DG's Favourite Tolkien Drawings - Part One

Spring 1940

 

Mithrim

Merry Christmas 1932

The Gardens of Merking's Palace

A Shop on the Edge of the Hills of Fairy Land

Doors of Durin

Númenórean carpet

* Images taken from 'J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator' by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull *

The Eagle and Child

Favourite excerpts from The Fellowship of the Ring

seldom seen so fair a summer, 

or so rich an autumn: 

the trees were laden with apples, 

honey was dripping in the combs, 

and the corn was tall and full.

there was only one Road; 

It was like a great river: 

its springs were at every doorstep, 

and every path was its tributary. 

Twilight was about them 

The West wind was sighing in the branches. 

Leaves were whispering. 

Soon the road began to fall gently but steadily into the dusk

there was bread, surpassing the savour of a fair white loaf to one who is starving; 

fruits sweet as wildberries and richer than the tended fruits of gardens; 

he drained a cup that was filled with a fragrant draught, cool as a clear fountain, golden as a summer afternoon.

lying in a bower made by a living tree with branches laced and drooping to the ground; 

his bed was of fern and grass, deep and soft and strangely fragrant.

the Elves had filled their bottles with a clear drink, pale golden in colour: 

it had the scent of a honey made of many flowers, and was wonderfully refreshing

The leaves of trees were glistening, 

and every twig was dripping; 

the grass was grey with cold dew.

Shadows had fallen in the valley below, 

but there was still a light on the faces of the mountains far above. 

The air was warm. 

The sound of running and falling water was loud,

and the evening was filled with a faint scent of trees and flowers, 

as if summer still lingered in Elrond’s gardens.

the firelit hall became like a golden mist above seas of foam that sighed upon the margins of the world.

an endless river of swelling gold and silver was flowing over him.

there he wandered long in a dream of music that turned into running water.

Elrond was in his chair and the fire was on his face like summer-light upon the trees. 

Near him sat the Lady Arwen. 

Aragorn stood beside her, clad in elven-mail, and a

star shone on his breast.  

Arwen turned towards him, and the light of her eyes fell on him from afar and pierced his heart.

Bilbo took a walk and looked at the stars of Elbereth in the garden. 

the pale, cool sun rose above the far mountains, 

and shone down, slanting through the thin silver

mist; 

the dew upon the yellow leaves glimmered and the woven nets of gossamer twinkled on every bush.

The light of the clear autumn morning was now glowing in the valley. 

The noise of bubbling waters came up from the foaming river-bed. 

Birds were singing, and a wholesome peace lay on the land. 

Frodo's dangerous flight, and the rumours of the darkness growing in the world outside, seemed only the memories of a troubled dream.

when summer waned, 

there came a night of moon, 

and Gwaihir the Windlord, swiftest of the Great Eagles, came unlooked-for to Orthanc; 

and he found Gandalf standing on the pinnacle. 

he bore Gandalf away many leagues from Isengard.

we cannot destroy it by any craft that we here possess,

and they who dwell beyond the Sea would not receive it: 

for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; 

it is for us who still dwell here to deal with it.

we must take a hard road, 

a road unforeseen.

There lies our hope, if hope it be. 

To walk into peril – to Mordor. 

We mustsend the Ring to the Fire.

We cannot use the Ruling Ring. 

It belongs to Sauron and was made by him alone, and is altogether evil. 

Its strength is too great for anyone to wield at will.

The very desire of it corrupts the heart.

I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.

this task is appointed for you, Frodo; 

if you do not find a way, no one will.

The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; 

and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil. 

they shall represent the Free Peoples of the World.

a small shirt of Dwarf-mail. 

close-woven of many rings, 

as supple almost as linen, 

cold as ice, and harder than steel. 

It shone like moonlit silver, 

and was studded with white gems. 

With it was a belt of pearl and crystal.

Gimli: Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.

Elrond: Maybe, but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.

Gimli: Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart. Elrond: Or break it.

The weather changed. 

The wind suddenly fell and then veered round to the south. 

The swift-flowing clouds lifted and melted away, 

and the sun came out, pale and bright. 

There came a cold clear dawn at the end of a long stumbling night-march. 

The travellers reached a low ridge crowned with ancient holly-trees whose grey-green trunks seemed to have been built out of the very stone of the hills.

Their dark leaves shone and their berries glowed red in the light of the rising sun.

Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram,

and cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla. 

My heart trembles at the thought that I may see them soon.

the stones lamented: 

deep they delved us,

fair they wrought us, 

high they builded us; 

but they are gone. 

They sought the Havens long ago.

Leathern flask of miruvor,

very precious  - the cordial of Imladris.

Just one mouthful of the warm and fragrant liquor

made Frodo feel a new strength of heart, 

and the heavy drowsiness left his limbs.   

Others revived and found fresh hope and vigour.

In the deep places of the world!

And thither we are going against my wish. 

Who will lead us now in this deadly dark?

Let us sit and rest and have something to eat, here on the landing, since we can’t find a dining-room!

the dull stump of Gimli’s dwarf-boots;

the heavy tread of Boromir; 

the light step of Legolas; 

the soft, scarce-heard patter of hobbit-feet; 

and in the rear the slow firm footfalls of Aragorn with his long stride.

the great cavernous hall, 

there seemed to be a steady inflow of chill air through the eastern archway. 

as they lay hung the darkness, hollow and immense, oppressed by the loneliness and vastness of the dolven halls and endlessly branching stairs and passages.  

the actual dread and wonder of Moria

There must have been a mighty crowd of dwarves here at one time

These are not holes

This is the great realm and city of the Dwarrowdelf. 

And of old it was not darksome, but full of light and splendour, 

as is still remembered in our songs.

The wealth of Moria was not in gold and jewels, the toys of the Dwarves; 

nor in iron, their servant. 

all things that they desired they could obtain in traffic. 

For here alone in the world was found Moria-silver, or true-silver as some have called it:

mithril is the Elvish name. 

Its worth was ten times that of gold, and now it is beyond price; 

for little is left above ground, and even the Orcs dare not delve here for it. 

but even as mithril was the foundation of their wealth,

so also it was their destruction: 

they delved too greedily and too deep, 

and disturbed that from which they fled, Durin’s Bane. 

Mithril! All folk desired it. 

It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; 

and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. 

Its beauty was like to that of common silver, 

but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim. 

The Elves dearly loved it, and among many uses they made of it ithildin, starmoon, 

which you saw upon the doors. 

Bilbo had a corslet of mithril-rings that Thorin gave him, a kingly gift!

There lie the woods of Lothlórien! 

the fairest of all the dwellings of the woodland elves. 

There are no trees like the trees of that land.

In the autumn their leaves fall not, but turn to gold. 

Not till the spring comes and the new green opens do they fall, 

and then the boughs are laden with yellow flowers; and the floor of the wood is golden, 

and golden is the roof, 

and its pillars are of silver, for the bark of the trees is smooth and grey.

So still the songs in Mirkwood say. 

Your heart would be glad if you were

beneath the eaves of that wood, and it were springtime!

Aragorn bathed the hurts with water in which athelas was steeped. 

The pungent fragrance filled the dell, 

and all those who stooped over the steaming water felt refreshed and strengthened. 

Soon Frodo felt the pain leave him, 

and his breath grew easy: 

though he was stiff and sore to the touch for many days

mound of Amroth,  

Here ever bloom the winter flowers in the unfading grass: 

the yellow elanor, 

and the pale niphredil. 

though the world is now dark,  

better days are at hand,

and friendships shall be renewed between our people

Favourite excerpts from The Two Towers

Dusk deepened. 

