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J.R.R. Tolkien wrote:And then Gelmir brought forth one of the lamps for which the Noldor are renowned; for they were made of old in Valinor, and neither wind nor water could quench them, and when they were unhooded they sent forth a clear blue light from a flame imprisoned in white crystal.

So, I'm rereading everything (well Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Children of Hurin) in an attempt to comprehensively (and generously) come up with my big list of magic and that description caught my eye. The footnote hints that Fëanor himself might have made the lamps (or at least devised their construction). If so, the Lamp of Balthi has quite a bit of history to it; more than I had originally caught.

Good find!

Yes, the blue elf-lamps were a part of Tolkien's legendarium from the beginning. The usual story is that the Noldor brought them from Valinor, but the secret of their making was lost. Their rarity changes with various tellings. I don't think he ever wrote about any not in the hands of elves, though I believe he did write about them in the hands of elves who were thralls of Morgoth.

I was under the impression that the Lamp of Balthi had explicitly been made by Ormal. That it is, it was in the style of the famous lamps of the Noldor (which would make sense, as Ormal studied with Feanor's grandson) but was not actually one of them itself.

Yes, the character Ormal in the Elvenking's halls makes the Lamp of Balthi a bit silly. He knows how to make them and hangs them in the Elvenking's halls. There's nothing particularly special about the Woodmen's lamp; Ormal can make them and can teach others to make them.

Stormcrow wrote:Yes, the character Ormal in the Elvenking's halls makes the Lamp of Balthi a bit silly. He knows how to make them and hangs them in the Elvenking's halls. There's nothing particularly special about the Woodmen's lamp; Ormal can make them and can teach others to make them.

That's not necessarily true.

It's a staple of Arda that there are a lot of things that can only be made once, regardless of the skill and prowess of the craftsman. Feanor could not have cranked out Silmaril's by the gross; he made exactly three and even if the Two Trees had not been destroyed could not have made more. The Trees themselves, despite being creations of literal for-real deities who did things like build mountain ranges and oceans, were likewise unique creations that could not simply be rebuilt after they were poisoned. Sauron couldn't just make another Ruling Ring after he lost his toy. Etc.

So it's not unreasonable to figure that the matched set Ormal made represented his opus, the absolute pinnacle of his craft that he will never again be able to equal. The lamps he hangs in the Elvenking's halls or hands out to heroes are very, very good lamps, but are much more limited in scope and power.

By the way, from House of the Wolfings (published 1889):

But over the dais there hung by chains and pulleys fastened to a tie-beam of the roof high aloft a wondrous lamp fashioned of glass; yet of no such glass as the folk made then and there, but of a fair and clear green like an emerald, and all done with figures and knots in gold, and strange beasts, and a warrior slaying a dragon, and the sun rising on the earth: nor did any tale tell whence this lamp came, but it was held as an ancient and holy thing by all the Markmen, and the kindred of the Wolf had it in charge to keep a light burning in it night and day for ever; and they appointed a maiden of their own kindred to that office; which damsel must needs be unwedded, since no wedded woman dwelling under that roof could be a Wolfing woman, but would needs be of the houses wherein the Wolfings wedded.

Elfcrusher wrote:By the way, from House of the Wolfings (published 1889):

...good catch!



Francesco

Murcushio wrote: It's a staple of Arda that there are a lot of things that can only be made once, regardless of the skill and prowess of the craftsman. Feanor could not have cranked out Silmaril's by the gross; he made exactly three and even if the Two Trees had not been destroyed could not have made more. The Trees themselves, despite being creations of literal for-real deities who did things like build mountain ranges and oceans, were likewise unique creations that could not simply be rebuilt after they were poisoned. Sauron couldn't just make another Ruling Ring after he lost his toy. Etc.

So it's not unreasonable to figure that the matched set Ormal made represented his opus, the absolute pinnacle of his craft that he will never again be able to equal. The lamps he hangs in the Elvenking's halls or hands out to heroes are very, very good lamps, but are much more limited in scope and power.

Couldn't have said it better.
*applause*

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