Fëanor's Oath -- Reading Material

when Fëanor discovers that Morgoth has stolen the Silmarils: "Then Fëanor swore a terrible oath. His seven sons leapt straightway to his side and took the selfsame vow together, and red as blood shone their drawn swords in the glare of the torches. They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by the name even of Ilúvatar, calling the Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not; and Manwë they named in witness, and Varda, and the hallowed mountain of Taniquetil,vowing to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf or Man as yet unborn, or any creature, great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from their possession." Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor" after the Noldor have killed "a great part of their mariners that dwelt in Alqualondë" and stolen their swanships, as the Noldor are approaching the northern borders of the Blessed Lands: "There they beheld suddenly a dark figure standing high upon a rock that looked down upon the shore. Some say that it was Mandos himself, and no lesser herald of Manwë. And they heard a loud voice, solemn and terrible, that bade them stand and give ear. Then all halted and stood still, and from end to end of the hosts of the Noldor the voice was heard speaking the curse and prophecy which is called the Prophecy of the North, and the Doom of the Noldor. Much it foretold in dark words, which the Noldor understood not until the woes indeed after befell them; but all heard the curse that was uttered upon those that would not stay nor seek the doom and pardon of the Valar. 'Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever. 'Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman {the Blessed Realm}. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death's shadow. For though Eru appointed to you to die not in Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief.; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide and yearn for your bodies, and find little pity though all whon ye have slain should entreat for you. And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden,and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar have spoken.' Then many quailed; but Fëanor hardened his heart ... But in that hour Finarfin forsook the march, and turned back, being filled with grief, and with bitterness against the House of Fëanor, because of his kinship with Olwë of Alqualondë; and many of his people went with him, retracing their steps in sorrow .... and so came at last to Valinor. There they received the paron of the Valar, and Finarfin was set to rule the remnant of the Noldor in the Blessed Realm. But his sons were not with him, for they would not forsake the sons of Fingolfin. Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor" Late in the First Age, Eärendil {human on his father's side, and Noldor on his mother's} and Elwing {grandaughter of Beren and Lúthien}, bearing one of the Silmarili, manage to sail to Valinor: "Eärendil went into Valinor and to the halls of Valimar.... Then the Valar took counsel together ... and Eärendil stood before their faces, and delivered the errand of the Two Kindreds. Pardon he asked for the Noldor and pity for their great sorrows, and mercy upon Men and Elves and succour in their need. And his prayer was answered. After Eärendil had departed, seeking Elwing his wife, Mandos spoke concerning his fate: and he said: 'Shall mortal Man step living upon the undying lands, and yet live?' But Ulmo said: 'For this he was born into the world. And say unto me: whether he is Eärendil Tuor's son fo the line of Hador, or the son of Idril, Turgon's daughter, of the Elven-house of Finwë?"' And Mandos answered: 'Equally the Noldor, who went wilfully into exile, may not return hither.'"  Silmarillion, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil" at the end of the First Age, after Morgoth is defeated, and Fëanor and his seven sons are dead: "Then Eönwë as herald of the Elder King summoned the Elves of Beleriand to depart from Middle-earth. .... In those days there was a great building of ships upon the shores of the Western Sea; and thence in many a fleet the Eldar set sail into the West, and came never back to the lands of weeping and of war. ... And when they came into the West the Elves of Beleriand dwelt upon Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, that looks both west and east; whence they might come even to Valinor. They were admitted again to the love of Manwë and the pardon of the Valar; and the Teleri forgave their ancient grief, and the curse was laid to rest. Yet not all the Eldalië were willing to forsake the Hither Lands where they had long suffered and dwelt; and some lingered many an age in Middle-earth." Silmarillion, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil"