#rescue of maedhros
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In the Silmarillion fandom, we enjoy grabbing the trope of “Nolofinwëan recklessness” and running wild with it.
The most common victims of this are Fingon the Rash Prince and Fingolfin the Impulsive King, who rushes into suicidal combat. Both father and son daring death within Morgoth’s domain.
It’s fun to write and exciting to imagine, no doubt, but I’d like to offer a different take. In fact, what makes Fingon and Fingolfin (and the rest of that family) compelling to me is their patience and endurance.
Yes, I’m aware Fingon rushes to battle at Alqualondë, but that’s a world-altering event. The light of the world has literally gone out, murder has happened in Valinor, Finwë is dead. Most of the Noldor are up on their feet and ready to depart. Everyone is rushing.
But this is not always the case with Fingon. Most significantly, the rescue of Maedhros is NOT an impulsive decision. The published Silmarillion offers no timeline on this, but in The Grey Annals, five entire years pass between the arrival of Fingolfin’s host to Beleriand and Fingon’s decision to look for Maedhros.
Five years in which the two hosts are quite literally on the verge of civil war because, let’s not forget:
No love was there in the hearts of those that followed Fingolfin for the House of Fëanor, for the agony of those that endured the crossing of the Ice had been great, and Fingolfin held the sons the accomplices of their father.
Diplomacy is a painfully slow (and absolutely frustrating!) ordeal. Fingon’s decision is born from this strife, from thirty years on the Helcaraxë, and five years of civil restlessness, not to mention the clear signs that Morgoth is ready to attack them at any moment:
Then Fingon the valiant, son of Fingolfin, resolved to heal the feud that divided the Noldor, before their Enemy should be ready for war; for the earth trembled in the Northlands with the thunder of the forges of Morgoth underground.
This is not rashness. This is the sacrifice of a captain who is willing to make the best of what time is left before full-out destruction begins. It would be rashness if Fingon got his company and crossed Mithrim to wage battle on the Fëanorians. Instead, he chooses differently for the sake of peace, stability, and renewed friendship.
The trek from Lake Mithrim to Thangorodrim could be estimated at around 150 miles, depending on the map we follow, and there are grasslands and two sets of mountains to cross, not to mention the horror of Thangorodrim. Fingon travels on foot. It would take him weeks, maybe even months, to find Maedhros. Plenty of time for the fire of rashness to cool down if that was the case. But he persists because he has no other choice.
Similarly, I often see takes on Fingolfin that he rushes to pointless combat with Morgoth in the same manner as Fëanor had done. Yet again, the timeline is crucial here. The published Silmarillion has the battle lasting at least several months. Bragollach starts in F.A. 455 during winter time:
There came a time of winter, when night was dark and without moon
The battle slows down presumably a few months later:
but the Battle of Sudden Flame is held to have ended with the coming of spring, when the onslaught of Morgoth grew less.
The onslaught grows less, but it doesn’t fully cease. Morgoth and Sauron reissue their attacks early into Fingon’s kingship.
In the Grey Annals, the timeline is stretched further out:
Year 455:
The Fell Year. Here came an end of peace and mirth. In the winter, at the year's beginning, Morgoth unloosed at last his long-gathered strength
Year 456:
Now Fingolfin, King of the Noldor, beheld (as it seemed to him) the utter ruin of his people, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses, and he was filled with wrath and despair.
The fighting goes on actively anywhere from a season to a full year! Fingolfin tries to hold his kingdom together for a full year despite an absolute, unquestionable disaster. I mean, look at this description of the battle:
In the front of that fire came Glaurung the golden, father of dragons, in his full might; and in his train were Balrogs, and behind them came the black armies of the Orcs in multitudes such as the Noldor had never before seen or imagined. And they assaulted the fortresses of the Noldor, and broke the leaguer about Angband, and slew wherever they found them the Noldor and their allies, Grey elves and Men. Many of the stoutest of the foes of Morgoth were destroyed in the first days of that war, bewildered and dispersed and unable to muster their strength. War ceased not wholly ever again in Beleriand
Fingolfin’s decision to ride out, again, is not out of recklessness or a spur-of-the-moment decision. It’s everything but that. He has given everything and truly believes it’s all lost: “the utter ruin of his people, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses.” (!!!)
This is a final stand, the King’s duty to stand by his people, even in death.
