The Word of Tolkien
John Evans' blog on The Elder Days, The Last Alliance, and the War of the Ring
The Hobbit
Since the release of the Peter Jackson films there has been less emphasis on the Silmarillion but a lot of publicity concerning an upcoming potential Hobbit movie. However out of all of Tolkien's writings it is probably the novel that is least appreciated by the common reader who is not exactly familiar with Tolkien's other books. After all on the surface it appears to be a simple archaic ferry Tale with trolls, elves, goblins, wizards, and even dragons. As a result I can easily imagine most older children shunning the book as merely babyish when compared to JK Rolling's Harry Potter series. Yet this would be a serious mistake! Despite the fact that the novel was first written for a juvenile audience it is an important steppingstone in Tolkien's history of Middle Earth. With out reading the Hobbit if you were to open the Lord of the Rings you would see allusions to a Hobbit named Bilbo and his untold adventure in several places either leaving you more interested in the complexity of the plot or baffled and reluctant to continue reading any further. My hope is that if Jackson does personally invest time in releasing two Hobbit movies that it will encourage more young people to start reading the Hobbit and valuing it as a work of genius rather then a children's story. For those who have thoroughly enjoyed the Hobbit like myself, I think it is also important to try and read the appendices to the Return of the King or Unfinished Tales that tell you more about the back story to the narrative. I've been told that the second Hobbit movie will likely deal a lot with the White Council and I'm sure that there will also be references to the terrible Dwarf and Goblin wars in which Thorin played some part. In the mean time the purpose of this blog will be to address both an audience that has little to no clue what I'm actually rambling on about as well as those who have already completed the novel and want to know more. First I will begin a brief analysis of the wars between the orcs and the dwarves before the story of the Hobbit actually takes place and then begin summarizing what happens through out Bilbo's adventure. The dwarves feud with the goblins began when one of their elders named Thror was slain before the doors of the Mines of Moria by a large wicked orc named Azog. In retaliation dwarves from all corners of Arda rushed to avenge their fallen leader and rallied behind their kings against the goblins of the mines that still dwelt in their ancient subterranean homes. Finally they chased the orcs all the ways back to Moria where they trapped Azog. In that battle a dwarf by the name of Thorin son of Thrain who's grandfather was King Thror, was forced to take an oak branch to ward off the blows of his foes seize his shield had been utterly destroyed. From that day on he was known as Thorin Oakenshield and won great renown as both a captain of war and friend among Durin's folk until his death at the Battle of Five armies. Eventually Azog the goblin was killed by Dain Ironfoot but the dwarves never entered Moria for fear of encountering a Balrog who had driven their people long ago from those ancient mines. Is is told in the Appendices that the dwarf lords who died that day were burnt for it would have taken too long to build tombs of stone which they were accustomed to build and they never berried their dead. So afterward a dwarf might say when referring to one of his ancestors, "He was a burnt dwarf" and no other matter would be argued regarding that person's contributions to the war effort. Now thorin's father Thrain wished to tackle another battle which his people long had hoped to set aside: the reclaiming of their lost treasure in the Lonely Mountain of Arabor. Years ago Thrain and his father had dwelt there as King's powerful, wise and exceedingly wealthy but then Smaug the dragon came and stole all their gold and drove their people from the mountain under threat of force leaving only bloodshed and death behind. It is said that Sauron learned that Thrain had inherited one of the dwarf rings that the elf lord Celebrimbor gave to the lord of Moria before the chaos and destruction of the war of the Last Alliance. As a result Thrain was taken by the servants of the enemy on his quest in the Forest of Mirkwood where the dark lord had once made his stronghold of Dol Guldur. Sauron had hidden his identity by calling himself "the Necromancer" and gathered to him all those evil and corrupt creatures that had dwelt in his former fastness in the lands of Mordor. Seeing that the Necromancer was a potential threat to the free peoples of Middle Earth Gandalf ventured deep in to the dungeons of Dol Guldur and discovered Thrain who was almost dead and beyond recovery. Upon seeing Gandalf he gave to the wizard a map of the Lonely Mountain and a magic key that would open a secret door in to the dragon's lair. I'm almost sure that Gandalf knew for certain that the Necromancer was indeed either Sauron himself or one of his deadliest servants like the Witch King of Angmar but if he had any foreboding he never told it to Bilbo until he and a group of Wizards and high elves gathered together to discuss the overthrow of Dol Guldur by force. That meeting was called the White Council and I'm not quite sure how long it might have lasted before a final decision was actually made. What I do know however is that Saruman argued against the will of Elrond, Gandalf, and Galadriel in their attempts to inspire the members of the council to march to war. During one of these meetings Christopher Tolkien records in Unfinished tales a rather interesting debate between Saruman and Gandalf regarding the rings of Power and the common use of pipe weed associated with the wondering wizard.
The following quote can be found just above page 352 on my own personal copy of the text.
"In another version there is a description of the occasion when Saruman openly scoffed at Gandalf's use of the `pipe-weed."
"Now because of his dislike and fear, in the later days Saruman avoided Gandalf, and they seldom met, except at the assemblies of the White Council." "It was at the great Council held in 2851 that the `Halflings' leaf was first spoken of, and the matter was noted with amusement at the time, though it was afterwards remembered in a different light." "The Council met in Rivendell, and Gandalf sat apart, silent, but smoking prodigiously (a thing he had never done before on such an occasion), while Saruman spoke against him, and urged that contrary to Gandalf's advice Dol Guldur should not yet be molested." "Both the silence and the smoke seemed greatly to annoy Saruman, and before the Council dispersed he said to Gandalf: `When weighty matters are in debate, Mithrandir, I wonder a little that you should play with your toys of fire and smoke, while others are in earnest speech.` "But Gandalf laughed, and replied: `You would not wonder, if you used this herb yourself." "You might find that smoke blown out cleared your mind of shadows within." "Anyway, it gives patience, to listen to error without anger." "But it is not one of my toys." "It is an art of the Little People away in the West: merry and worthy folk, though not of much account, perhaps, in your high policies.` "Saruman was little appeased by this answer (for he hated mockery, however gentle), and he said then coldly: `You jest, Lord Mithrandir, as is your way." "I know well enough that you have become a curious explorer of the small: weeds, wild things, and childish folk." "Your time is your own to spend, if you have nothing worthier to do; and your friends you may make as you please." "But to me the days are too dark for wanderers' tales, and I have no time for the simples of peasants.` "Gandalf did not laugh again; and he did not answer, but looking keenly at Saruman he drew on his pipe and sent out a great ring of smoke with many smaller rings that followed it." "Then he put up his hand, as if to grasp them, and they vanished." "With that he got up and left Saruman without another word; but Saruman stood for some time silent, and his face was dark with doubt and displeasure." "This story appears in half a dozen different manuscripts, and in one of them it is said that Saruman was suspicious, doubting whether he read rightly the purport of Gandalf's gesture with the rings of smoke (above all whether it showed any connection between the Halflings and the great matter of the Rings of Power, unlikely though that might seem); and doubting that one so great could concern himself with such a people as the Halflings for their own sake merely." "In another (struck through) Gandalf's purpose is made explicit: It was a strange chance, that being angered by his insolence Gandalf chose this way of showing to Saruman his suspicion that desire to possess them had begun to enter into his policies and his study of the lore of the Rings, warning him that they would elude him." I highly doubt that Gandalf knew about Bilbo's ring although there is no questioning the fact that he was probably very suspicious of the hobbit's surprising return from the Misty Mountains after being attacked by goblins. I find it rather comical that Saruman would criticize Gandalf over such a trivial issue! His criticisms aren't even addressing the serious health problems Gandalf could be facing but rather a harsh comment on time management . What has Saruman been doing lately besides studying Sauron anyway? Is he amy better? Yet the main topic of interest in the excerpt is not the smoking debate but rather the conclusions that Saruman draws when he sees Gandalf creating rings of smoke that vanish in to thin air. The fact that there are wizards pondering the fate of the ring of power before the Council of Elrond is an important point. If Saruman is wondering whether or not Gandalf is alluding to the rings of power he must already be either corrupted by the malice of the dark lord or just starting to go bad. I may or may not come back to this point on my blog about the Lord of the Rings. Anyway down to business! Thorin and Gandalf partnered up one night at Bree to take up Thrain's quest to regain the lost fortunes of Durin's folk in the mountain of Arabor. Yet in order to do so they needed to hire a burglar since there had not been warriors or captains of war interested in the dealings of the dwarves for many many long years after that war with Azog. Therefore Jrr. Tolkien's famous novel the Hobbit begins with Bilbo the halfling being practically impressed in to service by Gandalf and 13 dwarves who happen to barge right in to his house thinking that the hobbit was actually a trained professional burglar before discovering the bitter truth. Thanks to our good old friend Christopher Tolkien once again in Unfinished tales we get a little bit of Gandalf's side of the story. "of course Bilbo was completely bewildered and behaved ridiculously." "Everything in fact went extremely badly for me
from the beginning; and that unfortunate business about the "professional thief", which the Dwarves had got firmly into their heads, only made matters worse." "I was thankful that I had told Thorin we should all stay the night at Bag End, since we should need time to discuss ways and means) page 336.)" That night Gandalf and Thorin discussed weather they should bring Bilbo along or not and while Thorin was kind of reluctant the wizard advocated for the hobbit and so the middle aged Baggins from the Shire became the first halfling to become famous in the world at that time. According to the main story line Bilbo slowly earns his companions respect after saving them several times from spiders, wood elves, and eventually Smaug himself. Yet one of the biggest questions I always used to ask myself when I was reading and rereading the Hobbit only a few years ago was why Bilbo? What special destiny did Bilbo have over any other of those hobbits in the Shire? The answer once again can be found in Unfinished Tales in which we get another short personal narrative from Gandalf about how he finally came to the conclusion that he needed Mr. Bilbo Baggins and not some other middle aged bumbling halfling from Hobbiton.
