Most YT Tolkien channels have at least one element that annoys me. But The Red Book gets everything right: great voice, thought provoking storytelling, beautiful visuals, moving music... I'd say you're almost too good for this medium! Thank you for your eye for detail, it really shows.
I just heard a story of the paladins of Charlemagne where they were being referred to as men of light, and the last stand of Boromir is very reminiscent of the last stand of Roland at the spanish march. Where he too blew a horn which the king heard. I bet Tolkien drew inspiration from the story. And Boromir was a descendant of the Edain.
That's one thing I like about the movies is they showed his final stand, his redemption in the end. I did read and listen to the books after I saw the movies, but I do find the books better. I'm just happy they put that in the movies.
The feature that appeals to most to me is that you capture the work of J R R Tolkien, unpolluted by later cinematic adaptation or the cesspit of politics. Nevertheless, I could not help but thinking that there is at least one full movie plot in every sentence. Tolkien's legendarium is truly vast!
One of your best videos. Other channels can rehash the main books and ask the same questions but you are bringing the history of the main books and questions to light.
One of three videos dedicated to Men of the First Age. This video focuses on the Edain and the Three Houses known as the Elf-friends of the First Age. The Edain: The Men of Light - th-cam.com/video/JT1pi5Fjib8/w-d-xo.html The Middle Men: The Men of Twilight - th-cam.com/video/DAPjvp4be5k/w-d-xo.html The Wild Men: The Men of Darkness - th-cam.com/video/ilqdJpErosk/w-d-xo.html Support The Red Book- www.patreon.com/theredbook
Great to see another video from you! But the one I'm most looking forward to is the Men of Darkness. One question though- as Tolkien was basing his mythology roughly on the history of the Earth, I wonder if there were a race of Men who went far to the East after leaving Hildorien- and I also wonder if these were Men of Light as well. Consider: in East Asia there are stories, tales and myths about mysticism, immortality, reincarnation and even hints at telekinesis. This speaks of some kind of great wisdom, and bear in mind that East Asia developed its own philosophies independent of the Middle East and later Greece. Thus in the Legendarium, were there races of Men analogous to the Chinese, Koreans, Thai, etc, and also went far, far to the east and, in Tolkien's world, sought to distance themselves from the darkness of Morgoth? Just like the Edain? And, in the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, Andreth states that Men were originally immortal. What if some of them were but they went far to the east of Middle Earth? Would this be the source of the rumours of immortality or perhaps even reincarnation?
Presumably Men spread everywhere the land could sustain them just as happened on our world. There are fantastical and exotic lands that are only hinted at in Tolkien's writings, the armies summoned by Mordor for The War of the Ring are the most obvious glimpse. The Numenoreans sailed far across the world and contacted (and colonized) numerous human societies. But the details were never developed as they were outside the scope of the stories he was telling.
What i love about the first age its the amount of loyalty displayed by all those who opposed morgoth. The house of Hador giving their lives to allow turgon to escape the battle thus keeping Gondolin alive to keep on the fight or the oath of finrod to barahir, he as a king couldve just sent beren with some of his elite elves but finrod decided to accompany beren and face sauron in a battle of magic or even the loyalty of the dwarves who built Nargothron together with finrod. I know tolkien has the ability to make sorrowful stories but at the end of many others what saves our heroes its that loyalty that all the children of illuvatar are capable of.
Wonderful stuff, Steven, there are many interesting details I was unaware of. I wonder though: did the Men of Hador circumvent the Blue Mountains northwards or southwards? Both options seem to lead one towards neighbouring mountain chains or the sea. Well the Eastern and Southern confines of Beleriand are not sketched all too precisely anyway. I also wonder what became of the surviving Edain who forwent Numenor and stayed in Middle-Earth. Any ideas on that?
I have recently wondered about whether there were perhaps nine original tribes of men, with the Edain being three of them. The reason being that the number of the rings gifted to each race seems to correspond to their internal divisions into tribes/clans. 3 for the elves and three original tribes of eleves, since i believe that the avari are not realy their ow tribe as such but are comprised of members of the three tribes. And ofcourse seven for the Dwarves. Now granted Sauron only planned for 17 rings to be made, and they were all ment for elves, but i still think it seems to be more that a coincidence. I think it is further hinted at the number nine being symbolic because three of the rings went to numenorean lords and their people were comprised of three houses (Beör, Haleth and Hador). Or maybe i am reading too much into it.
Excellent video! Looking forward to the next three video! Quick question, do we know if the character of Haleth was inspired by the character of Eowyn or vis versa? There appear to be some similarities to these characters.
