Imagine no religion

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

The power of song is very evident throughout Middle-earth history. Or perhaps the better term is "songs of power", which is evidently a theme that intrigued Tolkien...

From the Music of the Ainur, to the battle of Finrod and Sauron, to Luthien and Morgoth, songs of power weaved a spell throughout Arda.

I do not in the least doubt or intend to diminish the role of song in projecting magic. Many of the greatest spell casters in the histories are singers rather than users of words and gestures.

Still, an ordinary minstrel, a singer of tales with no occult abilities worth mentioning, has a role in keeping alive myth and perpetuating moral standards. When Frodo and Sam awoke in Ithilin after Mount Doom, one of the first things on the agenda was singing the tale of nine fingered Frodo and his ring. Sam in the Wild between Bree and Rivendell sang a bit of the tale of Gil Galad. Then there was the Hall of Fire. One has song for the telling of tales as well as song for the projection of power.

I have an impression that the free peoples of the Third Age were much less likely to muck things up than their First or Second Age counterparts. An awful lot of the First and Second Age stories were tragedies. The Great in their greed, arrogance and pride were apt to muck things up big time, often involving everyone in loss and sorrow.

Perhaps some of the 'goodness' in the free peoples was 'programming,' the creators who sang them into being in the First Music made them to be decent people. If part of the tradition of goodness is taught, I would not underestimate the histories told in song or perhaps epic poetry that kept old traditions alive and reminds folks of what can happen if the wrong choices are made.

In many real world cultures, it is up to the priests to keep the old tales alive and make sure the moral lessons aren't lost. In Middle Earth, while there is no organized church hierarchy or codified clerical laws, the singers might be doing some part of what the priests might do in different sort of culture.