In the twelfth chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, BY MY BEARD, THIS IS SO INTENSE. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Lord of the Rings.
CHAPTER TWELVE: FLIGHT TO THE FORD
This book truly is not at all what I expected it to be. Well, there is one section in this chapter that falls along the lines of what I anticipated from The Lord of the Rings, but by and large, this is all so exciting to me.
Even if you take the rapid plotting away from this chapter, I find that I am continually impressed by how complete Middle-earth feels to me, despite that so many details are utterly unfamiliar to me. I know I spoke about it earlier, but the way that some of the details of the imagined universe are used to build the fabric of the story help me to believe all of this. I wrote of how communication in Middle-earth is so unlike what our experience is, and I think “Flight To The Ford” elaborates more on the concept of travel in this world. Let’s say that all these characters were of great health, and that they all possessed horses and ponies. The reality of Middle-earth is that it’s massive, so large that even traveling twenty to thirty miles a day means that sometimes it takes months for one to travel between towns. Tolkien touched on that in The Hobbit to some extent, and I know I pointed out how surprised I was by how much time passed in that book. Here, though, it’s a pervasive feature of this world. The story itself frames that, of course, since Frodo and his friends aren’t on a mission with a set itinerary.
Well, yes, they’re specifically going to Rivendell, but this isn’t a leisurely adventure for them. The entire thing is plagued with problems, and the last few weeks have been haunted by the Black Riders. Simply put, they’re clearly not on vacation. Traveling is almost a burden on these hobbits and Aragorn, and Tolkien constantly acknowledges the logistical nightmare along the way.
First of all, though, he deals with the ramifications of Frodo’s actions at the end of chapter eleven. I am blissfully and beautifully lost about the Black Riders, what they are, and how the Ring holds this bizarre power over everything. I suppose I do generally understand how it works, but there’s so much left to be answered at the end of this chapter. Namely, this:
‘What has happened? Where is the pale king?’ he asked wildly.
Who the hell is the pale king? I actually went back to read the end of the last chapter, and there’s no pale king? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
He heard Frodo’s voice, but it seemed to come from a great distance, or from under the earth, crying out strange words. They saw nothing more, until they stumbled over the body of Frodo, lying as if dead, face downwards on the grass with his sword beneath him.
!!!!!!!!! IS THIS REAL LIFE !!!!!!!! God, could you imagine if your friend disappeared as shadow dudes fell upon you and then you could only hear his voice and then you found his body nowhere near where you are and THIS IS REALLY FRIGHTENING OKAY.
Chapter twelve also outright confirms that Aragorn is who he says he is. It’s said near the end when the Elf-lord greets him with joy, but even here in the beginning, I realized that it was time to cast aside any doubt towards his character. Truthfully, he could have just allowed Frodo to die from the enchanted knife wound and then stole the Ring. I can’t see it making any sense for him to continue to let them believe he’s on their side if he was really with the Black Riders. More than ever before, I am glad Aragorn is here with the hobbits, and I don’t want to imagine what would happen if he weren’t around.
Actually, I suppose that Frodo would not have survived the knife wound if Aragorn had not found athelas to keep the poison at bay. But this is all part of the things at work in chapter twelve. It’s not just enough that these five characters have very little time to make it to Rivendell, nor is it enough that they don’t quite know where they are. (Which is an important point: this book would not work if things were meticulously mapped out, and that cultural detail of Middle-earth is just so immense to me. You know your way around out of sheer experience, unless something is off the main Road. This is not something that any ol’ traveler could pull off either.)
Tolkien adds a couple factors to make this journey frantic and quietly damning. Frodo’s injury is, of course, a huge flaw in their plan, and it’s one they couldn’t have accounted for. The group has made good time walking the past week, and certainly there is no better creature in Middle-earth suited for walking quite like the hobbit, right? But now Frodo has an injury that has taken away the ability for him to use his left arm. So, there’s that, and that’s bad in and of itself. He can’t walk properly, and then he also has to deal with the pain and coldness that comes along with it. Frodo’s state slows down the whole party, which is also a disaster because there are shadowy riders in black coming to destroy them. Then they get sort of lost, then they go too far, and by the time things get to…well, that thing we will discuss in a bit, I was just exhausted.
Part of that is a good thing, since I love an immersive novel, one that makes me feel the same things that the characters are going through. So I want to make sure that there’s a huge compliment here. Whether intended or not, this entire segment, in which the characters spend days doing their best to get to Rivendell, failing, and then having to find the Ford, certainly has the effect of creating a sense of despair. At the same time, while I acknowledge that I do like that Tolkien doesn’t just skip over a week’s worth of time in a few sentences, this drags just a bit. Again, perhaps it is supposed to, but it comes with the territory. I don’t really know if this is a complaint, to be honest, or any sort of criticism of the text. An author does what they want, and they generally have reasons for this sort of thing. Still, I was…well, not bored, but anxious for something to happen aside from walking in pain.
I greatly welcomed the appearance of the trolls, and allow me to just take a second to beg all of you to go find a Norwegian horror film called Trollhunter and watch it if you have even the slightest modicum of an interest in trolls because it’s genuinely one of the best movies I have ever seen. Okay, anyway, when the arrived at the cave with a door and Aragorn and Merry creep about inside and surmise it was a troll den, I seriously thought, “GREAT. THIS IS JUST GREAT.” Do they seriously need to worry about trolls on top of everything else?
But they had not gone very far before Pippin came running back, followed by Merry. They both looked terrified.
‘There are trolls!’ Pippin panted. ‘Down in a clearing in the woods not far below. We got a sight of them through the tree-trunks. They are very large!”
TOLKIEN, CAN ONE NICE THING HAPPEN TO THESE CHARACTERS?
Strider walked forward unconcernedly. ‘Get up, old stone!’ he said, and broke his stick upon the stopping troll.
Nothing happened. There was a gasp of astonishment from the hobbits, and then even Frodo laughed. ‘Well!’ he said. ‘We are forgetting our family history! These must be the very three that were caught by Gandalf, quarrelling over the right way to cook thirteen dwarves and one hobbit.’
All right, this is pretty damn wonderful. I don’t know that we will see trolls at all in this entire book, but I’m perfectly fine with just this. It also gives me a good idea of just how far they are from everything. How much time has passed? It was just October the fifth in the last chapter, so….mid-October now? Anyway, I love the idea that they pass things from The Hobbit, that that story is part of their own personal lore, since they all knew Bilbo Baggins rather well. Still, the comfort this provides is short-lived, as they’re back to trying to find the Ford to make it to Rivendell. When they hear horse hooves in the distance, they assume the worst, which is expected. But it turns out to be ELVEN-FOLK. FUCK YES. We get the chance to meet Glorfindel, who actually lives with Elrond in Rivendell. I think that since so much awful had happened and this chapter was already so long, I just assumed that this is where this chapter would end, or perhaps after they arrived in Rivendell. We get a lot of new information about what’s happening around Middle-earth from Glorfindel, including the fact that no one has seen Gandalf around at all. What is that dude doing? He’s just plotting and planning, isn’t he?
Either way, the group, led by Glorfindel, and with Frodo on the elves’s white horse, head to the Ford, and, once again, it takes multiple days to get there. Frodo gets weaker, they all worry more, and then, just short of the Ford itself, everything goes to hell.
Like I said, I thought that things wouldn’t be so eventful as they made it to Rivendell, but I clearly thought wrong. The Black Riders are upon all of them, and then the WEIRDEST THING HAPPENS.
Suddenly he knew in his heart that they were silently commanding him to wait. Then at once fear and hatred awoke in him. His hand left the bridle and gripped the hilt of his sword, and with a red flash he drew it.
I’m sorry, WHAT IS THIS JEDI BULLSHIT? Is it because he possesses the ring? HOW CAN THEY DO THIS? Frodo doesn’t know, and after snapping out of their hold, he and Glorfindel’s horse take off with the Black Riders in pursuit. It’s honestly such a terrifying scene because it’s Frodo against nine other riders. (They’re the Nine with the rings, right? Is that how they have power over Frodo?) Even when Frodo successfully makes it up the bank across the river, the Black Riders are somehow able to control him in some way, and he halts on his horse as they come ashore. THEY’RE SO CLOSE. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING NOW. Where are the others? What’s going on? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS AND NONE OF THEM ARE BEING ANSWERED AT ALL.
But this isn’t about getting answers! This is about the most phenomenal, confusing, bewildering, and overwhelming thing happening just as the Black Riders are about to close in on Frodo. WHITE RIDERS IN THE WAVES OF THE RIVER SWEEP AWAY THE BLACK RIDERS. Oh, and there’s fire??? And some figure in white light and then the riders are possibly drowned? And then Frodo passes out and the chapter just ends.
GODDAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED???
This chapter is one full of awfulness and fear and pain, what with the wound that Frodo has received, which Strider says he cannot heal. Which, while I'm talking about that….. nothing terrifies me more about that wound than the ice that he feels travelling down his veins. Guh. DO NOT WANT . And then at the end, I was so stressed out when the Black Riders were right behind him. And of course, the chapter ends in ambiguity, with Frodo passing out to the roaring of the water. THANK YOU TOLKIEN.
But. In the middle of all of this awfulness, my favorite part is when they stumble upon the statues of the trolls and Sam sings his song. First of all, the fact that Sam can make up songs about trolls off the top of his head is just my favorite thing ever (YOU GUYS. I almost nominated Samwise Gamgee for president but then I stopped because everyone we ever nominate for president DIES. ohmygod don't you dare die Sam, EVER ) Anways….I love this scene first because I really love when past stories enter directly into present ones. But I love it most because it is just a brief moment, where Frodo laughs and forgets his pain as much as he can, where the sun shines, where Frodo's friends can pretend that Frodo might not be dying right in front of them, and where they can forget that they are being pursued by the most foul creatures to walk Middle Earth, while carrying the One Ring that could destroy everything.
Sometimes, these small moments of joy are the only things that keep you going on through all the hell that lies ahead of you.
"Sometimes, these small moments of joy are the only things that keep you going on through all the hell that lies ahead of you. "
Oh, that's just beautiful. I'm going to have to incorporate that into my coat of arms. I wonder how it would read in latin.
Also, cresrpg zbggb sbe ynetr puhaxf bs guvf obbx, ab?
Why Latin? You should have it translated into Sindarin 😀
V nyzbfg abzvangrq Fnzjvfr Tnztrr sbe cerfvqrag ohg gura V fgbccrq orpnhfr rirelbar jr rire abzvangr sbe cerfvqrag QVRF.
Ubj nobhg jr abzvangr Fnzjvfr sbe znlbe vafgrnq? 😉
Movie Spoilers:
Guvf vf bar bs gur punatrf va gur zbivr gung V nofbyhgryl pna 100% trg oruvaq. Orpnhfr vg vf n terng vagebqhpgvba gb Nejra, gb Nentbea/Nejra, naq gb na njrfbzr srznyr punenpgre. V nyzbfg jvfu gung Gbyxvra unq jevggra vg gur jnl gung gur zbivrf fubj vg orpnhfr vg znxrf zr fb unccl.
Ba gur pbzzragnel, Wnpxfba qvfphffrf ubj gurl unq dhvpxyl puhpxrq gur vqrn bs hfvat Tybesvaqry, orpnhfr ur arire orpbzrf vzcbegnag gb gur fgbel ntnva naq gurl'q engure hfr gung gvzr vagebqhpvat fbzrbar jub vf vzcbegnag gb Nentbea'f fgbel, naq jub, yrg'f or ubarfg urer, vf hgvyvmrq rkgerzryl cbbeyl va gur obbx.
Sebz n aneengvir crefcrpgvir, vg znxrf jnl zber frafr gb vagebqhpr Nejra gurer naq tvir ure, lbh xabj, n crefbanyvgl!
THIS.
V yvxr gung gurl tnir Nejra zber bs n cerfrapr va gur zbivrf, engure guna "bu lrnu gurer'f na rys Nentbea vf va ybir jvgu, fur'f fbzrjurer nebhaq, tb ernq nobhg ure va gur vaqrkrf," ubjrire… V fgvyy nz abg gbgnyyl vzcerffrq ol gur pubvpr bs Yvi Glyre sbe gur ebyr? V qba'g xabj, gur Nejra cbegenlrq va gur svyzf nyjnlf frrzf xvaq bs inpnag gb zr, yvxr fur'f whfg fgnevat bss ng abguvat nyy gur gvzr. V qba'g trg zhpu frafr bs punenpgre sebz ure (hayvxr, fnl, Tnynqevry, jub pbzrf bss nf irel fgebat naq pbzcyrk rira gubhtu jr frr irel yvggyr bs ure.) V whfg nyjnlf jnag n yvggyr zber sebz Nejra gura jung jr frr, naq V'z abg fher vs vg'f Yvi Glyre'f cresbeznapr be fbzrguvat ryfr gung obguref zr, ohg vg nyjnlf xvaq bs veevgngrf zr. Gurer'f pyrneyl n ybg bs pbasyvpg unccravat jvgu ure oruvaq gur fprarf, zbfgyl gur nethzrag orgjrra urefrys naq Ryebaq nobhg pubbfvat gb or zbegny, ohg vg nyy srryf irel zhgrq naq V jvfu vg qvqa'g.
Urr, jr'yy unir gb nterr gb qvfnterr – V ybir Yvi naq ybir ure va gur cneg. Ohg V erfcrpg gung vg qbrfa'g jbex sbe lbh!
Gung ibvpr vf rfcrpvnyyl vzcerffvir vs lbh'ir frra ure va nalguvat ryfr. Zl wnj qebccrq jura V yrnearq gurer jnfa'g nal cbfg-cebqhpgvba jbex qbar ba vg; fur whfg fcrag gur jubyr ebyr gnyxvat va jung vf sbe ure na rkgerzryl thggreny ibvpr whfg orpnhfr vg jnf evtug sbe gur punenpgre.
Yby V ybir ubj ure qnq fnj gur zbivr naq jnf yvxr "jub qvq lbhe ibvpr?" naq fur jnf yvxr "QNQ GUNG VF ZR. V NZ NA NPGERFF."
Fur'f fb phgr.
Oh yeah that is cute LOL 😀 bless.
[nununun abj v'z vzntvavat fgrira glyre jngpuvat ybeq bs gur evatf naq vg'f penpxvat zr hc.]
Yvxr V fnvq, V qba'g rira xabj vs vg'f Yvi nf na npgerff gung qbrfa'g jbex sbe zr be gur jevgvat, be znlor fbzr pbzovangvba bs gur gjb, ohg Nejra'f cneg qbrf srry irel syng gb zr va gur zbivrf, sbe nyy gurl gevrq gb znxr ure zber cebzvarag.
