Andreth and Adanel

[Child of the 7th Age]

Andreth and Adanel are unique figures in the Legendarium. They are the two true wise women who appear in Morgoth's Ring. Andreth was a descendent of the House of Beor, and the daughter of Boromir. She was unwed. Adanel was of the House of Hador, but had married into the House of Beor through her husband Belemir. Tolkien says of Andreth: "She was wise in thought ad learned in the lore of Men and their histories; for which reason the Eldar called her Saelind, 'Wise-heart'.

Tolkien apparently assumed the existence of a number of other wise women at least in the First Age, since he gives us the following quote:

... Andreth was in full vigour, being not yet 50 (48). She was unwed as was not uncommon for Wise-women of Men.

Another example is this:

Of the Wise some were women, and they were greatly esteemed among Men, especially for their knowledge of the legends of ancient days.

We know about Adanel through her Tale which reflects on the origins of evil or the fall of mankind. Our knowledge of Andreth comes from the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth where the two debated many points on the different paths of Elves and Men, the nature of the shadow, and the fact that the final destiny of Man lay beyond Arda. We also know of her deep love for Finrod's brother, and how that love could never be, to the everlasting grief of both parties. Andreth and her love is, to my mind, one of the most poignant unwritten tales of the Legendarium. It is impossible to read the Athrabeth without being struck both by her wisdom and depths of sorrow.

It is also my understanding that both of these tales were only written in the final years of Tolkien's life. Why? Why was there no figure comparable to Andreth or Adanel to enrich the pages of the LotR?

The Fourth Age was to be the coming of the dominion of Man. Yet, nowhere is a wise-woman to be seen. Is there some reason such figures were known in the First Age, but then totally disappeared? Are there any other women in Tolkien's writings whom you would describe as a "wise-woman"? The closest comparable figure in LotR seems to be Galadriel. How strange it is to me that on the edge of the dominion of man the most compelling woman who vaguely fits this mold should be an Elf!

[ October 06, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]