View source for Lúthien and Beren

{{Short description|Fictional couple in Tolkien's Middle-earth}}
{{for|the novel named after these characters|Beren and Lúthien}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Lúthien
| series      = [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] 
| aliases     = Tinúviel
| race        = [[Maia (Middle-earth)|Maia]] / [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elf]]
| gender      = Female
| lbl24       = Book(s)
| data24      = ''[[The Silmarillion]]''<br/>''[[Beren and Lúthien]]''
}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Beren
| series      = [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] 
| aliases     = Erchamion
| race        = [[Man (Middle-earth)|Men<!--Tolkien's usage-->]] ([[Edain]])
| gender      = Male
| lbl24       = Book(s)
| data24      = ''[[The Silmarillion]]<br/> [[Beren and Lúthien]]''
}}
'''Lúthien and Beren''' are characters in [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[high fantasy|fantasy]] world [[Middle-earth]]. Lúthien is an [[Elf (Middle-earth)|elf]], daughter of the elf-king [[Thingol]] and [[Maiar|goddess-like]] [[Melian (Middle-earth)|Melian]]. Beren is a [[Man (Middle-earth)|mortal man]]. The complex tale of their love for each other and the quest they are forced to embark upon is a story of triumph against overwhelming odds but ending in tragedy. It appears in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the [[epic poetry|epic poem]] ''[[The Lay of Leithian]]'', the Grey Annals section of ''[[The War of the Jewels]]'', and in the texts collected in the 2017 book ''[[Beren and Lúthien]]''. Their story is told to [[Frodo]] by [[Aragorn]] in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.

The story of Lúthien and Beren<!--if you want to switch the order of these names, then also reorg the rest of the sentence!-->, immortal elf-maiden marrying a mortal man and choosing mortality for herself, is mirrored in Tolkien's ''[[The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen]]''. The names Beren and Lúthien appear on the grave of Tolkien and his wife Edith. 

Scholars have noted the many sources that Tolkien used in constructing the story. It is based principally [[Tolkien and the classical world|on the classical tale]] of [[Orpheus]] and [[Eurydice]] in the underworld, supplemented by multiple story elements from myths, legends, and folktales from different periods. These include the Finnish ''[[Kalevala]]'', the Welsh ''[[Mabinogion]]'', the ''[[Saga of the Volsungs]]'', the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', and the folktale "[[Rapunzel]]".

== Context ==

Lúthien was a [[Teleri]]n ([[Sindar]]in) [[princess]], the only child of [[Thingol|Elu Thingol]], king of [[Doriath (Middle-earth)|Doriath]], and his queen, [[Melian (Middle-earth)|Melian]] the [[Maia (Middle-earth)|Maia]], making her half-royal, half-divine. She was born in the [[Years of the Trees]], according to the [[Grey Annals]]. At her birth, the white flower ''niphredil'' bloomed for the first time in Doriath.
Lúthien's romance with the [[Man (Middle-earth)|mortal man]] Beren is considered the "chief" of the Silmarillion tales by Tolkien himself; he called it "the kernel of the mythology".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#165 to the [[Houghton Mifflin]] Co., 30 June 1955 }}</ref> [[Elrond]] was Lúthien's great-grandson and [[Aragorn]] was descended from her via Elros and the Royal Family of [[Númenor]]. She is described as the Morning Star of the Elves and as the most beautiful daughter of the one god, [[Ilúvatar]]. Beren was the son of Emeldir and Barahir, a man of the royal House of Bëor of Dorthonion.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

In contrast, Lúthien's descendant [[Arwen]] was called ''Evenstar'', the Evening Star of the Elves, meaning that her beauty reflects that of Lúthien. Lúthien was first cousin once removed of [[Galadriel]] (also Arwen's grandmother), whose mother, Eärwen of [[Alqualondë]], was the daughter of Thingol's brother. The story of Lúthien and Beren is mirrored in ''[[The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen]]''.<ref name="Tale" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, Appendix A: [[The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen]]</ref><ref name="Bowman 2006">{{cite journal |last=Bowman |first=Mary R. |title=The Story Was Already Written: Narrative Theory in "The Lord of the Rings" |journal=Narrative |date=October 2006 |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=272–293 |doi=10.1353/nar.2006.0010 |jstor=20107391|s2cid=162244172 }}</ref>

