In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

, Finduilas was an Elf

Elf (Middle-earth)

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...

 of the First Age

First Age

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...

, the daughter of Orodreth

Orodreth

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Orodreth was an Elf of the First Age, the son of Angrod and nephew of Finrod Felagund, and a ruler of Nargothrond....

, ruler of Nargothrond

Nargothrond

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Nargothrond , called Nulukkhizdīn by the Dwarves, was the stronghold built by Finrod Felagund...

.

Finduilas lived in Nargothrond with her father Orodreth under the rule of Finrod Felagund

Finrod Felagund

Finrod Felagund is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals, as well as other material....

. She was betrothed to Gwindor, who named her Faelivrin, which meant 'Gleam of the Sun in the pools of Ivrin'. She was very beautiful, a high princess of the Noldor

Noldor

In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...

 and niece of Galadriel

Galadriel

Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....

.

Her betrothed was captured in 472 of the First Age

First Age

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...

 during the Battle of Unnumbered Tears

Nirnaeth Arnoediad

In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth, the Nírnaeth Arnoediad or Unnumbered Tears was the climactic Fifth Battle in the Wars of Beleriand.-The Fifth Battle as told in The Silmarillion:...

 by Morgoth

Morgoth

Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...

, but he returned in 490 with a companion who called himself Agarwaen son of Umarth (the Bloodstained, son of Ill-fate). Unknown to Finduilas this was actually Túrin

Túrin Turambar

Túrin Turambar is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. "Turambar and the Foalókë", begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. J.R.R...

 son of Húrin

Húrin

Húrin is a fictional character in the Middle-earth legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as a hero of Men during the First Age, said to be the greatest warrior of both the Edain and all the other Men in Middle-earth...

.

Despite her old feelings for Gwindor, Finduilas fell in love with Túrin, but Túrin refused her in respect for his friend. Gwindor realized this, and revealed Túrin's name to Finduilas, and tried to persuade Túrin to submit to his feelings for Finduilas, realizing that Finduilas stood between Túrin and the curse of Morgoth.
At the sack of Nargothrond by an army of orcs under the dragon

Dragon (Middle-earth)

J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons closely based on those of European legend.Besides dragon , Tolkien variously used the terms drake and worm .-History:The dragons were created by Morgoth...

 Glaurung

Glaurung

Glaurung is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as the first of the Dragons. He is also a major antagonist in The Children of Húrin. He was known as The Deceiver, The Golden, The Great Worm and the Worm of...

, Gwindor was slain and died in the arms of Túrin, who he told to seek out Finduilas, saying that Finduilas lay between him and his doom. However, when Túrin arrived at the ruins of Nargothrond, he was bewitched by the dragon, and he could not respond to Finduilas' cries as she was dragged past him by the orcs

Orc (Middle-earth)

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...

 of Morgoth as a slave for Angband

Angband (Middle-earth)

-External links:*...

.

Due to Glaurung's deceit and manipulation, Túrin failed to follow the trail of Finduilas and instead went to Dor-lómin in search of his lost mother and sister. By the time he finally saw through the dragon's lies and went after his beloved, it was too late. When the Orcs were waylaid by the Haladin of Brethil at the Crossings of Taeglin the orcs killed all of their captives, impaling Finduilas with a spear against a tree. With her dying breath, Finduilas begged the Men of Brethil to tell Túrin where she had fallen.

Aftermath

The effects of Finduilas' death and her love for Túrin continued to reverberate. The Haladin buried her in a mound they called Haudh-en-Elleth, "Mound of the Elf-maiden." When Túrin finally tracked her to Brethil and learned of her death, he swooned almost lifeless upon her burial mound.

Later, after partially recovering from his grief, Túrin sought asylum among the Haladin, leading a small party in guerrilla attacks against the orcs as they passed through near the mound of his beloved. As a result, the place was soon feared by the orcs and minions of Morgoth. When Nienor

Nienor

Niënor, also known as Níniel , is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, appearing in the Narn i Chîn Húrin told in full in The Children of Húrin and briefly in The Silmarillion...

 arrived in Brethil and was found naked upon the Mound of Finduilas, Túrin, not knowing her to be his sister, declared that the Valar

Vala (Middle-earth)

The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...

had smiled upon him. They soon married, oblivious to their kinship.

When Glaurung personally attacked Brethil with fire, Túrin was shocked to see the dragon avoid the Mound of Finduilas, although it meant travelling far out of his way. Noting that the dragon's fear of the Mound had bought precious time and allowed him to arrange an ambush, Túrin declared that Gwindor had spoken truth and that Finduilas still stood between him and his doom.