Finwë

Finwë was born beside Cuiviénen well before the beginning of the First Age. When the Elves were found by Oromë, Finwë went to Valinor with Ingwë and Elwë as ambassadors, and on their return they convinced many of their kin to travel west on the Great Journey.

Finwë was king of the Ñoldor, and close friends with Elwë of the Teleri, who did not come to Valinor (having gone missing and missed the journey across the sea). Together with Ingwë and the Vanyar, Finwë and the Ñoldor settled and built the city of Tirion in Valinor. Finwë married Míriel Serindë, a great weaver and craftswoman. Their son was Fëanor, the greatest craftsman of the Ñoldor. Míriel, after Fëanor's birth, was weary and became the first Elf to die in Aman. Finwë, grieved and lonely, eventually took a second wife, Indis of the Vanyar, and they had four children together, among them Fingolfin. Fëanor resented most of this, and did not get along well with his half-siblings, despite Finwë's attempts at mediation (this divide was also exacerbated by the whisperings of Morgoth).

Finwë's love was greatest for Fëanor, however, and when his eldest son's words earned him twelve years of exile from the city of Tirion, Finwë renounced the kingship of the Noldor, leaving it to Fingolfin, went with Fëanor and his sons and they built the fortress of Formenos in the north of the Undying Lands. Finwë remained here until the Darkening of Valinor, when Laurelin and Telperion were destroyed by Morgoth and Ungoliant. When Morgoth and Ungoliant came to Formenos, in flight from the Valar and also to loot the jewels of the Noldor (the Silmarils especially), Finwë alone stood against them, and became the first Elf to be killed in the Undying Lands.

In the halls of Mandos Finwë met Míriel again, and when offered a return to the world of the living, he refused, letting Míriel take the opportunity and intending to await Fëanor's coming to the halls of the dead.

See also:

• Laws and Customs Among the Eldar -(greater detail about Míriel and Finwë)
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