Lord of the Rings facts...

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via Imgur

Gandalf was one of the lesser Ainur who entered Middle-Earth in the beginning of time. They were known as the Maiar, and were basically lesser spirits than the Valar who ruled the Earth, but existed before the creation. They were known to take on many forms or "veils" as they appeared in Middle-Earth. These veils or bodies could be destroyed, but their spirits could not.

Before he was known as Gandalf, he was called Olórin. A pupil under the Valar, he was recommended by Manwë to be one of the Five Istari (or Wizards), that were sent to Middle-Earth to help combat the rule of Sauron. Olórin was at first reluctant, as he feared Sauron, but would eventually follow the will of the Valar. He joined four other Maiar to make up the Istari. They were Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radaghast the Brown and the two Blue Wizards.

The Five Istari sailed from Valinor to Middle-Earth and were greeted by Círdan, who was a guardian of sorts for the Grey Havens. Though all of the Istari took upon themselves veil forms of old men to represent their humility, Gandalf in particular was short and bent, walking with a staff for aid. Círdan was a discerning Elf and saw in Gandalf the most potential for strength and wisdom, though at that time Saruman was the greatest of them.

Círdan in secret gave Gandalf Narya, the third of the Elven rings known as the Ring of Fire. This ring, coupled with being a servant of Creation (which is known as the "Secret Fire" or "Flame of Anor"), gave Gandalf a particular affinity for power in flame. Which extended to his fireworks he made for parties in the Shire.

This is actually really cool symbolism for Gandalf, because fire is metaphorically attributed to Sauron's power as well, but his fire is a destructive, consuming fire. Gandalf served the fire of creation and was a representative of light. Thus he was more resistant to the dark flame of the Balrog, and used the fire of his power to bring warmth back into Middle-Earth, "a world that grows chill." To quote Círdan's own words.

Saruman grew jealous of Gandalf's growing strength and wisdom. He saw how the people's of Middle-Earth deferred to Gandalf for council, and all but ignored the White Wizard who sequestered himself from the people, studying foul crafts and Sauron's power in the name of understanding it, but in reality he was enticed by it. After Gandalf refused to lead the White Council, Saruman volunteered, and although he relished the calling, he hated that it was something Gandalf had no interest in.

Before the events of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf was ever travelling Middle-Earth and assessing the growing darkness. He suspected the Necromancer was Sauron before others did, and worried greatly of the destruction Smaug could cause if he was to join darker powers. Sending Thorin on his quest, and trying to unite the people's of Middle Earth were just small steps in Gandalf's preparation for destroying the evil of Sauron all together.

What Gandalf did not account for was the treachery of Saruman. Sauruman had convinced the White Council that the One Ring was the key to Sauron's power, and that Sauron could never regain his full strength since the Ring must have been swept out to sea by the river Anduin years before. But even as he said that, he had servants searching the area around the river for the ring. The fact that Deagol and Smeagol had found it before he did was fortuitous for the free peoples of Middle-Earth.

In the end, Gandalf was a wizard with the express purpose of helping the peoples of Middle-Earth overthrow the evil of Sauron. He carried with him the wisdom of the Valar, the trust and love of nearly every person he ever came in contact with, and cared deeply for Middle-Earth and its people (especially the Hobbits and the Shire).

A few years after the destruction of the ring, and after hanging out with Tom Bombadil for a time, he accompanied the other two bearers of the Elven rings (Elrond and Galadriel), along with the last living bearers of the One Ring (Bilbo and Frodo) back the way he came. Leaving the shores of Middle-Earth and returning to Valinor.

 

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In the beginning, Eru Ilúvatar (Eru means One that is Alone, Ilúvatar means father of all), created the Ainur, a group of immortal spirits that aided him in the creation of the world. Among these spirits was one named Melkor. Melkor desired the Creation power of Ilúvatar and entered the Timeless Void in search for the Flame Imperishable, the source of Creation's power.

During his wandering, he grew rebellious against Ilúvatar, and failed to find Creation's power. The Ainur created music under the direction of Ilúvatar, and Melkor rebelled against it, weaving dissonance among the melodies. Those near him matched their music to his own, but despite his attempts, Ilúvatar used the music of the Ainur to create Arda, also known as Middle-Earth.

In Arda, Melkor continued to rebel against Ilúvatar and the other Ainur, even convincing some of the Maiar, lesser spirits of Ilúvatar, to follow him. Of these was a Maiar named Mairon, later known as Sauron.

While the Maiar cultivated Middle-Earth, Melkor was creating his fortress called Utumno, far to the North. While the spirits of Ilúvatar tried to find Utumno, Melkor attacked, destroying the two lamps of Arda, which were the sources of light for all the world. Their destruction broke the continents, and in the process the spirits of Ilúvatar fled to Valinor (the undying lands).

At this point, Elves had already been created, but they had not been awoken by gift of fëa yet. Melkor captured many of them and tortured them, transforming them into Orcs. For hundreds of years, many wars erupted between Melkor and the Valar, but one of the more famous was when Melkor killed Fëanor's father, stole the Silmarils, and fled.

Learning of his treachery, Fëanor named Melkor Morgoth, and demanded the Valar make him pay for his treachery. When it became clear that they would not help Fëanor, he convinced a group of Elves to follow him to Middle-Earth, becoming known as the Rebellion of the Noldor (see my post on Galadriel as linked below).