Very interesting. What I think I remember reading someplace (how's that for being vague!) when the Edain went to Númenor, well over half of them were from the House of Hador and most of the rest were from the House of Bëor. Few of the House of Haleth survived to make the journey. Is this more or less correct?
Most of the house of Beor, if not virtually all, were killed or driven out of Dor-Lomin and Hithlam by the end of the first age, so I would assume it would be very heavy bulk of Hador and little of Beor, almost none of Haleth
Just finished an audiobook of LOTR by Phil Dragash. It's a 1 man project and completely free online. It was an impressive undertaking and he does a great job. just wondering if you had heard of it?
House of Hador had the most renowned men. But if we take on account that Hurin and Huor were already half of the House of Haleth (from their mother) and that both married women from the House of Beor, it comes clear that the most renowned characters were somehow a mixture of the Houses of the Edain, which became the ethnic basis of the peoples of Númenor (the different mixtures between these 3 Houses).
I suppose the migration of the Edain was based on the original flat Arda concept, with the Sun first arising in the West. I just wonder what Tolkien would have written had Arda been round from the beginning.
Agathacles burned his ships in africa while attacking carthage. Hannibal crossed the alps to attack italy. The carthaginians were the best sailors and lived in the west
Most YT Tolkien channels have at least one element that annoys me. But The Red Book gets everything right: great voice, thought provoking storytelling, beautiful visuals, moving music... I'd say you're almost too good for this medium! Thank you for your eye for detail, it really shows.
I just heard a story of the paladins of Charlemagne where they were being referred to as men of light, and the last stand of Boromir is very reminiscent of the last stand of Roland at the spanish march. Where he too blew a horn which the king heard. I bet Tolkien drew inspiration from the story. And Boromir was a descendant of the Edain.
That's one thing I like about the movies is they showed his final stand, his redemption in the end. I did read and listen to the books after I saw the movies, but I do find the books better. I'm just happy they put that in the movies.
Was just yesterday hoping for a new Red Book release and suddenly today Eru Ilúvatar provides!
I'm watching the past Q&A while I work, this is great news
And two more coming soon after! :)
The feature that appeals to most to me is that you capture the work of J R R Tolkien, unpolluted by later cinematic adaptation or the cesspit of politics. Nevertheless, I could not help but thinking that there is at least one full movie plot in every sentence. Tolkien's legendarium is truly vast!
One of your best videos. Other channels can rehash the main books and ask the same questions but you are bringing the history of the main books and questions to light.
Artwork looks fantastic, I especially like The House of Bëor clip
One of three videos dedicated to Men of the First Age. This video focuses on the Edain and the Three Houses known as the Elf-friends of the First Age.
The Edain: The Men of Light - th-cam.com/video/JT1pi5Fjib8/w-d-xo.html
The Middle Men: The Men of Twilight - th-cam.com/video/DAPjvp4be5k/w-d-xo.html
The Wild Men: The Men of Darkness - th-cam.com/video/ilqdJpErosk/w-d-xo.html
Support The Red Book- www.patreon.com/theredbook
I can't wait man. Only my data renews on the fifteenth 😢
So I'll have to save this in my list 👍
Great to see another video from you! But the one I'm most looking forward to is the Men of Darkness.
One question though- as Tolkien was basing his mythology roughly on the history of the Earth, I wonder if there were a race of Men who went far to the East after leaving Hildorien- and I also wonder if these were Men of Light as well. Consider: in East Asia there are stories, tales and myths about mysticism, immortality, reincarnation and even hints at telekinesis. This speaks of some kind of great wisdom, and bear in mind that East Asia developed its own philosophies independent of the Middle East and later Greece.
Thus in the Legendarium, were there races of Men analogous to the Chinese, Koreans, Thai, etc, and also went far, far to the east and, in Tolkien's world, sought to distance themselves from the darkness of Morgoth? Just like the Edain? And, in the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, Andreth states that Men were originally immortal. What if some of them were but they went far to the east of Middle Earth? Would this be the source of the rumours of immortality or perhaps even reincarnation?
Presumably Men spread everywhere the land could sustain them just as happened on our world. There are fantastical and exotic lands that are only hinted at in Tolkien's writings, the armies summoned by Mordor for The War of the Ring are the most obvious glimpse. The Numenoreans sailed far across the world and contacted (and colonized) numerous human societies. But the details were never developed as they were outside the scope of the stories he was telling.
Another excellent video...The Red Book is by far the most thoughtful Tolkien channel out there. Well done!
