#'dropping vain tears into the thankless sea'

[thelien-art]

Fëanáro; King of the Noldor and Lord of the Lights

‘Why, O my people, why should we longer serve these jealous gods, who cannot keep us, nor their own realm even, secure from their Enemy? And though he be now their foe, are not they and he of one kin? Vengeance calls me hence, but even were it otherwise, I would not dwell longer in the same land with the kin of my father’s slayer and the thief of my treasure. Yet I am not the only valiant in this valiant people. And have ye not all lost your king? And what else have ye not lost, cooped here in a narrow land between the jealous mountains and the harvestless Sea? Here once was light, that the Valar begrudged to Middle-earth, but now dark levels all. Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the salt thankless Sea? Or shall we go home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about where a free folk might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them. Come away! Let the cowards keep this city. But by the blood of Finwë! unless I dote, if the cowards only remain, then grass will grow in the streets. Nay, rot, mildew, and toadstool.’

Morgoth´s Ring by J.R.R Tolkien - Of the Speech of Fëanor upon Túna

This took way too long - want a burning version too? or the end of his speech??↓

‘Fair shall the end be, though long and hard shall be the road! Say farewell to bondage! But say farewell also to ease! Say farewell to the weak! Say farewell to your treasures — more still shall we make! Journey light. But bring with you your swords! For we will go further than Tauros, endure longer than Tulkas: we will never turn back from pursuit. After Morgoth to the ends of the Earth! War shall he have and hatred undying. But when we have conquered and have regained the Silmarils that he stole, then behold! We, we alone, shall be the lords of the unsullied Light, and masters of the bliss and the beauty of Arda! No other race shall oust us!’

#feanor #feanaro #curufinwe #sons of feanor #if you look close #tolkien #jrr tolkien #silmarillion #tolkien art #silm art #my art #digital art

[thelordofgifs]

make their words a doom irrevocable

(On Míriel Therindë, her descendants, and flawed prophecies.)

It's generally accepted that foresight is a particular gift of the House of Finarfin. Finrod has it in spades, as does Galadriel. The House of Fëanor, on the other hand, is often portrayed as the opposite: blindly caught in their own doom, with no foresight or wisdom to cut their way free. I'd like to advance an alternative headcanon that I'm rather fond of: many of the Fëanorians had a sort of twisted gift of prophecy, where they saw parts of the future and, in their eagerness to prevent the events they saw, ended up causing them – kind of like anti-Cassandras, if you will.

Let's start with Míriel herself, who doesn't have a lot to say or do in the published silm (although I understand there's more on her in the Histories). One of her two lines of dialogue, however, absolutely haunts me: "But hold me blameless in this, and in all that may come after." This is what she tells Finwë prior to going to Lórien, where she eventually dies. Míriel knows something of the terrible things her son will do or cause to happen. That's chilling! Is that part of why she's so weary – she's afraid of what Fëanor will do? But if she hadn't died in the first place, would Fëanor have become the person he did? Did Míriel's knowledge of the future, and her reaction to that knowledge, actually cause it? I think so!

Thesis established, we'll move on to Fëanor himself. The text is pretty unambiguous about Fëanor's foresight. A few examples:

On the making of the Silmarils: "For Fëanor, being come to his full might, was filled with a new thought, or it may be that some shadow of foreknowledge came to him of the doom that drew near; and he pondered how the light of the Trees, the glory of the Blessed Realm, might be preserved imperishable."

On the exile to Formenos: "Thither also came Finwë the King, because of the love that he bore to Fëanor; and Fingolfin ruled the Noldor in Tirion. Thus the lies of Melkor were made true in seeming, though Fëanor by his own deeds had brought this thing to pass; and the bitterness that Melkor had sown endured, and lived still long afterwards between the sons of Fingolfin and Fëanor." (emphasis mine, because !!!)

From his speech in Tirion post-Darkening: "Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea?" Hmm who does that put me in mind of, Fëanor? Your own second son by any chance?

After the Valar exile him for his Oath: "Such hurt at the least will I do to the Foe of the Valar that even the mighty in the Ring of Doom shall wonder to hear it." That certainly happens – but Fëanor isn't the one to do it.

Drifting into speculation, why does Fëanor make the breathtakingly idiotic decision to burn the swan-ships? Does he maybe catch some glimpse of a future where his host and Fingolfin's sit divided an opposite shores of a lake, and so seek to consolidate his own position as leader of the Noldor by abandoning those who would betray him? But in burning the ships, he eventually causes the kingship to pass to Fingolfin. Perhaps flawed foresight and terrible judgement strike again!

