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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Dec 25 2017, 11:11am
Post #1 of 21
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TIME - December 25
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Today in Middle-earth
December 25, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. The Company of the Ring leaves Rivendell at dusk.
(from the appendices)
..."...It was a cold grey day near the end of December... ...They were to start at dusk, for Elrond counselled them to journey under the cover of night as often as they could, until they were far from Rivendell.
...'You should fear the many eyes of the servants of Sauron,' he said. 'I do not doubt that news of the discomfiture of the Riders has already reached him, and he will be filled with wrath. Soon now his spies on foot and wing will be abroad... ...Even of the sky above you must beware as you go on your way.'
...The Company took little gear of war, for their hope was in secrecy not in battle. Aragorn had Andúril but no other weapon, and he went forth clad only in rusty green and brown, as a ranger of the wilderness. Boromir had a long sword, in fashion like Andúril but of less lineage, and he bore also a shield and his war-horn.
...'Loud and clear it sounds in the valleys of the hills,' he said, 'and then let all the foes of Gondor flee!' Putting it to his lips he blew a blast, and the echoes leapt from rock to rock, and all that heard that voice in Rivendell sprang to their feet.
...'Slow should you be to wind that horn again, Boromir,' said Elrond, 'until you stand once more on the borders of your land, and dire need is on you.'
...'Maybe... ...But always I have let my horn cry at setting forth, and though thereafter we may walk in the shadows, I will not go forth as a thief in the night.'
...Gimli the dwarf alone wore openly a short shirt of steel-rings... ...and in his belt was a broad-bladed axe. Legolas had a bow and a quiver, and at his belt a long white knife. The younger hobbits wore the swords that they had taken from the barrow; but Frodo took only Sting; and his mail-coat, as Bilbo wished, remained hidden. Gandalf bore his staff, but girt at his side was the Elven-sword Glamdring, the mate of Orcrist that lay now upon the breast of Thorin under the Lonely Mountain.
...All were well furnished by Elrond with thick warm clothes, and they had jackets and cloaks lined with fur. Spare food and clothes and blankets and other needs were laden on a pony, none other than the poor beast that they had brought from Bree.
...The stay in Rivendell had worked a great wonder... ...on him: he was glossy and seemed to have the vigour of youth. It was Sam who had insisted on choosing him, declaring that Bill (as he called him) would pine, if he did not come.
...'That animal can nearly talk... ...and would talk, if he stayed here much longer. He gave me a look as plain as Mr. Pippin could speak it: "If you don't let me go with you, Sam, I'll follow on my own."' So Bill was going as the beast of burden, yet he was the only member of the Company that did not seem depressed."
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
5th draft of TH:BotFA Geeky Observations List - January 30, 2015
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Dec 25 2017, 2:34pm
Post #2 of 21
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If I recall correctly, even Tolkien (who claimed to hate literary metaphor) acknowledged that there was a certain symbolism in having the Fellowship set out from Rivendell on the calendar equivalent of our Christmas Day--though a straight conversion of the date to the Gregorian calendar would place their departure closer to our own December 14. 
Season's Greetings to all!
"I may be on the side of the angels, but do not think for one second that I am one of them." - Sherlock
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Dec 25 2017, 2:35pm)
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Dec 27 2017, 12:26pm
Post #5 of 21
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Today in Middle-earth
December 27, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. The Fellowship travels the wild
(not from the appendices)
..."The first part of their journey was hard and dreary, and Frodo remembered little of it, save the wind. For many sunless days an icy blast came from the Mountains in the east, and no garment seemed able to keep out its searching fingers. Though the Company was well clad, they seldom felt warm, either moving or at rest."
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
5th draft of TH:BotFA Geeky Observations List - January 30, 2015
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Dec 27 2017, 1:27pm
Post #6 of 21
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With the temps dropping to single digits here (around -15 C), I can well imagine the biting chill of the wind and the constant cold they endured!
I know the Hobbits had woolen hose for their legs, but were the furry feet enough to keep their toes from threat of frostbite?
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Dec 28 2017, 11:22am
Post #7 of 21
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Today in Middle-earth
December 28, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Bilbo, Gandalf and Beorn finally arrive at Beorn's house.
(determined from text & no text)
...Gandalf and Bilbo had come all the way back, along both edges of the Forest, to the doors of Beorn's house; and there for a while they both stayed."
...After travelling more than 480 miles from the Lonely Mountain, Gandalf and Bilbo looked forward to their winter refuge with Beorn. When they approached the home from the north, they could see smoke rising from the chimney and a warm glow from the windows. Clearly Beorn's wonderful animals knew their master was returning and had everything made ready.
