#second kinslaying
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Death of Celegorm
We are not going to talk about how long this took... anyway IÂŽm actually surprisingly happy about it :)
#no blood spalter as i wasnt happy about my attempts#im probably going to try and redraw it in the further but oh well#tolkien#jrr tolkien#silmarillion#celegorm#turcafinwe#tyelkormo#dior#dior eluchil#doriath#second kinslaying#tolkien art#silm art#my art#digital art#tw blood
248 notes
·
View notes
Text
The more I dig into the lore around the Second Kinslaying for my current project, the more I'm fascinated by the detail that it was specifically Dior who killed Celegorm. That's one of the main details we get, we aren't even explicitly told who killed Dior, Nimloth, Curufin and Caranthir, just that they were slain.
Celegorm meets his end at the hands of the son of the woman he tried to marry, the son of the couple he fought against and I just love it when narrative threads come full circle (or parallel one another).
I know opinions differ in regards to the level of sexual or romantic interest Celegorm had in LĂșthien, as well as the exact appearance of Dior, but this is why I love having him look like a male copy of his mother. I love the idea that Celegorm, in a way, sees her face one more time, but this time it's Dior's. I love the idea that the opponent he fights to the death looks like LĂșthien. I love the idea that Dior's face may have been the last thing he saw.
And yes, I also love the idea that Dior may have wanted revenge for what happened to his mother.
If you then put the Silmaril aside for a moment, you can see a more private, personal conflict at the heart of this tragedy: Dior vs Celegorm, though Dior, true to his name meaning "successor", acts as a sort of stand-in for Beren, LĂșthien and Thingol in Celegorm's perception.
It's just... ugh. So very fascinating and emotional and tragic.
#thoughts and feelings#silm meta#headcanons#silmarillion#doriath#second kinslaying#dior#dior eluchil#celegorm#just to be clear: this is not an anti celegorm post or whatever#i love all of these characters for who they are and enjoy their shenanigans
192 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tyelco the Fancy Dancer
(Fancy Dancer comes from a taunt Toph called Aang when they first met, btw.)
The only (or at least main) reason Dior managed to kill Tyelcormo was because Tyelco was overconfident and fought Dior with a reverse grip.
I love the idea of Tyelco being an incredibly fierce and deadly warrior, and that much is canon, but we also know he's pretty arrogant and overconfident. I think if any of the SoF were to use a reverse grip, it would be him. He thinks it looks cool.
Of course, a reverse grip, especially for swords, is incredibly dumb and impractical. Yeah, it looks cool, but it severely reduces your leverage, reach, and range of motion. Everything you can do with a reverse grip, you can do with a normal hold, and you can probably do it better.
So if Tyelco does use it, it would be because he doesn't consider his opponent a serious threat.
Tyelco wouldn't have considered Dior, a literal infant in his eyes, to be worth much concern. And isn't pride such an Elf way to die?
(I literally just can't imagine Dior being a better fighter than Tyelco. Dior, who's not only very young, but has fought in one recorded fight, and it was against a retreating enemy. But Tyelco losing to his own ego, as well as Dior just getting lucky and Tyelco making mistakes - for even masters make mistakes - is more realistic imo.)
I also imagine he'd be the brother to use half swording the most.
Certainly he'd use it more than Nelyo, who literally can't. T_T
#tolkien legendarium#tolkien#silmarillion#Tyelcormo#Celegorm#Dior EluchĂl#Doriath#second kinslaying#Swords#sword fighting#Reverse grip#tolkien headcanons#My takes#Half swording
145 notes
·
View notes
Text
Just something about how Maglor composing the Noldotantë and committing three more kinslayings afterwards has the same/ similar vibe as Fëanåro yelling, "Get thee gone from my gate thou jail-crow of Mandos" and him literally trying to follow and enter the gate of said jail-crow.
