Admin Post: June Challenge: Laws and Customs

[dawn_felagund]

From the Statute of Finwë and Míriel to the ruffian’s curfew in The Scouring of the Shire, Middle-earth is governed by laws - laws of the various people living there, or laws of nature like the Gift of Eru. Sometimes they are invisible to the reader; sometimes they can only be gleaned through the characters’ actions and attitudes; and at other times, they are spelled out for us. Some are negotiable, like the tradition of male primogeniture in Númenor; others appear to be set in stone, like the idea that an oath must be kept no matter what. For this month’s challenge, we challenge you to make these laws, customs, traditions and guidelines the focus of a fanwork. You can write about a character breaking or upholding the law, speculate about the law code of a specific place in Arda, explore the unwritten laws underneath the surface, create art for one of the prompts … or, of course, take the law into your own hands.

To get you started, we have put together a list of quotes about law, judgement, and politics from the Legendarium. You may choose the quote or quotes that inspire you from the list below.

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 10 July 2020. Please note that the Archetypes challenge will continue to run as well, until 10 July. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page on our website.

( Prompts )