Tolkien's final First Age timeline

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Amalcarin

Concerning Gil-galad, I also believe that there always was an intended correlation between his first name and the name of his father that should probably be considered in the light of the Eldarin concept of the father-name: Findor < Fingon in the late note to GA; Finellach (of the House of Finarfin) < Finrod (presumably) in the unedited text of Aldarion and Erendis; Artanáro/Rodnor < Artaresto/Rodreth (later surnamed Orodreth) in genealogies discussed in PoMe; Ereinion < Arothir in the Shibboleth (least obvious, but the first elements are aran (pl. erain) and arod respectively, both derived from √AR) – which makes the name Finwain in a 1969 note published in NoMe (the chapter Hair) quite intriguing.

That is intriguing, though not conclusive; and it might run foul of the fact that as a son of Orodreth, his sister is named Finduilas. I think for now I need to keep the timeline on the latest firm view, which is that he was Orodreth's.

The best (possibly only?) late source for the marriage/childbearing customs of the Noldor after the Exile is NoME 1.XVIII (1965). Under a scheme where Amroth is the child of Galadriel and Celeborn, Tolkien lays out the following: married SA 24; Amroth born SA 33; Celebrian born SA 45. The first 9-year gap is explicitly 3 Growth-Years; the second could be 4 GY, or 3 GY + 1 gestation period (at this time both were 3 years). The same source also describes the dates of Elrond's marriage and children (from the Tale of Years) as "possible but not likely", so I will take the Amroth-Celebrian scheme as a model.

The internet agrees that Finduilas' last known birth-year is 272 Bel,; it claims that date is from NoME 1.X, but I'm not positive that's right. Whatever the source, the Amroth-Celebrian scheme means that the dates fall out as follows:

- 263: Orodreth marries Meril.*
- 272: Finduilas born.
- 284: Gil-Galad born.

Or, if you pick the option to make 1 GY = 1 SY, 269, 272, 276.

*Yes, Meril. The mother of Gil-Galad is named in HoME XI, and I see no reason not to carry her over here.

One flaw in this is that in the "Meril" source, Gil-Galad is specifically a child when he's sent away after the Bragollach. That makes his birth at earliest 383 Bel., or 431 Bel. if we accept that Elves grew "as fast as men". Perhaps it would be better to go back to the "possible but not likely" scheme used for Arwen and her brothers: Celebrian married Elrond in TA 109, had the twins in 130, and Arwen in 241. That would give:

- 251: Orodreth marries Meril.
- 272: Finduilas born.
- 383: Gil-Galad born.

That... is an amazing coincidence. On the other hand, the 1965 note says that Gil-Galad "escaped", which implies he may have been present at the final battle of Nargothrond. I do not know how to unpick this one.

hS