Rauþúlfr
New Member
Rushing to catch up with the lectures, I've made it up to # 57, and amid the discussions of Strider a couple things strike me. In that discussion, (or another while in the P Pony, it's mentioned that Gandalf doesn't reveal Aragorn's identity. Of course not, it's not his secret to disclose! That however, got me wondering. Just how long has Aragorn been frequenting the Inn? He's 80 or so years old, and could have been a visitor for most if not all of Butterbur's years! Certainly, Butterbur gives no hint that he's been acquainted with Strider for that long. There's nothing in Butterbur's description that would add seemingly otherwordly longevity to them!
Did Aragorn travel in a different guise in his younger days, or did he simply frequent other lands then? It may well be that in Aragorn the blood of Numenor runs most true, but even so one would expect the average Ranger to be active far past the days when lesser mortals would succumb to old age. Given that they are secretive by nature, one would presume that they would treat the secret of their unusually long lives carefully. Yes, Aragorn discloses his age to Eomir, but one must count that as unusual. It does give one cause to think!
Did Aragorn travel in a different guise in his younger days, or did he simply frequent other lands then? It may well be that in Aragorn the blood of Numenor runs most true, but even so one would expect the average Ranger to be active far past the days when lesser mortals would succumb to old age. Given that they are secretive by nature, one would presume that they would treat the secret of their unusually long lives carefully. Yes, Aragorn discloses his age to Eomir, but one must count that as unusual. It does give one cause to think!