Avari, or Moriquendi?
I don't have the Silmarillion on hand right now, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't literally say Avari occasionally dwelled in Taur-im-Duinath. Rather, I'm quite sure The Silmarillion states only Dark Elves dwelt there sometimes (Edit: I found the literal quote, and it's “a wild land of tangled forest in which no folk went, save here and there a few Dark Elves wandering”). A.k.a.: the Moriquendi. Now, yes, the Avari are technically part of the Moriquendi, and we know from vague hints in Tolkien's writings that the Avari apparently 'crept into Beleriand' throughout the First Age, so it's far from unthinkable that they would have made Taur-im-Duinath their home. I personally absolutely think they did. However, 'Dark Elves' of course also refers to Sindar and Nandor, and while I don't see what would compel the Sindar to wander in Taur-im-Duinath (a lovesick Daeron being the exception), it seems perfectly reasonable to me that the Nandorin Green-elves or Laiquendi would dare to enter the woodland. Not only were they known to love trees and beasts, Taur-im-Duinath is also directly adjacent to Ossiriand, a land the Laiquendi were more abundant in than anywhere else in Beleriand. We also know that many Laiquendi left Ossiriand after the First Battle of Beleriand, with some of them settling in Arthórien. Speculation about the true identity of the "Dark Elves" that lived in Taur-im-Duinath seems to be just as much, if not more, on the side of the Laiquendi as on the side of the Avari. Or is there actually an official word from Tolkien about these Dark Elves being Avari? Anyway, I thought I'd raise the issue because we of course want to be as objective as possible. —Unsigned comment by Emyn Duir (talk • contribs).
- That's a good observation and you did very well to open the discussion. The phrase about Avari cites to the Silmarillion text, and also the Index of names. Since you checked the text, I checked the index, and, at least the entry for Taur-im-Duinath, it mentions nothing about Avari or Dark Elves. However I am considering this: The Silmarillion generally refers to Noldor, Sindar and Laiquendi, and generally it doesnt refer to the latter as "Dark Elves". So, if it chooses to refer here to "Dark Elves" it means that they were "darker" than the others, and it strongly suggests that they were Avari. This is my explanation why the editor interpreted the text as Avari. As you said it is better to be as objective as possible, so I'm changing Avari to Dark Elves. Sage (talk) 14:34, 6 May 2023 (UTC)
- I'm sorry for an off topic, but what do you think about my remark on this talk page? -Ar-Zigûr (talk) 08:06, 7 May 2023 (UTC)