Episode 126 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 126

Comment on Boromir’s haircut:

• It’s possible that Boromir cut his own hair using a knife in order to make himself presentable for the Council, but that this was the best he could do on this journey.
• The verb “shear” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “sceran”, which means to cut with a weapon.
• This shows that he cares about his appearance, but he is not so vain as to need a barber.

On the tales left untold:

• The Council does not begin with Glóin’s speech. This happens later, following a good deal that the narrator chooses to leave out before picking back up with Glóin.
• Frodo, as narrator, seems to think that these earlier discussions did not need to be included, though they may account for as much as the first few hours of the Council.
• Not only were there stories and news, but also debates that were held among the councilors.
• Frodo seems to take the same attitude as with the councilors themselves, in which he mentions them, but doesn’t describe them in any detail, and has their chiefs stand in for the delegations.
• Glóin’s tale is the first part that is personally relevant to Frodo and Bilbo, so he starts there.
• Note: Bilbo will later complain about missing lunch, so this probably took most of the morning.
• This means that while what we get of the Council of Elrond is very long, it is only a small part of all the proceedings. Even when Glóin’s tale is picked up does not seem like its beginning.
• Note: Elrond will later say that he did not summon any of the councilors, but that they have all come separately to seek counsel. By highlighting Glóin’s tale, it serves as an example of the kinds of tales the rest of the councilors told. Boromir will later give a similar report.
• What does is being referred to by “outside”? Outside of Rivendell, or outside the Shire? Since this is told from a Shire-hobbit’s point of view, Frodo’s perspective would be from the Shire.
• The Elves are isolated from the other peoples, but generally not cloistered, and there are those like Gildor who wander far and wide, so they would not think of the greater world as “outside”.
• Note: The conceit that the book is narrated by Frodo and Sam and possibly Bilbo was a later concept, but if the intended audience for the Red Book are the Hobbits, then “outside” would certainly mean outside of the Shire. There is nothing much in the North and West, so South and East, relative to the Shire, would be the only regions also of relevance to the Council.
• This is the only passage of current events before the discussion turns primarily to the past.
• Note: When Boromir speaks later, it appears as though he has not spoken before, so that means that he did not participate in these earlier discussions.
• Note: Aside from Erebor and Gondor, who are represented here, the other news from the East and South might involve things like the unrest in Rohan, or the troubles in and around Mirkwood mentioned by Gandalf in “The Shadow of the Past”, or the refugees coming up from the South, and also those like the Beornings and the Men in the East loyal to Sauron. This kind of news would be unlikely to be known outside of those regions, given the lack of communications.
• Strider might be the best-informed of all of them, having recently traveled very widely, and they have also just received news from the sons of Elrond, as well as Gandalf’s travels and contacts.
• Círdan may have also have news from the west and south coasts since he sent Galdor to Elrond.
• The notable exceptions from these early discussions would be Saruman’s treason, the Nazgûl, or the Rings, as none of these are common knowledge.
• In a way, the armies of Sauron are more organized and coordinated because they are all taking orders from a single will, so this debate is probably about how to work together now.
• The return of Sauron to Mordor seems to be generally known, even in the Shire. Sauron had openly declared himself to his allies and enemies, along with the eruption of Mount Doom.
• This kind of news is what Frodo had sought out after Bilbo’s departure from Bag End.
• Once he declares himself, he is using fear for spiritual warfare in pursuit of domination.

A shadow of disquiet:

• Is the unrest among the Dwarves of Erebor organic, or a plot of the Enemy? This seems like an echo of the unrest of the Noldor in Valinor, which was engineered by Melkor through rumors.
• There is also a parallel with the unrest that Sauron created among the Numenoreans. This is a repeated tactic by both of the Dark Lords, to foment disquiet and disunion among enemies.
• The disquiet also is couched in terms of a desire for conquest, expansion, and escape, and is made to appear to hinge upon organic grievances among the people themselves.
• Even the terminology of “whispers” and being “hemmed in a narrow place” matches what happened among the Noldor, inspired by Melkor, though the Noldor didn’t know that.
• Balin’s heeding of the whispers implies that they have an unknown external source. The use of the passive voice disperses the responsibility, as if no one knows where this started.
• There is a difference with the Numenoreans, in that their troubles began with their fear of death, which arose before the arrival of Sauron, who simply played on that fear with the king.
• The Numenoreans grievances are understandable, whereas these rumors seem out of place.
• The use of “at first” implies that they started to suspect an external source later on, and that it was an active temptation, rather than the natural consequence of their situation.
• Note: It’s possible that this temptation was used to ensnare the Dwarves with the Seven Rings.

