Beleg
Encyclopedia
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
, Beleg is a major character who appears in numerous books, tales and poems about the First Age
of Middle-earth
such as The Silmarillion
, The Lays of Beleriand
and the Children of Húrin.
. He is further known as Beleg Cúthalion, or Beleg Strongbow. The nickname (epessë
) was bestowed for his skill as an archer and is the same in both cases, one being in Sindarin
and the other in Common Speech (cú means "bow" and thalion means "strong" or "steadfast").
in Elf
who served in the army of King Elu Thingol
of Doriath
. He "followed no man", and "could not be restrained". Together with Mablung
he is one of the great captains of Thingol. He describes himself with the following verse:
Beleg conducts the defence of the realm of Doriath leading smaller companies in actions along the borders as Chief of the Marchwardens. He has larger commands such as the battle in Brethil against a Legion of Orc
s as Captain commanding the axe-armed Sindar with Halmir
and the Haladin
archers. He leads the front line scouts in the battle against Boldog
's Orc-host on the North March. Beleg, along with Beren
, Thingol, Mablung and Huan, is a member of the party in the legendary hunt of the great wolf Carcharoth
. He later defeats Orcs invading Dimbar. Beleg serves in battles of the wider struggle beyond the borders of Doriath fighting in the Fifth Battle. He is said to be unequalled in woodland skills of stalking, hunting and tracking.
, the boy Túrin is sent to Doriath for protection from Morgoth
's special enmity for the House of Húrin
. Beleg becomes the mentor, steadfast friend and brother-in-arms of Túrin Turambar
. The two fight together in defending the north marches of Doriath from the Orcs of Morgoth. When Túrin is accused of murder, Beleg searches out and produces at the last moment a witness who can testify to extenuating circumstances. When Túrin pridefully leaves Doriath after the affair, Beleg receives permission from Thingol to follow him into exile and is granted the sword Anglachel to help in this endeavour. Beleg long seeks Túrin. At Amon Rûdh he is captured and tortured by Túrin's men, until Túrin returns and releases him. Although Beleg beseeches Túrin to return to Doriath, where he has been pardoned and would be welcomed, Túrin still pridefully refuses and Beleg loyally chooses to stay with Túrin. Together, with Túrin wearing the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, they lead a band of men against the invaders of Morgoth. The land where the "Two Captains" dwell becomes known as the Land of Helm and Bow, but the small realm was destroyed two years later.
When Túrin is captured by Morgoth
in a treacherous ambush, Beleg is grievously wounded. Yet with the strength of a great Elven warrior and his extraordinary healing skills, he recovers swiftly and tracks the Orcs. In the deadly land of Taur-nu-Fuin Beleg meets the elf Gwindor, recently escaped from Morgoth's thraldom, and together they rescue Túrin, with Beleg performing an heroic feat of bowmanship, slaying numerous wolf sentinels in the dark. After they carry Túrin from the Orc-camp, while removing Túrin's bonds, Beleg accidentally cut Túrin with his sword. Túrin awakes and does not recognize Beleg in the darkness, mistaking the shape over him with a blade as an Orc. In a sudden rage of self defence, he wrests the sword from Beleg and kills him. When he recognizes the truth of his friend's loyalty and bravery and his own fatal mistake, Túrin is so overcome with grief that he walks in a daze for weeks, being led out of danger by Gwindor. After returning to himself, Túrin takes Beleg's sword Anglachel, renaming it Gurthang ("Iron of Death"), and wields it in further battles against Morgoth's forces for the rest of his life. Years later, Túrin himself dies upon the sword Gurthang when his tragic life becomes too hard to bear, and the sword is thus avenged for the death of Beleg.
After a time in grief and in honour of his friend, Túrin made and sang the Laer Cú Beleg, the Song of the Great Bow.
and hones it with a song of sharpening. He is stated to be a master of healing. Much is said of him, his character and his individual heroic feats and deeds in the various versions of the tales of Túrin and the Lays of Beleriand in particular.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, Beleg is a major character who appears in numerous books, tales and poems about the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
such as The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
, The Lays of Beleriand
The Lays of Beleriand
The Lays of Beleriand, published in 1985, is the third volume of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume book series, The History of Middle-earth, in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R...
and the Children of Húrin.
Name
Beleg's name means "great" or "mighty" in SindarinSindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
. He is further known as Beleg Cúthalion, or Beleg Strongbow. The nickname (epessë
Epesse
Epesse could refer to:*Epesses, a commune in Switzerland*Les Epesses, a commune in France*Epessë, a type of an elven name in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe Middle-earth...
) was bestowed for his skill as an archer and is the same in both cases, one being in Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
and the other in Common Speech (cú means "bow" and thalion means "strong" or "steadfast").
Life and battles in Doriath
Beleg was a SindarSindar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the fictional Sindar are Elves of Telerin descent. They are also known as the Grey Elves. Their language is Sindarin...
in Elf
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
who served in the army of King Elu Thingol
Thingol
Elu Thingol is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion, The Lays of Beleriand and Children of Húrin as well as in numerous stories in the many volumes of The History of Middle-earth...
of Doriath
Doriath
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Doriath is the realm of the Sindar, the Grey Elves of King Thingol in Beleriand. Along with the other great forests of Tolkien's legendarium such as Mirkwood, Fangorn and Lothlórien it serves as the central stage in the theatre of its time, the First Age...
