Boromir as Horatius Cocles?

[ForthDauntless3]

In our discussion from 4 February, I was struck by a parallel I had never noticed before. Boromir and Faramir made a heroic stand to hold the last bridge over the Anduin. They then swim the river—in the company of two others—once the bridge has been brought down behind them. I can't help but remember the famous stand of Horatius Cocles to hold the last bridge over the Tiber to prevent an Etruscan invasion from sacking Rome. I'm particularly reminded of a line from MacCaulay's "Horatius at the Bridge": In yon straight path a thousand may well be stopped by three: Now, who will stand on either hand and keep the bridge with me?

Horatius and his companions hold back the enemy until the bridge comes down, and then they swim the river to safety. This could all be just a remarkable coincidence, but assuming it isn't, what's the effect? Is this meant to show the reader Boromir's heroic reputation within Gondor? The Romans honored Horatius with a statue in the Forum for his courage. Are we being invited to think of Boromir as having a similar level of reverence within Minas Tirith?

 

[Flammifer]

Hi ForthDauntless3,

Well spotted, on the possible reference in Boromir's holding the bridge at Osgiliath to Horatio's holding the bridge to Rome!

I think it is quite possibly a conscious or unconscious reference in the mind of Tolkien.

We can imagine the sudden doubt spreading through the ranks of Mordor, just as it spread through the hosts of Latium, as they saw their greatest and boldest slaughtered by the brave defenders of the bridge:

All shrank, like boys who unaware,
Ranging the woods to start a hare,
Come to the mouth of the dark lair
Where, growling low, a fierce old bear
Lies among bones and blood.

There are some differences, of course. Boromir holds the bridge with a 'company' (at first), whereas Horatius with only two companions. All three Roman defenders survive, but only Horatius has to swim the Tiber, as Spurius Lartius and Herminius made it back across the bridge before it collapsed. Four of the Gondorians survive the defence of the bridge at Osgiliath. All by swimming the river. But, we infer that some portion of the defenders did not survive.

Still, the parallels are obvious. Boromir merely gives us a glance at this story during the council of Elrond, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were songs and lays in Gondor recounting the tale of Boromir and Faramir defending the bridge.