What about Fëanor's sons – do they inherit his foresight too? Before I drift completely into headcanon territory, I'd like to argue that there is one son who canonically fits this paradigm: Curufin. From the Nargothrond Incident: "And after Celegorm Curufin spoke, more softly but with no less power, conjuring in the minds of the Elves a vision of war and the ruin of Nargothrond. So great a fear did he set in their hearts that never after until the time of Túrin would any Elf of that realm go into open battle". But actually Curufin is kind of right? When the Elves of Nargothrond do eventually go into open battle, the realm falls. Building the bridge was a bad idea. In fact, even the company that Gwindor leads to the Nirnaeth all tragically die there (with the exception of Gwindor himself, who's taken captive)! But, on the other hand, if Curufin hadn't scared the entire kingdom out of fighting, the Nirnaeth might have been won in the first place.

Okay now have some headcanons completely unsupported by anything textual.

Consider Amrod on the crossing to Middle-earth, watching the dark mass of this strange new continent approach. He hasn't heard his mother's prophecy, "one at least will never set foot on Middle-earth"; all the same, he knows with sick bone-deep certainty that Beleriand will be the death of him. He cannot stay here. He has to sail back to Aman, as soon as he can. When they finally come to land, he slips away below deck instead of coming ashore to sleep, and tells his twin that he'll be more comfortable on the ship – how can he say, I will die if I stay in Middle-earth? He doesn't wake up again.

Consider Celebrimbor and Gil-galad talking at the very dawn of the Second Age, as the last remnants of broken Beleriand are swallowed by the Sea. "The wrath of the Valar," says Gil-galad. "How can they dare aid us again, when they know what destruction it has wrought?"

"They will not come directly," says Tyelpë, with a sudden flash of insight. "They will send emissaries instead: Maiar, to guide and counsel us."

He remembers that odd certainty later, when one calling himself the Lord of Gifts comes to Eregion.

And now consider Maedhros, the original maker of misguided decisions, pondering Morgoth's offer of parley. His instincts tell him it must be a trap, but he also has the feeling that it is not strength of arms that will save the Noldor now, but diplomacy and political savviness – all the qualities he was known for in Tirion once. And he is right! It’s his good sense and willingness to compromise that effect the reunification of the Noldor, a reunification that might never have happened had Fingon not rescued him from Thangorodrim in the first place.

Similarly, when he’s putting together the Union of Maedhros, does he know that all his efforts are doomed to fail? Or does he once again see too far into the future, to the plains of Dagorlad and the victory, against all odds, of a Last Alliance of Elves and Men against a Dark Lord in his fortress? “It is only by uniting all the Free Peoples that we can hope to prevail,” he tells his doubtful brothers, and insists that the sons of Ulfang are to join their alliance.

And also consider a time in Himring, not long after the Dagor Aglareb, when Maglor has ridden over for a quick visit and is explaining, cheerfully, that it’s a good thing his captain managed to dispatch that one orc from a recent raid before it could lop his head off: “Nobody else can command the cavalry, if I died you’d have a terrible gap in your defences, you know!”

But Maedhros grabs his wrist with sudden force and says vehemently, “Káno, you will never die—”

—Maglor thinks about that, later, by the Sea.

#silmarillion #meta #my meta #the line of miriel #miriel #feanor #curufin #celebrimbor #maedhros #idk is this anything #I’m attached to it either way

[sallysavestheday]

Hi!! 11 & 16 for the asks pls?

Thanks for the asks! I'm really enjoying this positive prompt list.

11. If you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making? I'm particularly fond of some of my odder little pieces. I do write a lot of more mainstream canon-compliant or canon-adjacent work, but I also like to do a little exploring on the side. They're not usually my most popular things, but I enjoy the stretch. A selection of those kinds of pieces might include:

The short Beloved, Forsaken, Redeemed series, which follows Celegorm from his first ride with the Hunt through death and rebirth and reconciliation with Orome. It's some of my most consistent character work, and a particularly wild ride in terms of language and imagery. And Celegorm has depth, and he is pitiable, which I'm proud of.

The two pieces I've written about Beleg: Not By Wisdom But By Love, in which he meets Turin for the first time, and Fish Tickling, in which he's just wed Mablung and is thinking about what that new kind of bond really means for him.

In Service, Love, which looks at the relationship between Isildur and his servant Ohtar, who canonically salvaged the shards of Narsil from the Gladden Fields.

And Farewell, Most Fair, which ships Gandalf with Sauron! But not in a kinky way at all...it's about grief, and the loss of things which were once beautiful. An interesting little bite, if I say so myself.