== Etymology ==

The name ''Lúthien'' appears to mean "daughter of flowers" in a [[Beleriand]]ic dialect of [[Sindarin]], but it can also be translated "blossom".<ref>{{cite book |last=Noel |first=Ruth S. |title=The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth |page=166 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] |year=1974 <!--978-0-3952-9129-0--> }}</ref> The epithet ''Tinúviel'' was given to her by Beren. It literally means "daughter of the starry twilight", which signifies "[[nightingale]]". The name ''Beren'' means "brave" in [[Sindarin]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987}}, ch. 3 ''The Lost Road''</ref>

== Fictional biography ==

{{further|The Tale of Beren and Lúthien}}

=== Meeting ===

[[File:TN-Luthien-Web.jpg|thumb|upright|''Lúthien'' — a [[gouache]] painting depicting a scene from ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]. It was published in the 1990 ''[[Tolkien Calendars|Tolkien Calendar]]''.|alt=Painting of an Elf-woman dancing in a forest]]

Beren saw Lúthien dancing under moonrise in her father's forest, and fell in love with her, captivated by her beauty. He stood in the shadows wishing to be near enough to Lúthien to touch her, but Daeron, her childhood friend and partner in music and dance, noticed Beren and, believing him to be a wild animal, shouted for Lúthien to flee. She saw Beren's shadow and ran away. One day in summer when Lúthien was dancing on a green hill surrounded by [[Conium|hemlock]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2017/06/01/tolkien-hemlock/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129184058/https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2017/06/01/tolkien-hemlock/ |archive-date=November 29, 2018 |title=Beren and Lúthien and the hemlock glade |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref> she sang, awakening Beren. He ran to her, and again she tried to escape and he cried ''Tinúviel''. When Lúthien gazed upon him she reciprocated his love. He kissed her, but she slipped away and he fell into a deep sleep. In his hour of despair, she appeared before him, and in the Hidden Kingdom of [[Doriath (Middle-earth)|Doriath]] set her hand in his and cradled his head against her breast. From then on they met secretly.<ref name="ch19" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 19 "Of Beren and Lúthien"}}</ref>

=== The quest of the Silmaril ===

{{further|Quests in Middle-earth}}

Daeron, who also loved her, reported her meetings with Beren to her father.<!--Silm. p. 166-->
Though Melian warned her husband against it, Thingol was determined not to let Beren marry his daughter, and set a seemingly impossible task as the [[bride price]]: Beren had to bring him one of the [[Silmaril]]s from [[Morgoth]]'s Iron Crown.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Vision and imprisonment ===

Lúthien had a vision of Beren lying suffering in the pits of [[Sauron]], Lord of Werewolves. Her mother told her that Beren was captive in [[Sauron]]'s dungeons. Lúthien decided to save Beren, asking Daeron for help, but he betrayed her to Thingol. Thingol then had her guarded in the high branches of a beech tree. Daeron was filled with remorse; Lúthien forgave him and devised a plan to escape. She enchanted her hair into a cloak to lull her guards to sleep,<!--Silm. p. 172--> and ran from her prison.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

{{anchor|Huan}}
On her way to rescue Beren, she found Huan, the Hound of [[Valinor]], and was taken to his master Celegorm. He, plotting to force her to marry him, offered to help her, asking her to follow him to [[Nargothrond]]. When she arrived, Celegorm held her hostage and forbade her to talk to anyone else. Huan took pity on her, betraying his master, and freed her. Huan was granted the power to speak, and together they escaped from Nargothrond.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