Jryy, lbh pna or gunaxshy gurl fpenccrq gur vqrn bs ure svtugvat ng Uryz'f Qrrc. V crefbanyyl yvxrq ure va gur svyzf, ohg gung ernyyl jbhyq unir orra n fgrc gbb sne.
Bu lrnu, gung jbhyq unir orra fb jebat. V ernyyl yvxrq gung gurl checbfryl oebhtug gur ryirf vagb gung – V xabj Gbyxvra qvqa'g ohg V sryg gung nqqrq gb gur fgbel, ohg Nejra> abbbbbb gung jbhyqa'g unir orra evtug ng nyy VZB.
[V guvax jung JNF n fgrc gbb sne jnf jung gurl qvq va gur ynfg zbivr–znxvat ure yvsr "gvrq gb gur evat" be jungrire. Vg qvqa'g znxr zhpu frafr naq sryg yvxr vg jnf whfg guebja va gurer gb perngr pbasyvpg. Yvxr, thlf, jr nyernql XABJ vg'f vzcrengvir gb qrfgebl gur evat. Lbh qba'g unir gb fubj hf fubgf bs Nejra fjbbavat gb gur sybbe ba gbc bs gung. Naq gur jnl gur nethzrag jvgu ure qnq jnf qenttrq bhg–vg jnf boivbhf gb zr gung fur'q nyernql znqr ure qrpvfvba, fb gb unir gur jubyr "jnvg, V'z tbvat! Ab, V unq n ivfvba bs n xvq naq abj V'z fgnlvat!" guvat naablrq zr.]
YBY, ba n eryngrq abgr, va Onxfuv'f svyz, Yrtbynf gbbx Tybesvaqry'f ebyr. Qhqr trgf ab ybir ba svyz.
WORD.
Gehr fgbel: jura V jnf svefg ernqvat guvf obbx (ng ntr 11, nsgre jngpuvat gur zbivr n srj gvzrf), jura V tbg gb guvf puncgre naq Tybesvaqry nccrnerq, zl ernpgvba jnf "Jub gur uryy vf guvf thl? Jurer vf NEJRA?" V jnf fb qvfthfgrq gung V tnir hc ba gur obbx evtug gurer. Lbh unir gb haqrefgnaq gung gur Syvtug gb gur Sbeq fprar jnf zl nofbyhgr snibevgr sebz gur SBGE zbivr naq jung tbg zr ubbxrq ba gur frevrf. V'ir nyjnlf orra n yvggyr nagnatbavfgvp gbjneqf Tybesvaqry sbe ab bgure ernfba guna gung ur "fgbyr" Nejra'f ovt zbzrag.
Fb onfvpnyyl, gunax lbh zbivr jevgref sbe znxvat gung punatr.
Yvi Glyre'f ernqvat bs "abeb yvz Nfsnybgu"tvirf zr sevttva' puvyyf, lb. V srry ln.
Rknpgyl, orpnhfr (va zl bcvavba) Tybesvaqry qbrfa'g ernyyl oevat nalguvat gb gur fgbel jbegu frrvat ba svyz.
V ybir gung punatr va gur zbivr fb zhpu gung V'q sbetbggra vg qbrfa'g unccra gung jnl va gur obbx. V xarj Sebqb'f jbhaq jnf n ovg zber yvatrevat, ohg V fgvyy rkcrpgrq Nejra gb fubj hc. Rfcrpvnyyl jura Nentbea unq n "ybbx bs wbl" ba uvf snpr. Naq gura V jnf yvxr, jub vf guvf Tybesvaqry?
V'z snajnaxvat gung ur gubhtug vg jnf Nejra naq gura vg jnf Tybesvaqry naq ur jnf yvxr…bu, gung'f pbby, oeb. Hz, jurer'f zl tveysevraq?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
V qba'g zvaq Nejra ercynpvat Tybesvaqry, ohg V QB zvaq gung fur perngrq gur sybbq – vg jnf perngrq ol Ryebaq orpnhfr ur unq Ivyln, gur Ryivfu Evat bs Cbjre, cyhf ur unq Tnaqnys'f uryc. Ab Rys pbhyq'ir perngrq gung sybbq ol gurzfryirf. Gur jnl vg vf va gur svyz, V nyzbfg srry gurer fubhyq or n zvffvat fprar nsgrejneqf:
Ryebaq: "Nejra, unir lbh orra cynlvat jvgu Qnqql'f Evat ntnva?!"
Nejra: "Fbeel, Qnq…"
Zna, gnyxvat nobhg gur Ryivfu evatf, ner jr tbvat gb or noyr gb zragvba gung Tnaqnys unf bar (cyhf nyy gur fghss nobhg jvmneqf orvat onfvpnyyl qrzvtbqf)? Orpnhfr gung'f hfrshy vasbezngvba gb unir, ohg V xabj vg qbrfa'g fubj hc va gur obbx, vg'f ohevrq va gur vaqrkrf fbzrjurer be znlor gur Fvyznevyyvba.
Tnaqnys qbrfa’g erirny ur unf n evat hagvy gur irel raq, nf ur vf yrnivat gur Terl Uniraf jvgu Sebqb. V guvax vg vf uvagrq gung Ryebaq naq Tnynqevry unir gur bgure gjb, ohg gung vf nyfb abg pbasvezrq cynvayl hagvy gur Terl Uniraf. Fb, znwbe fcbvyre gung unf gb or ohevrq sebz Znex sbe gur jubyr frevrf. V guvax fprar jurer Pveqna tvirf uvf evat gb Tnaqnys vf va gur nccraqvkrf, be creuncf gur Fvyznevyyvba.
Tnynqevry erirnyf gb Sebqb gung fur vf gur Ornere bs Araln va "Gur Zveebe bs Tnynqevry". Tnaqnys orvat gur Ornere bs Aneln vf erirnyrq ng gur raq ng gur Terl Uniraf, naq fb vf Ryebaq nf gur Ornere bs Ivyln, ohg V guvax gung zvtug or uvagrq ng rneyvre, cbffvoyl qhevat gur Eviraqryy puncgref… V'z abg fher, V arrq gb er-ernq vg.
Fb, lbh'yy abgvpr zl hfreanzr vf guerrevatf. V'ir orra hfvat gung va inevbhf cynprf fvapr V jnf 12 naq V svefg ernq EBGX. Gur ernfba vf gung gurer vf n yvar va EBGX nobhg gur Guerr Evatf fcyvggvat hc naq tbvat gurve frcnengr jnlf jura Tnynqevry, Ryebaq, naq Tnaqnys fcyvg hc ba gur wbhearl onpx sebz Tbaqbe (bhgfvqr Ybguybevra). Vg jnf ng gung cbvag gung V ernyvmrq Tnaqnys unq bar bs gur evatf, gubhtu gung vf abg pbasvezrq hagvy gur Terl Uniraf. Jura jr trg gurer, V'yy cbvag vg bhg.
Va gur pbzzragnel, Wnpxfba naq gur bgure jevgref rkcerff fbzr erterg gung gur fprar pbhyq or vagrecergrq nf Nejra beqrevat gur evire fcvevgf gb nggnpx gur Oynpx Evqref, jura gurl zrnag vg gb or n qrfcrengr, uhzoyr erdhrfg. Hasbeghangryl, abg znal erthyne gurngre-tbref fcrnx Ryivfu.
V jbhyq fnl gung Yvi pbairlf gung snveyl jryy – fur pregnvayl ybbxf greevsvrq nf bccbfrq gb nyy-cbjreshy. Ohg lbh'er evtug, zbfg zbivr-tbref jbhyq guvax fur jnf fhzzbavat gur evire.
Frr, gung'f ubj V fnj vg – vg graqf gb fhecevfr zr gb ernyvfr gung ybgf bs crbcyr frr vg n qvssrerag jnl, orpnhfr V gbgnyyl fnj vg gung jnl! V nffhzrq rvgure vg jnf gur svany vapnagngvba va fbzr xvaq bs punez, be fur jnf (sbe jnag bs n orggre jnl bs chggvat vg) onfvpnyyl cenlvat.
Lrnu, gung naablrq zr gbb. Gubhtu V guvax jung naablrq zr gur zbfg jnf gung Sebqb jnfa'g fgnaqvat hc gb gur oynpx evqref. Va gur obbxf gung vf n dhvgr vzcbegnag guvat, naq vg'f n fprar gung fubjf ubj pncnoyr Sebqb vf va ertneqf gb pnelvat gur evat naq erfvfgvat vg'f rivy vasyhraprf.
V zrna, gur snpg gung ur qvq gung znqr zr srry yvxr ur npghnyyl fgbbq n punafr nf gur evat-ornere. Va gur svyzf ur qba'g ernyyl cebir uvzfrys nal orsber Eviraqryy naq gura ur orpbzrf gur evat-ornere orpnhfr ab bgure enpr ungrf uboovgf naq zru, jul abg.
V nz pbzcyrgryl oruvaq gur aneengvir pubvpr bs vapyhqvat Nejra va guvf fprar, ohg lrnu, vg qbrf zrna zvffvat gur bccbeghavgl gb tvir Sebqb n ener zbzrag bs ntrapl. V zrna, ur fcraqf n ybg bs gur SbgE zbivr whfg ernpgvat, engure guna gnxvat qrpvfvir npgvba (ur bayl trgf gb or qrpvfvir jura ur syrrf gur Fuver, gnxrf gur Evat ng gur Pbhapvy, naq gura jura ur tbrf bss nybar/jvgu Fnz ng gur raq). Va gur obbx ur unf n ybg zber zbzragf gung qvfcynl uvf fgebat frafr bs frys naq vagrtevgl, juvpu V guvax vf vzcbegnag gb uvf punenpgre orpnhfr vg qrrcraf gur gentrql bs uvf ybff bs frys & fgevccvat bs ntrapl va Zbeqbe. Vg oevatf ubzr Gbyxvra'f zrffntr nobhg ubj rira n crefba jvgu fgebat frys-jbegu, vqrnyvfz naq vagrtevgl, jubfr bayl vagrag vf gb qb gur evtug guvat va gur pnhfr bs crnpr, pna or pehfurq vagb jergpurqarff ol gur rkcrevrapr bs jne naq yrsg hanoyr gb shapgvba va n crnprshy jbeyq nsgrejneq.
V crefbanyyl qba'g zvaq zbivr!Sebqb, ohg ur vf n ybg zber bs n qnzfry va qvfgerff guna obbx!Sebqb. Sbe zr vg'f n pnfr-ol-pnfr onfvf: ng rnpu bs gur zbivr zbzragf jura n yvar bs Sebqb'f vf nccebcevngrq ol fbzrbar ryfr, V graq gb nccebir bs gur punatr orpnhfr vg vf qbar jryy naq cebzbgrf punenpgre qrirybczrag. Hasbeghangryl, jura nyy gur zbzragf ner nqqrq hc gurl pbzr bhg gb n erqhpgvba va Sebqb'f qrirybczrag. Naq gura Sebqb'f bayl fgbyra yvar (VVEP) vf sebz Cvccva, nobhg bcravat gur qbbe gb Zbevn, juvpu vf zru, orpnhfr V jvfu zbivr!Cvccva unq tbggra gung punapr gb fgnaq hc gb uvf Ohgg Zbaxrl fgnghf.
Bu, nofbyhgryl. Gur svyzf fuhssyr gur cynprzrag bs inevbhf ovgf bs sbphf naq punenpgre qrirybczrag, ohg hygvzngryl gur aneengvir pbzrf bhg whfg nf onynaprq nf gur obbxf (znlor n yvggyr zber fb). Va SbgE gurl ernyyl arrqrq gb rfgnoyvfu Tnaqnys, Nentbea, Sebqb & Obebzve nf ~frevbhf~ punenpgref, rfc. Obebzve orpnhfr lbh bayl unir bar zbivr gb ohvyq uvz hc naq znxr crbcyr pner gung ur qvrf. V nqber Cvccva'f nep va EbgX.
V nqber Cvccva'f EbgX nep gbb… jryy V qb ybir Cvccva fb vg'f abg fhecevfvat.
YBY guvf znqr zr ynhtu n ybg!
Ohg guvf vf whfg sebz gur CBI bs fbzrbar jub fnj gur svefg zbivr svefg – V arire gbbx vg nf Nejra perngvat gur sybbq, V vzntvarq gung gur jbeqf fur fcbxr rvgure pbzcyrgrq fbzr xvaq bs punez be fhzzbarq fbzrguvat gung jnf fbzrbar ryfr'f cbjre, vs lbh frr jung V zrna. Jngpuvat vg jvgubhg xabjvat jung jnf "fhccbfrq" gb or tbvat ba, vg arire bppheerq gb zr gb guvax Nejra unq perngrq gur sybbq va nal jnl.
Ohg V fgvyy jnag gb frr gung fprar… :Q
completely disagree with you but that's cool. It's interesting to see and read various opinions here!
V'ir pbzzragrq ba guvf nyernql, ohg V unq n znq pehfu ba Tybesvaqry, fb V jnf n ovg qvfnccbvagrq, naq V unir gb nterr jvgu gur crbcyr jub gubhtug Yvi Glyre'f cresbeznapr jnf ynpxvat. Ohg zl znva vffhr jvgu guvf fprar va gur zbivr vf ubj gurl znqr Sebqb fb hfryrff. V pbhyq trg oruvaq Nejra, ohg pbzcyrgryl vapncnpvgngvat Sebqb naq phggvat bar bs uvf zbfg nznmvat fprarf va gur ragver svefg unys? Ab, V qb abg yvxr.
V pna frr gung, jvgu Sebqb, naq vg jbhyq unir orra avpr vs gurl xrcg uvf ureb zbzrag nybat jvgu vagebqhpvat Nejra – yvxr univat ure chg uvz ba gur ubefr naq yrggvat uvz evqr juvyr fur fgnlrq oruvaq, be jungrire, yvxr Tybesvaqry qvq. V thrff V unir whfg orra ghearq vagb n entronyy ol nyy gur Vagrearg trrxf jub SNAENTRQ bire Nejra orvat tvira n ynetre ebyr naq jrer whfg ungrshy naq zvfbtlavfgvp nobhg gur jubyr guvat gung V trg n yvggyr…bire-qrsrafvir bs Zbivr!Nejra naq Yvi?
v pna vzntvar, bu Vagrearg… ohg lrnu. Nejra tvirf zr ceboyrzf orpnhfr V jbhyq unir yvxrq gb frr zber bs Nejra naq Nentbea'f fgbel, ohg V unir znwbe vffhrf jvgu gur jnl vg jnf jevggra vagb gur cybg. Fb zl areq entr vf engure fcrpvnyvmrq… V qba'g unir nalguvat ntnvafg gurve vapyhqvat ure, ohg V ubarfgyl guvax gurl funsgrq ure fgbel n ovg. Bu jryy. V qb nqzvg V trg naablrq jvgu Yvi, ohg unir gb xrrc gryyvat zlfrys vg jnfa'g ure snhyg gur jevgref jebgr gung gur jnl gurl qvq.
