The Trial of Fëanor and his sons

 Ironically, I acted on the side of the prosecution of Fëanor and his sons. This was a unique position for me, since I am tasked with understanding Fëanor and his inner motivations. This gave me a unique viewpoint where I am familiar with how the character justifies his actions, but I can also clearly recognize the flaws in his thinking and actions, as Fëanor is ultimately a greatly flawed character, perhaps one of the most flawed within the Silmarillion. It was clear to see that Fëanor ended up in the wrong with all that he had done and especially with what his sons had done in following his footsteps and upholding their oath. The jury had decided that Fëanor and his sons were guilty on multiple charges, which I wholeheartedly agree with. For the most part, the charges came from the sons of Fëanor’s greatest crimes, being those of the Kinslayings. While it is said that they did so in the advent of upholding their oath and therefore may be eligible for a lesser sentence, there is no excuse for the great slaughtering of their kin. In the case of The Teleri, the sons of Fëanor demanded their boats, and eventually tried to steal them, initiating a fight with the Teleri in which they slaughtered them all. While it attempted to angle this as self defense, the sons of Fëanor still initiated the entirety of the conflict and finished it with no lives spared, alongside burning the treasured boats of The Teleri after arriving at their destination. The protection of the boats were likened to the protection of the Silmarils, and then painted in a negative light in the same moment by the defense. This weakened the logical argument in terms of making the actions of the sons of Fëanor justifiable and moral. It’s said that they regretted this act of Kinslaying greatly, but then went on to commit a second great Kinslaying in their ever expanding and escalating quest for the Silmarils. The prosecution focused greatly on these acts of Kinslaying, as they are easily the most unjustifiable and morally questionable thing that the sons of Fëanor had done in their advancement towards the Silmarils. It’s possible that they could’ve made some sort of bargain with The Teleri, or found any other way to go about it, but chose to be Kinslayers instead of taking the risk of going against their oath and being “plunged into darkness.” While a part of this is tragic, there is no justifying a killing of this magnitude. The Kinslaying is primarily what made the sons of Fëanor guilty, and it is clear why.