They came to Sauron's Isle, and Lúthien sang a call to Beren. He answered, but Sauron heard her song and sent wolves to slay Huan, but Huan killed them, one by one. Finally, Sauron transformed himself into the most powerful of all werewolves and went out. Huan flinched, but Lúthien smothered Sauron's lunge in her enchanted cloak. Sauron changed into different shapes, but Huan bested him. Lúthien forced Sauron to surrender the keys of his tower; he fled in the shape of a vampire<!--Silm p. 175-->.<ref name="ch19" group=T/> Lúthien destroyed the Tower. Finding the seemingly dead Beren, she fell down beside him in grief, but with the rising sun he awoke and they were reunited. Huan returned to Celegorm.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Celegorm, Curufin and the dance of Lúthien before Morgoth ===

Beren pleaded with Lúthien to return to her father, but she refused. As they were about to embrace, Celegorm and Curufin appeared, exiled because of Lúthien's escape from Nargothrond. Seeking revenge, they fought Beren, and Huan again fought on Lúthien's side. Beren defeated them, but spared their lives at Lúthien's request. Beren stole one of their horses, and the couple fled. As she slept, he went to [[Angband (Middle-earth)|Angband]] to get the Silmaril.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

Lúthien and Huan disguised themselves as [[Mairon]]'s vampire Thuringwethil and the werewolf Draugluin. She found Beren and they reached the throne of Morgoth, but he saw through Lúthien's disguise. She declared herself and offered to sing for Morgoth. Filled with an evil lust, he accepted, but she put him and his entire court into a deep sleep. She awakened Beren, and he cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. As he tried for another Silmaril, his blade snapped, striking Morgoth's cheek. Lúthien and Beren fled to the gates, where the werewolf Carcharoth attacked them.<!--Silm. p. 181--> Beren thrust the Silmaril into its face, but it bit off Beren's hand, swallowing it and the Silmaril. Lúthien sucked out the venom, and with her failing power tried to restore Beren. Huan summoned the [[Eagles of Manwë]], who carried them to Doriath.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Return to Doriath and death of Beren ===

Lúthien healed Beren, and together they stood before her father's throne. Beren told Thingol that the quest was fulfilled, and that he held a Silmaril in his hand. When Thingol demanded to see it, Beren showed him his stump. The couple then explained what had happened. They were married before Thingol's throne that day. Meanwhile, Carcharoth slaughtered all the living beings he came across in his frenzied flight, both empowered and tormented by the jewel burning his stomach. Beren, Thingol, Huan, and other Elves went to defeat the beast. Beren was attacked by the wolf; Huan killed the beast, but died of his wounds. Beren was carried to Doriath, where he died in Lúthien's arms.<ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Lúthien becomes mortal for Beren ===

[[File:Mandos and Lúthien.jpg|thumb|upright|Lúthien pleading with [[Mandos]]. Art by Gregor Roffalski|alt=Painting of an Elf-woman before a gigantic godlike figure in a throne]]

In grief, Lúthien lay down and died, going to the Halls of [[Mandos]].{{efn|There the spirits of dead Elves await re-embodiment in [[Valinor]]; the spirits of dead Men await their departure from the circles of the world.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} ch. 7 "Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor"</ref>}} There she sang a song of the suffering of Elves and Men, the greatest ever sung. This proved effective: it was the only time that Mandos ever acted out of pity. He summoned Beren from the houses of the dead, and Lúthien's spirit met his by the shores of the sea. Mandos consulted with [[Manwë (Middle-earth)|Manwë]], King of [[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]]. Even Manwë could not change the fate of Men, and so he gave Lúthien a choice: to live in Valinor, but without Beren; or to return to Middle-earth with Beren as a mortal herself, accepting the Doom of Men. She chose Beren and mortality.<!--Silm, p. 187--><ref name="ch19" group=T/>

=== Return to life, and death ===

Lúthien and Beren dwelt together in Ossiriand until after the sack of [[Menegroth]]. Their abode was ''Dor Firn-i-Guinar'': the "Land of the Dead that Lived".<!--Silm. p. 188--> They had a son, Dior.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 20 "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"}}</ref>

