Editor's Note by Mapthor
Yes you heard it right. Both Xmine’s Dead Marshes and Swe’s Pelennor Fields were all wrapped up with a bow on the 18th, marking three projects done this month! This now begs the question, what’s next? Tharbad revamp? East Gate? Mordor? I sure hope so because I might take Smaug up on the $75 bet that it’ll start this year. But who knows, guess we can just wait and see. Until next time, keep on keeping on :thumbs_up:

Happy Sailing,
mapthor


Anduin - Lead: @Wyattrox03 | In Progress
Report by Wyattrox03

Progress is still happening - trust me - sauce: just trust me bro. Maski finished connecting the tributary east of Harlond, World has initiated some final vegetation plots south of Osgiliath, and Ayla, Topcat, Xmine and I finished connecting the Pelennor stream to the Anduin outside of Harlond's walls. Want to see more progress on the Anduin? Commit to the MCME Builder Grindset and message myself or w0rldunder for plots .



Anorien - Lead: @draonic_slayer | Completed (For Now)
Report by Draonic_Slayer

So, it’s done, after nearly a year of work, the Pelennor Fields are done. Thanks to all the hard work of everyone who help build in the Pelennor, it has made it truly a worthy build for such an important area in the Lord of the Rings. For some more information follow the link. Feel free to explore the Pelennor, there is plenty to see and lots of hidden details to discover, and has loads of fantastic angles to take screenshots from. Furthermore, now that OsgoFields and Pelennor Fields are complete, Anorien does not have any active building happening on it, so keep your ears open as there might be some more work coming soon™.




Dead Marshes – Lead: @Xmine01 | Completed
Report by Xmine01

Very glad that I could help out on MCME by actually leading and even finishing the Dead Marshes of all things, definitely never thought that it was going to be worked on after all these years. From the planning, concepts and spending dozens of hours building the actual thing I've enjoyed (most) of my time working on it. Working for hours on end on a project really brings people together and in the end that's what counts the most. Big thank you to everyone who helped out <3



Lond Daer – Lead: @mattlego | In Progress
Report by mattlego

Lond Daer has seen an incredible amount of progress recently. The Cothon and Hippodrome have been completed and pretty much all that remains in the main city is small portions of the Palace and the Northern Harbor. Besides that, some small details still need to be done here and there with some older parts of the city maybe needing some small tweaking but overall it is looking great. Some work on the river and the other side of the river still needs to be done but that wont really impact the main city portion much.



Moria – Lead: @DoctorDaom | In Progress
Report by Shen

Badger and rwyland have begun planning for Moria's East Gate! Check out their project post here for more info!





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This week we have another round of amazing builds and Media posts. We only choose from the best every time, so hard work does pay off. Sometimes it can get competitive and that is what will win a place here. Please give a warm welcome to this Times, winners of this week.

MEDIA Winners:


THEME-BUILD Winners
(http://imgur.com/a/yGebxep)

Of Elves and Men
The romantic union of Elves and Men is a special subject in Tolkien's legendarium. Elves were a magical folk deeply connected with the world, immortal, and possessing power and ability far beyond their mortal counterparts; so their joining with mortal Men in marriage was naturally a thing of great interest. It happened rarely, and with usually important, world-changing consequences. Tolkien recorded only five such unions in his writings, though there were possibly more. The fact that he listed only three in the Appendix to The Lord of the Rings often causes confusion. Here we'll discuss the nature and consequences of such unions, and the lists and examples found in Tolkien's writings.

Both Elves and Men were created specifically by Eru Ilúvatar, and were called his First and Second Born, respectively. Although they were vastly different in nature and abilities, their differences were chiefly in the nature of their spirits, or fëar; whereas their physical bodies, or hröar, were nearly identical in nature. This meant that they were biologically compatible to bear offspring, although it seemingly took a mortal of great strength and vigour to consummate such a union.

For an Elf, the consequences of such a union were great, because Elves only ever married for love; and such a love with a mortal would naturally be brief, lasting only until the end of the mortal's life. The Elf would then witness their mate grow old and die, and their spirit leave the confines of Arda, as was the fate of mortal fëar; after which the Elf would be bound to live on, bereft of their loved one to the end of the world. Likewise also they would become bereft of their children, as all children born of such a union were born as mortal Men, unless otherwise decreed by the Valar. The exception to this was the case of Arwen Undómiel, who was born an Elf, but with the choice of the Peredhil ('Half-elven') to become mortal in her marriage to Aragorn; but even then, the choice required that she be separated from her Elvish family through her own mortal death, leaving them bereaved forever at her loss. Therefore, any union with a mortal was naturally the cause of eventual anguish for an Elf; and for this reason it was generally only undertaken for the sake of some greater purpose.

