Eilinel

By Robinka
 Printer-friendly
Downloadable PDF


Who’s that girl?1

Of the various figures in the Tolkien legendarium, some of them belong much more to the strictly fantasy world than others, be it dragons, vampires, werewolves, spirits of utmost power--but today’s character is best known for being ... a worm on the hook. (Please, do not wipe your screens. Nor should you revise or adjust your settings. You see correctly.)

In many cases of The Silmarillion’s characters, our knowledge of their families, upbringing, and past is very limited, to put it mildly. So without further ado, let me introduce Eilinel (I can see now many of you scratch your foreheads in the effort to recall who the hell Eilinel is), the wife of Gorlim the Unhappy2--to borrow the mere six words that describe her in the "Index of Names" of The Silmarillion. She is an important, if not the central, even though nonexistent, figure in the tragic story of Gorlim and his betrayal of Barahir3 and his men, and by the time all that actually happened, she was already dead.

We could only assume that the white maiden Eilinel4 was of the House of Bëor. When she was born and when she married Gorlim,5 whether she was blond and of fair complexion, or whether she just preferred to be clad in white, we do not know. We only know that they loved each other very much, which, as we will see very soon, seems to have been their bane:

Now among the companions of Barahir was Gorlim son of Angrim. His wife was named Eilinel, and their love was great, ere evil befell.6

Seek and destroy7

Everything would have been fine, and Eilinel and Gorlim would have lived happily ever after, had it not been for the Battle of the Sudden Flame, the forces of Morgoth, and for Sauron himself:8

(...) Barahir and his outlaws withdrew, and there made their lair, and Morgoth could not discover it. But the rumour of the deeds of Barahir and his companions went far and wide; and Morgoth commanded Sauron to find them and destroy them.9

Eilinel’s husband owned a small patch of land and woods. When he had gone to war, she remained at home. Which was overrun by the forces of Morgoth, plundered and destroyed. When Gorlim returned, he could not find his wife, and he had no idea whether she was still alive and taken captive by the enemy, or whether she was dead. He fled to join Barahir and his outlaws at their camp at Tarn Aeluin, but kept on secretly going back to his house in the hope of finding a trace of Eilinel.

Love kills10

It was when Gorlim drew the attention of the enemy’s spies. One evening, he thought he finally saw his beloved wife:

(...) ‘Twas Eilinel!
Though changed she was, he knew her well.
With grief and hunger she was worn,
her tresses tangled, raiment torn;
her gentle eyes with tears were dim,
as soft she wept: ‘Gorlim, Gorlim!
Thou canst not have forsaken me.
Then slain, alas! thou slain must be!
And I must linger cold, alone,
and loveless as a barren stone!’11

That was a cruel trick on Sauron’s part, because when Gorlim cried out to Eilinel, she disappeared, and Orcs assailed him. He was then tortured until he agreed to reveal the location of Barahir’s camp, on this one condition however--that he would be reunited with his wife, and they both would be set free. Sauron could not wait to tell Gorlim the hard truth. What Gorlim had seen was only a phantom and his fair and gentle12 Eilinel was long dead, but Gorlim would soon be indeed reunited with her as he so wished.

And herein lies the end of the sad love story of a woman who loved and was loved in return, died a violent death only to be the bait for her husband to betray his commander. But despite its bitter conclusion, I think the tale of Gorlim and Eilinel still, even if in reverse, belongs to these:

Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that come down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures.13


Works Cited

  1. Song by Madonna.
  2. The Silmarillion, "The Index of Names."
  3. Oshun, "Barahir," Silmarillion Writers' Guild, May 2017, accessed September 26, 2018.
  4. The History of Middle Earth, Volume III: The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of Leithian Recommenced, "Of Gorlim Unhappy."
  5. The History of Middle Earth, Volume XI: The War of the Jewels, The Grey Annals, indicate that the events of this story took place between the years FA 456 and 460.
  6. The Silmarillion, "Of Beren and Lúthien."
  7. Song by Metallica.
  8. In the first version of The Lay of Leithian it was Morgoth, not Sauron, who ensnared Gorlim into betraying Barahir and his men.
  9. The Silmarillion, "Of Beren and Lúthien."
  10. Song by Freddie Mercury.
  11. Beren and Lúthien [Polish edition], The Appendix, "Of Gorlim Unhappy."
  12. The History of Middle Earth, Volume III: The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of Leithian, Canto II.
  13. The Silmarillion, "Of Beren and Lúthien."


Read comments on this essay | Leave a comment on this essay
(You must have an account on the SWG archive to comment on essays. Click here to register for an account.)





About the Author

A lifelong president of the fanclub of Beleg Cúthalion, Robinka (also known as Binka) has a healthy dose of admiration for the Grey Folk of Doriath, but approaches the Noldor with reverence. She is a proud owner of a T-shirt with the caption: "Beleg lives! I don't care what Túrin says.". Binka lives in Poland with her husband and a rescued dog. Her path in the fandom is rocky, but nothing short of adventurous.



Return to Character of the Month Index
Return to References Home