Uru, V hfrq gb or bar bs gubfr vagrearg enagref nobhg 'Kranejra' naq nyy gur punatrf gb ure ebyr. Bapr gur zbivrf jrer eryrnfrq, V jnf nzovinyrag nobhg ure birenyy. Naq abj, erjngpuvat gurz, V pbaphe jvgu zbfg urer: ure rkcnaqrq ebyr vf njrfbzr, naq lbh xabj, V xvaqn jbhyq unir yvxrq ure xvpxvat ohgg ng Uryz'f Qrrc…ubjrire, trggvat ure gb naq sebz Uryz'f Qrrc zvtug'ir erdhverq zber cybg ahvfnapr gung jbhyq unir zrffrq hc Nentbea'f jubyr cebterffvba…V jbaqre ubj gurl'q cynaarq vg.
Zl ynetrfg ceboyrz vf npghnyyl gung Tybesvaqry vf n onqnff. Ur orngf hc n Onyebt va Fvyznevyyvba, thlf (pbasvezrq gb or gur fnzr rys ol P. Gbyxvra). Ur vf va snpg byqre guna Ryebaq, gubhtu abg va yvar gb gur ybeqfuvc bs gur Ubhfr bs Svajr, nf Ryebaq vf. Ur unf frra gur Yvtug va gur Jrfg, naq yvirf va obgu jbeyqf ng gur fnzr gvzr, nf Tnaqnys chgf vg. Nf fhpu, ur unf gur cbjre gb svtug gur Avar qverpgyl.
Nejra vf tvira n ybg bs cbjref abg ure qhr va gur svyzf (fur unf gur cbjre bs Ivyln, naq nccneragyl gur cbjre bs jnyxvat va obgu jbeyqf nf bapr), naq rira gubhtu V yvxr gung ure ebyr unf orra rkcnaqrq vg oernxf jvgu n ybg bs yber gung V ybir. V jvfu gurl unq qbar vg qvssreragyl, znxvat ure n enatre naq n jneevbe ohg abg znxvat ure bar bs gur zbfg cbjreshy orvatf va Zvqqyr Rnegu va gur cebprff.
(Silmarillion spoilers, ofc)
V'z pbashfrq abj orpnhfr gur Tybesvaqry va gur Fvyznevyyvba qvrq nybat jvgu gur Onyebt naq uvf obql jnf oebhtug gb gur Ryirf ol Gubebaqbe gb or ohevrq. Uvf anzr jnf zragvbarq n srj gvzrf orsber gura, gbb, naq V qvq n qbhoyr gnxr rnpu gvzr naq gubhtug gung vg jnf gur YbgE Tybesvaqry svanyyl trggvat fbzr terngre eryrinapr. Nsgre uvf qrngu, gubhtu, V gubhtug vg jnf whfg n pnfr bs gjb guvatf univat gur fnzr anzr (yvxr ubj Qrargube naq Obebzve naq Zvanf Gvevgu ner erhfrq). V'z thrffvat V zvffrq fbzrguvat vzcbegnag?
EDIT: And of course I should've checked to see if this was already addressed several times further down the page.
Lrf, Tybesvaqry qvrq nsgre uvf svtug jvgu gur Onyebt va gur Svefg Ntr, ohg qrpvqrq gb tb onpx gb Zvqqyr-rnegu, fb ur jnf erobea. Ryirf unir gung bcgvba jura gurl qvr – rvgure fgnl va Inyvabe sberire, be or erobea ntnva va Zvqqyr-rnegu. Jurernf sbe Zra vg'f qvssrerag – bapr gurl qvr, gurl erznva qrnq (jvgu gur fbyr rkprcgvba bs Orera) naq gurve fbhyf yrnir gur jbeyq.
ur pbasvezrq gurl jrer gur fnzr? V'z cerggl fher v erzrzore gur tybesvaqry va Fvyznevyyvba qlvat nsgre svtugvat gur onyebt
Lrf, gurl'er gur fnzr. Tybesvaqry jnf erobea.
Gur Svefgobea qvrgu abg va Rä (:C)
Jura gurl yrnir gur Unyyf bs Znaqbf gurl znl va gurbel or erghea gb Zvqqyr Rnegu vafgrnq bs fgnlvat va Inyvabe. Whfg, zbfg bs gurz qba'g. Ohg Tybesvaqry vf njrfbzr, fb ur pubfr gb erghea.
Tybesvaqry vf gur ybir bs zl yvsr, bxnl? Bxnl.
Vg'f npghnyyl gurbevmrq gung Tybesvaqry znl or gur fba bs bar bs Svajr'f qnhtugref Svaqvf be Vevzr(jub ner abg zragvbarq va gur Fvy ohg frrzrq gb or gur zbfg erprag nqqvgvbaf–gur Fvy unf fbzr fjvgpurebbf gung V oryvrir (V nz abg 100% fher) P. Gbyxvra nqzvggrq jrer zvfgnxrf, fhpu nf Tvy-tnynq orvat gur fba bs Svatba vafgrnq bs Bebqergu, naq Bebqergu npghnyyl orvat gur fba bs Natebq vafgrnq bs Svanesva (THLF THLF V NZ ANZVAT GURFR CRBCYR RAGVERYL SEBZ ZRZBEL UBYL TBQ). V guvax vg jnf fnvq ng fbzr cbvag gung ur jnf xva gb Ghetba, naq gung orpnhfr ur vf n bar bs gur Abyqbe jvgu oybaq unve (juvpu vf n Inalne genvg), ur pbhyq or qrfpraqrq sebz Vaqvf—guhf jurer gur gurbel pbzrf sebz. V jubyrurnegrqyl fhccbeg guvf gurbel…naq vg'f whfg tbbq sbe snasvpgvba yby
nterr. Sebqb vf gur ureb, naq ur jnf abg gerngrq nf fhpu va gur svyzf. Yet another reason Mark should wait until after having read all three books before watching any of the movies.
Lrnu, V jnf fhecevfrq ba guvf ernq gung Sebqb jnf ba gur ubefr ol uvzfrys naq UBJ ZHPU FPNEVRE VF GUNG? Fb, lrnu, vafgrnq bs orvat onttntr, ur trgf gb ernyyl snpr fbzr fuvg naq or onqnff va gur obbx.
Story time: On the night that FOTR opened in theaters, it was the night of my company holiday party. Several of us were pissed because we wanted to go see the movie, so we took the day or afternoon off to go see it. Therefore naturally the entire party was discussion of the movie. (Cause out of 20-25 employees, about 8-9 were big fans of the books.) So this one girl was going off about Nejra orvat gur bar gb pbzr erfphr Sebqb naq ubj vg jnf n fghcvq punatr naq ubj vg ernyyl purngrq Yrtbynf bs uvf ovt zbzrag. Naq fur jnf ernyyl jbexrq hc nobhg vg. Hagvy V gbyq ure vg jnfa'g Yrtbynf jub jnf va guvf cneg va gur obbx, ohg Tybesvaqry. And then she got REAL QUIET.
So, I kinda like Glorfindel cause he's this mysterious, super-powerful, really old Elf guy. And only someone as old and powerful as him could face the Black Riders. Also, possibly because I once read a really good Gandalf/Glorfindel fanfic. Ohg V nyfb npprcg gung Nejra znxrf zber aneengvir frafr gb vagebqhpr urer.
I know some people hate it, but me too 🙂 Tybesvaqry vf njrfbzr naq nyy ohg NEJRA, lbh xabj?
I love this. Mark is going to be all wtf about this rot13 60+ post thread. XD
LRF! V whfg ybir ubj lbh pna vzzrqvngryl frafr gur ybir naq graqrearff orgjrra Nentbea naq Nejra qhevat gurve oevrs rkpunatr. Naq Nejra trggvat gb snpr qbja gur Avar Evatjenvguf naq pnyyvat qbja gur sybbq? ONQNFF.
Tauriel's Linguistic Corner 😀
In this chapter we have two lines in Sindarin, which was the common, daily language among the Elves in Middle-earth (unlike Quenya, which was also called High-elven, and which was a bit like Latin for the Elves – used for special occasions and songs and poetry).
Ai na vedui Dúnadan! Mae govannen!
Ai – exclamation, meaning "ah"
na vedui – "at last"; na is a preposition meaning "to", "at"; vedui is lenited form of medui, which means "last"
Dúnadan – "Westman", "Man of the West"; adan means "Man" (as in human, not male); dún- is derived from annûn and dúven, which mean "West"
mae govannen – "well met"; mae is an adverb meaning "well"; govannen is past participle from govad-, "to meet".
So together it means: "Ah, at last, Westman! Well met!" 🙂
Noro lim, noro lim, Asfaloth!
noro – "run"
lim – has several meanings, mostly "clear", "light", but in this context the meaning is obviously "swift" or "fast"
Asfaloth – obviously the name of Glorfindel's horse, but there's no translation – we know that loth means "flower", though
And here are a few lovely illustrations by a great Polish artist and illustrator Katrina Chmiel:
Glorfindel
<img src="http://kasiopea.art.pl/sites/default/files/images/Glorfindel_0.jpg">
"You shall ride my horse."
<img src="http://kasiopea.art.pl/sites/default/files/images/dosiadziesz-mojego-wierzch_0.jpg" width="600">
Oh, Glorfindel.
I am ~*~swooning~*~ over those pictures.
I love your linguistic corner! I should take notes…
I always knew there was a reason Glorfindel was my first legit literary crush… thank you for posting these pictures!
Because he's awesome?
Movie and Silm. spoilers: Juvyr V'z tynq gung Nejra tbg zber punenpgrevmngvba naq ntrapl va gur zbivr, V'z fgvyy n sna bs Tybesvaqry naq gur snpg gung ur'f bar bs gur uvtu ryirf jub fnj gur Gerrf bs Inyvabe, naq va n cerivbhf yvsr sbhtug naq xvyyrq n onyebt ol uvzfrys (bs pbhefr, Tybesvaqry nyfb qvrq ng gur raq bs gung onggyr, ohg ur jnf riraghnyyl erobea, nf ryirf ner).
In brief, GLORFINDELLLLLL! YAY! *waves tiny flag*
Thanks for the linguistics breakdown. I had figured out most of it from context (basically that the first was a greeting and the second was a command to the horse to run), but I like the detail. I had sort of assumed that Dunadan was another alias for Strider, since we've been getting those at a rate of one a chapter so far. But I guess it's more generic.
Rkprcg gung, nf V haqrefgnaq vg, ur vf *gur* Qhanqna ng Eviraqryy naq gur ryirf gurer fbzrgvzrf pnyy uvz gung fvzcyl ersrevat gb uvz. Gung'f orpnhfr ur'f gur urve bs gubfr zra jub yvirq va gur jrfg: ng Ahzrebe, fb vg'f abg fvzcyl nabgure anzr sbe "zna" ohg n irel fcrpvsvp xvaq bs zna.
Fb lrf, nabgure nyvnf V guvax. Vf fbzrbar xrrcvat genpx?
Fb sne jr unir:
Fgevqre
Ybatfunaxf
Nentbea
Qúanqna
Nu gunaxf. V zhfg unir unys-erzrzorerq gung naq gura tbggra pbashfrq. V'z gelvat gb xrrc genpx bs gur nyvnfrf (abg whfg bs Nentbea, ohg bs rirelbar. V guvax Nentbea unf gur zbfg, gubhtu). Gubhtu V zhfg gunax Gnhevry sbe orngvat zr gb gur chapu guvf gvzr
Yes, doesn't Ovyob pnyy uvz Qharqna ng fbzr cbvag?
He does. 🙂
Also, the singular form is Dúnadan, plural is Dúnedain. That's Sindarin grammar for you – the vowels change in plural form. Another example is "amon" (hill) and "emyn" (hills)
…and suddenly a bunch of place names make more sense!
Mind = Blown!
Bu, fb gung'f jul vg'f "Nzba Ura" ohg gura "Rzla Zhvy." Pbby! Gung'f n irel Byq-Ratyvfu jnl bs tbvat nobhg vg.
One thing I LOVE is that people are like, "Say what?" and don't realise that we have remnants of this in English… woman/women 😀 – something we take for granted. I <3 languages!
PS I'm now wondering, does Sindarin therefore carry the meaning mostly in the consonants, like Hebrew? (And, IIRC, Arabic?) for example, in Hebrew "love" (as a noun) is "ahava", but "to love" is "le'ehov" and "I love" is "ani ohev(et)", because the meaning is carried in the aleph (which is said differently depending on which vowels it carries) and the "h" and "v" sounds, with the vowels basically giving you the grammatical points. It has made it brain twisting but incredibly interesting to learn… I don't know how much (if any) similarity that has with Sindarin but it made me wonder, because a mutation of vowels reminded me very much of that quirk of Hebrew grammar.
I think the word "to write" is the one commonly sited but I may be mixing that up with Arabic. It's all fasquinating stuff though 😀
those drawings are fantastic! thanks for posting.
'Mae Govannon' and the 'Noro Lim, Asfaloth' are some of Elvish lines I've memorized through re-reading. love it.
Thanks, I'm saving those pictures.
Those are very pretty.
<3 Sindarin. Did you know Tolkien based the phonology of Sindarin on Welsh and the phonology of Quenya on Finnish? Not sure if those languages influenced the grammar as well. Anyone know? I gave up all my tries on learing Quenya a couple of years ago (tho my love of LotR combined with the Deverry-saga by Kerr did influence my decission on learning Welsh…) so I've no clue as to word order or anything. Then again, I do doubt that since Sindarin and Quenya most likely are related, and Welsh and Finnish very much isn't.
Taking a quick look at Quenya phonology, uh, well, not much Finnish there. Quenya has a voicing distinction in plosives plus a range of fricatives which Finnish both lacks*, and its vowel system lacks the front rounded vowels, plus no vowel harmony or consonant gradation as they occur in Finnish.
Also a shameful lack of dipthongs.
*Well, okay, Finnish does have native /t/ v /d/, but afaia, these are a relatively recent innovation as /d/ is the weak form of /t/ in the consonant gradation system, and originally varied by dialect but was often something like [ð]. /b/ and /g/ only occur in recent loans, and are thus not very indicative of its native phonology.
Well, perhaps not based on as much as inspired by. And after reading some wikipedia it seems he was influenced by (among other) Finnish when it comes to grammar as well.
