#not isildur who saved a fruit from nimloth the white tree in númenor

[vamprlestat]

thinking a lot about isildur today

[aadmelioraa]

Monday Morning thought - gosh do you ever think of Isildur as a Tolkienesque Prometheus-figure. Like the ring as the fire but also the sapling as the fire and the fucking volcano presence in both narratives.

I'm afraid if I start actually reading these books I'll die a death-induced-by-foaming-at-the-mouth-over-literary-characters.

OOOOH!! I hadn't thought about that exact comparison before but it's interesting because rather than stealing in defiance of divinity, when it comes to the fruit of Nimloth Isildur is sort of stealing…out of devotion to the divine? Or in defiance of a particular demigod, who wanted the tree destroyed? But both his choice and Prometheus' can absolutely be framed as the epitome of human striving, reaching with every bit of strength for better things, providing hope for others at great personal cost...and then when it comes to keeping the ring, 100% is a similar instance of unintended tragic consequences. Also the volcano stuff...yeah, shit.

You got me all worked up about the symbolism angle here, so apologies for what follows. The white tree of Númenor is a direct descendent of Telperion, the elder of two trees of Valinor, whose light is used to create the moon after the tree itself is destroyed by Morgoth…Isildur, servant of the moon, is essentially (as in, by his essence) bound to this living thing, his life and its life are tied up in each other for almost 200 years, and he refuses to let the line of the tree end, it’s like a fucking compulsion for him from the initial instance…there’s something about his unquestioning commitment that makes me insane. Stealing the fruit in the first place is such a batshit crazy thing to do, no one asked him to do it, no one said it had to be done, he just fucking left home in the middle of the night on a suicide mission, he may not have even known why but he knew he had to save a piece of this tree. It's fucking unhinged!! He almost DIES…he should have died!! But then the fruit of the tree takes root, and it lives, and so he lives. And that cycle is repeated, Isildur brings the sapling to Middle-earth and plants it in the city where his family makes their home. Then he saves a sapling of that tree when Sauron attacks them there (I imagine this is nearly as reckless a situation as the first one, but JRRT was short on the details here as with most things from this period). Looking at it from Sauron’s POV, poor little dark lord just can't catch a break, maybe all he really wants is this tree gone and a weird feral king with a very specific gardening fixation refuses to let that happen. Sauron lost his fair form when Númenor went under, but Isildur and his family and this fucking tree make it out, and continue to survive...if I were Sauron I might take that personally too lmao. 

Isildur faces so many defeats and losses between the time he steals the fruit in Númenor and his own death (and the loss of the ring), but he ensures the sapling makes it out every time. The last time he plants it, it's in memory of his brother (I won’t cry about this, I won’t cry about this, I won’t). Then Anárion’s line survives, along with the line of the tree, in Gondor, and they're the stewards who hold off the forces of Mordor for generations while everyone else is off doing their own shit. 

Ultimately, Isildur is someone who is trying to make the right choices all the time, and the worst part is he does make them consistently, even later in his life, based on the information he has access to, only to die alone tragically, knowing most of the people who he loves have died too. He kept the ring as WEREGILD, before anybody comes into my notifications with snark and pj!Elrond memes…I am forever bitter that decision was framed in the movies as anything other than the choice of a broken-hearted man trying to do right by his people and the loved ones he’d lost.

Anyway, I would love to hear if you do read the books, I have been foaming the mouth over these characters for two decades off and on and I'm still going strong...not sure if that's more a recommendation or a warning lol. I got very off topic here, sorry lol. He’s just so [incoherent screaming]

[bretwalda-lamnguin]

A lot has been said about Maedhros as an inverted Prometheus figure in the Silmarillion, but I don’t think he’s the only inversion of a prominent mythic figure in Tolkien’s writing. Isildur to me seems an inversion of Adam. He steals fruit from a tree that he is forbidden to take, is associated with a (second) fall of Man with the Downfall of Númenor, interacts with a devil figure in Sauron, departs the earthly paradise of Númenor and is unable to return. The key differences that make Isildur an inversion is both circumstances and his own choices. The fruit of the white tree Nimloth is forbidden by Sauron and its theft is associated with Isildur’s miraculous healing. The (second) fall of Man happens in spite of him, because of actions he opposes. He may well have met Sauron in person and did not fall under his dominion, and was certainly willing to act against him. His flight from Númenor is not banishment but saving what few people could be saved from its destruction. As with Maedhros motivations (reclaim ‘fire’ from a god who stole it vs stealing fire from a god and causing the fall of Man by being deceived by a devil vs attempting to prevent the fall of Man due to deception by a devil) and the role of certain plot points (eagle as salvation vs eagle as torture and forbidden fruit as temptation vs forbidden fruit as redemption) are inverted.