Mist lay behind them among the trees below, 

and broodedon the pale margins of the Anduin, 

but the sky was clear. 

Stars came out.

The waxing moon was riding in the West, 

and the shadows of the rocks were black.

The dale ran like a stony trough between the ridged hills, 

and a trickling stream flowed among the boulders at the bottom. 

A cliff frowned upon their right; 

to their left rose grey slopes, 

dim and shadowy in the late night

The sun climbed to the noon and then rode slowly down the sky. 

Light clouds came up out of the sea in the distant South and were blown away upon the breeze. 

The sun sank. 

Shadows rose behind and reached out long arms from the East. 

Dawn came glimmering, and slowly a grey light grew about them.

The young moon was glimmering in a misty sky, but it gave small light, and the stars were veiled.

The sun sank and the shadows of evening fell like a curtain. 

They were alone in a grey formless world without mark or measure. 

Only far away north-west there was a deeper darkness against the dying light: 

the Mountains of Mist and the forest at their feet.

the trees in the court had also begun to glow, 

faintly at first, but steadily quickening, 

until every leaf was edged with light: 

some green, some gold, some red as copper; 

while the tree-trunks looked like pillars moulded out of luminous stone.

Favourite excerpts from The Return of the King

Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf’s cloak still in the swift-moving dream 

The dark world was rushing by 

the wind sang loudly in his ears

He could see nothing but the wheeling stars,

vast shadows against the sky where the mountains of the South marched past

The beacons of Gondor are alight, 

calling for aid

War is kindled

the fire on Amon Dîn, 

and flame on Eilenach; 

there they go speeding west: 

Nardol, Erelas, Min-Rimmon, Calenhad, 

and the Halifirien on the borders of Rohan.

Faithful servant yet master’s bane,

Lightfoot’s foal, swift Snowmane.

Green and long grew the grass on Snowmane’s Howe, 

but ever black and bare

was the ground where the beast was burned.

And when the fragrance of athelas stole through the room, 

like the scent of orchards, 

and of heather in the sunshine full of bees, 

suddenly Merry awoke, and he said:

I am hungry. What is the time?

When Sam awoke, he found that he was lying on some soft bed, 

but over him gently swayed wide beechen boughs, and through their young leaves sunlight glimmered, green and gold. 

All the air was full of a sweet mingled scent.

He remembered that smell: the fragrance of Ithilien. 

Gandalf laughed, and the sound was like music, 

or like water in a parched land; 

and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, 

the pure sound of merriment, 

for days upon days without count. 

It fell upon his ears like the echo

of all the joys he had ever known. 

But he himself burst into tears. 

Then, as a sweet rain will pass down a wind of spring and the sun will shine out the clearer,

his tears ceased, and his laughter welled up, and laughing he sprang from his bed.

Sam: I feel like spring after winter, 

and sun on the leaves; 

and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!

=====

The Ivy Bush and the Green Dragon

The Lord of the Rings 

Hobbits

Hobbits, otherwise known as Halflings, ranged between two and four feet in height.

One of the taller hobbits, according to the Red Book, was Bandobras Took; son of Isumbras the Third, who stood at four foot five and was able to ride a horse.

There are three breeds of hobbits: Harfoots, Stoors and Fallohides.

The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller and shorter, and they were beardless and bootless; their hands and feet were neat and nimble; and they prefer highlands and hillsides. 

The Stoors were broader, heavier in build; their feet and hands were larger; and they preferred flat lands and riversides.

 
The Fallohides were fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were taller and slimmer than the others; they were lovers of trees and of woodlands.

Hobbit families of the Shire: 

Baggins, Boffin, Took, Brandybuck, Grubb, Chubb, Burrows, Bolger, Bracegirdle, Brockhouse, Goodbody, Hornblower, and Proudfoot.

"A mortal, who keeps one of the Great Rings, does not die, but he does not grow or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the Dark Power that rules the Rings.

Yes, sooner or later – later, if he is strong or well-meaning to begin with, but neither strength nor good purpose will last – sooner or later the Dark

Power will devour him." (Gandalf)

Elven lore in the Common Tongue

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Frodo's rhyming

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with weary feet,

Until it joins some larger way,

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

A walking-song Bilbo taught to Frodo as they walked in the lanes of the Water-valley and talked about Adventure.

Upon the hearth the fire is red,

Beneath the roof there is a bed;

But not yet weary are our feet,

Still round the corner we may meet

A sudden tree or standing stone

That none have seen but we alone.

Tree and flower and leaf and grass,

Let them pass! Let them pass!

Hill and water under sky,

Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate,

And though we pass them by today,

Tomorrow we may come this way

And take the hidden paths that run

Towards the Moon or to the Sun.

Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe,

Let them go! Let them go!

Sand and stone and pool and dell,

Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind, the world ahead,

And there are many paths to tread

Through shadows to the edge of night,

Until the stars are all alight.

Then world behind and home ahead,

We’ll wander back to home and bed.

Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,

Away shall fade! Away shall fade!

Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,

And then to bed! And then to bed!

Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod and his fellow Exiles sing in fair elven-tongue

Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear!

O Queen beyond the Western Seas

O Light to us that wander here

Amid the world of woven trees!

Gilthoniel! O Elbereth!

Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath!

Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee

In a far land beyond the Sea.

O stars that in the Sunless Year

With shining hand by her were sown,

In windy fields now bright and clear

We see your silver blossom blown!

O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!

We still remember, we who dwell

In this far land beneath the trees,

Thy starlight on the Western Seas.

~ Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo, a star shines on the hour of our meeting. (Frodo speaking in the Ancient Tongue as an Elf-friend).

~ Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.

~ Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.

~ Short cuts make long delays.

~ According to Pippin, the Golden Perch in Stock serves the best beer in the Eastfarthing.

Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go

To heal my heart and drown my woe.

Rain may fall and wind may blow,

And many miles be still to go,

But under a tall tree I will lie,

And let the clouds go sailing by.

One of Bilbo’s favourite bath-songs

Sing hey! for the bath at close of day

that washes the weary mud away!

A loon is he that will not sing:

O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,

and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;

but better than rain or rippling streams

is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need

down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;

but better is Beer, if drink we lack,

and Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high

in a fountain white beneath the sky;

but never did fountain sound so sweet

as splashing Hot Water with my feet!

~ Fredegar Bolger's task, according to the original plans of the conspirators, was to stay behind and deal with inquisitive folk, and to keep up as long as possible the pretence that Mr Baggins was still living at Crickhollow.

Captain Frodo and company 

Farewell we call to hearth and hall!

Though wind may blow and rain may fall,

We must away ere break of day

Far over wood and mountain tall.

To Rivendell, where Elves yet dwell

In glades beneath the misty fell,

Through moor and waste we ride in haste,

And whither then we cannot tell.

With foes ahead, behind us dread,

Beneath the sky shall be our bed,

Until at last our toil be passed,

Our journey done, our errand sped.

We must away! We must away!

We ride before the break of day!

Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter

~ Tom Bombadil, the Master of wood, water and hill

Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow;

Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow

Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!

Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!

Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!

Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My darling!

Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling.

Down along under Hill, shining in the sunlight,

Waiting on the doorstep for the cold starlight,

There my pretty lady is, River-woman’s daughter,

Slender as the willow-wand, clearer than the water.

Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies bringing

Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing?

Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o,

Goldberry, Goldberry, merry yellow berry-o!

Poor old Willow-man, you tuck your roots away!

Tom’s in a hurry now. Evening will follow day.

Tom’s going home again water-lilies bringing.

Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?

~ Goldberry, daughter of the River

Her long yellow hair rippled down her shoulders; her gown was green, green as young reeds, shot with silver like beads of dew; and her belt was of gold, shaped like a chain of flag-lilies set with the pale-blue eyes of forget-me-nots. 

About her feet in wide vessels of green and brown earthenware, white water-lilies were floating, so that she seemed to be enthroned in the midst of a pool.

O slender as a willow-wand! O clearer than clear water!

O reed by the living pool! Fair River-daughter!

O spring-time and summer-time, and spring again after!

O wind on the waterfall, and the leaves’ laughter!’

Men of Bree 

Brown haired, broad and rather short, cheerful and independent.

Original inhabitants and descendants of the first Men that ever wandered into the West of the middle-world.

Names include: Rushlight, Goatleaf, Heathertoes, Appledore, Thistlewool, Ferny, Butterbur.

(Hobbits of Bree-land / Bree-hobbits mostly lived in Staddle and had names like: Mugwort, Banks, Brockhouse, Longhole, Sandheaver, Tunnelly, Underhill).

Rangers

Mysterious wanderers in the wild lands beyond Bree.

Taller and darker than the Men of Bree. Believed to have strange powers of sight and hearing and understood the languages of beasts and birds.

Roamed at will as far as the Misty Mountains. 

Barliman Butterbur

Inn-keeper and Proprietor of The Prancing Pony.

Gandalf's description of Frodo to Barliman

A stout little fellow with red cheeks. But this one is taller than some and fairer than most, and he has a cleft in his chin: perky chap with a bright eye.

Letter addressed to Mr FRODO BAGGINS, BAG END, HOBBITON in the SHIRE

THE PRANCING PONY, BREE. Midyear’s Day, Shire Year, 1418.

Dear Frodo,

Bad news has reached me here. I must go off at once. You had better leave Bag End soon, and get out of the Shire before the end of July at latest. I will return as soon as I can; and I will follow you, if I find that you are gone. Leave a message for me here, if you pass through Bree.

You can trust the landlord (Butterbur). You may meet a friend of mine on the Road: a Man, lean, dark, tall, by some called Strider. He knows our business and will help you. Make for Rivendell. There I hope we may meet again. If I do not come, Elrond will advise you.

Yours in haste

GANDALF

PS. Do NOT use It again, not for any reason whatever! Do not travel by night!

PPS. Make sure that it is the real Strider. There are many strange men on the roads. His true name is Aragorn.

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

PPPS. I hope Butterbur sends this promptly. A worthy man, but his memory is like a lumber-room: thing wanted always buried. If he forgets, I shall roast him.

Fare Well! 

The Fall of Gil-galad 

Gil-galad was an Elven-king.

Of him the harpers sadly sing:

the last whose realm was fair and free

between the Mountains and the Sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen,

his shining helm afar was seen;

the countless stars of heaven’s field

were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,

and where he dwelleth none can say;

for into darkness fell his star

in Mordor where the shadows are.

(Gil-galad was the last of the great Elf-kings of Middle-earth. Gil-galad is Starlight in their tongue).

The Song of Beren and Lúthien or the Tale of Tinúviel

The leaves were long, the grass was green,

The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,

And in the glade a light was seen

Of stars in shadow shimmering.

Tinúviel was dancing there

To music of a pipe unseen,

And light of stars was in her hair,

And in her raiment glimmering.

There Beren came from mountains cold,

And lost he wandered under leaves,

And where the Elven-river rolled

He walked alone and sorrowing.

He peered between the hemlock-leaves

And saw in wonder flowers of gold

Upon her mantle and her sleeves,

And her hair like shadow following.

Enchantment healed his weary feet

That over hills were doomed to roam;

And forth he hastened, strong and fleet,

And grasped at moonbeams glistening.

Through woven woods in Elvenhome

She lightly fled on dancing feet,

And left him lonely still to roam

(It tells of the meeting of Beren; son of Barahir, and Lúthien Tinúviel. Beren was a mortal man, and Lúthien was the daughter of Thingol; a King of Elves upon Middle-earth when the world was young. This is a song chanted in Elvish in the mode of ann-thennath).

Elrond

Son of half-elven parents: Eärendil, who was born in

Gondolin before its fall; and Elwing, daughter of Dior, son of Lúthien of Doriath.

Unlike his brother Elros, Elrond chose the fate of Elves when the choice of kindreds was given to him.

The Last Alliance of Elves and Men

the splendour of their banners

the glory of the Elder Days and the hosts of Beleriand,

the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aeglos and Narsil, none could withstand.

the last combat on the slopes of Orodruin, 

where Gil-galad died, and Elendil fell, and Narsil broke beneath him; 

but Sauron himself was overthrown, 

and Isildur cut the Ring from his hand with the hilt-shard of his father’s sword, 

and took it for his own to treasure it.

Isildur took it, as should not have been. 

It should have been cast then into Orodruin’s fire nigh at hand where it was made. 

But soon he was betrayed by it to his death; 

and so it is named in the North Isildur’s Bane. 

the victory of the Last Alliance was not wholly fruitless, yet it did not achieve its end. 

Sauron was diminished, but not destroyed. 

His Ring was lost but not unmade. 

The Dark Tower was broken, but its foundations were not removed; 

for they were made with the power of the Ring, 

and while it remains they will endure. 

In the days of Isildur the Ruling Ring passed out of all knowledge.

But now in this latter day they are in peril once more, 

for to our sorrow the One has been found.

The Nameless Enemy has arisen again. 

Smoke rises once more from Orodruin that we call Mount Doom. 

The power of the Black Land grows...

The message in Boromir's dream

Seek for the Sword that was broken:

In Imladris it dwells;

There shall be counsels taken

Stronger than Morgul-spells.

There shall be shown a token

That Doom is near at hand,

For Isildur’s Bane shall waken,

And the Halfling forth shall stand.

Isildur's Scroll

Isildur instructed his nephew, Meneldil, before committing to him the rule of the South Kingdom. In that time, Isildur also made a scroll and wrote:

The Great Ring shall go now to be an heirloom of the North Kingdom; but records of it shall be left in Gondor, where also dwell the heirs of Elendil, lest a time come when the memory of these great matters shall grow dim.

The Ring: 

It was hot when I first took it, hot as a glede, and my hand was scorched, so that I doubt if ever again I shall be free of the pain of it. Yeteven as I write it is cooled, and it seemeth to shrink, though it losethneither its beauty nor its shape. Already the writing upon it, which at

first was as clear as red flame, fadeth and is now only barely to be read. It is fashioned in an elven-script of Eregion, for they have no letters in Mordor for such subtle work; but the language is unknown to me. I deem it to be a tongue of the Black Land, since it is foul and uncouth.

What evil it saith I do not know; but I trace here a copy of it, lest it fade beyond recall. The Ring misseth, maybe, the heat of Sauron’s hand, which was black and yet burned like fire, and so Gil-galad was destroyed; and maybe were the gold made hot again, the writing would

be refreshed. But for my part I will risk no hurt to this thing: of all the works of Sauron the only fair. It is precious to me, though I buy it with great pain.

The Company took little gear of war, for their hope was in secrecy not in battle.

