The three remaining members of the Fellowship of the Ring (as far as they know) prepare Boromir for his last journey down the Anduin, and as the son of Denethor floats away they eulogize their fallen comrade… in song form! Then it’s back to business as they solve the riddle of what happened to the hobbits, and as they weigh their decision of which way to go, Aragorn steps into the leadership role he was born for. Plus, how to write a touching elegy for a friend in just a few minutes, and we beat Tolkien to the punch with a little interlacing of our own.
Listen to the episode here, on YouTube, or in the player below:
Subscribe to the podcast via:
Comments or questions for Barliman’s Bag:
- Visit us at Facebook or Twitter
- Join our subreddit
- Comment on this blog post
- Click the green button at right
- Email barliman (at) theprancingponypodcast (dot) com
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings (Mariner Books, paperback) “The Departure of Boromir”, pp. 406-10
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) The Silmarillion (Mariner Books, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
Kocher, Paul H. Master of Middle-earth: The Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien (Del Rey, paperback)
Great episodes Gents…as always. In listening to the episode I has 2 thoughts:
One thing which may also explain the depth of Aragorn’s grief over Boromir’s death and relief at the nature of it can perhaps be suggested by Tolkien’s own experience in the Great War.
I see in the grief of Aragorn the sense of loss and responsibilty felt by a commander towards the death of one of his soldiers.
Command is an intensely personal relationship. Training as a leader seeks to inculcate a profound sense of responsibilty for the soldiers under your command. A good leader lives by the mantras “Know your soldiers and promote their welfare” and “Your troops first always, your self last always.”
Aragorn is no tyro, leading by example and winning renown as a respected leader in the forces of Rohan, Gondor and the Dunedain before becoming involved in the Fellowship.
After assuming charge of the Company after Moria, the weight of responsility for them in such a fluid and unclear situation which is quite different from his battlefield experience clearly weighs heavy on his mind, and I think contributes heavily towards his indecision.
In additon, Aragorn is not only Boromir’s rightful lord, but has also assumed the more personal and immediate role of leader of the Company.
Losing soldiers placed in your charge has an understandably significant effect and emotional cost. The Professor would have been intimately aware of such feelings through personal experience.
You both highlighted the powerful moment where Aragorn makes up his mind to rescue Merry and Pippin. Here is a combat leader on firmer ground, he conducts his battle estimate and realises he has two choices.
He recognises the difficulty presented by just finding Frodo amd Sam in the wilds of Emyn Muil, and also that the Ringbearer at least has the benefit of Sam and some preparation.
He quickly decides that his course of action must be to rescue the hobbits and here we see the veteran leader in action.
Quick orders to his companions include ditching all heavy kit. The three hunters will go forward in “battle order” the bare minimum of fighting and survival gear, anything else will cost them precious time. The actions of an experienced leader with a firm task in hand.
At any rate…thanks again for your outstanding podcast…my 8 year old son Colin loves to listen to it with me. ( We are now on our third trip reading through the Hobbit and the LOTR.)
And lastly, Colin has asked me to share with you one of his favourite songs….which bears diectly on this episode. The Professor’s creation to be sure…but I think these folk do it justice:
https://youtu.be/2F9ADVDSZLw