Meanwhile by Lferion

Courting, An Introduction

Thoughts on Noldorin personal adornment, segueing into courtship. Elrond could easily write a book. A triple drabble.

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Prompts - Lit:G3 Comedy of Manners, Art:G5 Monochrome, Poetry:I2 Ghazal, Fanwork:O5 Smarm

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Most Elves who were not actively nursing felt no need of breast-bands for support or modesty. Equally, upper-body clothing was entirely personal choice. How else might one make use of the display possibilities of the torso? Nipple jewelry, midriff chains, belly-button gems, filigree pieces, long neck-drapes, long-lasting ink, more ephemeral paint and dye -- so much opportunity for adornment and decoration. In Tirion there was little need to dress for the weather. One dressed for comfort, activity or work-safety and usefulness, display, pleasure, provocation. Courting. (The Royal Court of course had its own rules of dress and decorum.)

Courting among the Noldor could be quite the comedy of manners and display. (Courting was not the same as recognizing and deciding to act upon -- or not act upon -- physical attraction and desire for intimacy amongst ones friends. That was an ordinary part of friendship, discussed and negotiated plainly and frankly as the subject arose.) Courting was a much more elaborate dance: mannered, circumscribed, supervised (in these days, by ones friends and colleagues more often than parents or persons whose craft it was to manage such things as well as others regarding marriages, weddings, family relationships), with a well-defined set of steps, behaviors, and expectations.

Courting persons were expected to be emotional and affectionate, expressing their feelings, often at length, but always stopping short of actual sex. Poems, especially ghazals and/or sonnets, were regularly employed. Crafted and impulsive gifts were exchanged. One way someone courting could be identified was by the generally monochrome coloration of the gifted adornments and accessories -- all in shades of blue, say, or iridescent yellow. Grey-scale was a favorite in certain circles, being both technically demanding, and immediately visible amongst the multicolored crowd. Courting in this manner was not required for formal marriage, but it was often used.

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