Túrin, Part 2 by firstamazon

Túrin, Part 2

The first part of Túrin's biography outlined Túrin's childhood growing up in Hithlum until he moved into Doriath, where he lived under Elu Thingol's tutelage. Túrin had refused Thingol's pardon and decided he would be the outlaws' leader in a safer refuge outside of the Vale of Sirion.¹

For his part, Beleg returned to Dimbar to fight against raiding Orcs, where he unsheathed Anglachel for the first time, and it is told in The Silmarillion that the sword rejoiced in the bloodshed.² This is important information since the famed blade plays a crucial role in Túrin's life. We could even say it is an important character with a will and a voice of its own. Regardless of how its personality influences the story, when winter came, Beleg left his Elven companions and disappeared from their company.³

As it is told in The Children of Húrin, in addition to out-of-season rains, a greater number of Orcs troubled the western borders of Doriath, leaving Túrin's folk without protection or rest, more hunted than hunters,⁴ and thus, in the second summer after Túrin had fled Thingol's kingdom, he led his new people southward, to the western edge of the Sirion's Vale. While they took shelter from the rain in a holly thicket, one of their watchmen saw figures walking in the dim dusk.

They moved stealthily with heavy sacks; Andróg shot arrows and two fled, but the men managed to capture the one that lagged behind, binding him and mistreating him. Túrin reprimanded his men for such treatment as soon as he discovered that it was not an Orc, as Andróg had imagined⁵, but a Dwarf. And this is how Mîm, the Petty-dwarf, got entangled in Túrin's story.

Mîm and his two sons were the last of the Petty-dwarves, a race that had wandered westward and dwindled even before the return of Morgoth. They feared and hated the Orcs but hated the Eldar more, claiming that the exiled Noldor had stolen their lands and homes. They were smaller than the rest of their kin but equally sturdy and strong. Of Mîm, it is said that he was old even by the reckoning of Dwarves,⁶ and his people remembered only in old tales from Doriath and Nargothrond.⁷

The Dwarf begged for his life, and in turn, Túrin asked for a ransom: a safe, dry place where they could sleep. Mîm said he could not give away his home, being old as he was, but could share it, for it was spacious—and so Túrin accepted. He spared Mîm's life, despite Andróg's protests, as long as he led them without trickery. When Mîm suggested he would find light to lead the men, both Andróg and Túrin himself suspected the Dwarf would never return, so Túrin asked for his sack as a guarantee.

Mîm refused to leave it behind—which raised suspicion among the Men—and so he was taken to the outlaws' camp. There he was bound, and though he spent the whole night in silence, those who were on watch saw as his eyes "glinted and roved in the dark."⁸ The next morning, though, Mîm kept his promise and led Túrin and his band to the Amon Rûdh through a secret path that ran along the hillside. There they reached a cave that had been dug in the many long years before the Grey-elves came thither.

The cave was Bar-en-Danwedh, the House of Ransom, as Mîm called it. But as soon as they entered the cave, another Dwarf came and spoke quickly to Mîm—and from The Silmarillion we learn that this was Ibun, one of his sons.⁹ Túrin learned that one of Andróg's loose arrows had shot down Mîm's other son, Khîm. The Dwarf claimed that the night he spent bound in their camp prevented him from saving his kin. Túrin was appalled and offered compensation in gold if he ever came to wealth.

Mîm accepted Túrin's offer of ransom, but he also demanded that Andróg break his bow and arrows and even cursed him: the Man should never use a bow or arrows again or he would die by them. Andróg did indeed break his weapons for fear, but not before throwing a curse back at the Dwarf: that he would die with a dart in his throat.¹⁰ This was omitted in The Silmarillion, though it will be of significant importance later. It is relevant to remark that, in the Unfinished Tales, this is where Tolkien's Narn i Hîn Húrin prose narrative abruptly ends.¹¹ It will only resume much later, when Túrin returns to Dor-lómin after the fall of Nargothrond.

