Raynor
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This profile is mostly true to the Silmarillion; I made refferences to other works as well, to follow the importance Tolkien gave to this character. All comments are welcome and I hope this will spark interest in other Tolkien fans to present their favorite hero 
.
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One of the most important heroes of the Silmarillion is Eärendil and his story is one of hope and of overcomming great difficulties in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy and rid Middle-Earth of the greatest evil it has ever encountered.
The name Eärendil belongs to Quenia, and means lover of the sea. The corresponding Adunaic names, apparently meaning just the same, are Azrubel/Pharazir [1]; his other names are: Eärendil the Blessed; Eärendil the Mariner; Merry Messenger; Gil-Estel; Earendel the Bright; star of the Two Kindreds, The Flammifer of Westernesse. [Forms affected by Sindarin in manuscripts, such as Aerendil, Aerennel, etc. are casual and accidental]
His name is linked to several prophecies: it is said that “Eärendil had this name as father-name, and as mother-name he was called Ardamire. In this case both names were 'prophetic'. Tuor in his long journey by the west shores of Beleriand, after his escape from captivity, had been visited by the great Vala Ulmo in person, and Ulmo had directed him to seek for Gondolin, foretelling that if he found it he would there beget a son ever afterwards renowned as a mariner.(In a later version [3] the Vala did indeed allude prophetically to Eärendil, but in a manner far more veiled and mysterious: 'But it is not for thy valour only that I send thee, but to bring into the world a hope beyond thy sight, and a light that shall pierce the darkness'.) Improbable as this seemed to Tuor, since neither the Atani nor the Noldor had any love of the sea or of ships, he named his son in Quenya 'sea-lover'. More purely prophetic was the name Ardamire 'Jewel of the World'; for Idril could not foresee in her waking mind the strange fate that brought at last the Silmaril into the possession of Eärendil, and enabled his ship to pass through all the shadows and perils by which Aman was at that time defended from any approach from Middle-earth" [2]. Also, concerning the issue of marriage between Finwe and Indis, Mandos foretells his coming [4] “But I say unto you that the children of Indis shall also be great, and the Tale of Arda more glorious because of their coming. And from them shall spring things so fair that no tears shall dim their beauty; in whose being the Valar, and the Kindreds both of Elves and of Men that are to come shall all have part, and in whose deeds they shall rejoice. So that, long hence when all that here is, and seemeth yet fair and impregnable, shall nonetheless have faded and passed away, the Light of Aman shall not wholly cease among the free peoples of Arda until the End. 'When he that shall be called Eärendil setteth foot upon the shores of Aman, ye shall remember my words. In that hour ye will not say that the Statute of Justice hath borne fruit only in death; and the griefs that shall come ye shall weigh in the balance, and they shall not seem too heavy compared with the rising of the light when Valinor groweth dim.'
It can be said that Tolkien created the name based on Old English literature, as he confesses in Letter 297: "This name is in fact (as is obvious) derived from éarendel. When first studying A-S professionally (1913) - I had done so as a boyish hobby when supposed to be learning Greek and Latin - I was struck by the great beauty of this word (or name), entirely coherent with the normal style of A-S, but euphonic to a peculiar degree in that pleasing but not 'delectable' language. 'Some guess that it [Eärendil] was really a star-name for Orion, or for Rigel' - Rigel being the very bright star in the left foot of Orion [1].
”Éarendel” as a refference to a herald, and divine messenger occurs also in many christian manuscripts, such as Blickling Homilies (a collection of Old English sermons) but especialy in the poem Crist: "Éala éarendel engla beorhtast/Ofer Middangeard monnum sended" meaning 'Hail Earendel, brightest of angels, sent over Middle-earth to humans' [1]. In Old English, Middangeard (Middle-earth) is bounded by heaven above, hell beneath and the sea round about is the region that humans live in.
He is a son of the second marriage of Men and Elf, Tuor and Idril, born in the year 500 in Gondolin (though earlier, in a name-list associated with the tale of The Fall of Gondolin [5] Eärendil is said to be 'the only being that is half of the kindred of the Eldalie and half of Men') . He is linked through his paternal lineage to a great deal of prestigious Edain leaders (Tuor, Huor, Galdor/Gumlin, Hador Lorindol, Hathol, Magor, Malach Aradan, Marach).
