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Chapter 18.2 - The Duel of Fingolfin and Morgoth | Silmarillion Explained

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After Morgoth broke the Siege of Angband -- as we heard last time -- and unleashed the Father of Dragons, Glaurung the Golden, Fingolfin was destroyed and enraged by his losses, and by the deaths of his nephews and friends, and he decides to take up arms; riding out alone across the Anfauglith to the Gates of Angband, challenging the Dark Lord Morgoth to single combat. And Morgoth came.
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Пікірлер: 37

  • @NoxAtlas
    @NoxAtlas Жыл бұрын

    Fingolfin knew he didn't stand a chance but yet made sure to die like a total badass and humiliate Morgoth in front of his own men. What a legend.

  • @alicecourtney5816
    @alicecourtney58162 жыл бұрын

    This is the most epic scene in all of Tolkiens legendarium

  • @istari0
    @istari02 жыл бұрын

    All hail Fingfolfin, mightiest of the elven warriors!

  • @DavidWesley
    @DavidWesley2 жыл бұрын

    This series deserves so many more views.:)

  • @VoiceofGeekdom

    @VoiceofGeekdom

    2 жыл бұрын

    Please do feel free to share around! ❤️

  • @zeratulcraft
    @zeratulcraft2 жыл бұрын

    In the great words of Blind Guardian: PRAISE OUR KING!

  • @thomasferraro479

    @thomasferraro479

    2 жыл бұрын

    Love that song and that entire album, and also the rest of their albums lol

  • @reflectiverambling1148
    @reflectiverambling11482 жыл бұрын

    There is good reason that this is a favored segment and you give your own fantastic delivery. I know you wish you didn't have to spend so much time with post work, but you really are possibly one of the absolute best of those doing their own work. Your sense of mood and emotion is fantastic. I really love how you put this all in context, the difference between the figures of power, their approach, and the progression of their weaknesses and tactics. It's also a great draw of the not so direct influence that Nordic cultures had on the work. I also really like this as it provides a real layered take on various types of courage shown in different eras/by different peoples. Thanks for yet another amazing entry!

  • @thomasferraro479
    @thomasferraro4792 жыл бұрын

    Time Stands Still at the Iron Hill is a great song about this battle.

  • @ridiculousedtollett6120
    @ridiculousedtollett61202 жыл бұрын

    I read Lord of the Rings after I'd already read The Silmarillion, and it wasn't until Eowyn faced The Witch King that I felt the same rush of emotion I felt while reading this. Such amazing prose. Great job, as ever, Dan.

  • @frankblac3234
    @frankblac323410 ай бұрын

    TL;DR - In terms of motive - from what I understand in reading - Feanor basically said "I'm literally cursed by the god of fate to die no better death over this bullshit anyway, and everyone I love is dying, so... screw it." - - - - - - One super-important thing I didn't hear you touch base on in terms of Fingolfin's motive for going absolutely buck-wild on Morgoth himself-personally was the Curse of Mandos. For context, back in the beginning when the Noldor first migrated to Middle-Earth from Aman in pursuit of Morgoth, Feanor didn't want to hike his people across the Helcaraxe (a dangerous arctic landbridge between two continents) so he went to the Teleri (sea elves) to borrow their boats. They said no, he said "lol ok," and started the first instance of elves killing elves in all of existence. Fingolfin's group came up later, saw the conflict and in the confusion, figured Feanor was the one under attack by the Teleri so they joined in. Then Feanor took the ships and burned them when he got to Middle-Earth, ditching Fingolfin and anyone else that was getting cold feet. Fingolfin said "fine, f**k you then" and hiked his people across the ice like a beast. The Valar were extremely upset by this, especially Mandos, who for all intents and purposes is the god of Destiny, Justice and Death. He basically all-chatted the world and let the Noldor know under no uncertain terms that they will never even come close to accomplishing their quest, and they're all gonna stay crying & die trying to kill what is essentially, literally, the god of Evil. Needless to say, Mandos' word is law. So after losing loved one after loved one in the endless pursuit of vengeance against Morgoth, when Fingolfin saw the story playing out wholly and truly as it was foretold in the Doom of Mandos, he hit a point where he was like "screw this. we're all literally cursed to die by Morgoth's hand in pursuit of the oath we swore to take back the silmarils anyways." Definitely let his anger get the better of him, probably not the best call - but imho, probably the only one out of all of the Noldor who actually left a literal dent in Melkor / Morgoth at all in all of history. So you could say he's the only one that got the most mileage out of what little he could, being a Noldor cursed by the Doom of Mandos.

  • @Enerdhil
    @Enerdhil2 жыл бұрын

    Fingolfin knew he was eventually going to die in Middle Earth. He simply chose the way he was going to die.

  • @claytonclendenny7166
    @claytonclendenny71662 жыл бұрын

    Listening to this chapter while cleaning the bathroom is paradoxical but sure provides some needed elbow grease for those pesky places on the toilet. Imagining myself as Finfolfin as I scrub away… Epic

  • @andycortes123110
    @andycortes123110 Жыл бұрын

    This fight is pretty much something out of a souls game, and an epic fight I ever read

  • @shanenolan8252
    @shanenolan82522 жыл бұрын

    Cheers dan . All hail fingolfin high king of the noldor

  • @pahpatree597
    @pahpatree5972 жыл бұрын

    Thank you again for continuing this series ~ I'm really enjoying a lot & learning so much from your videos. Keep up the great work.