During their time in Amon Rûdh, Túrin and his outlaws ventured little outside of the cave's security, except for scavenging—food, water, and other supplies—always with Mîm and Ibun's guidance until Túrin finally learned the way through the secret path. Though most of his men were content with the exchange, Andróg was not,¹² and he yearned to be his own master again.

Later, the Men discovered that Mîm would not part from his sack because of its contents: a wild root that, when boiled, resembled bread—and, for that, they were glad. Mîm informed them that no one else knew about this root and that it had no name, save in Dwarvish. He also refused to teach Túrin's men how to find it, for in his own words, Men were "greedy and thriftless."¹³ But Mîm offered to share the roots as long as the Men didn't steal or spy.

An altercation then followed between Mîm and Ulrad, one of those who had bound him, and though Mîm claimed that he would not be parted from his possessions unwillingly, whatever they were, Ulrad was suspicious, for he had looked in the sack and saw there were other, heavier things that the Dwarf might be trying to hide from them. Túrin, in the end, silenced him, but the suspicion remained among them.

But for that, their lives in Bar-en-Danwedh were good enough, for they had food and shelter. The caves were vast, and though most of the chambers were empty, Mîm kept chests of stone and wood, vessels, and even dusty and rusted arms. Mîm worked in a smaller room that led to the main one, and he wouldn't allow anyone with him. And in The Children of Húrin, it is also stated that Mîm hid from the outlaws a secret hidden stair that led from his house to the summit of Amon Rûdh, but that Andróg came upon it by chance, getting lost in the caves while seeking Mîm's food storage.¹⁴ He also kept it secret from Túrin and the other men.

They ventured little once autumn came, finding it ever harder to trace their way back, for only Túrin and a few more were sure of the path.¹⁵ The men decided to put a watch day and night for fear of an attack. When the weather grew worse, the outlaws had to spend more and more time inside the caves and they regretted that it had to be done in Mîm's company, for the Dwarf had the strange habit of appearing out of nowhere, which made them uneasy,¹⁶ so much so that the outlaws started speaking in whispers with each other, fearing that Mîm would overhear.

The Silmarillion simply says that Mîm and Túrin talked a lot about many things, mainly about Mîm's knowledge and the story of his life.¹⁷ In The Children of Húrin, however, there is a claim to have existed even a friendship between Man and Dwarf, and that Túrin constantly listened to Mîm's counsels.¹⁸ They would sit together for hours, and if Mîm spoke ill of the Eldar, Túrin would say nothing—and perhaps this is how he gained the Dwarf's favor, for Túrin was the only one Mîm admitted to his smithy.

That winter brought heavy snows from the North as the power of Angband grew, and the men no longer ventured outside the caves. Many fell ill, and they suffered from hunger.¹⁹ One day, a cloaked figure appeared in their midst without warning, having evaded their watchers, and he turned out to be Beleg, who had brought them aid. Although Túrin and Beleg's reunion was merry, many of the men were not pleased to see the Elf again, for:

It seemed to them that there had been a tryst between Beleg and their captain, which he had kept secret from them; and Andróg watched them jealously as the two sat apart in speech together.²⁰

To the modern reader, the text implies that not only Túrin and Beleg were in a romantic relationship, but also that Andróg felt jealous that he was not his captain's chosen lover. It is said in The Children of Húrin that Beleg "yielded to his love against his wisdom"²¹ and that Túrin had his heart's desire granted (even if he regretted his previous stubbornness).

Beleg brought with him the Dragon-helm, in order to provoke Túrin into being more than just the leader of the outlaws, and also the lembas Melian had given him. Túrin begrudged Melian's favor and refused it, but Beleg was moved to anger and told him that if he wasn't willing to forget his pride, the others could benefit from the queenly gift. Túrin then admitted that he would accept anything Beleg had to offer him, even a scolding,²² if only the Elf didn't insist on returning to Doriath.

