Recent content by Flammifer

Hi Makar, I am more interested in which came first, the reference to the shield in the poem, or that when leaving Rivendell (in the course of JRRT's drafts I mean)? Can this be discovered in 'The History of Middle Earth'?

In TLOTR Boromir's shield is mentioned only twice (I think). Once when the equipment of the Company is detailed as they leave Rivendell; again in Aragorn's second verse (the third verse of the poem) sung when Boromir's funeral boat is launched into the Anduin. The shield is not mentioned on...

He has it in the poem, but he doesn't have it in the descriptions of his last battle and emplacement in the boat. My actual suspicion is that JRRT sometimes forgot about the shield. But, maybe not?

Carrying the Hobbits down the beaten path by Boromir and Aragorn presumably takes 6 trips (3 each by Boromir and Aragorn - one trip down carrying two Hobbits, one trip by each back up, another trip down by each, carrying the other two Hobbits). Depending on the size of the shield, (could it...

Good catch on the reference in the song JJ48. Have you often shoveled deep snow? A shield, while less wieldy than a snow shovel, would be superior to hands when digging and dumping snow. It would also be very useful as a plough. In this case, it would be just held as normal and angled to...

It is certainly subject to debate whether Sauron took the Ring to Numenor. It sort of depends on which sources one relies. In the Alkallabeth, in the published Silmarillion it says: "[Sauron] was taken in the midst of his mirth, and his seat and his temple fell into the abyss. But Sauron...

He might. I don't think there is a lot of evidence. On the one hand, as you reference, we see this effect on others. On the other hand, we know that Sauron left the Ring behind (in his safety deposit box in Barad-dur?) while he was off in Numenor for 57 years, corrupting the Numenoreans. So...

High Lotrmith, A couple of observations on that statement from Gandalf: First, it is 'contradicted' by Elrond during the Council. When Galdor asks, "What power still remains lies with us, here in Imladris, or with Cirdan at the Havens, or in Lorien. But have they the strength, have we here...

We are told, when the Company leaves Rivendell, that, "Boromir had a long sword, in fashion like Anduril but of less lineage, and he bore also a shield and his war-horn". One would have thought that a shield might be as good or better than 'spades' to dig or plough a path through the snow. It...

I think that many readers assume that Sauron's primary objective is to find and recover the Ring. I think it is one of his objectives, but, if it is his primary objective, his delays in getting that mission going are puzzling? Also, why is recovering the Ring a key objective of Sauron? Is it...

Hi Lotrmith, Good questions. Here are some things to think about as you progress forward: 1. Sauron's first response: Gollum is captured by Sauron sometime between 3009 and 3017 (We don't know when). So there could be quite a few years between Sauron learning of the Ring and his taking any...

Gandalf's battle against the Nine on Weathertop is the most underplayed and underreported major battle in TLOTR. I think many readers tend to discount it because we only get Gandalf's terse summary at the Council, and the Hobbit narrators only saw it from afar. What should clue us in to the...

I think that Gandalf's statement, "I could not hope to do more" (more than escape and draw some of them off). Indicates that Gandalf realizes that it would have been optimal if he had been able to 'do more' (such as defeat the Nine, or drive them off to the West or South), but is explaining to...

Perhaps more that Gandalf barely survived and narrowly escaped from the Nine, rather than 'he did fine'. In this same section, Gandalf says, "They (the Nazgul) drew away from me, for they felt the coming of my anger and they dared not face it while the Sun was in the sky. But they closed round...

Perhaps the passage in 'The Council of Elrond', where Gandalf recounts his fight with the Nine on Weathertop? "I was hard put to it indeed: such light and flame cannot have been seen on Weathertop since the war-beacons of old. At sunrise I escaped and fled towards the north. I could not hope...