Gondolin or Doriath: where would you have preferred to live?

[Sons of the Woodland King]

Assume you're an elf who would be welcomed by either ruler and would enjoy relatively the same status and quality of life. Take into account all the characteristics of each kingdom: their rulers, their laws, their famous residents, and all the victories or tragedies they endured up until their eventual falls.

What are your reasons? That's the real meat of the discussion I'm most interested in! There are no right or wrong answers since it's all about preference!

 

[ZehnWaters]

Well they both end up destroyed so you're not going to avoid that. Gondolin. I like the fresh mountain air.

 

[Áramandë Amaniel]

I'd say Doriath. Melian and Lúthien resided there, and I love forests and trees.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Doriath. Beleg is one of my favorite characters in the Silmarillion.

 

[Sons of the Woodland King]

Doriath. Beleg is one of my favorite characters in the Silmarillion.

The canon purists might hate me for this, but the moment I discovered the character of Beleg, I was convinced that he's an ancestor of Legolas, since they sound so much alike in skills and personality. Just look at their devotion to friends from different races!

And so in my fanfiction (head)canon, I made Beleg Thranduil's maternal uncle.

Sorry, that's just how popcorn-cotton candy fanfic writers like myself roll. At least I don't sell my nonsense to Amazon.

 

[Rivendell_librarian]

I would feel hemmed in in Gondolin: Doriath would have plenty of lovely bird and animal life, wildflowers, dappled shadows etc.

 

[Maeglin]

I voted for Gondolin because I love the mountains, but reading everyone's responses I'm reminded of how much I love the woods and realize that the mountains of Gondolin were bare and snow-capped. I love mountains with trees on them for the most part, so...I think I would change it now to Doriath. Then again, I might just be saying that based on how much I am enjoying the beautiful leaves around my home in the New England autumn right now.

 

[Sons of the Woodland King]

I'm really enjoying everyone's answers! For some reason I thought glamorous Gondolin with its high towers would be the bigger draw, but Doriath's forest setting does sound beautiful.

I myself haven't cast a vote yet cause I still can't decide! I'm thinking of basing my choice more on the residents and rulers rather than the location... and Thingol and Turgon both have their pros and cons.

 

[ZehnWaters]

I would feel hemmed in in Gondolin:

One might call that protected. Especially in context.

 

[Áramandë Amaniel]

One might call that protected. Especially in context.

Indeed. Once one enters, they cannot leave (generally).

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

Assume you're an elf who would be welcomed by either ruler and would enjoy relatively the same status and quality of life. Take into account all the characteristics of each kingdom: their rulers, their laws, their famous residents, and all the victories or tragedies they endured up until their eventual falls.

What are your reasons? That's the real meat of the discussion I'm most interested in! There are no right or wrong answers since it's all about preference!

I love Forests so I'd go for doriath...as for rulers both turgon and thingol didn't give a flying f*ck about what was going on outside their realm so there's not much difference

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

The canon purists might hate me for this, but the moment I discovered the character of Beleg, I was convinced that he's an ancestor of Legolas, since they sound so much alike in skills and personality. Just look at their devotion to friends from different races!

And so in my fanfiction (head)canon, I made Beleg Thranduil's maternal uncle.

Sorry, that's just how popcorn-cotton candy fanfic writers like myself roll. At least I don't sell my nonsense to Amazon.

I'd love to read it ...where have you published it?

 

[Sons of the Woodland King]

I'd love to read it ...where have you published it?

Sadly, the draft WIP I have for that particular fic (it's the story of Thranduil's birth, actually!) has stalled in writer's limbo (a very messy and unpredictable place!). But when I eventually do finish it, I promise I will remember to message you! 😄

 

[Kiredor]

As an idoliser of all beautiful things in nature, it was a no-brainer to choose Doriath. Although my preference if living at that time and in that area would definitely be the Forest of Neldoreth.
The forests of Doriath were divided into two. The south was the larger and denser of the two and contained holly trees. Neldoreth in the north was a beech-wood. Treebeard sometimes walked in the Forest of Neldoreth in autumn. The greatest beech tree there was Hirilorn (Originally named Neldor, meaning "Triple-tree", because of its three massive trunks.) which stood a short distance from the gates of Menegroth.

Menegroth, an underground stronghold of Thingol and sometimes called the 'Thousand Caves', had many halls and chambers. Its gates were in a hill on the southern bank of the river and could only be reached by a bridge. Menegroth was said to be the most beautiful royal dwelling in Middle-earth.

"The pillars of Menegroth were hewn in the likeness of the beeches of Oromë, stock, bough, and leaf, and they were lit with lanterns of gold. The nightingales sang there as in the gardens of Lórien; and there were fountains of silver, and basins of marble, and floors of many-coloured stones. Carven figures of beasts and birds there ran upon the walls, or climbed upon the pillars, or peered among the branches entwined with many flowers."
The Silmarillion: "Of the Sindar," p. 93

If only they really existed. Never mind, I can dream.

 

[johngage]

I would go for Gondolin. The beauty of Menegroth is without question (“That was the fairest dwelling of any king that has ever been east of the sea”). But it is still a cave. Gondolin “became fair indeed and fit to compare even with Elven Tirion beyond the sea”. I just find that more appealing than Menegroth, although I don’t doubt its magnificence.