Writing with Dwarf Runes

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Dwarf runes are easy to use – unlike the Dwarvish language (Khuzdul), and unlike Elvish writing (Tengwar). Dwarf runes behave exactly as speakers of English expect an "alphabet" to behave – one letter per sound, whether vowel or consonant, and all written left to right.

This lesson is based on Appendix E of Lord of the Rings.

History of Runes

The Cirth ("Runes") were originally developed in by the Sindar Elves of Doriath, for writing Sindarin. The runes are traditionally attributed to the loremaster Daeron. The Sindar were slow to adopt writing, but the Dwarves who visited and traded with Doriath took readily to the runes, and spread them widely, both among Dwarves and other races. Over time, the runes were adapted for various languages. The Noldor of Ergion are credited with adding a number of characters for sounds not found in Sindarin.

(This is at least how the Elves tell the story. We have no record of the Dwarves' version of the history. It seems farfetched to me to say that those early-adopter Dwarves waited centuries for the Noldor to invent characters for the sounds distinctive to Khuzdul, so perhaps the history, as recorded, has some elf-centric spin.) 

The runes as used by the Dwarves of Moria.

These are probably the oldest Dwarvish version of the runes.

 "Glottal" is a sound, or change in sound, that does not register in the brains of most speakers of English, since it never affects the meaning or spelling of English words. If you are writing Khuzdul, you may need that character.  (If you aren't writing Khuzdul, you probably won't have any occasion to worry about that character.)

There are references to both "Y" and "X" being used for the sound N.

Tolkien describes the "uh" and "eh" sounds as "vowels like those heard in English butter." Those characters are used especially for the indistinct little vowel sounds, which apparently were as common in Dwarvish as in English. 

This is how Balin's name appears on his tomb.

 

The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain used a few distinctive variants in the runes.

Here is a line from the title page of Lord of the Rings. Can you translate it?
Here Tolkien uses "<" as the rune for S, which is an older, Elvish usage.

 

 (Use your mouse to highlight over the white space, to see the answer.) The Lord of the Rings translated from the Red Book

Thror's map, in The Hobbit, is not written in Cirth at all. It is written in (mostly) Anglo-Saxon futhark. At the time The Hobbit was originally written, that story was set in a generic fantasyland. After Tolkien's publisher requested a sequel, and that sequel began to develop into Lord of the Rings, Tolkien realized that The Hobbit must have been set in the Silmarillion's Middle-Earth universe. Tolkien made a few minor changes to later editions of The Hobbit, the better to fit it to the Lord of the Rings. However, the runes on Thror's map remained unchanged.

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The Hobbit - Chapter 10

Attended by:

AelKenny Rhiano
Belenos Rhiano
Rhun Darkmoon
Shawn Daysleeper


Ael gave a quick summary of the events of chapter Nine:

Well, in Chapter 9, Bilbo and the dwarves, after escaping the spider, wind up captured by the wood elves and brought the elven king's halls. Bilbo, now is still hidden by the ring. The dwarves refuse to reveal their plan to reclaim their treasure from Smaug because they don't want to give the elves a share of the spoils. So Thorin and the dwarves are thrown in the dungeon.

The elves exchange goods with the men of Lake Town via barrels that are floated on a river that flows under the elves’ dwelling. Empty barrels are sent floating back down the river from a storeroom. In the storeroom, Bilbo catches a guardsman napping. He steals the guardsman’s keys, frees the dwarves, and puts his plan into action. He helps pack each dwarf into an empty barrel just before the elves return and shove the barrels into the river; then, still invisible, he hops onto an empty barrel. The trapdoors open and the dwarves speed out along the river toward Lake Town.

In Chapter 10, The barrels, with one hobbit on top and thirteen dwarves inside, flow down the river and out of Mirkwood forest. Looking to the north, Bilbo sees the Lonely Mountain, the group’s ultimate destination. For the time being, however, the river takes them toward Lake Town (its alternate name, Esgaroth, is mentioned in Chapter 12). Lake Town is a human city, built on Long Lake, south of the Lonely Mountain. At Lake Town, the barrels are brought to shore when boats from the town row out and cast ropes toward the floaters, and while the men are away, Bilbo frees his companions from the barrels. Everyone has survived, but they are cramped, wet, and hungry.

Thorin, filled with a new sense of purpose, strides proudly up to the town hall and declares to the Master of Lake Town that he, a descendant of the King under the Mountain, has returned to claim his inheritance. The people of the town rejoice. They have all heard the stories of how gold flowed down the river when the King under the Mountain reigned before Smaug came. They treat the dwarves and even Bilbo like kings. After a fortnight, the company is strong and eager again. Though they still have no idea how to deal with the dragon, Thorin feels that they cannot wait any longer. He obtains boats, horses, and provisions from the Master of Lake Town, and the company sets off up the River running toward the Lonely Mountain.

Belenos asked if 'gold flowing down the river' referred to it coming from a mine. Ael confirmed it did. From Dwarven mines.  Rhun then commented that the people of Laketown feted the travellers but also seemed to have high expectations of them.

Ael agreed and went on to elaborate. The way in which Thorin Oakenshield’s name and the name of his grandfather command immediate respect in Lake Town despite Thorin’s tattered appearance highlights the importance of ancestry and family name in Middle-Earth. We have already seen the importance of lineage in defining a person’s character and prospects, first through Bilbo’s oscillation between his Took side and his Baggins side, and also through Thorin’s obsession with his birthright, the treasure under the mountain. When the party arrives at Lake Town, we see that lineage also influences social interactions. Since strangers often bring trouble, a well-known name is powerful. A mark of social and familial stability, a name like Oakenshield represents a time when peace and prosperity prevailed. For the people of Lake Town, the return of the grandson of the King under the Mountain recalls a time before Smaug when gold came from the Lonely Mountain.

Thorin is very representative of dwarves as they are portrayed in the Hobbit....brave, stubborn, proud, and greedy for gold. Though his birthright and noble bearing initially make Thorin seem like a fairly heroic figure, the dwarf’s status quickly declines as Bilbo’s rises. Soon after Gandalf leaves the party, it becomes apparent that Thorin is not a true leader: he is incapable of formulating a plan, makes hasty and poor decisions, and generally relies on Bilbo to see him through his adventures, all the while treating Bilbo like an insignificant underling. Once Thorin gets his hands on Smaug’s treasure, he becomes irrationally greedy and obsessed with wealth, to the extent that he would rather wage a violent war than give the men from Lake Town their fair share of the treasure. Thorin is partially redeemed by his dying apology to Bilbo, but not even this act of remorse can fully redeem him. In general, the arrogant Thorin works as a foil for the unassuming Bilbo, setting off Bilbo’s best qualities and creating a leadership void that provides Bilbo the chance to seize the initiative and become a true hero.

Belenos remarked that it would seem that ancestry and name were not just important to the dwarves. Ael agreed, as Laketown was a human town. He also mentioned when all of Bilbo's relatives were discussed, some were less reputable than others. Name and status was very important.

Shawn remarked that he did not think elves saw name and ancestry as important as other races do, expect for maybe the Noldor. Ael agreed this was so, going on to remark that he did not think it was important prior to the creation of the silmarils. Rhun asked why that would change things and Ael went on to explain. Once the simarils were created, we begin to see jealousy, possessiveness and other negative emotions in the Noldor.  When Rhun asked why this would be so, Ael elaborated. It is like, in my humble opinion, the simarils were like the apple from the tree of knowledge.  In Valinor "great became their knowledge and their skill; yet even greater was their thirst for more knowledge, and in many things they soon surpassed their teachers. They were changeful in speech, for they had great love of words, and sought ever to find names more fit for all things they knew or imagined." But remember, Melkor grew to hate the Noldor. He envied their properity and growth and he would go often among them, offering advice and wooing them. And they listened and were tainted by his lies.  Fëanor, having rebelled against Fingolfin his half-brother, was banished, and with him went Finwë his father. Fingolfin remained as the ruler of the Noldor of Tirion.

Belenos then asked if this meant they were tainted by Melkor before the silmarils were made and Ael confirmed this was so. After Fingolfin was banished..Melkor... Soon after with the aid of Ungoliant he slew the Two Trees, and coming to Formenos he killed Finwë, stole the Silmarils and departed from Aman. Fëanor then, driven by the desire of vengeance, rebelled against the Valar and made a speech before the Noldor, persuading them to leave Valinor, follow Melkor to Middle-earth and wage war against him for the recovery of the Silmarils. He swore a terrible oath to pursue Melkor and claimed the title of the High King; but though the greater part of the Noldor still held Fingolfin as King, they followed Fëanor to be not separated from their kin.


