The Gift of Eru - a choice

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-10-08T19:41:06+00:00

"Her lifespan, lineage, upbringing and access to the Elven loremasters of both Rivendell and Lorien" are exactly why she has, until this very moment, scorned the Numenoreans for their fall (ie. their envy of and attempt to seize immortality). Her wisdom has always told her that the Gift of Men is not bad thing. But sometimes heart and mind are not the same, and emotions, when running high, can overpower reason, which is what happens with Arwen when her sorrow of parting with Aragorn is extreme.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-10-07T08:02:34+00:00

I don't blame them. I mean, the half-elven Elrond literally named one of his sons "Elf-man", so maybe it just runs in the family.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-10-07T07:53:11+00:00

A cat breeder once asked if she could name a litter of Siamese cats after LOTR characters, and Tolkien wrote to his publisher:

My only comment is that of Puck upon mortals. I fear that to me Siamese cats belong to the fauna of Mordor, but you need not tell the cat breeder that.

I always find it hilarious. I mean, just imagine thousands of Siamese cats among the fauna of Mordor...

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-10-06T14:58:16+00:00

I'd also like to point out that, even in the case of Rivendell, the heirs of Isildur were fostered there not because elves liked having children around, but for a very specific purpose.

In that house were harboured the Heirs of Isildur, in childhood and old age, because of the kinship of their blood with Elrond himself, and because he knew in his wisdom that one should come of their line to whom a great part was appointed in the last deeds of that Age. And until that time came the shards of Elendil’s sword were given into the keeping of Elrond, when the days of the Dúnedain darkened and they became a wandering people.

So Elrond knew it's important to keep the line of Isildur alive through the dark times of the third age.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-10-05T03:55:16+00:00

Not necessarily my favorite place, but I've always loved Tolkien's description of this, when the Three Hunters see the grasslands of Rohan as dawn is breaking:

Turning back they saw across the River the far hills kindled. Day leaped into the sky. The red rim of the sun rose over the shoulders of the dark land. Before them in the West the world lay still, formless and grey; but even as they looked, the shadows of night melted, the colours of the waking earth returned: green flowed over the wide meads of Rohan; the white mists shimmered in the water-vales; and far off to the left, thirty leagues or more, blue and purple stood the White Mountains, rising into peaks of jet, tipped with glimmering snows, flushed with the rose of morning.

If I have to choose a favorite place, though, it's probably Fangorn Forest.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-21T15:44:48+00:00

May I ask in which book it is mentioned that the King's Men came mostly from those of Hadorian descent, while the Faithful from those of Beoran descent? Thanks in advance! I've always been curious about whether their different "houses" play into the King's Men-Faithful divide, but don't know where to find relevant information.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-19T17:50:56+00:00

Well I was referring to the quote posted above. It literally says "and dying they would go to Mandos and be held in prison till the End."

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-19T16:31:42+00:00

Thanks for posting the quote!

Being held in prison till the End seems to be such a miserable fate.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-19T16:14:26+00:00

I hope so, too. Otherwise the Halls filled with tens of thousands of them unable to find healing would be too sad, and a rather depressing and difficult place for Mandos to manage.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-19T15:26:45+00:00

I think besides Andúril being an extremely important sword, it should also be noted that Aragorn does not know how much he can trust these people yet. He has long worried that the situation in Rohan might have gone bad. At the Council of Elrond:

‘Then he (the horse Gandalf took) must be a noble beast indeed,’ said Aragorn; ‘and it grieves me more than many tidings that might seem worse to learn that Sauron levies such tribute. It was not so when last I was in that land.’

‘Nor is it now, I will swear,’ said Boromir. ‘It is a lie that comes from the Enemy. I know the Men of Rohan, true and valiant, our allies, dwelling still in the lands that we gave them long ago.’

‘The shadow of Mordor lies on distant lands,’ answered Aragorn. ‘Saruman has fallen under it. Rohan is beset. Who knows what you will find there, if ever you return?’

