Finwë, sometimes surnamed Noldóran, is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 from J. R. R. Tolkien

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,...

's legendarium

Legendarium

Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...

. He was the first High King

High king

A high king is a king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of Emperor; compare King of Kings.Rulers who have been termed "high king" include:...

 of the Elven

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...

 Noldor

Noldor

In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...

 to lead his people on the journey from 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....

 to Valinor

Valinor

Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...

 in the blessed realm of Aman

Aman

-External links:*...

. He was a great friend of Elu Thingol, the King 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...

. The story of Finwë and Míriel, his first wife, has been described as an important element of Tolkien's mythology. 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...

, prepared by Christopher Tolkien

Christopher Tolkien

Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...

 from his father's unpublished writings, only briefly mentions the tale, although sources suggest that Tolkien had intended to incorporate a fuller version.

History

Finwë had two wives. His first was Míriel, who died soon after bearing their only child, Curufinwë, who was more commonly called Fëanor

Fëanor

Fëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...

. His second wife was Indis, of the Vanyar

Vanyar

In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...

, who bore him two sons: Fingolfin

Fingolfin

Fingolfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, appearing in The Silmarillion.-Internal history:He was a High King of the Noldor in Beleriand, second eldest son of Finwë, full brother of Finarfin, and half-brother of Fëanor, who was the eldest of Finwë's sons. His mother was...

 and Finarfin

Finarfin

Finarfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.-Personality:Unlike the warlike Fëanor and Fingolfin, Finarfin was something of a pacifist...

, and two daughters: Findis and Irimë. All his sons and one daughter were named after himself (Curufinwë, Fingolfin, Finarfin, Findis).

During Melkor

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 attempt to corrupt the Noldor, Finwë attempted to moderate his people and lead them back to the Valar

Vala (Middle-earth)

The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...

. When Fëanor was exiled from Tirion

Tirion

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Tirion upon Túna was the city of the Noldor in Valinor...

, Finwë went with him to Formenos. There he was the first to be killed in Valinor when Melkor slew him at the doors of Formenos seeking the Silmarils. This act was the catalyst that led to the Flight of the Noldor.

Concept and creation

In the first drafts of the genealogy, Finwë had four sons: the youngest was named Finrun, but he was dropped after that, thus Finrod (later Finarfin) was Finwë's youngest son from then on.
In a later version Finwë had three daughters

Daughters of Finwë

Findis and Irimë are fictional characters from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Peoples of Middle-earth. They were Elves, daughters of Finwë, king of the Noldor, and Indis; sisters of Fingolfin and Finarfin and half-sisters of Fëanor. Findis was the first child of Finwë...

 added by Indis, Findis (as their first child) Faniel (as their third), and Finvain (as their youngest). In yet later versions, Faniel was apparently dropped, while Findis and Finvain were kept. Finvain (renamed Irimë) was moved to after Fingolfin, thus Finarfin was once again the youngest child of Finwë.

The death of Finwë is a crucial event for the internal development of Tolkien's legendarium and in fact the loss of a parent or child is a recurring motive in Tolkien's stories.

Finwë's name is not fully translated. The glossary in 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...

translates Fin as "hair"; other sources say it means "skill".

Finwë is one of those major characters whom Tolkien, who also used to illustrate his writings, supplied with a distinct heraldic device

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

.

The story of Finwë and Míriel and its significance

Tolkien rewrote the story of Finwë and Míriel several times, as it assumed "an extraordinary importance in [his] later work on The Silmarillion". In Tolkien's works, Elves are immortal, being reborn after death, and marriage is forever.

Finwë's wife Míriel died after giving birth to her son, Fëanor, the most brilliant of all the Elves. She was so exhausted that she said she would never return to life. This left Finwë in the position of being on his own, not through his own choice, for eternity, a situation that had never occurred before. Because of this, Finwë was permitted to remarry. However, Fëanor was displeased by this, and had no love for Finwë's other children. This rift was one of the causes of the rebellion of the Elves against the Valar. Had Finwë chosen differently, the whole history of Middle Earth would have changed for the better, thus making his choice a pivotal event in the mythology and showing the importance Tolkien attached to unbreakable relationships.

While rewriting this tale, Tolkien wrote various notes on marriage among the Elves that also discuss their naming and immortality, showing his typical mixture of background philosophy and story telling.