Thingol received the Nauglamír from [[Húrin]], who had recovered it from the ruins of [[Nargothrond]]. Thingol decided to unite the greatest works of the [[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]] and the Elves – the Nauglamír and the [[Silmaril]] – and hired Dwarf smiths from Nogrod. The Dwarves murdered Thingol and took the Nauglamír. Beren and an army of Green Elves and [[Ent]]s waylaid the returning Dwarves. Beren reclaimed the Nauglamír, and Lúthien kept the necklace and the great jewel all her life. This hastened Beren's and Lúthien's end, since her beauty enhanced by the jewel was too bright for mortal lands to bear.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 22 "Of the Ruin of Doriath"}}</ref>

[[Elrond]] and [[Arwen]] were descendants of Lúthien, as was [[Aragorn]], a descendant of Elrond's brother Elros.<ref name="Tale" group=T/>

== Genealogy ==
{{Half-elven family tree}}

== Earlier versions ==
{{for|the 2017 book assembled from multiple versions by Christopher Tolkien|Beren and Lúthien}}

In the various versions of ''The Tale of Tinúviel'', Tolkien's earliest form of the tale, as published in ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'', her original name is ''Tinúviel''. Beren is, in this earlier version, an ''Elf'' (specifically a [[Noldor|Noldo]], or ''Gnome''), and Sauron has not yet emerged. In his place, they face ''Tevildo'', the Prince of Cats, a monstrous cat who is the principal enemy of the [[Valinor]]ean hound [[Huan (Middle-earth)|Huan]]. However Tolkien initially created the character of Beren as a mortal man before this in an even earlier but erased version of the tale.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1984|loc=book 2, ch. 1 "The Tale of Tinúviel"}}</ref>

The story is also told in an epic poem in ''[[The Lays of Beleriand]]'', upon which most of the finer details of her life and relationship to Beren is extracted from in this article, since ''The Silmarillion'' provides only a generalization of the tale.<ref group=T><!--Lays of Beleriand-->{{harvnb|Tolkien|1985|loc=part 3, ch. 1 "The Gest of Beren son of Barahir and Lúthien the Fay called Tinúviel the Nightingale or the Lay of Leithian – Release from Bondage"}}</ref>

== Analysis ==

{{further|Orpheus}}
{{see also|A mythology for England}}

The [[philologist]] and Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] writes that Tolkien based the tale of Beren and Lúthien [[Tolkien and the classical world|on the classical legend]] of Orpheus in the underworld, and embroiders this framework with story elements from multiple folktales, myths, and legends. These include the Finnish ''[[Kalevala]]'', the Welsh ''[[Mabinogion]]'', the Norse ''[[Saga of the Volsungs]]'', the Icelandic ''[[Prose Edda]]'', the Old English ''[[Genesis B]]'', and the German folktale "[[Rapunzel]]". Shippey comments that Tolkien "had not yet freed himself from his sources – as if trying to bring in all the older bits of literature that he liked instead of forging a story with an impetus of its own."{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=294–295}}

[[File:Shippey on Beren and Lúthien's many sources.svg|thumb|center|upright=2.5|[[Tom Shippey]] on some of the many sources for Tolkien's tale of Beren and Lúthien: principally the tale of [[Orpheus]] and [[Eurydice]], but with the addition of story elements from myths, legends, and folktales from different periods.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=294–295}}]]

=== Classical myth ===

{{further|Tolkien and the classical world}}

Peter Astrup Sundt draws multiple parallels between Beren and [[Orpheus]]. More precisely, he compares both Beren and Lúthien and the classical character, as it is Lúthien not Beren who has magical powers, and far from playing a passive [[Eurydice]] to be rescued, or not, from the underworld, she too goes to sing for [[Mandos]], the Vala who watches over the souls of the dead.<ref name="Sundt 2021">{{cite book |last=Sundt |first=Peter Astrup |title=Orpheus and Eurydice in Tolkien's Orphic Middle-earth |pages=165–189}} in {{harvnb|Williams|2021}}</ref> Ben Eldon Stevens adds that Tolkien's retelling contrasts sharply with the myth. Where Orpheus nearly manages to retrieve Eurydice from Hades, Lúthien rescues Beren three times – from Sauron's fortress-prison of Tol-in-Gaurhoth, involving singing; from Morgoth's Angband, with the Silmaril; and by getting Mandos to restore both of them to life. In the original myth, Eurydice meets "a second death", soon followed by the griefstruck Orpheus, whereas Tolkien has Lúthien and Beren enjoy "a second life" after their "resurrection".<ref name="Stevens 2021">{{cite book |last=Stevens |first=Ben Eldon |title=Middle-earth as Underworld: From Katabasis to Eucatastrophe |pages=113–114}} in {{harvnb|Williams|2021}}</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#153, September 1954 to Peter Hastings }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ Peter Astrup Sundt's parallels between Beren/Lúthien and [[Orpheus]]<ref name="Sundt 2021"/>
|-
! Action/theme !! Beren !! [[Orpheus]] !! Lúthien 
|-
| Bond with nature || Yes || Yes || Yes 
|-
| Desperate search for lover || Yes ([[Lay of Leithian]]) || Yes ||  
|-
| Repeated calling of her name || Tinuviel! Tinuviel! || ''[[Eurydice]]n ... Eurydicen''<br/>([[Virgil]]'s ''[[Georgics]]'') ||  
|-
| ''[[Katabasis]]'',<br/>descent into underworld || "Go[es] down" into [[Doriath (Middle-earth)|Doriath]],<br/>the "perilous, terrible, forbidden" city || Yes ||  
|-
| Magical, musical mother ||  || The [[Muses|muse]] [[Calliope]] || The [[Maiar in Middle-earth|Maia]] [[Melian in Middle-earth|Melian]]
|-
| Powerful song ||  || Yes || Yes 
|-
| Magical powers ||  || Yes || Yes 
|-
| Pleads for return of lover ||  || To [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]] and [[Proserpina|Proserpine]] || To [[Mandos]] 
|}

=== Harrowing of Hell ===

{{further|Christian light in Tolkien's legendarium|Hell and Middle-earth}}

[[File:Harrowhell.jpg|thumb|upright| ''[[Harrowing of Hell|The Harrowing of Hell]]'', ''{{lang|fr|[[Petites Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry|Petites Heures]]}}'', 14th-century [[illuminated manuscript]] for [[John, Duke of Berry]] ]]

Robert Steed, in ''[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]]'', argues that Tolkien echoes and "creatively adapts" the medieval theme of the [[Harrowing of Hell]], in the tale of Lúthien and Beren, and in other places. The medieval tale holds that Christ spent the time between his crucifixion and resurrection down in Hell, setting the Devil's captives free with the irresistible power of his divine light. The motif, Steed suggests, involves a multi-step sequence<!--i.e. an ORDERED list-->:

# someone imprisoned in darkness;
# a powerful and evil jailor;
# a still more powerful liberator
# who brings light, and
# sets the captives free.

Steed describes the tale "[[Of Beren and Lúthien]]" as an instance, where Lúthien sets Beren free from Sauron's imprisonment. Beren is freed from darkness, Lúthien from despair, so, Steed remarks, both of them take on aspects of Christ:<ref name="Steed 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Steed |first1=Robert |title=The Harrowing of Hell Motif in Tolkien's Legendarium |journal=[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]] |date=2017 |issue=58 |pages=6–9 |url=https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/download/26/21}}</ref>

{{blockquote|But Beren coming back to light out of the pit of despair lifted her up, and they looked again upon one another; and the day rising over dark hills shone upon them."<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=19 "Of Beren and Lúthien"}}</ref>}}

=== Folktale, fairytale ===
<!--https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beren_and_L%C3%BAthien&oldid=643864963 is cited in Beal 2014 (ref below) as giving popular attention to folk-tales "The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs" and "The Griffin" as possible sources for Tolkien's L&B.-->

{{see also|Tolkien and the Celtic}}

[[File:Ysbaddaden.jpeg|thumb|upright|Possible influence from the Welsh "[[Culhwch and Olwen]]": heroic hound, woman with magical powers, warrior seeking her hand in marriage, demanding father. Illustration "Culhwch at Ysbaddaden's court" by [[Ernest Wallcousins]], 1920]]