#fingon#fingolfin#maedhros#rescue of maedhros#dagor bragollach#close reading#silm#silmarillion#tolkien#long post#cw: war#cw: death
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Still more than a bit amused that of our three favorite musically inclined Finwëans (those that cannot go anywhere without music (not even rescue missions and desperate quests)) Finrod is the one that gets the most fandom flack for it. He didn’t apparently bring his harp with him on a hunting trip or he would have no need of the mannish one. And there is nothing textual to suggest that he was lugging one around under his orc disguise on the way to Angband.
But Fingon…Fingon brings three things with him on his little jaunt to save Maedhros, a bow, his sword/knife and a flipping harp.
I play the harp so I do honestly understand the urge to just whip one out and start singing a song of defiance, or sneak up on random campers and start playing under the stars. (Honestly, still haven't ruled that idea out...sadly I am not tall, golden-haired or immortal so I am unlikely to be mistaken for a Vala or an elven-king). I am not sure if it's a harpist/musician thing or if I am just weird.
But really Fingon, you lugged a harp across the Helcaraxë (and Finrod gets dragged for having gemstones in his pockets) and when you set off on your quest to literal hell you grab your harp too?
#I wonder is Maglor got his off the ships before Feanor started the pyromania party#finrod felagund#maglor#fingon#elven musicians#rescue of maedhros#the quest of the silmaril#sauron and finrod's song duel#harp things#this is very tongue in cheek#I do get the whole songs of power thing#harps can be weapons too#do I like Tolkien characters that also play the harp…yes I do
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@just-another-linguist and @melestasflight both requested Fingon which was v exciting. Fingon is one of the characters that really stuck with me the first time I read the Silm, but I’ve never actually drawn him. In my mind this is like a Valinor-era Fingon!
#fingon#silmarillion#silm art#silmarillion fanart#tolkien fanart#candlesart#here down in the valley#I’d started reading the silm after I’d just finished reading this v extensive aragorn&legolas series#that mostly just involved one of them getting whumped and the other having to rescue him#it was a fantastic time. ‘mellon’ was possibly in the title#anyway it was pure h/c w a side of road trips and so when fingon went on his road trip to rescue maedhros#my brain immediately supplemented the like paragraph of description w the tens of thousands of words of a&l fic I’d just read#which. given that my first read of the silm was mostly just a blur of names and locations#made fingon and his rescue incredibly memorable
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i love fingon so much just. he's so good and so reckless and he loves so fiercely it makes him do the most stupid shit, and in turn no one ever quite puts him first. I'm going to eat glass
#*mine#tolkien#the silmarillion#silm#fingon#turgon and gondolin. fingolfin and his despair. maedhros and his oath. aredhel and turgon. and so on and so FORTH. and YET#god. godddd#i'm fine it's fine I just need to lie down in traffic for a hot second#not even FINGON puts fingon first. he survives the helcaraxe and goes rescue maedhros#and i don't even mean he handles it gracefully i LOVE the idea of a fingon with a bit of an edge. who jumps head-first into danger#/because/ of all this. no one quite cares all that much cleary so why should he. he just wants to feel something so he might as well do som#unhinged fucking shit. move move move then at least you don't have to think so much#just. do you GET IT#screaming crying pls ignore me#these tags are a mess but this is what my brain has been like for a week straight so. yk#just. my guy :((
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day 1 of @tolkiengenweek: fingon & maeglin in mandos.
a little while ago i did this piece and @tanoraqui mentioned maeglin in the tags. anyways i was thinking about which nolofinwion would be best at dealing w maeglin's trauma.
turgon means well, but maeglin probably doesn't want to talk to him. aredhel is a) his mom and b) part of the traumatic backstory so that would also be difficult. argon never even made it past the grinding ice (and frankly i havent figured out his personality enough to do one of these). fingon, however, kept nicely to the theme of eldest son & youngest grandson and made sense trauma-wise.
so anyways here's fingon helping maeglin deal with the aftermath of his time in morgoth's captivity and the trauma of losing aredhel.
#silm#silmarillion#tolkiengenweek#fingon#maeglin#while fingon himself hasn't been captured#he remembers maedhros' nightmares after his rescue#so he has experience dealing with that trauma#he also remembers hearing then news of aredhel's death#at a time where he hasnt seen his only surviving brother off the battlefield for centuries#and his father died years ago#his best friend is halfway across the continent dealing with his own army and battlefront#he knows what it feels like being alone like that#and can help maeglin work through his other problems#i wonder if fingon calls him by his father-name and apparent chosen name#or lomion#the secret name aredhel gave him
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It just struck me that it is important that the rescue of Maedhros from Thrangodrim is attempted by Fingon whom the Fëanorians have just betrayed - but it's also executed by the Valar whom the Fëanorians have also just betrayed.
