Elrond and Elros were twin brothers. They had the same father, the same mother, and exactly the same ancestry. Yet Elrond became one of the great Elven lords of Middle-earth, while Elros became a mortal Man, founded the royal house of Númenor, grew old, and died. That alone should warn us that “Half-elven” does not … Read more
When Aragorn shows his sword to the hobbits at Bree, the weapon is almost absurdly unsuitable for the dangers gathering around them. He draws it, and they see that the blade is broken. For a Ranger traveling through a country stalked by servants of the Enemy, that is a striking thing to carry. Narsil cannot … Read more
When the waters settle around Isengard, Saruman appears to have lost everything that made him dangerous. His Orcs and Men are gone. His machinery has been wrecked. The walls of Isengard have been broken by the Ents, and the great industrial power he built beneath Orthanc lies flooded. Rohan has survived the assault that was … Read more
The word Eldar can sound as though it means the Elves of the Blessed Realm: the radiant peoples who crossed the Sea, lived beneath the Two Trees, and returned to Middle-earth carrying the memory of Aman. But that is not what the name originally means. The Sindar are the clearest proof. They never completed the … Read more
When Aragorn became King Elessar, Faramir performed one of the most important acts in Gondor’s history: he surrendered the authority of the Steward to the returning King. Yet Aragorn did not simply dismiss him. He returned the white rod of the Steward, confirmed the office in Faramir and his heirs, and soon afterward made him … Read more
At the end of the Third Age, an Elven ship could leave the Grey Havens, sail west, and reach a destination that no ordinary mortal vessel could find by following the same compass direction. That strange fact is one of the clearest consequences of the Changing of the World. Before the downfall of Númenor, Aman … Read more
Lembas looks, at first, like the answer to one of warfare’s oldest problems. An army must eat. Every soldier who marches needs food, and every wagon carrying food requires animals, drivers, roads, time, and still more provisions. Yet in The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship leaves Lothlórien carrying small packages of Elven waybread so … Read more
The Iron Crown of Morgoth looks, at first, like the perfect symbol of absolute victory. After destroying the Two Trees and fleeing from Valinor, Morgoth returned to Angband with the three Silmarils. There he forged a great crown of iron, proclaimed himself King of the World, and set the stolen jewels into it. The greatest … Read more
The Shire was never supposed to need a prison. That is what makes the Lockholes at Michel Delving so unsettling. They were not Barad-dûr. They had no vast dungeons, no armies stationed beneath black towers, no supernatural terror hanging over their doors. By the standards of Middle-earth, they were almost absurdly small. Yet when Frodo, … Read more
Lúthien does something almost no one in Middle-earth can do: she dies, enters the keeping of Mandos, and returns to embodied life. At first glance, that seems to break one of the deepest boundaries in Tolkien’s world. Death is supposed to divide Elves and Men. The spirits of Elves remain bound to Arda, while Men … Read more