For all of you Tolkien fans out there, I decided to name my new post after two of Tolkien's most tragic characters in his pre-Lord of the Rings mythology, Beren and Luthien. Beren was a warrior and Luthien was an elvish princess who fell in love and had a tragic ending after the Quest for a Silmaril jewel that was a part of the crown worn by a villain even more evil than Sauron, Morgoth.Tolkien loved his wife Edith so much that upon her death he had "Luthien" inscripted along with her name on her grave and Tolkien himself had the name "Beren" incripted with his full name. Luthien's father disapproved of Beren because he thought he was a commoner and Edith's parent didn't like Tolkien because he was Catholic and too young, so at 12:01am on his 21st birthday, he sent a post to Edith asking for her hand in marriage! Isn't that a great story? Of course, in "Lord of the Rings" the mirror love story of a "commoner"( who really is a king) and an elvish princess is between Strider (Aragorn) and Arwen. In the special edition DVD version of "Fellowship of the Ring", Aragorn tells an almost slumbering Frodo about the story after the hobbit asks him about the song. I am not comparing myself to Tolkien in any way, or any other master storyteller throughout the ages, but my attempt at medieval or classic romance is in the song, "The Knight and the Queen". I will say once again that it is the basis of what I would like to be my musical one day. The great romances have always touched me since my youth and I don't think that it will ever stop. Beren and Luthien literally went to hell and back again for love. Beren even lost his hand to the werewolf guarding Morgoth's gate, Carcharoth, with the great, glowing Jewel still being clutched by it and it drove the Beast mad with pain all over parts of Middle Earth. Beren's hunt for Carcaroth led to his death and Luthien, like Isolde, grieved to her demise. Tolkien wrote that their souls were reuntied with their bodies by Mandos, the God Judge of the Dead and they lived in Ossiriand with mortal lives until a second death. Beautiful stuff, isn't it? That is what I really love about literature: its ability to transcend our own consciousness and transport us to new realms; I just thought I'd share the story with my listeners and readers.And yes, I still believe in love. Oh and the scoring is almost done! BKT