30 Days of Headcanon Day 7: Something about a character you've never really understood

Thingol.

From what we see of Thingol's character, there isn't a lot to show us why Melian the Maia, and not just any Maia but the wisest and fairest of all Lórien's people, chooses Thingol. He's prideful, doesn't listen to her advice, doesn't play well with others (Noldor, men, dwarves…)

What does she see in him?

An Exploration of why Thingol is a good King, despite questionable Silmarillion actions.

No fic today, I'm debating writing one while I'm thinking about Thingol still, but this alone was almost 5 pages in word so maybe I should just leave this post alone."Melian alone of all those spirits assumed a bodily form, not only as a raiment but as a permanent habitation in form and powers like to the bodies of the Elves. This she did for love of Elwe; and it was permitted, no doubt because this union had already been foreseen in the beginning of things"

Melian didn't just "take the form of the Elves" like sometimes the Valar could take whatever form they wanted, she became the form of the elves, and gained ridiculously strong increases in her powers over Arda because of it. (More on that in later headcanons.)

I think that went both ways, it only makes sense, besides, Thingol was "as a Lord of the Maiar." I think he basically was nearly as much like a Maia through Melian as Melian was an elf through him. And she was a great Maia to begin with, and he was a great elf to begin with. Through Thingol Melian gained a "power over the substance of Arda," and through her, I think Thingol gained a great amount of Maia-like wisdom.

So I think the questionable actions he makes during the Silmarillion have reasons behind them that made them make sense to Thingol. He wasn't stupid, he wasn't just this proud and brash King who depended on his Maia wife to run his Kingdom and keep it safe.

I think Melian couldn't "rule" in the same way he could. She was of the Ainur, and the Valar and Maiar aren't supposed to rule the Children of Illùvatar, they are only supposed to guide them. So, Melian couldn't make decisions and commands for Thingol's people. She could teach them, she could give aid and counsel and protection, but ultimately, it was Thingol who made the ruling decisions, and that's important. Because their realm together was very successful. Their people were relatively safe, compared to the rest of Middle-earth. They moved underground and built the Thousand Caves, which was a pretty smart move. Without the help of the Valar at all, they kept Morgoth's forces at bay. So definitely, early on, Thingol either made some pretty good decisions, or at least had the good sense then to be able to listen to Melian and keep their people safe.

I think that, throughout basically the whole Silmarillion, Thingol is entirely panicking about what is happening. More than he ever would have earlier in his story, if Tolkien had told us more about it. He did really well in the beginning.

Then the Noldor:
They show up and Thingol realizes that not only are they here in large numbers but they won't tell him everything, that their secrets could be dangerous, and he's worried that they'll go over to Morgoth's side which is a legitimate fear since he, at first, has no idea why they are here, and it would be really bad for everyone if they did.

So of course he's wary of them. He accepts Finarfin's children into Menegroth, but honestly he was right not to accept the rest. What would have happened if he accepted the Sons of Fëanor into his Kingdom? Perhaps nothing, but they were the ones who threatened in the end to destroy not only him but his entire people, and then they did exactly that when they attacked while Dior was king.

"Alone of the princes of the Noldor those of FInarfin's house were suffered to pass within the confines of Doriath for they could claim close kinship with Thingol himself since their mother was Eärwen…"

He wasn't super happy about it, but I don't think he was rude to them.
Melian became close to Galadriel, Celeborn married Galadriel, I don't think Thingol held some huge grudge against them while they were there, I am sure he welcomed them well. He counseled with Finrod often even after they had left, at which point the other Noldor were completely ignoring him and not telling him anything, which Thingol wasn't too happy about, understandably.

He did ban Quenya and banish the Noldor away from him. But they kept this huge freaking secret from him. They never told him about the Silmarils, and especially that Fëanor or his sons were dangerous, or about the kinslaying, which had Thingol not have been so worried, could have gone badly had Thingol tried to trust them. Honestly the Noldor were more to blame than Thingol was for any rocks in their relationship. He allowed them to live nearby, only that he wouldn't allow them where his people already were, as he did not want his own people turned from their own homes.
Which is pretty logical, Thingol is King, he is allowed to protect his own people from strangers.

He is super cautious, but given that the Noldor have a habit of not telling him anything, and he is trying to rule a kingdom and wants to know what is happening for the safety of his people, he's probably justified in not being happy that they are keeping important things from him.

