Cup of Joe
New Member
Hi, I'm new to the forum and after several months am starting to approach catching up on ExLoTR.
I just finished listening to episode 239 wherein the crebain were discussed. I really liked Prof. Olsen's theory that they were not mere spies but possibly an actual murder squad dispatched by Saruman to despatch and despoil any halflings that may have been wandering the lands between the Mountains and the Greyflood. A few things that I wished I could have thrown into the chat were I listening live:
There's textual evidence that Saruman has used crows for this purpose elsewhere. There is Theoden's comment on the steps of Orthanc that "when you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows" they can have peace. Eomer also talks about Saruman's birds of ill omen when warning Aragorn and co. to be wary of the wizard when he lends them horses.
If the mass murder of crows was intent on mass murder indeed this may explain the growing fear and watchfulness that preludes their arrival. Perhaps word had traveled among birds and beasts of what was coming. Also so many crows would be in need of provision for their long flight and local fauna would likely be in danger though they were not the per se target of the host.
I've really enjoyed listening to the analysis so far. Looking forward to finishing catching up and joining in some live discussions!
I just finished listening to episode 239 wherein the crebain were discussed. I really liked Prof. Olsen's theory that they were not mere spies but possibly an actual murder squad dispatched by Saruman to despatch and despoil any halflings that may have been wandering the lands between the Mountains and the Greyflood. A few things that I wished I could have thrown into the chat were I listening live:
There's textual evidence that Saruman has used crows for this purpose elsewhere. There is Theoden's comment on the steps of Orthanc that "when you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows" they can have peace. Eomer also talks about Saruman's birds of ill omen when warning Aragorn and co. to be wary of the wizard when he lends them horses.
If the mass murder of crows was intent on mass murder indeed this may explain the growing fear and watchfulness that preludes their arrival. Perhaps word had traveled among birds and beasts of what was coming. Also so many crows would be in need of provision for their long flight and local fauna would likely be in danger though they were not the per se target of the host.
I've really enjoyed listening to the analysis so far. Looking forward to finishing catching up and joining in some live discussions!