Episode 68 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 68

Comment on Frodo’s prediction of wraithification:
  • The emphasis should be on the word “shall” not “wraith”, in “shall become a wraith”. It is the idea that Frodo is accepting this as his future that causes Strider to respond as he does.
  • It seems as if Frodo has been thinking about becoming a wraith before this, as though this might be inevitable. It betrays a weakening of his resolve to resist the Ring.
  • Note: There is an irony that it is in giving up all hope for himself that allows Frodo to get through Mordor. The dichotomy of hope and despair is a major theme of the book.
A rock-screened path:
  • Note: These hills are described in The Hobbit as ominous, and the castles as having an evil look.
  • There is a question of how old this path is and who made it. Was this created by the ancient Dúnedain, or by later peoples, such as the Rangers who use it to approach Weathertop?
  • The description is reminiscent of an old Roman road fallen into disrepair.
  • The lines of large boulders screening the path doesn’t seem as though they could be the work of Rangers. This would point to it being constructed by an older, more numerous people.
  • Rangers are also likely not to leave a visible path, so they are probably falling an older path.
  • The description of the stones as “hewn” points away from them being natural.
  • Would the constructors of the path want to hide it from Weathertop? This depends on who built it. Two or three of the Arnorian kingdoms fought for Weathertop at different times.
  • We are given many general statements about the history of Weathertop but not details.
  • If the intention was to screen viewers atop the hill from seeing anyone approaching it, then that points to Rhudaur, who besieged it for a long time.
  • They travel on this road for part of a day and then camp overnight before reaching it, so they are within sight of Weathertop, but out of range of any weapons.
  • It would not have been necessary to hide the path during the height of the united Arnorian kingdom. It would only be during the civil wars that this might have been done.
  • The main East Road would have been used by Elendil to approach Weathertop and Rivendell.
  • Note: Amon-Sûl fell to Rhudaur in T.A. 1409, but the final fall of Arthedain to Angmar was not until T.A. 1974, so there was a large gap of time when Arthedain still existed but did not possess it. The palantir of Amon-Sûl was taken to Arthedain, and King Arvedui had it when was lost on the elvish ship. The Bree-lands would also have been lost to Arthedain about this time.
The history of Amon-Sûl:
  • The remains of walls and dikes point to this only being a remote military outpost, something that Strider confirms when he says that people did not live here.
  • The reason for Merry’s comment about being reminded of the Barrow-wights is unclear, but he may be worried about being in a similar situation, alone in an abandoned place.
  • This and the Barrow-downs might be Merry’s only experience with large, stone ruins in his life.
  • Note: The barrows in the Barrow-downs were constructed by the people who predated the return of the Dúnedain, but this set of stones are much more modern in construction.
  • Merry may be getting a similar feeling as he had in the Barrow-downs, regarding the wars of the Dúnedain with Angmar. This may be a more spiritual feeling.
  • Merry’s limited experience outside of the Shire may lead him to make some simplistic assumptions, but they have not been told anything about this history before this moment.
  • Note: There is a memory of Tom Bombadil’s enchanted visions of the past in here, too.
  • Merry may simply be having anxiety regarding being around any barrows after his experience.
  • Much like Pippin’s comment about shortcuts, Merry may not want to remake prior mistakes.
  • Following the mention of the barrows with talking about the Men of the West seems like a non sequitur, as the Dúnedain did not make the barrows.
  • Aragorn’s answer is about the Barrow-wights, not the barrows themselves. The haunting of the Barrow-downs was done because of the presence in the Dúnedain.
  • The link between the infestation Barrow-wights as an attack against the Dúnedain is what Aragorn is referring to when he tries to ease Merry’s worries about there being no barrows.
  • Note: Barrows are special kinds of burials, and there seems to be a need for that kind of place before the power of the spirits that became the Barrow-wights could act on them. It’s important to remember that the presence and connection of Barrow-wight is the result of a deliberate spell, and it is trapped there unless the spell is broken.
  • There is an implication that the fact that the Men of the North did not live near Weathertop means that they also did not bury their dead there.
  • Note: The notion that the Barrow-downs were built by men before the kingdom of Arnor was something that predated the creation of Arnor in Tolkien’s writings. The Tom Bombadil episode was mostly finalized very early in the writing process, and the barrows and Barrow-wight were brought in along with the importation of Tom Bombadil.
  • Note: Because of the issues regarding Numenorean burials and their continuance in Gondor, there is the possibility that the Dúnedain of Arnor would avoid marked tombs as a result. We don’t know how or where Arathorn was buried, though we do see Gilraen’s grave in Rivendell, which was presumably made by the Elves. Cremation and ship burials are mentioned in the early writings about Númenor, but it is mentioned as something common of older peoples.
(continued below)
 

