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Post by randy on Jun 2, 2010 19:17:21 GMT -6
The term 'Eldar' is applied to the Three Kindreds who set forth on the Great Journey. Thingol made it to Aman but returned to lead his 'kindred' on the Journey. Technically, even a Nandorin elf can be counted among the Eldar.
How this applies to height and genetics is anybody's guess. Unless we want to argue that the light of the Trees made Thingol sprout while leaving his kinfolk back in Ennor short and scrawny.
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Post by pandemonium on Jun 2, 2010 19:45:21 GMT -6
How this applies to height and genetics is anybody's guess. Apply mythic hyperbole, lather and repeat. *cough* 8-ft tall Elendil *cough* |
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Post by Gandalfs apprentice on Jun 2, 2010 20:01:44 GMT -6
I always found it a hoot that during the journey of the Fellowship, if there was any heavy lifting (Hobbits, boats), Aragorn and Boromir did it. So what about that supposed ubermensch Elf? No, he just twinkles about on top of the snow.
Go figure.
Can't expect legends to make sense.
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Post by oshun on Jun 2, 2010 20:08:50 GMT -6
I loved the discussions on GofI about the horses the Numenoreans might have ridden--some version of giant draft horses would be the only thing heavy enough and even those might have legs too short.
I ran across a discussion just a day or two ago on The One Ring (years old) in which someone asked the question of whether or not the first elves were naked or clothed when they woke up. (Obviously, they were clad in nighties and pajamas! Any fool would assume that!)
On HASA or GofI legends must make sense and there is a right or wrong answer to every canon question.
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Post by pandemonium on Jun 2, 2010 20:42:47 GMT -6
I loved the discussions on GofI about the horses the Numenoreans might have ridden--some version of giant draft horses would be the only thing heavy enough and even those might have legs too short. Good gravy, but that is rich! [Reverent voice]JRRT wrote it so we must take these words literally![/Reverent voice]. Well, yes, they must have been clad in gossamer lingerie! And I'm sure someone somewhere has gone all theological on nakedness, being "fallen" and all that jazz. All the more reason I enjoyed your Finwë bio in which you placed Tolkien's quotes regarding "Mannish myths" front and center. I mean, I fully appreciate learnéd Tolkien scholars nattering about his work in the context of canon, but when writing fan fiction? That surely seems like the stuff of myth (mythopoeia) to me and thus subject to interpretation and logical extrapolation. |
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Post by ignoblebard on Jun 2, 2010 21:44:39 GMT -6
I like the image of pajamas, striped for the men and polka dots for the women. And their children were born wearing those footie pajamas with the back flap.
I totally agree.
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Post by russandol on Jun 3, 2010 0:56:12 GMT -6
I like the image of pajamas, striped for the men and polka dots for the women. And their children were born wearing those footie pajamas with the back flap. I have to disagree, Bard. The women would wake up wearing "long flowing shifts of fine silk to preserve their modesty". According to many canon-faithful fanfic stories, that seems to be the standard, approved Middle-earth fashion for female sleep attire. Of course they could have polka dots... ;D |
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Post by erulisse on Jun 3, 2010 4:35:46 GMT -6
I want flowers on my sleepwear...oh wait - that would require that I wear sleepwear. Never mind....
We also have to consider the timeframe in which Tolkien wrote all of this verbage. People were shorter with slighter builds in the beginning to mid-20th century. Taller, that is compared to the statistics for average heights, weights, etc for the current day. At this rate, we would all probably qualify for "tall", etc in his descriptions - even my sorry 5'6". Thank goodness for Hobbits and Dwarves who can make all of us feel tall.
- Erulisse (one L)
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Morthoron
New Sneech 
Curmudgeonly Wordwraith
Posts: 54
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Post by Morthoron on Jun 3, 2010 9:05:18 GMT -6
The term 'Eldar' is applied to the Three Kindreds who set forth on the Great Journey. Thingol made it to Aman but returned to lead his 'kindred' on the Journey. Technically, even a Nandorin elf can be counted among the Eldar. How this applies to height and genetics is anybody's guess. Unless we want to argue that the light of the Trees made Thingol sprout while leaving his kinfolk back in Ennor short and scrawny. I'm at work, so I can't start spouting quotes from the Sil and HoMe, but I believe if you look Tolkien does differentiate Thingol from his Sindarin followers. The glint of highlights he got in his hair while he stopped, however briefly, at the Tirion-on-Tuna Salon and Day Spa, led directly to Melian getting all moist for him. Seriously, it's all in the notes. ;p |
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sanna
Councillor
Eternal Bosom of Hot Love
Posts: 189
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Post by sanna on Jun 3, 2010 10:03:41 GMT -6
The glint of highlights he got in his hair while he stopped, however briefly, at the Tirion-on-Tuna Salon and Day Spa, led directly to Melian getting all moist for him. Seriously, it's all in the notes. ;p No wonder they spent a century just holding hands. She couldn't get her eyes off of his manicure. |
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Post by lalaith on Jun 3, 2010 14:20:08 GMT -6
The height of Quendi is such fun because you realise that these people were crazy-tall.
Take Galadriel - she's described by the Dúnadain as being two 'rangar' tall or man-high. This is 6'4". From her, you just work up. Maedhros the Tall must have been considerably taller than that but then Turgon is described as the tallest of Finwë's grandchildren. Of course, we must include Argon even if Argon didn't make it through the Silmarillion cut. He was the tallest in Aman. Then, we get to Thingol. The tallest of the Children of Ilúvatar. Eru only knows how tall he must have been.
Certainly, the physical appearance of various Noldor suggests that they were pretty big mo-fos - but there were some bigger.
Moving on from Quendi, if Galadriel was 'man-high' to the Dúnadain, who were diminished versions of their Númenorean forefathers, how tall must Ar-Pharazon have been, when he was considered tall amongst the Númenoreans? Basically, we're looking at a series of beanpoles, from that shortie Galadriel (6'4") to the skyscraper Thingol, who must have been nearing 8'.
A friend of mine actually sat down and worked out the respective heights so I must find her livejournal post, and her permission, and pass it on to you guys. It makes for vertiginous reading but she remembers all the figures much better than I can!
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Post by Gandalfs apprentice on Jun 3, 2010 15:20:26 GMT -6
Somewhere in all the backstuff, I do believe that Tolkien specified that Elendil was seven or eight feet tall.
Several interesting questions come to mind. How long would a sword be for an eight-foot-tall man? Four feet, I suppose. But Narsil was forged by Telchar, a Dwarf. Therefore, Telchar made a sword as long as he was tall.
Horses, you ask? What about the furniture and the stairs? If Minas Tirith was crafted by these giants, it must have been a d**n uncomfortable place for ordinary folk like us.
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