The Wars of the Glorfindels - Page 10
© Michael Martinez
Few if any of the "elder" Noldor seem to have gone into exile. Nerdanel, Feanor's wife, did not go with him. Nor did her father Mahtan, or any member of their family (except the sons of Feanor and Nerdanel). So Glorfindel probably could not have been an "elder" among the Noldor at the time of the rebellion. He may have been the son of a Noldorin lord and Vanyarin lady who had befriended Turgon, and as one of Turgon's friends may have followed him out of loyalty and sense of youthful adventure.
Another possibility is that Glorfindel was the son of a Vanyarin lord and a Noldorin wife. Less likely would be a more remote Vanyarin ancestry. Few of the Vanyar appear to have been living in Tirion upon Tuna at the time of Feanor's rebellion. Most of them had moved on to the slopes of Taniquetil or the woodlands of Valinor or the area of Valmar. If he came from the Vanyar, Glorfindel's family must therefore have had close ties to the Noldor.
In the final analysis Glorfindel remains as much a mystery as ever. We know virtually nothing of his place within Eldarin society, who his relatives were (apparently all or most had died in Middle-earth, as Tolkien mentioned he was the first of his family to be released from Mandos in one of the two Glorfindel essays), or even what his specific relationship to Turgon was (except as a follower in the hierarchy of Gondolin's nobility).
And Glorfindel's history is far from complete. We can only trace his movements in the most general fashion. Perhaps he spent a fair amount of time with Gandalf, wandering around the northern lands. It would be hard to imagine a book written solely about Glorfindel, though he and Gandalf would make quite a pair of adventurers. Perhaps in the year 2061 or thereabouts a television series concerning the two will be launched, and Tolkien fans will at long last get to explore some the fascination this character holds for them.
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