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Originally Posted by Aeglos
How did the noldor have weapons. What use did they have in vallinor? And if the valar saw the elves making weapons why didnt they stop them, because there was no need for it, and could only be used to bad things like violence and murder. So what do you think?
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Let's start before Valinor. The Elves were given weapons from Aulë to defend themselves on the Great March. While in Valinor there was not much need for weapons in self-defense so they were kept away. However, on a side note, to me this implies that many of the Eldar in Aman knew how to fight and had some skill in wielding weapons of war/slaughter/etc.
Weapons were taken up again in Aman after Melkor spread his lies among the Noldor and mentioned "the power that they gave to them that has them to defend his own" [MR, p. 276] The forges were put to work in the remaking of their old weapons that "were long unused, and lay in hoard as memorials of old days half-forgotten" [p. 277] Not only were weapons wielded but shields and armor, and different clans made certain weapons in secret from others, not revealing their own personal arsenals.
Now later on, in the first slaying in Aman, there is a passage which again implies to me that the Eldar had skills in the craft of fighting as Finwë goes down in battle with Melkor and Fëanor believed ["had he been at Formenos, his strength would have availed more than to be slain also, as Morgoth had purposed" p. 294] if he were there he could have protected his father implying he was also a trained fighter.
"We heard the sound of great blows struck. Out of the cloud we saw a sudden flame of fire. And then there was one piercing cry.... we came to the house. There we found the king slain at the door. His head was crushed as with a great mace of iron.... he had stood alone, defiant. That is plain; for his sword lay beside him, twisted and untempered as if by lightning-stroke."