Written for the 2023 Tolkien Ekphrasis Week. Originally posted on the Archive of Our Own here.
Early First Age Beleriand
Unglazed pottery and iron gall ink, approx. 5" by 8"
Undersea excavations of Hithlum have yielded numerous ostraca – texts written on shards of pottery. The majority date from the early period of Noldorin resettlement in Beleriand, when the Noldor were not yet engaging in large-scale parchment production.
Ostraca discovered at Hithlum include large quantities of administrative records, as well as what appear to be the initial drafts of official correspondence that would later have been committed to parchment – ironically, it is often the more durable ostraca that survive today when the parchment is long lost. A number of other ostraca bear known Valinorean literary texts. There appears to have been a coordinated effort by many of the host of Nolofinwë upon arriving in Beleriand to copy down cherished texts they had been unable to carry across the Helcaraxë; occasional errors in the ostraca support the conclusion that this was done from memory.
The text on this ostracon is fragmentary, but the legible portions make clear that it was written in Beleriand, as it references Manwë’s aid to Fingon Nolofinwion in his famed rescue of Maedhros Fëanorion from Angband. The author cites Manwë’s mercy in intervening to save a kinslayer as evidence of his continued care for the exiled Noldor.
This devotional text – almost certainly a hymn, although no musical notation accompanies it – is the first appearance of certain tropes that would become ubiquitous in later Beleriandic hymns to Manwë, and which appear in Numenórean and Gondorian devotional literature as well. In the ostracon text, the listener is reassured that “under [Manwë’s] wings you may take refuge” and that “the terror of night [and the] arrow flying by day” are no match for the Vala’s “sheltering pinions.” Although Manwë’s association with birds was present in the presolar devotional texts of all elven cultures, the physical portrayal of Manwë as a great bird first arises in Beleriandic Noldorin literature.
The author of the hymn has never been identified. Some scholars have suggested that it was written by Fingon, pointing both to phrases in the hymn text that are similar to some appearing in Fingon’s surviving letters and to the evident emotionality when referencing the rescue of Maedhros, but this evidence is far from conclusive.
Mid-First Age Beleriand
Brass, approx. 1" by 1"
Pins, pendants, and other articles of jewelry bearing images of the Valar were frequently worn as both devotional objects and protective amulets in First Age Beleriand. The presolar Sindarin custom of wearing an image of Varda – either anthropomorphized or represented by a star – spread to both the Noldor and the Edain. Manwë's direct intervention in Fingon Nolofinwion's rescue of Maedhros Fëanorion increased Manwë's reputation among both the Noldor and the Sindar as a protector against Morgoth, and Manwë frequently appears alongside his wife in devotional and talismanic images.
The traditional apotropaic duo of Manwë and Varda are joined on this brooch by Ulmo, suggesting that the original owner may have been a sailor or fisherman. The inscription on the back of the brooch is largely worn away, but in one place the letters ANEINI are visible – almost certainly part of the most common Sindarin title for Manwë, Aran Einior ("Elder King").
The small size of this brooch would have made it unsuitable for clasping a cloak or other article of outerwear. Instead, it was likely worn pinned to the inner garments. The clasp has been repaired at least twice; this, combined with the general wear pattern, indicates regular use over a long period of time, possibly centuries.