It's just sad when two of the imho most interesting/inspiring parts of Finnish (vowel harmony and consonant gradation) don't serve as inspiration 😛
Yeah. I don't know much of Finnish, but vowel harmony and consonant gradiation is facinating. I mean, they are quite logical phenomenons (phenomeni? My English fails me today…) but oh so interesting. Then again, I don't think Sindarin has the initial mutation of Celtic languages, and I've always liked that feature. Dissapointed, Tolkien!
But it kinda gives me the idea to actually do create a language family where two daughters have initial mutation in one branch and consonant gradation in the other… oh dear what would the diachronics for that be
And that'd be phenomena, it's from a Greek neuter 😛
-i only goes to some Latin stems.
(On a personal note, English plural is s dammit, why can't you use it (says the guy whose language considers it okay to borrow Komma – Kommata from Greek))
I'm really curious how many languages you speak (fluently, conversationally, enough to get in trouble, whatever). You're providing all the German info over in the Buffy comments and some French and Spanish yesterday. Now Finnish and others. I'm impressed!
Well, German is my mother tongue and I'm fluent in English and conversational in French (though my reading comprehension is way better than either my listening or speaking skills).
Apart from that, I took Latin in school (plus one year of Ancient Greek voluntarily to get in good with the teacher, who also taught Latin), hence why I can go Hermione on plural endings there.
Thanks to Latin and French, there's some basic passive understanding of most Romance languages, and with English and German, of the other Germanic languages (but again more written than spoken); but for other languages, it's really only the touristy/superbasic stuff (basically my Spanish, and I know enough Finnish to play the Which Meat Am I Buying game).
Add to that some assorted swears from some other languages >_>
(I also studied Sanskrit for like half a semester, but all I took from that was a heightened ability to curl my tongue in interesting ways)
Also also, I'm a conlanger, though I'm not actually fluent in any of my self-made languages *nerdy sadface*
I bow to your language skills. 🙂 My mother language is Slovak, and I can speak Czech (I was born in Czechoslovakia and lived in it for 10 years until it split up) and I know enough Polish to get around (it's a similar language to Slovak and Czech). I'm also fluent in English, conversational in French, and know a little bit of German (enough not to get lost in a German-speaking country, but sadly, I forgot most of what I learned in high school). But I don't know much Latin, only a few bits and pieces used in Catholic liturgy…
Bow, and nyy funyy ybir zr naq qrfcnve.
Cool stuff, too, though!
I know sadly very little about any Slavic language (except for kur(v/w)a, go figure) except for some IE-studies-related stuff.
Catholic liturgy, um… what was that again… 😛 I can recite the Hail Mary in Latin, but apart from that, the stuff I really remember is mostly the naughty parts from Catullus' work 😀
Apart from various short responses like "Dominus vobiscum" – "Et cum spiritu tuo" I know the texts of:
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus + Benedictus
Agnus Dei
(all the above mostly because I sing in a choir and we often study and sing various masses by classical composers 🙂 )
The Lord's Prayer
Hail Mary
Requiem
In short, enough Latin to get through a mass, but not much practical use in real life… 😀
I guess there is a limit to how much use Latin is in real life however good at it you are!! 🙂
(I have choir-Latin too, enough to know what I am singing (or rather, used to sing, as it's a long time since I have been in a choir that sang in Latin!) but pretty much useless outside that situation.
I find – I suspect other polyglots find the same – that the more languages you study the more the passive understanding grows without even thinking about it. I don't have as much fluency in as many languages as you do (I wish!) – I speak Russian fluidly (used to be fluently but that would be a highly misleading word to use now :p) have 1st year of uni French, a year of Croatian at uni, some German and Spanish at school, a (very) little Hebrew and Arabic, and a smattering of "holiday phrases" in a bunch of languages, and I find that there are a lot of languages or at least words where I can make intelligent guesses but I frequently don't realise how much of my language skills I've retained till I realise that what seems obvious to me is totally not obvious to someone without the language background.
Hehe, if you want help with language making… Although grammar isn't my strong side really. I'm more in to sociolinguistics and bilingualism.
And I knew dropping out of Latin would come back and bite me one day (that said, I'm glad I gave priority to Old Irish even if it's not nearly as useful, or indeed usefull at all). Though I do know it's either octopuses or octopodes and not octopi:P
Grammar-wise… let's see, Wikipedia says Quenya has a particular/partitive plural, which, uh, what does that mean; anyways, the partitive in Finnish is a regular case, but of particular importance as it shares a number of functions found in what is the accusative in IE langs with case (for example, it expresses an atelic aspect versus the accusative's telic one).
Some of the case forms do seem vaguely inspired by Finnish:
– Q. INSTR -nen is identical to a Finnish common Finnish ending (sini > sininen blue, kulta gold > kultanen darling )
– Q. LOC -ssë is similar to F. INESS -ssa
– Q. ABL -llo is similar to F. ADESS -lla and ALL -lle
Quenya has a negative verb, which is like Finnish, but inflects with a different pattern.
And apparently, Quenya does lack a gender distinction in 3rd person pronouns and only has an animacy distinction, which is similar to Standard Finnish.
"a shameful lack of dipthongs" hee hee
Figures I'd make a typo while moaning about language stuff 😛
But seriously. Look at this table of diphthongs BAMF
Yep. 🙂 I'm not very well versed in Sindarin grammar, but Quenya grammar seems to be largely based on Latin – there are 10 cases for nouns, for instance. And I like Quenya better – mostly because it was much more developed by Tolkien than Sindarin, so there's more system to it.
Fantastic pictures 😀 LOVE that second one 🙂
For anyone who's wondering how to pronounce these words:
Vedui, Dúnadan, noro, and Asfaloth are all stressed on the first syllable. Govannen is stressed on the second. Two-syllable words are always stressed on the first syllable; longer words are stressed on the third-to-last syllable unless the second-to-last is a "heavy" syllable (one containing a long vowel, a diphthong, or – as in govannen – a vowel followed by multiple consonants.)
The vowels are (approximately) a as in father, e as in bet, i as in machine, o as in dog, u as in true. In Sindarin, the groups ai, ae, au, ei, oe, and ui are diphthongs (pronounced as a single syllable with the two vowels squished together.) Sindarin also has the vowel y, which is pronounced like the u in French lune, a sound we don't have in English.
Consonants are basically pronounced as you would expect. The th of Asfaloth is unvoiced (as in thin, not as in this. Tolkien uses dh to represent the sound of this.) The double n of govannen should be longer than a normal n (as in penknife rather than penny.)
Does that cover everything? 🙂
I think so. 🙂
Where did you learn all this? I really wish I could speak Elvish, if only to annoy people.
Ardalambion is a great website dedicated to Tolkien's languages. It also has a course for Quenya. 🙂
But I can't really speak Quenya, sadly. 🙁 Never had enough time to study it properly and learn to actually speak it.
*clutches pearls, swoons* can there just be a thread with illustrations of Glorfindel, please and thank you
Everything hurts and nothing is beautiful, as this chapter starts… 🙁 Frodo is seriously wounded by a weapon that sounds like serious DARK MAGIC. Thankfully, Aragorn knows how to help – if not heal, then at least slow the work of poison. Plenty of warmth and washing the wound with athelas infusion.
There is a sense of urgency, but as we know, the journey from Weathertop to Rivendell might take TWO FRIGGIN' WEEKS and it's very frustrating, especially now that they need to carry the wounded Frodo as well and get him to Elrond ASAP so that Frodo can be healed. Their subsequent march seems frustratingly slow… 🙁
In the last few days the poor beast had improved wonderfully; it already seemed fatter and stronger, and had begun to show an affection for its new masters, especially for Sam. Bill Ferny’s treatment must have been very hard for the journey in the wild to seem so much better than its former life.
YEAH, FUCK YOU, BILL FERNY! :@ Good for the pony, though, I'm glad it's getting better and becoming friends with Sam. <3
They come at last to River Hoarwell (it really does help to follow the route on the map that's at the back of the book – I don't know whether you have it on Kindle, Mark, but it really is very helpful!).
He held out his hand, and showed a single pale-green jewel. ‘I found it in the mud in the middle of the Bridge,’ he said. ‘It is beryl, an elf-stone. Whether it was set there, or let fall by chance, I cannot say; but it brings hope to me. I will take it as a sign that we may pass the Bridge; but beyond that I dare not keep to the Road, without some clearer token.’
Yeah, a precious stone lying on the road is a bit weird, but I agree with Aragorn that it seems a good sign – especially since it's an "elf-stone". Maybe help is coming?
(con'd)
‘The heirs of Elendil do not forget all things past,’ said Strider; ‘and many more things than I can tell are remembered in Rivendell.’
‘Have you often been to Rivendell?’ said Frodo.
‘I have,’ said Strider. ‘I dwelt there once, and still I return when I may. There my heart is; but it is not my fate to sit in peace, even in the fair house of Elrond.’
"Gurer zl urneg vf." – Bu zna, Nejra! <3 Rira gubhtu gur fgbel bs Nentbea naq Nejra vfa'g nf ivfvoyr va gur obbx (orsber gur Nccraqvk, bs pbhefr) nf vg vf va gur svyz, vg'f fgvyy gurer va gur onpxtebhaq naq orgjrra gur yvarf, vs lbh xabj jurer gb ybbx. Rfcrpvnyyl hcba er-ernqf. 🙂
The next few pages are cold and wet and depressing and frustrating… Frodo's getting worse even though his wound has closed, and Sam is getting suspicious about Strider again… And then we come to a familiar place! 😀
Strider walked forward unconcernedly. ‘Get up, old stone!’ he said, and broke his stick upon the stooping troll. Nothing happened. There was a gasp of astonishment from the hobbits, and then even Frodo laughed. ‘Well!’ he said. ‘We are forgetting our family history! These must be the very three that were caught by Gandalf, quarrelling over the right way to cook thirteen dwarves and one hobbit.’
ZOMG SQUEEEEE BILBO'S TROLLS!!! <3 😀
(con'd)
I love how almost cheerful this part is, especially with Sam's song (which is actually pretty good and funny).
‘I am learning a lot about Sam Gamgee on this journey. First he was a conspirator, now he’s a jester. He’ll end up by becoming a wizard – or a warrior!’
*favttre favttre* Bu Sebqb, lbh ernyyl ner yvxr Znex – znxvat n wbxvat erznex gung npghnyyl cebirf gehr va gur shgher! 😀 Fnz gur Jneevbe vaqrrq – Fnz gur Ovt Ryivfu Jneevbe jub fraqf gur Bepf bs Pvevgu Hatby ehaavaq njnl va srne!
And then they hear the sound of hoofs on the Road, and for a moment they're all afraid that it might be a Black Rider – but it's not! 🙂 It's Glorfindel, an Elf from the house of Elrond, coming to the rescue! Yay for Glorfindel! By the way, his name means "golden-haired". 🙂
Glorfindel works his Elvish magic on Frodo's wound, and it helps a bit, but it's clear that the expertise of Elrond is needed. Glorfindel makes Frodo ride his horse Asfaloth, and very soon the Black Riders (nine of them!) are upon them and Frodo flees to the Ford of Bruinen. It's an amazing race for time, and Frodo manages to get across the Ford – but the Riders follow!
And then… a huge flood comes, that's clearly ELVISH WATERBENDING because there are horses and riders made of water and foam, and washes the Black Riders away. So that's good, but then Frodo falls of his horse and "hears and sees no more" and that's how the first book of LOTR ends. 🙁 Don't be dead, Frodo! 🙁
LOL ELVISH WATERBENDING.
Gung jnf bar bs zl snibevgr cnegf va gur zbivr, gubhtu. Nyfb, V znl be znl abg unir n uhtr pehfu ba Yvi Glyre, fb fbeel Tybesvaqry, nf njrfbzr nf lbhe rkcybvgf ner va Gur Fvyznevyyvba, V fgvyy yvxr gur svyz irefvba bs guvf cneg orggre.
Nf fbzrbar jub nyfb unf n znffvir pehfu ba Yvi naq gbgnyyl jrag gb gur cerzvrer bs WREFRL TVEY whfg gb zrrg ure naq ure zbz tnir zr n uht naq gunaxrq zr sbe pbzvat? V srry ln. V srry ln.
Frrvat ure vf zl fbyr zrzbel bs gur genvyre sbe gur svefg svyz, naq V perqvg gung jvgu zl jngpuvat vg. FB LRNU.
Slight movie spoilers
Qba'g or qrnq, Sebqb!
N sha qevaxvat tnzr vf gb qb n fubg rirel gvzr Sebqb nyzbfg qvrf va gur zbivr. Rnpu gvzr, gur fperra phgf gb oynpx naq lbh unir n punapr gb guvax "Sebqb'f qrnq, fgbel'f bire" orsber vg pbzrf onpx.
Vs Sebqb fgneg sbnzvat ng gur zbhgu naq fjbbavat, lbh xabj vg'f onq.
Urur, V jbaqre ubj qehax lbh'q trg pbzovavat gung jvgu qevaxvat rirelgvzr Sebqb fnlf "Bu Fnz".
VERY, I should think 😀
"Gurer zl urneg vf" znqr zr fzvyr. <3
Naq V'z fgvyy cvpghevat Ryebaq nf Znfgre Cnxxh.
…That image just about works.
Naq Fnz gur Evat Ornere!
big thumbs up to what you said iin rot13. book really does reward re-reads.
naq qba'g sbetrg Nentbea terj hc va Eviraqryy & Ryebaq vf yvxr n sbfgre sngure gb uvz. ohg lrnu, uvf urneg vf gurer orpnhfr bs Nejra.
I think I read it twice a year in my late teens and early twenties…
''"Gurer zl urneg vf." – Bu zna, Nejra! <3 Rira gubhtu gur fgbel bs Nentbea naq Nejra vfa'g nf ivfvoyr va gur obbx (orsber gur Nccraqvk, bs pbhefr) nf vg vf va gur svyz, vg'f fgvyy gurer va gur onpxtebhaq naq orgjrra gur yvarf, vs lbh xabj jurer gb ybbx. Rfcrpvnyyl hcba er-ernqf. 🙂 "
Vg'f jul gur gnyr bs Orera naq Yhguvra vf vzcbegnag nf n punenpgre cbvag naq abg whfg enaqbz rkcbfvgvba be gb znxr gur punenpgref srry orggre ng n pnzcsver.
V qba'g erzrzore ubj zhpu fur'f va gur obbxf, rkprcg gung vg'f irel yvggyr. V ubcr fur qbrf unir fbzr crefbanyvgl va gurz gubhtu. V jnag gb yvxr ure.
