COTW Silmarillion: Chapter XX "Of the Fifth Battle" (Part 5)
Morgoth's Curse <morgothscurse2002@nospam.yahoo.com>
all that remained of the host of Gondolin and such of Fingon's people
as could be gathered he retreated towards the Pass of Sirion; and his
captains Ecthelion and Glorfindel guarded the flanks to right and
left, so that none of the enemy should pass them by. But the Men of
Dor-lomin held the rearguard, as Hurin and Huor desired; for they did
not wish in their hearts to leave the Northlands, and if they could
not win back to their homes, there they would stand to the end. Thus
was the treachery of Uldor redressed; and of all the deeds of war that
the fathers of Men wrought in behalf of the Eldar, the last stand of
the Men of Dor-lomin is most renowned."
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It's also tragic that it was Hurin himself who later rendered the last
stand of the Men of Dor-lomin utterly futile.
Do you agree with this strategy? Were there alternatives? The
fortress of Eithel Sirion was relatively near. If Turgon fought his
way to that fortress (which Morgoth's armies had previously failed to
conquer), then the remnant of Fingon's people could have escaped and
at least escorted their families south over the mountains to the
safety of Nargothrond or a refuge by the mouth of Sirion. Turgon's
people were safe in Gondolin; he could have fought a war of attrition
for a year or two and thus ensured that more of the Noldor survived.
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"So it was that Turgon fought his way southward, until coming
behind the guard of Hurin and Huor he passed down Sirion and escaped;
and he vanished into the mountains and was hidden from the eyes of
Morgoth. But the brothers drew the remnant of the Men of the house of
Hador about them, and foot by foot they withdrew, until they came
behind the Fen of Serech, and had the stream of Rivil before them.
There they stood and gave way no more.
Then all the hosts of Angband swarmed against them, and they
bridged the stream with their dead, and encircled the remnant of
Hithlum as a gathering tide about a rock. There as the sun westered on
the sixth day, and the shadow of Ered Wethrin grew dark, Huor fell
pierced with a venomed arrow in his eye, and all the valiant Men of
Hador were slain about him in a heap; and the Orcs hewed their heads
and piled them as a mound of gold in the sunset."
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This recalls the last stand of three hundred Greeks who were trapped
by superior forces and fought to the last man a few thousand years
ago. I can't recall offhand which city it was--Sparta perhaps?--but
Tolkien must have heard of it as it was once a staple of the classical
education. (It is obvious that my own education was anything but
classical.) I suspect that there are parallels in Norse and Celtic
literature as well. Does anybody recall any specific examples?
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"Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield,
and wielded an axe two handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in
the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and
each time that he slew Hurin cried: 'Aure entuluva! Day shall come
again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last
alive, by the command of Morgoth, for the Orcs grappled him with their
hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and
ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath
them. Then Gothmog bound him and dragged him to Angband with mockery.
Thus ended Nirnaeth Arnoediad, as the sun went down beyond the
sea. Night fell in Hithlum, and there came a great storm of wind out
of the West."
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I want to take this occasion to gripe about a pet peeve of mine. :-)
I have often seen this passage cited in essays about the nature of
trolls where it is claimed that Hurin slew seventy trolls. Hurin did
NOT slay seventy trolls! He slew _some_trolls, but the text does not
prove that it was a troll that he slew each time he cried "Aure
entuluva! Day shall come again!" (I doubt that Gothmog needed such a
large bodyguard in any case. This is, after all, the Balrog who slew
two of the mightiest of Noldor.)
Hurin certainly does exemplify the old phrase "a fate worse than
death."
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"Great was the triumph of Morgoth, and his design was
accomplished in a manner after his own heart; for Men took the lives
of Men, and betrayed the Eldar, and fear and hatred were aroused among
those that should have been united against him. From that day the
hearts of the Elves were estranged from Men, save only those of the
Three Houses of the Edain.
