Bard spotting on Bluesky 15 February 2025

Ms. Penny Oaken, SkyWitch (@skywitches.net):

Neat linguistic Easter Egg in The Silmarillion:

In the prelude, the era before the creation of the Earth, Iluvatar addresses one of the Ainur, Melkor (the rebel),

Twice, saying each time, "… and THOU, Melkor,…", which is canon the pronoun one uses for a social inferior …

Dell Adams (@dell-adams.bsky.social):

I'd expect Iluvatar to use "thou" to any of the Ainur, both as their superior and someone close to them, but it does emphasize both of those

Ms. Penny Oaken, SkyWitch (@skywitches.net):

In the prelude, before the beginning of Time and the creation of the world, Iluvatar addresses them collectively as "You" and "Ye".

Once he shows them the vision of the world, he does speak directly to Ulmo and uses "thou" to address him there.

Dell Adams (@dell-adams.bsky.social):

"You" or "ye" are the plural, "thou" and "thee" the singular