[Feanor of the Peredhil]

This is admittedly a rough sketch of a post... I'm still hashing my way through the thoughts.

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

that's not just something that happens when new religions come along, but also when one nation conquers another. It's about power, and somehow inevitable.

And the literature that Tolkien loved so well and drew so heavily upon comes from a society rife with conquering.

It's fun that we're discussing this just as I start a new class that's very heavily reliant on Middle English lit. First day of class we rehashed why it is the way it is: looking at Brit history shows a pretty grim life. Small wonder there's all this talk of doom and gloom in Tolkien's work, in the period work; sure there was Christianity, the life after death, the thought of hope, but there was also the pious monk that was writing his alliterative poetry about roods and was on watch those late nights when the Vikings sailed up to the coastal monastery and started pillaging. Life was hard.

The narrator of The Wanderer sums it up nicely with "It will be well with him who seeks favor, comfort from the Father in heaven, where for us all stability resides."

Yep. Doom and gloom. Belief and faith, but also logical pessimism. This wouldn't necessarily mean anything to me if these lines, just a few before that translation, weren't so... um... reminiscent... of something else.

Originally Posted by The Wanderer

Therefore the man wise in his heart considers carefully this wall-place and this dark life, remembers the multitude of deadly combats long ago, and speaks these words: 'Where has the horse gone? Where the young warrior? Where is the giver of treasure? What has become of the feasting seats? Where are the joys of the hall? Alas, the bright cup! Alas, the mailed warrior! Alas the prince's glory! How that time has gone, vanished beneath night's cover, just as if it had never been!'