Aragorn had Andúril but no other weapon, and he went forth cladonly in rusty green and brown, as a Ranger of the wilderness. 

Boromir had a long sword, in fashion like Andúril but of less lineage, and he bore also a shield and his war-horn.

Gimli the dwarf alone wore openly a short shirt of steel-rings, for dwarves make light of burdens; and in his belt was a broad-bladed axe.

Legolas had a bow and a quiver, and at his belt a long white knife. 

The younger hobbits wore the swords that they had taken from the barrow.

Frodo took only Sting; and his mail-coat remained

hidden. 

Gandalf bore his staff, but girt at his side was the elven-sword Glamdring, the mate of Orcrist that lay now upon the breast of Thorin under the Lonely Mountain.

All were well furnished by Elrond with thick warm clothes, and they had jackets and cloaks lined with fur. 

Spare food and clothes and blankets and other needs were laden on a pony, none other than the beast that they had brought from Bree.

Sam stowed his shoulder pack with: his chief treasure, his cooking gear; and the little box of salt that he always carried and refilled when he could; a good supply of pipe-weed; flint and tinder; woollen hose; linen; various small belongings that Frodo had forgotten.

The last word from Elrond before the Company of the Ring departs

The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of

the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need. 

The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or

turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road.

Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!

Gandalf searched in his pack and drew out a leathern flask and said: Just a mouthful each – for all of us. It is very precious. It is miruvor, the cordial of Imladris. Elrond gave it to me at our parting. Pass it round!

As soon as Frodo had swallowed a little of the warm and fragrant liquor he felt a new strength of heart, and the heavy drowsiness left his limbs. The others also revived and found fresh hope and vigour.

The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria.

Speak, friend, and enter.

I, Narvi, made them. 

Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs.

Unwearied then were Durin’s folk;

Beneath the mountains music woke:

The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,

And at the gates the trumpets rang.

The world is grey, the mountains old,

The forge’s fire is ashen-cold;

No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:

The darkness dwells in Durin’s halls;

The shadow lies upon his tomb

In Moria, in Khazad-dûm.

But still the sunken stars appear

In dark and windless Mirrormere;

There lies his crown in water deep,

Till Durin wakes again from sleep.

The Book of Mazarbul

(A record of the fortunes of Balin’s folk which began with their coming to Dimrill Dale nigh on thirty years ago written by many different hands, in runes, both of Moria and of Dale, and here and there in Elvish script).

We drove out orcs from the great gate and guard...room...we slew many in the bright sun in the dale. Flói was killed by an arrow. He slew the great....Flói under grass near Mirror mere. 

We have taken the twentyfirst hall of North end to dwell in. There is...shaft...Balin has set up his seat in the Chamber of Mazarbul.

Gold...Durin's axe...helm...Balin is now lord of

Moria.

*** We found truesilver...wellforged...mithril...Óinto seek for the upper armouries of Third Deep...go westwards...to Hollin gate...

Sorrow...yestre day being the tenth of novembre Balin

lord of Moria fell in Dimrill Dale. He went alone to look in Mirror mere. an orc shot him from behind a stone. we slew the orc, but many more. . . up from east up the Silverlode..we have barred the gates...can hold them long if...horrible...suffer...

We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and second hall. Frár and Lóni and Náli fell there...went 5 days ago...the pool is up to the

wall at Westgate. The Watcher in the Water took Óin. We cannot get out. The end comes... drums, drums in the deep...

they are coming...

The Balrog

You cannot pass. I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. 

You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. 

Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.

The Company leaves Lothlórien

Frodo, and Sam were in one boat; 

Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in another; 

and in the third were Legolas and Gimli, who had now become fast friends. In this last boat most of the goods and packs were stowed.

=====

We will make such a chase as shall be accounted a marvel among the Three Kindreds: Elves, Dwarves,

and Men. Forth the Three Hunters!

The brooch of an elven-cloak!

Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall. 

This did not drop by chance: it was cast away as a token to any that might follow.

But it is still dark. Even Legolas on a hill-top could not

see them till the Sun is up.

I fear they have passed beyond my sight from hill or plain, under moon or sun.

Where sight fails the earth may bring us rumour. The

land must groan under their hated feet.

The rumour of the earth is dim and confused. Nothing walks upon it for many miles about us. 

Faint and far are the feet of our enemies.

But loud are the hoofs of the horses. Horses

galloping, passing in the West. But now they are drawing ever further from us, riding northward.

There is something strange at work in this land. I distrust the silence. I distrust even the pale Moon. The stars are faint; and I am weary as I have seldom been before, weary as no Ranger should be with a clear trail to follow. There is some will that lends speed to our foes and sets an unseen barrier before us: a weariness that is in the heart

more than in the limb.

Horses of Rohan

A great dark-grey horse was brought to Aragorn, and he mounted it. Hasufel is his name.

A smaller and lighter horse, but restive and fiery, was brought to Legolas. Arod was his name. Legolas and leaped lightly up, and to their wonder Arod was tame and willing beneath him, moving here and there with but a spoken word: such was the Elvish way with all good beasts. 

Gimli was lifted up behind his friend, and he clung to him, not much more at ease than Sam Gamgee in a boat.

Fangorn forest

Onodrim/Ents, dwelt there long ago; for Fangorn is old, old even as the Elves would reckon it.

It is old, as old as the forest by the Barrow-downs,

and it is far greater. Elrond says that the two are akin, the last strongholds of the mighty woods of the Elder Days, in which the Firstborn roamed while Men still slept. Yet Fangorn holds some secret of its own. What it is I do not know.

Remember, it is perilous to cut bough or twig from a living tree in Fangorn. But do not stray far in search of dead wood. Let the fire die rather!

The Uruk-Hai

Servants of Saruman the Wise, the White Hand.

Orders:

Kill all but NOT the Halflings; they are to be brought back ALIVE as quickly as possible. 

The prisoners are NOT to be searched or plundered.

 Alive and as captured; no spoiling.

Treebeard's old list

Learn now the lore of Living Creatures!

First name the four, the free peoples:

Eldest of all, the elf-children;

Dwarf the delver, dark are his houses;

Ent the earthborn, old as mountains;

Man the mortal, master of horses:

Beaver the builder, buck the leaper,

Bear bee-hunter, boar the fighter;

Hound is hungry, hare is fearful . . .

Eagle in eyrie, ox in pasture,

Hart horn-crownéd; hawk is swiftest,

Swan the whitest, serpent coldest . . .

Half-grown hobbits, the hole-dwellers.

Laurelindórenan - Land of the Valley of Singing Gold. Now known as Lothlórien - the Dreamflower.

Taurelilómëa-tumbalemorna Tumbaletaurëa Lómëanor.

Forestmanyshadowed-deepvalleyblack Deepvalleyforested Gloomyland.

There is a black shadow in the deep dales of the forest.

Merry and Pippin's first taste of Ent-draught inside an Ent-house

The drink was like water, indeed very like the taste of the draughts they had drunk from the Entwash near the borders of the forest, and yet there was some scent or savour in it which they could not describe: it was faint, but it reminded them of the smell of a distant wood borne from afar by a cool breeze at night. 

The effect of the draught began at the toes, and rose steadily through every limb, bringing refreshment and vigour as it coursed upwards, right to the tips of the hair. Indeed the hobbits felt that the hair on their heads was actually standing up, waving and curling and growing. 

On the right side of the bay there was a great bed on low legs, not more than a couple of feet high, covered deep in dried grass and bracken.