#seems like hypocrisy runs in the family#jrr tolkien#tolkien#silmarillion#the silmarillion#the silm#the silm fandom#melkor#morgoth bauglir#morgoth#maglor#makalaure#kanafinwe#feanorions#house of feanor#feanaro#feanorians#sons of feanor#feanor#feanger#tolkien povs#first kinslaying#second kinslaying#third kinslaying
126 notes
·
View notes
Text
Doriath vaguely hot take : very few people were actually killed during the second kinslaying (unlike the third)
I've been rereading stuff, and I've come to the conclusion that, contrary to popular opinion, the second kinslaying was not a massacre of epic proportions, with many civilian victims, but an episode on a much smaller scale, unlike the massacre in Sirion.
For the following reasons :
I. Any description/allusion to Doriath in the text focuses on Dior as the (almost) only victim of the third kinslaying :
"But Dior returned no answer to the sons of FĂ«anor ; and Celegorm stirred up his brothers to prepare an assault upon Doriath. They came at unawares in the middle of winter, and fought with Dior in the Thousand Caves ; and so befell the second slaying of Elf by Elf. There fell Celegorm by Dior's hand, and there fell Curufin, and dark Caranthir ; but Dior was slain also, and Nimloth his wife, and the cruel servants of Celegorm seized his young sons and left them to starve in the forest."
That's the main description of the second kinslaying we have, and Dior and his wife are the only direct victims mentioned (on the non-FĂ«anorian side).
Later on we read this about the Silmaril in Sirion : "Then Elwig and the people of Sirion would not yield the jewel which Beren had worn and LĂșthien had worn, and for which Dior the fair was slain (...)"
Again, no mention is made of any victim but Dior (Nimloth is completely forgotten there).
And finally, in the third mention we have of the second kinslaying : "But Eonwë answered that the right to the work of their father, which the sons of Fëanor formerly possessed, had now perished, because of their many and merciless deeds, being blinded by their oath, and most of all because of their slaying of Dior and the assault upon the Havens."
Again, the only mentioned victim is Dior, and there is no indication of further victims. Now, it could be a bias of our sources, who do favour the famous and high-born (and ignore for example armed guards that could have been there), and also Melian/Elwing's line.
BUT :
II. That would make sense if we consider that Doriath was at the time of the second kinslaying recovering from an episode of violence on a, I would argue, much bigger scale :
After Thingol was killed, many people were killed in the fighting between the Dwarves and Elves in the caves of Menegroth ("For there was battle in the Thousand Caves, and many Elves and Dwarves were slain (...). But the Dwarves were victorious, and the halls of Thingol were ransacked and plundered").
Probably, crucially, the majority of these victims were the few warriors that they had. Others were probably killed as well fighting the dwarves later on with Beren and Dior, to avenge Thingol and recover his treasure.
So at the time of the second kinslaying, Dior might have had a few armed guards around him, but the impression we get is that he fights the Sons of FĂ«anor alone, and I would venture that his wife is killed when she tries to come and defend him.
The rest of the population of Doriath would be non-combatants who just flee, probably like they just fled the first time.
And that's why the text says that "a remnant of the people fled" from Doriath : it's not "a remnant" because the FĂ«anorians killed them all, it's "a remnant" because they were already what was left of Doriath at the time of their attack.
III.It would also explain why during the third kinslaying some of the people of the sons of FĂ«anor turn against them, but not during Doriath.
"For the sons of FĂ«anor that yet lived came down suddenly upon the exiles of Gondolin and the remnant of Doriath, and destroyed them. In that battle some of their people stood aside, and some few rebelled and were slain upon the other part aiding Elwing against their own lords (...)"
We are told that Sirion is : "the last and cruellest of the slayings of Elf by Elf ; and that was the third of the great wrongs achieved by the accursed oath". Sirion is a massacre on a large scale, unlike Doriath.
It would also explain why the third kinslaying is referred to in collective terms, not by singling out one individual. Eonwë talks about "the assault upon the Havens."
IV.I think the reason for the difference in terms of scale of violence between Doriath and Sirion is a strict reading of the Oath :
As a reminder, that's the text of the oath in the Silm : "They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take (...) vowing to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf or Man as yet unborn, or any creature, great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from their possession."
