"The Tale Of Beren And Lúthien" is the most famous of stories in The Silmarillion. It tells the tale of the mortal man Beren, who meets immortal Elf-maiden Lúthien singing and dancing in a glade. Tolkiens wife, Edith, had once danced in a glade with flowering hemlocks in Yorkshire during the war; and was undeniably the muse for both Lúthien, as well as Arwen. Edith was an Anglican; Tolkien a Catholic, and he was ordered by his guardian to stop any contact between them until Tolkien reached the legal age of 21 (five years later). She moved away and was engaged to another man, but dropped it all at the first hearing from Tolkien on the eve of his 21st birthday. This is reflected in Beren and Lúthien's touching romance. In a letter to his son, Christopher, Tolkien spoke of Edith:
She was (and knew she was) my Luthien. For ever (especially when alone) we still met in the woodland glade and went hand in hand many times to escape the shadow of imminent death before out last parting.
