Everything about T Rin totally explained
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character_death = |
character_realm = |
Book(s) =
The Children of Húrin,
The Silmarillion |
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Túrin Turambar is a fictional character in
J. R. R. Tolkien's
legendarium. First introduced in
The Silmarillion, he's the primary
protagonist and a tragic hero (or
anti-hero) of the novel
The Children of Húrin. Prior to that book, early versions of the relevant story and some of the later texts were published in
Unfinished Tales and in
The History of Middle-earth series.
In the books, Túrin was a
Man of the
First Age of
Middle-earth, whose family had been cursed by the ultimate evil being of the legendarium,
Morgoth. In course of his unsuccessful attempts to defy the curse, Túrin brought ruin upon several Mannish and
Elven strongholds as well as upon himself and his sister
Nienor Níniel. Their history was recorded in the
Tale of the Children of Húrin or
Narn i Chîn Húrin, which was claimed by Tolkien to be the ultimate source of the published writings.
Appearances
Túrin was the only son of
Húrin Thalion, Lord of the
Folk of Hador, and
Morwen Edhelwen of the
House of Bëor. He was born in the month of
Gwaeron (March) of the
Year of the Sun 464. He had a younger sister
Lalaith, but she died of a plague at the age of three, when a pestilent wind came from
Angband. Túrin was also taken sick at that time, but recovered. His closest childhood friend was
Sador One-foot, a woodwright who taught him much wisdom.
The
Siege of Angband was already broken at that time, but Túrin's homeland of
Dor-lómin was still contested against the forces of the Dark Lord Morgoth by the Folk of Hador. When Túrin was eight years old, Húrin lead most of his Men to war, and all were slain during the
Battle of Unnumbered Tears. Húrin himself was captured alive, and cursed by Morgoth together with his family. Dor-lómin was invaded by the
Easterlings at Morgoth's command. Túrin remained with Morwen, who hid him from the Incomers, fearing that they'd enslave or kill him as the heir of both Dor-lómin and
Ladros. She sent him secretly and under protection of
Grithnir and
Gethron to the Elven-realm of
Doriath; Morwen remained in Dor-lómin herself, and shortly afterwards Túrin's second sister, Nienor, was born.
Túrin and his guides eventually reached Doriath, and were enmeshed in the
Girdle of Melian. There they came near to death, but the marchwarden
Beleg Strongbow found them and led to the halls of
Menegroth. King
Thingol adopted Túrin, in memory of the deeds of Húrin and because of his kinship with
Beren. One of Túrin's friends there was an elven-lady
Nellas, who watched him over at Queen
Melian's bidding and taught elven-lore. Túrin became esteemed and renowned for his prowess and hardihood, and Beleg became his teacher of warfare.
When after eight years Dor-lómin was cut off and tidings from Morwen and Nienor ceased, Túrin decided to put his strength against Morgoth's forces, hoping to avenge thus the sorrows of his kin. Thingol appointed him to be one of his "knights of the sword", and Túrin departed to the northern marches of Doriath to fight the
Orcs, where he was joined by Beleg. His chief weapon for ever after became the sword, and in addition he wore now the
Dragon-helm of
Hador, so that the Orcs began to fear him more than any other.
At the age of twenty, Túrin accidentally caused the death of
Saeros, one of Thingol's counsellors, who had scorned him for his attire and mortal lineage. Túrin injured him for this, but later was ambushed by Saeros. Túrin overpowered him, chasing him at the sword point to a ravine where, in an attempt to jump, Saeros stumbled and died on the rocks below. Before Túrin could have been either punished or absolved, he fled from Doriath, fearing imprisonment and heedless of
Mablung's counsels. Thingol, after learning of the circumstances from Nellas, eventually pardoned Túrin, and Beleg obtained leave to seek out his friend.
Túrin was unaware of this and fled westward, eventually meeting up with a band of outlaws called
Gaurwaith that dwelt in the woods south of the river
Taeglin. He proved his worth for them by killing one of their best warriors, and thus earned himself a place in the band. At that moment he wished neither to depart anywhere else, nor to strive with them, and so he did little to restrain other members from their evil deeds, such as harassing scattered homesteads of Men. After a year, in attempt to save the daughter of a woodman
Larnach, Túrin slew by mishap the leader of the band
Forweg. He claimed then his place, and this was granted to him as to "the best men" among the outlaws.