In Doriath, the Sons of FĂ«anor ask Dior to return the Silmaril. Dior refuses, Dior is slain.
In Sirion however, it's not just Elwing that refuses to return the Silmaril : it's Elwing "and the people of Sirion". The people of Sirion, collectively, therefore fall under the "vengeance and hatred" of the Sons of FĂ«anor. And that's why the massacre is on a bigger scale, and some of the Sons of FĂ«anor's people chose to turn against their lords.
V.It would finally make sense in terms of the gradual descent into violence of the Sons of FĂ«anor
Time and again, we see them (or at least Maedhros) try and keep the violence to a minimum. He (they) try diplomatic solutions, try and ignore the oath, but "the oath of the sons of FĂ«anor was waked again from sleep. (...)".
There is a graduation in the violence : first the massacre at Alqualondë, which is not premeditated, then the slaying of Dior and his wife over the Silmaril, then finally the attack over the population of Sirion and, later on, the attack against the guards of the host of the Valar.
#silmarillion#tolkien legendarium#tolkien#doriath#sirion#second kinslaying#third kinslaying#house of feanor#feanorians#silm meta
136 notes
·
View notes
Text
Every take about Dior is juicier than the last. He bested all three Cs in single combat before Maglor felled him in a mighty rage? He was sent rabid after seeing Celegorm kill Nimloth and skewered him bloodily? He was more feral than Feanor and there are gratuitous paintings of him facing off with balrog-like feanorians? Donât mind if I do.Â
#Personally I like the âMaedhros finally killed him in the most epic sword fight everâ take solely because it would be awesome#I am also fond of Celegorm killing nimloth#silmarillion#silm#dior eluchil#doriath#second kinslaying
94 notes
·
View notes
Text
What I hate the most about FĂ«anorian apologia is how the onus is always put on the victims who suffered from the FĂ«anorians. The FĂ«anorians are never held accountable for their crimes.
Itâs always,
âOlwĂ« and the Teleri shouldâve just heard out FĂ«anor and handed over their ships to the Noldor.â
And not,
âFĂ«anor shouldâve respected OlwĂ«âs refusal and found another way to get to Beleriand, instead of slaughtering the Teleri and stealing their ships.â
Itâs always,
âThingol overreacted to the First Kinslaying, and he shouldâve just trusted the FĂ«anorians.â
And not,
âThe FĂ«anorians shouldâve shown more respect to Thingol and actually apologized for slaughtering Thingolâs kindred in AlqualondĂ«.â
Itâs always,
âThingol shouldâve put aside his grievances and joined the Union of Maedhros.â
And not,
âMaedhros shouldâve apologized to Thingol for Celegorm and Curufin trying to abduct LĂșthien if he was serious about having an alliance with Doriath.â
Itâs always,
âDior couldâve avoided the Second Kinslaying by handing over the Silmaril.â
And not,
âRegardless of the Silmaril, the FĂ«anorians were wrong to attack a severely-weakened kingdom and murder innocent peopleâ including leaving six-year-olds in the woods to die.â
Its always,
âElwing couldâve avoided the Third Kinslaying by giving up the Silmaril.â
And not,
âThe FĂ«anorians shouldâve waited for EĂ€rendil to return so that both parties could resolve this civilly, instead of jumping straight to slaughtering a settlement of refugees.â
Itâs always,
âThe FĂ«anorians were right to commit mass-murder because property rights are more important than peopleâs lives.â
Never,
âThe FĂ«anorians were so obsessed with getting the Silmarils back that they prioritized those jewels over innocent people, and their victims have every right to hate and mistrust them.â
Why is there so much victim-blaming??? Why are they being blamed for the choices of FĂ«anor and his sons???
Regardless of who the Silmaril belongs to, the Sons of FĂ«anor always had a choice to do whatâs right. They were never forced to commit mass-murder, they deliberately made the choice to commit mass-murder. If theyâd treated the Sindar with a bit more grace and respect, perhaps they couldâve come to some kind of solution together. If theyâd taken responsibility for their crimes and made proper amends, perhaps the Sindar wouldâve been a bit more willing to ally with them.
