The One Ring Forums: Tolkien Topics: Reading Room: "The Silmaril was bound upon his brow"

The One Ring Forums: Tolkien Topics: Reading Room:
"The Silmaril was bound upon his brow"

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Nov 9 2025, 12:49am

Views: 2599

"The Silmaril was bound upon his brow"

This is something I've wondered about for a long time, since before I wrote Arda Reconstructed, though it is not addressed in that book since it doesn't seem to be an issue related to the editing of the published version but rather something that goes back to Tolkien's original draft of the Quenta Noldorinwa (which is where the relevant passages come from).

The published book, of course, has a somewhat editorial version of the story of the Nauglamir in which the necklace was originally created by the Dwarves for Finrod and then later after Hurin recovers it from Nargothrond and delivers it to Thingol, who then has the Dwarves incorporate the Simaril that he had received from Beren "amidmost" the existing necklace. Whereas the original story as written by Tolkien had the necklace initially created by the Dwarves for Thingol to house the Sillmaril. But either way, the Nauglamir with the Silmaril incorporated in it came to Thingol's granddaughter Elwing after the deaths of Thingol, Beren and Luthien, and their son Dior (Elwing's father). And in both versions, she is wearing the Silmaril "on her breast" when the remaining sons of Feanor attack the community that dwelt nigh to Sirion’s mouths the remnants of Gondolin and Doriath) while Eärendil, her mate and the Lord of that community, was away. In the original Quenta Noldorinwa version that was used for this section, it explicitly states that "with the Nauglamír upon her breast she cast herself into the sea" whereas in the published Silmarillion this is changed to "Elwing with the Silmaril upon her breast had cast herself into the sea." However, it is reasonable to assume that the reference to the Silmaril upon her breast still suggests that she is wearing the Nauglamir.

But then later, after Elwing flies in the form of a swan to find Eärendil on Vingilot and the set out to try to find the undying lands, it states about Eärendil that "the Silmaril was bound upon his brow" (with brow replacing "forehead" from the original Quenta Noldorinwa version). Huh? How can the Silmaril go from being set amidmost this great necklace to being bound upon Eärendil's brow (or forehead)? Does this mean that he somehow awkwardly tied this elaborate necklace around the top of this head? Does it mean that Eärendil broke the Silmaril lose from the rest of the Nauglamir that had been created which such incredible effort, and at such cost? Or did Tolkien (and then later Christopher), simply forget that the Silmaril was part of the Nauglamir and just go with a different story?

What am I missing?

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

CuriousG
Gondolin

Nov 9 2025, 8:22pm

Views: 2524

I vote for writers forgetting about details

Though it's not hard to imagine Aule and Noldorin smiths in Valinor removing the Silmaril from the Nauglamir to make it a brow-piece, which does feel like it was a symbolic new age for that Silmaril.

From Feanor's property and seen in public > hidden in Feanor's treasury > adorning Morgoth's crown > set in the Nauglamir > worn by Luthien, then Dior, then Elwing. Then the whole Earendil voyage ushers in a new era: the Valar will go to war with Morgoth, and this time eject him from the world instead of mess around with prisons and pardons and redemption arcs, and Elves will be admitted back to Valinor from M-earth. So why not "set it free" from the Nauglamir and put it on the Mariner's brow to herald the new age? Especially when you consider the fate of the other two winding up in the ocean and somewhere in the Earth.

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Nov 9 2025, 9:17pm

Views: 2515

It was bound upon his brow long before he was in Valinor

Indeed, it was the fact that he had it bound to his brow that enables him to reach Valinor.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

CuriousG
Gondolin

Nov 10 2025, 4:12am

Views: 2480

Oops

I should know better than to trust my memory to keep things straight.

So, re-reading the relevant Sil chapter: it actually sounds like the Nauglamir could have been lost in the sea. Elwing casts herself in the sea, and Ulmo lifts her up, turns her into a big bird, and somehow in bird-form she's wearing the Silmaril. I suppose in my own reader reaction, the essential part is the Silmaril, which was the only part of the necklace that had power, such as the power to heal the Haven community.

