'By Elbereth and Luthien the fair'

G

gamutdorok

Guest
Hello Prof Narnion, thank you for replying me on twitter.. here's the reminder... ;)
I just was wondering why Frodo at the Ford of Bruinen cantillated 'By Elbereth and Luthien the fair' to shoo the ringwraith away. The combination of these two names is not very common, isn't it?
What have made Frodo recite their name?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I can think of a couple reasons:

1) Frodo knows of them, especially in the context of repelling Wraiths.
2) The reader knows of them, especially in the context of repelling Wraiths.
3) Something about gender that I can't quite put my finger on.

For 1), given Frodo's upbringing/book learnin', he probably knows of other names he could invoke here. But these two have most recently been on his mind.

For 2), the reader wouldn't get much out of an invocation of, say, Manwe. There are other parts of the book where other mystery figures are invoked without any clues other than context (Orome at one point, for example), but it would be a distraction from the frenetic pace of the narrative to try to do that here. So it's safest to invoke names that the reader has already heard about.

For 3), there is something in there, I think, about invoking these mighty ladies to repel the creepy fellas, but I'm having trouble nailing down the words I want to use to talk about it.
 
All really awesome points! A good thing to think about.

Elbereth(Varda) is the Valar of light and the star-kindler, perhaps this is another reason she is effective against the Ringwraiths, who dwell in darkness and shadow?
 
yes, invoking Elbereth seems quite natural here as she herself represents light, while I find it remarkable Frodo mentioned of Luthien here..
 
If we're talking defiance, Elbereth and Luthien are two of the greatest beings in history to defy the great evil that entered Arda. Elbereth kindling the stars that Morgoth could never hope to reach, and Luthien defying him before his very throne and causing him to lose a Silmaril. In this context these names would have great power and give great hope when facing tremendous darkness.
 
Back
Top