[Galin]

Originally Posted by Saulotus

Re: Celebrimbor This isn't the answer to the trivia question, but the origin of Celebrimbor is somewhat confusing.

As far as I can tell: Tolkien asserted that some of the Sons of Feanor were wedded.
Maglor, Caranthir, and Curufin were married.

This statement was done to give credence to the idea of Celebrimbor as a descendant of Feanor.

However; shortly afterward Tolkien changed the origin to that of Teler descent.

Tolkien questioned the origin as published, and even underlined the passage with a query as to the possibility of this parentage.

But this might imply a chronology that isn't necessarily so. As I read the commentary Tolkien did not question the origin of Celebrimbor as published, but questioned, and answered, 'how it could be so' within the context of what he had published. In other words (I read it as), he accepted what he had published, but hadn't yet explained how in any great detail.

He then gives a curious statement: J.R.R. Tolkien HISTORY Vol. 12 'This was a Sindarized form of Telerin Telperimpar (Quenya Tyelpinquar). It was a frequent name among the Teleri, who in addition to navigation and ship-building were also renowned as silver-smiths.'

In this same section he asserts that Celebrimbor was a Teler. The interesting thing is that Celebrimbor seems to have been a common Epesse of the Teler. Of what significance this has to Celebrimbor of Feanorian descent and Celebrimbor of Tererin descent was not resolved. It may be that like Gil-Galad; it simply became a name under which he was well known, but not a given name.

This hails from a linguistic text dated around 1968. There is not only no resolution here but no indication that Tolkien even considered -- or even remembered -- that he had published Celebrimbor as Feanorian.

And that's what CJRT himself brings up here: in his opinion (Christopher Tolkien's opinion) had his father remebered what he had published, he would have felt bound by it.

Originally Posted by Mithadan

In the History of Galadriel and Celeborn in UT, the tale of the Elessar (the green stone given by Arwen to Aragorn) is told briefly, with three different versions. The third is that Celebrimbor made the Elessar in Gondolin. In another version, another elf made it in Gondolin, it was given to Idril who gave it to Earendil. Olorin brought it back from the West and gave it to Galadriel, who gave it to Clebrian, who gave it to Arwen. In the third version, Celebrimbor makes a second Elessar in Eregion for Galadriel.

I'm not saying that this establishes Celebrimbor was from Gondolin and not of Feanorean descent.

I would go beyond that and say Celebrimbor was not of Feanorean descent when Tolkien originally wrote The Elessar texts. Celebrimbor can simply be a smith of Gondolin here, as the first drafting of The Elessar (and 'Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn' too) seems to precede the idea of Celebrimbor as a Feanorean -- which JRRT only added to the second edition of The Lord of the Rings.