Confusticate and Bebother these Dates! – The Durin’s Day Dilemma

29 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by D.J. in Discussion, Hobbit book, Hobbit movie, Thorin, Uncategorized

Tags

autumn, bilbo, durin's day, dwarves, essay, history of the hobbit, john d. rateliff, moon, new year, shire calendar, solstice, thorin, tolkien, winter, yule-tide

Confusticate and Bebother these Dates! – The Durin’s Day Dilemma
by DarkJackal

Having read a number of articles on Durin’s Day, including various attempts to assign a date to it within the story, and to predict it in our modern world, I feel compelled to write my own brief (ha!) essay. My approach to this is two-fold: First – take Excedrin for the headache this issue is causing. Second – quote John D. Rateliff’s The History of the Hobbit until things begin to make sense.

“It was the start of the dwarves new year, when the last moon of autumn and the first sun of winter appeared in the sky together.” – Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

Many Tolkien enthusiasts estimate Durin’s Day of 2941 (which Thorin Oakenshield said happens towards the end of autumn, but not necessarily the last day of autumn, as Gandalf stated in the film) to have occurred in October. You can see how they arrived at this conclusion in the following articles:

The Moon and Duran’s Day – by Lalaith

Was Smaug Slain Oct 26, 2941 TA? – by Auraran

Durin’s Day 2013 – by Ask About Middle Earth

Is Durin’s Day Upon Us? – by The Dwarrow Scholar

Timeline/Chronology for “The Hobbit” – by Douglas Wilhelm Harder

Other authors calculate that Durin’s Day in our world would happen in December, based on our own definition of Autumn:

Observing Durin’s Day – by Kristine Larsen

Predicting Durin’s Day – by Iduna

The reason for the difference of approximately two months comes from the different interpretations of the term “autumn”. Astronomically speaking, the end of autumn is around December 21 (for those in the Northern Hemisphere). If you disregard the astronomical component of it, then you could argue autumn can mean different things to different cultures. It does in our world, so why not in Tolkien’s? Unfortunately Tolkien never created a calendar for the dwarves, and because he also says that the seasons of Middle-earth have no specific beginning or ending dates, it is possible the dwarves may view the beginning and ending of autumn as occurring on different dates than the hobbits, or elves, or men did. Unfortunately there is nothing I know of in the canon to confirm or deny this, but Tolkien did have this to say regarding the names of months used in The Lord of the Rings, “…the seasonal implications of our names are more or less the same, at any rate in the Shire. It appears, however, that Mid-year’s Day was intended to correspond as nearly as possible to the summer solstices. In that case the Shire dates were actually in advance of ours by some ten days, and our New Year’s Day corresponded more or less to the Shire January 9” (The Return of the King, Appendix D). This becomes important to our discussion further on, since Tolkien uses both the Shire calendar and the Gregorian calendar in his (unpublished) notes. We also know that, at least in The Lord of the Rings, events take place “‘in the Northern Hemisphere of this earth: miles are miles, days are days, and weather is weather'” (Rateliff 827).

Durin’s Day? Uh…wait, I know this one.

The problems with Durin’s Day begin with the text itself, though you may not know it if you have a copy of The Hobbit printed after 1995. The first mention of Durin’s Day is the same in both early and later editions. While in Rivendell, Thorin declares:

“The first day of the dwarves’ New Year is, as all should know, the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter. We still call it Durin’s Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together. But this will not help us much, I fear, for it passes our skill in these days to guess when such a time will come again.”

Oddly enough, Tolkien appears to have been of two minds about when Durin’s Day should occur. The first typescript of the book had the dwarven New Year beginning on “the day of the first moon of autumn. And Durin’s day is that first day when the first moon of autumn and the sun are in the sky together” (Rateliff 123). Rateliff speculates this was likely inspired by the Jewish calendar, “which is also lunar in nature and begins its new year in late September or early October…” (123). And prior to 1995, the second mention of Durin’s Day in chapter III has always been:

“They had thought of coming to the secret door in the Lonely Mountain, perhaps that very next first moon of Autumn— ‘and perhaps it will be Durin’s Day’ they had said. Only Gandalf had shaken his head and said nothing.”

Sad, just sad.

Little wonder Gandalf is shaking his head – the silly dwarves can’t even remember when their most important holiday is supposed to happen. The “mistake”, if that is truly what it was, has been corrected in later editions to read “that very next last moon of Autumn”.

The third indirect mention of Durin’s Day occurs while the dwarves and Bilbo are sitting around on the doorstep of the secret door. They don’t know it yet, but they are one day away from Durin’s Day:

“‘Tomorrow begins the last week of Autumn,’ said Thorin one day.”

As it turns out, Durin’s Day of that year occurred on the first day of the last week of Autumn, at least according to what Thorin said in the published book. In the original draft, where Tolkien set Durin’s Day at the start of autumn, Thorin said, “Autumn will be in tomorrow” on the day before the door was opened (Rateliff 475).

So, you really don’t know when it is, do you?

Of course it was Bilbo who actually caught the event happening, and alerted the dwarves before it was too late:

“Soon he saw the orange ball of the sun sinking towards the level of his eyes. He went to the opening and there pale and faint was a thin new moon above the rim of Earth.

Bilbo and the Thrush – by Alarie

At that very moment he heard a sharp crack behind him. There on the grey stone in the grass was an enormous thrush, nearly coal black, its pale yellow breast freckled with dark spots. Crack! It had caught a snail and was knocking it on the stone. Crack! Crack!….The sun sank lower and lower, and their hopes fell. It sank into a belt of reddened cloud and disappeared. The dwarves groaned, but still Bilbo stood almost without moving. The little moon was dipping to the horizon. Evening was coming on. Then suddenly when their hope was lowest a red ray of the sun escaped like a finger through a rent in the cloud. A gleam of light came straight through the opening into the bay and fell on the smooth rock-face. The old thrush, who had been watching from a high perch with beady eyes and head cocked on one side, gave a sudden trill. There was a loud crack. A flake of rock split from the wall and fell. A hole appeared suddenly about three feet from the ground….’The key!’ shouted Bilbo. ‘The key that went with the map! Try it now while there is still time!’

Then Thorin stepped up and drew the key on its chain from round his neck. He put it to the hole. It fitted and it turned! Snap! The gleam went out, the sun sank, the moon was gone, and evening sprang into the sky.”

When the Thrush Knocks – by Ted Nasmith

The biggest problem with accepting a December date for Durin’s Day is that it leaves little time for the remaining tumultuous events after the opening of the door before Bilbo must be back at Beorn’s house to celebrate Yule-tide in chapter XVIII:

“Anyway, by mid-winter Gandalf and Bilbo had come all the way back, along both edges of the Forest, to the doors of Beorn’s house; and there for a while they both stayed. Yule-tide was warm and merry there; and men came from far and wide to feast at Beorn’s bidding.”

Tolkien had originally written Christmas instead of Yule-tide, but Yule has historically been celebrated at different times of the year and for different lengths by various cultures, which potentially allows more time for a December date for Durin’s Day. The Shire calendar states “Yuletide” was six days long, “including the last three and first three days of each year” (The Return of the King, Appendix D). But since Beorn is the one hosting the feast, it could be according to his own schedule, whatever that might be. The mention of “by mid-winter” is of less help in solving the issue than it appears since winter is no less relative a term than autumn. Notice it is mid-winter, which could mean middle of winter, not midwinter, a term which would most likely mean the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) which happens around December 21 in our time. In contrast, in chapter III Tolkien used “midsummer eve” (without a hyphen) when referring to the day they deciphered the map in Rivendell, or a date between June 21-25 in our time. It should be noted that Rateliff treats mid-winter as “midwinter” in his explanation of the text, and defines it as the day of the winter solstice, thus making it impossible for Durin’s Day to have occurred around December 14 (Rateliff 481).

Tolkien was not entirely happy with certain aspects of The Hobbit when compared to The Lord of the Rings, including the imprecision of geographic distances, and the inaccuracy of the moon phases. He had once boasted “‘I don’t think the moons rise or are in the wrong place at any point in [The Lord of the Rings]'” but this was only accomplished “…during the book’s revision by drawing up many-columned sheets listing where each character was on each day of the story. No such charts exist for The Hobbit…” (Rateliff 827).

Tolkien made an attempt to rewrite The Hobbit in the 1960’s. This was ultimately aborted, in part due to the impossible task of reconciling the timing of the journey with the phases of the moon (Rateliff 813). In this rewrite Tolkien tried to make the story of The Hobbit fit the Shire Calendar (which did not exist at the time of its original publication). A note by Tolkien, written at the top margin of his revisions, sums up the problem: “‘Hobbit Time table is not very clear'” (Rateliff 821).

In those notes he wrote out a few possible timelines which had the Company leaving Rivendell “’on Midsummer morning: say June 24’” (Rateliff 821). This date is given in the Gregorian calendar, rather than the Shire Calendar. His attempt to pin down the dates of the journey start out productively, but begin to fall apart after Rivendell. The decision to make Bilbo’s birthday occur on September 22 in The Fellowship of the Ring lock in part of the itinerary of The Hobbit, since Bilbo tells everyone at his 111^th birthday that it is also the anniversary of the day he arrived in Esgaroth many years ago. Nowhere is this stated in the original Hobbit.

The relevant part of these revisions, in relation to the timing of Durin’s Day, begin with Tolkien working out the moon phases during the journey. With these dates he uses the Shire Calendar [my notes are in brackets]:

“’Company left Rivendell on Midsummer Day (=in SC [Shire Calendar]. June 30+2) The Moon on the previous day (Lithe: June 30+1) was a broad silver crescent: therefore 3 to 4 days old. NM [New Moon] must have been June 27/28.
NB This fits tolerably well with later narrative. For if NM occurred on June 28 it would occur next on July 23…since all months have 30 days [in the Shire calendar]: on Aug. 21, on Sept. 19, October 17^th. There is probably time for the events after Bilbo’s Birthday (Sep 22) in Lake Town before the discovery of the Key-hole – Durin’s Day.’” (Rateliff 826)

In another note Tolkien gives the date of the new moons as occurring about June 26, and about October 19 of the Shire Calendar (Rateliff 830). He puts the departure from Lake Town around October 5^th, and after two days of rowing it would be October 7, after which point “’their journey to the Mountain and the search for the Door could well take more than 12 days, but could be accomplished in that time.’”

