I always had this idea in my head, which I have touched on in some of my stories, that if the events surrounding Melkor had not occurred, and Finwe had decided to withdraw from public life and abdicated in favor of Feanor, that Feanor would have become deadly bored with it relatively quickly and Maedhros have found himself King of the Noldor in Valinor in pretty short order.
Sounds about right to me. Either he would get bored with it very soon or he would have made a very unusual king. Not only because he would spend more time in the forge (or wherever) creating than actually ruling, but also because of his restless spirit. It is said he (and his sons) 'seldom abode in one place for long' and were always 'seeking the unknown'. Doesn't really sound like the type of a guy, who would patiently sit on his throne for hours, listening to any complaints his people had and solving their problems. (yes, even Elves in Aman had them :P)
I'm not so sure he would've renounced the throne in favour of Maedhros. He would probably keep the crown just so that it wouldn't by any chance come into his half-brother's hands. I find it more likely he would've appointed Maedhros as a regent. Maedhros would be a perfect regent/king, probably even better than Finwë. Not only was he smart, showed great determination, had excellent diplomatic skills and so on, but he also always put duty before his own personal desires and needs. It seems his destiny had always been to lead and that's how he was raised. And this was also the role Tolkien always had in mind for him. His brothers are all "labeled" by their "professions" or skills (Celegorm, Ambarussa - hunters, Curufin - crafty, Maglor - singer, with Caranthir here as exception; but even he found himself in trading later). Maedhros never gets that kind of title. He was an amazing warrior, yes - but what good did that do him in Aman, especially before forging of swords began? He was a good leader, but he never had a chance to show that there either, with Finwë being the king, Fingolfin the regent and his father the heir. What exactly was he in Aman? Undetermined"? Just 'the Tall'?
I have never understood when Tolkien drew such a compassionate picture of Feanor, that large swaths of the fandom have also wanted to paint him in a solid opaque black--that is not how he is written in the canon texts!
I'm with you on this one. I was shocked to see how much hate was aimed at Fëanor (and his sons), when I first started surfing forums to find answers to questions I had after reading Silm for the first time. This is only my opinion, but I get the impression one of the reasons why people hate him so much is because he doesn't fit that perfect picture of flawless Elves (like Finrod, Glorfindel or Lúthien) they have in their minds. He is described as the greatest or one of the greatest Elves that ever lived, but then he doesn't live up to the expectations they have. All they see in him is pride, arrogance. They see 3 things - he denied the Valar his Silmarils (something that wasn't theirs anyway and he had every right to refuse), the first Kinslaying at Alqualondë (terrible decision, but I think we all said or did something in a heat of the moment that we later regretted) and burning the ships/betraying Fingolfin (can't really defend him here, but I understand his reasons - and it's not as if he left them there to die or anything). Everything else gets ignored. Centuries of being a good father, good son, amazing craftsman/artist... it all apparently means nothing. I'm not going to say I agree with everything he did or that I like every aspect of his personality, but I also can't pretend he didn't have good sides or that I don't admire him for some things - like standing up to the Valar, for example, and taking his people from Aman, which is something I consider a good thing (unlike most people). I like those human traits in him that others despise and hate. To be honest, I almost couldn't stand Tolkien's Elves before reading Silm and coming across Fëanor and the Magnificent Seven (with a touch of Fingon, of course). There were so darn perfect, I couldn't find a single thing in them I could relate to.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-03-24 02:19 am (UTC)Sounds about right to me. Either he would get bored with it very soon or he would have made a very unusual king. Not only because he would spend more time in the forge (or wherever) creating than actually ruling, but also because of his restless spirit. It is said he (and his sons) 'seldom abode in one place for long' and were always 'seeking the unknown'. Doesn't really sound like the type of a guy, who would patiently sit on his throne for hours, listening to any complaints his people had and solving their problems. (yes, even Elves in Aman had them :P)
I'm not so sure he would've renounced the throne in favour of Maedhros. He would probably keep the crown just so that it wouldn't by any chance come into his half-brother's hands. I find it more likely he would've appointed Maedhros as a regent. Maedhros would be a perfect regent/king, probably even better than Finwë. Not only was he smart, showed great determination, had excellent diplomatic skills and so on, but he also always put duty before his own personal desires and needs. It seems his destiny had always been to lead and that's how he was raised. And this was also the role Tolkien always had in mind for him. His brothers are all "labeled" by their "professions" or skills (Celegorm, Ambarussa - hunters, Curufin - crafty, Maglor - singer, with Caranthir here as exception; but even he found himself in trading later). Maedhros never gets that kind of title. He was an amazing warrior, yes - but what good did that do him in Aman, especially before forging of swords began? He was a good leader, but he never had a chance to show that there either, with Finwë being the king, Fingolfin the regent and his father the heir. What exactly was he in Aman? Undetermined"? Just 'the Tall'?
I have never understood when Tolkien drew such a compassionate picture of Feanor, that large swaths of the fandom have also wanted to paint him in a solid opaque black--that is not how he is written in the canon texts!
I'm with you on this one. I was shocked to see how much hate was aimed at Fëanor (and his sons), when I first started surfing forums to find answers to questions I had after reading Silm for the first time. This is only my opinion, but I get the impression one of the reasons why people hate him so much is because he doesn't fit that perfect picture of flawless Elves (like Finrod, Glorfindel or Lúthien) they have in their minds. He is described as the greatest or one of the greatest Elves that ever lived, but then he doesn't live up to the expectations they have. All they see in him is pride, arrogance. They see 3 things - he denied the Valar his Silmarils (something that wasn't theirs anyway and he had every right to refuse), the first Kinslaying at Alqualondë (terrible decision, but I think we all said or did something in a heat of the moment that we later regretted) and burning the ships/betraying Fingolfin (can't really defend him here, but I understand his reasons - and it's not as if he left them there to die or anything). Everything else gets ignored. Centuries of being a good father, good son, amazing craftsman/artist... it all apparently means nothing. I'm not going to say I agree with everything he did or that I like every aspect of his personality, but I also can't pretend he didn't have good sides or that I don't admire him for some things - like standing up to the Valar, for example, and taking his people from Aman, which is something I consider a good thing (unlike most people). I like those human traits in him that others despise and hate. To be honest, I almost couldn't stand Tolkien's Elves before reading Silm and coming across Fëanor and the Magnificent Seven (with a touch of Fingon, of course). There were so darn perfect, I couldn't find a single thing in them I could relate to.