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warrioreowynofrohan · 9 hours

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Silmarillion Daily - Of the Arming of the Sindar

And ere long the evil creatures came even to Beleriand, over passes in the mountains, or up from the south through the dark forests. Wolves there were, or creatures that walked in wolf-shapes, and other fell beings of shadow; and among them were the Orcs, who afterwards wrought ruin in Beleriand: but they were yet few and wary, and did but smell out the ways of the land, awaiting the return of their lord. Whence they came, or what they were, the Elves knew not then, thinking them perhaps to be Avari who had become evil and savage in the wild; in which they guessed all too near, it is said.

Therefore Thingol took thought for arms, which before his people had not needed, and these at first the Naugrim smithied for him; for they were greatly skilled in such work, though none among them surpassed the craftsmen of Nogrod, of whom Telchar the smith was greatest in renown. A warlike race of old were the Naugrim, and they would fight fiercely against whomsoever aggrieved them: servants of Melkor, or Eldar, or Avari, or wild beasts, or not seldom their own kin, Dwarves of other mansions and lordships. Their smithcraft indeed the Sindar soon learned of them; yet in the tempering of steel alone of all crafts the Dwarves were never outmatched even by the Noldor, and in the making of mail of linked rings, which was first contrived by the smiths of Belegost, their work had no rival.

At this time therefore the Sindar were well-armed, and they drove off all creatures of evil, and had peace again; but Thingol’s armouries were storied with axes and with spears and swords, and tall helms, and long coats of bright mail; for the hauberks of the Dwarves were so fashioned that they rusted not but shone ever as if they were new-burnished. And that proved well for Thingol in the time that was to come.

This is anothing thing that highlights that the Valar urging the elves to come to Valinor wasn’t something that was really necessary - prior to Melkor’s parole, the dangers of Middle-earth are something that the Sindar and dwarves working together are able to deal with.

It’s also worth noting that, dating from this time, the Sindar had a good 170 years of experience defending themselves before the Noldor arrived in Middle-earth. The Girdle of Melian doesn’t exist yet at this point; that only goes up when Morgoth returns to Middle-earth.

Interestingly, the Sindar - out of necessity - actually learn weaponsmithing and the making of armour well before the Noldor do, though they mostly don’t have the same level of interest or expertise in metalworking. And additional point is that, while Beleg’s speciality is archery, the Sindar as a whole are not mainly fighting with bows and arrows, but with axes and spears and swords.

It also means that Lúthien is not nearly as sheltered and insulated from the wider world as as is sometimes imagined. She’s met dwarves; she’s likely responsible for some of the tapestries in Menegroth; she’s likely seen most of Beleriand at various times; and she’s aware that dangers exist.

All of this is going on while, in Valinor, the grandchildren of Finwë are still growing up. Turgon and Finrod are still a little shy of adulthood.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #silmarillion daily #sindar #thingol #luthien

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warrioreowynofrohan · 13 hours

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tags from @nelyos-right-hand: #now I wonder where Maedhros would be on this list

I was thinking about this, and I don't really think he would be popular. Which is not to say that he would be unpopular either! But I don't think that the sons of Fëanor other than Maglor would have a very high profile in Valinor as individuals outside of their immediate circle of friends, because it would kind of be subsumed under the fame of their controversial-genius father and their superstar brother. I think Maglor escaped Fëanor's shadow by virtue of being 1) incredibly good at something; 2) incredibly good at something that is in no way associated with Feanor's own talents; and 3) being incredibly good at something that elves are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about. The rest of them likely have their own particular talents, but they don't have anything on that level - so while the entire family is well-known, the rest of them are mostly well-known as "the Fëanoreans" more than for their individual identities.

Finwëan Popularity Taxonomy

This isn’t about the extent of popularity different Finwëans have during the Ages of Trees, it’s about the type of popularity. Who is the most popular depends entirely on the lens you’re using. (Headcanon entirely, vibes entirely, no canon basis.)

