Celebrimbor

[Finwe]

I vote for the mysterious background of the Elessar. Couldn't we just say that it was made by a great Elf-smith in Gondolin and given to Idril, Turgon's daughter, to heal all hurts?

[Gothmog, LoB]

I know this very late but I really don't see necessarily a contradiction between Celebrimbor being Curufin's sons born in Valinor and him abiding in Gondolin in the First Age.

Celebrimbor was associated with Galadriel and Celeborn in many writings (both in the writings concerning Eregion and the Elessar as well as that late concept of Celebrimbor as a Falmar elf and companion of Galadriel and Celeborn in their lonely ship.

If we go with the assumption that Celebrimbor fell in love with Galadriel (or at least felt close to her) then we don't have to go with that assumption of Christopher Tolkien that he only cut his ties with Curufin and Celegorm after the Nargothrond issues in the wake of Finrod's death but he might actually have never been all that close to his father and the other sons of Feanor.

If we doesn't swear the oath he could easily be closer to Finrod/Galadriel and Turgon than his father and uncles, and subsequently end up joining Turgon in the building of Gondolin (where he might be very welcome due to his craftsmanship).

After all, we also know that Fingon and Maedhros were always close, just as Finrod and Turgon were, as well as Aredhel and Feanor's sons. Not to mention that Finrod later allowed Celegorm and Curufin and their people to settle in Nargothrond.

And with Galadriel settling in Doriath and meeting Celeborn there (if we go with him being a Sinda) where Celebrimbor could not go as a Noldo of Feanor's house it wouldn't be very surprising if he ended up joining Turgon rather than ending up in Nargothrond.

[Findegil]

It is never too late especially in a discussion like these that never found a conclusive end.

But as nice as your speculation is, I don't see that with so less an textual evidence as we have, to have Celebrimbor in Gondolin is out of question in our version. That means it is not siad explicit or strongly suggested. If we could handle it textwise, we might leave this question open. But for that I would suggest to work out a text.

Respectfully
Findegil

[Gothmog, LoB]

Well, I guess the idea would mostly affect the Elessar story in whatever fashion it would be included. I'd propose to just add Celebrimbor being Curufin's son and Feanor's grandson when he is introduced there as a Noldo of Gondolin.

How exactly that turned out to be doesn't have to be explained. I just spun that tale to illustrate that Celebrimbor being Curufin's son is not necessarily contradictory to him living in Gondolin. Granted, it would be nicer to have some grand tale why he didn't swear the oath with his father, uncles, and grandfather, and so on, and how he and Galadriel actually are connected, but we don't need to know any of that to allow Celebrimbor to go to Gondolin.

One could consider including Tolkien's finale note on Celebrimbor's ancestry (Curufin's son, mother remained in Valinor) during the story of the founding of Gondolin. Something like, 'Among them [the Noldor and Sindar going to Gondolin] also was Celebrimbor, Curufin's son, whose mother had remained in Aman.'

The problem with Turgon having issues with Feanor's sons is only problematic for Celebrimbor's abode if we assume he took part in the Kin-slaying and the oath. For all we know he could have been with Fingolfin's host and might have crossed the ice himself. Just because Feanor's sons all jumped on his bandwagon doesn't mean Celebrimbor did the same.

[Findegil]

Gothmog, it seems I did not formulate my proposal clear enough. So here goes the next try: From my point of view (and it seems from the discussion that many of old members thought the same) we have not enough textual evidence to write in our version any clear statement that Celebrimbor was in Gondolin at any time! If we can handle it in the text of The Elessar that he might have been in Gondolin or not, that is fine with me. But that has to be tried out in the text of The Elessar. That is obviously the think someone should do, if he wants to keep Celebrimbor as the maker of both jewells.

Respectfully
Findegil

P.S.: That task seems to be a nice exercise of the ambiguous style of editorial work we have to do so often.

[Gothmog, LoB]

Sure, I get that. The point was just that above a lot of talk years ago seemed to be basing doubt on the Feanorian heritage of Celebrimbor on the whole Elessar story.

I just wanted to point out that The Elessar is not necessarily at odds with the Feanorian story - or can be made fit the Feanorian story with very little editorial work.

Arguments like 'the text would have mentioned this or that' if Celebrimbor (or Galadriel or Gil-galad) had been there aren't very convincing to me because the focus of the stories as we know them isn't on those characters. And, after all, the stories aren't finished.

We'll not get everything together but if Celebrimbor was at Nargothrond with Celegorm and Curufin then he could not possibly also have been at Gondolin to make the Elessar.

And if you cut all that stuff about Idril bearing the stone in Gondolin then the story more or less is gone.

