Ereinion-a Fitting name for Gil-Galad?

[Inderjit S]

This may be just a minor point but it is something I am interested in nonetheless. Is ‘Ereinion’ a ‘fitting name’ for Gil-Galad? It means ‘scion of Kings’ in Sindarin. Of course, this makes perfect sense when he was Fingon’s son. Fingon was, briefly, High-King of the Ñoldor, his father Fingolfin was for a long time the Ñoldorin High-King and Finwe was the first Ñoldorin King. So his father, grand-father and great-grandfather were all prominent kings and the name ‘Scion of Kings’ was indeed fitting.

But wait…he wasn’t the son of Fingon-he was the son of Orodreth! Orodreth was King of Nargothrond, his father was Angrod who held Dorthinion in vassalage of his elder brother Finrod , and was a Elven lord, not a king, whilst his father Finarfin was the Ñoldorin King only after they had left for M-E, and one wonders whether this would be taken into consideration.

Now, Tolkien seemingly keeps on referring to Gil-Galad as ‘Ereinion Gil-Galad’ in the Published Silmarillion-but in the Shibboleth of Feanor (HoME 12) Chris Tolkien reveals that the idea of Fingon being Gil-Galad's father hinge on this pencilled addition to a text in the Grey Annals (HoME 11):

Then in great sorrow Fingon took the lordship of the house of Fingolfin and the kingdom of the Noldor. (Late pencilled addition) But his young son Findor (?) Gil-Galad he sent to the havens

Grey Annals (HoME 11):

There is no mention of his name being Ereinion in this passage therefore, any references to 'Ereinion Gil-Galad' in the Published Silmarillion were editorial amendments by C.T. The same goes for the passage at the start of Gil-Galad's letter to Tar-Meneldur, as the original manuscript claims that He was 'Gil-Galad house of Finarfin' but C.T not wishing to cause any contradictions changed it to son of Fingon, so the opening statement 'Ereinion Gil-Galad son of Fingon' was another editorial addition.

We can see that in Appendix E: Of Galadriel and Celeborn we can see that 'Gil-Galad' was known by his espesse (nick/after-name) of Gil-Galad.

The Shibboleth of Feanor (HoME 12) and Laws and Customs of the Eldar (HoME 10) state that most Elves tend to be known by their mother names and this was especially true of the Finweans. Therfore one can assume that Ereinion was a mother-name, (though he may have been a exception to the rule) and also mother-names tend to be prophetic as this name seems to be.

On the 'origin' of the name Gil-Galad there are conflicting views. In early drafts, it is said by Trotter (a precursor of Aragorn/Strider, though he is here a Hobbit!) he says:

'Gil-Galad was the last of the great Elf-Kings Gil-Galad is starlight in their tongue’

The Attack on WeatherTop; HoME 6

This if course contradicts with the latter meaning of the name, 'Gil-Galad’ meant ‘Star of Radiance‘. This is reflected in the etymologies of HoME 5. On the reason as to why he was called Gil-Galad, the texts vary. It is said that the name ‘Gil-Galad’ was given to him because of his mail, which could be see far away because of it’s radiance but in the Grey Annals (HoME 11)
it is said that this name was given to him when he was young because of the 'brightness of his eye', thus contradicting the statement about his mail being the source of his name.

Yet, in the Shibboleth of Feanor Tolkien states:

Finrod left his wife in Valinor and had no children in exile. Angrod's son was Artaresto, who was beloved by Finrod and escaped when Angrod was slain, and dwelt with Finrod. Finrod made him his 'steward' and he succeeded him in Nargothrond. His Sindarin name was Rodreth (altered to Orodreth because of his love of the mountains .. ..... His children were Finduilas and Artanáro = Rodnor later called Gil-galad. (Their mother was a Sindarin lady of the North. She called her son Gil-galad.) Rodnor Gil-galad escaped and eventually came to Sirion's Mouth and was King of the Ñoldor there.

We can see here that Gil-Galad was a mother-name NOT a nick-name and the statement that he was 'latter called Gil-Galad' from the Published Silmarillion nor can the fact that it was named after his mail, and it was probably a reference to his bright eyes, as mentioned in the Grey annals where he the son of Finrod. Therefore one can see 'Gil-Galad as being his proper name, so to speak, even though Elves may have been known by their espesse. But 'Ereinion' as a name for him doesn't again appear. He is called 'Finellach Gil-Galad' in Aladarion and Erendis in his letter, but as I have mentioned C.T changed this to Ereinion and in the Shibboleth of Feanor he is named 'Rodnor Gil-Galad'....So one wonders was Ereinion a fitting title or true one for Gil-Galad?

