Dior Eluchíl
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Dior Eluchíl is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a character in The Silmarillion, which was published posthumously in 1977. The material in The Silmarillion was written over a period of many years, from the 1920s to the early 1970s.
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[edit] Character overview
Dior was the son of Beren and Lúthien, and the heir to the throne of Elu Thingol as King of Doriath. He was born in the year 470 of the Years of the Sun in the green land of Ossiriand. Dior was the first of the Half-elven, though he was also part Maia, Melian being his grandmother. He was also called Eluchíl which means "Heir of Elu", Ausir, "The Wealthy", and Aranel, "The Noble Elf". His name probably means "Successor". Furthermore he was hailed as "Dior the beautiful" apparently since his mother had been the most beautiful of all Elves and Men. Dior is remembered as a crucial character of the Elder Days, since not only was he the only son of Beren and Lúthien Tinúviel and the first Half-elf ever, but also the father of Elwing who married Eärendil and brought about the War of Wrath in which Morgoth was defeated. It was she who gave birth to Elrond and Elros, both of whom had a major impact on the later ages of Middle-earth. His story revolves around the Ruin of Doriath.
[edit] Biography
Dior lived during the First Age of Middle-earth, first in East Beleriand where he was born, and later in Doriath as Thingol's heir-apparent. He married Nimloth (otherwise known as Lindis), a kinswoman of Celeborn of Doriath, and together they had three children: two sons, Eluréd and Elurín, and a daughter Elwing, which means "star-spray" in Sindarin since she was born on a night of stars. When the dwarf-host entered Ossiriand from the west, after they had attacked Doriath and murdered Dior's grandfather King Thingol in search of the Nauglamír, Dior and his father Beren gathered an army of Laiquendi (Green-Elves) and Ents that ambushed and completely annihilated the Dwarves in a battle that was to be Beren's last ere he died. Afterwards they left all of the dwarf treasure sunken in the waters of a lake, since the dwarf-lord had cursed all of it with his dying breath, save the Silmaril that was contained in the Nauglamír, the Necklace of the Dwarves. This was one of the coveted Jewels of Fëanor, which years before Dior's parents Lúthien and Beren had stolen from the iron crown of the Dark Lord Morgoth. They gave it to Lúthien to wear, and with her beauty and the light of the Silmaril Ossiriand became the most glorious of all lands outside the Blessed Realm of Valinor that are or ever were after. Later Dior left Ossiriand with his family and bade farewell to his parents, and came to Doriath as its new king, to once more give back its former glory. Soon after the necklace containing the Silmaril was presented to Dior by a green-elf messenger from Ossiriand and Dior knew that it was a sign and token of his parents' death. He gazed long in grief at the jewel, before wearing it and revealing himself as the most beautiful of all the children of the world, of threefold race: the Edain (Men), the Eldar (Elves) and the Maiar (Ainur) of the Blessed Realm.
During Y.S. 504 – 505, the Sons of Fëanor learned of the possession of the Silmaril recovered by Beren and Lúthien that was now in the hands of Dior, the new King of Doriath. Whilst Lúthien had worn the necklace no one had dared to assail her, but now the situation had changed. Maedhros restrained his brothers’ urge to attack, and instead, sent a message to Dior demanding that he yield the Silmaril to them, but Dior ignored it. Celegorm’s words convinced the Fëanorians to launch an assault. Thus Doriath was destroyed and Dior was killed and the brothers emerged victorious, but the brothers Celegorm, Curufin and Caranthir were slain and the Silmaril was not recovered. In this battle Nimloth had been murdered and Dior had single-handedly defeated and killed Celegorm and Curufin, but with wounds that later proved mortal, and so he was laid among the slain.
Upon learning that Celegorm’s servants had cruelly sent Dior’s twin sons, Eluréd and Elurín, to starve in a dark forest, Maedhros filled with righteous anger and pity went on a long and perilous search for them, but it proved to be fruitless.
Elwing, Dior's only daughter, however, escaped with the remnant of the Elves of Doriath to the Havens of Sirion, where she later wedded Eärendil the Mariner and they together sought pardon and aid from the Valar, which resulted in the War of Wrath and the overthrow of Morgoth and his dominion.