What i love about the first age its the amount of loyalty displayed by all those who opposed morgoth. The house of Hador giving their lives to allow turgon to escape the battle thus keeping Gondolin alive to keep on the fight or the oath of finrod to barahir, he as a king couldve just sent beren with some of his elite elves but finrod decided to accompany beren and face sauron in a battle of magic or even the loyalty of the dwarves who built Nargothron together with finrod. I know tolkien has the ability to make sorrowful stories but at the end of many others what saves our heroes its that loyalty that all the children of illuvatar are capable of.
I always have to stop whatever I am doing whenever I see a Red Book video drop. Superb as always Steven, cannot wait for the Men Of Darkness video now
Men of Darkness one is the longest (of course) and may be the most interesting for people, I think. The wait shouldn't be too long.
Really enjoyed this one. Thanks Steven
You are such an incredible storyteller
A wonderful window into Tolkien's Legendarium.
An excellent summary of the Edain, too often overshadowed by the Eldar who came before and the Numenoreans who came after, haha!
Love the video and all the art work you used.
Great stuff, looking forward also to the rest of this series. Thanks Steven.
What an Amazing video. Surreal.
Great episode! I've been a student of the First Age since my early teens. Good job on pronunciation, BTW.
Well done man
Wonderful stuff, Steven, there are many interesting details I was unaware of. I wonder though: did the Men of Hador circumvent the Blue Mountains northwards or southwards? Both options seem to lead one towards neighbouring mountain chains or the sea. Well the Eastern and Southern confines of Beleriand are not sketched all too precisely anyway.
I also wonder what became of the surviving Edain who forwent Numenor and stayed in Middle-Earth. Any ideas on that?
Great question. I hope he answers it.😁👍
Very cool topic today thanks 🙃
Sorry I missed this while traveling. Finally had some time to get absorbed in another excellent addition of your channel
Videos will always be waiting :D
I have recently wondered about whether there were perhaps nine original tribes of men, with the Edain being three of them.
The reason being that the number of the rings gifted to each race seems to correspond to their internal divisions into tribes/clans.
3 for the elves and three original tribes of eleves, since i believe that the avari are not realy their ow tribe as such but are comprised of members of the three tribes. And ofcourse seven for the Dwarves.
Now granted Sauron only planned for 17 rings to be made, and they were all ment for elves, but i still think it seems to be more that a coincidence. I think it is further hinted at the number nine being symbolic because three of the rings went to numenorean lords and their people were comprised of three houses (Beör, Haleth and Hador).
Or maybe i am reading too much into it.
Excited to see a new one from you!
Excellent video! Looking forward to the next three video!
Quick question, do we know if the character of Haleth was inspired by the character of Eowyn or vis versa? There appear to be some similarities to these characters.
Very interesting. What I think I remember reading someplace (how's that for being vague!) when the Edain went to Númenor, well over half of them were from the House of Hador and most of the rest were from the House of Bëor. Few of the House of Haleth survived to make the journey. Is this more or less correct?
I hope Steven answers this question.🙏
Most of the house of Beor, if not virtually all, were killed or driven out of Dor-Lomin and Hithlam by the end of the first age, so I would assume it would be very heavy bulk of Hador and little of Beor, almost none of Haleth
Would You do long video abouth Tolkien teology (Eru Iluvatar)?
Just finished an audiobook of LOTR by Phil Dragash. It's a 1 man project and completely free online. It was an impressive undertaking and he does a great job. just wondering if you had heard of it?
By the glory to Eru...what is the name of the background soundtruck/ambient music?
House of Hador had the most renowned men. But if we take on account that Hurin and Huor were already half of the House of Haleth (from their mother) and that both married women from the House of Beor, it comes clear that the most renowned characters were somehow a mixture of the Houses of the Edain, which became the ethnic basis of the peoples of Númenor (the different mixtures between these 3 Houses).
The people of Hador Goldenhead sound almost like Tulkas.
Agreed!
I suppose the migration of the Edain was based on the original flat Arda concept, with the Sun first arising in the West. I just wonder what Tolkien would have written had Arda been round from the beginning.
👍
And so the three great groupings were met by one of the mightiest and greatest to ever set foot on Arda....and the elves met some lad called Orome.
😍😍😍👌
r u from aberdeen?
My direct ancestor was lord of Aberdeen once upon a time.
No, thankfully.
Men of the West.
Agathacles burned his ships in africa while attacking carthage. Hannibal crossed the alps to attack italy. The carthaginians were the best sailors and lived in the west