Thingol

Elu Thingol, originally Elwë, was an Elf of the Teleri during the First Age. His brother was Olwë, who became the Lord of Alqualondë, Lord of Tol Eressëa, and King of the Teleri of Aman; they may have also had a second brother called Elmo, whom was a good friend of Finwë, the first King of the Ñoldor during the times before the Elves reached Aman.
He was the founder and first King of the central Kingdom of Doriath and was respected by all the Sindar of Beleriand, who considered him as the Lord of Beleriand and thus supreme ruler of all the Elves who dwelt in the lands between the Blue Mountains and Great Sea.
== Biography==
===Sundering of the Elves===
Elwë was born in Cuiviénen during the Years of the Trees to unnamed parents, and his father was the direct descendant of Enel and Enelyë.The Nature of Middle-earth, Part One: Time and Ageing He first appears in the history of the Eldar when he travelled from Cuiviénen with Oromë as ambassador of the Teleri to see the land of Valinor. Upon his return, he convinced many of his people to follow him back to that country. On the Elves' Great Journey to the West, the Teleri lingered behind and did not arrive at the coast until later, after the departure of the moving island of Tol Eressëa. Thus, they stayed in Beleriand for many years until Tol Eressëa was brought back to ferry them, by which time many of the Teleri had grown to love Beleriand and decided to stay there. Elwë was among them, having encountered Melian the Maia in the woods of Nan Elmoth and fallen deeply in love with her. Afterwards, he disappeared for many years causing many of his people to linger in Middle-earth to search for him.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter III: "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
===Rule of Doriath===
For centuries, Elwë remained lost until he reemerged as a respected lord and many of his people joined him in the forest of Doriath, in Beleriand. Now known as Elu Thingol, he and Melian became king and queen of the Teleri that remained in Beleriand. This people became known as the Sindar. He founded a realm in a large forested area in Beleriand first known as Eglador (Land of the Forsaken). During these early days under the stars, Thingol and Melian had a daughter, Lúthien, who was said to be the fairest woman ever to have lived.
As Lord of Beleriand, Thingol welcomed his long lost kin, now known as the Laiquendi or Green-elves, into vast lands in Ossiriand. He was also the first Elf to make contact and alliances with the Dwarves of Belegost, who helped delve the caves of Menegroth, which became the capital of Thingol's kingdom. When the Dwarves first became aware of unfamiliar savage creatures coming out of the North, Thingol was the first to learn, and, possessing no heavy weapons of war, he once again asked the Dwarves for their aid. They forged for him necessary weapons and armour, for what would be the onset of war against Melkor.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter V: "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
===Quest for the Silmaril===
When Melkor returned to Middle-earth, he sought once again to master it and its peoples, and declared war on them. He sent great hosts of Orcs into Beleriand, starting what became known as the First Battle of Beleriand. In this battle, Thingol led his people to victory against the Orcs, driving them out of his kingdom and most of Beleriand. Afterwards, Melian set the Girdle around his kingdom, which was thence named Doriath; no one could now enter the realm without Thingol's permission. When the Ñoldor returned to Middle-earth, he gave them leave to dwell in the north part and dealt only with the House of Finarfin as they were kin through his brother Olwë. When he learned of the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, he was outraged and wanted nothing to do with most of the Ñoldor and their war and even outlawed the use of Quenya in his kingdom.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIII: "Of the Return of the Ñoldor"
Thingol was drawn into the war with Morgoth and the deadly Oath of Fëanor when after the Dagor Bragollach, Lúthien fell in love with a man named Beren. Thingol did not wish for the two to be wedded to each other, as he valued his daughter very highly and disliked the race of Men. As a bride-price he asked for a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth, thinking there was no way that Beren could fulfil this demand. Thus, Thingol was drawn into the quarrels over the great jewels and ultimately the doom of Fëanor.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien"
===Death===
It was this bride-price that doomed Thingol. After Húrin brought the treasures of Nargothrond to Doriath, Thingol summoned Dwarves of Belegost to Menegroth and invited them to work the treasure into jewelry. The finest of these pieces was the Nauglamír.
The Nauglamír was the second-greatest treasure of Doriath, prized above all but Beren and Lúthien's Silmaril. After the smiths of Belegost finished their work on the Nauglamír, Thingol requested that the Dwarves of Nogrod set the Silmaril in it. The Nauglamír, now bearing the Silmaril was held to be the fairest object in Arda.