They donât do any of that. They expect the Sindar to just blindly respect them when they havenât done anything to earn it. And then they wonder why most of the Sindar hate their guts.
All of the consequences the FĂ«anorians face are ultimately on them. Not their victims.
So please, letâs just tone down the victim-blaming already.
#the silmarillion#silmarillion#first kinslaying#second kinslaying#third kinslaying#silm meta#sons of feanor#sons of fëanor#elu thingol#thingol#elwe singollo#doriath#sindar#dior#dior eluchil#elwing#maedhros#jrr tolkien#tolkien#tolkien tag#tolkien meta#feanor#fëanor
59 notes
·
View notes
Text
Not a single one of these people walked away from this encounter alive
133 notes
·
View notes
Text
#kinslaying for fun and profit#first kinslaying#second kinslaying#third kinslaying#fourth kinslaying#kinslaying#tolkien#lord of the rings#silmarillion#the silmarillion#the silm#silmarillion poll#jrr tolkien#lotr#lotr rop#lotr trop#fantasy#the hobbit#lotr poll#tolkien polls#lord of the rings poll
119 notes
·
View notes
Text
#lotr#jrr tolkien#lotr books#lord of the rings#lotr poll#tolkien legendarium#thranduil#lotr elves#sindar#mirkwood#doriath#second kinslaying#third kinslaying#sirion#sons of feanor#the silmarillion#first age#beleriand#lotr theories#lotr headcanons#thranduil oropherion#the elvenking#king thranduil
54 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ok, but what if Thranduil hates dwarves so much, not because of the whole betrayal but because the group of elves that primarily got along with and befriended the dwarves were the FĂ«anorianâs?
Maedhros and AzaghĂąl?
Caranthir and Telchar?
Celebrimbor and Narvi?
And Thranduil of course despises the FĂ«anorianâs because of the second kinslaying and since theyâre so known for befriending dwarves he decided that they couldnât be good.
#the silmarillion#silmarillion#silmarillion headcanon#lotr#lord of the rings#headcanon#maedhros#azaghĂąl#caranthir#telchar#celebrimbor#narvi#feanorians#sons of feanor#dwarves#second kinslaying#doriath#thranduil#mirkwood#greenwood#silvan elves#sindar
81 notes
·
View notes
Text
Anyway I do think Maedhros put the cruel servants of Celegorm to death before he went off in search of Elured and Elurin.
108 notes
·
View notes
Text
dior violently mauling celegorm caranthir and curufin: pfft i'm the only one serving cunt here. are you three not embarrassed
#even when ripping apart some feanorians you just know walk walk fashion baby was playing in the background wherever he went#dior#dior eluchĂl#dior eluchil#celegorm#caranthir#curufin#fall of doriath#second kinslaying#tolkien tag#tolkien#the silmarillion#lotr#jrr tolkien
47 notes
·
View notes
Text
Birds of a Feather - Dior, Elwing, and the FĂ«anĂĄrions
Just a reminder that, while the FĂ«anĂĄrions were willing to kill for their father's property, Dior and Elwing were willing to kill and sacrifice their people to keep it from them.
Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily disagree with this sort of thinking. I'm more on the Teleri's side in regards to Alqualondë than I am the Noldor - I do value my things and friends more than I value a thief, especially when the thief values my things more than they value me. But in this case, it wasn't the Fëanårions fighting for something that they gave away or never belonged to them to begin with - the Silmarillë was theirs by right.
Elwing, I can cut a little bit of slack. A little. She had some pretty bad trauma, and I'm sure her advisors gave her ... questionable advice.
Dior ... Dior was a baby, but he should've been grown enough to rule if he was grown enough to have children. His advisors also likely have him questionable advice - they were used to living under the Girdle and Elves can be very spiteful. But he didn't have anywhere near the amount of baggage Elwing did. He grew up sheltered on Tol Galan, which is a was about as far from the front line as possible. He murdered for the NauglamĂr. He was young, brash, and overconfident. Look where that got him.
I've heard the argument that the Sons lost the right to the SilmarillĂ« after Doriath (an argument that stems from EönwĂ« himself). But if that's true ... then that means Dior was wrong to keep it from them in the first place. Ăingollo and LĂșĂŸien were wrong to keep it from them. Wars have been declared for less. And the FĂ«anĂĄrions had more riding on the thing than just a "pretty heirloom" or "good luck charm".
(I don't think the FĂ«anĂĄrions were ... morally correct in doing it, but I certainly don't consider Dior to be a hapless victim. Elwing annoys me for other reasons, but I don't consider her as bad as Dior.)
#tolkien#tolkien legendarium#silmarillion#Dior EluchĂl#fĂ«anorians#feanorians#Feanarions#maedhros#maitimo#macalaurĂ«#Maglor#tyelcormo#Celegorm#carnistir#caranthir#CurufinwĂ«#curufin#ambarussa#Amras#Ambarto#Amrod#Doriath#second kinslaying#Elwing#Havens of Sirion#Sirion#third kinslaying
79 notes
·
View notes
Text
POV:
You compose a song narrating your remorse of the first kinslaying you did, and proceed to do two more even worse kinslayings a while later.
#jrr tolkien#tolkien#silmarillion#the silmarillion#the silm#the silm fandom#maglor#noldor#second kinslaying#first kinslaying#third kinslaying#tolkien povs
57 notes
·
View notes
Text
Silm reread 20: the Rains of CasaremĂrĂ« (AKA: the Fall of Doriath)
Morgoth is not tired being evil. Or satisfied. Generally he won't chill out. Also, he hates Melian&Thingol especially (but this text is from the Grey Annals. the Annals of Aman put Turgon as "Morgoth's main problem"). So, he directs HĂșrin at them.
Hurin is suspicious of being freed (good thinking!), but what can he do? Nothing. He leaves. Also, he is let out with a sword, which is⊠making sure that nobody will trust him and everyone will assume he is a thrall. Also, Morgoth's minions respect him.
[Ugh, this must have been really weird for HĂșrin. The self-doubt. Am I a thrall unknowingly?]
He is not, but he is followed. So, Gondolin. Turgon is doubtful at Thorondor. He changes his mind but too late, HĂșrin leaves. Oh, and he curses this area. (Yes, I will bold each time someone curses)
Morwen dies, depression and despair, he blames everyone.
A reference to a "seer and harper from Brethil". So, Men do have seers. I mean, I knew they do because Adanel iirc⊠but this wasn't fully canon⊠also that one prophecy is stupid and I will keep complaining about itâŠ
Also, a mention of "the days of the wrath of the Valar" reshaping the shores, so the War of Wrath was named after the Valar's wrath? Who weren't even there personally? Huh.
HĂșrin kills MĂźm, at the gate of Nargothrond. Interesting. Also, it is said that it's public knowledge who betrayed TĂșrin, so â oh wait. No. He knows that from Morgoth, not from gossip. OK. So I still have no idea whether TĂșrin knew.
Thingollo is polite and respectful, but HĂșrin offends him and accuses him of causing Finrod's death (he's not completely wrong) and of mistreating his wife and daughter + throws at him the CasaremĂrĂ« (Nauglamir).
Thingollo is still polite and takes the offense calmly and kindly. <3
Melian dispells Morgoth's magic on HĂșrin, and he apologizes.
And gives the necklace to Thingollo anyway. Which ends up being a bad idea. Also, it wasn't his to give. the dragon stole it from Orodreth, MĂźm stole it again, and HĂșrin, whose son had owed money to MĂźm (because of his promise of weregild. And yes, I think this makes it ⊠not more evil as a choice, because HĂșrin did not know, but more impactful, more problematic metaphysically) killed MĂźm and stole it again.
