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The inktober52 prompt "Cat" made me think where in Tolkien's Legendarium one can find cats. And only two places came to my mind: The Cats of Queen Berúthiel and Tevildo the Prince of Cats . And because I have (sort of) already drawn Berúthiel with her cats before (see here ) and think Tevildo is an utterly fascinating character, I decided to draw him.
Have you never heard of him? Well, he is not part of Middle-earth as we mostly know it. He was present in the earliest version of the story of Beren and Lúthien, titled the Tale of Tinúviel, but his role in the story was later taken by Thû the Lord of Werewolves, who eventually becomes Sauron. I really recommend reading it, the history of the text is really interesting.
Here is the relevant passage:
(Melko) gave orders for Beren to be made a thrall of Tevildo Prince of Cats. Now Tevildo was a mighty cat — the mightiest of all — and possessed of an evil sprite, as some say, and he was in Melko’s constant following; and that cat had all cats subject to him, and he and his subjects were the chasers and getters of meat for Melko’s table and for his frequent feasts. Wherefore it is that there is hatred still between the Elves and all cats even nowwhen Melko rules no more, and his beasts are become of little account.When therefore Beren was led away to the halls of Tevildo, and these were not utterly distant from the place of Melko’s throne, he was much afraid, for he had not looked for such a tum in things, and those halls were ill-lighted and were fiill of growling and of monstrous purrings in the dark. All about shone cats’ eyes glowing like green lamps or red or yellow where Tevildo’s thanes sat waving and lashing their beautiful tails, but Tevildo himself sat at their head and he was a mighty cat and coal-black and evil to look upon. His eyes were long and very narrow and slanted, and gleamed both red and green, but his great grey whiskers were as stout and as sharp as needles. His purr was like the roll of drums and his growl like thunder, but when he yelled in wrath it tumed the blood cold,
📖 J. R. R. Tolkien: The Book of Lost Tales II. The Tale of Tinúviel.
I have read the later version of the story of Beren and Lúthien many times, but only now I read the whole Tale of Tinúviel and I found it delightfully fascinating – bringing to mind many might-have-beens about Tolkien's Legendarium. And having a Prince of Cats in place of Sauron, with his host of evil giant cats is probably the most striking. While Christopher Tolkien in his commentary notes that "It would scarcely be true, I think, to say even that Sauron 'originated' in a cat: in the next phase of the legends the Necromancer (Thû) has no feline attributes", still he acknowledges there is a gradual development and many earlier elements are still echoed later (such as the cat-dog rivalry transformed to wolf-dog).
And I would even argue that Sauron does retain some feline features. His cunning, preferring beautiful appearance and deception (at least while he could) to brute force could certainly be seen in such a way. But most importantly, read this description of the Eye of Sauron as seen by Frodo in the Mirror of Galadriel:
The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat’s, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing.
Don't you see there a little bit of Tevildo retained even in the Lord of the Rings?
Anyway, I think this character definitely deserved an illustration. 🙂

Description

The inktober52 prompt "Cat" made me think where in Tolkien's Legendarium one can find cats. And only two places came to my mind: The Cats of Queen Berúthiel and Tevildo the Prince of Cats . And because I have (sort of) already drawn Berúthiel with her cats before (see here ) and think Tevildo is an utterly fascinating character, I decided to draw him.
Have you never heard of him? Well, he is not part of Middle-earth as we mostly know it. He was present in the earliest version of the story of Beren and Lúthien, titled the Tale of Tinúviel, but his role in the story was later taken by Thû the Lord of Werewolves, who eventually becomes Sauron. I really recommend reading it, the history of the text is really interesting.
Here is the relevant passage:
(Melko) gave orders for Beren to be made a thrall of Tevildo Prince of Cats. Now Tevildo was a mighty cat — the mightiest of all — and possessed of an evil sprite, as some say, and he was in Melko’s constant following; and that cat had all cats subject to him, and he and his subjects were the chasers and getters of meat for Melko’s table and for his frequent feasts. Wherefore it is that there is hatred still between the Elves and all cats even nowwhen Melko rules no more, and his beasts are become of little account.When therefore Beren was led away to the halls of Tevildo, and these were not utterly distant from the place of Melko’s throne, he was much afraid, for he had not looked for such a tum in things, and those halls were ill-lighted and were fiill of growling and of monstrous purrings in the dark. All about shone cats’ eyes glowing like green lamps or red or yellow where Tevildo’s thanes sat waving and lashing their beautiful tails, but Tevildo himself sat at their head and he was a mighty cat and coal-black and evil to look upon. His eyes were long and very narrow and slanted, and gleamed both red and green, but his great grey whiskers were as stout and as sharp as needles. His purr was like the roll of drums and his growl like thunder, but when he yelled in wrath it tumed the blood cold,
📖 J. R. R. Tolkien: The Book of Lost Tales II. The Tale of Tinúviel.
I have read the later version of the story of Beren and Lúthien many times, but only now I read the whole Tale of Tinúviel and I found it delightfully fascinating – bringing to mind many might-have-beens about Tolkien's Legendarium. And having a Prince of Cats in place of Sauron, with his host of evil giant cats is probably the most striking. While Christopher Tolkien in his commentary notes that "It would scarcely be true, I think, to say even that Sauron 'originated' in a cat: in the next phase of the legends the Necromancer (Thû) has no feline attributes", still he acknowledges there is a gradual development and many earlier elements are still echoed later (such as the cat-dog rivalry transformed to wolf-dog).
And I would even argue that Sauron does retain some feline features. His cunning, preferring beautiful appearance and deception (at least while he could) to brute force could certainly be seen in such a way. But most importantly, read this description of the Eye of Sauron as seen by Frodo in the Mirror of Galadriel:
The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat’s, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing.
Don't you see there a little bit of Tevildo retained even in the Lord of the Rings?
Anyway, I think this character definitely deserved an illustration. 🙂