#Lays of Beleriand

[tolkien-povs]

Reading The Hobbit has a warm, cozy feeling to it, like sitting by a fireplace and downing a warm mug of hot chocolate. There are times when you want to cry, times when you want to laugh, times when you want to fight alongside Thorin’s Company. But at the end of the story, you realise that you will never experience that, because The Hobbit is fictional in reality, but so real in the heart and mind.

Reading The Lord of The Rings has a cool feeling, neither warm nor cold, but a comfortable one; it’s as if you’re sitting by a window, staring into the rain, and wishing you could go outside and relish in the rain but you can’t because it’s cold. There are times when you want to laugh, cry, dine with the Fellowship, fight with the Fellowship. But you can’t, because The Lord of The Rings is only a figment lodged in your heart, tucked away in a cozy spot.

Reading The Silmarillion has the feel of sitting in an enormous library almost abandoned, and fishing out an old, dusty book from a nook long forgotten, written about the history of the world. There are cases when you want to delve into that world and explore it, revel in it, fight it, love it, yell at the people in it. But you can never do that, because it is a history long past, existing only in the minds of very few.

Reading the old stories narrating the entire history of Arda has the feel of travelling back in time to the Library of Alexandria, reading and studying all the library can give. There are times when you want to cry, mourn, grieve, celebrate, laugh, revel in the world. But you can never, as that world, those people, are all part of your heart and mind, tucked away into the most precious part of you.

Reading the legendarium doesn’t make you want to be a part of that world because you love it. It makes you want to be a part of that world because the characters are normal people, like you, who got roped into an unlikely adventure, forever narrated in song, poems, ballads and laments.

They are simple stories, of simple people, in a simple world, where if you existed, you could have been one of those souls both fortunate and unfortunate.

Reading the legendarium makes you want to be part of it, because it makes you think you can survive it.

And certainly, if you have read this amazing mythological masterpiece, you absolutely can survive it.

[eri-pl]

Yessss!

The package came.

@dfwbwfbbwfbwf in first versions of B&L it was Celegorm (not Finrod) who helped Beren. Magic disguise and all. More tomorrow or after I read it. But I thought you'd like to know.

[imakemywings]

Then his sons beside him, the seven kinsmen... these leapt with laughter their lord beside, and with linked hands there lightly took the oath unbreakable; blood thereafter it spilled like a sea and spent the swords of endless armies, nor hath ended yet..."

-- The sons of Feanor take his oath, Flight of the Noldoli (HoME vol. III "The Lays of Beleriand" Poems Early Abandoned, lines 120-130)

[lentilmento]

There called he longing: '0 Beleg, my brother, 0 Beleg, tell me where is buried thy body in these bitter regions? ' --and the echoes always him answered 'Beleg'; yet a veiled voice vague and distant he caught that called like a cry at night o'er the sea's silence: 'Seek no longer. My bow is rotten in the barrow ruinous; my grove is burned by grim lightning; here dread dwelleth, none dare profane this angry earth, Orc nor goblin; none gain the gate of the gloomy forest by this perilous path; pass they may not, yet my life has winged to the long waiting in the halls of the Moon o'er the hills of the sea. Courage be thy comfort, comrade lonely!

- The Lays of Beleriand, J.R.R. Tolkien

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

really missing the ‘lays of beleriand’ version of the oath where fëanor and sons take it laughing and holding hands….kissing it on the mouth

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

Hi! For the ask game, 12, 18, and 22? — @emyn-arnens

Thanks for the ask! I answered 12 and 22 here. As for 18…

It’s absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

The Lays of Beleriand! I know there are some dedicated fans of it out there, but there should be more. It’s literally SO GOOD. I love it so much. It should get way more attention.

[thensson]

6/3/2023

[eri-pl]

I have more from this poem for you:

Kindly reminder that the early abandoned poem “The Flight of the Noldoli” ends with the Oath of Fёanor and Fingon yelling “FOOLS” right afterwards.

[velvet4510]

Please never forget the huge number of people who Lúthien Tinúviel saved.

Of course, her getting the Silmaril eventually allowed Elwing and Eärendil to bring salvation to all of Middle-earth years later; we all know that. But that’s not what I’m referring to.

Never think that Beren was the only person saved by Lúthien’s direct actions during her lifetime. An entire tower full of Sauron’s captives in Tol-in-Gaurhoth were saved and set free when she took control of the island.

