History Characters / TheSilmarillionHouseOfFeanor

[[folder:Fëanor]]
Fëanor was the son of Finwë, King of the Noldorin Elves. His spirit was so fiery that the strain of giving birth to him eventually killed his mother. He was the greatest of the elves in craftsmanship, and one of the most knowledgeable. Unfortunately, he was also extremely proud and arrogant. Fëanor swore revenge on Morgoth when Morgoth murdered his father and stole the Silmarils (holy jewels) he had made, and led the Noldor out of Valinor into Middle-earth to fight him, slaughtering the Teleri to steal their ships and betraying his half-brothers' people by abandoning them. Fëanor was killed in battle by Gothmog shortly after arriving in Beleriand; his rage was so great, his spirit incinerated his body as it left.

* AndIMustScream: Because of Fëanor's crimes and/or refusal to repent them, after his death he was imprisoned in the [[TheLifestream Halls of Mandos]] until the end of the world.

* BarredFromTheAfterlife: Inverted. Normally, elves are not supposed to truly die -- even if they are slain in battle, they return to Arda in a reincarnated form. However, due to the depths of his evil deeds, Mandos denied this fate to Fëanor, and when he fell to Gothmog, his disembodied spirit took residence in the Halls of Mandos thereafter.

* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Fëanor was the most ingenious elf that ever lived, while Fingolfin was the strongest and most valiant. {{Downplayed}}; [[BadassBookworm Fëanor was no weakling]], and [[GeniusBruiser Fingolfin was no fool.]]

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Fëanor believed that the Valar were plotting against him and the Noldor, and that his brothers planned to take his place. This caused him to antagonize them, which by time and enough [[KickTheDog Dog Kicking]] on Fëanor's part turned them against him for real. Ultimately, the Noldor were ruined and (temporarily) abandoned by the Valar, and the House of Fëanor lost not only its place as the leading House of the Noldor, but any place it had amongst the elves at all.
* DecoyProtagonist: A sizable portion of the first third of the story deals with Feanor, his accomplishments and sins, but then he dies immediately after he gets to Middle Earth. Downplayed, as it's clear the story has rotating perspectives.

* GeneralRipper: Gained a deep paranoia and disdain for his superiors and even his own soldiers, at one point leaving many of them to die because of them "not being loyal enough". Everyone else was a coward or a traitor, and only he was doing what was right... so he thought.
* GreenEyedMonster: Jealous of his father's affection (despite being and remaining the favorite), Fëanor never gave his stepmother a chance, and despised his half-siblings before they were even born.

* HeroicBSOD: Thanks to Melkor, who else. When he hears the news of what has happened in Formenos, he falls down to the ground unable to speak, then curses Melkor renaming him as Morgoth ("the Dark Enemy"), and runs into the night, crying. The other Elves seriously worried he'd become suicidal.

* IronicEcho: When Fëanor gave his speech to convince the Noldor to go war against Morgoth, he wound up repeating several of Morgoth's lies. By that point, he probably believed them.
* {{Jerkass}}: His behavior towards the other houses of the Noldor was obnoxious and threatening, even before he started murdering elves.
* LonersAreFreaks: While having a close relationship with his father, and a family of his own, Fëanor had certain antisocial tendencies, something that Tolkien often gave to his more edgy characters. He worked alone, accepted no advice from anyone save Nerdanel, often kept his findings secret from his colleagues, didn't live with his father's new family or apparently not at any fixed point, but wandered around the far reaches of Valinor with his sons...
* LostTechnology: ''And'' Lost Scientific Knowledge in general, thanks to him keeping much of his superior knowledge to himself rather than sharing it with his colleagues. This is why nobody knows how the Fëanorian Lamps work, or has extensive knowledge of the Valarin language.
* MadScientist: Fëanor created the Silmarils to capture the light of Valinor. In some versions it's said he originally wrought them with the wish to make sure their light would live on forever. Yet later he refused to give them up to ''save'' the Two Trees of Valinor, adding to the ironic tragedy of it all.

* MissingMom: Tolkien loved giving this to his darker characters, an echo of his own similar trauma. Originally -- and in the published ''Silmarillion'' -- Míriel died soon after giving birth to Fëanor, and it's specifically mentioned he had never seen her. In a later version Míriel lived on for some time until she gave into her sickness.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: You hear rumours that your half-brother wants to usurp your place as the heir and your father's favourite? Wear armor and threaten him with your sword in front of the whole court. [[BigBad Morgoth]] kills your father, steals your precious Silmarils and flees to the Middle-earth? Start the rebellion with your fellow Noldor against him and his "accomplices", The Valar. The Teleri don't want to give your army their ships, which are needed to cross the sea betweeen Valinor and Middle-earth? Massacre them! The ships are only enough to carry the part of your army that is loyal exclusively to you? Cross the sea, leave other part of the army, lead by your aforementioned half-brother, and burn the ships! The enemy flees before your army to their fortress? Chase them! Kill them all! You lie dying of your wounds? Order your sons to fulfill the Oath you gave to get the Silmarils back no matter the cost.

* NoNonsenseNemesis: If Fëanor has any redeeming traits, it's that he apparently had no interest in a drawn out conflict with The Enemy. Immediately after making landfall and beating back the Orcs, his singular purpose was to assault Angband and confront Morgoth. No plan, no backup, just him and whatever warriors he had at his side. Of course, the King never got inside and his judgement was compromised by his rage but it's something to note.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Not necessarily a villain, but whether Fëanor knew it or not, leading his people to Middle Earth saved the native Elves and the Dwarves from extermination. Even if Thingol could just stay in Doriath indefinitely, everyone around Melian's Girdle would be doomed, but for the Coming of the Noldor.

* ParentalFavoritism: Was his father's favourite, and himself favored Curufin out of his sons. It's also mentioned he loved Amrod more than Amras.

* SiblingRivalry: With his half-siblings, especially Fingolfin. When remarrying, his father and stepmother did their best to make him feel wanted, and his siblings also tried to be friends with him. Fëanor didn't cooperate, and finally his own behaviour caused his conspiracy theories to come true.

* TallDarkAndHandsome: Said to have had raven dark hair, fair face and piercing eyes.

* TragicHero: Feanor, after being fooled by the lies of Morgoth, brought darkness to Valinor by refusing to donate the Silmarils to bring light and life back to the Two Trees Melkor had poisoned. He then declared a fruitless war against Morgoth, bringing doom to all who followed him back to Middle-earth for the entire First Age of Middle-earth. This ends up getting him killed.

[[folder:Nerdanel]]
The daughter of the renowned Noldorin smith Mahtan, Nerdanel was a strong and intelligent woman. She was a gifted sculptor and blacksmith; her skill in sculpture in particular, unparalleled before or since, was such that her statues were often mistaken for living people. She and Fëanor met and married young; their love story was considered atypical, as it resulted from mutual interests and companionship (they often travelled together) rather than Nerdanel's beauty, which was not held to be extraordinary. They had seven children; some inherited her temperament, though it is never specified which. Nerdanel was the only person Fëanor took advice from, but "his later deeds grieved her, and they became estranged". She did not follow him into exile; instead she went to live either with her father or her stepmother-in-law Indis.

* StrongerThanTheyLook: As an elf maiden, tomboy or no, Nerdanel was surely unassuming. But her fertility and ability to survive ''seven'' sons, each the offspring of a man with a shockingly powerful spirit (and Maedhros in particular is a formidable spirit in his own right) are proof that she was unique among Elven women.
* {{Tomboy}}: Nerdanel is one of the few elven women mentioned as practicing a manual craft and travelling much.
* TrophyWife: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in-universe. When Fëanor chose her as his wife, some elves were surprised by this since Nerdanel wasn't "among the most beautiful" of the elven ladies out there -- possibly she was plain by elven standards.

