T. Ippen Digest

"Lord of the Rings" and the related works by J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien bring a lot of themes into play, but there's one thing you can see really weighed heavily on the mind of Tolkien Sr.: Death. Every individual tale addresses death, whether as sympathetic commentary on the tragic nature of mortality, or concerning the afterlife and his mythology presented there, providing the characters and readers with a hopeful method of coping.

The Elves are such a perfect vessel for analyzing notions of mortality and afterlife, especially insofar as explaining the tragedy and stigma of unnatural death. The elder children of Ilúvatar do not age and do not wither with time, but can be slain by sword and arrow. Even when killed, there is no mystery awaiting them beyond the veil of life. The Elves go to the Halls of Mandos in Aman to dwell until the world ends (a Ragnarok equivalent is a part of the Tolkien mythology, called "Dagor Dagorath," the last battle). Without this mystery of the unknown, the elves do still fear death, but do not mourn in the same capacity of mortal men, knowing that their loved ones wait for them in a safe, ethereal plane. This is recorded as fact–not as any religious doctrine or belief–in the writings of the elves and the Valar. The fate of Men, however, is uncertain.

Even the Valar so mighty as Manwë and Mandos know not what awaits the spirits of mortal Men. Mandos alone knows the dooms of Ilúvatar, (but does not share them) and is still ignorant of what awaits Men after death. The spirits of men go into the uttermost West, beyond the Halls of Mandos and the Western shores of Aman, and go forth into the unknown. Mortality, however, is the gift of Ilúvatar to his second children, and Tolkien often reminds his readers of this.

Bëor the Old is the first of Men in the West (who were great friends of the Noldor and Sindar in Beleriand) to die a natural death. He passes quiety in his early nineties, and the Elves are saddened and confused. They had been told by the Valar that mortality was the gift that Ilúvatar granted them, but being of a people who only can be dealt death by violence and evil, they see no reason not to fear and grieve it. Isn't that generally how we look at death? It is always unwelcome, always arrives too soon, and for no good reason, though nothing is more natural to our kind. It is an interesting and creative method of commenting on mankind's biggest quandary on Tolkien's part. Though I don't count myself among those of a strong faith in a greater power, I find the illustration of mortality and immortality painted by Tolkien reassuring.  Whether or not it is the cause of fate, things are the way they are, and it is left to us to be grateful for what we have.

The particular death that got me thinking on this was that of Elwë Singollo, Elu Thingol, King of Doriath during the War of the Jewels in Beleriand. A little background? Certainly!

Elwë was one of the three Kings of the Eldar when they were first awakened at Cuivenen, and was thus one of the three ambassadors for the Elves escorted to Valinor by Oromë to see the light of the Trees, and decide whether or not to bring his people there to dwell. Elwë's people were the Teleri, who lingered longest, and many of whom never made the journey across the sea, and remained in Middle-Earth (himself included). He wed Melian the Maia, and began the line of Elven blood and the blood of the Ainur, creator spirits of the world. His daughter was Lúthien, and Eärendil was his kin. He ruled Doriath long with Melian, and was king of all Sindar in Beleriand, and was a good and mighty king.

The Silmarils, symbols of both life and death in Tolkien's works, brought about his end, along with all the Noldor who followed the Sons of Fëanor. His proud life was taken by a small group of Dwarven Craftsmen when he recruited them to forge the Silmaril to a great Dwarven necklace, the Nauglamir. The Dwarves were overcome with lust, and slew him in the forges below his halls. I put down my book and stopped to think how pathetic and tragic Tolkien could make a once-proud character in a matter of seconds, but then again, that was the whole point of the Silmarils. Used in a similar fashion as the One Ring in later stories, they bring doubt and lust, and are cursed treasures.

That one so proud could be so quickly turned to greed and lust, and slain in such a pitiful manner emphasized the stigma of Elven-Death. It was not an inevitable end, but a cruel and unforeseen happenstance that struck quickly and ended a life that had endured proudly for thousands of years. Reading it overwhelmed me with a sense of desperation and hopelessness, as I believe was Tolkien's intent. The curse of the Noldor and the Silmarils is a powerful tool in Tolkien's employ, but second in strength to his understanding of Death and its application as a literary implement.

What’s that, children? You say you’d like to know why the boats of the High Elves are crafted as Swans? Why I’d be happy to illuminate the situation!

Early in the Spring of Arda, after the Chaining of Melkor and the Awakening of the Avari, the First Children of Ilûvatar, the Valar called the Elves West, to the protected and bright realm of Aman. Those of the Vanyar and Noldor, spurred onward by their eager kings Ingwë and Finwë, who had already beheld the lights of Valinor, made haste to the Western shores of Beleriand, and were ferried across the calm, windless sea by Ulmo on the Great Island of Balar. The Teleri, however, tarried in their awe of the land, and settled the Western glades of Beleriand.

Many years past, and in Valinor the High Elves greatly desired to be reunited with their kinsman who had stayed behind. They asked Manwë, lord of the Valar, to bring the tardy Teleri to Aman, and he granted their request. Ulmo bade Ossë, a Maia spirit of the ocean ferry them across. Ossë reluctantly (for he greatly loved the Teleri, and spent much time teaching them crafts of shipbuilding and knowledge of the water) helped them build boats of silver and white, and when they were complete, summoned many swans to pull the boats across the windless sea.

The Teleri have never forgotten the teachings of Ossë, and hold the sea and their fine ships in higher reverence than anything else in Eä. The Noldor (as Galadriel, pictured above) learned much of the Teleri during their time in Valinor, but yet more when they journeyed back across the ocean to make their war on Morgoth. The swan design was indeed passed from the houses of the Teleri, and in Lothlorien, a realm where the lines of the Sindar and Noldor have long blended, there is much respect for both the ways of the Caliquendi and the Moriquendi, those elves who journeyed to Valinor, and those who remained in Middle Earth.

Do you guys really GET just how fucking ancient and powerful and wise Galadriel is? Do ya!?

Her DAD was Finarfin. THE Finarfin! As in Finarfin, son of Finwë, the FIRST KING OF THE NOLDOR! Are you kidding me!? She was born in Valinor!! She was around when Fëanor made the Silmarils! She was there at the first spilled blood of the elves! She joined the Noldor in forsaking the Valar and Aman, and carries that burden EVERY DAY! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY DAYS THAT IS!?!?!

SHE KNEW FËANOR, THE MOST POWERFUL ELF OF ALL TIME! She was there, man. She saw the rise and fall of Melkor in Angband. She saw the kinslaying and the boats burn at Largos. She saw the Aglareb, the Bragollach, and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, son. She saw Beleriand ITSELF crack and sink, Numenor get pulled out of the ocean and eventually get sent back, and to top it all off, the powers of Mordor rage and fade.

Show some respect. She is one of the few who still have the light of Valinor in their eyes, on their face, however faint it may’ve become in her long years away from that place. Don’t let her Sindar husband fool you; she’s a near goddess from the land of the gods. Hell, she spent a good 400 years hanging out with Melian the Maia in Doriath before the Bragollach, amiright? There might be not a single elf wiser still enduring.

GALADRIEL, DAUGHTER OF FINARFIN, SISTER OF FINROD FELAGUND, WE LOVE YOU!