Treebeard lowered himself slowly on to this (with only the slightest sign of bending at his middle), until he lay at full length, with his arms behind his

head, looking up at the ceiling, upon which lights were flickering, like the play of leaves in the sunshine. 

Merry and Pippin sat beside him on pillows of grass.

The other two remaining first Ents that walked in the woods before the Darkness

~ Leaflock, or Finglas in Elvish 

Leaflock has grown sleepy, almost tree-ish, you might say: he has taken to standing by himself half-asleep all through the summer with the deep grass of the meadows round his knees. Covered with leafy hair he is. He used to rouse up in winter; but of late he has been too drowsy to walk far even then. 

~ Skinbark, or Fladrif in Elvish

Skinbark lived on the mountain-slopes west of Isengard. That is where the worst trouble has been. He was wounded by the Orcs, and many of his folk and his tree-herds have been murdered and destroyed. He has gone up into the high places, among the birches that he loves best, and he will not come down.

Entwives

When the world was young, and the woods were wide and wild, the Ents and the Entwives walked together and they housed together. 

But our hearts did not go on growing in the same way: the Ents gave their love to things that they met in the world, and the Entwives gave their thought to other things, for the Ents loved the great trees, and the wild woods, and the slopes of the high hills; and they drank of the mountain-streams, and ate only such fruit as the trees let fall in their path; and they learned of the Elves and spoke with the Trees.

But the Entwives gave their minds to the lesser trees, and to the meads in the sunshine beyond the feet of the forests; and they saw the sloe in the thicket, and the wild apple and the cherry blossoming in spring, and the green herbs in the waterlands in summer, and the seeding grasses in the autumn fields. They did not desire to speak with these things; but they

wished them to hear and obey what was said to them. 

The Entwives ordered them to grow according to their wishes, and bear leaf and fruit to their liking; for the Entwives desired order, and plenty, and peace (by which they meant that things should remain where they had set them). So the Entwives made gardens to live in. 

But we Ents went on wandering, and we only came

to the gardens now and again. Then when the Darkness came in the North, the Entwives crossed the Great River, and made new gardens, and tilled

new fields, and we saw them more seldom. After the Darkness was overthrown the land of the Entwives blossomed richly, and their fields were full of corn. 

Many men learned the crafts of the Entwives and honoured them greatly; but we were only a legend to them, a secret in the heart of the forest. 

Yet here we still are, while all the gardens of the Entwives are wasted: Men call them the Brown Lands now. For the Entwives were bent and browned by their labour; their hair parched by the sun to the hue of ripe corn and their cheeks like red apples. Yet their eyes were still the eyes of our own people. 

We crossed over Anduin and came to their land; but we found a desert: it was all burned and uprooted, for war had passed over it. But the Entwives were not there.

Long we called, and long we searched; and we asked all folk that we met which way the Entwives had gone. Some said they had never seen them;

and some said that they had seen them walking away west, and some said east, and others south. 

But nowhere that we went could we find them. Our

sorrow was very great. Yet the wild wood called, and we returned to it. For many years we used to go out every now and again and look for the Entwives, walking far and wide and calling them by their beautiful names.

But as time passed we went more seldom and wandered less far. And now the Entwives are only a memory for us, and our beards are long and grey.

Merry and Pippin's second taste of Ent-draught

They woke to find a cool sun shining into the great court, and on to the floor of the bay. Shreds of high cloud were overhead, running on a stiff easterly wind.

Treebeard poured them out two full bowls from a stone jar; but from a different jar. The taste was not the same as it had been the night before: it was earthier and richer, more sustaining and food-like, so to speak. While the hobbits drank, sitting on the edge of the bed, and nibbling small pieces of elf-cake (more because they felt that eating was a necessary part of breakfast than because they felt hungry).

(According to Merry, Ents only drink, and drink is not enough for content. Treebeard’s draughts may be nourishing, but one feels the need of something solid. And even lembas is none the worse for a change).

Entmoot

A gathering of Ents at Derndingle. An impenetrable wall of dark evergreen trees, they branched out right from the roots, and were densely clad in dark glossy leaves like thornless holly, and they bore many stiff upright flower-spikes with large shining olive- coloured buds.

Three narrow paths lead to a great dingle, almost as round as a bowl, very wide and deep, crowned at the rim with the high dark evergreen hedge. It was smooth and grassclad inside, and there were no trees except three very tall and beautiful silver-birches that stood at the bottom of the bowl. 

Rhymes of Lore about the palantíri of the Kings of Old

Tall ships and tall kings

Three times three,

What brought they from the foundered land

Over the flowing sea?

Seven stars and seven stones

And one white tree.

Pippin wants to know the names of all the stars, and of all living things, and the whole history of Middle-earth and Over-heaven and of the Sundering Seas.

The Window of the Sunset, Henneth Annûn, fairest of all the falls of Ithilien, land of many fountains.

According to Sam, if you’re short of sleep, cold water on the neck is like rain on a wilted lettuce.

Faramir's parting gifts to Frodo and Sam

Two stout staves of polished wood, shod with iron, and with carven heads through which ran plaited leathern thongs.

These staves may be of service to those who walk or climb in the wild. The men of the White Mountains use them; though these have been cut down to your height and newly shod. They are made of the fair tree lebethron, beloved of the woodwrights of Gondor, and a virtue has been set upon them of finding and returning. May that virtue not wholly fail under the Shadow into which you go.

Go with the good will of all good men!

Sam uses the phial and cries a prayer to Elbereth

A Elbereth Gilthoniel

o menel palan-diriel,

le nallon sí di’nguruthos!

A tiro nin, Fanuilos!

(O Elbereth Starkindler

from heaven gazing afar,
to thee I cry now in the shadow of death!
O look towards me, Everwhite!)

=====

Seven stars and seven stones and one white tree

Minas Tirith

The great hall was lit by deep windows in the wide aisles at either side, beyond the rows of tall pillars that upheld the roof. Monoliths of black marble, they rose to great capitals carved in many strange figures of beasts and leaves; and far above in shadow the wide vaulting gleamed with dull gold. The floor was of polished stone, white-gleaming, inset with flowing traceries of many colours. No hangings nor storied webs, nor any things of woven stuff or of wood, were to be seen in that long solemn hall; but between the pillars there stood a silent company of tall images graven in cold stone, the avenue of kings long dead. 

At the far end upon a dais of many steps was set a high throne under a canopy of marble shaped like a

crowned helm; behind it was carved upon the wall and set with gems an image of a tree in flower. But the throne was empty. 

At the foot of the dais, upon the lowest step which was broad and deep, there was a stone chair, black and unadorned, and on it sat an old man gazing at his lap. In his hand was a white rod with a golden knob. He did not look up. Solemnly they paced the long floor towards him, until they stood three paces from his footstool. 

Then Gandalf spoke: 

Hail, Lord and Steward of Minas Tirith, Denethor son of Ecthelion! I am come with counsel and tidings in this dark hour.

Riding out to Harrowdale via Dunharrow

King Theoden rode on Snowmane.

Merry, made Esquire of Rohan, was given a hill-pony called Stybba.

Lord Aragorn's own horse, Roheryn, was brought from the north by the rangers.

The Oathbreakers

Over the land there lies a long shadow,

westward reaching wings of darkness.

The Tower trembles; to the tombs of kings

doom approaches. The Dead awaken;

for the hour is come for the oathbreakers:

at the Stone of Erech they shall stand again

and hear there a horn in the hills ringing.

Whose shall the horn be? Who shall call them

from the grey twilight, the forgotten people?

The heir of him to whom the oath they swore.

From the North shall he come, need shall drive him:

he shall pass the Door to the Paths of the Dead.

King Theoden's battle cry

Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!

Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!

spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,

a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!

Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

Dernhelm reveals themself

But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.

House of Healing

When the black breath blows

and death’s shadow grows

and all lights pass,

come athelas! come athelas!

Life to the dying

In the king’s hand lying!

Gimli's shame

His knees shook, and he was wroth with himself. Here is a thing unheard of! An Elf will go underground and a Dwarf dare not! With that he plunged in. But it seemed to him that he dragged his feet like lead over the threshold; and at once a blindness came upon him, even upon Gimli Glóin’s son who had walked unafraid in many deep places of the world.

For upon that road I was put to shame: Gimli

Glóin’s son, who had deemed himself more tough than Men, and hardier under earth than any Elf. But neither did I prove; and I was held to the road only by the will of Aragorn.

Oath fulfilled

Mighty indeed was Aragorn that day. 

Lo! all the black fleet was in his hands; and he chose the greatest ship to be his own, and he went up into it. Then he let sound a great concourse of trumpets taken from the enemy; and the Shadow Host withdrew to the shore. 

There they stood silent, hardly to be seen, save for a red gleam in their eyes that caught the glare of the ships that were burning. And Aragorn spoke in a loud voice to the Dead Men, crying: 

Hear now the words of the Heir of Isildur! Your oath is fulfilled. Go back and trouble not the valleys ever again! Depart and be at rest!

And thereupon the King of the Dead stood out before the host and broke his spear and cast it down. Then he bowed low and turned away; and swiftly the

whole grey host drew off and vanished like a mist that is driven back by a sudden wind; and it seemed to me that I awoke from a dream.

The Black Gate

The Captains rode forth towards the Black Gate with a great guard of horsemen and the banner and heralds and trumpeters. 

There was Gandalf as chief herald, and Aragorn with the sons of Elrond, and Éomer of Rohan, and Imrahil; and Legolas and Gimli and Peregrin were bidden to go also, so that all the enemies of Mordor should have a witness.

They came within cry of the Morannon, and unfurled the banner, and blew upon their trumpets; and the heralds stood out and sent their voices up over the

battlement of Mordor.

Come forth! Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! Justice shall be done upon him. For wrongfully he has made war upon Gondor and wrested its lands. Therefore the King of Gondor demands that he should atone for his evils, and depart then for ever. Come forth!

Sam and the Ring

As Sam stood there, even though the Ring was not on him but hanging by its chain about his neck, he felt himself enlarged, as if he were robed in a huge distorted shadow of himself, a vast and ominous threat halted upon the walls of Mordor. 

He felt that he had from now on only two choices: to forbear the Ring, though it would

torment him; or to claim it, and challenge the Power that sat in its dark hold beyond the valley of shadows. 

Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land,

and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dûr.

And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and

brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.

In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense:

he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small

garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.

Sam searches for Frodo in the Tower of Cirith Ungol

In western lands beneath the Sun

the flowers may rise in Spring,

the trees may bud, the waters run,

the merry finches sing.

Or there maybe ’tis cloudless night

and swaying beeches bear

the Elven-stars as jewels white

amid their branching hair.

Though here at journey’s end I lie

in darkness buried deep,

beyond all towers strong and high,

beyond all mountains steep,

above all shadows rides the Sun

and Stars for ever dwell:

I will not say the Day is done,

nor bid the Stars farewell.

A new hope

The realm of Sauron is ended! The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his Quest. And as the Captains gazed south to the Land of Mordor, it seemed to them that, black against the pall of cloud, there rose a huge shape of shadow, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, filling all the sky. Enormous it reared above the world, and stretched out towards them a vast threatening hand, terrible but impotent: for even as it leaned over them, a great wind took it, and it was all blown away, and passed; and then a hush fell.

At Ithilien

When they were washed and clad, 

and had eaten a light meal, 

the Hobbits followed Gandalf. 

They stepped out of the beech-grove in which they had lain,

and passed on to a long green lawn, 

glowing in sunshine, 

bordered by stately dark-leaved trees laden with scarlet blossom. 

Behind them they could hear the sound of falling water, 

and a stream ran down before them between flowering banks, 

until it came to a greenwood at the lawn’s foot 

and passed then on under an archway of trees, through which they saw the shimmer of water far away.

As they came to the opening in the wood, they were surprised to see knights in bright mail and tall guards in silver and black standing there, who greeted them with honour and bowed before them. 

And then one blew a long trumpet, and they went on through the aisle of trees beside the singing stream. So they came to a wide green land, and beyond it was a broad river in a silver haze, out of which rose a long wooded isle, and many ships lay by its shores. 

But on the field where they now stood a great host was drawn up, in ranks and companies glittering in the sun. And as the Hobbits approached swords were unsheathed, and spears were shaken, and horns and trumpets sang, and men cried with many

voices and in many tongues:

Long live the Halflings! Praise them with great praise!

Cuio i Pheriain anann! Aglar’ni Pheriannath!

Praise them with great praise, Frodo and Samwise!

Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn! Eglerio!

Praise them!

Eglerio!

A laita te, laita te! Andave laituvalmet!

Praise them!

Cormacolindor, a laita tárienna!

Praise them! The Ring-bearers, praise them with great praise!

Faramir and Éowyn

Then, Éowyn of Rohan, I say to you that you are beautiful. In the valleys of our hills there are flowers fair and bright, and maidens fairer still; but neither

flower nor lady have I seen till now in Gondor so lovely, and so sorrowful. 

It may be that only a few days are left ere darkness falls upon our world, and when it comes I hope to face it steadily; but it would ease my heart, if while the Sun yet shines, I could see you still. For you and I have both passed under the wings of the Shadow, and the same hand drew us back.

Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart, Éowyn! But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you. Éowyn, do you not love me?

Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her. I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun, and behold! The Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren. And again she looked at Faramir. No longer do I desire to be a queen.

Arwen's gift to Frodo

The Queen Arwen said: ‘A gift I will give you. For I am the daughter of Elrond. I shall not go with him now when he departs to the Havens; for mine is the choice of Lúthien, and as she so have I chosen, both the sweet and the bitter.

But in my stead you shall go, Ring-bearer, when the time comes, and if you then desire it. If your hurts grieve you still and the memory of your burden is heavy, then you may pass into the West, until all your wounds and weariness are healed.

But wear this now in memory of Elfstone and Evenstar with whom your life has been woven!

And she took a white gem like a star that lay upon her breast hanging upon a silver chain, and she set the chain about Frodo’s neck. When the memory of the fear and the darkness troubles you, this will bring you aid.

Queen Arwen Evenstar vs The Lady in the Golden Wood 

Gimli said to King Éomer of Rohan:

You have chosen the Evening; but my love is given to the Morning. 

Éomer and Éowyn's gift to Merry

Farewell now, Meriadoc of the Shire and Holdwine of the Mark! Ride to good fortune, and ride back soon to our welcome!

And Éomer said: Kings of old would have laden you with gifts that a wain could not bear for your deeds upon the fields of Mundburg; and yet you will take

naught, you say, but the arms that were given to you. This I suffer, for indeed I have no gift that is worthy; but my sister begs you to receive this small thing, as

a memorial of Dernhelm and of the horns of the Mark at the coming of the morning.

