Why Mithril Became Almost Unobtainable After Moria Fell — But Never Truly Vanished Frodo Baggins entered Moria wearing something more valuable than almost anyone around him understood. Beneath his ordinary clothes was the small coat of mithril-mail that Thorin Oakenshield had given Bilbo after it was recovered from Smaug’s treasure. To Bilbo it had been … Read more
Legolas had crossed mountains, walked beneath ancient forests, entered the Golden Wood, survived the darkness of Moria, and followed Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead. Yet none of those wonders changed him quite like the sound of an ordinary bird. At Pelargir, amid war and the capture of the Corsair fleet, Legolas heard gulls … Read more
When Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin leave Crickhollow, they encounter something surprisingly formidable for the Shire: a defensive barrier. The High Hay, usually called simply the Hedge, rises along the eastern edge of Buckland between the hobbit settlements and the Old Forest. It is not a decorative boundary. It is tall, thick, carefully maintained, and … Read more
Rivendell seems like the safest place in Middle-earth when Frodo reaches it. The Black Riders have been swept away at the Ford, Elrond’s house is protected, Gandalf is present, and some of the wisest people still resisting Sauron have gathered there. Yet the Council of Elrond does not solve the most dangerous practical problem. The … Read more
The Sun Was Not Always Born from Laurelin: Middle-earth’s Two Different Solar Origins One of the most memorable images in The Silmarillion comes after the destruction of the Two Trees. Valinor has gone dark. Telperion and Laurelin have been poisoned by Melkor and Ungoliant, and even Yavanna cannot restore them. Yet each Tree gives one … Read more
When Frodo and Sam escaped from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, they had already lost almost everything that made ordinary travel possible. Their clothing was damaged, their strength was failing, enemies surrounded them, and Mount Doom still lay far across Mordor. Yet one small piece of equipment had become almost as important as the Ring-bearer’s … Read more
The Red Book of Westmarch seems, at first, like the most Hobbitish historical object imaginable: a collection begun by Bilbo, continued by Frodo, completed in part by Sam, and eventually preserved by their descendants. Yet one of the strangest details in the history of that book is that the version most valuable to later readers … Read more
In the Chamber of Mazarbul, the Fellowship has already discovered exactly what a defended doorway can become. Orcs have attacked through the western door. A great cave-troll has forced its way partly inside. Frodo has been struck by an Orc-chieftain. The Company survives the fight, but remaining in the chamber means allowing the enemy to … Read more
The Moon over Middle-earth is easy to treat as scenery: silver light above Lothlórien, a pale guide over wilderness, or a clock by which travellers judge the passing night. Yet in the older mythology behind that familiar sky, the Moon is not simply a dead object following an automatic path. It is steered. Its guide … Read more
The Fellowship has escaped Moria, Gandalf is gone, Orcs are pursuing them, and the Quest of the Ring is hanging by a thread. Yet at the borders of Lothlórien, the Company nearly fractures over something far smaller than a battle: a blindfold. The Elves of Lórien will permit the Fellowship to continue into their guarded … Read more