For hundreds of years, the Noldor and other people's of Middle-Earth battled Morgoth and his allies. Dagor Bragollach (the Battle of Sudden Flame), was a famous battle in which Morgoth sent an army of Orcs with Balrogs at the front, led by Glaurung, the father of all Dragons.

The casualties of this battle was so great among the Noldor that Fingolfin, the King of the Noldor, challenged Morgoth face to face. He fought valiantly, wounding Morgoth, but was crushed by Morgoth's hammer: Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld.

After the Battle of the Sudden Flame, he had dealings in the story of Beren and Luthien, the fall of Hurin, and the Fall of Gondolin, I have, or am planning on doing posts on those events so I won't go into detail here.

There was one final battle in which the Valar and the hosts of Valinor joined with the people of Middle-Earth to destroy Morgoth. In spite of his armies of Orcs, Balrogs, and even Dragons, the hosts of the Valar pressed forward until they found him deep in the caverns of his pits. He was hewn down, his crown made into a collar, and he was taken to the Door of Night at the edge of Arda, and cast into the Timeless Void. It is prophesied that at the end of days, Morgoth will break from the Timeless Void, enter our world and initiate the Dagor Dagorath, which means the Battle of Battles.

 

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Aragorn was two years old when his father was slain, and his mother brought him to Elrond to be raised in Rivendell. Their hope was that he would be hidden from the enemy long enough for him to claim the throne of Gondor. At this time his true name was concealed, being known only as Estel, which means Hope in Sindarin (a dialect of Elvish).

Aragorn was 10 years old during the time of Bilbo's journey, which means in all likelihood, Bilbo saw some punk human kid running around Rivendell annoying Elrond. It wasn't until he was 20 that he was given the ring of Barahir and the shards of the sword of the King. He was told of his ancestral history, and of his fate as Isildur's Heir.

The next day, while wandering the woods of Rivendell he was singing of Luthien the elf maiden who fell in love with Beren, a mortal man (Link for their history is below), when he came across Arwen. He thought that she was a vision of Luthien whose beauty was said to be unmatched. He even called her Tinúviel, which is the name Beren called Luthien.

Aragorn was confused to learn that she was Elrond's daughter, since he had lived in Rivendell his whole life. But Arwen spent many years with Galadriel in Lothlorien, because Elrond almost definitely hid her existence from Aragorn.

For 33 years, Aragorn wandered Middle-Earth, being known as Thorongil and serving in both the armies of Rohan (under King Thengel, Theoden's father), and in the armies of Gondor (under the Steward Ecthelion, Denethor's father). His deeds were great, and he gave hope to men.

When he was almost 50 years old, he met Arwen again in Lorien and proposed. She accepted, rejecting the gift of immortality and accepting her new fate. Which was experiencing the Bitterness of Mortality.

There are consequences when an Elf rejects their lineage and becomes mortal. They must feel the bitterness of mortality, which means that although they will one day die, they won't until they have lost everything they gave up their immortality for in the first place. For Arwen, this meant she could not die, until she had lost Aragorn.

Aragorn was 210 years old when he brought Arwen before him and said that their "time of payment" had come. He knew he would die soon, and said he'd rather die when he still had his wits about him, rather than hold on and have Arwen watch him succumb to a weakened, addled mind before death. His last words to Arwen were, "In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! We are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!"

Arwen's fate after his death is actually almost word for word explained by Elrond in the Two Towers movie. She wandered the earth for years before finally coming to the hilltop in Lorien where Aragorn first proposed. She laid down among the falling Mallorn leaves and there her grave lay until the breaking of the world. Here's a link to Elrond's dialogue about her fate:

Aragorn and Arwen were a reflection of the love story of Beren and Luthien, which in turn was a reflection of Tolkien's love for his wife Edith. If you've ever thought about reading Tolkien, I urge you to pick up a copy of Lord of the Rings, flip to the appendices at the end, and read the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen. Not only does it explain their history in a detailed way, but some of Tolkien's most beautiful prose ever written (in my opinion), are found in this story. Read it. PLEASE. Thanks for reading, as always if anyone sees any inaccuracies, let me know. I'm making these mostly as a reference since people often ask me about these things, and I'd like them to be as accurate as possible. Here are all of my previous entries!

 

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After four years of being on the run from Morgoth and Sauron, Beren came to the land of Doriath. In the woods of Neldoreth he stumbled upon Luthien, an elf maiden of great beauty. She was dancing in the woods with her hair woven with golden flowers. But soon she vanished like a vision and Beren was struck dumb. For months he wandered the woods trying to find her, seeing her occasionally before she vanished.

One day at the end of Winter, he heard her begin to sing, releasing Spring from the gates of winter, flowers sprang where she stepped, and the spell of silence fell from Beren. He cried out "Tinuviel!" Which is the name he came up for her not knowing her true name (it means Nightingale, Daughter of Twilight). She halted and looked upon him. It is said that doom fell upon her, for she loved him, and both were as ones slain by bliss and grief.

Luthien brought Beren before her father, Thingol, the King of the Elves. He was perilous and had no love for men, and though he had promised Luthien he would not slay Beren, he sent Beren on an impossible journey in exchange for the hand of his daughter. His quest was to steal one of the three Silmarils from the Crown of Morgoth.

In the process, Beren was captured by Sauron. Luthien learned of this and followed Beren, and with the help of a giant Hound named Huan (think of the Great Eagle equivalent of a hound), they defeated the Werewolf body of Sauron, and freed Beren from capture. Through the magic of Luthien they took the form of a giant bat and werewolf to sneak into Angband, Morgoth's fortress.