Of his mother, Idril, we learn that “Idril, (daughter of Turon, son of Fingolfin) was the only child in the third generation from Finwe to go with the exiles, save only Arothir son of Angrod brother of Finrod. Both have renown in the legends of the Silmarillion; but Idril had a great destiny, for she was the mother of Eärendil the Blessed" [2].
Of surpassing beauty was Eärendil, for a light was in his face as the light of heaven, and he had the beauty and the wisdom of the Eldar and the strength and hardihood of the Men of old; and the Sea spoke ever in his ear and heart, even as with Tuor his father. His skin of a shining white and his eyes of a blue surpassing that of the sky in southern lands -- bluer than the sapphires of the raiment of Manwe [6] In his youth, he has much laughter with Salgant the elf who told him tales and at times would play with him. From his mother Eärendil receives the Ellesar, the green gem; his first memory of Middle-earth was the green gem upon Idril breast while she was singing for him.
Due to the treason of Maeglin, Gondolin is destroyed in 507. Eärendil, aged seven years now, escapes the sack of the city with his parents; he is sent ahead of the others, under care of Hendor who bore him upon his shoulders, when Tuor came to their aid upon the plain of Tumladen. At a dreadful pass, the Eagles' Cleft, they are surrounded by orc; when all hope fades, The Lord of the eagles summons his warriors : "Wherefore are these foul things, these Orcs of the hills, climbed near to my throne; and why do the sons of the Noldoli cry out in the low places for fear of the children of Melko the accursed? Arise O Thornhoth, whose beaks are of steel and whose talons - swords!" [6] and repels the ambush.
In 508 he comes to Nan-Tathren / Isle of Balar. He meets Gil-Galad and the refugees from Eglarest, Brithombar and Nargothrond but soon he, his father and mother go to the Mouth of Sirion where they join with the refugees from Doriath. There, he encounters Elwing, the White, “fairest of all women save Luthien” [7] daughter of Dior the son of Beren and Lúthien and a great love grows between them. Her name means 'Star-spray' [8] (or "lake foam" [9]). In 524, much to Eärendil`s sadness, his father an mother depart over the sea and into the West.
As he grows to manhood he becomes Lord of the people at the Mouth of Sirion in 525 and weds Elwing. Eärendil makes great journeys about the lands of Beleriand and even to the ruins of Gondolin. But, due the sea longing and for the love of his father and mother he also travels out on the mighty sea in his ship Eärrámë. He does not find them and he is wrecked by Ossë but saved by Ulmo and is bidden to build a ship. With the help of Círdan the Shipwright he builds Vingilót (also named Ealote [10] or Rothinzil [11]), which is Quenya for foam-flower, the fairest of all ships, which appears in Bilbo’s song: "Eärendil was a mariner that tarried in Arvernien; he built a boat of timber felled in Nimbrethil to journey in; her sails he wove of silver fair, of silver were her lanterns made, her prow was fashioned like a swan, and light upon her banners laid" [12].
He sets once more sails into the West leaving his wife behind in Arvernien. Now he is looking to find also his parents and Aman, but does not find either. During his voyages, he grows to love the sea and becomes the greatest mariner of all time. With him on Vingilot are Voronwë, Falathar, Erellont, Aerandir, Gelmir and Arminas. As his quest in unsuccessful and he longs for Elwing, he turns towards the coast of Beleriand.
The twins Elrond and Elros are born in 528; the sons of Fëanor attack the people living in Arvernien, and slay most of them At this time Elwing has in her possession the Silmaril that Beren had wrested from Morgoth; rather than be captured, she throws herself with the Silmaril into the sea. The Silmaril was not lost, however:"Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek her beloved."
In 532, a white bird came towards Eärendil and fell on deck of Vingilot and in the morning he saw it was Elwing with the Silmaril:"on a time of night Eärendil at the helm of ship saw her come twards him, as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon... And it is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of Vingilot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of her speed, and Eärendil took her to his bosom; but in the morning with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her hair upon his face, and she slept."
[It is worth noting that, in a discarded version: ”In the Lay of Eärendil is many a thing sung of his adventures in the deep and in lands untrod, and in many seas and many isles; and most of how he fought and slew Ungoliant in the South and her darkness perished, and light came to many places which had yet long been hid. But Elwing sat sorrowing at home" [13].]