The Noldor led by Fëanor demanded that the Teleri let them use their ships. When the Teleri refused, they took the ships by force, committing the first kinslaying.

We have references in the Silmarillion that point to lineage...like Galadriel being the granddaughter of Olwe, but it seems that lineage mattered more to the Noldor than to either the Vanyar or the Teleri.

Concerning the humans.....The introduction of the people of Lake Town places humans in Tolkien’s hierarchy of good and evil races. The human denizens of Lake Town are quite cautious when it comes to confronting the dragon. When the company sets off for the mountain, the humans refuse to go near it, leaving Bilbo and the dwarves to fend for themselves. Though they are concerned most about themselves, the people of Lake Town cannot really be blamed for fearing Smaug—they are convinced that he is invincible. Though Tolkien here emphasizes human fallibility and fear, he portrays humans as generally good creatures.

So..they may show all this respect to Thorin, but when it comes to slaying the dragon...

And the wood elves could have helped. He could have cut them in for a share of the treasure. There was enough to go around.

Belenos asked why he didn't and Ael explained one of his failings as we would see, is greed. Rhun went on to remark then that when Gimli asked his gift of Galadriel he was actually exceptionally 'ungreedy'. Ael commented that if we are comparing him to Thorin, he was a most unusual dwarf.  Ael also remarked, "I would like to think so. I cannot see any race being static and totally unchanging. And remember, if we apply the theory of evolution, then we must allow for the idea that dwarven communities would adopt to the circumstances of their environment."  Belenos commented then that as supposedly  even real life human learn from history, so too can dwarves (considering the difference in time of the story of the Hobbit, versus the Lord of the Rings books).

The Hobbit - Chapter 8 and 9

Attended by: 
AelKennyr Rhiano
Belenos Stormchaser
Rhun Darkmoon
Shawn Daysleeper




Chapter 8

Darkness falls upon Bilbo and the dwarves as they enter the bleak forest of Mirkwood. Strange eyes peer out at them from the trees. Soon, the group cannot tell night from day. Everyone can think only of getting out of the stuffy, ominous woods, but there seems to be no end in sight. After a few days, they come to a stream that Beorn had warned them not to touch. They cross using a boat already moored there, but a dwarf, Bombur, falls in and is put into a sleep that lasts for days. The rest of the party is forced to carry him. Hungry, tired, and scared, they begin to despair.

One night, they see a flicker of lights in the trees and, ignoring the warnings of Beorn and Gandalf, they leave the path and move toward the lights. They see elves sitting in a clearing around a fire, feasting and singing. However, the moment they burst into the clearing, the lights are snuffed out, and the dwarves and Bilbo can hardly find one another. The same thing happens twice more. On the last occasion, everyone becomes separated, unable to find one another in the darkness. Soon, Bilbo stops hearing voices and, exhausted, leans against a tree to sleep.

When Bilbo awakens, his legs are bound with sticky thread and an enormous spider is advancing toward him. Whipping out his sword, he slashes his legs free and slays the spider. Flush with victory, he gives his sword a name: Sting. He then goes in search of the dwarves. To his horror, he finds them all hanging from a tree, tied up in the webs of the many spiders that sit atop the branches. Bilbo whips a few stones at the spiders and then leads them away from the dwarves by yelling. Fortunately, he is wearing the ring all the while, so the spiders cannot find him.

Having led the spiders away, Bilbo slips back and cuts the dwarves free. But the spiders soon return, and the dwarves, weak from the spiders’ poison, can hardly fight them off, even with the aid of the invisible Bilbo. Just when the situation looks completely hopeless, the spiders suddenly retreat, and the company realizes that they themselves have retreated into one of the clearings used by elves. There, they rest to ponder their next course of action. A moment later, they realize with horror that Thorin is missing.

Unbeknownst to the others, Thorin was taken prisoner by the elves when he stepped into the clearing before the spider attack. The elves are wood elves, who are good but suspicious of strangers. The Elvenking questions Thorin about his journey. When Thorin refuses to say where the company is going, the elves throw him in the dungeon, but they feed him and are not cruel.

Chapter 9

Soon after Bilbo and the rest of the dwarves escape the spiders, they are surrounded by a company of wood elves and brought blindfolded to the Elvenking’s halls. Bilbo, still wearing his ring, remains undetected. The other dwarves are brought before the king and questioned. Like Thorin, they refuse to reveal their plan to reclaim the treasure from Smaug for fear that the elves will demand a share. Also like Thorin, the dwarves are thrown into the dungeon. Meanwhile, Bilbo, having followed the captured dwarves, walks invisibly through the halls, whispering to the dwarves in their cells and plotting an escape.

The elves exchange goods with the men of Lake Town via barrels that are floated on a river that flows under the elves’ dwelling. Empty barrels are sent floating back down the river from a storeroom. In the storeroom, Bilbo catches a guardsman napping. He steals the guardsman’s keys, frees the dwarves, and puts his plan into action. He helps pack each dwarf into an empty barrel just before the elves return and shove the barrels into the river; then, still invisible, he hops onto an empty barrel. The trapdoors open and the dwarves speed out along the river toward Lake Town.

Analysis
A key turning point in Bilbo’s development comes when he kills the spider that wrapped him in its web as he slept. After killing the spider, Bilbo feels like “a different person.” The spider is the first enemy that Bilbo defeats in combat, and the incident serves as a rite of passage. This change is marked by Bilbo’s decision to name his sword. In ancient epic literature, named swords are important symbols of courage and heroism, so by giving his sword a name, Bilbo signifies his new capacity to lead and succeed. From this point on, Bilbo begins to take action and make plans on his own—his plan to free the dwarves from the wood elves is the first instance of his newfound resolve. The peril and enmity that Bilbo and his group encounter in Mirkwood, combined with Gandalf’s absence and the dwarves’ bad luck, provide Bilbo with a grand opportunity to continue his development into a hero.

The narrator’s description of the wood elves as “Good People” who have become less wise, more suspicious, and more dangerous than the high elves, their relatives, illustrates how race and moral condition are closely linked in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. We have not yet encountered any humans in The Hobbit, so it is still difficult to figure where humans fit within Tolkien’s hierarchy of good and evil. From the passing references that we do hear, we get the impression that humans are mortal, often unwise, out of accord with nature, and prone to feuding. Still, humans do not seem to be uniformly evil like the goblins and the Wargs. Soon, at the end of Chapter 9, we encounter more substantial evidence of man when the company, waterlogged but alive, floats toward the human settlement Lake Town, just south of the Lonely Mountain, which is the group’s ultimate destination.

An evil aura pervades the forest of Mirkwood. As Gandalf explains, the evil atmosphere stems mostly from the presence of the mysterious Necromancer in the south of Mirkwood. The Necromancer does not figure in The Hobbit in a significant way but provides another important link between this novel and The Lord of the Rings. The Necromancer later proves to be Sauron, the Dark Lord, who is rebuilding his evil power in Mirkwood before returning to his stronghold of Barad-Dur in the blighted land of Mordor.

Special Quotation for discussion

Somehow [after] the killing of this giant spider . . . [h]e felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath.

reflection on the quotation


This passage from Chapter 8 depicts Bilbo’s reaction to his narrow escape from the giant spider of Mirkwood, one of the novel’s major turning points. Defeating a foe in combat gives Bilbo a taste of the confidence that he has not previously enjoyed, making him feel “much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach.” From this point forward, Bilbo shows that he is capable of taking the initiative and acting in the best interest of the company rather than his own self-interest, as his ability to ignore his hunger shows. He upstages Thorin as a leader and establishes himself as a hero.

Bilbo’s decision to name his sword is also symbolic. Named swords are marks of reputation and prowess in ancient epic literature, and Bilbo’s naming of his sword essentially represents his laying claim to the mantle of heroism.

Alqualonde

Attended by:
AelKennyr Rhiano
Fand Gloster
Jasper DragonHeart
Rhun Darkmoon
Shawn Daysleeper

Ael began with giving some general information about Alqualonde: Alqualonde, in Tolkien, is the chief city of the Teleri elves who completed the journey West. The city is said to be north and east of Tirion between the Calacirya and Araman in northern Eldamar.  The city was built in a natural harbour made of rock, and was also walled. Other than the great harbours it also housed the Tower of Olwë. The city was covered with the pearls the Elves had found in the sea and jewels which they obtained from the Noldor.  With aid from the Ñoldor, the city was built during the time of the trees, sometime after the elves arrived in Valinor; it was constructed by the Teleri, who loved the seas and the starlight. Olwë, brother of Thingol, lived in Alqualondë and was its lord.