I’m not sure if this was intentional on Tolkien’s part but in truth it seems a bit heavy-handed (especially the whole fruit thing). I just think it’s something interesting to note about a character who is so often reduced to “that evil guy who took the ring”.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Not by might, and not by power…

One of the things that stands out in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings is is the idea that fighting evil isn’t enough. In fact, Morgoth and Sauron both have a terrible genius for twisting people’s desire to fight them to serve their own ends. Fëanor whips up the Noldor to go fight Morgoth using Morgoth’s own lies about the Valar imprisoning them and keeping them from Middle-earth so Men could rule it, and leads them immediately to first killing their kin and then betraying the greater part of his own army. The narrative explicitly recognizes this irony: His wrath and hate were given most to Morgoth, and yet well nigh all that he said came from the very lies of Morgoth himself.

Likewise, Morgoth specifically exploits Túrin’s desire to fight Angband openly. Both Dor-Cúarthol and the campaigns of Nargothrond reveal Túrin to him, and the latter also reveals Nargothrond to him and enables him to first destroy the army of Nargothrond in the Battle of Tumhalad, and then capture the fortress itself.

The Oath is perhaps the central example of this in The Silmarillion - sworn in hatred of Morgoth and in wrath at his theft of the Silmarils, it ultimately drives the sons of Fëanor against everyone except Morgoth: the Teleri, Finrod, Beren, Lúthien, the Doriathrim, Dior, Nimloth, Elwing, the people of Sirion, and at last the Valar. This too is called out by the narrative: their oath…had harmed [Morgoth] never and turned always to his mightiest aid.

The pattern continues through the later ages. Ar-Pharazôn conquers Sauron and in so doing becomes his most dreadful servant and tool. The central temptation the Ring deploys is the offer of the power to defeat Sauron: to Boromir, to Gandalf, to Galadriel, faintly to Denethor, and even (rather ridiculously and futilely) to Sam. It is Saruman and Denethor’s desire for more information with which to fight Sauron that drives them to the palantirí which he uses to control the one and manipulate the other.

So what does succeed, in the end? The desire not primarily to destroy and defeat what is evil, but to save and nurture and create what is good. Fingon’s rescue of Maedhros, Finrod giving his life to save Beren, Beren and Lúthien being willing to risk their lives for their love and so obtaining a Silmaril, Eärendil and Elwing taking that Silmaril into the West to intercede with the Valar, the Valar’s compassion for the people of Middle-earth that leads them to the War of Wrath, Isildur saving a fruit from the White Tree of Númenor nearly at the cost of his life, Elrond’s establishment of a home for wanderers and fostering of the heirs of Isildur, Frodo’s desire to save the Shire, Gandalf’s I shall not fail wholly of my task if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come, Eómer’s willingness to help and trust strangers against orders, Faramir’s willingness to help and trust strangers, the friendship and devotion to each other of the whole cast of characters - Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, Merry and Théoden - Frodo’s and eventually Sam’s compassion for Gollum.

And many of these things involve little or no combat. Frodo is the only member of the Fellowship who kills no one throughout the entire story, and it is his endurance and compassion that saves Middle-earth. Fingon’s rescue of Maedhros, Beren and Lúthien’s infiltration of Angband, Eärendil and Elwing’s journey to Valinor, none of them involve fighting, and yet they are some of the most important deeds in the whole story. (Lúthien’s particular approach in Angband is something I want to get into in my next installment of the Leuthian Reread.) Tolkien has interwoven the heroic epics that he loved with the ideals of his Christian faith to create a herioc epic in which great deeds in battle play a decidedly subsidiary role (and are successful rather than destructive only to the extent that they are willing to play such a role), and the heroism of love and support and compassion and healing rises to the forefront.

[dickbosman]

