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Post by Androga Erindalant on Jan 27, 2007 5:08:28 GMT -6
Sil Ch13: Of the Return of the Noldor
Fëanor and his sons arrived in Beleriand at Lammoth, from where they continued to Hithlum and the lake Mithrim. Their cries were heard by many, including Morgoth’s Orcs. When Fëanor’s army set camp, it was attacked before all preparations were made. Yet Morgoth had underestimated the Noldor. His Orcs were driven back, including those armies coming from the havens of the Falas who joined the battle. It was the second of great wars in Beleriand. In his rage, Fëanor continued further to Angband itself. Yet when he got separated from his army he was defeated by Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs. His sons could save him, yet his wounds were fatal. He died after he asked his sons to keep his oath. After Fëanor’s death, Morgoth sent an embassy to negotiate. Maedhros, Fëanor’s eldest son, accepted, though he left with a great force. Yet Morgoth had laid an ambush and Maedhros was captured. By a chain on his right arm he was hung onto a cliff at the Thangorodrim.
After a hard journey over the Grinding Ice, Fingolfin arrived in Beleriand, at the First Moon. At the arrival of the First Sun the Orcs fled deep into Angband, so he could march unhampered to the fortress itself. Yet he recognized its strength and retreated to Mithrim, where he found the sons of Fëanor. There was little love for them though, because of the great peril they had endured, while the Noldor of Fëanor’s army felt shame. It was Fingon, son of Fingolfin, who restored peace between the two factions. Fingon went to Angband on his own, in search for Maedhros, while he was covered by smoke that Morgoth himself cast into the sky. With the aid of the Eagle Thorondor he could free Maedhros by cutting his hand. When both princes returned, Maedhros pleaded for foregiveness and passed kingship over to Fingolfin, who then became King of all Noldor in Beleriand.
Thingol was suspicious to see many powerful princes in Beleriand. Safe for the descendants of Finarfin he let no one into Doriath. He left the northern lands to the Noldor however. The Noldor had a council, and not all sons of Fëanor were happy. Yet to keep peace, Maedhros led his brothers to the east, where they settled around the hill Himring. Thus they could watch Angband from both the east and the west.
For a time there was happiness in Beleriand. Morgoth was locked behind his gates, and during the feast Mereth Aderthad many alliances and friendships were made. Yet Shadow still threatened from the north. Both Fingon and Turgon were warned for it in their dreams by Ulmo. While pondering on it, Fingon visited Menegroth, the halls of Thingol, and he was impressed by its strength. So he began a city of his own, called Nargothrond, which was built to Menegroth’s example. Turgon in his stead was finally led by Ulmo to the hidden valley of Tumladen, where he desired to build a city like Tirion in Valinor.
At times, Morgoth would sent out armies to test the watch of the Noldor. The third great battle was among these, when Morgoth sent out great hosts to the Pass of Sirion and through the land of Maglor. Yet the Orcs were driven back. It was also the time of Glaurung’s first appearance. The beast had still been young and vulnerable, so he could be driven back. Yet Morgoth was unpleased since the Dragon had revealed himself too soon. After this incident a peace endured, in which Beleriand grew rich.
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Post by Androga Erindalant on Jan 27, 2007 5:09:13 GMT -6
Questions:
Fëanor’s pride leads to a number of events. His rage can lead his army close to Angband. Yet still it goes wrong. What happened, and how do you think it happened this way?
How did Tolkien come to write about Fëanor’s death? How must Tolkien have felt when Fëanor, greatest of Elves, died? Did Fëanor have to die, you think?
When dying, Fëanor knows Angband can’t be beaten. Yet still he urges his sons to hold on to their oath. Why does he do this? Is it fair?
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Post by Vanye on Jan 30, 2007 13:38:16 GMT -6
Two words: MACHO STUBBORNESS! made Feanor bind his son's to that oath! Mules oops! I mean males are intractable when it comes to this sort of thing. They tend to dig in their heels on such points and damn the consequences! Vanye P. S. No, it aint fair it's just in their genes!
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Post by Desi Baggins on Feb 1, 2007 7:14:12 GMT -6
LOL!
Tolkien himself seemed pretty stubborn or determined to finish his tales, so maybe he was putting a little of himself into the character of Feanor...
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Post by Andorinha on Feb 2, 2007 9:50:04 GMT -6
There is a quiet sort of pessemism, usually called "fatalism," that runs throughout the Germanic tradition. Heroes, even the Gods, are all fore-doomed, and notions of "life-after-death" are vague, unsettling, and not very appealing. Consequently, getting a name for oneself, building up a reputation, seems the only substitute.
If one tries to live within the Norse heroic tradition, one seeks immortality in fame, not in some otherworldly reward of eternity, nor in some mystical union with some great principle of existence. The hero simply does things in his life span, gets his name mentioned, gets it recorded in a saga, so that each time the skalds sing of him, he is in a sense reborn for that minute.
But sometimes, this "reputation-building" can go vastly wrong. Beowulf serves others throughout his short, brilliant career, and he becomes a positive role model in this tradition -- Feanor, however, always serves himself, and becomes a terrible figure, a warning to those who seek fame too closely, too selfishly.
What alternative does Feanor have? He is bound by the conditions of his existence to the created realm of Arda. He has no real conception of an "after-life," merely the certain knowledge that, as an Elf, he will last as long as the World, and he will fade with it, just as the Valar will fade as the universe grows old and feeble. Eventually, "real death" (the Gift of Men from Iluvatar) will be something even the gods shall envy... That's not much to look forward to. I think, Feanor is much like Melkor: gifted with such intelligence and will that he can see his future clearly, but also so driven by egotism that he wants his own continuation to extend beyond the limits of time and space forever. But he is not powerful enough to stop this universe, to create another more suited to his desires -- that task only the One God can do. So Feanor finds that his only option is to seek worldly fame within the pre-existing rules of Arda. He will strive for worldly glory and worldly power.
Like Melkor, Feanor's ego will not let him accept the limits of his reality, and he pushes against the limits of that existence. He will make himself the biggest, the best, the most awful of the Elves. He will rebel against the strictures of his narrow fate; he will do the greatest deeds of all the Elves, he thinks, and thus insure his immortality through the memories of others -- he will become famous. But so selfish is his motivation, that he risks merely becoming infamous.
Feanor then, is another example of a personal fall, and his fall mirrors that of Melkor's. Feanor has the exact same "gift-curse" as Melkor: he is too bright for the world, too powerful, and his drive is far too fixed on self-maximization. In their greedy rushes to become powerful, to demonstrate their superiority, both Melkor and Feanor forget all others. In his monomania, Feanor becomes a danger to all who are around him, and though his life is to be brilliant in achievements, it is fatally flawed by this egotism. Feanor's final gift to the Elves is simply his curse, his rebellion, his discord (the same legacy that Melkor leaves to all Arda), and eventually, those who are seduced by his gift, will find it works only to their destructions. Feanor even forgets his own family, subordinating them strictly to his will, binding about them his curse, his doom. Long after his body burns away, he will live on in his children, and he will continue to manipulate the history of the Elves through the final doom of his curse. Some legacy...
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