In this biweekly series, we’re exploring the evolution of both major and minor figures in Tolkien’s legendarium, tracing the transformations of these characters through drafts and early manuscripts through to the finished work. This week, by special request, we’re looking at Melian, the incarnated Maia whose power, wisdom, and beauty were renowned in the First Age of Arda and who becomes the foremother of some of Middle-earth’s greatest heroes.
“In the gardens of Lórien she dwelt, and among all his fair folk none were there that surpassed her beauty, nor none more wise, nor none more skilled in magical and enchanting song. It is told that the Gods would leave their business, and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that Valmar’s bells were silent, and the fountains ceased to flow, when at the mingling of the light Melian sang in the garden of the God of Dreams” —The Shaping of Middle-earth, hereafter SM, 103.
This passage describes the Maia Melian before she passed over to the hither shore and took up her incarnate form in Middle-earth. Little is known about the divine mother of Lúthien when she dwelt in the Undying Lands. It’s said that she was kin to Yavanna (according to The Lost Road, hereafter LR, 241), the creator of flora and fauna and lover of trees, and that for a time she dwelt in and tended the gardens of the Vala Lórien and of Estë, as he is also called (Morgoth’s Ring, hereafter MR, 147). She’s also called the fairest of all the Maiar (MR 72). And from the passage above, we know that she has a talent for music—a potent power she’ll later pass on to her similarly-gifted daughter, Lúthien. Her voice is so beautiful that all of paradise leaves off its normal activities just to listen to her. She’s the Orpheus of Arda.
It seems, though, that Melian was, if not actually unhappy, at least somewhat discontent with her life in Valinor. The Shaping of Middle-earth reveals that though she lived in the holy light of the two Trees, Melian “loved deep shadow, and often strayed on long journey into the Outer Lands, and there filled the silence of the dawning world with her voice and the voices of her birds” (103). The desire to go to Middle-earth first came into her heart when she “went up upon Taniquetil [to see the stars]; and suddenly she desired to see Middle-earth, and she left Valinor and walked in twilight” (MR 72).
According to one telling, Melian first comes to Middle-earth in Valian Year 1050 (The War of the Jewels, hereafter WJ, 5). She spends many of those early years traveling, filling the “dawning world” with song and with her nightingales. Eventually she settles down in what will later become Doriath, and she’s the one, we’re told, who “fostered” the young woods of Sirion. Melian herself spends most of her time in “the glades of Nan Elmoth beside the River Celon” (WJ 6).
She doesn’t meet Elu Thingol until 1130, according to one timeline (WJ 7). It’s at this point that Melian’s story probably becomes more familiar, especially as it approaches the famed tale of Beren and Lúthien. But first: a different romance.
Melian and Thingol meet as the latter is wandering in the wilderness, having become lost on his way home after a meeting with Finwë (WJ 7; in another version, he’s leading a company that is on its way to Valinor and strays away. See The Book of Lost Tales 2, hereafter BLT2, 41). In a scene that foreshadows (and for us, recalls) Beren’s first vision of Lúthien, Thingol passes by Nan Elmoth, hears nightingales singing, and is entranced. He stumbles into the glade and is at once ensnared by the heart-stopping vision of the goddess with hair like midnight and eyes like the deep wells of time (BLT2 41). In this moment, he sees:
Melian standing beneath the stars, and a white mist was about her, but the Light of Aman was in her face. Thus began the love of Elwë Greymantle and Melian of Valinor. Hand in hand they stood silent in the woods, while the wheeling stars measured many years, and the young trees of Nan Elmoth grew tall and dark. Long his people sought for Elwë in vain. (WJ 7)
Those last two sentences are gross understatements. According to the Annals, Melian kept the unsuspecting Thingol enchanted for over two centuries (MR 89)! And it is an enchantment. Many of the more succinct versions of the meeting of the Maia and the elf lord, such as the one found in The Shaping of Middle-earth, notes that she enchanted him and immediately follows that with the news that they were married and became King and Queen of Doriath. Because of their brevity, they’re sometimes in danger of implying that Thingol had no choice in the matter—but, while Melian certainly has a lot of power over her king (as we’ll see later), the longer tales work diligently to dispel any uneasiness we might have in regards to the validity of their relationship.
