Quote:
Originally posted by Mithadan:
<STRONG>But if Tuor and Idril left Mandos and dwelt as Elves in the West, how would anyone in Middle Earth know? The Host of the West left Valinor only 50 years after Earendil and the Noldor who passed into the West after the War which ended the First Age were not permitted to return to ME (except in the case of Glorfindel whose circumstances were both different and exceptional).
The fate of Tuor, both in the Sil and Letters is related as only a rumor. However the source of the rumour is unclear and its reliability somewhat questionable.</STRONG>
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How does anyone know anything? . . . Because Tolkien wrote it at one time or another, but I'm sure there are ways to account for it; maybe Glorfindal saw him hanging out with Elvis.
If Tolkien chose to play this choice tidbit up as a legend (or rumor) within the more "reliable" legend, then that is only to heighten the sense of sacred mystery that Tuor's joining the Noldor should have entailed. But notwithstanding this intentional vagueness and uncertainty, I see no problem accepting it at face value.
I didn't quite understand the 50-year thing. Could you explain it better?
Also, I've gleaned elsewhere that the wonderful "Glorfindel" from the Fords of Bruinen is remarkably the same Glorfindel killed while destroying a Balrog in defense of the refugees of Gondolin. Wow! Where's that told, in terms of how he got released from the Halls of Mandos, which is also suggested for the most beloved Finrod Felagund, but also was allowed to return by the middle of the Third Age to Middle-Earth and Rivendell. No wonder he was able to prophesize so well about the Witch King's ultimate fate.