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
5th draft of TH:BotFA Geeky Observations List - January 30, 2015
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Dec 29 2017, 2:20pm
Post #10 of 21
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Beorn later succeeded by Grimbeorn
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Although Tolkien had failed to note the year (or even the fact) of Beorn's passing in his "Tale of Years", he did note in a letter that whatever else Beorn may have been, he was still a mortal Man and had perished by the time of the War of the Ring. Beorn's son Grimbeorn (later Grimbeorn the Old--might Beorn's grandson or great-grandson have been Grimbeorn the Young?) replaced him as the chieftain of the Beornings. Beorn's abilities as a skin-changer seem to have been hereditary, passed down to at least his male descendants.
"I may be on the side of the angels, but do not think for one second that I am one of them." - Sherlock
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
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Dec 29 2017, 5:37pm
Post #11 of 21
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From whence did he take a wife? Were the Beornings considered a tribe at this point, considering how widely spaced homesteads would be? Or was she from among the Woodmen (from whom future Beornings would possibly come)?
And how could she bear to put up with his skin-changing? In what form was Grimbeorn born?
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Dec 29 2017, 6:46pm
Post #12 of 21
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Beorn's wife was probably among the folk who had named themselves Beornings, but she likely would have been of the Woodmen by birth. I would hope that little Grimbeorn would have been born in Mannish shape!
This is not official canon by any means, but the campaign The Darkening of Mirkwood for The One Ring Roleplaying Game Beorn decides in the year 2968 that the time has come to take a wife. He and his bride wed at the Carrock, and Grimbeorn is born in the following year. The identity of Beorn's wife is left for the Loremaster (gamemaster) to decide.
"I may be on the side of the angels, but do not think for one second that I am one of them." - Sherlock
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Dec 29 2017, 6:46pm)
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
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Dec 29 2017, 6:55pm
Post #13 of 21
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Of them getting wed at Carrock, preferably at the top of it. Who knew Beorn could be so romantic! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Dec 30 2017, 3:09pm
Post #14 of 21
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This is a Book Spoiler that looks at some of the treasures and gifts made by the Erebor Dwarves... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. From Inside Information: The Hobbit
... "...the talk turned to the great hoard... ...and to the things that Thorin and Balin remembered. They wondered if they were still lying there unharmed in the hall below... ...shields made for warriors long dead; the great golden cup of Thror, two-handed, hammered and carven with birds and flowers who eyes and petals were of jewels; coats of mail gilded and silvered and impenetrable; the necklace of Girion, Lord of Dale, made of five hundred emeralds... ...which he gave for the arming of his eldest son in a coat of dwarf-linked rings the like of which had never been made before, for it was wrought of pure silver to the power and strength of triple steel. But fairest of all was the great white gem... ...found beneath the roots of the Mountain, the Heart of the Mountain, the Arkenstone of Thrain.... "The Arkenstone! The Arkenstone!" murmured Thorin in the dark, half dreaming with his chin upon his knees. "It was like a globe with a thousand facets... ...shone like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon!""
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
5th draft of TH:BotFA Geeky Observations List - January 30, 2015
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Dec 30 2017, 5:50pm
Post #16 of 21
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Yes, I like to think that the wedding at the Carrock would have happened. It's a nice touch.
"I may be on the side of the angels, but do not think for one second that I am one of them." - Sherlock
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Dec 31 2017, 2:31pm
Post #17 of 21
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Here's some BS on The Carrock... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. From Queer Lodgings: The Hobbit
...[The eagles rescued and carried the Company from the flaming pine trees] "After a good while the eagles must have seen the point they were making for, even from their great height... ... they began to go down circling round in great spirals... ...below them were trees that looked like oaks and elms, and wide grass lands, and a river running through it all... ...cropping out of the ground, right in the path of the stream which looped itself about it, was a great rock, almost a hill of stone, like a last outpost of the distant mountains, or a huge piece cast miles into the plain by some giant of giants...
... ...There was a flat space on the top of the hill of stone and a well worn path with many steps leading down it to the river, across which a ford of huge flat stones led to the grass-land beyond the stream. There was a little cave (a wholesome one with a pebbly floor) at the foot of the steps... ...near the end of the stony ford....
... [Gandalf described the area] ...Very few people live in these parts, unless they have come here since I was last down this way... ...some years ago. But there is somebody that I know of... ...made the steps on the Great rock—the Carrock I believe he calls it. He does not come here often, certainly not in the daytime...
