Fingon

Fingon the "Valiant" was a Ñoldorin Elf, the eldest son of Fingolfin, and older brother of Turgon, Aredhel, and Argon.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter V: "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
He was High King of the Ñoldor in Middle-earth during the First Age after the death of his father. He was instrumental in healing the rift between the Sons of Fëanor and the followers of his father after their desertion of them in Araman.
== Biography ==
Fingon was born in Aman, probably in Tirion where the House of Finwë was located. When the Ñoldor were resolved to return to Middle-earth, Fingon followed his father and his people, though they were drawn more to the ruling of their own realms and adventurism rather than vengeance and the recovery of the Silmarils, as Fëanor and his sons sought. He fought in the first Kinslaying but only because he, seeing Elf fighting Elf, believed that the Teleri had been told to prevent the Ñoldor from leaving Aman by force by the Valar.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX: "Of the Flight of the Ñoldor"
After Fëanor's abandonment of them, Fingon and his people were led by Fingolfin across the perilous Helcaraxë. They arrived in Middle-earth at the beginning of the First Age, and the Ñoldor witnessed the rising of the Sun.
After the Dagor-nuin-Giliath and the death of Fëanor, Maedhros, Fingon's cousin and friend, was taken and hung by the wrist upon Thangorodrim. Fingon went to Thangorodrim and with the help of Thorondor, Lord of the Eagles, found Maedhros. Maedhros begged Fingon to kill him, but Fingon instead severed Maedhros's hand by the wrist, and brought him back to the Ñoldorin camp. It was this act of bravery and compassion that resolved the dispute as to whose house would rule over the Ñoldor in Middle-earth, for Maedhros renounced his claim to the High Kingship of the Ñoldor, instead ceding it to the House of Fingolfin.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIII: "Of the Return of the Ñoldor"
Fingolfin gave Fingon a domain in Dor-lómin, in the west of Hithlum, where he did good service during the Siege of Angband, defeating an Orc army that attempted to go around to the north and attack Hithlum from the west, and then later the first to fight against the dragon Glaurung when he first came forth from Angband during the Dagor Aglareb.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of Beleriand and its Realms"
Fingon became High King when Fingolfin died dueling with Morgoth after the Dagor Bragollach. Seven years later, Morgoth's forces invaded Hithlum, and Fingon was hard-pressed and outnumbered, but Círdan and the people of the Falas, who came up the Firth of Drengist rescued them in their ships.At this point in The Silmarillion, Fingon was said to have sent his wife and son Ereinion (Gil-galad) to the havens for safety, but this was an editorial mistake by Christopher Tolkien, and Fingon is said "to have no wife or children".The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVIII: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
Fingon's final battle was the Nírnaeth Arnoediad. Fingon led the attack on Angband, and the fury of his warriors nearly won the day. Unfortunately, due to Ulfang's treachery, Maedhros did not arrive until three days after he was expected. This resulted in Morgoth releasing his Balrogs and Glaurung the dragon on the already weakened Ñoldor force. When Maedhros finally arrived, hope was reborn for Fingon's army; however, Ulfang's treachery again took effect, causing Maedhros to withdraw. Fingon was then surrounded and his guards killed. He dueled Gothmog, the first and greatest Lord of Balrogs, and managed to hold his own for a while. However Lungorthin, the second and lesser Balrog Lord emerged into elven history. This Balrog restrained Fingon from behind with a flaming whip, allowing Gothmog to split Fingon's head with his infamous black axe. Thus the day ended in defeat for the Elves.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XX: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
His younger brother Turgon became the next rightful High King of the Ñoldor, even though his host retreated after the battle and remained secretly in Gondolin.The Atlas of Middle-earth
== Descendants ==
In the published The Silmarillion, Fingon was the father of Gil-galad, but Christopher Tolkien later said that this was due to an an error he made in editing the The Silmarillion, and that his father's intention was that Gil-galad was the son of Orodreth of the House of Finarfin. In fact, because Fingon did not have any sons, the title of High King of the Ñoldor passed to his brother Turgon and then to his nephew Gil-galad.
It is disputed whether Tolkien's son says about Fingon's intention is true, and that therefore Gil-galad was the son of Orodreth, or whether the information in The Silmarillion is more authoritative. Logically, The Silmarillion accords with canon, as the high kingship belonged to the House of Fingolfin, not the House of Finarfin, which entitled Gil-galad to the Kingship.
==Character==
Fingon was described as follows: "His valour was as a fire yet steadfast as the hills of stone; wise he was and skilled in voice and hand; troth and justice he loved and bore goodwill to all, both Elves and Men, hating Morgoth only; he sought not his own, neither power nor glory, and death was his reward."
== Etymology==
Fingon is the Sindarin version of his Quenya father-name Findekáno.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, chapter XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor" The exact origin of Findekáno is not specified, but it may derive from the words findë ("hair") or phin ("skill"), and kane ("valour")The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" or káno ("commander, lesser chief").
The name Findekáno means " hair commander". In Sindarin, fin translates to "hair".The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
==Other versions of the legendarium==
In earlier versions of the legendarium, Fingon had a sons called Findobar.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", Appendix I: "The Genealogies"The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, chapter III: "The Quenta" In another account he had a son, Finbor, and a daughter, Erien.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ፌንጎን
Arabic 	فينغون (Fingon)
فينغون الشجاع (Fingon, the Valiant)
Armenian 	Ֆինգոն
Assamese 	ফিংগন
Belarusian Cyrillic	Фингон
Bengali 	ফিঙ্গন
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Фингон
Chinese (Hong Kong)	芬鞏
Esperanto 	Fingono
Georgian 	ფინგონი
Greek 	Φινγον
Gujarati 	ફિન્ગોન
Hebrew 	פינגון
Hindi 	फ़िङोन
Japanese 	フィンゴン
Kannada 	ಫಿಂಗನ್
Kazakh 	Фингон (Cyrillic) Fïngon (Latin)
Korean 	핑곤
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Фингон
Macedonian Cyrillic	Фингон
Maithili 	फिंगन
Malayalam 	ഫിംഗൺ
Marathi 	फिंगोन
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Фангон
Nepalese 	फिंगन
Pashto 	فنگون
Persian 	فینگون
Punjabi 	ਫਿੰਗੋਨ
Russian 	Фингон
Serbian 	Фингон (Cyrillic) Fingon (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ෆින්ග්න්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Фингон
Tamil 	பைங்கொண்
Telugu 	ఫింగ్న్
Thai 	Fิงโน
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Фінгон
Urdu 	فنگاون
Uzbek 	Фингон (Cyrillic) Fingon (Latin)
Yiddish 	פינגאָן
==Notes==
== References==
Category:Ñoldor
Category:High Kings of the Noldor
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Deaths in battle
Category:Elves
Category:Elves of Beleriand
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