If it isn’t too late I wish to try to resolve the issue of the Noldorin reconciliation chronology, before the Overview sessions end. I wish I had been able to get caught up in the forum faster (I’m still not caught up). Mostly I'm persuaded by MithLuin's points, but some things would still need figuring out.
I am not suggesting that Maedhros do anything political while he is bedridden/recuperating.
I recognize that you also prefer the version where Maedhros is proactive in his abdication,
OK, so the two of us agree on some points (I don’t know the opinions of others... anyone want to chime in?)
Reparations are more than giving back what you stole.
Very true. But Maedhros while still half-recuperated could order X head of cattle and X horses given as gifts, or whatever, which is at least something. True that it may not be enough.
1) The rift between the two hosts of the Noldor is meant to be healed in Year 5 of the chronology. The Fëanoreans, not the Host of Fingolfin, are at fault for the betrayal at Araman and the burning of the ships. The Host of Fingolfin has a legitimate grievance against the Fëanoreans. Thus, the healing of that feud cannot happen until the Fëanoreans make a gesture of repentance.
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2) It is possible to delay until the end of the council two years later, when the Noldor are ready to carve out realms for themselves in Middle Earth. By doing so, a few things are lost. One, there is no initiative on Maedhros' part - it is clear that the majority Host of Fingolfin will support Fingolfin, and his own group is a minority, so all he can do is concede with grace or start a fight.
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4) Lastly, the Fëanoreans leave immediately after the Council to go East. If they appear to leave moments after Maedhros acknowledges Fingolfin as High King, it's fairly obvious that the Fëanoreans did *not* acknowledge Fingolfin and are making no attempt to reconcile at all.
As for Angrod, Tolkien's stated motivation for him to keep silent is his belief that the past has been forgiven and the feud healed, and thus it is all best left unmentioned. He is not said to be afraid of what the consequences would be, should Thingol find out. I am not saying that there's anything wrong with making him prudent in keeping his mouth shut, I'm just mentioning that Tolkien did give him a motivation beyond fear, and as that motivation ties in very strongly with our theme for the season, it would be a shame to swallow it up and lose it here.
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Personally, I want to see him being as intentionally generous as he can to the Fëanoreans, so that Caranthir's rebuke stings as terribly unfair and rankles for years to come.
You have some very good points here about the shape of the story and how it would look. I do imagine Maedhros is a bit easier to forgive than his brothers who participated in the arson, or at least think he’s paid for his crimes. But overall your points are very good ones. When you put it in that light the Quenta version does seem better-told than the Annals version.
So I’m game for doing it the way you prefer. But I have several questions about how to depict this chronology:
Maedhros won’t recuperate quickly, and I wouldn’t want to give the impression that Elves heal instantly. Given how traumatized he must be, it’s likely he does need 1½ - 2 years before he’s functional. So my first (overall) question is what do we show the Noldor doing in the meantime? Despite Elvish lackadaisicalness, I don’t think we really should show them just waiting around. So ...
Do the Noldor send scouts around Beleriand? Put the watch upon Angband/Dor-Daedeloth?
Does Galadriel go to Menegroth? With what instructions?
Do the two camps speak to each other, or visit?
There are reasons to tell the sons of Fëanor what happened, and let them visit their brother, sooner rather than later. I think Maedhros will be close to starving to death when Fingon finds him, and adding major injury would put him on the brink of death at first. It will be uncertain whether he’ll survive. The reconciliation gesture would be weaker if Maedhros died before his brothers got to see him. Delay could make them angry too, even though he survives.
If the Fëanorians visit before the abdication, how will the camps interact? Will they argue, behave cautiously, or quickly try to reconcile? How much will Maglor’s will prevail over his younger brothers’? I think Maglor would try to make a conciliatory gesture, and Maedhros would eventually tell them Maglor is officially in charge for now and they should cooperate/compromise with Fingolfin. He can order material reparations, and apologize privately to his cousins and uncle.
(cross-posted) I’d like the Fëanorian Besan to give seeds and
lembas to Fingolfin’s Besan, and she’d surely give some bread to Maedhros, since it would help him survive and recover.
The second issue to solve is also about timing. Before the Noldor finish their council(s) and leave Mithrim, four things have to happen, and each thing would take several months to a year, or more:
- Maedhros recuperating
- Scouts exploring all of Beleriand and Ard-galen (+ scene with Ecthelion vs. Gaurhoth?)
- Galadriel travelling to and from Doriath (over 300 miles one-way, though mostly by river)
- Angrod travelling to and from Doriath
If most of those things overlap in time, it’s a lot more plausible to finish them all up in 2 years. If they have to happen sequentially without overlapping, it’ll take longer. I don’t mean we necessarily have to take more episodes to show it, but that more time would pass, and we’d have to acknowledge all that time passing. It seems the councils would finish up in year 9 or 10, instead of year 7.
Can we overlap some of this? E.g. Send the scouts out immediately, communicate their findings between the factions, and keep them working until Angrod’s return?