Fingolfin's Death - Suicide?

[Nikkolas]

It was not on this forum but another Tolkien board that I found via Google back wheN i first read The Silmarillion. One of the things that got me to read The Sil in the first place was the high praise I had heard from people about how awesome Fingolfin was. But this other board I mentioned, people were none too sympathetic or appreciative. According to them Fingolfin was a fool who charged needlessly to certain death when it would have been better if he had lived. Their argument was that he knew who and what Morgoth was and that challenging him was certainly going to end in his own death and thus he was an idiot for doing it.

What are your thoughts on the last battle of Fingolfin? Heroic and brave or just desperate and sad?

[Lotrelf]

Originally Posted by Nikkolas

It was not on this forum but another Tolkien board that I found via Google back wheN i first read The Silmarillion. One of the things that got me to read The Sil in the first place was the high praise I had heard from people about how awesome Fingolfin was. But this other board I mentioned, people were none too sympathetic or appreciative. According to them Fingolfin was a fool who charged needlessly to certain death when it would have been better if he had lived. Their argument was that he knew who and what Morgoth was and that challenging him was certainly going to end in his own death and thus he was an idiot for doing it.

What are your thoughts on the last battle of Fingolfin? Heroic and brave or just desperate and sad?

So according to them fighting an enemy is stupidity and letting the world go on with the mess is the smart thing? I haven't read his story yet, but have heard a lot about him and praise as well.
I read somewhere today, "If you do something for yourself it dies with you, if you do something for the world it remains in the world forever." Not the proper quote. So, this is what Fingolfin did, I think. If I'm wrong please correct me.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Consider the circumstances leading Fingolfin to despair. From a Wikipedia summary:

The duel of Fingolfin and Morgoth.....

After defeating the orcs in the Dagor Aglareb (Glorious Battle), Fingolfin maintained the Siege of Angband for nearly four hundred years. But the Siege was ended by the sudden assaults of Morgoth in the Dagor Bragollach (Battle of Sudden Flame), and many people of Beleriand fled. In the end, a desperate Fingolfin rode alone to Angband to challenge Morgoth to single combat. Morgoth, not one to demonstrate weakness, met the challenge, and a mighty duel began outside the gates of Angband. Fingolfin wounded Morgoth seven times with his sword Ringil, but as Mandos had warned during the elves' exile from Aman, a mere elf is no match for a Vala. Fingolfin was beaten down three times, yet he was able to rise again each time. Finally Morgoth was able to bear down upon Fingolfin with all his strength, killing him. However, Fingolfin's last, desperate stroke had lacerated Morgoth's heel, and Morgoth walked with a limp thereafter and was forever in pain.

After killing him, Morgoth would have taken Fingolfin's body and fed it to his wolves, but Thorondor, the King of Eagles, swooped down upon Morgoth and with his talons slashed at Morgoth's face. As Morgoth reeled from this new assault, Thorondor retrieved Fingolfin's body and brought it to a mountaintop overlooking Gondolin. Turgon built a cairn over the remains of his father, and Fingon, in sorrow, became High King of the Ñoldor. After Fingolfin's defeat, though he had been killed by Melkor, the orcs never made any type of boastful song to celebrate, nor did the Elves sing of it, for their sorrow was too great.

Seeing the collapse of the siege of Angband, Fingolfin severely, and permanently on Middle-earth, exacted a form of revenge by wounding Morgoth. Fingolfin probably realized the elves could never prevail on the own against Morgoth. He left Aman reluctantly to try to see to his people, who were inflamed to leave by Feanor's rhetoric. If he hadn't, many more would have perished going to beleriand across the Grinding Ice.

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I think the Silmarillion makes it more than clear that Fingolfin could see no way of defeating Morgoth from the position of the Noldor after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

Then Fingolfin beheld (as it seemed to him) the utter ruin of the Noldor, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses; and filled with wrath and despair he mounted upon Rochallor his great horse and rode forth alone, and none might restrain him.

Of the Ruin of Beleriand

In my view, his is a failure akin to Denethor's, in that he trusts only in his own strength and that of the Elves, and seeing that broken he gives in to despair and goes to seek his own death.

