Melian
From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.
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Melian
Biographical information
Physical description
Melian was a Maia of the race of the Ainur. She served both Vána and Estë, before she left for Middle-earth she dwelt in Lórien tending the trees that grew in the Gardens of Irmo. Among all of his people none were wiser, more beautiful, or more skilled in singing enchanting songs than Melian. She loved the deep shadows of the great trees. When the light of the Two Trees would mingle Melian would sing and the Valar would stop their work and listen. Nightingales went with her wherever she went, and she taught them their song. Of all the Valar she was most akin to Yavanna. When the elves awoke on the shore of Cuiviénen she departed from Valinor and went to Middle-earth, where she filled its silence with her singing and the singing of her birds.
While in the forest of Nan Elmoth she met and fell in love with the Elven-king Elu Thingol, and later she ruled the kingdom of Doriath by his side. She was the mother of Lúthien, making her one of the two known Ainur said to have borne children, as Ungoliant is said to be a spirit (what else but a Maia) who had followed Melkor in rebellion, then turned to her own purposes. Melian's main line of descent is of the half-elven, and through her daughter the Maian blood passed to both Elves and Men. In Doriath she used her powers to guard and defend the city with a protection called the Girdle of Melian, but she predicted that one person would breach this defense. When Beren arrived as foretold, she counseled Thingol against sending Beren for a Silmaril, a quest which would eventually lead to Doriath's ruin. During her stay in Doriath she became a friend and mentor of Galadriel. After Thingol's death she left Doriath, and went back to Valinor, musing upon her sorrows in the gardens of Lorien from whence she came.
[edit] Line of the Half-elven
Finwë = Indis Eru Ilúvatar | | Fingolfin = Anairë Galdor Thingol = Melian | | | | | (1) | Turgon = Elenwë Huor Beren = Lúthien | (2) | | Idril ======= Tuor Dior = Nimloth | | | ------------- | | | Eärendil ======== Elwing Eluréd and Elurín | ------------------------------ | | Elros Elrond = Celebrían | | Kings of Númenor : | Lords of Andunie : | Elendil | | ------------------- | | | Anarion Isildur . . | . . Kings of Gondor----Kings of Arnor | | | ---------------------- Chieftains of the Dúnedain | | | : (3) | | | Aragorn ========= Arwen Elladan and Elrohir | |--------------| Eldarion Unnamed Daughters
The marriages between Men and Elves are numbered.
The italicized are the Half-elven or Peredhil
| Ainur of Arda | |
|---|---|
| Ainulindalë (Music of the Ainur) | |
| Lords of the Valar: | Manwë | Aulë | Oromë | Irmo (Lórien) | Námo (Mandos) | Tulkas | Ulmo |
| Queens of the Valar (The Valier): | Varda | Yavanna | Vána | Estë | Vairë | Nessa | Nienna |
| The Enemy: | Morgoth (a.k.a. Melkor) |
| Maiar: | Eönwë | Ilmarë | Ossë | Uinen | Salmar | Sauron | Melian | Arien | Tilion | Gothmog Curumo (Saruman) | Ungoliant | Olórin (Gandalf) | Aiwendil (Radagast) | Alatar and Pallando | Durin's Bane |
