#Unfinished Tales

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

I’m still celebrating a little unofficial Théodred Week, with some specific thoughts on his personal bravery. In Unfinished Tales, we get this assessment of the situation at the battle where Théodred was slain:

“It was clearly seen in Rohan, when the true accounts of the battles at the Fords were known, that Saruman had given special orders that Théodred should at all costs be slain. At the first battle all his fiercest warriors were engaged in reckless assaults upon Théodred and his guard, disregarding other events of the battle, which might otherwise have resulted in a much more damaging defeat for the Rohirrim. When Théodred was at last slain Saruman’s commander (no doubt under orders) seemed satisfied…”.

Have we all sat with the thought of how HORRIFYING that realization must have been??? You’re expecting something like a “normal” battle experience, but all the sudden you notice that enemies are running right past vulnerable soldiers and other obvious and valuable targets because they’re not here for a normal battle. They’re here FOR YOU. How helpless and vulnerable would you feel to discover that your death is their sole objective? How panicked? How confused?

AND YET….he didn’t yield!!! He could have tried to disguise himself as someone other than who he was. He could have run. He could have left his marshals and captains to contest the Fords while he retreated to relative safety, and he could have done that with the legitimate excuse that it was critical to protect himself as the heir to the throne (especially since his father was in such poor condition and Théodred himself had no heir!).

But instead, he did almost the exact opposite. He climbed to the top of a hill, the highest and most visible ground there was. He thundered out a rallying cry to his riders — “To me, Eorlingas!” — as loudly as he could. He might as well have screamed, “Come and get me, motherf*#@ers!” while waving a big sign that said, “I’m right here!” And then he went down swinging, first taking a gruesome, fatal injury and then enduring some horrific fighting over possession of his body in order to pass on his epic last words to Elfhelm and Grimbold (discussed yesterday!).

LOTR is obviously chock full of instances of the greatest and most extreme courage across a whole range of situations and contexts. But in terms of traditional battlefield heroism and bravery, specifically, this is right up there with some of the most impressive examples. And it’s wonderfully in keeping with the familial trait of courage that runs all through the House of Eorl, from Théoden riding out to meet his apparent doom and make an end worthy of song at Helm’s Deep to Éowyn taking on the Witch King himself or Éomer charging headlong into a marauding army with screams of “Death!” Unfinished Tales makes very clear that Théodred stands on equal footing with any of his family when it comes to valor, even if his great deeds aren’t well known within the main story. In fact, when Théoden is dying on the Pelennor Fields and invokes “his fathers,” in whose “mighty company [he] shall not now be ashamed,” he might more appropriately have invoked HIS SON because there is no mightier company he could possibly have by his side.

@sotwk @celeluwhenfics

[venduri]

Only you could accomplish such art, Celebrimbor

Assad Zaman as Celebrimbor from JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales

[naarisz]

Tar-Ancalimë, first Ruling Queen of Númenor.

[galstelperion]

"Will you then pass over Sea?" Celebrimbor asked.

"Nay," Galadriel said. "Angrod is gone, and Aegnor is gone, and Felagund is no more. Of Finarfin’s children I am the last. But my heart is still proud. What wrong did the golden house of Finarfin do that I should ask the pardon of the Valar, or be content with an isle in the sea whose native land was Aman the Blessed? Here I am mightier.”

Unfinished Tales, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn

[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.

[martanis]

Answer [SPOILER]: I think that may be somewhat premature. More than that, I couldn't possibly tell you. — Nerdist, 2024

[nevui-penim-miruvorrr]

Eöl

[lowcountry-gothic]

Ulmo, Valar of the Sea, Tuor, and Voronwë from Tolkien's Unfinished Tales, by Alba Real.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Looking at the parts on Númenor in Unfinished Tales (and the LOTR appendix chronology) made me notice something Tolkien does with the history of Númenor that is very thoughtful, very important, and often neglected by other fantasy authors: he distinguishes between fighting on the right side and being the good guys, and he even delves into how those two things can work against each other.

Three times in particular, the Númenoreans help to defend Middle-Earth against Sauron. In Aldarion’s time, in the 800s, Aldarion spends much time establishing and rebuilding a port/haven on the coast of southern Eriador, to guard against invasion of the north through what will later be the Gap of Rohan. In 1700, Tar-Minastir sends a large force to drive back Sauron and rescue Gil-galad and Elrond and their people after the forging of the Rings and the destruction of Eregion. And, of course, near the end of the Second Age Ar-Pharazon sends the vast fleet and army that takes Sauron captive.

And each of these times are associated with successive stages in Númenor’s moral decline.

Aldarion is the first warning sign. His father, Tar-Meneldur, a wise man, discourages his voyaging, accurately fearing that it “sows the seeds of recklessness and the desire of other lands to hold”. Aldarion likewise marks the beginning of Númenoreans regarding nature as something to be valued for its use rather than for itself: trees as timber, not as forests. This is also when the Númenoreans begin to log Eriador - their logging will eventually be so extensive that, whereas virtually the whole area from the coast to the Misty Mountains to the Gap of Rohan was forested at the start of the Second Age, by the time of LOTR only the tiny fragment of the Old Forest remains. It’s not for nothing that the trees there are hostile to Men (and Hobbits). (This may not have been happening in the same way in Aldarion’s time - in Númenor he spends great efforts on replanting trees, nothwithstanding the ecological distinction between ‘tree plantations’ and ‘forests’, and he may have done the same in Middle-earth - but it’s still the starting point.)

And he does work extensively in Middle-earth to build defences against Sauron (or ‘the shadow in the east’; they don’t know it’s Sauron yet) and is described as “the friend and counsellor of Gil-Galad.” Yet the very growth in power, pragmatism, and expansionism that is involved in doing this is the start of Númenor’s downward path.

Next, we have Tar-Minastir, who drives back Sauron from Eregion during the War of the Elves and Sauron, following the forging of the Rings of Power, when Gil-galad, Elrond, and the Elves of Eregion are almost defeated. Unfinished Tales says “he loved the Eldar but envied them” and built a high tower to gaze westwards towards Valinor. And it is in the immediate aftermath of his rule that Númenor enters its phase of exploitative imperialism: his son Tar-Ciryatan is “a mighty king, but greedy of wealth; he built a great fleet of royal ships, amd his servants brought back great store of metal and gems, and oppressed the men of Middle-earth.” The next king, Tar-Atanamir, likewise “exacted heavy tribute from the men of the coasts of Middle-earth”, and was the first to be openly hostile to the Valar and the Eldar. The Silmarillion describes Ciryatan and Atanamir as “proud men, eager for wealth” who “laid the men of Middle-earth under tribute, taking now rather than giving”.

(As an aside: this is a period where I’m particularly curious about what Gil-galad and Elrond were thinking, and the decisions they had to make. The Númenoreans have just recently decisively rescued them, and it may not be going too far to say the Elves of Eregion and Lindon are military dependent on Númenor. And yet the Númenoreans are now mistreating and oppressing the men of Middle-earth. How to balance military/political pragmatism and ethics? Are the Númenoreans friends or not? Should they be trying to do anything to stop Númenorean empire? Can they do anything? Does benefitting from Númenorean military might while not doing anything make them complicit? Do they try to talk to the Númenoreans? And for Elrond in particular, on top of the moral vs pragmatic concerns, there’s the knowledge that it’s his brother’s descendents and successors who are doing this - in a sense, the only family he has left.)

And lastly, of course, we have Ar-Pharazon, who defeats Sauron but without being any better than Sauron, and who is corrupted by him, wreaks devastation on the men of Middle-earth and on his political opponents at home, and leads Númenor to its destruction.

It feels like this reinforces the themes of The Lord of the Rings, that victory over evil is not one by seeking to overpower it, but by renunciation of power. The downfall of Númenor highlights this by contrast by showing the corrupting force of accumulated imperial power, even when used against a foe that is genuinely evil.

[kai-janik-art]

Ost-in-Edhil (2024)

Limited edition lino print

21x21 cm

My version of Celebrimbor's city before its fall.

[runawaymun]

A Welcome Interruption

And here is my second piece for @tolkienrsb!

Celebrían has decided that Elrond's spent long enough working today and it's time for a break ;) this is in collaboration with @fishing4stars and I cannot wait for you guys to read the fic, so keep an eye out for it! I will update this post with a link once the gallery opens on September 6th.

Please do not repost to another site, and do NOT feed my artwork to AI. Reblogs very much appreciated!

[venduri]

fëanáro curufinwë

[fantasyquests]

In Unfinished Tales, it is briefly mentioned that Maedhros saved the Dwarf king Azaghal when he was waylaid by orcs. Perhaps this episode was an inspiration for the backstory about Elrond and Durin - who first met when Elrond saved Durin from hill trolls, or the other way round, depending on which one of them you choose to believe.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

Unfinished tales: ‘Maedhros afterward sent [the dragon helm] as a gift to Fingon, with whom he often exchanged tokens of friendship’

Me: 👀

[cats-spilled-wine]

"But now in the western battle Fingon and Turgon were assailed by a tide of foes thrice greater than all the force that was left to them. Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, high-captain of Angband, was come; and he drove a dark wedge between the Elvenhosts, surrounding King Fingon, and thrusting Turgon and Húrin aside towards the Fen of Serech. Then he turned upon Fingon. That was a grim meeting."

~ Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Ch. 20, The Silmarillion ~

WHY my drawings on tumblr are posted in such poor resolution is still beyond me... either way, here's Fingon the Valiant, High King of the Noldor. Precisely the moment he saw Gothmog coming. I tried to make him look both scared and determined, and I think I did a pretty good job with that; feel free to zoom in on the face. The hand could've been better, but overall... I FINALLY am almost completely satisfied with something I drew! Success!

Also, I forgot to add a circlet, but I think it looks better this way. And I didn't forget to add a helm; I just didn't. In fact, this was mostly done so that I could get rid of my irrational phobia of drawing - painting - faces and skin in general. At the moment, I think I came out victorious, but... we'll see.

Meanwhile, below is the sketch. I fixed and altered it so many times; mostly just minor details. As you can see, it's underwhelming. It doesn't even look good. In fact, I have no idea why I'm even sharing it in the first place... maybe as proof that "trust the process" is a real thing? Also, all of this was done entirely from head; no reference photos, no net inspiration, no colour palette inspiration, no searching of poses on pinterest.

I forgot where I was going with this.

So, um... enjoy, I guess.

[nerdy-catfish]

Silm Ways to Die

Kill a dragon and then yourself Run afoul of the Kinslaying Elves Be crushed by God with the biggest mountain Break both your arms and then drown in a fountain

Dumb ways to die So many dumb ways to die Dumb ways to die-ie-ie So many dumb ways to die

Set on fire by your dad Make Sauron really mad Be poisoned by a javelin thrust Fight all the Balrogs then spontaneously combust

Dumb ways to die So many dumb ways to die Dumb ways to die-ie-ie So many dumb ways to die

Insult some Dwarves to their face Get crushed by Morgoth's mace Take advice from the guy who's really cursed Stabbed by your best friend; that's just the worst

Dumb ways to die So many dumb ways to die Dumb ways to die-ie-ie So many dumb ways to die

Enrage the father of the Black Sword Fight a suicidal battle with the Dark Lord Believe what Sauron says about your wife is true I wonder … what does this Silmaril do?

Dumb ways to die So many dumb ways to die Dumb ways to die-ie-ie So many dumb ways to die

Have a bunch of kids and then eat yourself alive Have one great kid then refuse to be revived Get thrown off a wall while kidnapping your cousin Jump in a volcano after stealing a Silmaril Have such amazing hair that it kills you They may not rhyme, but they're quite possibly

Dumbest ways to die The dumbest ways to die Dumbest ways to die-ie-ie-ie So many dumb So many dumb ways to die

---

Characters referenced as well as explanations are under the cut in case you want to guess:

Túrin Turambar (killed Glaurung and later threw himself on his sword) Unspecified residents of Alqualondë, Doriath, and Sirion Ar-Pharazôn (buried under falling hills in Aman. He was probably not crushed by Taniquetil itself, and is possibly not technically dead, but poetic license.) Ecthelion (in The Fall of Gondolin he's said to have lost the use of both his arms but still managed to kill Gothmog the Balrog by stabbing him with a spike on his helmet and then throwing them both into a fountain)

Amrod (in one version he was asleep on the Swan-ships when Fëanor set them on fire) Celebrimbor (refused to give Sauron the location of the Three Rings, so Sauron tortured him to death, shot him full of arrows, and displayed his corpse as a war banner in front of his relatives) Aredhel (killed by a poisoned javelin thrown by her husband Eöl) Fëanor (fought with several Balrogs almost alone and received mortal wounds, and his body fell to ashes as his spirit left him)

Thingol (insulted the Dwarves who had set the Silmaril in the Nauglamir for him, so they killed him) Finwë (killed by Morgoth while defending Fëanor's house. In some versions his head is said to have been crushed.) Orodreth (listened to Túrin's counsel about the bridge of Nargothrond, which caused it to be discovered and lead to his death) Beleg (tried to free Túrin and was mistaken and killed by him for an Orc)

Mîm (killed by Húrin for his betrayal of Túrin) Fingolfin (rode out to duel Morgoth alone after Dagor Bragollach) Gorlim (betrayed Barahir's outlaws to Sauron in exchange for being set free to be with his wife; Sauron then killed him since his wife was already dead) Dior (refused to give up the Silmaril which led the Fëanorians to attack Doriath)

Ungoliant (had many spider children including Shelob and eventually ate herself when her hunger grew too great) Míriel (spent her spirit in giving birth to Fëanor and then bound herself to stay in Mandos forever) Maeglin (laid hands on Idril during the Fall of Gondolin and was thrown from the walls by Tuor) Maedhros (cast himself into a fiery chasm after he was burned by the Silmaril. I really don't think it can have been any named volcano but "gaping chasm filled with fire" does fit the technical definition of "volcano") Glorfindel (fought a Balrog on a mountain pass who dragged him off the cliff to his death by his hair)

---

Thanks for playing! Remember to never 1v1 a Balrog, love not too well the work of your hands, never swear any oaths, and always listen to your wife.