#you can’t even have them killed because kinslaying is prohibited!!!

[fierce-little-miana]

One thing that I find hilarious about old time noble Western Europe inheritance laws is that you often could not personally choose or disinherit your designated heir. Most other cultures I have studied had a way of favoriting the child of your choice. But not Western Europe.

If you are a Western European noble you can abuse your power and struggle with the papacy to choose the bishops of your land yourself.

But if you don’t like your son, you are royally fucked!

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

Specifically for The Silmarillion: 3, 8, 12

Thanks for the ask! :) I answered 12 here.

Description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr:

When people say, “But the Fëanorians did have the right to the Silmarils!” thereby blaming the Sindar for the Second and Third Kinslayings.

The Fëanorians lost the rights to the Silmarils when they killed other Elves, stole the swan-ships, and then destroyed them—and the ships were the Telerin equivalent of the Silmarils. In many ways, they lost their claim the minute they swore the Oath, because it indicated their willingness to kill anyone to get the Silmarils back.

Even if you think the Silmarils belong to the Fëanorians, one person’s claim to property doesn’t supersede another’s right to live. It also makes very little sense to focus so much on property rights in a world that has no legal code governing those rights. Even if there were some kind of legal code, the Fëanorians would be the last to respect it, given all the theft and murder!

We also can’t forget that Celegorm and Curufin imprisoned Lúthien and that Celegorm planned to force her to marry him. She escapes and wins a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown, and people want to focus on the idea that it’s supposedly Fëanorian property?

In Elven societies, rather than there being a legal code that enshrines various rights, I think there is an expectation that society must function in a certain way: this includes a prohibition against violence. When a person breaks the taboo, they are no longer part of society. This approach is evident in Fëanor’s exile from Tirion—although he was given a chance to make amends—and his more permanent exile from Valinor.

The difference is that when the Fëanorians do evil in Beleriand, no one has the power to exile them. But they are effectively outlaws, operating outside the bounds of how Elven society is supposed to work. Ultimately, it makes very little sense to worry about the so-called property rights of murderers.

Finally, there is an in-universe answer to the question of the Fëanorians’ claim: the Silmarils were hallowed by Varda, and they burn the hands of Maedhros and Maglor, who themselves realize that their claim is void. If the sons of Fëanor themselves realize that they have no right to the Silmarils, why is anyone still making the argument that they do?

I say all this as someone who likes Maedhros and Maglor. They’re interesting because they’re flawed. There’s no need to make excuses for them.

Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about:

I don’t know why Celegorm is so often portrayed as a stupid oaf. Is it because he’s a bad person, and we like to imagine that bad people are stupid? (Then again, Curufin isn’t portrayed this way, and he’s also a bad person.) Is it because he’s a hunter, and people can’t reconcile that with intelligence? (Hunting takes strength, but it certainly also takes intelligence.) He’s not stupid, he’s crafty and cunning—and his skill with language and his ability to persuade the Elves of Nargothrond is an explicit parallel to Fëanor’s speech in Tirion.

I think this is another thing many people miss. Curufin was most like his father in appearance and skill with crafts, and they shared a name—but in skill with words and the ability to win over a crowd, Celegorm is the one who is more similar to Fëanor. And we never hear of anything that that Curufin created, whereas Celegorm’s speech to the Elves of Nargothrond has a pivotal effect on the story. If anyone is Fëanor’s successor, I think it’s Celegorm.