[[folder:Maedhros]]

* TheAtoner: His abdication in favour of Fingolfin, attempts to keep his brothers in line and, with Maglor, fostering Elros and Elrond after the last Kinslaying (especially since he'd desperately tried and failed to find and save their uncles, Elured and Elurin, after the Second Kinslaying), were all attempts at atonement. While they may have failed on a personal level, he did succeed in healing the divisions between the Noldor to an extent, kept his brothers out of trouble for a lot longer than would otherwise have been possible, and ended up raising Elrond and Elros to be two of the greatest heroes in Middle Earth's history.
* BrokenAce: A legendary swordsman with either hand (indeed, he actually ended up ''better'' [[LifeOrLimbDecision with his left hand]] [[HandicappedBadass after he lost his right]]), an astute politician (ceding the High Kingship of the Noldor to his half-uncle in order to heal the divisions among the Noldor, and keeping his rasher brothers away from other Noldor forces to prevent further conflict), a skilled diplomat where the Silmarils weren't concerned (forming the Union of Maedhros which kept Morgoth penned in for centuries), a skilled general, and a surprisingly good surrogate father figure to Elrond and Elros (though Maglor did most of the raising), raising both to become legends, the former a byword for wisdom for ages after. Oh, and he was probably the best-looking elf from a very good looking family. He also lost a hand after years of torture by Morgoth drove him over the DespairEventHorizon, felt/was compelled by the Oath to commit atrocities (it's ambiguous how much literal force it had) which he tried to forswear at least once, and had to deal with both the legacy of his father's actions and try and control his more psychotic brothers, whose actions arguably did fatal damage to the Union of Maedhros, and finally committed suicide after he finally got his hands on a Silmaril and it burned him, driving him to realise how far he'd fallen. If it wasn't for the Oath, he'd probably have been a legend on par with his uncle Fingolfin.

* ICannotSelfTerminate: When captured by Morgoth and chained to a cliff. Fingon almost shot him, but instead decided free Maedhros by cutting off his hand.

* LargeAndInCharge: Inherited the High Kingship of the Noldor from his father (though he abdicated to heal the divisions amongst the Noldor), and was given the epithet "the Tall," though Tolkien never specified exactly how tall he is - however, considering the given heights of other elves, he'd probably have been at least seven feet tall.

* MrFanservice: He's an elf, of course he's attractive. This is reflected in his mother-name Maitimo, meaning "well-formed one", designating him as especially attractive among a race of [[LongHairedPrettyBoy Long-Haired Pretty Boys]] It's no surprise that he is one of the most popular characters among the Silmarillion fandom.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Maedhros learned that his followers had kidnapped Dior's seven-year-old twin sons, Eluréd and Elurín, and left them to starve to death in a forest in the middle of winter, he tried for a long time to find and save them. He foreswore the Oath and continued to feel terrible about the kinslaying, but didn't become TheAtoner -- instead Maedhros (reluctantly) helped slaughter the survivors at the Havens of Sirion, and convinced Maglor to kill the guards and steal the last Silmarils after the War of Wrath. From what little Tolkien wrote, it isn't clear whether the Oath ''was'' literally impossible to break, or if Maedhros just convinced himself it was.

* OnlySaneMan: Compared to his family (minus Maglor). Which isn't saying much, admittedly, but he did his best to keep his brothers under control.

* SituationalHandSwitch: Originally, he was right-handed. After losing said right-hand in a LifeOrLimbDecision, he simply trained himself to become even deadlier with his left hand.

* TragicHero: He fought valiantly against Morgoth, but his dedication to the Oath lead to the deaths of hundreds of innocents and his own ruin. Whenever he's not compelled by the oath, he's pretty textbook heroic and trying to make-up for what he's done. For instance, he formed the Union of Maedhros, which kept Morgoth penned in for centuries and took the creation of the dragons to break, his serious attempts to heal old wounds by abdicating his claim to the High Kingship of the Noldor to his uncle Fingolfin and bring unity against Morgoth (the aforementioned Union of Maedhros), attempts to keep his brothers under control (something which, Maglor aside, failed miserably), and [[TheAtoner a desire to atone]] first by trying to find Eluréd and Elurín (sons of Dior and Nimloth, brothers of Elwing) when they were abandoned to die in the forest after the second Kinslaying, and later raising Elros and Elrond (children of Eärendil and Elwing -- sister of Eluréd and Elurín -- whose home and people he had destroyed) with Maglor after the third Kinslaying (and considering how they turned out, doing a very good job). All in all, if he hadn't been bound by the Oath, he would probably have been one of Middle-earth's greatest heroes.

