#silmarillion lore

[hedgehogoftime]

It's kinda funny how Silmarillion fans characterize Maeglin as this poor misunderstood goth kid who was ostracized by Gondolin, when Tolkien goes out of his way to describe how Maeglin was beloved of both his family and the people of Gondolin and that he rose high in honor and acclaim, but Idril was the only one who mistrusted him and that was because he was in creepy obsessive incesty love with her.

Like, it's a pretty straightforward case of "this guy has so much good stuff and has so much going for him but was corrupted by greed for the one thing he couldn't have". It's the same thing that ruined Feanor and his sons and so many others.

I'm not saying that what was done to him by Morgoth wasn't a tragedy, but he was also the architect of his own destruction.

[billanony-art]

[theexistentialmeow]

on the birth of Fëanor

I'm obsessed the idea that Tolkien was hinting at but that didn't quite make it into the published Silmarillion: that Fëanor was born during the crossing from Cuivienen to Aman, well before the Noldor were yeeted over the sea and settled under to the light of the trees, and not in Tirion upon Tuna. He would have been born Moriquendi, the little darling.

The most significant part is not that he wasn't born in Valinor, but that he was the first to be born, period. Of Ingwë, Finwë, Elwë and every other strictly heterosexual monogamous elven couple which was apparently all of them, Fëanor was the first to be born of any family.

Up until then, all elves had 'awoken' under the blanket of Varda's stars. None had been born as babes, swaddled and raised as curious kids. That he was the first to originate from flesh and blood and sex creates a kind of beautiful symmetry to the subsequent destructive and innovative force that was the greatness of Fëanor and his undiagnosed ADHD that was unfortunately never medicated (and to this day, I maintain he will only be allowed out of Mandos' halls when he's been stable on 70mg of Vyvanse, which is never because Melkor hoarded them all before the awakening of the Children as it was the only way to keep Mairon from bouncing off the walls and focussed on his projects).

Fëanor wasn't just an only child. He was the only child that existed. So take only-child syndrome and multiply it by a whole race. It's no wonder that the coming of Fingolfin and Finarfin was wildly unacceptable to him. He went from being the only child in Ea, to being one of three brothers, and motherless to boot.

With his birth he literally starts the second generation of elves (and ends a lot of them, too). It's a singular point of origin from which everything flows, and I love the idea that it was on the journey across. Feanor didn't wait for anything, even in his birth.

[hongchenzhu]

[fandomblr]

“But Aredhel said: 'I am your sister and not your servant, and beyond your bounds I will go as seems good to me. And if you begrudge me an escort, then I will go alone.’” —The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien.

It always irks me whenever people talk about women in Tolkien as some sort of a “gotcha” to imply Tolkien was misogynistic, yet they always fail to include Aredhel or any of the other badass women in the Silm, (Melian, Lúthien, Idril, Haleth, Tar-Ancalimë, etc). That’s why I made an edit for all my fellow Aredhel lovers out there. She’s Aredhel my beloved 🤍 I had a dream with her while I was questioning my gender in which she kissed me and said “I don’t care if you’re a boy or a girl, I want you,” and I will never forget that 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Face claim is Lilly Collins in Mirror Mirror. Cc: Alibi song.

[allbycharles]

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Little something something about Maglor keeping everybody safe

[raointean]

Day 2 - Elves

“Ada?” Arondir turned to call to his father from his vantage point on the hilltop above.

Kelepe hurried up the hill to his son’s side. “Is there danger?”

Arondir shook his head, but he still looked concerned. “The sky seems to grow pale here and some of the stars are… gone.”

Kelepe squinted towards the horizon. He saw the vast, roiling, grey mass of hills they had still to cross. He saw the glint of stars in little rivers and lakes. To the south ran Rathlóriel and to the north, the hills marched ever on, seemingly endless.

The horizon did seem a little lighter. Some of the stars that were usually in the sky at that time were gone, but perhaps they had just lost track of time.

“Perhaps it is the Sea,” Kelepe murmured. “I thought that it was far south and west of here, but I have never crossed the mountains before.”

Arondir’s face brightened some. “That would make sense. All of the stars reflected in so much water would certainly lighten the sky!” He shot off again down the hillside, cheerful as a thrush. 

