Hunting of the Wolf

   The royal hunt for Carcharoth.

   At the gates of Angband, the mighty wolf Carcharoth had bitten Beren's hand from his wrist, and with it the Silmaril it held. The Silmaril was a hallowed jewel, and burned the innards of the evil monster. In searing pain, the wolf blindly chased through Beleriand and, breaking the Girdle of Melian, roamed madly through the lands of Doriath.

   King Thingol set out to hunt the wolf with the greatest of his warriors.

   With him went Mablung and Beleg, and Beren Erchamion, and Huan the Hound of Valinor. They found Carcharoth under the eaves of Neldoreth, drinking beneath a waterfall of the River Esgalduin. Eventually, after a mighty battle, Huan slew Carcharoth, but both he and Beren were mortally wounded.

   From the wolf's belly, Thingol recovered the Silmaril and carried it back to Menegroth. This was the same jewel that Eärendil would bear as he sailed to Aman and that, according to legend, now shines as the Evening and the Morning Star.