Editing Lúthien and Beren (section)

== Fictional biography ==

{{further|The Tale of Beren and Lúthien}}

=== Meeting ===

[[File:TN-Luthien-Web.jpg|thumb|upright|''Lúthien'' — a [[gouache]] painting depicting a scene from ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]. It was published in the 1990 ''[[Tolkien Calendars|Tolkien Calendar]]''.|alt=Painting of an Elf-woman dancing in a forest]]

Beren saw Lúthien dancing under moonrise in her father's forest, and fell in love with her, captivated by her beauty. He stood in the shadows wishing to be near enough to Lúthien to touch her, but Daeron, her childhood friend and partner in music and dance, noticed Beren and, believing him to be a wild animal, shouted for Lúthien to flee. She saw Beren's shadow and ran away. One day in summer when Lúthien was dancing on a green hill surrounded by [[Conium|hemlock]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2017/06/01/tolkien-hemlock/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129184058/https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2017/06/01/tolkien-hemlock/ |archive-date=November 29, 2018 |title=Beren and Lúthien and the hemlock glade |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref> she sang, awakening Beren. He ran to her, and again she tried to escape and he cried ''Tinúviel''. When Lúthien gazed upon him she reciprocated his love. He kissed her, but she slipped away and he fell into a deep sleep. In his hour of despair, she appeared before him, and in the Hidden Kingdom of [[Doriath (Middle-earth)|Doriath]] set her hand in his and cradled his head against her breast. From then on they met secretly.<ref name="ch19" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 19 "Of Beren and Lúthien"}}</ref>

=== The quest of the Silmaril ===

{{further|Quests in Middle-earth}}

Daeron, who also loved her, reported her meetings with Beren to her father.<!--Silm. p. 166-->
Though Melian warned her husband against it, Thingol was determined not to let Beren marry his daughter, and set a seemingly impossible task as the [[bride price]]: Beren had to bring him one of the [[Silmaril]]s from [[Morgoth]]'s Iron Crown.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Vision and imprisonment ===

Lúthien had a vision of Beren lying suffering in the pits of [[Sauron]], Lord of Werewolves. Her mother told her that Beren was captive in [[Sauron]]'s dungeons. Lúthien decided to save Beren, asking Daeron for help, but he betrayed her to Thingol. Thingol then had her guarded in the high branches of a beech tree. Daeron was filled with remorse; Lúthien forgave him and devised a plan to escape. She enchanted her hair into a cloak to lull her guards to sleep,<!--Silm. p. 172--> and ran from her prison.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

{{anchor|Huan}}
On her way to rescue Beren, she found Huan, the Hound of [[Valinor]], and was taken to his master Celegorm. He, plotting to force her to marry him, offered to help her, asking her to follow him to [[Nargothrond]]. When she arrived, Celegorm held her hostage and forbade her to talk to anyone else. Huan took pity on her, betraying his master, and freed her. Huan was granted the power to speak, and together they escaped from Nargothrond.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

They came to Sauron's Isle, and Lúthien sang a call to Beren. He answered, but Sauron heard her song and sent wolves to slay Huan, but Huan killed them, one by one. Finally, Sauron transformed himself into the most powerful of all werewolves and went out. Huan flinched, but Lúthien smothered Sauron's lunge in her enchanted cloak. Sauron changed into different shapes, but Huan bested him. Lúthien forced Sauron to surrender the keys of his tower; he fled in the shape of a vampire<!--Silm p. 175-->.<ref name="ch19" group=T/> Lúthien destroyed the Tower. Finding the seemingly dead Beren, she fell down beside him in grief, but with the rising sun he awoke and they were reunited. Huan returned to Celegorm.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Celegorm, Curufin and the dance of Lúthien before Morgoth ===

