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grammaboodawg
Immortal
May 28 2023, 1:41pm
Post #1 of 42
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TIME - May 28
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Today in Middle-earth
May 28, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The road swings southeast through open country. Ahead are the hills of the Trollshaws.
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."Mostly it had been as good as May can be, even in merry tales, but now it was cold and wet. In the Lone-lands they had to camp when they could, but at least it had been dry.
..."To think it will soon be June," grumbled Bilbo as he splashed along behind the others in a very muddy track. It was after tea-time; it was pouring with rain, and had been all day; his hood was dripping into his eyes, his cloak was full of water... ...the others were too grumpy to talk. "And I'm sure the rain has got into the dry clothes and into the food-bags," thought Bilbo. "Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!" It was not the last time that he wished that!"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
May 29 2023, 1:03pm
Post #2 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
May 29, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The weather turns trollish; and the Company realizes Gandalf is missing.
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
..."...Soon it was nearly dark.... ...Not until then did they notice that Gandalf was missing. So far he had come all the way with them, never saying if he was in the adventure or merely keeping them company for a while. He had eaten most, talked most, and laughed most. But now he simply was not there at all!
..."Just when a wizard would have been most useful, too," groaned Dori and Nori (who shared the hobbit's views about regular meals, plenty and often).
...They decided in the end that they would have to camp where they were.... ...They moved to a clump of trees, and though it was drier under them, the wind shook the rain off the leaves, and the drip, drip, was most annoying. Also the mischief seemed to have got into the fire. Dwarves can make a fire almost anywhere out of almost anything, wind or no wind; but they could not do it that night....
...There they all sat glum and wet and muttering, while Oin and Gloin went on trying to light the fire, and quarrelling about it. Bilbo was sadly reflecting that adventures are not all pony-rides in May-sunshine, when Balin, who was always their look-out man, said: "There's a light over there...!'
..."...Now it is the burglar's turn... ...You must go on and find out all about that light, and what it is for, and if all is perfectly safe and canny," said Thorin to the hobbit. "Now scuttle off, and come back quick, if all is well. If not, come back if you can! If you can't, hoot twice like a barn-owl and once like a screech-owl, and we will do what we can."
...Off Bilbo had to go, before he could explain that he could not hoot even once like any kind of owl any more than fly like a bat. But at any rate hobbits can move quietly in woods, absolutely quietly.... ...he got right up to the fire—for fire it was—without disturbing anyone. And this is what he saw.
...Three very large persons sitting round a very large fire of beech-logs. They were toasting mutton on long spits of wood, and licking the gravy off their fingers... ...Also there was a barrel of good drink at hand, and they were drinking out of jugs.
...But they were trolls... ...Even Bilbo, in spite of his sheltered life, could see that...
..."...Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrer," said one of the trolls.
..."Never a blinking bit of manflesh have we had for long enough," said a second....
......After hearing all this Bilbo ought to have done something at once. Either he should have gone back quietly and warned his friends that there were three fair-sized trolls at hand in a nasty mood, quite likely to try toasted dwarf, or even pony, for a change; or else he should have done a bit of good quick burgling.... ...Of the various burglarious proceedings he had heard of picking the trolls' pockets seemed the least difficult, so at last he crept behind a tree just behind William.
......Bilbo plucked up courage and put his little hand in William's enormous pocket. There was a purse in it, as big as a bag to Bilbo. "Ha!" thought he warming to his new work as he lifted it carefully out, "this is a beginning!"
...It was! Trolls' purses are the mischief, and this was no exception. "'Ere, 'oo are you?" it squeaked, as it left the pocket; and William turned round at once and grabbed Bilbo by the neck....
..."...Blimey, Bert, look what I've copped!" said William.
..."What is it?" said the others coming up.
..."Lumme, if I knows! What are yer?"
..."Bilbo Baggins, a bur—a hobbit," said poor Bilbo, shaking all over, and wondering how to make owl-noises before they throttled him.
..."A Burrahobbit?" said they a bit startled. Trolls are slow in the uptake...."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
May 29 2023, 1:40pm
Post #3 of 42
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It's time for some special BS! Memorial Day
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In honour of Memorial Day... for veterans and military throughout the world... lest we forget.
From The Return Journey: The Hobbit ..."They buried Thorin deep beneath the Mountain, and Bard laid the Arkenstone upon his breast.
..."There let it lie till the Mountain falls!" he said. "May it bring good fortune to all his folk that dwell here after!"
Upon his tomb the Elvenking then laid Orcrist, the elvish sword that had been taken from Thorin in captivity. It is said in songs that it gleamed ever in the dark if foes approached, and the fortress of the dwarves could not be taken by surprise."
From The King of the Golden Hall ..."At the foot of the walled hill the way ran under the shadow of many mounds, high and green. Upon their western sides the grass was white as with a drifted snow: small flowers sprang there like countless stars amid the turf.
...'Look!' said Gandalf. 'How fair are the bright eyes in the grass! Evermind they are called, Simbelmynë in this land of Men, for they blossom in all the season of the year, and grow where dead men rest.... ...We are come to the great barrows where the sires of Théoden sleep.'
...'Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right,' said Aragorn. 'Many long lives of men it is since the golden hall was built.'
...'Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then,' said Legolas, 'and but a little while does that seem to us.'
...'But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago... ...that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time. Now they call this land their home... ...their own, and their speech is sundered from their northern kin.' Then he began to chant softly in a slow tongue unknown to the Elf and Dwarf; yet they listened, for there was a strong music in it.
...'That, I guess, is the language of the Rohirrim,' said Legolas; 'for it is like to this land itself; rich and rolling in part, and else hard and stern as the mountains. But I cannot guess what it means, save that it is laden with the sadness of Mortal Men.'
...'It runs thus in the Common Speech,' said Aragorn...
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harp string, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning? Thus spoke a forgotten poet long ago in Rohan... ...So men still sing in the evening.'"
From The Houses of Healing: The Return of the King ..."Then Aragorn laid his hand on Merry's head, and passing his hand gently through the brown curls, he touched the eyelids, and called him by name. And when the fragrance of athelas stole through the room... ...suddenly Merry awoke, and he said:
...'I am hungry. What is the time?'
...'Past supper-time now,' said Pippin; 'though I daresay I could bring you something, if they will let me.'
...'They will indeed,' said Gandalf. 'And anything else that this Rider of Rohan may desire... ...in Minas Tirith, where his name is in honour.'
...'Good!' said Merry. 'Then I would like supper first, and after that a pipe.' At that his face clouded. 'No, not a pipe. I don't think I'll smoke again.'
...'Why not?' said Pippin.
...'Well,' answered Merry slowly. 'He is dead. It has brought it all back to me. He said he was sorry he had never had a chance of talking herb-lore with me. Almost the last thing he ever said. I shan't ever be able to smoke again without thinking of him, and that day, Pippin, when he rode up to Isengard and was so polite.'
...'Smoke then, and think of him!' said Aragorn. 'For he was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning. Though your service to him was brief, it should be a memory glad and honourable to the end of your days.'
...Merry smiled. 'Well then,' he said, 'if Strider will provide what is needed, I will smoke and think.... ...Pippin remained behind. 'Was there ever any one like him?' he said. 'Except Gandalf, of course. I think they must be related. My dear ass, your pack is lying by your bed, and you had it on your back when I met you. He saw it all the time, of course. And anyway I have some stuff of my own. Come on now! Longbottom Leaf it is. Fill up while I run and see about some food. And then let's be easy for a bit. Dear me! We Tooks and Brandybucks, we can't live long on the heights.'
...'No, I can't; at least not yet. But at least we can know about them now, and honor them. It is best to love what you are fitted to love, I suppose: you must start somewhere and have some roots, and the soil of the Shire is deep. Still there are things deeper and higher, and not a gaffer could tend his garden in what he calls peace but for them, whether he knows about them or not. I am glad I know about them, a little. But I don't know why I am talking like this. Where is that leaf? And get my pipe out of my pack, if it isn't broken.'"
From The Field of Cormallen: The Return of the King ..."Frodo and Sam were led apart and brought to a tent, and there their old raiment was... ...set aside with honour; and clean linen was given to them. Then Gandalf came and in his arms, to the wonder of Frodo, he bore the sword and the elven-cloak and the mithril-coat that had been taken from him in Mordor. For Sam he brought a coat of gilded mail, and his elven-cloak all healed of the soils and hurts that it had suffered; and then he laid before them two swords.
...'I do not wish for any sword,' said Frodo.
...'Tonight at least you should wear one,' said Gandalf.
...Then Frodo took the small sword that had belonged to Sam.... '...Sting I gave to you Sam,' he said.
...'No, master! Mr. Bilbo gave it to you, and it goes with his silver coat; he would not wish anyone else to wear it now.'
Frodo gave way; and Gandalf, as if he were their esquire, knelt and girt the sword-belts about them, and then rising he set circlets of silver upon their heads. And when they were arrayed they went to the great feast; and they sat at the King's table with Gandalf, and King Éomer of Rohan, and the Prince Imrahil and all the chief captains; and there also were Gimli and Legolas... [and all paused for]... the Standing Silence..."
..."'And I,' said Legolas, 'shall walk in the woods of the fair land, which is rest enough.'
'To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling.
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;
For our days are ending and our years failing.
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressëa, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people for ever!' And so singing Legolas went away down the hill."
From Many Partings; The Return of the King ..."Often long after the hobbits were wrapped in sleep they would sit together under the stars, recalling the ages that were gone and all their joys and labours in the world, or holding council, concerning the days to come. If any wanderer had chanced to pass, little would he have seen or heard, and it would have seemed to him only that he saw grey figures, carved in stone, memorials of forgotten things now lost in unpeopled lands. For they did not move or speak with their mouth, looking from mind to mind and only their shining eyes stirred and kindled as their thoughts went to and fro."
From The Scouring of the Shire: The Return of the King ..."At last all was over. Nearly seventy of the ruffians lay dead on the field, and a dozen were prisoners. Nineteen hobbits were killed, and some thirty were wounded. The dead ruffians were laden on waggons and hauled off to an old sand-pit nearby and there buried: in the Battle Pit.... ...The fallen hobbits were laid together in a grave on the hill-side, where later a great stone was set up with a garden about it. So ended the Battle of Bywater, 1419, the last battle fought in the Shire, and the only battle since the Greenfields, 1147, away up in the Northfarthing. In consequence, though it happily cost very few lives, it has a chapter to itself in the Red Book, and the names of all those who took part were made into a Roll, and learned by heart by Shire-historians. The very considerable rise in the fame and fortune of the Cottons dates from this time; but at the top of the Roll in all accounts stand the names of Captains Meriadoc and Peregrin."
From The Grey Havens: The Return of the King ..."'Where are you going, Master?' cried Sam, though at last he understood what was happening.
...'To the Havens, Sam,' said Frodo.
...'And I can't come.'
...'No, Sam. Not yet anyway, not further than the Havens. Though you too were a Ring-bearer.... ...Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.'
...'But,' said Sam, and tears started in his eyes, 'I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too, for years and years, after all you have done.'
...'So I thought too, once. But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them. But you are still my heir: all that I had and might have had I leave to you. And also you have Rose, and Elanor; and Frodo-lad will come, and Rosie-lass, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin; and perhaps more that I cannot see. Your hands and your wits will be needed everywhere. You will be the Mayor... ...as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history; and you will read things out of the Red Book, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone, so that people will remember the Great Danger and so love their beloved land all the more."
From The Lord of the Rings: Appendix A. III: "Durin's Folk" ..."So it was that after Azanulbizar the Dwarves dispersed again. But first with great labour they stripped all their dead, so that Orcs should not come and win there a store of weapons and mail. It is said that every Dwarf that went from that battlefield was bowed under a heavy burden. Then they built many pyres and burned all the bodies of their kin. There was a great felling of trees in the valley, which remained bare ever after, and the reek of the burning was seen in Lórien.*"
..."* Such dealings with their dead seemed grievous to the Dwarves, for it was against their use; but to make such tombs as they were accustomed to build (since they will lay their dead only in stone not in earth) would have taken many years. To fire therefore they turned, rather than leave their kin to beast or bird or carrion-orc. But those who fell in Azanulbizar were honoured in memory, and to this day a Dwarf will say proudly of one of his sires: 'he was a burned Dwarf', and that is enough."
[[from Otaku-sempai 7-29-17]]
"From Smeagol68, Monday, 5/31/2004: Although sad, the nice thing about these passages is that they show you there is a serene peace at the end to all those who have suffered."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
May 30 2023, 1:09pm
Post #4 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
May 30, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Gandalf keeps the trolls arguing until dawn.
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth)
...""No sooner did Tom see Balin come into the light than he gave an awful howl. Trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked)... ...before Balin, who was wondering where in all this commotion Bilbo was, knew what was happening, a sack was over his head, and he was down.
