The White Council

Re: Gil-galad

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: : : The correct genealogy for Gil-galad is published in THE : : : PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH, and he is the son of Orodreth (and : : : brother of Finduilas). Tolkien doesn't say when or where he : : : was born, but his mother was a Sindarin Elf, so he was born : : : sometime after the Noldor returned to Middle-earth.

: : Really? Not the son of Fingon, as it is stated in the : : Silmarillion? That doest'n make sense...

: Christopher explains the error in THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH. He says "much closer analysis of the admittedly extremely complex material than I had made twenty years ago makes it clear that Gil-galad as the son of Fingon...was an ephemeral idea."

: He goes on to say it would have been impossible to include the information about Gil-galad's correct ancestry in THE SILMARILLION, but I disagree. Such additions would have been more faithful to what his father intended and much briefer than many of the other editorial additions he admits to (and mostly repudiates).

: : ...So did the Kingship of the Noldor go to the house of : : Finarfin? Why not to Celebrimbor then, since he was of the : : eldest line?...

: The Feanorians could not again take up the High Kingship. Maedhros had abdicated and forfeited all right to the title.

: : ... Or, if Gil-Galad was the son of Orodreth, wouldn't it make : : more sense to give the title of King to Elrond, who was of the : : house of Fingolfin?...

: Elrond was not a descendant of Finwe through any male line. The High Kingship had to end with Gil-galad, because there were no other male line descendants of Finwe left in Middle-earth.

: : ... And if Tolkien late in his life decided to "move" G-G from : : being Fingon's son to Orodreth's, why isn't this reflected in : : the Silmarillion, published as we all know after Tolkien's : : death?

: Christopher admits to many errors and errors of judgement in THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH. He was never under any real pressure to publish the HOME books, but he was under a great deal of pressure to see THE SILMARILLION reached some sort of completed state. Hence, after THE SILMARILLION came out Christopher had much more time in which to examine and analyze his father's work, and HOME is partially an attempt to rectify the mistakes of the past.

: : And, one more thing: If G-G's mother was Sindarin, he would be : : 3/4 Teleri...

: Angrod's wife, Edhellos, was a Noldo. So Orodreth was 1/2 Teleri, 1/4 Noldo, and 1/4 Vanya. Hence, you're correct that Gil-galad would have been 3/4 Telerin, but he was still a son of a Noldorin family.

: Nonetheless, this ancestry makes it easier for me to understand why the Sindar would accept him as their High King (one of Gil-galad's titles in the Second Age was High King of the Elves of the West -- Tolkien usually means the Eldar when he speaks of the Elves of the West, but it may also be that this was just another variation of the title High King of the Noldor-in-Exile). He may not have had the best claim to succeeding Thingol as King of the Sindar (Celeborn and Cirdan probably had stronger claims), but having already established himself as a king over both Noldor and Sindar in the First Age, he would have established the basis for extending his authority.

Now THAT is confusing! I think i'll go on thinking GG is Fingon's son....much,much simpler....:)