The realm of Fingon was no more; and the sons of Feanor wandered
as leaves before the wind. Their arms were scattered, and their league
broken; and they took to a wild and woodland life beneath the feet of
Ered Lindon, mingling with the Green-elves of Ossiriand, bereft of
their power and glory of old. In Brethil some few of the Haladin yet
dwelt in the protection of their woods, and Handir son of Haldir was
their lord; but to Hithlum came back never one of Fingon's host, nor
any of the Men of Hador's house, nor any tidings of the battle and the
fate of their lords. But Morgoth sent thither the Easterlings that had
served him, denying them the rich lands of Beleriand which they
coveted; and he shut them in Hithlum and forbade them to leave it.
Such was the reward he gave them for their treachery to Maedhros: to
plunder and harass the old and the women and the children of Hador's
people. The remnant of the Eldar of Hithlum were taken to the mines of
the north and laboured there as thralls, save some that eluded him and
escaped into the wilds and the mountains."
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It has always troubled me that neither the Eldar nor the Edain seemed
to have made any arrangements for the safety of their families. You
can ascribe it to arrogance in some cases, but Fingon and Hurin really
should have known better. They were embarking on a gamble that could
every well be fatal. Why not at least send their children to the
Havens as Fingon had done?
I always wondered just how many of the people who followed the sons of
Feanor survived the battle. They had sufficient strength even after
the battle to Doriath and the Havens of Sirion, so either they had
recovered from their losses somewhat or else they had not dispatched
their full strength to the battle. It seems unlikely to me that the
Elves of Ossiriand would serve the sons of Feanor.
Why did Morgoth banish the Easterlings to Hithlum? Was it simple
malice or did he wish to prevent any ideas of independence? The
barriers between northern and southern Beleriand were formidable, so
it was not impossible for the Easterlings to become de facto sovereign
rulers of their own kingdoms.
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"The Orcs and the wolves went freely through all the North, and
came ever further southward into Beleriand, even as far as
Nan-tathren, the Land of Willows, and the borders of Ossiriand, and
none were safe in field or wild. Doriath indeed remained, and the
halls of Nargothrond were hidden; but Morgoth gave small heed to them,
either because he knew little of them, or because their hour was not
yet come in the deep purposes of his malice. Many now fled to the
Havens and took refuge behind Cirdan's walls, and the mariners passed
up and down the coast and harried the enemy with swift landings. But
in the next year, ere the winter was come, Morgoth sent great strength
over Hithlum and Nevrast, and they came down the rivers Brithon and
Nenning and ravaged all the Falas, and besieged the walls of
Brithombar and Eglarest. Smiths and miners and makers of fire they
brought with them, and they set up great engines; and valiantly though
they were resisted they broke the walls at last. Then the Havens were
laid in ruin, and the tower of Barad Nimras cast down; and the most
part of Cirdan's people were slain or enslaved. But some went aboard
ship and escaped by sea; and among them was Ereinion Gil-galad, the
son of Fingon, whom his father had sent to the Havens after the Dagor
Bragollach. This remnant sailed with Cirdan south to the Isle of
Balar, and they made a refuge for all that could come thither; for
they kept a foothold also at the Mouths of Sirion, and there many
light and swift ships lay hid in the creeks and waters where the reeds
were dense as a forest."
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This passage is a dim echo of one of Tolkien's unfinished
masterpieces: The Fall of Gondolin. The assault upon the Havens
mirrors the assault on Gondolin in many ways: "Smiths and miners and
makers of fire they brought with them, and they set up great engines;
and valiantly though they were resisted they broke the walls at last.
Then the Havens were laid in ruin, and the tower of Barad Nimras cast
down; and the most part of Cirdan's people were slain or enslaved." It
could almost be a capsule description of the destruction of Gondolin
and the fall of Turgon. Is this deliberate or mere coincidence?
Why did it require so long for the Noldor and Cirdan to transform the
isle of Balar into a refuge? It is the one refuge that Morgoth cannot
assail, so why not settle more of the Eldar on it and turn it into a
fortress of last respite as Finrod did with Nargothrond and Turgon did
with Gondolin?
