiglin on the borders of Brethil when a band of the Haladin intercepted them. Rather than permit their captives to be rescued, the Orcs cruelly slaughtered their own prisoners before they were defeated.

The Men of Brethil made a grave mound for Finduilas near the Crossings, and they named it Haudh-en-Elleth, or the Mound of the Elf-maid. When Túrin came to Brethil, he defended the grave and made the Orcs terrified to approach it. It was on this mound that he later found the woman he came to know as Níniel, who would become his wife.


Notes

1

We do not have precise information about the location of the Mound of the Elf-maid, and indeed the only specific detail we're given is that it stood close to the Crossings of Teiglin. We can, however, be relatively certain that it stood on the northeastern bank of the river, because when Niënor entered Brethil from the south, she came to the mound after she had crossed the river.

See also...

Haudh-en-Elleth

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 14 September 2025
  • This entry is complete

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