Silm Re-read: "Of Thingol and Melian" Discussion Post

[independence1776]

Of Thingol and Melian

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Important: This is not a spoiler-free zone. It is hard to discuss any chapter in depth without referring to things that happen in later chapters. Proceed at your own risk!

Summary

Melian is a Maia of Lórien and nightingales follow her. Her singing causes silence in Valimar and the Valar stop working to hear her. When the Quendi wake, she leaves Valinor for Middle-earth. During the Eldar’s journey, Elwë often visits his friend Finwë. As he journeys, he hears the song of nightingales and Melian’s voice. He follows it, and when they see each other, they fall in love and stand in silence as years pass. No one finds him and Olwë takes command of the Teleri, though not all of them choose to continue traveling and choose instead to remain behind and search for Elwë. These Teleri become the Sindar. When Melian and Elwë reappear, Elwë becomes known as Elu Thingol and the couple moves to Menegroth along with many of their people. Of Thingol and Melian will come the most beautiful child of the Children of Ilúvatar.


Our Favorite Quotes

"It is told that the Valar would leave their works, and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that the bells of Valmar were silent and the fountains ceased to flow, when at the mingling of the lights Melian sang in Lórien."

"But he came to a glade open to the stars, and there Melian stood; and out of the darkness he looked at her, and the light of Aman was in her face."

“She spoke no word; but being filled with love Elwë came to her and took her hand, and straightway a spell was laid on him, so that they stood thus while long years were measured by the wheeling stars above them; and the trees of Nan Emloth grew tall and dark before they spoke any word.”

“And of the love of Thingol and Melian there came into the world the fairest of all the Children of Ilúvatar that was or shall ever be.”


Alternate Versions

~ The first mention of this story comes from The Book of Lost Tales 1, in which Tinfang Warble is a son of Linwë Tinto [Elwë] and Tindriel Wendelin [Melian]. It is merely a brief mention that Linwë was lost on the journey and found Wendelin. However, it was crossed out. (1)

~ The second mention is in “The Tale of Tinúviel” from BoLT2. It has been expanded with the addition Melian’s [called Gwendeling] affinity for nightingales and singing, which lay a spell of sleep on the listener. Unlike the published version, Melian danced away and Elwë [called Tinwelint] fell asleep for a long time. But she never went far and they eventually married and settled in a cavern protected by Melian’s spells. (2)

~ An interesting difference arose very early on between the two versions of “The Tale of Tinúviel”: In the first, Ilúvatar had “set a seed of music in the hearts of that kindred” before Elwë wandered off. But in the revised version, the music is a gift in memory of Thingol. (3)

~ Most interesting of all is that Melian and Thingol had two children: Tinúviel and Dairon. (4) Tolkien seems to have discarded this idea relatively quickly, however, as it appears in no other version.

~ Most of the rest of the mentions of the story of how Melian and Thingol met are little more than summaries of the story: they met when Elwë (now called Elwë) wandered away on the journey due to hearing her nightingales singing; he fell asleep for a long while; and they married and lived in Menegroth. (5, 6, 7)

~ Major changes to the story occur in The Lost Road, “Quenta Silmarillion.” In it, Elwë takes Melian’s hand rather than her dancing away, and that is how he is bespelled and lost. (8) This is the first time that this chapter is separated into a subsection-- though it is not yet a proper chapter in and of itself.

~ The “Annals of Aman” in Morgoth’s Ring tell a similar story with a few added details, though it is also divided into years. The “Grey Annals” in The War of the Jewels use a similar format, though the phrasing is different. (9, 10)

~ The most important changes to their story come in Morgoth’s Ring: Elwë was first explicitly named as one of the embassadors in the revisions to the Legendarium that Tolkien made in the 1950s. In the “Later Quenta Silmarillion” it also becomes a proper chapter and the text was greatly expanded. (11)


Food for Thought

~ Is the spell Elwë was under a literal spell or a poetic way of saying they consummated their relationship?

~ Apart from an expansion of the details and Thingol touching Melian, there are few significant changes to this part of the story. Could it be due to the parallels to Beren and Lúthien, that Tolkien was satisfied with it, that he neglected to return to it, or some other reason entirely?

~ After the description of Melian that we're given, it's pretty easy to understand why Elwë immediately fell in love with her. What reasons do you think Melian had for reciprocating that love?


Works Cited

The Silmarillion, “Of Thingol and Melian”
1. The Book of Lost Tales 1, “The Chaining of Melko,” Note 1
2. The Book of Lost Tales 2, “The Tale of Tinúviel”
3. The Book of Lost Tales 2, “The Tale of Tinúviel” and “The second version of the Tale of Tinúviel” (8)
4. The Book of Lost Tales 2, “The Tale of Tinúviel”
5. The Lays of Beleriand, "The Lay of Leithian," Canto III
6. The Shaping of Middle-earth, “The Earliest ‘Silmarillion,’” 2 and “The Quenta,” 2 and “The Earliest Annals of Valinor,” Valian Years 2000 to 2100
7. The Lost Road, “The Later Annals of Valinor,” VY 2000-2010
8. The Lost Road, “The Quenta Silmarillion, ” 3 (b) Of Thingol
9. Morgoth’s Ring, “The Annals of Aman,” §65, §66, §71, and §74
10. The War of the Jewels, “The Grey Annals,” §3, §10, §15, and §16
11. Morgoth’s Ring, “The Later Quenta Silmarillion,”The First Phase, “Of Thingol and Melian”


Please note: We don't know everything and it's perfectly possible that we missed something. These summaries and questions are by no means supposed to be complete and exhaustive. If you have looked further into this particular topic or would like to discuss something that we've overlooked, please share it! (The questions are starting points, not the only things to discuss.)

Also, please don't be afraid to talk amongst yourselves. We don't want this to be an echo chamber or for us to be lecturing to you. We want this to be a discussion among the community as a whole.


“Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Edalië” is due February 23.