Before the throne of Morgoth, Luthien sang a song of magic, putting Morgoth to sleep. Beren took his knife and pried a Silmaril from the crown. In the process of prying another out, his knife broke and a piece hit Morgoth's face, breaking the spell. Beren and Luthien fled, but were stopped by the greatest of all werewolves, Carcharoth.

Beren held forth the Silmaril to ward off the beast, but the werewolf bit off his hand. The light of the Silmaril burnt the inner flesh of this evil creature and Carcharoth took off, the pain of the Silmaril's light causing him to go insane. Beren and Luthien were helped by Eagles to escape back to Luthien's home.

Standing before Thingol, Beren was asked if his quest was fulfilled. Beren nodded and said "Even now a Silmaril is in my hand." Beren then held up his stump (like a total badass) and explained what happened. Thingol's heart was softened, for Beren was unlike any mortal man he had ever encountered, and he gave permission for Beren to marry his daughter.

Huan, the giant Hound, Thingol, and Beren went out to find Carcharoth the werewolf who was causing a lot of problems in the area. In the battle with the werewolf, Huan was slain and Beren received a mortal blow, but killed Carcharoth in the process. Beren handed Thingol the Silmaril from Carcharoth's belly and said, "Now is the Quest achieved, and my doom full-wrought." Beren died, his spirit being taken to the Halls of Mandos on Valinor which is the fate of all men.

Learning of Beren's fate, Luthien died in her grief. Her spirit came to the Halls of Mandos and sang a song before the Valar. The song was of her grief, and of the doom of man. So moved were the Valar that Mandos was moved to pity and called for the spirit of Beren from beyond the Western Sea. Beren and Luthien were granted another life to wander together in Middle-Earth, but Luthien had to put aside her gifts as an Elf, and accept mortality as her fate with all the bitterness and grief that comes with it. She was now subject to a second death, as was Beren.

The significance of this tale is great, especially in the eyes of Tolkien, who considered it to be the central tale of Middle-Earth and the greatest love story told among the Elves. Multiple versions of it exist though the one found in the Silmarillion is the most complete. The tale of Aragorn and Arwen were a reflection of Beren and Luthien, who were in turn, a reflection of Tolkien's love for his wife Edith. It is believed that the idea for the story began when Edith danced for Tolkien with flowers in her hair. Thanks for reading! I found some pretty sweet art while preparing this post. All artwork is by Ted Nasmith except for pictures 1, 3, 6 & 7, which I found from these cool Deviantartists: 6 - http://turnermohan.deviantart.com/ 3 & 7 - http://feliche.deviantart.com/ 1 - http://thartalion.deviantart.com/ Picture 5 is from a metal album I believe.

 

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Bilbo adopted Frodo after Frodo's parents died in a boating accident. Frodo was quite fluent in Elvish and knew a lot about the outside world. He was observed on several occasions meeting with Elves and even with Dwarves in the woods. All of this caused other Hobbits to think of him as odd.

On Bilbo's 111th birthday, and Frodo's 33rd Birthday (they share the same birthday, being September 22), Bilbo left the Shire, leaving Bag End and the Ring to Frodo. It wasn't until years later that he learned from Gandalf all about the ring. He was 50 years old that he left the Shire with the intention of carrying the Ring to Rivendell.

Once in Rivendell, he was glad to be rid of the Ring, but was more than happy to get it out of the Shire. His courage was simple. His overall desire was to save the Shire. This was the main reason why he was so resistant from the Ring's power. He had no desire for the Ring, it could give him nothing that he didn't already have.

I personally believe that they cast Frodo too young in the Lord of the Rings movies. He was much older than Sam, who was also older than Merry and Pippin. To make him so young took away some of the almost paternal relationship he had with Sam. Which in my opinion weakened the portrayal of Frodo's character.

Most of Frodo's heroism was portrayed through his simple courage. You have to think about the fact that Frodo was surrounded by leaders and great heroes during the Council of Elrond, all arguing about what should be done with the ring. Very few besides Elrond and Gandalf wanted to destroy it, but once that was decided as the only option, no one wanted to be bothered. But here was Frodo, who in his mind had saved the Shire, he had done more than his part, but no one else was stepping forward.

Finally, in the chapter of The Council of Elrond it says, "A great dread fell on him, as if he was awaiting the pronouncement of some doom that he had long foreseen and vainly hoped might after all never be spoken. An overwhelming longing to rest and remain at peace by Bilbo's side in Rivendell filled all his heart. At last with an effort he spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice. "I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way."

Too many people give Frodo crap, because he comes across as whiny in the movies. He was not this way in the books at all. He bore the ring with great courage, he never complained. He took pity on Gollum, which proved fateful, as the ring would never have been destroyed without him. He also resisted Sauron's direct force of will on multiple occasions, something even Gandalf and Aragorn struggled with when faced with the same power.

One of my favorite quotes from Elrond, aptly describes Frodo's courage, "The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere."

Frodo set out to save the Shire. Taking the burden of the ring when the eyes of the great refused. Some of his last words to Sam before leaving Middle-Earth were, "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."

Don't discount Frodo as the hero of the story. Not that I don't love Sam, I identify with him more as a character than I do with Frodo, and I'm not saying it's wrong to prefer Sam above Frodo. We all know that Sam was a great hero, and Frodo would not have been able to succeed without him. But Frodo sacrificed everything he loved, so that others could live in peace. Which, for me personally, makes him the true hero of the books. So let's not forget him.