Beren pleaded with Lúthien to return to her father, but she refused. As they were about to embrace, Celegorm and Curufin appeared, exiled because of Lúthien's escape from Nargothrond. Seeking revenge, they fought Beren, and Huan again fought on Lúthien's side. Beren defeated them, but spared their lives at Lúthien's request. Beren stole one of their horses, and the couple fled. As she slept, he went to [[Angband (Middle-earth)|Angband]] to get the Silmaril.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

Lúthien and Huan disguised themselves as Morgoth's vampire Thuringwethil and the werewolf Draugluin. She found Beren and they reached the throne of Morgoth, but he saw through Lúthien's disguise. She declared herself and offered to sing for Morgoth. Filled with an evil lust, he accepted, but she put him and his entire court into a deep sleep. She awakened Beren, and he cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. As he tried for another Silmaril, his blade snapped, striking Morgoth's cheek. Lúthien and Beren fled to the gates, where the werewolf Carcharoth attacked them.<!--Silm. p. 181--> Beren thrust the Silmaril into its face, but it bit off Beren's hand, swallowing it and the Silmaril. Lúthien sucked out the venom, and with her failing power tried to restore Beren. Huan summoned the [[Eagles of Manwë]], who carried them to Doriath.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Return to Doriath and death of Beren ===

Lúthien healed Beren, and together they stood before her father's throne. Beren told Thingol that the quest was fulfilled, and that he held a Silmaril in his hand. When Thingol demanded to see it, Beren showed him his stump. The couple then explained what had happened. They were married before Thingol's throne that day. Meanwhile, Carcharoth slaughtered all the living beings he came across in his frenzied flight, both empowered and tormented by the jewel burning his stomach. Beren, Thingol, Huan, and other Elves went to defeat the beast. Beren was attacked by the wolf; Huan killed the beast, but died of his wounds. Beren was carried to Doriath, where he died in Lúthien's arms.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Lúthien becomes mortal for Beren ===

[[File:Mandos and Lúthien.jpg|thumb|upright|Lúthien pleading with [[Mandos]]. Art by Gregor Roffalski|alt=Painting of an Elf-woman before a gigantic godlike figure in a throne]]

In grief, Lúthien lay down and died, going to the Halls of [[Mandos]].{{efn|There the spirits of dead Elves await re-embodiment in [[Valinor]]; the spirits of dead Men await their departure from the circles of the world.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} ch. 7 "Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor"</ref>}} There she sang a song of the suffering of Elves and Men, the greatest ever sung. This proved effective: it was the only time that Mandos ever acted out of pity. He summoned Beren from the houses of the dead, and Lúthien's spirit met his by the shores of the sea. Mandos consulted with [[Manwë (Middle-earth)|Manwë]], King of [[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]]. Even Manwë could not change the fate of Men, and so he gave Lúthien a choice: to live in Valinor, but without Beren; or to return to Middle-earth with Beren as a mortal herself, accepting the Doom of Men. She chose Beren and mortality.<!--Silm, p. 187--><ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Return to life, and death ===

Lúthien and Beren dwelt together in Ossiriand until after the sack of [[Menegroth]]. Their abode was ''Dor Firn-i-Guinar'': the "Land of the Dead that Lived".<!--Silm. p. 188--> They had a son, Dior.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 20 "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"}}</ref>

Thingol received the Nauglamír from [[Húrin]], who had recovered it from the ruins of [[Nargothrond]]. Thingol decided to unite the greatest works of the [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]] and the Elves – the Nauglamír and the [[Silmaril]] – and hired Dwarf smiths from Nogrod. The Dwarves murdered Thingol and took the Nauglamír. Beren and an army of Green Elves and [[Ent]]s waylaid the returning Dwarves. Beren reclaimed the Nauglamír, and Lúthien kept the necklace and the great jewel all her life. This hastened Beren's and Lúthien's end, since her beauty enhanced by the jewel was too bright for mortal lands to bear.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 22 "Of the Ruin of Doriath"}}</ref>

[[Elrond]] and [[Arwen]] were descendants of Lúthien, as was [[Aragorn]], a descendant of Elrond's brother Elros.<ref name="Tale" group=T/>