Thingol
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Elu Thingol, a fictional character of Middle-earth, created by J. R. R. Tolkien, was the King of Doriath, High King of the Sindar, and self-styled Lord of Beleriand. More accurately Thingol is the Sindarin form of an epithet of Elu. Elu is from Elwë, Star-man (man in the sense male, not human). Thingol comes from sindacollo, grey cloak. The Quenya form of the same name is Elwë Singollo, Singollo meaning Greycloak. He is the brother of Olwë, who is the King of Alqualondë and High King of the Teleri of Aman. He was also a good friend of Finwë, High King of the Noldor. He may have had a second brother, Elmo.
Thingol was one of the three ambassadors of the Elves who departed from Cuiviénen with Oromë to see the land of Valinor. Upon his return, he managed to convince many of his people, the Teleri to follow him back to that country. On the Great Journey to the West the Teleri lagged behind, and did not arrive at the coast until after the departure of the moving island of Tol Eressëa. Thus, they stayed in Beleriand for many years until Tol Eressëa was brought again to fetch them. By this time, many of the Teleri had grown to like Beleriand, and decided to stay there. Elwë was among them, having encountered Melian the Maia in the woods of Nan Elmoth and fallen in love with her. Thingol and Melian became king and queen of the Sindar, the Teleri who stayed in Beleriand. Since Thingol had previously visited Valinor as an ambassador of the Teleri, he is, uniquely, both of the Sindar and of the Calaquendi. Melian had a daughter, named Lúthien and said to be the fairest of the Children of Ilúvatar ever to live.
When the Noldor arrived, he refused entry to Doriath to all but the house of Finarfin, for they were the grandchildren of Olwe, and his kin. Initially, the lords of the Noldor avoided telling Thingol of the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, where Thingol's Teleri kinsmen were slaughtered and their ships stolen by the followers of Fëanor. Even those Noldor who bore no direct responsibility for the crime felt the shame of it, and kept silence, but grew angry with the pride of the sons of Fëanor. Eventually Círdan the Shipwright learned rumour of the Kinslaying, and sent word to Thingol. Outraged, Thingol confronted Finrod Felagund with this news, and Finrod kept silent to avoid accusing his kinsmen. But his brother Angrod could not bear Thingol's blame in silence any longer. Angrily, he accused Fëanor and his sons of sole responsibility for the Kinslaying, and for the misery of the long passage of the Helcaraxë which Finarfin's kin suffered. Thingol forgave the houses of Fingolfin and Finarfin, but decreed that henceforth that Quenya, the high tongue of Aman spoken by the Noldor, should never again be spoken in Beleriand. In this way, the Doom of Mandos once again was proven true. Because of Thingol's decision, Sindarin became the principal language of the Elves in Middle-earth, and Quenya was rarely heard afterwards.
Lúthien fell in love with a Man named Beren. Thingol did not wish for the two to wed, as he valued his daughter very highly and disliked Men. As a bride-price he asked for a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth, thinking there was no way that Beren could fulfil this demand. Nevertheless Beren achieved the task and was allowed to wed Lúthien. Thingol became obsessed with the Silmaril and hired some Dwarves to place it in the Nauglamír, the Necklace of the Dwarves. The Dwarven craftsmen also became obsessed with the jewel and slew Thingol for possession of it, setting off a chain of events that led to the destruction of Doriath and the scattering of its people.
Though a fairly good ruler of his kingdom, Thingol seems to have been less wise than his wife, who, being a Maia, had numerous powers, including protecting the land with the Girdle of Melian and having glimpses into the future; her involvement is probably what kept the land safe for so many years. After Thingol's death Melian, who had remained in Middle-earth by binding her spirit to that of her beloved husband, chose to forsake her body and return to Aman as a Maia.
Thingol's heir was Dior, son of Beren and Lúthien. He is the ancestor of many prominent characters, Elves and Men, including Elros, Elrond, Aragorn and Arwen.
[edit] Line of the Half-elven
Thingol's sword was called Aranrúth (King's Ire).