 

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When Frodo is poisoned by Shelob and Sam thinks that he is dead, Sam takes the ring in the hope of finishing the quest, and in so doing, several things occurred. When one holds the ring, it makes them feel more powerful, but it also diminishes courage for the pure in heart.

We know Sam was extremely courageous (and dammit he was pure in heart), so when the Orcs came and found Frodo's body, and Sam overheard them saying that Frodo was in fact alive, Tolkien said that if Sam hadn't been carrying the ring, he likely would have rushed the orcs and tried to protect Frodo, getting killed in the process.

The ring would have been found, and the quest would have failed. But instead he hid in the shadows, followed them to Cirith Ungol and rescued Frodo. This marks only the second instance of someone willingly giving up the ring (the other instance being Bilbo).

The vision of power the ring used to tempt Sam was of him turning Middle-Earth (including Mordor), into a giant garden. It was only the love of his master, and the resilient nature of Hobbits against magic that helped him to resist the power.

After returning to the Shire, Sam and his wife Rosie had 13 kids together. Some of their names include Elanor, Daisy, Primrose, and of course Frodo (Sam being a gardener named his daughters after flowers that he saw in his journeys).

Sam was the mayor of the Shire for 6 terms, but after the death of Rosie, he gave the Red Book of Westmarch to his children, and then sailed to Valinor, fulfilling the fate that all the ring-bearers would eventually leave Middle-Earth. And I don't know about you guys, but the thought of Sam sailing away from Middle-Earth alone after the death of his wife is the most heart-breaking thing I've ever heard. As always, Stephen Colbert, if you're out there, feel free to correct me on any inaccuracies. As a fan of LoTR I don't want to spread false information.

 

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This is going to be a long one, but Galadriel is one of my favorite people found in Tolkien's Middle-Earth, so deal with it. Tolkien was fascinated by her, and as such she has one of the more detailed histories. I highly recommend you look her up in the Unfinished Tales, the Appendices found in the back of the Lord of the Rings books, and the Silmarillion. But in the mean time, here are some things you might not know about her.

Galadriel is one of the oldest beings in Middle-Earth, having been born before the First Age even began. In an oversimplification of a fascinating history, she was among a group of elves that rebelled against the Valar after Morgoth (a bad guy even worse that Sauron) stole the Silmarils. These elves left Valinor (the undying lands) and through much hardship and even some war among themselves, came to Middle-Earth. This group of Elves are often referred to as the Noldor, or the Dispossessed. With their rebellion they were exiled from Valinor. Which has a lot of crazy implications for Elf culture.

During the Second Age after Morgoth was expelled into the Timeless-Void and Sauron's whereabouts were unknown, Galadriel lived in an Elvish province called Eregion, located near Moria. It was during this time that the rings of power were made with the help of a being named Annatar. Galadriel distrusted Annatar, and instructed the other elves to hide their rings. This proved to be wise when Annatar revealed himself to be Sauron after creating and wielding the One Ring.

Galadriel bears the 2nd of the Elvish rings of power; Nenya, the ring of Adamant, or the ring of water. With the power of this ring she kept the borders of Lorien safe from Sauron's attacks. She was also one of the founding members of the White Council who were responsible for expelling the Necromancer from Dol Guldor.

She was one of the only people who recognized the great power of Gandalf, and confided in him more than any of the other White Council, discerning the dark pride of Sauruman. She had the gift of foresight and could see into the minds of others. Even using it to test people's resolve.

After Frodo tempted her with the One Ring, and she successfully resisted its enticement, the Valar forgave her for her part in the rebellion of the Noldor. Her exile was lifted and now had the ability to return to the Undying Lands. "I have passed the test. I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel."

During the Battle at the Black Gate (Battle of Morannon) when Aragorn led an army against Mordor, Galadriel, along with Thranduil (Legolas's sassy daddy), and a few other elves, entered Dol Guldor. Galadriel used her crazy awesome power (that we sadly don't see enough of) to completely destroy it. Bringing down its walls and filling its dark pits. Breaking its power completely (and I don't know about you guys, but I'd be completely okay if Peter Jackson decided to move that part up and show it at the end of this third movie).

After the destruction of the One Ring she sailed to the Undying Lands with all of the living bearers of the One Ring (besides Sam), and the two other bearers of the Elvish Rings (Elrond and Gandalf). Oh and I guess her husband Celeborn was there too.

 

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Many people give Boromir a bad rep because of his actions in the Fellowship of the Ring movie. But we need only take a glimpse into the way he saw things to not only understand him, but to see his greatness.

The first thing we need to know to understand Boromir, is to look at his father. Something that is only hinted at in the movies, is that Denethor had a Palantir. He often used it to probe Sauron's strength, but Sauron in return used it to drive him mad with despair. The death of his wife sent him further down this road of despair, leaning on Boromir for hope.

Having been born into almost constant war, the weight of his father's depression is at the forefront of all of Boromir's decisions. Gondor is strong, but he sees that its strength is being beaten down. It's with his knowledge we begin to see that to Boromir, this Ring is exactly what Gondor needs to drive back the armies of Mordor and restore Gondor to its former glory. In his own words he says "Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon."

