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**lindil** · 11-06-2001, 12:35 PM

GtW said: He [Elrond] sent the Company. however he sent no aid. That's
what gets me.
Lindil: Maintaining Rivendell throughout the 2nd age was no mean feat. It provided a staging ground for all of the major events of the late 3rd age. A home base for Gandalf's wandering, a secondary homebase for the Arnorian Dunedain, Lothlorien's only point of contact w/ the outside world, a place for frodo & co. to escape to from the Shire and a home of Noldorin smiths capable of reforging Narsil. I am sure there is more...

As an analogy, should america have closed all of it's univerities during WWII, just so more folks could have fought Hitler?

Elrond was a great hater of evil and a stalwart foe of Sauron and he proved his wisdom by not biting off more than he could chew in the wars against Sauron.
Elrond was no king and had no kingdom.
Rivendell shows all of the signs of being an elven 'commune'.albeit one w/ a venerable lord.
I see Imladris in the following way:
A collection of Elven refugee's from Eregion, follower's of Gil-Galad and Elrond from Lindon, and a small assortment of 1st age elves who landed at the havens of Sirion. Most would have sailed over the seas or remained at the havens w/ Cirdan and some of the Sinadar would have immigrated w/ Thranduil's father.
Elves such as Gildor and his company, would make it a regular stop, possibly during times of storytelling/ festivals. Unlike anywhere else we know of in M-E, Elronds house harbored and sheltered Elves, dwarves, Men and Hobbit's.
Elrond had of course the final say, but unlike a kingdom, one would be free, I imagine to come and go from 'formal' duties [such as scouting] w/out it being treason.One would be accountable while in the household for whatever duties one was most suited or where there was a need.
Elrond alone of the eldar, maintained a military [albeit guerilla] alliance w/ Men. Maintaing the secret and the tresures of the house of Elros/Elendil/Isildur and aiding in their watch over Eriador.
Rivendell [along w/ lorien] are to me the fascinating places in the third age of M-E. Rivendell could be characterized as the locational hub around which the wheel of the Hobbit/LotR saga turns.

As a basic fact great power easily breeds distance from those who do not have it.
You do not see baby Bush going down to the pub every night to hang out w/ the longshoremen.

Elves lived in many ways in a different Middle-Earth, they lived differently than Men did, because they could think realistically in terms of millenia.
Elvish relationships w/ men [and vice-versa] came at a cost, as was discovered in the Kingdoms and feifdoms of Beleriand. Elves knew [from numenor] that Men could be envious of their immortality, and even though the Edain/northern Dunedain/Numenoreans had proven their friendship many times over the Ages, it was seen as healthier that men live in their own realms and w/ their own lords. why ? because their psyche's were organized around different principles. I imagine as note in the UT [aldarin and erendis note 2 - end] says that [good] Men held the Elves in awe. Similarly to how people who encounter saints fiond their whole world upended.

In short [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img], elves had learned to interact w/ humans only when destiny drew them together.
while their was much for men to learn from elves, such learning can only happen when a multitude of factors was right, which in M-E was relatively rare.

lindil
Osanwe Kenta@
http://pub72.ezboard.com/bosanwe

11-06-2001, 12:35 PM	#21
lindil Seeker of the Straight Path Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: a hidden fastness in Big Valley nor cal Posts: 1,680	GtW said: He [Elrond] sent the Company. however he sent no aid. That's what gets me. Lindil: Maintaining Rivendell throughout the 2nd age was no mean feat. It provided a staging ground for all of the major events of the late 3rd age. A home base for Gandalf's wandering, a secondary homebase for the Arnorian Dunedain, Lothlorien's only point of contact w/ the outside world, a place for frodo & co. to escape to from the Shire and a home of Noldorin smiths capable of reforging Narsil. I am sure there is more... As an analogy, should america have closed all of it's univerities during WWII, just so more folks could have fought Hitler? Elrond was a great hater of evil and a stalwart foe of Sauron and he proved his wisdom by not biting off more than he could chew in the wars against Sauron. Elrond was no king and had no kingdom. Rivendell shows all of the signs of being an elven 'commune'.albeit one w/ a venerable lord. I see Imladris in the following way: A collection of Elven refugee's from Eregion, follower's of Gil-Galad and Elrond from Lindon, and a small assortment of 1st age elves who landed at the havens of Sirion. Most would have sailed over the seas or remained at the havens w/ Cirdan and some of the Sinadar would have immigrated w/ Thranduil's father. Elves such as Gildor and his company, would make it a regular stop, possibly during times of storytelling/ festivals. Unlike anywhere else we know of in M-E, Elronds house harbored and sheltered Elves, dwarves, Men and Hobbit's. Elrond had of course the final say, but unlike a kingdom, one would be free, I imagine to come and go from 'formal' duties [such as scouting] w/out it being treason.One would be accountable while in the household for whatever duties one was most suited or where there was a need. Elrond alone of the eldar, maintained a military [albeit guerilla] alliance w/ Men. Maintaing the secret and the tresures of the house of Elros/Elendil/Isildur and aiding in their watch over Eriador. Rivendell [along w/ lorien] are to me the fascinating places in the third age of M-E. Rivendell could be characterized as the locational hub around which the wheel of the Hobbit/LotR saga turns. As a basic fact great power easily breeds distance from those who do not have it. You do not see baby Bush going down to the pub every night to hang out w/ the longshoremen. Elves lived in many ways in a different Middle-Earth, they lived differently than Men did, because they could think realistically in terms of millenia. Elvish relationships w/ men [and vice-versa] came at a cost, as was discovered in the Kingdoms and feifdoms of Beleriand. Elves knew [from numenor] that Men could be envious of their immortality, and even though the Edain/northern Dunedain/Numenoreans had proven their friendship many times over the Ages, it was seen as healthier that men live in their own realms and w/ their own lords. why ? because their psyche's were organized around different principles. I imagine as note in the UT [aldarin and erendis note 2 - end] says that [good] Men held the Elves in awe. Similarly to how people who encounter saints fiond their whole world upended. In short [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img], elves had learned to interact w/ humans only when destiny drew them together. while their was much for men to learn from elves, such learning can only happen when a multitude of factors was right, which in M-E was relatively rare. lindil Osanwe Kenta@ http://pub72.ezboard.com/bosanwe __________________ The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night exchanging lore & wisdom such as they still possessed that they should not fall back into the mean estate of those who never knew or indeed rebelled against the Light.