Finrod: Finrod is the kid at school who found you crying in the bathroom and stayed and listened to you and bought you lunch and you went outside to sit on the grass together and just talk, and suddenly your bad day was a good day. Finrod is the kid where everyone at school either has a story like that or has a friend who has a story like that. He’s not the star or the trend-setter, but everybody likes him.

Fingon: Fingon has high-school-football-star-who’s-actually-nice vibes. Effortlessly popular. The kind of guy that, one time he smiles at you and says something nice and you’re giddy for a week.

Maglor: Maglor is not operating on a high-school level. Maglor is rock star popular. Maglor is Taylor Swift popular. Maglor has a fandom that includes a large fraction of Valinor.

Fëanor: Fëanor is Elon Musk (pre-Twitter-purchase) popular (not saying anything in terms of his personal similarity to Musk, just the type of popularity): has incredibly passionate fans who think he’s the answer to all the world’s problems, and equally passionate detractors. As a bonus, after the First Kinslaying he has post-Twitter-purchase Elon Musk popularity: passionate fans fewer and more unhinged; less unhinged fans beginning to question; detractors more numerous. After Losgar, doubts spread even among his own followers.

Fingolfin: After becoming acting ruler of the Noldor, is Jed Bartlet (The West Wing) popular. If you asked people for their favourite Finwëan, most wouldn’t name him, but he’s got the respect earned by a leader who does his job well and makes peoples’ lives simpler, and if you suggest replacing him with someone else you’ll rapidly find out how much people don’t want that.

(Turgon in Middle-earth is the most similar to his father. Turgon is mayor-you-like popular. Everyone’s met him; if you raise an issue with him, it will be addressed or you’ll end up with a new perspective on it. Or both. Gondolin is excellently administered. Gondolin does not have potholes.)

#tolkien #the silmarillion #maedhros #sons of feanor

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warrioreowynofrohan · 1 day

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Good old Merry did wHAT .

#he’s great #merry brandybuck #tolkien #the lord of the rings

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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Looking up some stuff led me to the Wikipedia page on Annwn, which made me go “hey that sounds like Henneth Annûn, i.e. Window on the West —> annûn = west = Valinor”, but Wikipedia’s already got it covered:

Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn ([ˈanʊn]) is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn[1][2] (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd[3]), it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease was absent and food was ever-abundant.[4][5]

…J. R. R. Tolkien used the word annún in his Middle-earth mythology as a term in the Elvish language Sindarin (phonologically inspired by Welsh) meaning "west" or "sunset" (cognate with the Quenya Andúnë), often referring figuratively to the "True West", i.e. the blessed land of Aman beyond the Sea, the Lonely Island Tol Eressëa, or (in the later mannish usage) to the drowned island of Númenor. This is an example of Tolkien's method of world-building by "explaining the true meaning" of various real-world words by assigning them an alternative "Elvish" etymology. The Sindarin word for 'king', aran is also similar to Arawn, the king of Annwn.

But. The Wikipedia entry also has this:

The appearance of a form antumnos on an ancient Gaulish curse tablet, which means an ('other') + tumnos ('world'), however, suggests that the original term may have been *ande-dubnos, a common Gallo-Brittonic word that literally meant "underworld".[7]

….I’m feeling like that’s where Tolkien got Utumno from.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #the lord of the rings #medieval

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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Am I F1 posting am I LOTR posting I can multitask. Look I’m barely into Two Towers but I’m on another themed field trip and we’re going to look at 11th century “oliphant” hunting horns now. Was Boromir’s horn material and design ever specified? I don’t recall! probably it was a large boar tusk! Maybe it was a really really big bull! This is all more likely than elephant ivory, tho as seen here elephant (and rhinoceros) ivory WAS absolutely in use, especially in early medieval Muslim Europe (Spain, Sicily, and parts of Southern Italy) and was definitely known much further north (too far north tho and you start getting walrus ivory instead). But you’ve gotta see some of the coolest early medieval hunting horns anyway.