Rateliff suggests “that Tolkien here is thinking of Durin’s Day as falling on the first new moon of autumn, as in the original manuscript, rather than on the last new moon before the start of winter as in the published book” (Rateliff 828). This would have solved the problem with events being crammed into the remainder of the year (however much remained of it before “mid-winter”). But it would also have necessitated “the re-writing of several descriptive passages vividly conveying the rapid onset of winter” which appear at various places in the published text of The Hobbit (Rateliff 828).

Unfortunately, there are no revisions to dates given after the mention of a new moon on October 19. We are given no precise dates at all, either published or unpublished, until May 1st, when Gandalf and Bilbo arrive back in Rivendell at the start of chapter XIX, after having left Beorn’s house in the spring.

Tolkien’s penciled note on the final piece of his tentative revisions signal a reluctant surrender after the battle to make everything fit to his satisfaction: “Time table of journey will not work out?” (Rateliff 835). It is here that Tolkien’s attempt to rewrite The Hobbit ends.

I can figure it out on my own, thank you very much!

So where does this leave us as far as determining when Durin’s Day is supposed to happen? I personally feel there are too many contradictions to make any estimate 100% accurate. If Tolkien was having trouble with it years after publication, then I believe we can be forgiven for not resolving the matter ourselves. Instead I advise choosing your favorite theory from the authors listed above (they have all gone to great efforts to develop them), or come up with your own. But if you want to be on the safe side (and enjoy yourself, instead of pouring over these bothersome dates), pick a day in both October and December, look to the skies, and celebrate Durin’s Day like you just cracked open the Lonely Mountain yourself!

See, easy as pie!

————————————————————————————————————-

References:

Rateliff, John D. The History of The Hobbit Part One: Mr. Baggins (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
Rateliff, John D. The History of The Hobbit Part Two: Return to Bag-end (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Return of the King. (New York: Ballantine, 1978).

Essay: The Unexpected Origins of Gandalf and the Dwarves

27 Monday May 2013

Posted by D.J. in Discussion, Gandalf, Hobbit book, Thorin

≈ 27 Comments

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balin, bladorthin, der berggeist, durin, dvergar, dwalin, dwarves, essay, gandalf, king arthur, merlin, mim, oakenshield, odin, old norse, origins, richard wagner, sir balin, the wanderer, thor, thorin, thrain, thror, tolkien, voluspa

Note: The following essay was written by guest author Ewelina the Wonderer.
-D.J.

The Unexpected Origins
– J. R. R. Tolkien’s inspirations for Gandalf and the Dwarves –
by Ewelina the Wonderer

It began…

Well, it began as you might expect – with long-forgotten languages J. R. R. Tolkien was so deeply fond of. Among the numerous sources of his linguistic inspirations, which attentive travelers are likely to encounter throughout the familiar Middle-Earth landscape, one language in particular had its share in creating one of the most recognizable wizards in the history of contemporary literature – Gandalf the Grey.

“Many are my names in many countries, he said. Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkûn to the Dwarves; Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North Gandalf; to the East I go not.” – Gandalf, “The Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers”

According to Middle-Earth’s linguistic legendarium, Gandalf translates as Elf-of-the-wand (or cane, or staff) – a name which was given to him by the Men of the North who, intimidated by his mysterious appearance, extraordinary skills and unnaturally long life, assumed he belonged to Elf-kind rather than the world of Men.

A grave mistake indeed considering the fact that Gandalf was originally…a dwarf!

Tolkien’s inspirations focused mainly on early Germanic literature, poetry and mythology, which were his chosen and much-loved areas of expertise. A collection of poems in one of these languages known as Old Norse, a North Germanic language spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age (VIIIth – XIIIth century), became an undeniable background not only for the character of Gandalf the Grey but also for other familiar Middle-Earth heroes like Durin, Dwalin or Dain. This collection of poems was known as “The Poetic Edda“.

One of the Old Norse poems, titled “Völuspá” (“Prophecy of the Seeress“), presents the creation of the world and its coming end in the words of a völva, a shamanic seeress, addressing Odin – member of the Æsir (a pagan pantheon of Norse gods) – who was a symbol of war, victory and death, but also of wisdom, shamanism, magic, poetry, prophecy and the hunt. His most famous son, Thor, a hammer-wielding god known as the protector of mankind, master of thunder, lightning and storms, was also associated with oak trees – a likely inspiration of Thrór, Thorin’s grandfather, and the famous oaken shield as well.

Thor’s Oak was a sacred tree of the Germanic pagans, located somewhere in Hessia, in Germany. Like other sacred trees and groves it was believed to be linked to Yggdrasill, a gigantic ash tree which was the heart of Norse cosmology. Its branches extended far into the heavens and its three enormous roots originated from the wells Urðarbrunnr and Mímisbrunnr, and from the spring Hvergelmir.

Wondrous creatures lived within Yggdrasil, including a dragon – Níðhöggr, which gnawed at its roots trapping it away from the world; and four magnificent stags: Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór, chomping at its branches. Dáinn and Dvalinn also reappear in Norse mythology as dwarfish heroes, but here, in the context of the holy tree, it is believed that the four stags were either a symbol of seasons, moon phases or winds – with Dáinn and Dvalinn being the calm ones and Duneyrr and Duraþrór – the heavy ones. Yggdrasil was also home to an unnamed eagle, perched on top of the ash tree, with Veðrfölnir – a hawk sitting between his eyes; and Ratatoskr – a squirrel running up and down its trunk, passing news and gossip from the eagle to the dragon.

Ratatoskr passing news from Níðhöggr to the nameless eagle living within Yggdrasil. Artwork by Daniel Lieske.

Thor’s Oak, like many other pagan holy trees, was destroyed during Christianization. According to the legend, it was cut down in the VII^th century by an Anglo-Saxon missionary, Saint Boniface (Winfred), with a little help from some strong, mysterious wind. The timber from the tree was used to create a wooden oratory.

Saint Boniface chopping down Thor’s Oak.

Dwarves, or Dvergar as they were called in Old Norse, were one of Æsir’s many creations – entities deriving from rocks and earth, acknowledged for their craft, metalwork, wisdom but also greed. According to “Völuspá”, dwarves originated from three primary tribes, led by Mótsognir – their first ruler, secondly by Durinn and finally by Dvalinn – the discoverer of rune writing. And while the character of Dwalin plays a minor role in “The Hobbit”, Durin the Deathless remains one of the most important dwarven heroes in Tolkien’s mythology, being the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves and the founder of the legendary kingdom of Khazad-dûm.

Even though the word Dvergar is etymologically related to Dwarves, the early Norse concept of Dvergar was far different from the concept of dwarves in other cultures. According to some scholars the ancient Norse originally described the Dvergar as human-sized, but the spread of Christianity led to diminishing both their mythic and religious role as well as their stature. Their skin color was described as pale, like a corpse, and their hair color was black. The Dvergar were often called black – a term relating to their hair, beard and eyes, granting them another name – Svartálfar – meaning Black Elves.

In contrast, to describe black skin, Old Norse used another term – blue(blár). One of the Dvergr bore the nickname of Bláinn – The Blue One, who may have been an inspiration for Balin, Thorin Oakenshield’s companion in “The Hobbit” and the Lord of Moria from “The Lord of the Rings”. [Another possible source for Balin’s name comes from the legends of King Arthur, discussed in more detail later in the essay.] In addition, Dáin and Náin, dwarven rulers closely related to Thorin, derived their names from Dvergar famous for their pale skin and corpse-like appearances – Dáinn (The Dead One) and Náinn (The Corpse). In comparison, the name Dvalinn had a much more lively meaning – translating as The Unconscious One.

Many Norse texts imply that Dvalinn is the ancestor of all Dvergar and his name stands for any or every Dvergr – calling female Dvergar “the daughters of Dvalinn” and the sun – “the game of Dvalinn” (since it was deadly to any Dvergr who had to dodge it every dawn). Norse mythology also mentions “the drink of Dvalinn”, also known as “The Mead of Poetry”, a beverage which granted its drinker the skills of a scald or a scholar.

Dvergar depicted in a 19th century edition of “Völuspá” (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.

Considering all of these facts it is more than apparent that “Dvergatal” (“Catalogue of Dwarves”), an integral part of the “Völuspá” poem, became a perfect catalogue of dwarfish names for Tolkien’s Durin-folk, granting them to heroes such as Fili, Kili, Bifur (Old Norse: Bífurr), Bofur (Báfurr), Bombur (Bömburr), Nori (Nóri), Dori (Dóri), Ori (Óri), Gloin (Glóinn), Fundin, Thrór (Þrór), Thráin (Þráinn) and of course Thorin (Þorinn) Oakenshield (Eikinskjaldi). Tolkien came to regret his use of Old Norse names, referring to it as a “rabble of eddaic-named dwarves invented in an idle hour” but decided to use Old Norse in “The Lord of the Rings” nonetheless, as an explanation for the origin of the language of Dale.

“A rabble of eddaic-named dwarves invented in an idle hour” – J. R. R. Tolkien. Artwork by Dwalinroxxx.

Numerous Dvergar names contain the syllable álf, from Álfar (Elves). Thankfully, Norse texts do provide us with a distinction between these two races and the presence of álf among dwarven names seems to serve as a form of title – stating that its bearer was a source of good luck but also meaning a guardian or a deity. The best example for the aforesaid is a familiar Dvergar name – Gandálfr, the Old Norse forefather of Gandalf the Grey, Middle-Earth’s tireless guardian and Thorin Oakenshield’s source of good luck indeed. Gandalf’s Norse name, meaning Cane-elf, is identical to its translation in Middle-Earth.

Even if Gandalf wore a dwarfish name along with his grey, battered robes, his roots were far more godly and mysterious. Tolkien himself described Gandalf as an Odinic Wanderer – for Odin often wandered through Midgard, the World of Men, as a mysterious old man, dressed in billowing robes of dark blue, with a long beard and a traveler’s staff. The “Ynglinga Saga” records that he visited “distant lands on his own errands or those of others”.

“For aid? It has seldom been heard of that Gandalf the Grey sought for aid, one so cunning and so wise, wandering about the lands, and concerning himself in every business, whether it belongs to him or not.” – Saruman about Gandalf, “The Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers”.

Odin, the Wisdom-Seeking Wanderer by Arthur Rackham (1911).

The Wanderer was a relentless seeker and giver of wisdom, but he had little regard for communal values such as justice, fairness, respect for law and convention. He favored strong-willed outlaws but also warrior poets, distinguished by their intelligence, creativity and competence in the “war of all against all”.