Enthralled by and covetous of the Silmaril, the Dwarves demanded the necklace, insisting that as a dwarven work it belonged to them. Thingol was unwilling to surrender the treasure and replied with an impertinent answer. In their anger, the Dwarves attempted to slay him. After a long battle between Dwarves and Elves inside the city, the Dwarves were expelled. Two escaped to Nogrod and there told a false story of the conflict to their people, convincing them to march westward and do battle in the Thousand Caves. Later, with the help of certain treacherous Elves also possessed of the cursed treasure, Dwarves regained entrance past the Girdle. Thingol was lured out on a hunt with a small company of arms; he was ambushed by Dwarves in the woods, and was slain, allowing Menegroth to be taken and plundered. The Dwarves could not seize nor harm Melian, and she departed to seek Beren and Lúthien.Beren and Lúthien
Thingol's heir was Dior Eluchil, the son of Beren and Lúthien.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXII: "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
==Etymology==
Elu Thingol is derived from the Sindarin Elu Sindacollo, meaning "Elu Greycloak", from thind or sinda ("grey") and collo ("cloak").The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
The original form of his name was Elwë Singollo, from the Quenya el ("star") and wë ("person").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
==In other versions==
Thingol underwent quite a bit of developmental changes. In an earlier account, Tinfang was the son of Tinwelint.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Chaining of Melko", Notes, 1. In some of the earlier writings, and in particular the drafts for The Hobbit, Thingol was said to be the leader of the Dark Elves, and was a Dark Elf himself. This note of him being referred to as the Dark Elf as one of his nicknames/titles/insults is still seen in the published Silmarillion: "...this Dark Elf in his caves!"
==Weapons==
Thingol's sword was called Aranrúth ("King's Ire") which later became the sword of the Númenórean kings.Unfinished Tales, Introduction, Part Two, I: "A Description of the Island of Númenor", Notes He also owned Anglachel, the sword forged by Eöl who gave it to him as payment for dwelling in Nan Elmoth. He later gave Anglachel to Beleg.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXI: "Of Túrin Turambar"
==Appearances== 
*The Silmarillion
*Unfinished Tales
*The Children of Húrin
*Beren and Lúthien
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Arabic 	ثينجول
Armenian 	Թինգոլ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Тінгол
Bengali 	থিঙ্গল
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Тингол (Thingol)
Елу Тингол (Elu Thingol)
Catalan 	Thíngol
Chinese (Hong Kong)	辛葛 (Thingol)
埃盧·庭葛 (Elu Thingol)
埃爾威 (Elwë)
Georgian 	თჰინგოლ
Greek 	Θίνγκολ
Gujarati 	થિંગોલ
Hebrew 	תינגול (Thingol)
אלו תינגול (Elu Thingol)
אלווה (Elwë)
Japanese 	シンゴル (Thingol)
エルウェ (Elwë)
エル・シンゴル (Elu Thingol)
Kannada 	ಥಿಂಗಲ್
Kazakh 	Тһінгол (Cyrillic) Thingol (Latin)
Korean 	싱골
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Тhингол
Macedonian Cyrillic	Тингол
Marathi 	थिंगोल
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Тингол
Persian 	تینگول (Thingol)
الوه (Elwë)
Russian 	Тингол (Thingol)
Элу Тингол (Elu Thingol)
Эльвэ (Elwë)
Serbian 	Тингол (Cyrillic) Thingol (Latin)
Елу Тингол (Cyrillic) Elu Thingol (Latin)
Tajik Cyrillic 	Тҳингол
Tamil 	திண்கொள்
Telugu 	తింగోల్
Thai 	ธิงโกล
Urdu 	تانگاول
Uzbek 	Тҳингол (Cyrillic) Thingol (Latin)
Yiddish 	טהינגאָל
==References==
Category:Kings
Category:Teleri
Category:Grey Elves
Category:Elves of Doriath
Category:Kings of Doriath
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in Unfinished Tales
Category:Characters in The Children of Húrin
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Characters in Beren and Lúthien
Category:Elves
ca:Thíngol
de:Elwe
es:Thingol
fr:Elwë
it:Thingol
nl:Thingol
pl:Thingol
pt-br:Thingol
sk:Thingol
ru:Элу Тингол
uk:Тінґол
Category:Elves of Beleriand