He swore an oath to get them back at ANY cost, and proceeded to lead his people to doom and damnation. He defied the gods, even after being cursed. He led the very first case of Elves killing Elves, to get his hands on boats to go after Morgoth, then upon arrival in Middle-Earth he burned the ships, stranding his people there.
This is all really extreme for the theft of what is ultimately three really pretty gems.
Thingol only asked Beren for 1 silmaril so I see no reason as to why he should cut off more, after all they are extremely powerful and dangerous in inexperienced hands.
It's stated that Varda hallowed the Silmarils so that no evil or mortal hands could touch them without burning and withering. However in the Silmarillion multiple mortals handle one (Beren, Lúthien after reincarnation, Dior, Elwing, and Eärendil) without any stated burning. Is this just a rare oversight by Tolkien or did he (or his son) ever give a reason for this?
Recently I acquired John D. Rateliff's The History of The Hobbit (which is Christopher Tolkien approved). I immediately spotted the most peculiar heading in the Index: "The Arkenstone as Silmaril". Having read it, I found it lines up shockingly well with what used to be my own thoughts on the matter. Below I have quoted the most interesting excerpts:
Chapter XIV
While the Dragon’s Away . . .
(ii)
The Arkenstone as Silmaril
>But fairest of all was the great white gem, which the dwarves had found beneath the roots of the Mountain, the Heart of the Mountain, the Arkenstone of Thrain.13
The choice of Arkenstone is significant, since in other writings Tolkien was making at the same time he was using a variant of this same name as a term for the Silmarils themselves, forging a link between the Jewels of Fëanor and the Arkenstone of Thrain in the legendarium.
. . .
This work is associated with the 1930 Quenta and only very slightly later in date – that is, contemporaneous with Tolkien’s work on The Hobbit (HME IV.262). And among the very earliest work Tolkien did on the Annals (ibid., page 281) was an Old English version by Ælfwine/Eriol, the frame narrator of The Book of Lost Tales, in which the entry given above is translated thusly:
>MMD Hér þurh searucræftas aþóhton and beworhton þá Nold-ielfe gimmas missenlice, 7 Féanor Noldena hláford worhte þá Silmarillas, þæt wæron Eorclanstánas (ibid. 282).
Literally translated, this remarkable passage reads:
>[The Year] 2500. Here through cunning craft/artistic skill the Noldor elves devised (‘a-thought’) and created (‘be-worked’) many gems, & Fëanor the Noldor lord wrought the Silmarils, that were precious/holy stones [Eorclanstánas or ‘Arkenstones’].
Furthermore, in a later draft of the same work in Mercian dialect, the fictional translator ‘Ælfwine of Ongulcynne’ (Elf-friend of England) lists the three parts that make up ‘The Silmarillion’ – The Annals of Valinor, the Annals of Beleriand, and the Quenta – noting ‘and þes þridda dæl man éac nemneð Silmarillion þæt is Eorclanstána gewyrd’, which translates as ‘and this third part is also named “Silmarillion”’; that is ‘[the] history/fate [of the] Precious/Holy Stones’ (HME IV.291). The equivalent Eorclanstána = Silmarils also appears in Ælfwine’s Old English translation of part of the ‘Annals of Beleriand’, which date from about the same time as the complementary ‘Annals of Valinor’
. . .
... keep reading on reddit ➡The Silmaril in the ocean for example. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Silmarils member attempting to Ninja Loot SGC from a warrior.
https://reddit.com/link/mkpr5j/video/t3vsxm4j1er61/player
Can't quite remember the timeline and I always get a little confused about the Havens of the Sirion. I think he would have as his mother Elwing wore it for a time after Dior's death?
When Morgoth and Ungoliant destroy the Two Trees, the Valar suggest that Feanor break the Silmarils, and that the light be used to renew the two trees. Feanor responds that he would never again be able to make the Silmarils, or anything like them, as he had poured much of his power into them, and the destruction of them would cause his death.
The One Ring was a one-of-the kind device created by Sauron. He poured so much of his own power into them that the destruction of it caused his death.
Tolkien has said before that stories are often “about death and how to overcome it”. It certainly seems that this ties into his beliefs about creation; that once you create something, and pour yourself into it, then your life is tied to that creation. Perhaps, then, he saw the writing of his own stories in the same way as the creation of the Silmarils.
PS Also, there were Three Silmarils, as well as Three LOTR books, considering Tolkien pioneered the “trilogy” format. (I know Tolkien originally wanted LOTR as one book, but the fact that he ultimately had three novels made is still Interesting to note...)