Most shamans, to whom Odin was a divine patron, had to undergo a ritual of death and rebirth in order to acquire their powers. Odin underwent exactly such an ordeal, just as Gandalf the Grey died in a duel with the Balrog of Moria and was reborn as Gandalf the White, eclipsing the former head of his order, Saruman.

Odin was accompanied by many symbolic animals. Sometimes he would ride an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir, described as the best of all mounts – just as Shadowfax, Gandalf’s steed, lord of the Mearas, was the best mount of king Théoden’s stables.

Odin riding Sleipnir. Concept art by Michael Kutsche.

Odin was also aided by a pair of ravens, Huginn (“Thought“) and Muninn (“Memory“), which flew over the universe and brought him valuable information from the World of Men – a possible inspiration for Carc, Roäc and their kin of ravens from the Ravenhill near Erebor, serving king Thrór and, later on, his grandson.

Odin/Wotan with Huginn and Muninn, by John Howe.

This depiction of Odin – as the mysterious Wanderer – was one of the main themes of Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (“The Ring of the Nibelung”) – a cycle of four epic operas, loosely based on the Norse sagas, involving a magical ring, a shattered sword, a powerful dragon and some greedy dwarves. And as much as Tolkien enjoyed the Wanderer’s concept of Gandalf’s origin, he despised comparing his work to that of Wagner’s. Gandalf, unlike Odin, is not the chief of all gods or a shape-sifter, he’s not brutal and cares not for treasures.

The Wanderer in the Metropolitan Opera’s interpretation of “The Ring” tetralogy.

The Wanderer and Siegfried.

It’s also worth mentioning that one of the dwarves from “The Ring” cycle, bearing the name Mime, from Old Norse Mímir or Mim (“The Rememberer“), may have been an inspiration for Mîm, one of the Petty-dwarves of the First Age whose fate was entangled with that of Túrin Turambar’s from “The Children of Húrin”, just like Wagner’s Mime, equally untrustworthy and bitter, finds himself dependent on Siegfried, a young and fearless human hero.

Siegfried and Mime.

Mîm captured by Turin Turambar and his men. Artwork by Steamey.

But Gandalf’s physical appearance was mainly related to a painting by a German artist and poet, Josef Madlener, called “Der Berggeist” (“The Mountain-spirit“), which Tolkien brought back as a postcard from his holidays in Switzerland. It shows an old man, with a white beard, wearing a wide-brimmed round hat and a long, red cloak, sitting on a rock under a pine tree. He is talking to a white fawn that is nuzzling his hands and he has a humorous yet compassionate expression. Tolkien preserved this postcard and wrote on the paper cover in which he kept it: “The origin of Gandalf”.

“Der Berggeist” by Josef Madlener (1881-1967).

It is more than likely that “Der Berggeist” was in fact a portrait of Rübezahl, a mountain spirit of the Krkonoše Mountains, a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic (where he is known as Krakonoš) and the south-west of Poland (with Liczyrzepa or Waligóra being his Polish names). He was a subject of many legends and fairy tales in German, Polish and Czech folklore, in which he was depicted as a capricious giant, gnome or spirit, the lord of the weather and master of the wild hunt, acting unexpectedly or playfully, sending lightning and thunder, fog, rain and snow from the mountain below, even while the sun was shining. Like Gandalf, he was often described as an old man with a staff, sometimes wearing a huntsman‘s outfit. According to Polish folklore he was killed many times and his symbolic grave can be visited in the village of Szklarska Poręba.

Rübezahl’s statue in Krkonoše Mountains.

The list of inspirations for Gandalf seems an endless one. Some scholars claim that Gandalf derived from Väinämöinen, a wise old man and a central hero of a Finnish epic poem “Kalevala”; who – like Gandalf – had immortal origins and departed on a ship to the lands beyond the mortal world. Gandolf, an evil overlord, and Silverfax, a fast, white horse, were also one of the characters of a XIXth century fantasy novel, “The Well at the World’s End” written by William Morris, well known to both Tolkien and his very good friend, C. S. Lewis.

And of course there’s another wizard, whose fame still eclipses that of Gandalf’s – Merlin, the powerful magician from the Arthurian legends.

Merlin’s origins, unlike Gandalf’s, were far from being angelic since he was said to be a cambion – an offspring of a mortal woman and a demon father from whom he inherited his magical powers like shape-shifting and unnaturally long life. Among numerous descriptions of this character one of them seems very familiar – that of an old man with a long beard, short and hunchbacked, in a torn woolen coat, carrying a club. And yet this shabby sage, unlikely as it seems, was the chief advisor of king Arthur, just like Gandalf offered his council to Thorin, Aragorn, Théoden and other important rulers of Middle-Earth.

“Gandalf was shorter in stature than the other two; but his long white hair, his sweeping silver beard, and his broad shoulders, made him look like some wise king of ancient legend. In his aged face under great snowy brows his eyes were set like coals that could suddenly burst into fire.” – “The Fellowship of the Ring”

“Merlin” by Alan Lee.

Tolkien must have enjoyed the legends about king Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. In 1925 he published a scholarly edition of XIVth century romance “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” and – though only published this year – he had begun a poem titled “The Fall of Arthur” in the 1930’s, but probably abandoned it around the same time he was writing “The Hobbit“. King Arthur, like Thorin, relied mainly on twelve of his best and most loyal knights: Lancelot, Gawain, Geraint, Gareth, Gaheris, Bedivere, Galahad, Key, Bors de Ganis, Lamorak, Tristan and Percivale, although some texts also include Agravaine, Sagramore and other less known warriors.

Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth and Agravaine were Arthur’s nephews, just like Fili and Kili were the sons of Dis, Thorin’s sister. Sadly, Tolkien’s descriptions of the individual members of Thorin’s Company were short, robbed of memorable details, so establishing further connections between the knights of the Round Table and any particular dwarves from “The Hobbit” would seem a far-fetched supposition. Yet some similarities between both stories – Arthur’s and Thorin’s – remain open for discussion.

Arthur was the first born son of Uther Pendragon and the heir to the throne of Britain, just as Thorin was the first born son of Thráin II, inheriting his rights to the throne of Erebor. Arthur claimed the crown by pulling out the Sword in the Stone in which it was buried by Merlin; a deed which could only be performed by the rightful king of England. Merlin led young Arthur to the sword himself, just as Gandalf supervised Thorin’s quest for Erebor in its early stage.

Merlin advising Arthur – as portrayed in “Idylls of the King” by Gustave Doré (XIXth century).

And while Arthur never fought a dragon in his time, he did dream of one:

“And as the king lay in his cabin in the ship, he fell in a slumbering and dreamed a marvellous dream: him seemed that a dreadful dragon did drown much of his people, and he came flying out of the west, and his head was enamelled with azure, and his shoulders shone as gold, his belly like mails of a marvelous hue, his tail full of tatters, his feet full of fine sable, and his claws like fine gold; and an hideous flame of fire flew out of his mouth, like as the land and water had flamed all of fire.”

– “Le Morte d’Arthur” by sir Thomas Malory (XVth century)

In the end, Arthur was betrayed by one of his most faithful knights, Lancelot, who robbed him of the treasure dearest to the king’s noble heart – his wife, Guinevere. Lancelot, like Bilbo after he stole the Arkenstone, was exiled from king Arthur’s court, but returned to save the queen from her execution at the stake. And as Arthur pursued him in order to have his revenge, Mordred, his illegitimate son, took this occasion to take over the rule of his kingdom.

Arthur and Thorin are therefore forced to face their final battles shortly after the betrayal of their valued follower, defending their rights to their own realms, surrounded by enemies who were cunning enough to strike when the kings were most vulnerable.

Mordred and Arthur met on the battlefield of Camlann, Mordred was killed, and Arthur mortally wounded. According to Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur” Guinevere is later on buried in the same tomb as Arthur, just as Thorin was buried with the Arkenstone after the Battle of Five Armies. Arthur’s nephew, Gawain, is one of the many casualties of the battle of Camlann, just as Thorin’s nephews, Fili and Kili, die by their uncle’s side in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain.

And if Gandalf was Middle-Earth’s Merlin, and Thorin Oakenshield – its king Arthur, then we must mention one more figure – sir Balin le Savage, also known as the Knight with the Two Swords, who – according to Merlin’s council – would become Arthur’s best and bravest knight. He’s described as “a good man of his hands and of his deeds, and without villainy or treachery and without treason”, like his Tolkien alter ego, yet he meets a much more tragic end than Balin from “The Lord of the Rings”, since he is mortally wounded by his brother in a dramatic duel, which results in their deaths.

There is also one more extraordinary theory about Gandalf’s origin – the secret of king Bladorthin.

“From that the talk turned to the great hoard itself and to the things that Thorin and Balin remembered. They wondered if they were still lying there unharmed in the hall below; the spears that were made for the armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thrice-forged head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were never delivered or paid for; shields made for warriors long dead; the great golden cup of Thrór, two-handed, hammered and carven with birds and flowers whose eyes and petals were of jewels.” – “The Hobbit” by J. R. R. Tolkien

In the early draft of “The Hobbit”, the wizard, who would later become the legendary Gandalf, bore the name of the aforesaid Bladorthin, whereas the name of Gandalf was originally given to the dwarven King Under The Mountain, the final hero known as Thorin Oakenshield.

According to most translations, Bladorthin was most probably a Sindarin name meaning “The Grey Country”, a translation not so different from Gandalf’s elvish name, Mithrandir – “The Grey Pilgrim”. Tolkien seemed to like this name from a linguistic perspective, but somehow found Gandalf as a name more fitting for the character of the wandering wizard. The “Chief Dwarf” became known as Thorin, a name meaning “Bold One”, or “Darer”, and ultimately a more fitting designation for the King Under the Mountain than “Staff Elf” had been, while the wizard was able to utilize the appellation to better effect.

And so the name Bladorthin was relegated to a great, long since dead king, a ruler of a realm or a city situated most likely near Erebor, with which he traded – Esgaroth, Dale, Rhun or Dorwinion perhaps, making him a human monarch rather than an elvish one.

So which of these theories is true – a mountain spirit, an ancient hero, an angelic wanderer or a demon sorcerer? Perhaps we shall never know. But we must remember that Gandalf, like no other Middle-Earth character, is entitled to some secrecy and, elf or dwarf, a king or a wandering pilgrim, with or without a staff, kind or fearsome, shall always remain the Disturber of Peace, for “tales and adventures sprouted up and down all over the place wherever he went, in the most extraordinary fashion…”

Gandalf the Grey, by John Howe.

