Those Little, Unimportant, and Unknown parts that we love...

[Guinevere]

What sticks out most to me after reading these passionate quotes, is that the passages are NOT little, unimportant OR unknown!! That's the way Tolkien is, and the reason we can go back to reading his works time and time and time again.

I quite agree with you there, Doug! And many such "pearls" I discovered only when rereading Tolkien's works.

But, as you suspected, "anachronism" isn't the right word : it means "error in time reckoning, thing out of harmony with the present". Whereas you meant to say, that the posts in this thread contradict the title... (I know there's a foreign word for selfcontradictory, but I can't remember it right now. )

Here's something which is not important for the plot of that story, but it really touched me:

In "of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin" in U.T , Voronwë describes to Tuor how he tarried on the way in Nan-tathren, "lovely to hearts enchantment was that land" and how he nearly forgot his errand and wanted to stay there. I found this part very moving, giving us a glimpse into the feelings of that Elf, who otherwise is just a "instrument" of Ulmo to bring Tuor to Gondolin.
Also a bit later in the same story:
Voronë sighed , and spoke then softly as if to himself "But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside."