Fëanor

Fëanor is the student of his father-in-law Mahtan, who is himself a student of the Vala Aulë. He is a craftsman and gem-smith, inventor of the Tengwar script. He also is the creator of the palantíri[1][note 1] (a feat which is said by Gandalf to be beyond the skill of both Sauron and Saruman), and is said to have created the Elfstone.

Fëanor, at the pinnacle of his might, "in the greatest of his achievements, captured the light of the Two Trees to make the three Silmarils, also called the Great Jewels, though they were not mere glittering stones, they were alive, imperishable, and sacred."[T 2]

Even the Valar, could not copy them. Fëanor himself could not copy them, as part of his essence went into their making. Their worth, in Tolkien's fictional universe, is close to infinite, even to the Valar, as they are unique and irreplaceable. So "Varda hallowed the Silmarils so that thereafter no mortal flesh, nor hands unclean, nor anything of evil will might touch them, for it would be scorched and withered."[T 2]

Fëanor prizes the Silmarils above all else, and grows increasingly suspicious that the Valar and other Eldar coveted them. Melkor, recently released from three ages of imprisonment in the Halls of Mandos and now residing in Valinor, sees in this suspicion an opportunity to sow dissension among the Noldor. Fëanor does not trust Melkor and refuses to communicate with him, but is still caught in the evil Ainu's plot.

Melkor uses Fëanor's anger and pride against him, telling him that his own brother Fingolfin is planning to usurp his place as heir to Finwë. Fëanor threatens Fingolfin's life. As punishment for his threat, the Valar exile Fëanor to Formenos. He takes a substantial treasure with him, including the Silmarils, which he puts in a locked box. Finwë also withdraws to Formenos.

The Valar then learn that Melkor is manipulating Fëanor, and send Tulkas to capture Melkor, but he has already escaped. With Finwë and Fëanor absent, Fingolfin has become king, and so it seems that Melkor's lies are true. Melkor tries again to convince Fëanor of them, but Fëanor realises that Melkor's goal is to obtain the Silmarils, "and he shut the doors of his house in the face of the mightiest of all the dwellers in Eä." In a rage, Melkor leaves. The Valar invite Fëanor and Fingolfin to Valinor to make peace. Fingolfin offers a hand to his brother, recognising Fëanor's place as the eldest. He gives his pledge to follow his elder brother and Fëanor accepts.

Meanwhile, Melkor goes to Avathar in the south of Aman to seek out Ungoliant, the spider that helped Melkor to destroy the trees of light. They then go to Formenos, kill Finwë, and take the three Silmarils.

The Valar and Eldar now understand the extent of Melkor's treachery. Fëanor, upon learning of his father's murder and the theft of his prized Silmarils, names Melkor "Morgoth". Now King of the Noldor in Tirion, Fëanor delivers the most impassioned speech given in Arda, which he unwittingly fills with Morgoth's corruption. He railes against the Great Enemy, but because of Morgoth's influence, he also blames the Valar for Morgoth's deeds. He persuades most of his people that because the Valar have abandoned them, the Noldor must follow him to Middle-earth to wrest the Silmarils back from Morgoth. He declares that even if the Noldor ever manage to recover the Silmarils, he will never give them to the Valar to help recreate the Two Trees. Fëanor then swears an oath which all seven of his sons also proclaim, vowing to fight anyone and everyone—whether Elf, Man, Maia, or Vala—who withholds the Silmarils, swearing upon God, and invoking the chief of the Valar and the mountains of Valinor as witnesses. This becomes known as the Oath of Fëanor and, later, the cause for great tragedy on Middle-earth, particularly among his sons.

They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by the name even of Ilúvatar, calling the Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not... ...vowing to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf or Man as yet unborn or any creature, great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from their possession. — Quenta Silmarillion

The oath commands Fëanor to press to Middle-earth and results in the first Kinslaying at the havens of the Teleri. Fëanor dies soon after his return to Middle-earth but the remaining oath-takers, his sons, live on in relative harmony with the Eldar of Beleriand. For the greater part of the First Age the oath keeps the sons of Fëanor united in one cause to defeat Morgoth and retrieve the jewels.

However, the true dangers of the oath became apparent when the lovers Beren and Lúthien recover one of the jewels from Morgoth, which ultimately comes into the possession of their son, who rules after his grandfather Thingol. The presence of the Silmaril awakes the oath and causes the brothers to make war on with Dior because he refuses to yield the jewel. The brothers attack and kill Dior. The Silmaril escapes the destruction of Doriath and the oath droves the sons onwards. When they learn that it is held by Elwing daughter of Dior, who dwells near the sea, they attack the place, committing the third and most terrible Kinslaying. All six of the remaining brothers survive even the complete rout of their forces, but three of the brothers—Celegorm, Curufin, and Caranthir—die in the sacking of Menegroth. At the third and final Kinslaying, Amras is slain.

But the Silmaril escape them again and are borne by Eärendil into the West. That Silmaril is lost to the sons of Fëanor but two more remaine inside the crown of Morgoth. So later the two remaining oath-takers, Maedhros and Maglor, steal the two Silmarils from the camp of the victorious West. Due to the terrible deeds committed by the brothers in their retrieval of the Silmarils they find they cannot handle them without enduring searing pain. The two brothers part: in their anguish Maedhros throws himself and his Silmaril into a fiery chasm, and Maglor casts his Silmaril into the sea. Maglor will spend eternity wandering the shore, lamenting his fate.

Tolkien wrote at least four versions of the oath itself, as found in The History of Middle-earth. The three earliest versions are found in The Lays of Beleriand: In alliterative verse (circa 1918–1920s), in chapter 2, "Poems Early Abandoned". The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor. Lines 132–141. In rhyming couplets (circa 1928), in chapter 3, "The Lay of Leithian". Canto VI, lines 1628–1643. In a different form as restated by Celegorm, third son of Fëanor, in chapter 3, "The Lay of Leithian." Canto VI, lines 1848–1857. A later version is found in Morgoth's Ring.

This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.