Finduilas of Dol Amroth
Encyclopedia
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
, Finduilas was the sister of Prince Imrahil
of Dol Amroth
.
, an Elf
-maiden of the First Age
, Finduilas of Dol Amroth (2950–2988) was the daughter of Prince Adrahil II, and had an older sister Ivriniel in addition to her brother Imrahil.
In 2976 of the Third Age
she was wed to the much older Denethor
, son of Ecthelion II the Steward of Gondor. A description of Lady Finduilas is given in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King
: "She was a lady of great beauty and gentle heart, but before twelve years had passed she died. Denethor loved her, in his fashion, more dearly than any other, unless it were the elder of the sons that she bore him. But it seemed to men that she withered in the guarded city, as a flower of the seaward vales set upon a barren rock. The shadow in the east
filled her with horror, and she turned her eyes ever south to the sea that she missed".
In 2978 she gave birth to a son Boromir
, who became loved by his father. In 2983 she gave birth to her second son, Faramir
, and after grew weak. Faramir was ignored by his father, and she did her best to raise him on her own.
In 2984 Ecthelion suddenly died, and Denethor became Steward of Gondor
. The health of the Lady Finduilas further dwindled, and four years later she died at the very young age of thirty-eight (considering her heritage as a Dúnadan
). Denethor never remarried, and "became more grim and silent than before". It was not long after her death that he "would sit long alone in his tower deep in thought, foreseeing that the assault of Mordor would come in his time". Thus he began using the palantír
of Minas Tirith
, and the despair fed to his mind led to his ultimate insanity and suicide some thirty-one years later.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, Finduilas was the sister of Prince Imrahil
Imrahil
Imrahil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in Return of the King as the twenty-second Prince of Dol Amroth.-Biography:...
of Dol Amroth
Dol Amroth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Dol Amroth was a hill along the coast of Gondor, on a peninsula on the Bay of Belfalas; and also the city that grew up there, mainly in the Third Age as the seat of the principality of the same name. The Prince of Dol Amroth was one of the principal subjects of...
.
Character history
Named after FinduilasFinduilas
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Finduilas was an Elf of the First Age, the daughter of Orodreth, ruler of Nargothrond.Finduilas lived in Nargothrond with her father Orodreth under the rule of Finrod Felagund. She was betrothed to Gwindor, who named her Faelivrin, which meant 'Gleam of the Sun...
, an Elf
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
-maiden of the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
, Finduilas of Dol Amroth (2950–2988) was the daughter of Prince Adrahil II, and had an older sister Ivriniel in addition to her brother Imrahil.
In 2976 of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
she was wed to the much older Denethor
Denethor
Denethor II of the House of Húrin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, which is the third and final part of his novel The Lord of the Rings. In the novel, he is the 26th and penultimate ruling Steward of Gondor....
, son of Ecthelion II the Steward of Gondor. A description of Lady Finduilas is given in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
: "She was a lady of great beauty and gentle heart, but before twelve years had passed she died. Denethor loved her, in his fashion, more dearly than any other, unless it were the elder of the sons that she bore him. But it seemed to men that she withered in the guarded city, as a flower of the seaward vales set upon a barren rock. The shadow in the east
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
filled her with horror, and she turned her eyes ever south to the sea that she missed".
In 2978 she gave birth to a son Boromir
Boromir
Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings , and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King....
, who became loved by his father. In 2983 she gave birth to her second son, Faramir
Faramir
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor II, the Steward of the realm of Gondor...
, and after grew weak. Faramir was ignored by his father, and she did her best to raise him on her own.
In 2984 Ecthelion suddenly died, and Denethor became Steward of Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
. The health of the Lady Finduilas further dwindled, and four years later she died at the very young age of thirty-eight (considering her heritage as a Dúnadan
Dúnedain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Dúnedain were a race of Men descended from the Númenóreans who survived the sinking of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth, led by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion...
). Denethor never remarried, and "became more grim and silent than before". It was not long after her death that he "would sit long alone in his tower deep in thought, foreseeing that the assault of Mordor would come in his time". Thus he began using the palantír
Palantír
A palantír is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium. A palantír A palantír (pl. palantíri) is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium. A palantír A palantír (pl. palantíri) is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium. A palantír...
of Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
, and the despair fed to his mind led to his ultimate insanity and suicide some thirty-one years later.