Concerning Elf-friends

[HerenIstarion]

Alaksoron

And why, praytell, are we not obliged to serve the elves?

Do I sense the touch of ridicule or is it genuine curiosity? I am inclined to judge it as an expression of curiosity, nevertheless, and answer your query to the extent I'm able to

Men are not supposed to serve elves on the basis that both have separate Eru-given functions of their own, their inclusion into the Ainulindale and following that, into being, being His unaided, detached contribution. Those functions are defined at their best in a conversation of Andreth, mortal woman of the F.A. with Finrod Felagund, which runs as follows:

Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth

Andreth:

This much only can I say: that among us some hold that our [mortals - H-I] errand here was to heal the Marring of Arda, and by making the hroa partake in the life of the fea to put it beyond any marring of Melkor or any other spirit of malice for ever

Finrod:

'And then suddenly I beheld as a vision Arda Remade; and there the Eldar completed but not ended could abide in the present for ever, and there walk, maybe, with the Children of Men, their deliverers, and sing to them such songs as, even in the Bliss beyond bliss, should make the green valleys ring and the everlasting mountain-tops to throb like harps.

or, to quote myself from elswhere:

H-I

The brevity of their [human] life span in later works is associated with the Fall (as a race), for "wise among men" hold that in the original design Men were meant for life indestructible - union of fëa (of Eru) and hröa (of the matter of Arda) so unbreakable that it would be able to lift, bring up the matter, i.e. thing temporal, to the eternal world of flame imperishable. (elves in this scheme are supposed to function as a kind of memory cells - to remember and remind others of the first world, when the Arda Remade is brought into being) But men are so weakened by their fall that death is given to them as a release

and

At that, Men and Elves are direct insertions of Eru, Eruhini, his children, the whole mode of being of which (i.e. union of eternal fëa with temporal hröa) seems to be symbolic, indication of future arrangement, when matter will cease to be temporal and be equally eternal, and seems to set the direction of they development. At that, they have distinct functions - elves of preservation and memory, men of working future order out

Such distinct functions never imply servitude as an obligation. That some men may enter into the service of some elves, is obvious - but it would be out of respect, love, affection, even political purposes (Ulfang the Black and his sons Ulfast, Ulwarth, and Uldor), but not some kind of inherent, innate obligation

And hence the title - Elf-Friend. If humans were obliged to serve elves, the term would have been different, for friendship presupposes free will of both (or all, if there are more than two involved) parties - one can not be someone else's friend by force.

[Mithalwen]

err to go a long way back.... I am fairly sure that frodo had met elves in the shire before meeting gildor's company... it was one of the reasons he was considered "odd"

[HerenIstarion]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

err to go a long way back.... I am fairly sure that frodo had met elves in the shire before meeting gildor's company... it was one of the reasons he was considered "odd"

Pretty good point. But the case is, by that time, even as modern titles have changed their meaning, so the 'elf-friend' did. Meeting elves is one thing, being named an Elf-Friend another, pretty much as in older times anyone huge and strong enough to become a leader of a warband could have been termed as 'duke' (that is, dux = leader), but look at modern dukes now. Or, in other words, meeting the Her Majesty, even if we have tea together any odd evening, does not make me a knight unless I'm knighted.

[Aredhel]

I've noted that there was only one reference to the reason for the light seen by certain people/elves that harkens beck to the fairy/faery stories of old in this thread:

The essay argues that one important characteristic of an Elf-friend is to act as a link between the world of faery and the world of man.

One really has to pay attention to legend and myth, old stories of Faery-folk who gave "the sight" to mortals who served faery-kind well. Also one must pay attention to those who have otherworldly gifts, and so shine from within with the wisdom of the totality of the world - things both seen and unseen.

You will remember Legolas' surprise at seeing Aragorn shine when confronted by the Rohirrim:

'He seemed to have grown in stature while Eomer shrunk; and in his living face they caught for a moment a vision of the power and majesty of the kings of stone. For a moment it seemed to the eyes of Legolas that a white flame flickered on the brows of Aragorn like a shining crown.'

