Lúthien and Beren

Lúthien and Beren are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth. Lúthien is an elf, daughter of the elf-king Thingol and goddess-like Melian. Beren is a mortal man. The complex tale of their love for each other and the quest they are forced to embark upon is a story of triumph against overwhelming odds but ending in tragedy. It appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian, the Grey Annals section of The War of the Jewels, and in the texts collected in the 2017 book Beren and Lúthien. Their story is told to Frodo by Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings.

The story of Lúthien and Beren, immortal elf-maiden marrying a mortal man and choosing mortality for herself, is mirrored in Tolkien's The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen. The names Beren and Lúthien appear on the grave of Tolkien and his wife Edith.

Scholars have noted the many sources that Tolkien used in constructing the story. It is based principally on the classical tale of Orpheus and Eurydice in the underworld, supplemented by multiple story elements from myths, legends, and folktales from different periods. These include the Finnish Kalevala, the Welsh Mabinogion, the Saga of the Volsungs, the Prose Edda, and the folktale "Rapunzel".