I am inviting all authors and artists who love Tolkien to participate in my April Tolkien Challenge!
Every day, there will be a new object central, which is the object we will be talking about! Do whatever you want with this; Write a piece about it, share information about it, create something art-related about it….anything goes!
I’d love to see your work! Tag me in it, reblog this post with your piece or use #apriltolkienchallenge !
Glamdring, the Foe-Hammer, or the Beater, as it is known by orcs and goblins. The sword is famously known for being the one Gandalf carries with him throughout the events of The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, yet it was Turgon - the King of Gondolin - who first wielded it.
The sword was known for being used in both Nírnaeth Arnoediad, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears; the fifth great battle fought against Morgoth, and the Fall of Gondolin. During Nírnaeth Arnoediad the blade got its name ‘The Beater’, after many orcs fled from the sword, as it was wielded with much strength and power. As Turgon died, Glamdring remained.
Three Trolls must have stolen it shortly after, as not much is known of the blade between the Fall of Gondolin and the encounter of the company of Thorin Oakenshield and the trolls in Eriador. In the year 2941 of the Third Age, Glamdring , along with Orcrist and Sting, was found between the troll hoard.
Elrond identified the blade to be that of Turgon, and gave it back to Gandalf, who proceeded to wield it for the rest of his time in Middle-Earth. The wizard slew the Goblin-king with the blade, who recognized the weapon, once more referring to it as 'The Beater;.
Later, during the events of The Lord Of The Rings, he fought against the Balrog who had found a home in the Mines of Moria. After his staff broke, Glamdring was the only weapon Gandalf had to defend himself.
As Gandalf came back as Gandalf the White, he kept Glamdring with him. He held it with him until he sailed to the Undying Lands with Frodo and Bilbo. It is not known whether he had taken it with him or not, but as weapons were not needed over the sea, it was likely he left in Middle-Earth.
Smaug was a great fire-drake that had taken over the infamous Dwarven Kingdom Erebor in the year 2770 of the Third Age. As he attacked the mountain, Dale was left in ruins as well. While Thraín and King Thror managed to escape through a secret passage, many dwarves met their doom that day. Smaug managed to keep the kingdom for his own until the year 2941 of the Third Age. The gold, jewels and treasure the dwarven mountain had to offer him, were enough to drive him content to house there for two centuries.
It wasn’t until Thorin Oakenshield and his company set out to reclaim Erebor, that the dragon was properly seen again. Bilbo Baggins, who was supposed to get the Arkenstone from the treasure hoard, as to show Thorin’s royal title, found the dragon amongst the golden piles:
“There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep; thrumming came from his jaws and nostrils, and wisps of smoke, but his fires were low in slumber. Beneath him, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail, and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay countless piles of precious things, gold wrought and unwrought, gems and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light. Smaug lay, with wings folded like an immeasurable bat, turned partly on one side, so that the hobbit could see his underparts and his long pale belly crusted with gems and fragments of gold from his long lying on his costly bed.” -The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
After noticing the missing golden cup the first day the dwarves re-entered the mountain, Smaug grew angry, recognizing Bilbo as a thief. As Bilbo tries to sweet-talk him, Smaug ultimately loses his temper, his rage for the dwarves growing. Out of revenge, he flew to Laketown, burning down the village and its inhabitants.
Bard the Bowman finally managed to slay Smaug when he arrived at Laketown. The scales of the dragon were impenitrable, yet a single scale was missing. Bard managed to hit it with the Black Arrow, shooting Smaug from the sky.
It was said that even after his death, the Lakemen - and other travellers - did not dare grab the gold or jewels from under Smaug’s scales and wings. Even as the dragon had long been slain, now buried beneath the lake, the mere mention of Smaug scared the people, and they would not dare steal from him.
With the light of Eärendil, we are mostly talking about the Phial of Galadriel, which was gifted to Frodo by lady Galadriel upon the arrival of the fellowship in Lothlorien.
