Melian, Queen of Doriath

[Sassafras]

Originally, I only intended to make an additional comment about Melian as far-seer in a post about chapters 14 and 15 in the Sil thread .... but as I began to consider the far reaching consequences of her place and purpose ... well, this post sort of grew in the telling and the more I pondered, the more my thoughts took flight and I found myself believing her presence in Arda is absolutely crucial to its history ..... ...... which lead, naturally enough, given my predilection for connecting links in the causal chain .... into presuming that Melian's role in Middle-earth was, in it's broad structure, sung into existence by Ilúvatar, and perhaps refined by the Ainur as they wove their melodies around the third theme.

Another piece of the puzzle falls into place.



Besides, the Queen of Doriath deserves the honour of her own thread.

Melian (great gift, I think her name means) is associated with Vanya and Estë, the 'healer of hurts and weariness'. Her gift of healing is passed to her daughter Lúthien, and through her to her descendants down to Elrond; even to Aragorn, though the bloodline be dilute, the lineage is ancient and does he too not possess 'the hands of a healer.'?

An enchantress in the most old-fashioned sense of the word ....... that is, she can manipulate natural forces to create and maintain The Girdle around Doriath, an unseen wall of shadow and bewilderment .... and she can See; by the keenness of her foresight she can pierce the veil of the future. Of all of those who dwell in Middle-earth only she fully understands the consequences of the terrible, binding, oath sworn by Fëanor and his sons .... Thingol does not. This most wise and beautiful queen sees, in the essential part, the dreadful chain of events which are precipitated by Fëanor and his kindred and the first kinslaying (the Fall of the Elves) coming to Middle-earth in defience of the Valar, in search of the Silmarils. She knows with her ancient wisdom that the Doom of Mandos will fall upon, and encompass, all of Beleriand. None shall entirely escape that judgement. With her keen percipience she warns Thingol when he speaks of the sons of Fëanor as proving "the deadliest foe of our foes".

"Their swords and their counsels shall have two edges".

Sadly, although perhaps not unexpectedly, like Cassandra of Troy who was also gifted with a future sight of approaching disaster she could not mitigate, Melian's prophecies are ignored or discounted and so her warnings go unheeded.

And so it proves; for the Oath has a long reach and is not Thingol drawn into the Doom of the Noldor by his desire for the death of Beren? ..... when he rashly makes the condition of Lúthien's bride-price a demand for a Silmaril from the iron crown of Morgoth.

Truly, none shall escape the Doom of the Noldor.



Melian has come to Middle-earth:

..... and in that time when the Quendi awoke besides the waters of Cuiviénen she departed from Valinor and came to the Hither Lands and there she filled the silence of Middle-earth ....

Now isn't it fortuitous that she descends into Arda at the exact same moment the first children are awakened?

I find her to be one of the Silmarillion's brightest stars. Fascinating and sympathetic, an angelic spirit akin to Yavanna herself, who alone brings music and the song of nightingales into Arda. A prophet, a skilled healer, later to be Queen of all the Sindar; it is with her singing and the music that surrounds her, that Elwë (Thingol) is enchanted, entranced, even before he is enraptured by her beauty and the light of Valinor shining from the depths of her eyes.

.....and it chanced on a time that he came alone to the starlit woods of Nan Elmoth, and there suddenly he heard the song of the nightingales. Then an enchantment fell on him, and he stood still; and from afar off beyond the voices of the lomelindi he heard the voice of Melian, and it filled his heart with wonder and desire.

Thingol, caught in a spell by the power and liquidity of her beautiful voice,

forgot then utterly all his people and all the purposes of his mind

.... and his mission, his duty, to lead the Teleri to Valinor falls by the wayside. He is captive to the power of the spell and all the requisites of kingship are abandoned with his subjects ... and those who do not eventually depart the shores of Beleriand for Valinor under the guidence his brother, Olwë, are forever denied the Light of the Trees and they called themselves The Eglath, the Forsaken People.

I posit then, first Melian and after her, Lúthien, were the recompense Tolkien bestows upon the Teleri to somehow atone for, or ar least balance, the deprivation that many had in being denied the opportunity to walk under the bliss of the Light ....

The kinsfolk and friends of Elwë Singollo also remained in the Hither Lands, seeking him yet, though they would fain have departed to valinor and the light of the Trees .....

Were Melian's powers, of protection, of healing, of music, of Lúthien, a gift
meant to equalise the loss Thingol's people suffered when he forgot his purpose and his responsibilities?

After an untold amount of time (years perhaps?) spent in the thralldom of following Melian's nightingales, all the while wandering the woods of Nan Elmoth, Thingol at last finds her, though he does not know for what or whom he seeks ..... and is dazzled in the light of her eyes and by the grace of her ....

She spoke no word; but being filled with love Elwë came to her and took her hand and straightway a spell was laid on him, so that they stood thus while long years were measured by the wheeling stars above them.

<Here I have to pause for a second or two to sw00n at the amazing image conjured of two great hearts gazing enraptured at each other while the stars wheel over their heads.>



It's interesting that Tolkien chose to use the word spell as a description of how Thingol came into love with Melian, and she with him.
In my mind, spell denotes the application of an external force that is quite beyond the individual will. In other words, Thingol could have no choice in the matter, and neither, I expect, could Melian. Their love is a force outside the sphere of either individual or collective consciousness; it is ordained. They were fated to be together and are therefore yet another crucial spoke in Eru's wheel (metaphorically speaking ) Their subsequent marriage was, I believe, of equal (if different) importance in shaping the destiny of Elves and Men to Fëanor and the making of the Silmarils ..... and further, I believe, it was Eru's intent to introduce the maia bloodline into both Eldar and Edain..

We are not told how and why Melian made the decision to leave Valinor and enter into Beleriand. Remembering that she was in existence before the Beginning of Days and likely helped shaped the formless mass that was to become Arda, we do not know if she was aquiescent to her sending or even if she knew how great a part she was to play in the tale .... but I cannot fathom her spelling of Thingol as anything else except as destined, and so I must then believe that she was sent (much as Gandalf was later sent to Middle-earth to fullfill his destiny) to fulfill a purpose with the birth of Lúthien .... that Eru intended to ennoble specific peoples with the blood of a maia .... so that a spark of grace, of divinity even, would ever after enhance the race of Men and Elves ..... And that once this purpose was filled, the conditions met and Thingol slain .... she returned to Valinor;
leaving Doriath to fall into ruin

Of course, Tolkien says none of this explicitly, we are given a wondrous mythic story and it's up to each of us to draw our own conclusions .... mine may be speculation, but it's a plausible fit and quite neatly folds into my general concept of the Silmarillion's major events as fated and only slightly modified by expressions of free will.



Anyway:

As we shall later see this scenario is a favourite motif of Tolkien and has a parallel in the first meeting of Beren and Lúthien ........... the which, I am certain, should likewise have its own thread!

I'd like to close with a poignant excerpt from Letter 340 to Christopher:

I never called Edith Lúthien --but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief part of the Silmarillion. It was first conceived in a small woodland glade at Roos in Yorkshire .... In those days her hair was raven, her skin was clear, her eyes brighter than you have ever seen them, and she could sing .... and dance. But the story has gone crooked and I am left, and I cannot plead before the inexorable Mandos.

<sob>

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

That's quite a write-up, Sassafras!

The only thing I can think to add is that Melian also played an important role as mentor to Galadriel. Galadriel used the power of Nenya, one of the Three Rings that Celebrimbor hid from Sauron, to protect Lothlórien, similiar to the Girdle of enchantment that Melian used to protect Doriath.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Wow, lots to think about, Sass!

And a very good point, Tom.

[Jnyusa]

Gorgeous, Sassy!

Jn

[Alatar]

Excellent post Sassy. In support of what Tom said, I often feel like Melian is Galadriel. In so many ways she performs the role played by Galadriel in Lord of the Rings. I wonder has a comparison ever been made of the complementary structures and themes used in both LotR and the Sil? I have read an essay that maps The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings in terms of structure, but I have not seen the same done with LotR and the Sil. It seems likely that Tolkien would draw on devices that he felt worked well in his older mythology when writing LotR, such as the Sorceress in a Wood motif. In both scenarios she is greater and wiser than her contemporaries. In the Sil, Melian is a Maia, while the main protaganists are Elves, in LotR Galadriel is an Elf, and more, a "High Elf", while the protaganists are Men, Dwarfs, Hobbits and one "Low Elf" if you'll pardon the D&D parlance.