On the road from Rivendell, every suggestion that he makes to the fellowship is shot down (seriously, Aragorn is a dick to Boromir basically the entire trip). You can see the growing frustration as he tries to make everyone see reason against their idiot plan (in his mind, the thought of someone walking openly into Mordor without the might of Gondor behind them was ridiculous, but everytime he mentions seeking help in Gondor Aragorn flips his s***). This is especially frustrating, given the fact that Boromir had gone to Rivendell in anticipation of hope for his city. He had learned that Aragorn was the rightful King, and he watches in frustration as Aragorn shirks that responsibility (from Boromir's perspective anyway).

While a member of the Fellowship, the ring has been gnawing at his worries for weeks, reminding him of the weakness of Gondor and his need to make things right. Wary of his constant desire to take the road to Minas Tirith, Aragorn constantly argued with Boromir after Gandalf's death. But even in his frustration, Boromir said, "It is not the way of the Men of Minas Tirith to desert their friends at need . . . and you will need my strength to reach the Tindrock. To the tall aisle I will go, but no further. There I shall return to my home, alone if my help has not earned the reward of my companionship." He hopes that Aragorn will accept the Kingship, but at that moment you can tell he doesn't expect it.

In the end he tried one more time to convince someone of what he viewed as right. He came to Frodo completely innocent (in my opinion) of intentions, desiring only to council with him. He confides in Frodo about how frustrated he is that the doom of his city is being decided by Elves far away from his home. He is tired of everyone talking about the lack of strength in men, when in his mind, these people arguing about men's lack of strength, are only kept safe by the strength they disparage. He even admits he isn't opposed to destroying the ring, but he says if hope had given them any sign that destroying it was the right option, he had yet to see it.

It was in this frustrated state that the ring took hold of him, and he tried to take the ring from Frodo. After Frodo escaped, he tripped, causing the power to fade from his mind. He then wept, realizing what he'd done.

After the attack of the Uruks, Aragorn found Boromir as if sleeping under a great tree, but he was pierced with many arrows. His sword was broken, and many orcs lay slain about him. The first thing Boromir says to Aragorn is a confession of his trying to take the ring. He then says, "I am sorry. I have paid." That sentence breaks my heart. In his mind, honor was something that could never be corrupted, even by the ring. So even though we might forgive him, knowing what the ring had caused him to do those things, he would never have passed the blame to its corruption. His sins were his own, and with this belief, his last words to Aragorn were, "Farewell Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed." Aragorn spurred on by grief, promises that he will go to Minas Tirith, and further promises that it will not fall. With that promise from Aragorn, Boromir smiles, and then dies.

Boromir is my all time favorite character ever written, in any work of literature, not just from Tolkien. He was misunderstood by all around him, he desired only for the strength of his people to never fail, but at the same time had such simple faith in that strength. He truly believed that it was in the men of his city that the fate of the world would be decided. And to a great extent he was correct. He inspired Aragorn to accept who he was, he was often a great strength to the others on his journey. He loved the Hobbits, often looking out for them when all were in danger. Though he was frustrated with Aragorn, I like to think he saw past the frustration of Aragorn's reticence and saw the nobility in him. Boromir was beloved by his father, his brother, and the people who followed him, his only failing was in not understanding the power of Isuldur's bane. And for that, he paid with his life.

 

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Faramir is a fan favorite amongst Lord of the Rings readers, and for good reason. Faramir was a character that Tolkien did not plan. He was surprised when he appeared in the forests of Ithilien, but liked him so much that Tolkien said of all the characters he's written, Faramir was the most "like [him]." He is the brother of Boromir and the youngest son of Denethor and Finduilas.

Faramir was a deeply thoughtful person. Tolkien describes him as being able to read people extremely well, and was a great leader. He was described as just as good a fighter as Boromir, though he saw no glory in it like his brother did.

Three days after Faramir heard the horn of Gondor being blown (as Boromir was dying), Faramir saw the boat bearing his brother's body go down the river in a dreamlike vision (though he insists to Frodo that it he literally saw him). Eight days later was when he came across Frodo and Sam in the forest of Ithilien.

This is when we depart from the movies. In the movies Faramir decides to take the ring to his Father, hoping to improve their relationship. But in the books, after Faramir guesses that Frodo carries the ring, he has a much different reaction.

Faramir laments that Boromir ever went to Rivendell. He tells Frodo that he was actually chosen to go by the Elders and by his father, but Boromir insisted he go, being the older son. He even begins to wonder if things might have been different if he had gone and Boromir had stayed. He then reassures Frodo saying, "I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her." This insinuates that had he gone in Boromir's place, their fates would have been quite different.

After aiding Frodo, he returned to Minas Tirith and was reamed by his daddy for letting them go. After this the movie is pretty spot on. He is sent off to a hopeless battle, almost dies, his dad goes nuts and tries to burn him, and then after the battle he is healed by Aragorn (bonus fact: it was prophesied that Gondor would recognize its new King because he would come first as a healer). It was in the houses of healing that he meets and falls in love with Eowyn.

Eowyn was one of Tolkien's favorite characters, he was fascinated by her depth of character and thus gave her quite a cool story. It is for this reason that I love the fact that Faramir -- a character Tolkien put attributes of himself into -- falls in love with Eowyn. I would argue Faramir and Eowyn are another reflection of Tolkien's relationship with his wife, just as Beren and Luthien were (I'll talk about this in another post).

After the fall of Mordor and the coronation of Aragorn, Faramir led the forces that drove back the remaining orcs, and cleansed Minas Morgul (once called Minas Ithil) of all evil, restoring it once again as the sister city of Minas Tirith.