Wonder of the Northern world:

• Why would Glóin refer to Khazad-dûm as Moria since this is not their name for it? He’s not worried about using the Dwarvish name, and this is an Elvish name meaning “black pit”.
• Moria was the name given by the Elves after it was destroyed and abandoned, and it was never a wonder of the Northern world by that name. Moria indicates that it was a place of horror.
• This cannot be pure wistfulness, as he would use the Khuzdul name if that was the case.
• Since Glóin is implying that the tempting rumors spread among his people were focused on Moria, then these rumors must come from an external source that would use that name.
• Glóin’s sigh is regretful for the trap that was sprung on his people using Khazad-dûm as bait. Though he did not fall into the trap himself, Balin, his kinsman, and his brother Óin did.
• Note: The “nameless” fear is a reference to the Balrog, though no one knows that at this point. Though some have unlikely theories, the fact that it is a Balrog will be a revelation to everyone.
• Note: When did Glóin suspect a trap? When this was repeated by the messenger from Mordor?
• It’s possible that Moria was a second option for Sauron’s plan, with the first choice being to get the Dwarves to leave and go out into wider world, but this didn’t take root, while Moria did.
• Note: It seems not an accident that the goblins invaded Moria not long after it was reoccupied.
• Either way, this weakens Erebor by removing all, or a large portion, of their people. They were standing in opposition to Sauron’s northern armies, and Dale wouldn’t be able to hold it alone.
• Note: Gandalf says in Unfinished Tales that Sauron’s prior plan was to use Smaug in the war.
• Note: In the War of the Last Alliance, some of all kinds except Elves served Sauron, including the Dwarves, so it’s possible that Sauron might also try to corrupt some of them again to his side. The Dwarves were resistant to enslavement by the Rings, but not to political corruption.
• It’s important that Dáin II is currently the King Under The Mountain, because he is the only one who has experience of what is waiting in Moria. This prevents more Dwarves from leaving.
• Note: The Battle of Azanulbizar was more than two centuries before this, so there’s no way for Balin to be sure that it is free of goblins now, but he seems to trust that Moria will be open to them. Even any losses suffered in the Battle of Five Armies would have been recovered since then, as Gandalf has said that the orcs are breeding again in the Misty Mountains.
• How were these whispers introduced into Erebor? There is a precedent for those who can change forms and spreading lies, so these could have been introduced even in Dale.
• Sauron is the master of phantoms and deceits, so he could easily send an agent to plant the seeds. Sauron will have used some of his own power to assist with the lies and flattery.
• The bait of Moria and its mithril would help rationalize following their desires to return.

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[Tony Meade]

(continued)

Balin, future lord of Moria:

• Listening to maliciously spread whispers conceived by the Enemy leads to these kinds of consequences as Balin falls into the trap of wishful thinking and rationalizations.
• That it is Balin of all of Thorin’s Company makes it tragic, as he was the oldest and most experienced, having lived through the greatest trials of Durin’s Folk and the dearest to Bilbo.
• If it weren’t Balin, it’s unlikely that the expedition would’ve happened at all, since no other would command the respect to convince a party to return to Moria, despite the dangers.
• Dáin doesn’t give leave willingly, but he does give leave, as he understands that forbidding them from leaving would only add to the unrest of the Dwarves.
• We don’t know how many went with Balin, but this would be a large expedition, probably a significant part of the population, including their women and children to recolonize Moria.
• The phrase “took with him” implies that Ori and Óin, as well as the rest, went out of a sense of obligation to Balin, who gets the blame for the outcome.
• Glóin may be phrasing it this way in order to relieve them of the responsibility for the outcome.
• All of the surviving members of Thorin’s Company are now respected lords with their own following, but among them, Balin stands out as special due to his long life and deeds.
• Note: It’s possible that a desire to recover one of the Seven Rings had been part of the whispers.
• Dáin likely did not send messengers to Moria, as he probably felt certain about their fate. He and the rest of Erebor may have considered them dead once they stopped hearing from them.

