August 2014 – The Everyday Epic

The Silmarillion Recap: Quenta Silmarillion (Part XVI)

Published on August 27, 2014 by S.B. Roberts4 Comments

After years of plotting, Morgoth is ready for his next serious assault against the Noldor and their allies, the Sindar and the Edain (Men).

Part I (Chapter 1)
Part II (Chapters 2-3)
Part III (Chapters 3-4)
Part IV (Chapters 5-6)
Part V (Chapter 7)
Part VI (Chapter 8)
Part VII (Chapter 9)
Part VIII (Chapter 10)
Part IX (Chapter 11)
Part X (Chapter 12)
Part XI (Chapter 13)
Part XII (Chapter 13 cont.)
Part XIII (Chapter 14-15)
Part XIV (Chapter 16)
Part XV (Chapter 17)

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Quenta Silmarillion: Chapter 18 part 1

It has been 455 years since Fingolfin first returned to Middle-earth. During that time, the Noldor have settled into their new kingdoms, the Sindar (Elves who stayed in Middle-earth) have become their allies for the most part, and the Edain (Men) have become an important part of their realms. There have been plenty of skirmishes with Morgoth and his Orcs, but it’s been a while since anything serious has happened, leaving most of the Noldor with a false sense of security.

Not all of the Noldor feel this way, though. Fingolfin knows better. He worries that Morgoth is planning something. But his call to action is unheeded by the majority of the Noldor, so they neither prepare for war nor act. They just continue with their content lives, like their enemy isn’t sitting just on the other side of the mountains.

That is, until one fateful night in the middle of winter. The usual troops of Elves keep watch in the darkness. For a long time, they have been stationed around Angband, continuing the siege. Tonight, though, when the earth quakes below them, they know that something is wrong, but it is already too late. They are overwhelmed by Morgoth’s unexpected assault. The one he has been plotting for hundreds of years.

“[G]reat rivers of flame” pour down the sides of the mountains, destroying everything and everyone in their path and sending up noxious fumes that kill everything else that the flames don’t consume. They are followed by a dragon — Glaurung — as well as Balrogs and a massive Orc army. The following war is one of the worst recorded in The Silmarillion, and it’s known afterwards as Dagor Bragollach, “Night of Sudden Flame.”

In the surprise attack, the Noldor, Sindar, and Edain scramble to fight back, but it is futile. The Noldor whose realms are closest to Angband (Morgoth’s fortress) are killed or forced to flee. The Edain retreat alongside them. Everything is in ruin.

It’s in the midst of this that Fingolfin becomes absolutely outraged about what is happening. With the kind of fury that could frighten a dragon, he charges to Angband’s gate, pounds on it, and demands that Morgoth face him Elf to Vala. At first, Morgoth thinks of refusing. To be honest, he’s actually afraid of Fingolfin. Maybe it’s just because of his current fury, or maybe because he saw how determined and hearty he was to survive the Grinding Ice on his way to Middle-earth. In any case, he seriously doesn’t want to do it. But with his captains, Orcs, and Balrogs watching, he knows that he would appear weak if he didn’t answer the challenge. So, against his better judgement, he suits up in his armor and faces Fingolfin.

An epic battle ensues. Fingolfin is more stout than Morgoth ever could have imagined. Sadly, he isn’t strong enough. After who knows how long of fighting, Fingolfin is exhausted. He stumbles on the rough stones (recently destroyed by the hammer Morgoth wields), and Morgoth sets his foot on Fingolfin’s neck. But even in this moment, Fingolfin refuses to go out without a fight. He gashes Morgoth’s leg before he’s killed.

Morgoth enjoys this victory far too much. He decides to desecrate Fingolfin’s body and feed him to the wolves. But his plans are interrupted by none other than the Eagles. Thorondor, the King of the Eagles himself, finds Fingolfin’s corpse, steals him from Morgoth’s hand, and leaves Morgoth with a nasty wound on his face as a reminder. Then Thorondor delivers Fingolfin’s body to his people, who prepare an appropriate burial site for him on the top of a mountain.

