Celebrimbor
| House / Order | House of Fëanor (Noldor) |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | |
| Status | Deceased |
| Origin | Eregion (Hollin), in Middle-earth |
| Born | First Age, in Valinor |
| Died | Second Age 1697, in Eregion |
| Weapon | The craft of the smith; maker of the Three Elven Rings |
| Fate | Tortured and slain by Sauron after the forging of the Rings of Power |
| Portrayed by |
Celebrimbor was the greatest Elven-smith of the Second Age, Lord of Eregion and master of the guild of jewel-smiths called the Gwaith-i-Mírdain. A grandson of Fëanor, he forged the Three Rings of the Elves and was deceived by Sauron into the making of the lesser Rings of Power, a catastrophe that he gave his life to undo in part.
Background
Celebrimbor was a son of Curufin, the fifth son of Fëanor, the most gifted and most ruinous of the Noldor. Unlike his father and grandfather, Celebrimbor disavowed the terrible Oath of Fëanor and the kinslayings it caused, remaining in Middle-earth after the First Age with no part in his house's crimes. He inherited the surpassing skill of his line in the working of metals and gems.
Eregion and the Rings of Power
In the Second Age, Celebrimbor established the realm of Eregion, also called Hollin, near the West-gate of Moria, where his smiths befriended the Dwarves of Durin's Folk and crafted wonders. There came among them Annatar, the "Lord of Gifts," fair of form and full of knowledge, who offered to teach them the deepest secrets of craft. Gil-galad and Elrond mistrusted him, but Celebrimbor was won over, and from Annatar's teaching the Gwaith-i-Mírdain forged the Rings of Power.
Celebrimbor himself, with his own skill and unaided by Annatar, made the Three Rings of the Elves: Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, the rings of Fire, Water, and Air, the fairest and most powerful, untouched by Sauron's hand. But Annatar was Sauron in disguise, and in secret he forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom to rule all the others. When Sauron first put on the One, the Elves perceived him and understood the betrayal, and Celebrimbor hid the Three away.
Fall of Eregion
Enraged, Sauron made war and overran Eregion. Celebrimbor defended his realm to the last and was taken captive. Under torture he revealed where he had hidden the lesser rings, the Seven and the Nine, but he would not disclose the hiding of the Three, enduring agony rather than betray them. Sauron slew him, and his body, shot through with arrows, was borne as a banner before the orc-host. Eregion was laid waste, and only the timely march of Elrond saved a remnant who founded Rivendell.
Legacy
Though deceived, Celebrimbor preserved the Three Rings from Sauron's direct corruption, and through them much of the beauty of Rivendell, Lothlórien, and the Havens endured into the Third Age. His doors of Durin, made in friendship with the Dwarf Narvi, still warded the West-gate of Moria in the days of the Fellowship of the Ring.
Character
Celebrimbor is a tragic figure of great gifts and fatal trust, a smith of unmatched craft whose desire to make beautiful and enduring things laid him open to Sauron's deception. Yet his final courage under torture, refusing to surrender the Three even unto death, redeemed in part the disaster his openness had wrought.
Appearances
- The Silmarillion (Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)
- Unfinished Tales (History of Galadriel and Celeborn)
- The Fellowship of the Ring (mentioned; the Doors of Durin)