At this point Rhun clarified that this meant that in Tolkien's world and times, Alqualonde was in the eternal twilight of Aman.  Ael agreed that this was so, "Aman is in an eternal twillight. Arien takes the vessel of the sun and traverses across Middle Earth."  He then went on to mention about Elwe.  As you are aware, after Elwe became smitten with the Maia Melian, and they decided to make eyes at each other for...what...a hundred years or so, Olwe took the rest of the Teleri and resumed the journey to Valinor.  Elwe, you all may remember, went on to marry Melian, and became known as Elu Thingol. His people became the Sindar.

Here is what Tolkein wrote of Alqualonde: "Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the shores and scattered in the pools; marvelous were the beaches of Elende in those days. And many pearls they won for themselves from the sea; and their halls were of pearl, and of pearl were the mansions of Olwe at Alqualonde, the Haven of the Swans, lit with many lamps. For that was their city, and the Haven of their ships; and those were made in likeliness of swans, with the beaks of gold and eyes of gold and jet."

In Aman all of the Teleri regard Olwë as their High King, since Elwe was lost to them, and Olwe brought them safely to Valinor. But each time they stopped along their journey, a group of Teleri would stay behind. Thus, many of the elven clans in Middle Earth can trace their roots back to Teleri, either through the groups that stayed or through Elu.

We then looked at a little back history of the Elves. The Great Journey, or the Great March was the journey that the Elves known as the Eldar took from Cuiviénen, the place of their awakening, to Valinor in Aman.  The Eldar are those elves of the awakening.  After the War of the Valar against Melkor much of northern Middle-earth was broken, and then Oromë returned to take the Eldar with him into the West. The majority of the Elves departed, but a part remained behind, becoming known as the Avari, in the Sundering of the Elves.


Oromë guided the Eldar north of the Sea of Helcar, passing under the smoke of the ruined Iron Mountains (Ered Engrin). Some Eldar fled in fear, and disappeared from history. Later the host passed through a great forest (the later Mirkwood) on the path where later was the Dwarf-Road, and then long waited at the shores of a Great River (Anduin) while Oromë sought a way to get them over the Hithaeglir or the Misty Mountains, which were much higher in those days.

The Vanyar and Ñoldor were ferried across Belegaer or the Great Sea on Tol Eressëa, which would later be permanently anchored of the coast of Aman by Ulmo, while the Teleri finally entered Beleriand. When Ulmo returned for them the greater part of the Teleri finally crossed Belegaer. Thus the first city of the Teleri elves in Valinor is on Tol Eressea, the lonely isle

It was noted that, contrary to what some have claimed rpwise, however, Olwe never stepped down as Lord of Tol Eressea.

In Tolkien, however, the most noteworthy event that occurred in the peaceful, tranquil Swanhaven was the First kinslaying. The Kinslayings are the collective term for the three battles fought between the Eldar.

The first battle, the Kinslaying at Alqualondë (Swanhaven), appears in print in The Silmarillion. It involves the Noldorin Elves under their king, Fëanor, against their fellow Elves, the Teleri. Fëanor had induced the Noldor to leave Valinor to make war upon the Dark Lord Morgoth in revenge for the theft of his Silmarilli jewels and the murder of his father Finwë. As the easiest route to Middle-earth was by sea, Fëanor and his sons led one host of the Noldor to the city of Alqualondë and asked the seafaring Teleri of Alqualondë for their vessels. The Teleri refused to help them defy the Valar. Bitter fighting broke out (although it is not clear who began the fighting, the Silmarillion states that fighting began when the Noldor attempted to take control of the Teleri's ships) and eventually many (perhaps hundreds) of Elves on both sides were slain. Though the Teleri were lightly armed, they were able to defend themselves to some degree until a second host of the Noldor, led by Fëanor's half-nephew Fingon, arrived together with some of his father Fingolfin's people. Fingon's people assumed erroneously that the Teleri had attacked the Noldor under orders of the Valar. In the end, many of the Fëanor had induced the Noldor to leave Valinor to make war upon the Dark Lord Morgoth in revenge for the theft of his Silmarilli jewels and the murder of his father Finwë. As the easiest route to Middle-earth was by sea, Fëanor and his sons led one host of the Noldor to the city of Alqualondë and asked the seafaring Teleri of Alqualondë for their vessels. The Teleri refused to help them defy the Valar. Bitter fighting broke out (although it is not clear who began the fighting, the Silmarillion states that fighting began when the Noldor attempted to take control of the Teleri's ships) and eventually many (perhaps hundreds) of Elves on both sides were slain. Though the Teleri were lightly armed, they were able to defend themselves to some degree until a second host of the Noldor, led by Fëanor's half-nephew Fingon, arrived together with some of his father Fingolfin's people. Fingon's people assumed erroneously that the Teleri had attacked the Noldor under orders of the Valar.  

It was commented that for those seeing this as a religious work, The Kinslaying was the elves' equivalent of man's Original Sin, in that they fell to evil and were expelled from paradise.

The second battle is the Sack of Doriath where Dior was killed by the Sons of Fëanor.

The third battle in the Kinslaying is the attack by the Sons of Fëanor on the Mouths of Sirion where Elwing was attacked. The last Kinslaying is considered the cruellest of them all because many women and children were also murdered by the Fëanorians.

It was stated by Eönwë herald of Manwë that because of these evil deeds the remaining Sons of Fëanor had lost all right to the Silmarils, and when Maedhros and Maglor finally retrieved them, the Silmarils burned their hands, driving Maedhros to suicide and Maglor to wander the Earth forever.

It was at this point that Rhun commented, 'The silmarills almost seemed to carry the same king of affect on characters as the One Ring?'  Ael agreed that the inspired a greed for power.  The discussion finished with a link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/711862/1/Alqualonde

Tom Bombadil Rap

I got this email today:

Lihan,

 

Hi.  I found you through the Tolkien Discussion Group.  I run the Odyssey Writing Workshops, and we held a flashmob at WorldCon earlier this month, which involved rapping the poetry of Tom Bombadil.  I thought you and your friends might get a kick out of it.   http://ow.ly/dtVRK

 

Best,

 

Jeanne

 

Jeanne Cavelos

Director

Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust

www.odysseyworkshop.org

 It is good to hear from other Tolkien fans! 

The Hobbit - Chapters 6 and 7

Attended by:
AelKennyr Rhiano
Jasper DragonHeart
Rhun Darkmoon
Shawn Daysleeper

Chapter 6

Fleeing from the goblins—and still invisible, thanks to the ring—Bilbo looks back and realizes that he has made it to the other side of the Misty Mountains. The tunnels have taken him all the way through the range. Walking along, he stumbles upon Gandalf and the dwarves, who have just been wondering whether they should leave without him. The hobbit slips off the ring and surprises them and then explains how he made his way out of the mountain. However, he refrains from mentioning his discovery of the magic ring and the role it played in his escape from Gollum and the goblins.

Gandalf implores the company to get moving again since only the sunlight is keeping the goblins from coming after them. The group is a bit north of where they had planned to be, and they have difficult country to cross. Evening comes as they pass through a grove of trees. Suddenly, they hear the howling of wolves and barely have time to scurry up into the trees before the wolves descend upon them. The beasts are actually wolflike creatures called Wargs. The Wargs are allies of the goblins, and they quickly notify the goblins of the situation. The goblins begin to arrive and, laughing at the company’s predicament, light fires under the trees in which Gandalf, the dwarves, and Bilbo are hiding.

Gandalf prepares to attack the goblins, hoping to kill as many as he can before they kill him. Luckily for the company, the Lord of the Eagles has seen the commotion from his roost high in the mountains. With a number of other eagles, he swoops down, picks up the marooned travelers, and flies them to safety. The eagles are friends of Gandalf’s and enemies of the goblins. They are happy to provide food and rest for the weary travelers, who then continue on their journey.

Chapter 7

Once again, Gandalf disappoints the company by announcing that he must leave. He says, however, that he will stay around long enough to help them find food and ponies so that they can make their way on their own through Mirkwood—the last great obstacle before the Lonely Mountain. He leads them to the house of Beorn. Beorn is a half-man, half-bear creature who has a great wooden house in the middle of the woods outside Mirkwood. Gandalf takes the dwarves to Beorn’s house a few at a time, so as not to startle him. He tells Beorn the story of their adventure in the mountain. Gandalf’s story amuses Beorn greatly because he despises goblins, who are enemies of nature.