Faramir died at the age of 120 after being one of the Chief Captains of Gondor and Aragorn's counselor. I think it says so much of him that his brother and he were so close. Especially when his father preferred Boromir so blatantly. It could have been so easy to be jealous of Boromir, but he wasn't. Tolkien said that though the blood of Numenor was mostly gone in men by that time, it ran true in Faramir. Pippin said of Faramir that he carried with him a nobility, a wisdom, and a sadness.

My favorite line of dialogue spoken by Faramir is "War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

 

[Plainview]

Many wonder why the Great Eagles didn't just carry Gandalf and Frodo to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring, thus saving a lot of time and lives along the way.

In Middle-Earth, Tolkien describes the Eagles much like the origin of the Ents. They are beings without Fëa, or souls, if you will. Without Fëa, they are not constrained to do good and are not bound to the same fates as the other creations of Illuvatar (like Elves, Men, etc.). Thus they are self-serving, and like the Ents, could only have been constrained to join the battle out of self-preservation or anger (after destroying Isengard and imprisoning Saruman the Ents went back to their normal business, they wouldn't have marched on Mordor because they couldn't see the danger).

They were proud creatures, and do not enjoy carrying burdens, seeing themselves above the "pack animals" of the world, only occasionally helping Gandalf because Gwaihir, the Lord of the Eagles was once healed by Gandalf.

To help Gandalf by flying them across Middle-Earth would have likely been seen as unneeded, or below them. And they likely wouldn't have seen the urgency or necessity of the ring's destruction (few people outside of Gondor even acknowledged the danger of Sauron regaining power). Tl;DR - The Eagles wouldn't have helped destroy the ring. So deal with it. Stephen Colberts out there, feel free to correct any inaccuracies in this so I can fix them. I created this so that I could have a link to give people who try and point this out as a plot hole. EDIT: In response to the questions regarding the theory presented in this article: http://www.tickld.com/x/this-guy-just-changed-the-way-we-see-lord-of-the-rings-mind-blown While a cool way of looking at it, you only need to reread the Council of Elrond chapter to learn that Gwaihir bears Gandalf to Rohan to get Shadowfax, not to the home of the Eagles to discuss a plan. The Eagles saw themselves as messengers, not as beasts of burden, so even then Gwaihir was like, Look Gandalf, I came as a messenger, not to carry burdens. Also, Aragorn, Frodo, Gimli AND Legolas would have known who Gwaihir was. So all Gandalf would have had to say was "Oh guys, sorry I'm dying but Gwaihir is totally going to meet up with you, don't screw this uuuuuuuuuuuuup!" As he fell. Saying "Fly, you fools!" to explain all of that is stupid. Plus Gandalf tells them to "Fly" on multiple occasions before this point, but using the definition of "hurry your asses!" not the modifier "use the Eagles!" Sorry. Doesn't quite work. Another reason why the Eagles wouldn't have worked (besides the nature of the Eagles), is that Sauron was watching the borders of Mordor quite well, and only didn't notice Frodo because they took the forgotten Morgul road, and he was distracted by the fact that he thought Aragorn had the ring. If they had flown Eagles into Mordor before the ring had been destroyed, they would have been swiftly killed by the foul beasts Sauron bred, or by the poisonous fumes in the air.

 

[rankandfile]

more please.

I had read all of Tolkien's books including the Silmarillion(Even though it read like an encyclopedia) when I was wee lad and this is bringing it all back to me

 

[TOPDAWG]

wow cool posts.

 

[sharkboy1200]

This is bananans! Great work! It makes me wonder how far back they can go with feature length Middle Earth movies.

 

[Mr Bigglesworth]

OK. Going to nerd out here and point out some minor inconsistencies, nothing major but as I have read the Silmarillion and LOTR books north of 10 times a piece I feel qualified to talk about it

- Melkor could not find the Flame Imperishable because it actually exists with Eru, in other words Eru is the embodiment of creation. This is something Melkor never understood.

- I never heard of the name Mairon as an alternative for Sauron. That name doesn't appear in the Silmarillion, though the Sindar in middle-earth called him Gorthaur.

- After the destruction of the lamps, the Maiar and Valar aligned with Manwe (Eru's appointed Elder King of Arda) fled to the westernmost lands in middle-earth, called Aman "The Blessed Realm". Valinor "City of the Gods" was the city that Tulkas and Aule built.

- Eru created a vision of Arda for the Ainur, and then the Ainur sang it into Being. The world is called Arda and Middle-Earth is a region in it (Aman, Eressea and Numenor "Westernesse" are set apart from it, far to the west).

- In the story of Beren and Luthien, a major part was skipped which is that at one point Beren made it to Nargothrond and sought the aid of Finrod, a prince of the Nolder and son of Finarfin, the third son of the first King of the Noldor, Finwe (a 1st generation elf, slain by Morgoth when he stole the Silmarils - the other sons were Feanor and Fingolfin). Finarfin returned to Valinor and sought the pardon of the Valar after Feanor's forces massacred the sea-Elves on the coast of Aman in order to steal their ships; this Kinslaying is what laid the wrath of the Valar upon the Nolder and caused them to become Exiles from the Blessed Realm. Anyway - Beren's father Barahir had saved Finrod in a previous battle, and so in repayment of this debt Finrod agreed to help Beren in his quest to regain a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, even though he knew it would end in his death. There is much more depth to this story, including some political intrigue due to the presence of two of Feanor's sons at the time. Tolkien wasn't joking, the Beren/Luthien story really was the most developed and interesting of all the myths he created.

