Curufin

Curufin, also called Curufin the Crafty,The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter V: "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië" was a Ñoldorin prince and the fifth of the seven Sons of Fëanor and Nerdanel. Curufin was the father of Celebrimbor, master Jewel-smith of Eregion who would later forge the three Elvish Rings of Power.
Among his seven brothers, Curufin was his father's favorite and was most like his father in skill of hand and in appearance.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor"
== Biography ==
Curufin was born in Valinor sometime during the Noontide of Valinor. There he married an unnamed Elf (most likely one of the Ñoldor) and had a son they named Celebrimbor, who would later follow Curufin to exile. As with all the Elves of Aman, they lived in peace and prosperity until the release of Melkor, the murder of Finwë and the theft of the Silmarils that led to the Exile of the Ñoldor.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX: "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
As with the other Sons of Fëanor, Curufin was bound by an oath to recover his father's Silmarils, which had been stolen by the Dark Lord Morgoth. His oath took him and his brothers to Middle-earth during the First Age.
Arriving in Middle-earth, Fëanor roused Curufin and others who were most obedient to him, and set the swan-ships aflame. Later, Curufin and his brothers fought in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath but lost their father Fëanor in a subsequent ambush.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIII: "Of the Return of the Noldor"
Curufin and his older brother Celegorm (and possibly Celebrimbor) lived in Himlad, east of his brother Maedhros' fortress Himring and south of the Pass of Aglond between Himring and Dorthonion, leading into Doriath.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of Beleriand and its Realms" Around this time, their cousin Aredhel left Gondolin in search for both sons of Fëanor. However, Curufin and Celegorm were not in their lands when she arrived, thus Aredhel left and traveled south and was lost in Nan Elmoth. Years later, Aredhel and her son Maeglin left Nan Elmoth, and Eöl pursued them, only to be brought to Curufin. Though they had no love for him and scorned him, they did not slay him and allowed him to continue on his way.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVI: "Of Maeglin"
The two brothers fortified their realms with great strength and held them until the Dagor Bragollach. However, following the battle, the two brothers were defeated and had to flee with their people to Nargothrond, where Finrod welcomed them.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVIII: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
thumb|175px|Curufin with his brother Celegorm in Nargothrond, by Jenny Dolfen
Shortly after, Beren also came to Nargothrond to remind Finrod of the oath he had sworn, and claim his help. Finrod decided to help Beren, but Celegorm and Curufin, remembering their Oath, persuaded the people of Nargothrond not to follow him, and not to wage open war against Morgoth, making them fearful. Finrod therefore had to leave with a handful of warriors, including Beren, and later died. His nephew Orodreth was left to rule in his stead, but real power rested with Celegorm and Curufin.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien"In The Silmarillion, Orodreth is Finrod's younger brother, but Christopher Tolkien admits this mistake, changing Orodreth as Finrod's nephew later.
He and his brother went hunting with Celegorm's hound Huan, then found Lúthien, daughter of Thingol, as she fled to find Beren. Feigning to help her, they took her captive and brought her to Nargothrond, for Celegorm had become enamoured and would have Thingol give him her hand. However, Huan helped Lúthien to flee, and they freed Beren and other thralls from Sauron. As these thralls returned, bearing news of the death of Finrod, the people of Nargothrond perceived the two brothers' treachery, and though Orodreth would not let them be slain, he cast them from Nargothrond.
The two brothers met Lúthien and Beren as they fled, and Curufin fought with Beren losing the knife Angrist in the struggle. Defeated, he had to flee with Celegorm, but sought to slay Lúthien even as he did, and shot Beren instead.
Due to Celegorm and Curufin's deeds, Thingol and Orodreth would lend no aid to Maedhros as he sought to unite Elves, Dwarves, and Men in what was called the Union of Maedhros.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XX: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
Curufin fell in the Second Kinslaying, when the Sons of Fëanor attacked Doriath to seize the Silmaril in the possession of the Elvish King Dior. His brothers Celegorm and Caranthir died with him during the assault.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXII: "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
== Etymology ==
His father-name was Curufinwë, meaning "Skilled (son of) Finwë" from the Quenya curu ("Skill").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names The name Curufinwë is also Fëanor's original name. This was because Curufin was most like his father in appearance, temperament, and skill. His mother-name is Atarinkë ("Little Father") for he resembled his father in both mind and talent. He was called Kurvo by his family members.
=== Other names ===
Tolkien provided Old English names for some of his characters. For Curufin, the name Cyrefinn Fácensearo was given, from the Old English words cyre ("choice"), facen ("deceit, guile, wickedness"), saeru ("skill"), and fácensaeru ("treachery").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, III: "The Quenta", Appendix 1: Translation of Quenta Noldorinwa into Old English
== In adaptations ==
In the 2014 video game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Curufin is mentioned to be the father of Celebrimbor.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ኩሩፊን
Arabic 	كورفين
Armenian 	Կուրուֆին
Belarusian Cyrillic	Куруфін
Bosnian 	Kurufin
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Куруфин
Chinese (Hong Kong)	庫路芬
Danish 	Curufin ("Den snedige")
Georgian 	კურუფინი
Greek 	Κουρούφιν
Gujarati 	કરુફિન
Hebrew 	קורופין
Hindi 	चुरुफ़िन
Japanese 	クルフィン
Kannada 	ಕುರುಫಿನ್
Kazakh 	Куруфин (Cyrillic) Kurufin (Latin)
Korean 	쿠루핀
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Куруфин
Macedonian Cyrillic	Куруфин
Marathi 	कुरुफिन
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Курупин
Nepalese 	चुरुफ़िन
Pashto 	چوروفین ?
Persian 	کوروفین
Punjabi 	ਕਰਫਿਨ
Russian 	Куруфин
Sanskrit 	चुरुfइन्
Serbian 	Куруфин (Cyrillic) Kurufin (Latin)
Sinhalese 	කුරුෆින්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Куруфин
Tamil 	குருபின்
Telugu 	కురుఫైన్
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Куруфін
Urdu 	کوروفان
Uzbek 	Куруфин (Cyrillic) Kurufin (Latin)
Yiddish 	קורופין
==References==
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Category:Ñoldor
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Deaths in battle
Category:Quenya names & words
Category:Characters in Beren and Lúthien
Category:Elves
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Category:Elves of Beleriand
Category:Sons of Fëanor