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One of the most important heroes of the Silmarillion is Eärendil and his story is one of hope and of overcomming great difficulties in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy and rid Middle-Earth of the greatest evil it has ever encountered.
The name Eärendil belongs to Quenia, and means lover of the sea. The corresponding Adunaic names, apparently meaning just the same, are Azrubel/Pharazir [1]; his other names are: Eärendil the Blessed; Eärendil the Mariner; Merry Messenger; Gil-Estel; Earendel the Bright; star of the Two Kindreds, The Flammifer of Westernesse. [Forms affected by Sindarin in manuscripts, such as Aerendil, Aerennel, etc. are casual and accidental]
His name is linked to several prophecies: it is said that “Eärendil had this name as father-name, and as mother-name he was called Ardamire. In this case both names were 'prophetic'. Tuor in his long journey by the west shores of Beleriand, after his escape from captivity, had been visited by the great Vala Ulmo in person, and Ulmo had directed him to seek for Gondolin, foretelling that if he found it he would there beget a son ever afterwards renowned as a mariner.(In a later version [3] the Vala did indeed allude prophetically to Eärendil, but in a manner far more veiled and mysterious: 'But it is not for thy valour only that I send thee, but to bring into the world a hope beyond thy sight, and a light that shall pierce the darkness'.) Improbable as this seemed to Tuor, since neither the Atani nor the Noldor had any love of the sea or of ships, he named his son in Quenya 'sea-lover'. More purely prophetic was the name Ardamire 'Jewel of the World'; for Idril could not foresee in her waking mind the strange fate that brought at last the Silmaril into the possession of Eärendil, and enabled his ship to pass through all the shadows and perils by which Aman was at that time defended from any approach from Middle-earth" [2]. Also, concerning the issue of marriage between Finwe and Indis, Mandos foretells his coming [4] “But I say unto you that the children of Indis shall also be great, and the Tale of Arda more glorious because of their coming. And from them shall spring things so fair that no tears shall dim their beauty; in whose being the Valar, and the Kindreds both of Elves and of Men that are to come shall all have part, and in whose deeds they shall rejoice. So that, long hence when all that here is, and seemeth yet fair and impregnable, shall nonetheless have faded and passed away, the Light of Aman shall not wholly cease among the free peoples of Arda until the End. 'When he that shall be called Eärendil setteth foot upon the shores of Aman, ye shall remember my words. In that hour ye will not say that the Statute of Justice hath borne fruit only in death; and the griefs that shall come ye shall weigh in the balance, and they shall not seem too heavy compared with the rising of the light when Valinor groweth dim.'
It can be said that Tolkien created the name based on Old English literature, as he confesses in Letter 297: "This name is in fact (as is obvious) derived from éarendel. When first studying A-S professionally (1913) - I had done so as a boyish hobby when supposed to be learning Greek and Latin - I was struck by the great beauty of this word (or name), entirely coherent with the normal style of A-S, but euphonic to a peculiar degree in that pleasing but not 'delectable' language. 'Some guess that it [Eärendil] was really a star-name for Orion, or for Rigel' - Rigel being the very bright star in the left foot of Orion [1].
”Éarendel” as a refference to a herald, and divine messenger occurs also in many christian manuscripts, such as Blickling Homilies (a collection of Old English sermons) but especialy in the poem Crist: "Éala éarendel engla beorhtast/Ofer Middangeard monnum sended" meaning 'Hail Earendel, brightest of angels, sent over Middle-earth to humans' [1]. In Old English, Middangeard (Middle-earth) is bounded by heaven above, hell beneath and the sea round about is the region that humans live in.
He is a son of the second marriage of Men and Elf, Tuor and Idril, born in the year 500 in Gondolin (though earlier, in a name-list associated with the tale of The Fall of Gondolin [5] Eärendil is said to be 'the only being that is half of the kindred of the Eldalie and half of Men') . He is linked through his paternal lineage to a great deal of prestigious Edain leaders (Tuor, Huor, Galdor/Gumlin, Hador Lorindol, Hathol, Magor, Malach Aradan, Marach).
