Kevin's Watch

What battle did you feel is the best, out of everything Tolkien wrote?

Probably a Silmarillion battle. I liked Dagor Bragollach (Battle of Sudden Flame). Or "The Great Battle", also known as the War of Wrath. I think the War of Wrath had the single greatest battle Tolkien ever wrote. I wish he had made an LOTR-styled narration out of it!

I agree w/everything LF just said!

Lord Foul wrote:Probably a Silmarillion battle. I liked Dagor Bragollach (Battle of Sudden Flame). Or "The Great Battle", also known as the War of Wrath. I think the War of Wrath had the single greatest battle Tolkien ever wrote. I wish he had made an LOTR-styled narration out of it!

Totally agree with you there Lord Foul. it was the best battle in the history of Tolkien Battles.

Nirnaeth Arnoediad. The grand strategy of the Union of Maedhros, wrecked when the hothead Gwindor attacked too soon; the Noldor sweeping right to the gates of Angband, Morgoth seemingly defeated, until he sprang his trap with the army hidden in the mountains; the retreat over the dragon-blasted wasteland of Anfauglith; the treachery of Ulfang and his sons, stabbing the Elves in the back; how the Dwarves stood fast until their king was slain by the worm Glaurung, then marched away from the battle carrying his body and singing funeral chants; the heroic last stand of the Men of Dor-lómin, and Húrin standing on a heap of dead Orcs, mowing down the enemy till they smothered him with sheer numbers. It's not only a brilliant battle scene, it may just be the best thing of its kind since the Norse sagas. I only wish JRRT had written it at full length, as he did with the story of Túrin and some other sections of The Silmarillion.

Ah so many great battles....

But the one that I really got a charge out of way before the movie came out was the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

The 5th Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad is my Favorite.
They had Morgoth beat.
It was all over.
But then they were betrayed.
Awesome!

Fall of Gondolin in Book of Lost Tales is wonderful too.
Lots of Balrogs and evil creatures that didn't make it into the Silmarillion.
Morgoth even used tanks depending on how you interpret it!

Dawngreeter wrote:Ah so many great battles....

But the one that I really got a charge out of way before the movie came out was the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Ditto. Other than the part of the Rohirrim (and even this is a maybe), I don't think Peter Jackson did it any justice. I tend to forward through it on DVD because it's so silly-looking, with the digital mumakil squashing the digital horses flat in a digital and thoroughly unrealistic way. And he totally ruined Aragorn's surprise attack with the corsair ships. Ruined it!

Y'all are making me want to give The Silmarillion another shot, just for the battles...