And Thingollo (who knew Finrod and tbh should feel a little guilty about his death) instead of starting to think "hmm, who should inherit after Finrod now?" takes it. Which may be a culture thing tbh. It is medieval-ish-something world. You don't disrespect gifts by giving them away, you just take them. Maybe. I'm not an expert.
Still, he could have at least talked to HĂșrin about "you know, Finrod's familyâŠ". BTW is there any left? Orodreth dead, Finduilas deadâŠ. Gil-Galad if he is Orodreth's son. Galadriel! OK, so there was someone.
HĂșrin allegedly maybe threw himself in the sea. Anyway he is out of our scope, one way or another.
So⊠It comes into Thingollo's mind to join two problematic pieces of treasure (a dragon-tainted, stolen necklace and a Silmaril) into one. Also, the Silmaril grows precious to himâ
OK, sidenote. The Silmarils are not evil, but clearly they are too much for almost everyone. People either grow obsessed or die quickly. But not all people. Earendil surely didn't. I guess it depends on personality (the obsession) and on fate-type (the dying).
So, he can not keep it in the deepest part of his treasury anymoreâ wait, what? You kept the gem in a cage too? Silmarils need proper enviroment, they need light and space and enrichment! Thingollo, you are as bad as a Silmaril owner as FeanĂĄro!
OK, I already made a post on this.
The Dwarves. They too get super obsessed and want the stuff: both the necklace made by their ancestors and the Silmaril. But they keep it in secret.
They finish their work, it's beautiful, another sort-of-confirmation that the Silmaril's own light is white (it reflecting in gems into various colors make it even more beautiful. So. It doesn't have many colors on its own.)
The Dwarves finally talk to Thingol, but not honestly, he realizes that they want the gem, gets overwhelmed by emotions (I imagine Thingol having a switch in his brain: "be polite to Men" <-> "be polite to Dwarves" but he can't do both for some reason and switching it takes a long time) and he mocks them. He provokes them, they are greedy, everyone is emotionally disregulated and should go have some quiet time, they kill him and escape with the treasure.
We get an epitaph for Thingollo, canon confirmation that marrying Maiar is not a thing (except Thingol) and the last thing he looks at before death is the Silmaril.
I have a feeling that NĂĄmo will have some words to tell you, my guy. Not as many as to others, but still. Not great.
Anyway, Elves chase the Dwarves and kill most of them, the Dwarves tell a not-entirely-false-but-not-too-true-either story of what happenned to their kinsmen, they go to war.
Melian meditates, we get a flashback. She knows Doriath will soon fall, because the Girdle is now gone, because⊠ok, let's start this from the beginning.
So this is really cool but also pretty unique in terms of fantasy tropes. When Melian married Thingol, she accepted... ok, I need this in English.
For Melian was of the divine race of the Valar, [...] for love of ElwĂ« Singollo she took upon herself the form of the Elder Children of IlĂșvatar, and in that union she became bound by the chain and trammels of the flesh of Arda.
So the marriage is what's tying her to her material form (she had taken it at will back then but now, with Valinor being closed and all that I feeel like she normaly wouldn't be able to do it in ME, she was only able to be there embodied because the marriage to Thingol sort of anchored her)
In that form she bore to him LĂșthien TinĂșviel; and in that form she gained a power over the substance of Arda, and by the Girdle of Melian was Doriath defended through long ages from the evils without. But now Thingol lay dead, and his spirit had passed to the halls of Mandos; and with his death a change came also upon Melian.
So. Only the fact of being anchored to matter gave her the ability to keep the Girdle up. I know some Maiar can do things with matter anyway, but as I said, I suppose it's either a) because they're evil and/or b) because a Vala let them do it ⊠in general, they are bound by something. And regardless of how the other Maiar do it, Melian lost the ability to keep the Girdle.
Thus it came to pass that her power was withdrawn in that time from the forests of Neldoreth and Region, and Esgalduin the enchanted river spoke with a different voice, and Doriath lay open to its enemies.
