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Elfeawen Lomiondil
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Post Lore in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
on: March 15, 2024 03:40
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien is a book compiling some of the letters that Tolkien wrote to friends, family, fans, and the publishers. The letters were selected and edited by Humphrey Carpenter, with assistance of Christopher Tolkien. It was first published in 1981, but in 2023 an expanded and revised edition with 150 additional letters was released.

The book has long been a valuable resource for fans because it includes information on Middle Earth not found in the Lord of the Rings or the published Silmarillion. However, these are the minority of the letters.

While the Letters are a great way to get to know Tolkien, I primarily made this thread to discuss the Middle Earth lore that was revealed in the letters. If I understand the rules of the forum correctly, the discussion of Tolkien as a person may belong in The Green Dragon. A parallel thread on that aspect of the letters could be made over there.

While the letters have been cited many times on various threads here, I thought it worthwhile to make a thread to discuss and compile information from the book. Maybe it will inspire some new readers

So what gems of lore found in Letters are your favorites? Which letters would you most recommend to a new reader?
"There shall be war between the Children of Iluvatar and the Ainu Melko. What if we perish in our quest? The dark halls of Vê be little worse than this bright prison" ~ Fëanor
Elfeawen Lomiondil
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on: March 17, 2024 03:30
Letter 212 from 1958 is a good source.My favorite part was the explanation that Elves that die and later are reborn will eventually regain their memories from the past life. Perhaps this has been published elsewhere but I have not seen it.

Second favorite was an account of Aule making the first dwarves, except here he also makes 6 dwarf women for a total of 13 dwarves. There were then 6 pairs of dwarves to be dispersed. The eldest (usually Durin but not named here) was alone.

Other topics in the letter include a short account of the Ainulindale and an explanation of Valar. This was written for someone who was unfamiliar with these ideas. Nothing new for a Silmarillion reader, but it may help you understand the creation myth if you read it before the longer account in the Sil.
-why Elves are immortal and Men mortal
-reference to Miriel’s strange death, which won’t make much sense unless you read the account in Morgoth’s Ring.
-because of the Fall woven into the world’s beginning, all things in the world have the potential to Fall
-Valar could err, Istari could become self-seeking, Elves could do evil deeds, even trees could go bad, like in the Old Forest
"There shall be war between the Children of Iluvatar and the Ainu Melko. What if we perish in our quest? The dark halls of Vê be little worse than this bright prison" ~ Fëanor
Elfeawen Lomiondil
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on: March 24, 2024 12:34
Letter 200 (1957) has some good stuff about Ainur, and especially Sauron. Although most (none?) of this will be new to readers of the Silmarillion, I found hearing the explanations in different words was helpful. I’ve long been puzzled why it seems to be a big deal for Sauron to lose his physical body but the Valar and other spirits can take forms and put them off at will.

The letter seems to say that most of the time when Valar and Maiar put on a visible form, it is not really material. This is compared to putting on clothes that express the “desires, moods, wills, and functions.” None of the spirits are harmed by taking off such “clothing”. But these visible forms were “a vision transferred from mind to mind” and not actually a normal biological body. The Ainur could make “real” bodies for themselves as Sauron did (and Melian, I assume) but doing so would take some time and consume some of the inherent energy of the spirit. Such bodies could be destroyed like other bodies, and evidently could not be instantaneously replaced.

In Letter 246 (1963), Tolkien said:
Sauron should be thought of as very terrible. The form that he took was that of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic. In his earlier incarnation he was able to veil his power (as Gandalf did) and could appear as a commanding figure of great strength of body and supremely royal figure demeanour and countenance.

If material bodies have drawbacks, why did Sauron keep replacing them? Was it just easier to interact with his minions that way?
"There shall be war between the Children of Iluvatar and the Ainu Melko. What if we perish in our quest? The dark halls of Vê be little worse than this bright prison" ~ Fëanor
Elfeawen Lomiondil
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on: April 07, 2024 12:21
Letter 211 from 1958 is a good source. A fan asked Tolkien some questions, including about the two wizards not named in the LOTR, about clothing, about the crown of Gondor, the meaning of some names, and why did Glorfindel use a bridle on his horse when Elves rode without tack, among other topics.

I will quote or summarize my favorite parts.

*Elves would picture Varda as “a majestic figure robed in white, standing in a high place and gazing eastward to mortal lands”.

*About Glorfindel’s horse, he said, “actually bridle was casually and carelessly used for what I suppose should have been called a headstall. Or rather, since bit was added (I 1221) long ago (Chapter I 12 was written very early) I had not considered the natural ways of elves with animals. Glorfindel’s horse would have an ornamental headstall, carrying a plume, and with straps studded with jewels and small bells, but Glor[findel] would certainly not use a bit. I will change bridle and bit to headstall.”

*About the wizards. Although we have heard from other writings that the other two were called the Blue Wizards, in 1958 he said: I have not named the colours, because I do not know them. I doubt they had distinctive colours. Distinction was only required in the case of the three who remained in the relatively small area of the North-west. I really do not know anything clearly about the other two - since they do not concern the history of the N.W. I think they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Numenorean range: missionaries to ‘enemy occupied’ lands as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were the founders or beginners of cults and ‘magic’ traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.
"There shall be war between the Children of Iluvatar and the Ainu Melko. What if we perish in our quest? The dark halls of Vê be little worse than this bright prison" ~ Fëanor
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