To discuss the Phial, the history of its contents are of high importance: As discussed in the Silmarilspost, the gems contained the light of the Two Trees, hence the name “Star” of Eärendil. The Silmaril known as the Star of Eärendil, is also the Silmaril that was once stolen by Beren, later held in the infamous Nauglamír. Elwing, who was the one to take the Silmaril with her as she cast herself into the sea, was also Eärendil’s wife. Having seen the despair of what happened by hand of the sons of Fëanor, Eärendil and his wife set out to find Valinor, or “The Undying Lands”.
Having ultimately found it, Eärendil promised to defeat the dark lord Morgoth, to which Manwë agreed on. He offered him and his wife a choice; both of them came from men and elven blood. They got the chance to decide whether to live the immortal life of elves, or the mortal life of men. After Elwing revealed she preferred the lengthy life of an elf, Eärendil followed her, and finally set out to fight Morgoth in the War of Wrath.
In the battle, he faces Ancalagon the Black in an aerial fight, accompanied by the Silmaril Elwing had saved: “Now fair and marvelouswas that vessel made, and it was filled with a wavering flame, pure and bright; and Eärendil the Mariner sat at the helm, glistening with dust of elven-gems, and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow. Far he journeyed in that ship, even into the starless voids; but most often was he seen at morning or at evening, glimmering in sunrise or sunset, as he came back to Valinor from voyages beyond the confines of the world.” -The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien
Followed by: “Now when first Vingilot was set to sail in the seas of heaven, it rose unlooked for, glittering and bright; and the people of Middle-earth beheld it from afar and wondered, and they took it for a sign, and called it Gil-Estel, the Star of High Hope.” -The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien
Becoming entranced by the light, the elves reflected the light in the fountain in Lothlorien, which is where the substance of Galadriel’s Phial comes from. Giving it to Frodo, she saved it would offer him light in dark places, and gratefully, the hobbit accepted the gift.
When struggling with containing the One Ring, Frodo touched the Phial of Galadriel in order to calm him down. The second use was shortly after, when being lured into Shelob’s lair by Gollum. Frodo used it to guide him through the halls and to keep Shelob at a distance. Samwise Gamgee took it from Frodo after he claimed he needed to cut down the webs in order to resume their path. When Shelob set out to kill Frodo, Sam forced the creature back, essentially saving Frodo from certain death.
After Frodo got taken to Cirith Ungol, Sam used the Phial twice to escape the eyes of Sauron. When the Eagles came to pick the pair up from Mount Doom, the Phial was still with them. It did not leave Middle-Earth until Frodo did, taking the ship to the Undying Lands with Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn.
The Key to Erebor, or the key to the Side-Door as it is known, was an essential object for the journey to Erebor made by the company of Thorin Oakenshield. The key, as was the map, were made by Thrór and Thráin, ancestors of Thorin Oakenshield himself. As the dragon Smaug attacked the halls of Erebor, the dwarves fled, Thrór taking the key with him.
Later, the key landed in the hands of Thráin, for safekeeping. As the orcs serving the necromancer (or Sauron, yet unknown at the time) captured the dwarven heir, Gandalf took the key from him, in the years 2850 of the Third Age. This was just before Thráin died in the dungeons of the necromancer.
Gandalf presented the key to the company of Thorin Oakenshield on April in the year 2941 of the Third Age in Bag-End, gifting the object back to Thorin, as was his right.
The key was later used to open the said Side-Door of Erebor, after Bilbo pointed out the last light that would reveal the keyhole had been the light of the moon. Thorin opened the door for his company, revealing the riches and beauty of Erebor to the dwarves.
Andúril (or “Flame of the West”) is the sword that Aragorn II Elessar wielded in the infamous Lord of the Rings books. The blade was reforged from the shards of Narsil, which was the sword of King Erendil, used by his son Isildur to cut the One Ring off of Sauron’s hand.
Aragorn carried the blade with him the entire length on the journey to Mordor, after it was reforged by the elves of Rivendell when the Council of Lord Elrond had ended. Upon arriving in Lothlorién after Gandalf’s supposed death, Lady Galadriel gave the man a sheath for the blade, as a gift for the oncoming journey.
Later, in Rohan, Aragorn showed his sword to justify his words and show his heritage to Éomer. With the weapon, he reclaimed his heritage and rights to the throne of Gondor in Return of the King.
