Posted: July 23, 2000 at 17:40:05: by Aris Katsaris
: Luthien is the only example (that I know of) of an Ainur having had a child. And she is the only fruit of Thingol and Melian, even though they were together for a very long time. Why would this be? Are we to suppose that Melian was singular as being the only fertile Ainur?Ignoring the spider-children of Ungoliant, I think the uniqueness is not in Melian's "fertility" but rather in her love for an Eruchin (child of Iluvatar) as well as her decision to take an elven form, as a normal body rather than just a raiment. "Melian alone of all those spirits assumed a bodily form, not only as a raiment but as a permanent habitation in form and powers like to the bodies of the Elves. This she did for love of Elwe; and it was permitted, no doubt because this union had already been foreseen in the beginning of things, and was woven into the Amarth of the world." -- The Peoples of Middle-Earth, page 364 (The Shibboleth of Feanor, note 53) Aris Katsaris
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