Thuringwethil

Thuringwethil was a vampire who served as the bat-messengerThe History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III: "The Lay of Leithian: Canto XIV (Escape from Angband)" of Sauron at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, during the First Age.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, "Index" 
==Biography==
The origins of Thuringwethil are untold. Her ability to change form suggests that she may have been an Ainu or a skin-changer. In the form of a vampire, she had at least two great, dark fingered wings with a ghostly appearance and an iron claw at the end of each joint.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III. "The Lay of Leithian: Canto XI (The disguising of Beren and Lúthien and the journey to Angband)", lines 3394-3408
Sometime before the Quest for the Silmaril, Thuringwethil became the messenger of Sauron at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, formerly Tol Sirion, often flying to Angband in the curséd form of a great bat to bear messages to Sauron's own master, Morgoth. She was slain by Huan in Tol-in-Gaurhoth during the Quest for the Silmaril, along with Draugluin, when Sauron sent out his army one-by-one.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III. "The Lay of Leithian: Canto IX (The defeat of Thû)"
In the year 466, Lúthien disguised herself in Thuringwethil's vile winged "bat-fell" and introduced herself as such to Carcharoth upon infiltrating Angband.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, Part One: "The Grey Annals", §204-5
==Etymology==
Thuringwethil was a Sindarin name in the DoriathrenParma Eldalamberon XVIII, "Tengwesta Qenderinwa and Pre-Fëanorian Alphabets", Part 2, pg. 26 dialect, defined by J.R.R. Tolkien as "Woman of Secret Shadow" or "she of hidden shadow".The History of Middle-earth, Vol. III: The Lays of Beleriand, III: "The Lay of Leithian: Canto XIII (Beren and Lúthien in Angband)", pgs. 297, 304 (note to line 3954) It should be pronounced thu-ring-REH-thil. It consists of the elements thurin ("secret, hidden")Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, pgs 157, 159, gwath ("shadow, dim light")The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names, and -il ("feminine suffix")Thuringwethil on Eldamo.org, possibly causing an "affection" from gwath to gweth.Dolwethil on Eldamo.org
The Noldorin cognate of Thuringwethil was Dolwethil, of the elements doll ("obscure, dark, dusky, hidden, secret"), gwath ("shade"), and -il ("daughter; feminine suffix").
==In other versions==
Thuringwethil did not exist as a character within The Book of Lost Tales, and as such, when Tinúviel snuck into Angamandi, she wore her own "dark cloak of magic sleep".The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, I: "The Tale of Tinúviel", pg. 31
In The Etymologies, it is mentioned in the context of Tinúviel's disguise that Thuringwethil was "a bat-shaped fay". It is not clear if all vampires were fays or if only Thuringwethil was one. In the same passage, Thuringwethil is described as an Ilkorin name, spelled as Thurin-gwethil; and though the meaning was still "(Woman of) Secret Shadow", its elements had different meanings: thurin ("guarded, hidden"), gwath ("shade"), and -il ("feminine suffix").
==In adaptations==
===The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game===
In an expansion called First Age, Thuringwethil is one of the cards that can be used in "The Isle of Werewolves" quest.The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, First Age
===Middle-earth Role Playing===
In the 1994 Creatures of Middle-earth: A Bestiary of Animals and Monsters supplement of the Middle-earth Role Playing, Thuringwethil was an Ainu who became Sauron's favorite messenger, gaining the title: Messenger of Angband and Tol-in-Gaurhoth. She possessed a magic cloak of shaping that allowed non-ainu people to shape-shift into a vampire. Eventually, when Tol-in-Gaurhoth fell to Lúthien and Huan, she somehow vanished, loosing her powers when her cloak of shaping was taken by Lúthien, who later used it to sneak into Angband.Ruth Sochard Pitt, Jeff O'Hare, Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. (1994), Creatures of Middle-earth: A Bestiary of Animals and Monsters, pg. 45
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ጥሁሪንግወትሂል
Arabic 	ثورينجويثيل
Armenian 	Տհուրինգւետհիլ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Тhурінгўетhіл
Bengali 	থুরিন্গ্বেথিল
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Тхурингветхил
Burmese 	ဌုရိင္ဝေထိလ္ ?
Chinese (Hong Kong)	瑟林威西
Greek 	Θυρινγωεθιλ
Georgian 	თურინგვეთილი
Gujarati 	થિંગિંગવિલેથલ
Hindi 	ठुरिङ्वेथिल
Hebrew 	תורינגוותיל
Kannada 	ಟ್ಯೂರಿಂಗ್ವೆಥಿಲ್
Kazakh 	Тһұрінгуетһіл (Cyrillic) Thuringwethil (Latin)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Тhурингвэтhил
Macedonian Cyrillic	Тхурингветхил
Marathi 	थिंगवेथील
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Тhурингwэтhил
Nepalese 	ठुरिङ्वेथिल
Pashto 	طهورینګوېتهیل
Persian 	طهورینگوهتهیل ?
Punjabi 	ਥਿੰਗਵੈਥਿਲ
Russian 	Тхурингвэтиль
Sanskrit 	ठुरिङ्वेथिल्
Serbian 	Турингветил (Cyrillic) Turingvetil (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ඨුරිඞ්වෙථිල්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Тҳурингwетҳил
Tamil 	துரிங்வெத்தில் ?
Telugu 	తురిగ్వేతిల్
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Тгурінґветгіл
Urdu 	ٹہورانگویتھال
Uzbek 	Тҳурингwетҳил (Cyrillic) Thuringwethil (Latin)
Yiddish 	טהורינגוועטהיל
==References==
Category:Bats
Category:Mystery
Category:Servants of Sauron
Category:Doriathren words
Category:Fays
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
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