But the scene is that she despairs in defeat, casting herself into the sea with the unsaid, "You can't have me as a prisoner, and you can't have the Silmaril either, you evil Sons of Feanor, so you lose!" There's no discernible advantage in prying it out of the Nauglamir, but she is despairing, and people in despair do unpredictable, illogical things, so possibly she did pry it loose and left the necklace behind, knowing the real prize was the Silmaril, even taunting the SoF with the Nauglamir left behind with an empty socket.

Or, is she wearing the Nauglamir too? I don't like the arguments that say "Well, unless Tolkien explicitly says she was wearing the Nauglamir, we can conclude she wasn't." But there is doubt that she was, and that Ulmo just gave her bird-form the Silmaril as a sort of essential quest object bereft of the Nauglamir. So, let's say after she finds Earendil and becomes an Elf-woman again, she gives him the stand-alone Silmaril, and he ties it around his head with a string.

Or she arrived as a bird wearing the Nauglamir, and after waking as an Elf, they agreed with the crew to just put the Silmaril on Earendil's brow, because...it's more cinematic that way? It sure sounds more lyrical somehow, the mariner with the magic, light-emitting jewel resting on his brow rather than around his neck as part of a necklace of many gems. It conjures up a miner with a helmet-spotlight. But that's just how it sounds, and there doesn't seem any in-story logic for necklace/no-necklace in helping him find Valinor.

Last option is he wore the Nauglamir around his forehead, and still looked very cool and epic. (Probably had one pierced ear too, like a pirate, and said Argh! a lot.)

Good catch, Voronwe, but I don't have any answer, other than it seems aesthetically pleasing to Tolkien for Earendil to just have the Silmaril on his brow, and the less said about where the Nauglamir, the better.

Meneldor
Doriath

Nov 10 2025, 5:26am

Views: 2477

IIRC

the dwarves wrought the Nauglamir so that it rested gracefully on whoever wore it. Ergo, if Earendil wrapped it around his head, it would rest gracefully on his manly brow. Right?

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Nov 10 2025, 7:22pm

Views: 2443

Another issue

Setting aside the issue of how the Silmaril went from Elwing's breast to Eärendil's brow, the other issue that I have is that it went from Elwing to Eärendil at all. The "holy jewel" rightfully passed from Beren and Lúthien to their son Dior (with a detour to his grandfather, Thingol), and then from Dior to his one remaining child, Elwing. Why does she meekly cede the jewel to her husband, Eärendil? Ar-Pharazôn is rightly castigated for usurping the scepter of Númenor from Tar-Míriel, to whom it lawfully belonged; why is Eärendil not equally castigated for usurping the Silmaril from Elwing, to whom it lawfully belonged? I know that the supposed answer is that she willingly allowed it to pass to him because of her great love for him, but the question still may be asked. Tolkien was, of course, a product of his times, but he sometimes broke through the normal prejudices and portrayed genuinely strong and willful women (such as Elwing's grandmother, Lúthien). It is disappointing to me that he did not do so here.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

CuriousG
Gondolin

Nov 10 2025, 10:13pm

Views: 2440

Another example to your point

Why didn't Galadriel surrender Nenya to Celeborn? "You're my husband, and my boss in all things, I am an obedient wife, so here's my magic ring." Seems pretty unthinkable? She was the right person (most qualified) for the ring, and she kept it.

But I wonder if possibly there was more of an implied equal partnership between Elwing and Earendil than we might otherwise conclude? I admit she seems subservient. In particular, it strikes me as subservient that when the Sons of Feanor press their claim to the Silmaril on Elwing's community at the Mouths of Sirion, one way she/her people push back is they couldn't possibly give it up while their lord Earendil is away. Huh? How does he have a say in what, as you point out, belongs to Elwing by hereditary right? Or is that too literal, and were they stalling for time, making up any excuse they could?

But more equality appears later, which suggests to me that off-page, Elwing urged Earendil to bind the Silmaril to his brow and use it to penetrate the Valar's "Keep Out!" enchantments, and his mission was really their joint mission. Maybe we should hearken back to the Luthien/Beren relationship, where she called the shots and provided the power most of the time. Why do I think E/E are more like equals?

