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Old 03-03-2011, 11:11 AM   #87
Formendacil
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Pipe A Historical Analysis of Early Scholarship on the Dale King's Players, Part 4 of 19

Quote:
Originally Posted by the phantom View Post
F.A. 15-
*Branor joins the group
*The Players perform for the first time in the Iron Hills and in Thranduil's hall
Although it is often difficult to tell where the early Mnemonic scholar (dubbed "the phantom" in popular contemporary accounts) gets his information, his reconstruction of the Dale King's Players performance history gives us a rare glimpse into his sources, a fascinating suggestion of the dramatisation that surrounded dramatists themselves in the early 4th Age.

More recent scholars have debated the possibility that the Dale King's Players ever performed in the Iron Hills, as no Dwarven manuscript from the 3rd Age or the first five centuries of the 4th ever attests to dramatic performances being held in Dwarven environs*. However, the majority of scholars think it is quite possible that the Dale King's Players would have played in the Iron Hills, since their is ample evidence of close collaboration with the Dwarves of Erebor in their early years. Dwarven craft is universally held to be the source of the Players' "Smaug" and other early mechanical effects, and the close, even symbiotic relationship of the Dwarf-realm to the Mannish realm of Dale is well-attested, and has parallels throughout Dwarven history**. Given that the Iron Hills were a major centre of Dwarven activity (the chief settlement of Longbeards at that time outside Erebor itself), and probably had its own closely related Mannish ally in kinfolk of the Dalemen who dwelt farther down the Carnen (perhaps also related to the little-studied Kingdom of Dorwinion), it seems that the Iron Hills would have been a logical first place to travel away from Dale.

Greenwood the Great, however, is another case, and although a few scholars believe "the phantom's" chronology in this respect, comparison with other historical records suggests that this is highly unlikely. Although the Red Book indicates there was trade between Thranduil's people and the Lakemen, this trade does not seem to have extended to full-fledged cultural cross-pollination. Indeed, apart from venturing out in the hopes of claiming Smaug's treasures, a situation that led to the Elvish presence at the Battle of Five Armies, we do not see the Elves of Greenwood taking an a strong interest in the doings of the Men of Dale. During the War of the Ring, Thranduil's people were focused on the threat of Dol Guldûr, while the Men of Dale, together with the Longbeards of Erebor, faced invasion from Easterlings.

Furthermore, apart from a temporary situation in Gondor, where Legolas son of Thranduil started a short-lived colony in Ithilien, little about the early 4th Age suggests that the millennia-long situation of Elves and Men having less to do with each other as the years passed ever changed. While the Elves of Rivendell, the last Noldorin presence in Middle-earth, were open and welcoming, and indeed closely partnered with their local Mannish communities (the Rangers of Arthedain, and to a lesser extent the Woodmen and Beornings over the mountains), this model was not as true of the Sindar/Nandorin-dominant communities of the Grey Havens, and certainly not in the Sindar/Sylvan communities (which also seem to have had strong Avarin influences) of Lórien and Greenwood (although it is to be admitted that Greenwood was less closed off than Lórien, nonetheless that was the model Thranduil's realm followed).

Furthermore, the close relationship of Dale and Erebor makes it even more unlikely that Men of Dale would have been visiting Thranduil's halls. Although relationships between the Elves and Dwarves were not marked with quarrels in the known accounts of the 4th Age, the historic grudges borne between these two peoples would still have been present, and even the stellar example of Legolas son of Thranduil and Gimli son of Glóin would not have reversed this aversion completely--indeed, it is noteworthy that both these personages moved with colonies to lands far beyond the influence of Erebor and Greenwood.

What is most likely, according to F. Ormen Dacil, is that "the phantom" derives his information about the Dale King's Players performing in Greenwood from the promotional literature being put out in their later career in Gondor (about the time that Andarion of Dol Amroth joined their company--approx. F.A. 20). Since this promotional literature was produced for a Gondorian audience, it was most likely composed by a newer member native to Gondor, who would not have been present in the earlier travels. In promoting the Players as a respectable troupe, it is possible that their résumé was padded by suggesting more kings and courts before whom they had played. In reconstructing his chronology, "the phantom" probably used near-contemporary accounts derived from this promotional, but exaggerated literature, offering us a fascinating glimpse into the "no holds barred," competitive world of drama in early 4th Age Gondor.




* Actually, recent excavations in Moria may suggest otherwise, as tombs previously believed to belong to 2nd Age Dwarven dramatists connected with the Elven kingdom of Eregion (where the theatrical arts flourished best in western Middle-earth in the 2nd Age) may include later burials from the Guild of Playwrights--as late as the first couple centuries of the 3rd Age. However, this is not pertinent to turn-of-the-4th Age discussions of the Iron Hills.

**Cf. the essay "Of Dwarves and Men," by pre-eminent scholar J.R.R. Tolkien (HoME XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth).
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Last edited by Formendacil; 03-03-2011 at 11:38 AM. Reason: There really needed to be a smiley at the end of this...
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