For more on Tolkien’s inspirations:

[1] J. R. R. Tolkien, Douglas A. Anderson, “The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again”.

[2] Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien, “The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien”.

[3] Marjorie Burns “Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth”.

Essay: The Great Rings Part II – The Rings of Power

14 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Ori's plume in Discussion, Hobbit book, Hobbit movie, Thorin

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

dragons, essay, necromancer, one ring, rings of dwarves, rings of elves, rings of men, rings of power, saruman, sauron, thorin, thrain, tolkien

The Rings of Power
By Ori’s Quill

This is part two of the trilogy that ties in the Concerns of the White Council, with the power of the Great Rings, and in a future essay will connect the Heirs of Durin with the Lord of the Rings. Those who have not read the books will find this information vital in understanding what may happen in the The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again. Those who have read the books might benefit from a review of this information and find some facts intriguing. The essay will demonstrate how Tolkien’s writings are preserved in the movie versions, but again will point out discrepancies. There may be spoilers depending on how much you already know.

The Ring of Tolkien

The fall of 1937 was an important time for Professor Tolkien. Having just completed The Hobbit that spring, and the book ready for publication on the 21^st of September, he had set in his head a second novel, about Hobbits, and had already begun the first chapter titled A Long Expected Party (this compliments the first chapter of The Hobbit titled An Unexpected Party). By December of that year, he had completed five different drafts of chapter one. Here we can see Tolkien struggle. He wanted a maturity to his writing, to incorporate the spectacular mythologies brewing in his head that he wrote as early as 1917 when recovering from trench fever and grief of the death of his best friends killed in battle in World War I. He thought of dragon sickness, of Bilbo longing for adventure. But he did not want to write another children’s novel. The story started, stopped, started, stopped, and by 1938 he had drafted seven chapters. Yet still, Tolkien had no sense of connection, of direction. He wrote “The sequel to The Hobbit has remained where it stopped. It has lost my favor, and I have no idea what to do with it.”

Then it came to him. In his scribbled outlines he wrote: “Bilbo’s ring proved to be the one ruling Ring – all others had come back to Mordor: but this one had been lost.” Humphrey Carpenter sums it up best:

“The one ruling ring that controlled all others; the ring that was the source and instrument of the power of Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor; the ring that must be carried by hobbits, or else the whole world will come under Sauron’s domination. Now everything fell into place, and the story was lifted from the ‘juvenile’ level of The Hobbit into the sphere of grand and heroic romance. There was even a name for it: when next he wrote about it to Allen & Unwin (his British publishing company), Tolkien referred to it as “The Lord of the Rings”.

The Power of the One

There is a great importance in understanding what the Ruling Ring of Power can do. It is crucial. For without such knowledge, one cannot understand the relationship between Thorin Oakenshield and The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We are all familiar with the qualities of the One Ring. It is a Horcrux (I know, wrong story. But the term fits nicely here). Tolkien writes “he let a great part of his own former power pass into it”. It assured that Sauron could live for eternity through evil domination of others.

The One Ring was made by Sauron in the fires of Orodruin in the year 1600 of the Second Age. This location, so far east from Elves and Men, enabled Sauron to practice the darkest sorceries and fashion the Ruling Ring. Sauron was also a shape shifter. Through his sorcery he took up a new form, revealing the true nature of his evil self.

Because a part of Sauron lived inside the Ring, it is an active controller. It manipulated Isildur, later betraying and having him murdered. The manipulation of Isildur prevented the Ring from destruction at Mount Doom. This assured that Sauron could return. But the Ring made a critical mistake then by having Isildur murdered, for when it slipped off his hand, it slipped into obscurity for thousands of years and could not find a bearer to bring it back to its master. Never again would it take the life of the ring bearer.

It briefly ensnares Déagol and then Sméagol, driving him to murder and insanity. And for four hundred years, the Ring gets stuck in Gollum’s cave. Both in book and movie, the Ring abandons Gollum as he “twisted that nassty young squeaker” goblin. It realizes that Gollum won’t parcel it back to Sauron. It senses a new bearer, a bearer that will bring it closer to its master. That bearer is Bilbo, who just happens to be on the way to Mirkwood, home of Sauron as the Necromancer. The Ring chose Bilbo. It was intended, no accident, and contrary to the depiction in the Fellowship movie.

We then see Bilbo, using the Ring playfully to achieve his tasks. Consider this: Is the Ring using him? Did the Ring lure Bilbo to ask “What have I got in my pocket?” Bilbo was stammering for a riddle, “he scratched himself, he pinched himself; still he could not think of anything” and accidently brushes against the Ring in search for one. “What have I got in my pocket?” The question assured that Bilbo won the contest, though technically it was not a riddle that Bilbo asks.

As he tries to escape Gollum’s assault, the Ring slips onto Bilbo’s finger, thereby guaranteeing safe passage out of the cave. But an even bigger picture emerges. The Ring is on the way to its master waiting in the darkness of Mirkwood. The Ring seems to be controlling the outcome of events.

Fortunately, the plan is spoiled. Bilbo, Thorin, and Company get past the Necromancer, as we will see in the Desolation of Smaug. How they make it past is speculated at the end of the essay Concerns of the White Council. But they are able to continue their Quest to Erebor, though hindered by other events along the way.

A clever reader may ask, “Might Smaug be capable of devouring the Ring, like the lessor Rings of the Dwarves?” The answer is no. Tolkien writes in Fellowship: “It has been said that dragon-fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is not now any dragons left on earth in which old fire is hot enough; nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black [see the essay Concerns of the White Council about him], who could have harmed the One Ring, the Ruling Ring, for that was made by Sauron himself.” The Great Ring cannot be harmed by Smaug, which is a good thing, because such an outcome could never produce the great sequel The Lord of the Rings.

We all know that Bilbo returns to the Shire after the Quest (sorry if I spoiled the ending but it is implied in the title There and Back Again). Then the Ring slowly takes hold of him, to dominate. In Fellowship, Bilbo becomes “thin and stretched”, manic and agitated. He wants to roam, and has an obsession with the Ring. In the book, he describes himself trying to put it away, trying to forget about it, and then taking it back out again. He says it needs looking after. The Ring of Power seems to be controlling him. It has dominated his very thoughts, and is manipulating poor Bilbo.

Think back to the Long Expected Party. What if Bilbo never put the Ring on? Would Gollum have been lured to Mordor? Would then the Nazgûl not have been released? Would Orodruin have erupted? The very innocent action of startling stupid Hobbits of the Shire by disappearing set other actions in motion, thereby summoning the Nazgûl to bring the Ring back to its master. The Ring, it seems, is the controller.

Then finally we see Frodo, in his naiveté, take up the burden of ring-bearer (once again, did he make the choice, or did the Ring?) in the Council of Elrond. Is it chance, coincidence, or is the Ring summoning Frodo to take it to Mordor? For eventually Frodo succumbs. The Ring takes him, and had not Sam and Gollum altered the course of events, the Ring would have succeeded in returning to its master.

The Great Ring, the manipulator, the dominator, the chess player. For that is what the Great Ring is. It controls, moving our heroes in place like pawns to be slaughtered.

The Lesser Rings of Power

It might surprise fans who have not read the books that the lesser Rings of Power were made by Elves and not Sauron. The Silmarillion accounts the forging of the Rings of Power by the High Elves of Ost-in-Edhil, in Eregion under the supervision of Sauron who at that time was considered an ally and valued for his knowledge and smithing skills.

“They took thought, and they made Rings of Power. But Sauron guided their labours, and he was aware of all that they did; for his desire was to set a bond upon the Elves and to bring them under his vigilance. Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring.”

This somewhat contradicts the Fellowship movie, which depicts Sauron gifting the Rings to the Elves, the Dwarves, and Men.

The Nine, The Seven, The Three, The One and The One?

As fans of the movies and the books, we are all aware of the Nine Rings of Men, the Seven of the Dwarves, the Three of the Elves, and the One.

Few of us are aware that there is another Ring, dominated by the One. It is not Aragorn’s ring, known as the ring of Barahir, which he bore and is mentioned in the movie Two Towers and Appendix A of Fellowship.

It is a surprising yet obvious fact that the Ring in question was created in the Third Age and its bearer is Saruman. In reading the Council of Elrond in the Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf explains his long disappearance and detainment. He rode to Orthanc to seek Saruman’s council. Gandalf says “I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stairs of Saruman…he wore a ring on his finger…” Saruman himself declares “For I am Saruman the Wise, Saruman the Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colors.”

How can Saruman have a Ring of Power? He openly declares that he made the Ring himself, but how is this dominated by the One? The answer lies in the Palantír, one of the lost Seeing-stones, as read in Concerns of the White Council. This Palantír enables Sauron to control Saruman like a puppeteer

controlling a puppet. Saruman was a vested scholar in Ring lore, spending much time studying the history, myths and legends. This was his undoing. Sauron could easily persuade him to make a Ring and thereby be dominated. So Sauron is using Saruman as another avenue in obtaining the Great Ring. And if Saruman wants the Ring for himself, Sauron has other means of controlling him. In the book The Two Towers, when Sauron appears to Pippin in the Palantír he declares “Tell Saruman that this dainty (a hobbit) is not for him. I will send for it at once.” In other words, Saruman has no chance of obtaining the Ring. Sauron knows completely what Saruman is planning, and will send the Nazgûl to retrieve the Ring should he obtain it.

The Nine Rings of Men

Both the movies and Tolkien account for nine kings receiving the Rings of Power. After that time, Tolkien writes, there were many battles fought especially in the realm of Eriador. The Númenoreans, of the line of Aragorn, became divided and rebellions and upheavals were the zeitgeist of the times. That was when the race of Men was at its most low.

Tolkien gives a date of 2251 of the Second Age when Middle-earth is first plagued by the Nazgûl. Of the nine kings, slowly wariness took over and they succumbed not only to the domination of the Great Ring, but they remained undying. (This contradicts a scene we may see in the Desolation of Smaug, in which Gandalf and Radagast go to investigate the nine tombs of the High Fells. If you are undying, how can you have a tomb? See Concerns of the White Council.) Slowly the nine kings faded and became invisible permanently, and served Sauron forever. For over three thousand years, Sauron commanded the Nazgûl. Their actions were entirely based on his will and domination.