..."There's more to come yet," said Tom, "or I'm mighty mistook. Lots and none at all, it is," said he. "No burra-hobbits, but lots of these here dwarves... ...As each dwarf came up and looked at the fire, and the spilled jugs, and the gnawed mutton, in surprise, pop! went a nasty smelly sack over his head, and he was down. Soon Dwalin lay by Balin, and Fili and Kili together, and Dori and Nori and Ori all in a heap, and Oin and Gloin and Bifur and Bofur and Bombur piled uncomfortably near the fire...
......Thorin came last—and he was not caught unawares. He came expecting mischief, and didn't need to see his friends' legs sticking out of sacks to tell him that things were not all well... ...he jumped forward to the fire, before they could leap on him. He caught up a big branch all on fire at one end; and Bert got that end in his eye before he could step aside... ...Bilbo did his best. He caught hold of Tom's leg—as well as he could, it was thick as a young tree-trunk—but he was sent spinning up into the top of some bushes, when Tom kicked the sparks up in Thorin's face.
...Tom got the branch in his teeth for that, and lost one of the front ones... ...But just at that moment William came up behind and popped a sack right over Thorin's head and down to his toes. And so the fight ended. A nice pickle they were all in now: all neatly tied up in sacks, with three angry trolls (and two with burns and bashes to remember) sitting by them, arguing whether they should roast them slowly, or mince them fine and boil them, or just sit on them one by one and squash them into jelly: and Bilbo up in a bush, with his clothes and his skin torn, not daring to move for fear they should hear him....
......It was just then that Gandalf came back. But no one saw him. The trolls had just decided to roast the dwarves now and eat them later---that was Bert's idea, and after a lot of argument they had all agreed to it.
..."No good roasting 'em now, it'd take all night," said a voice. Bert thought it was William's.
..."Don't start the argument all over again, Bill," he said, "or it will take all night."
..."Who's a-arguing?" said William, who thought it was Bert that had spoken.
..."You are," said Bert.
..."You're a liar," said William; and so the argument began all over again. In the end they decided to mince them fine and boil them...
..."...No good boiling 'em! We ain't got no water, and it's a long way to the well and all," said a voice. Bert and William thought it was Tom's....
......And so the argument began all over again, and went on hotter than ever, until at last they decided to sit on the sacks one by one and squash them, and boil them next time.
..."Who shall we sit on first?" said the voice....
..."...Now stop it!" said Tom and Bert together. "The night's getting' on, and dawn comes early. Let's get on with it!"
..."Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!" said a voice that sounded like William's. But it wasn't. For just at that moment the light came over the hill, and there was a mighty twitter in the branches. William never spoke for he stood turned to stone as he stooped; and Bert and Tom were stuck like rocks as they looked at him. And there they stand to this day all alone, unless the birds perch on them; for trolls... ...must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again....
..."...Excellent!" said Gandalf, as he stepped from behind a tree, and helped Bilbo to climb down out of a thornbush. Then Bilbo understood. It was the wizard's voice that had kept the trolls bickering and quarrelling, until the light came and made an end of them....
......They searched about, and soon found the marks of trolls' stony boots going away through the trees. They followed the tracks up the hill, until hidden by bushes they came on a big door of stone leading to a cave.... ...among an untidy litter of plunder, of all sorts from brass buttons to pots full of gold coins standing in a corner. There were lots of clothes, too, hanging on the walls—too small for trolls, I am afraid they belonged to victims—and among them were several swords of various makes, shapes, and sizes. Two caught their eyes particularly, because of their beautiful scabbards and jewelled hilts.
...Gandalf and Thorin each took one of these; and Bilbo took a knife in a leather sheath. It would have made only a tiny pocket-knife for a troll, but it was as good as a short sword for the hobbit.
..."These look like good blades," said the wizard, half drawing them and looking at them curiously. "They were not made by any troll, nor by any smith among men in these parts and days; but when we can read the runes on them, we shall know more about them.""
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
May 31 2023, 1:33pm
Post #5 of 42
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...The Trollshaws are not identified by name in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, but the name and location are shown on the Map of the Trollshaws in Eriador in The Lord of the Rings drawn by Christopher Tolkien.
...The Trollshaws were along the East-West Road east of the Last Bridge and west of the Ford of Bruinen and Rivendell within the borders of Rhudaur.
..."They were the haunt of Trolls, especially after the fall of Arnor; Stone-trolls from "the mountains" came to the woodlands. This was the case of William who led Tom and Bert; having eaten a village and a half on their way, they complained about the scarcity of people in the area and instead had to make do with mutton. While they made their camp, they famously waylaid Bilbo and his companions who were on their Quest of Erebor. Thanks to the distractions of Gandalf, the Trolls were turned to stone by the Sun. Years later, Frodo and his companions traversed the woodland and found the Trolls' petrified forms on the way to Rivendell."
[From The Encyclopedia of Arda]
Etymology
... "Shaw is an archaic word meaning thicket, small wood, copse, or grove. The Trollshaws are referred to in the narrative as the Trolls' wood. According to the Index of The Lord of the Rings the Trolls' wood is equivalent to the Trollshaws which means Trollwoods.
... The woods geographically belonged to where the ancient realm of Rhudaur used to be, and were perhaps named after it. The Sindarin name Rhudaur means Troll shaw.
[From The Encyclopedia of Arda] and [Tolkien, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Index III, Persons, Places, and Things"]
Here are some Book Spoilers of other references to the Trolls' territory... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From A Short Rest: The Hobbit ... ""Let's get out of this horrible smell!" said Fili. So they carried out the pots of coins, and such food as was untouched and looked fit to eat, also one barrel of ale which was still full. By that time they felt like breakfast... ...being very hungry they did not turn their noses up at what they had got from the trolls' larder. Their own provisions were very scanty. Now they had bread and cheese, and plenty of ale, and bacon to toast in the embers of the fire."
... "Elrond knew all about runes of every kind... ...he looked at the swords they had brought from the trolls' lair, and he said: "These are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars. They must have come from a dragon's hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. "
From Flight to the Ford: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "The hobbits were glad to leave the cheerless lands and the perilous Road behind them; but this new country seemed threatening and unfriendly... ...the hills about them steadily rose. Here and there upon heights and ridges they caught glimpses of ancient walls of stone, and the ruins of towers: they had an ominous look. Frodo... ...had time to gaze ahead and to think. He recalled Bilbo's account of his journey and the threatening towers on the hills north of the Road, in the country near the Trolls' wood where his first serious adventure had happened. Frodo guessed that they were now in the same region, and wondered if by chance they would pass near the spot.
