Nice to see that you restarted this thread,
King Naugladur!
Aiwendil was very good in detailing the sources that went into Chapter 22 of the published
Silmarillion. I would like to bring up what was in Chapter 8 of
The Hobbit (1937). In describing the capture of Thorin by the Wood-elves, Tolkien said that they '
did not love dwarves', and thought of Thorin as '
an enemy'. The explanation for this was then given:
In ancient days they had wars with some of the dwarves, whom they accused of stealing their treasure. It is only fair to say that the dwarves gave a different account, and said that they only took what was their due, for the elf-king had bargained with them to shape his raw gold and silver, and had afterwards refused to give them their pay.
While there is no mention here of the Silmaril and the Nauglamír, this passage
appears to be based on the versions in
The Book of Lost Tales, Part 2. I'd be interested to know what people think.
King Naugladur, you said that the dwarves were '
right in requesting the Nauglamir, which was the work of their fathers. The whole hoard of Nargothrond was their rightful property, to be more specific'. I disagree with you.
Yes, the dwarves delved what was Nargothrond for Finrod Felagund, and also made the Nauglamír for him. In both cases, they appear to have been well and properly paid.
The whole hoard was therefore Finrod's property. Glaurung had no more right to the hoard than Smaug in later ages had to the hoard under the Lonely Mountain.
The same is true regarding Mîm, even if he was originally from Nogrod. Húrin then gave the Nauglamír, part of the hoard, to a relative of Finrod, Thingol, who was his great-uncle. It's possible that other relatives would have had a claim to the hoard, such as Finrod's sister Galadriel, and his cousin Turgon. But I don't see any dwarves having any legitimate claim.
According to what was in Chapter 22 of the published
Silmarillion, the dwarves of Nogrod who were asked to add the Silmaril to the Nauglamír were '
filled with a great lust' to posess both and carry them off. When they finished their task, they witheld the Nauglamír from Thingol, claiming it was made for Finrod Felagund '
who is dead'. It then, according to them, came by the hand of Húrin '
who took it as a thief'. Thingol knew it was a '
pretext and fair cloak for their true intent'.
It appears that the dwarves were just inventing excuses. Finrod's death did not give them the right to inherit any of his property. At least Húrin gave the necklace to a relative of Finrod.
That said, as well as being unwise, it was deeply unworthy of a great king like Thingol to abuse the dwarves, calling them of '
uncouth race' and '
stunted people', not to mention demanding they leave unrewarded. He should have requested they leave
after giving them the appropriate payment for the work they had completed.
However, the dwarves committed the ultimate offence, completely violating their status as guests, by murdering their host and stealing his property. (At least he had a better right to the necklace than they.) Also, it was made worse by the two surviving dwarves, who incorrectly claimed that the others of their party had been killed at the command of Thingol '
who thus would cheat them of their reward'.
What do people think?