Beorn offers the company much-needed food and lodging. He also does some scouting and finds that the Wargs and goblins have put together an attack party in order to find the dwarves and wizard that killed their leader, the Great Goblin. To evade this attack party, Beorn recommends that the group take the northern pass (the elf path) through Mirkwood, which will bring them near the Lonely Mountain. This choice will throw the goblins off the company’s trail and allow them to bypass the dangerous southern pass. The northern pass is not entirely safe either, so Beorn repeatedly warns his guests never to stray from the path.

Beorn provides the group with food and ponies to carry them to the gate at the path’s start. From there, however, they must return the ponies and travel on foot. When they reach the path, Gandalf also departs, wishing his friends the best and reminding them never to stray from the path—dark things lurk in Mirkwood that even the wizard does not know about. On that note, the dwarves and the hobbit plunge into the forest.

Analysis

Although the eagles and Beorn help the company tremendously, they both express that hatred for goblins, rather than love for dwarves, is their main reason for helping the company. Neither Beorn nor the eagles have any interest in the dwarves’ gold, but as representatives of pure nature, they are the sworn enemies of corrupted nature, represented by the goblins and Wargs. The eagles generally keep distant from the affairs of other races, and Beorn can be downright cruel to those who displease him. When he finds a goblin and a Warg prowling about in the woods, for instance, he puts the goblin’s head on a stake and the Warg’s pelt on a tree outside his house as a warning. Beorn and the eagles show all the brute force of nature and, in fact, seem to be part of it. Gandalf surmises that, long ago, Beorn was born from the mountains themselves.

By the end of Chapter 7, the episodic nature of The Hobbit narrative becomes increasingly clear. Like successive episodes of a popular television show, each chapter brings a new setting and a new set of adventures. Chapter 2 involved the trolls, Chapter 3 introduced us to Elrond and Rivendell, Chapter 4 involved the goblins, Chapter 5 chronicled Bilbo’s encounter with Gollum, and so forth. Once an adventure is completed, it generally has relatively little bearing on the rest of the novel. The one continuous thread, however, is that the changes Bilbo undergoes as a result of each adventure affect his behavior in subsequent adventures.

Moreover, until the group nears its destination at the Lonely Mountain, the particular adventures that they face have little to do with their ultimate goal of regaining Thorin’s treasure. Dangers like the goblins and the tempest are merely incidental obstacles the characters encounter on the way to their destination. These impediments make up The Hobbit’s cast of antagonists, each of whom predominates in a single adventure. Examples of particular antagonists include the Great Goblin, the spiders of Mirkwood, and the great dragon Smaug.

The novel’s overall tone grows darker and more ominous the farther the company travels, so that the solace they find in Beorn’s lair after escaping the goblins seems grim and violent compared to the solace they found in Rivendell after escaping the trolls. Even after the company escapes the goblins, the coming journey into Mirkwood seems so perilous that the road ahead seems more frightening than the road behind. This gradually darkening tone builds tension. It also transforms the novel’s dynamic from a lighthearted children’s story into a more serious epic. This gradual change corresponds to the reader’s immersion into the tale and to Bilbo’s transformation into a true hero. As Bilbo travels farther from the safe and familiar comforts of Hobbiton, the dangers he faces heighten, and he evolves from a humble hobbit into a noble protagonist heroically negotiating his way through evil.


Beorn

Beorn was generally benevolent and hated goblins and wargs; but he was also a loner and distrustful of travelers and beggars. He was never polite, and became easily angry and appalling. He never invited people into his house and his very few friends who lived a good way away, came no more than a couple to his house at a time. Added to this, Beorn was not fond of Dwarves.

Although fierce to his enemies, once convinced of the others' goodwill, he was welcoming, generous and helpful.

His origins lay in the distant past, and Gandalf suspected he and his people had originally come from the mountains. He lived with his tame horses in a wooden house (Beorn's Hall) between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, to the east of the Great River of Wilderland. He did not eat any meat, as he could talk with his animals, who helped him. His grove was occupied by huge bees. Beorn's diet was mainly honey and cream

Beorn named the Carrock and created the steps that led from its base to the flat top. Once Gandalf saw him as a bear sitting all alone on the top of the Carrock watching the moon sinking towards the Misty Mountains, and heard him growl in the tongue of bears "The day will come when they will perish and I shall go back!". While Gandalf knew him, Beorn did not, although he knew his cousin, Radagast.

During the Quest of Erebor, Beorn received Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and the thirteen Dwarves and gave the Dwarves and Bilbo help in their quest.

In the Battle of Five Armies, Beorn appeared transformed into a giant bear, and rescued Thorin from the Goblins and killed their leader Bolg.

After the Battle of Five Armies, Beorn became a "great chief" in the Vales of Anduin, and it is said that his descendants also were skin-changers, able to take the shape of a bear. His people became known as the Beornings, and they helped defend Thranduil's kingdom of northern Mirkwood. Beorn died some time before the War of the Ring began, and was succeeded by his son Grimbeorn the Old.

Lord of the Eagles

While in The Silmarillion the title "Lord of the Eagles" applies to Thorondor, in The Hobbit it evidently has another significance. No eagles are identified by name in this book, and titles "the Lord of the Eagles" or "the Great Eagle" distinguish their leader from others. It is stated that once he had been healed from an arrow-wound by Gandalf, and that it was in the memory of this service that his eagles helped the dwarves. After his participating in the Battle of Five Armies, he was given the title King of All Birds and wore a golden crown.

Many readers assume that it was Gwaihir that led the eagles in this story. However, in The Return of the King Gandalf said that Gwaihir had carried him twice before the Battle of the Morannon, while the proper count would have been three or four times if Gwaihir and the Lord of the Eagles had been the same individual.

Pretty Pictures

See some of the prettiest Lord of the Rings illustrations ever!

I won't violate copyright by reposting them here.  See the originals at http://breathing2004.deviantart.com/gallery/30260599.

Click on each picture to enlarge it.

The Advent of Men into Middle Earth (Part I)

Present:
AelKennyr Rhiano
Belenos (BelenosStormchaser Magic)
Rhun Darkmoon
Shawn Daysleeper

Summary:

Ael began the discussion by confirming that tonight the topic is The advent of men into Middle Earth - their initial role/knowledge etc of their world and what their role/knowledge might be by the 4th age.  For the purposes of this discussion he also clarified that we have to remember the time period in which Tolkien wrote and understand that "men" does not refer only to the male humans, but all of humanity.

The Elves call the race of Men Atani in Quenya, literally meaning "Second People" (the Elves being the First), but also Hildor (Followers), Apanónar (After-born), and Fírimar or Firyar (Mortals). Less charitably they were called Engwar (The Sickly), owing to their susceptibility to disease and old age, and their generally unlovely appearance in the Elves' eyes. The name Atani becomes Edain in Sindarin, but this term is later only applied to those Men who are friendly to the Elves. Other names appear in Sindarin as Aphadrim, Eboennin, and Firebrim or Firiath. Being the second born race of Middle-earth, Men are generally weaker than Elves, and have poorer coordination and reflexes.

The point was raised that often in our rp, humanity is called the "secondborn." They awoke at the the beginning of the Years of the Sun, while the elves were born during the Years of the Trees. So often the children of men are also called "the Afterborn."

Belenos raised the question of why men were weaker than elves.  Ael remarked that it was considered that humans bear the "Gift of Men," mortality.  Rhun commented that would bring its own set of experiences and wisdom, different from the elves. Also, although humans were physically "weaker" than elves, they were quick to perpetuate their race.

There were many different groups of humans in Tolkien. The most important group in the tales of the First Age were the Edain. Although the word Edain refers to all Men, the Elves use it to distinguish those Men who fought with them in the First Age against Morgoth in Beleriand. Those Men who fought against Morgoth in the First Age were divided into three Houses.


Bëor, the first house was granted the fief of Ladros in Dorthonion by Finrod Felagund.

The Second House of the Edain was led by one Haldad and later by his daughter Haleth and settled in the Forest of Brethil. The House called itself the House of Haleth after their matriarch.

The Third House of the Edain, which became the greatest, was led by Marach and later his descendant Hador, and they settled in Dor-lómin. This house was known both as the House of Marach and the House of Hador.


The Dúnedain, were the ones who were rewarded with the land of Númenor, an island in the form of a five-pointed star far away from the evil of Middle-earth.  The kingdom of Númenor grew steadily in power, and the Dúnedain became the noblest and highest of all Men on Arda. Allied to the Elves, Númenor fought against Morgoth's lieutenant Sauron.