... "Outside the door they all halted. There was a cave or rock-chamber behind... ...in the gloom inside nothing could be seen. Strider, Sam, and Merry pushing will all their strength managed to open the door a little wider... ...then Strider and Merry went in. They did not go far, for on the floor lay many old bones, and nothing else was to be seen near the entrance except some great empty jars and broken pots.
...'Surely this is a troll-hole, if ever there was one!' said Pippin. 'Come out... ...and let us get away. Now we know who made the path--and we had better get off it quick.'
... 'There is no need, I think,' said Strider, coming out. 'It is certainly a troll-hole, but is seems to have been long forsaken. I don't think we need be afraid. But let us go down warily, and we shall see.'"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 1 2023, 12:27pm
Post #6 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 1, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The Company enters the woods.
(from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth chart entries: The Hobbit: Bag End to Rivendell)
..."[Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves] leave early and make haste. They enter the woods and continue east on the road through the trees. Their road and the woods run into the valley on the north as they pass an out-thrust 'toe' of a hill. They make camp near the valley from the north."
Since this is so short, let's see how hobbits like to camp... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From Three Is Company: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "Leaving the road they went into the deep resin-scented darkness of the trees, and gathered dead sticks and cones to make a fire. Soon they had a merry crackle of flame at the foot of a large fir-tree and they sat round it for a while, until they began to nod. Then... ...they curled up in their cloaks and blankets, and were soon fast asleep... ...A few creatures came and looked at them when the fire had died away. A fox passing through the wood on business of his own stopped several minutes and sniffed.
... 'Hobbits!' he thought. 'Well, what next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something mighty queer behind this.' He was quite right...
... ...The morning came, pale and clammy. Frodo woke up first, and found that a tree-root had made a hole in his back, and that his neck was stiff. 'Walking for pleasure! Why didn't I drive?' he thought, as he usually did at the beginning of an expedition... '...Wake up, hobbits!' he cried. 'It's a beautiful morning!'
... 'What's beautiful about it?' said Pippin, peering over the edge of his blanket with one eye. 'Sam! Get breakfast ready for half-past nine! Have you got the bath-water hot?'
... Sam jumped up, looking rather bleary. 'No, sir, I haven't, sir!' he said.
... Frodo stripped the blankets from Pippin and rolled him over, and then walked off to the edge of the wood... ...When he returned Sam and Pippin had got a good fire going. 'Water!' shouted Pippin. 'Where's the water?'
... 'I don't keep water in my pockets,' said Frodo.
... 'We thought you had gone to find some,' said Pippin, busy setting out the food, and cups. 'You had better go now.'
... 'You can come too,' said Frodo, 'and bring all the water-bottles.' There was a stream at the foot of the hill. They filled their bottles and the small camping kettle at a little fall where the water fell a few feet over an outcrop of grey stone. It was icy cold; and they spluttered and puffed as they bathed their faces and hands.
... When their breakfast was over, and their packs all trussed up again, it was after ten o'clock, and the day was beginning to turn fine and hot. They went down the slope, and across the stream where it dived under the road, and up the next slope, and up and down another shoulder of the hills; and by that time their cloaks, blankets, water, food, and other gear already seemed a heavy burden."
Map of Hobbit & LotR campsites from west of the Last Bridge, through the Trollshaws to Rivendell [The Atlas of Middle-earth].
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 2 2023, 11:51am
Post #7 of 42
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Here's part 1 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that looks at one of Frodo's dreadful choices... one of many the Fellowship had to make... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Black Gate is Closed: The Two Towers ..."Its name was Cirith Ungol, a name of dreadful rumour. Aragorn could perhaps have told them that name and its significance; Gandalf would have warned them. But they were alone, and Aragorn was far away, and Gandalf stood amid the ruin of Isengard and strove with Saruman... ...Yet even as he spoke his last words to Saruman, and the Palantír crashed in fire upon the steps of Orthanc, his thought was ever upon Frodo and Samwise, over the long leagues his mind sought for them in hope and pity.
...Maybe Frodo felt it, not knowing it, as he had upon Amon Hen, even though he believed that Gandalf was... ...gone forever into the shadow in Moria far away. He sat upon the ground for a long while, silent, his head bowed, striving to recall all that Gandalf had said to him. But for this choice he could recall no counsel... ...Gandalf's guidance had been taken from them too soon... ...How they should enter it at the last Gandalf had not said. Perhaps he could not say. Into the stronghold of the Enemy in the North, into Dol Guldur, he had once ventured. But into Mordor, to the Mountain of Fire and to Barad-dûr, since the Dark Lord rose in power again, had he ever journeyed there? Frodo did not think so... ...here he was a little halfling from the Shire, a simple hobbit of the quiet countryside, expected to find a way where the great ones could not go, or dared not go. It was an evil fate. But he had taken it on himself in his own sitting-room in the far-off spring of another year, so remote now that it was like a chapter in a story of the world's youth, when the Trees of Silver and Gold were still in bloom... ...Which way should he choose? And if both led to terror and death, what good lay in choice?"
We have been there and back again.
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(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Jun 2 2023, 11:52am)
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 3 2023, 1:35pm
Post #8 of 42
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It's part 2 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that looks at one of Frodo's dreadful choices... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Black Gate is Closed: The Two Towers ..."Not even an eagle poised against the sun would have marked the hobbits sitting there... ...silent, not moving, shrouded in their thin grey cloaks. For a moment he might have paused to consider Gollum, a tiny figure sprawling on the ground: there perhaps lay the famished skeleton of some child of Men, its ragged garment still clinging to it, its long arms and legs almost bone-white and bone-thin: no flesh worth a peck.
...Frodo's head was bowed over his knees, but Sam leaned back, with hands behind his head, staring out of his hood at the empty sky... ...Then presently Sam thought he saw a dark bird-like figure wheel into the circle of his sight, and hover, and then wheel away again. Two more followed, and then a fourth. They were very small to look at, yet he knew... ...that they were huge, with a vast stretch of pinion, flying at a great height. He covered his eyes and bent forward, cowering. The same warning fear was on him as he had felt in the presence of the Black Riders, the helpless horror that had come with the cry in the wind and the shadow on the moon, though now it was not so crushing or compelling: the menace was more remote... ...Frodo felt it too. His thought was broken. He stirred and shivered, but he did not look up. Gollum huddled himself together like a cornered spider. The winged shapes wheeled... ...speeding back to Mordor.
...Sam took a deep breath. 'The Riders are about again, up in the air,' he said in a hoarse whisper. 'I saw them. Do you think they could see us? They were very high up. And if they are Black Riders... ...then they can't see much by daylight, can they?'