Fingolfin has nothing to lose, at least in his own estimation. The ultimate hope for the defeat of Morgoth lies in the as-yet unborn Eärendil, so only faith that Morgoth would eventually fall would have sustained him, a faith that would have no clear path to that end in sight. He's blinded by rage and despair, and not thinking tactically, but no tactic could reverse the hopeless situation in which he finds himself. Then there's the possibility of victory. Fingolfin managed to inflict seven wounds on Morgoth: although he undoubtedly expected to die, he had a slim chance of bypassing his enemy's military victory by defeating him in single combat. I would never call him a fool for preferring one hopeless death-or-glory assault to a slow, creeping defeat; but inevitably he's judged by some in terms of the final outcome, known to them but not to the character. The word most commonly used by Tolkien to describe this sort of mood in his characters is fey, in its (archaic and chiefly Scottish) sense of 'fated to die, doomed to death', and his characters are often at their most awe-inspiring when acting under it, liberated by complete certainty of failure from the fear of either defeat or death.

When showing characters acting in this way, Tolkien is at his least Christian, although his overall narrative usually places their actions in a wider context that shows their lack of faith to be the cause of their downfall. The great set pieces of Northern medieval literature are last stands: Gunnar at bay in his home against his killers in Brennu Njals Saga; Byrhtwald and the bodyguard of Byrhtnoth on the battlefield at Maldon; even the ultimate fate of the gods at Ragnarök in Voluspá, and Tolkien found much to admire in what is often called the 'northern heroic spirit': a philosophy of ultimate endurance in an undertaking beyond hope of success, relief or survival. Crucially this is a spirit that can only be diluted by the hope and faith that form such a key part of the Christian message, so that Tolkien is forced into a delicate balancing act between showing the certainty of defeat in the microcosm and demonstrating ultimate hope in his wider narrative. In any case, and returning to the point, I think that we are supposed to realise that Fingolfin cannot defeat Morgoth, but I also think that we are meant to admire him for preferring to face his enemy despite the near-certainty of failure rather than to hide and watch his cause gradually bleed to death.

[Galadriel55]

It was suicidal, but it was not suicide. It was heroic, but more so desperate. I think it can be all at the same time, which is exactly why this is one of my favourite bits of The Sil.

For Lotrelf, here is the description of the duel:

Now news came to Hithlum that Dorthonion was lost and the sons of Finarfin overthrown, and that the sons of Feanor were driven from their lands. Then Fingolfin beheld (as it seemed to him) the utter ruin of the Noldor, and the defeat beyond redress of all their houses; and filled with wrath and despair he mounted upon Rochallor his great horse and rode forth alone, and none might restrain him. He passed over Dor-nu-Fauglith like a wind amid the dust, and all that beheld his onset fled in amaze, thinking that Orome himself was come: for a great madness of rage was upon him, so that his eyes shone like the eyes of the Valar. Thus he came alone to Angband's gates, and he sounded his horn, and smote once more upon the brazen doors, and challenged Morgoth to come forth to single combat. And Morgoth came.

That was the last time in those wars that he passed the doors of his stronghold, and it is said that he took not the challenge willingly; for though his might was greatest of all things in the world, alone of the Valar he knew fear. But he could not now deny the challenge before the face of his captains; for the rocks rang with the shrill music of Fingolfin's horn, and his voice came keen and clear down into the depths of Angband; and Fingolfin named Morgoth craven, and lord of slaves. Therefore Morgoth came, climbing slowly from his subterranean throne, and the rumour of his feet was like thunder underground. And he issued forth clad in black armour; and he stood before the King like a tower, iron-crowned, and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like a stormcloud. But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it like a star; for his mail was overlain with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice.

Then Morgoth hurled aloft Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, and swung it down like a bolt of thunder. But Fingolfin sprang aside, and Grond rent a mighty pit in the earth, whence smoke and fire darted. Many times Morgoth essayed to smite him, and each time Fingolfin leaped away, as lightning shoots from under a dark cloud; and he wounded Morgoth with seven wounds, and seven times Morgoth gave a cry of anguish, whereat the hosts of Angband fell upon their faces in dismay, and the cries echoed in the Northlands.

But at the last the King grew weary, and Morgoth bore down his shield upon him. Thrice he was crushed to his knees, and thrice arose again and bore up his broken shield and stricken helm. But the earth was all rent and pitted about him, and he stumbled and fell backward before the feet of Morgoth; and Morgoth set his left foot upon his neck, and the weight of it was like a fallen hill. Yet with his last and desperate stroke Fingolfin hewed the foot with Ringil, and blood gushed forth black and smoking and filled the pits of Grond.

