Everything about Beren totally explained
Beren (also known as
Beren Erchamion, "the One-handed", and
Beren Camlost, "the Empty-handed") is a fictional character in
J. R. R. Tolkien's
Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in
The Silmarillion.
Character overview
He was the son of
Emeldir and
Barahir, a
Man of the royal House of
Bëor of
Dorthonion. His romance with the
Elf Lúthien is one of the great stories of the
Elder Days.
Appearances
Literature
The
Battle of Sudden Flame occurred during Beren's youth, bringing about the ruin of his kingdom. Thenceforward the young Beren lived with his father and ten loyal followers in the highlands of Dorthonion, at
Tarn Aeluin, and they performed many acts of bravery, to the great frustration of
Morgoth, the
Dark Lord of
Angband. After the ruin of the Outlaws of Dorthonion, Beren exacted revenge on the murderer of his father, Barahir, and led a life of solitary outlaw with the aid of animals until he'd established such a high reputation that the price on his head was equal to that on
Fingon, high king of the Noldor elves. Beren had also recovered the ring of Barahir, a present given to his father by Finrod Felegund, who offered the ring as a symbol of his aid to Barahir and all of his descendants for Barahir's rescue of Finrod when he was surrounded. This ring was passed down eventually to
Aragorn. Beren was forced from the land of his birth by
Sauron and
Draugluin as they completely defiled Dorthonion. He crossed a path of terror, penetrating an impenetrable boundary by the will of fate, into
Doriath, where he saw and fell in love with Lúthien, princess of the
Sindar and daughter of
Thingol and
Melian.
Thingol haughtily refused to give Lúthien's hand in marriage. He said that he'd only allow the marriage if Beren recovered one of the
Silmarils, the three hallowed jewels which the Noldor Elves had lost to Morgoth, from the Iron Crown of Morgoth. The task was intended to be impossible, but Beren and Lúthien, with the aid of
Finrod of
Nargothrond and
Huan the Great
Hound (both of whom died protecting Beren), braved many perils (even besting Sauron, then Morgoth's most powerful lieutenant) and finally reached Angband and came before Morgoth. Beren was able to capture a Silmaril when Lúthien had made the Dark Lord fall asleep through her singing. He then attempted to take another Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, but the tip of his dagger
Angrist broke and cut Morgoth. When they wanted to escape from Angband, the great wolf
Carcharoth, whom Morgoth had bred, attacked them. Beren held out the Silmaril, hoping that its radiance would avert the beast, but he was mistaken. Carcharoth bit off his hand swallowed it and the Silmaril (thus Beren was called
Erchamion, One-hand), and proceeded to run rampant through Doriath. Lúthien and the unconscious Beren were rescued by the
Eagles of
Manwë. They eventually returned to Thingol, where Beren claimed that he was holding the Silmaril in his hand; when he showed the king the stump of his arm, the king was moved to compassion for Beren. Beren participated in the hunting of Carcharoth, in which the beast was slain and the Silmaril recovered; the quest was accomplished, but Beren was mortally wounded.
Lúthien's love for Beren was so strong that, hearing of his death, she laid down and died. Her soul went to the Halls of
Mandos, where she moved Mandos to pity through her singing. Both she and Beren were restored to life, but both of them would die the death of Men, and go beyond the walls of
Arda to a place unknown. Thus Beren and Lúthien lived again, and dwelt on
Tol Galen in the middle of the river
Adurant in Ossiriand. There they stayed apart from other mortals; Beren was involved with the events of the
First Age only one further time, when he waylaid a group of
Dwarves who had destroyed Doriath and stolen the
Nauglamír in which the Silmaril was set.
Lúthien bore Beren a son, named
Dior, Thingol's heir, considered to be one of the fairest beings to ever live, for in him flowed the blood of Men, Elves and
Maiar (Ainur). Through his descendants, the blood of Beren and of Lúthien was preserved among the
Eldar and the Edain.
Adaptations
The
BBC Radio adaptation of
The Lord of the Rings includes a scene from
The Fellowship of the Ring in which
Aragorn summarizes the story of Beren and Lúthien for
Frodo Baggins and his companions. Frodo later comes to realise the connection between their story and that of Aragorn and
Arwen.
The
animated adaptation of
The Lord of the Rings includes a similar scene in which Aragorn is relating the story of Beren and Lúthien for the Hobbits, but here there's no connection made between the two to Aragorn and Arwen, since the latter doesn't appear.
The special extended edition of
Peter Jackson's movie version of (2001) contains a brief mention of the story. During the journey from
Bree to
Rivendell Frodo hears Aragorn singing quietly to himself one night and asks who the woman is of whom he's singing. Aragorn replies that he's singing of Lúthien. When Frodo asks what happened to her Aragorn replies, "she died". This is true enough, and can be seen as a reflection of Aragorn's concern over Arwen's renunciation of immortality for his sake.
Concept and creation
The story of Beren and Lúthien, though mentioned only briefly in
The Lord of the Rings, was a central part of the
legendarium. Tolkien once referred to it as "the kernel of the mythology" . He went on to say that it "arose from a small woodland glade filled with '
hemlock'", which he visited while serving in the
Humber Garrison in
1918 (during
World War I).
In the earliest versions of the legendarium as depicted in
The Book of Lost Tales, Beren was a
Gnome (a
Noldorin Elf), son of Egnor (which might have been an early name for
Aegnor).
It is widely believed that the story and the characters were largely inspired by the young Tolkien's romance with
Edith Bratt, his future wife, who danced for her husband in the woodland glade.
The surname
Tolkien derives from the German
Toll-kühn meaning "Foolishly brave"
(External Link
). The name Beren also means "brave" in
Sindarin and some believe that this is intentional by the author.
The tale of Beren and Lúthien also shares an element with folktales such as the Welsh
Culhwch and Olwen and others— namely, the disapproving parent who sets a seemingly impossible task (or tasks) for the suitor, which is then fulfilled.
It may also have real-life parallels: some sources indicate that Edith's
Protestant family strongly disapproved of Tolkien's
Catholic Faith. In addition, Tolkien's guardian, a
priest of the
Birmingham Oratory, forbade him from having any contact with Edith until he turned 21. Tolkien's guardian clearly feared that his young charge was in danger of losing the Faith. Tolkien obeyed to the letter, but telegraphed Edith on his 21st birthday. Although she was engaged to another man, she returned the ring and announced her engagement to Tolkien instead.
After Edith's death, Tolkien had her headstone engraved
EDITH MARY TOLKIEN Lúthien 1889 – 1971, and when he died two years later he left orders for his own name to be written
JOHN RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN Beren 1892 – 1973Further Information
Get more info on 'Beren'.
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