The Dunedain were called the Men of the West. Dunedain is Sindarin and translates to that. In time, they came to resent the Gift of Men, death. They wanted to become immortal like the Elves and enjoy their accumulated power for all time. The Númenóreans turned away from the Valar, began to call the Gift of Men the Doom of Men and cursed the Ban of the Valar which forbade them to sail west beyond sight of Númenor or to enter Valinor. They split into two groups, the king's men and the Faithful. Sauron, who by the second millennium of the Second Age was nearly defeated by the Elves, took advantage of the division. He surrendered to the last Númenórean King, Ar-Pharazôn, and worked his way into the King's counsels. Ultimately, Sauron advised him to attack Valinor and under the ruse that doing so would allow the king to claim immortality. This he foolishly did, and as punishment Númenor was swallowed by the sea. However, some of the Faithful escaped and founded the twin kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.  The Men of Gondor gradually mingled with other groups, such as the Northmen.


The Faithful were not the only Númenóreans left on Middle-earth when Númenor sank. When Númenor grew in naval power, many Númenóreans founded colonies in Middle-earth. In the second millennium of the Second Age, there was an exodus of Men from an overcrowded Númenor: the King's Men, who wanted to conquer more lands, and the Faithful who were persecuted by the Kings. The Faithful settled in Pelargir and the King's Men settled in Umbar. When Númenor was destroyed, the remaining King's Men became known as the Black Númenóreans and remained hostile against the Faithful of Gondor.
From their ranks, Sauron recruited Men who would become some of the nine Ringwraiths in the second millennium of the Second Age.


Thus we have Tolkien painting a picture of a rather diverse population throughout various places in Middle Earth and that by the time of the events of the Lord of the Rings, the elves were leaving Middle Earth and heading West.  At this point in the discussion there was speculation as to why the elves began leaving Middle Earth to go to the West, with some interesting points raised as to the possible reasons.  These were interesting speculations ranging from the postulated influence of Tolkien's Catholicism through to a purely ecological need - elves being stronger and longer lived could easily push out human in competition for resources, through to it being a matter of one immortal race (the elves) being drawn to another (the Ainur) and thereby leaving Middle Earth to the mortals. 

At this point in the discussion the hour was getting late and it has been decided to continue this topic for the next meeting of the group. 

Aulë and Yavanna

Present:
AelKennyr Rhiano      
Belenos    (BelenosStormchaser Magic)
Shawn Daysleeper  
Rhûn Darkmoon     


Summary:

Ael put forth the information that this World, fashioned from his ideas and expressed as the Music of Ilúvatar, was refined by thoughtful interpretations by the Ainur, who then created their own themes based on each unique comprehension. No one Ainu understood all of the themes that sprang from Ilúvatar. Instead, each elaborated individual themes, singing of mountains and subterranean regions, say, from themes for metals and stones. The themes of Ilúvatar's music were elaborated, and the Ainur added creative touches to blend with the themes of other Ainur.


Hearing this, Belenos put forth the thought that where it was said that no one Ainu understood all of the themes, but instead each elaborated individual themes then that would be like they each had a 'trade', an area they specialised in, and they worked together. She likened this to how a jeweler would work with a swordsmith to make a gem-encrusted weapon.


Rhun agreed that is was like each with their own skills and understanding and together making the whole.


Ael went on to explain that during the creation of Arda, Aulë was most involved in building the continents and mountains. He constructed Angainor, the chain of Melkor, and the vessels of the Sun and Moon. He was also the third most powerful of the male Valar. 


Aulë was unwilling to wait for the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar for he was impatient and desired to have someone to teach his lore and his crafts, therefore he made the first Seven Fathers of the Dwarves in secret in a hall somewhere in Middle Earth, from whom all other Dwarves are descended.Aulë though, did not have the divine power to grant independent life to any creation; Aulë repented and confessed to Ilúvatar and promised to keep them; the voice of Ilúvatar though spoke to Aulë and agreed to grant them true life, and include them in His plan for Arda. Ilúvatar granted the Dwarves life, and therefore they are known as the Adopted Children of Ilúvatar. He made the Dwarves to sleep, and they were to awake after the Awakening of the Elves.


As Aulë is a smith, he is the Vala most similar in thought and powers to Melkor, in that they each gloried in the fashioning of artful and original things. Both also came to create beings of their own. But while Aulë strove to be true to the original intent of the Music of the Ainur, and submitted all that he did to the will of Ilúvatar, Melkor wished to control and subvert all things, and was jealous of the creations of others so that he would try to twist or destroy all that they made. There was long strife between Aulë and Melkor both before and after the creation of Arda. Aulë, however, traditionally opposed attempts to fight Melkor, for fear of the damage that would be wrought to Arda.

Yavanna means "Giver of Fruits" in Quenya. The name is a compound of yáve and anna. Her epithet Kementári means "Queen of the Earth". She was second greatest of the female Vala next to Varda. She was usually portrayed as a tall woman robed in green when she took physical form.


After Eru allowed Aulë's creations, the Dwarves, to survive, Yavanna feared that they would cut down all the trees in Middle-earth. Aulë, in reply, told her that even Elves and Men, the true Children of Ilúvatar would have need of her trees as well. Yavanna lamented to Manwë, questioning whether anything she had made would be free from the dominion of others. Manwë brought her concerns before Ilúvatar in prayer, and Eru did indeed have pity upon Yavanna: He answered her plea by creating the Ents to protect the trees.


In the beginning of days Yavanna was one of the Valar who contended with Morgoth. After his expulsion from Arda she planted the seeds that she had long devised and life came to Middle-earth, although in the beginning no flowers bloomed

After the destruction of the Two Trees Yavanna examined their remains and told the other Valar that if she could use the light of the Silmarils she could heal them. This light she was denied by the will of Fëanor. So, with Yavanna singing, and Nienna's tears, they managed to bring forth one silver flower from Telperion and one golden fruit from Laurelin. She gave these to her husband Aulë, who fashioned vessels for them and thus creating the Moon and the Sun.


In the ensuing discussion it was noted that despite the seemily arbitrary matching of Aulë and Yavanna as spouses, their interest and skills complement each other. Aulë is often perceived as 'the Smith', associated with forges, stone and of course the Dwarves, while Yavanna is perceived as the 'Queen of the Earth' and 'Giver of fruits'.  At first glance it would seem they would not have much in common.  However, Aulë built the lands, while Yavanna landscaped them with living things. They would have worked very closely together in the building of the world.  


Often, the episode of Aulë's remark about the dwarves, elves and even men would have need of her trees implies a conflict of interest between them, and perhaps a little callousness on Aulë's part. It was suggested however he may have simply been trying to be realistic and save Yavanna from future unexpected distress when her beloved trees were used.  It was agreed during the discussion that Aulë's motives were open to personal interpretation.  


However, as evidenced by the creation of the Moon and the Sun, Aulë and Yavanna did work together.  Very like humans though, they had their own personalities and sometimes conflicts.  Both however were protective of their creations, with Aulë reluctant to combat Melkor for fear of the harm that may be done to his creation and Yavanna upset her creations would always be under the dominion and use of others. So while at first glance, Aulë and Yavanna may seem and odd couple, after this discussion it was agreed that all now had a greater understanding of the two, and they were indeed well-suited. 

(Note: Full chat logs from the discussions will no longer be posted)

Tol Eressëa

THE LONELY ISLE.

O glimmering island set sea-girdled and alone -

A gleam of white rock through a sunny haze ;

O all ye hoary caverns ringing with the moan

Of long green waters in the southern bays ;

Ye murmurous never-ceasing voices of the tide ;

Ye plumèd foams wherein the shore and spirits ride ;

Ye white birds flying from the whispering coast

And wailing conclaves of the silver shore,

Sea-voiced, sea-wingèd, lamentable host

Who cry about unharboured beaches evermore,

Who sadly whistling skim these waters grey

And wheel about my lonely outward way -

For me for ever they forbidden marge appears

A gleam of white rock over sundering seas,

And thou art crowned in glory through a mist of tears,

Thy shores all full of music, and thy lands of ease -

Old haunts of many children robed in flowers,

Until the sun pace down his arch of hours,

When in the silence fairies with a wistful heart

Dance to soft airs their harps and viols weave.

Down the great wastes and in gloom apart

I long for thee and thy fair citadel.

Where echoing through the lighted elms at eve

In a high inland tower there peals a bell :

          O lonely, sparkling isle, farewell !

J.R.R. Tolkien

AN EVENING IN TAVROBEL.

'Tis the time when May first looks toward June,

With almond-scented hawthorn strewn,

The tremulous day at last has run

Down the gold stairways of the Sun,

Who brimmed the buttercups with light

Like a clear wine she spillèd bright ;

And gleaming spirits there did dance

And sip those goblets' radiance.

