general-illyrin

[general-illyrin]

#Zero; but I find almost no one intimidating ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #(literally no one I know online or irl exceeds a one and fewer than five people are a one) #so it's not you #Of course I'm coming at this from a 'as a whole how intimidating is this person' perspective #If we're doing specific aspects then I would not want to go against you in a mask-making competition (or similar event) #your skills in that area are daunting #obligatory poll reblog #not tolkien

[general-illyrin]

“Marionette”

The Dark Lord on his dark throne. In the Land of Mordor

#I love this; how it portrays him as a puppet master running the whole interaction!! #celebrimbor #sauron #mairon #silm #silmarillion #silm art

[general-illyrin]

this maia must have fiery hair in all of his forms, i don’t make the rules

#He is stunning! #sauron #mairon #silmarillion #silm art #silm

[general-illyrin]

silly poll idea that i had

rb for reach please

#obligatory poll reblog #not tolkien

[general-illyrin]

Tumblr adding polls was the best thing because it doesn’t matter what you’re asking, tumblr users LOVE sharing their opinions. You could ask something wildly abstract like “What cardinal direction do you associate with the person you reblogged this from?” and by the end of the day it’ll have 20k notes and there’s probably some kind of discourse happening in the replies.

#North #obligatory poll reblog #not tolkien

[general-illyrin]

When C.S. Lewis wrote “but some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

#c.s. lewis #fairytales #quote

[general-illyrin]

The Light in your Heart - Rescue of Maedhros - Digital Painting 2019 The rescue of Maedhros by Fingon and Thorondor. My interpretation of the story in Tolkien`s Silmarillion. 

#This is stunning! #I love all the details especially the writing on the edges #maedhros #fingon #silm #silmarillion #silm art

[general-illyrin]

How terrible he was, Maedhros thought, urging his horse to move. His body was black, with white, bright eyes opening and closing where they ought not to. His grace was gone, and he moved like a beast, no longer resembling an elf or a human; and it was only when he moved past, jumping over them as an unimportant obstacle, Maedhros realized they were never his goal.

He looked to Maglor, and his mind flashed with images that took too much time to be put into words. Ohtion, clearing, Finarfin, question. Maglor's mare was quicker than the rest, shortening the distance between him and Eönwë faster; and only now Maedhros realized Maglor's song has not ceased. Maglor reached a shattering arpeggio, his voice going on and on and on even when he himself moved to another melody, firing an arrow at the Herald that Maedhros knew could pierce any armour—but it deflected effortlessly from something that could have been Eönwë's tail. Physical, tangible, Maedhros concluded, prone to attack and wounds. Do Ainur bleed?

Eönwë from ch. 8 of ashes :)

#I am obsessed with your art Noldo #this is so cool and eerie #eonwe #silm #silmarillion #silm art

[general-illyrin]

Thank you; it's so cute! (It also looks like it just got caught doing something it shouldn't have XD Is this the first time I see it walking, or is it causing more trouble?)

#You get a mole rat that constantly changes color! #obligatory poll reblog #art #sesamenom

[general-illyrin]

#giraffe #obligatory poll reblog

[general-illyrin]

Include step and half siblings if you so desire

#Two minutes 😄 #not tolkien #obligatory poll reblog

[general-illyrin]

i used to be a swords kinda guy but then i realized you can easily defeat even the most prestigious swordsman with just basic polearm training

#XD #not tolkien #swords #polearms

[general-illyrin]

fuck it homebrew boop button. reblog this post to boop the person you reblogged from.

#boop!

[general-illyrin]

Reading Tolkien’s annotated translation of Beowulf, and learning all kinds of things about LOTR and the Silm from it!

First:

Leave here your warlike shields [from Beowulf]

[Tolkien’s commentary; bold mine:] Note the prohibition of weapons or accoutrements of battle in the hall. To walk in with spear and shield was like walking in nowadays with your hat on. The basis of these rules was of course fear and prudence among the ever-present dangers of a heroic age, but they were made part of the ritual, of good manners. Compare the prohibition against drawing a sword in the officers’ mess. Swords of course also were dangerous; but they were evidently regarded as part of a knight’s attire, and he would not in any case be willing to lay aside his sword, a thing of great cost and often an heirloom.

