" 'Tis Telchar's work of worth untold, its wearer warded from wound or magic, from glaive guarded or gleaming axe. " [The Lay of the Children of HĂșrin (678-680)] Telchar. Firebeard. Smith of Tumunzahar, great Dwarven city in the Blue Mountains. Student of Gamil-Zirak.
(Okay, this came up because of a post I wrote yesterday in which I mentioned that Narsil was originally owned by Maglor⊠and then later realized that we donât actually know that for sure. As soon as this is posted Iâll edit that first post with a link to this one, which explores who might have owned Maglor (based on actual textual evidence and not just my lazy headcanon, sorry about that.))
In Fellowship of the Ring, Narsil is introduced very simply as the sword of Elendil. And that might have been the most we ever knew of itâs history, except that while in Edoras Aragorn mentions that âTelchar first wrought it in the deeps of time.â (And then if you look at Narsilâs entry in the Silmarillionâs index, itâs also mentioned that the sword was made by Telchar.) Now, this isnât the first time weâve heard about Telchar, especially in relation to famous artifacts from the First Age. This is the great dwarf smith of Nogrod who made the Dragon-helm of Dor-lomin and Angrist, the knife Beren used to cut the silmaril from Morgothâs crown. But Tolkien never actually tells us how the sword gets from Telchar to the Numenoreans. But, based on what we know of Telchar and his other works, there are two strong possibilities:
Telchar > Caranthir > Maglor > Elros
Telchar was a dwarf of Nogrog. The dwarves of Nogrod traditionally did a fair bit of trading with the elves in Beleriand. The Noldor especially had a pretty good relationship with the dwarves (due to their shared love of craftsmanship, and Aule), and itâs said in The Silmarillion that Caranthir ruled a good deal of the land that bordered the Blue Mountains, and had a solid working relationship with the dwarves there, so that âgreat riches came to him.â I already explained in this post that I think the most likely way that Angrist came to Curufin (from whom Beren took it), was via Caranthir, and I think itâs likely that Narsil traveled a similar path. It was first given to Caranthir, who gave it to one of his brothers (probably either Maehdros or Maglor.) Then, later in the First Age when Elrond and Elros were basically raised by Maglor, I think he would have given the sword to Elros - and thus Telcharâs sword came to be an heirloom of Numenor.
Telchar > Thingol > Elwing > Elros
The other possibility is through the second regular recipient of dwarvish goods in Beleriand - Thingol. Before their relationship went tragically sour, Doriath used to do a lot of trade with the dwarves of the Blue Mountains. And in the âNarn i Hin Hurinâ itâs said that âThingol had in Menegroth deep armouries filled with great wealth of weapons: metal wrought like fishesâ mail an shining like water in the moon; swords and axes, shields an helms, wrought by Telchar himself or by his master Gamil Zirak the old.â It could be that one of these swords was Narsil, and that later when Dior was king of Doriath the sword came to be owned by his daughter Elwing, who could have brought it with her from Doriathâs destruction and to the Havens of Sirion. She then could have left it with her sons (specifically Elros), again explaining how Telcharâs sword came to be a Numenorean heirloom. Personally I think the Feanorian explanation is more likely (mostly because we already know for sure that the Doriath version is how Thingolâs sword Aranruth came to Numenor, and it somehow seems unlikely to me that two swords would have been passed down like this - especially since both Elwing and Elros were very young (less than 10 years old) when they would have been given these swords.)
SOURCES: The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales (âNarn i Hin Hurinâ), LotR
This is not at all related to Telchar, but, in case you somehow noticed, I am pretty fond of and Maeglin (and Aredhel too! the whole Nan Elmoth gang, really), this post is just some things I was thinking of, so I figured Iâd write them up while they were still fresh. Now, I donât pretend to be an expert on anything Tolkien related, not Dwarves, not Elves, not anything, and I donât really pay attention to the whole knowledgeable community thing and its meta, so maybe Iâm totally wrong on this, but whatever.
This first part is common sense, so Iâll be brief. Obviously many of Tolkienâs characters underwent a series of modifications and serious redesigns (Telchar included, to some extent, even), which we can read about in the various Histories and Appendices and what have you. But all of those characters ended up with a finalized, published form which we respect as canon, calling upon their predecessors simply to fill in holes and make them more three dimensional and interesting than their (sometimes very brief) canonical appearances can. So, just saying, I think itâs really important to consider that when investigating any character.
