Eärendil

Eärendil the Mariner (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.

Etymology
Eärendil means 'Lover of the Sea' in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya. However, Tolkien borrowed the name from Old English literature. Tolkien states (Letters, 297) that the name comes from Anglo-Saxon éarendel. He was struck by its "great beauty" c. 1913, which he perceived as

There is a poem by Tolkien dated to 1914 entitled "The Voyage of Eärendel the Evening Star" (published in The Book of Lost Tales 2 267–269). Tolkien was also aware of the name's Germanic cognates (Old Norse Aurvandill, Lombardic Auriwandalo), and the question why the Anglo-Saxon one rather than the Lombardic or Proto-Germanic form should be taken up in the mythology is alluded to in The Notion Club Papers. The Old Norse together with the Anglo-Saxon evidence point to an astronomical myth, the name referring to a star, or a group of stars, and the Anglo-Saxon in particular points to the morning star as the herald of the rising Sun (in Crist Christianized to refer to John the Baptist).

Tolkien was particularly inspired by the lines in the Crist written by Cynewulf:
 * éala éarendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended
 * "Hail Earendel, brightest of angels, over Middle-earth to men sent"

which can be taken as the inspiration not only for the role of Eärendil in Tolkien's work, but also for the term Middle-earth (translating Middangeard) for the inhabitable lands (c.f. Midgard).

The first line is paralleled by Frodo Baggins' exclamation in The Two Towers (the line appears in The Return of the King in the Peter Jackson films), Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima! which is Quenya, and translates to "Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars!" Frodo's exclamation was in reference to the 'Star-glass' he carried, which contained the light of Eärendil's star, the Silmaril.

Internal history
The son of Tuor and Idril, daughter of Turgon, Eärendil was raised in Gondolin. When Eärendil was seven years old, he escaped the sacking of Gondolin with his parents, living afterwards in Arvernien by the mouth of Sirion. Eärendil later became the leader of the people who lived there, and married Elwing, daughter of Dior the son of Beren and Lúthien. They had two sons, Elrond and Elros.

With the aid of Círdan the Shipwright, Eärendil built a ship, Vingilótë (or Vingilot), which is Quenya for "foam-flower". He sailed this often around the seas west of Middle-earth, leaving his wife behind in Arvernien. At this time Elwing had in her possession the Silmaril that Beren had wrested from Morgoth. News of this came to the sons of Fëanor that were still living, and they attacked the people living in Arvernien, and killed most of them. Elwing, rather than be captured, threw herself with the Silmaril into the sea. The Silmaril was not lost, however. According to The Silmarillion:

Hearing of the tragedy that had befallen in Arvernien, Eärendil then sought after Valinor, aboard the Vingilot with Aerandir, Erellont, and Falathar, and he and Elwing found their way there at last. Eärendil thus became the first of all mortals to set foot in Valinor. Eärendil then went before the Valar, and asked them for aid for Men and Elves in Middle-earth, to fight against Morgoth; the Valar accepted his plea.

Because Eärendil had undertaken this errand on behalf of Men and Elves, and not for his own sake, Manwë forbore to deal out the punishment of death that was due. Also, because both Eärendil and Elwing were descended from a union of Elves and Men, Manwë granted to them and their sons the gift to choose to which race they would be joined (a gift that was further passed to the children of Elrond, who became known as the Half-elven). Elwing chose to be one of the Elves. Eärendil would have rather been one of the Men; however, for the sake of his wife, he chose to be one of the Elves. The Silmarillion says this:

The Valar, having listened to Eärendil's plea, went with a mighty host to Middle-earth, and overthrew Morgoth. Eärendil took part in the battle, riding on Vingilot beside Thorondor and the Eagles. He struck down the great dragon Ancalagon and cast him down onto Thangorodrim, the event which, along with the sheer devastation caused by the War of Wrath, led to the Ruin of Beleriand. However, right before the Dagor Dagorath, the Last Battle, Morgoth will escape out the Door of Night to destroy Arda. It is implied Eärendil shall participate in that, alongside every creature in Middle-earth, good and evil.

Concept and creation
In 1914 when he was studying at King Edward's School, Birmingham, Tolkien wrote a poem The Voyage of Earendel the Evening Star which was inspired by the "Crist" poem of Cynewulf. While studying at Oxford, Tolkien developed a constructed language that later became known as Quenya. Already around 1915 he had the idea that this language needed an internal history and was spoken by Elves whom his invented character Eärendil meets during his journeys. The next step in the creation of the underlying mythology was the Lay of Earendel, a work composed of several poems that describes the mariner Earendel and his voyages and how his ship is turned into a star. The mysterious land of Valinor and its Two Trees of gold and silver were first described in this cycle.

Tolkien's legend of Eärendil has elements resembling the medieval Celtic Immram legends or the Christian legend of St. Brendan the Navigator.

Humphrey Carpenter in his biography of Tolkien remarked that Eärendil "was in fact the beginning of Tolkien's own mythology".

In popular culture
A species of fossil mammals from the Paleocene was named Earendil undomiel by Leigh Van Valen in 1978. The name translates to 'Earendil Evenstar'.