Gwaihir thoughts - session 167

Bruce N H

Active Member
Hi all,

I've been listening to the past few episodes because I missed part of them when they were live. A few weeks ago we were discussing Gwaihir when Gandalf described his escape from Orthanc. So I thought I'd remember ahead and gather the textual evidence. I'll quote what I see as the key words from each of Gwaihir's appearances.

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From the Council:
"So it was that when summer waned, there came a night of moon, and Gwaihir the Windlord, swiftest of the Great Eagles, came ... 'How far can you bear me?' I said to Gwaihir. 'Many leagues,' said he, 'but not to the ends of the earth. I was sent to bear tidings not burdens.' ... 'or so it is said.'"

Later, after the Three Hunters meet up with Gandalf the White there is a brief mention:
[Legolas saw an eagle] "'Yes,' said Gandalf, 'that was Gwaihir the Windlord, who rescued me from Orthanc. I sent him before me to watch the River and gather tidings. His sight is keen, but he cannot see all that passes under hill and tree. Some things he has seen, and others I have seen myself."

A few pages later Gandalf describes his rescue from Zirak-zigil:
"And so at last Gwaihir the Windlord found me again, and he took me up and bore me away. 'Ever am I fated to be your burden, friend at need,' I said. 'A burden you have been, he answered, 'but not so now. Light as a swan's feather in my claw you are...' 'Bear me to Lothlorien!' 'That indeed is the command of the Lady Galadriel who sent us to look for you,' he answered."

Finally at the Black Gate:
"Then came Gwaihir the Windlord, and Landroval his brother, greatest of all the Eagles of the North, mightiest of the descendants of old Thorondor, who built his eyries in the inaccessible peaks of the Encircling Mountains when Middle-earth was young...." Gandalf calls and "down to him came the great eagle, Gwaihir the Windlord ... 'Twice before your have borne me, Gwaihir my friend,' said Gandalf. 'Thrice shall pay for all, if you are willing. You will not find me to be a burden much greater than when you bore me from Zirak-zigil, where my old life burned away.' 'I would bear you,' answered Gwaihir, 'whither you will, even were you made of stone.'"

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Okay, several things I observe here, some in relation to the discussion in Exploring a few weeks ago:

1. In each section the narrator (whether the author or Gandalf when he is telling the story to others) always introduces him as Gwaihir the Windlord, though in subsequent sentences just says Gwaihir.

2. We've had discussion about whether the Eagles are Maiar and whether Gwaihir and Landroval were the same Eagles (Thorondor's 'mightiest vassals' in the War of the Jewels) who rescued Beren and Luthien. This passage explicitly says they are Thorondor's descendants (possibly pure Maiar, back at the point in JRRT's writing where ainur had kids and grandkids, or half maia/half mortal eagle descendants like the half ainur/half mortal descendants of Melian and Ungoliant), but implicitly puts them as more recent. It doesn't say "They built eyries with Thorondor in the mountains around Gondolin", it says Thorondor did that, suggesting that they did not. Perhaps, like dwarves, Eagles in the royal line re-use the names of their ancestors, or perhaps they are reincarnations?

3. We get specific mentions that Gwaihir was sent places by Gandalf and by Galadriel (even using the word "command" with her), in addition to the original being sent to bear tidings, presumably by Radagast. If Gwaihir is a Maia, it's interesting that he not only seems to follow the directives of other Maia, but also an elf.

4. At the Council Gandalf says Gwaihir could not bear him to the ends of the earth. The speculation was that he has other missions and doesn't have time to take Gandalf all the way to Bag End. I would suggest it has more to do with simple physical limitations. In comparison, a few weeks back we were on a hike and my youngest wanted to be carried. So I carried her on my shoulders, but after a while I had to say "Honey, you're getting so big that you've got to get down and walk," because she was just too heavy for me to carry the whole way home. with Gwaihir in the other two meetings there is explicit conversation about how heavy, or not, Gandalf is and how that affects how Gwaihir can carry him. Above Moria Gwaihir says "A burden you have been, but not so now." which I read as "you used to weigh a lot, like a normal human, which limited how far I could carry you, but now that you've gone through this transformation you weigh almost nothing, and so I could carry you much much further." At the Black Gate the exultant Gwaihir says he could carry Gandalf no matter how much he weighs, though Gandalf assures him that he still doesn't weigh much.

5. In Exploring we discussed what Gwaihir actually does. We get that he sees things ("His sight is keen", but has limits) and hears things (the "so it is said" passage but also "gather tidings"). His seeing things is not only passive, like "oh, I was flying over Rohan and happened to notice ...", but also active (he is sent to "look for" Gandalf and "watch" the Anduin). He then bears this news that he has seen and heard to others, at a bare minimum to wizards and elven-queens. On very rare occasions (three that we know of, four if you count the Hobbit) he carries people around.

Bruce / Bricktales
 
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Oh, and I can't believe I didn't put this in my earlier post:

What is the source of Gwaihir's rumors about Rohan? Why, Twitter, of course! All the birds were tweeting about it.

Thank you! I'm here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

Bruce / Bricktales
 
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