Narn i Chîn Húrin

The 'Tale of the Children of Húrin'; the long legend of the grim and tragic lives of Túrin Turambar and his sister Niënor Níniel. Its name is occasionally transliterated as Narn i Hîn Húrin (see 'A Note on Spelling' below).

The tale starts at the time of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, in which Húrin was captured by Morgoth and taken to Angband. Húrin defied the Dark Lord, and so Morgoth cursed him and his family, and set him on a peak of Thangorodrim to watch the dreadful curse unfold.

At that time Húrin's wife Morwen still dwelt with his son Túrin in Dor-lómin, and still carried his unborn daughter, Niënor. For the safety of her son, Morwen sent him away to be fostered by King Thingol of Doriath, and so began a thread of tragic and historic events that would encompass nations and peoples across Beleriand.

The working of Morgoth's curse wrought havoc: exiling himself from Doriath, Túrin travelled the lands, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Through his actions, Nargothrond was destroyed and sacked, and Beleg Strongbow was slain. However, his story was also one of heroism, and Túrin is famed as a captain of Dor-Cúarthol and slayer of Glaurung the Dragon.

Finally, the narn ends in tragedy, as at last the children of Húrin each meet the inevitable dreadful fate that Morgoth's curse had set for them.