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And now something more challenging: the coat of arms of Angband.
I state that my idea is a real ... philological forcing. But sustainable.
I'll start from how do relate from each other Morgoth and Sauron.
Morgoth is a Vala. As the only one of his lineage to rebel, he takes charge of a group of Maia. Intimately he aspires to become somehow a Creator himself, so he is a creative: he invents ice and snow, lifts-up mountains, and creates a host of new breeds to populate his world.
What's his number? Three: three as the peaks of Thangorodrim, three as Silmaril. Three as the Divine.
Conversely Sauron is but a Maia. Perhaps the first among the followers of Morgoth, but still a servant, one step below him both hierarchically and racially. When his boss is rid of, he grabs the opportunity to take his place. A little 'desire for greatness, a bit' probably for lack of imagination, he begins to imitate him (N.B., this also also according to Jackson: have you noticed how much Sauron against Isildur recalls Morgoth against Fingolfin?). Does he take with him other remaining Maias? No way: just like Morgoth before him, he places himself at the top, surrounded only by inferior servants. Moreover, he too encloses his realm among mountains, erects his emblematic tower, tries to bribe elves and men, and so on.
An already seen film script, with one big difference: Sauron is totally lacking in inventiveness. No new races, no territorial upheavals, no new strategies (his strategic mediocrity is indeed his weakest point).
And his only great invention, then, the Ring - is it really his? Or is it perhaps unfortunate an idea of the Elves, of which he, in his boundless malice (a great talent of him, this must be acknowledged), has simply taken advantage?
And what's the number of Sauron? Easy: one. One like the tower of Barad-dûr, one as the One Ring. But also, one as the Dark Lord, the one who claims the legacy of Morgoth's scepter.
Then, the solution to the problem arises: the coat of arms that Sauron chooses for himself cannot - because both of his lack of creativity and of his pride of showing himself as the sole successor to the greatest of the Vala and now his equal - be something new. On the contrary, it must tie to Morgoth.
So the emblem of Sauron must come directly from something very similar that existed before.
If so, what could represent the original coat of arms?
We've not much to work upon: the ring figure, three silmarils, an eye, an inscription in the Black Language or in Melkorin which virtually represents a unique testimony of its kind, the numbers three and one, and the name Melkor.
Extrapolating backwards, the base had to be Utumno' armorial (which we have already seen in the post above), obviously with the addition of the three silmarils - that meanwhile had become war booty and pride of Morgoth.
With Sauron, later, the Eye will take the place of the crown, the One Ring that of Arda, and one of the Rings of Power that of the three silmarils.
Now for the well-written note "ash nazgh durbatulûk...".
Just in the last years of Utumno, it occurred an event that was harmless in appearance, yet which also upset Morgoth to the point of dragging him twice to ruin: the awakening of the Elves.
From that point on, his every thought was intended to overrule and wipe them out.
Instead one age later, at the time of Sauron, the Elves will be reduced to little thing. He therefore would have had no reason to use the Elven scripts to set the tone: if he whished to write an original motto in Black Speech, he could easier and better use the appropriate characters. But, as the motto already existed, for the reasons given above it was necessary to him to change it as little as possible.
So, here is how I reconstruct was the original one, with the name of Melkor repeated three times as it is due:
Melkor durbatulûk, Melkor gimbatul, Melkor thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.
That is, wanting to give a meaning slightly larger to the verbal form:
Melkor shall dominate them all ( "to rule them all"), Melkor shall seek out them ( "to find them"), Melkor'll take them one by one ( "to bring them all"), and will chain them in the dark ( "in the darkness bind them ").
The message seems to allude to the Silmarils, represented right up there (something of which will take advantage Sauron, when drawing up his version). However, the use of the Elven characters reveals who the threat is instead addressed to: the Elves. Morgoth shall prevail on them, on their creations and their cities. He will seek out and take them one by one, storming their hidden realms, spreading among them the seed of fratricide; and everyone of them will either become a thrall in the dark mines of Angband, or be condemned to the endless shadow of Mandos Halls.
In this way, the inscription in Elvish characters revolving around the gray twilight of an Arda now dominated by Morgoth's crown, seems almost to represent the futile attempt of the Elves to escape.
The red colour, of course, points out that the threat is lethal and without appeal.
Well, here below is the emblem ... and may Tolkien forgive me!
_________________
RESTITUERE INIURIAS, INIURIOS TORQUERE
Aurë entuluva!
Last edited by Hurin_it on Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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