Then Éowyn gave to Merry an ancient horn, small but cunningly wrought all of fair silver with a baldric of green; and wrights had engraven upon it swift

horsemen riding in a line that wound about it from the tip to the mouth; and there were set runes of great virtue.

This is an heirloom of our house, said Éowyn. It was made by the Dwarves, and came from the hoard of Scatha the Worm. Eorl the Young brought it from the North. He that blows it at need shall set fear in the hearts of his enemies and joy in the hearts of his friends, and they shall hear him and come to him.

Then Merry took the horn, for it could not be refused, and he kissed Éowyn’s hand; and they embraced him, and so they parted for that time.

Legolas and Gimli

Now the guests were ready, and they drank the stirrup-cup, and with great praise and friendship they departed, and came at length to Helm’s Deep, and

there they rested two days. 

Then Legolas repaid his promise to Gimli and went

with him to the Glittering Caves; and when they returned he was silent, and would say only that Gimli alone could find fit words to speak of them. And

never before has a Dwarf claimed a victory over an Elf in a contest of words. Now therefore let us go to Fangorn and set the score right!

Come, Gimli! said Legolas. Now by Fangorn’s leave I

will visit the deep places of the Entwood and see such trees as are nowhere else to be found in Middle-earth. You shall come with me and keep your word; and thus we will journey on together to our own lands in Mirkwood and beyond.To this Gimli agreed, though with no great delight, it seemed.

The ending of the Fellowship

Here then at last comes the ending of the Fellowship of the Ring, said Aragorn. Yet I hope that ere long you will return to my land with the help that you promised.

We will come, if our own lords allow it, said Gimli. Well, farewell, my hobbits! You should come safe to your own homes now, and I shall not be kept awake for fear of your peril. We will send word when we may, and some of us may yet meet at times; but I fear that we shall not all be gathered together ever

again.

I wish we could have a Stone that we could see all our friends in, said Pippin, and that we could speak to them from far away!

Only one now remains that you could use, answered Aragorn; for you would not wish to see what the Stone of Minas Tirith would show you. But the

Palantír of Orthanc the King will keep, to see what is passing in his realm, and what his servants are doing. 

For do not forget, Peregrin Took, that you are a

knight of Gondor, and I do not release you from your service. You are going now on leave, but I may recall you. And remember, dear friends of the Shire, that my realm lies also in the North, and I shall come there one day.

Visiting Bilbo in Rivendell

Well, Mr Frodo, we’ve been far and seen a deal, and yet I don’t think we’ve found a better place than this. There’s something of everything here, if you understand me: the Shire and the Golden Wood and Gondor and kings’ houses and inns and meadows and mountains all mixed. And yet, somehow, I feel we ought to be going soon. I’m worried about my gaffer, to tell you the truth.

Yes, something of everything, Sam, except the Sea, Frodo had answered.

Bilbo's gifts to the hobbits

He gave Frodo his mithril-coat and Sting, forgetting that he had already done so; and he gave him also

three books of lore that he had made at various times, written in his spidery hand, and labelled on their red backs: Translations from the Elvish, by B.B.

To Sam he gave a little bag of gold. Almost the last drop of the Smaug vintage, he said. May come in useful, if you think of getting married, Sam.

I have nothing much to give to you young fellows, he said to Merry and Pippin, except good advice. And when he had given them a fair sample of this, he added a last item in Shire-fashion: Don’t let your heads get too big for your hats! But if you don’t finish growing up soon, you are going to find hats and

clothes expensive.

Bilbo produced out of a pocket two beautiful pipes with pearl mouth-pieces and bound with fine-wrought silver. Think of me when you smoke them! The Elves made them for me, but I don’t smoke now.

What’s become of my ring, Frodo, that you took away?

I have lost it, Bilbo dear, said Frodo. I got rid of it, you know.

The Road goes ever on and on

Out from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

Let others follow it who can!

Let them a journey new begin,

But I at last with weary feet

Will turn towards the lighted inn,

My evening-rest and sleep to meet.

Sam remembers Galadriel's gift

Sam opened the box and inside it was filled with a grey dust, soft and fine, in the middle of which was

a seed, like a small nut with a silver shale. 

Sam planted saplings in all the places where specially beautiful or beloved trees had been destroyed, and he put a grain of the precious dust in the soil at the root of each. He went up and down the Shire in this labour; but if he paid special

attention to Hobbiton and Bywater no one blamed him. And at the end he found that he still had a little of the dust left; so he went to the Three-Farthing Stone, which is as near the centre of the Shire as no matter, and cast it in the air with his blessing. 

The little silver nut he planted in the Party Field where the tree had once been; and he wondered what would come of it. All through the winter he

remained as patient as he could, and tried to restrain himself from going round constantly to see if anything was happening.

Spring surpassed his wildest hopes. His trees began to sprout and grow, as if time was in a hurry and wished to make one year do for twenty. In the Party

Field a beautiful young sapling leaped up: it had silver bark and long leaves and burst into golden flowers in April. It was indeed a mallorn, and it was the wonder of the neighbourhood. In after years, as it grew in grace and beauty, it was known far and wide and people would come long journeys to see it: the only mallorn west of the Mountains and east of the Sea, and one of the finest in the world.

Altogether 1420 in the Shire was a marvellous year. Not only was there wonderful sunshine and delicious rain, in due times and perfect measure, but there seemed something more: an air of richness and growth, and a gleam of a beauty beyond that of mortal summers that flicker and pass upon this Middle earth. 

All the children born or begotten in that year, and there were many, were fair to see and strong, and most of them had a rich golden hair that had before

been rare among hobbits. The fruit was so plentiful that young hobbits very nearly bathed in strawberries and cream; and later they sat on the lawns under

the plum-trees and ate, until they had made piles of stones like small pyramids or the heaped skulls of a conqueror, and then they moved on. 

And no one was ill, and everyone was pleased, except those who had to mow the grass.

In the Southfarthing the vines were laden, and the yield of leaf was astonishing; and everywhere there was so much corn that at Harvest every barn

was stuffed. The Northfarthing barley was so fine that the beer of 1420 malt was long remembered and became a byword. 

Sam and Rosie

Sam Gamgee married Rose Cotton in the spring of

1420 (which was also famous for its weddings), and they came and lived at Bag End with Frodo. 

In 1421, the first of Sam and Rosie’s children was born on the twenty-fifth of March, a date that Sam

noted. She was named Elanor, after the sun-star, the little golden flower in the grass of Lothlórien.

Frodo also foresees that Frodo-lad will come, and Rosie-lass, and Merry, and Goldilocks, and Pippin; and perhaps more.

Frodo and Sam, went back to ordinary attire, except that when there was need they both wore long grey cloaks, finely woven and clasped at the throat with beautiful brooches; and Mr Frodo wore always a white jewel on a chain that he often would finger.

Merry and Pippin

Merry and Pippin lived together for some time at Crickhollow, and there was much coming and going between Buckland and Bag End. 

The two young Travellers cut a great dash in the Shire with their songs and their tales and their finery, and their wonderful parties. 

It warmed all hearts to see them go riding by with their mail-shirts so bright and their shields so splendid, laughing and singing songs of far away;

and if they were now large and magnificent, they were unchanged otherwise, unless they were indeed more fairspoken and more jovial and full of merriment than ever before.

The Big Red Book

My Diary. My Unexpected Journey. There and Back Again. And What

Happened After.

