Flammifer
Well-Known Member
Gandalf gives a lyrical description of the qualities of Shadowfax, when the providential horse is first introduced during the Council of Elrond. JRRT, however, goes on to contradict two of Gandalf’s statements in Appendix B.
Gandalf says of Shadowfax, “The horses of the Nine cannot vie with him; tireless, swift as the flowing wind.”
A few sentences later – “Ever as I came north I heard tidings of the Riders, and though I gained on them day by day, they were ever before me.”
The first-time reader has to think, “OK, Shadowfax is the superior horse, the providentially supplied best horse in the world. The horses of the Nine cannot vie with him in tirelessness nor in swiftness. He gains on them all the way north.”
All well and good, until we reach Appendix B. There we learn that the Black Riders cross the Fords of Isen on Sept 18, and reach Hobbiton on Sept 23. Five days (Very fast indeed. The Fords of Isen to Hobbiton seems to be about 500 miles. 100 miles per day for a horse is extraordinary.). Gandalf on Shadowfax crosses the Fords of Isen on Sept 24. He reaches Hobbiton on Sept 29. Also five days. Wait a minute. We thought that Shadowfax was both more tireless and swifter than the horses of the Nine? Apparently not so!
Gandalf says that he and Shadowfax gained on the Black Riders ‘day by day’ as they galloped north. Not so according to Appendix B. Gandalf crosses the Isen six days after the Riders, and arrives in Hobbiton six days after the Riders. He has not gained on them at all! Sure, once the Riders miss Frodo at Bag End, and begin searching for him, Gandalf manages to catch up. This however is due to the Riders slowing to a search pace, not to the superior speed or tirelessness of Shadowfax.
Why did JRRT ‘cast shade’ on Gandalf’s claims for Shadowfax when he came to write Appendix B?
He didn’t need to. It is surprising that the Riders did not cross the Fords of Isen until Sept. 18. The first-time reader, back in the Council of Elrond, certainly assumed that the Riders crossed into Eriador much earlier, and were spending time searching Eriador for The Shire. What were the Riders doing between June (Radagast informs Gandalf on June 29 that the Nine have crossed the Anduin – presumably somewhat earlier) and September 18? JRRT could easily have set the date for the Riders crossing the Fords of Isen much earlier. But he didn’t.
Why?
Some suggestions:
JRRT might have thought it odd that the Riders would have passed through the Gap of Rohan without checking in on Saruman. But he did not want the Riders to meet Saruman until after Gandalf had escaped Orthanc?
JRRT might have considered that, no, he did not want to portray Providence as providing the agents of Light with superior aid than the powers of the agents of the Dark Lord. “Providence can give Gandalf a horse that matches the horses of the Black Riders, but Providence does not provide superior resources to their own agents in the struggle”? (After all, presumably ‘Providence’ or the Valar could get rid of Sauron whenever they wanted to, if they did it themselves. But they don’t. They provide help. But it is indirect. They seem inclined to the interpretation that the Children of Illuvatar must largely solve these problems themselves.) Did JRRT, when composing the Appendices, think, “No, Shadowfax really cannot be superior to the horses of the Black Riders. Providence might supply Gandalf with an equivalent horse, but a superior horse would be going too far”?
Why did JRRT, in Appendix B, contradict Gandalf’s claims about Shadowfax?
Gandalf says of Shadowfax, “The horses of the Nine cannot vie with him; tireless, swift as the flowing wind.”
A few sentences later – “Ever as I came north I heard tidings of the Riders, and though I gained on them day by day, they were ever before me.”
The first-time reader has to think, “OK, Shadowfax is the superior horse, the providentially supplied best horse in the world. The horses of the Nine cannot vie with him in tirelessness nor in swiftness. He gains on them all the way north.”
All well and good, until we reach Appendix B. There we learn that the Black Riders cross the Fords of Isen on Sept 18, and reach Hobbiton on Sept 23. Five days (Very fast indeed. The Fords of Isen to Hobbiton seems to be about 500 miles. 100 miles per day for a horse is extraordinary.). Gandalf on Shadowfax crosses the Fords of Isen on Sept 24. He reaches Hobbiton on Sept 29. Also five days. Wait a minute. We thought that Shadowfax was both more tireless and swifter than the horses of the Nine? Apparently not so!
Gandalf says that he and Shadowfax gained on the Black Riders ‘day by day’ as they galloped north. Not so according to Appendix B. Gandalf crosses the Isen six days after the Riders, and arrives in Hobbiton six days after the Riders. He has not gained on them at all! Sure, once the Riders miss Frodo at Bag End, and begin searching for him, Gandalf manages to catch up. This however is due to the Riders slowing to a search pace, not to the superior speed or tirelessness of Shadowfax.
Why did JRRT ‘cast shade’ on Gandalf’s claims for Shadowfax when he came to write Appendix B?
He didn’t need to. It is surprising that the Riders did not cross the Fords of Isen until Sept. 18. The first-time reader, back in the Council of Elrond, certainly assumed that the Riders crossed into Eriador much earlier, and were spending time searching Eriador for The Shire. What were the Riders doing between June (Radagast informs Gandalf on June 29 that the Nine have crossed the Anduin – presumably somewhat earlier) and September 18? JRRT could easily have set the date for the Riders crossing the Fords of Isen much earlier. But he didn’t.
Why?
Some suggestions:
JRRT might have thought it odd that the Riders would have passed through the Gap of Rohan without checking in on Saruman. But he did not want the Riders to meet Saruman until after Gandalf had escaped Orthanc?
JRRT might have considered that, no, he did not want to portray Providence as providing the agents of Light with superior aid than the powers of the agents of the Dark Lord. “Providence can give Gandalf a horse that matches the horses of the Black Riders, but Providence does not provide superior resources to their own agents in the struggle”? (After all, presumably ‘Providence’ or the Valar could get rid of Sauron whenever they wanted to, if they did it themselves. But they don’t. They provide help. But it is indirect. They seem inclined to the interpretation that the Children of Illuvatar must largely solve these problems themselves.) Did JRRT, when composing the Appendices, think, “No, Shadowfax really cannot be superior to the horses of the Black Riders. Providence might supply Gandalf with an equivalent horse, but a superior horse would be going too far”?
Why did JRRT, in Appendix B, contradict Gandalf’s claims about Shadowfax?