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House of Bëor

Ted Nasmith - Felagund among Bëor's Men

The House of Bëor was the name given to the first of the three Houses of the Edain to cross the Ered Luin into Beleriand after travelling west, driven forth by the terrors wrought by Morgoth in the east. From the House of Bëor would come many famous lords and heroes, most notably Beren Erchamion who claimed a Silmaril from Morgoth's Iron Crown.


[edit] Origin

The Men of the House of Bëor descended from the tribes of Men who abanoned Hildórien for the West. They were at war with the Men who fell under the Shadow, and were pursued by them.[1] They followed a road around northern Rhûn where they met some Dwarves.[2] At the shores of the Sea of Rhûn a small part was separated, which would later become the House of Bëor. The Greater Folk, the ancestors of the House of Marach, came later in the north-east woods near the shores. They crafted boats and could sail the inland Sea, and seemed to had been related to the ancestors of the Northmen.[3]

The Folk of Beor didn't have beasts of burden so they were hardened by toilsome journeys carrying great loads. A group of 2000 poor and ill-equipped adult men found a way to pass the Blue Mountains.[1]

[edit] History

Under the leadership of Balan (later called Bëor), they crossed over the mountains into Thargelion in F.A. 310 and there were discovered by the Noldorin King Finrod Felagund, eldest son of Finarfin, thus they were the first men to encounter one of the Elves. Finrod befriended the House of Bëor (the First House of the Edain) and persuaded Thingol, overlord of Beleriand to grant the new arrivals lands which to inhabit. Thingol gave to them (and the other two Edain Houses that followed) land in the realm of the Noldorin Elf-lords Amrod and Amras, the youngest sons of Fëanor, of which this land was thereafter known as Estolad, the Encampment. In 402, there was fighting in the northern marches of Beleriand where the Orcs attempted to break through the Pass of Aglon. There Maedhros and Maglor, the eldest sons of Fëanor, threw back the invaders with the aid of the younger sons of Finarfin, Angrod and Aegnor their half-cousins; and Bëor, after entering into the service of the king of Nargothrond Finrod, was mostly with the Elf-lords of the House of Finarfin, Angrod and Aegnor, the younger brothers of King Finrod, was the first among Men to draw swords on behalf of the Eldar of Beleriand.[4]

In the reign of Boromir as Lord of the House of Bëor, great grandson of Bëor, the Bëorians were granted Ladros in Dorthonion (ruled by Finrod's brothers Angrod and Aegnor) as a feifdom of their own by the House of Finarfin which they inhabited until the Dagor Bragollach in 455 when Dorthonion and Ladros included were swept away by Morgoth's offensive and Boromir's grandson Bregolas, the third Lord of Ladros was slain, leaving the leadership of the ruined house to his brother Barahir.

Barahir did what he could to ensure the House's survival, sending the women and children to safety under the leadership of his wife Emeldir. They went to the forest of Brethil where some merged with the Haladin, but others (including Rían and Morwen) continued on to Dor-lómin and joined with the people of Galdor. Meanwhile Barahir remained in Dorthonion with his son Beren, Bregolas' sons Baragund and Belegund, and a dwindling company of men. Pressed by Sauron from Tol-in-Gaurhoth this company was eventually betrayed by one of their members Gorlim the Unhappy, revealing Barahir's hideout at Tarn Aeluin. All the company were destroyed save Beren who was away scouting when the attack happened. None the less, from that point on the House of Bëor ceased to be an independent entity and its people joined the surviving Houses of Men.

[edit] Physical Characteristics

The Bëorians were noted as being very akin to the Noldor in their appearance. They had dark or brown with grey or brown eyes, and some among them were fair-haired; their skin ranged from fair to even swarthy. Most were broad and of stocky build; those as tall as those of the Folk of Hador were rare.[5][1]:308

They were eager, smart and quick in learning, cunning-handed and long in memory. They were moved sooner to pity than to laughter.[5] They are also described to be more steadfast even than the Folk of Hador, fortituously endurng hardships and sorrows, slow to cry and to laugh.[1]

Many of those descended from Bëorian stock had the traits most akin to those of the Noldor, such as Túrin Turambar whose mother Morwen Eledhwen was Bëorian. He was mistaken for one of the Noldor, inspiring his name Adanedhel, meaning 'Man-elf'.

[edit] Genealogy

[edit] The Family Tree of the House of Bëor

Showing the descendants of Bëor, the First House of the Edain. All information in the tree is from The War of the Jewels, (i) The House of Bëor,[6] unless otherwise specified. The figures after the names are births and deaths where recorded (when only one figure is shown, marked as 'b.', it indicates a date of birth). All dates shown are from the First Age; when no dates are shown then that person was not of the House of Bëor. A dagger symbol '†' signifies those who did not die of old age. A name preceded by '#*' indicates a ruler of the house, with the number specifying the order. Names in italics indicate women.

In the tree the following colors are used: White - House of Bëor, Blue - House of Haleth, Yellow - House of Hador, Green - Elves, Turquoise - Half-elven, and Red - Later Houses of Men.

1* Balan
Bëor the Old
[note 1]
2* Baran
b. 292
3* Boron
b. 317
b. 316
4* Boromir
b. 340
b. 340
[note 2]
b. 339
5* Bregor
b. 361
b. 365
b. 374
b. 386
b. 389
6* Bregolas
[note 3]
b. 397
7* Barahir
[note 4]
Two unnamed
older children
Emeldir the
b. 406
b. 409
b. 411
of Brethil
b. 417

[note 5]
[note 6]
[note 7]
8* Beren
432-465 †, 465-501
[note 8]
the Lame †

[note 9]

[note 10]
[note 11]
[note 12]
[note 13]
b. 503
House of Elros
House of Isildur
House of Anárion

[edit] House of Bëor Notes

  1. Balan became a vassal of King Felagund and took the name "Bëor", meaning "vassal". Later, since he lived to the age of 93, the epithet "the Old" was appended to his name.
  2. Bereg led a thousand followers out of Beleriand; his fate is unknown.
  3. Bregolas died in the Dagor Bragollach.
  4. Barahir was slain in the Massacre of Tarn Aeluin.
  5. Beleth's distant descendant in the Second Age was Beregar, the father of Queen Erendis of Númenor.
  6. Baragund was a member of Barahir's outlaw band in Dorthonion after the Dagor Bragollach and was slain by Orcs in the Massacre at Tarn Aeluin.
  7. Belegund was also a member of Barahir's outlaw band and was slain by Orcs in the Massacre at Tarn Aeluin.
  8. Beren died from wounds received from the bites of Carcharoth, the Wolf of Morgoth. However, he returned to Middle-earth and lived with Lúthien before dying again.
  9. Morwen, spent from years of wandering in the wilderness, died upon the mound that held her son Túrin, which was also a memorial to her daughter Nienor.
  10. Rían made her way to the Haudh-en-Nirnaeth after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad where she laid herself down and died.
  11. Dior died in Menegroth when the sons of Fëanor attacked to take the Silmaril that had been set in the Nauglamír.
  12. Eluréd was seized by Celegorm's servants during the Second Kinslaying and left in the forest to die of starvation. [In The Silmarillion, Eluréd was renamed from "Eldún".]
  13. Elurín was seized by Celegorm's servants during the Second Kinslaying and left in the forest to die of starvation. [In The Silmarillion, Elurín was renamed from "Elrún".]