The Three Rings of the Elves

We know of the other Rings of Power the following facts: That each had their own precious or semi-precious gem attributed to them. While the Nine Rings of Men and the Seven Rings of the Dwarves are not described, we do have a description of the Three. There is Vilya, the Ring of Air, whose ring bearer was originally Gil-galad and then he passed the Ring to Elrond. The stone attributed to the Ring is a blue sapphire. The next, Nenya the Ring of Water, whose bearer is Galadriel, has a white diamond. Finally, there is Narya the Ring of Fire, with a red stone, perhaps a ruby. Its original bearer was Círdan, the Shipwright. Its final bearer is a bit of a

surprise for those not familiar to the books, especially The Silmarillion. For in that book it is mentioned that Mithrandir was the last to bear Narya. He bore the ring in secret and swore never to mention his bearing, but it explains why in the movie Gandalf sets sail with Frodo, Bilbo, Elrond, Galadriel (all ring bearers) and Celeborn (contradictory to Tolkien’s writing, for Celeborn remained in Middle-earth and settled in the southern woods and renamed them East Lórien) at the end of the movie Return of the King.

Of the Three, there is evidence of domination; though their bearers have a stronger resistance to the Ruling Ring. The reason for this was that Sauron never made the Three. They were forged to enable the Elves to heal and preserve. They were created by Celebrimbor in the realm of Eregion in the year 1590 of the Second Age. It would take Sauron another ten years to forge the One. By 1693, the three were hidden. In Fellowship, it is written “The Three, the fairest of all, the Elf-lords hid from him, and his hand never touched or sullied them.” The Silmarillion continues that as soon as Sauron put on the Great Ring, the Elves perceived his domination, and promptly removed their Rings from their fingers, thereby reducing the dominating power of the One.

In year two of the Third Age, when Isildur is murdered, and the Ring passed out of all knowledge, the three Rings of the Elves were temporarily released from its dominion. Elrond confirms this in the Council in Fellowship. This is why we see Galadriel actually wearing Nenya in the movie Fellowship. She is able to bear the Ring without Sauron’s oppression.

The Seven Rings of the Dwarves

Originally, Tolkien only created two lines of Dwarves, but later changed that in the 1966 revision of The Lord of the Rings. We lack a historical account of all of the seven founding fathers, but Tolkien names the lines as the Longbeards (Durin’s line), Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots. Each family line received one of the Seven. The Longbeards or Sigin-tarâg founded the Dwarf colonies of Gundabad and Khazad-dûm and later founded Erebor, as well as colonies in the Ered Mithrin and the Iron Hills. The Firebeards and the Broadbeams founded the colonies of Tumunzahar (Nogrod in Sind.) and

Gabilgathol (Belegost in Sind.) in the Ered Luin. The Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots went north and east, and are no longer mentioned in any of Tolkien’s works.

Tolkien writes that Durin III was the first Dwarf to receive one of the Seven in the year 1500 of the Second Age. He was king of Khazad-dûm. His grandfather, Durin the Deathless (who eventually did die at a very ripe old age) was the first of the line of Durin, and founded the kingdom of Khazad-dûm. Durin III had forged a great friendship with the High Elf Celebrimbor, who made the Three Rings of the Elves. The Elves of Eregion, as the realm was known, and Khazad-dûm both prospered as a great trade network was created between the two.

A little trivia, if I may. Celebrimbor, for those who read the books, was also partially responsible for creation of the western door of Khazad-dûm, known as the Hollin gate. He drew the signs on the door, while Narvi the Dwarf carved them out using cirth ithil, moon runes. The seven stars above represent the seven lines of the Dwarves with the central star above the crown being Durin’s. The crown itself is a depiction of an image that Durin the Deathless saw when he gazed into Kheled-zâram (Mirror-mere) and saw on his head a crown flanked by the seven stars. Below that is the hammer and anvil, a symbol of the House of Durin. These are flanked by the trees of the High Elves and the large central star is the House of Fëanor, maker of the three silmarilli in the First Age. Celebrimbor was Fëanor’s grandson, like Durin III was Durin I’s grandson. Unlike the door of Erebor, which requires a key, the door of the Hollin gate needs none. You only need to speak ‘friend’ to enter.

It has been commented in both The Silmarillion and the Fellowship, that the Seven Rings of the Dwarves were either destroyed or taken by Sauron. How were they destroyed? By dragons, including Glaurung the Great (See Concerns of the White Council). Appendix B of Return of the King comments: “The Dwarves hid themselves in deep places, guarding their hoards, but then evil began to stir again and dragons reappeared, one by one, their ancient treasures were plundered and they became a wandering people.” A total of four Rings were consumed by Dragons. The Silmarillion states “soon he (Sauron) will be too strong for you even without the Great Ring, for he rules the Nine and of the Seven, he has recovered three.” Fellowship also confirms this: “Seven the Dwarf-kings possessed, but three he has recovered, and the others the dragons have consumed.”

The question is: from which of the three Dwarf lines did Sauron recover the three? Recall that the Firebeards and the Broadbeams founded the colonies of Gabilgathol and Tumunzahar in the Ered Luin. (This is the same Ered Luin that Thráin and Thorin lead the exiles to after the sack of Erebor. Also recall in Concerns of the White Council, that the king of Gabilgathol, Azaghâl, came to the aid of the sons of Fëanor to battle Glaurung the Great:

Glaurung the Golden by Lynton Levengood

“In a fit of rage, Glaurung turned on the Dwarf-king, Azaghâl and crawled over him, crushing him to death, but not before Azaghâl plunged a knife in the fire-drake’s belly. Glaurung fled but the wound he received from Azaghâl was not a mortal wound.”)

What we learn of Gabilgathol and Tumunzahar in The Silmarillion is that both Dwarf cities suffered from massive flooding during the fall of Beleriand and were partially destroyed. The exiled peoples wandered and then migrated to Khazad-dûm, and later the Iron Hills, and settled with Durin’s folk. The flooding occurred in the First Age, an age prior to the creation of the Seven Rings, so Sauron could not have acquired the Rings then.

However, in 1980 of the Third Age, a Balrog appears in Khazad-dûm, slaying Durin VI, and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm fled. We know that the heirs of Durin retained their Ring, but it is possible that Sauron acquired the Rings of the Firebeards and the Broadbeams at this time. Unfortunately, Tolkien’s account of that particular event is not recorded, so this can only be speculated.

Another possibility of how Sauron acquired two of the Rings is during the year 2463 of the Third Age. In Concerns of the White Council, there was an account of Sauron fleeing east to avoid being revealed to the Council too soon: ‘The Council sought clarification on the origins of the Necromancer, some suspecting that Sauron had in fact returned. Their inquiry proves futile, as Sauron senses their approach and retreats east.” It can be speculated that during his time east, Sauron may have encountered the descendants of the Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots. He could have acquired the two Rings during this time too, but again it can only be speculated as Tolkien never discloses how Sauron collects the two Rings of the Dwarves.

Thráin, Thorin and the Last of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves

In part three of this trilogy, we will explore more of the Rings of the Dwarves, how the Ring of the line of Durin is passed to Thráin from Thrór, but not to Thorin from Thráin, and finally how Sauron acquired the third Ring of the Dwarves. We will also explore the ensuing dragon sickness that overcomes Thrór, Thráin and Thorin. It all ties in with the Concerns of the White Council and The Rings of Power. It will explain the rise of the Necromancer and connect Thorin Oakenshield to the One Ring to rule them all.

I leave you to ponder this quote of Gandalf, for it reveals much:

“Nearly all of his ravings were of that:
The last of the Seven“.

Thrain the Insane

Bibliography

Literary Sources:

Carpenter, Humphrey. J. R. R. Tolkien, A Biography. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Works of J.R.R. Tolkien:

The Lord of the Rings. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Douglas A. Anderson:

The Annotated Hobbit. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien:

The Return of the Shadow. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1988.
The Treason of Isengard. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
The Silmarillion. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Tyler, J.E.A. The Complete Tolkien Companion. New York: Thomas Dunne Books 1976.

lordoftheringswiki.com, thrainsbook.net, thorinoakenshield.net, tolkiengateway.net

Movie Sources:

Jackson, P. (Director). (2001). The Fellowship of the Ring. United States: New Line Cinema

(2002) The Two Towers. United States: New Line Cinema
(2003) The Return of the King. United States: New Line Cinema
(2012) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. United States: New Line Cinema/Warner Brothers

Illustration Sources:

deviantart.com, lotrwiki.com, rebrick.lego.com, thalion.ovh.org, thorinoakenshield.net, tumblr.com, tolkiengateway.net, vilya.altwevista.org

Map taken from: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings. New York: Houghton Mifflin 1994.

Photoshop Assistance: Kelly Ramage

Additional Research and Technical Assistance: Dark Jackal at thorinoakenshield.net

An Introduction to Runes in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by D.J. in Discussion, Hobbit book, Hobbit movie, News, Thorin

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

angerthas, cirth, david salo, dwalin, dwarves, erebor, essay, futhark, gandalf, graham mctavish, khuzdul, moon runes, news, peter jackson, photos, ring, runes, sword, tattoos, thorin, tolkien, weapons, weta

Michelle Nevins has written a very informative essay, Deciphering Runes in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey detailing the use of various runic systems in the film and related materials. She did a splendid job laying it out in PDF format, and I can find no better way to share it since it is full of runes, which I am not going to try replicating in WordPress.

Please follow this link to open the document – An Introduction to Runes in The Hobbit.

My gratitude to Michelle for being patient with my requests for additions and changes – we kept finding more items to add to the list of known runes. And I’m sure there are even more we’ve missed. In fact, I can think of one now. The runes on the garments of the dwarven craftsmen in Erebor.

These were originally seen in one of the vlogs, and deciphered by Grinman during a discussion on TORn last year. Although we can’t see every letter, we can make a good guess that they spell BROTHERHOOD in Futhark.

In the film you can see these craftsmen (craftsdwarves?) in the flashback in Erebor, but catching sight of the runes may be difficult (maybe on Blu-ray).

There is a wealth of runes visible in the scene in Erebor right before the uncovering of Smaug. I’ve taken a screencap from this video from Weta, and Michelle and I have been able to make out a word or two (maybe), though there are some issues even with these. The large runes on the stairway appear to read THE FOUNDA HAMMER, while below that I think I can make out what looks like ?EREBOR. And there are runes all along the upper landing, which you might be able to read. With the DVD coming out next month this should become much easier to decipher. Please feel free to post any suggestions/corrections in the comments below.

