Of Tevildo, the Prince of Cats
by Alexandru (Sasha) Bogdan - the Great Wanderer of Valinor “Tevildo and Tinúviel” by Alan Lee “‘What is it – be swift,’ said he, ‘for this is no hour to come desiring audience of Tevildo Prince of Cats.'” When one thinks of Middle-earth, thoughts of epic battles and the clash of blades, of the fair ethereal Elves, of the valiant champions of Men, of the Dwarves as jewel-smiths and master craftsmen of the mountain-halls, of wise angelic Wizards, of the tyrannical Dark Powers and their hordes of warmongering Orcs and other foul monsters pop up in our mind’s eye. But just how many of you would picture a cat playing a part in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium? Enter Tevildo, the Prince of Cats, a character that featured as an antagonist in the early drafts of Beren and Lúthien , at that point titled The Tale of Tinúviel. “Now Tevildo was a mighty cat—the mightiest of all—and possessed of an evil sprite, as some say, and he was in Melko[<Melkor]’s constant following; and th...
