The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post

Finwe · 11-02-2003, 03:15 PM

(You asked, and I returned, burra!)

Finrod definitely wasn't kicked out of Nargothrond. He merely got together a group of loyal followers, abdicated, and left with Beren to fulfill an oath that he felt morally obligated to keep.

The reason that the Noldor followed Fëanor was that he was a brilliant orator and capitalized on their desire for freedom and to rule their own destinies. For a group of people who had been under the rule of the Valar for most of their lives (if not their entire lives), freedom is extremely tempting. Fëanor knew that, and in the first flush of enthusiasm, almost all of the Noldor followed him. Of course, when they had that joyous rendez-vous with Mandos by the sea, most of them realized what they were truly doing, and many of them turned back with Finarfin. But, the majority of them, who either agreed with Fëanor (the Fëanorians) or felt obligated to follow Fëanor (the Fingolfinians), continued onwards. The right of Kingship went to Fingolfin and his House because the House of Fëanor became the Dispossessed. The only rights that they retained were the rights of Elven nobles, related to the royal house. They were no longer "The Royal Family," just cousins with awkward statuses.

In ancient times, many people looked askance at democracy. Much of the world had "grown up" regarding monarchy as the way to go, since it was much more efficient to have one person in charge of everything, rather than having a group that would squabble over issues. In Ancient Greece, some city-states remained monarchies, and the Athenians were the unique ones, not the run-of-the-mill Greeks. Greek legend has it that when a Theban ambassador visited King Theseus of Athens, he asked the "King" how a city-state could be run by a "squabbling mob, that twists this way and that."

Both monarchy and democracy have their pros and cons. In the case of a monarchy, the opportunity to abuse power is really great, but there is also the opportunity to run a country more efficiently, so that you won't have to squabble over issues (effectively delaying those issues). In democracy, the opinion of the people is heard more, and most people consider it a fairer and more just form of government. One bad thing about democracy is that issues can get easily bogged down in bureaucratic squabbles, which is the case in many countries today.

[ November 02, 2003: Message edited by: Finwe ]

11-02-2003, 03:15 PM	#12
Finwe Deathless Sun Join Date: May 2003 Location: The Royal Suite in the Halls of Mandos Posts: 2,609	(You asked, and I returned, burra!) Finrod definitely wasn't kicked out of Nargothrond. He merely got together a group of loyal followers, abdicated, and left with Beren to fulfill an oath that he felt morally obligated to keep. The reason that the Noldor followed Fëanor was that he was a brilliant orator and capitalized on their desire for freedom and to rule their own destinies. For a group of people who had been under the rule of the Valar for most of their lives (if not their entire lives), freedom is extremely tempting. Fëanor knew that, and in the first flush of enthusiasm, almost all of the Noldor followed him. Of course, when they had that joyous rendez-vous with Mandos by the sea, most of them realized what they were truly doing, and many of them turned back with Finarfin. But, the majority of them, who either agreed with Fëanor (the Fëanorians) or felt obligated to follow Fëanor (the Fingolfinians), continued onwards. The right of Kingship went to Fingolfin and his House because the House of Fëanor became the Dispossessed. The only rights that they retained were the rights of Elven nobles, related to the royal house. They were no longer "The Royal Family," just cousins with awkward statuses. In ancient times, many people looked askance at democracy. Much of the world had "grown up" regarding monarchy as the way to go, since it was much more efficient to have one person in charge of everything, rather than having a group that would squabble over issues. In Ancient Greece, some city-states remained monarchies, and the Athenians were the unique ones, not the run-of-the-mill Greeks. Greek legend has it that when a Theban ambassador visited King Theseus of Athens, he asked the "King" how a city-state could be run by a "squabbling mob, that twists this way and that." Both monarchy and democracy have their pros and cons. In the case of a monarchy, the opportunity to abuse power is really great, but there is also the opportunity to run a country more efficiently, so that you won't have to squabble over issues (effectively delaying those issues). In democracy, the opinion of the people is heard more, and most people consider it a fairer and more just form of government. One bad thing about democracy is that issues can get easily bogged down in bureaucratic squabbles, which is the case in many countries today. [ November 02, 2003: Message edited by: Finwe ] __________________ But Melkor also was there, and he came to the house of Fëanor, and there he slew Finwë King of the Noldor before his doors, and spilled the first blood in the Blessed Realm; for Finwë alone had not fled from the horror of the Dark.