Finrod and Beren were eventually captured by Sauron, and Finrod died saving Beren's life. His debt to Barahir was repaid, and due to his overall wisdom, gentleness and regret over the Kinslaying (in which he was not responsible, but participated thinking Feanor was under attack) the Valar forgave him and his spirit was released from Mandos. One of my favorite lines in the story, in all of the Silmarillion really, is "... but Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar". Really worth a read, it's quite an epic story.

- I think the casting of Frodo was good in the movie. In the Fellowship of the Ring it is explained that Frodo took possession of the ring at age 33, which for hobbits is coming-of-age or essentially 21 for us. At that time the ring began to prevent him from aging just as it did with Bilbo. At the time Frodo departs the Shire with Sam, he is 50 years old but looks as if he's Sam's age.

- The theme of Frodo giving up the Shire so that others may have mirrors the theme of the sadness of the Elves, which is that they must leave middle-earth so that Men may inherit it, as is their destiny. In the books Frodo is often described as having elvish qualities; he's learned their language, studied their history, and often has no problems understanding them or feeling comfortable interacting with them. He is often called Elf-Friend by elves upon meeting them. In this way he is set apart from regular Hobbits, who find Frodo (and Bilbo, who shares the same qualities) hard to understand and perhaps a bit aloof. Elves are seen as the ideal that the other races aspire to, and heroes that emerge from those races tend to have elvish qualities or an appreciation of them. Gimli, Aragorn, Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, and even heroes from the Silmarillion such as Hurin, Turin, Beren and Tuor all exhibit elvish characteristics.

- Galadriel is the most powerful of the Elves. Tolkien was actively changing her origin story in order to give her greater stature in Elvish history - essentially he was working to put her on par with Feanor himself by having her leave Valinor for middle-earth ahead of the rebellion to rule a realm and guide elves and men, "having learned all that the Valar could teach". He did not complete this work before he died (remember, the Silmarillion was published posthumously based on finished works) but in the Unfinished Tales there are lots of references and research to snippets of later writings such as Feanor being inspired by Galadriel's hair to create the Silmarils.

I could nerd out all day on this stuff. The depth of what Tolkien created still continues to amaze me after basically studying it for the last ten years.

 

[Plainview]

Awesome post. I have no way to verify the validity of the "facts." Im gonna link to your post on the imgur gallery.

 

[Bollocks]

Good posts, I enjoyed reading them.

 

[Kiki]

Great posts. Much more condensed. All of these are actually from the Silmarillion and the LOTR appendix. If you want to study Tolkienian mythology and the history of Middle Earth, read the Silmarillion.

 

[Z A C K]

Wow, there is apparently a lot more to Lord of the Rings than I thought. Great posts.

 

[Plainview]

 

[Plainview]

 

[Plainview]

 

[Videodrome]

The odd B-Movie Horror roots of Peter Jackson's career. What a disturbed individual.

In 1987, an ill-equipped but fanatically dedicated New Zealander put the finishing touches on his first movie. That New Zealander was Peter Jackson, and over four long years his short film Roast Of The Day had mutated into Bad Taste, a DIY sci-fi epic about an alien invasion of his hometown, Pukerua Bay. To play the commandos taking on the extraterrestrial threat (as well as the intergalactic bastards themselves), Jackson drafted in his mates Ken Hammon and Pete O’Herne, Hammon’s work colleague Craig Smith, and two guys from the newspaper he worked at, Terry Potter and Mike Minett. For effects, he cooked up prosthetics in his mum’s oven and constructed a rickety flying house.

This unpromising-sounding project would survive squabbles, ailments and even police interference, launching Jackson’s career and starting the long road to Middle-earth. At the end of October, Empire reunited the whole gang (minus O’Herne, who sadly died in 2010) to reminiscence about the crazy shoot.

Bad Taste took you from 1983 to 1987 to make. Why?

Peter Jackson: We only shot on Sundays, because we all worked six-day weeks. And some Sundays we couldn’t shoot at all, because I couldn’t afford it. My parents loaned me two-and-a-half grand to buy a Bolex camera, but 16mm was seriously expensive: $100 to shoot and process four minutes of film. Also, people often weren’t available. Terry and Mike were playing soccer all the time. That was a bloody pain in the arse, their soccer games.

Mike Minett: Terry and I were in bands as well. Peter arrived for filming one day, and none of us turned up. So he sat there all f***ing day. I felt bad when I heard that.

Terry Potter: His parents used to drop him off, then he’d have to wait ’til they came back.

Craig Smith: Your mum and dad always looked after us.

Jackson: Mmm. A lot of sandwiches 
and beans.

Smith: There were other delays, too.
 So much happened to us. Marriages, divorces, health scares, deaths, nervous breakdowns. I had at least two. Midway through, I had a religious awakening and walked off the film. I said, “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be in a gory film.”

Jackson: Yeah, yeah. And you eventually came back, having been through your transformation.

Smith: But I was a much better person for it.

Jackson: No, not really.

Potter: You looked terrible in sandals. I quit the film too for six months, because I wanted to go to Australia. We shot a death scene for me and it was a nasty way to go, too: a stake came up from the ground, right through my body and out the top of my head.

Smith: We shot so much stuff. I remember lugging all that stuff up to the top of the hill, over and over and over.

Jackson: Eventually we started to bury it up there, remember? We’d hide it to save us having to carry it up and down.

