A question regarding Elven cousins

[Finwen]

(I did some searches for this topic, but came up with nothing, so fingers crossed...(It's also extremely obscure, so I doubt anyone has asked it before))

In the Silmarillion it is stated in the chapter 'Of Maeglin' that "...the Eldar wedded not with kin so near," with regard to Maeglin desiring his cousin, Idril.

However, in the chapter about the princes of the Eldar in Valinor, when describing Aredhel it says that she liked hunting and was "often with the sons of Feanor, though to none was her heart's love given." This implies that she could have given her love to one of the sons of Feanor, should she have wished to.

However, Aredhel and Feanor's sons are half-cousins (Feanor being the half-brother of Fingolfin, Aredhel's father). So, why would Aredhel be allowed to marry one of her half-cousins, when it's so sinful for Maeglin to want to wed Idril? Does the 'half-' factor make that much of a difference? Or is it an oversight on the part of Tolkien? Is there some other explanation?

I know this is a random question, but it's been puzzling me for a while now and I thought I'd let other people try and answer it. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Thanks in advance for any replies.


(All quotes are approximate - I don't have a copy of Silm. with me at the moment [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] )