`I had not time to sort them all out; but I knew the Shire very well by that time, although when I met Thorin I had been away for more than twenty years on less pleasant business." "So naturally thinking over the Hobbits that I knew, I said to myself: "I want a dash of the Took" (but not too much, Master Peregrin) "and I want a good foundation of the stolider sort, a Baggins perhaps." "That pointed at once to Bilbo." "And I had known him once very well, almost up to his coming of age, better than he knew me." to I liked him then." "And now I found that he was "unattached"--to jump on again, for of course I did not know all this until I went back to the Shire." "I learned that he had never married." "I thought that odd, though I guessed why it was; and the reason that I guessed was not the one that most of the Hobbits gave me: that he had early been left very well off and his own master." "No, I guessed that he wanted to remain "unattached" for some reason deep down which he did not understand himself--or would not acknowledge, for it alarmed him." "He wanted, all the same, to be free to go when the chance came, or he had made up his courage." "I remembered how he used to pester me with questions when he was a youngster about the Hobbits that had occasionally "gone off", as they said in the Shire." "There were at least two of his uncles on the Took side that had done so) page 331.)"
I find it very interesting that Gandalf associates Bilbo with his mother's side which would be the Tooks rather then the Baggins family. After all Bilbo naturally has most of his father's looks according to the Hobbit in chapter 1 called "an unexpected party" not to mention his business manner that he casually slips in to whenever he is addressing important people like Bard, the elven King, Thorin, and even Gandalf at times. I think Tolkien wanted Bilbo to seem more like a Baggins on the surface but still retain some Took characteristics that were hidden deep until Gandalf came and made him one of Thorin's company. To describe the plot in detail might be boring for those of us who have already finished the book and would be only tedious for those of you who are still knew to Tolkien's works. Only those most important aspects of the hobbit's adventure will be recounted in this blog but I highly recommend that you all watch the cartoon Hobbit movie they made in the 70s. Its sort of cheesy and childish at times but it lays out the plot relatively faithful to the book. Anyway the dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo Baggins all set out from the Shire with a pretty clear road ahead of them for a few days. But after they past Bree they came in to more dangerous parts and were captured by three wicked trolls but were saved by the wizard and found several elvish swords which came out of Gondolin. Since I have already talked a lot about those particular swords in my blog series on the Silmarillion I don't think I'll elaborate on the history of those ancient weapons again but I will remind you that Sting was one of those elvish blades! At Rivendell they discovered the identity of their swords and their back stories as well as secret letters on Thrain's map that could only be seen when the moon shines behind them. These "moon letters" clearly stated that Thorin could only open the side entrance to the Lonely mountain until the last rays of the sun on Durin's day shined on the rock face. It was also said that they would know when this was happening because a bird called a thrush would knock a snail against the face of the door. On their way over the Misty Mountains they were captured by goblins but escaped once again do to the assistance of Gandalf the Gray. In that conflict the goblin king was slain and Bilbo was accidentally lost after the dwarf that was carrying him was attacked by an orc from behind. As the hobbit was trying to get back to his friends he found the one ring near a subterranean lake and was quickly confronted by gollum. Now in the movie you may remember the scene where Bilbo first finds the ring. In that version we only see gollum for an instant and then Bilbo simply runs away quick before he can actually even come in contact with the wicked creature. In the Hobbit Bilbo actually meets Gollum and embarks on a riddling contest which he eventually wins. If the halfling had lost then Gollum would have had the theoretical right to murder and eat Bilbo according to the terms of the game but because he won Gollum had to show him the way out. In the latest addition of the text Gollum tries to swim back to his rocky island, put on the ring, and disappear so he can choke the halfling but in a previous version of the story that wasn't always the case. When the Hobbit was first published in the 1930s Tolkien had Gollum politely agree to show Bilbo the way out of his lair but later changed the plot several times in order to make him seem less friendly and more terrifying like the Gollum will meet in the Lord of the Rings. Either way in both versions Bilbo eventually escapes Gollum and the goblins who guard their mountain stronghold to meet up with his surprised friends once again. At this point Bilbo doesn't mention the ring but remains silent until he is forced to tell his fellow companions in Mirkwood a distorted version of his adventures under the mountains after putting on the ring to defeat the spiders. Only a few short hours of traveling from the Misty Mountains Bilbo and his friends were attacked by wargs who are wild wolves of the forests in league with the goblins and although orcs arrived to finally siege them, they are rescued by the eagles who carry them to their lofty homes amid the high crags in the mountains above. Before venturing in to the dark forest of Mirkwood Thorin and his company also stay with a shape shifter named Beyorn who often took the form of an enormous bear and lived in harmony with the animals who live on his land. On the edge of Mirkwood Gandalf left the dwarves to go to the White Council at Rivendell and Thorin's company was left to venture the treacherous paths that lead to the wood elve's clearing and the Lonely Mountain on the other side. But even