[Anguirel]

Today I reach that magnificent pillar of anti-heroism

Celegorm

Celegorm is one of the more heavily revised of the sons of Feanor-I'll be saying why that's important later. There is a case, if you approach the issue with a mind as admittedly partial as mine, for claiming he's been much maligned.

As for his resemblance (or not) to his father...perhaps it's the blonde curly hair that does it, but Celegorm seems to me far more of a conformist by nature than Feanor. In Valinor he apparently got on well enough with the Valar to be given Orome's hound, and was apparently the son of Feanor closest to Aredhel, Fingolfin's daughter, with whom he shared a similarity of temperament. Along with many other slightly revisionist readers of the Silmarillion, I see a rejected romance here. More on that in its proper place.

In terms of ability, Celegorm, as noted by Macalaure, inherited the fire of Feanor's oratory. Yet I would suggest that this was not tantamount to inheriting the talent entirely-Curufin seems to have received Feanor's more "persuasive" rhetoric.

Apart from that Celegorm has Feanor's impetuosity and ruthlessness in battle more than any of his brothers. The usually unsung star of the Dagor-Nan-Gileath, it was Celegorm who led the attack which reduced Morgoth's armies to the proverbial leaves blowing in the wind. Amidst the disaster of the Bragollach, The Grey Annals tell us that he managed to cut loose with Curufin and reach Minas Tirith in time to save Orodreth's life as the latter fled from Sauron. I like this version as it makes the political scene in Nargothrond much deeper. Finrod isn't lying when he tells Beren (I think) that Celegorm and Curufin have "helped him in every need." It also adds a dimension to the "wolf-hunts" of the brothers-every wolf killed is vengeance for Orodreth's defeat.

We don't know anything about his role in the Nirnaeth except that, though wounded, he escaped. But in his last battle, the Second Kinslaying, he sought out the enemy king Dior and slew him personally, though falling himself. Celegorm is not effete or lacking in warlike credentials!

Celegorm, politically, is also playing Maedhros' "Let's Fulfill the Oath" game. But his strategy has two-no, wait, three-besetting flaws. First, his flexible and consequentialist morals-he's willing to go down far worse means for far more remote ends than Maedhros. Second, he's gripped by the idea of the Silmarils, and the personal power they represent, and they, not Morgoth's defeat, are his ultimate aim. Third, his love-life.

Celegorm is not described as leaving a wife in Valinor, I don't think, which leaves us with two options-tragic Celegorm spurned by Aredhel and Celegorm the wild bachelor-until he meets Luthien. I think, myself, that in Aredhel's search for him we see her indecision, and that she had been a cruel coquette in Valinor, and now regretted it. Celegorm never saw her again, and his desire for another dark beauty, Luthien, was an attempt to compensate. Possibly. I'm aware that may be rather soap opera-esque for some of you...

Final note-Celegorm in the oldest versions of the Lay of Leithian was the founder and reigning King of Nargothrond. This is hard to incorporate with the new material, but is an interesting line of thought to consider. The Celegorm in this version acted honourably, despite feeling apparently genuine love for Luthien, and ended up helping the lovers.

EDIT: If anyone's still interested in my Orkney parallel, then Celegorm is Agravaine to Curufin's Mordred.