[[folder:Maglor]]

* ReplacementGoldfish: Adopting Elros and Elrond, twins, came right on the heels of the very same kinslaying that killed his twin brothers (if going by the version were both survive the burning of the ships). It's suspicious.

[[folder:Celegorm]]

** Doubles as the FanPreferredPairing, with endless [[FixFic Fix Fics]] of Aredhel staying in Himlad either by returning there after escaping Nan Elmoth, or by never entering the forest in the first place.

[[folder:Caranthir]]

* AntiVillain: Type I. He didn't doubt his actions like some of his brothers, but had a couple of PetTheDog moments, such as his rescue of Haleth's tribe.

* CharacterDevelopment: He starts as haughty and distrusting towards non-Noldor, then develops mutually beneficial but loveless, entirely pragmatic relationship with the Dwarves, and finally goes on to learn to genuinely respect Men. Ironically it leads to him trusting even those Men who weren't worth of his trust.

* FantasticRacism: Played with. He apparently despised non-Noldorin elves (even erroneously slurring Thingol as a "Dark Elf" living in a cave, Thingol not technically being a Dark Elf). And while he developed a mutually-beneficial business arrangement with the dwarves, Caranthir didn't try to hide his prejudice against their non-elven appearance. He was initially racist towards Men, as well. Then Haleth's courage made him [[CharacterDevelopment change his mind]] about them. This led to him trusting Ulfang's sons...

[[folder:Curufin]]

* InterspeciesFriendship: Curufin was one of the very few elves to find the Dwarves fascinating and to befriend them. Tolkien mentioned he was the only Elven scholar who studied Khuzdul, the language of the Dwarves, which the Elves usually found unpleasant. Curufin also carried a [[AbsurdlySharpBlade special knife]] gifted to him by the Dwarves. Later on in the Second Age, his son Celebrimbor founded the Elven realm of Eregion, which lived in symbiotic relationship with the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm.

* LikeFatherLikeSon: Of all seven sons, he was the most similar to Fëanor in appearance, temperament, and skills. Though, the reader may wonder if this isn't something of an InformedAbility, as Curufin comes off as far more calmer and calculating than his HotBlooded father.

* TokenEvilTeamMate: Unlike his brothers, who were driven to evil by their oath, Curufin actively wanted power to the point where he planned to rule all the elven kingdoms.
* TheUsurper: Plotted to have his cousin, Finrod, killed in order to obtain rule of his kingdom for Celegorm. He also had the extra plan of [[ArrangedMarriage marrying Celegorm with Lúthien]] to gain the rule of Doriath.

[[folder:Amrod]]

* SingleMindedTwins: Amrod and Amras both looked and behaved very similarily and may have been mistaken for each other as children. However, as the twins matured, Amras's hair grew darker and others were finally able to tell them apart.

[[folder:Amras]]

[[folder:Celebrimbor]]

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: ''Unfinished Tales'' reveals that Celebrimbor was horribly tortured to death when he refused to give up the location of the three elvish rings. As an added bonus, Sauron had his body shot full of arrows and strung up on a pole as a banner when he marched to war with Gil-Galad and Elrond.
* {{Foil}}: To his grandfather Feanor, to his father, and to Sauron himself.
** Like his grandfather, he is considered the best blacksmith of his time. Both created some of the greatest artifacts of Arda. But while Feanor was selfish, harsh, and leaded the elves "intentionally" to a catastrophic campaign that ended up with millions of deaths, Celebrimbor was noble, good, and tried to make things to help the rest of middle earth. Despite that for both things ended up terribly wrong, their final actions are contrasting. Feanor made his sons swear to finish their mission despite everything, while Celebrimbor sacrificed himself to ensure the elvish rings would not be captured by Sauron and put to evil use.
** To his father, from whom he deserted. Both keen of mind, brilliant, and with a very close relationship with the dwarves. But while Curufin was cruel, deceitful, and, for the lack of other word, evil, his son was practically the opposite. It is telling he deserted his father for his horrible actions in Nargothrond (one of them being to leave their cousin Finrod to die in Sauron's dungeons).
** And finally, to the Dark Lord himself. Both the best blacksmiths of their time, both ring makers, both looking to "save" middle Earth. But while Sauron wanted to rule above everyone, and his desire to save Arda was a cover for his lust for power and envy, Celebrimbor genuinely wanted to help.

* InterspeciesFriendship: With the dwarf Narvi, who helped him build the Doors of Durin. It was a very unusual friendship, since the elves and dwarves mostly didn't get along after the fall of Doriath.
* HeroicSacrifice: He refuses to tell Sauron the location of the elvish rings, despite being tortured.

* TemptingFate: Evidently thought that because he had no part in his father and uncles' atrocities, he'd be immune to the whole everything-you-start-for-good-will-be-turned-to-evil part of the curse. [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Was he ever wrong]]!

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Poor Celebirmbor. All his good intentions and actions ended up tying the elves's fate to Sauron's destiny (plus the nine men who ended up as the Nazgul, and all the dwarves lord's affected by the greed of the rings, and everyone around them), and also ensuring Sauron's continuous existence as long as the ring existed (while he did not have any doing in the forging of the One Ring (that was purely Sauron's making), his actions contributed with Sauron going on with his plan), in which the best outcome would force the elves to leave Middle Earth forever. It is even more tragic when you consider he is the most decent of all the descendants of Feanor.

* {{Pride}}: The poster child, in one more [[NotSoDifferent parallel]] between him and Melkor, whom he hated.

* NotSoDifferent: Celegorm and Beren are both animal lovers who know the ways of the wild and can talk with beasts and birds. However, Celegorm is a hunter and Beren never kills any animals. Celgorm is also the [[RichSuitorPoorSuitor Rich Suitor to Beren's Poor Suitor]]

* TragicMistake: Trusting Annatar. His intentions and objectives were good and noble. But he had to trust the misterious Maiar who came to the door knocking.

[[folder: Fëanor]]
Fëanor was the son of Finwë, King of the Noldorin Elves. His spirit was so fiery that the strain of giving birth to him eventually killed his mother. He was the greatest of the elves in craftsmanship, and one of the most knowledgeable. Unfortunately, he was also extremely proud and arrogant. Fëanor swore revenge on Morgoth when Morgoth murdered his father and stole the Silmarils (holy jewels) he had made, and led the Noldor out of Valinor into Middle-Earth to fight him, slaughtering the Teleri to steal their ships and betraying his half-brothers' people by abandoning them. Fëanor was killed in battle by Gothmog shortly after arriving in Beleriand; his rage was so great, his spirit incinerated his body as it left.

* BrokenAce: He may have been [[TallDarkAndHandsome the handsome]] [[WarriorPrince crown prince]] who improved the work of previous [[{{Omniglot}} linguistics]] and [[UltimateBlacksmith jewel smiths]] while still a youngster, invented a new writing system to be used by all races from there on, and created [[CrystalBall the Middle-Earth internet]], but Fëanor was still a wreck of raging personal issues waiting to burst.

* TheCharmer: Convinced most of the Noldor to follow him to Middle-Earth to get revenge on Morgoth and made his seven sons swear an oath with him to reclaim the Silmarils. Can come across as a deconstruction, as he led the Elves engaging into a Kinslaying and left them cursed for centuries.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: He loved both his parents, but it was the death of his father that drove him over the DespairEventHorizon: "For his father was dearer to him than the Light of Valinor or the peerless work of his hands; and who among sons, of Elves or of Men, have held their fathers of greater worth?"

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: You hear rumours that your half-brother wants to usurp your place as the heir and your father's favourite? Wear armor and threaten him with your sword in front of the whole court. [[BigBad Morgoth]] kills your father, steals your precious Silmarils and flees to the Middle-Earth? Start the rebellion with your fellow Noldor against him and his "accomplices", The Valar. The Teleri don't want to give your army their ships, which are needed to cross the sea betweeen Valinor and Middle-Earth? Massacre them! The ships are only enough to carry the part of your army that is loyal exclusively to you? Cross the sea, leave other part of the army, lead by your aforementioned half-brother, and burn the ships! The enemy flees before your army to their fortress? Chase them! Kill them all! You lie dying of your wounds? Order your sons to fulfill the Oath you gave to get the Silmarils back no matter the cost.