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Specifically, other versions point out that while enchantment was certainly and to some degree involved in the beginning, Melian and Thingol loved each other profoundly and each made tremendous sacrifices for their relationship. Thingol chooses not to relocate to Valinor with the majority of his people, and Melian, significantly, confines herself to an incarnate body (The Peoples of Middle-earth, hereafter PM, 365). It might be noted here that Thingol gets a great deal out of this exchange: because of his association with Melian he himself becomes something like a Maia in appearance; he is identified as nearly the most mighty of all the Elves, second only to Fëanor; and Doriath, his realm, is a stronghold impregnable to the might of Morgoth. The text “Of Thingol and Melian” says this: “Great power Melian lent to Thingol her spouse, who was himself great among the Eldar; […] he was not accounted among the Moriquendi, but with the Elves of Light, mighty upon Middle-earth” (MR 173). Both Thingol and Melian are regarded with awe and devotion by their people.
Otherwise, Melian’s role as Queen of Doriath often seems minor, primarily because she tends to remain silent, rarely sharing her profound wisdom and offering her counsel mostly to individuals and sometimes after the fact. But in fact, Melian’s power and wisdom upholds the kingdom from the very beginning—and not just through the famed “Girdle of Melian” that keeps all strangers and evil from entering their realm. It was Melian, in fact, who first counseled the building of Menegroth when the power of Morgoth began to grow (WJ 10), and she was its major architect and designer. The Elves and Dwarves commissioned to build the great hall worked “each with their own skills, [and] there wrought out the visions of Melian, images of the wonder and beauty of Valinor beyond the Sea” (WJ 11). And, much like Míriel beyond the Sea, “Melian and her maidens filled the halls with webs of many hues wherein could be read the deeds of the Valar, and many things that had befallen in Arda since its beginning, and shadows of things that were yet to be. That was the fairest dwelling of any king that hath ever been east of the Sea” (WJ 11).
This passage is significant because it points out an important aspect of Melian’s character that emerges time and again: she’s a prophetess or a seer, and often in her divine wisdom knows something of what is to come and counsels accordingly (though, like Cassandra, she’s often ignored, to the detriment of all).
Some time later Melian, using her power as Maia and kin of the Valar, establishes the Girdle of Melian, first to protect the kingdom against the ravages of Ungoliant (WJ 15), and then from the assaults of the servants of Morgoth in general—and later, to keep out those blasted Fëanorians. Out of love for the region of Sirion and reverence for Ulmo, Melian also expands the Girdle westward in order to preserve some of that land unsullied.
Not long after this, the Exiles arrive from Valinor. The Fëanorians are firmly excluded from passing through the mazes of Melian’s magic, but Galadriel is, significantly, welcomed in and becomes a close friend and confident of Melian. In fact, many of the things that mark Lothlórien as a last safe haven in the days of Sauron were likely inspired by Galadriel’s time in Doriath, including its likeness to the gardens of Lórien in Valinor. According to The War of the Jewels, “the pillars of Menegroth were hewn in the likeness of the beeches of Oromë, stock, bough, and leaf, and they were lit with lanterns of gold. The nightingales sang there as in the gardens of Lórien; and there were fountains of silver, and basins of marble, and floors of many-coloured stones” (11). Furthermore, Galadriel’s Lothlórien is protected by the power of the elf-queen’s Ring, much like Doriath is protected by the Girdle of Melian.
It’s through her relationship with Galadriel—we’re told there was “much love between them” (WJ 35)—that Melian first learns much of what happened in Valinor, though Galadriel refuses to speak of the Oath, the Kinslaying, or the treachery of Fëanor at Losgar. But Melian, being divine and also really smart, knows that something terrible has happened and she divines that it’s at least largely, if not entirely, the fault of the Fëanorians. So she goes to Thingol and tells him to beware. “‘The shadow of the wrath of the Gods lies upon them,’” she says; “‘and they have done evil, I perceive, both in Aman and to their own kin.’” Thingol brushes her off, pretty much telling her that it’s not his problem, and that at least they’ll be useful in the fight against the Enemy. Melian tries once more: “‘Their words and their counsels shall have two edges,’” she warns. And they never speak of it again (WJ 42).
Melian doesn’t stop subtly working against the growing power of the Enemy, though. She consistently counsels Thingol against engaging with the Fëanorians after Beren enters the picture, and at one point encourages him to give up the Silmaril to Maedhros without a struggle (SM 220). She also becomes a powerful ally to the children of Húrin and Morwen, even going so far as attempting to intervene in the dark fate of the family (Unfinished Tales, hereafter UT, 79). She sends the young elf-woman Nellas to watch over Túrin’s childhood (UT 83), attempts to harbor Morwen and Nienor from the pursuing hate of Morgoth, and even counsels Túrin to remain in Doriath as long as possible. In an unforgettable scene, that young man snaps back at the wise counsel of the king and queen, arguing that he is fully capable of leaving Doriath and joining the fight against Morgoth. When Melian and Thingol demur, he brashly announces his capability: “‘Beren my kinsman did more.’” Melian (and I image she’s as calm and inscrutable as always) responds, leaving no doubt as to her meaning: “‘Beren,’” she agrees, “‘and Lúthien […]. Not so high is your destiny, I think’” (my emphasis). She then gives Túrin advice which he ignores, and finally tells him to remember her words, and to “‘fear both the heat and cold of [his] heart’” (UT 83).
