The Complete Tolkien Companion (20 page)

Celebrindal
‘Silver-foot' (Sind.) –
See
IDRIL CELEBRINDAL
.

Celebrindor
‘Land-of-Silver' (Sind.) – From 1191–1272 Third Age, the fifth King of Arthedain.

Celebros
‘Silver-foam' (Sind.) – A stream of the Forest of Brethil, whose source may have lain on Amon Obel. It flowed westwards, down through the steep woodlands, until finally it fell into the swift Teiglin in a fall called Dimrost, the ‘Rainy-stair'.

Celegorm the Fair
– The third Son of Fëanor, born in Eldamar during the Years of the Trees. During that time he came to be accounted among the following of Oromë the Vala; and Celegorm learned much of the lore of living creatures. He was the most woodcrafty of all the High-elves, being called also The Huntsman of the Noldor. Together with his six brothers, he took the Oath of Fëanor and came back to Middle-earth in a great fleet of ships to make war upon Morgoth, who had stolen the Silmarils. In the first battle fought by the Noldor against Angband, Celegorm played a singular part; for it was he who, passing first of all across the Mountains of Shadow, was in a position to bear down victoriously on the flank of an orc-host: that same host which had previously laid siege to the Havens of the Falas (
see
BATTLES OF BELERIAND
) and which, hitherto undefeated, was moving north to the aid of their comrades fleeing from the Noldor. After this battle Celegorm, together with Curufin, his closest friend and ally among the brethren, took up his abode in Himlad, the region between the Aros and the Celon; there they dwelt for four centuries, until the Battle of Sudden Flame overthrew their realm.

Celegorm is also renowned as being the master of the Hound of Valinor. This was Huan, who aided the quest of Beren and Lúthien, and who afterwards slew the great Wolf Carcharost. Huan forsook Celegorm in order to aid Beren and Lúthien, twice frustrating evilly motivated attempts by the brethren Celegorm and Curufin to abduct and imprison Lúthien. And although he returned briefly to Celegorm's service, he later rejoined Beren and Lúthien and fell at last in battle at Beren's side.

However, since the Dagor Bragollach and the destruction of the realm that he and his brother had ruled, Celegorm had now fallen into evil patterns of thought. In him, and in the brethren Caranthir and Curufin, the Oath they had taken indeed had wrought most grievous effects. And as they could work no destruction upon Morgoth – or indeed do anything at all to fulfil their Oath – they turned their counsels and their arms against their own kin. In the growing darkness of their hearts they had lost the ability to distinguish friend from foe.

Soon they came, by guile, to dominate the counsels of Nargothrond, where Finrod Felagund had given them shelter; and they successfully forced him to abdicate in favour of themselves. It was at that time that Lúthien, fleeing from Doriath, came among the Elves of Nargothrond; but Celegorm and Curufin imprisoned her – though not harshly, for Celegorm desired her. But now Huan the Hound of Valinor helped her escape from Nargothrond; and when, at a later time, she was again threatened with capture by Celegorm, Huan, who had meanwhile returned to the service of his master, now abrogated him for ever.

Soon afterwards Celegorm and Curufin, and Caranthir their brother, fell into the greatest evil of all. For, learning of the Silmaril which was lodged in Menegroth, they determined, according to their vow, to seize it for themselves. For the second time there was battle and murder in the halls of Menegroth in Doriath. In that fight Celegorm was slain by Dior Eluchíl, Thingol's heir.

Celepharn
– From 1110–91 Third Age, fourth King of Arthedain, father of Celebrindor.

Celon
‘Falling-water' (Sind.) – A tributary of the river Aros; the eastern border of Himlad. Its source was in the Hills of Himring.

Celos
– A river of Lebennin, draining the southern slopes of the White Mountains into the Great River. It was not a major stream, being a tributary of the larger Sirith, which it joined some twenty-five leagues north of Pelargir. Also spelt
Kelos.

Cemendur
– From 158–238 Third Age, the fourth King of Gondor.

Ceorl
– ‘Churl' or ‘fellow' in the tongue of Rohan.

Cerin Amroth
– The name given in Lothlórien to the dwelling-mound of the Elven-prince Amroth. ‘Upon it, as a double crown, grew two circles of trees: the outer had bark of snowy white, and were leafless but beautiful in their shapely nakedness; the inner were mallorn-trees of great height, still arrayed in pale gold. High amid the branches of a towering tree that stood in the centre of all there gleamed a white flet.'
4

The mound, which was not natural but had been piled by the labour of many Elves, was regarded by many of the Elves as the ancient heart of the forest. Cerin Amroth was also the place where Aragorn II and Arwen daughter of Elrond plighted their troth; and it was where Arwen lay down to die after the death of her husband and lord, many years later.

Cermië
(Q.) – The seventh month in Kings' and Stewards' Reckoning and the fourth in the New Reckoning, being roughly equivalent to our July in all three systems. The Dúnedain called this month by its Sindarin name
Cerveth.
The Hobbits of the Shire knew it as
Afterlithe,
while in Bree it was called
The Summerdays.

Certar
– The Quenya word for ‘runes', referring in particular to the
ALPHABET OF DAERON
. They were known to the Sindar as
certhas
(or
Cirth
) the name for the system as a whole.

Certhas
–
See
CERTAR
above.

Cerveth
–
See
CERMIË
.

Chalcedony
– A mineral composed of pacted silica, usually banded, translucent, of a waxy lustre and extremely beautiful.

Chamber of Mazarbul
– The Chamber of Records of Old Moria, situated on the seventh Level near the twenty-first Hall of the North End. In it were originally kept many chests containing inscribed stone tablets and ancient books of the Dwarves. But following the flight from Moria by the Dwarves – after the coming of the Balrog in 1980 Third Age – the Chamber was plundered by Orcs. None of the original records survived at the time of the War of the Ring.

The Chamber of Mazarbul was later used by Balin son of Fundin as a throne-room after his expedition entered Moria (2989 Third Age). Following his death, the remnant of his colony fought to the last in this chamber, falling finally in defence of Balin's tomb.

Chambers of Fire
– A translation of the Sindarin words
Sammath Naur;
a massive tunnel and shaft delved into the cone of the volcano Orodruin to gain access to the vast furnaces of the Mountain: the Cracks of Doom. Here Sauron forged the One Ring.

Chetwood
– A sizeable stretch of wooded area commencing on the north-eastern borders of the Bree-land and running for two days' march into the wild country beyond.

Chieftains of the Dúnedain
– For the three thousand years following the establishment of the Númenorean realms-in-exile, Gondor and Arnor, both kingdoms were under almost constant assault by foes of the Men of Westernesse. In Gondor, though the Line of Elendil ultimately failed, the Realm survived and the Dúnedain of the South were then ruled by the House of the Stewards. But in Arnor, even though both the kingship and the state were destroyed, the Line of Isildur Elendil's son endured against all odds.

In 1974 Third Age, with the passing of Arvedui ‘Last-king' – and the realm of Arthedain, last remnant of ancient Arnor – the surviving Dúnedain of that land forsook open royalty and passed into the shadows as Rangers of the wild. The Heir of Isildur was then known as Chieftain of the Dúnedain of Arnor, as an affirmation that, one day, the North-kingdom would be re-established. The first to take the title was Aranarth, son of Arvedui. There were fifteen Chieftains before Aragorn II and the renewal of Arnor's royalty. Their names were: Aranarth, Arahael, Aranuir, Aravir, Aragorn I, Araglas, Arahad I, Aragost, Aravorn, Arahad II, Arassuil, Arathorn I, Argonui, Arador and Arathorn II. Though their self-imposed tasks of watchfulness and guardianship went largely unthanked (and unnoticed), the Chieftains never lost pride in their lineage – or hope in the eventual restoration of the fortunes of their House. Each Chieftain was brought to manhood in Elrond's house, where also were kept the Heirlooms of the Line of Isildur: the Sceptre of Annúminas, the Ring of Barahir, the shards of the sword Narsil and the silver circlet, the Elendilmir, worn by the Kings of Arnor.

Children of Eru
– A translation of the Eldarin words
Erusen
and
Eruhíni:
Elves and Men. Also called the Children of Ilúvatar or
Híni Ilúvataro
(Q.).

Children of the Sun
– Men.

Chithing
– The fourth month of the Bree-reckoning, corresponding to
astron
in Shire-usage.

Chubb
– A prosperous family of Hobbits in the Shire.

Chubb-Baggins
– A family of Shire Hobbits. The first Chubb-Baggins was Falco, son of Bingo (Baggins) and Chica (Chubb).

