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#tolkien's legendarium
lochiels · 6 months
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— Places of the Elves (ft. The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Rings of Power)
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DO YOU KNOW THIS CHARACTER?
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elerondo · 3 months
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Very much itching to talk about how Elros' choice reflects alot about him and Elrond, despite us not getting any backstory.
Most fanarts depict Elros as the more rugged one of the twins (probably based off of Aragorn), but what I like to point out is that Elros became the first King of Numenor at his young age. Considered an infant in the eyes of elves. If anything, Elros is more like Ereinion Gil-galad in theme, needing to be firm and wise beyond his years while surrounded by seniors and elders, both cunning and intellectual and certainly more experienced in politics and trade than Elros.
while Elrond is akin to Maedhros and Maglor in spirit, resolute in life and continuing on despite all the suffering, for the sake of whatever promise, for whoever, for honour, or even for revenge. The boldness to banner the Feanorian star, and the prophetic mission that he gives to Aragorn - resembling Thingol's madness on Beren and Luthien... yet triumphing over it... It's almost like Elrond Peredhel silently made it his life's mission to redeem every fault of his houses, even if they happened before he was born, and he should have no blame in it. Even if the Sindar never claimed him as a child. He named Estel after a biological father he never knew. Elrond forgave the folks who hurt him, and desired for the people to forgive them as well.
How much of Elrond's kindness could have developed from him wanting to prove to the haters that Maedhros and Maglor could raise a good and valiant son?
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Hubristic Asshole Fight: Round 1 Part 1b
Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars) vs Feanor (The Silmarillion)
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Propaganda below cut
Anakin
Decided that he would become stronger than death to stop those he cares about from dying after failing to accept his mother's death. When he begins getting visions/nightmares like he had before losing his mother of his wife dying in childbirth, he decides to team up with an evil sorcerer and mastermind to learn the secret to stopping death. The price he willingly paid was leading the slaughter of the community of peacekeeping monks who had raised him from nine years old, feeling guilt about his heinous betrayal even as he unflichingly continued the massacre (sunk cost fallacy to a very extreme degree). The unintended price he paid was the loss of his limbs and independence after his injuries during a fight with his mentor and brother figure, his wife dying on childbirth due to the great stress of his heinous actions, and being separated from his children until they were adults firmly opposed to the imperial regime he became the attack dog for (only knowing of their survival until after he had personally attacked them both); He literally did not have to do any of that. his wife Padmè very very very very much did not want him to do any of that. He was completely absorbed in his own inability to deal with loss that he deadlock refused to consider losing family again and then he went and killed what amounted to his extended family, his wife and the man who raised and guided him from age 9. And his own kids unknowingly. In terms of accomplishing your goals there really really wasn't much more he could have fucked up. And when it comes down to key moments, all he had to do was not cut off mentor and co-worker Mace Windu's hand with a laser sword and everything would have been fine. He's a nominee for Fail King of All Time to me
He thinks he's hot shit which, he is, but like cool it dude you don't have to mass murder maim mutilate your way through life to prove you're the extra most specialest bestest psychic space wizard;
Hubrised so hard he 1) lost his limbs and his skin 2) became what he hated 3) caused the very death he sought to prevent, betraying and destroying himself for nothing; So soaking wet and self aware that he cried committing atrocities. If he knew what hubris was, he'd agree he has a lot of it
Feanor
The definition of hubris. Created the silmarils who were so perfect even the gods praised them. Got them stolen by the gods evil brother (so essentially fantasy satan). Then decided to go fight the evil god to get the silmarils back and swore an oath binding him and his sons to get them back no matter who would stand in their way. This drastically backfired when some other elves stood in his way so he murdered them. Got cursed by the gods for this (together with his entire family and everyone who followed them). Told the gods that they were of the same kind as fantasy satan and that they would end up following him
Morgoth (a god) shows up at his house and Feanor (professional hater of gods) tells him to get fucked* and slams the door in his face. *”Get thee gone from my gate thou jail-crow of Mandos!”; He has never spent anything wrong ever aside from all the war crimes.
The Valar (gods) asked Feanor for help in saving the world from being in total darkness and he said “no, figure it out yourselves”. Repeatedly and intentionally goes against their orders leading to war and chaos; I know it’s left open ended to what really happened to him after he died, but I hope he never repents. I hope he stays an antagonistic and egotistical bastard after being reimbodied (brought back to life) and continues to make it everyone else’s problem. I love him.