This is how Beleg decided to stay with the outlaws, by Túrin's side, enhancing their group with his wisdom and farsighted knowledge and tending to those who were sick. Hatred grew in the heart of Mîm for, as mentioned above, he hated the Elves, but also because Túrin stopped listening to his counsel, favoring that of Beleg instead. It is mentioned in The Silmarillion only that the Dwarf avoided everyone else, sitting in the darkest shadows of his home in the company of his son Ibun.²³

As the power of Angband grew, more and more Orcs came from the North through Anach,²⁴ and the northern marches of Doriath were taken by the enemy, Dimbar included. The only reason the Orcs didn't go as far as Nargothrond was because of the watchful eyes and the terror that lived in the red hill of Amon Rûdh,²⁵ where Túrin and Beleg worked tirelessly against the enemy's attacks. The Dragon-helm was seen again, striking fear in the Orcs, who would turn and flee before the fight had even begun. Through his heroic deeds, Túrin's name spread throughout the lands he inhabited, and it became a synonym of fear among his enemies. Rumour spread throughout Beleriand that the Bow and Helm that had once defended Dimbar were back, and the land they controlled became known as Dor-Cúarthol.²⁶

Hearing of this, many took heart and hope and came seeking Túrin, though they knew not where the outlaws' camp was. On Beleg's advice, that information was kept a secret, and the camp at the Amon Rûdh became known as the Echad i Sedryn, the Camp of the Faithful.²⁷ Other camps and fortifications were built along the Teiglin, and they could all see the commands issued from the top of the red hill.

It was also during this period that Mîm's curse on Andróg was fulfilled.²⁸ In that spring, the man defied it and decided to pick up a bow again to fight alongside his captain. In one of those forays, he was struck by a poisoned arrow and would have died were it not for Beleg's healing. With the Elf's help, Andróg avoided the curse, and Mîm's hatred grew ever stronger, reinforcing that the curse would eventually strike again.

As their fame grew throughout the lands of Beleriand, messengers were sent from Nargothrond, claiming that their Noldorin king, Orodreth, would not aid Túrin with a force of arms, but he offered help in any other way the Two Captains required—moved, perhaps, by the council of Melian and Thingol, with whom Orodreth kept correspondence.²⁹ Morgoth let the Two Captains prevail, and in his pride, Túrin took another name for the first time³⁰, and called himself Gorthol, the Dread Helm—thus, Morgoth's cunning was proved right, for he now recognized that the Helm of Hador was none other than Túrin, son of his captive Húrin. The Enemy, fearing even that Túrin would grow to such power as to overcome his curse—or would go back to Doriath and escape his sight once more—decided to seize Túrin while he had the upper hand of knowledge.

In his own artfulness, Beleg also felt that they were but burning the fingers of the Black Hand,³¹ and that revenge would soon befall them. He advised Túrin once more that they required a greater host to defend the hill. But Túrin, in his unfortunate shortsightedness, claimed that if he had to die, he would die the captain of his own host and would not ask for the aid of Doriath, as this was what Beleg had implied.

Thus it was that Morgoth sent out his most skilled spies, and the Amon Rûdh was surrounded. In The Silmarillion it is said that Mîm was made captive and promised to guide his enemies a second time to their hiding place.³² In return, he asked only that Gorthol wasn't killed, which made his Orc captives laugh in his face. The Children of Húrin tells, however, that Mîm knew of the Orc spies lurking about the hill and deliberately went seeking them to sell Túrin out—though there is a footnote that explains this tale changed,³³ and that only the capture of his son and the prospect of torture made him do it.

In any case, this version states that Mîm also made a demand: he wanted the weight in iron of each man and Túrin and Beleg's weight in gold, that his house be emptied and left to him and his son alone, and that Beleg be bound so the Dwarf could deal with the Elf on his own terms. Curiously and contradictorily, Mîm also requested that Túrin be set free—even if he had just asked for his weight in gold once captured.

