One of the most popular stories of Middle-earth is the tale of Beren and Luthien. It’s a classic poor-boy falls for rich girl drama combined with high adventure, intrigue, depravity, and magic. There seems to be something for everyone. When the hobbits ask Aragorn to tell them a story the night they are attacked on Weathertop, he chooses to speak of Beren and Luthien. In some ways Aragorn must see himself following in Beren’s footsteps. Like his forefather, Aragorn is the rightful lord of a people who are deprived of land and heritage through the misfortunes of war. And like Beren Aragorn meets a beautiful princess in an Elven realm and falls immediately and completely in hopeless love with her.
Elrond’s treatment of Aragorn is much gentler and more tolerant than Thingol’s treatment of Beren, for Elrond himself is a descendant of Beren and Luthien, though both of them had died years before he was born. And yet Elrond sets Aragorn nearly as high a price for Arwen’s hand in marriage as Thingol set for Luthien’s: both men were given what seemed to be impossible tasks to achieve. Aragorn, at least, had the advantage of knowing that Elrond wanted to see Sauron defeated. Elrond wasn’t trying to be clever and cruel, sending Aragorn off to his probable doom, as Thingol sent off Beren.
Unhappily not all of Middle-earth’s love stories turn out as well as Beren and Luthien’s, or Aragorn and Arwen’s. Both couples lived many years together after enduring their great trials. Those years would not have been without hardships, but they were nonetheless rewards which were hard to achieve. Beren and Luthien had to pass into Angband through many perils, and ultimately both died before being restored to life and permitted to dwell together in relative solitude. Aragorn’s journeys were not as harsh as Beren’s, but they were lonelier. At least Beren was accompanied by Luthien throughout several parts of the quest of the Silmaril. Aragorn had to endure many years away from Arwen, and for long he had no real hope that she would even return his feelings for him.
Divorce is never mentioned in any of Tolkien’s stories. People might be quick to say, “Well, he was raised a Catholic, and devoutly believed in the teachings of the Church all his life.” Yes, that’s so, but Tolkien was a pretty realistic fellow, too. Divorce seems to play no part in his romances because separation does. Separation doesn’t always make love stronger. Sometimes it destroys the relationship. The earliest tale of a ruined marriage is that of Hurin and Morwen.
Hurin was the son of Galdor the Tall, lord of Dor-lomin, and considered by many to be the greatest warrior among all Men. Morwen was born in Dorthonion, the homeland of the Beorians who had been accepted into the kingdom of Finrod of Nargothrond. They dwelt on the northern marches of Finrod’s realm, behind the line of Noldorin fortresses which overlooked Ard-galen, the plain which lay between Angband and the Elven realms.
Morwen was the daughter of Baragund, the elder son (and, strangely, rightful heir) of Bregolas, who was Lord of Ladros from 448 to 455. Bregolas died in the fighting soon after the Dagor Bragolach (the Battle of Sudden Flame, in which Morgoth’s forces broke the Siege of Angband, which had lasted more than 400 years) began. Barahir assumed the lordship of Dorthonion. He was already middle-aged, being 55 years old when the Bragollach began. Perhaps it was because Barahir had rescued Finrod that he was made the new lord of Ladros. Or perhaps Baragund abdicated the lordship in favor of his uncle because Barahir was clearly the greater leader, and their people needed one.
Morwen was born in the year 443, so she was only 12 years old when the Dagor Bragollach began. Most of her people fled to Dor-lomin soon after Bregolas and many of his men were slain in battle, but Baragund and others stayed with Barahir, and followed him faithfully. Barahir and the Beorians who remained with him held out for a year, but in 456 the situation became so bad that Barahir’s wife Emeldir gathered all the remaining women and children and led them south out of Dorthonion. Emeldir’s road led through Ered Gorgoroth, the Mountains of Horror, where giant spiders had settled centuries before and made the region nearly impassable by man or elf.
Emeldir and her daughter Hiril vanish from history after reaching Brethil, where some of their companions stayed, but Morwen and her cousin Rian (then only 6 years old) passed on to Dor-lomin to join the rest of their people. Although most of their menfolk had been slain in the war, the Beorians did not vanish as a people. Their sons grew up to form a new generation of warriors, but they became closely merged with the Marachians of Dor-lomin.
At the same time Morwen was wandering through the Ered Gorgoroth, the young man Hurin and his brother Huor were enjoying the hospitality of Turgon in Gondolin. They had been staying with relatives in Brethil when the Dagor Bragollach began, and the Folk of Haleth had sent out warriors to help resist Morgoth’s onslought. Most of those men were slain, and Hurin and Huor were cut off from their companions. They were rescued by the Eagles of Manwe, who took them to Gondolin, where they stayed for a year. Eventually Turgon agreed to let the young men return to Dor-lomin.
Tolkien doesn’t say when Hurin met Morwen, but it must have been soon after his return to Dor-lomin, or soon after her arrival there (depending on who reached Dor-lomin last). She was too young for marriage, but by the year 461 she would have been 18. Turin was born in 464 so Morwen was still quite young when she married Hurin, and for the first eight years their marriage seemed to be a good one. They had three children: Turin, Urwen (who died), and Nienor. Hurin never saw his younger daughter, for she was born after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, at the end of which Hurin was taken prisoner.
For nearly thirty years Hurin was kept prisoner by Morgoth, and Morwen made what arrangements she could for the sakekeeping of Turin, but his fate and Nienor’s were darkened by Morgoth’s malice, and when Hurin was finally released his children were all dead. He found Morwen at last in Brethil, waiting for him by the stone which marked the place of Turin’s death, and in the end their reunion was all too brief and bitter.
A more tragic story was the tale of Aldarion and Erendis. For years Tolkien fans had no real knowledge of this tale, except that it existed, for Tolkien briefly mentioned in a letter to Dick Plotz (Thain of the Tolkien Society of America) in 1966 “The Mariner’s Wife”, which told the story of Tar-Aldarion and his tragic relations with his father and wife. This information was passed on to Robert Foster, who recorded it in the brief entry for Tar-Aldarion in A GUIDE TO MIDDLE-EARTH (Mirage Prsss, 1971) and THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MIDDLE-EARTH (Del Rey, 1978).
In 1980 Christopher Tolkien published “The Mariner’s Wife” in UNFINISHED TALES, and it is now usually referred to as “Aldarion and Erendis”. He was the rightful Heir to the throne of Numenor, a descendant of Rian and Huor. Erendis was also a descendant of Beor, and in fact was descended from Beleth, the daughter of Baragund. She was not an Elrosian (i.e., not descended from Elros Tar-Minyatur) and therefore though long-lived like all Numenoreans, she did not possess the unusually long life-span of the Elrosians. Aldarion became a mariner in his youth and though he fell in love with Erendis and eventually married her she nearly always came second in his heart to the sea.
Erendis grew bitter over her husband’s avocation, and she seemed repulsed by the sea. She eventually left him and sought to raise their daughter Ancalime alone far from the royal court of Armenelos. Erendis’ strange jealousy and resentment at first had much sympathy both among Aldarion’s family and the people of Numenor, but she became so embittered she receded into pettiness. The divisions between them prevented Aldarion and Erendis from having more children, and Aldarion eventually established a new law of succession which permitted Ancalime to become a ruling Queen of Numenor.
Ancalime’s life turned out no better than her parents’. She was much sought after by the young men of Numenor and she fled into hiding while still very young to avoid the chase. Disguising herself as a shepherdess, Ancalime passed her days in peace and quiet until a young shepherd met up with her. He called himself Mamandil and they became friends. Mamandil was a great singer and he often entertained Ancalime with ancient songs their Edainic ancestors had sung while pasturing their flocks in Eriador (more than 1300 years previously).
Mamandil eventually revealed his true name, Hallacar, son of Hallatan of Hyarstorni, one of Numenor’s greatest lords and an Elrosian. The story of Ancalime and Hallacar was never fully developed by Tolkien, but she eventually married him for what seem like political reasons. Whatever love she felt for him before she learned the truth concerning Hallacar turned to bitterness and then hatred, and she is said to have pursued him throughout his life. Hallacar did play one cruel joke on Ancalime. She refused to let her handmaidens marry, and Hallacar arranged for them all to be married at a feast in his house (which Ancalime was taking away from him) on his last night there. He mocked and humliated Ancalime, and that event may have been the final stroke between them.
