#Morgoth’s ring

[spiritofwhitefire]

He’s saying he never meant to have LOTR published without the silm! But apparently he was really upset about the fact that he was unable to put them together as one long story! He felt LOTR suffered without the silm and honestly I agree now knowing what I do. A lot would have made more sense and been more powerful, like the elves in LOTR as they are are colorless ciphers but with the context of the silm we can see them as failed war hero’s, those who came before and then left their legacy to their children to try to fix the mistakes of their fathers.

Yeah because the world in LOTR is essentially an apocalyptic universe and a shade of what it used to be before the war and without that context we can’t fully appreciate the tragedy of what we are seeing. This beautiful world burned to ash! The elves having to leave, the kingdoms of men in ruin. Like the silm provides a context! And it just makes me so happy to know that that IS how Tolkien meant it to be

[outofangband]

Posted about it briefly here and in a few other posts on the description of the Darkening from Morgoth’s Ring, but the shadow of Morgoth over Finwë is something I find so compelling and horrifying.

Morgoth to the early elves is this darkness manifested, this nameless monster called a dozen things in the dawn of the Quendi language, when the anguish he caused, stealing elves in the shadows, the fear wrought by the uncanny creatures that stalked them, barely had words to describe it.

Morgoth appearing to the elves as the dark rider, cementing himself in their collective memory and nightmares to the point where they do not trust Oromë when he comes to them is such a cruel detail I think

But some do eventually trust Oromë and through the Valar, Morgoth is given a name, an explanation and an identity. He is not a sole power but part of a system. There is relief, even religion for some, in this.

The physical power he wields over them does not change but he is no longer a faceless evil in the shadows and thus lessens the power, the reach of his fear. And also through the Valar comes the offer of protection. Perhaps it is because of their kinship to the monster that haunted the elves that some refused or fled the offer.

Finwë is not among those. He accepts and his people come to Valinor and then Morgoth comes to Valinor in chains. He has a distinct physical form, one that can be bound and confined. And bound and confined he is

And so the nightmare of Morgoth is relegated to the nightmares of sleep, to dark murals and whispered tales. The grim memories remain

Even upon his release, even though there was whispers of resentment, betrayal, fear and fury at the decision of the Valar to unleash the monster that had overshadowed them…Morgoth is no longer the nightmare, the dark rider. He still has a distinct form, and when his influence spreads beyond limbs and the boundaries of his robes, they can be written off as the influence of nightmares, of change and uncertainty. Melkor walks beneath the same light as they do, closely watched by powers believed to match or beat his own.

Things do change when that influence is shown to have been the deliberate work of Melkor. I do not doubt that in addition to the direct result of interfering in the Noldorin royal family, Melkor hoped to undermine the Valar more generally, to sew fear, mistrust and uncertainty. And he succeeded in that.

I wonder sometimes if Finwë agreed to go in exile with Fëanor in the hopes that a smaller realm would allow him some higher degree of control. He could see the enemy coming and would not have to second guess the motives in the faces of his subjects, aides and neighbors.

Of course he does not see the enemy coming on that day when the lights have gone out. But Finwë feels him.

But even as we drew near to Formenos the darkness came upon us; and in the midst was a blackness like a cloud that enveloped the house of Fëanor.

This is what Maedhros says in his testimony to Manwë in Morgoth’s Ring. I imagine Finwë felt that mist of blackness envelop his house. Indeed, Maedhros also testified that his grandfather had felt uncertain, agitated and troubled from the start of the day, even before the trees were attacked, it was why he decided to remain while Fëanor had gone. Was it foresight? A premonition of dread?

Regardless, he must have known as he faced the demon upon his threshold that he would not survive this encounter. I imagine he wondered if his grandsons had already been struck down, perhaps even took some fleeting comfort in the knowledge that he would know within moments.

[velvet4510]

This is, of course, assuming LaCE is canon. I honestly am not sure if it is or not.

[camille-lachenille]

I am SOBBING 😭😭😭 I just finished the Athrabeth and I can’t begin to express all the Feelings I have. Here are some quotes:

[kathrenax]

Bad Omen

[oscarwildebutwilder]

You know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dûm. Shadow and Flame.

[quinn10121012]

“And deep in their dark hearts the Orcs loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the maker only of their misery. This it may be was the vilest deed of Melkor and the most hateful to Iluvatar.” - The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien

[galstelperion]

Galadriel has the light of the two trees ensnared in her hair:

“...and her hair was held a marvel unmatched. It was golden like the hair of her father and of her foremother Indis, but richer and more radiant, for its gold was touched by some memory of the starlike silver of her mother, and the Eldar said that the light of the Two Trees had been snared in her tresses.”

— Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"

And her eyes bore a sheen of starlight of which the Calaquendi who beheld the light of Valinor for many years held:

I find the prevailing theory that Sauron covets her light in the same way Morgoth coveted the Silmarils very interesting. That he would see in her a faded memory he had not even thought to reach for, the memory of being Aule’s disciple, the memory of being Mairon the admirable, not Sauron the abhorred.

But the light he desires most, that he would burn the entire world for, rejects him, burns him, just as the Silmarils burned Morgoth…

But Morgoth persisted in capturing the silmarils light and for a time wore the three glittering stones on his crown:

“For they were set in the Iron Crown, and treasured in Angband above all wealth; and Balrogs were about them, and countless swords, and strong bars, and unassailable walls, and the dark majesty of Morgoth.”

— The Silmarillion, Chapter 19: Of Beren And Luthien

— art by neexsethe

Now I wonder if this connection they are making to her hair and to the light Galadriel holds, how he longs for it so deeply it even brings that smile back to his eyes…

There are many who might say this conversation he had with Mirdania is purely manipulative in nature and I would agree to an extent. He certainly went into to that conversation with the intention of turning her worries about what she’d seen away from suspecting him…

At the same time, I also don’t think this touch was calculated and intentional. This scene felt very well done because it showed us, for the first time in many episodes, perhaps a hint to Sauron’s truest desires again. Galadriel’s light and hope and goodness being at the very of that.

Mirdania will die off in an episode or two. This scene was clearly meant to fully establish and really remind the audience of what Sauron wants most…

I can’t help but think this scene will somehow be reflected in his persistence to capture Galadriel, and if, like Morgoth before him, he will have the chance to keep that light bound with him, even for a small time?

[fhtagn-and-tentacles]

MORGOTH VS FINGOLFIN

by Coliandre

[hedgehogoftime]

It's kinda funny how Silmarillion fans characterize Maeglin as this poor misunderstood goth kid who was ostracized by Gondolin, when Tolkien goes out of his way to describe how Maeglin was beloved of both his family and the people of Gondolin and that he rose high in honor and acclaim, but Idril was the only one who mistrusted him and that was because he was in creepy obsessive incesty love with her.

Like, it's a pretty straightforward case of "this guy has so much good stuff and has so much going for him but was corrupted by greed for the one thing he couldn't have". It's the same thing that ruined Feanor and his sons and so many others.

I'm not saying that what was done to him by Morgoth wasn't a tragedy, but he was also the architect of his own destruction.

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Rings of Power really gets that Sauron is kinda pathetic and never really more than an upstart forever in the shadow of his old boss. Even at the absolute hight of his power he was still never anything more than a tribute act to Morgoth.

[outofangband]

From Maedhros’s testimony of Finwë’s death to Manwë, in the version of the darkening in Morgoth’s Ring

I now have a tag for the darkening!!

[camille-lachenille]

I was curious to see how many books by Tolkien I have so far and I must say I’m pleased with the size of the pile. I have 12 books by him, eight I have read, two I am currently reading (Children of Húrin and Morgoth’s Ring) and two that are in my TBR pile (Fall of Gondolin and Faërie). The battered English edition of the Hobbit is actually my sister’s but it’s a long-term loan so I think of it as mine…

And that’s not counting the books about Tolkien I have (half of them I haven’t read yet), which would bring me to 18 books!

[feyhatesapplepie]

Looking into the past...

[nodensart]

Dark maiar

🥀 Ixalië, maiar of Mandos. The faithful child, surrendered to the Melkor's darkness. I love the originals and OCs from this fandom!

Commission for @eunoiaastralwings

[writerrose1998]

Maedhros: Hostage or not, sometimes it’s nice being held.

Melkor: What.