Attachments

  • Session 68.pdf
    124.3 KB · Views: 4
(continued)

The mysterious armies of old:
  • Strider says that the path was to serve the forts along the paths, but he doesn’t say for which army. Presumably, it would have been for Rhudaur, as they were the besiegers.
  • The rocks would not have been about defense or protection, but about concealing movements.
  • Note: Tolkien hinted in early writings that the Numenoreans possessed modern technology by the time they invaded Valinor, but he largely abandoned that later.
  • Strider simplifies the war, which was a civil war, as truly a war before Arnor and Angmar.
  • Strider then emphasizes its creation by Elendil and its connection to Gil-galad and the Last Alliance. This may be part of his motivation for going there, as it is at Amon Hen.
  • This seems to be an important moment in Aragorn’s career. He’s been to Weathertop before, and even carrying Elendil’s sword, but this time is different, as he hopes to meet Gandalf.
  • The importance of this is it being the place where the Last Alliance to oppose Sauron was formed. He knows that the final war with Sauron is near, and he also wants to meet allies there.
  • Frodo and the hobbits don’t really understand the importance of the times that they are in, though Aragorn does. He knows the historical parallels and what that means for his life.
  • The weakness of his spoken reasons for going to Weathertop makes sense when we understand the mythic significance of it, and Aragorn often chooses the mythical reason over the practical.
  • Note: In another parallel, the Last Alliance spent time preparing for the war at Rivendell and set out from there. The Fellowship of the Ring is a smaller recapitulation of that Last Alliance.
The song of Gil-galad:
  • Note: The pronunciation of Gil-galad varies, but within the iambic meter of the poem, the emphasis would be on the second syllable. This fits with Tolkien’s instructions in the appendices.
  • The iambic meter is very regular throughout the poem, even integrating part of the Ring verse at the end, which is also iambic. The elvish part of the Ring verse was trochaic.
  • Bilbo did not write this poem; he translated it, Strider says, so he wasn’t influenced by the Ring.
  • Note: Iambic verse also seems to be more associated with enchantments than trochaic verse.
  • The poem’s iambic tetrameter and rhyming couplets point to a similarity with Hobbit poetry. The content is not hobbitish, but the style is.
  • The simplistic style seems like the sort of poem one would teach to children, in order to instruct them on history. This is borne out by its recitation by Sam, who learned it as a lad from Bilbo.
  • Sam recites the poem in response to Pippin’s question, and its singsong sound shows that Sam memorized it to learn its contents for just such an occasion.
  • The line “where he dwelleth none can say” seems to be a gentle introduction for a young hobbit to the concept of immortality among Elves. This doesn’t seem to be a sanitation of death.
  • When we are told that he “rode away”, this is a reference to the lands of which the Shire is now a part, which were ruled by Gil-galad’s kingdom long ago. It is a Shire-centric perspective.
  • The mention of “his star” is a play on Gil-galad’s name, which means “starlight”.
  • Gil-galad would probably have written through the proto-Shire on this way to Mordor, even the places like where Michel Delving and Bywater would later be built.
  • The word “dwelling” implies being alive within the world, so this would be different from Men.
  • Gildor has already spoken about the Shire having been others’ lands before it was the Shire. Bilbo understood this concept, which means that he had a different perspective than Frodo.
  • The second stanza, in which his armaments are described, is very reminiscent of Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry, as well as Tolkien’s own works, like “Errantry”.
  • The description of his shining helm encourages us to imagine him like a star in the distance.
  • Were the stars painted on the shield, or was the shield reflecting the stars? Possibly both.
  • Note: The sound and rhythm of Tolkien’s poetry often show its underlying origin. Most of Tolkien’s lore poems are trochaic, but its iambic meter shows its hobbit origin. The inclusion of the line of Ring lore is ironic as Bilbo did not know that he possessed the One Ring, even though he probably knew stories of the Rings of Power and had heard the Ring verse before.
  • Sam ends the poem at the place where Gil-galad fell into darkness, even though there was much more. This is a foreshadowing of Frodo’s own journey, with his exile and quest for Mordor.
  • Note: Sam will eventually see the star in Mordor, and they will not parallel Gil-galad’s fall in full.
END OF SESSION
 

Attachments

  • Session 68.pdf
    124.3 KB · Views: 4
Back
Top