Fingon Character Analysis in The Silmarillion

The elf Fingon is the eldest son of Fingolfin and becomes High King of the Noldor after his death. After the Noldor elves travel to Middle-earth, Fingon seeks to end the Noldor’s internal feud (caused when Fëanor abandoned the followers of Fingolfin) by reuniting with Fëanor’s eldest son Maedhros. Fingon valiantly climbs the mountains above Angband where Melkor has imprisoned Maedhros and frees him, unifying the Noldor with their friendship. Fingon remains Maedhros’s closest ally in fighting Melkor until the fifth battle of the Wars of Beleriand when he is killed by Gothmog.

Fingon Quotes in The Silmarillion

The The Silmarillion quotes below are all either spoken by Fingon or refer to Fingon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Then Fingon the valiant, son of Fingolfin, resolved to heal the feud that divided the Noldor […] Long before, in the bliss of Valinor, before Melkor was unchained, or lies came between them, Fingon had been close in friendship with Maedhros; and though he knew not yet that Maedhros had not forgotten him at the burning of the ships, the thought of their ancient friendship stung his heart. Therefore he dared a deed which is justly renowned among the feats of the princes of the Noldor: alone, and without the counsel of any, he set forth in search of Maedhros; and aided by the very darkness that Morgoth had made he came unseen into the fastness of his foes.

Related Characters: Fingon, Maedhros, Melkor/Morgoth, Fingolfin, Fëanor

Related Symbols: Darkness

Page Number and Citation: 109

Explanation and Analysis:

Here, Fingon undertakes a quest to save Maedhros and heal the rift among the Noldor elves. Melkor’s lies drove the Noldor to depart Valinor, and Fëanor’s abandonment of Fingolfin’s people led to the estrangement among the Noldor; neither is Fingon’s fault. Still, he recognizes his ability to bridge the gap between the two groups and heal the division because of his former friendship with Maedhros. Though Fingon assumes Maedhros participated in the betrayal of Fingolfin’s people, both the greater good and the ties of friendship compel him to act. Melkor weakens the power of the Noldor by dividing them; Fingon Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaqu

Thus was the treachery of Uldor redressed; and of all the deeds of war that the fathers of Men wrought in behalf of the Eldar, the last stand of the Men of Dor-lómin is most renowned.

[…]

Last of all Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Húrin cried: ‘Aurë entuluva! Day shall come again!’

Related Characters: Húrin (speaker), Maedhros, Fëanor, Fingon, Gothmog, Turgon, Melkor/Morgoth

Related Symbols: Light

Page Number and Citation: 195

Explanation and Analysis:

This passage occurs during the fifth battle of the Wars of Beleriand, when Húrin urges Turgon to flee the battle, and the men of Dor-lómin protect the retreat of Turgon’s elves. The end of the battle, in which Húrin stands alone, is representative of the problems faced by the men and elves of Beleriand even before the attack. They’re greatly disadvantaged by their own division and isolation. Though Maedhros forms a united army of disparate groups of men and elves, they’re undermined by Melkor’s spies, planted to betray them, and by their own people who refuse to stand beside the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corpo

Fingon Character Timeline in The Silmarillion

The timeline below shows where the character Fingon appears in The Silmarillion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...fair. Fëanor’s sons are Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, and Amras. Fingolfin’s children are Fingon, the future king of the Noldor, Turgon, the future lord of Gondolin, and Aredhel the... (full context)

...are beaten back in the following battle three times, with many deaths on both sides. Fingon, leading the Noldor loyal to Fingolfin, joins the fight before he knows what caused it... (full context)

Fingon, Fingolfin’s son, decides to resolve the feud so they can unite against Morgoth by seeking... (full context)

Fingon climbs up as far as he can go, but cries when he can’t reach Maedhros.... (full context)

Maedhros heals and Fingon is praised for his heroism—through their friendship, the Noldor are reunited. Maedhros begs forgiveness for... (full context)

...as his servants and spies. Morgoth tries again to attack from a different direction, but Fingon spots the orcs and drives them into the sea. Morgoth then sends out Glaurung, the... (full context)

West of Thangorodrim is the Land of Mist, called Hithlum, ruled by Fingolfin and Fingon. It’s separated from the rest of Beleriand by the Mountains of Shadow. Most of Fingolfin’s... (full context)

...outside its walls. He sends her with an escort to take her to their brother Fingon, but she leads them to find Fëanor’s sons instead. (full context)

...oath of friendship to him and his family and gives him his ring. Fingolfin and Fingon, driven back into their fortresses, are unable to aid the sons of Finarfin. Hador and... (full context)

...be healed, so he walks after that with half a foot and a scarred face. Fingon takes leadership of the Noldor and sends his young son Gil-galad away to the Havens. (full context)

...His son Húrin drives back the orcs and begins to rule the house of Bëor. Fingon struggles to hold back the orcs in Hithlum until Círdan sails to his aid from... (full context)

...join, since the sons of Fëanor want his Silmaril. The dwarves aid Maedhros, as do Fingon and the houses of men. Though the united armies drive back the orcs from northern... (full context)

Maedhros plans for them to attack Angband with his armies advancing from the east and Fingon’s from the west from Hithlum. On the day of the attack, Maedhros’s forces are delayed... (full context)

Morgoth’s captain rides up to Fingon’s fortress with a prisoner—Gwindor’s brother, Gelmir—and warns the army that he’ll begin killing the prisoners... (full context)

Gothmog attacks the western battlefront and drives Turgon and Húrin to the east. Fingon faces him alone until another Balrog attacks him from behind. Gothmog strikes Fingon’s helmet with... (full context)

...with both hands, killing orcs and shouting, “day shall come again,” a modified version of Fingon’s earlier battle cry, until he’s taken captive. (full context)

Morgoth has successfully corrupted some groups of men and destroyed Fingon’s kingdom. The forces of Maedhros’s union are scattered or dead. Morgoth sends more men and... (full context)

Fingon Character Analysis

Fingon Quotes in The Silmarillion

Chapter 13 Quotes

Chapter 20 Quotes

Fingon Character Timeline in The Silmarillion