On another front of this war — Dagor Bragollach — Finrod has been fighting along with one of Bëor’s descendants: Barahir. Since Finrod befriended and advocated for the Edain (Men) after their first arrived, they have been happy to fight along side him to protect their lands against Morgoth. During one skirmish, Barahir saves Finrod and is given an emerald ring as a token of thanks. (If you’ve ever watched The Lord of the Rings, you know this ring well… More on that soon.)

Later, Finrod leaves that front, but Barahir continues to fight. He is a very valiant man, and so is his son Beren (who will plays an enormous role in the history of Arda). Even though they have a dwindling group and their homes have been burned, they continue to fight the Orcs and any other foes that come their way. Barahir’s wife — Emeldir — is quite a valiant lady herself. After Barahir and Beren head off to fight the Orcs, Emeldir takes up arms and leads the rest of their people to safety. She meets some other important women here, namely Rian and Morwen, but those names won’t mean anything yet.

Around this point in the war (which is a few years in), Morgoth decides to take a different approach with the Edain. Instead of killing them, he tries to befriend them. That immediately backfires, though, so he comes to hate them with the same passion with which he hates the Elves. The only Men who are his friends are the Easterlings, Men who have recently arrived from the Edain’s original home and who have long been in league with Morgoth.

There is one last event that takes place in this chapter, but the three Edain involved — Húrin, Huor, and Beren — are far too important to just cram at the end of this chapter. Húrin and Huor deserve more than a quick mention since, like Beren, they play an important role in chapters to come.

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Next week, the famous Húrin and Huor arrive on the scene, and Beren’s life takes a fateful turn.

Oxford Comma or No Oxford Comma: That Is the Question

Published on August 22, 2014 by S.B. Roberts15 Comments

The school year has officially begun again, which means that I’ll be surrounded by piles of papers soon. Of course, this is actually metaphorical because all of the assignments for my classes are turned in digitally. It’s wonderful because I type far faster than I can write by hand, can more easily edit papers, and don’t have to carry around piles of papers. Though there always is a certain appeal that comes with physical papers and not staring at a screen for hours. But I digress.

Even though words are such an important part of my life, I wouldn’t consider myself a serious grammarian. Yes, I do mentally correct other people’s grammar while they speak sometimes and can’t ignore the apostrophes and awkward phrasing in writing, but I’m not OCD about it.

However, there are a few grammatical rules and techniques that do evoke some passionate feelings. One of these is the Oxford comma.

If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s the use of a comma before the “and” in a list of three or more items. For example: “In my spare time, I like to read, write, and play video games.”

While it’s perfectly acceptable not to use that comma, I really like it. Partly because I like commas and partly because without the Oxford comma, things can get confusing (and a bit hilarious).

For example: “I like to spend time with the dogs, Ashley, and Heather.”

It’s clear enough that Ashley and Heather are not my dogs, right?

But if, “I like to spend time with the dogs, Ashley and Heather,” it’s not so clear. It feels like Ashley and Heather could be the dogs. And while I’ve seen some hilarious memes about how much stranger this can get, it shows what sort of confusion can arise.

Now, this doesn’t mean that I’ll judge you for not using the Oxford comma (unless you’re one of my middle schoolers since I’ll have the urge to change it in all of your papers). But you won’t catch me skipping out on the Oxford comma.

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Do you use the Oxford comma? Do you feel very passionate about any grammar rules?

The Silmarillion Recap: Quenta Silmarillion (Part XV)

Published on August 20, 2014 by S.B. Roberts7 Comments

Today is a story of Elf meets Men.

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Quenta Silmarillion: Chapter 17

The first time the Elves meet Men, it’s because of a song.

While Men have been roaming Middle-earth for a while now, they have finally migrated from the far east to the western regions of Middle-earth, where the Elves have been living for a very long time.

