House of Bëor

Ange1e4e5

Ange1e4e5

Well-Known Member
The House of Beor is the first tribe of Men to enter Beleriand and make contact with the Noldor (read: they had contact with some Avari). Their leader was Balan, later named Bëor. They're mostly dark-haired and resemble the Noldor.

Some of the more notable individuals surrounding key events:
  • Beor: Leader of the first group of Men into Beleriand (note: not the First Men)
  • Bereg the Dissenter; leads 1,000 Adan out of Beleriand
  • Andreth the wise-woman: Eldest daughter of Boromir Lord of Ladros, beloved of Aegnor; might need two actresses. Unmarried. Dies of old age in 455 F.A.
  • Bregor: Son of Boromir Lord of Ladros; brother of Andreth and Beril; father of Bregil, Hirwen, Bregolas (who succeeded him as Lord of Ladros), Gilwen, and Barahir. A renowned archer, whose bow became an heirloom of Numenor.
  • Bregolas; Head of the House of Beor by the Dagor Bragollach; grandfather of Morwen and Rian, KIA in the Dagor Bragollach
  • Barahir: younger brother of Bregolas, takes command of the last of the House of Beor; Killed 460 F.A. by Gorgol
  • Emeldir the Man-Hearted: wife of Barahir, mother of Beren.
  • Beren: son of Barahir, sole survivor of the Band of 13, husband of Luthien, father of Dior. Waged a one-man war in Dorthonion for four years after the deaths of his father and their companions, accruing a price on his head equivalent to Fingon's before fleeing Dorthonion for Doriath, passing through Ered Gorgoroth along the way. Tasked with retrieving a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown at the behest of Thingol as a bride-price for Luthien. Succeeded in his venture at the cost of his life. Returned to life with Luthien and they lived out their days on Tol Galen in the middle of the River Adurant in Ossiriand. Fought the Dwarves of Nogrod in the Battle of Sarn Athrad and claimed the Silmaril in the Nauglamir for Luthien. Died (for real this time) c. 503 F.A.
  • Morwen Eledhwen: Daughter of Baragund, wife of Hurin Lord of Dor-Lomin, mother of Turin, Urwen and Nienor. 12 years old at the Dagor Bragollach, escapes to Dor-Lomin. Described as tall, slender, and fair, with a stern and cold disposition that she passes to her son. Also described with striking eyes, of the sort that the Easterlings fear her. Dies after meeting her husband Hurin one final time at Cabed Naeramarth.
  • Rían: Daughter of Belegund, wife of Huor of Dor-Lomin, mother of Tuor. 5 years old at the Dagor Bragollach, escapes to Dor-Lomin. Described as gentle of heart, loved trees and wild flowers. Known as a singer and maker of songs. Flees Dor-Lomin after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad to the Sindar of Mithrim, where she gives birth to Tuor, then undertakes a journey to the Haudh-en-Nirnaeth in the Anfauglith and dies there in 472 F.A.
  • Other members of Barahir's band; resisted Morgoth in Dorthonion for four years. All but Beren killed in 460 F.A. by a band of Orcs led by Gorgol.
    • Dagnir
    • Ragnor
    • Radhruin
    • Dairuin
    • Gildor
    • Gorlim the Unhappy; husband of Eilinel; betrays the Band to Sauron for a chance to see his wife again, then when it's revealed she's dead, executed in a cruel manner and his body used as a wraith to bait Beren into a trap
    • Urthel
    • Belegund and Baragund; sons of Bregolas. Baragund is father of Morwen, Belegund is father of Rian.
So that's a general overview of the physical appearance of some of the people of the House of Bëor and at least a few we'd be looking to cast from Season 5 onward.
 
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Not sure if it's important, but they're also described as "dark-haired (mostly brown though there also were more fair-haired men and women among them) and brown- or grey-eyed folk, for the most part smaller, broader, more heavy in build and a bit darker of complexion than the Hadorians, sometimes even swarthy.Men as Tall as the Hadorians were rare among them."
 
Haerangil said:
Not sure if it's important, but they're also described as "dark-haired (mostly brown though there also were more fair-haired men and women among them) and brown- or grey-eyed folk, for the most part smaller, broader, more heavy in build and a bit darker of complexion than the Hadorians, sometimes even swarthy.Men as Tall as the Hadorians were rare among them."
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I left that out somewhat to allow for some differentiation between the House of Beor and the House of Haleth as to complexion and height. Take Morwen for example, who is described as tall, pale and slender and doesn't (as far as we know) have Hadorian ancestry.
 
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Speaking of differences in appearance between the houses...

With elves, it seemed weird to have racial distinctions, as we started at Cuivienen, had very few generations, and split them up after we'd shown them all living together.

When we made that call, though, we promised ourselves that we could handle Men and Dwarves differently.

So. Now we've reached Men. I would like at least one of these Houses to be predominantly brown skinned. Which one should it be?
 
MithLuin said:
Speaking of differences in appearance between the houses...

With elves, it seemed weird to have racial distinctions, as we started at Cuivienen, had very few generations, and split them up after we'd shown them all living together.

When we made that call, though, we promised ourselves that we could handle Men and Dwarves differently.

