The Letter of the Law

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

"(We should ignore Tolkien's claim in Letter 144 that "Beorn is dead"; death of the author, etc.)" -- Huinesoron, post #25.

Yeah, so I saw that after I'd written most of the post and decided not to scrap it just because - pfft - the actual author specifically denied it. (One could argue that 'Beorn is dead' doesn't strictly mean 'and had a normal Mannish lifespan'... but the full quote contradicts that too, at least by implication. ^_~)

hS

Yes, but was Beorn buried with a Silmaril? It seems nearly every dead personage in The Hobbit got one. Like costume jewelry. After all, Feanor could have sold the rights in perpetuity to a Chinese manufacturing firm that makes high-end knock offs: Coach, Gucci, Silmarils.