Fëanorian Lamps

Richol Richards

Well-Known Member
So, I had this thought after finally catching up on the last half of the 2-11 session: What if the Lamps were a 'failed' experiment? The reason I even have this idea in the first place is the hosts mentioned something along the lines of Fëanor regarding the Lamps with a sort of disdain, so he let these 'castoffs' be available to the public.

What if the disdain was more than disdain? Is it possible Fëanor, ignited/consumed by his achievement with the Silmarils, secretly tried to best even those? Except the attempt failed and they ended up being far lesser things. Of course, I'm not sure what could top the Light of the Trees as a source...maybe he had a Melkoresque moment and tried to do something on 'his own' that would surpass or at least equal the best Valinor had to offer? And it all just sort of...backfired.

Of course the Lamps are by no means inferior creations...Fëanor's pride might have just been terribly wounded over the fact that they didn't turn out the way he wanted them to. But no one knows a thing about this. Maybe it could even lend private meaning and even a hint of pain(?) behind Fëanor's words when he later tells the Valar there is some deed one could accomplish just once only, and that never again could he make anything like the Silmarils. He would know this, because he *actually* tried. Just a thought I was playing around with; feel free to make any corrections!
 
Last edited:
That's an idea; I always assumed, because Feanor is so definitive when he tells the Valar he could never re-make the Silmarils, that he must have tried to duplicate them. Could be that resulted in the lamps?
 
Thought the lamps were before the Silmarils. And I'm trying my hardest to not refer to the Silmarils by another name.
 
... maybe? My History of Middle Earth books are currently in storage (having moved to a real postage-stamp of an apartment), so I can't check.

But that's a detail I think we could get away with tweaking. The lamps are a neat, but non-essential, artifact.
 
I really have to check this out in my books... But I could see the lamps as something Fëanor creates after the loss of the Silmarils. Something to light up the dark - before that there's no reason to make lamps? Oh well, maybe in Formenos. The Teleri like starlight so they wouldn't ask for lamps.
 
The question I have about this is related to story structure. If the theft of the Silmarils is the climax of this season, and Season 3 is basically the flight of the Noldor, what purpose does it serve us to have Fëanor basically take a "sidequest" to make these lamps? I think they kinda have to be made before the "Darkening".
 
Alright. Fair enough but then I'd suggest he makes them in Formenos. The light of the Trees doesn't shine there, right?
 
I am glad you asked ;)

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Fëanorian_lamps

The Fëanorian lamps are not mentioned in the published Silmarillion. They show up in the stories of Tuor and Túrin in some of the supplemental material (Unfinished Tales, etc) They are explicitly stated to be made by Fëanor in Valinor, but there are no other details of their history given. Corey Olsen has requested that we have Fëanor make these *after* the silmarils, so we will have to come up with the story of why that matters.
 
Yes, but I like the idea of a failed-post-silmaril experiment. Having Fëanor grieving the apparent loss of his skills just before the Darkening hits....that does set him up for his downward spiral. He can still use it to his advantage a public relations giveaway (see, I'm nice now, everyone gets pretty lamps!)

Alternately, it could just be a useful mining tool. Or good for use with ships, since the waves won't quench the lamps....
 
Last edited:
I think Feanor made a lot of experiments before he was sucessful with the Silmarils... many of his lesser or "failed" or early achievements could still have become major inventions for the Elves. Why not the feanorian lamps too?
 
Currently, we have the Fëanorean lamps made in Tirion after the creation of the silmarils (so early in Episode 10), and a 'mass produced' item coming out of Fëanor's workshop that is not made by Fëanor personally. So, he may have invented them, but his underlings/workers make them and provide them to the other Noldor. This allows for them to be made by other craftsmen in Middle Earth, if we need them later.
 
I think they way it came out is that we don't make a big deal of them, they are just being "sold" by Fëanor's journeymen. Almost like "cheap" knock-offs of the Silmarils in a way.
 
Back
Top