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Stories from the Tapestries of Vairë
The topic title/subtitle is just some pun on my username:
Well, I'm only an old forester, and my wife does not weave tapestries, but only baskets made of willow ... still, after reading the works of Tolkien for more than forty years, in the tapestries of my mind there might be a few stories, that are worth telling; maybe the stories will get a twist here and there, for better or for worse ... I just hope you'll enjoy reading them as much as I do telling them.from The Silmarillion: Valaquenta p. 28)
Námo the elder [of the Fëanturi, masters of spirits] dwells in Mandos, which is westward in Valinor. He is the keeper of the Houses of the Dead, and the summoner of the the spirits of the slain. He forgets nothing; and he knows all things that shall be, save those that lie still in the freedom of Ilúvatar. He is the Doomsman of the Valar; but he pronounces his dooms and his judgements only at the bidding of Manvë. Vairë the Weaver is his spouse, who weaves all things that have ever been in Time into her storied webs, and the Halls of Mandos that ever widen as the ages pass are clothed with them.
General Introduction:
The mythological world of Tolkien, his "Legendarium" as he called it himself, did evolve over a period of more than half a century, and underwent some substantial transformation along with the increase in volume and complexity. Many of the stories were altered several times, either because the narrative was changed, or the story was left only partly finished ... later to be told anew in some other way; in addition Tolkien has written many essays and letters, and the total mass of published material now amounts to some eight to ten thousand pages.
It is inevitable, that there in such a vast and complex mythological creation will be many ambiguities, and even contradictions ... and that's just the beauty of it, leaving room for interpretations ... sometimes even room for extrapolations, without having to add content that does not originate in Tolkien's own writings.
Having read Tolkien for many years now, I don't really 'read' the books that much anymore ... but I like to explore some of those areas that are not very well described in his works ... themes that often extends beyond what is normally regarded as 'canon' lore (though I really don't like that expression - Tolkien's work are too complex for such simplification).
The way I research the lore can be time-consuming, and I often have to trail paths that end up blind - so decoding Tolkien's lore can sometimes be a bit tedious. What's fun is finding out how seemingly disconnected lore are interrelated, connecting them to some well known lore, and then put it all together in ways that might have been intended, but never clearly revealed.
It is essential for me, that such lore, that I may find in the grey zone between 'canon' and 'non-canon', are:
- coherent in itself,
and - in accordance with Tolkien's lore in general
To solve eventual ambiguities or contradictions, I also have to do some evaluation of those pieces of lore, before I can put it all together in a way, that are coherent and not in contradiction with other parts of the lore, but on the contrary enhances this in a new and unexpected way. - Given the vast production of Tolkien, there really are some jewels yet to be found, although one has to dig deep to find them.
DISCLAIMER:
Due to the complexity of Tolkien's writings, and the nature of the interpretations that I attempt to do, it is inevitable that there will be errors, omissions and dubious interpretations in my writings ... so any critique, comments, additional information or alternative interpretations will be most welcome.
It would be appreciated, if direct quotes or references are stated in such cases. Thanks
Edited by Námo, 28 January 2011 - 06:57 PM.
restoring quote-tags after forum upgrade
