Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 133
On a reexamining of Boromir’s tale:
On a reexamining of Boromir’s tale:
- It’s important to remember that at this point in the story, we know nothing about Boromir’s brother. We don’t know his name, or if he is an older or younger brother.
- We also don’t know anything about Boromir’s rank or heritage or relationship to the Steward.
- Another thing that we can be sure of is Boromir’s valor and might as a warrior, since he is one of the few men who were able to hold the bridge long enough to destroy it and then escape.
- There were certainly many more men who died holding the bridge or died in the river afterwards, because Boromir says that there was a company there and only four survived.
- This also means that the army left the two captains of Gondor trapped on the other side of the river, meaning that they knew this was probably a suicide mission and were given that order.
- The battle for the bridge happened on the same day that the Witch-king took the field in 1,000 years, and for 3,000 years in Gondor.
- This tells us a lot about the character of Boromir and his brother. He leads from the front and is willing to put himself at the head of the “forlorn hope” of the army, regardless of the risk.
- Boromir is not only willing to sacrifice himself, but his brother is probably there against Boromir’s wishes, as this displays his courage, loyalty, stubbornness, and lack of prudence.
- It goes against political necessity for both of these brothers to take on a suicide mission, and it would not be seen as cowardice to ensure the continuation of the line of the Stewards.
- Both of the brothers consider the defense of the city and the safety of their people more than preserving their family line, though we don’t know how many siblings he has.
- Boromir is probably showing modesty when he says that he was “in the company” and not leading it, though his position will be revealed soon.
- Note: All of the members of the younger generation of the leading houses are unmarried and childless, which is imprudent, especially in time of war. They are all well above the age where marriage and the begetting of heirs would be expected by this time. Aragorn is a special case, as his marriage is contingent on saving the world from Sauron; if he fails, then it doesn’t matter.
- The only difference shown between the two brothers is the frequency of the dream coming to them. The brother is shown to be a dreamer and given to prophecy in a way that Boromir is not.
- Why doesn’t Boromir name his brother? Perhaps he thinks the name would only be relevant to those who know both of them, and he might assume that everyone knows about them.
- Note: Tolkien had not invented the character of Faramir when he originally wrote this scene, and he would not do so until well into the writing of the material about Frodo and Sam in Ithilien. Faramir appears because only someone in his position would have the leeway to let Frodo go, despite his orders. He appears as the dialogue developed, as is common in Tolkien.
- Despite these differences in mood, Boromir’s brother is clearly also physically brave and capable, as shown in the battle at the bridge in Osgiliath, which would have been difficult.
- Note: In earlier versions of the Council, the dream came originally to the lord of Minas Tirith and then to many other citizens before coming to Boromir at last, which is a humbler version. Once the character of Faramir was invented, the dream was given to him, and then this reference to Boromir’s brother in the Council added in revision. This means that the fact that the dream was not primarily for Boromir was there from the beginning, though. This makes it unclear why Boromir would be at the Council instead of his brother, and that question is not answered here.
- Boromir’s “only” when describing what Denethor said, which is also significant. This could mean that Denethor didn’t know more than this, though it implies that he knew more than he said.
- He could be using a euphemism, but it doesn’t seem likely that he would reveal any complaint about Denethor’s withholding information in front of the Council, especially at this register.
- Therefore, he may be attempting to use a polite turn of phrase to hide the fact that this was all that Denethor knew, without revealing the limits of his lore. This is a diplomatic indirection.
- Boromir does say that Denethor is wise in the lore of Gondor specifically, and this is not Gondor.
- Since he started this speech out by being nettled at Elrond description of the waning of lore in Gondor, he can’t now openly admit their limitations, and he parallels Denethor with Elrond.
- This also adds up to a compliment for Elrond, the host, as the greatest of all lore-masters.
- Boromir also implies that if Denethor did know more, he thought it wise not to reveal it.
- Note: There are biblical parallels to the dreams of pharaoh in Genesis, interpreted by Joseph, and those of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams, interpreted in the book of Daniel.
- Given that Denethor is wise in the lore of Gondor, it seems likely that he would have a shrewd guess as to the meaning of the Sword that was broken, so he is likely telling less than he knows.
- Denethor would know that the Sword was preserved after its breaking in Mordor, but not its later fate. He may not know about the remaining line of kings surviving in the North.
- Would Denethor know about the Ring, or what “Isildur’s Bane” is? It’s possible that he could.
- Note: This Denethor being described is somewhat different from the one we meet in The Return of the King, though not entirely. The later version has lost his beloved heir and the battle of wills with Sauron, but this one is still wily and unwilling to share information that others don’t need.
- In the context of a prophetic dream, it would seem that the sword stands in for the surviving line of Isildur, and if he guessed that, Denethor would not want to share that information.