# Noldor's songs



## Húrin Thalion (Dec 13, 2003)

From: Of the flight of the Noldor. The words of Fëanor to a herald of Manwë who had just uttered the Prophecy of the North: 



> We have sworn, and not lightly. Thst oath we will keep. We are threatened with many evils, and treason not the least; but one thing is not said: that we shalll suffer from cowardice, from cravens or the fear of cravens- Therefore I say that we will go on, and to this doom I add: The deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda.



When Manwë heard of this, he replied: 



> So shall it be! Dear-bought those songs shall be accounted, and yet shall be well-bought. For the price could be no other. Thus even as Eru spoke to us shall beauty not before concieved be brought into Eä, and evil yet be good to have been.



The question here is if those songs were well-bought? Without those, of course, there would be no Silmarillion, as we know it, but only in theory, was it worth it? In the end, the Noldor got their revenge, got back the Silmarils to elven hands, at least temporarily, and freed Middle Earth from Morgoth. These deeds are great, both in their renown and in themselves. The price was the virtual eradication fo the Noldor as a people, and the destruction of Beleriand. In my opinion, it was definetly worth it, what do you think?

Måns


----------



## Niniel (Dec 14, 2003)

But there were also love (Beren en Lúthien, Idril and Tuor) and great and beautiful realms (Nargothrond, Gondolin). There was not only suffering. And if there had been no evil, beautiful things would have been less beautiful, less valued, because they could not be compared to a situation where these beautiful things were not there. There is no good without evil, no beauty without ugliness, no love without hate. So I say it was worth it.


----------



## Inderjit S (Dec 14, 2003)

Of course the Ñoldor’s self-sacrifice (Though, at the time they didn't know it would be a self-sacrifice to save Arda, but they wanted to avenge their King, Finwë Ñoldoran and the theft of the Silmaril's. 



> 'I have not rejected the Valar, nor their authority in all matters where it is just for them to use it. But if the Eldar were given free choice to leave Middle-earth and go to Aman, and accepted it because of the loveliness and bliss of that land, their free choice to leave it and return to Middle-earth, when it has become dark and desecrated, cannot be taken away. Moreover I have an errand in Middle-earth, the avenging of the blood of my father upon Morgoth, whom the Valar let loose among us. Fëanor seeks first his stolen treasures


 (Fingolfin’s' words to Fëanor from the _Shibboleth of Fëanor _ (HoME 12)

It was only when the Ñoldor reached Beleriand, that they realised the extent of their sacrifice and their love for Middle-Earth and their hatred for Morgoth. If it wasn't for the Ñoldor, then it is probable that Morgoth would have brought destruction upon Middle-Earth. 



> One especial aspect of this is the strange way in which the evils of the Marrer, or his inheritors, are turned into weapons against evil. If we consider the situation after the escape of Morgoth and the reestablishment of his abode in Middle-earth, we shall see that the heroic Ñoldor were the best possible weapon with which to keep Morgoth at bay, virtually besieged, and at any rate fully occupied, on the northern fringe of Middle-earth, without provoking him to a frenzy of nihilistic destruction. And in the meanwhile, Men, or the best elements in Mankind, shaking off his shadow, came into contact with a people who had actually seen and experienced the Blessed Realm.


 _Myths Transformed; HoME 10_ 

The Ñoldor’s rebellion not only led to the saving of Middle-Earth from the ravagings of Morgoth, but also the raising of Men to their highest level (Edain) and instilled a sense of nobility and wisdom in Men that they had never experienced. (Note Húrin’s words to Morwen.)

It also lead to the story of Beren and Lúthien, the most beautiful of all the stories in Arda, and the unification of the Eruhíni (Beren and Lúthien, Tuor and Idril). If it wasn't for the Ñoldor, their Kings, lords and people, their wisdom and their folly, their strengths and weaknesses, their impetuousness and their prudence, their treachery and their loyalty, their arrogance and their humility, then Arda would be not as beautiful and as terrible, as strong and as weak, as it was. Without them Arda wouldn’t be Arda. And, as Sam would put it, "that’s a fact." The Ñoldor may have been a moral paradox, they may have been 'evil' or 'treacherous', but as Fëanor states- they would never be cowards.



> Thus even as Eru spoke to us shall beauty not before concieved be brought into Eä, and evil yet be good to have been.


 _Manwë Súlimo, ‘High King of Arda’ _


----------