One particular evening, a group of Men led by Bëor are gathered around a fire, singing. This is perhaps the first time that they have felt truly safe in a very long time. Morgoth’s servants have been lurking among them for a long time, but this land is different than anywhere else they’ve been before. So they sing because they have much to be glad about.

On this same evening, Finrod (Galadriel’s brother) is riding through the forest. From a distance, he hears the singing but he sees fires, which isn’t common for the Elves who live in this neck of the woods. He sneaks closer only to find creatures that he has never seen before. And just as the Valar became excited the first time that they heard the Elves had arrived, he is delighted to see the people they have all been waiting for: the Secondborn of Iluvatar. Men.

After the Men drift off to sleep, he comes among them to watch over them and sing to them about the history of Arda. The Men don’t know the language, but they do understand what he’s saying. This immediately starts a long friendship between Men and Elves, specifically Finrod who becomes their advocate. Bëor and his people follow Finrod to a new land near Finrod’s realm, and they accept him as their ruler. (This is much to the relief of the Green Elves who live in that area, who weren’t so sure about having these Men roam around in their forests.)

But Bëor tells Finrod that his people aren’t the only ones headed over the mountains. There are two other groups: the Haladin and the people of Marach. And while not all of the Elves are thrilled at their arrival, the Noldor gladly welcome Men into their realms. In those times, it isn’t uncommon at all for the most important Men to serve in an Elven King’s court.

Among the Elves discomforted by this new turn of events is Thingol. He and Melian have lived safely in their realm of Doriath for a long time, and he is wary of them. (It’s been a hard life in Middle-earth, so who can blame him?) In fact, he decides that the only Men allowed to come directly onto his lands are the descendants of Bëor, and only because Finrod is such good friends with them.

Melian also has something (rather foreboding) to say on the matter: “… one of Men, even of Bëor’s house, shall indeed come [into Doriath], and the Girdle of Melian shall not restrain him, for doom greater than my power shall send him; and the songs that shall spring from the coming shall endure when all Middle-earth is changed” (Tolkien 168). Thingol doesn’t understand what it means yet, but he will in two more chapters…

Now, it hasn’t taken long for Morgoth to see Men and Elves getting along so beautifully and to see that he isn’t able to easily ruin the friendship. So he decides to do the next best thing: attack Men with endless Orc raids. The group that seemingly gets the brunt of it is the Haladin. Unlike Bëor and Marach’s people, they prefer independence and stay off on their own. They also do not have centralized leadership but work more like a confederation. In this case, though, both of these factors leave them vulnerable.

During an Orc raid, many of the Haladin are killed. Among them is a well-known and strong man named Haladin. He has twin children, Haldad (a son) and Haleth (a daughter). When Haldad tries to defend his father, he is killed. This leaves Haleth to handle the situation. So what does Haleth do? She takes up a sword, protects the remnant of the Haladin, and leads them to one of the Noldor princes, Caranthir.

Caranthir is heartbroken for the Haladin and offers to protect them, but Haleth wants to maintain the independence her people has always known. Instead, she leads them through a dangerous region (where Aredhel got lost in the last chapter) and brings them to a forest that is technically on Thingol’s lands. (They are outside of the magical barrier, but still on his doorstep.)

As Haleth’s people settle in, Thingol watches them with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. Finrod assures him that it’s okay. After all, they’ve endured so much and they have the same enemy: Morgoth and the Orcs. So Thingol and Haleth strike a deal: the People of Haleth (as they are now known) can live in the forest if they help guard their part of the forest from Orcs. And the deal ends up working perfectly.

While there are many other things that happen in this chapter, there’s only one more that I want to highlight. Remember Bëor, one of the first Men that Finrod met? Well, at the age of 93, he dies, just as all Men do. It’s just from old age, and he passes happily. But this is the first time that Elves have witnessed death like this, and they truly wonder at it. What a strange gift Iluvatar has given the Secondborn.

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Next week, dragons and Balrogs and battles — oh my! And Sauron shows back up to stir up more trouble in a great showdown between Morgoth and the newly allied Elves and Men.