Melian Elwe - Luthien Beren by J. Guo and Aglargon

Coauthored: Art and design by Jian Guo (breathing2004 ©) & Heraldry by Aglargon  - Particular design for book on Heraldry and Tolkien (Brazil).

Thingol encountered Melian in the woods of Nan Elmoth and fell under Melian's enchantment of love for long, long years. As a result of his absence a portion of his followers stayed behind to search for him; the rest continued on to Valinor. Melian and Thingol thereafter founded the kingdom of Doriath in Middle-earth. Their daughter Lúthien Tinúviel married the Man Beren. As a result Melian's Maian blood passed to both Elves and Men. Melian and Thingol were a unique couple, the only case where an Ainu married any Elf or Human. Melian is also the only Ainu known to have had children in the "official" drafts of Tolkien's work, though there are some creatures who have reproduced, like Ungoliant, whose exact natures are unclear.

Lúthien is a Telerin (Sindarin) princess, the only child of Elu Thingol, king of Doriath, and his queen, Melian the Maia. Lúthien's romance with the mortal man Beren is one of the greatest stories of the Elder Days and was considered the "chief" of the Silmarillion tales by Tolkien himself. Her character is revered even at the end of the Third Age and honoured still by the likes of Aragorn and various other peoples of Middle-earth. The legacy that Lúthien left behind can be most clearly seen throughout the later ages in those who stem from her ancestry, including the Royal Family of Númenor, being the line of Elros of which Arathorn and his son Aragorn were descended, and Elrond Half-elven who was Lúthien's great-grandson. She is described as the Morning Star of the Elves, a term meaning that she was the most beautiful of all her people at the height of their glory. In contrast, Lúthien's descendant Arwen is called Evenstar, the Evening Star of the Elves, meaning that her beauty reflects that of Lúthien Tinúviel. Lúthien is also first cousin once removed to Galadriel; as Galadriel's mother, Eärwen of Alqualondë, is the daughter of Thingol's brother.

Beren was an Edain, the son of Barahir and Emeldir the man-hearted. He was a man of the royal House of Bëor of Dorthonion, and the most accomplished hero and adventurer of the First Age. The battle of the Dagor Bragollach befell during his youth, bringing about the ruin of his kingdom. The young Beren lived with his father and ten loyal followers in the highlands of Dorthonion, and the twelve of them performed many acts of bravery, to the great frustration of Morgoth, the Dark King of Angband. After the ruin of the Outlaws of Dorthonion and the death of his father, Beren lived alone in Dorthonion off the land and came to know the many birds and beasts that lived there, and they helped him when he needed it. During this time, he hunted nothing and ate no meat and only killed the creatures of Morgoth that roamed the country. He learned not to fear death only captivity and bondage; however, things began grow more difficult for him in Dorthonion for Morgoth put an even greater price on his head and he was forced from the land of his birth by Sauron and Draugluin. He crossed into Doriath, through the forests of Dungortheb, where he saw and fell in love with Lúthien, princess of the Sindar and daughter of Thingol and Melian.

In the early legendarium Melian is defined as a fay, making her somewhat more sinister than in her later appearance. This version of her is presented in the Tale of Tinúviel, Tolkien's first story of Beren and Lúthien, which was written in archaic English and published in the second part of the Book of Lost Tales. In this work she appears in another later narrative and her character is portrayed as being far weaker and more frail than her later manifestation.

The Tale of Beren and Lúthien was regarded as the central part of his legendarium by Tolkien. The story and the characters reflect the love of Tolkien and his wife Edith. Particularly, the event when Edith danced for him in a glade with flowering hemlocks seems to have inspired his vision of the meeting of Beren and Lúthien. Also some sources indicate that Edith's family disapproved of Tolkien originally, due to his being a Catholic. On Tolkien's grave, J. R. R. Tolkien is referred to as Beren and Edith is referred to as Lúthien.