I wonder if the same parallels could be drawn between Lúthien and Arwen, or Aragorn and Beren?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

While I agree that comparisons between Melian and Galadriel are apt, I think that there is also a strong connection between Melian's role and that of another character in the Lord of the Rings.

I am speaking, of course, about Gandalf. Specifically, Gandalf the White. Though the Istari were originally messengers of the Valar, it is clear that Gandalf is sent back to Middle-earth as a direct emmisary of Eru Himself:

In the end before he departs for ever he sums himself up: 'I was the enemy of Sauron'. He might have added: 'for that purpose I was sent to Middle-earth'. But by that he would at the end have meant more than at the beginning. He was sent by a mere prudent plan of the angelic Valar or governors; but Authority had taken up this plan and enlarged it at the moment of its failure.

I think that Melian, too, was a direct emissary of Eru's, sent by Him to be a counterweight against Morgoth. She was, of course, of lesser stature then Morgoth, but she was very much his diametric opposite. She was the light that counterbalanced his darkness, who (as Sassy pointed out) brought some healing to Melkor's marring of Arda and its inhabitants.

She was, in fact, the Enemy of Morgoth.

[Sassafras]

Tom wrote:

The only thing I can think to add is that Melian also played an important role as mentor to Galadriel. Galadriel used the power of Nenya, one of the Three Rings that Celebrimbor hid from Sauron, to protect Lothlórien, similiar to the Girdle of enchantment that Melian used to protect Doriath.

I don’t know how I left out such an important fact!

When one considers that among the attributes included in Melian’s name are ’Love’, ‘Great Gift’ or ‘Dear Gift’, and all three concepts apply ….. and, as we know, Tolkien never, ever chose a name arbitrarily, (nor almost any word, it seems) or without careful consideration .... and that his choice of name goes far deeper than the merely descriptive (although description is also an aspect) ....... instead he was able to discover the heart and soul in the name, able to make it contain the essence of the one who bore it. Thus, Melian is a ‘great and dear gift’ to the Eldar and the Adain of Middle-earth; for she gives the gift of herself and her ancestral maia bloodline to enhance the world, and she gives the incomparable gift of love to Thingol, and the gifts of the enchantress ……. her mighty wisdom and knowledge to Lúthien, her daughter and to Galadriel, her friend and pupil.

Alatar wrote:

I wonder if the same parallels could be drawn between Lúthien and Arwen, or Aragorn and Beren?

Oh indeed! Tolkien says so himself:

Letter 153:

Arwen is not a re-incarnation of Lúthien (that in the view of this mythical history would be impossible, since Lúthien has died like a mortal and left the world of time) but a descendant very like her in looks, character and fate. When she weds Aragorn (whose love-story elsewhere recounted is not here central and only occasionally referred to) she ‘makes the choice of Lúthien’, so the grief at her parting from Elrond is specially poignant.

<I find it especially gratifying that Tolkien gathered up the splintered lineages of those who descended from the union of Melian and Thingol. All through the many generations of Elven, Half-Elven and Men, down through the long ages of Arda come to a completion with the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen both of whom can claim Melian an ancestress>

Voronwë wrote:

She was, in fact, the Enemy of Morgoth.

Yes! Light to Morgoth's dark.

That's it exactly, Voronwë She was sent into Arda as Eru's Gift, as part of the divine plan, to mitigate some of the Marring.

[Alatar]

I think that Melian, too, was a direct emissary of Eru's, sent by Him to be a counterweight against Morgoth. She was, of course, of lesser stature then Morgoth, but she was very much his diametric opposite. She was the light that counterbalanced his darkness, who (as Sassy pointed out) brought some healing to Melkor's marring of Arda and its inhabitants.

She was, in fact, the Enemy of Morgoth.

I have to say I don't really agree with that. I can't say why, but it just feels wrong.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

It's interesting, too, to consider Melian's influence on Thingol. Before becoming entranced, Thingol had intended to return to Aman where he had gone as an emissary of the Quendi along with Finwë and Ingwë. When Thingol disappeared, many of the Teleri refused to leave Middle-earth without him. Instead, Thingol's brother Olwë lead the Teleri that eventually dwelled on Tol Eressëa.

It is written that Thingol was an elf of great stature and power. He was the only Sinda, or Grey Elf, who had seen the light of the Two Trees. Through his union with Melian his power and majesty were greatly increased.