Which brings me to my second point. Everything herein is in regards to these (infamous, possibly) line from Of Maeglin (Chapter 16 of the Silmarillion), particularly the first sentence:
âIt is not said that Aredhel was wholly unwilling, nor that her life in Nan Elmoth was hateful to her for many years. For though at Eöl's command she must shun the sunlight, they wandered far together under the stars or by the light of the sickle moon; or she might fare alone as she would, save that Eöl forbade her to seek the sons of FĂ«anor, or any others of the Noldor.â
This line, I agree, can pretty easily be interpreted as uncomfortabley-close-to-the-noncon-line; thatâs how I saw it the first time I read it, but really thinking about it, that seems like such a flat, boring, oversimplified interpretation, that doesnât match up with the rest of Tolkienâs writing.
Itâs easy to see this sentence as saying, âWell, she wasnât wholly unwilling, but...*dubious eyebrow raise*â but what I think itâs really saying is âAfter you read the rest of this chapter (and any additional, previous versions of the legendarium), I know what itâs going to seem like; youâre going to think, âgosh this guy is the absolute worst, heâs such an asshole, she must have suffered and hated it so muchâ and you wouldnât be wrong, but itâs not that simple either; she really wasnât wholly unwilling. In the beginning, at least, she didnât hate her life with him; there were a few very specific things he wouldnât allow, but other than that she was free to do as she would, so she sacrificed those things, and her misery was something that grew, and developed, and became too much to bear only after the passage of many years.â
Yeah, so thatâs what I have to say. Probably itâs all been said before, but whatever.
   âThe kingdom comes crashing,Â
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                                   Down Â
                                          into
                                                ashes.
                    Careful what youâre asking for.â
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Telchar has made of terrible habit of not being âup on current events.â Though, thatâs partly him just pretending; he usually is aware of things that are actually important and relevant.
He doesnât like politics.
His parents were not particularly notable Dwarves, and neither especially had skill in metalwork. His father was a mason of average talent, whereas his mother had a head for numbers and kept books for a variety of local merchants and tradesmen.
The obvious answer is that nothing makes him happier than drowning out the rest or the world in the midst of his craft, but he also takes great joy in a variety of simpler things. Seeing children eager to learn, especially metalwork but also more generally, brings him great happiness, as does spending good time conversing with interesting people.
Send â for an ANGER headcanon.Â
Few things make Telchar truly angry, but he is fiercely loyal, as many Dwarves are, so among them is threatening his kin and friends. Itâs much easier to annoy him than make him actually angry, but even then he usually does a good job of keeping it to himself.
He dipped his head to Telchar with a smile curling at his lips. It felt good to spend time with the friend of his father - their relationship had changed over years from something of a professional distance to a little closer than that.
Maeglinâs cheeks flushed again, and another smile broadened across his face. âNo, and I am glad that âcuteâ is no longer a quality I have. I remember being shorter than you when I was a âwee lad.â More seriously, I like to think we are friends.â In truth, friends were few and far between, and unless he counted a servant of his fatherâs that spoke to him every now and then, then most of what could be considered his friends were in a place he could only go once a year at best - or when his father agreed to let him come with him. âIt has been a year since I saw you last; I feel like we must catch up. What has happened here since I was last here?â
âShorter than me,â Telchar muttered, rolling his eyes. âDonât come complaining to me if you go hitting your head on the roof of a tunnel, sprouting up like a tree like that.â He gave the elf a critical once-over, but then he chuckled and smiled. âIâm glad you think so; gotta have someone to poke fun at your father with, after all.â
Then he sighed thoughtfully. âAye, I suppose it really has been that long since you last came around,â He thought for a long moment. âNothing much out of the ordinary, I suppose,â The dwarves of Nogrod had been busy, as usual, minding their own business, working on various projects, and trading across the land. âOh, but AzaghĂąl and some others from Belegost visited for a while, a ways back. I was busy working on some things, so not sure exactly what for; something political, I imagine. Someoneâdâve let me know if itâd had anything to do with me, probably...â He was in fact generally on good terms with the Lord of Belegost, but that wouldnât stop his lighthearted grumblings. âToo much pomp and circumstance, regardless if you ask me, but, still, any excuse to break out the good ale is a good one, I suppose.â He trailed off with a wink.Â
âAnd how have things fared in the great Nan Elmoth? What does a lad like you even do there all day?â He scratched his chin. âI canât imagine living in a forest...â
Even though he never married (never even thought about marrying, really) and certainly never had kids of his own, Telchar really loves children. He loves seeing the eager look in their eyes and their enthusiasm to learn.