Vg'f qrsvavgryl fbbbb zhpu rnfvre gb cvpx Nejra eryngrq ovgf hc ba er-ernqf… ybgf bs "buuuuuuuuuu lrf" zbzragf :Q
He calls it a beryl, but given that it's pale green, we'd know it more commonly as an emerald or aqua-marine. Nice find, just sitting out in the mud. >_>
Abg yvtugyl qb gur trzf bs Eviraqryy snyy?
Since it’s light green, I always assumed it was a heliodor, not an emerald. Now I’m curious which colour varietal Tolkien was actually picturing, or whether he was just going by the name definition.
The heliodors I've seen are more of a pale golden color, but the sheer variation of color that is possible with beryl makes it hard to determine.
Still. Precious gem. In the mud.
I always assumed it was jade, for some reason. Or possibly green fluorite.
I assumed beryl, simply because if it's traditional connection to Elves in fairy tales.
Well, it's outright called a beryl in the book, so… emerald, aqua-marine, or heliodor.
Also, Nentbea vf pnyyrq "Rys-Fgbar," uvf flzobyvp evat/fvta bs orvat gur Urve bs Ryraqvy unf na rzrenyq ba vg, naq ur znxrf fher gung Ovyob'f fbat nobhe Rneraqvy unf na rzrenyq va vg. Ybgf bs rzrenyqf.
Movie spoilers:
Jung ner lbhe bcvavbaf ba tvivat Nejra Tybesvaqry'f cneg urer?
I don't hate it, but I don't love it either – I think that's as far as I can define my feelings I certainly understand why it might have been necessary from a filmmaking p.o.v.
V qvqa'g yvxr vg, vs bayl orpnhfr V unir n zbafgre pehfu ba Tybesvaqry naq ernyyl jnagrq gb frr uvz… ohg V nyfb xvaq bs jnagrq gb frr Nejra nf gur obbxf naq nccraqvprf unq qrfpevorq ure- va synfuonpxf jvgu Nentbea gung npghnyyl fubjrq gur ortvaavatf bs gurve eryngvbafuvc naq Nejra'f fgeratgu guebhtubhg vg, engure guna gur raqyrff cerggl fubgf gung gbyq abguvat naq znqr Nejra frrz yvxr guvf jvful-jnful crefba jub jnfa'g erfbyhgr va ure ybir sbe Nentbea. Naljnl! Enag sbe nabgure gvzr.
Zl znwbe crg crrir jvgu gung cneg npghnyyl vfa'g Nejra qbvat vg nf zhpu nf gurl znqr Sebqb frrz yvxr ur jnf pbzcyrgryl vapncnpvgngrq naq guhf cerpyhqrq jung V gubhtug jnf bar bs uvf fgebatrfg zbzragf va gur fgbel: jura ur nggrzcgf gb qrsl gur Evqref rira gubhtu ur pna oneryl fgnl hcevtug va gur fnqqyr. V jbhyq unir orra tehqtvatyl bxnl jvgu zvffvat bhg ba zl ubg Ryira Ybeq vs gurl'q xrcg Sebqb nf ur jnf naq fubja ubj fgebat ur jnf va gur snpr bs gur bofgnpyrf, naq vafgrnq gurl znqr uvz frrz pbzcyrgryl bhg bs vg. Juvpu naablrq zr pbafvqrenoyl.
GY;QE- Unq n pehfu ba Tybesvaqry, fb V jnf qvfnccbvagrq, ohg birenyy, Nejra'f abg zl ovttrfg ceboyrz jura vg pbzrf gb gung fprar.
Lrn, V jnf fnq gb frr gung punatr va Sebqb, ohg V guvax gurl unq gb znxr vg va beqre gb ernyyl qevir ubzr gur snpg gung guvf jbhaq vf frevbhf naq ur’f orpbzvat n jenvgu. Sbe gubfr bs hf jub unir ernq gur obbxf, jr nyernql xabj gung, ohg aba-ernqref qba’g. V guvax vg urycf gurz vs gurl frr n qenfgvp culfvpny punatr. V srry yvxr n ybg bs Sebqb’f ~zbzragf bs fgeratgu~ jrer phg va gur zbivr, be gbarq qbja, va beqre gb fubj ubj cbjreshy gur evat jnf. V haqrefgnaq jul gurl unq gb qb gung (vg’f xvaq bs uneq pbaivapvat crbcyr n evat vf greevslvat) ohg vg jnf fnq.
This is very true… gur nhqvrapr arrqf gb xabj gung guvf vf fbzr frevbhf fuvg naq qnatrebhf naq Sebqb ernyyl pbhyq qvr, naq bs pbhefr jvgubhg tbvat bss na n enag nobhg ubj rivy naq cbjreshy gur Evat vf, gurl arrqrq gb svaq fbzr jnl bs pbairlvat gung.
I wrote about it above but: Tybesvaqry qbrf abguvat ryfr, ernyyl, va gur obbx, naq vg freirf nf n tbbq jnl gb vagebqhpr Nejra'f punenpgre naq ure eryngvbafuvc jvgu Nentbea. Sebz n fgbelgryyvat crefcrpgvir, vg znxrf gbgny frafr.
There's a discussion on this in the second comment up above. Basically, I think it was necessary from a filmmaking standpoing. (rot13): Zhpu yvxr erzbivat Gbz Obzonqvy, gurl unq gb qb vg gb xrrc gur cybg nf gvtug nf cbffvoyr. Gur cnegf va gur Byq Sberfg jvgu Gbz naq gur Jvyybj ner nyy irel vagrerfgvat onpxfgbel naq terng jbeyq-ohvyqvat, ohg gurl ner pbzcyrgryl veeryrinag gb gur cybg: Gbz arire fubjf hc ntnva naq unf ab erny cneg va gur hygvzngr dhrfg gb qrfgebl gur Evat. Tybesvaqry vf gur fnzr xvaq bs guvat. Vg'f terng gb frr fbzrbar jub vf fbzrguvat bs n yrtraq uvzfrys va gur pbagrkg bs gur jbeyq… ohg ur'f arire vzcbegnag gb gur cybg ntnva.
Sbe n zbivr, vg znqr zhpu zber frafr gb cerfrag Nejra naq gur ortvaavat bs gur Nentbea/Nejra fgbelyvar guna guebj va nabgure punenpgre jub qbrfa'g ernyyl sbejneq gur cybg.
V haqrefgnaq jul gurl qvq vg, ohg V'z fbeel fhpu na njrfbzr punenpgre tbg phg bhg sbe vg.
V'z va snibhe bs vg. YBGE vf n ovg bs n fnhfntr srfg nf vg vf, ynpxvat va fgebat srznyr punenpgref nsgre Rbjla.
Yvxr V fnvq va gur guernq nobir, V qba'g zvaq Nejra ercynpvat Tybesvaqry, ohg V QB ZVAQ gung va gur svyz fur perngrf gur sybbq. Fur pna'g unir qbar, fur qbrfa'g jvryq n Evat bs Cbjre! Tee.
Vg'f shaal, orpnhfr fb znal crbcyr frrz gb unir unq gung zvfnccerurafvba (abg crbcyr jub'q ernq gur obbxf orsber boivbhfyl!) ohg svefg gvzr V fnj vg, V qvqa'g guvax gung fur perngrq vg. Naljnl, V gnyxrq nobhg gung ryfrjurer (va n ercyl gb bar bs lbhe pbzzragf V guvax!) fb V jvyy erfvfg ercrngvat zlfrys 😉
V ernyyl yvxrq gung gurl tnir Tybesvaqry’f cneg gb Nejra. Nf bgure crbcyr unir zragvbarq, ur vfa’g ernyyl nyy gung vzcbegnag gb gur fgbel, juvyr Nejra vf. V arire ernyyl yvxrq Tybesvaqry naljnl, naq V unir ab vqrn jul.
Thanks, everybody–I didn't mean to start a redundant thread of conversation. When I started typing, there were no other comments on the post, then by the time I got logged in and cyphered and posted, other comments had appeared!
Anyway, you all have great points. Thanks for your insight!
V, gbb, pna frr sebz na nqncgngvba CBI jul lbh'q jnag gb chg va n punenpgre jvgu jubz gur nhqvrapr arrqf gb znxr n pbaarpgvba va cynpr bs n punenpgre lbh bayl frr bapr. Nygubhtu, gurer'f nyjnlf orra fbzrguvat nobhg Nejra va gurfr svyzf gung ehof zr gur jebat jnl. V pna'g dhvgr cynpr zl svatre ba vg. Znlor vg'f gur oerngul jnl fur gnyxf. V qba'g ungr ure, ohg V svaq zlfrys ebyyvat zl rlrf ng ure fbzrgvzrf. Gung'f abg ubj V srry nobhg ure ernqvat gur obbxf/nccraqvprf.
Gur cbvagf nobhg Sebqb ner jryy-znqr, gbb. V thrff vg jnf nabgure vafgnapr bs jnagvat gb hc gur frafr bs qnatre naq fubj ubj cbjreshy Fnheba naq uvf sbeprf ner–ohg V fher qb zvff cyhpxl yvggyr Sebqb fbzrgvzrf.
don't like, though it was well done. Sebqb vf zl (naq YBGE'f) ureb & ur jnf abg jryy-freirq ol guvf punatr.
V guvax gur ceboyrz vf gung va gur tenaq fpurzr bs guvatf, Tybesvaqry vf guvf onqnff Ryira Ybeq xvaqn thl jub unf ybgf bs cbjre naq fb ba, ohg uvf pbagevohgvba gb gur npghny fgbel bs gur YBGE cneg bs Zvqqyr Rnegu vf cerggl fznyy. Nyfb, Nejra trgf fb yvggyr fperra gvzr va gur obbx gung jura fur fubjf hc naq zneevrf Nentbea ng gur raq vg'f rnfl gb tb, fnl jung abj?
Va n obbx, fbzrguvat lbh pna trg njnl jvgu, ohg V pna gbgnyyl frr jul gurl qvq vg sbe n zbivr, naq npghnyyl V ybir gung gurl tnir Nejra n ovttre ebyr. Fur vf nsgre nyy Nentbea'f ybir vagrerfg naq bar bs uvf znva zbgvingvbaf.
I think Sam's poem about the trolls is my favourite in the entire trilogy- which is saying a lot. I love Tolkien's poetry.
But it's so cute! And I like the rhyming scheme! It's just adorable, and so is Sam and his apparent denial of having hidden depths.
To be honest I really didn't like how they stop to hear Sam sing his comic song in this bit while Frodo is basically MORTALLY WOUNDED and LIVING ON BORROWED TIME. "Oh, hey, guys, you can have your fun singing about trolls gnawing your nuncles' shins, 'cos I'll be over here busy DYING kthnx"
But I do like that Tolkien included Merry saying, essentially, 'let's have a song or story to distract us while we rest.' They don't have a TV or internet to turn on for distraction, so I can grok it.
Yeah, I mean, Frodo has to stop and take breaks, and a song probably distracts the pain.
V pna frr jul gurl qvq gur gvzr pbzcerffvba sbe gur svyzf. Vg jbhyq unir orra fyvtugyl nagv-pyvznpgvp gb unir Sebqb trg fgnoorq naq gura unir 20 zvahgrf be fb bs gurz jnyxvat naq fvatvat!
They are travelling for *days* and need to rest – and even sleep. It's no bad thing to have Sam cheering them up.
Who the hell is the pale king? I actually went back to read the end of the last chapter, and there’s no pale king? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?
He is the leader of the Black Riders, who stabbed Frodo. When Frodo put on the Ring, he could see under their cloaks, they seemed pale and shrouded, and their leader had a crown on his head. Therefore – pale king. 🙂
Although this is all so awful and tense, I find myself giggling while reading that Aragorn found the athelas by smelling it in the dark. Did he sniff every plant within miles? And how offhandedly he tells about this. "This is athelas, amazing powers, and we're lucky I found it by crawling through the scrub and smelling at like 10.000 plants on my way." It probably isn't funny at all, but I crack up every time.
While I never caught this, I often find random things Aragorn does hilarious. In particular, V xabj vg vf fhccbfrq gb or ernyyl cbjreshy, ohg V nyjnlf penpx hc ng gur cneg jurer ur fubjf Fnheba uvf fjbeq va gur zntvp ybbxvat-onyy. V vzntvar vg yvxr n qnapr bss.
LOL love this 😀
lol 😀
V pna'g uryc ohg vzntvar vg nyy njxjneq. Yvxr, vs ur tbg pybfr rabhtu sbe uvz gb frr uvf snpr, Fnheba pbhyqa'g frr gur jubyr yratgu bs gur fjbeq naq cebir vg jnf ersbetrq fb Nenentbea'q unq gb onpx n srj fgrcf naq gura pybfr va ntnva gb fubj gur cbzzry (V guvax vg'f gur fnzr bar nf Anefvy'f). Gura, qvq ur fubj uvz Tnynqevry'f fpnooneq? Vg jnf cerggl naq unq eharf rkcynvavat vg nyy.
Zrnajuvyr, Fnheba vf bayl na rlr.
Jung qb lbh xabj, znlor gur cnynagíev unir n mbbz srngher… :p
Actually, they did, but it wasn’t very user-friendly. There’s an essay in Unfinished Tales all about them, and last year I quoted the relevant section on another blog, so I won’t repeat it all here.
Hahaha this is awesome
Never thought of that before … that's amazing.
I always have difficulty with the geography of this chapter; i have to go back to the map and mentally trace their journey because building the images of the country has always been a bit of a chore for me. But I do love how bleak and depressing the entire land seems. It's like the whole world is conspiring against them and I love seeing them try to cope with it and make for Rivendell.
Sam's poem (or 'bit o' nonsense') is one of my favorite things ever.
Glorfindel was my first legit instance of fangirling. Ten years old and this elven lord had me completely swept off my feet. (Znl be znl abg unir orra n snpgbe va zl naablnapr gung ur jnf phg sebz gur zbivr…)
This entire chapter is something I always point to when I tell people Frodo's one of my favorite characters. I love that he doesn't want to leave his friends behind and I love that he tries to make a stand at the Ford. Even though it ultimately fails, he's still fighting the influence the Riders wield over him and he's struggling to maintain his freedom even though he's one little hobbit against nine Riders. The very fact that he can do so much given his wound and his isolation is amazing, yet he does it. Even when he's sick and weak and can barely do anything for himself, he still does his best to keep up and help the others get through as quickly as he can. That seed of courage has woken indeed.
I was thinking much the same thing myself, about all the hobbits. Here are four very small people who have never really been outside into the larger world, and now they've been traveling for weeks and facing terrible conditions and pretty much constant, terrifying, mortal danger from the Riders. None of them even really complain, and they all keep going! I'm pretty sure I would have freaked out and bailed at the first sign of trouble. Hobbits are clearly made of incredibly stern stuff. If they weren't so content living quietly in the Shire, they could probably rule the world.
