Tolkien - Arda Ancestry Part 4 Quiz

Answer: Thengel

Aragorn was born in III, 2931 and he would finally reach an age of 210 years (he died in IV, 120 (S.R. 1541)). He was nearly 90 when the War of the Ring started. In his youth he travelled to the south and served King Thengel, the son of Fengel and father of Théoden. He won great reknown in his service. The movie 'The Two Towers' (Extended Edition) referred to this when Éowyn said that Théoden remembered that Aragorn had gone to war with her grandfather (the same Thengel, Éowyn's mother was Théodwyn, sister of Théoden). Whether Théoden actually knew this is questionable since Aragorn served Thengel in disguise. He named himself Thorongil, which means 'Eagle of the Star'. Afterwards he went to Gondor and served Ecthelion II, the father of Denethor II and again he won great reknown in his service ere Thorongil 'vanished'.

He entered Thengel's service somewhere around 2957 (not exactly clear to me), a year after he had met Gandalf. When he left the service of Ecthelion it was already 2980 and upon his return he went to Lórien and met Arwen Undómiel again. He gave her the Ring of Barahir and they plighted their troth. Aragorn's greatest feats were yet before him and he was instrumental in the success of the War of the Ring.

Thengel was the 16th King of Rohan. Fengel was his father who wasn't liked at all and Fengel's father was King Folcwine.

Answer: Folcwine

Folcred and Fastred were the eldest sons of Folcwine, the 14th King of Rohan. When he learned of Gondor's need he wanted to lead the army himself but his advisors managed to dissuade him. His eldest sons Folcred and Fastred went instead to Steward Túrin II. The army of the Haradrim was defeated at the Fords of the Poros but both Folcred and his brother were slain. The Riders buried their lords in a great mound, the Haudh in Gwanur, at the Poros and it is said that no Southron dared to venture there for years to come. Túrin send a large weregild to Folcwine.

With his heirs lost, Folcwine was succeeded by the highly unpopular Fengel, his third son (and fourth child). Fengel's son was Thengel who left Rohan when he came to manhood but would return after Fengel's death. Folca was the great hunter and father of Folcwine.

He loved to hunt but swore to exterminate all Orcs in Rohan before ever going hunting wild beasts again. His father Walda had been slain by them. Once Folca had achieved utter victory over the Orcs he went to hunt the great boar of Everholt in the Firien Wood. He slew it but received mortal tusk-wounds and died and was succeeded by Folcwine.

Answer: No

No, his first child was Elanor the Fair who would later marry Fastred of Greenholm. His first three sons were named Frodo, Merry and Pippin. His second daughter (following Frodo) was named after his wife, Rose. The other children were Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, Ruby, Robin and Tolman (Tom). Goldilocks would marry Faramir Took, son of Peregrin Took and of course named after Faramir of Gondor, the son of Denethor II.

Samwise was also keeper of the Red Book, the book which Bilbo and Frodo had written. Samwise would become Mayor of the Shire and was elected 7 times before he retired. When Rosie died he gave the Red Book of Westmarch to Elanor. Sam then sailed over the Sea to Valinor as the last of the Ringbearers.

The Red Book of Westmarch would be copied numerous times, the first copy was made by Findegil in IV, 172 in Gondor. The tales of the Red Book form the source for 'The Silmarillion' and 'The Lord of the Rings' and of course 'The Hobbit'

Answer: Aredhel

Aredhel Ar-Feiniel was the third child of Fingolfin. Her name means Royal White Lady of the Noldor, she was very pale, dark haired and usually wore silver or white clothing. She followed her father and brothers back to Middle-Earth and lived with her brother Turgon. She loved to hunt with her kinsmen the sons of Fëanor. One day she desired to leave Gondolin and Turgon let her go, unwillingly. He appointed an escort to her to bring her to Fingon, their brother. But she decided to go to the sons of Fëanor, her friends of old. Her escort lost her in Nan Dungortheb. She finally came alone to Nan Elmoth. There she was ensnared by Eöl the Dark Elf, a kinsman of Elu Thingol of Doriath. She bore his son Maeglin but escaped from Eöl and went back to Gondolin, with her son after some time.

Eöl followed them and was allowed into Gondolin by Turgon. But he was not permitted to ever leave Gondolin again. Not wanting this doom he decided to kill himself and his son and shot a poisoned dart at Maeglin, but Aredhel sprang in front of her son and died. The Gondolindrim cast Eöl over the cliffs in punishment. It would be Maeglin who would betray the fair city of Gondolin later when he became captured.