The Dúnedain (the men of Númenor) divided the stones amongst the lands of Middle-Earth. The known locations were: “Annúminas, Amon Sûl, and Elostirion in Arnor, and Osgiliath, Orthanc, Minas Ithil, and Minas Anor in Gondor.” There was one stone left in the Tower of Avallónë, which was the place of the Master-Stone. The Tower of Avallónë overlooked the island of Tol Eressëa, and it was said that the first thing you would see from the seas, was the tower reaching the air.
The Dúnedain (the men of Númenor) divided the stones amongst the lands of Middle-Earth. The known locations were: “Annúminas, Amon Sûl, and Elostirion in Arnor, and Osgiliath, Orthanc, Minas Ithil, and Minas Anor in Gondor.” There was one stone left in the Tower of Avallónë, which was the place of the Master-Stone. The Tower of Avallónë overlooked the island of Tol Eressëa, and it was said that the first thing you would see from the seas, was the tower reaching the air.
Only four stones have been confirmed to be lost. Two of which died with Arvedui, the fifteenth and last king of the Arthedain. The stones lost where those of Annúminas and Amon Sûl. The stone in Osgiliath was lost in the Kin-strife, where many men became enraged when a child of both Númenorean blood and Middle Men blood was born. The fourth and final one got detroyed in the War of the Ring, when the tower of Barad Dûr collapsed in the land of Mordor.
The stone of Elostirion vame with Frodo to the Undying Lands, while the two stones in Minas Arnor and Orthanc remained on Middle-Earth.
The Dark Powers Of Tolkien, David Day; “In Tolkien’s version of Ragnarök, Morgoth releases one last great horror. This is Ancalagon the Black, the first and greatest of a vast legion of Winged Fire-Drakes. Ancalagon is the greatest dragon to ever enter the world. ‘Rushing Jaws’ is the meaning of his name, and in his ravening majesty he looses terrible withering fire down from the heavens.”
From the floor off the dragon could not be defeated, nor could any others. And so, the half-elf Eärendil aired an aerial attack to slay the large dragon. He stood at the help of his great flying ship, hallowed by the Valar and lifted into the heavens. The ship appeared as a bright light in the dark sky, forcing a way through the shadows. In the end, he killed Ancalagon, and so the host of the Valar found themselves victorious.
Morgoth retreated to the depths of Angband, but was found nonetheless, in a weak and battered state. Instead of fighting his way out, he fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness, but he would receive none. His feet were hewn from beneath him and he was bound by the chain Angainor. His iron crown was beaten into a collar and the dark lord was cast into the Timeless void. The two silmarils left with him were retrieved, but shortly after vanished again.
The Nauglamír was a necklace, created around the year 50 of the First Age. The gems on the necklace were those of Valinor, that Finrod brought with him during his journey to Middle-Earth. During the Fall of Nargothrond, it fell into the hands - or rather claws - of Glaurung; the first dragon that had ever been created. The Nauglamír dwelt under the dragon’s treasure and was hidden until the year 499 of the First Age, when the petty-dwarves attacked and claimed the necklace for themselves. It wasn’t until Hurín had encountered them, that the jewelry fell into the hands of a man.
Hurin brought the treasure before king Thingol; an elven king in the land of Doriath, and threw the necklace before him bitterly, for he blamed the king for the loss of his son. King Thingol, in the possession of the silmaril Beren had given him, called the dwarves of Belegost to him to refashion the jewelry. The dwarves forged the necklace anew, and drew the silmaril in its center. But many dwarves grew enraged at the idea of a silmaril, worked into dwarvish forging, was now in the hands of an elven king. And thus, many dwarves ran into the kingdom of Doriath, seizing the Nauglamír after few battles, and taking it with them. Having almost reached their homes, the elves and Edain attacked, with them Beren and his son Dior. They successfully reclaimed the necklace, and brought it home with them. Out of his love for his wife, Beren gave the necklace to Luthien, who proceeded to carry it with her until the end of her days. (Or the last of her days in her first life.)