before they got their they stray from the path, almost get eaten by spiders, and are captured by the wood elves who believe that they are potential enemies. Luckily because Bilbo had his magic ring he was able to disappear just as his companions are captured and comes up with a plan to set his friends free. He stuffed the dwarves in to barrels which are to be sent down a river to a town literally built on the lake that borders the town of mortals that was once called Dale which Smaug destroyed when he attacked Arabor. When they reached "Lake Town" they earn the trust of the people and traveled to the Lonely Mountain where Bilbo angers the dragon by steeling a golden cup from the dwarves' treasure. Thinking that the people of "lake town" are to blame Smaug attacked the village with out mercy but was slain by Bard descendent of Gerion Lord of Dale. The people of Lake Town then allied themselves with the elven king of Mirkwood named Thranduil father of Legolas and journeyed to the Lonely Mountain in hopes of finding the lost treasure of Thror still their so that they can not only rebuild Lake Town but also become very very rich. As soon as the men of the lake and the elves of the green wood discovered that Thorin and his companions are still alive they asked for some of the dwarves' gold but Thorin flatly refused despite the fact that the men had previously helped him after escaping from Thranduil's dungeons. Also Bard and his people had lost many of their homes to the dragon of Arabor and are less interested in becoming wealthy but were more concerned with rebuilding their town. The elven king however had a weakness for treasure and probably would have desired more riches for his kingdom after working with the master of the lake people in the reconstruction of many of their buildings. In order to stop the two sides from starting a senseless war over gold, Bilbo gave Bard and Thranduil the Archin Stone which was a gem of great beauty that Thorin greatly desired over a mountain of gold. Upon learning that Bilbo had given this treasure to the enemy Thorin kicked him out of Arabor and prepared to fight both the men and the elves to hold on to his riches when Gandalf arrived to inform all sides that an army of goblins was on their way with claim to the dwarves' gold. Fortunately Thorin's 12 other dwarves were reinforced by an army sent by Dain Ironfoot who arrived with his soldiers when he heard that the mountain was besieged by elves and men. Seeing that orcs were near the contesting leaders gave up their quarrel and prepared for battle with the goblins in the valley below the Lonely Mountain itself. On one side were the orcs and wolves while on the other side were the men of "Lake town," the elves of Mirkwood, and the dwarves of Thorin and Dain. That struggle was called the battle of five armies. Despite the fact that the forces of good won that fateful day it is said that Thorin was slain by orcs and many a fare elf that should have lived ages long merrily in Mirkwood fell with sword, spear, and bow still in hand. Eventually the tide was turned by the arrival of an army of eagles and Beyorn who came in a monstrous bear shape. He killed the body guard of Bolg son of Azog who was captain of the black host and crushed him with his bare arms officially winning battle for the men, elves, and dwarves who were still left alive. Before Thorin died he repented of his harsh words regarding Bilbo and the hobbit was treated with high honor until he finally left Dale and Arabor with Gandalf to return to the shire. A few days ago someone asked me where dwarves go when they die and who actually made them. Was it god or one of the Valar? It is said in the Silmarillion that dwarves were first physically made by one of the Valar named Owla the smith and were given soles by iluvatar who is basically god through out Tolkien's stories. Therefore when dwarves die like our good friend Thorin they go to the halls of waiting where they are kept safe from all evil until the end of days where they will help Owla rebuild the ruined world after the last battle has been fought. By the time Bilbo left Arabor Sauron had been driven from Dol Guldur and the Misty Mountains had years of long peace before the War of the Ring, but I'm afraid the hobbits still living in the shire thought that Bilbo was dead and had auctioned off many of his personal items to his relatives like the Sackfill-Bagginsins who never were on good terms with Bilbo ever again. They never excepted the returned Baggins to be genuine but Bilbo never cared but was more content then ever and lived happily ever after till the end of his days. The old master of Lake Town fell under something called "The dragon sickness" which I think is merely a heightened lust for gold that drives you mad but I'm not quite sure. Anyway Bard became lord of Dale and the 10 dwarves who survived the battle of five armies stayed with Dain. If any of you are still reading this blog I want you to know that I think that the Hobbit would make a wonderful movie. There are those fans of Tolkien who feel that Jackson will seriously screw the whole film up but I strongly disagree. Surely there are some elements of the plot which even I haven't mentioned which they will have a hard time dealing with but I believe that the future of the movie is in good hands. If they had to take out a scene though it would probably be the dwarves short rest at Beyorn's house. I don't think that even Jackson can realistically create a character who practically turn in to a bear on a moments notice with out it looking stupid. Plus the whole concept of having him arrive to the Battle of Five armies as a gigantic bear is too much like a ferry Tale rather then a complex ancient history. But I have to say it would make a funny Saturday Night Live skit though. If there are any news regarding the release of the film please contact me on this blog page. I would really really really want to know as much as I possibly can! In the mean time I will continue working on my next blog on the Lord of the Rings. I don't quite know when I'll be do with it but I hope all this writing will keep you occupied until its done.
By the way
"Never laugh at live dragons"
The Word of Tolkien
John Evans' blog on the Elder Days, the Last Alliance and the War of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings
Part 1
It is a widely known fact that Tolkien's monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy was originally intended to be one novel but because there was a shortage in paper after the Second World War it was divided in to three distinct books: The fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. When the volumes were divided Tolkien never liked the title of the Return of the King since it told you what happened at the end of the story and we are still unsure as to which two towers he is referring to in the title of his second volume, but the name of the first installment in the trilogy, The fellowship of the Ring, makes perfect sense. The story recounts the epic tale of Frodo Baggins and his companions collectively called The Fellowship of the Ring and their quest to bring the one ring to the volcano in the lands of Mordor called Mount Doom. There Frodo will be able to take Bilbo's ring and cast it in to the cracks of doom where the fires of the mountain will not only put the one ring out of the dark lord's reach but also cripple Sauron for all time to the point where he can no longer pose a threat to the free peoples of Middle Earth. Because I assume most of you have already seen the movies there is little sense in merely summarizing the books for you in great detail but I would like to clarify a few differences between the first movie in the saga and Tolkien's own writings. If you have finished by blog on Sauron you will already know that he is the lord of the Rings: the creator of the "One ring to rule them all!" This ring was made to enslave the elf lords and their own rings of power which they used to govern their peoples across Arda but when they discovered they were betrayed they took off their rings ed some of them fell in to the hands of dwarves and mortal men according to the dark lord's master plan. In this way the realm of the dwarves shrunk and their kings were not conquered at heart but were overcome by an unquenchable greed! The mortals who possessed the nine rings of power became the Ring Raiths which you hopefully already know a little about from the films themselves, and the elf lords no longer used the three rings they hid until Sauron was overthrown by the Last Alliance. After Issildur's death at the Gladen fields the One Ring came in to the posession of Gollum before it was discovered by Bilbo in the Misty Mountains and it was Bilbo who eventually gave the Ring to Frodo his kinsman as Gandalf the Gray instructed. Gandalf had long since learned of Bilbo's magic ring and was very suspicious of the Hobbit's treasure but never guessed that it was indeed The One Ring until the dark lord had already risen again in the lands of Mordor. One key difference between Jackson's adaptation and Tolkien's novel is that in the book Frodo knows that Bilbo is going to Disappear while in the movie he is rather surprised and has no clue where his uncle is headed to. Also the time frame of the film is very compressed between the time when Gandalf heads out to Gondor to read Issildur's scroll and his return to Bag-End in the Shire. In Tolkien's book I believe several months pass before Frodo does anything and even when he does set out we really don't see the same urgency that is so potent in the film. The only thing we ever see close to that tension is when Sam's father "The Gaffer" is abruptly confronted by Khamul who is one of the Ring Raiths as well as the Hobbit's first encounter with the same "Black rider!" It is said in Unfinished Tales that Khamul was the Ring Raith in charge of Dol Guldur during the first search for the Shire for when the dark lord had captured Gollum in Mordor he didn't truly know where the land of the Halfling's was. Tolkien gives us many alternative ways in which this information was ultimately determined. In one Draft Tolkien writes that the Witch King traveled to Isengard to learn the Shire's location from Saruman.
Unfinished Tales page 340
`It is not a land that you look for,` it said." `I know what you seek, though you do not name it." "I have it not, as surely its servants perceive without telling; for if I had it, then you would bow before me and call me Lord." "And if I knew where this thing was hid, I should not be here, but long gone before you to take it." "There is one only whom I guess to have this knowledge: Mithrandir, enemy of Sauron." "And since it is but two days since he departed from Isengard, seek him nearby.`
"Such was still the power of the voice of Saruman that even the Lord of the Nazgul did not question what it said, whether it was false or short of the full truth; but straightway he rode from the Gate and began to hunt for Gandalf in Rohan." "Thus it was that on the evening of the next day the Black Riders came upon Gn'ma Wormtongue as he hastened to bring word to Saruman that Gandalf was come to Edoras, and had warned King Theoden of the treacherous designs of Isengard." "In that hour the Wormtongue came near to death by terror; but being inured to treachery he would have told all that he knew under less threat."
`Yea, yea, verily I can tell you, Lord," he said." `I have overheard their speech together in Isengard." "The land of the Halflings: it was thence that Gandalf came, and desires to return." "He seeks now only a horse." `Spare me!" "I speak as swiftly as I may." "West through the Gap of Rohan yonder, and then north and a little west, until the next great river bars the way; the Greyflood it is called." "Thence from the crossing at Tharbad the old road will lead you to the borders." "The Shire", they call it." "Yea, verily, Saruman knows of it." "Goods came to him from that land down the road." "Spare me, Lord! Indeed I will say naught of our meeting to any that live.` "The Lord of the Nazgul spared the life of the Wormtongue, not out of pity, but because he deemed that so great a terror was upon him that he would never dare to speak of their encounter (as proved true), and he saw that the creature was evil and was likely to do great harm yet to Saruman, if he lived." "So he left him lying on the ground, and rode away, and did not trouble to go back to Isengard." "Sauron's vengeance could wait."
