Craftsmanship: The Noldor vs. Aüle

[Matoro]

"Great became their knowledge and their skill; yet even greater was their thirst for more knowledge, and in many things they soon surpassed their teachers."


Did the Noldor eventually became better craftselves than Aüle's maiar, or Aüle himself? If I remember correctly, it was said that the Noldor were able to build fairer and brighter jewels than those naturally occurring gemstones, which were made by Aüle.

Do you think the Silmarils could have been done by anyone other than Fëanor? Aüle made the Moon and Sun which radiated the light of the Two Trees, so they were actually a bit like very big Silmarils, right? Aüle also made the Lamps... okay, I guess he could have done the Silmarils if he had ever tried.

And regarding the craftsmanship in general, it's quite odd that we don't know much about magical items of Aman brought to Middle-earth. Fëanor probably made the Palantiri, and seven of them were given to Númenorean Men. Valinor probably had a Palantiri-operating phone booths by Third Age. Or mobile phones.

[Earniel]

Welcome to the Entmoot. :)

Aulë doesn't appear to have had a drive to discover new techniques or continue to create newer, better stuff as did the Elves. I wonder whether it is tied to his nature as one of the Valar. His main achievements had a direct purpose into the world: Building the ancient Lamps that lit Almaren, or the making of the vessels of the Moon and Sun, and the other, unmentioned works of his in the making of Middle-earth had a direct function in the construction of Middle-earth.

That said, some of his creations are unlikely to be surpassed. Great works like the Lamps or the Moon- and Sunvessels are quite outside the scope of Elves and Men. Their sheer size alone could only be done by one of the Valar, I think. Or maybe, come to think of it, the Númenoreans at the height of their technological power. Not much is known about their level of craftmanship but here and there there are hints they possessed great almost mythical power, especially in shipbuilding. The Elves didn't seem as interested in great works like that.

But if Aulë delighted in his work at all, it appears mostly by sharing and teaching it. Even in his making of the Dwarves he was not seeking novelty or discovery, rather someone who could appreciate the rocks and metals he had wrought, and to whom he could teach their secrets to bring them to full potential.

If Aulë put his mind to it, I'm sure he too could have made Silmarils while the Trees lived. Other Elves or even Men? I doubt it. Fëanor had good teaching, high-grade materials ánd a good dose of genius. That mix is unlikely to occur again, especially outside of Aman.