Character of the Month: Salmar-Noldorin

Salmar is only mentioned once in the published Silmarillion, but it was not always that way. As our Character of the Month for April, Salmar shines brightest in his earliest roles in the legendarium, which were a muddle of ... almost everything. He was a sea god, a musician, a mentor to the not-easily-educable Noldor, and a warrior-bard. Perhaps this was the reason that Tolkien quickly dismantled Salmar's character, passing off his various roles to other characters in the legendarium (there are even germs of the stories of Maglor and Fingon in Salmar's earliest histories!) but retaining him as the character who made the sinister and powerful Ulumúri. (Although the Ulumúri, too, changed as Tolkien's writing evolved.)

You can read Dawn's biography of Salmar-Noldorin here.

Posted on 8 April 2023 (updated 5 May 2023) by SWG Moderators