Soon Beleg found the band in the wild, while Túrin was absent spying upon the Orcs. The outlaws treated the Elf badly, and this as well as the counsels of Beleg made Túrin stop the lawless way of the band's life, hunting hereafter only the servants of Angband. He rejected Beleg's advice to return to Doriath, and the Elf then departed to Menegroth. Later Túrin's band captured
Mîm the
Petty-dwarf; his two sons escaped, but one of them,
Khîm, was mortally wounded by an outlaw
Andróg. In order to save his own life, Mîm was forced to share his dwellings upon the hill of
Amon Rûdh with the band.
Beleg returned to Túrin after a time, healing those of the band that had become sick with cold and delivering them
lembas of Melian. He also brought the Dragon-helm, and the area around Amon Rûdh became known as
Dor-Cúarthol, the "Land of Bow and Helm". Many warriors joined them, and much of West
Beleriand was freed from evil by the prowess of the "Two Captains", Beleg and Túrin. However, by wearing the Helm Túrin revealed his identity to Morgoth, who sent therefore a host of Orcs against Amon Rûdh two years later.
Beleg followed the Orcs through the forest of
Taur-nu-Fuin, where he met
Gwindor, a slave who escaped from Angband. Together they rescued Túrin upon the confines of
Anfauglith. Unfortunately, when Beleg was cutting the sleeping Túrin free from his bonds, he pricked Túrin's foot with the sword
Anglachel, and Túrin, mistaking Beleg in the darkness for an orc come to torment him, took the sword and slew Beleg. Túrin became dazed with grief after this, but Gwindor led him to the
Pools of Ivrin, where he returned to senses.
They journeyed to the hidden fortress of
Nargothrond, where Gwindor had lived before. He gave Beleg's black sword Anglachel to Túrin now, who had it reforged and renamed as
Gurthang, "Iron of Death". Túrin hid his own name, eventually becoming known as
Mormegil or the
Blacksword of Nargothrond, because of his prowess with Gurthang. Gwindor met there again his beloved,
Finduilas daughter of King
Orodreth, but she unwillingly fell in love with Túrin; however, Túrin didn't perceive this and held her in awe.
Túrin was extremely influential in Nargothrond, becoming a chief counsellor of Orodreth and eventually overruling both him and Gwindor. He encouraged the Elves to abandon their practice of secrecy, and they built a great bridge before the Doors of Nargothrond and managed to clear the land between
River Sirion and
Falas from enemies. However, Túrin became arrogant, ignoring even a warning from the
Vala Ulmo, brought by
Gelmir and Arminas, to destroy the bridge and return to secrecy.
When Túrin had dwelt in Nargothrond for five years, but found his old house empty and went to the halls of
Brodda the Easterling, who had taken Húrin's lands and possessions. There Túrin learned from Brodda's wife
Aerin that Morwen had already left for Doriath before the fall of Nargothrond, as Túrin's own efforts had made the way passable. In his rage he killed Brodda and his followers, rising a revolt. As he left, Aerin burnt herself alive in her halls, and the remnant of the Folk of Hador was persecuted even more cruelly from that time.
Túrin next tried to find Finduilas and followed the trail towards the forest of
Brethil, but came too late: the woodmen informed him that she'd been killed by the orcs when the Men of Brethil had ambushed them in an attempt to rescue the prisoners. Túrin collapsed of grief upon her grave, and was brought to
Ephel Brandir. There he took up his life again, now calling himself
Turambar ("Master of Doom") and renouncing his descent, hoping to overcome thus his curse. The
Folk of Haleth dwelling there was ruled by
Brandir the Lame, who hoped to preserve his people by secrecy. Turambar quickly gained the favour of the Folk and once again overruled Brandir, gathering companies to fight Orcs upon the borders. He stopped wielding Gurthang and fought rather with a spear and a bow.
Meanwhile Morwen and Nienor dwelt in Doriath, but when the news of Nargothrond's destruction had reached them, they rashly went to look for Túrin, aided by a small company of Elves. Glaurung, who now lived in the ruined halls of Nargothrond, descended into the river so that a fog rised and enmeshed the company. Morwen was lost, but Nienor met the dragon and was enspelled by him, forgetting her past. Eventually she fled from both the Elves and the Orcs that pursued her and reached Brethil.