#i.e. I typed <<the betrayal and the rescue>> while writing my earlier post and realised#<<wait - whose betrayal and whose rescue>>#Maedhros#Fingon#Valar#tolkien#Silmarillion#the Silmarillion#my post
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I love a good canon divergent fic, and one of my favorite parts is the misunderstandings that arise when people don't have the full picture. Which is to say, I'm curious why the silm fandom hasn't explored that if you see ships burning from a distance, and then rock up to beleriand and find out your brother (and possibly his son) died in fire and his eldest has been captured by the Enemy, you might put two and two together to make five.
#silm#feanor#maedhros#the silmarillion#fingolfin#oh it wouldn't last#but how darkly funny would it be if Nolofinwe and his people were so much more#sympathetic to the feanorians when they arrived#only to realize with betrayal the full truth later at some inopportune moment#say - after said eldest has been rescued and makes a formal apology to you#bit awkward
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@lidoshka replied to your post “Treatment "He needs intensive treelight, possibly...”:
@eleneressea I'm happy you like this. 💓
And yeah plz! Continue! I wanna know what happens with feanor now that he thinks he's a bad father! And the silmaril/life support! And what if aredhel and fingon! 🤗🤗
(who am I to deny requests for More?)
so Fëanor's immediate reaction is to have several small crises all at once, and then go to his other six sons and ask them if they know that he loves them more than his jewels, to which the answer is six confused "uh, yes?"-es.
so clearly, thinks Fëanor, whatever's gone wrong has gone wrong specifically between Fëanor and Maitimo, and the key thing that Fëanor knows about (because the Oath and subsequent kinslayings are shaping Maedhros's belief, but those haven't happened yet…) is the argument they had about keeping the Silmarils secret.
which, okay, Fëanor can admit that he hadn't been behaving particularly well there, what with the accusing-Maitimo-of-spying-for-Nolofinwe, though he's still not sure how Maitimo came to the conclusion that Fëanor values the Silmarils more than him. but!! the problem is identified, at least in part, so Fëanor can apologize and reassure Maitimo that he's more important and everything will be fine! just as soon as Maitimo wakes up again. And Fëanor will even admit, albeit through gritted teeth, that Findekáno (who only leaves Maitimo's side when physically dragged away) is a good friend to him. and he supposes that if Maitimo wants to marry him there are theoretically worse options.
Maitimo's injury is great for family unity, though. Írissë is spending a lot more time with Tyelkormo, planning their revenge on Ungoliant, Findekáno as mentioned refuses to leave Maitimo's side, Findaráto is getting manipulated by Maedhros into spreading Leave Aman propaganda among the Teleri, and even Nolofinwë and Fëanor are getting along somewhat now. mostly because everyone is feeling bad for Fëanor and his sons, but still! family unity! and all it takes is Maedhros almost dying! he shouldn't be surprised, it worked great last time.
As for the Silmarils, well…remember how the Silmarils are Treelight, and how Ungoliant's poison killed the Trees? They're more durable than the Trees are, physically, but extended exposure to Ungoliant's poison is not good for them. I'm debating whether one or more of them physically cracks or breaks, or whether their light just dims…
#lidoshka#maedhros: why is it that whenever fingon and i have a daring rescue *i'm* the one that ends up half-dead#time travel maedhros
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"Maedhros wondered how long it would take for a spider to eat a Vala."
(AKA i am writing a very goofy Silm AU and this line is Very Good out of context)
maybe more context if i finish the thing, idk stay tuned for that if it happens lol
#the silmarillion#tolkien#possible silm fic oh my eru#writey#for now it is called the “angry rescue au” in my head#but the actual doc is something along the lines of “no canon compliance no prewriting just insanity”#tis for nothing but the LOLS your honor#oops i forgot#maedhros
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Ok but Morgoth and/or Sauron mockingly tattooing a large star of Fëanor on Maedhros’ chest before hanging him on Thangorodrim.
#it’s the first thing Fingon notices when he comes to rescue him#these thick black lines etched in maedhros’ too pale skin#it’s sad ginger elf time!#you’re welcome#maedhros#star of fëanor#angband#thangorodrim#the silmarillion#tolkien#headcanon
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another headcanon: finrod and fingon became truly close friends in helcaraxë. they spent a lot of time together because someone had to step up and be fingolfin's right and left hands. (fingolfin is sure he would have gone mad without them. fingon and finrod are sure they would have gone mad without each other.)
