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Eluréd

Meaning: Heir of Elu (Thingol)

Other Names:
HoME only:
Elboron
Elrún

Location(s):
Lanthir Lamath (Ossiriand)
Doriath

Race/Species: Peredhil

Dates:
First Age 500 - 506

Parents:
father: Dior Eluchíl
mother: Nimloth

Siblings:
Elurín
Elwing

Description:

The firstborn of the twin 1 sons of Dior, Lord of Doriath, and Nimloth; brother of Elurín and Elwing; kidnapped by the Fëanorians during the Ruin of Doriath and never seen again:
500. Elrún 2 and Eldún 2 twin sons of Dior are born.

The War of the Jewels, HoME Vol 11, Part 3, Ch 5, The Tale of Years

At that time Beren and Lúthien yet dwelt in Tol Galen...; and their son Dior Eluchíl had to wife Nimloth, kinswoman of Celeborn, prince of Doriath, who was wedded to the Lady Galadriel. The sons of Dior and Nimloth were Eluréd and Elurín; and a daughter also was born to them, and she was named Elwing, which is Star-spray, for she was born on a night of stars, whose light glittered in the spray of the waterfall of Lanthir Lamath beside her father's house.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 22, Of the Ruin of Doriath

Now Dior Thingol's heir bade farewell to Beren and Lúthien, and departing from Lanthir Lamath with Nimloth his wife he came to Menegroth, and abode there; and with them went their young sons Eluréd and Elurín, and Elwing their daughter. Then the Sindar received them with joy...; and Dior Eluchíl set himself to raise anew the glory of the kingdom of Doriath.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 22, Of the Ruin of Doriath

But... Celegorm stirred up his brothers to prepare an assault upon Doriath. They came at unawares in the middle of winter, and fought with Dior in the Thousand Caves; and so befell the second slaying of Elf by Elf. There fell Celegorm by Dior's hand...; but Dior was slain also, and Nimloth his wife, and the cruel servants of Celegorm seized his young sons and left them to starve in the forest. Of this Maedhros indeed repented, and sought for them long in the woods of Doriath; but his search was unavailing, and of the fate of Eluréd and Elurín no tale tells....

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 22, Of the Ruin of Doriath

Nothing certain is known of their fate, but some say that the birds succoured them, and led them to Ossir.

The War of the Jewels, HoME Vol 11, Part 1, The Grey Annals

Eluréd and Elurín, before they came to manhood, were both slain by the sons of Fëanor, in the last and most abominable deed brought about by the curse that the impious oath of Fëanor laid upon them. But Elwing was saved and fled with the Silmaril to the havens of the surviving Eldar at the Mouths of Sirion.

The Peoples of Middle-earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 2, Ch 12, The Problem of Ros


Etymology
He gave to his elder son the name Eluréd, that is said to have the same significance [the heir of King Elwë], but ended in the Bëorian word reda 'heir'....

The Peoples of Middle-earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 2, Ch 12, The Problem of Ros


Notes
1Tolkien apparently changed his mind, possibly more than once, about whether Eluréd and Elurín were twins. The notes in The History of Middle-earth are contradictory, but the most complete and recent birth annal I could find (from The Tale of Years in The War of the Jewels, HoME volume 11) indicates a twin birth.

Commentary by Elena Tiriel

2This text is from one of Tolkien's early drafts; the name is an earlier version of the proper name as published in The Silmarillion. The original names, Elboron and Elbereth, were supplanted by Elrún and Eldún, which were finally replaced by Eluréd and Elurín.

Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 15Nov09

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