Well, Mark is starting to turn these around like a mad man. I have 5 or 6 waiting for me. I’ll start posting these more often.
Of Eldamar and the princes of the Eldalie
At this point, I’m hooked. The story of the Elves up to this point has
been sweet and sad, but Tolkien has me, and I like it. He’s addicted to
complexity, and I like that too. He couldn’t have had all the Elves
pick up and go to Valanor/Aman, that wouldn’t be Tolkien, and that
wouldn’t be interesting. All along the way some are lost. Some flee
Orome at the very beginning and were lost. And as the Teleri finally
arrive on the shores of Aman, we can’t forget that Elwe (Thingol) and
many of his friends and kinsman were left behind in Beleriand. So even
though it’s a happy event when the greater part of the Teleri arrive at
last upon the shores of Aman, there is ever a hint of sadness. Not
only sadness that a good number of the Teleri were sundered from their
kinsfolk (to use Tolkiens vocabulary), but also sadness because of the
love of Osse for the Teleri and that they left him to come to Valinor.
The Quendi are a divided people. There are three distinct groups, the
Vanyar, the Noldor, and the Teleri, and they are constantly splintering
into smaller groups. These large groups each seem to have their own
personalities, just as much as their princes do, if not more. Tolkien
does a good job of developing them and getting his audience (namely
myself) caught up in their actions and interactions, etc.
I’m so interested in the Quendi at this point, in fact, that I’m a
little disappointed that Tokien doesn’t really describe them.
Correction: he describes them generally, and certain characteristics
specifically quite well. But I crave to know their culture, their way
of life, heck even their appearance. These are clearly legends for
later generations of Elves, so they lack all of those specifics that
are so intriguing about people-groups. Do they farm? Do they even
eat? If so, what? How do they spend their time? Are they taller than
we are or shorter? To say they are the “”fairest”” and “”most beautiful””
can only do so much. We know they are distinct from humans…but in
what ways physically? Tolkien seems to have wanted so much to have
control over this created world of his, I’m surprised he leaves so much
to the imagination…but then, legends will do that.