[[folder: Nerdanel]]

[[folder: Maedhros]]

* IHaveManyNames: Maedhros, Maitimo, Nelyafinwë, Nelyo, Russandol. Notes in the History of Middle-Earth series also give him an Old English name, Dægred Winsterhand.

* TragicHero: He fought valiantly against Morgoth, but his dedication to the Oath lead to the deaths of hundreds of innocents and his own ruin. Whenever he's not compelled by the oath, he's pretty textbook heroic and trying to make-up for what he's done. For instance, he formed the Union of Maedhros which kept Morgoth penned in for centuries and took the creation of the dragons to break, his serious attempts to heal old wounds by abdicating his claim to the High Kingship of the Noldor to his uncle Fingolfin and bring unity against Morgoth (the aforementioned Union of Maedhros), attempts to keep his brothers under control (something which, Maglor aside, failed miserably), and [[TheAtoner a desire to atone]] first by trying to find Eluréd and Elurín (sons of Dior and Nimloth, brothers of Elwing) when they were abandoned to die in the forest after the second Kinslaying, and later raising Elros and Elrond (children of Eärendil and Elwing -- sister of Eluréd and Elurín -- whose home and people he had destroyed) with Maglor after the third Kinslaying (and considering how they turned out, doing a very good job). All in all, if he hadn't been bound by the Oath, he would probably have been one of Middle-Earth's greatest heroes.

[[folder: Maglor]]

* AmbiguousSituation: He is last seen throwing his Silmaril into the ocean and wandering the beach alone. We never know what happens to him after the First Age. Is he still alive in Middle-Earth? Did he fade away? Did he kill himself?

[[folder: Celegorm]]

* BigDamnHeroes: Shortly after the arrival of Fëanor's host Celegorm found out about the Orc army hazarding Cirdain in the harbours and drove them into the Fens of Serech with his army. In some versions found in the ''History of the Middle-Earth'' series, Celegorm and Curufin later play this role during the aftermath of the catastrophic Battle of the Sudden Flame, as when they're fleeing from their own overrun domain Himlad they save their cousin Orodreth who is trapped in his fortress on Tol Sirion.

* HeroesLoveDogs: While still being heroic, and after turning villainous, he surely loved dogs -- until they [[HeelFaceTurn turned against him]], at least. (And horses. Liking them seems to go hand-in-hand in Middle-Earth.)

[[folder: Caranthir]]

* BigDamnHeroes: Showing up to save Haleth and her people at the last possible moment. While playing trumpets, of course. Why? This is Middle-Earth.

[[folder: Curufin]]

* TheCorrupter: In various versions of the story in ''The History of Middle-Earth'' series it's made more explicit that Curufin talked Celegorm into the whole "let's usurp Finrod's crown" plot. At one point Tolkien even goes as far as writing that Curufin put the evil in Celegorm. However, in the published Silmarillion the idea seems to be conceived together.
* CunningLinguist: As mentioned in ''History of the Middle-Earth'' series and the ''Letters of J.R.R.Tolkien'', Curufin was the only Elven scholar to study Khuzdul, the otherwise mysterious language of the Dwarves.

[[folder: Amrod]]

* MommasBoy: Apparently, even back in Valinor. When Fëanor and his host were about to leave for Middle-Earth, Nerdanel begged her husband to leave a few of their sons with her, or at least Amrod, hinting that he was her favourite. (The other possibility is that she knew he'd die if he left.)

[[folder: Amras]]

[[folder: Celebrimbor]]

* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Fëanor was the most ingenious elf that ever lived, while Fingolfin was the strongest and most valiant. {{Downplayed}}; [[BadassBookworm Fëanor was no weakling]], and [[GeniusBruiser and Fingolfin was no fool.]]

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: With Curufin in the Lay of Leithian, as they jointly cause problems for Beren and Lúthien.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: With Celegorm in the Lay of Leithian, as they jointly cause problems for Beren and Lúthien.

