#light of earendil
April Tolkien Challenge; Day 11
Light of Eärendil
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With the light of Eärendil, we are mostly talking about the Phial of Galadriel, which was gifted to Frodo by lady Galadriel upon the arrival of the fellowship in Lothlorien.
To discuss the Phial, the history of its contents are of high importance: As discussed in the Silmarilspost, the gems contained the light of the Two Trees, hence the name “Star” of Eärendil. The Silmaril known as the Star of Eärendil, is also the Silmaril that was once stolen by Beren, later held in the infamous Nauglamír. Elwing, who was the one to take the Silmaril with her as she cast herself into the sea, was also Eärendil’s wife. Having seen the despair of what happened by hand of the sons of Fëanor, Eärendil and his wife set out to find Valinor, or “The Undying Lands”.
Having ultimately found it, Eärendil promised to defeat the dark lord Morgoth, to which Manwë agreed on. He offered him and his wife a choice; both of them came from men and elven blood. They got the chance to decide whether to live the immortal life of elves, or the mortal life of men. After Elwing revealed she preferred the lengthy life of an elf, Eärendil followed her, and finally set out to fight Morgoth in the War of Wrath.
In the battle, he faces Ancalagon the Black in an aerial fight, accompanied by the Silmaril Elwing had saved:
“Now fair and marvelouswas that vessel made, and it was filled with a wavering flame, pure and bright; and Eärendil the Mariner sat at the helm, glistening with dust of elven-gems, and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow. Far he journeyed in that ship, even into the starless voids; but most often was he seen at morning or at evening, glimmering in sunrise or sunset, as he came back to Valinor from voyages beyond the confines of the world.”
-The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien
Followed by:
“Now when first Vingilot was set to sail in the seas of heaven, it rose unlooked for, glittering and bright; and the people of Middle-earth beheld it from afar and wondered, and they took it for a sign, and called it Gil-Estel, the Star of High Hope.”
-The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien
Becoming entranced by the light, the elves reflected the light in the fountain in Lothlorien, which is where the substance of Galadriel’s Phial comes from. Giving it to Frodo, she saved it would offer him light in dark places, and gratefully, the hobbit accepted the gift.
When struggling with containing the One Ring, Frodo touched the Phial of Galadriel in order to calm him down. The second use was shortly after, when being lured into Shelob’s lair by Gollum. Frodo used it to guide him through the halls and to keep Shelob at a distance. Samwise Gamgee took it from Frodo after he claimed he needed to cut down the webs in order to resume their path. When Shelob set out to kill Frodo, Sam forced the creature back, essentially saving Frodo from certain death.
After Frodo got taken to Cirith Ungol, Sam used the Phial twice to escape the eyes of Sauron. When the Eagles came to pick the pair up from Mount Doom, the Phial was still with them. It did not leave Middle-Earth until Frodo did, taking the ship to the Undying Lands with Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn.
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Sources:
-One Wiki To Rule Them All, Phial of Galadriel
-One Wiki To Rule Them All, Star of Eärendil
-One Wiki To Rule Them All, Eärendil
-Tolkien Gateway
-The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien
-Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson
-The Two Towers, JRR Tolkien
-Return of the King, JRR Tolkien