<3 THIS, and this is why we love hobbits so much. They are basically awesome, naq rira jura gurl tb onpx ubzr naq fbeg rirelguvat bhg, vg'f abg yvxr gurl gel naq npg nyy ovt obbgf, lrnu gurl ner unccl gb unir n ovg zber erpbtavgvba naq fghss ohg gurl ner zbfgyl whfg unccl gb or onpx ubzr naq unir sevraqf naq beqvanel yvirf gb tb onpx gb. They're all kinds of awesome 😀
Yes! The hobbits are just awesome! <3 I mean, who wouldn't want to have friends like the hobbits? All of their qualities are part of what (at least I think) creates and maintains great relationships: light-heartedness, kindness, love, loyalty, honesty, compassion, patience, etc.
Ultimate Hufflepuffs!
Oh dear me, I agree with you completely about Glorfindel. He got my attention right off.
Yrtbynf? Anu, jura V ernq gur obbxf ur jnf abg arneyl fb vagrerfgvat gb zr nf Tybesvaqry. Naq gura svaqvat bhg yngre gung Tybesvaqry qvrq xvyyvat n Onyebt naq jnf erfheerpgrq orpnhfr ur jnf whfg gung onqnff…
Fheryl ur jnf erfheerpgrq orpnhfr ur vf na Rys? Ur jnf erfheerpgrq onpx ba Zvqqyr Rnegu orpnhfr ur jnf WHFG GUNG ONQNFF gubhtu :Q
Jryy, ur pbhagf nf bar bs gur Rkvyrf, fb V qbhog ur'q unir orra erobqvrq dhvgr fb fbba…
Gur jnl V ernq vg, uvf urebvfz tbg uvz erobqvrq rneyl, nf jryy nf orvat nyybjrq gb pebff gur Frn ntnva.
OIC!
Yes yes yes to your paragraph about Frodo! He's my hero.
Reading your comments about how massive and detailed Middle-Earth is reminds me that every time I take up these books, I keep a bookmark on the Maps pages so I can go back and forth and check where they are and what progress they have made otherwise I get completely lost.
Whenever I’m reading the maps I always think they’re way farther to the right than they actually are. They’re just inching across the map and they’re already a month+ into their journey!
And in his reviews for The Hobbit Mark thought they got here the same day they set out from Hobbiton! I laughed quite a bit at his confusion there.
My favorite part about this chapter is that the trolls Bilbo encountered in chapter 2 of his story don't show up until page 200 of Frodo's. It just drives home how far they still have to go. I also laughed at the hobbits' fear of the trolls and Aragorn's dismissal of "It's daytime, you fools"
As to Frodo's sword flashing red, I just chalk that up to Middle Earth being saturated with magic. In The Hobbit, Bilbo's sword glowed blue when there were orcs around. So I figured Frodo's sword was having a similar reaction to the Black Riders.
Sebqb'f pheerag fjbeq vf, bs pbhefr, bar bs gur fjbeqf gnxra sebz gur oneebj bs n zna jub qvrq svtugvat gur Jvgpu-Xvat bs Natzne'f sbeprf. Vg'f qrfvtarq sbe svtugvat evatjenvguf! :Q
V gel gb xrrc genpx bs gubfr fjbeqf. Rirelbar tbg bar sebz gur Oneebjf, naq gurl ner yvxr ZnpThssvaf abobql cnlf nggragvba gb, hagvy gurl ner hfrq va urebvp znaare.
Fb rirelbar unf gurve fjbeqf abj, Zreel jvyy hfr uvf bar ba gur Jvgpu-Xvat, Cvccva ba gur gebyy ng Oynpx Tngr (vs V'z abg zvfgnxra?) naq Fnz ba Furybo'f rlr. Ohg jung nobhg Sebqb? V qba'g erzrzore uvz hfvat uvf fjbeq nsgre ur tbg gur Fgvat. Jnf guvf vg'f urebvp zbzrag?
Sebqb'f fjbeq tbg qrfgeblrq va guvf puncgre, evtug? V qba'g guvax V abgvprq vg orsber, ohg vg frrzf jrveq gb zr abj gung gur Anmthy pbhyq whfg fcrnx n jbeq naq unir vg funggre yvxr guvf, pbafvqrevat gur fjbeq'f bevtvaf.
Qrfgeblvat fjbeqf vf bar bs gur Anmthy'f guvatf, nccneragyl.
V gbbx gur "erq synfuvat" gb or fbzrguvat gung bayl Sebqb pna frr, uvf creprcgvba orvat punatrq ol gur Evat va gur cerivbhf puncgre naq ol uvf jbhaq va guvf bar.
That's what I took it to mean too.
Oh yeah. How did I miss it this time, I thought I was paying attention. Now when you say it, I remember. Well, you pick up different things during re-reads.
I had the same reaction to the trolls. They've been through a lot already, and one of them is seriously wounded, and they're only at the beginning of their journey. Bilbo's first shit gets real moment was the trolls, but Frodo's had a ton already, and the trolls seem so quaint in comparison to the dangers Frodo faces.
I like your idea about the sword flashing red, too.
Oh Aragorn <3 LOL
In the Annotated Hobbit it says that the journey to Rivendell in LOTR is actually longer than the same journey in The Hobbit, no matter how you figure it–Tolkien added a lot of land between Hobbiton and Rivendell for LOTR, apparently. Either he didn't have the world fully fleshed out while writing The Hobbit, or he just miscalculated the time it would take to get there.
And of course, I'm sure Mark was very pleased that Frodo's arm being paralyzed isn't treated as any kind of detriment to his character. Even with his undeniably slowing them down in a dangerous situation, none of the others ever take it out on him, and he's still able to break free of the Black Riders' mind control to give that awesome declaration "You will have neither the Ring, nor me!"
V pbzcynvarq nobhg guvf nyernql, ohg jbeqf pnaabg qrfpevor zl shel gung gung jnfa'g va gur zbivr- naq gung Sebqb jnf fubja nf onfvpnyyl hfryrff. Bar bs uvf orfg zbzragf.
Gung vf bar guvat gung'f sehfgengvat zr erjngpuvat gur zbivrf; rirel gvzr Sebqb trgf vawherq ur whfg fbeg bs thetyrf naq synvyf nebhaq. V haqrefgnaq gurl pbzcerffrq gur gvzr senzr n YBG naq qvqa'g gnxr gvzr sbe gur fznyyre zbzragf, ohg V qb zvff gur rknzcyrf bs Sebqb'f fgeratgu.
Gurer'f gung bar avpr ovg jurer ur'f gur bar gb svther bhg gur "evqqyr" bs gur qbbe gb Zbevn, ng n cbvag jurer ur jnf cerggl zhpu yhttntr va gur obbx.
Lrf, ohg vg'f ng gur rkcrafr bs Zreel, jub jnf gur bar jub nfxrq gur pehpvny dhrfgvba va gur obbxf.
V ungr gung Sebqb vf abg fubja nf n fgebat punenpgre va gur svyzf
What is that dude doing? He’s just plotting and planning, isn’t he?
He's called Gandalf the GREY. Obviously he's the Grey Eminence of Middle-earth, pulling strings behind everything. *nods*
Everything about this chapter is INCREDIBLY STRESSFUL. When I first read FoTR, I was really accepting of Aragorn and was already depending on him to fix everything, so it was a real surprise to me when he couldn’t heal Frodo.
I love that they stumble upon Bilbo’s trolls naq V ybir gung gurl znxr vg vagb gur zbivr! Gung zhfg unir orra fb pbashfvat sbe crbcyr jub unqa’g ernq nal bs gur obbxf.
So much to comment on!
I love this chapter, because of Frodo's Hero Moment: "You will have neither the ring nor me!"
I love Frodo. He is my hero. I love how he is starting to really fight the power of the ring. (…hatred awoke in him). No longer the blithe hobbit tossing off "I'd like to save the Shire" in Chapter 2. FB fnq gur zbivrf qvqa'g vapyhqr Sebqb'f evqr & fcrrpu. Nejra'f evqr jnf bx. ohg V fgvyy ybir gur svyzf, rfc gur svefg.
Mark – I so agree with your comment here "the way that some of the details of the imagined universe are used to build the fabric of the story help me to believe all of this". The world builiding and detail are especially great because they work in service to the story!!!
and Mark – it's ok not to love everything about these books, to feel that some of it doesn't work for you. Even uber-fans like me will admitt dear Prof T was n't perfect.
Also, "I am not having an elvish horse carry me to safety and leave my friends behind in danger!"
Yes, that was fantastic too, as well as Glorfindel's response
"I am glad Aragorn is here with the hobbits, and I don’t want to imagine what would happen if he weren’t around."
Word. Word word word word word word word word.
Hilariously, the word 'nuncle' has been ruined for me by ASOIAF. If I have to listen to any more fucking Greyjoys go on about their nuncles, I will LOSE MY SHIT.
Sorry, Professor, it's not your fault GRRM occasionally overuses words!
Oh, man, so much this! 😀
Did you know Asha Greyjoy has some nuncles? SHE HAS LIKE TWELVE.
This truly is such an amazing chapter! In my head it always seems much longer than it actually is when I read it– the tension builds and builds, and then we have that eensy moment of comic relief with the trolls, and then the tension starts building again, and then we have that moment of relief when Glorfindel arrives and we relax and think *whew! an Elf! Everything will be fine now* and then– well it's not fine and all of the Nine are after Frodo!
I have read this book countless times, and yet every time I re-read it, I notice something I had never noticed or paid attention to before. In this chapter there are two things:
The first is not something a first-time reader will pick up on:
Nentbea npghnyyl GRYYF gur uboovgf uvf gehr vqragvgl. "Gur urvef bs Ryraqvy qb abg sbetrg nyy guvatf cnfg." Gurl (naq gur svefg gvzr ernqre) ner tbvat gb nffhzr ur zrnaf guvf va n trareny frafr, rira vs gurl fbzrubj xabj jub Ryraqvy vf. OHG Nentbea yvgrenyyl vf GUR urve bs Ryraqvy! Vg arire fgehpx zr gung jnl orsber, ohg, lrnu– ur qrpynerf uvzfrys gb gurz irel fhogyl.
Gur bgure guvat V unq arire abgvprq vf gung Sebqb unf nabgure cerfpvrag qernz: "Ur ynl qbja ntnva naq cnffrq vagb na harnfl qernz, va juvpu ur jnyxrq ba gur tenff va uvf tneqra va gur Fuver, ohg vg frrzrq snvag naq qvz, yrff pyrne guna gur gnyy oynpx funqbjf gung fgbbq ybbxvat bire gur urqtr." Bu Sebqb! Rira gung fbba vg'f pyrne gung lbh jvyy arire gehyl or noyr gb tb ubzr ntnva. *fvtu*
I like the things you caught on this re-reading. very nice
THIS…
All I can say…
Well caught! 🙂
I also love Sam's song, it makes me smile every time I hear it. If you've ever heard the song "The Fox" by Nickel Creek, I think it's the same tune as the troll song is sung to. You can hear how well it fits. Now whenever I read it I hear it to the tune of "The Fox". Yay! (You can hear the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xnF7WglVHo)
PS: Nickel Creek are obviously Tolkien fans, with songs like "In the House of Tom Bombadil"
And Chris Thile, their mandolinist, has a song called "Riddles in the Dark" on his solo album, "Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost"
Excellent musicians the lot of them
My favorite bit from this chapter is Frodo refusing to leave his friends behind in danger, and Glorfindel smiling and explaining that, well, pretty much the Riders would leave them behind and just follow Frodo. Not only for Frodo's awesomeness, but it really puts the journey into a bit of perspective, and keeps the motivations clear. These assholes aren't just assholes for the hell of it; they have a specific single-minded purpose, and understanding that is somewhat important to countering them.
right on. nodding in total agreement to your post.
This chapter is just so fraught with peril isn't it? Absolutely nothing is going right, and the danger of Frodo's injury just makes everything thing worse. Alan Lee's art today is of the trolls! Which it is so much fun to see again!
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/xo4f1v.jpg">
So beautiful. <3
Awesome art <3
Glorfindel! <3 <3 <3
Liga-marta's Glorfindel.
Moon-blossom's Glorfindel.
A version by Jankolas.
Am I a fangirl? …Well, yeah, kinda. I think he might have been the first character I ever fangirled, on the basis of how awesome he seemed. That makes him sort of special to me.:D
I think a DA account is in order just so I can keep track of all these marvelous pictures XD
LOVE the Liga-marta one! Gorgeous!
One of the first things I thought is that the Riders have Voldemort-voices. Because they're cold.
Secondly, this chapter contrasts the Hobbit with the trilogy yet again. We've been going over much the same landscape as in the Hobbit, but with more chapters and more dread, so it hardly feels like the same space.
In addition to that, we get elves and they behave much differently, once again, to how they are in the Hobbit. There, they're more approachable if proud, and kind of silly in Rivendell or humanlike in Mirkwood. Here, both of our encounters have them being kind but still set apart as more beautiful, more otherworldly, like the stars and moon. It's kind of weird going from tralalally to this and viceversa, when I first entered this world.
"Gurl’er gur Avar jvgu gur evatf, evtug? Vf gung ubj gurl unir cbjre bire Sebqb?"
Svanyyl.
Is it a spoiler to say that a scene from this chapter in the trailer is what made me watch the movie? Rira vs cneg bs gung jnf qhr gb n punatr va erfphre.
"Shit just got real!" Should clearly have been the book's subtitle.
I had expected that at one point one or more of the group would get injured or even die, but we are only at the 12th chapter of the first book and Frodo has a cursed wound that leaves his arm immobile and which even an elf can't heal.
I knew from the start that LotR was no fairy tale, it is just much more intense that I thought.
What comes next; does someone lose an eye? A leg? His mind?
This is just the first book and already I feel that this series will leave me in tears.
TOLKIEN, CAN ONE NICE THING HAPPEN TO THESE CHARACTERS?
Well, I guess not.
"Shit just got real!"
Nah. Shit just got fantastic.
"It drags a bit"
Ha.
When Mark started out, I was curious as to his reaction, as this chapter and the previous three are the ones responsible for Tolkien's reputation to describe every leaf on every tree along the way.
I find these chapters also dragging a bit, as much as the slow pace and bountiful description help immersion; and I have known people to give up at around this point. Good for Mark that he appears to enjoy them so far; I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the densest bits are past, and Tolkien's pacing improves in later chapters.
