The Lord of the Rings: The Ring Goes South (Part One)

 

The Tale

Later that day the Hobbits hold a meeting of their own. Merry and Pippin are indignant that Sam got “rewarded” for crashing the Council, while Frodo thinks there couldn’t be a worse punishment. They still want to go; Pippin says they need someone of intelligence in the party. Gandalf sticks his head in the window and says that if that’s the case Pippin certainly won’t be chosen. But not to worry; nothing has been decided yet.

‘Nothing decided!’ cried Pippin. ‘Then what were you all doing?’ Talking, says Bilbo. But the only firm decision was that Frodo and Sam would go. He believes that Elrond will send out a fair number in time, but meanwhile they’ll wait a bit in Rivendell. Just long enough for winter to set in, Sam predicts gloomily. That’s partly Frodo’s fault, Bilbo says, waiting so late until his birthday to let the Sackville-Bagginses have Bag End before setting off. What was he thinking?

Gandalf says they must scout out the land before they can leave, however. The Black Riders are probably unhorsed and unmasked, but they must make sure. Then he cheers them up with the news that he might be coming with them, to provide that intelligence that Pippin was talking about. Gandalf leaves to go consult with Elrond about preparations. The hobbits are left to wonder about the outcome of the adventure, but the healing air of Rivendell seems to have the power to lift anxiety about the future from their minds.

Almost two months pass, with autumn fading into winter. Frodo, ever an observer of the skies, spies the brightening of a red star in the South. ‘Frodo could see it from his window, deep in the heavens, burning like a watchful eye that glared above the trees on the brink of the valley.’ The scouts return, and all seems quiet in the land; nothing seen or heard of Gollum, no Black Riders or other servants of the Enemy, though wild wolves are gathering. Elrond deems it is time to go, and that companions must be chosen for him and Sam.

‘The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil. With you and your faithful servant, Gandalf will go; for this shall be his great task, and maybe the end of his labors.’ The other companions will represent the other Free Peoples: Legolas for the Elves and Gimli son of Gloin for the Dwarves. Frodo is delighted to learn that Aragorn is going with them while he heads for Minas Tirith and the war. He and Boromir (for Men) will travel in the Company.

Elrond at first wants to pick some powerful members of his household to go along, but Pippin and Merry demand they fill up the last two places. Elrond is at first reluctant. He wants to send them back to the Shire, both for their own safety and to warn their people, but Gandalf unexpectedly supports them, saying they should ‘trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom.’ Elrond sighs. ‘Now the tale of Nine is filled. In seven days the Company must depart.’

Over that time there is much preparation and consultation. ‘The Sword of Elendil was forged anew by elvish smiths … for Aragorn son of Arathorn was going to war upon the marches of Mordor.’ On the morning of the last day, near the end of December, Bilbo pulls out a wooden box from under his bed. Inside is his old blade Sting and his coat of mithril rings. He gives them to Frodo, as the barrow-blade he had been using was broken. And Bilbo says he thinks the mail would turn even the blades of the Black Riders.

On the evening of that day they start out at dusk to travel under the cover of darkness, for soon spies on wing and afoot will undoubtedly be searching for them. Counterintuitive to this thought, Boromir blows a great blast on his horn before they set forth, ‘and though thereafter we may walk in the shadows, I will not go forth as a thief in the night.’ Elrond says (prophetically, as it turns out) ‘Slow shall you be to wind that horn again, Boromir, until you stand once more on the borders of your land, and dire need is on you.’

All are armed and bundled in warm clothes, and Bill the pony, who has flourished under the care of the Elves, will be the tenth companion, as it were, and bear the supplies. Sam, ‘sucking his teeth,’ goes over the list of things he’s carrying in his pack: his cooking gear, a box of salt, a supply of pipeweed, and so on, but kicks himself because he forgot to bring a bit of rope.

Elrond calls the Company to him. ‘This is my last word …The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need. The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The farther you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not know yet the strength of your hearts and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road … But go now with good hearts! Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!’

Bilbo, stuttering with cold, wishes Frodo good luck, and tells him that he expects him to have the full tale when he returns, and not to be too long. Final farewells are softly said, and the Fellowship leaves in the shadows of evening, crossing the bridge and going by steep paths out of the vale of Rivendell. ‘Then with one glance at the Last Homely House twinkling below they strode away far into the night.’

Bits and Bobs

Well, I had expected to go back to one chapter a day, but it seems it’s not to be. I hope it doesn’t come down to me simply transcribing the whole chapter verbatim.

The delay puts them at the significant day of December 25, making it, as it were, the start of the redemptive journey of Frodo to save Middle-earth. Later on, the climax of the journey will occur on March 25, the ‘traditional’ day (regardless of the Easter movable date) for the Crucifixion.

The arms of the Fellowship are given in some detail. Gandalf, besides his staff, bears the elvish sword Glamdring (‘Foe-Hammer’) which he got in The Hobbit. It used to belong to Turgon, King of Gondolin and Elrond’s great-grandfather. I like to think that when Gandalf wasn’t using it (it is not mentioned, for instance, in the episodes at Hobbiton) it was kept in Rivendell. Gimli openly wears a mail-shirt (‘for dwarves make light of burdens’) and carries a broad-bladed axe; Legolas has a bow and a long white knife; Boromir has a shield and sword ‘in fashion like’ Aragorn’s reforged sword. This has been renamed Anduril (‘Flame of the West’).

Merry, Pippin and Sam have their blades from the barrow. Bilbo says he wanted to ask the smiths to reforge Frodo’s blade, broken by the Lord of the Nazgul at the Ford, but kept forgetting. To me, this brings up the issue of if they could have even done it, reproducing the ancient spells wound into it for the bane of Mordor. Sting is a good replacement, though; it will glow blue when Orcs are near.

Bilbo’s short poem, ‘When winter first begins to bite’, has a noted resemblance to Shakespeare’s longer ‘When icicles hang by the wall’. I wrote my own little poem, ‘When Dogs Bask in the Heater’s Warmth’ (see elsewhere in this blog) in the same vein. Bilbo also uses his poetry to cover his feelings after giving Frodo Sting for use in his dangerous adventure.

Boromir’s horn is an heirloom of the Stewards of Gondor, fashioned from one of the horns of the legendary Kine of Araw, tipped with silver and inscribed with ancient letters. The legend goes that if it sounded anywhere within the ancient boundaries of Gondor, it would be heard and help would come.

As we advance more into the world of legend and adventure, the diction and terms become more ‘elevated’ and old-fashioned. The word ‘marches’ means ‘border regions or frontier’. When Elrond speaks of the ‘tale’ of the Company being filled, he means the ‘tally’, or number. A horn is ‘winded’, not blown. Sam brings things down to earth again when he sucks his teeth and says ‘et’ for ‘eaten’.