Fall of Gondolin
 

The Fall of Gondolin is my favourite tale of the first age. It was the greatest realm of the Elves, and also most fair. It was hid in the mountains of Echoriath. Turgon was their king. And high were the whight towers of the Gondothlim

Then you should read The Fall of Gondolin in The Book of Lost Tales 2...a great and a sad story... [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

Im just reading "of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin" in the unfinished Tales and it rocks your socks. But its kinda sad as well, cos Tuor didnt really insist to Turgon that they should leave very much, he sort of accepted Turgon's decision fairly easily, even though Ulmo had told him that he was a hearld of important news, it was all so needless and shouldn't have happened. I love Ulmo, he's so brilliant, and for anyone who hasnt read the unfinished tales, you get to hear (well, read) Ulmo talk to Tuor! so buy a copy NOW.
anyway, with that said and done, I'll be off.
Bombariffic

Yes indeed the Fall of Gondolin is an amazing tale. But, somehow, in my hasty reading I gathered that aside from the actual 'city' of the kingdom of Gondolin, the grassy plain that it sat in the center of I had believed to be a lake! Sheesh. Only after seeing some artwork and re-reading did I realise this. Makes me wonder what else I overlooked. I read of the fall both in the Silmarillion and it's extension in the Unfinished Tales.

Yes the Fall of Gondolin is sad. But at least it did not go as bad for them as it did for Norgothond. The Battle was amazing. And when Glorfindel battled the Balrog on the mountain side so the others could escape. It just does not get any better.

"Tuor didnt really insist to Turgon that they should leave very much, he sort of accepted Turgon's decision fairly easily"

I don't think that's really so surprising. I mean Turgon *is* King and a High Elf born in the Undying Land. Tuor, being a sweetly modest type, might very well have made the mistake of assuming Turgon knew best. In any case he would most certainly *not* have considered it his place to question or argue the King's decision.

I disagree, he would have obviously been respectful, but remember he had been given this message by Ulmo, a power far greater than any elven king, and I think Tuor was clever enough to realise this. I think he was too easily swayed a)by his falling in love and b) by the beauty of the city. It still surprises me though: he's the sort of person you would expect to be forceful at a time like that. Isnt he?
Bombariffic

There is the fact Turgon was a high elven lord who may have grown too confident in his hidden city, and would not give the proper credence to Tuor?

I think it had more to do with Turgon's love for his creation. Feanor fell to a similar evil.

In order to avoid destruction we must all let go of our rings of power.

As well as love for his creation that caused him to ignore Ulmo, was the fact that he thought it was hidden and still remained impregnable. He thought that if Morgoth did somehow manage to find Gondolin, he wouldn't have been able to defeat him because of his defences. He didn't count on the creations that Morgoth devised specifically for the attack on his city, nor did he count on the treachery of his nephew Maeglin. Turgon wasn't the only elven king to ignore the council of Ulmo, Orodreth the king of Nargothrond also ignored Ulmo's warning to destroy the bridge to his city, although this was mainly the fault of Turin who told him to ignore Ulmo.

[ May 06, 2003: Message edited by: Voralphion ]

I want to say that you are right about the fact that Turgon underestimated Melkor's forces, but Ulmo's warning of not falling in love with his creation keeps popping into my head.

To me the legendary Gondolin represented the pinnacle of Elvish technology and prowess in ME. Very tragic yet noble tale.

Turgon I felt didnt underestimate Morgoths abilities and power. I feel the whole strategy of the hidden city, although a temporary fix to the situation, lessens the awareness of the current situation and the overall big picture. If one is not involved, one cannot perceive, have influence etc etc. Anyways, thats what I got out of the Fall of Gondolin. You can bury your head in the sand only for so long....

I agree with Direl, Gondolin was the greatest accomplishment the Noldor ever made.


I have read every thing I can about it. I really like all the books put out by Christopher Tolkien. The Book of Lost Tales 1 and 2, the Shaping of Middle Earth and most of the others. To me it's the history of Middle Earth that is the most fascinating.

I'll give you a quote from the FoG in BoLT2...Have I mentioned that it is my favorite tale of them all? [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
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