Nonetheless, Hallacar and Ancalime did have a son, Anarion, who went on to become King of Numenor. Anarion’s eventual marriage seems to have been happier than his parents’ or grandparents’. He had at least three children, of whom the third was Tar-Surien.
Tragic marriages were not confined strictly to the Numenoreans. During the Third Age Minalcar, Regent of Gondor, sent his son Valacar to seal an alliance with the northman kingdom of Rhovanion (which was just a small kingdom east of Mirkwood, and did not cover all of Wilderland, which is also called Rhovanion). Valacar married Vidumavi, the daughter of Vidugavia, king of Rhovanion. Their son, Eldacar, was born in Rhovanion and named Vinitharya in his early childhood. Eldacar’s mixed heritage ultimately led to the Kin-strife of Gondor, the bloody civil war which nearly destroyed the kingdom and ultimately began the process of Gondor’s long decline.
Hobbits also had their tragic marriages, although the tragedy was not always realized in strife between the husband and wife, and never led to a terrible consequence like the Kin-strife of Gondor. Drogo Baggins married Primula Brandybuck. He went to live in the Buckland among his in-laws and apparently adopted their custom of boating on the Baranduin (Brandywine) river. One day, Drogo and Primula were drowned in a boating accident, leaving their young son Frodo an orphan. Frodo went to live with his cousin Bilbo Baggins, master of Bag End and titular head of the Baggins family. Although Frodo was destined for greatness no Hobbit could ever have imagined, helping to bring about the Downfall of Sauron, he paid a great price in spiritual torment and savage wounding. Frodo was so harmed by the experience that he was eventually admitted to the Blessed Realm over Sea, where he could be healed in spirit before finally dying a peaceful and well-earned death.
A happier marriage, undoubtedly, was that between Sam Gamgee and Rose Cotton. Sam and Rose were cousins, third cousins, so they were not closely related. Sam’s family came from working-class hobbits. Some of them were ropers (rope-makers) and some were gardeners. Sam’s father Hamfast became the gardener at Bag End, serving first Bilbo and then Frodo, and later on Sam took on the duties as gardener for the Baggins of Bag End (as Bilbo and Frodo were styled).
Rosie’s family lived in the nearby town of Bywater. They were farmers but were well-liked and respected. When Sam was growing up he often spent time with the Cotton children, and even recalled paddling in the Pool at Bywater with them while he and Frodo trekked through Mordor on their way to Mount Doom. Sam’s courage and faithfulness are usually credited to him, but his thoughts of Rosie and her brothers seldom merit notice. When Galadriel greeted the eight surviving members of the Fellowship of the Ring in Lorien, she tested each of them in spirit, and Sam’s test seemed to be an offer to let him return to the Shire to settle down with Rosie.
The story of Sam and Rose Cotton hardly peeks out through the pages of The Lord of the Rings, and many readers are surprised when suddenly Sam turns up a girlfriend who is not only proud of him despite not knowing a thing of what’s he’s done in the wide world, but who starts getting impatient for marriage after the Shire has been cleansed. Rosie has a long life ahead of her, and it’s not all that easy. She and Sam have thirteen children, the bearing of which are only part of the measure of the woman. Those thirteen kids needed raising, and feeding (and Hobbit children eat a lot of food).
There is nothing really tragic about Sam and Rosie’s marriage. It’s almost idyllic. But Sam is torn between his love for Frodo and his love for Middle-earth. He is rooted in the world he has helped save, and as long as he has Rosie he is able to endure the years, and she is a salve for his soul. For Sam, too, has worn the One Ring, and its mark is upon him, and he has been wounded in his soul, though in his youth and vigor the wounding is not nearly so deep nor so visible as with Frodo and Bilbo. In the end, after Mistress Rose has passed away, and Sam has accomplished all that he can, he hears the call of the Sea, and leaves Bag End and his life behind, and goes down to the Havens, and takes passage on a ship which has no doubt long been waiting on him.
But his marriage, like Aragorn’s, ends happily enough, for he was with Rose as Arwen was with Aragorn, and if one or the other must go on for a brief time, at least they had happy memories to console them, and they knew their lives had been filled with love. And for a Hobbit to live a life filled with more love than a king or queen of Numenor could have known is perhaps no small feat at all.
This article was originally published on January 21, 2000.