Dior later inherited the Nauglamír, yet lost it once more upon encountering the sons of Faënor in Doriath, who sought to reclaim the silmarils. His daughter Elwing, carried the Nauglamír with her as she ran from the elves. Yet, the sons of Faënor did not halt their search for the silmarils. During the Third Kinslaying, they attacked the Elven Havens of Sirion. However; Elwing cast herself into the sea with it rather than surrender the gem to Maedhros and Maglor, the sons. The Nauglamír was lost in the deep waters, but the silmaril and Elwing survived because of the Vala Ulmo.
It was about Aegnor and Andreth. If you’re not up on your deep backstory Tolkien Lore, Aegnor was an Elven Prince, a brother of Galadriel, and Andreth was a wise and beautiful human woman. He was out walking one night and they saw each other’s reflection in a lake and fell in love. It didn’t matter that she was mortal, if they were in a time of peace he would have stayed with her while she aged.
Sadly, it was not a time of peace, and Elves do not marry or have children during wartime, so they did not marry. She understood and in a twist; he died before she did, in the Battle of Sudden Flame. She never married, and he never left the halls of Mandos because he would not live in a world without Andreth.
She had a conversation about this with his brother Finrod, and he told her that someday, when Arda was remade, they would find each other again. He grew up in the Blessed Realm and knew the Valar, so I would assume he knew what he was talking about and it wasn’t empty hope.
Some theorize that one reason Finrod agreed to be Beren and Luthien’s ‘wingman’ (apart from his oath to his ancestors) was because of his brother’s sad love story. I don’t know, but it’s a nice idea.
In fact, I’m not sure if all of this is accurate, it’s been a while since I’ve read the History of Middle Earth series. I’m doing that again now, mostly because of all the fan bickering about the TV series.
Anyway, my dream was about them but it was modern day and I was their wingman trying to get them to together! It was weird having Tolkien related themes in modern places and seeing elves wearing modern clothes (but you could still tell they were elves!) but the main thing that was in my dream everything worked out and I woke up happy. I feel a fanfiction story coming on.
Hi! We’re making a directory of people who can help with world building! Do you know a lot about meteorology? Do you consider yourself an expert on the book “Children of Hurin?” Reblog this post with what topics you’re able to help with and if your ask box is open for these questions and if you’re open to non-Tolkien worldbuilding questions too.
Do you have a question about the weather of Himring? Do you need help designing clothes for Hobbits? Search this post to see if anyone’s available to help! (or if we have a lot of reblogs, check out our blog and search for that topic!)
Our goal is to, when we have enough reblogs, create individual posts for each topic listing who is available to help with that topic! That way no one has to scroll forever to find someone to help :)
I’m Elwin!
I can help with: finding references in HoME or any of Tolkien’s works, such as Unfinished Tales or the Letters; thee/thou questions; writing adult/E-rated work (no questions from underage people about this please); writing bisexual, intersex, non-binary, and/or polyamorous characters, writing about infertility/childless characters, writing fat characters.
Finwëan Family Tree (based on the Silm rather than HoME):
Second generation: 3 people. Survivors of the First Age: 1 [Finarfin]
Third generation: 15 people (7 Fëanorean, 3 Fingolfinian, 5 Finarfinian). Survivors of the First Age: 2 [Maglor and Galadriel]
Fourth generation: 6 people (1 Fëanorean [Celebrimbor], 3 Fingolfinian [Gil-Galad, Idril, Maeglin], 2 Finarfinian [Finduilas, Celebrian]). Survivors of both the First and Second Ages: 1 [Celebrian]
Fifth generation: 4 people (0 Fëanorean, 1 Fingolfinian [Eärendil], 3 Finarfinian [Celebrian’s kids]). Survivors of the First, Second, and Third Ages: All 4!
Conclusions:
- This is a really weird-shaped tree
- Galadriel and her descendents have an amazing survival / avoidance-of-violent-death record relative to the rest of the family.
- By the 7th generation, the only descendents of Finwë are Men; no elves.
Huh.
This should be an infographic, I feel like this is Important Data
@tolkien-feels not quite an infographic, but I think this is the best I can make! It’s just… sad how many grandkids Finwë had but how few children they all had.
