Ecthelion (Elf of Gondolin)

Ecthelion, or Ecthelion of the Fountain, was a mighty lord of Gondolin in the First Age of Middle-earth, and one of its greatest heroes. 
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Most of Ecthelion's early life is unknown, though he may have lived in Aman and as one of the followers of Fingolfin. It is known that he passed through the dangerous Helcaraxë and lived. After surviving the grinding ice, he fought in the Battle of the Lammoth and Dagor Aglareb. As a follower of Turgon he settled in Vinyamar in Nevrast before moving to Gondolin in FA 116. He later became the Lord of the Fountains.
=== Aredhel's escort ===
Two hundred years after Gondolin was wrought, Ecthelion, Glorfindel and Egalmoth, along with the White Lady of the Ñoldor left the Hidden City due to Aredhel's yearning for the freedom she once had in Valinor. Their orders were to lead her towards Hithlum, where she would meet her elder brother Fingon. When coming upon the Ford of Brithiach, Aredhel ordered them to turn south, for she desired to see the Sons of Fëanor. Thus, Ecthelion and his companions sought admittance to Doriath, but the wardens refused them entrance inside the Girdle of Melian. Having no other choice, they took the dangerous road between the haunted valleys of Ered Gorgoroth. Near Nan Dungortheb, the Valley of Dreadful Death, the riders were caught in a mesh of shadows and they were lost from Aredhel. In vain, they sought her afterwards, but the fell offspring of Ungoliant that dwelt in that place pursued them. Barely escaping alive, the three lords returned to Gondolin without the princess, where they were received in sorrow.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVI: "Of Maeglin"
=== A Lord of Gondolin ===
In the year, FA 473 Ecthelion fought alongside Turgon in the battle Nírnaeth Arnoediad, leading a wing of Gondolin's forces. Upon the defeat of the Ñoldor, he defended a flank as Turgon retreated.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XX: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
Twenty-three years after the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, Tuor and Voronwë of Gondolin traveled towards the Hidden City. After being led by Elemmakil through the Seven Gates, Ecthelion appeared before them as Warden of the Great Gate.
 
Ecthelion initially denied passage for Tuor but when Tuor made a reference towards Ulmo, the Lord of the Waters, Ecthelion eventually allowed him entry.
He was the lord of the house of the Fountain, one of the twelve houses of the Gondothlim. His people were fond of diamonds and silver, and their array was beautiful to the sight. In FA 510 during the Fall of Gondolin, Ecthelion led his house into battle accompanied by the music of their flutes and great were the damages caused to the enemy by their long, bright swords.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, III: "The Fall of Gondolin"
=== Warcry of the Eldar ===
In the battle over Gondolin, Ecthelion and his forces made their entrance from the South part of the city, after previously being held in reserve. So terrible was his voice when commanding the drawing of the swords and the killings, which followed, that his name became a terror among the enemy and a Warcry to the Eldar. Valiantly fighting side by side with Tuor and his house of the White Wing, they drove away the Orcs until almost the Gate was regained. As Dragons reinforced Morgoth's army, Ecthelion killed two dragons and three Balrogs. Outnumbered, they had to retreat. When doing so, Ecthelion's left arm was wounded and his shield fell to earth. Tuor carried him away as they joined the remaining leaders in the Place of the Fountain.
In that place, the great Fountain of the King stood and Ecthelion regained his strength by drinking from it. As seven dragons led the enemy's forces towards the Square, the remaining army of Gondolin began its last stand. Finally all were overcome but Ecthelion, who remained near the fountain in a stand, which was remembered as the most valiant "in all the songs or in any tale". It was there that he faced Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs.
=== Bane of Gothmog ===
Tuor tried to stand in the way of Gothmog, but he was thrown aside. Then Ecthelion, fairest of the Ñoldor, but whose face now had the pallor of grey steel, duelled him. Losing his sword due to a wound received he was unable to protect himself. Just as Gothmog was about to deliver the finishing blow, Ecthelion jumped and wrapped his legs around the demon, driving the spike of his helmet into Gothmog's body. This caused Gothmog to lose his balance, and they both fell into the Fountain of the King, and drowned.
Later, a young Eärendil asked about him, saying that he wished Ecthelion were there, "to play to me on his flute, or make me willow whistles! Perchance has he gone on ahead?" After he was informed of Ecthelion's death, he "wept bitterly" and said that he cared no more to see the streets of Gondolin.
== Etymology ==
There are three different sources that offer a translation of Ecthelion, and they differ substantially.
* In The Book of Lost Tales Part Two Appendix, it is said that the name derives from the Quenya ehtelë ("issue of water, spring"), a reference to his title as Lord for the House of the Fountain.
* In the etymologies of The Lost Road and Other Writings, his name is composed from ehtë, ("spear") and thela, ("point") (of spear). Put together they would translate as "Spear-point" or "Spear-head".
* In The War of the Jewels, which seems to be the last matter J.R.R. Tolkien wrote on it, the name is derived from aeg, ("sharp") and thel, ("intent, resolve"). This would translate "one of sharp resolve".
