Episode 139 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 139

Comment on the timeline of Aragorn and Bilbo’s friendship:

• Bilbo and Aragorn would have had few chances to meet before he left the Shire for good in TA 3001, and at these earlier times Aragorn was either on his travels or not ready to reveal himself.
• If they met and became friends in Rivendell, it would have been after Gandalf opened his hear to Aragorn, and he would have understood Bilbo’s importance.
• Bilbo may have composed the poem around the time of the death of Gilraen, Aragorn’s mother. This would be eleven years before and still may be considered a “long time” by mortals.
• Frodo has clearly never been Rivendell before, so it is unlikely that Bilbo went there after taking him in, as he would not leave him behind in Bag End for months at a time.
• The idea of “a long time ago” may be in context of their friendship, meaning at the beginning.
• Because of the intensity of events surrounding their meeting, even Frodo feels close to Aragorn.
• Note: Tolkien would certainly be aware of the overlaps in time when making the Tale of Years.
• Note: It’s ironic that there is a parallel between the 17 years between the Party and Frodo’s departure just as there was a 17-year gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, though this was not intentional. Tolkien finished writing the text years before it was published.

Hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy:

• What does Aragorn mean by “such as I have”, regarding his home? There is a sense in which Aragorn is not really associated with any one place, not even Rivendell, as a human.
• His point is that he identifies with Arnor, which no longer exists, so he is basically homeless. The remaining Dúnedain of Arnor are exiles even within their own lands, as the kingdom is no more.
• This is in contrast to Boromir, who has a home in Gondor, and which he knows but can’t claim.
• Aragorn sees himself connected with the line Valandil, and the duties associated with that.
• Aragorn’s claim is weak due to the amount of time that has passed, which is why he has to emphasize the fact that the line back to Isildur and Elendil is unbroken, and not only in descent.
• He also emphasizes that the lore and heirlooms have passed along with the lineage. They have had long traditions of preparing for the day when they would once again oppose Sauron.
• Note: All of the primary characters, such as Frodo, Bilbo, Aragorn, and Gandalf, are essentially homeless, having given up home in order to protect the homes of others. Boromir has shown a willingness to do the same, as he left his home and its defense to come on this journey.
• While the kingship and his marriage to Arwen are contingent on the defeat of Sauron, he is neither focused on politics nor perhaps eloping as they are not the primary focus.
• There is no practical path the kingship outside of defeating Sauron, as even though they have the right, none of them would have had the welcome of the people of Gondor without it.
• Aragorn openly admits to the dwindling of his people, unlike Boromir’s narrative about Gondor.
• Here Aragorn claims the title of Ranger, though it is used with scorn in Bree as a kind of slur. This is not Aragorn using this as s job title, but as a description of their state, being like vagabonds.
• By pivoting to their continued war with the servants of Sauron, Aragorn emphasizes that they define themselves by what they do, not what other people call them.

While the years have lengthened and the grass has grown:

• Aragorn shifts his syntax from complex, overlapping clauses in long sentences to short simple sentences as he draws to his conclusion.
• It’s at this point that Aragorn explicitly calls out Boromir’s provincialism and ignorance of the outside world, which only has been implied up until now.
• Aragorn is not saying that Boromir is wrong in his assessment of the situation in Gondor, but that he is both unaware of its place in the larger world and that has over-romanticized that role.
• While acknowledging the valor of Gondor and Boromir personally, but he also doesn’t understand that there are others in the same struggle in different ways.
• Aragorn also explains that the workings of the Enemy are not just military and just in Gondor.
• He describes the struggle in the North as one against fear itself, though he does reference specific threats. For instance, “sunless woods” refers to Mirkwood, where Sauron once dwelt.
• The “houseless hills” probably refers to the Trollshaws, while “foes that would freeze his heart” is a literal reference to the Barrow-wights. He may also be referring to the rise of the ruffians.
• Note: It’s not clear if the Barrow-wights are able to leave the barrows, though this is possible given the fact that it happens in the original poem “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil”, in which one of the wights invades Tom’s house. In the original drafts, the Ringwraiths were Barrow-wights. It’s not clear in the final text if it’s possible, but they would be stopped by the Rangers.
• The reference to “quiet lands” is clearly a reference to the Shire, though it may also include Bree, and this reference may be implicitly for the benefit of Bilbo and Frodo.
• These kinds of threats and servants of the Enemy are among those that Gondor cannot protect against, along with goblins and wolves and other things in the “bogie stories” of Fatty Bolger.
• Note: In Aragorn’s speech, we are connected as readers with these dark threats, since we have witnessed these, and we also know that these have nothing to do with Gondor.
• There are many other sunless woods, such as the Old Forest, and houseless hills, like the Barrow-downs, which the Rangers guard and protect these quiet lands against.
• Note: Tolkien probably was inspired by Norse legends of restless tomb people who might invade a home unless it was protected in his creation of the Barrow-wight in the Tom Bombadil story.
• Aragorn’s point is that the kind of war they are in is completely different from Gondor’s, but that the carrying the broken sword means being an enemy of the Shadow in all its forms.
• He also wants Boromir to know that they have sacrificed the ability to rebuild their kingdom in order carry on this secret war with the Enemy for the sake of others.
• Why must the Rangers remain secret to protect the North? It makes them harder to find and be destroyed by the Enemy, but also to maintain the peace of mind of those they protect.
• Fear would be the Enemy’s weapon in their spiritual warfare, and it could destroy those lands.
• Also, as long as Sauron thinks that Angmar served its purpose in destroying Arnor, he will not feel any need to focus on the North with his forces.
• The Dúnedain have taken on a paternalistic role toward the Shire and Bree, but that is not inappropriate, as the king has a fatherly duty which the Dúnedain have not abandoned.
• It’s possible that Sauron may be aware of the Rangers, but not who they are or their purpose.
• The monsters stalking Eriador may not be under the direct command of Sauron, but his allies.
• Since Sauron was not aware of the existence of Hobbits or the Shire, so he has not focused on the North for at least the last one thousand years since the final fall of Arnor.
• The phrase “the grass has grown” is an unnecessary visual metaphor in the style of Bombadil and is reminiscent of the Greenway and the reclaiming of nature over the ruins of Arnor.
• We may also be reminded of the grass fields of the Shire, and how this is a sign of their peace.
• While Boromir takes the fact that the Dúnedain have diminished as a slight on the glory of his people, but Aragorn reminds them that they are carrying on the way in spite of their fall.
• This could be seen as a kind pf one-upmanship by Aragorn, but this is more like a reassurance of the reality of these legendary figures that Boromir has grown up with and just confronted.
• Aragorn also feels that he needs to fill in the blank for Gondor, represented by Boromir, that exists since at least the time of Arvedui a thousand years before, or even back to Isildur.
• Boromir has not yet used any scornful names about his looks, the way that Butterbur has, but Aragorn acknowledges why he might and explains how that came to be and why it matters.
• He also wants to know that the North and South kingdoms are still on the same side and fighting the same fight, just like they always have since the days of Elendil.
• Aragorn sets up a contrast between that simple, superficial folk who only judge the Rangers by their looks and the sophisticated, wise folk who understand the truth under the appearance.
• He then implicitly makes the invitation to Boromir to be one of those who know the truth.

END OF SESSION