Wise (Edain)
Encyclopedia
In J. R. R. Tolkien
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,...

's Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....

 legendarium
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...

, some of the Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...

 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...

 were counted the Wise. They possessed a great knowledge of lore and traditions of their people, especially concerning their ancient days.

But the Wise mostly kept their knowledge secret and passed it only to those whom they chose. Some of them were women, and many remained unwed. Among the Wise are known:
  • Bëor the Old
    Bëor
    Bëor the Old is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion as the leader of the First House of the Edain in the First Age, which was called the Folk of Bëor after him...

    , leader of the First House of the Edain
    Edain
    In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....

     during their journey to Beleriand
    Beleriand
    In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...

    . Shared a great part of his knowledge with the Elven
    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...

    -lord Finrod Felagund
    Finrod Felagund
    Finrod Felagund is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals, as well as other material....

    .
  • Belemir (born 339), his great-grandson, to whom the wisdom of Bëor was chiefly transmitted.
  • Adanel (born 339), granddaughter of Marach
    Marach
    In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Marach was the leader of the Third House of the Edain in the First Age, called the Folk of Marach after him. He was the father of Malach and Imlach and ancestor of Túrin Turambar....

     and sister of Magor.
  • Andreth (361-455?), great-great-granddaughter of Bëor. Also called Saelind ('Wise-Heart') by the Elves, for she was "wise in thought and learned in the lore of Men and their histories".

(On their descent see House of Bëor and House of Hador.)

Belemir married Adanel and was father of five children, of whom the last was Beren, grandfather of his great namesake Beren Erchamion. By this marriage the much differing lore and traditions of the two Houses were brought together. The Wise of the People of Marach were the only Men to preserve the tale of their original sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...

, when, soon after their awakening, the Men chose to worship Melkor
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...

 instead of Eru Ilúvatar
Eru Ilúvatar
Eru Ilúvatar is a fictional deity in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as the creator of all existence . In Tolkien's invented language of Elvish, Eru means "The One", or "He that is Alone" and Ilúvatar signifies "Father of All"...

 and in the result their lifespan was shortened; see Gift of Men
Gift of Men
The Gift of Men in Middle-earth refers to a gift of Ilúvatar to his Younger Children, which remains a source of some confusion for Tolkien enthusiasts. The concept includes both mortality and free will...

.

Andreth in her youth dwelt long in the house of Belemir, of whom she was a second cousin once removed, and thus learned the much differing traditions of the two Houses. She had a close friendship with the Elven-lord Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals, as well as other material....

, called 'Friend of Men', who often visited her during the Siege of Angband
Siege of Angband
The Siege of Angband or "The Long Peace" in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fictional universe was the siege of the Noldor around the fortress of Morgoth in the early centuries of the Years of the Sun, which began following the Dagor Aglareb. For the most part, it was a time of plenitude, peace and...

 to converse on the matters of Elves and Men, as Andreth was the least unwilling of the Wise to speak of this. One such conversation was written down and later known as Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, 'Converse of Finrod and Andreth'. In historical records of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...

 it was often preserved together with the Tale of Adanel, in which she recounted to Andreth the story of the Fall of Men. According to some traditions, Andreth is also credited with the prophecy of the return of Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar
Túrin Turambar is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "Turambar and the Foalókë", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. J.R.R...

 at the end of the First Age; this depends on variant forms of his fate.

Andreth was deeply in love with the Elf Aegnor, son of Finarfin
Finarfin
Finarfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.-Personality:Unlike the warlike Fëanor and Fingolfin, Finarfin was something of a pacifist...

, after they first met "in the morning upon the high hills of Dorthonion
Dorthonion
In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Dorthonion , later Taur-nu-Fuin, was a highland region of the First Age, lying immediately to the north of Beleriand, and south of the plains of Ard-galen that extended north to Morgoth's stronghold of Thangorodrim...

" and later again by the Tarn Aeluin, in which Aegnor saw Andreth's face "mirrored with a star caught in [her] hair". The love was returned but never fulfilled, since Aegnor departed from motives of wisdom: he did not trust the peace of the Siege of Angband
Siege of Angband
The Siege of Angband or "The Long Peace" in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fictional universe was the siege of the Noldor around the fortress of Morgoth in the early centuries of the Years of the Sun, which began following the Dagor Aglareb. For the most part, it was a time of plenitude, peace and...

 and felt the approaching of his death; thus they both remained unwed and childless. Aegnor was slain when Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...

 broke the Siege in the Dagor Bragollach
Dagor Bragollach
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, the Dagor Bragollach was the fourth battle of the Wars of Beleriand...

, and Tolkien wrote that "it is probable, though nowhere stated, that Andreth perished herself at this time".

Lines of Adanel and Andreth

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