This is quite like to the shine on the brow of Taliesin, who was named such due to the glow seen on his forehead: "Behold The Bright Brow!"

Shining from within, on the brow, or the sparkle in one's eye is all a sign of inner wisdom or sight. Gildor's recognition of Frodo's language skills, as well as Frodo's polite manner is no surprise. Frodo studied with Bilbo, and gained the knowledge of other-worldy things, as Talieson did, and Bran, and Merlin, and many other tales of people who accidentally or otherwise came to know and serve the Faery.
Is it so unlikely then, that Gildor saw the "shining brow" on Frodo?

Now let this serve as a warning, too; for those that went against the Faery were punished equally as hard. For devulging the wherabouts of Faery in Mortal marketplaces, more than one had his/her eyes popped out, leaving him/her blind!
Here we are going back to the time when eating Faery-food was not a good thing to do, lest one be trapped in their world. Some were freed to do the work of the Faery in the Mortal world. Those that did were said by mortals that "had the sight" to glow from within with a strange sort of Faery-fire.

Oh, I'm going on and on, and not making a terrible lot of sense. I can certainly find you some instances of this.

Here's a shortened version of The Legend of Taliesin:

A young boy named Gwion Back was left to watch over a cauldron prepared by the Goddess Ceridwen. The liquid brewing inside the cauldron was intended for her horribly ugly son, Afagddu (Utter Darkness.) The liquid would give anyone that drank of it all knowledge and wisdom.

While Ceridwen was away, the boy Gwion fell asleep. He awoke to find that the fire was burning too hotly, and three drops of the precious liquid splashed out of the cauldron onto Gwion's finger. Sucking his finger to alleviate the pain, he absorbed all of the wisdom that had been intended for Afagddu.

When Ceridwen found out, she was furious, and set off after Gwion. Armed with his new knowledge, he turned himself into various animals, only to be pursued by Ceridwen who would turn herself into the animal's natural predator. Finally after a long chase, Gwion turned himself into a grain of wheat in a huge mound of grain and chaff. Ceridwen turned herself into a hen and ate every last grain, including Gwion. Nine months later she gave birth to a beautiful boy. Unwilling to kill the child, she set him adrift in a leather bag on the open sea.

Eventually the bag washed up on the shore near a fisherman's hut, and was discovered by the son of the fisherman, a boy named Elffin. When he opened the bag and saw the bright forehead of the child inside, he proclaimed "Behold the radiant brow!," whereupon the child answered "Taliesin be he called!" (Taliesin means 'shining brow.') He then spewed forth an endless stream of poetry, prophesy and wisdom. Elffin took him back to the hut and he there grew up into a famous bard and shaman, later serving at the court of King Arthur himself.

Now this is Celtic and Welsh wisdom; not from England, yet it had much to do later with the Arthurian stories. Certainly Tolkien would have read this. I know that there is not ONE single instance of Tolkien saying that he studied Celtic lore, however, Welsh lore is so closely related to English lore that I hardly see that he could have ignored it.

Other forms of the Taliesin Legend, including the Welsh versions state that Talieson was really Merlin, and have wonderful translations about him:

Taliesin is best known for his relation to King Arthur, mostly through the poem the Spoils of Annwfn, which details his descent on a raid into the underworld, to capture the cauldron of Ceridwen, along with Arthur, Cei, and others.

The earliest full stories concerning King Arthur and his exploits appear to be the little known Welsh tales of "Culhwch and Olwen" and the "Dream of Rhonabwy". Though dating from before the 11th century, these two stories became a late attachment to a collection of Welsh mythological tales taken from the 14th century White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest. Together, they are known as the "Mabinogion": an introduction for aspiring poets. Though the stories have a mythological slant, a certain amount of bardic poetic license is to be expected. Their background, however, is clearly an unfamiliar Dark Age society that gives us some idea of what the real Arthur was probably like.

The poems of Taliesin are fragmentary, and known only through a few sources. It is believed however, that they formed the nexus of material for the Mabinogion.
The "Otherworld" was a domain of Celtic deities or supernatural beings such as the "Fairy People". The Otherworld was considered to be the Celtic version of heaven (or even hell to most Christian writers).