 

[Ithrynluin]

Ereinion as the son of Orodreth isn't too bad either. Orodreth wasn't the High King, but then again Ereinion means 'Scion of kings' not 'Scion of High-Kings' Orodreth was King of Nargothrond, and GG did come from a family of kings (loosely).

As for the name Gil-galad, I'm perfectly happy with it meaning Star of Radiance because of the brightness of his mail...I do wonder though, what was so special about his own armour that made him shine so brightly from afar? Was it perhaps some personal trait/physical feature rather than a piece of 'clothing'. I would think that all the Noldor wore armour of the same sort.

 

[Inderjit S]

Ereinion as the son of Orodreth isn't too bad either. Orodreth wasn't the High King, but then again Ereinion means 'Scion of kings' not 'Scion of High-Kings' Orodreth was King of Nargothrond, and GG did come from a family of kings (loosely).

Family of Kings? Who? Ereinion means SCION I.e. descendant of Kings not relative of Kings.

As for the name Gil-galad, I'm perfectly happy with it meaning Star of Radiance because of the brightness of his mail

Well as I have said ‘Gil-Galad’ was the name about his shining armour, yet Tolkien later comments it is his mother name. How would his mother know he would be known for his shining armour? Unless it was a reference to his bright eyes, at first and then again used for common sense so to speak for his armour. Of course mother names were often prophetic.

The exact quote is here:

It is recorded that Ereinion was given the name Gil-Galad ‘Star of Radiance’ ‘because his helm and mail, and his shield overlaid with silver and set in a device of white stars, shone from afar like a star in the sunlight or moonlight, and could be seen by elvish eyes at a great distance if he stood at a great height’

Unfinished Tales

So it seems his mail was special.

 

[Ithrynluin]

Family of Kings? Who? Ereinion means SCION I.e. descendant of Kings not relative of Kings.

Ereinion as the son of Orodreth isn't too bad either. Orodreth wasn't the High King, but then again Ereinion means 'Scion of kings' not 'Scion of High-Kings' Orodreth was King of Nargothrond, and GG did come from a family of kings (loosely).

Not his closest family, but his next of kin. He IS a descendant of Finwe.

 

[Lantarion]

Originally posted by InderjitS
Family of Kings? Who? Ereinion means SCION I.e. descendant of Kings not relative of Kings.

Well, let's see: as far as I can see, Ereinion is Sindarin. It contains the plural of aran (= erain), and the suffix -ion (e.g. my name!).
Now Jim Allan says in his book An Introduction to Elvish:

-ion suff. from at least two different sources. On some names it sems to be derived from a genetive plural, and may still have this meaning, and is in this book accordingly identified as GEN. PL. On some names it must have a singular meaning, and is possibly cognate with -ion in Q.

This is, of couse, the overview of the Sindarin usage of the suffix -ion; and it is said to be the equivalent of the genetive (plural) suffix. In this case 'Ereinion' would literally be "Of kings".
Elsewhere Tolkien describes the suffix as meaning "(the) son of" [hence my name Lantarion means "Son of the Fallen"]; in this sense Ereinion can be taken as "Son of King". And as ithryn mentioned, Orodreth was the King of Nargothrond.
Yet this description of the name Ereinion gives no conclusive evidence, because it could mean the son of the High King (Fingon) or son of the King of Nargothrond (Orodreth).

 

[Chymaera]

Gil-galad as the son of Fingon natually becomes the High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth. No questions asked.

Gil-galad as the son of Orodreth. All of a sudden there becomes a problem. Gil-galad becomes of the House of Finarfin and not of the House of Fingolfin which puts him right out of the line of sucession. Elrond as the grandson of Turgon now has a better claim to the crown and even Celebrimbor has a better claim then Gil-galad, son of Orodreth.

That is why Gil-galad is the son of Fingon. J.R.R. needed Elrond as couselor to the High King so that he would end up in Imladris after the War with Sauron.

