Obscure Tolkien Characters

[Findegil]

Celeg Aithorn: Is it realy not fitting the legends of Middle-earth that Manwë’s sword ‘shall cleave the world’? Four quotes come to mind that at least would hint in the same direction: The first pair are from a relative late sources. Unfinished Tales; Part Four; Chapter II: The Istari:

... Manwë will not descend from the Mountain until Dagor Dagorath, and the coming of the End, when Melkor returns. …

So at least Manwë is involved in that battle that will make an End to the World.
HoME; volume 10: Morgoth’s Ring; Part Five: Myths Transformed:

… But in this way Morgoth lost (or exchanged, or transmuted) the greater part of his original 'angelic' powers, of mind and spirit, while gaining a terrible grip upon the physical world. For this reason he had to be fought, mainly by physical force, and enormous material ruin was a probable consequence of any direct combat with him, victorious or otherwise. … Morgoth's vast power was disseminated. The whole of 'Middle-earth' was Morgoth's Ring, though temporarily his attention was mainly upon the North-west. Unless swiftly successful, War against him might well end in reducing all Middle-earth to chaos, possibly even all Arda. … But the
dilemma of the Valar was this: Arda could only be liberated by a physical battle; but a probable result of such a battle was the irretrievable ruin of Arda. Moreover, the final eradication of Sauron (as a power directing evil) was achievable by the destruction of the Ring. No such eradication of Morgoth was possible, since this required the complete disintegration of the 'matter' of Arda.

So if Manwë was to win Dagor Dagorath, he had to destroy Middle-earth.
But with my next pair I will open an alternative in which still the world is destroyed by Manwë’s sword but not by him:
HoME; volume 1: The Book of Lost Tales, part 1; Chapter VIII: The Tale of the Sun and Moon:

… So shall it be that Fionwe Urion, son of Manwe, of love for Urwendi shall in the end be Melko's bane, and shall destroy the world to destroy his foe, and so shall all things then be rolled away. …

Here it is Finowe son of Manwe, who later became Eonwe Herald of Manwe, who does destroy the world to bring an End to Melkor.
And even so I know well that the combination of source so fare separated in the time of composition is critical, none the less we hear about that selfsame character in a late source. HoME; volume 11: The War of the Jewels; Part Two: The Later Quenta Silmarillion; The Last Chapters:

Then the host of the Valar prepared for battle, and the captain of their host was Fionwë son of Manwë.

which was later changed to:

... Eönwë to whom Manwë gave his sword.

So Eönwë had already once wielded the sword of Manwë in a fight against the forces of Melkor, why shouldn’t he do that again in the last Battle? And as said above, if Melkor is to be beaten entirely that means ‘cleaving the world’.

Respectfully
Findegil

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Findegil

And even so I know well that the combination of source so fare separated in the time of composition is critical, none the less we hear about that selfsame character in a late source. HoME; volume 11: The War of the Jewels; Part Two: The Later Quenta Silmarillion; The Last Chapters:

which was later changed to:

So Eönwë had already once wielded the sword of Manwë in a fight against the forces of Melkor, why shouldn’t he do that again in the last Battle? And as said above, if Melkor is to be beaten entirely that means ‘cleaving the world’.

WHOA WHOA WAIT WHAT?! Manwe having a sword is actually confirmed?!

I take all my doubts back. Celeg Aithorn is the Sword of Manwe, and with it the Elder King will at the last bring Arda to its doom.

If we translate the name into late Sindarin, we get something close to 'Heledh Aethorn'; there's no direct cognate to 'aith', but it's related to the various words for sharpness that end up as 'aeg'. The example of Heledh+morn -> Helevorn tells us that consonants can drop out when compounds are formed, and 'Aegthorn' would definitely offend the elven lámatyávë sensibilities.

The Quenya form of the name, which does have a direct descendent of 'aith', would be 'Calca Ectesorno'. It's worth noting that aith/eket are etymologically related to thorns and other sharp points; the most poetic English name for this blade would be the Crystal Talon.

hS