Fanworks Tagged with Character of the Month

Galdor of the Tree appears in The Book of Lost Tales, in the story of the Fall of Gondolin, a notable supporting character in this central tale of the legendarium.

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Celebrían is one of the legion of women in the legendarium whose status suggests she should play a more prominent role in the narrative than she does. This month's biography sifts through the many mentions of Celebrían in various sources to provide a picture of this important—if canonically neglected—woman.

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In honor of Akallabêth in August, this bio explores the history, evolution, and some of the questions surrounding of Ar-Pharazôn, one of Arda's darkest characters. Originally featured August 2009.

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Maeglin is one of Tolkien's most notorious characters, credited with almost single-handedly bringing Gondolin unto its ruin. Was this his fate, and did his betrayal serve a necessary purpose in the history of Middle-earth? Russandol surveys Tolkien's sources to reveal much of this dark and oft-maligned character. Originally featured July 2009.

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Although Amrod and Amras appeared early in Tolkien's work on the legendarium, their characters unwent significant shifts as he worked on the Silmarillion materials of which they were part.

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Tar-Palantir and his descendants tried to stem the rising rebellion against the Valar and Eldar in Númenor. Though the drowning of that land speaks to their ultimate failure, their legacy perpetuates in the Mortal realms of Middle-earth into the Third Age.

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In Ar-Gimilzôr, we see the first signs of the divisiveness and decline of Númenor into two factions. This month's biography details this prequel to Númenor's cataclysmic fall.

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The esquire of Isildur, Ohtar delivered the shards of Narsil to Rivendell and thus becomes a pivotal--if minor--character in the final act of the legendarium.

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One of the Maiar, Melian is to credit for the safety and subsequent ascendancy of Doriath under her guardianship. Although often depicted as otherworldly and distant, Melian's role in The Silmarillion is heavily defined by her roles as a mother, mentor, and advocate for various characters.

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Following up on our three-part biography of Lúthien Tinúviel, this month's biography of Beren discusses his early life, the evolution of his character in the legendarium, and his particular importance as a prototype for Aragorn and the small, simple heroes who would come to characterize Tolkien's later work.

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Estë is the goddess who sleeps through the book--or is she? Her character illustrates both the potential and ultimate shortcomings of so many female characters in Tolkien's legendarium.

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The daughter of the monstrous Ungoliant, Shelob is one of the myriad links between the First and Third Ages. This biography considers her origins, appearance, evolution, and uniquely sinister ability to spin darkness.

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Lúthien Tinúviel stands at the center of the legendarium, a character whose influence reaches past the Third Age and introduces, perhaps more than any other tale, the element of fairy-story into Tolkien's work. Yet Lúthien, who is "nobody's victim or reward," defies fairy-tale tropes in notable ways.

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One of Barahir's twelve companions, Arthad embodies the stoic bravery that characterizes the House of Bëor.

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The eldest child of Elros, Vardamir serves as a contrast to later Númenórean kings.

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Before he was the Unhappy, he was one of the nine faithful servants of Barahir and deeply in love: an oft-overlooked but tragic figure from The Silmarillion.

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Eilinel is a little-known character, the wife of Gorlim the Unhappy, who is both central and nonexistent in the tale of the betrayal of Barahir.

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Although not typically thought of as Silmarillion characters, Elladan and Elrohir's family tree is a veritable thicket of who's-who in the First Age. Part One of this two-part biography explores their family ties and the events in their lives up to the Ring War, while Part Two considers their role in the Ring War and the broader thematic importance of their storyline to the legendarium.

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Tar-Vanimeldë is a character whose story "raises as many questions as it answers." In the few details he offers, Tolkien hints that her throne was usurped by her power-hungry husband.

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On the surface, Hareth of the Haladin is yet another woman defined primarily by her [male] relations but who, with a closer look at the details of the text, begins to come to life and ask for a story of her own.

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Erestor has long been a favorite character among Tolkien fans. This biography explores what little the texts tells of him and how some of the most popular Erestor-related fanons may have arisen.

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As the father of the tragic Gorlim, Angrim embodies both the nobility and the tragedy of the early houses of the Edain.

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The glorious mount of Glorfindel appears to be more than a mere horse, recalling other famous steeds in the legendarium.

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Following the two-part biography of Galadriel, this essay considers her husband, who was notable as a warrior and a leader in his own right. A character dogged by movie fanon that would dismiss him as inconsequential and confused by contradictory texts, Celeborn emerges in this analysis as sympathetic, powerful, and wise: a fitting companion for Galadriel.

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One among Tolkien's several fictional loremasters, Quennar was briefly an intermediary between Rúmil and Pengolodh and later attested as the loremaster who wrote on the reckoning of time by the Elves, a role that overlaps with the medieval historiography familiar to Tolkien.

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