On the messenger from Mordor:

• Many readers assume that this messenger is one of the Nazgûl, but there doesn’t seem to be evidence of that. It is more likely that this was the Mouth of Sauron, based on his tone.
• The Mouth of Sauron is his herald, so it fits his job description, as well as the fact that he was unable to sweeten his voice when speaking. He likely is sent on many heraldic missions.
• Note: The implication in his speech at the Black Gate is that the Mouth of Sauron will be set up as a lieutenant in ruling over the West, so he seems to be unique among Sauron’s servants.
• The messenger shows arrogance and assumed authority in refusing to enter Erebor, but to call it’s king to the gate at night, though the Dwarf guards may not have allowed him in.
• Does the messenger use the name Sauron? It seems like he does, based on Glóin’s report.
• Note: Aragorn will say later that Sauron doesn’t allow his servants to use that name, but that is not evidenced much throughout the rest of the text. Gondor doesn’t use the name, but they are his enemies and don’t say his name out of fear and hatred, not a prohibition. The Orcs don’t seem to use it, but there are not many examples of their talk about their leaders.
• The precise words that the messenger used were “Lord Sauron the Great”, according to Glóin.
• Why would Sauron think anyone would trust him at this point? All of his fair disguises are gone, but the messenger emphasizes his greatness and power, not his kindness or generosity.
• He addresses the Dwarves from a place of superiority, not as an equal, and this power play is made similarly to a mob boss making an offer that the other cannot refuse.
• The messenger’s threats start out as implicit and become explicit by the end of his message.
• It seems that the messenger was sent north to Erebor as soon as Gollum had the information about Baggins tortured out of him. They are following up on Bilbo’s last known location.
• This seems to also be just after they let Gollum go, and perhaps after his capture by Aragorn.
• The offer of Rings in exchange for their friendship is the first explicit message, with the underlying threat of destruction if they do not comply with their requests to find the “thief”.
• Note: The Dwarf-lords would know and value the Seven Rings, and there are those among them who knew Thror and Thráin and were aware that they possessed one of the Rings of Power.
• Though the task that he asks is supposedly small, he contradicts himself in offering three Rings and the realm of Moria. This means that the “trifle” is worth much more than he is letting on.
• Note: Dwarves in Middle-earth started out as merchants before they were smiths, and they know a bargain when they see one, so this may seem like an easy deal for the Dwarves to take.
• Sauron himself is usually much more subtle and cunning, so The Mouth of Sauron may have gone rogue in making this deal, and therefore makes the mistake of overplaying this hand.
• Sauron would want to move quickly before one of the Wise found the Ring and used it to depose him, and it may have seemed obvious to Sauron that the Dwarves would take this deal.
• There may be a subtle message in offering such great prizes, being that those are a trifle to him as small as the ring he wants in return. This implies that his greatness is beyond the Dwarves.
• There is also an implication that these rings might be new, superior rings from the Seven.
• The fact that mithril is desired by Sauron and can only be mined in Moria could let the Dwarves know that these promises are a lie, but Sauron is appealing to their greed to win them over.
• The only authority under which Sauron can offer Moria is by conquest, which implies that Moria has been conquered by Sauron already, and that he has authority over the “nameless fear”.
• Note: There is no evidence that Sauron has or had any authority over the Balrog or Smaug.
• Though Sauron is making a very strong appeal to the Longbeards to make such an unlikely alliance, the final question carries great weight and understanding of large consequences.
• The messenger doesn’t say what will happen if the Dwarves refuse, but having made such a generous offer, the implication is that the cost of refusal will be commensurately large.
• This question demands an active choice either way, and there is no neutral stance. Refusal under these circumstances will be seen as unreasonable and will bring down equal enmity.
• The threat that “things will not seem so well” is the gentlest and vaguest way it could be put. The intentional vagueness is to increase the ominousness of the threat, while being subtle.
• This is another instance in which Sauron assumes that everyone will act in the way he would.

END OF SESSION