Thingol’s Lament (Dénië an Alqualondë) by Isaac Paulhus

The sea grows still, a mournful lull As if the ocean itself grieves Waves strike the cliffs, the wind is dull And hushed and quiet fall the leaves

Over the waves, the West-Wind goes With grave tidings it comes to me “Tell me West-Wind, what do you know Of my kin from across the sea?”

The rain falls heavy from the sky “What is troubling you?” I say “My heart falls ill, my soul does cry At the thought of Alqualondë

In the north of Aman it stands Alqualondë, city most fair Adorned with pearls upon the sands Now lays still in the ocean air

The Swanhaven, it was once named Home to Lindar, seafaring folk The rough seas and calm shores they claimed Since in Cuiviénen Enel woke

They were mariners and shipwrights Revelling in the shining seas They danced and sung throughout night Relishing the cool ocean breeze

Then the Noldor approached the bay And made fierce demands of their friends To steal their precious ships away But their life’s work they would not lend

Then Fëanor, most cursed of Elves Drew his foul blade on his own kin The Lindar tried to shield themselves But this battle they could not win

Upon those holy shores they fought Not attacked by foe, but by friend To protect the ships that they wrought Their Haven they died to defend Ever Teleri friend Ossë Was forced to watch his allies die To watch their slaughter with dismay As vengeance grew within his eye

He sent great storms towards the bay And many drowned beneath his might But too late was his final play The Teleri had lost the fight

So with the ships the Noldor fled Away from paradise they ran Leaving Lindar to bury dead The first great slaughter of kinsman”

Telling me this, the West-Wind leaves Far from this place where sorrow reigns Leaving me here amongst the trees To wear my agony like chains

May Mandos guide your spirits friends And in his halls forevermore shall you dwell ‘till we meet again Upon that lonely distant shore.

This poem is a lament for the Teleri people following the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. It is written from the perspective of King Thingol, the brother of the king of the Teleri Olwë, and it describes the peaceful nature of life in the coastal city of Alqualondë as well as the attack of the Noldor upon the docks which was the first time any Elf had killed another Elf. Thingol learned that the Noldor Elves under the leadership of Fëanor had slaughtered the Teleri, also called the Lindar, in order to steal their ships and sail east from Aman in the West across the sea to Middle-Earth. Thingol was furious at this news, and banned all Noldor from entering his forest kingdom of Doriath. He also banned their language Quenya from ever being spoken in Beleriand. This rift between the Thingol’s people and the Noldor is what lead him to refuse to help Meadhros in his fight against Morgoth.