[Findegil]

Let us first collect some facts:
A) Celebrimbor is descendant form Feanor. This is stated in the preface of The Tale of Years form LotR. But it entered only in the second edition of 1966. According to our rules this is to be used, as long as we cannot demonstrate it to be only a ‘slip of the pen’ (seeing the scanty information we have that option seems impossible to me).

B) If we take the sources with second highest priority, these are twofold (see also C). The following note is from 1968 or later (Eldarin, hands, Fingers and Numerals, VT47):

Common Eldarin had a base KWAR 'press together, squeeze, wring'. A derivative was *kwara: Quenya quar, Telerin par, Sindarin paur. This may be translated 'fist', though its chief use was in reference to the tightly closed hand as in using an implement or a craft-tool rather than to the 'fist' as used in punching. Cf. the name Celebrin-baur > Celebrimbor. This was a Sindarized form of Telerin Telperimpar (Quenya Tyelpinquar). It was a frequent name among the Teleri, who in addition to navigation and ship-building were also renowned as silversmiths. The famous Celebrimbor, heroic defender of Eregion in the Second Age war against Sauron, was a Teler, one of the three Teleri who accompanied Celeborn into exile. He was a great silver-smith, and went to Eregion attracted by the rumours of the marvellous metal found in Moria, Moria-silver, to which he gave the name mithril. In the working of this he became a rival of the Dwarves, or rather an equal, for there was great friendship between the Dwarves of Moria and Celebrimbor, and they shared their skills and craft-secrets. In the same way Tegilbor was used for one skilled in calligraphy (tegil was a Sindarized form of Quenya tekil 'pen', not known to the Sindar until the coming of the Noldor).

One the first glance this contradicts the first statement, as Christopher Tolkien observe in his comment:

When my father wrote this he ignored the addition to Appendix B in the Second Edition, stating that Celebrimbor 'was descended from Feanor'; no doubt he had forgotten that that theory had appeared in print, for had he remembered it he would undoubtedly have felt bound by it.

But does that make the note completely worthless? And is it really a contradiction? Only taken into account what we have listed here up to this point, I could say: ‘Feanor had only sons, but one of the sons could have had a girl-child married to a Teler and having mothered Celebrimbor.’ Then he would be a Teler and descendant form Feanor. It might even be enough for Celebrimbor to be counted about the Teleri to have his mother coming from that tribe and living most of his (early) life among the people of Aqualonde. (The question of Celeborn as a Teler to provide Galadriel with a ship for an independent journey should not be discussed here. It is an important question to be answered, but it warrants a thread of its own.)

C) The next information described as ‘of much the same time’, written on paper provided Tolkien in 1969 comes from Of Men and Dwarves (HoME XII; Part 2; Late Writings):

Now in Eregion not only the Feanorian Script, which had long become a mode of writing generally used (with various adaptations) among all 'lettered' peoples in contact with the Numenorean settlements, but also the ancient 'runic' alphabet of Daeron elaborated [> used] by the Sindar was known and used. This was, no doubt, due to the influence of Celebrimbor, a Sinda who claimed descent from Daeron.

This is a clear contradiction. Not only that I can’t see any believable way to have Celebrimbor a descendant of Feanor and Daeron, I can not even see how he could claim descent from Daeron at all. So the quote can teach us that Tolkien used some freeness in talking about descent: Since Daeron had no children, Celbrimbor in this Version must be a relative of a later generation, like a nephew. The only thing that I would draw from this is that Celebrimbor was probably the teacher of the Dwarves concerning runes.

D) A note by Tolkien in one of his copies of the 1966 edition of the LotR read thus (HoME XII; Part 2; Late Writings; Of Men and Dwarves; Note 7):

What then was his parentage? He must have been descended from one of Feanor's sons, about whose progeny nothing has been told.
How could he be? Feanor's only descendants were his seven sons, six of whom reached Beleriand. So far nothing has been said of their wives and children. It seems probable that Celebrinbaur (silverfisted, > Celebrimbor) was son of Curufin, but though inheriting his skills he was an Elf of wholly different temper (his mother had refused to take part in the rebellion of Feanor and remained in Aman with the people of Finarphin). During their dwelling in Nargothrond as refugees he had grown to love Finrod and his wife, and was aghast at the behaviour of his father and would not go with him. He later became a great friend of Celeborn and Galadriel.

A second note written in to the same copy and given in the same place reads:

Maedros the eldest appears to have been unwedded, also the two youngest (twins, of whom one was by evil mischance burned with the ships); Celegorm also, since he plotted to take Luthien as his wife. But Curufin, dearest to his father and chief inheritor of his father's skills, was wedded, and had a son who came with him into exile, though his wife (unnamed) did not. Others who were wedded were Maelor, Caranthir.