[Thank you, Reddit, for having all the quotes I need!]
Again, the "it came to pass" strongly suggests to me that it's not something she did, it's something that happenned to her as part of her nature.
Also, she removes herself, and goes to mourn in Lorien and is out of the story. (I'm sure they get back togetherwhen Thingol was reembodied â and that he wasâ and no matter how the canon feels about this I want them to have more children, who just live in Valinor in this slightly odd social position of "not a Maia but not fully not-a-Maia" and genrally have some happiness and low-stakes family drama)
The Dwarves invade, all Doriath is confused, Mablung dies protecting the Silmaril (still, he seems quite normal about it for someone who touched it twice).
Also "it's the saddest of all sad events of the Old Days" â seriously, Grey Annals? Again, for AoA it would be Tears Unnumbered. I should enjoy the diversity of opinions in the text. But I don't. It sounds like the authors are arguing with each other.
Dior and Nimloth mentioned, but that's all. On one hand, we were told that B&L never spoke to the living after their reembodiment. On the other, they do have a son and, it seems, a company. Who raised Dior? Like, who spoke with him?
Is it silent spooky B&L surrounded by a company of Elves who behave normally? Or do they live separately, in a distance and gave dior to be taught bu the Elves who live on this island, but separately from them? I can't imagine it.
Or is the "spoke to no one" thing just poetic exageration?
Hmm.. in chapter 20 only Beren is mentioned and it says "no mortal spoke to him" which may mean just Men. I'm not sure. Anyway this is weird and seems somwhat incoherent.
Anyway, the news spread quickly in the forest (how? Mycoryzal networks?) so Beren learns more or less what happenned and he and Dior go to the rescue (such is the wording in my book. So I guess they assumed there Dwarves were still attacking someone or intending to. Makes sense.) A big group of Green Elves joins them.
They ambush the Dwarves (Huh. Ambush. When Nargothrond did it, it was dishonorable... Huh. I think there is a lot in this story remaining from the older versions, back when the Dwarves were evil, or at least evil-ish and not deserving the full human Eruhini rights. Because technically they are not. Anyway. I do not like the inconsistent attitude about ambushes.) Also, the Ents help them. So i guess it is a good fight or at least Yavanna supports it (could you, please, respect your husband's children a bit more?), or at least the trees think Beren is cool.
This is weird. And seems off. And I will assume it is a part of text that Tolkien didn't fully update to the last version of his lore.
Beren killd Dwarf king (chieftain? whatever we call him), the king curses the whole Doriath treasure.
Aaaaand Beren looks at Feanor's gem with fascination. Here we go again. And washes it clean of blood in the river. (I considered adding a RoP gif here but let's not slabder Beren. still, bad vibe.)
At least he's got enough common sense to drown the rest of the treasure. But not this one. (A pity. Feanorians would fish it out, Deagol&Smeagol-style and be happy. Or something.)
He brings the CasaremĂrĂ«+Silmaril to LĂșthien, and she's so pretty in it. And amazing. And the land is fertile and full of light and looks like Valinor.
SoâŠ. why do they keep the Silmaril? For Beren, I think it's the standard "it's pretty, Luthien has suffered so much [chose mortal life and all that], she deserves it". Or maybe even "I deserve some beauty for all my pain", but i don't think he goes this low. It's just ⊠slightly less than perfect attitude. "My loved ones deserve some beauty after all they suffered so I am going to give it to them". Also, why would he want to give it to Feanorians, who tried to kill him and threatened Thingol. (And fought a really bad battle but whatever)
No matter how much you love the Feanorians, please remember that this is a simple forest guy, ok, taught by the Sindar, but still. He probably knows nothing about the Oath, never met the Feanorians, has no idea of their mental state and their anguish, and not necessarily internalizes the whole "they are fighting Morgoth and dying on it" part.
Characters do have limited knowledge and did not read the book.
But⊠yes, I think him taking the jewel was not the best choice.