She didn’t just grab her boyfriend and run. She tore open all of the dungeons and enabled dozens, if not hundreds, of people to escape with their lives. If it weren’t for her, all of those prisoners would’ve died in torment.

Lúthien is far more than a devoted girlfriend; she’s a true hero of Middle-earth who single-handedly saved at least a dozen lives!!!

[outofangband]

Plants of Tolkien’s works part five!

Previous boards in the Tolkien plant boards tag!

These are from The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lay of the Children of Húrin and Unfinished Tales

x x x x x x

[melestasflight]

The wars and wandering of the Gnomes this tale tells not. Far from their homes they fought and laboured in the North. Fingon daring alone went forth and sought for Maidros where he hung; in torment terrible he swung, his wrist in band of forged steel, from a sheer precipice where reel the dizzy senses staring down from Thangorodrim’s stony crown. The song of Fingon Elves yet sing, captain of armies, Gnomish king, who fell at last in flame of swords with his white banners and his lords. They sing how Maidros free he set, and stayed the feud that slumbered yet between the children proud of Finn. Now joined once more they hemmed him in. even great Morgoth, and their host beleaguered Angband, till they boast no Orc nor demon ever dare their leaguer break or past them fare.

"The Lay of Leithian", Canto VII, The Lays of Beleriand

[eri-pl]

Another alliterative verse

While seeking Feanor's speech, I found this gem from Lays of Beleriand and I will again do a very ignorant analysis (sorry I cannot internalize the more subtle rules of how this should work, Jirt seems to ignore them and it makes this even harder)

(Early Silm, so Noldor=Gnomes, and there are 9 male Valar and so on and so forth)

Lo! slain is my sire | by the sword of fiends,

his death he has drunk | at the doors of his hall

that Gnome and Elf | and the Nine Valar

and deep fastness, | where darkly hidden

the Three were guarded, | the things unmatched

not Fëanor Finn’s son | who fashioned them of yore –

can never remake | or renew on earth,

recarve or rekindle | by craft or magic,

the light is lost | whence he lit them first,

\ * ??? proto-Taniquentil? (or whatever it's called)

the fate of Faërie | hath found its hour

Thus the witless wisdom | its reward hath earned

of the Gods’ jealousy, | who guard us here

to serve them, sing to them | in our sweet cages,

to contrive them gems | and jewelled trinkets,

their leisure to please | with our loveliness,

while they waste and squander | work of ages,

nor can Morgoth master | in their mansions sitting

at countless councils. | Now come ye all,

who have courage and hope! | My call harken

to flight, to freedom | in far places!

The woods of the world | whose wide mansions

yet in darkness dream | drowned in slumber,

the pathless plains | and perilous shores

no moon yet shines on | nor mounting dawn

in dew and daylight | hath drenched for ever,

far better were these | for bold footsteps

than gardens of the Gods | gloom-encircled

with idleness filled | and empty days.

Yea! though the light lit them | and the loveliness

beyond heart’s desire | that hath held us slaves

here long and long. | But that light is dead.

Our gems are gone, | our jewels ravished;

and the Three, my Three, | thrice-enchanted

globes of crystal | by gleam undying

illumined, lit | by living splendour

and all hues’ essence, | their eager flame –

Morgoth has them | in his monstrous hold,

my Silmarils. | I swear here oaths,

unbreakable bonds | to bind me ever,

by Timbrenting* | and the timeless halls

of Bredhil the Blessed** | that abides thereon –

may she hear and heed – | to hunt endlessly

unwearying unwavering | through world and sea,

through leaguered lands, | lonely mountains,

over fens and forest | and the fearful snows,

till I find those fair ones, | where the fate is hid

of the folk of Elfland | and their fortune locked,

where alone now lies | the light divine.’ 

** I guess that's proto-Varda?

[doot-boi]

"But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar"

I think it's no surprise to my followers who pay attention to my silm posting that I love Finrod Felagund's character, but this is the line that sticks with me heavily. Within the Quenta Silmarillion, it is told that all of those Ñoldor caught within the Doom of Mandos and of the Silmarils will "yearn for [their] bodies, and find little pity", which is often taken to mean that none of those who left Valinor would be granted the possibility of returning to physical form, to live in the bliss of Aman (though arguments can clearly be made that only those who participated in the kinslaying were under such a doom, but I choose to ignore that). That's what makes this line so much more impactful to me, along with a more important facet; it's placement in the chapter.

