Celebrimbor

Celebrimbor (IPA:

Tolkien, as a professional philologist, had been asked to translate an inscription at the temple of Nodens at Lydney Park (Gloucester).^[1] There was a curse upon a ring; the place was named "Dwarf's Hill"; and he traced Nodens to an Irish hero whose name meant "silver hand". This may have inspired him to create Celebrimbor and other elements of The Lord of the Rings.

Celebrimbor appears in the 2014 video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its 2017 sequel, where he is voiced by Alastair Duncan. In the 2022 television show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, he is played by Charles Edwards.

Middle-earth narrative

Celebrimbor was the son of Curufin, fifth son of

Later, someone naming himself Annatar arrived in

At the same time, Sauron secretly forged a ring: the One Ring which would enable him to rule Middle-earth. Later Sauron reassumed his role as the Dark Lord and placed the One Ring on his finger, claiming dominion over all the Rings of Power and their bearers. Before this, Celebrimbor believed Sauron to be what he had claimed to be, but realising the truth he and the Elves of Eregion defied Sauron by withholding the other rings from him. He had already sent the three Rings away for safekeeping.^{[T 4]}

With his scheme exposed to the elves, Sauron retaliated by attacking Eregion, initiating the War of the Elves and Sauron, and laying waste to the realm. Celebrimbor was captured in the sack of Eregion, and was forced under torture to disclose where the Nine and the Seven were held, but he would not reveal the whereabouts of the three Elvish Rings. Sauron captured the lesser rings and used them as instruments of evil in later years, particularly against Men. Celebrimbor died from his torment; his body, shot with arrows, was then hung upon a pole and used by Sauron's forces like a banner on the battlefield.^{[T 3]}

Alternative backgrounds

Like Galadriel and Gil-galad, Celebrimbor first appeared as a character in The Lord of the Rings and then had to be inserted into

House of Finwë

Celebrimbor was of the royal line of

Finwë, high king of the Noldor, the elves especially skilled in craftwork who migrated to Valinor and lived in the blessed realm.^{[T 1][2]}

Fëanor family tree[T 5][a]
Finwë Míriel Mahtan Fëanor Nerdanel Maedhros Celegorm Caranthir Amrod Maglor Curufin Amras Celebrimbor

Real-world origins

Further information: Nodens and Ring of Silvianus

In 1928, a 4th-century pagan cult temple was

philologist, traced Nodens to the Irish hero Nuada Airgetlám, "Nuada of the Silver-Hand".^{[T 6]}

The Tolkien scholar

Eregion".^[1][6] The scholar of English literature John M. Bowers notes that Celebrimbor is the Sindarin for "Silver Hand", and that "because the place was known locally as Dwarf's Hill and honeycombed with abandoned mines, it naturally suggested itself as background for the Lonely Mountain and the Mines of Moria."^[7]

• 
  Tolkien visited the temple of

  Mines of Moria, rings, and Celebrimbor "Silver-Hand".^[1]

Adaptations

ranger Talion when the two of them combine, as shown in the half-Man, half-wraith illustration.^[8]

Celebrimbor appears in the 2014 video game

Barad-dûr. Celebrimbor remains trapped as part of the Dark Lord until the One Ring is destroyed, freeing the spirit as Sauron dies.^{[11][15][16][17]}

Celebrimbor's Secret is the title of an expansion, part of "The Ring-maker Cycle" series, for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, a non-collectible customizable card game produced by Fantasy Flight Games.^[18]

Celebrimbor is played by the English actor Charles Edwards in the 2022 television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.^[19]

Notes

1. ^ The birth order of Fëanor's sons in the family tree is based on The Shibboleth of Fëanor, a late note by Tolkien. In The Silmarillion the birth order is: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin (father of Celebrimbor), Amrod, and Amras.

References

Primary

1. ^ ^{a b c} Tolkien 1996, ch. 4 "Of Dwarves and Men"
2. ^ ^{a b} Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 4 "A Journey in the Dark"
3. ^ ^{a b c} Tolkien 1980, part 2, ch. 4 "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"
4. ^ ^{a b c} Tolkien 1977, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
5. ^ Tolkien 1977
6. ^ Tolkien, J. R. R., "The Name Nodens", Appendix to "Report on the excavation of the prehistoric, Roman and post-Roman site in Lydney Park, Gloucestershire", Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 1932; also in Tolkien Studies, Vol. 4, 2007

Secondary

1. ^
   ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1
   .
2. ^ Shippey 2005, pp. 282–284.
3. ^ Shippey 2005, pp. 40–41.
4. ^ Vanderbilt, Scott. "RIB 306. Curse upon Senicianus". Roman Inscriptions of Britain website. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 17 February 2020. funded by the European Research Council via the LatinNow project
5. ISBN 978-1860111396
   .
6. ^ Armstrong, Helen (May 1997). "And Have an Eye to That Dwarf". Amon Hen: The Bulletin of the Tolkien Society (145): 13–14.
7. ISBN 978-0-19-884267-5
   .
8. ^ ^{a b} Takahashi, Dean (14 October 2017). "Middle-earth: Shadow of War: Creative director explains controversial endings (spoilers)". VentureBeat. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
9. ^ Futter, Mike (8 August 2014). "Troy Baker And Alastair Duncan Discuss Voicing Shadow Of Mordor's Lead Roles". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
10. ^ "Celebrimbor Voice". Behinthevoiceactors.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
11. ^ ^{a b} LeJacq, Yannick (11 November 2014). "Shadow Of Mordor's Lore, Explained In Two Minutes". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
12. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (28 July 2014). "Why Shadow of Mordor's undead Elven hero and sexy Sauron are such a big deal". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
13. ^ Plante, Corey. "'Shadow of War' Game Has Crazy 'Lord of the Rings' Canon Problems". Inverse. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
14. ^ Gerardi, Matt (19 October 2017). "The best way to beat Shadow Of War's final act is not to play it". AV Club. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
15. ^ Kollar, Philip (19 February 2015). "Play as the real Lord of the Rings (or at least their creator) in Shadow of Mordor's next DLC". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
16. ^ Futter, Mike (30 September 2014). "Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
17. ^ LeJacq, Yannick (24 February 2015). "Shadow Of Mordor: The Bright Lord: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
18. ^ "Celebrimbor's Secret". Fantasy Flight Games. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
19. ^ Travis, Ben (7 June 2022). "Meet the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's Pivotal Elf Celebrimbor – Exclusive Image". Empire Online. Retrieved 4 September 2022.

Sources

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