It’s Melian who will later heal Húrin from the last remnants of Morgoth’s control. She also heals the wounded Beleg, who is attempting to provide protection and companionship to the volatile Túrin, and she sends Beleg back to the bitter exile with a remarkable gift: lembas, the waybread of the Elves. It is said that “in nothing did Melian show greater favour to Túrin than in this gift; for the Eldar had never before allowed Men to use this waybread, and seldom did so again” (PM 404). It was, according to the same text, the sole prerogative of “the queen, or the highest among the elven-women of any people, great or small,” to distribute lembas. This was because it came to them through the hand of Yavanna, the queen of the harvest (PM 404). One has to wonder if Galadriel knew of Melian’s gift and consciously mirrored it when she gave stores of lembas to the Fellowship.
Melian also apparently intervenes with the Valar on behalf of her daughter. Competing legends, Tolkien writes, are told of how exactly Lúthien made it to the Undying Lands to petition for Beren’s life. Some tales say that through a gift of power from her mother, Lúthien crosses the narrow ice at the far north of the world (SM 65). Others say that Melian, in her status as a minor goddess, summoned Thorondor himself and requested that he bring her daughter to the Halls of Mandos (SM 138). Either way, it’s partially through her influence that Lúthien is given an audience and that her request is ultimately granted. Although Melian supports her daughter’s decision to take on a mortal life, the final edict of Mandos nearly breaks her heart. The Grey Annals say that “Melian looked in [Lúthien’s] eyes and read the doom that was written there, and turned away: for she know that a parting beyond the end of the World had come between them, and no grief of loss hath been heavier than the grief of the heart of Melian Maia in that hour (unless only it were the grief of Elrond and Arwen)” (WJ 70-71).
When through treachery the Girdle of Melian is breached and Doriath falls, Melian endures yet more grief. Thingol is slain because of the Silmaril he wears, and Menegroth is broken. Melian the deathless escapes, and she joins Beren and Lúthien briefly in the Land of the Dead that Live—long enough to warn them of the Dwarvish army approaching hot off the sacking of Menegroth. Not long after, Melian “depart[s] to the land of the Gods beyond the western sea, to muse on her sorrows in the gardens whence she came” (SM 161).
What strikes me about the story of Melian is that she gives up the splendor, joy, and privilege of eternal life in Valinor to dwell in the middle-world, a world of shadows as well as light, out of a vast, unreasonable, powerful love. Thus does Melian the Maia, in her willing sacrifice, become the foremother of some of the most powerful, redeeming figures in Middle-earth’s long, scarred history. Her blood runs in the veins of Lúthien, Eärendil, Elrond, Elros, Arwen, Elendil, and Aragorn.
I admire Melian for her strength and wisdom, but I also find myself drawn to her silences and her ability to know precisely when it is best to speak and when to listen and observe. And not only that—her ability to enjoy and appreciate even the shadows brought other joy and beauty to Middle-earth. The spiritual light of Aman shines in her face, and she’s accompanied by the birds that make songs in the darkness: an important metaphor in Tolkien for one’s ability to remain hopeful even in the most dire and desperate of circumstances.
Megan N. Fontenot is a hopelessly infatuated Tolkien fan and scholar who is yet again very happy that this week’s star didn’t have a special character in her name. Catch her on Twitter @MeganNFontenot1 for scholarly and unscholarly news and other sometimes-tragic tales, and feel free to request a favorite character in the comments!
Somewhat off-topic, but as long as you are covering the peoples of Middle-Earth, it might be interesting to do a post or two on the subject of artistic depictions of the people of Middle Earth, specifically the Elves. I feel that Elves should look slightly otherworldly; it should be immediately obvious they are not human. That’s true of even the wood-elves, but even moreso of the Noldor and other light-elves. But that’s hard for mortal human artists to depict. For example, the picture of Melian at the top of the post approaches the feeling I’m thinking of, but Thingol looks like a hippie refugee of Woodstock via a Ren Faire. Without meaning disrespect to any particular artist, I would be interested in a post or two that survey the various visual interpretations of Middle Earth peoples.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but Thingol is not a Noldor (referencing paragraph 7 here).