So. Now we've reached Men. I would like at least one of these Houses to be predominantly brown skinned. Which one should it be?
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It should be either the House of Beor or the House of Haleth, since the House of Hador is described as being fair-skinned. We should be careful when it comes to the Easterlings however. If it's the House of Beor that is swarthy, Morwen is definitely going to be an outlier.
 
I am fine with Morwen being an outlier, but I'm sure we could find an actress with striking eyes and dark hair who isn't necessarily the palest ever.

Being careful when it comes to the Easterlings is my goal. The Easterlings aren't all 'bad' of course - there's individual treachery and the influence of Morgoth and Sauron at work. But if we let the three houses of the Edain be white and then make the Easterlings be not-white, I don't think that's what we had in mind when we were talking about handling Men differently than we handled Elves.
 
MithLuin said:
I am fine with Morwen being an outlier, but I'm sure we could find an actress with striking eyes and dark hair who isn't necessarily the palest ever.

Being careful when it comes to the Easterlings is my goal. The Easterlings aren't all 'bad' of course - there's individual treachery and the influence of Morgoth and Sauron at work. But if we let the three houses of the Edain be white and then make the Easterlings be not-white, I don't think that's what we had in mind when we were talking about handling Men differently than we handled Elves.
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We could have the House of Haleth be predominantly swarthy. The House of Beor is described as resembling the Noldor and we’ve mostly stuck with Caucasian actors for them, right?
 
MithLuin said:
I am fine with Morwen being an outlier, but I'm sure we could find an actress with striking eyes and dark hair who isn't necessarily the palest ever.

Being careful when it comes to the Easterlings is my goal. The Easterlings aren't all 'bad' of course - there's individual treachery and the influence of Morgoth and Sauron at work. But if we let the three houses of the Edain be white and then make the Easterlings be not-white, I don't think that's what we had in mind when we were talking about handling Men differently than we handled Elves.
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Swarthy skin and light eyes can be pretty striking, as shown in this famous photo from Afghanistan.

en.wikipedia.org

File:Sharbat Gula.jpg - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Why not both? I guess swarthy does mean mediterranean or middle-eastern in contrast to scandinavian in this case...
 
Haerangil said:
Why not both? I guess swarthy does mean mediterranean or middle-eastern in contrast to scandinavian in this case...
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You're not wrong. By Nordic standards, I'm short and swarthy, definitely. Heck, being mostly Italian, I wouldn't have been considered "white" in the US until the 40s, probably.
 
Haerangil said:
Why not both? I guess swarthy does mean mediterranean or middle-eastern in contrast to scandinavian in this case...
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Why not both? So we don't confuse them perhaps?

But now that I think about it, this would be a great place to cast Oscar Isaac; I remember that he was @MithLuin's choice to cast as Fingolfin three years ago and the Hosts vetoed him.
 
Yes, we were definitely going to save him for a Man rather than an Elf.

The three houses will be differentiated by costume and culture...we don't necessarily need to make them three different races. Meaning, they should be distinct ethnic groups, but how different in appearance they are from one another is to be determined.
 
Getting back to this discussion, my initial tentative idea is that the House of Bëor could vaguely resemble people from eastern Mediterranean areas, perhaps including Italian, but also Greek, Turkish and Syrian people. (The people of Haleth should be darker, and I can see people from India or Pakistan being models, or perhaps Ethiopia? The House of Marach seems to me to be Northern European looking.)
 
On the family tree: if it’s too much of a hassle to keep Bregor/Bregolas, would it be a good idea to have Baragund and Belegund (his sons and Morwen and Rian’s fathers) to be Barahir‘s sons and therefore Beren’s elder brothers?
 
I think that much combining of families is unnecessary. Also...the dates won't really work out. We want Barahir to be under 50 at the Dagor Bragollach. Having him be Beren's father is fine with that timeline....but Barahir would be too young to father Baragund and Belegund.

I suggest we do the following:
1604538220967.png
 
If we cast the men of the House of Bëor with black actors then I do think it adds a layer to Thingol’s rejection of Beren as fit for his daughter as the racial tensions become overt. It helps visualise the theme for the audience and also lets us address some of the potential racial criticism that could be leveled at a show of predominantly white characters by casting possibly the best known hero as a black actor. And it wouldn’t simply be ‘diversity’ in name only as the story lends its to an exploration of racial tensions. I think it’s something unexplored in Tolkien’s world, rather alluded to if we apply allegory (which he wouldn’t like lol). But think it’d be good to explore. Serves the story and the creative process. Plus I can think of several cool Beren actors that fit that mould. Thoughts?
 
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Rob Harding said:
If we cast the men of the House of Bëor with black actors then I do think it adds a layer to Thingol’s rejection of Beren as fit for his daughter as the racial tensions become overt. It helps visualise the theme for the audience and also lets us address some of the potential racial criticism that could be leveled at a show of predominantly white characters by casting possibly the best known hero as a black actor. And it wouldn’t simply be ‘diversity’ in name only as the story lends its to an exploration of racial tensions. I think it’s something unexplored in Tolkien’s world, rather alluded to if we apply allegory (which he wouldn’t like lol). But think it’d be good to explore. Serves the story and the creative process. Plus I can think of several cool Beren actors that fit that mould. Thoughts?
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I feel like that would distract from the actual conflict that is going on. There are legitimate reasons why an Elvish parent would have concerns about their child marrying a human. Adding human race relations to the mix makes any reasonable examination of the issues in the story a bit problematic, no?
 
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