B9 - Artifacts and Weapons - Fëanorian Lamp (art)

[havamahal.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: Artifacts and Weapons - B9 - Fëanorian Lamp

Format: digital art

Genre: General

Rating: G

Warnings: None

Characters: er... lamp?

Pairings: None

Summary: I won't even pretend Fëanor had something like this in mind, when he created those lamps.



Maglor and Fingon refuse to talk (which means I can't write the fic for B4 I wanted to so badly!), new number hasn't been posted yet, so I got stuck with making this. :/

I also used the prompt in one of the stories, but thought it couldn't hurt making one of these as well.



9

Comments

[havamahal.livejournal.com]

He would have considered them utilitarian and nothing like his possessiveness of the Silmarili, which I always considered to be 10% technology and 90% magic and also included, somewhat like the One Ring did for Sauron, enough of himself that it is unlikely he would have survived their breaking up.

This is exactly what I've been trying to explain in one of the topics on the Slovenian Tolkien Society's forum, where the ownership of the Silmarils was discussed. :D But apparently this sort of thing never crossed the minds of the members there. Maybe they missed this part in Silm:

Then he began a long and secret labour, and he summoned all his lore, and his power, and his subtle skill; and at the end of all he made the Silmarils.

The power he put in Silmarils of course couldn't have been the same as Sauron's, who put his will do dominate others in the One Ring, but something different. But what?

Whatever it was (his love, his soul, some kind of power?), I find it probable that he meant precisely what he said - he really would be slain, if he'd break them.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Your contrast between Sauron and Feanor rings true to me also. I think Feanor was obsessed with this art/craft/science for itself. I think his desire for power was pretty minimal. 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. Power was not something that motivated Feanor except in those cases where he believed he was in conflict with Fingolfin for the love of their father.

Tolkien would have understood pouring oneself into his creation; he continued to work on the history of the Noldor and the peoples of Arda for his entire life. 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! Human, vulnerable, and challenged beyond his ability to stand up to the pressures under which he found himself is what I find there.

That and a perfect angelic interpretation of the Valar (who seem more like imperfect pre-Christian demi-gods who have lapses of judgment based upon their own individual prejudices) are my two pet peeves in ongoing canon discussions.

[havamahal.livejournal.com]

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.

[havamahal.livejournal.com]

That and a perfect angelic interpretation of the Valar (who seem more like imperfect pre-Christian demi-gods who have lapses of judgment based upon their own individual prejudices) are my two pet peeves in ongoing canon discussions.

Oh God... don't even get me started on that. An Elf (OK, half-Elf, half-Man) comes to Valinor to beg them for help and what's their first reaction? Let's kill him. :/ Angelic creatures? *cue sarcastic laughter*

If Tolkien truly wanted presented them as such, then he failed at that, in my opinion. There is nothing angelic in Valar. You take one look at their actions and behaviour after they came to Arda and you can see they're hardly flawless, wise, unselfish, kind or many other things people would like them to be. But because Tolkien said they were angelic creatures, they have to be all that and people won't accept any other truth even when text clearly shows they are wrong. I mean, what makes the Valar, who for centuries didn't lift a finger and left thousands and thousands of Elves and Men to die in Middle-earth, while fighting against one of them, any different from Fëanor, who was responsible for the first Kinslaying? Fëanor acted in a heat of the moment, guided by his own despair and emotions, while Valar thought the whole thing through and consciously left all those people to die - because such was "Eru's will". Maybe none of them raised a sword and killed those Elves and Men themselves, but they didn't do a thing to stop Morgoth either, when they were the only ones powerful enough. And lets not even get into the whole 'Light of the Trees is reserved only for Aman' or anything like that - my laptop is very sensitive, when it comes to my anger and I'm afraid it might explode if I even make the slightest attempt typing that. ;)

*takes a look at the endless reply*

Why didn't anyone stop me before I started writing this?!

I'm so sorry, Oshun. Please, feel free to ignore this. There's really no need for you to reply to this, alright? It's just that once I start ranting about Fëanor, his kids and the Valar, it always turns into something like this. :(