There were five recorded unions between Elves and Men in Tolkien's works (and possibly others that were not recorded). However, Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings specifically states: "There were three unions of the Eldar and the Edain: Lúthien and Beren; Idril and Tuor; Arwen and Aragorn." Correctly read, this means these were the only three such unions. This often causes some confusion, particularly when confronted with the case of Mithrellas and Imrazôr, the ancestors of Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth; and also with the case of Nimroth and Dior, the son of Tuor and Idril. The reason for this confusion lies in the wording of the passage: "Eldar and Edain" is not the same as "Elves and Men".

Part of the confusion lies with the in-universe evolution of the term "Eldar". Originally applied by the Vala Oromë to mean the people of the Elves in general, it later meant only those who followed his summons to Valinor; and later still it was applied only to those who completed the journey into Beleriand with the intention of obeying the summons. Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings tells us that "the West-elves (the Eldar)" were long ago divided from "the East-elves", who were "most of the Elven-folk of Mirkwood and Lórien”. Thus, by this usage, the Silvan Elves were not of the Eldar. Another part of the confusion arises from the fact that not all Men were Edain. Appendix A states: “The Edain (Atani) were three peoples of Men who, coming first to the West of Middle-earth and the shores of the Great Sea, became allies of the Eldar against the Enemy.”

Regarding the case of Mithrellas and Imrazôr in Unfinished Tales, the account tells us that Imrazôr was a Númenórean, and was therefore of the Edain. However, "Mithrellas was of the lesser Silvan race (and not of the High Elves or the Grey)". Therefore, Mithrellas was not counted among the Eldar as defined in Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings; which is why her union with Imrazôr is not listed in Appendix A.

The case of Dior and Nimloth is slightly more complicated. Nimloth was of the Eldar (being the great-granddaughter of Thingol's brother, Elmo); however, Dior was not counted among the Edain. His father Beren was of the Edain; but though his mother Lúthien was mortal at the time of his conception, she was of the Eldar in origin. Therefore, Dior was counted as the first of the *Peredhil*, or "Half-elven" (cf. HoMe XII, “The Shibboleth of Fëanor”). And though he was Half-elven, he was born a mortal Man, as explained by Manwë (HoMe V, "Quenta Silmarillion"): "Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be granted to them; but in this matter the power of doom is given to me." Thus, the union of Dior and Nimloth was counted among the unions of Men and Eldar, but not among the unions of the Edain and the Eldar. This then also explains why Eärendil and Elwing were both mortal, and subject to the "peril" of entering Aman, as both of them were the offspring of unions between Men and Elves: Tuor and Idril, and Dior and Nimloth, respectively.

So, the five recorded unions of Elves and Men were Idril and Tuor; Lúthien and Beren; Nimloth and Dior; Mithrellas and Imrazôr; and Arwen and Aragorn. But could there have been others? Although it is said that there were only three unions of the Eldar and the Edain, it is nowhere written that there were only five unions of Elves and Men. It's almost certain that there were no other unions of Men and Eldar, because such unions were warned against by Finrod in his conversation with the woman Andreth (cf. HoMe X, "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth"). The case of Mithrellas and Imrazôr provides an example for union between non-Eldarin Elves and Men: Imrazôr was a Númenórean lord, and the union was historically notable for the strength and nobility of their offspring, the Princes of Dol Amroth - and yet the account is only given as oral tradition. It's possible that there may have been other such unions in the West of Middle-earth that weren't historically notable, or were secret, and which led to no great deeds among their offspring. It's perhaps more possible that such unions may have occurred in other parts of Middle-earth, among Silvan Elves who wandered, or among Avari who consorted with Men. All we can say for certain is that Tolkien didn't explicitly rule out the possibility, but such possibility would likely be extremely rare.

Presented by: ExeterKered


This Week's Question:
Which hobbit family was rumoured to have had an ancestor who married an Elf?


Presented by: ExeterKered




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