Also, getting back on topic, what does it mean to be the “fairest” of a group of angelic beings that can assume nearly any form they want? Presumably “fair” must encompass more than physical appearance—wisdom, courage, strength, purity of spirit, etc.—and possibly a Maia’s other innate characteristics impose limits of their own on exactly what kind of physical appearance they can assume, when they choose to do so.
Great essay, and I have nothing really to add that will be particularly enlightening (it really is too bad that Melian is so rarely listened to…) but – if we’re talking about appearaince – I think now in my head, after reading about Melian’s black hair, her beautiful singing, and her love of the darkness and twilight, I wll now always picture her looking something like an otherworldly version of Amy Lee, ha.
As was repeatedly observed on the Silmarillion reread, Nobody Listens To Melian. Ever.
Personally I think Mel was as enchanted with Thingol as he was with her. Here is one of the Children of Eru, so eagerly awaited by Valar and Maiar alike, and he’s GORGEOUS! She’s every bit as overwhelmed and swept away by this unexpected vision of Elven hotness as he is by her angelic beauty.
Might I request a post on Haleth, originator of the House of Haleth? She was a real badass that’s not mentioned much outside of the Silmarillion.
“it should be immediately obvious they are not human.”
Some Men were taken for Elves, though. And Tolkien never describes clear differences, other than maybe elves from Valinor having “light in their eyes”. Probably a lot of the time elves looked taller and fairer than men because they were healthier, much like 20th century Westerners vs. a malnourished and pox-ridden peasant. There are a couple hints of elves having more “leaf-shaped” ears but they’re very obscure.
I wonder if anyone’s written “what if people listened to Melian” fanfic. So many divergence points…
Melian is one of my favorite characters from Tolkien’s Legendarium. She is really fascinating to me.
I have never quite been satisfied with the idea of a parting that lasts beyond the end of the world. Even with whatever final change happens, there is absolutely no meeting of humans and elves? The stories of Luthien and Arwen are so much sadder to me because of that.
As a Christian myself, I have always wondered why Tolkien made that choice about the final fates of the two races, since he himself was a devout Catholic.
Megan: great essay! I really like your insights about Melian as a figure of redemption and hope, and of finding joy even in dark places.
the gardens of the Vala Lórien, or Estë, as he is also called
Is this a typo, or were Irmo and Este really the same person in the early drafts?
he is identified as nearly the most mighty of all the Noldor, second only to Fëanor
Thingol is not Noldorin; he’s a Sinda and Proud Of It.
@8, I gather that Elves and Ainur know that they are bound to the Circles of The Earth until the End and have no knowledge of what Eru intends for them afterwards. It’s said that Men will join in the Second Music but whether Elves will join them nobody knows. We can certainly hope they will.
It’s a shame that Thingol and Melian only really get attention when Thingol is screwing up. It’s hard to take him seriously as equal in greatness to Feanor – except for the scale of screwing up. (there’s a nice fic set post everything in Aman wherein Maedhros politely chews him out for trying to set up Maedhros & co as his executioners.)
Nitpick: Gondolin fell last. Doriath fell due to Thingol’s errors.
Beren and Luthien didn’t listen to Melian, either, when she warned them off the wearing the Silmaril..
I think it’s overstating it that it was partly through in her influence that Luthien made it to Mandos and could make her plea. All Elves go to Mandos – she was going to get there anyway. Her willpower alone probably got her there quickly one way or another. Nor is it accurate to say it was a great love that made her dwell in the twilight with Thingol – she already was there because she liked it better than Valinor.
There’s a variation on the meeting with Thingol that makes her seem rather creepy (to me). She’s lying down in the leave (i guess there were trees that didn’t need light?) and Thingol steps on her hair and then notices her. She comes across as very Fae in the dangerous sense in that one.
Eldar and Valar are both bound to the world, and no one knows what will happen when it finally ends, but she and Thingol will be together whatever happens. Assuming he makes it out of Mandos, but even then, apparently Finwe visited Miriel there until he was asked to stop, so she could visit Thingol.
Melian existed in Tolkien’s imagination long before Galadriel. He invented Galadriel for LOTR and then worked out her backstory (and kept changing it).
Somewhere in Tolkien he says the Song still echoes in the world and the Ainar are attuned to it and guided by what they remember from it. I assume that’s what’s behind Melian’s foresight.
