Maedhros and the Nirnaeth

[rocky41_7]

Tumblr post here.

Anonymous said:

God, the disaster that is Nirnaeth Arnoediad must've brought Maedhros and his brother's reputation down the drain, Maedhros especially. The alliance was named after him and that must've brought so much shit to his name. Like, I wonder how he lived after that battle? Was he able to sleep every night knowing he failed spectacularly? Did he always dream of what could have been? Because every time I think of that fifth battle, I think to myself, how did Maedhros bear that failure with grace, when I myself felt that shame when they fell back. What do you think?

I said:

The Nirnaeth feels like a turning point, for the Noldor in Middle-earth. A number of things went wrong, among them that Tolkien tells us Maedhros revealed his strength too soon to Melkor. There were so many moments it seemed like they could pull this off, or at least cause some real damage to Melkor, but there were just so many things that worked against them, not least of all the betrayals Melkor sowed among the Noldor’s allies and the fact that the Feanorians had alienated major Elvish allies in Middle-earth (Doriath, Nargothrond) which could have made a real difference in the fight.

Part of being a leader is living with the choices you make. Honestly, a critical part of being a leader is being able to accept your mistakes and bad judgement calls without letting it ruin your ability to make decisions going forward. The problem is, it feels like Maedhros was already growing desperate. It seems he had already begun to lose faith that Melkor could be defeated, for the Nirnaeth chapter opens on how Maedhros’ heart was uplifted to hear of Beren and Luthien’s success in assaulting Angband, seeing that Melkor was not, in fact, unassailable (ergo, prior to B&L, Maedhros had believed or begun to believe Melkor was untouchable). Fingolfin, beloved high king of the Noldor who led them through hundreds of years of the long peace after fencing Melkor into Angband, met his glorious and messy end less than twenty years earlier. Fingon is a fetus of a king by Elf standards. The Feanorians have now turned two of the largest Elven kingdoms in Middle-earth against them, one of which was founded and ruled by their own damn cousin. The Feanorians are still bound to their oath. All of this leads to Maedhros showing his hand to Melkor too soon, and the whole thing has an air of desperation around it. Not very auspicious for them.

Personally, I view the Nirnaeth as THE major turning point for Maedhros as an individual. I talked here about his strategy and how it changes after the Nirnaeth, but I think his defeat here is what makes him completely and genuinely lose hope that Melkor can ever be defeated at all. I think Maedhros needed the Nirnaeth to prove something to himself, and it does the opposite of that. They lose a lot and get virtually nothing in return. The name itself tells you what a devastating defeat it was (“Unnumbered Tears”).

And I do not think he bore it with grace.

It’s after the Nirnaeth we see Maedhros become increasingly willing to enact violence against other Elves, and to do virtually anything to get his hands on Luthien’s Silmaril, because I think he does not consider the other two obtainable. Maedhros, in my mind, is simply trying to get his hands on one piece of their goal before Melkor conquers Middle-earth (which, to Maedhros, I think is inevitable). Maedhros has neither amdir nor estel, and he sinks lower and lower into a moral nadir flailing around in the general direction of his goals, because if you have no hope of a future, who cares about fucking the present?

However, regarding the Nirnaeth and its impact on Maedhros’ reputation: Don’t worry! I’m sure by the end of the First Age, the Nirnaeth isn’t the first thing that comes to mind regarding Maedhros’ impact on Beleriand 🙃