The Harp by Himring

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Was a harp required equipment for Noldorin rescue missions? In other words: Fingon sets out for Angband to rescue Maedhros—but why is he carrying a harp?

For Angelica, who raised the question.

In terms of the series pre-slash, but unobtrusively so.

Major Characters: Fingon

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: General

Challenges:

Rating: General

Warnings:

This fanwork belongs to the series

Doom, Gloom and Maedhros
Chapters: 1 Word Count: 1, 850
Posted on 8 May 2010 Updated on 8 May 2010

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

 

As explained in Praying for Lightning, Fingon had an ominous dream concerning Maedhros early on during the crossing of the Helcaraxe. When he arrives in Beleriand, his most pressing concern is to make sure that his cousin is alive and well rather than confronting him about the burning of the ships.

[Names: Feanaro=Feanor, Maitimo=Maedhros, Macalaure=Maglor, Findekano=Fingon, Turukano=Turgon, Findarato=Finrod, Nolofinwe=Fingolfin, Itarillle=Idril] 

Comments

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Your answer to the harp question is, of course, right: the only way to go about rescuing Maitimo is to be based on an instinctive reaction not the rational thinking that constrains  Nolofinwe, Macalaure and Finrod. So taking the harp is just a part of it.

come and fetch me,
come and fetch me!
How can Fingon defy this request?

Thank you for providing a brilliant answer to my question.  (And for making my Saturdays, so to speak, with a wonderful story every weekend :D )

Thank you very much! I'm glad you think my answer is convincing! It struck me that trying to rescue Maitimo single-handedly from Angband wasn't, as you say, a decision completely compatible with rational thinking, but on the other hand the published Silmarillion text doesn't sound to me as if Fingon had simply dashed off without trying to think things through at all (although in one or two stories I've read he seems pretty much to do just that). Thank you also for the general encouragement! It is much appreciated!

hah! I've always wondered at the why and how of taking a harp with you on a dangerous mission. Those Elves! They seem to think the battlefield is musical sometimes. ;) 
This was beautifully written, and actually made his hauling an unpractically heavy instrument with him at least somewhat believable. I used to just keep repeating "Elves are really strong elves are really strong"to myself when reading that passage because really - in my experience hauling a harp ANYWHERE, nevermind all the way across an unfriendly wild place, is a disaster for both your back and mood...

Ah, yes! Although we do hear about traveling harpers in historic times. Did they travel by ox-cart, I wonder?

As for Fingon's harp--I don't say so here, but I suspect that there is another reason why he played   simple songs on the Ice. I don't think this harp had a particularly great range or as many as strings as a modern Celtic folk harp (let alone a classical concert harp), and so it was relatively light-weight. I suppose he would have had to make up for its limitations with the quality of his singing.

In another story ("Eminently Suitable"), I have Maglor working on the portability problem, although I'm not sure whether he ever really solved it...

Thank you very much for reading and commenting!

P.S. Unrelated piece of harp trivia: I discovered today that Tuor in one of the early versions of his story (BOLT II) has a harp strung with bear sinews!