V sbhaq Sebqb naq Fnz'f wbhearl va zbfg bs gur frpbaq unys bs Gjb Gbjref cybqqvat…zvaq lbh, V fgnegrq fxvccvat cnegf naq ernyvmrq V fxvccrq fbzr npghny tbbq fghss…
Oh yeah, that does go on. Though it fits with what they are going through…
V sbhaq Sebqb naq Fnz'f wbhearl sebz Enhebf gb Zbeqbe n ovg fybj, ohg ornenoyr, abg unys nf fybj nf gur svefg 12 puncgref bs Gur Sryybjfuvc bs Gur Evat.
Gur ovg va Erghea bs gur Xvat gubhtu, sebz Pvevgu Hatby gb Zbhag Qbbz, gung vf fybj ntnva. V graq gb fxvc ovgf gurer, ba er-ernq.
V fbzrgvzrf fxvc cnegf bs gurve wbhearl gbb, ohg abg orpnhfr gurl ner obevat, ohg orpnhfr vg vf fb cnvashy gb frr jung gur gjb bs gurz ner tbvat guebhtu.
I think the key is exactly what Mark has already said. Certain passages feel long when that part of the journey feels long to the characters. Whether this is a good idea or bad idea is a matter of opinion, but I usually get the feeling that it is what Tolkien is going for. (Not always though)
There is that.
There is also, IMO, Tolkien's enormous love for the natural landscape. He had a bit of anti-progress in his beliefs, and given how industralisation has mutilated the landscape here and there, I find it hard to disagree with him.
But, lovingly described landscapes, no matter how well-written, do tend to drag the pace of a narrative down.
I had meant to see Trolljegeren but forgotten about it, thanks for reminding me!
Wow, these books really are the archetype for so much of the fantasy genre, aren't they? It's been ages since the last time I read them, so I'm constantly being surprised by how many things are the clear progenitors of things in novels that I've read in the intervening years.
For example, if alethas wasn't the inspiration for aliantha in a certain other fantasy series (not to mention other more explicit parallels later on), I'll eat my hat.
er, athelas. Shoot, didn't we used to be able to edit comments for a brief time after posting? argh.
Yeah, since LOTR was the first fantasy I read, I was really disappointed with other fantasy works for a long time. I thought they were such Tolkien rip-offs that I avoided the whole fantasy genre, only getting back into it recently, through the backdoor of some totally un-Tolkien fantasies.
so many fantasies were published that were horrible rip-offs of Tolkien. (fortunately, he also inspired a renewed interest in the genre as a whole and good books resulted also.) and so many many tropes have their origin in his book! amazing, really
V ybbxrq guebhtu gur gnoyr bs pbagragf, naq jr'er abj n jrrx njnl sebz gur qrngu bs Tnaqnys gur Terl. Naq V ernyyl qb jbaqre ubj Znex jvyy frr gur erghea bs Tnaqnys gur Juvgr, nf rvgure na njrfbzr urebvp erghea be n pbzcyrgr purng. Naq V jvyy arire sbetvir Arj Yvar sbe chggvat uvz va gur Gjb Gbjref genvyre.
They put him in the TRAILER??? *facepalm*
Lrf, lrf gurl qvq. *snprcnyz*
Vg'f gur fprar ng Snatbea jura ur fubjf uvzfrys gb Nentbea, Tvzyl naq Yrtbynf, nyy fuval naq juvgr. V jbaqre ubj gubfr jub qvqa'g xabj gur fgbel gbbx vg. Znlor gurl gubhtug crbcyr jbhyq whfg ernq gur obbxf orgjrra zbivrf, vqx.
OMG they totally did! I completely forgot about that! gurl chg fb zhpu jbex vagb zryqvat Tnaqnys naq Fnehzna'f ibvprf naq vg qvqa'g rira znggre orpnhfr gur genvyre EHVARQ VG
Guvf zryqvat nyjnlf frrzf bss gb zr. Jul jbhyq Tnaqnys hfr Fnehzna'f ibvpr? Nf guvf vf Tnaqnys, ur fubhyq fbhaq yvxr Tnaqnys, ng yrnfg va zl bcvavba.
Yeah, I never liked that decision either. Seemed like a cheap trick.
V guvax vg jnf fhccbfrq gb fubj gung, orvat frag onpx nf 'gur Juvgr', ur gbbx hc Fnehzna'f ebyr naq znagyr – jung Fnehzna jnf fhccbfrq gb or. Vg'f uvf zrzbevrf bs uvf cerivbhf vapneangvba gung znxr uvz zber Tnaqnys-l va orunivbhe.
Vs V erzrzore pbeerpgyl, gur Onxfuv zbivr npghnyyl jrag jvgu znxvat Tnaqnys naq Fnehzna vqragvpny-ybbxvat gb cebir gur cbvag.
Lrnu, V qba'g xabj ubj Znex jbhyq gnxr vg. V sryg zvyqyl purngrq jura Tnaqnys fubjrq hc ohg vg jnf pnapryyrq bhg ol 'BZT TNAQNYS VF ONPX URNEGF SBERIRE!' Ybbxvat onpx jura V ernq gung puncgre V srry n ovg hcfrg orpnhfr vg'f yvxr Gbyxvra punatrq uvf zvaq naq qrpvqrq ur jnagrq Tnaqnys onpx, fb ur nqqrq uvz va n arj sbez. V'z whfg tynq ur qvqa'g tb jvgu Sebqb naq Fnz orpnhfr gung jbhyq'ir orra ubeevoyr.
<3 I am anticipating many headsplosions and keysmashes 😀 and about the trailer… d'oh! Glad I didn't see it!
There are LOTS of spoilers in the movie trailers
I'm glad you finally have accepted Aragorn, even though I totally understand being wary of him at first.
I also love Sam's hidden depths. <3
I greatly welcomed the appearance of the trolls, and allow me to just take a second to beg all of you to go find a Norwegian horror film called Trollhunter and watch it if you have even the slightest modicum of an interest in trolls because it’s genuinely one of the best movies I have ever seen.
I watched it on Christmas! Here's my review:
In the Norwegian Blair Troll Project, some intrepid university students track down a troll hunter who hunts trolls. Like most found-footage movies, nothing interesting happens for half an hour. But then there are trolls! AND THEY LOOK FUCKING RIDICULOUS AND SILLY. But they are kind of big and scary too? But they still look silly. Also, they eat Christians for some reason. Anyway, there is some exciting troll action, even though it's also kind of boring and the intrepid university students have no personalities. But the troll hunter is an interesting guy, so there's that. There are little bits of Norwegian politics that add to the worldbuilding and the THIS IS REEEEEEAL ruse. I was prepared to give it a solid B, but the climax is pretty great. B/B+
Is it a horror film? I've been meaning to watch it but I don't want to be kept up all night worrying about trolls busting through my window, trying to eat me. Your review is making me think twice about watching it…hmmm
Yeah, it's horror. I can't think of a found-footage film that isn't. You may or may not be kept up all night. Like I said, the trolls look damn silly. But they can still eat you.
…good point. I saw the trailer and thought the trolls looked really goofy so I assumed it wasn't a horror film. Well, if the trolls only eat Christians then I'm safe. I guess I won't go out of my way to watch it
I can't say why but personally I didn't really find this one nearly as creepy as a lot of the found footage horror films goes, and there's also more to the plot than "scary things happen", which is nice cause tbqh the fake documentary horror flick thing is getting a little old for me.
YMMV on what you find scary of course, but I didn't think this one was that bad at all.
It's a known fact that the Norwegian Trolls prefer christians. In the fairytales they always go "I can smell the blood of a christian man", and then the poor guy he smells will try to hide behind a rock or wherever else he can, because of course what follows is the Troll trying to eat him.
Flight to the Ford, AKA “Shit gets realer than it has ever been before.” This is definitely my favorite in the first part of the book. Peril! Frodo’s dark magic wound! Black rider chase! Cliffhanger ending!
Rira gubhtu V’z sberire fnq gung Sebqb’f erfphre vf Tybesvaqry naq abg Nejra, naq V guvax guvf frpgvba jnf bar bs gur orfg va gur ragver gevybtl nf vg jnf qbar sbe gur zbivr, V’yy nqzvg gung gur punfr jnf fgvyy cerggl vagrafr.
Frodo figuring out that Sam wrote the poem is a little moment I love because it hints at how close those two are becoming. Nyfb: “Ur’yy raq hc orpbzvat n jvmneq- be n jneevbe!” Uzz, sberfunqbjvat zhpu?
"You will have neither the Ring, nor me!" BAMF Frodo!
I can't say it enough. I love that line by Frodo! "You shall have neither the ring nor me!"
So when reading this last night I thought of two things I wanted to bring up, as they are interesting considering later events. But now I can only remember one of them, dammit.
Fb, V guvax vg'f vagrerfgvat gung Nentba pna'g urny Sebqb urer, naq fnlf, "gurer vf fbzr cbvfba be rivy ng jbex gung vf orlbaq zl fxvyy gb qevir bhg." Ohg va EBGX ur VF noyr gb urny gur Oynpx Oerngu naq jbhaqf vasyvpgrq ol gur Evatjenvguf, fvapr "gur unaqf bs gur Xvat ner unaqf bs n urnyre" (sebz zrzbel, fb abg fher nobhg gur rknpg jbeqvat.) Fb, jung vf gur qvssrerapr? Vf vg gung jura Nentbea vf va Tbaqbe ur unf zber cbjre? Vf vg orpnhfr ur vf irel pybfr gb orvat pebjarq Xvat? V'z vagrerfgrq va crbcyr'f gurbevrf.
V oryvrir gung jungrire qnex fbeprerel vf va gur Zbethy-xavsr, vg vf rkprcgvbanyyl cbgrag- Sebqb, nsgre nyy, vf va qnatre bs orpbzvat n jenvgu uvzfrys, juvyr Zreel naq Rbjla jrer zreryl qlvat. Nyfb, n funeq bs gur xavsr erznvaf vafvqr Sebqb, juvyr abguvat yvxr gung unccrarq gb nalbar va EbgX. Fb V guvax vg'f whfg gung guvf cnegvphyne jbhaq vf *fb* ivehyrag va arrqf creuncf gur terngrfg yvivat urnyre va Zvqqyr-Rnegu gb graq gb vg, juvyr Nentbea vf noyr gb unaqyr gur yrff-cbgrag (gubhtu fgvyy qrnqyl) rssrpgf bs gur Oynpx Oerngu uvzfrys.
good question. will have to give it some thought
Zl gubhtug vf gung Nentbea, ng gung cbvag va gur obbxf, unf npprcgrq uvf evtugshy cynpr nf Xvat bs Tbaqbe. Ur'f abg orra pebjarq lrg, ohg ur'f ab ybatre Fgevqre.
Ng guvf cbvag va gur frevrf, ur'f abg lrg pbzzvggrq gb uvf gnfx. Ur qbrfa'g lrg unir gur funeqf bs Anefvy ersbetrq. Ur'f abg lrg pynvzrq uvf qrfgval.
*urnqfpengpu*
Gur jbhaq Sebqb unf tbrf orlbaq gur Oynpx Oerngu. Ur unf na npghny puvc bs n Zbethy xavsr jbexvat vgf jnl gbjneq uvf urneg, n jbhaq erprvirq juvyr ur jnf vaivfvoyr naq unys va gur evat jenvgu'f jbeyq. Va gur arkg puncgre, vg jnf gbhpu naq tb sbe Sebqb rira haqre gur pner bs Ryebaq (ab hygenfbhaq be K-enl, ru?) hagvy Ryebaq pbhyq svanyyl svaq jurer gur cbvag bs gur oynqr unq jbexrq vgf jnl vajneq. Juvpu vf perrrrrcl.
Gur pybfrfg gb nal jenvgu-eryngrq vawhel: Rbjla unq fgnoorq gur Jvgpu Xvat bs Natzne, gur urnq bs gur evat jenvguf. Ohg gurer'f ab zragvba bs uvz fgnoovat ure jvgu n Zbethy oynqr. Ur whfg oebxr ure nez cbhaqvat ba ure fuvryq jvgu n znpr. Yvxrjvfr, Zreel fgnoorq uvz va gur pnys. Ab zragvba bs nal qverpg vawhel gb Zreel.
Fb V'z tbvat gb nffhzr vg jnf gur puvc bs gur xavsr gung znqr gur vawhel orlbaq Nentbea'f novyvgl, ohg gur Oynpx Oerngu ur pna unaqyr.
Znlor V'ir ernq gbb znal cnebqvrf, ohg gung whfg fbhaqf yvxr n cvpx-hc yvar bhg bs pbagrkg. "Gur unaqf bs gur Xvat ner gur unaqf bs n urnyre, onol. Jnag gb srry zl… urnyvat gbhpu?"
Ngurynf! Nabgure pyhr gb Nentbea'f VQ gung jvyy gbgnyyl syl bire Znex'f urnq gvyy gur er-ernq! Wblbhf :Q
Jvyy jr frr gebyyf? Jryy, bar jvyy arneyl xvyy Sebqb, qbrf gung pbhag??! 😉
This chapter is just full of distress and WTF isn't it?
Ooh – some interesting points in your comment!
Ernqvat guvf V ybir nyy gur yvggyr uvagf nobhg Nentbea. Ur'f nyjnlf yvxr "Bu lrnu, V xabj guvf nern cerggl jryy, abobql yvirf urer ohg GUR AHZRABERNAF hfrq gb unat bhg urer!" naq "V unccra gb xabj rknpgyl jung guvf cynag JUVPU JNF OEBHTUG URER OL GUR XVATF BS BYQ fzryyf yvxr!"
Yeah it's one of those things you can really kinda giggle about on re-reads.
Vfa'g vg rira pnyyrq "xvatfsbvy" nf n pbzzba anzr? Gubhtu uvz svaqvat gur cynag ol fzryy jvyy arire prnfr gb nzhfr zr!
Vg vf va gur zbivr, ohg V qba'g erzrzore gung orvat zragvbarq va gur obbx, ng yrnfg abg lrg.
Ahhh right – yeah I've been exhausted so I'm behind with the reading this last couple of days. I guess rira nf xvatfsbvy vg'f bayl n pyhr jura lbh nyernql xabj – hayrff nalbar vf vaperqvoyl fjvgpurq ba!
Ah, you've reached Shit Just Got Real: The Chapter! 😀 Yes, things drag a little for a while there, but then to make up for it everything afterwards is SUPER TERRIFYING. I think the draggy bit undermines your preparation a wee bit.
The trolls! 😀 I love that part. It's so happy and such a lovely reminder of Bilbo's adventures. I love when stuff from past stories shows up in present ones, and the troll encounter was so funny to me besides. It's a nice moment for them all to cheer them up, and though I know the songs must be getting to be a bit much, I appreciate the point of this one: to cheer up Frodo and help him feel better for a while. That's definitely worth something. Plus it shows more of Sam's ever-growing awesome. I <3 you, Sam.