  • @rosie_gamgee
    @rosie_gamgee2 жыл бұрын

    What would have happened if he ended up killing Morgoth, I wonder

  • @rosie_gamgee

    @rosie_gamgee

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah that's understandable. But I meant what would Middle Earth be like if Morgoth was dead

  • @VoiceofGeekdom

    @VoiceofGeekdom

    2 жыл бұрын

    Maybe I should do a video about this 🤔

  • @rosie_gamgee

    @rosie_gamgee

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@VoiceofGeekdom Yes please!

  • @thomasferraro479

    @thomasferraro479

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@VoiceofGeekdom would love that

  • @R_Keller
    @R_Keller Жыл бұрын

    You probably won’t see this but thankyou for this series, it gives me a safe escape. Very entertaining

  • @Reeveli
    @Reeveli2 жыл бұрын

    Oh man, this is also my favorite part of Silmarillion and wider Tolkien works. I always start to hyperventilate when I try to visualize the passages in my mind. I really like how the duel is analogue to the wider wars of the jewels. The noldor’s and Fingolfin’s desperate and grief filled actions are born our of the evil deeds of Morgoth. Ultimately they stand no chance against the Dark Lord but still perform feats of legend before being ultimately defeated. All the while the Silmarillions hang tauntingly from Morgoth’s crown (quite literally when Fingolfin faces him). And after the noldor have been crushed by Morgoth the Valar (being manifested by the eagles after the duel) show pity on them. Also in my headcanon Ringil was forged by/for Fingolfin as a reminder of the sacrifices and loss of the noldor when crossing the Helcaraxë, hence the name. This would make it very fitting that on his last breath Fingolfin gives Morgoth a taste of the icy pain, him being ultimately responsible for all those that perished during the march.

  • @VoiceofGeekdom

    @VoiceofGeekdom

    2 жыл бұрын

    I love that headcanon! Good call.

  • @bensambo449
    @bensambo4492 жыл бұрын

    My guy! Thanks for the video! I absolutely love this series. Keep up the good work!

  • @anypercentdeathless
    @anypercentdeathless2 жыл бұрын

    Here in China we name Xi Jinping craven, and lord of slaves. (He too is afraid to leave Zhongnanhai-his Angband.)

  • @VoiceofGeekdom

    @VoiceofGeekdom

    2 жыл бұрын

    I hope his Orcs aren't reading this! 😂

  • @elizabethjansen2684

    @elizabethjansen2684

    Жыл бұрын

    My the god of heaven protect and keep you safe

  • @bird_and_dude_gaming
    @bird_and_dude_gaming15 күн бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @phillairious
    @phillairious Жыл бұрын

    Fingolfin: "1v1 me bro!"

  • @allisonkreutzberg6079
    @allisonkreutzberg60792 жыл бұрын

    Excellent job!

  • @krakentacos
    @krakentacos2 жыл бұрын

    Great artwork!!!

  • @NimpanZ
    @NimpanZ2 жыл бұрын

    Please add all of these to your playlist tab in order. It's a struggle to watch in order from the videos tab

  • @VoiceofGeekdom

    @VoiceofGeekdom

    2 жыл бұрын

    Aha, looks like I forgot to add the Dagor Bragollach (Ch. 18.1) video to the playlist! Thanks for letting me know, should be fixed now. Here's the link, if you need it: kzread.info/head/PLGjqQlInod2VF2Gmdgv4Nmsk63HBvTk7z

  • @Mmu12059
    @Mmu120592 жыл бұрын

    One also sees a hint of the Roman devotio in this

  • @RobiFM90
    @RobiFM90 Жыл бұрын

    Greta great video

  • @MrMojoRisin13
    @MrMojoRisin137 ай бұрын

    I'm gonna get hate for this lol. As cool and thrilling as this one-on-one battle reads in the book, it always struck me as impossible and even silly. I'm supposed to buy that the mightiest of the Ainur, he who had defied the combined might of the Valar for ages, who had driven them into seclusion in Aman, who is even here described as possessing might that "was greatest of things in this world," I'm supposed to believe that this godlike being was nearly defeated by a single elf? I don't care WHO that elf was. I don't even care if much or most of Morgoth's power had already diffused into Arda, leaving Melkor diminished. What Tolkien presents is still a laughably improbable outcome. This scene is perhaps the best representation of the often frustrating contradictions in Tolkien's secondary world. If Morgoth had lost so much of his innate power in the Marring of Arda, why would anyone still follow him? If a single elf could nearly defeat him, why would not Sauron or one of his other powerful underlings simply overthrow him? Hell, one of Melkor's dragons could defeat a single elf, surely such a creature could defeat a withered and degenerated Melkor. It makes no sense internally to the Legendarium and it's never sat well with me.