Here is what I found in 'The War of the Jewels' HoME XI page 243:

That Gil-galad was the son of Fingon (The Silmarillion p.154) derives from the last note pencilled on the manuscript of GA (para. 157), stating that when Fingon became King of the Noldor on the death of Fingolfin 'his young son (?Findor)[sic] Gil-galad he sent to the Havens.' But this, adopted after much hesitaion, was not in fact by any means the last of my father's speculations on this question.

Not the last speculation but the best for the story, I think

 

[Inderjit S]

Elrond as the grandson of Turgon now has a better claim to the crown and even Celebrimbor has a better claim then Gil-galad, son of Orodreth.

1.Celebrimbor is of the house of Feanor, who are the dispossessed. They can't have a Feanorian King. It' doesn't give him a better claim at all.

2. Elrond is descended from Idril, and thus from the female line, the male line would take precedence in this. (Though I wonder what would happen if Maeglin had fulfilled his original 'role' as the 'heir of Turgon'?)

3. Elrond wasn't even born when Gil-Galad was crowned King.

4. There is nothing wrong with the Kingship passing from house to house of there is no legitimate male heir.

5. Elrond had a great respect for Gil-Galad, he was his councillor in Lindon, his fief in Eriador (Rivendell) and his banner-bearer in the Last Alliance would he really want to rbel against someone he admires so much? And who ever says that Elrond wanted to become King-he had a greater reverence for his Sindarin ancestry.

.R.R. needed Elrond as couselor to the High King so that he would end up in Imladris after the War with

Elrond only found Imladris after he managed to escape from the War of Sauron and Elves in Eregion, after he was aided by the Dwarves of Moria and the Elves of Lorien. It was later a refuge for Elves and Men when Sauron was destroying and civilizations in Eriador and alter the 'Wise' said that a Elvish stronghold was needed in the east (After Eregion's fall) and Rivendell became the stronghold.


The placing of a descendant of Finarfin as the new King makes sense, since there was no legitmate claim from the house of Fingolfin, and Gil-Galad was the only member of the house of Finarfin (The next one in succession) left.

Also the answer to my first question is found in the Shibboleth of Feanor Erenion as a name was first given to him in that essay.

 

[Aiwendil2]

1.Celebrimbor is of the house of Feanor, who are the dispossessed. They can't have a Feanorian King. It' doesn't give him a better claim at all.

Nowhere have I seen proof that, when Maedhros gave up the kingship to Fingolfin, the Feanorians forswore it forever. I have always thought that they were called "the Dispossessed" because in actual fact, as it happened, they lost the kingship (and since it passed from father to son, there was no foreseeable chance that they would get it back). I can find no evidence that it was actually decided or proclaimed that, even if Fingolfin's line should fail, no Feanorian could ever again take the kingship.

2. Elrond is descended from Idril, and thus from the female line, the male line would take precedence in this. (Though I wonder what would happen if Maeglin had fulfilled his original 'role' as the 'heir of Turgon'?)

I have often wondered about this as well. You may be right, but I still think that the passage in "Laws and Customs" concerning the equality of neri and nissi (males and females) casts some doubt upon this. Consider also the fact that Dior claimed to be the heir of Thingol (through Luthien).

But I think perhaps it would make more sense to think of the succession of Noldorin kings as something not governed by strict law. There was no written code to establish who became the next king in any given circumstance; it was rather a matter of implicit common law, claims, and acceptance.

 

[Beleg]

Dior only got the Kingship because no direct male heir of Thingol was left.
The Kingship would have gone to Orodeth [if he had lived] if Gil-galad died. I don't think Maeglin could have made any claim on i as long as direct heirs from the male lines of the house of Finwe were alive.
But if we take that Meadhros only meant to give up the Kingship to Fingolfin, then his sons were by no means the rightful heirs and shouldn't have been proclaimed High Kings. This leads me to believe that the Feanorians were all indeed dispossessed of the claim of Kingship for ever. I cannot offcourse prove it that way, but It seems to me more plausible then the other scenario.

 

[Tar-Elenion]

Regarding the inheritance of the Kingship, note that Maedhros when relinquishing his claim in favour of Fingolfin's says that it should pass to Fingolfin as he is the eldest member of Finwe's house. Turgon (the eldest eligible member of the house of Finwe) became High King even in those variants where Fingon had a son. Idril is said or implied to be Turgon's heir in some passages (in others Turgon is said to have no heir). Elrond actually held Gil-galad's place before there was a Gil-galad and 'ruled in the west of the world'. It is implied that Maeglin could have been Turgon's heir. It was through Arwen that the descendants of Aragorn inherited the Elf-realms of the west.
Several of these suggest at least the possibilty of inheritance through a female line.