Thus died Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor, most proud and valiant of the Elven-Kings of old. The Orcs made no boast of that duel at the gate; neither do the Elves sing of it, for their sorrow is too deep. Yet the tale of it is remembered still, for Thorondor King of Eagles brought the tidings to Gondolin, and to Hithlum afar off. And Morgoth took the body of the Elven-king and broke it, and would cast it to his wolves; but Thorondor came hasting from his eyrie among the peaks of the Crissaegrim, and he stooped upon Morgoth and marred his face. The rushing of the wings of Thorondor was like the noise of the winds of Manwe, and he seized the body in his mighty talons, and soaring suddenly above the darts of the Orcs he bore the King away. And he laid him upon a mountain-top that looked from the north upon the hidden valley of Gondolin; and Turgon coming built a high cairn over his father. No Orc dared ever after to pass over the mount of Fingolfin or draw nigh his tomb, until the doom of Gondolin was come and treachery was born among his kin. Morgoth went ever halt of one foot after that day, and the pain of his wounds could not be healed; and in his face was the scar that Thorondor made.

Great was the lamentation in Hithlum when the fall of Fingolfin became known, and Fingon in sorrow took the lordship of the house of Fingolfin and the kingdom of the Noldor; but his young son Ereinion (who was after named Gil-galad) he sent to the Havens.

This is the first of 2.5 pages. I have to run, but I will edit in the remainder later. It takes a long time to type up that much text!

EDIT: xed with Squatter

EDIT2: Finished copying the passage.

[Morthoron]

I concur with Squatter's use of the word "fey" in this instance, a concept (O.E. faege) that is an outcome of "weird" or fate, that an Anglo-Saxon warrior like Beowulf would certainly understand. To become fey is to foresee one's own death and against all counsel seek that death, usually in battle against impossible odds, and die gloriously.

And like Squatter inferred, this fey death of Fingolfin is a pagan concept that would not be considered suicide by Fingolfin's peers and family; on the contrary, as Tolkien portrayed it, the high king's death is given the laudatory verse Anglo-Saxons reserved for their greatest heroes.

[Yregwyn]

Fingy was beside himself with rage and grief, he was so mad and heart broke that he wasn't thinking clear. Ive seen alot of people get so mad they do stuff that they normally wouldn't do. I have been in that situation myself. This is the case here he was so mad his "eyes shone like the eyes of the Valar". He was in such a rage that the only thing he could think about was hurting Morgoth anyway he could. I agree with Inziladun. Eomer was in a similar situation on the Pelennor, the thing that brought him out of it was seeing Aragon's standard with the fleet. He was already arraying his troops in a shield wall to fight to the last on foot when the black ships came. I dont think either of them wanted to die, but that wasn't a concern. The main thing that they both wanted was to hurt the enemy as much as possible.

[Inziladun]

I put Fingolfin's attack on Morgoth in the same vein as that of the Rohirrim at the Battle of the Pelennor in ROTK.

There Éomer, seeing the apparent death of his uncle and sister,

....stood a moment as a man who is pierced in the midst of a cry by an arrow through the heart; and then his face went deathly white, and a cold fury rose in him, so that all speech failed him for a while. A fey mood took him.

There's the word fey, to accentuate the likeness. After that, he rides toward the enemy yelling "Death".

In both instances there is a moment of despair, followed by a white-hot rage to avenge, and though I don't think dying in the act was the preferred outcome, neither Fingolfin nor Éomer were concerned at all for their safety.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by The Squatter of Amon Rûdh

I think the Silmarillion makes it more than clear that Fingolfin could see no way of defeating Morgoth from the position of the Noldor after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

Wasn't it the Bragollach? But yes, that's the way I see it as well.

Originally Posted by The Squatter of Amon Rûdh

In my view, his is a failure akin to Denethor's, in that he trusts only in his own strength and that of the Elves, and seeing that broken he gives in to despair and goes to seek his own death.

...Tolkien found much to admire in what is often called the 'northern heroic spirit': a philosophy of ultimate endurance in an undertaking beyond hope of success, relief or survival. Crucially this is a spirit that can only be diluted by the hope and faith that form such a key part of the Christian message, so that Tolkien is forced into a delicate balancing act between showing the certainty of defeat in the microcosm and demonstrating ultimate hope in his wider narrative.