This gives me some perspective around Tolkien’s probable intended tone for the moment in Meduseld in The Two Towers where Aragon strongly protests against being told to leave Andúril (a sword of very great value and ancientry, and very much an heirloom) with the door-warden. From a contemporary perspective it’s easy to read it as Aragorn being unnecessarily prideful and combative, but this passage strongly indicates that Tolkien intends it to be Théoden who is being unreasonable in that event, an indication - along with many others in the scene, prior to Gandalf dislodging Saruman’s influence - that Théoden is being discourteous and behaving in a manner unworthy of a king who is recieving heroes offering aid. (The fact of Meduseld being a ‘golden hall’ like famous Heorot in Beowulf may be deliberate to strengthen the parallel.)

Second (immediately following the above commentary):

But against this danger [from swords] very severe laws existed protecting the ‘peace’ of a king’s hall. It was death in Scandanavia to cause a brawl in the king’s hall. Among the laws of the West Saxon king Ine is found: ‘If any man fight in the king’s house, he shall forfeit all his estate, and it shall be for the king to judge whether he be put to death or not.’

This adds context to the incident in the story of Túrin in The Silmarillion where Saeros taunts Túrin in Menegroth and Túrin responds by throwing a heavy drinking-vessel at him and injuring him (it’s indicated the injury is serious, so I’d take it along the lines of him giving him a broken nose and knocking out some teeth.) It is stated in at least some versions of the story that death is the punishment for drawing weapons in the king’s hall, in line with the historical customs mentioned here. This gives a further emphasis that what actually happens - Túrin is not punished at all and Mablung strongly reprimands Saeros for provoking him - illustrates that Túrin is, Saeros’ behaviour notwithstanding, in very high favour in Menegroth. (Saeros as the king’s counsellor is also in roughly the same position as Unferth in Beowulf, who taunts the titular character - Beowulf responds heatedly but without violence. Tolkien may be setting up a deliberate contrast here.)

Third:

The word hádor is an adjective meaning ‘clear, bright’…it is almost always found in reference to the sky (or the sun or stars). But that association is in description of brightness…

This was one a lightbulb moment: oh, in the name of Hador Goldenhead (the ancestor of Húrin, Túrin, and Tuor in The Silmarillion), ‘Goldenhead’ isn’t an additional name/epessë so much as it’s a glossed translation of ‘Hador’! The guy with bright, golden hair.

Fourth: Going back to the Rohirrim - Edoras, the name of their capital city/royal court, is basically just the Old English for ‘courts’:

under was very frequently used in describing position within, or movement to within, a confined space, especially of enclosures or prisons, ‘within four walls’. Cf. in under eoderas (eoderas being the outer fences of the courts), ‘in amid the courts’….‘eoder’ means both ‘fence (protection)’ and ‘fenced enclosure, a court’.

I’m also learning a lot about Beowulf - Tolkien’s notes are clarifying a lot of tone and nuances, not to mention the political/diplomatic relationships between the different kingdoms, which were confusing me - but it’s amazing how much it reveals about ways that Tolkien’s knowledge informed his legendarium!

#This is fascinating! #tolkien #the silmarillion #the lord of the rings #silm #lotr #lord of the rings #rohan #aragorn #theoden #turin #hador #edain #beowulf

[general-illyrin]

Day Fifteen: Surprise for the Chesterton Challenge

Today, I made a moodboard for a character I played while playing the incredibly fun game Debatable with some friends! This character was a blast to play and I may or may not be slightly obsessed with this her now

All images sourced from Pinterest

#She is seriously messed up and has some trauma I think #I love her #my art #moodboard #mood board #not tolkien #inklings challenge #inklingschallenge #the chesterton challenge

[general-illyrin]

The doodles are so so so cool!! A no-pressure request for a Manwe and his devotee Fingon? ❤️

high king and high priest are basically the same thing if you think about it

#NOLDO #NOLDO THIS IS SO COOL!!! #I love the colors and the textures and how regal his clothes are!! #And I love the eye imagery on the cloak and the eyes floating around his head! #fingon #manwe #silmarillion #silm art #silm

[general-illyrin]

Faramir

kshgfjghsf ACCURATE

#XD #faramir #denethor