* BigDamnHeroes: Showing up to save Haleth and her people at the last possible moment, although considering travelling distances it might also have been the earliest he possibly could.
* CharacterDevelopment: He starts as haughty and distrusting towards non-Noldor, then develops a mutually beneficial but loveless, entirely pragmatic relationship with the Dwarves, and finally goes on to learn to genuinely respect Men. Ironically it leads to him trusting even those Men who would betray him.
* ElvesVsDwarves: Averted. Caranthir got along with dwarves much better than most elves -- apparently because of his interest in crafting, and because his gruff temperament was closer to theirs. He landed a monopoly on the very profitable trade routes to the dwarven cities as a result.
* FantasticRacism: Played with. He apparently despised non-Noldorin elves, and while he developed a mutually-beneficial business arrangement with the dwarves, Caranthir didn't try to hide his prejudice against their non-elven appearance. He was also initially dismissive towards Men, before Haleth's courage made him [[CharacterDevelopment change his mind]] about them. This led to him trusting Ulfang's sons...

* BigDamnHeroes: Showing up to save Haleth and her people at the last possible moment. While playing trumpets, of course. Why? This is Middle-Earth.
* CharacterDevelopment: He starts as haughty and distrusting towards non-Noldor, then develops mutually beneficial but loveless, entirely pragmatic relationship with the Dwarves, and finally goes on to learn to genuinely respect Men. Ironically it leads to him trusting even those Men who weren't worth of his trust.
* ElvesVsDwarves: Averted. Granted, this was before ElvesVsDwarves really kicked off, but even then Caranthir got along with dwarves much better than most elves -- apparently because of his interest in crafting, and because his gruff temperament was closer to theirs. He landed a monopoly on the very profitable trade routes to the dwarven cities as a result.
* FantasticRacism: Played with. He apparently despised non-Noldorin elves (even erroneously slurring Thingol as a "Dark Elf" living in a cave, Thingol not technically being a Dark Elf). And while he developed a mutually-beneficial business arrangement with the dwarves, Caranthir didn't try to hide his prejudice against their non-elven appearance. He was initially racist towards Men, as well. Then Haleth's courage made him [[CharacterDevelopment change his mind]] about them. This led to him trusting Ulfang's sons...

* HotBlooded: Of all the Sons of Fëanor, this guy had the worst temper and the greatest propensity to brashly shoot his mouth off at the wrong time. Despite this he is ''less'' hot-headed than his father.

* ThemeTwinNaming: Originally, Nerdanel gave both twins the name "Ambarussa." Fëanor objected to this, pleading that the boys would at least have different names. This led to the above PropheticNames situation. The twins still called each other Ambarussa.

* FieryRedhead: We don't know much about the guy's personality, but from what we do know, the twins were just as fierce and violent as their siblings.

* ThemeTwinNaming: Originally, Nerdanel gave both twins the name "Ambarussa." Fëanor objected to giving them both the same name, and Amrod was renamed. However, they still called each other Ambarussa.

The daughter of the renowned Noldorin smith Mahtan, Nerdanel was a strong and intelligent woman. She was a gifted sculptor and a blacksmith, even though smithery was usually seen as something belonging to men. She and Fëanor met and married young. They had seven children, more than any other Elven couple ever. Nerdanel was the only person Fëanor took advice from, but later on his growing instability and foul deeds separated them, causing her to finally leave him.

* BirdsOfAFeather: While she lacked Fëanor's rashness, stubbornness, and egotism, essentially they were very similar in nature. They were both adventurous, very gifted in their chosen field(s), and loved knowledge, science, and the arts.
* DaddysGirl: Perhaps, as Nerdanel inherited most of her qualities from Mahtan, shared his masculine interests, and in some versions, after breaking up with Fëanor, she moved back home to live with him.
* DivorceAssetsConflict: Her and Fëanor's break-up did ''not'' go nicely. During their last meeting, Nerdanel begged Fëanor to leave a few of their children with her. In the end, Fëanor refused.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: After establishing their rule in the new realms of Beleriand, Nerdanel's and Fëanor's sons took new Sindarin names by translating their old Quenya names into Sindarin. Only Curufin used the name that he had received from Fëanor, all of the others used the names that Nerdanel had given them.