Elenwë was Turgon's beloved wife and she was lost on the Grinding Ice of Helcaraxë. Their daughter was Idril Celebrindal (and thus granddaughter of Fingolfin) and she would marry Tuor of the Edain, son of Huor and the messenger of Ulmo. Their child would be Eärendil the Mariner. Míriel Serindë was the first wife of Finwë and mother of Fëanor. Fëanor's spirit was so fierce that she was spent after his birth and she passed away. Finwë married again, Indis of the Vanyar and she became the mother of Fingolfin and Finarfin and grandmother to Fingon, Turgon and Aredhel (and the children of Finarfin, including Galadriel).

Answer: Elves and Men

The Children of Ilúvatar are the two Speaking Peoples fated in the Music of the Ainur, Elves and Men (not the Ainur themselves). Dwarves are not created by Ilúvatar but by the Vala Aulë and are hence called The Children of Aulë.

The Elves awoke long before the Rising of the Moon and Sun at Cuiviénen, the Water of Awakening in the far east of Middle-earth. Since they didn't know the Moon and Sun they developed a great love for the Stars. They were led westward on the Great Journey by Oromë and many would sail to the Blessed Realm, Valinor. Those were the Vanyar and Noldor and part of the Teleri.

The name for all Elves is 'Quendi', 'Those who speak with voices'. The Elves that went on the Great Journey are called the Eldar, the Vanyar, Noldor and the Teleri went to Aman (Eldar are all the Elves that went on the Great Journey, opposed to the Avari, who refused. The Teleri who eventually did not journey to Aman are also accounted of the Eldar). Those who sailed to Aman were called the Calaquendi, High Elves or Elves of the Light.

But a great part of the Teleri chose to remain behind. Some refused to follow Oromë at all and those are called the Avari, the Unwilling (The Avari are not accounted to the Eldar, the Teleri are). It is speculated that Avari were the progenitors of the Orcs, captured, twisted and mutilated by Morgoth. All Elves that went not to Aman were called the Dark Elves, the Moriquendi. This thus included the Avari and those of the Teleri that left the Journey, the Úmanyar, 'The Eldar not of Aman'. The Teleri that did go to Aman were called Falmari.

The Úmanyar can be further separated into other groups. The first division are the Nandor, 'Those who turn back', the followers of Lenwë. The turned from the journey east of the Misty Mountains. Most of these founded realms there. They were called the Silvan Elves who settled in the Woodlands near the Anduin. The Elves of Mirkwood and Lórien belong to this people. Oropher ruled those in Mirkwood, then still called 'Greenwood the Great'. Legolas of the Fellowship was his grandson. Some of the Nandor later crossed into Beleriand and they were called the Laiquendi, Green-Elves of Ossiriand.

The last group are the Sindar who choose to remain behind after seeing the Sea. They were later ruled by Elu Thingol but he was not accounted as one of the Moriquendi, for he was Elwë and was one of the emissaries that Oromë had taken to Aman. He became lost in the woods of Doriath during the Great Journey and met Melian the Maia with whom he fell in love. The Falmari thought that he was lost and his brother Olwë led them to Aman. Elwë became known as Elwë Singollo, Greycloak, or Elu Thingol in the tongue of the Sindar and became their King. He was accounted as one of the Sindar but since he saw the Light of the Trees of Valinor he was not one of the Moriquendi. Most Sindar lived in his realm of Doriath and great Elves like Beleg Cúthalion and Mablung of the Heavy Hand belonged to his people. Círdan the Shipwright was also a Lord of the Sindar. His people dwelled near the sea and were the Falathrim, the Coast-Elves, a division of the Sindar. To further clarify the divisions of the Elves I have drawn a diagram based on the information I have given above. It can be found at this url: http://members.chello.nl/~h.vogels1/images/misc/Quendi.jpg

The Elves are the First Children of Ilúvatar and Men were the Afterborn Children of Ilúvatar or the Younger Children. They also awoke in the east in Hildórien and came to Beleriand in the First Age and were called the Atani by the Elves. They made allegiances with mostly the Noldor, who had returned and many men followed the Sons of Fëanor and Fingolfin.

The name Edain was given to the first three Houses of Men who were loyal to the Eldar. Another race of Men appeared and they were called the Easterlings. They joined the Sons of Fëanor but betrayed them in the great Nirnaeth Arnoediad and changed sides and went with Morgoth. The Easterlings and Southrons of the War of the Ring are descendants of those people.

Of the Edain there were three prime houses: The House of Bëor, The House of Haleth (The Haladin of Brethil) and The House of Hador. Members of the House of Bëor include Morwen, Rían, Barahir and his son Beren. Famous members of the House of Hador were Húrin Thalion and Tuor who wedded Morwen and Rían of the House of Bëor, joining the two Houses. Of the Haladin came Hareth. She was the mother of Húrin and Huor and husband to Galdor. In Túrin Turambar and Tuor was thus joined the blood of all Houses of the Edain.