I’m gonna have to try to do this without a sing Tolkien scholarship words so bear with me. Basically my dude is one of the smartest and most talented elves in the world. Unfortunately he has a lot of daddy issues AND mommy issues largely due to the fact that his mom died when he was a kid and decided not to come back (as elves can do). No one else has this problem. He invented a ton of important stuff and had seven sons. His most prized creation was three gems called the Silmarils, which contained the light of the Two Trees, which gave light to the world before they were destroyed. When the Valar (the gods of Tolkien’s world) asked if they could use the Silmarils to potentially create another light source, he emphatically refused and in fact became so jealous of them that he and his sons swore an oath that anyone who so much as touched them would die by their swords. Sauron’s boss steals the gems and Feanor decides that he will lead his people on a crusade to retrieve and avenge them. This results in the death of him, most of his people, and almost his entire family minus one of his sons, Galadriel, and Elrond; He once yelled at the devil to get off his lawn
went to war with morgoth (satan basically) against the will of the gods and made a whole speech to said gods about how they were gonna feel really silly when he killed morgoth and saved the whole world. he never actually did battle with morgoth because he died on like day 1 of getting to middle earth (he left like 2/3 of his forces behind because he didn’t trust them) and spontaneously combusted upon his death; he’s a huge asshole and a mad scientist and linguist and prince with daddy issues and also mommy issues
Dude thought he could win a fight with the devil, tried to just walk into Angband (Mordor before Mordor actually existed), made an oath to kill everyone that tries to take his creations even the Valar (angelic like beings) and ends up causing his death, his sons deaths and a bunch of other deaths; His name is quite literally spirit of fire Is basically regarded as THE greastest elf Is in fact THE best smith of the elves and crafts their most precious jewels (that end up causing so much death) Is THE linguist to the point of creating the alfabet every one uses even after The Crimes, creates a bunch of things that are used even after The Crimes actually Loves his dad more than the things he made Is the only recorded elf with seven kids Is married to a sculpter that is so good that people confuse her statues as actual people (a propaganda because he had to be good to actually bag her you know) Manages to create jewelry so good even the the angelics beings sent by god are surprised he managed to do it So good at making speeches that it leads to a rebellion against said angelic beings and a lot of people to leave paradise with him His mother died because his spirit was too powerful Invented kinslaying after trying to steal some boats for said rebellion Swears an oath that destroys his whole family (but adds a great flavour to the rest of the story) Tells the devil to fuck off and slams his house door on said devils face Dies via auto combustion because his spirit was just too powerful for a normal death Gets stuck in the afterlife (that elves can usually just return from) for spiting the Valar Is said he will have an important role in Tolkien’s version of Ragnarok by letting the jewels he previously promised to kill for be destroyed to defeat the devil
Because of his pride, he went against the gods because the evil god Morgoth stole his life's work (the Silmarils, 3 shiny gems that radiated the light of the two trees that a huge evil spider had sapped dry). Swore (with his 7 sons) an oath to hunt Morgoth and retrieve his shiny gems. Commited kinslaying, burned some boats, combusted to ashes after suffering mortal wounds at the hands of corrupted demi-gods. Consequences of his actions could be seen long long after his death: the oath was passed on to his sons to hopelessly fulfill (failure after failure, including two more kinslayings, one of them casting himself into a fiery volcano, another wandering the shores for eternity);
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drunkshogun · 1 year
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Nerdanel Q_Q 
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thekingofwinterblog · 20 days
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There is no established way that elves dressed.
Don't know why you feel this strongly about it, but as it happens, you are wrong, we know pletora of ways Tolkien's elves dressed.
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Tolkien himself drew a picture of Beleg Strongbow from the first age, and from it we can see that the Elves of Doriath dressed in pointed shoes with what seems to be long white socks, knee length pants, and what looks like a black doublet.
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In other words, the male Elves of Doriath dressed in a style clearly inspired by Tudor england, only a bit toned down, and seemingly withouth it's more outlandish/silly features(Codpieces and those frilly necks for example).
We also know that elves seems to have prefered shoes over boots, though some elves(The ones of rivendell at the very least) used boots, though wheter it was the prefered footwear even then is another question.
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Many elves also were clearly described as "Robed" in the sense of wearing actual robes, though what sort of robes and how fanciful they might be is not specified.