I find it really cool that Wormtongue has this quick scene with the lord of the Nazgul and Saruman and I wonder whether Jackson might have considered adapting this very scene in to film but if that is true I have no evidence to back it up. I do know however that in the BBC adaptation Wormtongue meets the Witch King in a similar scene but Tolkien's amazing dialog is shortened and less poetic at certain points. I also know of another scene which Tolkien wrote which would have replaced this one in which Saruman tells the Lord of the Ring Raiths the exact location of the Shire upon learning that Gandalf had escaped. Either way it would have been a neat addition to the Directors Cut and a chance to see more of Christopher Lee: that really would have been cool! Yet perhaps the author left it out of the book for good reasons so maybe I shouldn't be supporting what might seem as sacrilege to other Tolkien fans like myself. The goods that came to Saruman from the Shire in the seen I have included are barrels of pipe weed from the West Farthing. If you saw my blog on the hobbit then you will know that Saruman once criticized Gandalf for smoking in front of the White Council that helped drive Sauron out of Mirkwood. However here we learn that the traitor of Isengard was not as level minded as you might think. Sadly we don't see any of this stuff come in to the films save for one minor scene in the directors cut of the Two Towers in which Mary And Pipin find a stash of pipe weed in the ruins of Isengard. Also Saruman tells Gandalf at one point in the Fellowship of the Ring movie that Sauron can not take physical form. How many times do I have to say this! Sauron is not a glowing flaming eye! If you want more details on this matter read my blog on Sauron's back story which I've already posted. Another blunder of the film makers is that they never have Saruman's robe change colors like it does in the book and as a result they always refer to him as Saruman the white while in the novel he becomes known as "Saruman of many colors." Anyway I hope you have enjoyed this quick escapade in to the Fellowship of the Ring and am looking forward to continuing part 2 of this blog some time soon. If that is not the case I hope you'll either reread the book or watch the movie one more time.
Until then I wish you good luck and great fortune. Yet that is not of my doing
I only foretell
The Word of Tolkien
John Evans' Blog on The Elder Days, the Last Alliance, and The War of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings
Part 2
Wizards
Since I've been writing a lot about wizards lately I thought I should explain in greater detail who they are and the chief reason why Saruman and Gandalf never got along. I have still included this shorter blog under the subheading The Lord of the Rings because it directly ties in to Tolkien's trilogy rather then the Hobbit or the Silmarillion although wizards do appear in those books. Wizards were originally Miar spirits from the blessed realm in the far west of Middle Earth who were sent by the Valar to help guide the free peoples of Arda against Sauron who had arisen in the East. Because they were not to use their powers against the children of Iluvatar they became bound to earthly bodies that seemed to resemble those of aged mortals rather then the fare forms of the Eldar, but only one of them truly accomplished his task and he was known by many names but he is best remembered as Gandalf. It is said that there were five wizards in total who ventured in to Middle earth during the Third Age and among these Saruman was the clear leader but soon he became corrupted by Sauron the Great and allied himself with the black power of Barad-Dur until he was slain at the end of the War of the Ring. It is said that his rivalry with Gandalf began when the lord of the Gray havens gave one of the three elven rings named Narya associated with fire to Mithrandir. Mithrandir was Gandalf's elven name but in the west he was known as Olorin and Saruman's elvish name was Curunir. Legend also tells us that there were two blue wizards as well who past in to the east but Tolkien wrote little more about them save that they probably became servants of the enemy. Radagast the Brown was another wizard who never accomplished his mighty task for he became obsessed with the lore of birds and beasts and was distracted from his mission by this occupation but in the end he proved an enemy of the great shadow. Although Gandalf traveled frequently, Saruman chose to remain in one solitary place where he could organize his thoughts and plans for the future: that stronghold was Orthanc. Orthanc was not built by the servants of the enemy or by Curunir himself, but rather by the Numenorians who escaped the destruction of their homeland at the close of the second age. It was an ominous black tower at the center of Isengard which could not be destroyed by any weapon or machine of war and it long had been apart of Gondor's ancient realm under the care of the Stewards. In unfinished Tales there is a reference to exactly when Curunir first claimed lordship over Isengard.