Just hours before I was going to post this I happened upon a brand new blog by David Salo himself. Thanks to the urging of Khuzdul enthusiasts such as the Dwarrow Scholar, Mr. Salo created a site called Midgardsmal to share insights on constructing new words and languages for the Hobbit film. Obviously anyone with an interest in this topic will want to watch his site for future revelations. There is already an interesting explanation of why there are different runic systems present in the film, and more info about the runes on Dwalin’s axes, and whether or not we will be seeing any Angerthas Erebor in the future.

Below are high-res references for some of the examples mentioned in the essay.

[Click to enlarge]

Replica staff of Gandalf, by Weta Workshop

Original dust jacket design for The Hobbit, by Tolkien

Master Swordsmith Replica of Orcrist, by Weta Workshop

Master Swordsmith Replica of Orcrist Scabbard, by Weta Workshop

Graham McTavish as Dwalin

Dwalin’s Axes replicas, by Weta Workshop

Once a Dwarf – always a Dwarf? From the Nauglath to the Heirs of Durin – Part I

15 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by D.J. in Discussion, Hobbit book, Hobbit movie

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

dwarves, essay, gimli, history of middle-earth, lotr, mim, nauglafring, nauglamir, nauglath, naugrim, origins, petty-dwarves, silmarillion, the hobbit, tolkien, unfinished tales

Once a Dwarf – always a Dwarf? From the Nauglath to the Heirs of Durin
Part I: The roots of Tolkien’s dwarves.

by Anjy Roemelt

Gimli, by John Howe

When Tolkien’s mythology first became movie-material the dwarves were sadly underrepresented. At the Council of Elrond some were present who were never named (just like several elves, to be fair), one with a gorgeous white beard who entered Rivendell with Gimli could only be Gloín, and then there was Gimli. In the book the enmity, or rather antagonism, between dwarves and elves is mentioned more or less casually. Much more emphasis is put upon the friendship between Gimli and Legolas and how exceptional it is. Apart from that, Gimli appears to be strangely distant from the other members of the Fellowship. He represents his race the same way it is described throughout the novel: strange, aloof, different. We catch glimpses of a different culture, kept secret from the other “free races” of Middle-Earth when he reveals some ancient dwarvish names to his companions, and especially when Galadriel does this. The meeting with Galadriel, and Gimli’s adoration for her, seems even stranger than the representation of dwarves so far. Gimli is struck by the beauty and loveliness of the Elf as if these were things totally unbeknownst to the dwarves. The parting scene at Parth- Galen has a touch of healing, resurrection, and redemption about it. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2). We will see later why this connection is utterly plausible.

Film-Gimli adds an element of humour to the story, something book-Gimli never intended to do, and neither did Tolkien, I’m sure. When Gimli is pulled up on the ledge in Moria by his beard – much to his chagrin – or refuses to be “tossed”, or when he plays a drinking game with Legolas after the victory at Helm’s Deep, we deal with Peter Jackson’s dwarves much more than with Tolkien’s. So, I will dwell only briefly on this aspect for it really doesn’t concern the Naugrim/Nauglath, the dwarves Tolkien had in mind. These elements in the film serve the dwarvish representation in so far as they underline their strangeness. “Little hairy women”, dwarves aren’t tossed �� ah, we are learning something about a different culture here. So we are, in fact, but we remain on the outside laughing at what we don’t understand or what seems funny from our point of view. Not much different from “civilized” folks gaping at the exotic customs of some “crude natives” on a tourist attraction.

When Tolkien created the dwarves they were by no means what we see now in The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey. At first, they weren’t even necessarily counted among the “good guys”, so Tolkien saw the need to specify in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings that the dwarves “were never evil by nature”.

The dwarves were not made by Iluvatar but by the Vala Aule who was impatient to see the latter themes of Iluvatar’s music unfold, and thought of adding something of his own talent. Unlike Melkor (the disobedient Vala who started Evil in the world), who tried to change the theme itself, Aule only took what was already created – stone, for example – and gave it a living form. And very unlike Melkor he repented when Iluvatar – inevitably – found out, and prepared to destroy his creatures. When the newly created dwarves, mostly called the “seven fathers” afterwards, shied away from his hammer and wept for fear, Aule realized that they had life of their own. Until then they had only moved when he willed them to, like puppets, for only Iluvatar can give independent life and free will – to move, for instance. So, Iluvatar’s acceptance was already given even before Aule repented and the dwarves’ existence condoned. Still, they are strange not only in appearance but in origin. Something which is not made by Iluvatar can be understood as not made by God in our-world’s terms. A strange conception. Thus the scene with Galadriel mentioned above is called to mind. The people whose origin lies outside the source of beauty and bliss, which the elves represent, are called home, enabled to receive the same blessing the “real” children of Iluvatar possess. They are adopted into every right and maybe always had been but never knew before.

There is a line in History of Middle-Earth (the Book of Lost Tales Part II) that tells about the dwarves’ origin. “The Nauglath are a strange race and none know surely whence they be, and they serve not Melko nor Manwe and reck not for Elf or Man, and some say that they have not heard of Iluvatar, or hearing disbelieve.” The dwarves, take it or leave it, are a heathen people.

It takes time for them to be “baptized”. The story of the Nauglamir (or Nauglafring in earlier writings) displays their doubtful character. The elvenking Thingol/Tinwelint orders a beautiful necklace of dwarvish making, sometimes with a Silmaril, sometimes without. The dwarves make it and afterwards are either betrayed by Thingol or don’t want to surrender it – anyway they make away with it and much bloodshed takes place. The enmity between dwarves and elves dates back to these events which are linked with the story of the Silmarils in The Silmarillion and also with the tale of Turin thereat, and in The Children of Hurin. The dwarves are described as craftsmen of surpassing excellency, but also reluctant to part with their treasures, and certainly less noble than the elves (although at least some blame stays with Thingol even in The Silmarillion).

The only dwarf who is mentioned by name and features in a tale is Mîm, the petty dwarf, and he is rather a doubtful character. The origin of the petty-dwarves isn’t explained, only that they are the last of their race. Thus they seem to be different from “real” dwarves, but if there is an explanation for this difference I haven’t found it yet in Tolkien’s writings. Mîm and two of his kin meet with Turin and his band, are taken for enemies, and shot at. Mîm is captured and talks his captors out of killing him by promising them food and lodging and, maybe, bounty in his home. He leads them there and discovers that an arrow sent at the three of them has hit his mark and killed his son Kîm. Turin is deeply sorry for that. Mîm and his surviving son Ibun play host to Turin and his men, but here is no talk about a developing friendship. When Mîm is captured again by orcs (in The Children of Hurin he seeks them on purpose, out of hatred for Beleg the elf, who was Turin’s companion and friend) he betrays Turin and his men, and leads the orcs to his house. Despite whatever flaws Turin has in that story, he’s the hero in the Mîm-episode, and Mîm, for all his grief over his son, is perceived as a miserable traitor.

The Petty-dwarves, by Alan Lee

Amid all these fragments of stories, writings, tales and slips of paper, The Hobbit appears, like something fallen from a different planet. The dwarves who appear on Bilbo’s threshold one fine evening in April are very different from the creators of the Nauglamir, or Mîm and his sons. They are garden-gnomes, or very close relatives. Their beards are coloured, as are their hoods. They are easily discouraged, bear grudges, and are mostly interested in trades, business and, of course, gold. All in all – as Tolkien almost apologetically states when the hidden door to the Mountain is finally found – they are no heroes.

They seem strange enough with all the colourful appearance mentioned above, but there is nothing of the ancient race we glimpse in Gimli. They are mainly connected with the gold of Erebor, a real treasure hunt, and they are the treasure-hunters, while Gandalf, Bilbo, the lake-men, and the elves of Mirkwood seem much more noble and, in some way, stranger than they are. Actually, the dwarves in The Hobbit are a lot more human than ever before or after dwarves of Tolkien’s making were allowed to be. In this aspect, Peter Jackson is very close to the book. His dwarves are more human than the elves. The scene in Rivendell, the comparison between lunch-with-Elrond and lunch-with-Bombur is almost hilarious – for everyone but the elven harpist who will miss his instrument the following day.

In this case the book The Hobbit is far less connected with the whole bulk of Tolkien’s writing than is the movie. In creating his dwarves, Peter Jackson drew not only upon The Hobbit but also upon The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales (“The Quest of Erebor”), and The Lord of the Rings. Elements of all these books are present in the thirteen dwarves displayed in the film as the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.

How these connect with the Nauglath of old shall be the subject of a second part of this essay soon to come.

Legacy of the People: The Burdens of Thorin Oakenshield and Boromir of Gondor

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by D.J. in Discussion, Hobbit book, Hobbit movie, Richard Armitage, Thorin

≈ 111 Comments

Tags

aragorn, arkenstone, boromir, dwarves, essay, quest of erebor, richard armitage, sean bean, the lord of the rings, the one ring, thorin, tolkien

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, and Sean Bean as Boromir

Legacy of the People: The Burdens of Thorin Oakenshield and Boromir of Gondor
By DarkJackal

I’m sure you’ve seen it stated already, “Richard Armitage’s Thorin is the Aragorn of The Hobbit.” I considered this a while ago, especially in light of the fact Viggo Mortensen and Armitage both sing a mean solo tune, but after initial enthusiasm for the idea, I discarded it for lack of proof. It might appear that Thorin and Aragorn, as returning kings, would have much in common, but despite a few similarities, they are less alike than Thorin is to Boromir (read this essay by Susan Messer Chan for a comparison of Thorin and Aragorn). Although these are somewhat superfluous details, both Thorin and Boromir are still unmarried, had younger brothers and strong-willed fathers. Both have seen war and are renowned for their bravery. Boromir may not be royalty, but he is the closest thing to it in the Heir of Isildur’s absence. Meanwhile, Thorin has the credentials of a king, but few people treat him as such. Before his modest reign in the Blue Mountains, he had endured exile and a period of humility, returning to basic blacksmithing for survival (despite this he has not lost a sense of self-importance). But most importantly, Boromir and Thorin have tangible flaws, while Aragorn’s are so fleeting they may pass unmarked (let’s face it, Aragorn is nearly messianic in his perfection). Both leaders make decisions which favor their own nations to the possible detriment of others. I feel that with the King under the Mountain, and the Steward’s son, Tolkien challenges the reader to decide if putting the needs of one’s own people ahead of all other peoples can be considered noble or not. This is pretty typical behavior for a leader (if they are not looking out for your interests, they are not much of a leader) but when these characters are compared to someone like Aragorn, who sets aside the fulfillment of his personal legacy while protecting many races, they come across as selfish and unenlightened, which is rather unfair (read my essay for a further defense of Thorin’s behavior in the original book).