 

[Inderjit S]

Nowhere have I seen proof that, when Maedhros gave up the kingship to Fingolfin, the Feanorians forswore it forever. I have always thought that they were called "the Dispossessed" because in actual fact, as it happened, they lost the kingship (and since it passed from father to son, there was no foreseeable chance that they would get it back). I can find no evidence that it was actually decided or proclaimed that, even if Fingolfin's line should fail, no Feanorian could ever again take the kingship.

Maybe I was wrong in presuming that their could never be a Feanorian King, but it seems from these quotes that the probability was low.

Therefore even as Mandos foretold the House of Fëanor were called the Dispossessed, because the over-lordship passed from it, the elder, to the house of Fingolfin, both in Elendë and in Beleriand, and because also of the loss of the Silmarils

It seems the Feanorians were in a state of 'seclusion' of sorts from the Finarfians and the host of Fingolfin.

Then Angrod was wrathful and went forth from the council. Maedhros indeed rebuked Caranthir; but the greater part of the Noldor, of both followings, hearing his words were troubled in heart, fearing the fell spirit of the sons of Fëanor that it seemed would ever be like to burst forth in rash word or violence

But Maedhros restrained his brothers, and they departed from the council, and soon afterwards they left Mithrim and went eastward beyond Aros to the wide lands about the Hill of Himring. That region was named thereafter the March of Maedhros; for northwards there was little defence of hill or river against assault from Angband. There Maedhros and his brothers kept watch, gathering all such people as would come to them, and they had few dealings with their kinsfolk westward, save at need. It is said indeed that Maedhros himself devised this plan, to lessen the chances of strife, and because he was very willing that the chief peril of assault should fall upon himself; and he remained for his part in friendship with the houses of Fingolfin and Finarfin, and would come among them at times for common counsel. Yet he also was bound by the oath, though it slept now for a time.

All quotes from Of the Return of the Noldor

Noting Celebrimbor, I am unsure as to who Tolkien felt he was descended from in some of his latter writings. He is a Elf of Gondolin in History of Galadriel and Celeborn claimed to be a descendant of Daeron in Of Dwarves and Men and one of the three Teleri who accompanied Teleporno (Celeborn here as a Telerin Elf) and isn't mentioned as a descendant of Finwe in the Shibboleth of Feanor but as C.T notes Tolkien would have been bound with his statement that he was descended from Feanor which appears in the T.O.Y.

Also

Gil-Galad 'star of radiance' he was the last King of Eldar in Middle-Earth and the last male descendant of Finwe, except Elrond half-Elven

Shibboleth of Feanor

Consider also the fact that Dior claimed to be the heir of Thingol (through Luthien

Note that Dior was the only descendent of Elwe in Arda. He called himself the heir of Elwe as told in the Problem of Ros for that reason, he was the legitimate heir of Thingol as he was the only person who could contest descendany-at the time. Finwe had many descendants.

. Elrond actually held Gil-galad's place before there was a Gil-galad and 'ruled in the west of the world'

I'm unsure is that in the Fall of Numenor? I think I remember reading it there.

 

[Beleg]

I'm unsure is that in the Fall of Numenor? I think I remember reading it there.

Latter Annals of Beleriand, Lost Road
397 [597]. In this year Fionwe departed and went back to
Valinor with all his folk, and with them went most of the Gnomes that yet lived and the other Elves of Middle-earth. But Elrond the Half-elfin remained, and ruled in the West of the world.

 

[Aiwendil2]

Beleg_strongbow wrote:

Dior only got the Kingship because no direct male heir of Thingol was left.

Inderjit Sanghera wrote:

Note that Dior was the only descendent of Elwe in Arda. He called himself the heir of Elwe as told in the Problem of Ros for that reason, he was the legitimate heir of Thingol as he was the only person who could contest descendany-at the time. Finwe had many descendants.

Very true. But my point was only that, at least according to Dior, kingship could under certain circumstances descend through the female line. Tar-Elenion points out several other indications of this.