...'No, perhaps not,' said Frodo. 'But their steeds could see. And these winged creatures that they ride on now, they can probably see more than any other creature. They are like great carrion birds. They are looking for something: the Enemy is on the watch, I fear.'"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 4 2023, 1:51pm
Post #9 of 42
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It's part 3 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that looks at one of Frodo's dreadful choices... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Black Gate is Closed: The Two Towers ..."'The feeling of dread passed, but the enfolding silence was broken. For some time he had been cut off from the world, as if in an invisible island; now they were laid bare again, peril had returned... ...still Frodo did not speak to Gollum or make his choice. His eyes were closed, as if he were dreaming, or looking inward into his heart and memory. At last he stirred and stood up, and it seemed that he was about to speak and to decide. But 'hark!' he said. 'What is that?'
...A new fear was upon them. They heard singing and hoarse shouting. At first it seemed a long way off, but it drew nearer... ...It leaped into all their minds that the Black Wings had spied them and had sent armed soldiers to seize them: no speed seemed too great for these terrible servants of Sauron. They crouched, listening. The voices and the clink of weapons... ...was very close. Frodo and Sam loosened their small swords in the sheaths. Flight was impossible.
...Gollum rose slowly and crawled insect-like to the lip of the hollow. Very cautiously he raised himself inch by inch, until he could peer over it between two broken points of stone. He remained there without moving for some time, making no sound. Presently the voices... ...slowly faded away. Far off a horn blew on the ramparts of the Morannon. Then quietly Gollum drew back and slipped down into the hollow.
...'More Men going to Mordor,' Gollum said in a low voice. 'Dark faces. We have not seen Men like these before, no, Sméagol has not. They are fierce. They have black eyes, and long black hair, and gold rings in their ears; yes, lots of beautiful gold… …Not nice; very cruel wicked Men they look. Almost as bad as Orcs, and much bigger. Sméagol thinks they have come out of the South beyond the Great River's end... ...They have passed on to the Black Gate; but more may follow. Always more people coming to Mordor. One day all the peoples will be inside.'
...'Were there any oliphaunts?' asked Sam... ""
[continued tomorrow]
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 5 2023, 12:11pm
Post #10 of 42
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It's part 4 of a 4-part Book Spoiler that looks at one of Frodo's dreadful choices... one of many the Fellowship had to make... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Black Gate is Closed: The Two Towers ..."'Were there any oliphaunts?' asked Sam, forgetting his fear in his eagerness for news of strange places.
...'No, no oliphaunts. What are oliphaunts?' said Gollum.
...Sam stood up, putting his hands behind his back (as he always did when 'speaking poetry'), and began: 'Grey as a mouse, Big as a house, Nose like a snake, I make the earth shake...'"
...'...That,' said Sam, when he had finished reciting, 'that's a rhyme we have in the Shire. Nonsense maybe, and maybe not. But we have our tales too, and news out of the South... ...In the old days hobbits used to go on their travels now and again. Not that many ever came back, and not that all they said was believed: news from Bree, and not sure as Shiretalk, as the sayings go. But I've heard tales of the big folk down away in the Sunlands. Swertings we call 'em in our tales... ...they ride on oliphaunts, 'tis said, when they fight. They put houses and towers on the oliphauntses backs... ...and the oliphaunts throw rocks and trees at one another. So when you said "Men out of the South, all in red and gold," I said "were there any oliphaunts?" For if there was, I was going to take a look, risk or no. But now I don't suppose I'll ever see an oliphaunt. Maybe there ain't no such a beast.' He sighed.
... 'No, no oliphaunts,' said Gollum again. 'Sméagol has not heard of them. He does not want to see them... ...Sméagol wants to go away from here and hide somewhere safer. Sméagol wants master to go. Nice master, won't he come with Sméagol?'
...Frodo stood up. He had laughed in the midst of all his cares when Sam trotted out the old fireside rhyme of Oliphaunt... ...the laugh had released him from hesitation. 'I wish we had a thousand oliphaunts with Gandalf on a white one at their head,' he said. 'Then we'd break a way into this evil land, perhaps ... '...But we've not; just our own tired legs, that's all. Well, Sméagol, the third turn may turn the best. I will come with you.'
...'Good master, wise master, nice master!' cried Gollum in delight, patting Frodo's knees...."
OK... I just have to say, here... I love how Frodo pictures Gandalf leading the charge on a white oliphaunt before he ever knew Gandalf was reborn as Gandalf the White! :)
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 6 2023, 12:28pm
Post #11 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 6, 2942 (S.R. 1342)
1. Gandalf and Bilbo retrace their journey.
(determined from text)
..."At each point on the road Bilbo recalled the happenings and the words of a year ago—it seemed to him more like ten—so... ...he quickly noted the place where the pony had fallen in the river, and they had turned aside for their nasty adventure with Tom and Bert and Bill.
...Not far from the road they found the gold of the trolls, which they had buried, still hidden and untouched. "I have enough to last me my time," said Bilbo, when they had dug it up. "You had better take this, Gandalf. I daresay you can find a use for it."
..."Indeed I can... ...But share and share alike! You may find you have more needs than you expect."
...So they put the gold in bags and slung them on the ponies.... ...After that their going was slower, for most of the time they walked. But the land was green and there was much grass through which the hobbit strolled along contentedly. He mopped his face with a red silk handkerchief—no! not a single one of his own had survived. He had borrowed this one from Elrond—for now June had brought summer, and the weather was bright and hot again."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 7 2023, 12:01pm
Post #12 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 7, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The Company begins to feel the pressure.
(determined from text)
..."The road now runs due east. With few provisions, they hurry along and can see ruins on hilltop to the north. South of the Road, a ravine of the Bruinen comes close. The Road then turns NE as they pass a valley from the north and camp.
...They did not sing or tell stories... ...They had begun to feel that danger was not far away on either side. They camped under the stars, and their horses had more to eat than they had; for there was plenty of grass, but there was not much in their bags, even with that they had got from the trolls."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 8 2023, 1:55pm
Post #13 of 42
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Just in case you've missed it, here's the 1st of 5 Book Spoilers that explain how Bilbo came upon the Ring... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From the Prologue: Of the Finding of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring ..."As is told in The Hobbit, there came one day to Bilbo's door and the great Wizard, Gandalf the Grey, and thirteen dwarves with him: none other... ...than Thorin Oakenshield, descendant of kings, and his twelve companions in exile. With them he set out, to his own lasting astonishment, on a morning of April... ...on a quest of great treasure, the dwarf-hoards of the Kings under the Mountain, beneath Erebor in Dale... ...The quest was successful, and the Dragon that guarded the hoard was destroyed. Yet... ...before all was won the Battle of Five Armies was fought, and Thorin was slain... ...the matter would scarcely have concerned later history, or earned more than a note in the long annals of the Third Age, but for an 'accident' by the way. The party was assailed by Orcs in a high pass of the Misty Mountains... ...and so it happened that Bilbo was lost for a while in the black orc-mines deep under the mountains... ...as he groped in vain in the dark, he put his hand on a ring, lying on the floor of a tunnel. He put it in his pocket. It seemed then like mere luck."
