Lúthien's lament before Mandos

Rewritten 05/24/2018 'Her beauty and tender loveliness touched even the cold heart of Mandos'. J.R.R. Tolkien The Book of Lost Tales 2 Edited By Christopher Tolkien

Lúthien's lament before Mandos

Ai!

This is the tale of Lúthien’s lament

before Mandos to seek her love

 

Finally the quest for Silmaril

was accomplished but

Beren was mortally wounded

and Lúthien hold him in her arms

and Beren smiled and said

 

‘At last thou are mine

more beautiful than any of  jewel! ‘

 

And Lúthien said to him

her voice filled with sorrow

 

It is time to bid thee farewell

Beren Erchamion! (one-handed)

I seek you, I come to you

thru grief and death

and we will meet again

beyond the Great Sea!

 

And Beren died in her arms

and her tears were overflowed

and all the birds went silent in the woods

 

And so left

Beren son of Barahir

from the House of Bëor

the knowledge of Men

  

Thus Lúthien slowly faded

and vanished and with the

help of her divine mother

her soul went to the Halls of Mandos

and there she stood in front of him

who pronounces judgement in matters of fate

 

And Mandos spoke

 

Come, thou hast now entered

the Halls of Awaiting

and on what errand thou have

come to me thru time

and thought?

 

And then Lúthien spoke

with trembling voice

in front of Mandos;

 

O Great Mandos

the Doomsman of the Valar

Thou know my mother

Melian the Divine

It has been a long time since

she has sung with the nightingales

in the gardens of Lórien

 

And Lúthien told one of the saddest

tales of the Elder Days when the world

was still young and she, daughter of

Melian the Beautiful, used to dance

in the woods of Doriath

and Lúthien told about Beren and the

undying love between them

and she told about the Quest for the Silmaril

and how it all went wrong

 

And she spoke

 

O Great Mandos

 

for the sake of my mother

and because of the love which she

feels to her daughter

 

I beg you to grant me a wish

to seek my love who has gone

I gave my promise to him

to seek him beyond those dark paths of loneliness

And so happened that

Mandos was moved for the first time

after hearing her speaking

and it has never happened since

 

and even the Ruler of the Death

was moved before Melian’s daughter

 

And Mandos sat silent for a long time

and considered the matter in his heart

 

At last Mandos asked for advice from

Manwë Súlimo who was closest

to Ilúvatar’s mind

and

and Ilúvatar gave him an answer

as a purest and highest tone that spoke to him

 

In the meanwhile Lúthien had become

almost like a shadow of a memory

and at last Mandos called her to come in front of him

to hear his judgement

And Mandos spoke

 

O hear thou Tinúviel

daughter of Melian

who is dear to us

I cannot revoke what has

already happened

neither I cannot take away the gifts

that Ilúvatar has given

 

But I will grant thy wish

so that thou can lead Beren

forth once more into the world

but still as mortal and also thou

shalt have the gift of Men

in exchange for this second span of life

 

How long it will be

or wherever ye must go after it

I cannot say

because only Eru knows it

 

And it was told that Lúthien and Beren

they lived away from the others and

never again talked to Men.

And Lúthien danced there

beside the nightingales

and Beren was with her

in that blissful island

of Tol Galen.

 

 

Author's Note

All credits goes to J.R.R. Tolkien

I do not own the pictures, they have been found through google image search.

Credits goes to the artists.