Fëanor: How His Childhood Created Middle-earth’s Greatest Rebel

Few figures in Tolkien’s legendarium inspire such fascination and division as Fëanor, the fiery spirit who forged the Silmarils. Yet beyond his genius and defiance lies a more human tragedy — one born not of craft or ambition, but of loss, alienation, and an upbringing unlike any other among the Eldar.

In this fifth episode of The Red Book Podcast, I look past the familiar tale of Fëanor’s Oath and rebellion to explore his fractured family life — the death of his mother, the remarriage of his father, and the resentment that would haunt his later deeds. Through Fëanor’s story, Tolkien reveals how even the greatest of the Elves was shaped by grief and isolation long before pride led him to ruin.

📖 Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
01:11 – Fëanor did nothing wrong...
02:57 – A brief history of Fëanor
04:45 – Unhealthy obsession / The Silmarils
06:22 – Fëanor’s unique family tree
08:37 – Interlude
09:03 – Birth, pain, and suffering
10:50 – The death of Míriel
12:58 – Finwë & Indis
14:31 – Fëanor’s animosity
16:05 – The marriage of the Eldar
17:54 – Míriel’s will
19:38 – Fëanor’s grief and lack of control
20:30 – Pity for Fëanor
21:33 – Outro

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📚 On-Screen Notes & 🎨 Artwork:
All artists, images, and links to sources can be found here:
👉 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

🖼️ Thumbnail Art:
The Doom of the Noldor - Ralph Damiani
https://www.ralphdamianiart.com

🎵 Audio:
All music used is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

“The Death of a Dark Star”
MusicLFiles
https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/m...

“Tranquil”
Whitesand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GTz0Eq

“Thunderbird”
Kevin MacLeod
https://incompetech.com

❗ Disclaimer:
All videos are the result of my own research into the works of Tolkien unless otherwise stated. Permission and/or licences have been obtained for the use of copyrighted material. All scripts and editing are my own work and property, and no AI tools have been used to create this video.