[edit] Status - Mortal Man or Immortal Elf?
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This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2007) |
Some have had confusion over the issue of whether Dior was considered "mortal" or "immortal". Since he was called Dior "Half-elven" it is clear that his was a special case, unlike any other Half-elves. This is because unlike Eärendil, whose mother Idril was fully Elven and never gave up her immortality, Lúthien was half-elvish and half-Maia and became mortal, which may entail different treatment. He was also unique when considering the case of Arwen and Aragorn, whose son Eldarion was mortal. The difference being that Arwen was born Half-elven, and if she chose the fate of Men her son would be mortal, since it was in her blood. Lúthien on the other-hand, was fully Elvish and Maia by nature and blood, it was only that she subjected herself to mortality out of love, but unlike Arwen she was not Half-elven and so her son would have had no mortal blood through her. This means that whatever way the problem is approached, Dior must be considered an Elf. If he was given the same choice as later Half-elves, the fact that he took up the seat of King Thingol his grandfather as King of the Sindarin Elves, married an Elf and died in the Elvish Kingdom as its King, means that he did if indirectly chose the immortality of the Elves, similar to that of Arwen who when she chose to remain with mortals in Middle-earth and married a mortal man consequently became a mortal woman.
However The Silmarillion says that Dior was of threefold race "of the Eldar, the Edain and of the Maia" and not only Half-elven. If this be taken into regard, then the fact that he has the blood of two immortal races and the blood of only one mortal race, may mean that it is a matter of scales, which ever weighs the most or that it is given unique treatment altogether. Although he married an Elf, it seems that his Half-elven half-maia blood, granted his children a similar situation. In any regards Dior is considered an Elf, since he lived with the Elves and was Half-elven, thus whether directly or indirectly choosing to follow his mother and her race as opposed to the House of Bëor and mortal Men. Even if he didn't have the choice of later "Half-Elves" the fact that he married an Elf of Doriath and was allowed to become its King must mean that he was considered an Elf by all accounts, since a mortal could not possibly have been the Heir of an Elven Kingdom whether descended from Thingol his grandfather or not, as in the case of the children of Elros, who were barred from Valinor due to their mortality. A misunderstanding arises when it is assumed that since Elwing was Half-elven, her father must have been mortal since her mother was an Elf, which is simply not the case. She had the half-elven blood through her father and Mandos granted that all of Lúthien's and Eärendil/Elwing's ancestors were thus given the choice between mortality and immortality. Since Elwing was considered Elvish, she had this choice, which was granted to all of her Elvish ancestors who were of the Half-Elven lineage whether they married Elves or Men.
An example would be Arwen whose parents Elrond and Celebrían were both Elvish (since Elrond had chosen to be an Elf before her birth), but was still Half-elven because she was of Lúthien's lineage and so was given the choice. This means that the Half-elven choice between mortality and immortality, does not rest upon the individual having one immortal and one mortal parent, but being of Lúthien's, Eärendil's and Elwing's ancestry and not being born of two mortal parents. Two immortal Elves would still make a Half-elven if one such as Elrond was of that lineage, whereas two mortal parents (one of which choosing to become mortal prior to the birth of their child) would not and an immortal and mortal parentage would likewise produce a Half-elf like Eärendil. Lúthien although choosing to be mortal had no mortal blood and so was by nature Elvish, making her son Half-elven through her and automatically making his daughter Half-elvish not because one of her parents was mortal, but because she was descended from Lúthien.
Regardless of the above, it must be considered that both Eärendil and Elwing were considered as mortals prior to being offered the choice of the Half-elven. Since Elwing's mother Nimloth was an Elf, it appears that Dior was counted as a mortal in the published Silmarillion. And since he was not offered the choice of the Half-elven before his death, the general consensus among Tolkien readers appears to be that Dior died a mortal, thus being separated from his wife Nimloth forever. As for the Elves of Doriath not accepting a Man as a ruler, it should be noted that the exiles of Gondolin were content to be led by Tuor.
