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  1. Flammifer

    Why did Boromir throw the rock into the pool?

    Frodo asks that question. "Why did you do that, Boromir"? Boromir does not answer. So, why did he do it? Boromir is 'spooked' by the pool. He fears it (for no rational reason). He just has a feeling that it is ominous. "How I hate this foul pool!" Boromir is also anxious and frustrated...
  2. Flammifer

    A 'dot' over the tengwar 'd' in the picture of the Doors of Durin

    Corey's slide seemed to show a possible 'dot' over the tengwar 'd' near the bottom of the picture. This was briefly discussed as possibly representing an 'i'. In the printed early editions there is no sign of such a 'dot'. I consider that the 'dot' does not exist (should not exist), and is...
  3. Flammifer

    'The steep fall of the land to the left'

    An illustration of the pitfalls of reading 'too closely'. 10 minutes were spent discussing whether there was a drop to the left of the road the company was on or a rise. If one reads on 6 sentences, one finds, "but the main road wound away left and climbed with several loops up to the level...
  4. Flammifer

    The Grimness of Boromir

    Grim: While today it might be used to mean stern, or mirthless, or dire, in the Northern tradition, beloved of Tolkien, and the tradition of Kingly Grimness, I think it also carries the implication of resolution in the face of dire or dangerous probabilities. An example is from "The Battle of...
  5. Flammifer

    Boromir: estel vs amdir; faith vs reason

    There was discussion in class that Boromir does not understand the estel based plan of Gandalf and Elrond. That Boromir represents 'everyman', or 'rational man'. So, Boromir gives us the perspective of 'reasonable man' to contrast with Gandalf and Elrond's 'path of folly'. True. However, JRRT...
  6. Flammifer

    Boromir 'assuming that the Company will go through Minas Tirith'?

    This has been stated in the class as though the route through Moria would not necessarily go through Minas Tirith. Boromir has no reason to assume that a route through Moria would not go through Minas Tirith. The only way to get to Mordor is to cross the Anduin. Boromir knows of no way to...
  7. Flammifer

    Assessing Boromir’s proposed routes which avoid Moria:

    The distances of the three routes from where they are to Minas Tirith are roughly: Route 1: Through Moria, down the east side of the Misty Mountains and the east side of Fangorn Forest, into the East Emnet of Rohan, thence to Minas Tirith = 580 miles Route 2: Down the west side of the Misty...
  8. Flammifer

    When did JRRT decide to give Boromir a shield?

    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...
  9. Flammifer

    What has happened to Boromir's shield in the snows of Caradhras?

    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...
  10. Flammifer

    Elvish snow-running

    How can Legolas (and, by his own implication, all Elves) run across the top of snow? I think we must assume that this implies a dramatic elevation of fea, and diminution of hroa amongst Elves, compared to Mortals. If the body is less (less mass?) and the spirit is more, then the ability to run...
  11. Flammifer

    Translation and interpretation – the word ‘fling’.

    In the last class, there was a discussion about the in-frame translation between Westron and English. The class looked at the word ‘shrouded’, and wondered whether the original Westron word had the same associations with the coverings for the dead. Earlier, the class had looked at the word...
  12. Flammifer

    There was a question in the class as to what exactly 'faggot' means? A log? A bundle of sticks?

    It means a bundle of sticks: faggot (n.1) late 13c., "bundle of twigs bound up," also fagald, faggald, from Old French fagot "bundle of sticks" (13c.), of uncertain origin, probably from Italian fagotto "bundle of sticks," diminutive of Vulgar Latin *facus, from Latin fascis "bundle of wood"...
  13. Flammifer

    Can the spirit of Caradhras control the weather around the mountain?

    There is not much evidence, but perhaps there are some hints. "Before they had finished breakfast the clouds had joined into an unbroken roof, and a straight grey rain came softly and steadily down... As they looked out of the window there came falling gently as if it was flowing down the rain...
  14. Flammifer

    Is the firewood episode the first indication of Boromir's eventual fall?

    I think the firewood episode indicates that Boromir is not totally on-board with the leadership of Gandalf and Elrond. But this is not the first such indication. The horn blowing when leaving Rivendell certainly indicates the same. Also, I think, earlier comments in the Council. I think that...
  15. Flammifer

    Why Boromir makes the suggestion of bringing firewood?

    The class wondered why Boromir suggested bringing wood for the trip over the pass. Didn't he think that Aragorn and Gandalf would have thought of this? I suggest that he might have considered that Gandalf and Aragorn had thought of this and rejected it. Which Boromir felt was a mistake...
  16. Flammifer

    Stories about Leadership in non-military settings

    In last class, there was discussion of Gandalf's leadership of the Company, and the comment that stories of leadership outside of the military are uncommon. It was mentioned that some of the company would have seen leadership from the perspective of their military experiences. Of course, so...
  17. Flammifer

    Why speculate about disembodied Nazgul occluding the stars when a Nazgul on a Fell Beast is a better supposition?

    The class went on at length about the hypothesis that the shadow (seen and felt) flying fast and against the wind, was a disembodied Nazgul not yet returned to Mordor. The Nazgul have had plenty of time since the Fords of Bruinen to get back to Mordor, get mounted on Fell Beasts, and get back...
  18. Flammifer

    Why would we think that Saruman despatched the Crebain to Hollin?

    I think this assumption is unlikely for the first-time reader. The first-time reader has no particular reason to associate Fangorn and Dunland with Saruman, nor to associate Saruman with spies. All the spies we have heard people being wary of have been Sauron's spies, not Saruman's. We have...
  19. Flammifer

    What might be the answer to Gandalf's question which Strider did not answer?

    Gandalf asks Strider, "But what do you guess is the reason?" (for 'all things being silent for miles around'). Aragorn does not give a guess as to the reason, though he elaborates that he has, 'a sense of watchfulness, and of fear, that I have never had here before'. What might have caused...
  20. Flammifer

    The original published map of Middle Earth (for those who don't have it)

    Here is a picture of the fold out map that was glued into the back cover of the early hardback editions of TLOTR. I think that this is the map approved by JRRT, and the most like the map he used when writing the book. I believe it was drawn by Christopher Tolkien.
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