How does death work in Tolkien's universe?

-how does death work? - very hard.

During the First Age, it was stated that if an Elf refused the summons to the Halls of Mandos, that Morgoth could summon or take control of that elvish fea. If Mandos could reincarnate an elf, perhaps Morgoth could do so as well. Eru tells Manwe during the Finwe and Miriel Serinde crisis that the Vala had always possessed the ability to reincarnate an elf. Most of this rambling comes from my recollection of Book 10 HoME Morgoth’s Ring. Great topic btw.

How does death work? Half-elves: It's complicated...

always a great day when darth gandalf posts

10:49 Ive never noticed the little guy (Sauron i guess) in the bottom right corner of the Alan Lee Akallabeth drawing until now. Amazing detail.

to quote shad: "But what about Dragons?" ^^

A big part of the Elves envying the Gift of Men is that Men will participate in the Second Music to create the World anew after this marred one ends, while the Elves don't know if they will exist after this World ends because they're bound to it and Eru didn't say anything about them enduring (unlike Men). The Elves who merely fade do not die, and thus aren't concerned with the Halls of Mandos in any way. There is an important difference that's missing in your otherwise excellent video: Fully faded Elves actually did not lose their body entirely, while dead Elves did. The latter are called the "Houseless"; they're bodiless and thus dead, and if they refuse to go to Mandos they stay around as dead and possibly malign spirits who desire a new body. But Elves whose body fully faded (quicker in corrupted Middle-earth, at its "natural pace" in Aman) still have their body/form "carried" by the spirit. They're called the "Lingerers"; they never died, don't desire a new body and are benign. Relevant quotes from History of Middle-earth X (emphasis mine): Concerning the faded Lingerers: "As ages passed the dominance of their fëar ever increased 'consuming' their bodies (as has been noted). The end of this process is their 'fading', as Men have called it, for the body becomes at last, as it were, a mere memory held by the fëa; and that end has already been achieved in many regions of Middle-earth, so that the Elves are indeed deathless and may not be destroyed or changed." "Moreover, the Lingerers are not houseless, though they may seem to be. They do not desire bodies, neither do they seek shelter, nor strive for mastery over body or mind. Indeed they do not seek converse with Men at all, save maybe rarely, either for the doing of some good, or because they perceive in a Man's spirit some love of things ancient and fair. Then they may reveal to him their forms (through his mind working outwardly, maybe), and he will behold them in their beauty. Of such he may have no fear, though he may feel awe of them. Concerning the dead Houseless: "For the Houseless have no forms to reveal , and even if it were within their power (as some Men say) to counterfeit elvish forms, deluding the minds of Men with fantasies, such visions would be marred by the evil of their intent. For the hearts of true Men uprise in joy to behold the true likenesses of the First-born, their elder kindred; and this joy nothing evil can counterfeit."

One other thought, Tolkien stated that after the destruction of the Ring, that Sauron no longer possessed the power to slowly put himself back together, an impotent spirit, dead. However he went on to state that Morgoth, though defeated and thrust thru the doors of night, still possessed the power to reincarnate and would return for Dagor Dagorath. Therefore, hypothetically, Morgoth might be able to assist Sauron’s spirit at some point in reincarnation perhaps totally or giving him enough power to complete the task on his own. Morgoth would want his most ablest lieutenant for the final battle.

The point about the elves' fea having strong control over their hroa which increases the durability of the hroa is, I believe, key to understanding the witch-king's death. When he lost the control over his unseen body it dramatically lowered his body's durability which let Eowyn kill him. There were obviously numerous spells he cast upon himself (for example, which caused any blade to be destroyed) to increase his durability and his continued connection to his fea, as you said, was no small part of that.

Very interesting subject matter! Thanks for putting the effort into a longer video for us.

Sauron needs the help of the mightiest of elven craftsmen in order to create a bunch of rings that can anchor the spirit of men within the realms of Ëa, but Isildur has the power to do the same just with the power of oath and curse.

So Fingolfin,Fingon,Turgon,Celebrimbor and Gil-galad have been reincarnated?

What happened to mortals Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, and Gimli when they went to the undying land and how does that interplay with the concepts of life, death, fea, and hroa you talked about here?

I was rewatching your “travels of Hurin” video the other day, can you do a what if Turgon let him in to Gondolin video? Do you think Hurin would’ve been cured of Morgoth’s shadow or could only Melian do that? Would he cause more strife and a faster downfall of the city? Thanks for the videos as always! Glad you’re updating pretty regularly!!

I'm going to quibble with the Orcs have no fëar and cease to exist when they die. I propose that an Orc with no fëa actually has a fragment of Melkor's essence acting as its fëa, and that this is a major part of the reason why Melkor became less powerful over the ages: his spirit was divided among his creations. This would have the consequence, however, that this fragment of Melkor would be left behind, since it is fundamentally just as indestructible as any other spirit created by Ilúvitar. This would in turn mean that said spirit might be reunited, perhaps as an enemy, or perhaps even healed, come the Great End following Dagor Dagorath and the Second Music.

Can we do a identities of the nazgul middle earth mysteries video?

very interesting, 'good day !

I like the idea that the dwarves go exist with Aulë until the end of time. Perhaps bodiless and as mere spirits. I don't think that they endure the same fate as men, and they don't go to the Halls of Mandos. That's pretty certain. I'm sure that the Valar want them around for the Last Battle. 😊❤😊

In short: elves got pampered by everyone Men get always the Short end of stick 😃

Could you do a video on his languages? Surprisingly, no one's really talked about them on YouTube.