Finarfin

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Character from Tolkien's Legendarium
Name	Finarfin
Other names	Arafinwë
Titles	King of the Aulëndur
Race	Elves
Culture	Noldor, House of Finwë
Date of birth	Y.T. 4730
Date of death	Y.S. ?
Realm	Tirion
Book(s)	The Silmarillion

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Finarfin was the third son and youngest child of Finwë. Finarfin's mother was Indis. His half brother was Fëanor and his full brother Fingolfin. His sisters were Findis and Irimë. He married Eärwen, princess of the Teleri. He had four children: Finrod Felagund, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel. Orodreth appears as one of Finarfin's sons in the published Silmarillion. In Tolkien's later writings however he clearly is Angrod's son. Christopher Tolkien used an older form in the Silmarillion, but later described this as a mistake. ^[1] Finarfin was said to be the fairest and wisest of Finwë's sons. Like all of Finwë's sons, Finarfin founded his own house. Uniquely among the Noldor he and his descendants all had golden hair inherited from his mother, so his house was sometimes called "The Golden House of Finarfin".

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details about The Silmarillion follow.

After the death of Finwë, he departed with his brothers Fëanor and Fingolfin for Middle-earth, but turned back when Mandos pronounced the Doom of the Noldor. Finarfin became King of the residual Noldor and presumably still rules from Tirion on Túna.

[edit] Trivia

In Quenya, his name is Arafinwë, "Noble-Finwë". Finarfin is the Sindarized form.
Finarfin was called Finrod in earlier versions of the Middle-earth mythology, and his son Finrod Felagund Inglor Felagund. As such he appears in the first edition of The Lord of the Rings as Finrod. This was changed in later editions, but not all references to Inglor were removed: see Gildor Inglorion.