Then Beren:

"…he (Thingol) was troubled by dreams concerning the coming of men."

It's possible these dreams showed him part of what Beren would bring to Doriath; the death of his daughter, Thingol making a bad decision (getting the Silmaril) that eventually led to his own death and to his Kingdom's downfall. That wasn't Beren's fault, but his coming set it in motion.

He says:

"into Doriath shall no Man come while my realm lasts, not even those of the house of Bëor…"

So then his beloved daughter brings home a mortal, and Thingol has been having terrible dreams of mortals. How do you expect him to react? His goal is to get rid of this mortal ASAP and hope his daughter forgets about him, but Thingol promised Lúthien that he wouldn't harm Beren.

Now Thingol's really panicking, because the Noldor may have been threatening his people, to him, but this mortal is threatening, to his eyes, his people and his daughter. Thingol and Melian seem to love Lúthien to the point of obsession with needing to protect her, so that's a big deal to Thingol.

Thingol saw Beren as a threat. His nightmares about mortals, just the fact that his daughter was now involved in this, and let'snot forget the fact Beren got through the Girdle.

Melian said to Galadriel:

"Now the world runs on swiftly to great tidings. And one of Men, even of Bëor's house, shall indeed come, and the Girdle of Melain shall not restrain him, for doom greater than my power shall send him…"

(Beren had nothing to do with wandering into Doriath, I think Eru just directed that whole thing. Beren himself was not actually more powerful, like any power he could use, just his fate was more powerful than Melian's power in the Girdle. Melian's prophesy to Galadriel says that it's the doom on him that allows him to pass; his doom is more powerful than her power. (WHICH IS PRETTY FUCKING POWERFUL) and his fate was to enter Doriath.)

But she never told Thingol, for whatever reason. (Seriously what IS it with everyone keeping things from Thingol?!)

If there is anything Thingol trusts it is Melian, and to him, she can keep out terrors like Morgoth and Ungoliant, but how evil must this creature be to have gotten through where the most powerful Ainur in Middle-earth can't?

So Thingol's probably terrified of this.
So he sends him for a Silmaril.

Important: Thingol doesn't want a Silmaril. He surely has no desire for one of these wretched rocks that has caused the Noldor so much trouble, caused the Valar so much trouble, but he's sure enough that sending Beren into Morgoth's lair will kill him. (Until he gets it. More on that later.)
And from what he can see, he isn't wrong. No one thought Beren had a chance (Except Beren, and Melian.) So Thingol is 100% sure he has gotten rid of Beren, that Lùthien will forget about him, and that this threat not only to his Kingdom but also to his family is gone.

Of course, he is wrong, and he would have known that if he had listened to Melian. But I don't think we can blame him too much. I think he was in a very difficult situation. What if he hadn't tried to send Beren away? Perhaps he could have swallowed his pride and given his permission for Beren to stay and court Lùthien right away. But would it have kept
Lùthien safer?

Thingol's dreams told him Beren was trouble. He had to get rid of him without directly hurting him, and to him, a Silmaril was a really genius idea.

(But again, I think Eru had a hand here. Beren's fate was to get the Silmaril from Morgoth; Melian's voice of reason couldn't change the events that led to that happening. (Perhaps that's why Thingol had the dreams, they were from Eru. I mean Lórien is the master of dreams, but if Melian can't sense anything over the Sea (as she tells Galadriel) I don't think Lòrien is too involved in events there. Maybe Eru just needed Thingol to be afraid enough not to listen to Melian.)
Either way, regardless of that, Thingol was definitely terrified of Beren and saw sending him to his death as his only option.)

But then after Beren and Lúthien return to Doriath (with the Silmaril in Beren's hand) Thingol starts to change his mind, and after Beren dies saving Thingol's life, when he returns, Thingol has totally changed his mind about Beren, and mortals in general. (See: Túrin.)

So Beren goes to get the Silmaril and comes back, not dead, and Thingol proves he's capable of change. Which is something we see in few other characters with questionable motives or actions throughout Tolkien's works. (If only the Sons of Fëanor would have changed after the first kinslaying….or the second…..or even the third…)

After they return to life even Melian didn't accept what happened that readily. Thingol is overjoyed they return, and Melian "turns away in grief," knowing Lúthien's fate.

