An Essay on the Sons of Fëanor by clotho123

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Appendix II: Texts of the Oath of Fëanor

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From ‘Of the Flight of the Noldor’

[S 9] This text was derived from Tolkien’s narrative summary

They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by the name even of Ilúvatar, calling the Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not; and Manwë they named in witness, and Varda, and the hallowed mountain of Taniquetil, vowing to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf or Man as yet unborn, or any creature, great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from their possession.

From the Annals of Aman

[MR 2]

Be he foe or friend, be he foul or clean,

brood of Morgoth or bright Vala,

Elda or Maia or Aftercomer,

Man yet unborn upon Middle-earth,

neither law, nor love, nor league of swords,

dread nor danger, not Doom itself,

shall defend him from Fëanor, and Fëanor’s kin,

whoso hideth or hordeth or in hand taketh,

finding keepeth or afar casteth

a Silmaril.  This swear we all:

death we will deal him ere Day’s ending,

woe unto world’s end!  Our word hear thou,

Eru Allfather!  To the everlasting

Darkness doom us if our deed faileth.

On the holy mountain hear in witness

and our vow remember, Manwë and Varda!

From ‘The Flight of the Noldor from Valinor’

This is a short fragment of alliterative verse to be found in LB II

There are two significant differences between this and the later texts.  First the oath of the sons is not the same as the oath sworn by Fëanor himself (that it is the same oath in later versions is clear, although not stressed) and second that though the oath is called unbreakable the crucial feature of invoking Ilúvatar and Eternal Darkness is not yet present.  There is also an additional sinister note struck in the comment that the oath “nor hath ended yet”.

The quoted words are:

Be he friend or foe   or foul offspring

of Morgoth Bauglir,   be he mortal dark

that in after days   on earth shall dwell

shall no law nor love   no league of Gods,

no might or mercy,   not moveless fate,

defend him for ever   from the fierce vengeance

of the sons of Fëanor,   whoso seize or steal

or finding keep   the fair enchanted

globes of crystal   whose glory dies not

the Silmarils.   We have sworn forever!

Fëanor’s oath, given a few lines earlier, is as follows:

Morgoth has them   in his monstrous hold

my Silmarils.   I swear here oaths,

unbreakable bonds   to bind me ever,

by Timbrenting   and the timeless halls

of Bredhil the Blessed   that abides thereon –

may she hear and heed –   to hunt endlessly

unwearying unwavering  through world and sea,

through leagured lands,   lonely mountains,

over fens and forest   and the fearful snows,

til I find those fair ones,   where the fate is hid

of the folk of Elfland   and their fortune locked,

where alone now lies   the light divine

From The Lay of Leithian

The substance of the text given is almost exactly the same as in the alliterative fragment given above, only the form of the poetry is different.  It is not quite clear in the poem whether this oath is the same as the one sworn by Fëanor or not, although Tolkien does speak of “those kinsmen seven” which may imply it was not.

Be he friend or foe, or seed defiled

of Morgoth Bauglir, or mortal child

that in after days on earth shall dwell,

no law, nor love, nor league of hell,

not might of Gods, not moveless fate

shall defend him from wrath and hate

of Fëanor’s sons who takes or steals

or finding keeps the Silmarils,

the thrice enchanted globes of light

that shine until the final night

[LB III].

There is an alteration from the alliterative fragment, in that they are said to name “Timbrenting’s holy height” (although that name does not appear in the words actually quoted) and the idea here appears that anyone who calls

these names in witness may not break

his oath, though earth and heaven shake

A few pages later Celegorm repeats the Oath almost, although not quite, exactly in his speech in Nargothrond