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Famously they are also known to use enchanted cloaks, which we can presume looked pretty similar to the movie version.
Overall though, Tolkien made it clear that all of his various people dressed in a variety of styles, depending on their climate and their ancestral heritage. An elf from Doriath would probably not much resemble an elf from Mirkwood for example.
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As for war, there would be a bit more overlap(though some differences as i'll go over below), as all elves dressed the same way for war, given Plate armor is not a thing in the book legendarium.
Namely iron/steel hauberks of interlocked metal rings, aka Mail/Chainmail.
All elves wore these though there is some question wheter they wore a surcoat above it as well.
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It is possible that the elves did wear coats of arms above their mail shirts, but there is nothing in text as far as i can tell that auggests this, and all description of family crests and symbols suggests they carried such on their shields, not their armor.
As for their helmets, we dont know the exact style, but from what i can tell, there doesnt seem to have been any mentions of a full helmets amongst them, so there seems to have been a tradition of helmets with open faces, with fully closed off helmets being more of a dwarf thing.
Finally, there is one bit of Armor speciffically noted to be unique to Earendil, so there is a question wheter this was from his elven side, or his Human heritage, so this style would either have been the style of Gondolin, or the house of hador.
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That of course being what Bilbo describes as "Panoply of ancient kings".
Now a Panoply has several meanings, as it can be used to describe "a full suit of armor", but this is a later meaning, speciffically refering to a suit of full plate armor. The older meaning, and far and away the more obvious one when you take into consideration thst Earendil's son would found numenor, which was inspired by ancienct Greece and Rome, is the the breast armor worn back during antiquity.
Now, as Tolkien made clear there was never any true plate armor in the legendarium, this rules out the early breastplates from the bronze age and the greek golden age, and instead means that Earendil either wore a greek suit of scale armor around his chest(and some form of band armor over his shoulder, be it scales, or boiled leather), or Linothorax, the kind of paper armor that Alexander the great used to conquer the known world.
While the latter is possible, there is no mention of such kind of armor anywhere in the legendarium, but plenty of references to scale armor, so i find the first much more likely.
Which means that the Elves of Gondolin(or if we're being completely literal, only it's kings) may or may not have had breast armor similar to the kind of scale armor sometimes used by the hoplites of ancienct greece.
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dchan87 · 2 months
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If you need a pick-me-up, remember that Jolkien Rolkien Rolkien Tolkien regretted he didn't have Jewish family, and explicitly told this to the nazis.
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ughtumno · 13 days
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it's manwë week and im drunk and sad about how he is literally melkor's twin but is physically incapable of understanding evil by Eru (and by proxy barred from knowing who melkor is truly??)
obv their relationship was planned and doomed from the start which is horrifying to dwell on.
how fucking awful would it be to have been practically cursed to BE YOUR OWN SIBLING'S FKING WORST ENEMY TOLKIEN WHYYYYYY (BUT ALSO THANK YOUUUUU)
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ethulliel · 3 months
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Galadriel in Doriath: It's always “I can fix him” this, “I can fix him” that, but what about—
*Celeborn waves at her from the forest*
Galadriel: He can fix me.