When they reach Valinor, Earendil tells Elwing and his sailors to stay on the ship, so that he alone will risk the Valar's wrath. Elwing immediately defies him and joins him on land.
Earendil journeys alone to Tirion, and tells Elwing to stay put. She again defies him and finds her kin, the Teleri.
When they're given the choice of mortality/immortality, Earendil tells Elwing to choose, while hinting heavily at his choice that he is "weary of the world": hint, hint: I want to be a mortal Man, and you should choose the same. Elwing again makes her own choice, choosing immortality "because of Luthien. and for her sake, Earendil chose alike."

So, could you be persuaded that Elwing gave him the Silmaril as part of partnership of equals? I maybe have just persuaded myself, but I admit I never thought about it much until you brought it up.

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Nov 10 2025, 10:37pm

Views: 2437

Could I be persuaded?

Maybe.

You make a nice case.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

Ethel Duath
Gondolin

Nov 11 2025, 1:52am

Views: 2434

I like this.

Oddly enough, i've never really paid much attention to any of these particular details. But since Elwing appears to have significant agency of her own, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you were right.
I do wish we could figure out not only how it was extracted from the necklace, but what happened to the necklace itself later (unless that was something else I also missed!).

CuriousG
Gondolin

Nov 11 2025, 4:41pm

Views: 2395

The missing Nauglamir

Thanks, Ethel. It's always fun to sift through the nuances and hints to find what is usually there: Tolkien's sense of deeper relationships that don't always make it onto the page in explicit terms.

A quick (admittedly sloppy, but hey, I work for free) search of Nauglamir using sites like Tolkien Gateway makes it seem the Nauglamir disappears from Tolkien's history. Which is kinda sad for me, since I'm sentimental about Finrod Felagund, and I'd like to think the Nauglamir was cherished by someone and handed down as an heirloom, even possibly rediscovered in troll-hoards like Sting, Orcrist, and Glamdring were.

But maybe Tolkien was sticking to his own prophecy, where Finrod told Galadriel, "‘An oath I too shall swear, and must be free to fulfil it, and go into darkness. Nor shall anything of my realm endure that a son should inherit.’

CuriousG
Gondolin

Nov 11 2025, 5:00pm

Views: 2393

What do you make of "Because of Luthien"?

Since we're talking aboue E/E. I'm never quite sure why Elwing chose immortality to honor Luthien when Luthien freely chose mortality. Unless she felt there was some cosmic balance that needed to be restored, so last time an Elf-woman chose to be human, and this time she was choosing to be an Elf? Or was it something else? It is rather cryptic.

And while I admit to being sloppy in searching the fate of the Nauglamir, I did re-read Ch. 24 of Arda Recon., and I didn't see you address the point of Elwing's choice as you discussed how C. Tolkien continued/developed his father's mythology and themes. (Not a fault! Just an observation, and we all have word limits.) But, since you're basically a season-finisher of the Great British Bake-Off Show, having mined, sifted, refined, and tasted the various ingredients that went into making The Sil. (I love food metaphors), you're in a better position than most to comment on what she meant.

For anyone without a copy of Arda Recon., here's one little gem among many: in Lost Road, 325, Earendil kills Ungoliant!

I was musing as I wrote about E/E yesterday that I wish I could meet Elwing, who seems an interesting person, whereas, unfortunately, Earendil to me is a one-dimensional hero who just does heroic stuff, and I have trouble even naming the heroic deeds he's done besides sailing to Valinor and bypassing Valar magic and getting them to start the war they should have thousands of years ago. There are other characters I never feel much connection to: Fingon, Amrod & Amras, etc. But a few like Finrod and Fingolfin don't get a lot of "page time," but they sure left great impressions, and I wish Earendil did too. I wish he gave me the same gut-level sense of reverence that Elves in LOTR feel for him.

