Quote:
Greatest of the Eldar
By the way, arguing with Tolkien himself will only make this thread more hopeless than it already is. I don't know why unsupported opinions are being given so much weight here, but I'm done with it.
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After reading this linked thread, I wish I had joined the forums 4 years ago to get in on that debate...but without going into a great discussion over it, what I think everyone missed in that thread is what does the word "greatest" mean...I said something earlier about what does "greatest" mean in the Oxford English Dictionary...the very dictionary Tolkien worked on...the dictionary that he relied upon most...the word greatest can mean many things...suffice it to say that varying opinions of the meaning of this word will give each person a different meaning to a statement of one elf as the "greatest"...none-the-less...I think narrorc makes valid points as to her positioning on this list...
on to other matters...
1) I think Tilion should be next after Arien...although she is called "mightier than he", Tilion still is able to defeat the spirits of Morgoth sent to asail him "Then he assailed Tilion, sending spirits of Shadow against him, and there was strife in Ilmen beneath the path of the stars; but Tilion was victorious." Because not much else is said concerning them, I think they should rank 1/2 wherever they are placed...
2) Since Gandalf the Grey was felled by a "regular" Balrog, I think its only fair to put Gothmog above Gandolf the Grey...just a small point, maybe up for contention
3) Not sure why Gothmog the Leutenient of Morgul and the Mouth of Sauron are down so low...for some reason I just have to believe they would be higher up than hobbits...