The Orcs had no intention of fulfilling any of the demands except that Beleg should be left for Mîm to deal with. Their orders were to take Túrin alive to Angband. Even though Mîm tried to back out of the deal, they took his son hostage, and so he had no choice but to guide the Orcs to the caves. Once they fell upon the company, Túrin and Beleg retreated to the caves, and then Andróg showed them the secret stair that led out. The Two Captains held off the attack for a while, but they had no shelter on the hill's summit.

The Men fought bravely—most of all Andróg, who was felled by an arrow—but at the end, Túrin and Beleg were the last standing, and blood flowed from the seregon.³⁴ At last, the Orcs threw nets over the two of them, and they bound Túrin, carrying him off. Beleg was also bound, and "he was laid on the ground with wrists and ankles tied to iron pins driven into the rock."³⁵ The Orcs entered the caves and ravaged them, but they did not find Mîm, who hid in secret caves.

The versions of this point in the story lead to the same outcome, but it is described with a slight variation. In The Children of Húrin, Mîm came straight to Beleg, as if already knowing where the Elf lay and how to deal his fate, gloating over him while he sharpened a knife.³⁶ But in The Silmarillion, once the Orcs were gone, Mîm crawled out of the shadows to the light of the rising sun and stood with the dead without realizing that not all were, in fact, deceased, for Beleg looked back at him.³⁷ It was only then that the Dwarf's hatred reached its peak, and he decided to kill the Elf by drawing Anglachel from its sheath, but Beleg picked himself up, wrested the sword from him, and struck Mîm.

Curiously, the former version states that it is Andróg, also still alive if mortally wounded, who crawled among the bodies, seized a sword and thrust it at the Dwarf, who then fled in fear.³⁸ With his last strength, Andróg freed Beleg and later, too injured even for Elven medicine, he died, thus redeeming himself in some measure. As mentioned previously, the outcome is the same: in both cases, Mîm ran away, and Beleg, now free of his restraints, was able to tend to himself.

The Elf searched for Túrin among the dead and, not finding him, concluded that his friend or lover—depending on the interpretation—had been taken captive. The text claims that Beleg knew then that Túrin lived, though there is no confirmation that this was true: it is possible to assume that Beleg judged Túrin would be taken alive to Angband, and so he decided to track down the Orc party. Again, one version³⁹ tells us that he set out at once, given his great skill in healing, but the other says that he only did so once he was fully healed.⁴⁰

Beleg came upon their trail and, seeing that they had gone two different ways, followed the one that would cover the distance to Angband as fast as possible. Once he reached Taur-nu-Fuin, being of greater skill in tracking than any other in Middle-earth,⁴¹ Beleg strayed from the path and found another Elf sleeping under a tree. He gave the other some of his lembas and learned that he was named Gwindor, son of Guilin, an escapee from the bowels of Angband. It is implied in the text that Beleg knew Gwindor from the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, for seeing him now, he recognized Gwindor was "but a bent and timid shadow of his former shape and mood."⁴² The captive had escaped from the mines of the North at the cost of one of his hands and was disoriented and exhausted.

Gwindor told Beleg about the company of Orcs but informed him that they held no captives. While Beleg thought about turning back, they heard a great host approaching, laden with both booty and prisoners, surrounded by wolves, and Túrin was among them, his hands chained and forced to walk by the force of whips. Here is another minor difference from The Silmarillion, in which Gwindor instead says that he saw the Orcs dragging a very tall Man, such as they were in Hithlum—thus, Beleg knew it was Túrin.

Be that as it may, Gwindor tried dissuading Beleg of his mission, to which Beleg said he would not abandon Túrin, despairing but, in turn, giving Gwindor renewed hope. So together they went to free Túrin, and they followed the Orcs until they stopped to make camp with the Thangorodrim already in sight. As both Elves approached the camp, a storm also made its way from the North. They waited until the Orcs were all asleep and crept in, and found Túrin bound to a tree. His hands and feet were also in bonds, but he was unhurt, though sleeping from exhaustion.