This notes are the basis for the editorial addition to Sil77 as Christopher Tolkien said in his comments.
The wife of Finrod needs not be discussed here. But here we have a clear storyline of Celebrimbor’s life: Born in Valinor, gone into exile with his father, and staying with him until Curufin was expelled from Nargothrond. It corosponds nicely to A) but is not compatible to B) or C).

E) Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn is the next text to look into. Christopher Tolkien does not provide us with an exact date when it was written, but he adds it to ‘the same phase (so to call it)’ of his father’s writing as the Appendix B of LotR. As the preamble is not mention in the texts before the typescript going to the publisher, this must refer to 1955-6 or slightly before. Anyhow it is earlier than A) to D). I here quote it from HoME XII; Part 2; Late Writings; Of Men and Dwarves; Note 7 were it is given more fully:

Galadriel and Celeborn had in their company a Noldorin craftsman named Celebrimbor. He was of Noldorin origin, and one of the survivors of Gondolin, where he had been one of Turgon's greatest artificers - but he had thus acquired some taint of pride and an almost 'dwarvish' obsession with crafts.

A later note to the text states again that Celebrimbor should be made a descendant of Feanor. I agree with Gothmog that a Noldorin origin and being a survivor of Gondolin does not contradict A) and as I have demonstrated B). But the story given here is incompatible with C) and D), which have higher priority.

F) Written at the same time as E) was The Elessar. I will only summarize the text here in respect to Celebrimbors ancestry: It makes Celebrimbor a jewel-smith of Gondolin without giving any farther information.

According to our Principle 1 A) is a given fact.
That said C) must be considered under Principle 2.a as ‘slip of the pen’ or a failure of memorizing what was already in print.
To ignore B) we either have to declare that is incompatible with A) and rule it out on Principle 2.a or we have to call it a proposed change that is not workable for us due to lake of information (Principle 2.b). I am not convinced of either. It does also not help if we decide on ignoring Celeborn as a Teler on Principle 2.a since he has occurred under Principle 1 as a Sindar. In that situation Celebrimbor as Teler might provide us with the opportunity for an independent journey of Galadriel. Which, by the way, could also provide a nice background to Celebrimbor saying in F) to Galadriel ‘But you know that I love you (though you turned to Celeborn of the Trees), …’. Otherwise it is if Galadriels independent journey is rejected. It seems to me fully improbable to a Teler join the host of Fingolfin after the kin slaying of Aqualonde or to journey on his own (without Galadriel) in his own ship to Middle-Erath.
D corresponds nicely to A but has due to our Principles lower priority than B. So D is the option if B is ruled out.
E and F contradict B which has higher priority. But the contradiction is week if we consider mixed ancestry.
If B is ruled out E and F still contradict D which has the higher priority. To use E and F instead of D would require D to fall under Principle 5:

5. Information in sources of lower level priority are to be preferred over information in sources of higher level priority where the item of information in source of higher level priority can be reasonably demonstrated to be an error, whether a "slip of the pen" or from inadequate checking of previous writing.

I can’t see how D can fall under Principle 5, especially since E contains a note by Tolkien according to which he planned to change the content to correspond to D.

All that means: to have Celebrimbor in Gondolin we have to make him of mixed Telerin and Feanorian blood, (A and B combined) and have him journey to Middel-Earth together with Galadriel in a boot rescued by them in Aqualonde. How he joined Turgon is not told, but that is not improbable. But it depends in the end on the independent journey of Galadriel.
So in my point of view we must first decide what we do with Galadirel’s independent journey, and then come back to this discussion. However neither text E nor text F are completely out since we still have Principle 6 to work with them:

6. The actual words used by J.R.R. Tolkien or the editor or summarizer of his work may only be changed, including change by deletion or addition, when:
a) they are minimally changed to agree with statements elsewhere in the canon recognized as of greater validity or to are replaced with words or phrases from later or alternate restatements of the same material for reasons of consistancy or are changed to agree with alternate phrasings used by Tolkien of the same or better validity
b) they are minimally changed to avoid great awkwardness of expression such as ungrammatical constructions or too great a difference in style from the passage or section/chapter into which they are now to be inserted.
c) they are minimally added to in order to expand a sentence fragments or an incomplete phrase into a construction that fits grammatically in the new environment
d) they are deleted to avoid redundancy in new passages compiled from more than one source
e) they are, in verse passages, minimal changes that do not add new information to the tale, to maintain the proper metre and rhyme or alliterative pattern of the original verse.

Respectfully
Findegil