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Nov 11 2025, 5:30pm

Views: 2390

Cosmic balance

In Reply To

I agree it is cryptic, but the only sense that I have ever made of it is exactly what you say, some kind of cosmic balance (though of course the next Elf-woman faced with the same choice makes the choice of Luthien (speaking, of course, of Arwen). However, if we really wanted to get technical about it, Luthien's fate was already balanced out by Idril and Tuor, since while there fate is not fully revealed, it is said that "in after days it was sung that Tuor alone of mortal Men was numbered among the elder race, and was joined with the Noldor, whom he loved; and his fate is sundered from the fate of Men." (This comes also directly from the Quenta Noldorinwa with only minor cosmetic editorial changes.) So Elwing didn't really HAVE to choose to be numbered among the Eldar for Luthien; I think she just wanted to and used that as an excuse. Tongue

In Reply To

And while I admit to being sloppy in searching the fate of the Nauglamir, I did re-read Ch. 24 of Arda Recon., and I didn't see you address the point of Elwing's choice as you discussed how C. Tolkien continued/developed his father's mythology and themes. (Not a fault! Just an observation, and we all have word limits.)

There was not much for me to address with regard to Elwing's choice, since that reflects what Tolkien himself wrote, and wasn't really significantly changed by Christopher in the editorial process. But now that you have gotten me thinking about it, who knows what might percolate as a result?

In Reply To

I was musing as I wrote about E/E yesterday that I wish I could meet Elwing, who seems an interesting person, whereas, unfortunately, Earendil to me is a one-dimensional hero who just does heroic stuff, and I have trouble even naming the heroic deeds he's done besides sailing to Valinor and bypassing Valar magic and getting them to start the war they should have thousands of years ago. There are other characters I never feel much connection to: Fingon, Amrod & Amras, etc. But a few like Finrod and Fingolfin don't get a lot of "page time," but they sure left great impressions, and I wish Earendil did too. I wish he gave me the same gut-level sense of reverence that Elves in LOTR feel for him.

This piece from Verlyn Flieger talks at length about Tolkien's (seemingly deliberate) failure to ever write an extended tale about Earendil.

A Lost Tale, A Found Influence: Earendel and Tinúviel[

It was taken from a longer talk that she presented to the Tolkien Society, which is still available on youtube if you have an hour to devote to it:

Verlyn Flieger - Waiting for Earendel

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Nov 11 2025, 6:57pm

Views: 2384

Further thoughts

In thinking about this further, I am mindful of the fact that Ëarendil's role in Tolkien's legendarium goes back to the very beginning -- before there was even a germ of a legendarium, and long before Elwing's part of the story was devised. That probably is the best explanation for how this plays out.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

CuriousG
Gondolin

Nov 13 2025, 1:39am

Views: 2324

Thanks for the link

Glad to know I'm not alone in wanting to know more about such a foundational character if Verlyn wants more to.

It sorta made me think: what do we know about Adam, the first man in the Bible? Nothing. Eve was the interesting one. Adam named animals and...got evicted. And........

Ioreth
Ossiriand

Nov 20 2025, 6:40am

Views: 1669

some were convertible

I had no idea, but in the book the 5th great nice of Jane Austen, Carolline Jane Knight wrote (Jane & Me: My Austen Heritage)
she explained that she was surprised when her father said she could try on a tiara of her grandmother's and he brought out a necklace - that some could be worn either way. have since learned that some were setpieces which could be assembled and changed somewhat to fit different occasions and styles.

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Dec 17 2025, 3:31pm

Views: 452

Teaser

I submitted a piece yesterday to Mythlore entitled: "'The Silmaril was bound upon his brow' - Elwing and Eärendil and the 'Living Light' of Love." I hope they like it! It is always nerve-wracking to submit something for a stranger's judgment.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Feb 12, 12:15am

Views: 403

Good news!

My paper has been accepted for publication in Mythlore and should appear in the next issue in April of this year. I'll post a link when it appears. The paper definitely went in an interesting direction (and, I must add, is embarrassingly long).

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

dernwyn
Forum Admin / Moderator

Feb 15, 12:40am

Views: 384

Congratulations!

Mythlore is very exacting when it comes to publishing, so your paper must be very good indeed!

And don't worry about length - Tolkien didn't! Laugh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I desired dragons with a profound desire"

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Feb 15, 1:34am

Views: 387

Thank you!

