Why didn’t Beren kill Morgoth with his dagger when he had a chance?
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Why didn’t Beren kill Morgoth with his dagger when he had a chance?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “angrist knife“
About Ava88
I don’t think it’s in Beren’s nature to kill a sleeping enemy, even if it’s the devil himself. But perhaps it’s also because he is distracted by other thoughts:
Then [Beren] drew forth the knife Angrist; and from the iron claws that held it he cut a Silmaril.
As he closed it in his hand, the radiance welled through his living flesh, and his hand became as a shining lamp; but the jewel suffered his touch and hurt him not. It came then into Beren’s mind that he would go beyond his vow, and bear out of Angband all three of the Jewels of Fëanor; but such was not the doom of the Silmarils. The knife Angrist snapped, and a shard of the blade flying smote the cheek of Morgoth. He groaned and stirred, and all the host of Angband moved in sleep.
Then terror fell upon Beren and Lúthien, and they fled, heedless and without disguise, desiring only to see the light once more. They were neither hindered nor pursued, but the Gate was held against their going out; for Carcharoth had arisen from sleep, and stood now in wrath upon the threshold of Angband. Before they were aware of him, he saw them, and sprang upon them as they ran.
The Silmarillion , Chapter 19, “Of Beren and Lúthien”
Even if Beren is inclined to kill a sleeping enemy, the other two Silmarils staring him in the face is probably a bigger attraction for him. Also, killing Morgoth probably creates immediate problems for Beren and Luthien, even if it does the world a huge favor. Who can say that it’s that easy or even possible to kill a Dark Lord with a mere knife? Even if it’s good enough to kill him, we see that a mere shard of the knife smiting Morgoth’s cheek nearly woke him up. What might drawing the blade across his throat do?
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One stab or cut is all Beren would get. Almost certainly insufficient to destroy Morgoth. But he’d have instantly woken up from the pain, with fatal results for Beren & Luthien. They might even have been captured and tortured horribly before dying.
Beren’s mission was to recover a silmaril, and he succeeded. Job well done.
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Cause no man can kill a Vala. Even Morgoth, at his most fallen state, would be “infinitely” more powerful than Beren. The one who is going to die in this scenario is not going to be Melkor, and a simple dagger will ultimately amount to nothing against the dark-lord. Plus the aura of Melkor was far too great for Beren and crew to even approach.
Then [Beren] drew forth the knife Angrist; and from the iron claws that held it he cut a Silmaril.
As he closed it in his hand, the radiance welled through his living flesh, and his hand became as a shining lamp; but the jewel suffered his touch and hurt him not. It came then into Beren’s mind that he would go beyond his vow, and bear out of Angband all three of the Jewels of Fëanor; but such was not the doom of the Silmarils. The knife Angrist snapped, and a shard of the blade flying smote the cheek of Morgoth. He groaned and stirred, and all the host of Angband moved in sleep.
Then terror fell upon Beren and Lúthien, and they fled, heedless and without disguise, desiring only to see the light once more. They were neither hindered nor pursued, but the Gate was held against their going out; for Carcharoth had arisen from sleep, and stood now in wrath upon the threshold of Angband. Before they were aware of him, he saw them, and sprang upon them as they ran.
Not only was their mission to sneak into Angband and take the Silmarils from Melkor, but he was also to be left unopposed and avoided because Beren and Lúthien knew it would be suicide to confront the dark-lord in a conventional manner.
As Hugh Caley puts it, even if somehow the blade did slice open a wound upon Morgoth, it would ultimately amount to nothing. The forms that Ainur took are merely a cloth to them. Hope that helps.
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I think Beren believed, quite rightly, that he had no chance to kill a sleeping Vala with a knife, however well it cut iron. And if he didn’t know that, Luthien certainly did; her mother was a Maia and Luthien had practical experience with that sort of being. Even if Beren cut Morgoth’s head off or something it wouldn’t kill him; his body was something he created like a suit to make himself physical in Middle-Earth and losing it would be an inconvenience at best. But I can’t imagine it wouldn’t at least wake him up and piss him off, and Luthien didn’t really have the power to keep him asleep for long anyway. Luthien and Beren were extremely “lucky” (in the Middle-Earth sense of the word luck) to get as far as they did; taking their luck for granted could have become fatal at any moment.
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Suddenly he fell, as a hill sliding in avalanche, and hurled like thunder from his throne lay prone upon the floors of hell. The iron crown rolled echoing from his head. All things were still.
As a dead beast Beren lay upon the ground; but Lúthien touching him with her hand aroused him, and he cast aside the wolf-hame. Then he drew forth the knife Angrist; and from the iron claws that held it he cut a Silmaril.
The Silmarillion
Alternate Scenario:
And then Beren remembered the tales of his forefathers old, of how Fingolfin injured the Great Enemy seven times. And thus a desire came into his heart to kill Morgoth, and thus rid Arda of its greatest scourge. He hardened his heart, and turned towards Morgoth, and thus became the first and only mortal to come near the Dark Lord. But Luthien begged him to stay his hand, but the desire had all but consumed the heart of Beren, son of Barahir.
He took up his dagger Angrist once more, the elven blade of old. And in one swift strike, he drove it into the neck of Melkor, oldest and mightiest of the Valar. But the blade snapped and its hilt went flying over the floors of Angband. Morgoth let out a loud groan and he awoke from his slumber, as his black blood spilt upon the dark halls. Beren was held captive by the horror of Morgoth, and his mind was well-nigh broken.
Perceiving the mortal before him, Morgoth stretched out his hand, and caught Beren by his neck. The son of Barahir struggled, but the grip of Morgoth could not be broken. At last, he held aloft the silmaril, but it was no avail, for Morgoth took it from his grasp. Even as the court of Angband stirred from its slumber, Morgoth burnt the mortal man by the heat of his hand. Thus passed Beren the most valiant and stupidest man to ever live.
And Luthien flew from the gates of Angband, and came at last to Doriath. She was cured of her love for Beren, for she had not thought him so utterly stupid. And she danced yet upon the forests of Doriath, and they were filled by her voice and the songs of Nightingales.
That is what would have happened if Beren decided that he wanted to kill Morgoth.
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