Beren

Beren, widely identified as Beren Erchamion, of Middle Earth, was a gallant man. The romantic tale of Beren and Elf Luthien was a reverberating story from the Elder days. The stories between them were cherished. It was passed on to so many generations for years after their demise.

Beren was born to Barahir, and, the man-hearted, Emelder. He was one of the magnificent heroes among the Edain (Men) or the Atanatari, the men from far east, inhabited in Bereliand in the period of the first age. He belonged to the royal house of Boer of Dorothonion. His valiant quest during the First Age made him the identified hero of all ages. Beren spent all his early days in the lands of Dorothonion with his father, Barahir. In Dorothonion, Beren and his father, along with their eleven loyal followers, showed great bravery in their deeds. Their fearless performance, upset the deadly Dark Lord, Morgoth, of Angband.

In his young age, his kingdom fell apart during the battle of Dagor Bragolloch. The death of his father and the consequent-shambles, of the outlaws of the Dorothonion, forced Beren to live alone. He learned about the birds and creatures which lived off the land of Dorothonion. They came to his aid whenever he was in danger and wanted assistance. Thus, they protect him. In the days he roamed in the places off from the mainland, he never hunted and never ate meat. But he hunted the beasts of Morgoth that flew around his land. It made him stronger. He didn't fear death anymore but only the confinement.

His braveness was not enough, as Morgoth, kept increasing the price for his head. It pressurized him to leave his birth land by Drauglin and Sauron. He was frustrated and made the cross against Doriath, and passed the forests of Dungortheb. In Doriath, he met his eternal love Luthien who was the princess of Sindar. Luthien, the elf-maiden of Doriath or the Princess of Doriath, was the daughter of Thingol and Melian.

Thingol, the father of Luthien, was against her love for Beren. He was so arrogant that he denied to permit them to get married. He demanded that Beren should bring a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth if he wanted to marry Luthien. The assignment was designed to be impossible, as Thingol didn't like his daughter marrying Beren. Beren and Luthien were unyielding that they were determined to accomplish the task. They took the assistance of Finrod of Nargothrond, and the great hound, Huan. Both of them later died to rescue Beren. Beren and Luthien, overcome every threat on their way to find a Silmaril and even fought the fierce Sauron, the Lieutenant of Morgoth. After tremendous hardship, they laid their hands on a Silmaril.

But things turned unexpected during their escapade from Angband. On their way, they encountered the deadly wolf, personally bred by Morgoth, Carcharoth. In their fight against the beast, Beren tried to drive it away, by blinding it with the sparkle of Silmaril. He was wrong, Carcharoth ran through him and swallowed his hand along with the Silmaril. Later, it went out of control and ran through the lands of Doriath.

The Eagles of Manwe saved Luthien and the injured Beren from the rampant damages. Since he lost a hand in the fight, he was later called Erchamion, meaning one-hand. He stood in front of Thingol to prove that he did acquire a Silmaril, but lost it in the fight. As he went back empty-handed, he was named Camlost. Carcharoth was later, hunted, killed and the Silmaril was recovered by Beren. Thus, he ended the quest of Silmaril. But, Beren, was fatally wounded in the fight with the beast.

The death of Beren was unbearable for Luthien. As soon as she heard the demise of Beren, her undying love for him took her life. After death, Luthien arrived at the Hall of Mandos. She tricked the Mandos to grant her a wish by her charm. She, hence, used it to restore the life of both herself and Beren. It was a miracle. They were reborn as mortals. They would live the life of men by getting old and die after their lifetime. After their life, they will reach an unknown place beyond the walls of Arda. They lived in Tol Galen of Ossiriand, which was the center of River Adurant. They lived alone in their world, away from the other mortals. Beren was only a measly part of the First Age. He was part of the Battle of Sarn Athrad. He fought against the bunch of Dwarves who destroyed Doriath. He also stole Nauglamir, the necklace of the dwarves, killing the Lord of Nogrod. Luthien and Beren had a son, Dior. The heir of Thingol, Dior, was the most rational person of all ages. He had the mixed blood of the elves, the men, and the Ainur. From the Eldar and Eldain, the successors of Dior, the blood of Beren and Luthien was passed on.

The courageous deeds of Beren existed as a motivation to all the people who were against the Dark Lord, Morgoth. They decided to unify together a mighty army against him and overthrow his power. But the Union of Maedhros went futile. They failed without victory. The dedication of Beren for his love of Luthien gained admiration for men among the elves. Their marriage led to the origin of the mixed bloodline of men and elves. It was retained through the Numenorean [1] nobility and the Dunedain together and continued till the Aragorn II Elessar of the reunited kingdom.

Beren stands for bold in the Noldorin. His other names have the origin in the Sindarin word, Cam, meaning hand. The other names of Beren include Erchamion, meaning one-handed, and Camlost, meaning empty-handed.

Beren sought the aid of the sword Dagmor, and the bow during his quest which was against the law of Dorthonion. He used the knife Angrist to sever the Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth. Family-line of Bëor.

The romance of Beren and Luthien was only a little part of the Lord of the Rings, but the Legendarium constitutes the majority of it. Tolkien went to Humber Garrison in 1918 during World War I. He explained that it was created from a small wood space loaded with Hemlocks, where he visited. The loss of Beren's arm to the beast is a motivation from the Norse Mythology of God, Tyr. The importance of Beren and Luthien, in the life of Tolkien beyond his writings, can be known by visiting his grave in Wolvercote Cemetery in North Oxford. The quote of Tolkien's gravestone reads "John Ronald Reuel Tolkien Beren (1892- 1973)" while that of his wife Edith's reads "Edith Mary Tolkien Luthien 1889-1971".

In the first edition of the story, Beren was a human being. Tolkien edited and rewritten that in the later editions. There is little information on the original version. Beren was modified as a Gnome, a Noldorin Elf, who was a son of Egnor (A former name of Aegnor) in the outline story and the printed version. Egnor and Egnor (Aegnor), are perceived as different persons by Beren and Luthien.

There is an unclear concept on Beren's race that was often changed by his father. Barahir and Egnor bro-Rimion are assumed as two persons. The race of Beren was not consistent in all the chapters of the tale and taken as what his father claims with every twist of the story. This was considered as the continuous and standalone story, compiled from every source. It was done on the idea of Christopher to evade editorial sway.

The interchanging elven heritage is portrayed by the artwork of Alan Lee, which is part of the book. The most prominent among them is a scene from The Tale of Tinuviel, [2] showing Beren, Luthien, and Huan on the cover page.

1. ^The Downfall of Númenor.
2. ^Strider tells the tale of Lúthien at Weathertop.