The peer review process is quite nerve wracking, and while I don't know who the referee was that they sent the paper to review it, I can tell by some of the comments that it was one of very select group of Tolkien scholars. And their requested revisions were extremely on-point and helped me say what I really had meant to say in the first place. Which is the best kind of collaboration!

Edited to add: Wow, the site is suddenly working very well! I don't know if that means that the move has been completed or not, but it is a very welcome development!

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

(This post was edited by Voronwë_the_Faithful on Feb 15, 1:36am)

Otaku-sempai
Elvenhome

Feb 15, 1:47am

Views: 385

Site Speed

I don't think it's the move. From what I understand, we'll have to re-register when it's complete. I also expect that the forums will look at least a bit different.

“Hell hath no fury like that of the uninvolved.” - Tony Isabella

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Feb 15, 3:54am

Views: 384

I thought that too

But the difference is so stark!

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

dernwyn
Forum Admin / Moderator

Feb 16, 4:27pm

Views: 335

A big change

will be, that we will no longer have this "threaded" view, sadly. But the posts in these current Boards will be preserved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I desired dragons with a profound desire"

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Feb 16, 4:32pm

Views: 334

So I understood

I'll miss that feature but fully understand the reasons behind the change. Meanwhile, I am pleased that in meantime things are working well again.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

CuriousG
Gondolin

Feb 23, 6:38pm

Views: 248

Congrats! //

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Feb 23, 6:57pm

Views: 246

Thank you! //

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

Jeremy
Ossiriand

Mar 1, 10:03pm

Views: 180

Eärendil's origin as a character

In Reply To

I don't think it's the move. From what I understand, we'll have to re-register when it's complete. I also expect that the forums will look at least a bit different.

Not reregister, just enter a new password (per Altaira's announcement). In the meantime, the loading seems to have good days and bad days.

In Reply To

Of course, one of the reasons Eärendil ends up with the Silmaril is simply that he was meant to have it, given the character's origin. Tolkien first wrote his poem Éalá Éarendel Engla Beorhtast (inspired by the Christ I poem). The rest of the story, including Eärendil's role, fell into place after his status as a star or "brightest angel" was determined. But maybe this isn't the most satisfactory explanation since it doesn't answer the question inside the world/story itself.

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Mar 5, 3:05pm

Views: 163

Meant to have it

In my paper, I address this very issue. After tracing (in fairly ridiculous detail) the history of the development of Eärendil's story from the point when Tolkien was moved by the line "Hail Earendel, brightest of angels above middle-earth sent unto men” in Cynewulf's poem to write his own poem, I write (in response to the question of why

Quote

By rights, the Silmaril belonged to Elwing, not Eärendil, yet when she is rescued by Ulmo after she cast herself in the sea “with the Nauglafring upon her breast” and came to Eärendel returning from his first voyage in Wingelot, she immediately passes the Silmaril to Eärendil. The superficial reason for this is obvious: Eärendil needs to be the bearer of the Silmaril to become the “Earendel the Evening Star” that Tolkien had imagined from before his mythology existed in any form. But I believe that there is more to it than that.

The "more to it than that" turned out to be a lot different than what I thought it would be when I first started this thread.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

CuriousG
Gondolin

Mar 5, 9:30pm

Views: 156

Actually, that would satisfy me, at least

In Reply To

I'm normally the first to jump on an opportunity to dissect an issue, hunt for clues, and make tenuous connections. But the other side of my brain can be creative, and sometimes, a creator just wants something a certain way because it looks/feels "right" that way, and maybe Tolkien just wanted Earendil to have the Silmaril on his brow, so that's why, especially given that Earendil existed long before the story itself and wasn't a character who came up later (such as Faramir, whom Tolkien described in Letters as something of a surprise who walked out of nowhere in Ithilien, and he grew from there because Tolkien liked him).

Voronwë_the_Faithful
Doriath

Mar 7, 5:38pm

Views: 101

Understandable

I'm pretty sympathetic to this point of view, though I do think in this case there is more to it than that. That being said, it may well be that you read my paper (if you choose to do so) and say "nah!"

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'

The Hall of Fire

CuriousG
Gondolin

Mar 9, 5:27pm

Views: 89

I have to wait a month to read it ? Madness!! //