Turambar found her at
Finduilas's grave, naked, unable to speak and remembering nothing. He named her
Níniel, "Maid of Tears", and took her to
Ephel Brandir. There she was healed by Brandir, who fell in love with her; however, Níniel and Turambar came to love each other. Túrin asked her in marriage, but Brandir managed to dissuade her, foreboding evil; yet when Turambar had vowed to forsake war for her sake, Níniel finally married him. Turambar broke his promise when Glaurung sent Orcs to assail Brethil: taking the sword up again, Túrin drove them away, taking control of the Folk from Brandir. Next year Níniel conceived; however, soon Glaurung attacked Brethil himself.
Turambar decided to ambush the Dragon as he crossed the ravine of
Cabed-en-Aras and to try stabbing him from beneath. He took two companions with him,
Dorlas and
Hunthor, but the first deserted them and the other was slain by a stone. Turambar mortally wounded Glaurung with Gurthang, but was hurt by the venom of the Dragon's blood and fell in a swoon. When Níniel came to search for him, Glaurung with his last words undid his spell, and she remembered who she was and realised that Turambar was her brother. Horrified, Nienor cast herself over the brink of the ravine into the river
Taeglin and died.
Brandir witnessed this, and when Turambar awoke, he told him what had happened. Refusing to believe and in wrath on his fate, Túrin smote the defenceless Brandir to death and ran in madness towards Finduilas's grave. There he was met by
Mablung of Doriath, who proved the words of Brandir. In despair Túrin fled back to Cabed-en-Aras and cast himself upon the point of his sword Gurthang.
Túrin was buried in a high mound near the brink of Cabed-en-Aras, together with Gurthang which had broken asunder. A great stone was set upon the grave, upon which the Elves wrote in
Cirth, the runes of Doriath:
TÚRIN TURAMBAR DAGNIR GLAURUNGA
NIENOR NÍNIEL
However, Nienor's body wasn't there and couldn't have been found. Two years later Morwen and Húrin met at that place for the last time, and Morwen was also buried there. The mound survived the
War of Wrath and the Drowning of Beleriand, and as
Tol Morwen was one of the islands off the coast of Middle-earth in later
ages.
Tolkien also wrote several contradictory versions of a prophecy about Túrin's fate after his death: see
Concept and creation below.
Characteristics
Túrin is said to have been one of the fairest Men to have ever lived: "dark-haired and pale-skinned, ... his face more beautiful than any other among mortal Men, in the Elder Days." In this he's stated to have taken after his mother Morwen, descended from the
House of Bëor, in contrast to his fair-haired father Húrin from the
House of Hador. which were blue, while in other Túrin is said to have inherited the grey eyes of his mother. Thus it's possible that he inherited the "elven-light ... hard to endure" of his mother's eyes.
As a child of five years, Túrin is described thus:
In the same text it's said that to Túrin "a place is given among the sons of the Valar"; however, both the concept of the Children of the Valar and Túrin's ranking among them were removed in later revisions. The idea that Túrin tarried in Mandos for an immeasurable time was seemingly also discarded: instead Tolkien referred to Túrin as "returning from the Doom of Men at the ending of the world;" the precise implications of this phrase are unclear. In addition, he introduced
Beren Camlost as likewise returning from the dead. It was also stated at this stage that when
Varda set the constellation of
Menelmacar, she intended it to be "a sign of Túrin Turambar" and "a foreshowing of the Last Battle."
However, in a late note Tolkien presented an entirely different conception: Túrin had indeed remained in Mandos overlong, but only for some 50 years, not for the whole lifespan of the World. According to the prophecy of
Andreth, during the
War of Wrath at the end of the
First Age Túrin "should return from the Dead, and before he left the Circles of the World for ever should challenge the Great Dragon of Morgoth,
Ancalagon the Black, and deal him the death-stroke." Thus the original idea that Túrin was to fight dragons reemerged, but it would have required of Tolkien serious revisions if he'd intended to replace
Eärendil with Túrin as the slayer of Ancalagon. Because of these and similar discrepancies,
Christopher Tolkien decided not to include any references to the Last Battle or to Túrin's ultimate fate into the published
Silmarillion.
Portrayal
Many artists have created illustrations of Túrin's story. The stand-alone novel
The Children of Húrin contains images by
Alan Lee, while various editions of
The Silmarillion and
Unfinished Tales were illustared by
Ted Nasmith. Other images were done by
John Howe and
Anke Katrin Eißmann.
Further Information
Get more info on 'T Rin'.
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