Despite her greater power and wisdom, Melian did not seem to dominate the union. She would advise Thingol, but he seemed to be an Elf who followed his own heart's counsel, sometimes to his detriment. In that aspect Melian seems to differ from Galadriel. While Galadriel would defer to Celeborn in speech, she really seemed to be the one in command.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I think that Melian, too, was a direct emissary of Eru's, sent by Him to be a counterweight against Morgoth. She was, of course, of lesser stature then Morgoth, but she was very much his diametric opposite. She was the light that counterbalanced his darkness, who (as Sassy pointed out) brought some healing to Melkor's marring of Arda and its inhabitants.

She was, in fact, the Enemy of Morgoth.

I have to say I don't really agree with that. I can't say why, but it just feels wrong.

I understand, Al. Sometimes you have trust your gut reactions rather then intellectual analysis.

I have always been a bit puzzled about Melian and her role in the story. One of the reasons that I consider her to be an emissary of Eru's is precisely because her role doesn't quite make sense to me. I always tend to take that as a sign of the hand of God.

There can be no doubt that Morgoth himself feared Melian:

Unhappy was the lot of Húrin; for all that Morgoth knew of the working of his malice Húrin knew also, but lies were mingled with the truth, and aught that was good was hidden or distorted. In all ways Morgoth sought most to cast an evil light on those things that Thingol and Melian had done, for he hated them, and feared them.

Though Tolkien says Morgoth feared Thingol and Melian, there is little liklihood that he would have much feared a mere Elf, even one as great as Thingol. Clearly (to me at least) it was the divine influence of Melian that he truly feared.

[MithLuin]

Morgoth not fear a mere elf?

I'm not so sure about that....he fears an awful lot. Ungoliant and Arien, the Sea, of course, but I will admit that they are much greater than elves.

"No tale has told what Morgoth thought in his heart at the tidings that Fëanor, his bitterest foe, had brought a host out of the West. It may be that he feared him little, for he had as yet no proof of the swords of the Noldor; and soon it was seen that he purposed to drive them back into the Sea. ...
Evil indeed were the tidings that came at last to Angband, and Morgoth was dismayed. Ten days that battle lasted, and from it returned of all the hosts that he had prepared for the conquest of Beleriand no more than a handful of leaves."

[on Fingolfin's challenge] "It is said that he took not the challenge willingly, for though his might was greatest of all things in this world, alone of the Valar he knew fear."

[on Finrod and Turgon]"he feared what they might yet accomplish against him."

No, I think he did fear Thingol and Melian.

In "Of the Ruin of Beleriand," it is Thingol aiding the Men of Brethil (well, Beleg, but on Thingol's orders) who checks the advance of the orcs past Tol Sirion. Considering that no one else was successfully opposing Morgoth [even Maedhros was merely defending his own stronghold], it makes sense that Thingol earned his wrath (and even fear).


The reason "Foe of Morgoth" does not sit well with me as a title of Melian is that she does not stick it out to the end. She leaves her people and returns to Valinor upon Thingol's death. Also, while her Girdle guards and protects, she never seems to give much thought to those outside her land.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Morgoth not fear a mere elf?

I'm not so sure about that....he fears an awful lot. Ungoliant and Arien, the Sea, of course, but I will admit that they are much greater than elves.

"No tale has told what Morgoth thought in his heart at the tidings that Fëanor, his bitterest foe, had brought a host out of the West. It may be that he feared him little, for he had as yet no proof of the swords of the Noldor; and soon it was seen that he purposed to drive them back into the Sea. ...
Evil indeed were the tidings that came at last to Angband, and Morgoth was dismayed. Ten days that battle lasted, and from it returned of all the hosts that he had prepared for the conquest of Beleriand no more than a handful of leaves."

[on Fingolfin's challenge] "It is said that he took not the challenge willingly, for though his might was greatest of all things in this world, alone of the Valar he knew fear."

[on Finrod and Turgon]"he feared what they might yet accomplish against him."

No, I think he did fear Thingol and Melian.

I figured someone would point all of this out (and you would have been one of my first choices, Mith). Still, I stand by my assertion that it was Melian that he was most afraid of.