Answer: Yes

Elros can be traced back to Tuor, messenger of Ulmo. Tuor was his grandfather. His father, Eärendil the Mariner, was the son of Tuor and Idril Celebrindal, daughter of King Turgon of Gondolin. Tuor was the son of Huor (brother of Húrin) and they were the sons of Galdor of the House of Hador (The Third House) and Hareth of the Haladin (The House of Haleth, the Second House).

Huor wedded Rían of the House of Bëor, the First House. In Rían's and Huor's son Tuor was thus joined the blood of all three House of the Edain and thus also in Elros. The same goes for the Lord of Andúnië who are the ancestors of the Kings of Arnor and Gondor of whom Aragorn II Elessar descended (the Kings of Arnor in Aragorn's case). Play Part 2 of Arda Ancenstry to find out that Aragorn also bears the blood of all 3 prime Eldar divisions (Vanyar, Noldor and Teleri, both Teleri from Aman and of Beleriand) and even that of the Maia. Follow my tracing of Arwen's bloodline to find out (Arwen and Aragorn are related through Elros and Elrond).

Answer: Aulë the Smith

The Dwarves, or Khazad in their own tongue or Naugrim (Stunted People) in the tongue of the Eldar, were created by Aulë the Smith. But they were not permitted to awake before the Elves and were laid to sleep in the Mountains of Middle-Earth. Aulë had created 7 fathers and they were scattered in 4 places.

The eldest was Durin the Deathless and he awoke at Mount Gundabad in the Misty Mountains and came to Kheled-zâram, the Mirrormere. He made his dwelling in Khazad-dûm, Moria. He was the father of the Longbeards. He lived to great age, even in the reckoning of Dwarves but eventually passed away. Thorin II Oakenshield was a direct descendant of Durin I The Deathless. Of Thorin's company for his quest to Erebor, Fíli, Kíli, Balin, Dwalin, Óin and Glóin (and thus also Gimli) were of Durin's line and closely related to Thorin. Ori, Nori and Dori were also part of Durin's folk, but more remote kinsman. Bofur, Bifur and Bombur descended of the Dwarves of Moria but were not part of Durin's folk. They were probably part of another folk from another Father of Dwarves that had come to live in Moria. Their ancestors probably came from the Blue Mountains from the strongholds of Nogrod and Belegost.

Nogrod and Belegost were the resting places of two more, unnamed, Fathers of Dwarves. They founded those strongholds and were founders of the Firebeard and Broadbeam clans. The Dwarves of Belegost marched with the Sons of Fëanor in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and drove away Glauring, Father of all Dragons, but their King, Azaghâl, was killed. The Dwarves of Nogrod sacked Doriath when they wanted the Nauglamir, the Necklace of the Dwarves, in which they set the Silmaril for Thingol. The other Fathers awoke in pairs in the far east.

Another folk of Dwarves were the Petty-Dwarves, Noegyth Nibin. They were outcasts of Dwarven society and the Eldar had no love for them as well. The last of the Petty-Dwarves was Mîm and he was slain in Nargothrond by Húrin of the Edain. It was the Petty-Dwarves who had hewn the caves of Nargothrond, long before the Return of the Noldor.

Of all races the Dwarves wish to possess gold and riches the most. They are skilled crafsmen, being the Children of Aulë, the Smith of the Valar. They are very secretive about their own language, Khuzdul, and only a few phrases were ever known to the Eldar or Edain. The Dwarves never revealed their true names to other races, not even on their tombstones. The names we know (like Durin or Thorin) are all translations to the Common Speech. Although Dwarves didn't always fight with the Eldar and Edain and sometimes against them (The Sack of Doriath or the slaying Fram of the Éothéod), they never fought for Morgoth or Sauron.

The Dwarves believe that, when they die, they go to a special place in the Halls of Mandos. When the world will finally be broken in the Dagor Dagorath, the Last Battle in which Morgoth returns and is utterly vanquished, Aulë will recall the Dwarves and create the new world with them in which the Eldar and Dwarves can live in peace. Whatever will happen to Men in this world is not known.

Answer: Dior

Thingol's daughter was Lúthien Tinúviel. Her mother was Melian the Maia and Lúthien was said to be the fairest of the Children of Ilúvatar. She fell in love with Beren, son of Barahir of the Edain but Thingol didn't want her to marry a mere 'man'. He requested a Silmaril and Beren set out to get one. What follows is the single most beautiful work set in Tolkien's Arda. Lúthien follows Beren and against all odds they gain a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, something the Lords of the Noldor tried to accomplish for a very long time. Beren's hand with the Silmaril is bitten off by Carcharoth and he goes mad. Beren and Lúthien return and Thingol perceives the worth of Beren and finally they may wed. But Carcharoth plagues Doriath now and Thingol sets out with Beren, Huan, the Hound of Valinor, Beleg Cúthalion and Mablung of the Heavy Hand, his chief wardens. Huan slays Carcharoth but is slain in turn and Beren is grievely hurt, saving Thingol's life. Beren dies and Lúthien dies of grief. She sings a fair song full of lament which moves Mandos and he takes her to Manwë. He too is moved but cannot undo the Gift of Men, death. But Ilúvatar grants Beren and Lúthien a new, mortal, life. They both accept and live thereafter in Tol Galen, also called Dor Firn-i-Guinar (Land of the Dead that Live).