16. Something in canon that everyone loves and that you also love. Feanor's call to the Noldor. I mean, just listen to this: Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the salt thankless Sea? Or shall we go home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about where a free folk might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them. Come away! Let the cowards keep this city.

Let's goooooooo!

#asks and answers #my fics #fic recs

[senjutsv]

Tsunade says you shall not mourn here deedless forever. don't drop vain tears into the thankless sea, let the cowards keep this city ! Then later she returns to rule it.

#feanor. #au. TO SAFEGUARD #tsunade.

[galadhremmin]

“dropping vain tears in the thankless sea.”

Excerpts from the Doom of Mandos + Feanor’s speech to the Noldor unknowingly foretelling his last living son’s eventual fate. - The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien.

All paintings by Lithuanian painter, composer and writer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875 - 1911) [my edits].

#OH and i also did put this together #and i think they fit quite well! #Gondolin #and nan elmoth! #and the kinlsaying/ship theft #and exile #a face crying so many tears it's two literal rivers #and maglor and his thankless sea #maglor #noldolante #the curse of mandos #the silmarillion #Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis #tolkien #noldor #feanor

[zealouswerewolfcollector]

Fëanor: And what else have ye not lost, cooped here in a narrow land between the mountains and the sea? Here once was light, that the Valar begrudged to Middle-earth, but now dark levels all. Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea? Or shall we return to our home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about, where a free people might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them.

Fingon:

#feanor #fingon #silmarillion #that part when it says that fingon was moved by feanor's words #though he had little love for him is so funny to me

[fcb4]

The speech of Feanor in The Simarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien:

“Yet I am not the only valiant in this valiant people. And have ye not all lost your King? And what else have ye not lost, cooped here in a narrow land between the mountains and the sea?

'Here once was light, that the Valar begrudged to Middle-earth, but now dark levels all. Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea? Or shall we return to our home?

In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about, where a free people might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them. Come away! Let the cowards keep this city!…'”

“…'Fair shall the end be,' he cried, though long and hard shall be the road!

Say farewell to bondage!

But say farewell also to ease!

Say farewell to the weak!

Say farewell to your treasures!

More still shall we make. Journey light: but bring with you your swords!

“…But when we have conquered and have regained the Silmarils, then we and we alone shall be lords of the unsullied Light, and masters of the bliss and beauty of Arda.”

-Of the Flight of the Noldor

(Art by Ted Nasmith)

#the silmarillion #jrr tolkien #noldor #feanor #ted nasmith

[skyeventide]

Maglor yells.

A roar the likes of which could rend his spirit from his flesh. He wishes it did -- as he falls on the warm dark rocks, clutching his right hand in agony, he wishes he could scream his soul out of his body. But they were all made too stubborn for even grief to kill them.

He yells at the sea and at the ground upon which he curls, bent over himself. Until the yelling turns into a broken wail. Until he has little left in him but horror.

His eyes stare at the steaming sea, the heat of the chasms behind him pouring down below into the waves, and across space and time he sees the torches of a distant night filling Tirion's square. Words return to him as prophecy.

« Shall we », he whispers, « mourn here, deedless forever. A shadow-folk, mist-haunting... »

He pulls himself up slowly, sitting on the ground, his back curved, his right hand's fingers curled and twitching, stinging.

« ...Dropping vain tears in the thankless sea. »

The waves do not answer.

« I think we shall, father. I think we shall. »

#maglor #the silmarillion #writing stuff #that parallel? yeah this small thing had to be written #others prolly already did

[aipilosse]

It's so hard for me to keep track of the middle earth universe's texts lmao. I got into the fandom almost exactly a year ago and have eaten up as much as I can since then but all I remember is "this is the version of the story i prefer" and not where it came from.

I feel you! Just today I could have sworn something I was searching for wasn't in the Silm, and I checked HoME 4 & 11.... and then it was there, in the Silm, right in the chapter you'd expect it.

As many people will assure you, you don't need HoME to truly enjoy the Silmarillion. The Silm is full of bangers. There's the classic:

Thus fell the High King of the Noldor; and they beat him into the dust with their maces, and his banner, blue and silver, they trod into the mire of his blood.

(FINGON T_T Forever crying over this line)

Fëanor also has fantastic lines:

Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea? Or shall we return to our home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about, where a free people might walk.

Anyway, enough rambling. The secret to keeping track of Tolkien's texts is ctrl F and getting good with an index.

#I do have a very good memory for LOTR #I can usually find the LOTR quote I'm looking for in less than a minute in my copy of the books #but HoME is meant to referenced not read for the most part #imo #Go to Unfinished Tales for the stories

[nikandrros]

“Shall we mourn here deedless forever a shadow-folk mist-haunting dropping vain tears in the thankless sea” - J.R.R. Tolkien

#nienna #ulmo #the silmarillion #the silmarillion moodboard #silmedit #moodboard #aesthetic #valar #mine

[lesbiansforboromir]

Listen... that Feanor fellow might have been an absolute unremittant bastard and I would hate to meet him at a party or some such... but all the things he’s ever said slap like REAL hard like it all fucking HITS so GODDAMN hard like-

"Get thee gone from my gate, thou jail-crow of Mandos!"

fucking GET HIM FEANOR YES!!

“Fair shall the end be, though long and hard shall be the road! Say farewell to bondage! But say farewell also to ease! Say farewell to the weak! Say farewell to your treasures - more still shall we make! Journey light. But bring with you your swords!”

I’M COMING, I’M COMING RIGHT NOW YES!!! WITH MY SWORD!!

‘Why, O people of the Noldor,’ he cried, ‘why should we longer serve the jealous Valar, who cannot keep us nor even their own realm secure from their Enemy? And though he be now their foe, are not they and he of one kin? Vengeance calls me hence, but even were it otherwise I would not dwell longer in the same land with the kin of my father’s slayer and of the thief of my treasure. Yet I am not the only valiant in this valiant people. And have ye not all lost your King? And what else have ye not lost, cooped here in a narrow land between the mountains and the sea? 'Here once was light, that the Valar begrudged to Middle-earth, but now dark levels all. Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea? Or shall we return to our home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about, where a free people might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them. Come away! Let the cowards keep this city!'

fUCK yes hell yes fuck!!! FUCK!!! LOUDER!!!

“We have sworn, and not lightly. This oath we will keep. We are threatened with many evils, and treason not least; but one thing is not said: that we shall suffer from cowardice, from cravens or the fear of cravens. Therefore I say that we will go on, and this doom I add: the deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda.”

#feanor #anyway I understand why the noldor did it #tolkien #text post #erran vs tolkien #sorry to all the hobbit fans this is more unsexiness from yours truly #the silmarillion #ser queue-thrien

[sallysavestheday]

For the Silm game, if you'd like: ⏩ and/or 🔮

Thanks, @melestasflight!

⏩ Of the Flight of the Noldor, natch. The language!! "Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea?" I mean...I want to pack my bag and go!! And then it goes SO WRONG, SO FAST. So compellingly. How could you read it slowly? Then again, every time I read the Silm I do read that chapter at least twice, because I rush through it...

🔮I'll be blunt: The VOID? Really? For EVER? Fëanor and his sons? The Flame himself didn't get very far into the business of terrible deeds, even, although the boys certainly did their part (while also, it can be argued, doing their bit for good, as well, fighting Morgoth). Melkor got a pass for much worse. It doesn't seem to hold with the rest of the Professor's positions on pity and mercy...was Mandos taking his dramatic moment, or was he for real? Please, sir: explain.

#asks and answers #tolkien #silmarillion

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Fëanor and Misinterpreted Foresight

There are a lot of Cassandra figures in The Silmarillion whose foresight is ignored. There are Idril and Tuor, who warn of the Fall of Gondolin; Melian, who warns Thingol about the Quest of the Silmaril, Beleg about Anglachel, and Túrin about, well, Túrin’s personality; and the Valar, who warn the Noldor that the Noldor do not have the capacity to overthrown Morgoth. Foresight or foreknowledge of events is also characteristic of the House of Arafinwë; both Finrod and Galadriel have it.

And I think Fëanor has it as well, though in a curious way where the person who is knowing is the same as the person who is not listening. All his instances of foresight are filtered through the lens of his own self-absorption, and so misinterpreted.

To start with, there’s the creation of the Silmarils, which The Silmarillion on two occasions associates with foresight/foreknowledge (that the Trees would not endure and their light should be preserved in some form). However, Fëanor not only becomes deeply attached to his ownership of the Silmarils; he also comes to want to withhold the benefit of their beauty from anyone else even when it comes at no loss to himself ([he] began to love the Silmarils with a greedy love, and grudged the sight of them to all save his father and his seven sons) and at most times keeps them locked in his treasury. By the time the Trees are destroyed, Fëanor is only thinking of the Silmarils in terms of himself, both as his possessions and in relation to the power and primacy they will give him (we alone shall be lords of the unsullied Light, and and masters of the bliss and beauty of Arda), and this focus, and the Oath it inspires, ultimately results in the loss of two of the three jewels.

On top of that, there are certain lines during the Return of the Noldor that become prophetic, but not in the manner Fëanor expected. Such hurt at least will I do to the Foe of the Valar that even the mighty in the Ring of Doom shall wonder to hear it, he says, and this is at a moment when no one knows that doing permanent physical harm to one of the Powers is even possible. Yet it is fulfilled - not by Fëanor, but by Fingolfin, who does deal Morgoth permanent injury. Fëanor himself dies before getting anywhere near Morgoth, or doing more than inconveniencing him; and what remains of Fëanor after his death, the Oath, ever works to Morgoth’s advantage.

Fëanor’s answer to the Doom of the Noldor - the deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda - is also fulfilled for a great many of the people of Beleriand, the Ñolofinwëans and Arafinwëans and Sindar and Men and Dwarves - Fingon’s heroism, the beauty of Nargothrond and Gondolin, the Lay of Leithian, and much more - but not for the House of Fëanor (except for the Noldolantë, which is about regret, not heroism), as the Oath swallows all their possibilities and drives them into darkness.

And to end, think about this line from Fëanor’s speech in Tirion: Shall we mourn here forever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea?

Think about it.

Think about it.

Now think about Maglor’s fate.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #fëanor #sons of feanor #character analysis

[arofili]

@oneringnet favorite tolkien books event ⚝ QUENTA SILMARILLION

‘Here once was light, that the Valar begrudged to Middle-earth, but now dark levels all. Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea? Or shall we return to our home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about, where a free people might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them. Come away! Let the cowards keep this city!’  

[see captions for my interpretation of each image]

#tolkienedit #oneringnet #silmarillion #silmedit #silm #tefain nin #my edit

[problem-slooth]

feanor makes a speech

'Why, O people of the Noldor,' he cried, 'why should we longer serve the jealous Valar, who cannot keep us nor even their own realm secure from their Enemy? And though he be now their foe, are not they and he of one kin? Vengeance calls me hence, but even were it otherwise I would not dwell longer in the same land with the kin of my father's slayer and of the thief of my treasure. Yet I am not the only valiant in this valiant people. And have ye not all lost your King? And what else have ye not lost, cooped here in a narrow land between the mountains and the sea?

They were “cooped” in Paradise until a very short time ago.

'Here once was light, that the Valar begrudged to Middle-earth, but now dark levels all. Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea? Or shall we return to our home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about, where a free people might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them. Come away! Let the cowards keep this city!'

Basically, FTSIO

Long he spoke, and ever he urged the Noldor to follow him and by their own prowess to win freedom and great realms in the lands of the East, before it was too late; for he echoed the lies of Melkor, that the Valar had cozened them and would hold them captive so that Men might rule in Middle-earth.

Feanor’s really pushing it here.

Many of the Eldar heard then for the first time of the Aftercomers. 'Fair shall the end be,' he cried, though long and hard shall be the road! Say farewell to bondage! But say farewell also to ease! Say farewell to the weak! Say farewell to your treasures! More still shall we make. Journey light: but bring with you your swords! For we will go further than Oromë, endure longer than Tulkas: we will never turn back from pursuit. After Morgoth to the ends of the Earth! War shall he have and hatred undying. But when we have conquered and have regained the Silmarils, then we and we alone shall be lords of the unsullied Light, and masters of the bliss and beauty of Arda. No other race shall oust us!'

Uh? When did this become about killing Morgoth? I mean yeah, revenge, but I thought Feanor was talking about adventure and achievement for its own sake. I guess I thought too much of him. Well, now they’ve got a concrete goal: beat Morgoth, get the Silmarils, rule Arda.

#the silmarillion #silmarillion liveblog #jsc reads silm #silm day 25

[medicter]

'Why, O people of the Noldor,' he cried, 'why should we longer serve the jealous Valar, who cannot keep us nor even their own realm secure from their Enemy? And though he be now their foe, are not they and he of one kin? Vengeance calls me hence, but even were it otherwise I would not dwell longer in the same land with the kin of my father's slayer and of the thief of my treasure. Yet I am not the only valiant in this valiant people. And have ye not all lost your King? And what else have ye not lost, cooped here in a narrow land between the mountains and the sea? 'Here once was light, that the Valar begrudged to Middle-earth, but now dark levels all. Shall we mourn here deedless for ever, a shadow-folk, mist-haunting, dropping vain tears in the thankless sea? Or shall we return to our home? In Cuiviénen sweet ran the waters under unclouded stars, and wide lands lay about, where a free people might walk. There they lie still and await us who in our folly forsook them. Come away! Let the cowards keep this city!' 

#FEANORWASRIGHT

#a writing process can be crying at Feanor's speech on the hill #about:feanor #aesthetic: hrava #igNORE me