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ettelenethelien · 1 month
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Not a fan of many choices PJ made, but Aragorn saying "I would have followed you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor" is a line that moves one... because the greatest expression of love* in the legendarium is always following someone into the realm of the enemy. (not in a metaphysical sense - destroying yourself for someone is tragic, see: the sons of Fëanor - but the most literal)
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*all kinds, also platonic love - actually, bar that, usually platonic love
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arda-marred · 6 months
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According to letters and previously unpublished manuscripts, J.R.R. Tolkien began writing stories about Middle-earth as far back as 1917 when he was deployed in the First World War. During this time of time of senseless destruction and tragedy, Tolkien created a hero that embodied these fears; Turin Turambar, the self-proclaimed “Master of Doom.”  There is no shortage of heroes in Middle-earth; the diverse cast of characters is a primary reason readers are attracted to Tolkien’s books. From the highest order of Elves and Gods to the smallest Hobbit in the Shire, anyone can be a hero. Manwe, Gandalf, Beren and Luthien, Eowyn, Frodo, Sam, and so on. These heroes of Middle-earth are generally positive figures, they show compassion for others, take council in wisdom, and put the needs of the helpless ahead of themselves; standard qualities for an archetypal fantasy protagonist by today’s standards.  Turin is different. He is disturbed, melancholic, and vainglorious, though he is capable of compassion and accomplishes much in the name of good; of Turin’s many exploits, the most remarkable is single-handedly slaying Glaurung the dragon, a scene reminiscent of Sigurd and Fafnir from the “Volsunga Saga.” Despite all of Turin’s achievements though, despair follows. His sister Lalaith dies from plague as a child and Turin never recovers emotionally; Turin’s father Hurin is captured in battle, believed to be dead, tortured for decades, and cursed to watch his family suffer from afar through dark magic; Turin’s homeland is overtaken by bandits and subjected to thralldom; Turin is forced to abandon his pregnant mother at the age of nine and the two never meet again; he is exiled from his foster home after murdering an advisor to the king, refusing to return on the one condition that he ask for forgiveness; he kills his best friend Beleg after mistaking him for an orc in the dark; most disturbing of all, he discovers that his pregnant wife, is actually his long lost sister Nienor. Upon realizing their act of incest, Nienor casts herself into the ocean and Turin falls upon his sword, thus ending his miserable life.  Turin, a complicated anti-hero that isn’t quite sympathetic, but pitiable, is a jarring departure from the other heroes of Middle-earth. There is never a triumph for Turin; the weight of the world just keeps packing on. While Tolkien was certainly in the headspace to create such a character during the turmoil of World War One, the genesis of Turin and his family is derived from “The Kalevala,” a collection of ancient songs, poems, and folk stories from Finland. Turin’s life was inspired by the rune songs of Kullervo, a deeply troubled youth who experiences many hardships and goes through life inflicting disaster upon himself and his people; sometimes by accident, other times in a fit of rage. Kullervo is a national icon in Finland, not just for his appearance in “The Kalevala,” but as the subject for Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ first major symphony, “Kullervo. Op. 7.” Through this creation, Sibelius raised the international awareness of this tragic character, as well as the literary and cultural merit of “The Kalevala.”   Read more
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lochiels · 1 year
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various shots from recent travels
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elerondo · 3 months
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The worst and most inaccurate shade one could throw on Elrond is that degenerate "he didn't even want to be king" and using that to say "Thranduil is better / mightier / Greenwood had it worst". Why is this even a comparison, as though to say Thranduil had any choice in the matter? As though it is a good thing that Thranduil became king?
As though Angmar wasn't a thing in Eriador.
As though all the kings of the Noldor didn't die against Morgoth and Sauron.
If Elrond was king he would also die on the plains of Dagorlad like a Valar forsaken prophecy, and then the last of Feanorian memory, and the valour of Fingolfin's line would have died with him.
As though his own brother - a king - didn't also die and Elros' people later propelled the rise of Sauron, which caused all the mother fucking kings to also die.
Never again would a Feanorian star be bannered in Middle Earth, and Morgoth would have well and truly won against Feanor's kin.
Thus Sauron would have gotten hold of one of the Elven rings, Vilya, the mightiest of the Three.
So no shit, Elrond cannot be king. He chose to serve a king, then the realm, and all the free folks of middle earth.
He played the longest con through all of his PERMANENT LOSSES and you dare trash on that? Why even compare when the elves are all tragic, and Tolkien's main story is the victory of the little people, not the glorfication of war and heroes?
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You know that post about how Tolkien's stories are presented as translations of texts from earlier ages, and how that's grounds to diversify Middle-earth because translators in our world (like say a white male Oxford don born in the late Victorian era) may have made erroneous assumptions about characters' gender and race (and hell who's to say those characters even thought of gender and race the same way we do in the first place)?
Well I thought something similar could work for Narnia. I seem to recall that the narrator mentioned hearing these stories firsthand from the Pevensie kids. One could easily imagine that said narrator added a lot of the series's relatively conservative attitudes on gender and colonialism. For example, Father Christmas might not have actually told the kids that "battles are ugly when women fight," and Calormen might not have really been a dystopia of Oriental Despotism™ standing against Christian virtues.
Hell, maybe The Last Battle got written when Susan woke up in a cold sweat after Aslan sent her a "get your shit together" vision because she'd grown estranged from her family. Then some time after telling the narrator that she saw Narnia's destruction and her family's death, Susan sent a followup letter/telegram along the lines of "false alarm, Lucy sent word that they're all fine."
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drunkshogun · 1 year
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Feanor and the Kestrel
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