Their son became Dior Eluchíl. Eluchíl simply means 'Thingol's Heir'. Thingol enlists the aid of the Dwarves of Nogrod to set the Silmaril into the Nauglamir, a necklace which they had made for the now dead Finrod Felagund of Nargothrond. Húrin had retrieved it and given to Thingol for taking care of his son Túrin. The Dwarves became jealous of their own work and demanded the Nauglamir with Silmaril for themselves. Thingol refused and was slain and the Dwarves fled. Melian passed over the Sea, full of grief and the protective Girdle of Melian was lost. The Dwarves of Nogrod returned and sacked Doriath. Mablung of the Heavy Hand fell defending the room that held the Nauglamir, but the Dwarves were pursued. Beren sent a force out of Tol Galen led by Dior and the Ents came to their aid - no Dwarf ever returned. The Nauglamir went to Beren. The Sons of Fëanor waited. They too wanted the Silmaril, ever bound by their oath. They had demanded it from Thingol but the Girdle of Melian had prevented them from assaulting Doriath. They didn't dare to assault Tol Galen while Beren and Lúthien lived.

Dior went to dwell in Doriath as King with Nimloth as his queen. When Beren and Lúthien died they were brought the Nauglamir. The Sons of Fëanor assaulted Doriath and it was finally utterly ruined. Three of the seven brothers died and Dior and Nimloth were slain as well but the Nauglamir was not found. Dior's daughter Elwing had borne it away. With it she would later fly to her husband Eärendil, in the form of a bird, and together they would reach Valinor to bring the Host of the Valar to Beleriand.

Daeron was the lore-master of Doriath and also in love with Lúthien. He betrayed her and Beren to the King. He invented the Elvish runes. What became of him is not known. He was lost when he went into the east.

Answer: Hild

Helm was the last king of the first line. During his reign a man named Freca was a lord in Rohan. He claimed to be a descendant of King Fréawine but people said he also had Dunlendish blood. Helm didn't trust him yet still invited him to his councils.

One day he came to Edoras with a force of men and wanted the hand of Helm's daughter for his Son Wulf. Helm smote Freca with his fist and he died soon after. Four years later his son Wulf invaded Rohan with the Dunlendings. Gondor was under attack from Umbar and could not send help. The Rohirrim were defeated and Helm retreated to the Hornburg. Wulf crowned himself King and took Edoras. Haleth, Helm's son, was slain defending Edoras. Then the Long Winter came and Helm's younger son, Háma, perished. Helm would often set out in the night from then on, alone and unarmed. Legend had that no man could kill Helm when he set out unarmed. Whenever Helm blew his mighty Horn, the enemies of the Mark shivered in fear and Dunlendings fled as far from the Hornburg as possible. One night Helm blew his horn but didn't return. He was found as a frozen icy statue.

But his followers endured and when spring came his nephew Fréaláf Hildeson, son of Helm's sister Hild, rode to Edoras from Dunharrow with a small group of desperate men. They took Edoras by surprise and Fréaláf slew Wulf. Gondor had meanwhile subdued the Corsairs of Umbar and sent help and the Dunlendings were expelled.

Fréaláf became the first King of the second line, which would end with Théoden Ednew. Théodwyn was the fifth child of Thengel, 16th King of Rohan and she was the sister of Théoden. Elfhild was Théoden's wife and she died when she gave birth to Théodred. Morwen Steelsheen of Lossarnach was the wife of Thengel and Théoden's mother.

Answer: Eldarion

Aragorn's son was Eldarion and his first child. After his death he would succeed his father. Nothing is known about his reign as the Red Book doesn't tell us. When Aragorn passed away, Arwen went to Lórien in grief and died under the fading trees where her green grave stands until the breaking of the world.

Aldarion was the mariner-king of Númenor. He visited Middle-Earth during the reign of his father, Tar-Meneldur. He made friends with Gil-galad and Círdan and build the first havens of the Númenoreans in Middle-Earth. When his father put down his sceptre he became the next King, the sixth King of Númenor. The tale of Aldarion and his wife Erendis is told in the 'Unfinished Tales' and is one of the few tales that survived the wreck of Númenor and was brought to Middle-Earth by Elendil. Arathorn was the name of Aragorn's father, but this was Arathorn II. It is not known if there ever was a Aragorn III or Arathorn III.

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