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Moving Sale: Magic Rings and Other Trinkets Half Off - Page 6

© Michael Martinez

In fact, of all the Noldorin cities in Beleriand, Gondolin was said to be most like ancient Tirion in Aman. Perhaps the Noldor of Gondolin came closer to rivalling their people's achievements in Aman of any realm in Middle-earth. They didn't produce Silmarils, but in one attempt to put a story behind Aragorn's green stone Tolkien made it an artifact of Gondolin. Maeglin, of course, improved the mining and smith lore of Turgon's people, so they were probably not as good at that sort of thing as the Feanorians. But they were nonetheless very gifted. And they had the time to focus on making things. Their seven gates show just how much time they had on their hands. Was Turgon really interested in creating a secret refuge where the Elves' last hope could be born or was he just trying to build the ultimate artists' colony? Whatever cities the Noldor built in Hithlum were long forgotten, but Gondolin lived on in song and story, even though most Noldor never even saw it. The wonders of the city surpassed everything else achieved by the Eldar in Beleriand, and they were mostly lost. What treasures weren't buried in the ruins of Gondolin would have been looted and carried off by the Orcs for Morgoth's treasuries, and those were eventually buried and destroyed when Angband was ruined and sank beneath the sea. How many countless items made with all the love the Elves could muster were lost? But then, those who loved those things were also lost. A lone warrior might have braved the perils of Dorthonion a generation later to look upon the runs of Gondolin, but none of its people ever returned there. What would such a wanderer think, seeing the crumbling ruins of the once proud city on its hill, with the bones of dead Orcs and Elves strewn about the rocks? Would anyone have defiled the ruins to dig for swords and gold, jewels and magic harps? Is that, perhaps, how the swords Glamdring and Orcrist eventually made their way to some troll-hoard in Eriador? Nearly two thousand years later another great Noldorin city was destroyed: Ost-in-Edhil, the chief city of Eregion. There the Gwaith-i-Mirdain had labored for centuries, learning how to make the Rings of Power. But they created other treasures, and such baubles as were not carried off by the survivors or destroyed by the invading armies undoubtedly fell into the hands of Sauron. He must have sent quite a train of goods back to Mordor before pressing on with his invasion of Eriador. The Orcs must have made out pretty well, too. Perhaps a lot of them sported some genuine Elf-armor for a while (not that it seems to have done the Elves all that much good). Surely Sauron could have dined on non-tarnishing silver plate.

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