They were hidden from mortal eyes by strong Otherworld magic. They were situated in all sort of places. Some of these Otherworlds were located on the islands, the dunes, dun-hills, forests, rivers, and lakes. A grand castle or even humble cottage could be the Otherworld, which would, appeared at night for mortals, but would probably vanish in the morning.

Normal rule does not apply in the Otherworld. A year may seem to pass in the Otherworld, but in the real world centuries may have passed. Time seemed to have stand still. Nor does the people who live there, aged like mortals. They seemed to remain forever young.

The Welsh called their Otherworld - Annwfn (pronounced Annoovin) The actual cosmology is fairly complicated, but Arawn ruled a darker part of this this Otherworld kingdom. In the Spoils of Annwfn, Arthur his companions (including Cei) steal the magic cauldron of Ceridwen which brings life, from Annwfn.

Another popular name for a portion of the Welsh Otherworld, was the Caer Wydyr or Caer Wydr - the "Fortress of Glass". Caer Wydyr is similar to Tower of Glass in the Arthurian Legend, but associated with Glastonbury Tor, England. Glastonbury Tor was supposed to be the location of the "Isle of Avalon" or "Isle of Apples", the finally resting place of King Arthur.

I can only guess that Tolkien had read The Book of Taliesin, but I cannot for the life of me imagine that he ignored it. Since the Irish legends ended up being the Welsh legends, and finally progressed into the Brittish legends, one can expect he took some of the "Bright Brow" syndrome from these texts.

A note on delivery of the sight: It can be gotten by eating something of Faery origin, being touched on the forehead or eyes, or having an ointment rubbed on the eye.

Ah well, I've made a mess of this post. But perhaps it will encourage a few of us to look up The Book of Taliesin and other wonderful Celtic and Welsh texts.
Also check out the Tuatha De Danann, who followed the Goddess Dana. They were a rustic and artistic people who were said to have possed magickal skills that humans just didn’t have. When defeated by an ancient Celtic race called the Milesians, the Tuatha De Danann made their homes underground where they are rumored to live even to this day. Some of these groups have been revered as Gods and Goddesses in the Pagan tradition. These Fair Ones also became widely known as the Faeries of lore. The Tuatha were also called coincidentally: "The Shining Ones." *chuckle*

[HerenIstarion]

A load of interesting stuff you provide us with, Aredhel, thank you. (and welcome to the Barrow Downs )

But, I daresay, the main aim of the thread was to investigate the causes and effects inside Tolkien's works, not to find out his sources. The theory you state may well be one of the truths. But mentioned legends are not the only source for Tolkien. To name the few - 'Pearl', poem by anonymous author, which deals exactly with journeys to Faery, and originates from Tolkien's home Middle England (and is heavily leaned on in picturing Fellowship entering Lothlorien, I believe,), the whole set of stories, besides Taliesin, about people taken into 'elvish hills' and coming out some decades after, and, even Shakespear himself (I know, I know, the quote is 'I disliked cordially', but the thing is, Shakespear, IMO, was disliked for not developing but merely hinting at themes to take central part in Tolkien - Marching Ents, per instance). So it is a little bit more complex, one can not point down one's finger to any particular tradition and say - this is the source of it all, but rather has to reconcile with the fact that the whole of the several northern traditions are intervowen into the 'threads of story' with JRRT

But, that is one of the advantages of discussion - it may take unexptected turns.

So, cheers once again and enjoy your posting with us

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Aredhel, the possible source references you give are fascinating! They remind me more of one of Tolkien's minor works than of LotR, though - the title 'hero' of Smith of Wootton Major does eat a fairy star, but with the knowledge and permission of the King of Fairy, and is called "Starbrow", with the light visible in both worlds at times. His entrance into the world of Fairy enriches his life, though it is dangerous, even frightening at times, but the loss of the star and the journeying privileges that go with it are bitterly sad for him. The star passes on to the next human...

[mark12_30]

up.