Yes, I’m going to be catching a lot of flack from people in comments yelling at me that actually Finrod was the best elf or Beleg was or blah-blah-blah and they’ll die on that hill. But hear me out. Of all the characters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, the elf prince Maglor is one of the most interesting and ironically unsung characters in the story. He is often shunned by the fanbase in favor of the more well-known, tragic tales of his father, brothers, cousins, nieces, and nephews who all played important roles in the shaping of the history of Middle Earth. This partially because he is one of the most mysterious characters in the narrative.
The first thing you should know about Maglor is that wasn’t his original name. Born somewhere between 1190-1362 Y.T. (Years of the Trees) as the second son of Fëanor and Nerdanel, he was originally given the Quenya father-name Kanafinwë, which meant “Strong-voiced Finwë”, a foretelling of his skill in singing and music. His mother-name was Makalaurë, a name that meant “Forging Gold,” another bit of foreshadowing of his musical skill, since it was said that the music from his harp was like gold. It is from his mother-name that was get the shortened, Sindarinized version of his name by which he is better known by. In the text of The Silmarillion, we are told that “Maglor was mighty among the singers of old, named only after Dearon of Doriath.”
In his family, he was counted as one of the great Noldorin princes and had six brothers, Maedhros (who is the most well-known son of Fëanor), Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, and Amras and was one of only three sons to have a spouse, though she is unnamed in the cannon. When his father, Fëanor, swears the terrible Oath of Fëanor in Tirion after the death of his father, Finwë, and the theft of the Silmarils, Maglor is present and stands with his brothers during the Oath. This would lead him to a long life of despair. While we aren’t told specifically what he’s feeling or doing during the March of the Noldor and the subsequent First Kinslaying in 1495 Y.T., he was part of it, though to what extent, Tolkien never specified. It’s safe to assume that he felt great sorrow after the Kinslaying at Alqualonde since in the narrative of Morgoth’s Ring, we’re told in the early drafts of the chapter “The Flight of the Noldor” that Maglor wrote the song Noldolante, “The Lament of the Noldor” sometime after the Kinslaying and after the Doom of Mandos was declared.
Speaking of the Doom of Mandos, though he felt great sorrow and would be repentant of the Oath of Fëanor, he was forbidden with the rest of the Noldor from ever returning to Valinor for swearing such a devastating oath. Because he was married, this means that unless his wife went with him, he would never again see her. Since elves are immortal beings, this means that for the rest of his life, he would long for her, unable to reach her. This adds a layer of tragedy to his story that many of his brothers do not share. While his brothers, Curufin and Caranthir, both had wives that they may or may not have left behind in Valinor (which I believe we can safely assume they left them behind since I don’t think Tolkien would’ve left out such an important detail), they both died in Middle Earth and would at some point be reincarnated, possibly at the end of the world. Meanwhile, Maglor would have a much longer wait before him.
This leads me to the next point of how many people he lost. During the Burning of the Ships in Losgar (which he also participated in), it is said in some earlier versions of “The Flight of the Noldor”, (published in Morgoth’s Ring) that he lost his youngest brother Amrod, who had been sleeping in one of the ships when it caught fire. If this is to be considered as cannon, you can only imagine Maglor’s grief and guilt at possibly helping burn his brother alive. It doesn’t help that shortly after that, his father dies in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath (The Battle Under Stars), never to be seen again until the end of the world. From there, things get worse when Maedhros is captured by Morgoth’s forces. Since Fëanor had died at this point and he was considered the High-King of the Noldor, this meant that Maedhros was next in line for the throne. When he was captured, that left Maglor in charge, and it most likely wasn’t easy being in charge of four vengeful brothers for – what fans estimate to have been – 30 years.
When Maedhros was rescued by their cousin, Fingon, the sons of Fëanor would go on to rule their own realms, helping their uncle, Fingolfin, hold the Siege of Angband until it was broken 455 F.A. in the Dagor Bragollach. While none of Fëanor’s sons were killed in the battle, worse was to come in F.A. 472 during the Nirneath Arnoediad (The Battle of Unnumbered Tears.) Maglor and his brothers were forced to retreat to the wild lands of Ossiriand. In the years afterwards, the Sons of Fëanor hear of Dior, the son of Beren and Luthien, who has taken over the kingship of Doriath. Because he holds one of the Silmarils (which was stolen from Morgoth in the tale of Beren and Luthien), they are forced to partake in the Second Kinslaying. Not only is Dior killed, but so are Maglor’s brothers Curufin, Caranthir, and Celegorm. Most heinously of all, however, the twin sons of Dior, Elured and Elurin, are lost and are never to be seen again. Due to the heavy losses from previous battles and the loss of Doriath, the remaining sons are forced to rebuild their strength and later attack the Havens of Sirion in the Third Kinslaying, where they lose the Silmaril of Beren and Luthien forever and Maglor’s brother Amras is killed in the fighting. During this attack, however, Maedhros and Maglor capture Elrond and his twin brother Elros, the sons of Eärendil and Elwing. Weary of the search for the Silmarils, Maglor repents for a time and adopts the twins, which is his redeeming moment after losing Elured and Elurin. Around this time, Eärendil has made it to Aman and is allowed to keep the Silmaril and becomes a star in the sky. When Maedhros and Maglor see the Star of Eärendil rise for the first time in the West, Maglor is especially relieved since one Silmaril is now safe from Morgoth.
The last time we see Maglor’s repentant heart is after the War of Wrath, where Morgoth is overthrown and the Silmarils recovered from his crown. At this point Maglor has been in Middle Earth helping the search for the Silmarils for a little over 587 years. He has seen his brothers and father killed and was part of some of the most heinous crimes to happen in elven history. Now, he is about to see one last tragedy. After the War of Wrath, Maedhros and Maglor hear that the remaining two Silmarils are now in the possession of Eonwë, an emissary of the Valar who led the war. They send a messenger asking for the Silmarils, but Eonwë tells them that due to their evil deeds, their claim is now void. Angered, Maedhros tells Maglor that one Silmaril belongs to himself and the other belongs to Maglor and they should go get it. However, Maglor is very reluctant to go and tries to reason with his desperate brother, but is unsuccessful. The two remaining Sons of Fëanor sneak into Eonwë’s camp and steal the Silmarils. Though they completed their mission, the Silmarils will not suffer the touch of evil hands and since the brothers both committed many war crimes, they are unable to stand the burning. In despair, Maedhros throws himself and his Silmaril into a fiery pit, leaving Maglor to be the last survivor. In many versions of the narrative, Maglor also commits suicide by jumping into the sea with his Silmaril, though in the published Silmarillion, it is never specified what happens to him, except that he throws his Silmaril into the sea and is left to wander the ruined coast of what used to be Beleriand, singing in sorrow and regret of his deeds. From there, he is never mentioned again in any of the stories, so his fate is left to speculation.
Until next time,
M.J.
The Tanuki Corner 
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