Kelepe’s fears were not entirely relieved however. He locked eyes with his wife, Ūbathō and knew that she shared the same worries. Both of them remembered when the Enemy lived nearby and his monsters terrorized the people of Cuivienen and, later, Eriador. The temperature, the ground, the sky; nothing had been safe.

Their little twelve-elf caravan continued on for a few minutes, but in that time, the world grew noticeably lighter. The ground changed from near-black to a misty grey and the stars winked out one by one. “Arondir!” he called. “Find us a hiding place. Quickly!”

Not three minutes later, they were all bundled within a cave, Kelepe and his father, Ndangwetha, guarding the west entrance. They watched in silent terror as the horizon turned blazing orange. It was as if the whole world was ablaze, and yet, there was no smoke.

“Perhaps it is a fire-demon,” Kelepe breathed.

“Maybe,” Ndangwetha whispered back. “Although I have never seen fire without shadow. It is certainly no balrog.”

The cave fell silent once again. They huddled in the shadows as the mysterious light pushed its long fingers in through the opening. The sky outside, now entirely starless, turned a color that none of them had ever seen before, even by the light of a fire. As terrifying as it was, Kelepe could not help but wonder at its beauty.

At last, the light withdrew from the cave. The shadows lengthened until, finally, the world was again enveloped in darkness. Kelepe was the first to venture out of their hiding place and, when he was not immediately snatched away by a fire-demon, the others followed him.

“Ada, look! The stars have returned!” Arondir pointed to the sky, crowing joyously.

Sure enough, the tapestries of Elbareth glittered above them once again and Kelepe breathed a sigh of relief. The danger was passed. It was time to go on.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The sun rose in the east after that, of course. We thought the fire-demon had come back to finish us off so we found another cave and waited. My grandfather did not let us leave for a week!”

Theo was near tears from laughter. Arondir steadied him as he stumbled on the road. “You were afraid of the sun!?”

“We had never seen it before,” Arondir said defensively. “Your people awoke with the sun and have never known a time without it. Of course it would seem ridiculous to you!”

Theo’s laughter calmed and he wiped his eyes. “I suppose it makes sense, but still.”

Arondir only smiled fondly. Theo had been in a foul mood ever since Orodruin’s eruption; he was only glad to be able to raise the boy’s spirits.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

Elf names got more complicated as parents strove to create new ones instead of handling the political whiplash of reusing an old one. So if you meet an elf called ‘silver-river-water-voice’ they’re pretty young, but if some guy says ‘hi I’m Tree’ you best believe that bitch is ancient.

[eerieechos]

‘Curufin got burns on his arms from holding onto Fëanor as he fucking exploded’ is a revolutionary god tier idea that I am subscribing to for the rest of my life

[mfelewzi]

From the Facebook page: Tolkien's Amazing Middle Earth: The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion

ÉOWYN, LADY OF THE SHIELD-ARM

"Not by the hand of man was the Lord of the Nazgul doomed to fall, and in that doom placed his trust. But he was felled by a woman and with the aid of a halfling, and I heard the fading of his last cry borne away by the wind."

- Gandalf (The War of the Ring, HoME vol. 8 )

Art by Dmitry Sivakov

Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Wk9vaC9RYWDNoZHh/

[virgil-upinthestars]

a silmarillion hyperfixation is never late, nor is it early, it arrives precisely when it means to

[sadtimo]

Nerdanel must have painted, too

Something I don't think I've ever seen discussed in the Silm fandom is that Nerdanel must have had skills in painting as well as sculpting. I mean, the History of Middle-Earth says people often mistook her sculptures as real people, and, well... I don't think I'd ever mistake an unpainted white marble statue for a real person, no matter how realistically it was carved. Realistically, they would have most likely been painted. Statues in real life were often painted in antiquity anyway, and the paint was worn off or forcibly removed over time.

And yet, I don't believe I've ever seen fanart or anything of Nerdanel painting her statues, and her works are typically in plain white marble. But I think it would be really cool to show how she has a masterful understanding of color as well as 3D space.

Something to think about! I'd love to see more fanart of Nerdanel with statues she painted. Maybe at some point I'll make some myself.

[billanony-art]

Wip

Annatar x Celebrimbor

[whorefindel]

this has me in tears yall 😭

[celebrimborium]

the rings of power + references to the first age (and earlier)

[part i]

[thetiredprometheus]