Númenor was a great island brought up out of the sea by the Valar for the Edain to dwell in, in the early Second Age after the final ruin of Beleriand in SA-40, officially founded in SA-32, and was where the Númenoreans originated from. The name is from the Quenya Númenórë: "West-land", which Tolkien translated as Westernesse (which was Anadûnê in the Númenórean language). Númenor was the kingdom of the Númenóreans and subsequently the Dúnedain, located on an island in the Great Sea of Belegaer, between the continents of Middle Earth and Aman. The land was brought up from the sea as a gift to Men. It was also called Elenna or The Isle of Elenna ("Starwards") because the Dúnedain were led to it by the star of Eärendil, and because the island was in the shape of a five-pointed star. At the center of the island the mountain Meneltarma was used by the Dúnedain as a temple to Eru Ilúvatar. The largest city and capital of Númenor was Armenelos. After the great war with the Dark Lord Morgoth, the Valar took pity on the House of Bëor for their sufferings and losses and gifted them a new prosperous home to build new lives in. These Men grew to establish one of the greatest civilizations ever seen in Arda. Númenor had only two rivers: Siril, which began at Meneltarma and ended in a small delta near the city of Nindamos, and the Nunduinë, which reached the sea in the Bay of Eldanna near the haven Eldalondë. Elros son of Eärendil The Mariner, and brother of Lord Elrond Half-Elven was the first King of Númenor, taking the name of Tar-Minyatur ("First King"). Under his rule (year SA-32 to SA-442 of the Second Age), and those of his descendants, Men rose to become a powerful race. The first ships sailed from Númenor to Middle Earth in the year SA-600 of the Second Age, some came to trade with the elven realm of Lindon, some came to colonize Eriador and expand the reaches of Nùmenor culture. The Númenóreans were forbidden by the Valar from sailing so far westward that Númenor was no longer visible, for fear that they would come upon The Undying Lands, to which Men could not come as mortals. Over time the Númenóreans came to resent the Ban of the Valar and rebelled against their authority, seeking the everlasting life that they believed was begrudged them. They tried to compensate this by going eastward and colonizing large parts of Middle Earth, first in a friendly way, but later as tyrants. Soon the Númenóreans came to rule a great but terrorizing maritime empire that had no rival, but a few noble houses, (The Faithful) remained loyal to the Valar and friendly to the elves, traditions referred to as The Old Ways. But in Middle Earth in the year SA-1600 the Dark Lord Sauron (former commander of Morgoth), enemy of the Valar, deceived the Elven smiths of Gwaith-I-Mirdàin of Eregion and their leader Prince Celebrìmbor and forged a master ring. By SA-1693, the elves of Eregion and Dark Lord Sauron were at war when Celebrìmbor hid the three elven rings of power from Sauron's grasp, hindering him from completing his plan of subjegating the elven race. In SA-1699 the Elves were overrun and Eregion fell to Sauron's hordes with steel and fire. Númenor took notice and Tar-Minastir, King of Númenor sent a fleet to save Lindon from the approaching armies of Mordor, and by SA- 1701 Eriador was reconquered in a catastrophic defeat for Dark Lord Sauron where he barely escaped the field with one surviving bodyguard. Around SA-1800 Númenoreans started settling on the coast of Middle Earth in places such as Umbar, establishing a seafarer state. But Sauron extended his power and his shadow fell on Númenor. In the year SA-3255, the 25th king Ar-Pharazôn The Golden sailed to Middle Earth on a military campaign. The Númenoreans came in such force, that Sauron himself, surrendered to their might and came down from Barad Dûr willingly. This was Sauron's plan, to allow himself to be captured and work to turn the King's mind against the Valar, to bring about the downfall of Nùmenor. Sauron then poisoned the mind of the King and soon corrupted the Númenóreans, promising them eternal life if they worshiped Morgoth instead of the Valar. With Sauron as his adviser, Ar-Pharazôn had a 500 foot tall temple to Morgoth erected in which he offered human sacrifices and a prominent cult of Morgoth, consisting of dark sorcerers arose with Sauron leading them. During this time, the white tree Nimloth The Fair, whose fate was said to be tied to the line of kings, was cut down and burned as a sacrifice to Dark Lord Morgoth at the poisonous advice of Sauron, who had become Ar-Pharazôn's close friend and trusted councilor. Isildur, son of Elendil rescued a fruit of the tree before its destruction by sneaking into the royal gardens and salvaging a sapling, which grew to become the White Tree of Gondor, preserving the ancient line of trees. Isildur was however, discovered whilst rescuing the seed by guards, and he was mortally wounded although managing to flee. He lay in sickbed for months before his wounds healed in concert with the sapling starting to thrive. For this deed, Isildur received much praise and honour. Prompted by Sauron and fearing death and old age, Ar-Pharazôn built a great armada and set sail into the west to make war upon the Valar and seize The Undying Lands (Sauron remained behind promising to care for the kingdom in the king's absence as duly appointed interregnum ruler). In the year SA- 3319 of the Second Age, Ar-Pharazôn landed on Aman and marched to the closest city of Valimar, in the land of Valinor. Manwë, King of the angelic Valar, called upon Ilúvatar, who broke into a rage and changed the world, trapping Ar-Pharazôn and his mighty host who landed on Aman in mounds of dirt and inside The Caves of the Forgotten until the