Telchar is (un)surprisingly inept at cooking. He burns everything. So, he refuses to even try, insisting that heâll burn the whole city down if anyone lets him boil a potato.
How is Telchar perceived by his peers? What is his reputation like amongst his people and how does he handle his rising fame?
[[First let me apologize because this may be the least concise thing I have ever written.]]
Due to his amiable personality and single-minded dedication to his craft, Telchar is generally very well liked by his peers. Amongst general society, he tries to conduct himself with graciousness and wishes to be considered little more than a simple, albeit talented, smith. Heâs both well known and well respected, for sure, but heâs not entirely certain, or interested, beyond that. Heâd rather just be left to his work than have to deal with any notoriety and whatever it implies.
He can come off as a bit aloof, insistent, and even rude in certain instances, but it is entirely unintentional; he knows what heâs doing, he knows what he wants, and most of all he knows his craft; amongst Dwarves, he is the best at it, and he knows it, even if he doesnât say so in so many words. That confidence and unyielding certainty is easily interpreted in a variety of ways (for better or worse).
[[This ended up getting rather lengthy, since I thought there were quite a few aspects to consider here, so I put full version under a cut. Please forgive any repetition; I wrote the top part after the part under that cut.]]
Obviously, Telchar can only speak for himself, but heâs not stupid, so he does know something of how others perceive him.
For a long time, he didnât particularly notice either any positive or negative attention, being too absorbed in learning and improving and generally crafting and being only concerned with Gamilâs opinion of him. Then, somewhere along the way, it was brought to his attention that heâd reached a level of notoriety that he couldnât continue to ignore. It all just sort of happened; it wasnât really such a sudden thing, but he hadnât particularly realized that it was happening until it already had.
Once that point was reached, he settled into it with a surprising ease and graciousness, carrying on more or less as he always has. Heâsreally good at what he does, and he knows it, but his attitude about it is more along the lines of âthatâs just the way it is,â rather than seeing it as something to brag about. But itâs not just that; heâs really good, specifically at something his people hold in high esteem, which expectedly implies a certain level of âcelebrity,â even.
It hasnât hurt him, either, that his personality lends itself to creating a positive, if high-profile, reputation. Save for a few specific incidents and in regards to a select few issues, Telchar is generally a rather jovial Dwarf, so he makes friends easily and is perfectly friendly even if he isnât especially âfriendsâ with someone. He laughs readily and has a good sense of humor (though heâs probably not as funny as he thinks he is) and, unless youâre interrupting him in the smithy, converses and interacts with nearly anyone with ease and general companionability. So, given that, in his experience, he is generally liked and respected by his peers.
Of course, there are always some individuals who grate his nerves or canât stand to be second-best (theyâre Dwarves; theyâre stubborn and proud!), but he usually just ignores them. This can give some the impression that heâs aloof, but really he just doesnât see the point in wasting time arguing or dealing with people like that.
Similarly, heâs been known to accidentally insult people with his jokes, especially with off-hand remarks about their smithwork, but itâs never maliciously intended and happens rarely enough that it hasnât had any effects on his reputation, at least that heâs noticed.
On the other hand, unless youâre really close friends with him (or youâre Gamil Zirak, but he counts his master as a friend, so same thing), he doesnât take kindly to people speaking ill of his work, even jokingly. He pays little mind to what people say about him personally, as he is well liked enough for it to not cause any harm, and he welcomes relevant criticism and suggestions, but his work is his life and his greatest pride and it is one of the very few things which he takes entirely seriously.
Heâs also the sort who, even if someone commissions something very specific, will change the design as he sees fit, always to improve it (i.e. to make it function better, look better, be more practical, etc). As far as heâs concerned, his reasoning is sound; firstly, his customers are paying a good bit of coin for his work, so he doesnât intend to give them anything less than the best, even if âthe bestâ is not exactly what they thought they wanted, and secondly because itâs simple brand-control. Ultimately his creations represent himself to all those who encounter them, so he canât have less-than-perfect products leaving his shop. What it really comes down to is that, again, heâs really good at this and sees ways to make it better that other might not think of; the way he sees it, if they were looking for someone to make some run-of-the-mill piece rather than a work of art, theyâd go to some other, less expensive smith. So, letâs just say that he doesnât believe in the âthe customer is always rightâ philosophy. Most customers end up pleased with the changes, having not realized and being glad for his expertise, but others perhaps not so.What effect thatâs had on his reputation, he canât honestly say.
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