Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 219
Until dire need:
Until dire need:
- While Elrond might have rebuked Boromir for undermining the Company’s secrecy, he instead gives advice that also serves as a prophecy, specific about when he will need to blow the horn.
- It seems as though Elrond didn’t intend to end his statement this way when he began speaking.
- Note: This is a direct prediction of Boromir’s death even with the details about its location, though this is not the very next time he will blow the horn. Boromir will also blow it in Moria during the battle with the goblins and the Balrog, and this also seems to be seen as appropriate. Also, this kind of prophecy seems to be spontaneous, as many other prophecies are in the book.
- Before, when Elrond spoke about sending Merry and Pippin back to the Shire, this seems to be more about conviction than a prophecy of the future, though the line between them is unclear.
- Note: While Elrond was probably reasonable to say that Merry and Pippin going back to the Shire would have been good in helping the other Hobbits, Gandalf is ultimately proven right.
- The horn is also a weapon of spiritual attack, so it is a good thing to be used in that context.
- Note: The fact that we see both Boromir’s last stand and death onscreen at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring film has changed the effect that this prophecy has, as it is designed to prepare us for Boromir’s death, but not in Book Two, but at the beginning of Book Three.
- There is an ominous quality to this prophecy in the use of “dire need”, though still unclear
- Note: While this first winding of the horn is a warning that Boromir will be a focus of dissention and later troubles for the Company, his final blowing of the horn will be part of his redemption.
- How much is Elrond revealing and concealing? It’s possible that Elrond has softened his prophecy and not included the details that he foresees in order to preserve the Company.
- This may change the reading of Boromir’s “maybe” to a sense of acceptance of what is to come.
- Boromir is clearly not a coward and will not shrink from threats in the present nor in the future.
- Note: Boromir will consistently be a leadership problem in the Company, not only for Aragorn, but for Gandalf as well, because of his disagreement with the nature and goals of the quest.
- Note: The fact that Sam is absent from these descriptions points to Sam as the author of this description of the arms and armor of the Company. Frodo is naturally highlighted as the Ringbearer, but Sam focuses not on himself but on the furnishings that is packed on the pony.
- This is only the third reference to Gimli, and also the first description that he is given at all.
- The description emphasizes first Gimli’s warlike look since he alone is wearing armor openly.
- Note: The close association between Dwarves and axes seems to begin with Gimli, since Thorin’s Company were unarmed, apart from Thorin himself, until they reached the Lonely Mountain. Tolkien seems to embrace this association going forward and then will project that backwards into the history of the Dwarves, though many other non-dwarf characters use axes, too.
- Gimli’s axe seems to be single-bladed, though large and one specifically made for battle.
- While Aragorn and Boromir are armed but not armored, Gimli is both, and shows his nature.
- Note: This association of dwarves with axes will eventually extend beyond Tolkien due to Gimli.
- However, the narrator emphasizes Gimli’s physical sturdiness and strength in relation to armor.
- While this mail shirt is likely only to his waist, it would still be heavy and burdensome to wear.
- While Legolas’ weapons are described, his personal appearance is not described, as per usual.
- What does the “white” mean with Legolas’ knife? I may refer to the knife hilt, it being sheathed.
- While the length of his knife indicates that it is for combat, being used for close combat inside bow range, the reason for it being colored white, and the significance of that, is not revealed.
- The bow coming first shows that he is an archer first, and only a melee fighter at last need.
- Thranduil had a love of white gems in The Hobbit, so this may be in an influence on the knife.
- The point of the white color may be to imply refinement and elegance, and Legolas’ status.
- There may also be an implication that Legolas is untried and unsullied by the outside world.