Celebrimbor was a son of Curufin and so a grandson of Fëanor, but he did not follow his father when Curufin was driven out of Nargothrond. He stayed behind, and survived the First Age to become, in the Second, the lord of Eregion and the greatest smith of the Noldor in Middle-earth.1,2
Eregion lay close to the western doors of Moria, and its people, the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, the Jewel-smiths, were friends of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm. The West-gate of Moria, when the Fellowship reached it, still carried the names of the Dwarf who made it and the Elf who drew its signs, as Gandalf read them out.3
I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs.
Sauron came to Eregion in a fair form, as Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, and taught the smiths. With his help they made the Rings of Power, and Celebrimbor made the three greatest, Narya, Nenya and Vilya, himself and alone, so that Sauron never touched them. When Sauron put on the One Ring and Celebrimbor perceived what had been done, he hid the Three.2
Sauron came against Eregion with a great host. Celebrimbor was taken and tortured for the secret of the Rings, and he died, having given up the Seven but not the Three. Eregion was laid waste, and it is told that Sauron's host bore Celebrimbor's body off as a banner.2,4
Sources
Citations name the chapter rather than the page, so they work in any edition. The colour of each note shows what kind of source it is.
- Published story The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as Tolkien published them.
- Edited posthumously The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and Tolkien's late writings on the Elder Days, assembled by Christopher Tolkien from his father's papers.
- Edited posthumously The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, ch. 19, “Of Beren and Lúthien”
- Edited posthumously The Silmarillion, “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”
- Published story The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, ch. 4, “A Journey in the Dark”
- Edited posthumously Unfinished Tales, Part Two, IV, “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn”