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Old 03-05-2003, 05:38 AM   #1
afro-elf
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the religion of Sauron vs religion of Morgoth

The questions I have are in the second post

INTRO
Excursus: The Religion of the Haradrim Fromhttp://205.200.64.249/gc/scrolls/2003/feb/rethinkingumbar.html

That the Haradrim, like all "Men of Darkness," worshipped Sauron is stated in "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age." During the mid-Second Age,

. To them Sauron was both king and god; and they feared him exceedingly, for he surrounded his abode with fire. (Sil.289-290; cf. HoMe XII.305)

In a marginal note to a letter composed in response to W.H. Auden's review of LotR, Tolkien clarifies the nature of Sauron's claim to divinity: "By the end of the Second Age he assumed the position of Morgoth's representative. By the end of the Third Age (though actually much weaker than before) he claimed to be Morgoth returned (Letters.243)." This theological shift was not a complete innovation, since Men had originally worshipped Morgoth (Sil.259; HoMe X.345-349).

There is a difference, however, between the orientation of the Númenórean cult of Melkor and the primordial worship of the Dark. The former was precipitated by a factor distinctive to the Dúnadan psyche: the desire for immortality. ...By contrast, the primordial worship of Morgoth was premised upon fear of what he would do against those who refused him:


This difference in orientation reflects the differing personalities of Morgoth and Sauron. The benefits to be gained from worshipping Morgoth are characterized as follows:

But to some he began to show favour: to the strongest and the cruellest, and to those who went most often to the House.8 He gave gifts to them, and knowledge that they kept secret; and they became powerful and proud, and they enslaved us, so that we had no rest from labour amidst our afflictions. (HoMe X.348)

:

This motif of hunting down and destroying the infidels who refuse to worship Morgoth is repeated elsewhere in Tolkien's descriptions of the Men of Darkness:

Men who had made [Morgoth] their God and believed that they could render him no more pleasing service than to destroy the 'renegades' with every kind of cruelty. (HoMe XII.306)
__________________
About Eowyn,
Does anyone know what her alias Dernhelm means?

She was kown as dernhelm because of her exclaimation when she realized that the rider's headgear was heavy and obscured her sight.

'Dern Helm"

Culled from Entmoot From Kirinski 57 and Wayfarer.

Last edited by afro-elf : 03-05-2003 at 06:07 AM.
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