[Author's note.] 374
the "Dunlendings, having been admitted as friends, had seized the Ring of Isengard, slaying the few survivors of its ancient guards who were not (as were most) willing to merge with the Dunlendish folk." "Deor sent word at once to the Steward in Minas Tirith (at that time, in the year 2710, Egalmoth), but he was unable to send help, and the Dunlendings remained in occupation of Isengard until, reduced by the great famine after the Long Winter (2758-9) they were starved out and capitulated to Frealaf (afterwards first King of the Second Line)." "But Deor had no power to storm or besiege Isengard, and for many years the Rohirrim had to keep a strong force of Riders in the north of Westfold; this was maintained until the great invasions of 2758ddinin
It can thus be readily understood that when Saruman offered to take command of Isengard and repair it and reorder it as part of the defenses of the West he was welcomed both by King Frealaf and by Beren the Steward." "So when Saruman took up his abode in Isengard, and Beren gave to him the keys of Orthanc, the Rohirrim returned to their policy of guarding the Fords of Isen, as the most vulnerable point in their western frontier." "There can be little doubt that Saruman made his offer in good faith, or at least with good will towards the defence of the West, so long as he himself remained the chief person in that defence, and the head of its council." "He was wise, and perceived clearly that Isengard with its position and its great strength, natural and by craft, was of utmost importance." "The line of the Isen, between the pincers of Isengard and the Hornburg, was a bulwark against invasion from the East (whether incited and guided by Sauron, or otherwise), either aiming at encircling Gondor or at invading Eriador." "But in the end he turned to evil and became an enemy; and yet the Rohirrim, though they had warnings of his growing malice towards them, continued to put their main strength in the west at the Fords, until Saruman in open war showed them that the Fords were small protection without Isengard and still less against it." As you can see there was a great deal of logic behind putting Saruman in Isengard as a valuable ally against any threat of invasion heading in the direction of the fords. Little did Beren know that he had handed over one of his most renown fortresses to a servant of Sauron or at the very least a mad man who would later join the armed might of the dark lord. I can't say exactly when Curunir turned evil but I guess it wasn't an immediate process. My sources in the Lord of the Rings and Christopher Tolkien's latest published works suggest that it was the Palantir that drove the white wizard mad. Sauron had long captured one of the lost seven seeing stones and perhaps Curunir was drawn by the dark lord in to looking at Barad-Dur and so became obsessed with outmatching that particular stronghold. My hope is that Peter Jackson will later go back and perhaps add a few scenes with Christopher Lee in a super extended cut of the film trilogy but I doubt it. I think that Jackson definitely chose the right actors for Saruman and Gandalf but I'm kind of worried about the upcoming Hobbit movie. Rumors have informed me that Christopher Lee won't be coming back as Saruman so they'll probably have to find another actor to take that role but who? Can any one find a person who looks, talks, and behaves just like Christopher Lee? The answer is clear: no! I do have good news though. Christopher Lee has agreed to voice Smaug in the films and if you can appreciate Lee's vocal presence you will soon realize that this is an perfect choice. I hope that you have enjoyed this blog and that you will contact me on this blog page if you have any questions. It may take awhile to find time to answer them but I will either write back to you on this same cite or include my answer in my next blog.
Thank you and remember
The power of Orthanc is not lightly throne aside.
The Word of Tolkien
John Evans' blog on The Elder Days, The Last Alliance, and the War of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings
Part 3
The Palantiri
In the Lord of the Rings we often see characters such as Denethor, Saruman, and Sauron all using what appear to be crystal balls to communicate with one another or to see events happening far away; These large stones are called the Palantiri through out the movies and the books and they played a crucial role in shaping the future of Middle Earth during the War of the Ring. They were originally used by the exiles from Numenor to converse with one another from far off and in the Silmarillion Tolkien also explains that they were in active use by the Noldor before they were given to the kings of men during the second age. Gandalf suggests in the Two Towers that Feanor the elf lord might have made these seven seeing stones but any information regarding their history before the foundation of Numenor remains a mystery. It is said that one of the stones was kept in Orthanc and another Palantir was rumored to be kept at Minas Anor which later became known as Minas Tirith: The Tower of Garde! Sadly the stones of the north kingdoms that made up Arnor were lost during Angmar's attacks through out the early Third Age but another Palantir thought to have been destroyed at Minas Ithil on the borders of Mordor was taken by Sauron. Until the dark lord fell for ever at the close of that age of the world, who ever looked in to one of the seven seeing stones was at risk of being revealed to the enemy. Only Aragorn future King of Gondor and Arnor was able to withstand the influence of the enemy but even that confrontation was a bitter struggle which few ever endured. Peregrin the halfling once looked in to the stone of Orthanc and was accidentally exposed to the Eye of the dark lord, thus proving that Saruman was able to converse with the dark lord using the Palantir set in Orthanc by the lords of Numenor. Another person who used one of the seven seeing stones was Denethor the second who was chief Steward of Gondor at the time of the war of the Ring.
The following description of Denethor comes directly from Unfinished Tales on page 1636.