Now wane they all ; now comes the moon ;

Like crystal are the dewdrops strewn

Beneath the eve, and twinkling gems

Are hung on the leaves and slender stems.

Now in the grass lies many a pool,

Infintesimal and cool,

Where tiny faces peer and laugh

At glassy fragments of the stars

About them mirrored, or from jars

Of unimagined frailty quaff

This essence of the plenilune,

Thirsty, perchance, from dancing all noon.

J.R.R. Tolkien

Present:

AelKennyr Rhiano 

Zakar Zamin            

Belenos                     (belenosstormchaser.magic)

Shawn Daysleeper  

Rhûn Darkmoon     

Summary:

Tol Eressëa was a large island off the coast of Valinor.  Its name translates from Quenya as the Lonely Island.  Ulmo pushed it back and forth across Belegaer twice to transport the Elves to Aman.  After that, it came to rest forever just off the eastern shore of Aman, and was inhabited by the Teleri of Aman, until they moved to Alqualondë.

Not all the Teleri of Tol Eressëa moves on to Alqualondë.  At all stages of their journeys, some of the Teleri stayed behind at each stopping place.

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Teleri

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sundering_of_the_Elves

The Sindar are a branch of Teleri that remained in MiddleEarth.  The branch of Teleri who came to Aman are called Falmari.

Tol Eressëa is described as being mostly a natural envirionment:  "Alalminórë was a wooded area of Elm trees situated in the center of the island. Many towns and villages were here ringed around the city of Kortirion or Koromas, the island's principal city located in the center of the region."  Many of the trees of which the Teleri gave seedlings to the Númenoreans came from Tol Eressëa.

Tol Eressëa is the location for The Cottage of Lost Play, some of Tolkien's earliest writings about this universe (see Book of the Lost Tales, Part One).  Tolkien originally dabbled with the idea of connecting his stories to medieval history and mythology.  Eventually, he settled on making his universe separate  .Tavrobel, Alalminórë, Kortirion, the House of the Hundred Chimneys and the Cottage of Lost Play do not appear in the published Silmarillion.

What we see in the published Silmarillion... is this... With the end of the First Age, many of the Eldar of Middle-earth exiles (and Teleri that never left it) went to Aman, and lived in the island of Tol Eressëa. Sometime during the early Second Age, the elves that chose to settle there built Avallonë in the eastern part of the island. It was also where most of the elves visiting Númenór came from at least until the shadow fell upon the Númenóreans. The Númenóreans yearning for the light of the west would often gaze at the great tower of Avallonë, which they could see from the western-most parts of their homeland. When Ar-Pharazôn the Golden broke the Ban of the Valar and sailed to the Undying Lands with his Great Armament, Tol Eressëa was surrounded by its fleets before going to Tirion but it is not known whether its people were assailed by this act or not.

The easternmost city on Tol Eressëa is Avallónë.  It is inhabited primarily by Noldor and Sindar who returned from Middle-earth after the War of Wrath.  It is unclear when Avallónë was built; it may have been built by those Elves returning from MiddleEarth.

The city became the symbol of the Blessed Realm to Men, as before on cloudless days one could see the tower of Avallónë from the Meneltarma in Númenor.  After the fall of Númenor and the changing of the world, Avallónë became the port of arrival for ships taking the Straight Road.  It is said that the Master Stone of the palantíri was placed in Avallónë, and that Elendil often looked that way desiring to see the Lost West.

Olwë was leader of the group of Teleri who first came to Tol Eressëa.   He later moved to Alqualondë, but retained lordship over Tol Eressëa.   He gave permission for the returning Noldor and Sindar to live in Tol Eressëa after the War of Wrath.  Tolkien gives no details of Olwë's relationship with those Noldor and Sindar living within his realms.

Who still lives in Tol Eressëa in later times?

What is the effect of Tol Eressëa being the arrival port for ships taking the "Straight Road" (that is, the crossing between parallel universes, from the mortal world to the Undying Lands)?

How much traffic is there on the Straight Road, after the end of the Third Age?  This is related to the question of how many Elves remain in MiddleEarth after the Third Age.  Does the "waning" of the Elves refer to a reduced population, or only to reduced influence?

Why do Elves want to leave MiddleEarth? After hundreds, or thousands, of years, they get tired of it.

Fourth Age roleplay question:  Is Tol Eressëa still in the Blessed Lands, or was it moved to the "mortal" world with Alqualondë?  

 AelKennyr Rhiano:  Ok, tonight we will talk about Tol Eressea
Zakar Zamin listens

AelKennyr Rhiano:  For the occasion I would like to share two poems from Tolkien about Tol...

the first is called, "The Lonely Isle"

O glimmering island set sea-girdled and alone -

A gleam of white rock through a sunny haze ;

O all ye hoary caverns ringing with the moan

Of long green waters in the southern bays ;

Ye murmurous never-ceasing voices of the tide ;

Ye plumèd foams wherein the shore and spirits ride ;

Ye white birds flying from the whispering coast

And wailing conclaves of the silver shore,

Sea-voiced, sea-wingèd, lamentable host

Who cry about unharboured beaches evermore,

Who sadly whistling skim these waters grey

And wheel about my lonely outward way -

For me for ever they forbidden marge appears

A gleam of white rock over sundering seas,

And thou art crowned in glory through a mist of tears,

Thy shores all full of music, and thy lands of ease -

Old haunts of many children robed in flowers,

Until the sun pace down his arch of hours,

When in the silence fairies with a wistful heart

Dance to soft airs their harps and viols weave.

Down the great wastes and in gloom apart

I long for thee and thy fair citadel.

Where echoing through the lighted elms at eve

In a high inland tower there peals a bell :

     O lonely, sparkling isle, farewell !

{Belenos arrives. Greetings.}

AelKennyr Rhiano:  So, to begin with...Tol Eressëa was a large island off the coast of Valinor. Its name translates from Quenya as the Lonely Island, for it lay originally in the middle of the Belegaer, far from any other landmasses. Ulmo pushed it back and forth across Belegaer twice to transport the Elves to Aman. After that, it came to rest forever just off the eastern shore of that continent in the Bay of Eldamar, and was inhabited by the Teleri of Aman, until they left to Alqualondë. Over time it had become a land of many beautiful places and interesting sites such as: Alalminórë, the Land of Elms, and Tavrobel.

Btw, not all the Teleri left Tol Eressëa.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Why did some stay?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  As happened so often along their journey westward, a group stayed behind.

Shawn Daysleeper:   listens

Rhûn Darkmoon nods, 'Ok.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  That is a good question. The Teleri were largest of the three group who came to Aman, and the last. Along their way, groups of Teleri would choose to remain behind in Middle Earth.

I think everyone here knows that the Sindar are descended from Teleri who stayed to wait for the return of Elwe when he wandered off and became smitten for a couple of hundred of years with Melian.

Shawn Daysleeper:   nods

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Those who came to Aman became known as the Falmari. They were the ancestors of the Valinorean Teleri, and the Sindar, Laiquendi, and Nandor of Middle-earth.

Belenos grins.. distracting females

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Some have likened the journey westward of the Teleri with the Exodus and Moses in the Old Testatment

Zakar Zamin:             I have a link to a graphic showing the Sundering of the Elves. I can post it if you'd like.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Please share?

Zakar Zamin:             http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sundering_of_the_Elves

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Thank you. Here is another one I bookmarked for tonight... http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Teleri

Belenos:                      would you like us to read those pages now, or look at them later?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  That graphic is a pretty good one. Actually it is that graphic on the page

Zakar Zamin:             That is a good graphic. More detailed.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Yes, I like it and it is easier to reference

But over and over, during their journey, wherever they paused, some Teleri would choose to stay behind.

Shawn Daysleeper:   ok, nods

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Alot of attention, in SL Tolkien based rp, in my experience, has always been placed on the Noldo and Sindarin presence in Middle Earth, but this is glossing over the role the Teleri played. I think. Not that I am biased of anything...hides his tag.

Rhûn Darkmoon nods and listens, 'Considering how many tribes of elves came from the Teleri, it certainly sounds like it.' Rhûn Darkmoon grins

AelKennyr Rhiano:  To give you a more physical descriptiong of Tol Eressëa

Zakar Zamin:             Looking at the graphic, wouldn't the Sindar be Teleri?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  They are. well,....to be perfectly correct. They were originally Teleri.

Zakar Zamin:             I'll have to refresh myself on the distinction.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      Rather like how the dutch settles in early south africa became known as Boers, and by modern day are simply South Africans.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Yes, Rhun.

