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ErendilThis article deals with the Half-elven Erendil. For the Gondorian king, see Erendil of Gondor. For the use of the name before J. R. R. Tolkien, see Aurvandil, and the poem Crist.
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Erendil the Mariner (IPA: ) is one of the most important figures in the mythology, a great seafarer who carries a star across the sky. His story is found in The Silmarillion, and there are several references to him throughout The Lord of the Rings. Biography The son of Tuor and Idril daughter of Turgon, Erendil was raised as a child in Gondolin. When Erendil was seven years old, he escaped the sack of Gondolin with his parents, living afterwards in Arvernien by the mouth of Sirion. Erendil later became the leader of the people who lived there, and married Elwing, daughter of Dior the son of Beren and Lthien. They had two sons, Elrond and Elros. With the aid of Crdan the Shipwright, Erendil built a ship, Vingilt (or Vingilot), which is Quenya for foam-flower. He sailed this often around the seas west of Middle-earth, leaving his wife behind in Arvernien. At this time Elwing had in her possession the Silmaril that Beren had wrested from Morgoth. News of this came to the sons of Fanor that were still living, and they attacked the people living in Arvernien, and slew most of them. But Elwing, rather than be captured, threw herself with the Silmaril into the sea. The Silmaril was not lost, however. According to The Silmarillion: For Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek Erendil her beloved. On a time of night Erendil at the helm of his ship saw her come towards him, as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star over the sea moving in strange courses, a pale flame on wings of storm. And it is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of Vingilot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of her speed, and Erendil took her to his bosom; but in the morning with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her hair upon his face, and she slept. Hearing of the tragedy that had befallen in Arvernien, Erendil then sought after Valinor, and he and Elwing found their way there at last. Erendil thus became the first of all mortals to set foot in Valinor. Erendil then went before the Valar, and asked them for aid for Men and Elves in Middle-earth, to fight against Morgoth; and the Valar accepted his plea. Because Erendil had undertaken this errand on behalf of Men and Elves, and not for his own sake, Manw forbore to deal out the punishment of death that was due; and because both Erendil and Elwing were descended from a union of Elves and Men, Manw granted to them and their sons the gift to choose to which race they would be joined (a gift that was further passed to the children of Elrond, who became known as the Half-elven). Elwing and Erendil chose to be joined to the Elves; and the Valar took Vingilt and with Erendil upon it set it to sail through the sky, with the Silmaril bound upon his brow. The Silmarilion says this: Now when first Vingilot was set to sail in the seas of heaven, it rose unlooked for, glittering and bright; and the people of Middle-earth beheld it from afar and wondered, and they took it for a sign, and called it Gil-Estel, the Star of High Hope. The Valar, having listened to Erendil's plea, went with a mighty host to Middle-earth, and overthrew Morgoth, and bound him. Erendil took part in the battle, riding on Vingolt beside Thorondor and the Eagles. It was his blow that slew the great dragon Ancalagon and cast it down onto Thangorodrim, the event which, along with the sheer devestation caused by the War of Wrath, lead to the Ruin of Beleriand. Concerning the Name Erendil is a Quenya name, meaning 'Lover of the Sea'. However, Tolkien created the name based on Old English literature (see Aurvandil for a review). Tolkien's own explanation from Letter 297 in Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien is: - This name is in fact (as is obvious) derived from A-S arendel. When first studying A-S professionally (1913 –) – I had done so as a boyish hobby when supposed to be learning Greek and Latin – I was struck by the great beauty of this word (or name), entirely coherent with the normal style of A-S, but euphonic to a peculiar degree in that pleasing but not 'delectable' language. Also its form strongly suggests that it is in origin a proper name and not a common noun. This is borne out by the obviously related forms in other Germanic languages; from which amid the confusions and debasements of late traditions it at least seems certain that it belonged to astronomical-myth, and was the name of a star or star-group. To my mind the A-S uses seem plainly to indicate that it was a star presaging the dawn (at any rate in English tradition): that is what we now call Venus: the morning-star as it may be seen shining brilliantly in the dawn, before the actual rising of the Sun. That is at any rate how I took it.
The name arendel occurs several times in extant manuscripts, but most notably in the poem Crist, in the lines ala arendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended, which can be translated roughly as, 'Hail Earendel, brightest of angels, sent over Middle-earth to men.' (In Old English, Middangeard 'Middle-earth' bounded by heaven above, hell beneath and the sea round about is the region that humans live in.) This is notable because the first line is paralleled by Frodo's exclamation in Cirith Ungol, Aiya Erendil Elenion Ancalima! which is Quenya, and means 'Hail Erendil, brightest of stars.' Frodo's exclamation was in reference to the 'Star-glass' he carried, which contained the light of Erendil's star, the Silmaril.
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