Tying in to the Ulmo & the Silmaril question: What do you think happened to the Silmarils in the Earth and the Sea when Arda was made round? Were they removed together with Valinor? Pushed down into the deep core of the Earth? Did they resurface?
I love a bit of friendly speculation about many different aspects of Tolkien’s stories - but this is one that has interested me for a long time as I suppose the direct effect of the Silmarils unto their beholder is more ambiguous than say The One.
Time scale wise I was thinking maybe when things were going kind of ok for the Noldor during the first few wars in Belariand. Feanor and his Sons went all Beren and Luthien on Morgoth and managed to (somehow) reclaim the Silmarils from his crown.
What do you guys think would happen next, how would the power of Feanor and his sons increase? Would they be able to over throw Morgoth and create and create a perfect land east of the sea, as they would have the last remaining light of the trees. And as the Silmarils were made with pure intent would the corruption caused by artefacts like the ring not be present?
Or would they carry on the cycle of lust and conflict, leading to a speedier waining of the east? Or maybe the oath holders wouldn’t even be able to hold their own creation due to their previous sins committed in order to gain them?
I would like to think the former is true as the silmarils are not, by their own nature, an evil and corrupting set of objects. Just their beauty and lust for them causes the suffering witnessed. So once in the hands of their rightful holders their power can be used for good.
But I would of course love to hear your thoughts and own ideas - this community always amazes me with its kindness and wholesome discussion :))
The Silmarils are described as having holy properties. They burn mortal hands, flesh unclean, and any evil thing. And we do know that Morgoth was constantly burned by them. So... couldn’t they touch Melkor with them after his release from Mandos? Kinda like a parol hearing to see if the prisoner is reformed. They’d see him get burned and then throw him back in Mandos. Problem solved, you get another three ages, two and a half with good behavior.
I get that "simplicity is the highest form of elegance" and all that, but it seems to go pretty sharply against the style of everything else that Sauron had ever made.
Even the other Rings of Power had gems and intricate metalwork. Only the "lesser rings" are described as being plain gold bands, and those were "only essays of the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles." But I don't recall Sauron trying to pass the One Ring off as a lesser trifle at any point, unless I'm forgetting something...
Let me explain.
In the woods of Lorien, Galadriel gifted Gimli 3 strands of her hair, which he said he would set in a crystal as a emblem of a renewed friendship between elves and dwarves. We are told in other sources that Galadriel’s hair was considered one of the most beautiful things by the elves, since it was thought that the light of the Trees of Valinor was caught within it. Said hair, we are told, was Fëanor’s inspiration for creating the Silmarils.
So, Gimli creates this treasure, a crystal that contains within it something that was suffused with the light of the Two Trees. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
Now, I’m not saying that Gimli’s crystal was as fair as the Silmarils were. Nothing like that. But for a dwarf, a mortal, to create an object suffused with that light is pretty darn cool, I’d say.
That was the question that immediately came to my mind when I first read the Silmarillion. She demands the Silmarils of Melkor but he of course refuses. What is important is that, because of the curse Yavanna (I think) layed on the gems, his hand was burned badly, even through the case they were in. Now what would have happened if she had actually devoured them? Would they have burned up her insides like they did with Charcharoth?
It would be a funny thought that maybe Melkor did actually save her life by refusing.
On the other hand there is a possibility that she could. According to one theory she is the incarnation of the void and it is even said that the gems if the Noldor vanished into the void, passing out of all sight, even of Manwë. Why didn't Tolkien just write that she ate them? Why the emphasis on them being lost for ever? It seems you could not regain them even if you cut her open. So maybe it would actually have been possible without burning herself due to her being void. So she didn't eat them so much as he deleted them. The more I think about it, the more I believe this.
What do you think?
Sorry, I couldn't not share this.
This dude is making a chapter by chapter audio series with maps and illustrations. It's insane. If you're a Silmarillion head like me, you have to see this.
I recently finished my first read-through of the silmarillion and theres just one thing that confuses me. Why did Thingol want a silmaril? By the time he asks Beren to get a silmaril, he would have already heard of the oath of the sons of Feanor and would have some idea about the first kinslaying (I cant remember if Melian actually figures out the truth when asking Galadriel). He should know that getting a silmaril was basically painting a target on their backs and the sons of Feanor would definitely come after his kingdom to get the silmaril back. So why take the risk? what would he gain by owning a silmaril?
Side note: Does the silmaril have corrupting powers like the ring? Once Thingol got the silmaril, he seemed quite obsessed about it. I think it was even mentioned in the book that it was Thingol would think about (or something like that). Even the dwarves seemed overly interested in it. If I remember correctly the dwarves only made claim to the nauglamir after adding the silmaril so they could also claim the silmaril.
