The Quendi

Underrated Characters: Mablung, Balin, and Mandos   1.) Mablung  Mablung was the captain of the guard in Doriath, who slew the werewolf Carcharoth alongside Thingol, Beren, Beleg, and Huan and was tasked with protecting Morwen and Nienor. Interestingly, it was Mablung who removed the Silmaril from Carcharoth’s body, meaning he was one of the few characters who actually held one of the gems in his hand. Even so, it often gets overlooked that he didn’t hesitate to give the Silmaril back to Beren; he wasn’t swayed by greed.  Furthermore, his apparent failure at the borderline impossible task of protecting Morwen and Nienor, was actually not his fault at all, and he actually did a comparatively good job of damage control for the House of Hurin’s curse (and their general recklessness). Mablung did everything he possibly could have to protect them, even leading an amnesiac Nienor by the hand for miles in an attempt to bring her back to Doriath. Everything that went wrong was co...

 Who would win in a fight, Gandalf/Mithrandir/Olorin or Sauron/Gorthaur/Mairon?  Rules: • No power restrictions! (As in hypothetically, the Valar tell Gandalf he has license to use his full powers, and Sauron is not disembodied) • No allies! (As in Gandalf can’t summon eagles, etc. and Sauron can’t summon Nazgûl, etc.) • Focused on three categories: strategy, combat skill, power  1.) Strategy: Gandalf Sauron’s strategic skills are somewhat lacking. For example, if the only thing that could destroy the One Ring was to throw it in the fires of Mount Doom, then why didn’t he just have his servants destroy the volcano, or at least the bridge that leads straight into it? If the volcano was completely blocked, nobody would be able to destroy the ring. He also purposefully engineers the demise of Numenor, and fails to account for his own presence in the kingdom at the time of its fall, idiotically getting himself killed in the process. Gandalf, on the other hand, tends to have g...

Maedhros and Maglor swore the Oath of Fëanor, vowing to reclaim the Silmarils at all costs. In the process, they also declared their souls doomed for all eternity if they ever broke it. Obviously, this was not a very intelligent thing to do, and it forced them to commit terrible deeds they wouldn’t have dreamt of committing otherwise. Outside of the Oath (which they rashly swore in the heat of a moment), neither of them were bad people. In fact, they were actually rather good. Nelyafinwë Maitimo Russandol “Maedhros” — • Refused to burn the boats at Losgar and was strongly against abandoning Fingolfin’s forces • Prevented a civil war by abdicating the throne • Strategically moved his psychotic brothers east to prevent drama  • Maintained the March of Maedhros in Himring (an extremely dangerous region) for centuries to keep the eastern parts of Beleriand safe and absorb attacks from Angband before they reached the west.  • Organized the Union of Maedhros, which was probably one ...

There is a common belief that Tolkien failed to adequately write women into his works. He is thought of as depicting women as unimportant side-characters whose only purpose is to look beautiful, where Eowyn, Galadriel, and Luthien are the few exceptions. However, this is a false misconception based on out-of context assumptions and adaptations. The ladies of Middle Earth and Valinor are warriors, scholars, and artists… just like the gentlemen. Many of them are also mothers who would do anything for their children. So without further ado, let’s hear it for the awesome unspoken girl bosses of LOTR! (All of the images are from Tolkien Gateway)  Aredhel, the White Lady of the Noldor was known for her great strength and adventurous spirit —hunting and horse-back riding in the forests of Valinor and Middle Earth.  She was exceedingly brave and sacrificed herself to save her son, Maeglin, a feat that often gets overlooked because of his eventual actions.  Nerdanel the Wise was ...

 Who Was the Best High King of the Noldor in Middle Earth? First let’s layout some rules: • This analysis only accounts for the high kings who spent the majority of their rule in Middle Earth .  (Sorry Finwë and Finarfin fans!) • Only things each character did during his time as high king will be accounted for (e.g. Turgon founding Gondolin beforehand doesn’t count towards his accomplishments as high king) • Smaller Noldor kingdoms working together do not count as alliances (e.g. Gondolin, Nargothrond, Eregion, and Imladris are still technically under the High King’s jurisdiction) • A “good” high king is determined by his contributions to the Noldor and ability to lead… away from chaos.  Objectively, Gil-galad had the most successful reign. He led the Noldor during the defeats of both Morgoth and Sauron (Round 1). Gil-galad ruled for the longest period of time, had the greatest number of victories, formed one of the largest alliances, and maintained relative peace for a...

“Go your way therefore! Bring to me in your hand a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown; and then, if she will, Lúthien may set her hand in yours. Then you shall have my jewel; and though the fate of Arda lie within the Silmarils, yet you shall hold me generous.” - King Thingol, The Silmarillion (Of Beren and Luthien) What did Thingol really mean when he told Beren he must first win a Silmaril before he could marry Luthien? Here are some possible interpretations (first two are from the book) 1.) Thingol does actually want a Silmaril, which seems to be how Beren interpreted the challenge. This is probably not the case, considering how Thingol shows little interest in the gems prior to this instance. Beren’s interpretation also suggests that Thingol values the Silmaril equally to his own daughter (as Beren points out). However, Thingol clearly loves his daughter above all else; the reason he doesn’t want her to marry Beren in the first place is because it would mean losing her. 2.) The quest wa...

  “Hey dol! Merry dol! ring a dong dillio! Ring a dong! Hop along! Fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!”   - Tom Bombadil, The Fellowship of the Ring Who is Tom Bombadil? Well, he certainly is a “merry fellow”.  *Note: this post mainly includes information from the Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, and Silmarillion (not any of Tolkien’s additional books)* Background Tom Bombadil meets Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin on their way to the Prancing Pony in the Fellowship of The Ring book. He is described as having a long brown beard, bright blue eyes, jolly appearance; wearing yellow boots with a blue jacket and hat. Singing in a careless nonsensical fashion and collecting water lilies at a stream, he first encounters the hobbits when he saves Merry and Pippin from being killed by a willow tree. At Tom’s home in the forest, the hobbits meet his wife Goldberry, listen to his strange tales, and take a short rest in safety. To the hobbits’ great surprise, Tom pu...

Fëanor is certainty one of the most complex characters featured in Tolkien’s Silmarillion. Most people either love or hate him, but in this article we are going to do an in depth analysis of this dynamic character.  A Brief Background: Fëanor was skilled in many crafts, but especially known for his smith work. His most prized creations were the three silmarils, gems containing the light of Valinor. He was also a prince of the Noldor, who became king after his father, Finwe, was killed by Melkor. When Melkor killed Finwe, he also stole the silmarils. In response, Fëanor and his sons swore terrible oaths vowing to stop at nothing to retrieve the gems. Fëanor and many of the Noldor left Valinor, declaring war on Melkor, who was now known as Morgoth. Not long after arriving in Middle Earth, Fëanor died fighting many balrogs and his oldest son Maedhros became king.  Many do not like Fëanor, because he committed horrible deeds, and was responsible for much suffering. He initiate...