Just 2 pages earlier, at his death, Finrod says it will be long before he is seen again amongst his people, perhaps believing he will not be granted a bodily form until such a time as the rest of the Ñoldor would be. He dies in the darkness of his corrupted tower, and is mourned at length by Beren until Lúthien his love arrives and rouses him, and together their hope is kindled again as the sun rises (a very common theme in Tolkien's works). They honour and bury Finrod atop the island, a tomb to be unchanged until the War of Wrath caused upheaval in all of Beleriand

It's here that this line comes in. His tomb is inviolate until all the land is, but he himself walks with his father, the only of Finwë's sons to remain in Valinor, and that says so many things.

He is one of few, or perhaps the only, Ñoldorin exile to be gifted bodily rebirth. He surpassed the Doom of Mandos (see my 2nd link in paragraph 1)

His father welcomes him home and forgives his leaving

No matter the state of his grave, Felagund is himself unmarred

No timeline is given for Finrod's bodily resurrection, but I choose to believe it is before the end of the First Age (and the fandom wiki agrees, tolkien gateway being more vague), for no other reason than Eärendil. It is because of Finrod, his assistance of and sacrifice for Beren, that the man of Bëor lives long enough to be united with Lúthien in the Quest, and they, along with Huan, are able to retrieve the Silmaril that Eärendil brings to Aman. I consider that Finrod is likely unaware of the success of the Quest, given it seems the rest of Valinor was (or at least they waited for a plea from Middle-Earth before acting on anything). Imagine his wonder, his pride, and his joy, at seeing that not only was the quest successful, but here, 80 years after he died, he sees Beren and Lúthien's grandson-in-law bearing the jewel. I wonder what he would have said to Amarië his love, if he would have remarked in joyous tears that the horrors and the death that led him back into Aman were not faced in vain. I wonder if, taking up his weapon to participate in the War of Wrath, he either sat a moment in sorrow, or in hope, or in some other emotion, considering what lay ahead of him, and as he came home afterwards with many of his kinsfolk, what he felt as he came to the bliss that would last until the changing of the world.

No matter his feelings on the Wars, what his experiences are and what he goes through after his resurrection, we know this:

Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees of Eldamar

[aureentuluva70]

I'm not sure if this has been talked about before, but I'm gonna talk about it regardless because it has completely blown my mind. I first discovered it on a reddit post, which you can read here.

In the book The History of the Hobbit, John Rateliff suggests that the Wilderlands of The Hobbit is actually the Beleriand of Tolkien's early mythology as it was written during the 1930's, only taking place ages after the War of the Jewels, since the later ages and maps of middleearth hadn't been created by Tolkien yet. Keep in mind that at this point in Tolkien's writings, the breaking of Thangorodrim was nowhere near as bad as it would later turn out to be. Beleriand never sank into the sea, but it was still drastically changed.

Here are two maps drawn by Tolkien during the 1930's, one of Beleriand and the other of the Wilderlands found in the Hobbit:

In terms of similarities, one of the first things I noticed(and one of the most obvious) was the river Sirion and the Great River of the Wilderlands. The name Sirion literally translates to 'Great River'.

In the middle of the path of said river is the Carrock, which is where the Eagles set Bilbo and Company down after saving them, and the way it is described in the Hobbit reminds me a lot of this illustration Tolkien made of Tol-Sirion:

"But cropping out of the ground, right in the path of the stream which looped itself about it, was a great rock, almost a hill of stone, like a last outpost of the distant mountains, or a huge piece cast miles into the plain by some giant among giants."

-The Hobbit, Queer Lodgings.

AND it is also uses very similar wording to how the Lay of Leithian describes Tol-Sirion(Tolkien was working on the Leithian around the same time he was writing The Hobbit):

'An isled hill there stood alone/ amid the valley, like a stone/rolled from the distant mountains vast/when giants in tumult hurtled past'

-Lay of Leithian.

There's also the mention of "a little cave, (a wholesome one with a pebbly floor) at the foot of the steps" which the person in the reddit post suggests could be the remains of the very same dungeon where Finrod, Beren, and their companions were imprisoned by Sauron after their disguises were stripped away. The same place where all but one of them were slowly devoured one by one. The same place where Finrod died.

