Thuringwethil

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by denethorthefirst

It seems that Thuringwethil was an incarnated Maia, i.e. she was completely bound to her form/hroa and no longer able to leave or change it. After her "death" Luthien then simply skinned her body like a hunter would do with a big animal. Luthien then wore the fur and the head of Thuringwethil like a fur-coat. If we take a bit of acting, absence of harsh daylight and Luthiens "magic" into account, then its altogether plausible that she was able to fool the Orc-Guards or some Boldog-Captain at Angbands Gates that she was Thuringwethil. Yes, its still a bit of a stretch, but its a mythic tale after all.

Lúthien could fly in vampire form, so it is clearly more than a mundane disguise- but see my last post re:shapeshifting in folklore and Huinesoron's with the quotes from the Silmarillion and Lay of Leithian.

I think it pretty clear that Lúthien actually transformed, using "the bat-fell of Thuringwethil" as a basis. Could Thuringwethil herself shapeshift at all? Hard to say, but possibly implied. Does that mean she had a humanoid form resembling the conventional modern idea of a "vampire"? Highly unlikely, I'd say.