The Influence of Tinfang by LadyBrooke

Chapter 1

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Dairon the dark with ferny crown                
 played with bewildering wizard's art            
 music for breaking of the heart.         
Such players have there only been               
 thrice in all Elfinesse, I ween:                
 Tinfang Gelion who still the moon               
 enchants on summer nights of June               
 and kindles the pale firstling star;        
 and he who harps upon the far                   
 forgotten beaches and dark shores               
 where western foam for ever roars,              
 Maglor whose voice is like the sea;             
 and Dairon, mightiest of the three.
- History of Middle-earth, Volume III:The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of Leithian, Canto III, Lines 408-510

Tinfang Warble is accounted one of the three greatest of minstrels among the elves, though he plays no role in The Silmarillion and most of the info about him is found only in two volumes of The History of Middle-earth- The Book of Lost Tales Part I and The Lays of Beleriand.

The two elves named with him, Daeron (here Dairon) and Maglor are much better known. It is interesting, in light of the above quote, that none of the three are remarkable in the main story because of their musical skills. Daeron, in The Silmarillion, plays a major role because he betrays Lúthien to her father. Maglor is the last surviving son of Fëanor, a Kinslayer, and plays a role in many of the battles. Tinfang lacks any role in those events, and exists only in scattered comments elsewhere in the legendarium.

Neither Maglor nor Daeron, however, are said to use their music in any of those instances that make them famous. This appears somewhat perculiar in light of the role song plays in the overall story, including Sauron's duel with Finrod, who is Maglor's half-cousin, and the very shaping of Middle-earth itself.

Nor do we find much outline of what Maglor and Daeron were capable of with their music in the books. Daeron is said to the mightiest of the three and to play with "wizard's art"; Maglor is said to have a voice like the sea (which matches where he plays).1 Kanafinwë, Maglor's father-name, means "Strong-voiced" and his mother name, Makalaurë, is said to mean "Gold-cleaver". This is suggested to be a reference to his skill with the harp, which had a golden sound.2

It is Tinfang whose abilities to influence things with his music are described in the greatest detail, though in such early drafts that he is suggested to be part fay of the woods.

"She told him that the children called him Tinfang Warble; and that he played and danced in summer dusks for joy of the first stars: 'at every note a new one sparkles forth and glisters. The Noldoli say that they come out too soon if Tinfang Warble plays, and they love him, and the will children will watch often from the windows lest he tread the shadowy lawns unseen.'3 This quote is echoed later in Tolkien's work in the poem quoted above, where Tinfang "kindles the pale firstling star".4

"But on a sudden will his flute be heard again at an hour of gentle gloaming, or will he play beneath a goodly moon and the stars go bright and blue."5

In these quotes, Tinfang's influence is on physical objects of the world he inhabits - the stars answer his music by appearing early or glowing blue. Other quotes suggest an influence on people and their longings.:

"'Aye,'' said Eriol, 'and the hearts of those that hear him go beating with a quickened longing. Meseemed 'twas my desire to open the window and leap forth, so sweet was the air that came to me from without, nor might I drink deep enough, but as I listened I wished to follow I know not whom, I know not whither, out into the magic of the world beneath the stars.'"6

"'Now, however, so such is the eeriness of that sprite, you will ever love the evenings of summer and the nights of stars, and their magic will cause your heart to ache unquenchably.'"7

It is doubtful that Tolkien, if he written more about Tinfang in the context of what became The Silmarillion, would have kept all of Tinfang's influence as it is in these quotes. But it does suggest that at least in the beginning, the three greatest among the Elves would have been able to perform not just music, but also deeds with their voice - something we see done by characters like Finrod but not the greatest minstrels of the Elves.

1History of Middle-earth, Volume III:The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of Leithian, Canto III, Lines 408-510
2History of Middle-earth, Volume XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, The Shibboleth of Fëanor, "The names of the Sons of Fëanor with the legend of the fate of Amrod."
3History of Middle-earth, Volume I: The Book of Lost Tales Part I, The Chaining of Melko
4History of Middle-earth, Volume III:The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of Leithian, Canto III, Lines 503-505
5History of Middle-earth, Volume I: The Book of Lost Tales Part I, The Chaining of Melko
6Ibid.
7Ibid.