Race Maia | Book(s) The Silmarillion | |
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Aliases Herald of Manwë, Chief of the Maiar Title The Banner-bearer and the herald of Manwë Weapon Powers of the Ainur, other fashioned arms Similar Manwë, Ilmarë, Ossë, Tulkas, Uinen | ||
Eönwë [eˈonwe] is a supporting character in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. He first appears in print in the posthumously published The Silmarillion, though his character had existed long before its original publication in 1977.
Contents
Biography
Eönwë is the banner-bearer and the herald of Manwë, and Chief of the Maiar along with Ilmarë. In The Silmarillion Christopher Tolkien added a statement that Eönwë was the "greatest of arms in Arda," meaning that he was the best with weapons and the most skilled in warfare, to explain why this character would have been chosen to lead the armies of the Valar.
When the appeal of Eärendil reached the shores of Aman, it was Eönwë who first greeted him. When Manwë decided to heed the appeal, Eönwë was sent to Middle-earth to fight the War of Wrath, leading the Vanyar.
When the evil Vala Morgoth was defeated, Eönwë took the two remaining Silmarils and held them for safekeeping. The two remaining Sons of Fëanor took them and fled, yet Eönwë did not let them be slain.
After the overthrow of Morgoth, Sauron approached Eönwë, the former second-in-command of the Dark Lord having been shocked into (temporary) repentance. Sauron apparently hoped to secure some kind of "amnesty" from Eönwë, but the latter was not authorized to pardon a Maia like himself, so he ordered Sauron to return to Valinor to be judged by the Valar. In the event, Sauron hid in Middle-earth when Eönwë departed.
Concept and creation
In earlier conceptions of the legendarium, detailed in The History of Middle-earth, Tolkien envisioned Eönwë, then called Fionwë, as the son of Manwë, but as the concept of the Children of the Valar disappeared from the Silmarillion tradition he became Manwë's herald instead. There is a story written there known as the "Tale of Qorinómi" about the love between him and Urwen (Arien), though in the commentary it is said that Tolkien never got to writing it.
