Few substances in Middle-earth sound more like a fantasy “supermetal” than galvorn. Eöl the Dark Elf devised it in the deep shadows of Nan Elmoth. It was black and shining like jet, as hard as the steel of the Dwarves, yet capable of being made thin and supple while remaining resistant to blades and darts. … Read more
One of the most memorable images of the Battle of Helm’s Deep is Gimli standing upon the Deeping Wall beside Legolas, axe ready while the armies of Saruman gather in the darkness below. It seems exactly where he ought to be. Gimli likes the stonework immediately. He stamps upon it approvingly and declares that the … Read more
Gondor could preserve a tower, a tomb, or a royal tradition for thousands of years. Its calendar was treated with much the same conservatism. That makes one detail in the history of the Dúnedain surprisingly revealing: their calendar occasionally needed extraordinary corrections. Not because Gondor casually redesigned the year, but because a tiny astronomical error … Read more
Bombur’s fall into the black water of Mirkwood looks, at first, like one of the stranger comic disasters in The Hobbit. A deer appears during the Company’s difficult crossing, Bombur tumbles into the Enchanted Stream, and almost immediately he falls into an unnatural sleep. The obvious consequence is physical: the others now have to carry … Read more
How Rómenna Became the Last Stronghold of the Faithful After Andúnië Was Lost For generations, the western haven of Andúnië represented almost everything the Faithful still loved about Númenor. It faced toward the Undying Lands. Ships of the Eldar had once come there from Tol Eressëa. Its lords belonged to a noble house descended from … Read more
The Prancing Pony seems built for a dangerous world. It stands at Bree, where the East Road meets the old north-south route called the Greenway. Rangers appear out of the wild. Dwarves pass through. Strange Men arrive from distant lands. News travels slowly, and travelers are never entirely sure what waits beyond the next hill. … Read more
When black sails appeared on the Anduin during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the defenders of Gondor believed the worst had happened. They knew a Corsair fleet was coming from the south. They knew southern Gondor had already been threatened. And when those ships finally approached the Harlond beneath Minas Tirith, the obvious conclusion … Read more
One of Gandalf’s earliest victories in The Hobbit looks almost absurdly simple. Bilbo and the thirteen dwarves have fallen into the hands of three trolls: William, Bert, and Tom. The company is trapped, the trolls are hungry, and a direct rescue would mean confronting three creatures strong enough to capture Thorin’s entire party. Yet Gandalf … Read more
When Frodo meets Galadriel in Lothlórien, she feels almost impossibly ancient. She remembers the West before the First Age as mortals reckon it, speaks of crossing mountains before the fall of Nargothrond and Gondolin, and carries the authority of someone who has watched entire civilizations disappear. The natural assumption is that somewhere behind this Third … Read more
Faramir has already made one extraordinary concession when he leads Frodo and Sam deeper into Ithilien. He has not killed them. He has not bound them. He has listened to Frodo’s account, judged that the hobbits are more complicated than enemy spies, and increasingly treats them as guests rather than prisoners. Then, just before reaching … Read more