Maedhros

   The eldest son of Fëanor, called the Tall; rescued by Fingon from Thangorodrim; held the Hill of Himring and the lands about; formed the Union of Maedhros that ended in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; bore one of the Silmarils with him to his death at the end of the First Age.

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   The eldest of the Seven Sons of Fëanor, and considered to be their leader. In Valinor he swore the Oath of Fëanor, and followed his father back to Middle-earth, though of all Fëanor's sons, except perhaps Maglor, he regretted this the most.

   After Fëanor's death, Morgoth captured Maedhros through trickery, and hung him by the wrist from the heights of Thangorodrim. Fingon succeeded in rescuing him, but he lost his right hand in their escape.

   With his brothers, Maedhros held the eastern passes into Beleriand; he himself dwelt in a fortress on the hill of Himring. He worked to unite the Houses of the Noldor, and formed the Union of Maedhros, but that Union perished in the disaster of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

   After the defeat of Morgoth in the War of Wrath, Maedhros and his brother Maglor stole the two remaining Silmarils from the camp of the Valar, but the hallowed jewels would not suffer the brothers to hold them. In torment, Maedhros cast himself into a fissure in the earth.