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squire
Half-elven
Jul 12 2009, 2:47pm
Views: 991
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Nice catch - as you say, I had agreed with Dreamdeer's parchment interpretation without looking back to that description. And kudos also for remembering the hurried switch of clothing during the mountain-storm! I don't, as you guess, want to use the translation bugaboo to investigate this. It is possible to suggest, within the story, that Bilbo's expensive note-paper is linen or cotton-based, depending on our understanding of the Shire's herblore and industry. A cruder alternative is that yes, in the West at that time even the best note-paper was made of the finest lambskin parchment, bleached and pounded to a nice thinness. I exclude papyrus as an option. In general, though, pre-industrial "paper" was both rare and durable. Assuming it was kept safe in a pocket, and taken out to dry whenever it got wet, I think it's quite believable that it survived to this point in the story. I suspect the question of the ink - always water-based in those days - is harder to answer! How many times is Bilbo soaked to the skin during his adventures?
squire online: RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'. Footeramas: The 3rd TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion; and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!" squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary
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Subject
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User
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Time
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A Thief in the Night -- Part 4
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weaver
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Jul 10 2009, 3:53am
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here goes
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Twit
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Jul 10 2009, 10:10am
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Letter consistency
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Dreamdeer
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Jul 11 2009, 12:17am
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Thoughts.
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Curious
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Jul 10 2009, 2:19pm
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Letter
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Dreamdeer
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Jul 11 2009, 12:14am
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Bilbo makes them an offer they can't refuse
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squire
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Jul 11 2009, 5:24am
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Good for you to have done it!
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sador
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Jul 12 2009, 7:27am
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“Bilbo is not honest yet” - ??
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squire
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Jul 12 2009, 2:28pm
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Quite so!
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N.E. Brigand
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Jul 12 2009, 5:26pm
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Perhaps "find out" was too strong
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sador
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Jul 13 2009, 6:41am
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The Mind as Iceberg
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Dreamdeer
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Jul 13 2009, 6:36pm
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It may be in the author's mind,
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Curious
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Jul 13 2009, 6:45pm
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If Bilbo lied to his neighbors about his adventures,
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Curious
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Jul 13 2009, 6:47pm
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"His magic ring he kept a great secret..."
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N.E. Brigand
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Jul 13 2009, 7:15pm
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Oops!
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sador
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Jul 13 2009, 7:24pm
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Not lied?
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sador
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Jul 13 2009, 7:22pm
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As N.E.B. notes, there's no obligation to tell everything.
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Curious
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Jul 13 2009, 8:32pm
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Well, you know
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sador
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Jul 14 2009, 6:15am
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Bilbo told Frodo the whole story, but
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Curious
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Jul 14 2009, 8:55am
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The Quest for Power
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Dreamdeer
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Jul 14 2009, 6:56pm
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Tolkien wanted to put the genie back
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Curious
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Jul 14 2009, 7:46pm
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"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it"
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squire
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Jul 14 2009, 9:39pm
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Or Capitalist or Colonialist
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Curious
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Jul 14 2009, 10:39pm
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Consensus is a matter of opinion.
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Dreamdeer
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Jul 15 2009, 2:53am
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You got my point
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Dreamdeer
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Jul 15 2009, 2:42am
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A few answers
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sador
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Jul 12 2009, 7:52am
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Ah, the "note-paper"!
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squire
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Jul 12 2009, 2:47pm
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Water-resistant ink
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Kimi
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Jul 13 2009, 1:14am
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Excellent!
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squire
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Jul 13 2009, 1:38am
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Fascinating!
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dernwyn
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Jul 13 2009, 3:19am
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I like Bilbo's style of taking care of business so much more
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grammaboodawg
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Jul 12 2009, 2:45pm
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