From the museum placard:

“The term oliphant refers to an ivory horn such as the one used by the legendary hero Roland, one of Charlemagne’s paladins, to sound the call for battle. Many such horns have been preserved. Usually decorated with hunting and animal motifs, they were made in Islamic-Arab countries as well as Norman Sicily and in Lower Italy. Many of them served as containers for relics in the church treasuries of the West.”

These two are (and I’m just getting this info off more museum placards) from Italy (Salerno or Amalfi, maybe) and from Arab Sicily. The latter, with the very Muslim-style animals in a web of vines, is my absolute fav. Sicily was conquered by the Byzantines, Fatimids, and ex-Viking Normans in succession and the style got neat as hell. Did Tolkien care about this mate I have no idea, I just think it’s the coolest thing. Also these are huge.

*and of course, ivory today is real fucking sad and part of an ecological catastrophe. But it’s worth saying that the 11th century was Not the century that fucked that one up.

#learning the literary referants tolkien was drawing from for this stuff is so interesting!#gondor #oromë #also love the art with the carvings!

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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Sorry that all the lotr posts are the messiest things I’ve ever done. No one told me Boromir’s ancestors fucked with Arawn, famous for all the stories in the Mabinogion which may as well be titled Don’t Fuck With Arawn

#tolkien #the lord of the rings #gondor

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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Had to look up the information on the Horn of Gondor.

From The Return of the King, “Minas Tirith”:

“I have recieved this,” said Denethor, and laying down his rod he lifted from his lap the thing that he had been gazing at. In each hand he held up one half of a great horn cloven through the middle: a wild-ox horn bound with silver.

“That is the horn that Boromir always wore!” cried Pippin.

“Verily,” said Denethor. “And in my turn I bore it, and so did each eldest son of our house, far back into the vanished years before thr failing of the kings, since Vorondil father of Mardil hunted the wild kine of Araw in the far fields of Rhûn.”

And then in Appendix A.I.ii, in a footnote on the steward “Vorondil the Hunter” (father of Mardil; Mardil was the first ruling Steward of Gondor):

The wild white kine that were still to be found near the Sea of Rhûn were said in legend to be descended from the Kine of Araw, the huntsman of the Valar, who alone of the Valar came often to Middle-earth in the Elder Days. Oromë is the High-elven form of his name.

#gondor #boromir #denethor #orome #the lord of the rings #tolkien

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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Tags from @theoppositeofprofound:

#warrioreowynofrohan this is why I think you’d really enjoy tlt#the prose might not be your style but the THEMES very much are#it’s about grace it’s about life it’s about what you do after the end of the world#it’s about how you live with being evidence of a horrible crime and how you deal with undeath and dying#it’s about love that never saw the light but still matters and people who are gone but still here#and it’s also about how people fail at all of the above assignments!

Confession time - I actually did start to read this series, but I read Harrow the Ninth first because it had fewer holds on it at the library (....as you do) and. uh. this is not a series where that works. 😂 After that I read Gideon the Ninth. I now have actually less idea what is going on in this series that I did before I started reading it.

But I like everything you are saying here a lot so I may need to go back and start reading it from the beginning, properly.

This. This feels like a central theme of TLT that goes underrated (and one of the reasons that Alecto probably isn’t going to be about defeating God). You cannot prioritize both revenge and healing. When it comes time to choose you need to pick anabolism. You have to choose to live.

John wasn’t a Bad Guy all along, he was a furious, brilliant man who saw a horrible injustice wrought and did his best to stop it. Under other circumstances, he’s the kind of guy who’d work himself to the bone to cure cancer or stop global warming. Unfortunately he also had a vengeful streak a mile wide and when it came down to it he quite literally chose Eat the Rich over Save the Poor. His villainous meltdown happened ten thousand years ago and now he’s just having a sad little self destructive spiral, slowly collapsing like an old star. He’s the villain but not the main obstacle.

The main obstacle is that the Earth is trapped in a fully articulated body, the solar system is undead, the path to the afterlife is clogged. It’s an environmentalist plot, the solution is going to be fixing the environment! Prioritizing that, instead of punishing the pathetic whinging instigator of the apocalypse is, I suspect, going to be one of the main goals and conflicts of AtN. Because as easy as it is to punch God, that’ll only solve one of your problems (the problem is that God is not currently being punched).

