#loth lorien

[ltwilliammowett]

Today, door 21 hides some unusual beauties. We are drawn to Middle Earth with JRR Tolkien and Loth Lorien.

More about them:

Tolkien was once the harbour tugboat Dierkow at the Edgar André shipyard in Magdeburg and was launched in 1964. In December 1995, Anna and Jaap van der Rest took over the ship, had her towed to Amsterdam by heavy transport in autumn 1996 and extensively converted her first into a two-masted lugger and then into a gaff topsail schooner by 1998, during which the propulsion system was also renewed. Her home port is usually Kiel, but she can often be seen in Hamburg with her sister ship.

Loth Lorien was launched in 1907 as a lugger by Mjellem & Karlsen in Bergen under the name Njord. In 1974, Andreas Karlsen from Vedavågen acquired the ship and used it as a trawler. In the 1970s, the ship was registered to Kolbein Karlsen in Vedavågen and laid up. In June 1982, the semi-trailer was first sold to Steinar Vea and shortly afterwards to the Netherlands.

Around 1989, the current owner took over the ship and had her converted into the staysail ketch Loth Loriën. Since then, the ship has been converted several times. Another conversion took place in 1992. With more modern rigging and a new interior, the ship has since been used as a charter vessel. In 2001/2002, the hull was lengthened again and the ship was converted into a three-masted gaff schooner. In 2008/2009, she was re-rigged as a barquentine.

[jolkin-rolkin-rolkin-tolkin]

Yall, Tolkien legit described young Galadriel as “of amazon disposition” so can we like get some art of her in armour with weapons and stuff? Cuz I feel like we could all benefit from having that in our lives.

[diversetolkien]

How are the Silvan Elves coded as poc? I don't think their skin colour is ever specified in the books.

Their skin color is never mentioned aside from a description on Tolkien gateway, which to my understanding has no proper source. I used to think of it as law, but it is wikipedia so anyone can edit it. I’ve also tried to find the exact passage where Silvan elf skin color is actually described, but I’ve come up with nothing.

That said, the coding comes from contextual evidence as well as how they’re narratives are written within the books.

I think the first obvious bit is the aspects of colonization introduced in the Silvan elves narrative that mirrors European colonization very, very acutely. Colonization is a prominent theme, especially in elven areas such as Loth Lorien (even before Galadriel and Celeborn ruled the realm).

The Sindar elves introduced colonization into Loth Lorien, and following that, Galadriel and Celeborn continued it (though to be fair, it was more of cultural sharing with Amrod, but Nimrodel was still uncomfortable, which I thin is indication enough that not all was well with the Silvan and the Sindar). 

 I’ve written a meta about the colonialzation in Loth Lorien here.

And here’s the bit about the Sindar Colonization (and keep in mind it continues with Thingol and Melian keeping Silvan in a girdle).

That all together, it’s evident to see how deeply colonization is immersed within the narrative of the Silvan elves.

And while it’s true that people of color weren’t the only ones colonized, the narrative mirrors english colonization very closely. Tolkien himself was an Englishman who was born in South Africa, which was heavily colonized, and who also comes from a culture which colonized indigenous Americans.

Also keep in mind that the Sindar and Noldor are heavily coded to be white and European. Galadriel is Noldor, who are white, and she has blond hair. Galadriel herself conjures up images of the photo, Manifest Destiny by John Gast. If you’re unfamiliar with the term manifest destiny, it was basically westward expansion, which is some of the most brutal forms of colonization.

And I mean, the description of the piece ties in the colonist aspects:

In the left side of the painting, Indians and buffalo are retreating westward from Progress, leaving behind buffalo skeletons. 

This painting was done 1872, The Silmarillion came out way after that. I don’t believe the similarities between Galadriel and the Manifest destiny was a mistake. 

The Sindar themselves are silver haired with blue eyes, which doesn’t exactly conjure up images of people of color (at least Olwe, whom is related to both Galadriel and Celeborn).

So already, we have a narrative focussed around colonization, where said colonisers are coded to be white European, and the author himself was born in a colony that was the direct result of colonization. Also, Tolkien is notoriously racist within his works.

Also, I think it’s important to pay attention to the ambiguity of their skin color. Tolkien goes out of his way to specify that white elves are white. But for elves of color, it’s always been implied with contextual evidence. Even for Eol, a lot of his coding heavily relies on his narrative and the trope that he’s written into. Of course it’s easier believe that he’s supposed to be black, given that we have Maeglin’s skin color to give evidence, but aside from that Tolkien his very ambiguous. 

But the narrative essentially tells it how it is.  

Also it’s no mistake that the Noldor and Teleri come from lands where there are fortresses, and that the Silvan come from a land where there are trees (that’s their kingdom). I mean the allusions are there. And i’m not saying that coming from the trees necessarily makes you indigenous African or American, but i’m saying that in this context, it’s just all disturbingly falls into place.  

Consider that the silvan elves, who live in the wood, are considered dangerous and less wise. Said elves are specifically Mirkwood elves, who preserve their culture (uncolonized), while the same is not said for elves of Lothlorien, who have Noldor and Sindarain culture imposed on them.

And misc while I also stan Thranduil and Oropher with a burning passion, they marched the Silvan elves into a battle that they had no business in, and often times it wasn’t  uncommon for colonizers to make indigenous people’s fight their battles. I mean there’s a long history of white people making poc fight for them. 

The only saving grace for for Thranduil and Oropher is that they immersed themselves in the Silvan culture.  

[dark-in-mine-imagination]

"there is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for"

[ferithtolkienesque]

This is my world This is me Perhaps, where worlds meet We‘ll find that we’re friends

This is a poem I wrote thinking about Legolas and Gimli and their friendship.  Before the fellowship traveled through Moria and Lorien Legolas and Gimli hate each other, afterwards they’re best friends.  Obviously a LOT of stuff went down in that time, but I think each encountering the other’s cultural center had a lot to do with their coming to understand each other.

This is my home My people, my place This I will share This land felled from grace

This is my history My hope and despair Here lie my dreams Darkest and fair

Here shone our hopes Bright flowed our streams Here mountains run deep And star on pool gleams

Where once hammers sang The darkness does sleep Though the land is still fair For the past we yet weep

These are our homes Though strange they may seem Together, you and I May find friendship, we deem

[ltwilliammowett]

Topsail schooner J.R. Tolkien and Barquentine Loth Lorien

[ltwilliammowett]

The Loth Lorien, the Alexander von Humboldt and the Götheborg at the Kieler Woche (Germany)  2013

[diversetolkien]

Iyo, what relevance does it have that the Nõldor colonization was achieved w/o war or even bloodshed? I think it is appropriate, lacking all evidence of violence as we do, to assume it was bloodless given that all the Kinslayings were accounted in detail as distinct historical events.

I definitely think they were bloodless,but no less sad. If the reaction of the Silvan elves in Loth Lorien not knowingwhat to do when Galadriel left says anything, I think it’s that she andCeleborn’s rule over the elves disconnected them so much from who they used tobe that they had no idea how to survive on their own.

Plus, the realm was still destroyed.

Not all colonialization isviolent at first, nor violent in the way we think. A lot of it comes withdestruction of land and illness, which eventually leads to the death of thepopulation. This mirrors what happened when Galadriel left to go back to Valinor.Loth Lorien faded, and the people began to follow.

Had it not been for Thranduil—theking of the Silvan—and Celeborn for working together to integrate Loth LorienSilvan elves into a Silvan population (Greenwood), then they would have died.

At the end, the Silvan elves returnedto their people and then they were healed. It was their own people who ended upplaying a large role in saving them.