Also, however, there are the descendants of Melian and Elu to consider as well, and the infusion of other elven clans.

Rhûn Darkmoon smiles shyly at Ael, 'So, you were saying about the physcial description of Tol Eressea?'

AelKennyr Rhiano smiles. Ah...yes...Tol Eressëa

now Tol was very naturalistic.

Alalminórë was a wooded area of Elm trees situated in the center of the island. Many towns and villages were here ringed around the city of Kortirion or Koromas, the island's principal city located in the center of the region. It was also, where the Cottage of Lost Play was located near Kortirion.

Belenos:                      so not a city .. but a more natural environment?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes

Zakar Zamin:             What do you mean by "naturalistic"?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Alqualonde is actually a city. the chief city of the Falmari on the shores of Valinor. The city is said to be north and east of Tirion between the Calacirya and Araman in northern Eldamar.

Rhûn Darkmoon looks to Zakar and points to Belenos' comment, 'What she said.'

Zakar Zamin:            So, rural?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  no, so very NOT rural

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Rural is farms, I believe.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  there is a world of difference between naturalistic and rural

Belenos nods nods nods

AelKennyr Rhiano:  now, if you are a Tolkien buff, let me drop this for your own pleasure later.

Cottage of Lost Play also known as Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva was a small house on a hill on Tol Eressëa. It was built by Lindo and his wife Vairë who lived there. It had many small curtained windows and a comforting interior and was a place of merriment and joy where many people especially children came to visit. Eriol the mariner visited there and learned much of ancient times

AelKennyr Rhiano blushes at the aside.

Belenos smiles.. no.. I like little things like that.. it helps give the feel of the place

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Now, in addition to Alalminórë was also Kôrtirion.

Kôrtirion is the principal city of Tol Eressëa. The city is located on a great hill at the very center of the island in the province/region of Alalminórë, the 'Land of Elms'. The Cottage of Lost Play is located somewhere outside of the city.It was known for being the fairest place on the island.

Now, here what what I mean about Tol being natualistic.... Many beautiful trees grew on Eressëa, and their seedlings were gifted by the Eldar to Númenor to enrich the land. Some of them were:

• Oiolairë,

• Lairelossë,

• Nessamelda,

• Vardarianna,

• Taniquelassë,

• Yavannamírë

• Malinornë

• Lavaralda

• Elanor

• Lissuin

I think, Belenos, the first one has especial significance for you?

Belenos smiles.. yes.. it was the name of our land in Arda.. it means 'Ever summer'

AelKennyr Rhiano smiles and nods. Does...does anyone have any comments, thoughts?

Shawn Daysleeper:   I am ok so far. Shawn Daysleeper:   smiles

Zakar Zamin:            Not currently.

AelKennyr Rhiano smiles

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'I was just thinking, how big was Tol? To have a city in the middle but still very natural, it would have been a fair size?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  There is one more city I would like to discuss... For Tol, the principal city was Avallónë. The easternmost city on Tol Eressëa and the Haven of the Eldar. It was founded either by the Teleri during their long stay there, before they left the island for Alqualondë, or more probably by the Elves returning from Middle-earth after the War of Wrath. In any case, it became the chief dwelling of the Noldor and Sindar, as they were not allowed or unwilling to resettle in Valinor.

So, when is comes to the Isle, this is the city least influenced by the Teleri, I think. That is, if it was founded after the Teleri left.

Shawn Daysleeper:   ok. Shawn Daysleeper:   smiles at Ael

AelKennyr Rhiano:  The city became the symbol of the Blessed Realm to Men, as before on cloudless days one could see the tower of Avallónë from the Meneltarma in Númenor. After the fall of Númenor and the changing of the world, Avallónë became the port of arrival for ships taking the Straight Road. It is said that the Master Stone of the palantíri was placed in Avallónë, and that Elendil often looked that way desiring to see the Lost West.

Literary critics say that Tolkien was apparently evoking the island of Avalon in the legend of King Arthur, although the form Avallónë literally means "near Valinor" in Quenya; compare this with Atalantë, the name of Númenor evoking Atlantis. Moreover, in Tolkien's writings originally Avallon was a later name for the island of Tol Eressëa, not for the haven.

But nonetheless, Tol Eressëa was designed as a kind of Isle of the Blessed inhabited by Elves, presenting a mythological backdrop to the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Great Britain. Tol Eressëa was conceived as a mythological equivalent of the island of Great Britain or Albion before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. Its main city, Kortirion, was located at the same place as Warwick, at the very centre of the island. Later, Tolkien dropped the identification of Tol Eressëa and Albion and made it an island situated far to the west, within sight of Valinor.

In early versions of Tolkien's legendarium, the island was later visited by Ælfwine (or Eriol), an Anglo-Saxon from the early Middle Ages, which provided a framework for the tales that later became The Silmarillion.

AelKennyr Rhiano looks around to see if anyone has any thoughts.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'What do you mean by Tolkien's legendarium?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studies to refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the Rings.

so...the mythology of his world? especially where it concerns the elves

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'So an Anglo-Saxon from the Middle Ages visited Tol Eressea?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  in early versions of his writings, yes

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Ohhh, this is as opposed to what was published?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes. What we see in the published Silmarillion... is this... With the end of the First Age, many of the Eldar of Middle-earth exiles (and Teleri that never left it) went to Aman, and lived in the island of Tol Eressëa. Sometime during the early Second Age, the elves that chose to settle there built Avallonë in the eastern part of the island. It was also where most of the elves visiting Númenór came from at least until the shadow fell upon the Númenóreans. The Númenóreans yearning for the light of the west would often gaze at the great tower of Avallonë, which they could see from the western-most parts of their homeland. When Ar-Pharazôn the Golden broke the Ban of the Valar and sailed to the Undying Lands with his Great Armament, Tol Eressëa was surrounded by its fleets before going to Tirion but it is not known whether its people were assailed by this act or not.

Rhûn Darkmoon nods, 'Now I follow. So, it would appear he did initially dabble with the thought of tying his world into more classic myths and legends?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes

Rhûn Darkmoon reads up, 'One moment, please.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  of course

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Ok, so to rephrase my question, it would appear that he did initially dabble with the thought of tying his world into more classic myths and legends, but then settled into keeping his world separate, although perhaps still influenced by the legends and myths he knew?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes, so it seems, Rhun.

Zakar Zamin:            Which leads to a question I've been pondering, though it may be better to save it for another discussion.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Also, if you have happened to come across the Book of the Lost Tales, Part One, most of it occurs on Tol Eressëa, and places such as Tavrobel, Alalminórë, Kortirion, the House of the Hundred Chimneys and the Cottage of Lost Play are mentioned. These names do not exist in the later Silmarillion.

Belenos:                      The Book of the Lost Tales?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes

Belenos:                      what is that?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the complex fictional myths that would eventually comprise The Silmarillion. Each of the Tales is followed by notes and a detailed commentary by Christopher Tolkien.

Belenos:                      ahhh.. ok.. :)

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Though they cover a broadly similar history, the Tales are very different from The Silmarillion. Firstly the Tales are more complex and detailed, written in an archaic style and include many obsolete words and phrases. Secondly, the interaction between the different elf-races is profoundly different from the Silmarillion: The exiled Noldoli (or "Gnomes", the Noldor of the later histories) suffer decisive defeat much earlier and become slaves of the enemy they had sought to punish. When Thingol feels disdain for Beren, it is because the latter is a gnome (not a mortal human) and therefore a thrall of Melko.

The framework for the book is that a mortal Man visits the Isle of Tol Eressëa where the Elves live. In the earlier versions of the "Lost Tales" this man is named Eriol, of some vague north European origin, but in later versions he becomes Ælfwine, an Englishman of the Middle-ages.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'So it would seem that orginally Tol Eressea held a bigger, more detailed role in the stories than it did with the later published works?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes, it does seem that way, Rhun.

Belenos:                      why do you think that is?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  wow, what a great question. Remember Tolkien was quick to change his mind...alot.

Belenos smiles.. authors can be like that.. they come up with ideas that are good, but others swiftly grow from them which are better..

Shawn Daysleeper:   all of this is new to me, all I knew about tol Eressea was about it being Ulmo's island ferry

AelKennyr Rhiano:  heh heh   Tug boat Tol!

and in the Silmarillion, it is Sindar and the Noldor who are more prominent.

Belenos grins .. talk about shifting tectonic plates around

AelKennyr Rhiano:  lol

AelKennyr Rhiano:  So...that is what we know of Tol. What we don't know, and what interests a goodly number of us here, some for very selfish reasons, is what would Tol be like in our world of the 4th Age

Belenos:                      ohhh yes..