#the locked tomb #tlt #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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Help I’ve hit Rohan and it’s like watching Fullmetal Alchemist in English… this is our military dictator, firstname King… everyone else is named after a WWII fighter jet but don’t worry about it… only this experience is packed in alongside some of the most beautiful, lifechanging prose you’ve ever seen in your life. Again not unlike. Fullmetal Alchemist.

#“i shall have joy” is - wow - that’s basically her character arc!#that’s what her relationship with faramir and coming out of her despair and depression is about!#i LOVE this!#eowyn #tolkien #the lord of the rings #tolkien could easily have meant both the pun version and this version

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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#are you telling me that eowyn’s name is literally Horse Girl?#tolkien #the lord of the rings #rohan

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warrioreowynofrohan · 2 days

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This was very fun, thanks to all who participated! I loved seeing your guesses and deductions in the tags!

We have a three-way tie for the winner and…all three are wrong! 🤣

Answers! (Sorry, this is long, because I wanted to be clear.)

The things that are NOT from The Silmarillion are as follows:

Things from “The Shibboleth of Fëanor”, The People of Middle-earth (The History of Middle-earth volume 12):

1) Maedhros was a good-looking redhead

The only thing The Silmarillion says about Maedhros’ appearance is that he was tall! This extremely popular tidbit is from the Shibboleth:

Maitimo: ‘well-shaped one’: he was of beautiful bodily form. But he, and the youngest, inherited the rare red-brown hair of Nerdanel’s kin.

2) Fingon wore gold braided in his hair

Also from the Shibboleth, nothing said about it in the Silm!

It would have been sufficient for Fingolfin to give his eldest son a name beginning with fin- as an ‘echo’ of the ancestral name, and if this was also specifically applicable it would have been approved as a good invention. In the case of Fingon it was suitable; he wore his long dark hair in great plaits braided with gold.

4) Maglor played the harp

This was one of the three most-often-chosen options, but it is not from the Silm! In The Silmarillion Maglor is mentioned as a singer, but no specific instrument is named. This is from both the Shibboleth…

Makalaurë: Of uncertain meaning. Usually interpreted (and said to have been a ‘prophetic’ mother-name as ‘forging gold’. If so, probably a poetic reference to his skill in harping, the sound of which was ‘golden’ (laurë was a word for golden light or colour, never used for the metal).

…and ‘The Lay of Leithian Recommenced’ in the The Lays of Beleriand (HoME vol. 3.):

Maelor [both this form and Maglor appeared in drafts] son of Fëanor, forgotten harper, singer doomed

6) Fingolfin’s son Argon died in battle shortly after crossing the Helcaraxë

In The Silmarillion Fingolfin has three children: Fingon, Turgon, and Aredhel. Furthermore, Fingolfin’s host are not attacked on their arrival in Middle-earth; they enter. Mithrim, march to the gates of Angband, and then return to to Mithrim, all unopposed, as the Orcs and creatures of Morgoth hide in Angband from the newly-created Sun.

Argon only appears in The History of Middle-earth. The Shibboleth says:

…all [Anairë’s] children went with their father: Findekáno, Turukáno, Arakáno, and Írissë his daughter and third child…Arakáno was the tallest of his brothers and the modt impetuous, but his name was never changed to Sindarin form, for he perished in the first battle of Fingolfin’s host with the Orks, the Battle of the Lammoth (but the Sindarin form Argon was often later given as a name by Ñoldor and Sindar in memory of his valour). {Footnote: When the onset of the Orks caught the host at unawares as they marched southwards and the ranks of the Eldar were giving way, he sprang forward and hewed a path through the foes, daunted by his stature and the terrible light of his eyes, till he came to the Ork-captain and felled him. Then though he himself was surrounded and slain, the Orks were dismayed, and the Ñoldor pursued them with slaughter.}

Christopher Tolkien notes in the “Shibboleth” footnotes that Arakanó was added in the making of the genealogies, and that other notes had him dying at Alqualondë, then changed to him dying on the Helcaraxë, and then to this. My speculation: as the Shibboleth also has the crispy-Amrod version of Losgar, maybe at this time Tolkien was thinking of mirroring Fëanor and Fingolfin both losing their youngest sons during the return to Middle-earth?

