Celebrimbor

Celebrimbor
Tolkien's legendarium character
Aliases	'Hand of Silver', Lord of Eregion
Race	Elf
Book(s)	The Silmarillion (1977)

Celebrimbor (IPA: [ˌkeleˈbrimbor]) is a fictional character In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. His name means "silver fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin (Telperinquar in Quenya, Telperimpar in Telerin).

Celebrimbor was the son of Curufin, fifth son of Fëanor (son of Finwë and his first wife Míriel) and Nerdanel, and the only known grandchild of Fëanor. It is not known where or when Celebrimbor was born. Since Celebrimbor was not mentioned as being present during the Oath of Fëanor, and is first mentioned as living in Nargothrond, it is likely that he was born after the exile of the Noldor, in Middle-earth.

Little is said of his deeds during the First Age. He probably fled to Nargothrond after the Dagor Bragollach. However, he took no part in the deeds of Curufin and Celegorm regarding Lúthien, Beren, and Finrod. He even repudiated his father and uncle's deeds and did not follow them when the two brothers were expelled from Nargothrond. Celebrimbor survived the First Age, but probably was forced due to the Doom of Mandos — or perhaps freely elected — to remain in Middle-earth rather than return to Valinor.

In Tolkien's stories, Celebrimbor plays an important role as the maker of the Rings of Power. During the Second Age, he lived in the Elvish realm of Eregion and founded a brotherhood of jewelsmiths, the Gwaith-i-Mírdain (lit, "People of the Jewel Smiths"). Under the seemingly benevolent guidance and instruction of the unexpected Vanya visitor "Annatar", the "Lord of Gifts", of the fairest race of elves, who claimed he had been sent by the Valar to share his wisdom and skills in ring and jewel making for the benefit of all Middle-earth but who was in fact the Dark Lord Sauron in fair disguise, Celebrimbor led the smiths of Eregion into making sixteen Great rings for the peoples of Middle-earth—seven to the Dwarven lords and nine to Men. But secretly, without Sauron's knowledge, Celebrimbor also forged Three Rings for the Elves, the greatest and fairest of the Rings of Power. These rings were thus free of Sauron's corrupting influence. Celebrimbor named the rings Vilya, Narya, and Nenya after the principal Middle-earth elements of air, fire, and water, respectively.

At this same time, Sauron was secretly forging the One Ring which would enable him to rule Middle-earth. Sauron reassumed his role as the Dark Lord and placed the One Ring on his finger, claiming dominance over all the Rings of Power and their bearers. Before this, Celebrimbor had believed Sauron to be what he had claimed to be, but realising the truth he and the Elves of Eregion defied Sauron by withholding the other rings from him. He had already sent the three rings away for safekeeping: Vilya and Narya to Gil-galad in Lindon, and Nenya to Galadriel in Lothlórien, but Sauron underestimated their spiritual strength and they became aware of his attempt to mentally enthrall them through their rings and ceased to wear them. With his scheme exposed to at least the elves, Sauron retaliated by attacking Eregion, initiating the War of the Elves and Sauron and laying waste to the realm. Celebrimbor was captured in the sack of Eregion, and was forced under torture to disclose where the Nine and the Seven were held, but he would not reveal the whereabouts of the three Elvish rings. Sauron captured the lesser rings and used them as instruments of evil in later years, particularly against Men. Celebrimbor died from his torment, the last direct descendant of the line of Fëanor.

Alternative Version

In an alternate version of the story, dating from 1968, Celebrimbor was not a Noldo but a Teler of Aman, one of the three companions of Galadriel and Celeborn (here made into a Telerin prince Teleporno or Telporno, grandson of Olwë of Alqualondë). However, Christopher Tolkien noted that his father had mentioned Celebrimbor's descent from Fëanor in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings and in fact had underlined it in one of his personal copies and wrote in the margin a note stating that Celebrimbor was Curufin's son, and that if he had remembered this he would have felt bound to retain that version. Yet another statement in the late essay Of Dwarves and Men has Celebrimbor as a Sinda who claimed descent from Daeron, and at one point Celebrimbor was also a Noldo of Gondolin. The explanation for these changes is that Celebrimbor as a character, like Galadriel and Gil-galad, first appeared in The Lord of the Rings and then had to be inserted into The Silmarillion, thus leading to multiple changes to their descent.

House of Fëanor

Celebrimbor House of Fëanor Died: 1697 Second Age
Preceded by Celeborn & Galadriel	Lord of Eregion	Succeeded by None; Realm Destroyed