Beren (also known as Beren Erchamion, "the One-handed", and Beren Camlost, "the Empty-handed") is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion.
He was the son of Emeldir and Barahir, a Man of the royal House of Bëor of Dorthonion. His romance with the Elf Lúthien is one of the great stories of the Elder Days.
The Battle of Sudden Flame occurred during Beren's youth, bringing about the ruin of his kingdom. Thenceforward the young Beren lived with his father and ten loyal followers in the highlands of Dorthonion, at Tarn Aeluin, and they performed many acts of bravery, to the great frustration of Morgoth, the Dark Lord of Angband. After the ruin of the Outlaws of Dorthonion, Beren exacted revenge on the murderer of his father, Barahir, and led a life of solitary outlaw with the aid of animals until he had established such a high reputation that the price on his head was equal to that on Fingon, high king of the Noldor elves. Beren had also recovered the ring of Barahir, a present given to his father by Finrod Felegund, who offered the ring as a symbol of his aid to Barahir and all of his descendants for Barahir's rescue of Finrod when he was surrounded. This ring was passed down eventually to Aragorn. Beren was forced from the land of his birth by Sauron and Draugluin as they completely defiled Dorthonion. He crossed a path of terror, passing an impenetrable boundary by the will of fate, into Doriath, where he saw and fell in love with Lúthien, princess of the Sindar and daughter of Thingol and Melian.
Thingol haughtily refused to give Lúthien's hand in marriage. He said that he would only allow the marriage if Beren recovered one of the Silmarils, the three hallowed jewels which the Noldor Elves had lost to Morgoth, from the Iron Crown of Morgoth. The task was intended to be impossible, but Beren and Lúthien, with the aid of Finrod of Nargothrond and Huan the Great Hound (both of whom died protecting Beren), braved many perils (even besting Sauron, then Morgoth's most powerful lieutenant) and finally reached Angband and came before Morgoth. Beren was able to capture a Silmaril when Lúthien had made the Dark Lord fall asleep through her singing. He then attempted to take another Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, but the tip of his dagger Angrist broke and cut Morgoth. When they wanted to escape from Angband, the great wolf Carcharoth, whom Morgoth had bred, attacked them. Beren held out the Silmaril, hoping that its radiance would avert the beast, but he was mistaken. Carcharoth bit off his hand swallowed it and the Silmaril (thus Beren was called Erchamion, One-hand), and proceeded to run rampant through Doriath. Lúthien and the unconscious Beren were rescued by the Eagles of Manwë. They eventually returned to Thingol, where Beren claimed that he was holding the Silmaril in his hand; when he showed the king the stump of his arm, the king was moved to compassion for Beren. Beren participated in the hunting of Carcharoth, in which the beast was slain and the Silmaril recovered; the quest was accomplished, but Beren was mortally wounded.
Lúthien's love for Beren was so strong that, hearing of his death, she laid down and died. Her soul went to the Halls of Mandos, where she moved Mandos to pity through her singing. Both she and Beren were restored to life, but both of them would die the death of Men, and go beyond the walls of Arda to a place unknown. Thus Beren and Lúthien lived again, and dwelt on Tol Galen in the middle of the river Adurant in Ossiriand. There they stayed apart from other mortals; Beren was involved with the events of the First Age only one further time, when he waylaid a group of Dwarves who had destroyed Doriath and stolen the Nauglamír in which the Silmaril was set.
Lúthien bore Beren a son, named Dior, Thingol's heir, considered to be one of the fairest beings to ever live, for in him flowed the blood of Men, Elves and Maiar (Ainur). Through his descendants, the blood of Beren and of Lúthien was preserved among the Eldar and the Edain.
The story of Beren and Lúthien, though mentioned only briefly in The Lord of the Rings, was a central part of the legendarium. Tolkien once referred to it as "the kernel of the mythology". He went on to say that it "arose from a small woodland glade filled with 'hemlock'", which he visited while serving in the Humber Garrison in 1918 (during World War I).
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