We have been there and back again.
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(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Jun 8 2023, 1:56pm)
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 9 2023, 11:48am
Post #14 of 42
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Just in case you've missed it, here's the 2nd of 5 Book Spoilers that explain how Bilbo came upon the Ring... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From the Prologue: Of the Finding of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "Trying to find his way out, Bilbo went on down to the roots of the mountains... ...At the bottom of the tunnel lay a cold lake... ...and on an island of rock in the water lived Gollum.... ...He possessed a secret treasure that had come to him long ages ago, when he lived still in the light: a ring of gold that made its wearer invisible. It was the one thing he loved, his 'precious', and he talked to it, even when it was not with him... ....For he kept it hidden safe in a hole on his island, except when he was hunting or spying on the orcs of the mines....
... Maybe he would have attacked Bilbo at once, if the ring had been on him when they met; but it was not, and the hobbit held in his hand an Elvish knife... ...So to gain time Gollum challenged Bilbo to the Riddle-game, saying that if he asked a riddle which Bilbo could not guess, then he would kill him and eat him; but if Bilbo defeated him, then he would do as Bilbo wished: he would lead him to a way out of the tunnels.
... Since he was lost in the dark without hope... ...Bilbo accepted the challenge…"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 10 2023, 2:28pm
Post #15 of 42
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Just in case you've missed it, here's the 3rd of 5 Book Spoilers that explain how Bilbo came upon the Ring... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From the Prologue: Of the Finding of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring ... [Bilbo and Gollum]"…asked one another many riddles. In the end Bilbo won the game, more by luck... ...than by wits; for he was stumped at last for a riddle to ask, and cried out, as his hand came upon the ring he had picked up and forgotten: What have I got in my pocket? This Gollum failed to answer, though he demanded three guesses....
... ...after accepting it and trying to guess the answer, Gollum was bound by his promise. And Bilbo pressed him to keep his word; for... ...such promises were held sacred, and of old all but the wickedest things feared to break them. But after ages alone in the dark Gollum's heart was black, and treachery was in it. He slipped away, and returned to his island, of which Bilbo knew nothing... ...There, he thought, lay his ring. He was hungry now, and angry, and once his 'precious' was with him he would not fear any weapon at all.
... But the ring was not on the island; he had lost it, it was gone. His screech sent a shiver down Bilbo's back... "
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 11 2023, 1:39pm
Post #16 of 42
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Just in case you've missed it, here's the 4th of 5 Book Spoilers that explain how Bilbo came upon the Ring... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From the Prologue: Of the Finding of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "...Gollum had at last leaped to a guess, too late. What has it got in it pockets? he cried. The light in his eyes was like a green flame as he sped back to murder the hobbit and recover his 'precious'. Just in time Bilbo saw his peril, and he fled blindly up the passage... ...as he ran he put his hand in his pocket, and the ring slipped quietly on to his finger. So it was that Gollum passed him without seeing him, and went on to guard the way out, lest the 'thief' should escape. Warily Bilbo followed him, as he went along, cursing, and talking to himself about his 'precious'; from which talk… ...even Bilbo guessed the truth, and hope came to him in the darkness: he himself had found the marvellous ring and a chance of escape from the orcs and from Gollum....
... ...they came to a halt before an unseen opening that led to the lower gates of the mines... ...Gollum crouched at bay, smelling and listening; and Bilbo was tempted to slay him with his sword. But pity stayed him, and though he kept the ring, in which his only hope lay, he would not use it to help him kill the wretched creature at a disadvantage. In the end, gathering his courage, he leaped over Gollum in the dark, and fled away down the passage, pursued by his enemy's cried of hate and despair: Thief, thief! Baggins! We hate it for ever!"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 12 2023, 1:49pm
Post #17 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
Just in case you've missed it, here's the 5th of 5 Book Spoilers that explain how Bilbo came upon the Ring... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From the Prologue: Of the Finding of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "Now it is a curious fact that this is not the story as Bilbo first told it to his companions.
......[After escaping and reuniting with his companions] his account was that Gollum had promised to give him a present, if he won the game; but when Gollum went to fetch it from his island he found the treasure was gone: a magic ring... ...Bilbo guessed that this was the very ring that he had found, and as he had won the game, it was already his by right. But... ...he said nothing about it, and made Gollum show him the way out, as a reward instead of a present. This account Bilbo set down in his memoirs, and he seems never to have altered it himself, not even after the Council of Elrond. Evidently it still appeared in the original Red Book, as it did in several of the copies and abstracts. But many copies contain the true account (as an alternative), derived no doubt, from notes by Frodo or Samwise, both of whom learned the truth, though they seem to have been unwilling to delete anything actually written by the old hobbit himself.
... Gandalf, however, disbelieved Bilbo's first story, as soon as he heard it, and he continued to be very curious about the ring. Eventually he got the true tale out of Bilbo…"
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 13 2023, 1:27pm
Post #18 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 13, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. A cherished summer in the Shire.
(not from the appendices)
..."...if Sam thought himself lucky, Frodo knew that he was more lucky himself; for there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care. When the labours of repair had all been planned and set going he took to a quiet life, writing a great deal and going through all his notes. He resigned the office of Deputy Mayor at the Free Fair that midsummer, and dear old Will Whitfoot had another seven years of presiding at Banquets.
...Merry and Pippin lived together for some time at Crickhollow... ...The two young Travellers cut a great dash in the Shire with their songs and their tales and their finery, and their wonderful parties. 'Lordly' folk called them, meaning nothing but good; for it warmed all hearts to see them go riding by with their mail-shirts so bright and their shields so splendid, laughing and singing songs of far away; and if they were now large and magnificent, they were unchanged otherwise, unless they were indeed more fairspoken and more jovial and full of merriment....
......Frodo and Sam, however, went back to ordinary attire, except that when there was need they both wore long grey cloaks, finely woven and clasped at the throat with beautiful brooches; and Mr. Frodo wore always a white jewel on a chain that he often would finger."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 14 2023, 12:50pm
Post #19 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 14, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The sons of Elrond meet the escort and bring Arwen to Edoras.
