At the Council of Elrond, the Ring lies in Rivendell as a thing of ancient terror: Isildur’s Bane, Sauron’s own weapon, the one object that cannot be safely used, hidden, or bargained with. Elrond understands its history. Gandalf understands its spiritual danger. Aragorn understands the long burden of the heirs of Elendil. Frodo, almost alone … Read more
The first time the hobbits hear Goldberry, they do not understand what they are hearing. They have escaped the malice of Old Man Willow. They have crossed from the thick unease of the Old Forest into the safety of Tom Bombadil’s house. Then, from somewhere within, a voice answers Tom’s song — “young and ancient” … Read more
The strangest thing about Goldberry is not that she is mysterious. Middle-earth is full of mysterious beings: Ents whose memories reach back into the elder days, Eagles who move at the edge of providence, wraiths who are more absence than life, and a certain singing master of the Old Forest who can handle the Ring … Read more
The One Ring is small enough to vanish in a hobbit’s pocket, yet heavy enough to bend the history of the world. That is the great contradiction at the heart of The Lord of the Rings: the fate of Middle-earth depends not on the strongest hand, but on the one least suited to domination. That is … Read more
A black stone falls from Orthanc, and for a moment the fate of the West lies not in a sword, a prophecy, or a king’s hand, but in the restless fingers of Peregrin Took. It is one of the strangest turns in The Lord of the Rings: Pippin looks into the palantír, speaks with Sauron, … Read more
At the end of The Lord of the Rings, the Ring is gone, the King has returned, the Shire has been scoured, and the four hobbits are home. By every outward measure, Frodo Baggins should be able to sit beneath his own roof, open the Red Book, and grow old among the fields he helped save. … Read more
A hobbit puts on a plain gold Ring. Five pale figures close in. A knife gleams coldly in the dark. Then Aragorn comes leaping out of the night with burning brands, and the Black Riders withdraw. At first glance, the moment can feel strange. The Nazgûl are among the most dreadful servants of Sauron. Their … Read more
A small gold ring in a dark tunnel seems, at first, like the least heroic object in Middle-earth. It is not a sword reforged, a white tree flowering, or a king returning from exile. It is something lost, found by accident, hidden in a pocket, and lied about afterward. Yet the road to Sauron’s fall … Read more
The strangest thing about the One Ring is not that it made kings afraid, Elves cautious, and wizards refuse it. It is that, for one bright moment in the Old Forest, it became a toy. Frodo placed the Ring in Tom Bombadil’s hand, and the whole logic of Middle-earth seemed to bend. This was the … Read more
The One Ring had already broken stronger-looking men before Faramir ever saw Frodo in Ithilien. It had whispered to Isildur after the overthrow of Sauron. It had consumed Sméagol in a single violent moment. It had stirred Boromir, son of Denethor, into desperation at the edge of the Anduin. By the time Frodo and Sam … Read more