Beren
| House / Order | House of Bëor |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | |
| Status | Deceased (twice; granted a second life) |
| Origin | Dorthonion; Doriath; Tol Galen, in Beleriand |
| Born | First Age 432 |
| Died | First Age 503 (and again, after his restored life) |
| Weapon | The knife Angrist (used to cut a Silmaril) |
| Fate | Recovered a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown; died and was uniquely restored to life with Lúthien |
| Portrayed by |
Beren, called Erchamion, "the One-handed," was a mortal Man of the House of Bëor whose love for the Elven princess Lúthien led him to accomplish the greatest deed of the Elder Days: the recovery of a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth. The tale of Beren and Lúthien is the central love story of Tolkien's legendarium, and from their union descend the lines of the Half-elven, the Kings of Númenor, and Aragorn.
Background
Beren was the son of Barahir, a lord of the Edain who fought against Morgoth in the land of Dorthonion. When the Dark Lord's forces overran the region after the disastrous Battle of Sudden Flame, Barahir and a small band of companions waged a desperate guerrilla war until they were betrayed and slain. Beren alone survived, becoming an outlaw who haunted the highlands, doing such deeds against the servants of Morgoth that a great price was set upon his head.
Beren and Lúthien
Driven at last from Dorthonion, Beren wandered south and came into the hidden Elven kingdom of Doriath. There he beheld Lúthien, daughter of King Thingol and the Maia Melian, dancing in a glade, and the two fell in love, the first union of mortal Man and immortal Elf. When Beren sought her hand, King Thingol, who would not give his daughter to a mortal, set what he thought an impossible bride-price: to bring him a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth himself.
Beren took up the quest. He was captured and imprisoned by Sauron, then Morgoth's lieutenant, but Lúthien came to his rescue with the hound Huan, overthrowing Sauron's tower. Together they made their way into Angband, the deepest stronghold of the Enemy. Lúthien cast Morgoth into an enchanted sleep with her song, and Beren cut a Silmaril from the Iron Crown. As they fled, the great wolf Carcharoth bit off Beren's hand at the wrist, swallowing both hand and Silmaril, for which Beren was thereafter called Erchamion, the One-handed, and Camlost, the Empty-handed.
Death and restoration
In the hunting of the maddened wolf Carcharoth, who ravaged Doriath, Beren was mortally wounded, though the Silmaril was at last recovered from the beast's belly. He died in Lúthien's arms. So great was her grief that Lúthien herself died and passed to the halls of Mandos, where her song moved the Vala to pity. By a unique grace, Lúthien was permitted to bring Beren back, both of them returning to live again as mortals in the green land of Tol Galen, where they dwelt until their final deaths and where their son Dior was born.
Legacy
Through Dior and his daughter Elwing, who wedded Eärendil, the blood and the recovered Silmaril of Beren and Lúthien passed to Elrond and Elros, and thence to the Half-elven, the Kings of Númenor, and the line of Aragorn and Arwen. The reunion of Aragorn and Arwen in the Third Age consciously echoes that of Beren and Lúthien, the mortal man and the immortal elf-maiden.
Character
Beren is the archetype of the mortal hero whose love and courage achieve what armies could not. Steadfast, daring, and faithful unto death, he is forever joined in legend and song to Lúthien, the two of them remembered as the greatest of lovers in the histories of Middle-earth.
Appearances
- The Silmarillion (Of Beren and Lúthien)
- The Fellowship of the Ring (Aragorn's song on Weathertop)
- Beren and Lúthien (standalone volume)