7) Nerdanel named Amrod ‘doomed’

Also from the Shibboleth, as part of the crispy-Amrod version! None of the sons of Fëanor’s names are given stated meanings in The Silmarillion, not even in the index of names (though meanings are given fir many other names of characters and places). And in The Silmarillion Amrod and Amras both die in the Third Kinslaying.

From the Shibboleth:

The two twins were both red-haired. Nerdanel gave them both the name Ambarussa - for they were much alike and remained so while they lived. When Fëanor begged that their names should at least be different, Nerdanel looked strange, and after a while said: “Then let one be called [Ambarto >] Umbarto, but which, time will decide.”

Fëanor was disturbed by this ominous name (‘Fated’) and changed it to Ambarto - or in some versions thought Nerdanel had said Ambarto, using the same first element as in Ambarussa (sc. amba + Quenta arta ‘exalted, lofty’). But Nerdanel said: “Umbarto I spoke; yet do as you wish. It will make no difference.”

I will admit to having glossed ‘fated’ as ‘doomed’, based on words like Turambar (‘master of doom’) and Amon Amarth (‘Mount Doom’).

8) Fingolfin’s wife Anairë was friends with Eärwen

Fingolfin’s wife is not even named in The Silmarillion, and all it says about Eärwen is that she was Olwë’s daughter, was called the swan-maiden of Alqualondë, and married Finarfin. Anairë’s name and friendship with Eärwen are from the Shibboleth:

Fingolfin’s wife Anairë refused to leave Aman, largely because of her friendship with Eärwen wife of Arafinwë (though she was a Noldo and not one of the Teleri).

10) Findis remained in Valinor while Lalwen went to Middle-earth

Neither Findis nor Lalwen appear The Silmarillion. Only in the Shibboleth of Fëanor are they added to the list of Finwë and Indis’ children. This was the least-commonly-chosen answer in the poll. Some of the next-least-common answers were the Argon and the ‘Umbarto’ ones. This makes sense - material that outright conflicts with the Silm would be easier to identify/remember as non-Silm.

11) Idril and Elenwë fell through the ice on the Helcaraxë and only Idril was saved

The only thing The Silmarillion says about this is that on the crossing of the Helcaraxë “Elenwë thhe wife of Turgon was lost”. The details about her and Idril falling through the ice and only Idril being saved are from the Shibboleth:

[Elenwë] perished in the crossing of the Ice; and Turgon was thereafter unappeasable in en,ity for Fëanor and his sons. He had himself come near to death in the bitter waters when he attempted to save her and his daughter Itaril, whom the breaking of treacherous ice had cast into the cruel sea. Itaril he saved; but the body of Elenwë was covered in fallen ice.

So eight of the twelve options are non-Silm material from the Shibboleth! Now for the other four.

Things from Morgoth’s Ring (The History of Middle-earth volume 10):

5) Aegnor had a tragic romance with an Edain woman named Andreth.

This is from the “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth,” an in-depth theological discussion between Finrod and Andreth, in Morgoth’s Ring; it comes up at the end of that comversation. Most people appear to have know that; this was another of the least-commonly-chosen options.

12) Finwë was only permitted to marry Indis because Míriel chose to remain dead

This was another of the three-way-tie for most common choice, but it is not the Silm! Surprisingly, The Silmarillion says nothing even to indicate that Finwë’s remarriage was unusual, much less that it required a special debate and ruling by the Valar. All The Silmarillion says is:

Now it came to pass that Finwë took as his second wife Indis the Fair. She was a Vanya, close kin of the High King, golden-haired and tall, and in all ways unlike Míriel. Finwë loved her greatly and was glad again. But the shadow of Míriel did not depart from the House of Finwë, nor from his heart; and of all who, he loved Fëanor had ever the chief share of his thought.