Smith: A lot didn’t make the final cut. When Romancing The Stone came out, we almost killed ourselves recreating the scene where Michael Douglas slides down the bank. We plummeted through all these bushes. At one point I was going to be in a flying chair.

Ken Hammon: And you were going to be attacked by the Troppe Marcher Of Om, a big, brown creature with pointy teeth. One thing that’s interesting is that Peter was never meant to act in the film. But after all these actors quit, he said, “f*** it. I’ll act in it, because I know I’ll show up every week.’”

Jackson: Then, when I needed another actor to play an alien, I thought, “I’ll be that guy as well.” I ended up fighting with myself on screen.

Smith: So we all went away at some point, but got sucked into the maelstrom again.

Jackson: It was like The Godfather. You tried to get out, but it reeled you back in.

 

[Plainview]

The odd B-Movie Horror roots of Peter Jackson's career. What a disturbed individual.

In 1987, an ill-equipped but fanatically dedicated New Zealander put the finishing touches on his first movie. That New Zealander was Peter Jackson, and over four long years his short film Roast Of The Day had mutated into Bad Taste, a DIY sci-fi epic about an alien invasion of his hometown, Pukerua Bay. To play the commandos taking on the extraterrestrial threat (as well as the intergalactic bastards themselves), Jackson drafted in his mates Ken Hammon and Pete O’Herne, Hammon’s work colleague Craig Smith, and two guys from the newspaper he worked at, Terry Potter and Mike Minett. For effects, he cooked up prosthetics in his mum’s oven and constructed a rickety flying house.

This unpromising-sounding project would survive squabbles, ailments and even police interference, launching Jackson’s career and starting the long road to Middle-earth. At the end of October, Empire reunited the whole gang (minus O’Herne, who sadly died in 2010) to reminiscence about the crazy shoot.

Bad Taste took you from 1983 to 1987 to make. Why?

Peter Jackson: We only shot on Sundays, because we all worked six-day weeks. And some Sundays we couldn’t shoot at all, because I couldn’t afford it. My parents loaned me two-and-a-half grand to buy a Bolex camera, but 16mm was seriously expensive: $100 to shoot and process four minutes of film. Also, people often weren’t available. Terry and Mike were playing soccer all the time. That was a bloody pain in the arse, their soccer games.

Mike Minett: Terry and I were in bands as well. Peter arrived for filming one day, and none of us turned up. So he sat there all f***ing day. I felt bad when I heard that.

Terry Potter: His parents used to drop him off, then he’d have to wait ’til they came back.

Craig Smith: Your mum and dad always looked after us.

Jackson: Mmm. A lot of sandwiches 
and beans.

Smith: There were other delays, too.
 So much happened to us. Marriages, divorces, health scares, deaths, nervous breakdowns. I had at least two. Midway through, I had a religious awakening and walked off the film. I said, “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be in a gory film.”

Jackson: Yeah, yeah. And you eventually came back, having been through your transformation.

Smith: But I was a much better person for it.

Jackson: No, not really.

Potter: You looked terrible in sandals. I quit the film too for six months, because I wanted to go to Australia. We shot a death scene for me and it was a nasty way to go, too: a stake came up from the ground, right through my body and out the top of my head.

Smith: We shot so much stuff. I remember lugging all that stuff up to the top of the hill, over and over and over.

Jackson: Eventually we started to bury it up there, remember? We’d hide it to save us having to carry it up and down.

Smith: A lot didn’t make the final cut. When Romancing The Stone came out, we almost killed ourselves recreating the scene where Michael Douglas slides down the bank. We plummeted through all these bushes. At one point I was going to be in a flying chair.

Ken Hammon: And you were going to be attacked by the Troppe Marcher Of Om, a big, brown creature with pointy teeth. One thing that’s interesting is that Peter was never meant to act in the film. But after all these actors quit, he said, “f*** it. I’ll act in it, because I know I’ll show up every week.’”

Jackson: Then, when I needed another actor to play an alien, I thought, “I’ll be that guy as well.” I ended up fighting with myself on screen.

Smith: So we all went away at some point, but got sucked into the maelstrom again.

Jackson: It was like The Godfather. You tried to get out, but it reeled you back in.

It's on Prime. Will watch.

 

[D-V-ANT]

It's on Prime. Will watch.

Seen it years ago. It was banded for ages so it was hard to get a hold off back in the day. Anyway, the film is hilariousness. They don't try to hide how cheap it is which adds to the fun of it.

 

[Plainview]

Seen it years ago. It was banded for ages so it was hard to get a hold off back in the day. Anyway, the film is hilariousness. They don't try to hide how cheap it is which adds to the fun of it.

Can't wait!

 

[D-V-ANT]

Can't wait!

Just wait for the exploding sheep scene...

 

[Pureshooter]

Just wait for the exploding sheep scene...

If I recall there is a part where you can actually see the bucket from a stage hand throwing blood into a shot.

There are also some great lines: "I'm a Derek, and Dereks don't run."

 

[D-V-ANT]

If I recall there is a part where you can actually see the bucket from a stage hand throwing blood into a shot.

There are also some great lines: "I'm a Derek, and Dereks don't run."

Oh I had forgotten the Derek's don't run line. lol

Another of my favorites is the weapons locker at the start of it where they are using a calculator stuck to a box and he types in something like 1+2 for the password

 

[BDaddyK]

Damn, I remember seeing the VHS box for this at the video store back in the day. I gotta check it out.

 

[The Sunset Limited]

Fact. Movies that have characters the audience knows are invincible, aren't that good. Fact.