Maeglin

Maeglin, by Sara Maria Morello
Maeglin
Biographical information
Other names	Lómion
Titles	Lord of the Mole
Birth	FA 320
Death	FA 510
Spouse	None
Weapon	Anguirel
Physical description
Race	Elves
Gender	Male
Height	Tall
Hair	Black
Eyes	Dark
Culture	Avari (Moriquendi) Ñoldor (House of Fingolfin) Gondolindrim (House of the Mole)

Maeglin was an Elf, the son of Eöl the "Dark Elf" and Aredhel, daughter of Fingolfin. He lived during the First Age of the Sun in Middle-earth, and was a lord of the hidden Elven kingdom of Gondolin. He became infamous for his betrayal of the location of Gondolin to the Dark Lord Morgoth.

Biography

Aredhel had left Gondolin to wander through Beleriand, and in the woods of Nan Elmoth, she met Eöl, and stayed with him, eventually giving birth to Maeglin. Eöl gave his child the name Maeglin when he was twelve. His mother told him about Gondolin and its people throughout his childhood and he desired to see his related kin in the Hidden City. He and his mother soon grew weary and discontented with their life in Nan Elmoth and Eöl's strict shunning of the outside world. When Aredhel finally decided to leave Eöl, she took her son (who stole his father's sword, Anguirel, forged of meteor iron) with her and returned to Gondolin. However, Eöl had followed her, and in judgement before Turgon, he attempted to kill Maeglin with a poisoned dart, but hit Aredhel instead. She died, and Eöl was cast down to his death from the city walls.

Maeglin was now an orphan, but Turgon held him in honor, and Maeglin both learned and taught much. He became an elven-prince held in high esteem, even leading his own noble house. He found rich loads of metals in the Echoriad surrounding the city and forged weapons of steel stronger than had been seen before. His mine in the Echoriath was named Anghabar, "Iron Mine". In the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, Maeglin refused to remain behind as regent, and went forth to battle with Turgon. The seventh and final gate of Gondolin, the Great Gate of Steel, was Maeglin's creation.

Even though Maeglin was one of the mighty of Gondolin, his greatest desire was to take Turgon's daughter Idril to be his wife. But his desire was in vain, for Idril was his own first cousin, and as such was considered by Elven society to be too close in kinship with Maeglin to allow for any romantic relationship. Additionally, Idril was well aware of Maeglin's thoughts concerning her and despised him for it.

When Tuor came, carrying Ulmo's warning of the danger to Gondolin, Maeglin sat on the right hand of Turgon and argued against Tuor. The arguments made by Maeglin were instrumental in convincing Turgon not to leave Gondolin despite Ulmo's warnings, which ultimately resulted in the near-complete slaughter of the city's people. Seven years later, Tuor and Idril were wed and Idril bore a son, Eärendil, further increasing Maeglin's hate. Some time later, Maeglin was captured by Orcs while seeking for metals outside of the Encircling Mountains. He was brought to Angband and taken before Morgoth himself, who knew that Maeglin dwelt in Gondolin and was eager to learn its location. He threatened Maeglin with unimaginable torment, and though Maeglin was no craven, he was cowed by Morgoth's threats and betrayed the location and weaknesses of Gondolin in exchange for his freedom. Morgoth was overjoyed to obtain this information, and to further encourage Maeglin and ensure both his silence and his further aid, Morgoth promised him both rule of the city and the hand of Idril once Turgon was overthrown. Maeglin assented eagerly to this bargain. Afterwards, Morgoth released him and he returned to Gondolin without suspicion. When the hosts of Morgoth attacked and overran the city, Maeglin sought to capture Idril and fought with Tuor on the walls. But Tuor prevailed, and threw him from the wall to his death.

Maeglin was a relatively young elf, being merely 190 years old at the time of his death.

Etymology

Îon was the first name given to Maeglin, by Eöl, which simply meant 'son'. His later and common name Maeglin means "sharp glance" in Sindarin, with Maeg (in Quenya maika) meaning 'sharp, piercing' and glin meaning 'gleam'. At birth, Aredhel secretly gave Maeglin the name of Lómion, signifying "Child of the Twilight" in the Quenya tongue.

Morleg was the original and rejected name for him, as told in The War of the Jewels.

Maeglin's family tree

Fingolfin

Anairë

(Unknown Teleri lineage)

Fingon

Turgon

Aredhel

Eöl

Argon

Idril

Maeglin

Gallery

Maeglin outside of Eöl's house in Nan Elmoth, by Filat

Maeglin, at the Nírnaeth Arnoediad with the Host of Turgon, by Kazuki Mendou

From left to right: Turgon, Idril, and Maeglin

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	ማአግሊን
Arabic	مايجلن
Armenian	Մաեգլին
Belarusian Cyrillic	Маеглін
Bengali	মেগ্লিন
Bosnian	Maiglin
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Маеглин
Chinese	梅格林
Georgian	არედელი
Greek	Μαεγλιν
Gujarati	મેગેલીન
Hebrew	מאיגלין
Japanese	マイグリン
Kannada	ಮಾಗ್ಲಿನ್
Kazakh	Маеглин (Cyrillic) Maeglïn (Latin)
Korean	마이글린
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Маэглин
Macedonian Cyrillic	Маеглин
Marathi	मेग्लिन
Mongolian Cyrillic	Маеглин
Nepalese	म​एग्लिन
Pashto	ماېګلین
Persian	مائگلین
Punjabi	ਮੈਗਲਿਨ
Russian	Маэглин
Sanskrit	म​एग्लिन्
Serbian	Маеглин (Cyrillic) Maeglin (Latin)
Sindhi	نايگلڳن ?
Sinhalese	මිග්ලින්
Tajik Cyrillic	Маеглин
Tamil	மெக்லீன்
Telugu	మ​ఎగ్లిన
Thai	มายกลิน
Urdu	مایگلان
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Маеґлін
Uzbek	Маеглин (Cyrillic) Maeglin (Latin)
Yiddish	מאַעגלין