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Originally Posted by Macalaure
I came to think about something which I don't think deserves its own thread. I post it here because it relates to the topic and because I'd like to revive this thread.
Why were Feanor's sons distributed over the March of Maedhros as they were? I especially wonder about Maglor, Celegorm and Curufin.
The Gap of Maglor was the most vulnerable spot of the whole siege of Angband. Yet Maglor defended it alone. Wouldn't it have made sense to put Celegorm and Curufin together at this point?
On the other hand, Maedhros planned to keep his brothers away from their cousins for the sake of everyone's peace. Celegorm and Curufin were two of those who Maedhros had to worry most about, yet they are the ones who live most west. Why not have Maglor here?
Also, this way it would have been Maglor who fled to Nargothrond, and many things would have come to pass in a different way in that realm.
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Ah, but you ignore certain facets of Beleriand's geography... The Pass of Aglon and the surrounding area may have been westward-most of the Fëanorian holdings, but it was also pretty much a dead-end street. Not very many Elves came down Nan Dungortheb to hang out with Celegorm and Curufin. The only people we know to have passed through that land were Aredhel, coming east from Gondolin, and later going back west with Maeglin, and Beren crossing it north/south from Dorthonion to Doriath. And in both cases, attention is paid to the fact that the land between the Ered Gorgoroth and the north-march of Doriath was NOT a place for the tender, nor a place much-frequented by anybody of sense.
To the north-west of Aglon lays Dorthonion- but we sort of have mountains there to prevent a real east/west flow of traffic from the lands of Aegnor.
To the south-west of Aglon lies Doriath- closed to most of the Noldor anyway, and certainly to any Fëanorians.
So Aglon was definitely not the Front Door to Himring (whatever the tourism promoters may have said). If anything, it was the end-of-the-hallway closet of the House of Fëanor.
The Gap of Maglor, on the other hand, was quite probably the main door to East Beleriand, for the Noldor. While it would be equally easy to come up the southern way, 'neath Doriath, past Estolad, and up through the lands of Amras, it would be a much longer journey for Fingon and any other Fingolfinians coming from Hithlum, than just heading across the Ard-galen- and prior to the Bragollach, this was fairly safe territory. We are even told the Noldor grazed their horses here.
As for contact between Nargothrond and Himring, I'll admit to not seeing a huge distance difference between the North route through the Gap and the south route through Amras's lands. But distance aside, there would have been a lot more settlements and civilization on the northern route- which also would have taken any travelling ambassadors from Nargothrond right through/past the Finarfinian fief of Dorthonion.
*End Talking. It's possible... not having a map... that I've shot myself in the foot with an incorrect statement somewhere... I hope not... that's embarassing*