Queen Berúthiel
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In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Queen Berúthiel was the wife of Tarannon Falastur, the 12th King of Gondor.
Berúthiel was of Black Númenórean origin, from "the inland city", somewhere south of Umbar. Her marriage to Falastur is believed to have been a political marriage, of the sort that was widespread until comparatively recent times. She is described by Tolkien as being "nefarious, solitary and loveless", and she and Falastur never had any children. Eventually, Falastur separated from her and sent her into exile, at which point she returned to her original home.
Berúthiel was most notorious for her cats, in particular, her use of them as spies. This is described in the Unfinished Tales} |=FAIL |HOBBIT|THE HOBBIT=TH |TFOTR|FELLOWSHIP|THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING|LOTR1=FOTR |TTT|TWO TOWERS|THE TWO TOWERS|LOTR2=TT |TROTK|RETURN OF THE KING|THE RETURN OF THE KING|LOTR3=ROTK |S|SIL|TS|SILMARILLION|THE SILMARILLION=SILM |UNFINISHED TALES=UT |1|LT|LT1|TBOLT|LOST TALES|THE BOOK OF LOST TALES=BOLT |2|LT2|TBOLT2|LOST TALES 2|LOST TALES II|THE BOOK OF LOST TALES II=BOLT2 |3|TLOB|LAYS|THE LAYS OF BELERIAND=LOB |4|TSOME|SHAPING|THE SHAPING OF MIDDLE-EARTH=SOME |5|TLROW|LOST ROAD|THE LOST ROAD AND OTHER WRITINGS=LROW |6|TROTS|RETURN OF THE SHADOW|THE RETURN OF THE SHADOW=ROTS |7|TTOI|TREASON|THE TREASON OF ISENGARD=TOI |8|TWOTR|WAR OF THE RING|THE WAR OF THE RING=WOTR |9|SAURON DEFEATED=SD |10|MORGOTH'S RING=MR |11|TWOTJ|WAR OF THE JEWELS|THE WAR OF THE JEWELS=WOTJ |12|TPOME|PEOPLES|THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH=POME |TLOJRRT=LETTERS |BIOGRAPHY=CARPENTER |READER'S COMPANION=RC |BIBLIOGRAPHY|DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY=DB |TOLKIEN READER|THE TOLKIEN READER=TR |FAMILY ALBUM|TOLKIEN FAMILY ALBUM=TFA |PICTURES=P |ARTIST & ILLUSTRATOR=A&I |TREE & LEAF=T&L |MONSTERS|THE MONSTERS AND THE CRITICS=M&C |BLISS|MISTER BLISS=MB |ROVERANDOM=R |THE ROAD GOES EVER ON=RGEO |LFC|LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS=FC |BILBO'S LAST SONG=BLS |}}}|}}}:
It may well have been her continual intrigues that led Falastur to expel her. Her name was removed from the Books of the Kings (but not from the memory of Men), and Falastur had her sent out to sea in a ship with her cats} |=FAIL |HOBBIT|THE HOBBIT=TH |TFOTR|FELLOWSHIP|THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING|LOTR1=FOTR |TTT|TWO TOWERS|THE TWO TOWERS|LOTR2=TT |TROTK|RETURN OF THE KING|THE RETURN OF THE KING|LOTR3=ROTK |S|SIL|TS|SILMARILLION|THE SILMARILLION=SILM |UNFINISHED TALES=UT |1|LT|LT1|TBOLT|LOST TALES|THE BOOK OF LOST TALES=BOLT |2|LT2|TBOLT2|LOST TALES 2|LOST TALES II|THE BOOK OF LOST TALES II=BOLT2 |3|TLOB|LAYS|THE LAYS OF BELERIAND=LOB |4|TSOME|SHAPING|THE SHAPING OF MIDDLE-EARTH=SOME |5|TLROW|LOST ROAD|THE