== Other versions of the legendarium ==
[[File:Ecthelion's_Last_Stand.jpg|thumb|Ecthelion against Gothmog, by Jenny Dolfen at goldseven.de
Perhaps the earliest full tale of J.R.R. Tolkien's, The Fall of Gondolin, was written during a leave of absence from the World War I, in the year 1916. It is in that story, published posthumously by Christopher Tolkien in the volume The Book of Lost Tales Part Two that Ecthelion first appears. Thus, he is one of the first characters Tolkien ever created.
However, from a chronological point of view, the first account of his presence is the chapter Of Maeglin from The Silmarillion. The events described here took place more than one hundred and fifty years before those of Gondolin's fall. Along with Glorfindel of Gondolin and Egalmoth, he was assigned by Turgon as Aredhel's escort on her ill-fated journey. Though no name is mentioned, only that "Turgon appointed three lords of his household", an explanatory note in the volume The War of the Jewels, chapter called Maeglin, sheds light on the escorts' identities.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part Three: The Wanderings of Húrin and Other Writings..., Chapter III: "Maeglin"
== Gallery ==
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Ecthelion van die Fontein
Albanian 	Ecthelion nga Burimi
Amharic 	ዐችትሀሊኦን ኦፍ ትሀ ፎኡንታኢን
Arabic 	ايكثيلييون صاحب النافورة
Basque 	Iturriaren Ecthelion
Belarusian Cyrillic	Эктэліён Фантана
Bengali 	ফোয়ারা এর এচ্থেলিওন
Bosnian 	Ecthelion Fontane
Catalan 	Ecthelion de la font
Cebuano 	Ecthelion sa Tuburan
Chinese 	涌泉家族的艾克希里昂
Corsican 	Ecthelion di la Fontana
Croatian 	Ecthelion Fontane
Czech 	Ecthelion od fontány
Danish 	Ecthelion af Springvand
Dutch 	Ecthelion van de Fontein
Esperanto 	Ecthelion de la Fonto
Estonian 	Purskkaevu Ecthelion
Faroese 	Ecthelion av Gosbrunninum
Filipino 	Ecthelion ng Paunten
Finnish 	Lähteen Ecthelion
French 	Ecthelion de la Source
Friulian 	Ecthelion de Fontane
Georgian 	ექთელიონ შადრევნისა
German 	Ecthelion des Brunnens
Greek 	Εκθέλιον της Κρήνης
Hawaiian 	Ecthelion o ke Kumuwai
Hindi 	एक्थेलिओन ऑफ़ द फाउंटेन
Hmong 	Ecthelion ntawm Tug ciav
Hungarian 	Ecthelion a Szökőkút
Icelandic 	Ecthelion af Uppsprettunni
Indonesian 	Ecthelion dari Air Mancur
Italian 	Ecthelion della Fonte
Japanese 	泉のエクセリオン
Kannada 	ಕಾರಂಜಿಯ ಎಕ್ತೆಲಿಯನ್
Korean 	샘물의 엑셀리온
Kurdish 	Ecthelion ji Kaniya (Kurmanji)
Latvian 	Ecthelion no Strūklakas
Lithuanian 	Ecthelion Fontanas
Luxembourgish 	Ecthelion vun de Sprangbuer
Macedonian Cyrillic	Ектелион на Фонтаната
Maori 	Ecthelion o te Puna
Malaysian 	Ecthelion mata air
Malayalam 	നീരുറവ നിസഹായനാണ്
Maltese 	Ecthelion tal-funtana
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Усан оргилуурын Эктелион
Nepalese 	फाउंटेन को एक्टिलियन
Norwegian 	Ecthelion av Fontenen
Occitan 	Ecthelion de la Fontana
Polish 	Ecthelion Fontanny
Portuguese 	Ecthelion da Fonte
Punjabi 	ਫੁਹਾਰੇ ਦਾ ਈਕਟੇਲੀਅਨ
Romanian 	Ecthelion de Fântâna
Russian 	Эктелион Фонтанный
Sardinian 	Ecthelion de sa Funtana
Serbian 	Ецтхелион оф тхе Фоунтаин (Cyrillic) Ehtelionov Fontane (Latin)
Sicilian 	Ecthelion dâ Funtana
Slovak 	Ecthelionu Fontány
Slovenian 	Ecthelion od Vodnjaka 
Ecthelion Vodnjaški
Spanish 	Ecthelion de la Fuente
Swahili 	Ecthelion ya Chemchemi
Swedish 	Ecthelion av Fontänen
Tajik Cyrillic 	Ечтҳелион аз Фонтан
Tamil 	எகிப்தேளின் ஓபி தி போவுண்டைன்
Tatar 	Чишмә эктелионы
Telugu 	ఏసీతెలియన్ అఫ్ ది ఫౌంటెన్
Thai 	เอคเธลีออนของน้ำพุ
Turkish 	Pınar'lı Ecthelion
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Ектеліон оф тге фонтану
Urdu 	فاؤنٹین کا ایکٹیلیئن
Venetian 	Ecthelion de la Fontana
Yiddish 	עקטהעליאָן פון די פאָנטאַן
== References ==
Category:Ñoldor
Category:Elves of Gondolin
Category:Lords of the Gondothlim houses
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Deaths in battle
Category:Elves
de:Ecthelion von Gondolin
es:Ecthelion
fr:Ecthelion
it:Ecthelion della Fonte
pl:Ecthelion
ru:Эктелион (эльф)
Category:Elves of Beleriand