Our heroes ride up the long and winding road that leads to Théoden’s door, but first they have to get through two sets of guards. Fortunately, Gandalf’s polyglottal talents get them through the first gate into Edoras, and they’ll be allowed into Meduseld itself just as long as they check their weapons at the door… their ancient, irreplaceable, priceless weapons. Inspired by Tolkien’s skill with Latin and Greek, Shawn takes a stab at speaking Old English; and a sidebar on Helm Hammerhand sends a chill down our spines.
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Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings (Mariner Books, paperback) “The King of the Golden Hall”, pp. 495-501
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) The Silmarillion (Mariner Books, paperback)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (translator) Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary (Mariner Books, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (Houghton Mifflin, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
Williams, Hamish (Editor) Tolkien and the Classical World (Walking Tree Publishers, paperback)
Garth, John. Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (Mariner Books, hardcover)
I am a bit surprised that Legolas has no knowledge or understanding of Rohhiric as we are told that the tongue is related to that which is spoken in Dale. We all know that Dale is located close to the Woodland Realm and the two communities traded.
That is an interesting point. Perhaps they used Westron to communicate between Mirkwood and Dale; Bilbo’s account suggests Westron was spoken widely in Lake-town.
Speaker beware! There is anemone at the gates!
Would Ar-Pharazon have thought a sword once used by Beren had any particular worth or meaning?
He was happy enough to lay claim to the title “Heir of Eärendil” in striving with Sauron, so I think he’s shown he will cling to his lineage for bragging rights if nothing else. But perhaps he’d care about the sword less than we do.
It would be fascianting to hear the Dunlandish version of the story of Helm Hammerhand. I imagine they would take a much dimmer view on the murder of a guest, even if he was a rude one. It’s probably no coincidence that Wulf could rally a great host to his cause, if hospitality was as important to the Rohirrim and Dunlandings as it was to the Anglo-Saxons and their contemporaries.
It would be a fascinating legal argument to hear, whether Freca’s insult was was severe enough to cause of a feud, whether him being a poor guest voided his protections as a guest, and whether having their final discussion outside Helm’s hall has a bearing on the matter. If I imagine a Rohirrim and a Dunlanding having this discussion, it would probably end in violence and a new feud 😛
Hmm… it would be very interesting to hear the Dunlendings’ side of that story. It would also be great to see a scholarly study on host-guest relationship standards in Middle-earth, and to consider this case study.