AelKennyr Rhiano thinks of that original Micky Mouse cartoon, "Steamboat Willie."

Shawn Daysleeper:   olwe is king of tol eressea in 4th age too

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes, He never steps down as Lord of Tol.

Rhûn Darkmoon muses, 'Would it still be in Aman? If he is King of both Tol Eressea and Alquqlualonde, there would be a case for bringing Tol through to Middle Earth, perhaps, as has happened with Alqualonde?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  wow

Rhûn Darkmoon:      "Eeps at my mis-spelling.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  I...I never thought of that.

Belenos smiles.. Rhun is right.. and it could lead to some awesome RP too

AelKennyr Rhiano:  nod nod nod

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'So how was it Olwe was lord of both?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  I have wondered how the people of Tol would view Olwe and the Teleri of Alqualonde.

All we know, Rhun, is that he never stepped down as Lord of Tol.

Zakar Zamin:            There were times the King of England had holdings in France.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  And the present Queen of Great Britain is Queen over more than England.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'I'm sorry for not knowing, but how was he lord of Tol in the first place?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  that was where the Teleri first came when they came to Aman.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Before they went to Alqualonde?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes, Rhun, he was

Shawn Daysleeper:   he is king of the noldor city in tol too? I forgot the name of it blushes

AelKennyr Rhiano:  oh...umm... you mean Avallónë, Shawn?

Zakar Zamin:            Does this help: Olwë became Lord of the island of Tol Eressëa, where the Teleri built a great number of cities, and grew in number. When they finally came to Eldamar some centuries later, Olwë became king of Alqualondë.

Shawn Daysleeper:   sorry I don't want to confuse you

Rhûn Darkmoon smiles, 'Then I can see some great role play potential there for Olwe and Tol Eressea, don't you think?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  You see, Rhun...The Teleri were sundered from the first two clans, the Vanyar and the Ñoldor, because they tarried behind searching for their lost king Elwë (later known as Thingol), and the first two clans were ferried across to Valinor on a huge island before. The Maia Ossë, kept them company while they waited, and became their friend. Later when Ulmo returned with the island ferry, the Teleri had grown to love the sea. Ossë convinced Ulmo to anchor the island in the bay of Eldamar, off the shores of Aman, and persuaded many of the Teleri to remain in Middle-Earth. The Teleri long remained on this Lonely Isle, and their language changed in different ways from that of the Vanyar and Ñoldor. Much later the Teleri learned to build ships, and finally made it to Aman.

We were beach bunny elves

Belenos grins and pictures Olwe surfing

AelKennyr Rhiano:  That is why we like the music of that famous Teleri group, the Beach Boys...nod, nod, nod

Rhûn Darkmoon grins

Belenos:                      lol

Zakar Zamin:            Were Elvis and Annette Teleri? Zakar Zamin thinks of the beach movies

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Well, actually Elvis was an alien, and Annette a Noldo

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Elvis was an alien?'..grins

AelKennyr Rhiano:  lol

Zakar Zamin:            That's right, I forgot Elvis was ET, but I didn't know that about Annette

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Well, we don't like to embarass her...shhhh...She sings ok for not being Teleri.

Zakar Zamin:            Well, us humans liked her.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  But yes, Zakar has the right of it. They eventually did come to Aman and did settle and build Alqualnde.

Belenos:                      so for now in the 4th age Tol would still be near Aman... but who would be living there I wonder?

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Remembering that Avallónë became the port of arrival for ships taking the Straight Road, it leads to some interesting questions about what happened to Tol Eressea over the ages.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Is the Straight Road used a lot by the end of the third age?'

Zakar Zamin:            Watching the movie, you would think so.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Well, we know it was used in later ages because Bilbo Baggins found the route.

Shawn Daysleeper:   many elves leaving middle earth

AelKennyr Rhiano:  The Straight Road is the route that leaves the earth's curvature through sky and space to the ethereal land of Aman. The route could be compared to going on a spaceship or crossing into a parallel universe.

The Straight Road, so called because it follows the old path across Belegaer from before the Akallabêth when the Flat World was made Round, is only kept open to Elves, who are allowed to sail to it on their ships by a special grace of the Valar.

A ship departing on the Straight Road, when observed from the shore, would slowly become smaller to sight until it disappeared in a point, and not drop behind the horizon.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'By our time, in the 4th age, would elves still be departing Middle Earth?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Well, it would seem that in the course of alot of our discussions over the months, alot of people assume so.

Belenos:                      it makes me wonder how many elves there were .. and are any remaining behind in Middle Earth?

Zakar Zamin:            That may depend on the birth-rate of elves.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Well, one can debate whether the term "Waning of the elves" actually refers to the decrease of their influence in the world of Middle Earth or if it actually refers to the decrease in the population of elves.

Zakar Zamin:            If we take the first understanding, elves could have lost influence as the human population grew.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  in Tolkien, we see them removing themselves from Middle Earth to the West, but the question I have is this: if that is extending all the clans of elves who evolved over time and passage of the ages, or is it referring to those who are more directly descended from the Eldar clans?

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'I am not under the impression the elven birthrate is quite the same as humans, although I could well be wrong, but yes, I think you are right Ael, that it could be a matter of influence rather than population.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes, Zakar.

In D&D type rps, elves typically have a lower birth rate.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'The question I have is why would they all leave Middle Earth?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  We have no mention of that being so with Tolkien's world as far as I know.

Rhûn Darkmoon nods, 'Ok.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Some would claim that it is because of the Elven longevity.

Zakar Zamin:            That has been my understanding, but their birth-rate needs only to match the departure rate to keep the population constant.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  They become "tired" of life after the passage of several hundred years.

{Shawn needs to leave. Farewells.}

AelKennyr Rhiano:  One of the problem with discussing some races that are predominant in both D&D type setting and in Tolkien is that people tend to blur the lines between how the characters are portrayed in each and do not seek to distinguish.

So..I have people wanting to insist that elves in Tolkien's world have low birth rates, are shorter than humans, etc.

Rhûn Darkmoon nods, 'I can see how the influence happens, but I would prefer to stick with how Tolkien wrote his elves, whenI know what is correct.'

AelKennyr Rhiano nods. Nothing against D&D. but that is not what we are creating here...we are a fantasy work inspired by Tolkien.

Rhûn Darkmoon nods, 'I like that. I prefer it like that.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  I am really excited about having a Tol Eressea.

Belenos smiles

Rhûn Darkmoon nods nods nods, 'I cannot wait until it moves.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  I think one of the things to consider is how much does Avollone influence the rest of the isle over the passage of time.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Because it is the end of the Straight Road?'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes

Belenos:                      it's sort of like the Aman visa checking station.. :D

AelKennyr Rhiano:  And I did once have a rp try to "dethrone" Olwe

Belenos:                      oh?? do tell. I hadn't heard about that..

AelKennyr Rhiano:  He decided that Fëanor would probably have become Lord of Tol Eressea.

Belenos:                      would 'probably' have become Lord of Tol Eressea??

AelKennyr Rhiano:  which was not really logical...It would be more logical to suggest Finarfin, because Earwen, Olwe's daughter. married him. But Finarfin remained firmly in Tirion.

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'Yes, that would make much more sense.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  but Finarfin became king in Tirion eventually, and still is in the 4th Age, for all we know

Rhûn Darkmoon:      'So Olwe is still Lord of Tol Eressea in the 4th Age.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  yes. At least, I have never seen anything that says different?

Rhûn Darkmoon smiles, 'Then methinks that soon we must put our heads together and draw it into our 4th Age storyline. What do you think? Especially as it will soon join your lands.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  nod nod nod yes, please. But first the rebuild of Alqualonde.

Zakar Zamin:            I'm sure one epic event at a time is sufficient.

AelKennyr Rhiano:  I feel like I have done nothing but talk this entire time. I hope I was not boring you all tonight.

Rhûn Darkmoon smiles, 'It is thoughts will swirl around in the back of our minds in the meantime.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  I..i got excited about Tol.

Zakar Zamin:            Much of this is, if not new, a refresher.

Belenos:                      that is why I am in no hurry to join Tol to the continent.... Alqualonde will be rebuilt first and then Tol will join and be built..

AelKennyr Rhiano:  Nor am I , Belenos. I think that most think of Tol only in terms of the first and Second Ages.

Rhûn Darkmoon nods, 'I agree.'

AelKennyr Rhiano:  What shall we discuss next time?

Belenos:                      for a topic, what about the advent of men into Middle Earth.. their initial role/knowledge etc of their world.. and what their role/knowledge might be by the 4th age?