#they are both hope personified#and the kind of elves that would go around during short periods of rest just chatting with their people#cheering them up and allowing them to cry on their shoulders#and making sure they keep seeing the promise of land ahead#also if i had to pick a finwëan cousin who could have known about /rescue maedhros/ plan#i would pick finrod!#he's the only other elf who would say#sure fingon go ahead a harp and faith in inherwnt goodness of the world is enough to take on melkor#*inherent#tolkien#the silmarillion#fingon#finrod
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Tolkientober day 26: I swear it’s a requirement for me to draw the rescue of Maedhros for at least one prompt every October
#tolkientober#inktober#first age antics#silmarillion#sons of feanor#the rescue of maedhros#russingon fanart#russingon#fingon the valiant#my golden boy#inktober day 26#inktober remove#day 26 remove#my art
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"He was my brother"
This is probably my favourite part from "Antigone" by Jean Anouilh and it makes me think of Maglor and Maedhros. The familial love, the devotion, the loyalty....it makes me emotional.
#maglor loved his big brother so much that he followed him to the very end even when he did not agree with him.#i can definitely see him going against any rules if it meant giving maehdros a proper burial#if there was a body to bury of course#maedhros might have been a rebel and a kinslayer but he was maglor's brother first and foremost#i think maglor would absolutely be the one to welcome his brother home after a long day's hunting#and “kneel down to unlace his boots” and “fetch him food and drink” and “see that his bed was ready for him”#especially after they settled in beleriand and even more so after maedhros was rescued from thangorodrim#maglor would make sure to take care of his brother as much as possible and make his life easier and take some of his burdens upon himself#anyway#ignore my rambling and random headcanons#antigone#maedhros#maglor#maedhros and maglor#sons of feanor#feanorians#silmarillion#brothers
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Talking about Fingon as a symbol of hope for the Noldor in the silmarillion has got me thinking about the title given to him, the Valiant.
The Valiant in Quenya is Astaldo, which as @softlysilverfountainsfall pointed out is one of the titles of Tulkas himself. The one whose very laughter sent Melkor running, later defeated Melkor, and who is prophesied to help beat Melkor in the Dagor Dagaroth. They're comparing Fingon to a Vala. And it was Maedhros who presumably first called him that.
First off, no wonder Morgoth put such an insanely high price on Fingon's head, besides him rescuing Morgoth's most prized prisoner of course(and no doubt Fingon's death was one he especially gloried in and enjoyed rubbing in everybody's faces, the Noldor specifically). Second, there is no way that everybody comparing him to a literal god didn't put some serious pressure on Fingon.
How that title must have helped build up that image of Fingon as a symbol of hope, loyalty and friendship whether Fingon himself liked it or not. How the pressure of that name weighed on his mind, especially after he becomes High King following the tragic death of his father. How the Union of Maedhros was likely filled to the brim with people who thought this, who were so sure they were going to win because we've got Fingon the Valiant.
Maedhros and soon enough the rest of the Noldor make him their idol, put him on a pedestal so high it's disorienting, put so much faith in this symbol, in this man-made Tulkas they've created that when Fingon falls-it's like the Vala himself has fallen.
#Fingon#Silmarillion#Tulkas#Astaldo#Tolkien#Findekano#I definitely think that Maedhros had this hero worship thing for Fingon early on in his recovery#Which as flattering as it was just made Fingon feel awkward#It eventually wore off a significant deal a few years after Maedhros's rescue-much to Fingon's relief#But after the nirnaeth it absolutely SKYROCKETED#Maedhros: FINGON IS DEAD ALL HOPE IS LOST(starts kinslaying)#Fingon in the Halls of mandos: no. stop. dude stop-
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Fingon, in Angband: Testosterone be upon ye! *stabs an orc with a needle filled with testosterone*
*the orc starts screaming*
Sauron, watching the scenario: What the fuck...
#incorrect quotes#incorrect silmarillion quotes#incorrect finwean quotes#fingon#My favourite thing posting about is Maedhros' rescue from Thangorodhrim#can you tell
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Elven herald: My lord, I have news of your brothers, Curufin and Celegorm
Maedhros, having his first good day in 100 years: Unless they're both actively on fire in my halls I don't want it
#maedhros#celegorm#curufin#the silmarillion#tolkien#if ONE of them is on fire it's okay because the other should be able to put him out#he's 100 percent going to their rescue from what ever idiocy they got themselves into though#because he doesn't get to have good days
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