(from the appendices-no text)
...Elrohir and Elladan finally encounter Arwen who had been travelling for nearly three weeks after leaving Lorien along with Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, and other members of each household.
Today's TIME is very short. So lets look at what led up to it… for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
May 1. Crowning of King Elessar; Elrond and Arwen set out from Rivendell. [from Appendix B: The Tale of Years: The Chief Days – no text]
May 1, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
...On the same day Aragorn becomes King Elessar and is now "worthy" in Elrond's eyes to wed Arwen, they set out for Minas Tirith… making a couple of stops along the way.
May 8. Éomer and Éowyn depart for Rohan with the sons of Elrond. [from Appendix B: The Tale of Years: The Chief Days]
May 8, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
..."So the glad days passed; and the Riders of Rohan made ready, and rode away by the North-way; and it was lined with people to do them honour and praise them, from the Gate of the City to the walls of the Pelennor...."
May 20. Elrond and Arwen come to Lórien. [from Appendix B: The Tale of Years: The Chief Days – no text]
May 20, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
...On their journey to Minas Tirith, Elrond and Arwen (and company) rest in Lorien. Here they are joined by others.
May 27. The escort of Arwen leaves Lórien. [from Appendix B: The Tale of Years: The Chief Days – no text]
May 27, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
...Arwen and Elrond leave Lothlórien to travel to Minas Tirith via Edoras. They are joined by Galadriel and Celeborn along with other members of each household.
June 14. The sons of Elrond meet the escort and bring Arwen to Edoras. [from Appendix B: The Tale of Years: The Chief Days – no text]
June 14, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
...Elrohir and Elladan finally encounter Arwen who had been travelling for nearly three weeks after leaving Lorien along with Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, and other members of each household. Arwen's escort is now complete and ride on to Edoras.
So… when do you think Elrohir and Elladan left Edoras to encounter Arwen et. al… or when did they veer off before arriving there?
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 15 2023, 12:59pm
Post #20 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 15, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The Company espies the Mountains.
(determined from text)
..."The road begins to run gently downhill with much grass on sides. Hills are still on the north as the road drops through a cutting of red stone topped with tall pines, then crosses a long flat mile toward the river. The Company finally reach the Ford of Bruinen and they can clearly see the Misty Mountains as they make camp."
..."One morning they forded a river at a wide shallow place full of the noise of stones and foam. The far bank was steep and slippery. When they got to the top of it, leading their ponies, they saw that the great mountains had marched down very near to them. Already they seemed only a day's easy journey from the feet of the nearest. Dark and drear it looked, though there were patches of sunlight on its brown sides, and behind its shoulders the tips of snow-peaks gleamed.
..."Is that The Mountain?" asked Bilbo in a solemn voice, looking at it with round eyes. He had never seen a thing that looked so big before.
..."Of course not!" said Balin. "That is only the beginning of the Misty Mountains, and we have to get through... ...somehow before we can come into Wilderland beyond. And it is a deal of a way even from the other side of them to the Lonely Mountain in the East where Smaug lies on our treasure."
..."O!" said Bilbo, and just at that moment he felt more tired than he ever remembered feeling before. He was thinking once again of his comfortable chair before the fire in his favourite sitting-room in his hobbit-hole, and of the kettle singing. Not for the last time!"
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 16 2023, 1:53pm
Post #21 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 16, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Gandalf searches out the path into the valley of Rivendell.
(determined from text)
..."Gandalf led the way. "We must not miss the road, or we shall be done for... ...We need food, for one thing, and rest in reasonable safety—also it is very necessary to tackle the Misty Mountains by the proper path, or else you will get lost in them, and have to come back and start at the beginning again (if you ever get back at all)."
......"You are come to the very edge of the Wild, as some of you may know. Hidden somewhere ahead of us is the fair valley of Rivendell where Elrond lives in the Last Homely House. I sent a message by my friends, and we are expected."
......They were growing anxious, for they now saw that the house might be hidden almost anywhere between them and the mountains... ...Altogether it was a very slow business following the track even guided by Gandalf, who seemed to know his way about pretty well.
...His head and beard wagged this way and that as he looked for the stones... ...but they seemed no nearer to the end of the search when the day began to fail. Tea-time had long gone by, and it seemed supper-time would soon do the same. There were moths fluttering about, and the light became very dim, for the moon had not risen... ...They came to the edge of a steep fall in the ground so suddenly that Gandalf's horse nearly slipped down the slope.
..."Here it is at last!" he called, and the others gathered round him and looked over the edge... ...Their spirits rose as they went down and down... ...and there was a comfortable feeling in the twilight. The last green had almost faded out of the grass, when they came at length to an open glade not far above the banks of the stream.
..."Hmmm! it smells like elves!" thought Bilbo, and he looked up at the stars. They were burning bright and blue. Just then there came a burst of song like laughter in the trees...
......They were elves of course. Soon Bilbo caught glimpses of them as the darkness deepened. He loved elves, though he seldom met them; but he was a little frightened of them too. Dwarves don't get on well with them. Even decent enough dwarves like Thorin and his friends think them foolish (which is a very foolish thing to think)...
..."...Well, well!" said a voice. "Just look! Bilbo the hobbit on a pony, my dear! Isn't it delicious!"
..."Most astonishing wonderful!"
..."...You are a little out of your way," said the elf: "...We will set you right, but you had best get on foot, until you are over the bridge. Are you going to stay a bit and sing with us, or will you go straight on? Supper is preparing over there... ...I can smell the wood-fires for the cooking."
...Tired as he was, Bilbo would have liked to stay awhile. Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars, not if you care for such things. Also he would have liked to have a few private words with these people that seemed to know his name and all about him.... ...He thought their opinion of his adventure might be interesting. Elves know a lot and are wondrous folk for news, and know what is going on among the peoples of the land, as quick as water flows, or quicker...
......And so at last they all came to the Last Homely House, and found its doors flung wide."
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 16 2023, 2:28pm
Post #22 of 42
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Wups... something got left behind :)
June 16, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. They set out for Gondor.
(from the appendices-no text)
...The Escort of Arwen leaves Edoras to travel to Minas Tirith. With her are Elrond (Lord of Rivendell), Elrohir and Elladan (her twin brothers), Galadriel and Celeborn (Lady and Lord of the Galadrim), Glorfindel (Elf-lord) and Erestor (Elrond's chief counsellor)..
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
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Jun 17 2023, 2:10pm
Post #23 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 17, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. The house of Elrond.
