Nienor
In
Tolkien's
fantasy world
Middle-earth,
Nienor, also called
Níniel "Tear-Maiden", was the third child of
Húrin and
Morwen, the sister of
Lalaith, who died in her youth, and
Túrin. She appears in the tale of her brother Túrin, which is told in
The Book of Lost Tales,
The Lay of the Children of Húrin,
Narn i Chîn Húrin and
The Silmarillion.
She was born in
Hithlum in the year of
Nirnaeth Arnoediad. After this battle, the
Easterlings settled in the land and oppressed the people of
Hador.
Nienor remained in
Hithlum with her mother
Morwen for twenty years, subsequently moving to
Doriath in hopes of finding
Túrin, who has been sent there earlier. After she and her mother heard a rumour that the mysterious Mormegil of
Nargothrond was actually
Túrin, they set out with a company of
Elves for that place. Unfortunately, the dragon
Glaurung had just sacked that elven city, and, sensing their approach, he caused a cloud of foul vapour to rise from the
Narog. The party's horses panicked and Nienor was separated from them. Glaurung put her in a state of total
amnesia, losing all her memories.
Eventually, the amnesiac woman was found by
Mablung, who intended to take her back to
Doriath but they were attacked by
orcs while attempting to cross the
Taeglin. In confusion and terror, Nienor ran away, tore off her clothes and ran naked through the forest until she fainted.
Her brother
Túrin found her terrified at
Haudh-en-Elleth, lying on the grave of his dead lover
Finduilas. Because Nienor did not remember her identity and Túrin had never met his second sister Nienor, he named her
Níniel "Tear-Maiden" and brought her to safety at
Brethil.
The men of
Brethil returned to
Ephel Brandir soon after. When Níniel fell sick,
Brandir tended to her, secretly falling in love. However, Níniel loved Túrin more, and after three years, they were wed. By the next spring, she was halfway through her first pregnancy.
It was then that rumours of
Glaurung's approach reached
Túrin, who went out to slay him. Unfortunately, the dragon poisoned him even as he dealt the worm a mortal blow, and
Túrin fell into a swoon.
Níniel, who feared for her husband's life, went out and found him apparently dead. Glaurung then set off his hidden weapon against Túrin—he removed Nienor's amnesia with his last words. Realizing she had married her own brother and was carrying his unborn child, she committed suicide by throwing herself into the ravine at
Cabed-en-Aras. Her death sparked a series of events culminating in Túrin's realization that she was his sister, leading to his suicide and thus fulfilling Glaurung's vengeance.
The tragedy of Túrin and Nienor's love and suicide appear to have been carefully scripted by the dragon Glaurung—this was his most dangerous weapon. Nienor arrived, practically gift-wrapped, naked and amnesiac on the grave of Túrin's love, who was tragically murdered; the resonances of this incident are too specific to be accidental.
*
Narn i Chîn Húrin*
Túrin Turambar