Several scholars, from [[Randel Helms]] onwards, have noted that Tolkien's tale of Beren and Lúthien shares elements with folktales such as the Welsh "[[Culhwch and Olwen]]". One of these is the disapproving parent who sets a seemingly impossible task (or tasks) for the suitor, which is then fulfilled.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hnutu-healh |first=Glyn |title=Culhwch and Olwen |url=https://www.arthurlegends.com/culhwch-and-olwen/ |website=Arthurian Legends |access-date=6 August 2020 |date=6 January 2020 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030021951/https://www.arthurlegends.com/culhwch-and-olwen/ }}</ref> The [[Brothers Grimm]] folktale "[[The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs]]" sets such a task, the King requiring the boy to obtain three golden hairs from the Devil's beard.<ref name="Dickerson O'Hara 2006">{{cite book |last1=Dickerson |first1=Matthew |author1-link=Matthew Dickerson |last2=O'Hara |first2=David |title=From Homer to Harry Potter |year=2006 |publisher=[[Brazos Press]] |pages=141–142 |isbn=978-1-44120-214-7}}</ref><!-- A similar folktale is "[[The Griffin (fairy tale)|The Griffin]]".--> Another is the hound [[Cafall]], matching Tolkien's Huan, hound of Valinor.<ref name="Beal 2014">{{cite journal |last=Beal |first=Jane |year=2014 |title=Orphic Powers in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legend of Beren and Lúthien |journal=[[Journal of Tolkien Research]] |volume=1 |issue=1 |at=Article 1 |url=http://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol1/iss1/1}}</ref> 

Shippey<ref name="Shippey 2010"/> and [[Richard C. West]]<ref name="Beal 2014"/> have warned that claims about Tolkien's use of sources must be cautious, because as Tolkien said, he thoroughly boiled down his "soup" from the original "bones of the ox" of his sources.<!--The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays, p. 120)--> Shippey agrees with Alex Lewis and Elizabeth Currie that Tolkien very likely used the ''[[Mabinogion]]'', as he certainly knew "Culhwch and Olwen", but finds their suggestion that Tolkien also used von Eschenbach's ''[[Parzival]]'' as an Arthurian source improbable, stating that "similarity does not prove connection".<ref name="Shippey 2010">{{cite journal |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |department=Reviews |title=A Question of Source |journal=[[Mallorn (journal)|Mallorn]] |issue=49 |year=2010 |pages=10–12 |jstor=48614691}}</ref> Shippey adds that the hunt of the giant boar [[Twrch Trwyth]] is a "plausible" model for the hunt of Carcharoth the wolf.<ref name="Shippey 2010"/> On the other hand, he writes, the incomplete fulfilment of Chief Giant [[Ysbaddaden|Yspaddaden]]'s list of items to be supplied for Olwen's hand in marriage does not match the attempt to meet Thingol's demand for the Silmaril, and "the scenes aren't like each other at all!"<ref name="Shippey 2010"/><!--<ref>{{cite book |last=Phelpstead |first=Carl |title=Tolkien and Wales: Language, Literature, and Identity |date=2011 |publisher=[[University of Wales Press]] |location=Cardiff |isbn=978-0-7083-2372-4 |page=}}</ref>{{pn|date=September 2024}}-->

The Tolkien scholar [[John Garth (author)|John Garth]], writing in the ''[[New Statesman]]'', notes that it took a century for ''[[The Tale of Beren and Lúthien]]'', mirroring the tale of Second Lieutenant Tolkien watching Edith dancing in a woodland glade [[The Great War and Middle-earth|far from the "animal horror" of the trenches]], to reach publication. Garth finds "much to relish", as the tale changes through "several gears" until finally it "attains a mythic power". Beren's enemy changes from a cat-demon to the "Necromancer" and eventually to Sauron. Garth comments that if this was supposed to be the lost ancestor of the [[Rapunzel]] [[fairytale]], then it definitely portrays a modern "female-centred fairy-tale revisioning" with a Lúthien who may be fairer than mortal tongue can tell, but is also more resourceful than her lover.<ref name="Garth 2017">{{cite news |last=Garth |first=John |author-link=John Garth (author) |title=Beren and Lúthien: Love, war and Tolkien's lost tales |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/05/beren-and-l-thien-love-war-and-tolkien-s-lost-tales |access-date=31 July 2020 |work=[[New Statesman]] |date=27 May 2017}}</ref>