The wedding of his father was not pleasing to Fëanor; and he had no great love for Indis, nor for Fingolfin or Finarfin, her sons.

The material regarding Míriel’s determination to remain permanently dead, Finwë’s remarriage, and the debate of the Valar is from “Laws and Customs among the Eldar” in Morgoth’s Ring.

So now we’re down to two options left!

Things from Unfinished Tales

3) Sauron used Celembrimbor’s corpse as a banner after torturing him to death

This is not in The Silmarillion (“Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”). There is in fact amazingly little about Celebrimbor specifically/personally in “Of the Rings of Power”. These are the only two times he is mentioned:

In Eregion the craftsmen of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the People of the Jewel-smiths, surpassed in cunning all that have ever wrought, save only Fëanor himself; and indeed greatest among them was Celebrimbor, son on Curufin, who was estranged from his father and remained in Nargothrond when Celegorm and Curufin were driven forth, as is told in Quenta Silmarillion.

After this it talks about the elves of Eregion (not Celebrimbor specifically) accepting Annatar gladly and making Rings of Power, and realizing they were betrayed when Sauron made the One Ring. Then we have:

Therefore the Three [Rings] remained unsullied, for they were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them; yet they also were subject to the One.

From that time war never ceased between Sauron and the Elves; and Eregion was laid waste, and Celebrimbor slain, and the doors of Moria were shut.

I’m surprised myself! I had thought that Sauron torturing Celebrimbor for the location of the Seven and the Three ring was in “Of the Rings of Power” in the Silm, even though I knew him being used as a banner wasn’t.

In fact, the material on Celebrimbor making a last stand against Sauron in Ost-in-Edhil; Sauron torturing him for the location of the Seven and the Three rings and obtaining the locations of the Seven but not the Three; and Sauron using his dead body into a banner; as well as a lot of other material on Celebrimbor such as his and Galadriel’s conflicts over the leadership of Eregion, are all from Unfinished Tales, specifically the section “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn (and of Amroth King of Lórien)”.

It is not easy to read, or find things in, “This History of Galadriel and Celeborn,” due to the many different drafts. The relevant passage is:

Celebrimbor, desperate, himself withstood Sauron on the steps of the great door of the Mírdain; but he was grappled and was taken captive, and the House was ransacked. There Sauron took the Nine Rings and other lesser works of the Mírdain; but the Seven and the Three he could not find. Then Celebrimbor was put to torment, and Sauron learned from him where the Seven were bestowed. This Celebrimbor revealed, because neither the Seven nor the Nine did he value as he valued the Three; the Seven and the Nine were made with Sauron’s aid, whereas the Three were made by Celebrimbor alone, with a different power and purpose. Concerning the Three Rings Sauron could learn nothing from Celebrimbor; and he had him put to death. But he guessed the truth, that the Three had been committed to Elvish guardians: and that must mean to Galadriel and Gil-galad.

In black anger he turned back to battle; and bearing as a banner Celebrimbor’s body hung upon a pole, shot through with Orc-arrows, he turned upon the forces of Elrond.

So, at last, the correct answer is …. *drumroll*…..

Finarfin was friends with Olwë’s sons!

From The Silmarillion chapter 5, “Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië:

Finarfin was the fairest, and the most wise of heart; and afterwards he was a friend of the sons of Olwë, lord of the Teleri, and had to wife Eärwen, the swan-maiden of Alqualondë, Olwë’s daughter.

I hadn’t even noticed that fact until my latest reading of the Silmarillion, so I figured it was a good one to camouflage among some of the more well-known non-Silm ones. :D

Congratulations to everyone who got this one right, and thanks to everyone who voted and/or reblogged!

#tolkien #the silmarillion #history of middle earth #unfinished tales #maglor #maedhros #fingon #celebrimbor #finwe #miriel #indis

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