Annatar did not need to create 'The Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir'

 SPOILER WARNING 

This post contains both spoilers for the show up to episode 6 and also information from the books that could spoil future plotlines within the show.

 

In episode 5 of the Rings of Power 'Partings' we saw one of the most contraversial stories to come out of the show so far. Following a dinner where Elrond challenges Gil-Galad over his manipulation in sending him to aid Celebrimbor (this was done as they correctly guessed he would ask for his friend Prince Durin IV's help and in the hopes he would discover Mithril). Gil Galad tells him to recount 'The Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir'. The Song is stated by Elrond to be 'An obscure legend regarded by most to be apocryphal' but when pressed he recounts it in the following words:

'It speaks of a battle, high among the peaks of the Misty Mountains. Not over honor or duty. But over a tree. Within which some claim was hidden the last of the lost Silmarils. (There is a distinct pause here as Elrond looks at Gil-Galad) On one side fought and Elven warrior, with a heart as pure as Manwe, who poured all his light into the tree to protect it. On the other, a Balrog of Morgoth, who channeled all his hatred into the tree to destroy it. Amidst their duel unending, lighting ensnared the tree...Forging of their conflict, a power...

(Gil-Galad finishes the story)

'A power as pure and light as good. As strong and unyielding as evil. They say it seeped down the roots into the mountain depths, where for centuries now, it has waited.'

 

The last of the lost Silmarils

 If this tale is taken literally the primary issue revolves around theclaim that the tree contained the last of the lost Silmarils. It would take too long to explain fully about the Silmarils, if you do not know the story in detail you can read the summary here: https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Silmarils

They were mentioned by Celebrimbor in an earlier episode but essentially they are three jewels which contain the light of the two trees (the ones we see destroyed in the prologue) and were stolen by Morgoth. The Elves sailed to middle earth in a crusade to reclaim them. THis included an oath that brought much evil and sorrow. One of these was reclaimed in the tale of Beren and Luthien and now shines in the night sky as the Evening star (Elrond's father has it and sails the sky in a ship made of Mithril). The other two were recovered after the final war taht ended the first age. These were stolen by the last of Feanor's sons, Maedhros and Maglor. Due to the evil they had done the Silmarils burned them and Maglor threw his into the Ocean while Maedhros threw himself and his simaril into a magma filled chasm. 

The major issue people have with this is twofold, the first is that they know the final resting place of all three Silmarils and the second is that they do not see how their light would help the Elves.

The first point can be explained by looking at how Tolkien set up his role within his secondary world. He imagined himself not as the all knowing creator of the events of his mythology but instead he took the role of translator. He was translating a book he found. Even this has several layers of added complexity as he was translating a copy of a copy the original text written by Bilbo, Frodo and Sam that was ammended in Gondor for Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. But for the works of the Silmarillion he was translating a copy of copy of a translation made by Bilbo of Elven histories (and presumably Elendil's tale of the Downfall of Numenor). The immediate question that comes to my mind is how did the elven historians find out what Maedhros and Maglor did with their Silmarils? One possible explanation, that would allow for uncertainty surrounding their fate in the show, is that this information was given to the Elves by the wizards when they came in the third age or even by Glorfindel who was a first age hero who died killing a Balrog. Alternatively it could come from the use of Palantiri which would only be open to the Elves of middle Earth after the downfall of Numenor.

 

The confusion around Mithril

The second major issue I see is because people dislike this tale as an explanation for the creation of Mithril. The main issue with this dispute is Tolkien never explicitly stated how mithril was formed. We only know a handful of things about it, the only place it is found in Middle Earth is in Khazad-Dum but it is also found in Numenor and in Valinor (the Valar use it to fashion Earendil's ship). Given this scarcity it is perfectly understandable that this myth could be considered to have some truth to it regarding Mithril's formation. The key point in this so far as the Elves are concerned is simply that Mithril may contain the light of the Silmarils, the exact details of how and why are secondary to this.

