The Tale
‘Alas!’ said Frodo. ‘That
was indeed Boromir as I knew him.’ He mentions the golden belt which the man
had received in Lothlorien, at the same time Galadriel gave Frodo his green and
silver brooch. Faramir examines it. Yes, it was of the same craftsmanship. So
they passed through Lorien? That mysterious land hasn’t been visited by Men for
ages. Can’t Frodo tell anything more about Boromir’s journey there?
Frodo can say no more,
except Faramir’s tale of his brother’s dead body’s passing fills him with dread
for the safety of the rest of the Fellowship. Perhaps it was some lying trick
of the Enemy, like the faces in the Dead Marshes?
Faramir thinks not, for
Sauron’s working fills people with loathing, and all he felt was grief and
pity. Still, Frodo wonders how a boat could come over Rauros Falls without
sinking. When he hears the boats were of Elven-work, Faramir exclaims though Frodo
came through Lorien he must not have comprehended the power he passed through.
He calls Galadriel the Mistress of Magic, and cries aloud to Boromir, wondering
what came to him from his encounter; ‘for it is perilous for mortal man to walk
out of the world of this Sun, and few of old came thence unchanged.’
He turns quietly to Frodo.
He understands now that Boromir wanted ‘Isildur’s Bane’, whatever it was, to
come to Minas Tirith. It is a bitter thing that seals Frodo’s lips from telling
him anymore about his brother. But he knows whatever he did, he died well,
doing some good thing. ‘His face was more beautiful even than in life.’
He tells Frodo he is sorry
he pressed him about Isildur’s Bane earlier before his men. He explains that he
and Boromir are of the House of the Stewards, and their father Denethor is the
Ruling Steward of Gondor. They are not of the Line of Elendil, but the blood of
Numenor is in them, from their forefather Mardil who as steward after the last
king of the Line of Anarion, Earnur, who never returned. Boromir, who was always
proud, asked their father Denethor why they weren’t kings yet and how many
years did it take to make a steward a king? “Few years maybe, in other places
of less royalty … In Gondor not ten thousand years would not suffice.” This should
tell Frodo a little something about Boromir’s attitude.
Frodo replies that it does,
but ‘he always treated Aragorn with honour.’ Faramir doesn’t doubt if; Boromir
would hold him in high regard if he believed Aragorn’s claims. But then ‘the
pinch’ had not come; they had not returned to Minas Tirith yet. Anyway, he is
straying from his point. There are many old books and documents preserved in
the White City. Some few can now read, though he can do so a little, being
tutored now and then by the Grey Pilgrim. Frodo asks, his interest aroused, did
this Grey Pilgrim have a name?
‘Mithrandir we called him in
elf-fashion,’ said Faramir, ‘and he was content. Many are my names in many
countries, he said. Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkun to the Dwarves;
Olorin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incanus,
in the North Gandalf; to the East I go not.’
Frodo says he thought it was
Gandalf. He was the leader of their company. He was lost in Moria.
‘An evil fate seems to have
pursued your fellowship.’ It’s hard to believe one so wise and powerful is
gone. But Frodo is sure of his passing:
he fell into shadow. Faramir fears that they have lost more than a loremaster.
He suspects Gandalf was far more important to the defense of the West than they
knew.
Anyway, Mithrandir got leave
from Denethor to search the archives of Minas Tirith, where he looked for
anything on the Battle of Dargorlad where Sauron was defeated and the fall of
Isildur, though they knew little of his fate. Faramir lowers his voice. But
this he knows or suspects, that Isildur took something from ‘the hand of the
Unnamed’ before he left. Faramir guesses it was a thing of power and of peril;
maybe a ‘fell weapon’ that could give one an advantage in battle. If Isildur’s
Bane was such a thing, he could see Boromir coveting it. Faramir should have
gone himself, but Boromir thrust himself forward for the job. But don’t worry
about him! ‘I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway.’ He has no
desire for glory, just to protect his city. ‘I do not love the bright sword for
its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory.
I love only that which they defend.’ So don’t worry about him asking them
anymore. But if they trust him, he may be able to counsel them and even help
them.
Frodo hesitates, pondering. He
really could use some help, and Faramir seems wise and fair. If he and Sam are
the last members of the Nine Walkers, the quest is entirely in his hands. But
he decides he must play it close to the waistcoat. ‘And the memory of Boromir,
of the dreadful change that the lure of the Ring had worked in him, was very
present to his mind, when he looked at Faramir and listened to his voice:
unlike they were, and yet also much akin.’
Notes
We get a nice little
analysis of the royalty situation in Gondor. Elendil had two sons, Isildur and
Anarion. While Isildur’s line ruled Arnor in the North, Anarion’s line ruled
Gondor in the South. Isildur’s Line went into eclipse after the Disaster of the
Gladden Fields. Anarion’s last heir, Earnur, went off to Minas Morgul after the
Lord of the Nazgul challenged his courage after his horse ran off with him in
fear at the Battle of Fornost, and he was never seen again. The House of the
Stewards reigns in his stead, and have the power if not the title of King. It
seems that Aragorn is the only man who has claim to the Line of Elendil now and
the Kingship of Gondor. What will the proud Denethor do if that comes to pass?
Mithrandir, as
stated, is Elvish for ‘Grey Pilgrim’ or ‘Grey Wanderer’. Tharkun is
Dwarvish for ‘staff-man’ according to The Encyclopedia of Arda, Olorin
comes from the Quenya word ‘olori’, meaning dreams (the forgotten West would be
Valinor), Incanus is possibly from the Haradrim language and means ‘north-spy’
(although it is also Latin for ‘grey-haired’, which was probably Tolkien’s
inspiration for its use) but also later interpreted as a Quenya name meaning ‘learned-lord’,
and Gandalf means ‘the elf of the wand’ in the tongues of the Men of the
North, probably identifying him with the Elves based on his longevity and ‘magic’
powers.
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