@Elaine T:
There’s a variation on the meeting with Thingol that makes her seem rather creepy (to me). She’s lying down in the leaves (i guess there were trees that didn’t need light?) and Thingol steps on her hair and then notices her. She comes across as very Fae in the dangerous sense in that one.
Wow, that’s a great image. You’re right, there’s something primal and inhuman about it.
(there’s a nice fic set post everything in Aman wherein Maedhros politely chews him out for trying to set up Maedhros & co as his executioners.)
Would that be “Though All Whom Ye Have Slain Shall Entreat For You“, by any chance?
@12, Necessary_eagle, yep, that’s the one. I couldn’t dredge up the title/author when I posted.
@1
“Thingol looks like a hippie refugee of Woodstock via a Ren Faire. “
So many depictions of Tolkien’s Elves are depicted that way. One of the things I like about Hugo Weaving’s portrayal of Elrond in Fellowship is that he doesn’t look like that.
@7,
There is always supposed to be something “other” about being in the presence of elves, regardless of their appearance. Sam and Bilbo instantly know they are among wood-elves rather than traveling humans, for example. I don’t think anyone ever mistook an Elf for a Man (human being)? So there must be something about being around elves; their appearance, or voices, or bearing and stature. I guess I’m wishing that was better depicted in the art. It would be a terrible letdown if the only physical difference between elves and humans was that they had all their teeth.
@15 If I were an artist trying to dodge the issue, I’d say mortal Men can’t capture what makes Elves different.
@15: Maybe that’s one reason we’ve all embraced the idea of showing them with pointed ears, i.e., one distinctive difference in physical features.
@15 you can’t use that as an example as the Elves were heard singing and Frodo identified them as High Elves by the reference to Elbereth, even before they came into sight.
I can’t think of any place in Tolkien where even a scruffy Elf (that guy who guided Tuor to Gondolin, who’d been through the shpwreck) is mistaken for a Man or anything else, except where active disguises are in use.
Lórien was the land of Irmo and Estë. Estë was Irmo’s wife. Due to his close association with their home Irmo was also commonly referred to as Lórien himself.
@2 Absolutely. He wasnt a Noldo but a Teleri so the text is wrong here. Good spot
Regarding the appearance of elves and men: when Gwindor and Túrin are in Nargothrond, The Silmarillion says that “even among Elves [Turin] might be taken for one from the great houses of the Noldor; therefore many called him Adanedhel, the Elf-Man”, whereas “Gwindor…returned now seeming as one of the aged among mortal Men” because of his thralldom in Angband.
I’d like to request something about the Elves of Cuivenien. Am I right in thinking that when Elves began migrating westward with the intent of traveling to the Western Lands, there were at least a few who chose not to follow and remained there? Is there anything about those Elves? Even the Woodland Elves eventually are influenced by those who returned to Middle Earth, but the Cuivenien Elves would have remained isolated and developed their own ancient culture different from that of all their people to the west. Or did Morgoth pick them all off as the weakest of their kind in the centuries when his power was greatest east of Beleriand? It’s sad to think of them all ending up mangled into Orcs, so I hope there was instead a whole different mythos occurring way out in the farthest east.
@22 There still exists Avari even in the Third Age. Someone mingled with the Nandor and the Sindar. There are at least six tribes: Kindi, Cuind, Hwenti, Windan, Kinn-lai and Penni. They’re all in the East.
@21, right, I forgot about those examples. I really do think there’s no obvious physical sign that gives them away. A whole package of stuff that Turin, and young ARagorn (with galadriel’s help) manage to duplicate.
@22, I was looking at the writings about Cuivenen the other day (while looking for something else through all volumes, so I don’t remember which one had it) but it said the Elves of Cuivenen were stronger than the later generations, even though some of those grew in the Light of the Trees. I’d’ve liked to hear more. Maybe it is summarized in Finwe, one of them, being the only one in Formenos to stay to face down Morgoth when he comes.
@24: That’s strange. So if that is true, the Valar in attempting to take care of them only ended up weakening them?
#25: Why would the Valar, immortal spirits who predate the world, care about physical strength?
IMO Elves had a mission in Middle Earth, to name, create and beautify and eventually mentor the Second born. The Valar, with the best of intentions mesed that up big time.
@26, why do you think it’s physical strength? That wasn’t what enabled Finwe to stay when everyone else fled.
And I agree with @27 about what the Eldar were supposed to do. Finrod actually seems to have, and a couple Feanorians. And those who dealt with Numenoreans, I suppose. And unnamed ‘Dark Elves’ who helped the mortals back in pre-history.