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Aredhel, also known as Aredhel Ar-Feiniel,[2] "White Lady of the Ñoldor", was the only daughter and third child of Ñoldorin High-prince Fingolfin and his wife, Anairë. Aredhel was the sister of Fingon, Turgon, and Argon, and the mother of Maeglin.

Biography[]

Nan Elmoth by Filat

Aredhel Ar-Feiniel dressed in white and silver in the forest of Nan Elmoth, by Marya Filatova

Aredhel was born in YT 1362, the same year as her cousin Galadriel,[1] and lived in Tirion. She followed her father and brothers through Helcaraxë and dwelt in Nevrast with her brother Turgon until Gondolin was complete, and when it was she went with him to the hidden city. But after two hundred years, the longing for the forests and wide lands overcame her, and she asked leave to depart. Turgon was unwilling, fearing the exposure of the Hidden Kingdom, but eventually relented and allowed her to leave.

Riding with companions Glorfindel, Ecthelion, and Egalmoth,[3] they were denied entrance to Doriath, it being closed to the Ñoldor. But they did tell her of the best way to find the Sons of Fëanor, and so they went around to the north, where she was separated in the dangerous region of Nan Dungortheb and reported lost. However, she reached Himlad safely, and waited there to meet Celegorm who was abroad, but eventually she wandered out of boredom and became lost in the forest of Nan Elmoth.

TN-Eol Welcomes Aredhel

Eöl welcomes Aredhel, by Ted Nasmith

Aredhel-Lady of Nan Elmoth by Liga Klavina

Aredhel, by Līga Klavina

Eöl the Dark Elf ruled those woods; seeing Aredhel and noticing her beauty, he set enchantments about her so that she could not escape the forest. Eventually, she wandered to Eöl's dwelling in the woods, where he finally revealed himself to her. After marrying him, she stayed with him many years. They had a son named Maeglin, and telling him of her former life and home, she desired to see them again, and left Nan Elmoth with Maeglin while Eöl was away. They reached Gondolin (not realizing that Eöl was following them all the while), and were received with rejoicing. Eöl was also discovered and brought before Turgon, but rather than accept Turgon's judgment to remain, he attempted to kill his son for disobeying him with a poisoned javelin concealed in his cloak. Aredhel stepped in front of it and was hit by it and because of its poison, she died that night from the wound.

Eöl was cast down from the city walls and died, while Maeglin became mighty in Gondolin but later betrayed it to Morgoth.[2][4]

Character[]

Aredhel was tall and strong, fond of hunting and riding in the forests. Her skin was pale and her hair dark; she always wore silver and white. Though fond of the Sons of Fëanor, she never fell in love with any of them.[2]

Etymology[]

Her name in Quenya was Irissë.[5] The names Aredhel ("noble elf")[6] and Ar-Feiniel ("noble white lady") were both originally intended to stand alone, and be used as her primary name. It should be pronounced AR-ethel.

While preparing The Silmarillion for publication, Christopher Tolkien could not discover which name was intended to be used as her final name, and he therefore chose to use both - a decision he later stated in The History of Middle-earth series was possibly mistaken.

In earlier versions of the legendarium, the character was named Isfin.

House of Fingolfin[]

The Heraldic Device of the House of Fingolfin

   
   
   
   
Finwë
   
   
Indis
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Findis
   
   
Fingolfin
   
   
Anairë
   
   
Irimë
   
   
Finarfin
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Fingon
   
   
Turgon
   
   
Elenwë
   
   
Aredhel
   
   
Eöl
   
   
Argon
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Idril
   
   
Tuor
   
   
Maeglin
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Eärendil
   
   
Elwing
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Elrond
   
   
Elros


Gallery[]

Brave Heart - Children of Fingolfin
The Children of Fingolfin, by Brave Heart

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Arabic اردهيل
Armenian Արեդհել
Belarusian Cyrillic Аредель
Bengali অরেধেল
Bulgarian Cyrillic Аредхел
Chinese 雅瑞希尔
Georgian არედელი
Greek Αρεδχελ
Gujarati એરેહલ
Hebrew ארדל
Hindi अर्ऐध्ऐल
Japanese アレゼル
Kannada ಅರೆದೆಲ್
Kazakh Аредһел (Cyrillic) Aredhel (Latin)
Korean 아레델
Kyrgyz Cyrillic Арэдhэл
Macedonian Cyrillic Аредхел
Marathi अरेढेल
Mongolian Cyrillic Арэдhэл
Nepalese अरेडेल
Persian آره‌دل
Polish Aredhela
Punjabi ਏਰੈਡਲ
Russian Аредэль
Sanskrit आरेधेल्
Serbian Аредхел (Cyrillic) Aredhel (Latin)
Sinhalese ඇරඩෙල්
Tajik Cyrillic Аредбер
Tamil ஆரெத்ஹெல்
Telugu ఆరేదెలా
Thai อาเรเดล
Ukrainian Cyrillic Аредель
Uzbek Аредҳел (Cyrillic) Aredhel (Latin)
Yiddish אַרעדהעל

References[]

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