=== Personal life === 

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Grave of Edith and J. R. R. Tolkien
|-
| {{center|1=+<br/> Edith Mary Tolkien <br/> '''Luthien''' <br/> 1889–1971 <br/> John Ronald <br/> Reuel Tolkien <br/> '''Beren ''' <br/> 1892–1973 }}
| [[File:Tolkiengrab.jpg|160px|frameless]]
|}

In a letter to his son [[Christopher Tolkien|Christopher]], dated 11 July 1972, Tolkien requested the inscription below for his wife [[Edith Tolkien|Edith]]'s grave "for she was (and knew she was) my Lúthien."<ref name="Letter #340" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#340 to Christopher Tolkien, 11 July 1972 }}</ref> He added, "I never called Edith ''Luthien'' – but she was the source of the story.... It was first conceived in a small woodland glade filled with hemlocks at Roos in Yorkshire where ... she was able to live with me for a while."<ref name="Letter #340" group=T/> In a footnote to this letter, Tolkien added "she knew the earliest form of the legend...also the poem eventually printed as Aragorn's song."<ref name="Letter #340" group=T/> Particularly affecting for Tolkien was Edith's conversion to the [[Catholic Church]] from the [[Church of England]] for his sake upon their marriage; this was a difficult decision for her that caused her much hardship, paralleling the difficulties and suffering of Lúthien from choosing mortality.{{sfn|Carpenter|1977|p=73}}

Edith and J. R. R. Tolkien lie in [[Wolvercote Cemetery]] in north [[Oxford]].  Their gravestone shows the association of Lúthien with Edith, and Tolkien with Beren.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birzer |first=Bradley J.  |author-link=Bradley J. Birzer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TyKDAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT35 |title=J. R. R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth |date=13 May 2014 |publisher=Open Road Media |isbn=978-1-4976-4891-3 |at=pt. 35}}</ref>

== Notes ==

{{notelist}}

== References ==

=== Primary ===

{{reflist|group=T|28em}}

=== Secondary ===
{{reflist|28em}}

=== Sources ===

* {{ME-ref|Biography}}   <!--Carpenter 1977-->
* {{ME-ref|Letters}}     <!--Carpenter 2023 [1981]-->
* {{ME-ref|ROAD}}        <!--Shippey 2005-->
* {{ME-ref|ROTK}}
* {{ME-ref|Silm}}
* {{ME-ref|BOLT}}
* {{ME-ref|Lays}}
* {{ME-ref|LROW}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Williams |editor-first=Hamish |editor-link=Hamish Williams |title=Tolkien and the Classical World |title-link=Tolkien and the Classical World (book) |location=Zurich |publisher=[[Walking Tree Publishers|Walking Tree]] |date=2021 |isbn=978-3-905703-45-0 |oclc=1237352408 }}

== External links ==

* {{cite web |url=http://www.tor.com/2016/09/14/luthien-tolkiens-badass-elf-princess/ |title=Lúthien: Tolkien's Badass Elf Princess |first=Jeff |last=LaSala |work=[[Tor.com]] |date=September 14, 2016 |access-date=September 22, 2016 |ref=none}}

{{Middle-earth}}
{{Elves}}

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[[Category:The Silmarillion characters]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1977]]
[[Category:Fictional amputees]]
[[Category:Fictional outlaws]]
[[Category:Fictional princesses]]
[[Category:Fictional married couples]]
[[Category:Grey Elves]]
[[Category:Middle-earth Half-elven]]
[[Category:Middle-earth Edain]]
[[Category:Teleri]]