LĂșthien? That's trickier. I think if she knew how much it means for the Feanorians, she would give it to them, because look how she told Beren to not kill Celegorm (or was that Curufin?). So either she knows that Silmaril+Feanorians = bad idea, for some reason (from Melian. Because foresight. But this would require Melian's foresight to change its opinion on the matter at some point, which we have no information about).
Maybe she just trusted that Beren knows what he's doing and didn't want to refuse his gift? And she had no idea how this looks for the Feanorians (remember, very likely nobody knows about the Oath, and it seems like the Feanorians told Thingol "it is ours" and "we will consider you our enemy" as their only reasons).
Melian advised Thingol to give the Silmaril back, but was LĂșthien even present at this conversation? Or if she was, maybe her own foresight told her that this advice applied to Thingol then but not to her now?
Seriously, with how LĂșthien is presented, I can't imagine her keeping the Silmaril if she believed that that Melian would advise against it or how much it means for the Feanorians. She seems to me a very compassionate person, and one who cares about her mothers opinions.
On the other hand, is LĂșthien wearing the Silmaril such a bad thing? It came from Beren's not-great decision, but with how it's written, I don't think it's unilaterally bad. The Feanorians do not have a problem with it, or at least do not attack her (out of fear), the land is beautiful and sure this sounds egoistical, but maybe a brief moment of bliss was necessary? The Silmaril spent many years with Morgoth, then in Thingollo's treasury (why do they all keep them locked?!? i have thoughts about it. anyway) and is now sad. Yes, they do canonically have feelings. I don't think it's corrupted, but it is sad. Maybe it needs to recharge, before it will be able to become the star of hope.
I have no idea but I think like this year should contribute something positive. Otherwise the story feels odd and incoherent again. Or, at beast, feels like Tolkien ⊠I'm not sure how to phrase it. Very slightly betrayed his story for a moment of nostalgia? The thing that the Valar did when they made Valinor. Settled for a known happiness of the past over ⊠something? unknown?
OK, end of very speculatory ramblings, back to the reading.
And this is the moment when Dior decides to leave his parents. I think he wants to help the Elves in Doriath organize and rebuild. He is their king, after all. Still it's an interesting contrast: the island becomes a paradise and Dior leaves. I think it speaks well of him. He goes to work, putting duty above "mom pretty with shiny rock". And he restores Doriath successfully.
He gets the Silmaril, looks at it for a long time (unclear if this is bad looking or normal looking), mourns his parents, then puts on the necklace and becomes the most beautiful guy ever, even counting the Maiar. (dear authors of the Grey Annals, someone would lik a talk with you. He said his name is Mairon.)
Gossip starts⊠How is the gossip among Elves so effective and fast, with their numbers decreased by all the wars?
Anyway gossip, and the Feanorians. (+ a confirmation that no Elf would fight LĂșthien). They send messangers to Dior, who does not answer. that's weird. What is his mental process at this point? Is Dior even socialized properly?
He could say "ok, but give me some time to mourn", or "no, you jerks, you attacked my parents and now dare to make demands" or many other things, but he does not answer. (Or is it: the Polish translation strikes again)
It must have been weird. Also: poor messangers. What a stressful job. :(
Instead of thinking "maybe we should wait till he grows up more" or "maybe we should talk to him in person", C&C get the bright idea of "let's kill them all as we told Thingollo we would do!"
And so they do.
And so they die.
Both sides lose (Doriath is destroyed with only a few survivors, but the Feanorians still have zero Silmarils, but now they have 3 dead brothers), so I guess Morgoth wins, but not really, because he doesn't get this Silmaril either and this will come to bite him later.
#silm#silmarillion#tolkien legendarium#the silm#the silmarillion#silm reread#doriath#fall of doriath#second kinslaying#elu thingol#elwe thingollo#i'm going to do half-and-half with the naming becasue i respect both my friend who calls him thingollo and the guy's own language#i can't learn to use a consistent naming convention :P#melian#beren and luthien#celegorm#curufin#doriath discourse#but please let's not do too much discourse
31 notes
·
View notes