"Denethor succeeded to the Stewardship in 2984, being then fifty-four years old: a masterful man, both wise and learned beyond the measure of those days, and strong-willed, confident in his own powers, and dauntless." "His `grimness` was first observable to others after his wife Finduilas died in 2988, but it seems fairly plain that he had at once turned to the Stone as soon as he came to power, having long studied the matter of the palantiri and the traditions regarding them and their use preserved in the special archives of the Stewards, available beside the Ruling Steward only to his heir." "During the end of the rule of his father, Ecthelion II, he must have greatly desired to consult the Stone, as anxiety in Gondor increased, while his own position was weakened by the fame of `Thorongil` and the favor shown to him by his father." "At least one of his motives must have been jealousy of Thorongil, and hostility to Gandalf, to whom, during the ascendancy of Thorongil, his father paid much attention; Denethor desired to surpass these `usurpers' in knowledge and information, and also if possible to keep an eye on them when they were elsewhere." "The breaking strain of Denethor's confrontation of Sauron must be distinguished from the general strain of using the Stone." "The latter Denethor thought that he could endure (and not without reason); confrontation with Sauron almost certainly did not occur for many years, and was probably never originally contemplated by Denethor." "For the uses of the palantiri, and the distinction between their solitary use for `seeing` and their use for communication with another respondent Stone and its `surveyor`, see pp. 410-11." "Denethor could, after he had acquired the skill, learn much of distant events by the use of the Anor-stone alone, and even after Sauron became aware of his operations he could still do so, as long as he retained the strength to control his Stone to his own purposes, in spite of Sauron's attempt to `wrench` the Anor-stone always towards himself." "It must also be considered that the Stones were only a small item in Sauron's vast designs and operations: a means of dominating and deluding two of his opponents, but he would not (and could not) have the Ithil-stone under perpetual observation." "It was not his way to commit such instruments to the use of subordinates; nor had he any servant whose mental powers were superior to Saruman's or even Denethor's." "In the case of Denethor, the Steward was strengthened, even against Sauron himself, by the fact that the Stones were far more 408
amenable to legitimate users: most of all to true `Heirs of Elendil` (as Aragorn), but also to one with inherited authority (as Denethor), as compared to Saruman, or Sauron." "It may be noted that the effects were different." "Saruman fell under the domination of Sauron and desired his victory, or no longer opposed it." "Denethor remained steadfast in his rejection of Sauron, but was made to believe that his victory was inevitable, and so fell into despair." "The reasons for this difference were no doubt that in the first place Denethor was a man of great strength of will, and maintained the integrity of his personality until the final blow of the (apparently) mortal wound of his only surviving son." "He was proud, but this was by no means merely personal: he loved Gondor and its people, and deemed himself appointed by destiny to lead them in this desperate time. And in the second place the Anor-stone was his by right, and nothing but expediency was against his use of it in his grave anxieties." "He must have guessed that the Ithil-stone was in evil hands, and risked contact with it, trusting his strength." "His trust was not entirely unjustified." "Sauron failed to dominate him and could only influence him by deceits." "Probably he did not at first look towards Mordor, but was content with such `far views' as the Stone would afford; hence his surprising knowledge of events far off." "Whether he ever thus made contact with the Orthanc-stone and Saruman is not told; probably he did, and did so with profit to himself." "Sauron could not break in on these conferences: only the surveyor using the Master Stone of Osgiliath could `eavesdrop`. While two of the other Stones were in response, the third would find them both blank."
I'm sure you're probably very confused right now about this guy named Thorongil. Don't worry. Its actually one of Aragorn's many names as a captain of war in Gondor when he was still a young man. It is said that Denethor might have learned who Thorongil truly was and resented the fact that his father showed more affection towards this stranger rather then him, so you can see why he wouldn't want to give up his title as care taker of the throne. If you've seen the films you will obviously remember the scenes where the actor playing Denethor runs around yelling to his soldiers to give up the fight at the battle of the Pelenor fields. In the books Tolkien's character is less like a mad man and more serious if not absolutely sane. In the Return of the king he actually signals for the lighting of the beacons before Gandalf and Pipin arrive while in the movie Gandalf has to send Peregrin to light the first Beacon with out Denethor's consent. Another interesting fact that we've learned from Unfinished Tales is that Denethor also might have seen Saruman's preparations for war against Rohan and that he had the right to use the stone as an heir of Anarion. Perhaps it was his royal blood line that protected Denethor from the iron will of Sauron before his beloved son Boromir died at the hands of Saruman's orcs. Yet not even Denethor could see every thing he wished. Unfinished Tales also tells us that Sauron might have possessed the skill to hide certain things that he wanted to remain hidden in a process called "shrouding." Since Sauron had contact with the lords of Numenor I seriously doubt that he wouldn't have learned many of their most treasured secrets from the king himself. Much could be said of the importance the Palantiri played in the War of the Ring which I do not have the time or the space to fully explain. However it must be said that if Peregrin or Aragorn had not looked in the stone of orthanc then Sauron would have continued to muster his strength and would have only attacked Minas Tirith months later. In that time Frodo could have been captured and the forces of good would have been merely swept away by the black hand of Mordor never to rise ever again. I don't know when I'll have time to write my next blog do to technical difficulties that have only just arisen so I'm afraid this might be the last blog you'll read for a long time. In the meantime please either reread Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy or watch the movies several times. This should give you enough prier knowledge to understand where I'm coming from. Thank you.
Not all that is gold does not glitter
Not all those who wander are lost
Deep roots are not touched by the frost
From the ashes of fire will be woken
A light from the shadow will spring
Renewed is the blade that was broken
The crownless again shall be king!