The reason "Foe of Morgoth" does not sit well with me as a title of Melian is that she does not stick it out to the end. She leaves her people and returns to Valinor upon Thingol's death. Also, while her Girdle guards and protects, she never seems to give much thought to those outside her land.

Yes, the direct comparison to Gandalf does not really hold up very well, nor did I really mean it to. I think that Melian was able to leave Middle-earth after Thingol's death because her primary purpose (bringing a strain of divinity into the Children of Eru) had already been achieved. So that even though she no longer was physically present to oppose Morgoth, her descendents continued to act as a counterweight against his influence. Even down into the Third Age, when Morgoth himself has long left the stage, but the results of his Marring of the substance and inhabitants of Arda continue to be felt.

[MithLuin]

Yes, I am annoying that way, aren't I? I picked up the bad habit of quoting exhaustively from -Romestamo-, though to be fair, I did quote a fair amount before he joined TORc.

I know it's not on topic, but I do think that screencap beautiful, Voronwë. It has always reminded me of a painting, it is so poignantly perfect.

In fact, the first time I saw the movie, it reminded me of this painting (Yikes! How do I make it smaller??)

http://img-fan.theonering.net/rolozo/im ... eagles.jpg

Edit: See Prim's post below! (Thank you....)

[Primula Baggins]

Here you go, Mith (600 pixels wide, which is the biggest image that doesn't stretch the board for people):

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yes, I am annoying that way, aren't I? I picked up the bad habit of quoting exhaustively from -Romestamo-, though to be fair, I did quote a fair amount before he joined TORc.

Bad habit? Not at all. If that is a bad habit, then I am one of the guiltiest of all (as many of my posts in this forum would show). But I think that is a good habit, not a bad habit.

I know it's not on topic, but I do think that screencap beautiful, Voronwë. It has always reminded me of a painting, it is so poignantly perfect.

Thank you. Yes it is definitely my favorite image from the films (or probably from any film).

[Athrabeth]

Sass, I've been thinking a lot about Melian of late, as well. It actually started with this most recent reading of the Sil, when I paused to consider the relationship between Galadriel and Melian in Doriath, and thought, for the first time, I suppose, about their shared legacy - Arwen Undomiel.

It is only one thought among many that I’d like to explore, thanks to you and the others who have already entered the conversation, but typically, I have had to fumble about for a place to begin……now I've found it: her introduction in the Sil:

She dwelt in the gardens of Lórien, and among all his people there were none more skilled in songs of enchantment. It is told that the Valar would leave their works, and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that the bells of Valmar were silent and the fountains ceased to flow, when at the mingling of the lights Melian sang in Lórien.

So it seems that we come back, once again, to the power of song; to a kind of deep and mysterious “magic” (for lack of a better word) that is inherent in the music of Eä. Melian, we are told, was “akin before the World was made to Yavanna herself”, who sang the Two Trees into existence with a “song of power” that silenced all other sounds, as if the world stopped and held its breath while Telperion and Laurelin awoke and grew and came to flower at the bidding of a single voice.

I’ve wondered at the words, “songs of enchantment”. Somehow, they bring to mind the description of Frodo’s experience in the Hall of Fire:

At first the beauty of the melodies and of the interwoven words in elven-tongues, even though he understood them little, held him in a spell, as soon as he began to attend to them. Almost it seemed that the words took shape, and visions of far lands and bright things that he had never yet imagined opened out before him; and the firelit hall became like a golden mist above seas of foam that sighed upon the margins of the world. Then the enchantment became more and more dreamlike, until he felt that an endless river of swelling gold and silver was flowing over him, too multitudinous for its pattern to be comprehended; it became a part of the throbbing air about him, and it drenched and drowned him.

(I also find the reference to a flowing “river of gold and silver” evocative of the dews of Telperion and Laurelin that rain down from their branches, collected in “vats like shining lakes, that were to all the land of the Valar as wells of water and of light”…..music and light and water……..they are ever entwined in these tales.)

“There were none more skilled in songs of enchantment”, and it is she, of all her people, who comes to Middle-earth before the awakening of the Elves . I suppose that personally, I would like to believe that Melian left Valinor so that she could gift the world with song:

and in that time when the Quendi awoke beside the waters of Cuiviénen she departed from Valinor and came to the Hither Lands, and there she filled the silence of Middle-earth before the dawn with her voice and the voices of her birds.