Above it at the top of the Carrock would be where Finrod was buried, and the "Ford of huge flat stones [that] led to the grass-land beyond the stream" could be the remains of the broken bridge that was destroyed by Luthien: "the hill trembled; the citadel/crumbled and all its towers fell/the rocks yawned and the bridge broke/and Sirion spurned in sudden smoke."

The "two Mirkwoods" is also a big one. I always found it odd that there were two completely different forests sharing the same name, but at the time Tolkien wrote it, they weren't seperate at all, but the exact same forest, just changed and grown over thousands of years in between the events of the Silmarillion and The Hobbit. The same forest that Sauron fled to after the fall of Tol-in-Guarhoth. The same one Beleg found Gwindor in after his escape from Angband.

If they really were intended to be the same forest at the time Tolkien wrote it, it also answers the question I had earlier regarding this part in the Leithian when Sauron flees Tol-in-Guarhoth:

A new stronghold? We never hear anything about this in the Silmarillion, of Sauron building a new stronghold in Taur-nu-fuin, and it puzzled me when I first read it. But that's when I realized that this "new throne and darker stronghold" was talking about none other than the fortress of Dol Guldur itself, Sauron's stronghold within Mirkwood.

(Not lying, I was pretty proud of myself for figuring that one out)

Oh, and the Lonely Mountain? While it doesnt appear on the 1930's Beleriand map, it would likely be Maedhros's fortress of Himring itself, or at least the mountain it was built on top of, as Himring is located east of Taur-nu-fuin just about in the same place where Erebor is located. Just the thought of the Dwarves' home being within the very mountain that once had Maedhros's citadel atop it has my brain going wild. (Oh, and the fact that the arkenstone was found within the ancient hills of what was once Himring, fortress of the elf lord who threw himself into a fiery chasm with a silmaril? Coincidence? I think NOT)

There are plenty of other similar locations between the two maps, and judging by them both Eriador would be Hithlum/Aryador, with the Misty Mountains being the Mountains of Shadow. The Withered Heath would be the Anfauglith, the Eagle Eyrie would be the Crissaegrim, and the Iron Hills are what's left of Nogrod and Belegost. I've even heard that Mavwin/Morwen's house could be the roots of Rivendell.

Overall, it's so, so cool and it has my mind running wild. It really makes me see The Hobbit in a whole new light. We all talk about the amazing stories that came out of the Hobbit aka Lord of the Rings, but seeing where the stories of the Hobbit came from just adds a whole other level of depth to it all. This is why I love Tolkien's works so much. It's all so incredibly deep and rich and it just gets better and richer the deeper you go, and there's so much of it. It's one of those things that you just rarely get tired of, and even if you do, you're bound to come back to it later and I love it.

[mamawasatesttube]

<- experiencing shrimp emotions (listening to the return of the king ost: battle of the pelennor fields)

[cilil]

Eönwë Week - Day 3: Celeg Aithorn

AN: I'll be doing meta/headcanon posts for some of these days, hope you find them entertaining as well💙

Today's topic: Celeg Aithorn, or: We know the name of Eönwë's sword?

𓅛 To answer this question, we first have to gather some tidbits found in several sources. I'll present those first - that will be the canon part - and then move on to talk about my headcanons based on them. Let's begin!

𓅛 Celeg Aithorn was mentioned in Beleg's whetting spell in The Lay of the Children of Húrin. Here is the passage in question:

There wondrous wove he words of sharpness, and the names of knives and Gnomish blades he uttered o'er it: even Ogbar's spear and the glaive of Gaurin whose gleaming stroke did rive the rocks of Rodrim's hall; the sword of Saithnar, and the silver blades of the enchanted children of chains forged in their deep dungeon; the dirk of Nargil, the knife of the North in Nogrod smithied; the sweeping sickle of the slashing tempest, the lambent lightning's leaping falchion even Celeg Aithorn that shall cleave the world. (The Lay of the Children of Húrin, "II. Beleg", p. 45)

For now, let's just take note and put a pin in the "cleave the world" part.

𓅛 The name Celeg Aithorn is Early Noldorin, with different sources providing slightly different meanings. According to elfdict.com, it may mean Lambent Lightning.