. He "followed no man", and "could not be restrained". Together with Mablung
Mablung
Mablung is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium.Mablung was a Sindarin Elf who served in the army of King Elu Thingol of Doriath...
he is one of the great captains of Thingol. He describes himself with the following verse:
"I am the hunter Beleg - of the hidden people;
the forest is my father - and the fells my home."
Beleg conducts the defence of the realm of Doriath leading smaller companies in actions along the borders as Chief of the Marchwardens. He has larger commands such as the battle in Brethil against a Legion of Orc
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
s as Captain commanding the axe-armed Sindar with Halmir
Halmir
Halmir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as a Man of the Second House of the Edain in the First Age....
and the Haladin
House of Haleth
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the House of Haleth or the Haladin were the family of Men that ruled over the second of the Three Houses of the Edain...
archers. He leads the front line scouts in the battle against Boldog
Boldog
Boldog is the name of an Orc Captain in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth during the First Age."Boldog he sent, but Boldog was slain:strange ye were not in Boldog's train."...
's Orc-host on the North March. Beleg, along with Beren
Beren
Beren is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion. Huan spoke to him.-Character overview:...
, Thingol, Mablung and Huan, is a member of the party in the legendary hunt of the great wolf Carcharoth
Carcharoth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Carcharoth , Sindarin for "The Red Maw", was the greatest werewolf that had ever lived. He was also called Anfauglir...
. He later defeats Orcs invading Dimbar. Beleg serves in battles of the wider struggle beyond the borders of Doriath fighting in the Fifth Battle. He is said to be unequalled in woodland skills of stalking, hunting and tracking.
Friendship with Túrin
After the catastrophe of the Fifth Battle, the Nírnaeth ArnoediadNirnaeth Arnoediad
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth, the Nírnaeth Arnoediad or Unnumbered Tears was the climactic Fifth Battle in the Wars of Beleriand.-The Fifth Battle as told in The Silmarillion:...
, the boy Túrin is sent to Doriath for protection from Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
's special enmity for the House of Húrin
Húrin
Húrin is a fictional character in the Middle-earth legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as a hero of Men during the First Age, said to be the greatest warrior of both the Edain and all the other Men in Middle-earth...
. Beleg becomes the mentor, steadfast friend and brother-in-arms of Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "Turambar and the Foalókë", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. J.R.R...
. The two fight together in defending the north marches of Doriath from the Orcs of Morgoth. When Túrin is accused of murder, Beleg searches out and produces at the last moment a witness who can testify to extenuating circumstances. When Túrin pridefully leaves Doriath after the affair, Beleg receives permission from Thingol to follow him into exile and is granted the sword Anglachel to help in this endeavour. Beleg long seeks Túrin. At Amon Rûdh he is captured and tortured by Túrin's men, until Túrin returns and releases him. Although Beleg beseeches Túrin to return to Doriath, where he has been pardoned and would be welcomed, Túrin still pridefully refuses and Beleg loyally chooses to stay with Túrin. Together, with Túrin wearing the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, they lead a band of men against the invaders of Morgoth. The land where the "Two Captains" dwell becomes known as the Land of Helm and Bow, but the small realm was destroyed two years later.
When Túrin is captured by Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
in a treacherous ambush, Beleg is grievously wounded. Yet with the strength of a great Elven warrior and his extraordinary healing skills, he recovers swiftly and tracks the Orcs. In the deadly land of Taur-nu-Fuin Beleg meets the elf Gwindor, recently escaped from Morgoth's thraldom, and together they rescue Túrin, with Beleg performing an heroic feat of bowmanship, slaying numerous wolf sentinels in the dark. After they carry Túrin from the Orc-camp, while removing Túrin's bonds, Beleg accidentally cut Túrin with his sword. Túrin awakes and does not recognize Beleg in the darkness, mistaking the shape over him with a blade as an Orc. In a sudden rage of self defence, he wrests the sword from Beleg and kills him. When he recognizes the truth of his friend's loyalty and bravery and his own fatal mistake, Túrin is so overcome with grief that he walks in a daze for weeks, being led out of danger by Gwindor. After returning to himself, Túrin takes Beleg's sword Anglachel, renaming it Gurthang ("Iron of Death"), and wields it in further battles against Morgoth's forces for the rest of his life. Years later, Túrin himself dies upon the sword Gurthang when his tragic life becomes too hard to bear, and the sword is thus avenged for the death of Beleg.
After a time in grief and in honour of his friend, Túrin made and sang the Laer Cú Beleg, the Song of the Great Bow.
Skills
He is master of the bow, axe, sword and spear, having considerable magical skills with weapons. His bow, Belthronding, is made of black Yew, strung with bear sinew and can only be drawn by Beleg's might and magic; an arrow called Dailir can always be found unsought. He wields the sentient, magic sword, AnglachelAnglachel
Anglachel is a fictional weapon from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. According to The Silmarillion, it was one of two swords forged by Eöl the Dark Elf out of a black iron meteorite. The sword was carried by Túrin, who had it reforged as Gurthang...
and hones it with a song of sharpening. He is stated to be a master of healing. Much is said of him, his character and his individual heroic feats and deeds in the various versions of the tales of Túrin and the Lays of Beleriand in particular.