Melian

Melian "the Maia" was an Ainu of the race of the Maiar of Yavanna, wife of King Elu Thingol, Queen of Doriath, and mother of Lúthien Tinúviel. Melian was the fourth greatest and one of the most powerful of the Maiar. In Middle-earth, she was unsurpassed in both wisdom, beauty, and magical singing.
==Biography==
Before she came to Middle-earth, Melian served both Vána and Estë, and dwelt in Lórien tending the trees that grew in the Gardens of Irmo. Among all of her people none were wiser (with the exception of Ilmarë, Arien ,Olórin and Uinen), more beautiful, or more skilled in singing enchanting songs than Melian. She loved the deep shadows of the great trees. When the light of the Two Trees would mingle Melian would sing and the Valar would stop their work and listen. Nightingales went with her wherever she went, and she taught them their song. Of all the Valar she was most akin to Yavanna. When the Elves awoke on the shore of Cuiviénen she departed from Valinor and went to Middle-earth, where she filled its silence with her singing and the singing of her birds. During this time, she was the chief of the Guardians.The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: XIII. Key Dates", pg. 93-5, 99
While in the forest of Nan Elmoth she met and fell in love with the Elven-king Elu Thingol, and later she ruled the kingdom of Doriath by his side. For thousands of years, she used her powers to guard and defend the kingdom with a protection spell called the Girdle of Melian, but she predicted that one person would one day breach this defense. The Girdle functioned to bewilder any who attempted to enter Doriath, and was so potent that even Ungoliant was unable to breach it. She and her husband had a child, a daughter named Lúthien. During her stay in Doriath she became a friend and mentor of Galadriel. Melian wanted to know the cause of the exile of the Ñoldor. Galadriel only briefly narrated the story to her, leaving out the death of Finwë, the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, and the burning of the ships at Losgar. But eventually she and Thingol learned the truth.
Melian's main line of descent was of the Half-elven, and through her daughter the Maian blood passed to both Elves and Men. When Beren arrived as foretold, she counseled Thingol against sending Beren for a Silmaril, a quest which would eventually lead to Doriath's ruin. A friend of Mankind, she also aided Húrin's family by hosting Túrin in Doriath and later helped Beleg Cúthalion in his search for Túrin by giving him Lembas. When Húrin came to Doriath old and carrying a great grief and misery on him, Melian helped him see through his ills. After Thingol's death she left Doriath, visiting Beren and Lúthien for a time warning them of the Dwarves treachery, and the curse on the Mîm's treasure. Shortly there-after, she went back to Valinor, musing upon her sorrows in the gardens of Lórien whence she came.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXII: "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
==Etymology==
Melian is a Sindarin name, from the Quenya Melyanna, of which the roots are mel (love) and anna (gift). The name means "dear gift." Earlier versions of Melian's name were Gwenniel or Gwenethlin.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two Her rare title-name, Tóril, meant "queen."
==Other versions==
In some of J.R.R. Tolkien's earliest tales, Melian is a sprite or twilight spirit named Tindriel, then Wendelin, who served Palúrien. Tinwelint (later Thingol) finds her lonely in a glade of Hisilómë.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Chaining of Melko", Notes, 1.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Coming of the Elves and the Making of Kôr", pg. 115 (1984 hardcover edition) She is Gwendeling or Gwenniel in "The Tale of Tinúviel" (written in 1917), found in the woods listening to the nightingales by Tinwelint, and running away when he first approaches her. This encounter foreshadowed Beren's first meeting of Lúthien, whom he would call "Nightingale", in the final versions of their own tale. Gwendeling marries Tinwelint later, and together they rule Artanor (later Doriath).The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "The Tale of Tinúviel"
Tolkien once chose Tinfang to be Wendelin's son, but dropped the idea.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Chaining of Melko", Notes, 1.
Gwendeling would be more powerful as Melian the Maia in later stages of Tolkien's mythology; the Maiar were not conceived of until some years after "The Tale of Tinúviel" was written.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Music of the Ainur", pg. 63 (1984 hardcover edition)
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	መሊኣን
Arabic 	ميلايان
Armenian 	Մելիան
Belarusian Cyrillic	Меліан
Bengali 	মেলিঅন
Bosnian 	Melijana
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Мелиан
Catalan 	Mèlian
Chinese (Hong Kong)	美麗安
Danish 	Melian (Maia og dronning af Doriath)
Georgian 	მელიანი
Greek 	Μέλιαν
Gujarati 	મેલિઅન
Hebrew 	מליאן
Hindi 	मेलिअन
Japanese 	メリアン
Kannada 	ಮೆಲಿಯನ್
Kazakh 	Меліан (Cyrillic) Melian (Latin)
Korean 	멜리안
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Мэлиан
Lao 	ມເລິະນ ?
Macedonian Cyrillic	Мелиан
Marathi 	मेलिअन
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Мелиан
Nepalese 	मेलिअन
Pashto 	مېلیان
Persian 	ملیان
Polish 	Meliana
Punjabi 	ਮੇਲੀਅਨ
Sanskrit 	मेलिअन्
Serbian 	Мелиан (Cyrillic) Melian (Latin)
Sinhalese 	මෙලිඅන්
Russian 	Мелиан
Tajik Cyrillic 	Мелиан
Tamil 	மெலிஅந்
Telugu 	మెలిఅన
Thai 	เมลิอัน
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Меліан
Urdu 	میلیان
Uzbek 	Мелиан (Cyrillic) Melian (Latin)
Yiddish 	מעליאַנאַ
==References==
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Maiar
Category:Queens
Category:Fays
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The Children of Húrin
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Characters in Beren and Lúthien
ca:Mèlian
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fr:Melian
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pl:Meliana
ru:Мелиан
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uk:Меліан