Lbh pna pbhag zr va nzbat gubfr jub cersre guvf fprar va gur zbivr. Sebqb'f zbzrag bs njrfbzr vf tbar, lrnu, naq gung'f hasbeghangr, ohg zber vzcbegnag gb zr vf gung Crgre Wnpxfba erzbirq Tybesvaqry naq vagebqhprq Nejra vafgrnq. Vg whfg znxrf zber frafr gung jnl: Tybesvaqry, yvxr Obzonqvy, arire nccrnef ntnva naq arire qbrf nalguvat ntnva va gur ragvergl bs gur fgbel. Nejra, zrnajuvyr, vf jnl vzcbegnag naq Gbyxvra gbyq gur jubyr fgbel bs ure naq Nentbea va gur sernxvat nccraqvprf. V'z zber vagrerfgrq va univat bar bs gur srj cebzvarag srznyr punenpgref va guvf gnyr trg vagebqhprq naq qrirybcrq guna va fbzr enaqbz rys thl gung arire unf nal vzcbegnapr gb gur fgbel nsgrejneqf fubj hc naq gura qvfnccrne.
Some Glorfindel artwork for you all! (sorry if size is huge)
Glorfindel by ilxwing just being his normal handsome self with birds and Golden Flowers.
<img src="http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n588/stefb1/Glorfindel_by_ilxwing.jpg">
And another one by liga-marta featuring Glorfindel and, most importantly, Asfoloth!
<img src="http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n588/stefb1/Glofindelasfoloth.jpg">
I'm always excited when Elves come into the story, because I find them so fascinating. Again, I encourage those who've read LotR or who don't mind spoilers to explore those galleries–both artists also have done characters for the Silmarillion, so spoilers on that too. I know ilxwing had contributed art to a Tolkien artbook that was a gift to John Howe when he visited China!
I wish I was able to contribute to the artwork in the comments with my own drawings, but I don't have the correct pencils or paper and I wouldn't be able to scan it to my computer (which mysteriously stopped working a long time ago). I've been getting ideas of things to draw lately, mostly Sil stuff, but arghhh I lack the media needed.
That second one is GORGEOUS. Especially the fantastic job on the white clothing and white horse. White is such a difficult color to paint/draw.
I love that second one especially!
Like a few others, I have a book of art based on Tolkien's works, and one of my favourites comes from the very end of this chapter. "Riders at the Ford" by Ted Nasmith:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/kretch1967/lotr%20art/ford.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" height="334" width="500">
[i hope this works, i've never tried posting an image in the comments before…]
Ooooo….pretty!! I like the texture of the water, it looks so real.
One of my favourite things to paint is water scenes and I think they come out so good because of the hours I've spent staring at this painting.
Link to the cleaned-up image: http://www.tednasmith.com/lotr1/TN-Riders_at_The_…
It's a gorgeous picture. Makes me want to do some LotR fanart of my own.
Ooh, that's even better than the copy in my book. I want that version!
Flipping through my book, I think Ted Nasmith is my favourite artist in here. Although Alan Lee's pretty close.
Love the Naismith image! thanks! that clean-up image esp!
Ted Nasmith does absolutely GORGEOUS landscapes and epic events. Not the best with character portraits, but his landscapes are the best, hands down.
Wow this is BEAUTIFUL. <3
AHHH…so many rot13 comments and no way to decode them…..I really wish my phone would allow me to highlight paragraphs to copy & paste and decode.
Anyways…back to the chapter!
FWGDIHDBFKVHSVFJHS;\”HFYetxjedgwixydivurbdhcbdih
Everytime I read this chapter the tension is just too much for my heart to handle…Frodo hang in there, don\’t give up! I find the lengthy description of their long, terrifying journey towards Rivendell adds to the tension for me. I wish I could comment more but I have to head back to work… Mark you are so unprepared.
I'm just going to let you know that, despite your first paragraph, I coded and decoded your third one about 3 times before I clued in that it was just flailing. LOL.
Hahaha…sorry about that! I debated going back and adding a note that it's not rot13 but a keysmash, but I ended up running out of time before I had to finish my lunch and get back to work. I'm going to have to do that next time. 🙂
I love reading how utterly, utterly confused you are! I know ALL THE ANSWERS and you have to wait FOREVER to get them! *cackles maniacally*
I'm probably strange, but I kind of like it that Tolkien describes so much of the journeying. Yes, it takes time to read through all that landscape, but it also takes time for the characters to walk through it, and in the end I'm just as caught up as they are in the frustration of wanting to be at the goal of their journey and Not.Getting.There.Yet. It makes me feel like I'm walking too. That's one thing the movies definitely didn't give me — the gut feeling of how immense Middle Earth is. (Probably because the visual shorthand of modern movies for long journeys is "pretty scenery with actors walking", "more pretty scenery with actors walking", "still more pretty scenery with actors walking and maybe complaining" and "arrived now.")
It's funny though, because while I'm also one of those people who don't "see" as I read (hey, if I close my eyes I
rats, haven't got the knack of this yet…
If I close my eyes all I see is the inside of my eyelids. But Tolkien's writing makes me feel and smell and hear and very nearly taste his world. And I could act out what each character was doing, if I had to.
BTW, I wrote a lot of drabbles and other short pieces following the book a while back. A good many of them are over here if anyone's interested:
http://archiveofourown.org/works/147825?view_full…
Oh how lovely to revisit your drabbles! I think you probably have the best "Sam" voice of anyone!
Do you have all your stuff up at AO3 now? I have an account there, but the only things on it are a couple of Yuletide stories. I kind of cringe at that work it would take to upload all my stuff there.
About half of it is over there. Every so often I get ambitious about archiving, but the urge soon fades. And I'm glad you enjoyed rereading the drabbles. i have a few more to go. (two or three dozen, I think…)
I also like the descriptions of the journeying. LotR is more than a book; it's an experience. You're immersed in it.
Yeah, I usually find the lengthy descriptions of their traveling adds to my reading experience, really putting me in amongst it all to feel the monotony of their endless trudging along in the wilderness.
Just to try to ease the confusion about the "pale king". In "A knife in the Dark" when Frodo sees the Black Riders for who they are it says:
"the third was taller than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his helm was a crown. In one hand he held a long sword, and in the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it glowed with a pale light."
So there. Frodo sees a dude who's glowing with a ghostly pale light and who wears a crown ^^
"What is that dude doing? He’s just plotting and planning, isn’t he?"
V jbaqre ubj Znex'f tbvat gb ernpg jura ur svaqf bhg gung Tnaqnys jnf npghnyyl uryq pncgvir, pnhfvat uvz gb or yngr. Qbrf gur obbx rire fnl ubj ybat Tnaqnys jnf pncgvir ng Vfratneq? Hmm…I need to start on the next chapter, I think.
"Gurl’er gur Avar jvgu gur evatf, evtug? Vf gung ubj gurl unir cbjre bire Sebqb?"
LRF. V guvax ur'f fgnegvat gb chg 2+2 gbtrgure jvgu gur Oynpx Evqref=Evatjenvguf=gur avar xvatf bs Zra. V pna'g jnvg gb frr jung ur unf gb fnl nobhg Gur Pbhapvy bs Ryebaq naq nyy gur vasb-qhzcvarff va gung puncgre.
Here's two pieces of John Howe art. The first is Frodo ad the Ford with the Black Riders, and the second is actually from last chapter, Strider and the hobbits approaching Weathertop, but I somehow forgot to post it yesterday. 🙂
<img src="http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h373/AmandaNekesa/LOTR%20-%20Fellowship%20of%20the%20Ring/howe-FlightToTheFord.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
<img src="http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h373/AmandaNekesa/LOTR%20-%20Fellowship%20of%20the%20Ring/howe-Weathertop-port.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
Zna, pna lbh VZNTVAR jung gur zbivrf jbhyq unir ybbxrq yvxr jvgubhg Wbua Ubjr naq Nyna Yrr? Gunax tbbqarff sbe gurve neg!
I know! Gur zbivrf jbhyq abg unir orra gur fnzr – gurve pbagevohgvbaf pna or frra guebhtubhg gur gevybtl. CW vf n travhf sbe oevatvat gurz ba nf pbaprcg negvfgf!
Also: I've found another good piece here by John Howe – The Black Riders:
<img src="http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h373/AmandaNekesa/LOTR%20-%20Fellowship%20of%20the%20Ring/BlackRiders.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
Yep, definitely don't want these Black Riders chasing after me! No thank you.
these arts are GLORIOUS John Howe I am in awe of your talent
Gur bayl jnl vg znxrf frafr vf vs lbh gnxr vg nf n pyhzfl jnl bs fnlvat Nejra'f sngr unf orpbzr obhaq hc jvgu *Sebqb'f*, orpnhfr bs gur jubyr "jungrire tenpr vf tvira zr, yrg vg cnff gb uvz" guvat. Ohg vs gung'f vg, gura jul qvqa'g gurl whfg fnl fb?! Abg gb zragvba vg znxrf nyy Ryebaq'f cebgrfgngvbaf naq znavchyngvbaf jbefr guna shgvyr. (Naq gurl jrer bssrafvir rabhtu gb ortva jvgu. Frevbhfyl, vs ur jrera'g cynlrq ol Uhtb Jrnivat ur'q or gur jbefg Ryebaq RIRE. Naq V ybir Ryebaq.)
This was in the news today: In 1961, C.S. Lewis nominated Tolkien for a Nobel in literature for LotR, and it was rejected– http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/05/jrr-t…
No surprise to me: in 1961, fantasy literature would have been considered genre literature, and thus unworthy of consideration. But still, it looks like shortsightedness on the part of the committee.
This whole article is so strange to read. They thought you could be TOO OLD to win a Nobel? is that because it's a monetary prize and they assume you won't have time to put it to good use? Also WHAT IS THAT PICTURE AT THE TOP FROM.
"Also WHAT IS THAT PICTURE AT THE TOP FROM." – I was wondering the same thing! The caption says, "JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings appendix "Born of Hope" being filmed in 2008." Huh? Appendix…filmed in 2008?
And what the heck is up with a nominee being TOO OLD to be awarded?? I'm glad they noted that now that's no longer considered an "obstacle" cause that's just crap!
It looks like this (youtube link. Haven't watched it, but I assume there are spoilers).
I sincerely do not understand the "too old" thing. I was under the impresison that the Nobel Prize in Literature generally honors an author's entire oeuvre (though single great works can earn someone a win), so laureates in their late 60s and 70s, near the ends of their productive careers and lives, aren't exactly atypical. That "too old" line and the digs at Tolkien sound really petty.
It did sound petty, didn't it? And rather snobbish too!
Yes, "Born of Hope" has some spoilers for Appendix A.
"Born of Hope" was a fanfilm made in the UK. The whole thing was made by volunteers, and since it is totally non-profit, it did not run afoul of the Tolkien Estate.
It purports to give some backstory for Aragorn; rot.13'd for Appendix spoilers:
Vg gryyf bs gur ebznapr orgjrra Nengubea naq Tvyenra hc gb Nengubea'f qrngu. Vg'f snasvp bs pbhefr, ohg sbe na nzngrhe cebqhpgvba vgf dhvgr jryy znqr. Vagrerfgvat gnxr ba gur yvirf bs gur Qhanqnva va rkvyr. Gurer vf nyfb n avpr fvqr-fgbel jvgu fbzr BPf. Vg'f fubeg, naq n ybg bs sha gb jngpu.
Gurer vf nyfb nabgure snasvyz, "Gur Uhag sbe Tbyyhz", juvpu frrzf zber zbivr-irefr guna obbx-irefr, gryyvat bs ubj Nentbea znantrq gb pncgher Tbyyhz. V guvax "Obea bs Ubcr" jnf orggre qbar. Ohg obgu ner irel avpr nppbzcyvfuzragf pbafvqrevat gur ohqtrgf naq gur nyy-ibyhagrre pnfg naq perj.
Sounds interesting, I'll check it out. 🙂
Oh screw that. Henryk Sienkiewicz could get one but Tolkien couldn't?!
(I'm pretty sure I'm legally obligated to love the man's books because PATRIOTISM, but man they're only "not fantasy" because they don't have elves or magic and use a few names from history.)
The "rejects" list is amazing: Graham Green, EM Foster, Robert Frost, Karen Blixen… seriously, the Nobel is laughable. No offense to the guy who won, but seriously no one knows who he was.
I tried to keep pace with you, but I couldn't help it and went galloping ahead. Now I have wait to comment three chapters beyond you. Argh.
Mark has involved me in a Double Read, LOL! When I knew he was going to read LotR, I started a reread and am now at Uryz’f Qrrc. That means that every weekday, before I read his comments, I feel obliged to go back and read the chapter he is discussing. This has really involved me in a leisurely appreciation of all of Tolkien’s detail.
Hahaha…yeah I started back at the end of Mark Reads The Hobbit. I finished RotK about 2 weeks ago, and so now I'm re-reading again along with Mark! 🙂 This will make it my 3rd time through the books. I hadn't done a re-read since I first read the books about 8 years ago so once I got to a certain point in the story, there was no looking back! Now it's a bit easier to go at a 1 chapter a day pace. I don't know how Mark does it.
I've also been going through the Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens commentary on the extended edition, so what they talk about regarding alterations from the book is fresh in my mind. My favorite bit so far: Jackson cautions us not to actually count the number of hobbits at Bilbo's party, as it's probably a few short of a gross.
Travelling: from The Atlas of Middle-Earth. This chapter, on October 7th, the hobbits and Aragorn left Weathertop and spent days trying to avoid the Road while getting to Rovendell as quickly as possible. They went on a fairly straight path through the wilderness, south of the Road October 7th through the 12th going 19 miles each day.
On the 13th they crossed The Last Bridge when Aragorn found the beryl that ended up being dropped by Glorfindel on purpose. The 13th through the 16th they went slowly through the hills only making about 6 miles of progress each day, heading farther north than they intended. On the 17th, they made their way back south toward the Road and were forced to stay on the high ridge, going 10 miles.
The 18th is when they discovered the troll hole and the stone trolls from Bilbo's adventure and then continued on to the road where they were found by Glorfindel, who made them continue through the night. After 5 hours rest the morning of the 19th, Glorfindel pushed the group onward. By the time they stopped the night of October 19th they had gone 54 miles. The next morning, October 20th, 18 miles from their camp to the Ford, after the Attack they still had to 22 more miles to travel late into the night to get to Rivendell.
From Weathertop to Rivendell the Company went 242 miles.
….that's a lot of miles.
HOW AM I STILL SO FAR BEHIND. Mark you are killing me.
I know you think its spoilery but I love the maps. I used to study them for hours when I first read the series in middle school.