Emeldir was a member of the House of Bëor, descending through several generations from Belen, the younger son of Bëor himself. She dwelt in Dorthonion during the time when her House held the lordship there, and wedded Barahir of the line of the lords of Dorthonion. Emeldir and Barahir had a son, named Beren after Emeldir's father.
Emeldir was particularly known for her bravery and leadership in the events following the Dagor Bragollach. After Morgoth's resurgence in that battle, the Shadow fell on the woods of Dorthonion, and evil spread through the land. At that time Emeldir showed her 'Manhearted' nature; she wished to take up arms and fight beside her husband Barahir, but instead she set out from her homeland to bring the women and children of her people away from the encroaching darkness.
Emeldir and her band of refugees crossed the mountains out of Dorthonion, suffering loss on the way, but many of these survivors succeeded in reaching safety in the Forest of Brethil. Emeldir's journey proved vital to history, because among her charges were two young girls, Morwen and Rían, who would later wed the brothers Húrin and Huor, and play their own important roles in history. As for Emeldir the Manhearted, she was never reunited with her husband, who was slain in Dorthonion. We hear no more of her in the accounts of the First Age; it is perhaps most likely that she lived out her days among the Haladin of Brethil, but her true fate is not recorded.
Notes
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We have no dating for Emeldir's full lifespan, but we can be sure that she survived past the year I 455, the year in which she led the women and children of Dorthonion to safety in Brethil. She would have been forty-nine years old at that time, and she evidently lived on beyond that date in Brethil, but no details of her later life are recorded.
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Emeldir's father Beren is not to be confused with her much more famous son of the same name (who was presumably named for his grandfather). |
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According to a genealogy of the House of Bëor in volume XI of The History of Middle-earth, Emeldir's father Beren had at least three children, of whom Emeldir was the third. His other children, Emeldir's siblings, are not named, and indeed we're not even told whether they were brothers or sisters to Emeldir.
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- Updated 11 November 2024
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