Now there’s a legacy that is also worthy of the name, “Dear Gift”: to ensure that the Firstborn awake, not only to the sound of “water flowing’ and the light of Varda’s innumerable stars, but also to the songs of birds and to the divine voice of Melian herself. It seems to me that the power of those songs, and more importantly, of that voice, would be taken into the very earth and air of Middle-earth, and would enter into the hearts of those who first hearkened to this new and wondrous “music of the world”. Thingol, of course, was touched most profoundly, but I believe that all of the Eldar received in some measure the love and blessing of Melian, forever carrying within them the beauty and magic of song.

I'm afraid, Voronwë and Sassy, that I don't really like the thought of Melian as a direct emissary "sent" by Eru as some kind of counterbalance to the power of Morgoth........not that I think she wasn't a counterbalance......just that, well.....that somehow Eru wouldn't "work" that way. I really don't believe that Eru ever "sent" anyone anywhere, with the exception of Gandalf, who passed out of Time and attained enlightenment before returning to his "mission". Could that be said of Melian? If she knew of her "mission" to seed the lines of both Elves and Men with a strain of the divine, what does that say about her union with Thingol? And if she didn't know of this mission, what does that say about Eru? To me, both scenarios seem to greatly diminish the abosulute purity and power of a shared love that could produce the likes of Lúthien. And somehow, it conjurs rather unpleasant thoughts about horse breeders and studs and fillies and such. I'm going to have to think more before attempting to post something that might approach articulation of my feelings on this matter.

And as for the spell that was laid upon Thingol, I have long thought it similar to what Frodo experienced in the Hall of Fire, magnified by several powers. The spell doesn't make him love Melian. That, I think, would be too much akin to the kind of "magic" scorned by the Wise. Rather, as he literally touches the divine, he is just swept away by that flowing river, "drenching him and drowining him" in the depths of Melian's very being. And that touch, “measured by the wheeling stars”, means binding love for both, not just the lord of the Teleri (“…who were from the beginning…the fairest singers of all the Elves”). I had never really thought of it before, but what that touch must have revealed to Melian could also be seen as in the form of a "spell": connecting to a physical being totally outside her realm of experience and knowledge, the direct manifestation of Eru's thought.....in a different way, she is touching the divine as well.

Well, it's late. I have more to add, especially some thoughts about Gandalf and Melian, but those will have to wait until my fingers and my brain can work cooperatively again. However, I do still (barely) have the wherewithal to muster a sw000n for Sassy's opening post (and her sig) . Thanks, as always, dear friend, for helping me discover a little bit more of what I knew without actually knowing it.

*edited to insert a more precise word*

[Alatar]

There can be no doubt that Morgoth himself feared Melian:

Unhappy was the lot of Húrin; for all that Morgoth knew of the working of his malice Húrin knew also, but lies were mingled with the truth, and aught that was good was hidden or distorted. In all ways Morgoth sought most to cast an evil light on those things that Thingol and Melian had done, for he hated them, and feared them.

Though Tolkien says Morgoth feared Thingol and Melian, there is little liklihood that he would have much feared a mere Elf, even one as great as Thingol. Clearly (to me at least) it was the divine influence of Melian that he truly feared.

Again, it seems clear to me that this makes Melian more analogous to Gladriel. Consider the quote we get in the "Mirror of Galadriel"

Do not be afraid! But do not think that only by singing amid the trees, nor even by the slender arrows of elven-bows, is this land of Lothlórien maintained and defended against its Enemy. I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed! '

Does this not suggest fear on the part of Sauron? I would suggest that Galadriel is much closer to filling Melians role in LotR than Gandalf. Also, as is made clear in the following exchange, Galadriel is one of the few in Middle Earth who possesses the power to challenge Sauron if she bore the One. How could he not fear her?

In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!

I have to go with my first instincts on this one.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

So it seems that we come back, once again, to the power of song; to a kind of deep and mysterious “magic” (for lack of a better word) that is inherent in the music of Eä. ...

Now there’s a legacy that is also worthy of the name, “Dear Gift”: to ensure that the Firstborn awake, not only to the sound of “water flowing’ and the light of Varda’s innumerable stars, but also to the songs of birds and to the divine voice of Melian herself.

