A Chronicle of Maedhros

Author's Note

Mae lovannen, mellyn nîn,

Firstly, thank you for choosing to read my work. If you already have knowledge of Maedhros and are looking to go straight to the story, please feel free to skip my notes and jump into the prologue. If you would like a little bit of background and are unfamiliar with the beginnings of Maedhros' tale, please read on.

This story takes place in the First Age of Middle Earth. Maedhros is the eldest son of Feänor, a Noldorin, elven craftsman who created three jewels, the Silmarils. He lived in Valinor, or the Undying Lands, with his six younger brothers, Maglor, Caranthir, Curufin, Celegorm, and Amrod and Amras (twins), and during his youth Maedhros became very close with Fingon, his cousin and son of Fingolfin, the half brother of Feänor. However, the Silmarils were stolen by Morgoth, the original Dark Lord, who fled with them across the sea to his fortress, Angband. Sauron is his "chief lieutenant," as Tolkein so names him. Feänor, enraged, made an oath (as did his sons) to cross the sea and take back the Silmarils from any who kept them from him and his family, known as the Oath of Feänor. His half-brothers, Fingolfin and Finarfin, and their people, also agreed to join him, but followed somewhat reluctantly. In order to travel across the sea, they needed ships, or else they must cross the icy Helcaraxë. The ships in question were built and guarded by the Teleri elves, their kin, and, through complications, there was a battle that resulted in a little something titled the First Kinslaying. Because there were not enough ships to take everyone, Feänor led his sons and his people away in the dead of night, taking the ships for themselves with the promise to send them back. He did not, instead burning them, and Fingolfin, his children (Fingon, Aredhel, Turgon, and Argon), his people, and the people and children of Finarfin (Finrod, Aegnor, Angrod, and Galadriel) were left to cross the Helcaraxë. I have begun at the burning of the ships at the bay of Losgar.

A quick note on the names used in this first part: everyone has many names, and while I have chosen to use their Sindarin names in the narration to retain clarity, the Quenyan names are used in dialogue until the introduction and use of Sindarin into the lives of the Noldor. Apologies if this causes some confusion.

In writing this, I have come to realise that the story of Maedhros is not simply the story of him. It is the story of Fingon, of Maglor, of all his brothers, and the people that followed him. It is the story of the rise of the great elven kingdoms so famed in song and lore, and it is the story of their fall. It is the story of myself, too, and as I continue to write I find myself continually bound in the tale that unfolds. I treat this as a work of historical fiction, and I carefully consult and review Tolkein's writings and build the story around his narrative. For it is he who has laid out the story, and I merely pick up the pieces, filling in the blank spaces with my imagination and knowledge of the mediaeval era. Tolkein's words are the backbone of this work, viewed as any other historical text. Though I profess to be true to his writing, I am continually working to make this as lore-accurate as possible, so the few inconsistencies are being picked out and fixed. And of course, my work is merely one of many interpretations, hence the name "'A' Chronicle" and not "'The' Chronicle".

I do not profess to be of the same calibre of those great loremasters of Arda. I merely wish to tell Maedhros' story, and the story of those close to him, to the fullest. If you, my friend, walk away from this work and think of it when you hear the name of Maedhros, Son of Feänor, then I will have done my job. I hope that you will find some of the value within it as I have, and I thank you for beginning this journey, long and hard as it may be.

Many thanks, and please stay safe in the tumultuous world of today.

-A.W.