The Captains Crazy of Middle-earth

of winning the battle. Maedhros would still have been late, and perhaps would have been caught alone in the open desert and destroyed. But Maedhros' army was destroyed anyway, and if Fingon would have held back he would have kept Hithlum free for at least a while longer, and the Edain would not have been slaughtered needlessly alongside the Elves of Hithlum. A little more than 20 years later Hurin's son Turin found himself in Nargothrond, and there he was welcomed in part because he had arrived with Gwindor, who alone had survived the assault on Angband, and had finally escaped thralldom. Gwindor's folly continued to mount, however. He introduced Turin to Orodreth and Turin subsequently rose high in the king's favor, eventually gaining enough respect and prestige among the Elves that Gwindor's admonitions against going to open battle against Morgoth were overruled. Nargothrond took the field, and its army must have seemed very powerful. But they had no allies. Cirdan's people had fallen or fled south to the Isle of Balar, and though Turin had been fostered by king Thingol of Doriath the Sindar did not march to war with Orodreth. And the Men of Brethil were too few to send any forces out again. So in time Glaurung came south and he helped destroy Nargothrond. Gwindor and Orodreth both died, and Turin was caught in the dragon's spell. Turin was a great warrior but never a great captain. With Beleg Cuthalion he had led a small band of outlaws in the lands between Doriath and Nargothrond, but in time the outlaws were betrayed and destroyed. And Turin's arrogance in taking the open field brought ruin to Nargothrond. He ended up in Brethil and by now had learned his lesson, but too late to benefit from it. The Men of Brethil accepted Turin but pressured him to help them fight the Orcs, and when he revealed himself Glaurung came looking for him. And Turin slew the dragon, only to learn at the end the awful truth of the spell Glaurung had laid upon him and his sister. In all the great disasters the leaders of the Elves and Men follow the path of rage and vengeance, and time and again they pay a high toll in suffering and sacrifice, and bit-by-bit the Noldor and Edain are worn down and all but destroyed. There is a primitive elegance in the modes of warfare exhibited by the

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