One must be careful when comparing characters in the Tolkien universe to identify the source as either movie or film, since there can be wide discrepancies between each. Movie-Boromir is both hero and villain, most famous for having assisted, and then betrayed, the Ringbearer (and overall, he remains very similar to his textual counterpart). In contrast, movie-Thorin comes across as an unflinching hero, with the writers even adding in moments where he risks his life to save Balin and Bilbo. This is a decidedly different vibe from the early chapters of The Hobbit. It is true Tolkien’s Thorin had a moment or two of fearless altruism, such as when he fights the trolls with a burning branch after the rest of his Company have been put in sacks, but these great deeds are offset by having been the one to encourage Bilbo to wander alone into what turned out to be the troll camp (you’ll notice in the film that Thorin is not to blame for Bilbo having a run in with the trolls). I feel the addition of Bilbo and Balin’s rescue was made to more firmly establish Thorin’s hero status, so that it will be much more difficult to watch what happens to him in later films (if you don’t think that is necessary, keep in mind he will have some strong competition for the valiant leader spot from Luke Evans’ Bard, and Orlando Bloom’s Legolas in the next movie, and perhaps from Lee Pace’s Elvenking in the third film).

Fortunately, Richard Armitage assures us that by the last film Thorin will probably become more distasteful to viewers. In the interests of character complexity, I hope he is right. Although Armitage’s Thorin makes a standout hero in An Unexpected Journey, the unique ability of Tolkien’s Thorin was being able to inspire readers to both love and hate the actions he takes. We only see a hint of the darkness inherent in the character in this film (mostly through the scene where he lingers in the shadows of Erebor while witnessing his grandfather’s growing obsession with gold).

Even if you know nothing about what happens later in the book, and the role which “dragon sickness” plays on the mind of dwarves, the viewer should be able to recognize a sense of foreboding here, which relates to more than just the gold luring the dragon to the mountain.

But as much as I would love to compare and contrast the film versions of Boromir and Thorin, I don’t believe justice can be done to the task without witnessing the full cycle of Thorin’s cinematic fate, which won’t be realized until December of 2014. So barring that, we must return to the text. In this essay I will draw on all the sources in which Tolkien wrote about Thorin, including The Hobbit, “The Quest of Erebor” in The Unfinished Tales, and “Appendix A” of The Return of the King, and for Boromir, from The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Two Towers.

*Spoilers for the books to follow*

“Orcrist” and “Boromir” by Magali Villeneuve

Before we meet them, Boromir and Thorin have long had difficulties which they cannot overcome on their own; Boromir’s people are in danger of being overrun by the forces of Mordor. Thorin’s people have been in exile for many years with no ability to oust the source of their troubles:

The years lengthened. The embers in the heart of Thorin grew hot again, as he brooded on the wrongs of his House and of the vengeance upon the Dragon that was bequeathed to him. He thought of weapons and armies and alliances, as his great hammer rang in the forge; but the armies were dispersed and the alliances broken and the axes of his people were few; and a great anger without hope burned him, as he smote the red iron on the anvil. (Appendix A, ROTK)

Both leaders possess just enough humility and open-mindedness to seek out help from untested allies; Boromir takes it upon himself to make a solo journey to Rivendell after his brother Faramir has a prophetic dream encouraging such action (Boromir claims he once shared the dream). As for Thorin, he just happened to be in the same location as Gandalf when the two thought about asking for the others’ help. This bolstered the idea that their chance meeting was more than just coincidence. As Gandalf recounted:

He was troubled too, so troubled that he actually asked for my advice. So I went with him to his halls in the Blue Mountains, and I listened to his long tale. I soon understood that his heart was hot with brooding on his wrongs, and the loss of the treasure of his forefathers, and burdened too with the duty of revenge upon Smaug that he had inherited. Dwarves take such duties very seriously. (The Unfinished Tales)

Both Thorin and Boromir are disappointed in the type of help they are able to procure. In “Quest of Erebor”, Thorin is very reluctant to trust Gandalf’s choice of a burglar. Similarly, Boromir is initially suspicious and scornful of Aragorn, and taken aback when he is revealed as Isildur’s Heir. After recounting his own people’s failing efforts to hold back the growing forces of Mordor, his desperation is plain, but his pride is even more obvious. It is Boromir who first suggests they utilize the power of the Ring rather than destroy it, but he reluctantly accepts the decision of the Council, and assures them Gondor will continue the fight to the last. But he also suggests that help (in the form of Aragorn) must come soon if it is to be of any use. He does not actually reject the idea of Aragorn returning and claiming his birthright, but he is impatient to see if the Ranger will live up to expectations.

When Thorin sought Gandalf’s help, he was likely expecting the wizard to conjure up something more impressive than Bilbo Baggins. Like Boromir, Thorin was slow to accept the concept of not using force to get what he wanted, as Gandalf explains:

I promised to help him if I could. I was as eager as he was to see the end of Smaug, but Thorin was all for plans of battle and war, as if he were really King Thorin the Second, and I could see no hope in that. (The Unfinished Tales)

But Thorin does go along with Gandalf’s plan, and despite hardships along the way, there is no great falling out between any of the Company until they get to the Lonely Mountain, and well after the dragon is killed. It is then that the differences between dwarves and hobbits emerge and become a point of contention. Thorin is just beginning to reassert his claim to his kingdom by marshaling whatever means he can in its defense. He is adamant about not allowing himself to be pushed into a compromise by the army of the Elvenking. Being of a very different mind, Bilbo begins to weary of the siege he has become entrapped in, and longs for peace and home.

“On the Doorstep” by Chris Rahn

Similarly, during his journey with the Fellowship, Boromir is on good terms with his companions, even if he offers differing opinions. It takes a while before he starts to develop an unhealthy obsession over what he intends to do about the Ring. Before the audience with Galadriel in Lorien, he agrees to help the Ringbearer as much as he can before departing for Gondor. But whatever Galadriel put into his mind as a test of character awoke the very thing she suspected was lying dormant; a personal desire for the Ring. Boromir begins to fall into darker thoughts, which some of the others sense. Frodo noticed the change back in Lorien, and in the boats on the Great River, Boromir’s state of mind becomes plain enough that Pippin sees an odd gleam in his eye.

It is interesting that Thorin was also in close proximity to the Ring for an extended time, but felt no desire for it. Reasons for this may include the Ring not having the same power over dwarves as other races, but most likely because Sauron had not yet begun his campaign to get the Ring to return to him through its bearer. Instead of the Ring, Thorin has a personal obsession with another object; the Arkenstone, which has significantly less importance to Middle-earth than the Ring, but far more importance to Thorin on a personal level:

“For the Arkenstone of my father,” he said, “is worth more than a river of gold in itself, and to me it is beyond price. That stone of all the treasure I name unto myself, and I will be avenged on anyone who finds it and withholds it.” (The Hobbit)

The Arkenstone is of great importance to the direct descendants of Thrain I, who found it in the Lonely Mountain, and passed it down for generations. It was a unique glowing gem, but comparing it to something like the Silmarils, (other gems which caused great strife within and between the races) the Arkenstone is a relative newcomer to the list of Middle-earth artifacts (only known to the dwarves for 800 years or so). It has no true powers (aside from its glow). It was not made by anyone important, nor played a great role in past events. The Elvenking is later impressed by it, and Bilbo is driven to pocket it, so we know it must be very attractive (enchanting), but no one, aside from Thorin, absolutely must have it. It is an heirloom, but even there we have little description of how it was used in dwarven culture (of course the film expands on this to make the stone vital to Thror’s claim of dominion over everyone in the area, including the elves, but that’s taking it rather far). One could speculate there was some sort of intangible connection between the kings of Erebor and the Mountain’s Heart, but this is just a fancy of mine. More rationally, it was a convenient focal point for their pride.

Like Boromir after Lorien, Thorin’s change of personality happens once they are in the Lonely Mountain with the Arkenstone yet undiscovered by him, and the armies of the Lake-men and Elves making demands outside the gate. Having found the stone in the dragon hoard, Bilbo suspected that Thorin would not forgive him for keeping it secret, but he still held onto it. Despite this, or more likely because of this, Bilbo formulates his plan to use the Arkenstone as leverage to stop the siege.

The main difference between Thorin and Boromir is that Thorin is betrayed by a member of his Company, while Boromir betrays the Fellowship he has agreed to protect. When Frodo ventures off alone to think of his decision regarding the breaking of the Fellowship, he feels an unfriendly presence even before he sees the smiling face of Boromir. It is the fact that Boromir has become sneaky which disgraces him as much as anything. Thorin never hides his intentions from his allies. Whether or not Bilbo’s decision regarding the stone was ultimately more ethical than Thorin’s is immaterial. It is true that after the betrayal by Bilbo, Thorin secretly hopes Dain’s army can get there before he is forced to give up the gold that would have been paid to get back the stone, but since he was being blackmailed into it, one can hardly call this foul play.

This is not to say that Thorin has no flaws, but they should be judged according to the perceptions of his own people, which we have little knowledge of save for a line or two from Bombur to Bilbo, right before Bilbo is about to take the stone to the enemy. Bombur’s words mark Thorin as a stubborn dwarf:

“A sorry business altogether. Not that I venture to disagree with Thorin, may his beard grow ever longer; yet he was ever a dwarf with a stiff neck.” (The Hobbit)

Clearly Bombur is not the ultimate example to judge other dwarves by, with a desire to eat and sleep being his prime motivators (rather like a hobbit). But it does give the feeling that Thorin was known to be difficult to persuade once he set his mind to something. Even so, you don’t see the whole Company stand against him openly at any time in the story. There is a bit of muttering from the “younger dwarves” who would earlier have preferred to welcome the merry-making armies outside as friends rather than enemies, but although Tolkien later names Fili, Kili, and Bombur as having wished for a different solution, most still believe Thorin to be in the right. Later there is more widely felt dismay at the way Thorin behaves to Bilbo at the Gate, but it remains unspoken, so what he chooses to do must not be entirely unacceptable to them.