Of his mother, Idril, we learn that “Idril, (daughter of Turon, son of Fingolfin) was the only child in the third generation from Finwe to go with the exiles, save only Arothir son of Angrod brother of Finrod. Both have renown in the legends of the Silmarillion; but Idril had a great destiny, for she was the mother of Eärendil the Blessed" [2].
Of surpassing beauty was Eärendil, for a light was in his face as the light of heaven, and he had the beauty and the wisdom of the Eldar and the strength and hardihood of the Men of old; and the Sea spoke ever in his ear and heart, even as with Tuor his father. His skin of a shining white and his eyes of a blue surpassing that of the sky in southern lands -- bluer than the sapphires of the raiment of Manwe [6] In his youth, he has much laughter with Salgant the elf who told him tales and at times would play with him. From his mother Eärendil receives the Ellesar, the green gem; his first memory of Middle-earth was the green gem upon Idril breast while she was singing for him.
Due to the treason of Maeglin, Gondolin is destroyed in 507. Eärendil, aged seven years now, escapes the sack of the city with his parents; he is sent ahead of the others, under care of Hendor who bore him upon his shoulders, when Tuor came to their aid upon the plain of Tumladen. At a dreadful pass, the Eagles' Cleft, they are surrounded by orc; when all hope fades, The Lord of the eagles summons his warriors : "Wherefore are these foul things, these Orcs of the hills, climbed near to my throne; and why do the sons of the Noldoli cry out in the low places for fear of the children of Melko the accursed? Arise O Thornhoth, whose beaks are of steel and whose talons - swords!" [6] and repels the ambush.
In 508 he comes to Nan-Tathren / Isle of Balar. He meets Gil-Galad and the refugees from Eglarest, Brithombar and Nargothrond but soon he, his father and mother go to the Mouth of Sirion where they join with the refugees from Doriath. There, he encounters Elwing, the White, “fairest of all women save Luthien” [7] daughter of Dior the son of Beren and Lúthien and a great love grows between them. Her name means 'Star-spray' [8] (or "lake foam" [9]). In 524, much to Eärendil`s sadness, his father an mother depart over the sea and into the West.
As he grows to manhood he becomes Lord of the people at the Mouth of Sirion in 525 and weds Elwing. Eärendil makes great journeys about the lands of Beleriand and even to the ruins of Gondolin. But, due the sea longing and for the love of his father and mother he also travels out on the mighty sea in his ship Eärrámë. He does not find them and he is wrecked by Ossë but saved by Ulmo and is bidden to build a ship. With the help of Círdan the Shipwright he builds Vingilót (also named Ealote [10] or Rothinzil [11]), which is Quenya for foam-flower, the fairest of all ships, which appears in Bilbo’s song: "Eärendil was a mariner that tarried in Arvernien; he built a boat of timber felled in Nimbrethil to journey in; her sails he wove of silver fair, of silver were her lanterns made, her prow was fashioned like a swan, and light upon her banners laid" [12].
He sets once more sails into the West leaving his wife behind in Arvernien. Now he is looking to find also his parents and Aman, but does not find either. During his voyages, he grows to love the sea and becomes the greatest mariner of all time. With him on Vingilot are Voronwë, Falathar, Erellont, Aerandir, Gelmir and Arminas. As his quest in unsuccessful and he longs for Elwing, he turns towards the coast of Beleriand.
The twins Elrond and Elros are born in 528; the sons of Fëanor attack the people living in Arvernien, and slay most of them At this time Elwing has in her possession the Silmaril that Beren had wrested from Morgoth; rather than be captured, she throws herself with the Silmaril into the sea. The Silmaril was not lost, however:"Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek her beloved."
In 532, a white bird came towards Eärendil and fell on deck of Vingilot and in the morning he saw it was Elwing with the Silmaril:"on a time of night Eärendil at the helm of ship saw her come twards him, as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon... And it is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of Vingilot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of her speed, and Eärendil took her to his bosom; but in the morning with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her hair upon his face, and she slept."
[It is worth noting that, in a discarded version: ”In the Lay of Eärendil is many a thing sung of his adventures in the deep and in lands untrod, and in many seas and many isles; and most of how he fought and slew Ungoliant in the South and her darkness perished, and light came to many places which had yet long been hid. But Elwing sat sorrowing at home" [13].]