... [the river] was shallow and clear and stony at the ford... ...they crossed the ford (carrying the hobbit), and then began to march through the long green grass and down the lines of the wide-armed oaks and the tall elms.
..."And why is it called the Carrock?" asked Bilbo as he went along at the wizard’s side.
..."He called it the Carrock, because carrock is his word for it. He calls things like that carrocks, and this one is the Carrock because it is the only one near his home and he knows it well."
..."Who calls it? Who knows it?"
..."The Somebody I spoke of--a very great person..."" From Queer Lodgings ...[Gandalf after returning from an all-night walk] ""I have been picking out bear-tracks," [Gandalf] said at last. "There must have been a regular bears' meeting outside here last night... ...They came from almost every direction, except from the west over the river, from the Mountains. In that direction only one set of footprints led—none coming, only ones going away from here. I followed these as far as the Carrock... ...they disappeared into the river, but the water was too deep and strong beyond the rock for me to cross. It is easy enough... ...to get from this bank to the Carrock by the ford, but on the other side it is a cliff standing up from a swirling channel....""
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
5th draft of TH:BotFA Geeky Observations List - January 30, 2015
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 1 2018, 12:42pm
Post #18 of 21
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It's time for some New Year BS!
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While these BS moments did NOT happen on the first of the Gregorian calendar year, they are celebrating A New Year... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
A New Year Meeting of Celeborn and Thranduil.
..."And on the day of the New Year of the Elves, Celeborn and Thranduil met in the midst of the forest; and they renamed Mirkwood Eryn Lasgalen, The Wood of Greenleaves. Thranduil took all the northern region as far as the mountains that rise in the forest of his realm; and Celeborn took the southern wood below the Narrows, and named it East Lórien; but all the wide forest between was given to the Beornings and the Woodmen."
The New Year in Ithilien for Gandalf and the Hobbits
..."[Gandalf] '...in Gondor the New Year will always now begin upon the twenty-fifth of March when Sauron fell, and when you were brought out of the fire to the King. He has tended you, and now he awaits you. You shall eat and drink with him. When you are ready I will lead you to him.'
...'The King?' said Sam. 'What king, and who is he?'
...'The King of Gondor and the Lord of the Western Lands... ...and he has taken back all his ancient realm. He will ride soon to his crowning, but he waits for you.'"
New Year for the Dwarves is very meaningful.
..."...what is Durin's Day?" asked Elrond.
..."The first day of the dwarves' New Year," said Thorin, "is... ...the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter. We still call it Durin's Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together.'"
Happy New Year, everyone!!! Here's to another year of good TIMEs at TORn!
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
5th draft of TH:BotFA Geeky Observations List - January 30, 2015
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jan 1 2018, 3:43pm
Post #19 of 21
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While these BS moments did NOT happen on the first of the Gregorian calendar year, they are celebrating A New Year... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
That's right! And none of them are even associated with the winter solstice (summer solstice for our friends in the far South, where the stars are strange).
This is my first post on the 'net for this new year (local time).
"I may be on the side of the angels, but do not think for one second that I am one of them." - Sherlock
(This post was edited by Otaku-sempai on Jan 1 2018, 3:53pm)
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jan 2 2018, 12:15pm
Post #21 of 21
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Here's a Book Spoilerof Sam's evaluation of the predicament Frodo and he find themselves in... for a moment of Tolkien-zen.
From The Taming of Sméagol: The Two Towers
..."'Well, master, we're in a fix and no mistake,' said Sam Gamgee. He stood despondently with hunched shoulders beside Frodo, and peered out with puckered eyes into the gloom.
... It was the third evening since they had fled from the Company, as far as they could tell: they had almost lost count of the hours during which they had climbed and laboured among the barren slopes and stones of the Emyn Muil, sometimes retracing their steps because they could find no way forward, sometimes discovering that they had wandered in a circle back to where they had been hours before...
... ...The hobbits stood now on the brink of a tall cliff, bare and bleak, its feet wrapped in mist; and behind them rose the broken highlands crowned with drifting cloud. A chill wind blew from the East. Night was gathering over the shapeless lands before them... ...Far away to the right the Anduin, that had gleamed fitfully in sun-breaks during the day, was now hidden in shadow. But their eyes did not look beyond the River, back to Gondor, to their friends, to the lands of Men...... 'What a fix!' said Sam."
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
5th draft of TH:BotFA Geeky Observations List - January 30, 2015
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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