By this point in Boromir’s story, the power of the Ring had bested him, and turned his mind from a simple desire to protect Gondor, to the idea that he could rule quite effectively in Aragorn’s absence:

“Boromir strode up and down, speaking ever more loudly. Almost he seemed to have forgotten Frodo, while his talk dwelt on walls and weapons, and the mustering of men; and he drew plans for great alliances and glorious victories to be; and he cast down Mordor, and became himself a mighty king, benevolent and wise.” (FOTR)

This is reminiscent of Thorin’s thoughts “of weapons and armies and alliances” and his unlikely (in Gandalf’s opinion) “plans of battle and war”. Both were thinking as if they were kings, and yet neither had the resources of a king, and the futility of this makes them appear foolish.

At this point Boromir discards pretense, making his intentions clear to Frodo. His argument is not unreasonable; the Ringbearer wandering without escort of an army into the very heart of the evil that seeks it does sound like a bad idea. But Boromir refuses to recognize that he is being manipulated by Sauron when he thinks such thoughts. It takes an exceptional amount of trust in the council of the Wise, and an immense strength of will, to combat the siren song of the Ring, and Boromir was poor in this regard. The fact that he made it so far before attempting to take the Ring is a testament to his inherently honorable nature.

“Boromir” by Deligaris

Both Boromir and Thorin descend into a maddened state when their respective hobbits thwart what they consider their right to the object of their desire. Boromir shouts at Frodo:

“If any mortals have claim to this Ring, it is the men of Numenor, and not Halflings. It is not yours save by unhappy chance. It might have been mine. It should be mine. Give it to me!”…And suddenly he sprang over the stone and leaped at Frodo. His fair and pleasant face was hideously changed; a raging fire was in his eyes. (TTT)

Thorin reacts no better when he sees the Arkenstone in the hands of his enemies:

Thorin at length broke the silence, and his voice was thick with wrath. “That stone was my father’s, and is mine,” he said….“How came you by it?” shouted Thorin in gathering rage. (The Hobbit)

When Bilbo admits that it was he who handed the Arkenstone over to Bard and the Elvenking, Thorin is not at all mollified by his honesty:

“You! You!” cried Thorin, turning upon him and grasping him with both hands. “You miserable hobbit! You undersized—burglar!” he shouted at a loss for words, and he shook poor Bilbo like a rabbit. (The Hobbit)

Gandalf finally speaks up and helps to redirect Thorin’s anger, persuading him to give Bilbo back unharmed, which he does with a curse. He wastes no time in sending messages to his approaching allies from the Iron Hills, informing them of the treachery. Thorin remains convinced he is doing the right thing, until possibly the very last moments of his life.

Boromir, on the other hand, feels the guilt of his actions immediately after Frodo disappears. But his honor wavers again as he only half explains to the group what transpired between himself and Frodo. Sam said it best when he told himself “Boromir isn’t lying, that’s not his way; but he hasn’t told us everything.” The typical honesty of Boromir is another mark in his favor, even if it slipped into deceit at the worst time. Incidentally, Thorin is also a poor liar in the books, presumably from lack of practice. The story he gave to the Goblin King would fool no one, and his terse answers to the Elvenking’s questioning in the dungeon of Mirkwood showed someone who would rather trust to silence than invention (I was pleased to see the movie version is possibly even less skilled at lying, being almost entirely silent during the audience with the Goblin King, and leaving the talking to Gandalf when Elrond asks about the map).

When Aragorn hears about what transpired with Frodo, he knows Boromir has really done it this time, but gives him a chance at redemption by finding and protecting Merry and Pippin from orcs. Pippin later recounted the fight:

Then Boromir had come leaping through the trees. He had made them fight. He slew many of them and the rest fled. But they had not gone far on the way back when they were attacked again, by a hundred Orcs at least, some of them very large, and they shot a rain of arrows: always at Boromir. Boromir had blown his great horn till the woods rang, and at first the Orcs had been dismayed and had drawn back; but when no answer but the echoes came, they had attacked more fiercely than ever. (TTT)

Aragorn hears the sound of Boromir’s horn, though he is not there to see the final fight:

Then suddenly with a deep-throated call a great horn blew, and the blasts of it smote the hills and echoed in the hollows, rising in a mighty shout above the roaring of the falls. (TTT)

There is an echo of the motif of the horn in a similar scene from Thorin’s charge into the Battle of Five Armies:

“To me! To me! Elves and Men! To me! O my kinsfolk!” He cried, and his voice shook like a horn in the valley. (The Hobbit)

While both Boromir and Thorin were able to beat back the enemy for a short time, the tide soon turned against them. Thorin’s group was “forced into a great ring, facing every way, hemmed all about with goblins and wolves returning to the assault.” The last stand of Thorin is given as an account after the battle:

The dwarves were making a stand still about their lords upon a low rounded hill. Then Beorn stooped and lifted Thorin, who had fallen pierced with spears, and bore him out of the fray. (The Hobbit)

We discover just how desperate the fight had become when we learn that Fili and Kili had “fallen defending him with shield and body, for he was their mother’s elder brother.”

Boromir’s battle had been lost as well. When Aragorn found him, he was alone, and the hobbits had been taken:

He was sitting with his back to a great tree, as if he was resting. But Aragorn saw that he was pierced with many black-feathered arrows; his sword was still in his hand, but it was broken near the hilts; his horn cloven in two was at his side. Many Orcs lay slain, piled all about him and at his feet. (TTT)

Thorin also showed the marks of a brutal battle:

There indeed lay Thorin Oakenshield, wounded with many wounds, and his rent armour and notched axe were cast upon the floor. (The Hobbit)

“The Death of Thorin” by John Howe, and “The Death of Boromir” by CG Warrior

In his dying moments, Boromir admits to his ignoble actions:

Aragorn knelt beside him. Boromir opened his eyes and strove to speak. At last slow words came. “I tried to take the Ring from Frodo,” he said. “I am sorry. I have paid….Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed.”

“No!” said Aragorn, taking his hand and kissing his brow. “You have conquered. Few have gained such a victory. Be at peace! Minas Tirith shall not fall!”

Boromir smiled. (TTT)

Likewise, Bilbo has a last audience with Thorin:

“Farewell, good thief,” he said. “I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed. Since I leave now all gold and silver, and go where it is of little worth, I wish to part in friendship from you, and I would take back my words and deeds at the Gate.”

Bilbo knelt on one knee filled with sorrow. “Farewell, King under the Mountain!” he said. “This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it. Yet I am glad that I have shared in your perils—that has been more than any Baggins deserves.”

“No!” said Thorin. “There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!” (The Hobbit)

At the end, Boromir and Thorin acknowledge their mistakes, and repent of their choices. After death, both are laid to rest with great dignity. Thorin was buried in the Lonely Mountain, and his former enemies, Bard and the Elvenking, laid the Arkenstone and Orcrist upon his tomb.

“They buried Thorin deep beneath the Mountain” by Alan Lee

Boromir was set upon the Great River in an elven boat by the remaining members of the Fellowship, with his cloven horn and broken sword. Through his death, Boromir had regained the respect of his companions, and the song that Aragorn and Legolas sing of him shows only remorse and honor.

“Boromir at Rauros Falls” by Ted Nasmith

But after all this, the question remains, can Thorin and Boromir still be considered noble? I feel the answer is an obvious yes, because while they may have made mistakes in life, both gave up their lives in payment. They never desired things only for their own needs. It is a very fine line, but in craving the Arkenstone, Thorin sought to protect the manifestation of his people’s pride, while Boromir’s desire for the Ring was only to help the people of Gondor. The Wise would have steered them away from such folly, but like most people of Middle-earth, they did not possess great wisdom, only a proud heart, a heavy burden, and the deeply felt legacy of their people.

And now, for another comparison of Thorin and Boromir, I encourage you to read Susan Messer Chan’s essay, which comes to slightly different conclusions about these two characters.

Additional info: For those who were wondering about what the scene from the film showing Thorin backing into the shadows might signify, here is an interview which is relevant. On page 2 Richard Armitage talks about greed, dragon sickness, Thror, and Thorin’s feelings about it all.

Thorin Oakenshield: A Warrior In the Norse Vein

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by D.J. in Discussion, Hobbit movie, Richard Armitage, Thorin

≈ 59 Comments

Tags

dwarves, norse warriors, richard armitage, thorin, tolkien

I’ve no background in Norse mythology (aside from a brief reading of the dwarf names), so this suggestion by Susan Messer Chan of possible motivations for the screen version of Thorin is very helpful.

I’m still not sure how the revised version of the Thror>Thrain>Thorin vs. Azog>Bolg vendetta is going to resolve itself, but at the moment, I’m bemoaning the missing details on Thrain. Thrain was quite a force to be reckoned with in the Appendices, unwilling to stop at the Battle of Azanulbizar when injured, even after his son Frerin dies, and after he’s lost half his people. In many ways he is the ultimate dwarf, and really fulfills the role of the Norse warrior as described in Susan’s post. He takes the fight to the orcs for seven years straight until he gets his revenge. But like his son became later, he is quite stiff-necked, and would have pushed on to take Moria (Balrog or no Balrog) if there had been anyone left who would follow him. Wiser and wearier, Dain deterred him from taking action that day, but Thrain’s spirit of desire and determination (amplified by having a Ring of Power no doubt) would not die, and drove him to his fate with the Necromancer.

I think that understanding Thorin’s relatives is important in understanding him, and I do hope they give us a more insightful look at Thrain in the next film.

susanmesser7

I recently returned from seeing “The Hobbit” for the third time. Being a Tolkien scholar, there is obviously no shortage of themes which this film delves into which would fail to inspire me. This evening, however, I happened upon one quite by chance. As my daughter, husband, and I were making our way out of the auditorium, I heard a man speaking with his friends. He seemed to be in rather a muddled state. He asked the lady to his right why in the world would that dwarf leader have leapt off of the tree and rushed straight into a nest of bloodthirsty orcs and wargs all alone? It seemed suicidal and thoroughly dim-witted. All those in his group agreed.

Naturally, I couldn’t let this simply pass. It dawned on me that so many people out there seeing “The Hobbit” for the first time have no background in Norse mythology. Although the majority…

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Heirs of Durin

~ Thorin Oakenshield and Allies

Tag Archives: tolkien

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Once a Dwarf – always a Dwarf? From the Nauglath to the Heirs of Durin – Part I

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Thorin Oakenshield: A Warrior In the Norse Vein