Nienor
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In Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth, Nienor, also called Níniel "Tear-Maiden", was the third child of Húrin and Morwen, the sister of Lalaith, who died in her youth, and Túrin. She appears in the tale of her brother Túrin, which is told in The Book of Lost Tales, The Lay of the Children of Húrin, Narn i Chîn Húrin and The Silmarillion.
She was born in Hithlum in the year of Nirnaeth Arnoediad. After this battle, the Easterlings settled in the land and oppressed the people of Hador.
Nienor remained in Hithlum with her mother Morwen for twenty years, subsequently moving to Doriath in hopes of finding Túrin, who has been sent there earlier. After she and her mother heard a rumour that the mysterious Mormegil of Nargothrond was actually Túrin, they set out with a company of Elves for that place. Unfortunately, the dragon Glaurung had just sacked that elven city, and, sensing their approach, he caused a cloud of foul vapour to rise from the Narog. The party's horses panicked and Nienor was separated from them. Glaurung put her in a state of total amnesia, losing all her memories.
Eventually, the amnesiac woman was found by Mablung, who intended to take her back to Doriath but they were attacked by orcs while attempting to cross the Taeglin. In confusion and terror, Nienor ran away, tore off her clothes and ran naked through the forest until she fainted.
Her brother Túrin found her terrified at Haudh-en-Elleth, lying on the grave of his dead lover Finduilas. Because Nienor did not remember her identity and Túrin had never met his second sister Nienor, he named her Níniel "Tear-Maiden" and brought her to safety at Brethil.
The men of Brethil returned to Ephel Brandir soon after. When Níniel fell sick, Brandir tended to her, secretly falling in love. However, Níniel loved Túrin more, and after three years, they were wed. By the next spring, she was halfway through her first pregnancy.
It was then that rumours of Glaurung's approach reached Túrin, who went out to slay him. Unfortunately, the dragon poisoned him even as he dealt the worm a mortal blow, and Túrin fell into a swoon.
Níniel, who feared for her husband's life, went out and found him apparently dead. Glaurung then set off his hidden weapon against Túrin—he removed Nienor's amnesia with his last words. Realizing she had married her own brother and was carrying his unborn child, she committed suicide by throwing herself into the ravine at Cabed-en-Aras. Her death sparked a series of events culminating in Túrin's realization that she was his sister, leading to his suicide and thus fulfilling Glaurung's vengeance.
The tragedy of Túrin and Nienor's love and suicide appear to have been carefully scripted by the dragon Glaurung—this was his most dangerous weapon. Nienor arrived, practically gift-wrapped, naked and amnesiac on the grave of Túrin's love, who was tragically murdered; the resonances of this incident are too specific to be accidental.