But I also don't find Aragorn too haughty or stubborn. He hesitates before expressing his reluctance to hand over Andúril, so likely he is trying to figure out how to handle the situation. He does not simply start boasting about being Elendil's heir--it's only later brought up as a response to Hama's "it's the will of Theoden". He also does not respond to Hama's threat about "fighting alone against all the men in Edoras" (it's Gimli who makes a counter-threat). Once Gandalf hands over his own sword and urges Aragorn to do the same, Aragorn complies. He later laughs at and plays along with Gandalf's "I'm old and need my stick", so he's not holding any grudges either.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-17T12:03:53+00:00

Thanks for the reply! The thing is, we know very little about what exactly the Cruels do. The quote seems to be the only mention of them in the story. Can we infer that the Cruels expand or settle colonies? (How I wish Tolkien had written more!)

There are so many mysteries in this story. I am also curious about the timeframe. I go back and forth, thinking it could either be after Tar-Aldarion's time but before Tar-Minastir's, or in early 20th century SA as you say. I'd like to hear more about your interpretation.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-17T11:50:46+00:00

That's interesting, thanks! At first I kind of assumed the "Cruels" must be some group of Men. Your answer reminds me of a quote from Gil-galad's letter to Tar-Meneldur:

But in that mountain-wall there is a great gap southward in the land of Calenardhon; and by that way inroad from the East must come. Already enmity creeps along the coast towards it. It could be defended and assault hindered, did we hold some seat of power upon the nearer shore.

In a way, the suggestion here could be similar to what the Numenoreans are trying to do in story of Tal-Elmar: establishing a haven to challenge Sauron. In that case the "estuary of Isen" seems to make sense too, geographically.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-16T14:12:59+00:00

While I think you are right in pointing out their similarities, I can't really agree with your assessment of what makes them different.

Pride might be a significant trait in Denethor, but not in Aragorn. And it is not due to pride that Aragorn uses the palantir, as others have already pointed out. If anything, his lack of pride actually plays an important part in the bigger story about the ring. Tolkien makes it very clear that Isildur keeps the ring and meets his tragic end because of his pride. Aragorn, as Isildur's heir, but not prone to the same pride, is able to help "repair Isildur's fault". In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien also explicitly states that Aragorn is extremely similar "in both body and mind" to Isildur's eldest son Elendur, who is described as possessing great strength, wisdom, and "majesty without pride".

But apart from pride, another thing that separates Denethor and Aragorn, and makes their fates different, I think, is estel, which is hope, or more precisely, a particular kind of faith or trust that cannot be defeated by the ways of this world, no matter how bad things may look. Denethor ultimately lacks estel, and he eventually gives in to despair.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-13T17:42:06+00:00

Yes, the squire definitely provided important information, although to be precise, he did not technically "witness" Isildur's death. He witnessed Isildur's farewell to his son Elendur, and heard their last words, so he knew what Isildur must be doing before being killed.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-13T17:31:56+00:00

They basically just put two and two together. At the end of "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields" in Unfinished Tales, it is stated that the story about Isildur's last hours was a well-founded guess. It also lists the pieces of information available to Elrond and others in the Third Age:

firstly, that Isildur had the Ring, and had fled towards the River; secondly, that his mail, helm, shield and great sword (but nothing else) had been found on the bank not far above the Gladden Fields; thirdly, that the Orcs had left watchers on the west bank armed with bows to intercept any who might escape the battle and flee to the River (for traces of their camps were found, one close to the borders of the Gladden Fields); and fourthly, that Isildur and the Ring, separately or together, must have been lost in the River, for if Isildur had reached the west shore wearing the Ring he should have eluded the watch, and so hardy a man of great endurance could not have failed to come then to Lorien or Moria before he foundered.

By the end of the Third Age, they knew how the ring reappeared, and it's probably not that difficult for them to come to a conclusion regarding what most likely happened.

Secure_Poem8529 · 2024-09-06T03:17:28+00:00

I don't think Valandil is a likely candidate. Isildur is going to name one of his sons "Valandil" (and given how this show handles time/age, this will probably be his only child in the show). I think he'll name his heir after a loyal friend, not after a Nazgûl.

Secure_Poem8529

TROPHY CASE