LOST ROAD AND OTHER WRITINGS=LROW |6|TROTS|RETURN OF THE SHADOW|THE RETURN OF THE SHADOW=ROTS |7|TTOI|TREASON|THE TREASON OF ISENGARD=TOI |8|TWOTR|WAR OF THE RING|THE WAR OF THE RING=WOTR |9|SAURON DEFEATED=SD |10|MORGOTH'S RING=MR |11|TWOTJ|WAR OF THE JEWELS|THE WAR OF THE JEWELS=WOTJ |12|TPOME|PEOPLES|THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH=POME |TLOJRRT=LETTERS |BIOGRAPHY=CARPENTER |READER'S COMPANION=RC |BIBLIOGRAPHY|DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY=DB |TOLKIEN READER|THE TOLKIEN READER=TR |FAMILY ALBUM|TOLKIEN FAMILY ALBUM=TFA |PICTURES=P |ARTIST & ILLUSTRATOR=A&I |TREE & LEAF=T&L |MONSTERS|THE MONSTERS AND THE CRITICS=M&C |BLISS|MISTER BLISS=MB |ROVERANDOM=R |THE ROAD GOES EVER ON=RGEO |LFC|LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS=FC |BILBO'S LAST SONG=BLS |}}}|}}}:
In an interview Tolkien had in 1966 he added the following information on her:
After her return home, little is known about Berúthiel, except that she re-adopted Black Númenórean culture and practices.
Later References
In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn uses Berúthiel's cats as a byword for navigation in the dark} |=FAIL |HOBBIT|THE HOBBIT=TH |TFOTR|FELLOWSHIP|THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING|LOTR1=FOTR |TTT|TWO TOWERS|THE TWO TOWERS|LOTR2=TT |TROTK|RETURN OF THE KING|THE RETURN OF THE KING|LOTR3=ROTK |S|SIL|TS|SILMARILLION|THE SILMARILLION=SILM |UNFINISHED TALES=UT |1|LT|LT1|TBOLT|LOST TALES|THE BOOK OF LOST TALES=BOLT |2|LT2|TBOLT2|LOST TALES 2|LOST TALES II|THE BOOK OF LOST TALES II=BOLT2 |3|TLOB|LAYS|THE LAYS OF BELERIAND=LOB |4|TSOME|SHAPING|THE SHAPING OF MIDDLE-EARTH=SOME |5|TLROW|LOST ROAD|THE LOST ROAD AND OTHER WRITINGS=LROW |6|TROTS|RETURN OF THE SHADOW|THE RETURN OF THE SHADOW=ROTS |7|TTOI|TREASON|THE TREASON OF ISENGARD=TOI |8|TWOTR|WAR OF THE RING|THE WAR OF THE RING=WOTR |9|SAURON DEFEATED=SD |10|MORGOTH'S RING=MR |11|TWOTJ|WAR OF THE JEWELS|THE WAR OF THE JEWELS=WOTJ |12|TPOME|PEOPLES|THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH=POME |TLOJRRT=LETTERS |BIOGRAPHY=CARPENTER |READER'S COMPANION=RC |BIBLIOGRAPHY|DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY=DB |TOLKIEN READER|THE TOLKIEN READER=TR |FAMILY ALBUM|TOLKIEN FAMILY ALBUM=TFA |PICTURES=P |ARTIST & ILLUSTRATOR=A&I |TREE & LEAF=T&L |MONSTERS|THE MONSTERS AND THE CRITICS=M&C |BLISS|MISTER BLISS=MB |ROVERANDOM=R |THE ROAD GOES EVER ON=RGEO |LFC|LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS=FC |BILBO'S LAST SONG=BLS |}}}|}}}:
This suggests that Berúthiel and her cats have passed into popular legend by the time of the War of the Ring.
In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy, a black cat is briefly shown at the Inn of the Prancing Pony. This has been interpreted as a possible reference to Queen Berúthiel.
References
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