Adventures of Five Hobbits. The Tale of the Great Ring, compiled by Bilbo Baggins from his own observations and the accounts of his friends. What we did in the War of the Ring.

Here Bilbo’s hand ended and Frodo had written:

THE DOWNFALL

OF THE

LORD OF THE RINGS

AND THE

RETURN OF THE KING

(as seen by the Little People; being the memoirs of Bilbo and Frodo of the Shire,

supplemented by the accounts of their friends and the learning of the Wise.)

Together with extracts from Books of Lore translated by Bilbo in Rivendell.

I have quite finished, Sam, said Frodo. The last pages are for you.

Frodo's reoccurring injury

Gandalf: Are you in pain, Frodo? 

Frodo: Well, yes I am. It is my shoulder. The wound aches, and the memory of darkness is heavy on me. It was a year ago today.

Gandalf: Alas! there are some wounds that cannot be wholly cured.

Frodo: I fear it may be so with mine. There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?

Frodo goes to the Havens

Frodo: Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.

Sam: But, I thought you were going to enjoy the Shire, too, for years and years, after all you have done.

Frodo: So I thought too, once. But I have been too deeply hurt, Sam. I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them. But you are my heir: all that I had and might have had I leave to you.

Your hands and your wits will be needed everywhere. You will be the Mayor, of course, as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history; and

you will read things out of the Red Book, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone, so that people will remember the Great Danger and so love their beloved land all the more. And that will keep you as busy and as happy as anyone can be, as long as your part of the Story goes on.

One of the last notes in the Red Book

Gimli, Glóin’s son, is renowned, for he was one of the Nine Walkers that set out with the Ring; and he remained in the company of King Elessar throughout the War. He was named Elf-friend because of the great love that grew between him and Legolas, son of King Thranduil, and because of his reverence for the Lady Galadriel.

After the fall of Sauron, Gimli brought south a part of the Dwarf-folk of Erebor, and he became Lord of the Glittering Caves. He and his people did great

works in Gondor and Rohan. For Minas Tirith they forged gates of mithril and steel to replace those broken by the Witch-king. Legolas his friend also brought south Elves out of Greenwood, and they dwelt in Ithilien, and it became once again the fairest country in all the westlands.

But when King Elessar gave up his life, Legolas followed at last the desire of his heart and sailed over Sea.

Here follows one of the last notes in the Red Book:

We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli (Glóin’s son) with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it. 

But it is said that Gimli went also out of desire to

see again the beauty of Galadriel; and it may be that she, being mighty among the Eldar, obtained this grace for him. More cannot be said of this matter.

LATER EVENTS CONCERNING THE MEMBERS OF THE FELLOWSHIP

OF THE RING

 

1427 Will Whitfoot resigns. Samwise is elected Mayor of the Shire. Peregrin

Took marries Diamond of Long Cleeve. King Elessar issues an edict that

Men are not to enter the Shire, and he makes it a Free Land under the

protection of the Northern Sceptre.

1430 Faramir, son of Peregrin, born.

1431 Goldilocks, daughter of Samwise, born.

1432 Meriadoc, called the Magnificent, becomes Master of Buckland. Great

gifts are sent to him by King Éomer and the Lady Éowyn of Ithilien.

1434 Peregrin becomes the Took and Thain. King Elessar makes the Thain,

the Master, and the Mayor Counsellors of the North-kingdom. Master

Samwise is elected Mayor for the second time.

1436 King Elessar rides north, and dwells for a while by Lake Evendim. He

comes to the Brandywine Bridge, and there greets his friends. He gives

the Star of the Dúnedain to Master Samwise, and Elanor is made a maid

of honour to Queen Arwen.

1441 Master Samwise becomes Mayor for the third time.

1442 Master Samwise and his wife and Elanor ride to Gondor and stay there

for a year. Master Tolman Cotton acts as deputy Mayor.

1448 Master Samwise becomes Mayor for the fourth time.

1451 Elanor the Fair marries Fastred of Greenholm on the Far Downs.

1452 The Westmarch, from the Far Downs to the Tower Hills (Emyn Beraid), is added to the Shire by the gift of the King. Many hobbits remove to it.

1454 Elfstan Fairbairn, son of Fastred and Elanor, is born.

1455 Master Samwise becomes Mayor for the fifth time.

1462 Master Samwise becomes Mayor for the sixth time. At his request the

Thain makes Fastred Warden of Westmarch. Fastred and Elanor make

their dwelling at Undertowers on the Tower Hills, where their

descendants, the Fairbairns of the Towers, dwelt for many generations.

1463 Faramir Took marries Goldilocks, daughter of Samwise.

1469 Master Samwise becomes Mayor for the seventh and last time, being in

1476, at the end of his office, ninety-six years old.

1482 Death of Mistress Rose, wife of Master Samwise, on Mid-year’s Day. On

September 22 Master Samwise rides out from Bag End. He comes to the

Tower Hills, and is last seen by Elanor, to whom he gives the Red Book

afterwards kept by the Fairbairns. Among them the tradition is handed

down from Elanor that Samwise passed the Towers, and went to the

Grey Havens, and passed over Sea, last of the Ring-bearers.

1484 In the spring of the year a message came from Rohan to Buckland that

King Éomer wished to see Master Holdwine once again. Meriadoc was

then old (102) but still hale. He took counsel with his friend the Thain,

and soon after they handed over their goods and offices to their sons and

rode away over the Sarn Ford, and they were not seen again in the Shire.

It was heard after that Master Meriadoc came to Edoras and was with

King Éomer before he died in that autumn. Then he and Thain Peregrin

went to Gondor and passed what short years were left to them in that

realm, until they died and were laid in Rath Dínen among the great of

Gondor.

1541 In this year on March 1st came at last the Passing of King Elessar. It is

said that the beds of Meriadoc and Peregrin were set beside the bed of

the great king. Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down

Anduin and so over Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf.

And when that ship passed an end was come in Middle-earth of the

Fellowship of the Ring.

Shire Calendar

Every year began on the first day of the week,  Saturday, and ended on the last

day of the week, Friday. 

The Mid-year’s Day, and in Leap-years the Overlithe,

had no weekday name. 

The Lithe before Mid-year’s Day was called 1 Lithe, and the one after was called 2 Lithe. 

The Yule at the end of the year was 1 Yule, and

that at the beginning was 2 Yule. 

The Overlithe was a day of special holiday, but

it did not occur in any of the years important to the history of the Great Ring. It occurred in 1420, the year of the famous harvest and wonderful summer, and the merrymaking in that year is said to have been the greatest in memory or record.

In the earliest entries in the Yearbook of Tuckborough, the weekday names appear in archaic forms, of which the following are the oldest: 

(1) Sterrendei

(2) Sunnendei 

(3) Monendei

(4)Trewesdei 

(5) Hevenesdei

(6) Meresdei 

(7) Hihdei

In the language of the time of the War of the Ring these had become:

Sterday

Sunday

Monday 

Trewsday

Hevensday (or Hensday)

Mersday 

Highday

In the Shire, the last day of the week is Highday (Friday). This was the chief day, and one of holiday with afternoon and evening feasts. 

Sterday (Saturday) is the beginning of the week.

The seasons usually named were: 

tuilë (spring)

lairë (summer) 

yávië (autumn, or harvest) 

hrívë (winter)

quellë (or lasselanta) was also used for the latter part of autumn and the beginning of winter.

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