The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Born long before the First Age; apparently still extant
Race
Division
Pronunciation
e(r)a'rwen1
Meaning
'Sea-maiden'

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 27 December 2011
  • This entry is complete

Eärwen

The mother of Finrod and Galadriel

Olwë
Unnamed brothers2
Eärwen
Finarfin
Finrod
Orodreth
Angrod
Aegnor
Galadriel

The silver-haired daughter of Olwë of the Teleri, called the swan-maiden of Alqualondë, who dwelt on the shores of the Bay of Eldamar with her father and her brothers. She wedded Finarfin of the Noldor, and had five children, among them Finrod Felagund and Galadriel. Being children of one of the Sea-elves, they had a love of the sea and a longing for distant places, and it was in part due to this inheritance that all five of Eärwen's children chose to return to Middle-earth, exiling themselves from Valinor. Eärwen herself remained in the West, but she was Thingol's niece, and so her children were well received in his kingdom of Doriath.


Notes

1

The '(r)' here is silent. Pronounce the word as if there were an 'r' where '(r)' is shown, but not the 'r' sound itself. Alternatively, and only slightly less correctly, Eärwen's name can be pronounced like 'ayarwen'.

2

We don't know how many brothers Eärwen had, but we know that she had at least two (and possibly many more) from a passing mention in The Silmarillion.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 27 December 2011
  • This entry is complete

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