I am fairly certain that the idea of the light of the Silmarils being contained in Mithril is largely a mythical construct possibly one chosen by an Elven minstrel. One other explanation, which I quite like, is that Mithril was made by Aule (he is the smith of the Valar) but with some help of Varda who it just so happens made the stars and the light of the two trees, the very same light that is contained in the Silmarils. Now this theory has several possible issues but could be made to fit the story of the show.

I think the main reason many people are taking this tale literally is due to the grains of truth it contains,we know there is a Balrog deep in the Misty Mountains, we know this is the only place where it is found and we know that much later Gandalf will have a battle with this same Balrog on one of the peaks of the Misty Mountains that is eerily similar to the tale told here.

 

The myth and Annatar

Following the episode many people have used this myth as evidence that Annatar (Sauron in a fair disguise who tricks the Elves into forging the rings of power) must be hiding in Eregion. They believe that this must be the case because: Why else would the Elves believe that such an obviously mythical tale could help them? Now I certainly believe this could be the case but many are stating this as the only possible explanation for this belief and I do not agree. The rest of this blog post will be devoted to explaining why this is the case. What I do think is almost certain (and would be almost essential for this theory) is that Sauron is directly responsible for the decay of the Great Tree, this is, to my mind, the key part of his plot to convince the Elves to forge rings with him.

Why the Elves believe in 'The Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir'

The Elves and fading

The Elves are very concerned in the Rings of Power and much of this comes back to an idea found throughout Tolkien, that of fading. All of Tolkien's races are gradually fading as the march of history moves through his tale the races slowly become less powerful. Some clear examples of this are that Sauron the main enemy of the second and third age was not as powerful as Morgoth the main foe of the first age and the Numenoreans in Gondor at the end of the third age are not as great as those who sailed away from the wreckage of Numenor.

This fading is also seen in the Elves, in Appendix B Tolkien writes about the Elvces in the Third Age staing that: 

'These were the fading years of the Eldar. For long they were at peace, wielding the Three Rings while Sauron slept and the One Ring was lost; but they attempted nothing new, living in memory of the past'

After the Rings pass away into the west this continues until the elves faded completely. This happened as their spirits overwhelmed and consumed their physical bodies (an important point here is that unlike mortal characters Elves are explicitly tied to Middle Earth and if theid physical form is destroyed they return to Valinor, though it is not clear if this is the case in the show).

Returning to the show the Elves are extremely concerned with their fading. The decay of the Great Tree in Lindon is seen as a sign of this. In Episode two, during the dinner with Disa and Durin, Elrond says that the Elves connect the Great Tree with 'their strength and vitality'. The decay that is consuming the tree is therefore cause for great concern amongst them and also the reason for the urgency. I beleive Celebrimbor stated his forge needed completing by Spring because this is when they believe the tree will die.

There is another reason for the Elves fear and this is to do with the clear paralell between the destruction of the Great Tree and that of the Two Trees that we saw in the prologue. I have considered the possibility that the Great Tree is a descendant of Laurelin (the tree of gold) as The White Tree of Numenor (and later of Gondor) is of Telperion (the tree of silver). Now the story from the prologue is not a complete tale and I believe we were in the grips of an unreliable narrateor, she has already changed her story around her brothers death. Initially she said he was killed by Sauron but then says to Halbrand that he was killed by serveants of Sauron (in the Silmarillion this is done by werewolves as Finrod saves Beren's life when they are trapped in Sauron's dungeon).

 

What this could mean for the future?

If what I have stated above is true we can see a clear link between the Elven fears of their fading and their desire for Mithril. I strongly suspect that the Elves will either find Mithril does not function as they hope or (and this is suggested by some lines we have seen in promos for episode 7) the Dwarves will refuse to give them more Mithril. In either case we have the Elves at their darkest and most desperate point. This is the time at which Sauron (in his Annatar form) shows up and suggests forging the rings of Power, he will almost certainly imply or outright state that these could be used to stop the elven decay. Now while I do not claim that this is exactly how the story will progress I think this would give the Elves far more motivation to allow Annatar to forge the rings even though Gil-Galad, Elrond and Galadriel do not trust him.