Finwë

Finwë was the first King of the Ñoldor who led his people on the journey from Middle-earth to Valinor in the blessed realm of Aman. He was a great friend of Elu Thingol, the King of Doriath. He was the father of Fëanor, Fingolfin, Finarfin, Írimë, and Findis. As founder of the House of Finwë, he and his first and second wives were the sires of the three noble houses of Fëanor, Fingolfin, and Finarfin, who afterwards ruled great realms in Middle-earth and succeeded him in Aman. His bloodline also mixed its way into the race of Men. 
== Biography ==
Finwë was born in Cuiviénen during the Years of the Trees to unnamed parents, and his father was the direct descendant of Tata and Tatië.The Nature of Middle-earth, Part One: Time and Ageing When the Vala Oromë found the Elves during his travels in Middle-earth, he loved them and urged them to travel with him to Valinor to see its wondrous beauty. The Elves, however, were suspicious of this call and were afraid. Oromë chose ambassadors from the three Elven kindreds—the Vanyar, Ñoldor, and Teleri—to return with him to Valinor. They would, in turn, report what they had seen to their kin. One of these ambassadors was Finwë, who, along with Ingwë and Elwë, went to the Blessed Realm with Oromë. When they returned, they were able to convince the Elves to go on the Great Journey into the far west.
There was great friendship between Finwë of the Ñoldor and Elwë of the Teleri. Then each became leaders of their own Elven-kindred. Thus, Finwë became the Lord of the Ñoldor who led his people on the Great Journey. And eventually, Finwë and the Ñoldor arrived in Valinor directly behind the Vanyar. There he and his people settled and Finwë thus became the First High King of the Ñoldor.
Finwë started a family, first marrying Míriel Serindë who had also come with her people the Ñoldor to Aman. They had a son called Fëanor, but her labors in giving birth to him drained her of most of her life, and she surrendered her soul to the Halls of Mandos shortly after bearing him. After a period of mourning, he married again. His second wife was Indis of the Vanyar. Indis bore him four children: Fingolfin, Finarfin, Findis, and Írimë.
When Melkor, now free from the Halls of Mandos, began spreading lies amongst the Ñoldor attempting to corrupt them, Finwë sought to moderate his people and lead them back to the Valar. But it was too late; the Ñoldor had already begun to envision for themselves plans and new dominions they could rule in Middle-earth and were proud. Fëanor in particular mistrusted the Valar and believed Melkor's lies. He began to hoard his treasures and would only allow his beloved father or his sons to see the Silmarils. He also began to suspect his half-brother was trying to usurp him as the favored son, and made trouble in Tirion by drawing his sword on Fingolfin. For this he was banished from the city, but Finwë loved his elder son greatly and shared his exile. They went northward and built the fortress of Formenos.
There Finwë lived with his son and his grandchildren and some of the rest of his house. Later, when Fëanor was summoned to Valmar to make peace with Fingolfin, Finwë did not go out of bitterness over the exile of his son; nor did he wish to meet the rest of his people because he no longer felt like their king. Thus he was slain in Formenos when Melkor, seeking the Silmarils, attacked it. This act was the catalyst that led to the Revolt of the Ñoldor.: Quenta SilmarillionThe History of Middle-earth, Vol. I, , where he is sometimes given the name Golfinweg, which is Gnomish (the equivalent later of Sindarin)
== Etymology ==
Finwë's name is not fully translated. The glossary in translates Fin as "hair"; other sources say that it means "skill".The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
== In other versions ==
The story of Finwë went through many revisions by J.R.R. Tolkien. A precursor to the character of Finwë was likely the Gnome Nólemë. In one of the earliest accounts, the father of Fëanor was Bruithwir, son of Maidros., Vol. I: , chapter VI: "The Theft of Melko and the Darkening of Valinor" In another, the leader of Gnomes in the Great Lands was Gelmir, son of Golfinweg and brother of Gwindor. Thus, he had as lieutenants his sons Golfin, Delin, and Oleg. His standard "bore upon a silver field a crown of gold"., Vol. IV: , chapter I: "Prose Fragments Following the Lost Tales" Later, the name Golfinweg was reused for Finwë himself. In another account, Nólemë led his people during their exile in the Great Lands when they waged war against Melko. At the river Sirion, the Gnomes met with the Ilkorindi, led by Tareg, and Ermon and his folk (their mannish allied). There the Elves held a "Feast of Reunion" to seal their alliance against Melko and then that they fought together at Gorfalong in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears against Melko and his host of monsters and wicked Men., Vol. I: , chapter X: "Gilfanon's Tale: The Travail of the Noldoli and the Coming of Mankind", The History of the Exiled Gnomes according to the later outline, pg. 240 In the battle died Fingolfin and his father. Thus, Turgon, Fingolfin's son, led the sons of Fëanor, who was caught and tortured, and his people after the battle."Sí Qente Feanor and Other Elvish Writings", Parma Eldalamberon, n. XV
In J.R.R. Tolkien's first drafts of the genealogy, Finwë had four sons: Fëanor, Fingolfin, Finrod, and Finrún. However, the last son was dropped, and Finarfin replaced Finrod as Finwë's youngest son., Vol. IV: , chapter III: "The Quenta"
In a later version, Finwë had three daughters added by Indis: Findis (as their first child), Faniel (as their third), and Finvain (as their youngest). In yet later versions, Faniel was apparently dropped, while Findis and Finvain were kept. Finvain (renamed Írimë) was moved to being just younger than Fingolfin, making Finarfin again the youngest child of Finwë.
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ፊንወ
Arabic 	فينويً
Armenian 	Ֆինւե
Belarusian Cyrillic	Фінвё
Bengali 	ফিংয়ে
Bosnian 	Finve
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Финве
Chinese (Hong Kong)	芬威
Georgian 	ფინუე
Greek 	Φίνγουε
Gujarati 	ફિન્વે
Hebrew 	פינווה
Hindi 	फ़िन्वे
Japanese 	フィンウェ
Kannada 	ಫಿನ್ವೆ
Kazakh 	Фінве (Cyrillic) Finve (Latin)
Korean 	핀웨
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Финвэ
Macedonian Cyrillic	Финве
Marathi 	फिनवे
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Финвё
Nepalese 	फ़िन्वे
Persian 	فینوه،
Punjabi 	ਫਿਨਵ ?
Russian 	Финвэ
Serbian 	Финвеа (Cyrillic) Finvea (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ෆින්වෙ
Tajik Cyrillic 	Финве
Tamil 	பின்வெ
Telugu 	ఫైన్వే
Thai 	ฟินเว
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Фінве
Urdu 	فینوے
Uzbek 	Финве (Cyrillic) Finve (Latin)
Yiddish 	פינווע
== References ==
Category:Ñoldor
Category:High Kings of the Noldor
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Elves
ca:Finwë
de:Finwe
es:Finwë
fr:Finwë
it:Finwë
pl:Finwë
pt-br:Finwë
ru:Финвэ
tr:Finwë
uk:Фінве