Galadriel is a famous elf from The Lord of the Rings. Her brother, however, was no less significant to the history of Middle-earth. Among other things, he ensured that elves and men got to know each other better.
Who was Galadriel’s brother? Finrod was the eldest brother of the famous elf. He was born in the year 1,300 of the Years of the Trees in Eldamar, which lies in Aman, the Undying Lands.
Finrod’s father Finarfin and his mother Earwen had three other children besides him: Angrod, Aegnor, and indeed Galadriel, the youngest among them. In the same year as Finrod, his cousin Turgon was also born, and the two were close.
When Finrod’s uncle, the great elf and high king Fëanor set out towards Middle-earth and took many followers with him, Finrod initially rebelled against this decision. Later, however, he decided to come along, as he wanted to prevent Fëanor from gaining full control over their people.
Fëanor instigated the first kin-slaying: The Falmari elves, a branch of the Teleri, did not want to hand over their ships for the crossing to Middle-earth, which angered Fëanor.
Finrod, on the other hand, did not participate in this crime. Subsequently, they moved on, up the coast of Araman. There, the powerful Vala Mandos sought out the Noldor to prophesy great misfortune to them. Finrod’s father then turned back, but he himself remained with the expedition.
The Fortress of Nargothrond
What happened next with Finrod? The Noldor triumphed in the Battle of Dagor-nuin-Giliath against the minions of Morgoth. Thus, the Elves spread throughout Beleriand, and Finrod built the tower of Minas Tirith – which should not be confused with the city of the same name in Gondor. We see it, among other things, in “The Return of the King”.
One day, Finrod traveled with his cousin and friend Turgon to the River Sirion. There, the Vala Ulmo, also known as “Lord of the Waters”, appeared to them. He put the two Elves into a slumber and whispered to them that they should seek a safe place for their people to protect themselves from Morgoth.
Finrod found inspiration for this when he was a guest with his sister Galadriel at the court of King Thingol and Queen Melian in the realm of Doriath. The capital Menegroth, which had numerous hidden halls and caves, made a great impression on Finrod.
From Thingol, he received the suggestion to take a closer look at the caves by the River Narog. They were well-suited for a hidden fortress modeled after Menegroth, and thus Finrod built Nargothrond there – a safe home for his kind.
The Dwarves of Ered Luin helped with the construction, and in gratitude, Finrod gifted them jewels from Valinor. In return, the Dwarves presented him with the necklace Nauglamír, one of the most famous pieces of jewelry of the people from that time. They also gave Finrod the name “Felagund”, which means “master of the caves”.
The Meeting with the Men
When did Finrod meet the Men? 300 years passed since the Noldor came to Beleriand. After a hunt together with two sons of Fëanor, Maglor and Maedhros, Finrod made his way towards the Blue Mountains – the westernmost peaks of Middle-earth.
In the east of Beleriand, he was the first Elf to meet a people of Men. There lived Beor the Old and the followers of his house. Finrod got to know the Men, played music for them on Beor’s harp, and practiced their language while teaching them Sindarin, the language of the Elves.
When the Elves of Ossiriand thought the Men would threaten their homeland, Finrod led Beor and his people to the east of Beleriand to Estolad, where they settled. Beor became a good and loyal friend to Finrod and later followed him to the fortress of Nargothrond, where he became his vassal.
When Beor died of natural causes at the ripe age of 93, it caused great astonishment among Finrod’s people: The Elves did not know that Men could die of old age.
After some years of peace, things were about to become exciting in Finrod’s life again.
Barahir and the Oath
What awaited Finrod? In the year 466 of the First Age, the Battle of Dagor Bragollach took place, where the Noldor faced Morgoth. In a critical situation, Finrod’s brothers Angrod and Aegnor were killed. Orcs also cornered Finrod, but at the last moment, he was saved by the man Barahir, who belonged to the house of Beor.
As a token of gratitude, Finrod presented his ring to Barahir and swore eternal friendship and loyalty to him and his family. The elf was able to fulfill this promise just ten years later. Barahir’s son Beren, who is himself part of an exciting love story, came to Nargothrond to ask Finrod for help.
His problem: He wanted to marry the beautiful elf maiden Lúthien, but her father Thingol would only allow this if Beren brought him a Silmaril. The Silmarils were the powerful gems created by Feanor that contained the light of the Two Trees of Valinor. Thingol knew that this task was a suicide mission, and Beren was aware of that as well.
Therefore, he came before Finrod and reminded him of his oath by showing Barahir’s ring, which he had received from his father. With only ten warriors in tow, the two set off. Near the Shadow Mountains, they overwhelmed a group of orcs, seized their equipment and weapons, and thus disguised as orcs proceeded further north.
Was the expedition successful? Unfortunately no, as the group was halted by Sauron at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the “Isle of Werewolves.” An epic duel took place between Finrod and Sauron, with the two battling each other with songs of power. However, Finrod was defeated. Sauron stripped him and his followers of their disguise but did not recognize exactly who he had before him.
Nevertheless, he had one killed by werewolves after another. When it was Beren’s turn, Finrod broke free and killed the beast. Thus he saved the man but was severely injured and died. Due to his deeds, Finrod was allowed to take on a new form in Valinor after his death and was thus reborn.
He is significant to the history of Middle-earth, as he established the first fruitful contact between Elves and Men, making a friendship like that between Legolas and Aragorn possible. Barahir’s ring passed through time and eventually reached Aragorn as well. Unfortunately, the popularity of his little sister Galadriel has never given Finrod the recognition he deserves in the general perception. We clarified which Elves from the plot of Lord of the Rings are the strongest on MeinMMO: 9 powerful elves from Lord of the Rings who could easily take on Sauron’s orcs