Círdan the Shipwright
– One of the mighty among the Grey-elves of the First, Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth; successively Lord of the Falathrim of Eglarest and Brithombar; Lord of the Isle of Balar; Lord of Lindon and Guardian of the Grey Havens.

In his origins he was a noble Telerin Elf, a kinsman of Elwë Thingol of the kindred of the Sindar, whose people lingered in Beleriand when the remaining Eldar crossed for the first time into the West; they did so because of the pleas of the Maiarin Sea-lord Ossë. There, while at the same time Elwë Thingol was founding his realm of Doriath deep in the heart of the forests, they dwelt on the coasts; for they were enamoured of the Sea, and Ossë desired that they should live on the borders of his domain. They were afterwards called the Falathrim, the ‘Coast-elves'. The chief of these was Círdan. His chief city was Eglarest, though at that time his people also founded the Haven of Brithombar. (These were the two most ancient harbours of the Elves in Middle-earth.)

Throughout the War of the Jewels Círdan remained for the most part in the Falas, guarding the coasts (with aid from Finrod of Nargothrond;
see
BARAD NIMRAIS
) against any assault from Angband that might arrive by sea; though on one occasion at least he took the field of battle with a host, and that was seven years after the Battle of Sudden Flame, when he led a seaborne force to the aid of Fingon the High King, beleaguered in Hithlum and in desperate straits, playing a decisive part in that slender victory. But twenty-eight years afterwards there came the Day of Lamentation, the Battle of Numberless Tears, in which the hosts and the kingdoms of the Noldor were thrown down for ever; and in the aftermath of that terrible defeat the armies of Morgoth laid siege to the Havens of Eglarest and Brithombar, and took them, and destroyed them. Círdan and the remnant of his people then went aboard the last ships and fled to the offshore Isle of Balar, where they lay hid for the rest of the war.

During the Second and Third Ages Círdan the Shipwright – who dwelt after the ruin of Beleriand in Lindon, at the Grey Havens founded in Year One, Second Age – was accounted the wisest of the Eldar; to him Celebrimbor gave one of the Three Rings, Narya the Great, Ring of Fire. At the end of the Second Age Círdan marched with Gil-galad in the Army of the Last Alliance and, together with Elrond, Herald of Gil-galad, he stood at the side of the last King of Lindon during the final combat with Sauron on the slopes of Orodruin, watching in sorrow as Gil-galad fell.

In about the thousandth year of the Third Age the Wizard Gandalf the Grey arrived at the Grey Havens; Círdan then surrendered the Ring Narya to him; for he knew whither Mithrandir came and when he would depart. In the years that followed, Círdan aided the Dúnedain of the North-kingdoms as often as he might; he led the forces of Lindon which crossed the Lhûn in 1974 Third Age and overthrew the Witch-king of Angmar at the Battle of Fornost, a military feat recalling the battle in Hithlum long before.

But Círdan was still the Keeper of the Havens, the Elves' Shipwright, and his heart dwelt by the Sea. It is told that he remained at the Havens until the end, sailing West himself on the last ship to leave Middle-earth.

Ciril
– A river of Lamedon in southern Gondor. It rose in a high vale of the White Mountains, flowed south past the hill-town of Calembel, and joined the Ringló some fifteen leagues below the Ethring Ford.
Also
spelt
Kiril.

Cirion
– From 2489–2567 Third Age, the twelfth Ruling Steward of Gondor. It was during his long Stewardship that Gondor was threatened by the Easterlings known as the Balchoth, who dwelt at that time south and east of Mirkwood. Fearing invasion, Cirion sent north for aid from the Horsemen of Éothéod, northern folk friendly to Gondor. Before his messages could arrive, however, the Balchoth swarmed across the Great River and began to pillage the northern province of Calenardhon. Cirion dispatched the Northern Army of Gondor to hold the invaders, but disaster struck and the Dúnedain were soon in desperate straits. It is told elsewhere (
see
BATTLE OF THE FIELD OF CELEBRANT
) how the Men of Éothéod arrived in the nick of time. In his wisdom, Cirion chose to repay the Riders of Éothéod by granting them the province they had saved (in exchange for an Oath of Alliance).

Cirith Dúath
‘Shadow-cleft' (Sind.) – The name originally given in Gondor to the pass later called Cirith Ungol.