𓅛 In The Annals of Aman (Morgoth's Ring), we then learn of a sword that Manwë carried during the War of the Powers:

Thence, seeing that all was lost (for that time), [Melkor] sent forth on a sudden a host of Balrogs, the last of his servants that remained, and they assailed the standard of Manwë, as it were a tide of flame. But they were withered in the wind of his wrath and slain with the lightning of his sword; and Melkor stood at last alone. (MR, p. 75)

This is relevant because, according to The War of the Jewels, Manwë later gave this sword to Eönwë.

𓅛 As for the final puzzle piece, there is the old version of the Dagor Dagorath prophecy provided in Lost Tales, part of which states:

So shall it be that Fionwë Úrion, son of Manwë, of love for Urwendi shall in the end be Melko's bane, and shall destroy the world to destroy his foe, and so shall all things then be rolled away. (LT Part One, p. 219)

As many of you already know, Fionwë Úrion is the same character who later became Eönwë, changed to Manwë's herald and Maiarin servant instead of his son because the concept of the Valar having children was abandoned.

𓅛 So we have a sword named Celeg Aithorn "that shall cleave the world", an old prophecy stating that Eönwë is going to destroy the world and Manwë giving him his sword. It has therefore been suggested that these two swords are in fact that same, and I would say that a sword originally owned by Manwë and seen with lightning would fit the proposed etymology of Celeg Aithorn as well.

𓅛 Now, as you've noticed none of the sources cited above are from the Silmarillion and canonicity is a fickle thing in this fandom as is. Whether Tolkien, if you asked him today, would say that yes, this sword of Manwë canonically exists and Eönwë wielded it in the War of Wrath and is also the same as Celeg Aithorn, I can't say for sure. Best I can say is that it all fits together.

𓅛 This is why I've adopted this concept into my personal headcanon (note: I will from now on refer to it as just one sword, based on the theory that it is the same, and just call it Celeg Aithorn).

𓅛 I like to think that Aulë forged Celeg Aithorn for Manwë, either as a gift similar to the scepter the Noldor would later make for him or as a weapon to use in battle against Melkor. Manwë accepted it and also carried it, though I'm admittedly not sure if the part where he fights the Balrogs is something I'm keeping in my default verse; in verses where he is, for one reason or another, more "combative" for sure, but my take on current canon!Manwë is that he's not really a fighter (much like Melkor, funnily enough) and doesn't enjoy any sort of fighting, only defending himself or others if he absolutely has to resort to that.

𓅛 Seeing the destruction caused by the War of the Powers, knowing that going to war time and time again wasn't what Eru intended for him and also driven by his personal aversion, Manwë then gave Celeg Aithorn to Eönwë instead. Eönwë had already made a name for himself as one of the best warriors among the Maiar and Manwë sensed that there would difficult battles in his future, telling him that the sword would be of better use to him ("It's dangerous to go alone! Take this", if you will).

𓅛 This was also a symbolic act foreshadowing how Eönwë would be the one to lead the Host of Valinor in the War of Wrath, not Manwë himself, as well as both of them accepting their fates: Manwë accepting that the role of the Elder King was to stay behind and Eönwë accepting his role of fighting Melkor alongside the Children.

𓅛 Eönwë has used Celeg Aithorn ever since and it has served him faithfully. It's possible that it would betray him if he ever ceased being loyal to Manwë, but this remains in the realm of pure theory so far, given how loyal to his lord Eönwë has been.

𓅛 Being a sword crafted by a Vala and for a Vala, Celeg Aithorn is very powerful. It also shares the moral alignment of its current and previous owner and is therefore one of, if not the best weapon to fight evil creatures with (similar to the Master Sword in The Legend of Zelda, to draw a popular comparison). It was likely blessed by Manwë and hallowed by Varda, like she did with the Silmarils.

𓅛 Eönwë may have kept his old sword - the one he used before receiving Celeg Aithorn - for sentimental reasons, since he used to have it sharpened and maintained by Mairon. This may, unbeknownst to him, have saved him if Mairon, during his time as a spy, tampered with it to give Melkor an advantage.

taglist: @asianbutnotjapanese @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @blauerregen @bluezenzennie @edensrose

@elanna-elrondiel @i-did-not-mean-to @just-little-human @singleteapot

@stormchaser819 @urwendii @wandererindreams @eonweweek