How did he survive?

[Inderjit Sanghera]

Glancing through the ‘Grey Annals’ (HoME 11), I noticed that Maedhros’s capture and hanging by Morgoth lasted for two Valinorean years ( One Valinorean year equates to 9.58 Years of the sun, so two Valinorean years equate to just over 19 Years of the Sun, plus five more years of the sun until Fingon rescued him which altogether equates to about 24 years of the sun. Now I understand that the validity of some of the dates in the ‘Grey Annals’ are void, but even though, at one stage Maedhros was hanging off Thangordrim for 24 odd years! So, how on earth did he survive? I mean Elves like all other beings, have to eat, did Morgoth feed him? To me, this feat rivals eve Hurin’s 26 odd years of being held captive in Angband, as the physical; and emotional pain must have been unbearable.