Together, Beleg and Gwindor cut his bonds from the tree and carried him, still fettered, out of the camp. They didn't make it far, though, for Túrin was a heavy load. So they laid him on a thicket of thorn trees, and as they did so, the storm drew nearer, and lightning flashed in the sky. Beleg tried cutting Túrin's bonds with Anglachel, but as it is said in the text, "fate was stronger that day,"⁴³ for the sword slipped and pricked Túrin's foot.

The Man woke with a start and seeing someone bent over him with a blade in hand, his anger and fear blinded him. He fought Beleg, seized the sword, and killed him without knowing it was the Elf. A flash of lightning showed Túrin his real deed and how the curse set upon his house had finally caught up with him. Túrin was stone-still and could not move or say anything, his grief too great even for tears.

In the volumes of the History of Middle-earth we are given more information to sustain the assumption that Túrin and Beleg were de facto romantically involved—and that their friendship was not, as many believed, simply one of uninterested friendship. Following this line of thought, The Book of Lost Tales II states upon Beleg's death:

At length however it seemed to Flinding [early version of Gwindor] that the Orcs were astir, and so it was, for the shouts of Túrin had come to them; wherefore he said to Túrin: "The Orcs are upon us, let us flee," but Túrin answered not, and Flinding shook him, bidding him gather his wits or perish, and then Túrin did as he was bid but yet as one dazed, and stooping he raised Beleg and kissed his mouth.⁴⁴

Another passage, from The Lays of Beleriand, says things in a similar line:

But Túrin tearless turning suddenly
on the corse cast him, and kissed the mouth
cold and open, and closed the eyes.⁴⁵

This is, of course, one possible interpretation, though it is quite revealing to analyze the later—and tragic—developments in Túrin's life once we take this approach into consideration.

Returning to our retelling of Túrin's fate, once the Orcs had fled the approaching daylight, Gwindor tried rousing Túrin from his stupor, but the Man was not responding. They did manage to bury Beleg with his bow, Belthronding, but Gwindor kept Anglachel, as well as the lembas. The tragic end of Beleg would be forever marked in Túrin's heart and face and would guide his next steps closer toward his doom.

It is also where we choose to leave him again. The next and last part of Túrin's biography will focus on the latter happenings in the Elven kingdom of Nargothrond, his return to Dor-lómin, and finally, his days in Brethil.

Works Cited

1. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. The Children of Húrin, "Of Mîm the Dwarf."
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
8. The Children of Húrin, "Of Mîm the Dwarf."
9. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
10. The Children of Húrinn, "Of Mîm the Dwarf."
11. Unfinished Tales, Narn i Hîn Húrin, "Of Mîm the Dwarf."
12. The Children of Húrin, "Of Mîm the Dwarf."
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
18. The Children of Húrin, "Of Mîm the Dwarf."
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
24. The Children of Húrin, "The Land of Bow and Helm."
25. Ibid.
26. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
27. The Children of Húrin, "The Land of Bow and Helm"
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
33. The Children of Húrin, "The Land of Bow and Helm."
34. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
35. The Children of Húrin, "The Land of Bow and Helm."
36. Ibid.
37. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
38. The Children of Húrin, "The Land of Bow and Helm."
39. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
40. The Children of Húrin, "The Land of Bow and Helm."
41. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar."
42. The Silmarillion, "Of Túrin Turambar"; The Children of Húrin, "The Land of Bow and Helm."
43. Ibid.
44. The History of Middle-earth, Volume II: The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two, "Turambar and the Foalókë."
45. The History of Middle-earth, Volume III: The Lays of Beleriand, "The Lay of the Children of Húrin III: Failivrin," 1403-5.