* StrongerThanTheyLook: As an elf maiden, tomboy or no, Nerdanel was surely unassuming. But her fertility and ability to survive ''seven'' sons, each the offspring of a man with a shockingly powerful spirit (and Maedhros in particular is a formidable spirit in his own right) are proof that she was unique among Elven women.
* {{Tomboy}}: In contrast to most other elven women, Nerdanel had a very masculine profession and enjoyed being outdoors.
* TrophyWife: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in-universe. When Fëanor chose her as his wife, some elves were surprised by this since Nerdanel wasn't "among the most beautiful" of the elven ladies out there -- possibly a reference to her ruddy complexion.
* WomenAreWiser: More balanced that Fëanor, for all her tomboyish qualities.

* MrFanservice: He's an elf, of course he's attractive. This is reflected in his mother-name Maitimo, meaning "well-formed one", designating him as especially attractive among a race of LongHairedPrettyboys It's no surprise that he is one of the most popular characters among the Silmarillion fandom.

* PropheticNames: Named ''Umbarto'', "Fated," by his mother Nerdanel. Fëanor was bothered by such an ominous name, and pretended to have misheard it as ''Ambarto''.

* DespairEventHorizon: Maedhros hit this on Thangorodrim when he asked Fingon to slay him (Fingon refused). He hit it a second time after stealing a Silmaril, but that time he killed himself.

* DrivenToSuicide: Twice. The second time he succeeded by throwing himself into a chasm of fire.

* HandicappedBadass: His right hand was cut off. He trained himself to be ''more'' deadly with his left.

* MrFanservice: His Quenya name means "Well-formed one." Has loads and loads of fangirls.

* FieryRedhead: He was ''less'' vicious than his father and brothers, but he grew fiercer, more rash, and more impatient as the First Age went on.

* AmbiguouslyGay: His relationship with his half cousin Fingon is up for interpretation. While Tolkien never implicitly states they were gay, he lets us very much understand it is the situation. The situation is [[TearJerker thrice tragical]] as homosexual relations are frowned upon among the Elves, they are cousins, and their fathers Fëanor and Fingolfin aren't exactly in the best relations.

* IncestSubtext: With his half cousin Fingon. They are incredibly close ''despite'' Fingon believing he was abandoned to almost certain death. Fingon's rescue of Maedhros actually has quite a few parallels to the tale of Beren and Lúthien, ''the'' most legendary love story in-universe.

* TheSouthpaw: Originally, he was right-handed. After losing said right-hand in a LifeOrLimbDecision, he simply trained himself to become even deadlier with his left hand.

** Like his grandfather, he is considered the best blacksmith of his time. Both created some of the greatest artefacts of Arda. But while Feanor was selfish, harsh, and leaded the elves "intentionally" to a catastrophic campaign that ended up with millions of deaths, Celebirmbor was noble, good, and tried to make things to help the rest of middle earth. Despite that for both things ended up terribly wrong, their final actions are contrasting. Feanor made his sons swear to finish their mission despite everything, while Celebirmbor sacrificed himself to ensure the elvish rings would not be captured by Sauron and put to evil use.

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: 'Unfinished Tales' reveals that Celebrimbor was horribly tortured to death when he refused to give up the location of the three elvish rings. As an added bonus, Sauron had his body shot full of arrows and strung up on a pole as a banner when he marched to war with Gil-Galad and Elrond.

* Family-UnfriendlyDeath: 'Unfinished Tales' reveals that Celebrimbor was horribly tortured to death when he refused to give up the location of the three elvish rings. As an added bonus, Sauron had his body shot full of arrows and strung up on a pole as a banner when he marched to war with Gil-Galad and Elrond.

* AmbiguouslyGay: His relationship with his half cousin Fingon is up for interpretation. While Tolkien never implicitly states they were gay, he lets very much understand it is the situation. The situation is [[TearJerker thrice tragical]] as homosexual relations are frowned upon among the Elves, they are cousins, and their fathers Fëanor and Fingolfin aren't exactly in the best relations.

* For the first generatioon of Elven royalty, click [[Characters/TheSilmarillionFirstGenerationElvenRoyalty here]].