Very good point that you bring up here about the balance. Now that I think of it, almost every single tale has a bit of both.

But here, judging at least from your first paragraph in the quote, do you think that the Christian part is really present to such etent in Fingolfin's challenge? Do you really think his lack of faith was a failure? I think that the northern spirit far outrules the Christian aspect in this scenario. I don't think Fingolfin's act or mood was failure, nor do I think that there is any hint of condemnation of them in the story that would make the reader think that way.

Originally Posted by Squatter

In any case, and returning to the point, I think that we are supposed to realise that Fingolfin cannot defeat Morgoth, but I also think that we are meant to admire him for preferring to face his enemy despite the near-certainty of failure rather than to hide and watch his cause gradually bleed to death.

This.



PS: I have edited the remainder of the text into my previous post, for anyone who wants to read the passage.

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Wasn't it the Bragollach?

Yes it was, which does slightly undermine some of my arguments. D'oh!

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

But here, judging at least from your first paragraph in the quote, do you think that the Christian part is really present to such extent in Fingolfin's challenge? Do you really think his lack of faith was a failure? I think that the northern spirit far outrules the Christian aspect in this scenario. I don't think Fingolfin's act or mood was failure, nor do I think that there is any hint of condemnation of them in the story that would make the reader think that way.

I was responding to the only criticism I could imagine being levelled against Fingolfin, which was that his leadership was badly needed, whether victory could be achieved or not. Yes, this is pure Viking heroism, and Tolkien's point is all about the damage done to Morgoth by this one Elf acting alone. The point about the tension between Catholic and pagan elements and parallel with Denethor occurred to me in the moment, but it nevertheless remains true that there is hope for the Eldar in their struggle against Morgoth: it lies in an unconsidered direction, enabling Tolkien to preserve the ultimate defeat of Morgoth while showing characters acting in the extremes of despair and hopelessness under his apparently permanent victory. I suppose it's possible that somebody thought he was foolish simply because he died, but that attitude says more about those who hold it than it does about Tolkien's characters.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Well, Legate, that's a valid point; but it's a bit hard to square with Tolkien's stern criticisms of both old-Beowulf and Beorhtnoth, for suicidal glory-seeking which resulted in disaster for those whom they had a duty to rule and protect.

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

I'm not Legate, although we do look quite similar in this light.

Tolkien's criticism of both Byrhtnoth and Beowulf is that they succumbed to chivalry; ceding key advantages to the enemy out of pride and the desire for glory (Byrhtnoth in allowing his enemy free passage over the Blackwater, Beowulf by fighting the dragon single-handed when he had other men with him). He's at some pains in the Silmarillion version to point out that Fingolfin already deemed the strategic position to be hopeless and was acting in rage and grief. If the cause of the Noldor is already lost then the death of the king only speeds up the inevitable, and there is no advantage to be given away when the battle has already ended in defeat. This is not the only example of this sort of behaviour from a prince of the Noldor either: Finrod lays aside his kingship to fulfil an obligation to Beren's house and dies in the attempt without apparent criticism from the narrator. Unlike Beowulf and Beorhtnoth (and Earnur of Gondor, who is portrayed consistently as the dupe of Sauron), in these cases the characters have no position of security or strength to abandon and are therefore not able to make the same mistake as Beorhtnoth and Beowulf. The line is a fine one, but Tolkien draws it himself in his notes on ofermod.

The matter of Tolkien's opinion is further complicated by the separation of some thirty years between the first version of Fingolfin's battle with Morgoth and Tolkien's appraisal of the Anglo-Saxon heroes in The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth. A younger man wrote Fingolfin's last stand than the one who criticised Beorhtnoth's and Beowulf's stubborn pride, and it wouldn't be the only issue on which Tolkien changed his mind over the years.

In the case of Byrhtnoth of Essex at least, I think that Tolkien judges on too little evidence and presumes far too much factual accuracy in the Maldon fragment. I think that any criticism of Byrhtnoth's pride in that piece is a Christian writer trying to explain why God didn't help so valiant and pious a hero of the church against pagan savages, but that's beside the point. Tolkien read the Anglo-Saxon poet's accusation as a tactical criticism and agreed with it, but that doesn't mean that every example of one of his leader heroes apparently throwing everything away in a single gesture should be read in the same way.