Then, Túrin-
Thingol's shining Silmarillion moments are really when he raises Túrin, tries his best to get Túrin back to Menegroth when he leaves, and his conversation with Húrin. I think all of this is his "norm," the character he'd have been through the years between Melian and Thingol meeting and when Tolkien gets around to talking about them again once the Noldor return to Middle-earth. I think he was a much more wise and generous King than we see with the Noldor and Men.

Previously Thingol hated men, and now he allowes Túrin to be not only accepted into Doriath, but:

"Thingol recieved Túrin, and took him even to his own fostering, in honor of Jurimn the steadfast; for Thingol's mind was changed towards the houses of elf friends."

So that's a pretty big deal coming from Thingol. Then, when there is the whole episode with Saeros and Túrin tries to run away, thinking Thingol will be angry with him, Thingol entirely forgives him and asks him to come back,

"Gladly would I welcome him back, for I loved him well."

THAT'S ABOUT THE BIGGEST PRAISE ANYONE GETS FROM THINGOL, EVER, AND IT'S A MORTAL MAN.

Then, at the end of the chapter, we get Húrin screaming at Thingol about ruining his family. Thingol doesn't even say anything. He doesn't defend himself, he lets Húrin get out what he wants to say, and then lets Melian talk to Húrin and reveal to him the truth. Which is a lot different than when the Dwarves scream insults at Thingol and he gets angry. (Pointing to the influence of the Silmaril, not just Thingol's personality.)

Then, the Dwarves.
Once Thingol had a Silmaril, he wanted it. I mean, the Silmarils have that power over people or else we wouldn't have much of a story, but at least Thingol has a reason over say, Morgoth wanting the Silmarils.

Yes, he should have listened to Melian's counsel on it. There's no excusing that, but at least, like with Beren, he does have some reasons.

First, one of the first things we learn is that he strongly desires to see the light of the Two Trees again. He forsakes that for Melian (seeing the light of Aman in her face,) but I don't think he lost that desire entirely. Then he learns that they are destroyed and that even if he sails, he will never see that light again. So when he gets a Silmaril, it is a piece of that light. It's a bit of what he lost, what his people (because of him and the spell placed on him) never had.

Also, he made a mistake the first time with counsel on the Silmaril (So you'd think the second time he'd listen to Melian…) and essentially Beren and Lúthien lost their lives for it. Lùthien lost her immortality for it. He doesn't just want to give it up because of what it represents now. If anyone alive has a claim to the Silmaril, I support Thingol's claim the most.
Yes the Sons of Fëanor had a claim because their father made it, but I think they lost that claim with the First Kinslaying. (and the second, and the third….)

So he wants to wear it. With the Nauglamír which now, to him, represents Túrin and Húrins story, as well as the Silmaril representing Beren and Lúthien. So he went from hating mortals to wearing something that honors three separate ones.

Now the dwarves make their claim. Perhaps their claim to the Necklace was legitimate, but they had no claim over the Silmaril. Thingol, of course, starts yelling insults at them (GREAT idea) and we all know what happens then. He was wrong to yell insults at them, but when they said their claim was greater than his, they were insulting Lùthien, Beren, Túrin, Túrin, and everything the necklace and Silmaril meant to was wrong to insult them (really, stunted people, really?) but it was also pretty wrong of them to kill him for it…

So in summary, Thingol isn't a bad King or elf. Some of his actions are questionable. Thingol was passionate, and his main goal was always to protect and honor his people and his family. He was proud, but that wasn't his main fault, his main fault was just being quick to anger and quick to have questionable actions. Which, of male First Age men or elves, who isn't. His reasoning was always sound, to him. He never made wrong decisions out of greed or power lust, with the exception of insulting the dwarves over the Silmaril, which is hardly even his fault (or the Dwarves) given that that's part of the Silmaril's whole power, they make people desire them.

I think that, outside of Silmarillion events where he is panicking because events outside his and Melian's power to control are happening, Thingol shows better actions. As shown with his treatment of the House of Húrin.

He isn't just this brash and proud King; he is a King who has seen a lot of dangers threaten his people. He is a King who cares deeply about his people and will do anything to protect them, if the repercussions of his actions aren't always what he expected.

We still don't get answers of why a Maia like Melian falls in love with any mere elf, but if there was going to be one, it makes sense for it to be Thingol.