Steve Morrison
> This recalls the last stand of three hundred Greeks who were trapped
> by superior forces and fought to the last man a few thousand years
> ago. I can't recall offhand which city it was--Sparta perhaps?--but
> Tolkien must have heard of it as it was once a staple of the classical
> education. (It is obvious that my own education was anything but
> classical.) I suspect that there are parallels in Norse and Celtic
> literature as well. Does anybody recall any specific examples?
They were Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae;
http://www.answers.com/topic/300-spartans gives the details.
Dirk Thierbach
[passage snipped]
> This passage is a dim echo of one of Tolkien's unfinished
> masterpieces: The Fall of Gondolin. The assault upon the Havens
> mirrors the assault on Gondolin in many ways: "Smiths and miners and
> makers of fire they brought with them, and they set up great engines;
> and valiantly though they were resisted they broke the walls at last.
> Then the Havens were laid in ruin, and the tower of Barad Nimras cast
> down; and the most part of Cirdan's people were slain or enslaved." It
> could almost be a capsule description of the destruction of Gondolin
> and the fall of Turgon. Is this deliberate or mere coincidence?
I think Tolkien often uses similar "motives" in different places (this
has been already discussed in CotW, comparing similarities in the
Hobbit and LotR). And I don't think this is deliberate (as in "meant
for artistic effect"), it's a consequence of his method of writing --
moving things around, changing names, moving ideas from here to there.
In this case, it looks like this "motive" is based on some experience
of his in the war.
- Dirk
Morgoth's Curse
wrote:
Thanks! I thought it was the Spartans but couldn't be sure whether
that battle was part of Sparta's wars with Athens or the war with the
Persians.
I always liked the epitaph at Thermopylae:
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here, obedient to their laws, we lie
(One of several variants. Translation is a bitch.)
Morgoth's Curse
William Cloud Hicklin
<morgoths...@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 13:42:03 -0500, Steve Morrison <rim...@toast.net>
> wrote:
>
>> Morgoth's Curse <morgoths...@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> This recalls the last stand of three hundred Greeks who were trapped
>>> by superior forces and fought to the last man a few thousand years
>>> ago. I can't recall offhand which city it was--Sparta perhaps?--but
>>> Tolkien must have heard of it as it was once a staple of the classical
>>> education. (It is obvious that my own education was anything but
>>> classical.) I suspect that there are parallels in Norse and Celtic
>>> literature as well. Does anybody recall any specific examples?
>>
>> They were Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae;
>> http://www.answers.com/topic/300-spartans gives the details.
>
> Thanks! I thought it was the Spartans but couldn't be sure whether
> that battle was part of Sparta's wars with Athens or the war with the
> Persians.
>
> I always liked the epitaph at Thermopylae:
>
> Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
> that here, obedient to their laws, we lie
>
OTOH, Tolkien whould also have been aware (like all schoolboys learning
Greek, he was made to read Herodotus), that the sacrifice of the Three
Hundred (plus double that number in slaves, who never get mentioned) was a
completely futile gesture. The position fell because the Persians had
discovered a path which allowed them to outflank it- which meant that the
Spartans barred the road to nothing, and their deaths were meaningless,
except in the sense that Sparta attached no value to life other than in
combat. Rather like Verdun, and the later course of the Somme, in that the
only ratinale for fighting was to "bleed the enemy white," with no other
tactical or strategic goal.
WWI and its poets, most famously Owen, forever blew up the platitude
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" (it is sweet and proper to die for
one's country). By the next generation, even such an ardent warhawk as
General Patton would say "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his
country." Followed naturally by the bloodthirsty Patton touch, "He won it
by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his."
--
" I would even contend that a reaction against Tolkien's non-Modernist
prose style is just as influential in the rejection of Tolkien by
traditional literary scholars as is Modernist antipathy to the themes of
his work"