These two quotes show that you really do agree with us, dear Athrabeth, as much as you protest otherwise. For the source of the "magic" that is inherent in the music of Eä can be no other then Eru himself. And the source of the "Gift" that is Melian can indeed be none other then Eru himself.

And if she didn't know of this mission, what does that say about Eru?

That the ways of the Infinite are beyond the comprehension of all creation, even those of "divine race".

Thingol, of course, was touched most profoundly, but I believe that all of the Eldar received in some measure the love and blessing of Melian, forever carrying within them the beauty and magic of song.

Not just the Eldar, but also the problematic, short-lived, enigmatic Second Children of Eru, as well.

[Sassafras]

Ath wrote:

I'm afraid, Voronwë and Sassy, that I don't really like the thought of Melian as a direct emissary "sent" by Eru as some kind of counterbalance to the power of Morgoth........not that I think she wasn't a counterbalance......just that, well.....that somehow Eru wouldn't "work" that way. I really don't believe that Eru ever "sent" anyone anywhere.

Well he sent the Ainur into the world, didn’t he? Or rather what He did do, was to remove the vision (of the World) while the Ainur were yet gazing upon it ….

It was taken and hidden away from their sight; and it seemed to them in that moment they perceived a new thing, Darkness …… Then there was unrest among the Ainur, but Ilúvatar called to them and said: ‘I know the desire of your minds that what ye have seen should verily be, not only in your thought, but even as ye yourselves are, and yet other. Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things be! <snip> and those of you that will may go down into it’.

Now, you may quibble with me by saying that the Ainur were not directly ‘sent’, as in ordered to go, but I will argue that by taking away the vision created by their music, the Ainur felt deprived and were unsettled …. They desired to experience the creation for themselves and once Ilúvatar breathed life into the vision several of them leapt at the opportunity to go down into the world ….... As Eru knew they would!

And then there is this most telling from The Valaquenta:

Though Manwë is their king and holds their allegience under Eru, in majesty they are peers, surpassing beyond compare all others, whether of the Valar and the Maiar or of any other order that Ilúvatar has sent into Eä.

Which would also include the Istari in the third age (by way of the Valar) would it not?

So, you see, I must disagree with you that Eru would not work that way. And, as

Voronwë has already said ...

These two quotes show that you really do agree with us, dear Athrabeth, as much as you protest otherwise. For the source of the "magic" that is inherent in the music of Eä can be no other then Eru himself. And the source of the "Gift" that is Melian can indeed be none other then Eru himself.

Ath asked:

If she knew of her "mission" to seed the lines of both Elves and Men with a strain of the divine, what does that say about her union with Thingol? And if she didn't know of this mission, what does that say about Eru?

What does it say about Eru?

It says that some things are written … and some things are not.

The union of Melian and Thingol was written or so I believe. Melian was sent and the fact that both she and Thingol were spelled in no way diminishes the quality of the love they shared.

<What I do find curious is why Tolkien chose Thingol of all the Elves to be the husband of Melian. He seems (to me) to be particularly short-sighted in that he rather blatently disregards her prophetic sight (to his detriment, I might add) and furthermore (as we shall later see with Beren) he exhibits a rather bad temper and a decidedly cruel streak.>

And as for the spell that was laid upon Thingol, I have long thought it similar to what Frodo experienced in the Hall of Fire, magnified by several powers. The spell doesn't make him love Melian. That, I think, would be too much akin to the kind of "magic" scorned by the Wise.

Oh yes it does.

And there is ‘magic’ all throughout the pages of the Silmarillion.
<I just re-read ‘Of Beren and Lúthien' .... there is magic aplenty within that chapter. Just cast your mind back to Lúthien putting forth her arts of enchantment, and caused her hair to grow a great length, and of it she wove a dark robe that wrapped her beauty like a shadow, and it was laden with the spell of sleep ......and, as you well know, there is more, much, much more.>

She spoke no word, but being filled with love Elwë came to her and took her hand and straightway a spell was laid on him …..


‘A spell was laid on him’ … he is already enraptured by the sound of her voice, he is further entranced by the reflected Light of Valinor shining from her face and in her eyes … truly she must have been a wondrous vision … a semi-divine being in the form of an elf, and Thingol who has seen the Light of the Two Trees and is leading his people, The Teleri, out of Beleriand into Valinor …. is stayed from doing so, and is spellbound by love of Melian. And she of him.