(determined from text)
..."Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway. They stayed long in that good house, fourteen days at least, and they found it hard to leave. Bilbo would gladly have stopped there for ever and ever—even supposing a wish could have taken him right back to his hobbit-hole without trouble....
......The master of the house was an elf-friend—one of those people whose fathers came into the strange stories before the beginning of History, the wars of the evil goblins and the elves and the first men in the North. In those days of our tale there were still some people who had both elves and heroes of the North for ancestors, and Elrond the master of the house was their chief.
...He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. He comes into many tales, but his part in the story of Bilbo's great adventure is only a small one, though important.... ...His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 18 2023, 11:48am
Post #24 of 42
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Today in Middle-earth
June 18, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Gandalf, Bilbo & the Dwarves rest in Rivendell.
..."All of them, the ponies as well, grew refreshed and strong in a few days there. Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers and their hopes. Their bags were filled with food and provisions light to carry but strong to bring them over the mountain passes. Their plans were improved with the best advice."
We have been there and back again.
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 18 2023, 1:15pm
Post #25 of 42
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It's time for some special Father's Day BS!
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Some Book Spoilers of Middle-earth Fathers for Father's Day... for a moment of Tolkien-zen
From A Long-Expected Party: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "No one had a more attentive audience than old Ham Gamgee, commonly known as the Gaffer. He held forth at The Ivy Bush, a small inn on the Bywater road; and he spoke with some authority, for he had tended the garden at Bag End for forty years, and had helped old Holman in the same job before that. Now that he was himself growing old and stiff in the joints, the job was mainly carried on by his youngest son, Sam Gamgee. Both father and son were on very friendly terms with Bilbo and Frodo. They lived on the Hill itself, in Number 3 Bagshot Row just below Bag End...
... '...And no wonder they're queer,' put in Daddy Twofoot (the Gaffer's next-door neighbour), 'if they live on the wrong side of the Brandywine River, and right agin the Old Forest. That's a dark bad place, if half the talks be true.'
... 'You're right, Dad!' said the Gaffer. 'Not that the Brandybucks of Buckland live in the Old Forest; but they're a queer breed, seemingly. They fool about with boats on that big river—and that isn't natural. Small wonder that trouble came of it, I say. But be that as it may, Mr. Frodo is as nice a young hobbit as you could wish to meet. Very much like Mr. Bilbo, and in more than looks. After all his father was a Baggins. A decent respectable hobbit was Mr. Drogo Baggins; there was never much to tell of him, till he was drownded.'
...Old Rory Brandybuck, in return for much hospitality, got a dozen bottles of Old Winyards: a strong red wine from the Southfarthing, and now quite mature, as it had been laid down by Bilbo's father. Rory quite forgave Bilbo, and voted him a capital fellow after the first bottle.
From The Shadow of the Past: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "'Long after, but still very long ago, there lived by the banks of the Great River on the edge of Wilderland a clever-handed and quiet-footed little people. I guess they were of a hobbit-kind; akin to the fathers of the fathers of the Stoors, for they loved the River, and often swam in it, or made little boats of reeds.
From In the House of Tom Bombadil: The Fellowship of the Ring ..."It was not called the Old Forest without reason, for it was indeed ancient, a survivor of vast forgotten woods; and in it there lived yet, ageing no quicker than the hills, the fathers of the fathers of trees, remembering times when they were lords."
From Many Meetings: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "So it was that Frodo saw her whom few mortals had yet seen; Arwen, daughter of Elrond, in whom it was said that the likeness of Lúthien had come on earth again; and she was called Undómiel, for she was the Evenstar of her people. Long she had been in the land of her mother's kin, in Lórien beyond the mountains, and was but lately returned to Rivendell to her father's house."
From The Council of Elrond: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "Elrond drew Frodo to a seat by his side, and presented him to the company, saying: 'Here, my friends, is the hobbit, Frodo son of Drogo...'
... ...He pointed out and named those whom Frodo had not met before. There was a younger dwarf at Glóin's side: his son Gimli... ...There was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood. And seated a little apart was a tall man with a fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed, proud and stern of glance.... ... He gazed at Frodo and Bilbo with sudden wonder.
... 'Here,' said Elrond, turning to Gandalf, 'is Boromir [son of Denethor], a man from the South...'"
'...I have come on an errand over many dangerous leagues to Elrond[said Boromir]: a hundred and ten days I have journeyed all alone... ...I come to ask for counsel and the unravelling of hard words. For... ...a dream came to my brother in a troubled sleep; and afterwards a like dream came oft to him again, and once to me...
...For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
And the Halfling forth shall stand. ... Of these words we could understand little, and we spoke to our father, Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith, wise in the lore of Gondor. This only would he say, that Imladris was of old the name among the Elves of a far northern dale, where Elrond the Halfelven dwelt, greatest of lore-masters.... ... I took the journey upon myself. Loth was my father to give me leave, and long have I wandered by roads forgotten....'
... 'And here in the House of Elrond more shall be made clear to you,' said Aragorn, standing up. He cast his sword upon the table that stood before Elrond, and the blade was in two pieces. 'Here is the Sword that was Broken!' he said.
... 'And who are you, and what have you to do with Minas Tirith?' asked Boromir, looking in wonder at the lean face of the Ranger and his weather-stained cloak.
... 'He is Aragorn son of Arathorn,' said Elrond; 'and he is descended through many fathers from Isildur Elendil's son of Minas Ithil. He is the Chief of the Dúnedain in the North, and few are now left of that folk.'"
From The Council of Elrond: The Fellowship of the Ring ... "'...answered Elrond gravely. 'But my memory reaches back even to the Elder Days. Eärendil was my sire, who was born in Gondolin before its fall; and my mother was Elwing, daughter of Dior, son of Lúthien of Doriath....
... '...I was the herald of Gil-galad and marched with his host. It was at the Battle of Dagorlad before the Black Gate of Mordor, where we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand. I beheld the last combat on the slopes of Orodruin, where Gil-galad died, and Elendil fell, and Narsil broke beneath him: but Sauron himself was overthrown, and Isildur cut the Ring from his hand with the hilt-shard of his father's sword, and took it for his own....'
... '...Isildur took it, as should not have been.... ...But few marked what Isildur did. He alone stood by his father in that last mortal contest; and by Gil-galad only Círdan stood, and I. But Isildur would not listen to our counsel.
... '"This I will have as weregild for my father, and my brother," he said...'"
Happy Father's Day to all those Dads who come in many forms: blood-relation, adopted, foster, and to the special souls
who are a Dad to those who need that generous soul in their lives :)
We have been there and back again.
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(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Jun 18 2023, 1:22pm)
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