on the well-trodden subject of people behaving ooc in the leithian, the border policy of nargothtond is one I don't see discussed but feels like one of the... more off examples?
I guess even if I could maybe see finrod doing something pretty ruthless if it seemed necessary (he does appear to practice the general elvish policy towards escaped/"escaped" thralls anyway), this doesn't seem to be that either way? how many non-orcs would even be a threat and can't they tell an orc army from literally anyone else? nargothrond has plenty of contact with the outside world, it's not gondolin, the exact location of the gates is hidden, but presumably there are people in on the secret? celegorm and co have just come here (might have been with orodreth according to some versions though).
like to some extent it just seems like it's there to providee another danger for beren to brave and also as the trope of entry into faery being perilous and uncertain? but of all the elven kings using finrod for this seems like a curious choice.
...tbh I cannot actually tell where the exact phrasing comes from though as far as what tolkien originally wrote. there is a parallel fragment in the verse lay, but that one just says the guards would stick arrows into anyone who came there against their will which could mean several different things, including enemies-but-make-it-scan. in this case it's still prudential for beren to shout his errand aloud as he goes to avoid friendly fire, but it does not unarguably imply nargothrond's border policy is to shoot everyone who doesn't happen to have an errand with the king or outright say they would have killed him otherwise, as far as I can tell. so I do have to wonder to what extent it's sth chtistopher/ggk interpolated. and why didn't we get the base prose text yet anyway
...ftr if the latest version of the story is in the grey annals (I'm not certain if that's the case but it's what I can find) then nargothrond's border policy do not feature there at all. admittedly yes that's a shortened version! but I am having my suspicions that guy gavriel kay got asked to rewrite the lay in prose and made the border guards more explicitly trigger happy in the process
I will be perfectly honest that I have not read the sources in ages so I could be pulling this out of nothing. But is there anything to suggest that we are getting some degree of Berenâs point of view here? Maybe the law isnât exactly shoot first, but heâs been through hell (and also Menegroth), so maybe itâs wise of him to behave like that is the policy in Nargothrond. Maybe he even thinks it is! How objective is the text about what heâs doing being necessary vs precaution?
okay so, yes, first of all I entirely agree that from his perspective it makes sense to act that way regardless. as far as quotes go... well, the passage in the Lay of Leithian goes thus (canto 7):
...Through driving rain, from thence across the Guarded Plain, the Hills of Hunters Beren saw with bare tops bitten bleak and raw (150) by western winds; but, in the mist of streaming rains that flashed and hissed into the meres, he knew there lay, beneath those hills, the cloven way of Narog, and the watchful halls (155) of Felagund beside the falls of Ringwil tumbling from the wold. An everlasting watch they hold, the Noldor of Nargothrond renowned, and every hill is tower-crowned, (160) where wardens sleepless peer and gaze guarding the plain and all the ways between Narog swift and Sirion pale; and archers whose arrows never fail there range the woods, and secret kill (165) all who creep thither against their will
Yet now he thrusts into that land bearing the gleaming ring on hand of Felagund, and oft doth cry: 'Here comes no wandering Orc or spy, (170) but Beren son of Barahir who once to Felagund was dear.' He went with arm and hand held high; the ring there gleamed beneath the sky.
So ere he reached the eastward shore (175) of Narog, that doth foam and roar o'er boulders black, those archers green came round him. When the ring was seen they bowed before him, though his plight was poor and beggarly. Then by night (180) they led him northward, for no ford nor bridge was built where Narog poured before the gates of Nargothrond, and friend nor foe might pass beyond.
and it works with that interpenetration, and also the way the ring is presented is interesting to me... like he's trying to prevent friendly fire ofc but the chief effect attributed to the ring per se is the guards sort of reverence for him here. but then in its place the Silmarillion has this passage, which is pretty explicit about beren being in immediate danger which is a bit odd because otherwise it seems to be basically a paraphrase of the lay.
Upon all that plain the Elves of Nargothrond kept unceasing watch; and every hill upon its borders was crowned with hidden towers, and through all its woods and fields archers ranged secretly and with great craft. Their arrows were sure and deadly, and nothing crept there against their will. Therefore, ere Beren had come far upon his road, they were aware of him, and his death was nigh. But knowing his danger he held ever aloft the ring of Felagund; and though he saw no living thing, because of the stealth of the hunters, he felt that he was watched, and cried often aloud: âI am Beren son of Barahir, friend of Felagund. Take me to the King!â
Therefore the hunters slew him not, but assembling they waylaid him, and commanded him to halt. But seeing the ring they bowed before him, though he was in evil plight, wild and wayworn; and they led him northward and westward, going by night lest their paths should be revealed.
so again, I am interested if this comes from tolkien verbatim. maybe someone has a better grasp than me on the textual history of the leithian chapter.