last battle of the world, taking Aman and Tol Eressëa from the spheres of Arda forever, changing the world's shape from flat to round and commanding Ulmo Vala of the seas to sink Númenor in a great tidal wave, killing its inhabitants, including the body of Sauron who was at the time with his cult of Morgoth and did not anticipate the Valar's wrath to such an extent, he was thereby robbed of his ability to assume fair and charming forms and remained unable to manifest at all for a long time, until his strength was regained. Elendil son of the leader of The Faithful Lord Amandil, during the reign of Ar-Pharazôn, his sons and his followers had been warned of the disaster that was to befall Númenor, and they had set sail in nine ships before the island fell. Lord Amandil had said his farewells to his son and grandsons and had sailed for the West to plead for the life of The Faithful fleet to the Valar. He was never seen again, but the fleet was indeed spared. They landed in Middle Earth in SA-3319, and founded the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor, the Dùnedain realms in exile. After its fall, known as The Akallabêth to history, (Adûnaic: Downfall) Númenor was called Atalantë, meaning "the Downfallen", in the Quenya language. (The similarity with Atlantis is obvious, although Tolkien described his invention of the name as a happy accident when he realised that the Quenya root meaning "fallen" could be incorporated into a name referring to Númenor.) Other names after the Downfall include Mar-nu-Falmar ("Land under the Waves") and Akallabêth ("the Downfallen" in Adûnaic). The story of the rise and downfall of Númenor is told in the Akallabêth. It is unknown what will happen to Númenor in the future; whether it will remain forever under the sea or, like Beleriand, it will be recovered, as suggested by the final words of Lady Galadriel to Treebeard at their parting at Isengard: "Not in Middle Earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Nan-Tathren we may meet in the spring. Farewell!". It is possible that after the Dagor Dagorath, when the world will be broken and a new one will be created, Númenor will then be recovered. The population of Númenor chiefly consisted of Men of the surviving houses of the Edain from The War of Wrath, and they were known as the Númenóreans, or rather, Kings among Men. They had been increased in body and mind by Eönwë at the end of The War of Wrath, and granted a lifespan of an average 200 years, much increased from their ancestors' lifespan of 90 years. Those of the royal house descended from the first Half-elven king, Elros Tar-Minyatur, however, were given a lifespan of more than 300 years. These included the Lords of Andúnië and the Kings and Queens of Númenor. Before the Shadow fell on the island, the westernmost cities such as Andúnië contained a small population of Elves because of their frequent visits from the isle of Tol Eressëa. The Númenóreans were extremely skilled in arts and craft, and in the forging of weapons and armour; but they were not warmongers, hence the chief art on the island became that of shipbuilding and sea-craft. The Númenóreans became great mariners, exploring the world in all directions save for the westward, where the Ban of the Valar was in force, they were the only ones known to have mapped and seen with their own eyes the continents of the Dark Lands, and the Hither Lands. What existed there however, was knowledge they took with them to their graves. They often traveled to the shores of Middle Earth, teaching the men their art and craft, and introduced farming so as to improve their everyday lives. When the Shadow fell, however, the Númenóreans became more unneighbourly with the Men of Middle Earth. They levied heavy tribute from them and returned to Númenór with ships filled with spoil. The Númenóreans became skilled in the art of husbandry also, breeding great horses that roamed across the open plains in Mittalmar. Although the Númenóreans were a peaceful people, their weapons, armor, and horse-riding skills could not be contested by anyone in Arda, save for the Valar. Númenor was a rather large island in the middle of the Western Sea. The island itself was in the shape of a 5-point star, each point having its own unique geological and physical features. Each point, therefore, was considered a separate region of Númenor and had separate names: Forostar (Northlands) Andustar (Westlands) Hyarnustar (Southwestlands) Hyarrostar (Southeastlands) Orrostar (Eastlands) Mittalmar (Inlands) The island had a mountain in the centre known as Meneltarma. Meneltarma was the highest location on the entire island and was considered sacred by the Númenóreans as a shrine of God, Eru Ilúvatar. Only the Kings of Númenor were allowed to speak on the summit. It was said that on a clear day, Tol Eressëa, an island on the outer shores of Valinor, could be seen from the summit. Meneltarma itself was a tall mountain in the center of the island (in the region of Mittalmar) that, when translated, means Pillar of The Heavens. The lower slopes of the mountain were gentle and grass-covered; however, near the summit the slopes became more vertical and could not be ascended easily. The kings later built a spiraling road to the peak, beginning at the southern tip of the mountain and winding up to the lip of the summit in the north. The summit, however, was unique in that it was flattened and somewhat depressed, and was said to be able to "contain a great multitude". It was considered the most sacred spot of Númenor; no one ever set foot there and nothing was ever built there throughout the entire history of the island. The island itself was tilted southward and a little westward; the southern coasts were all steep sea cliffs. ~Drauchìr