The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith (Part Three)

The Tale

Pippin gazes in wonder at the great stone city, greater than anything he ever imagined, bigger and more beautiful than Isengard. But the truth is it is a dying city; it holds only half the people it once did, and they pass many empty and silent houses.

At last they reach the seventh gate (‘as Frodo walked in the glades of Ithilien’), the great arch carved with a keystone like a crowned and kingly head. Gandalf and Pippin dismount, as no horses are allowed in the Citadel, and Shadowfax ‘suffers’ himself to be led away.

The guards at the gate are robed in black, with tall helmets made of mithril, ‘heirlooms from the glory of old days,’ and fitted with the white wings of a sea-bird. On their black surcoats is embroidered a white tree under a silver crown and many stars. This is the livery of the heirs of Elendil, that none wear anymore in all of Gondor, except these Guards of the Citadel before the Court of the Fountain.

It seems they are expected, as doors open for them silently and without question. They pass over a white-paved court where a ‘sweet fountain’ is playing, surrounded by a sward of bright green grass. But drooping over the pool is a dead tree, the drops of water dripping from its barren branches. Pippin wonders why the sad, dead thing is left there, when Gandalf’s murmured words pass through his mind: ‘Seven stars and seven stones and one white tree.’ And then they are at the doors of the great hall beneath the white tower.

They pass the guards there and down a long empty passage. As they walk, Gandalf gives Pippin some quiet advice. He tells him to be careful how he speaks to Denethor. ‘Theoden is a kindly old man. Denethor is of another sort, proud and subtle, a man of far greater lineage and power, though he is not called a king.’ He loved Boromir, perhaps too much. Gandalf guesses that he will talk most to Pippin. To find out what happened to his son Boromir, of course, but also to find out things Gandalf would be too canny to reveal. He counsels Pippin not to speak of Frodo’s errand, and not about Aragorn either.

Why not Strider? Pippin asks. Wasn’t he coming here himself? Maybe, Gandalf concedes. But he shouldn’t come heralded by us. ‘It is scarcely wise when bringing news of the death of his heir to a mighty lord to speak overmuch of the coming of one who will, if he comes, claim the kingship.’

Pippin is amazed. Gandalf tells him, ‘If you have walked all these days with closed eyes and mind asleep, wake up now!’

Bits and Bobs

We are once more told where Frodo is at this point of the timeline: ‘in Ithilien.’ This not only tells us where we are in the plot now, but shows that he is not forgotten.

The White Tree of Gondor has a long and storied history. It ultimately comes from Telperion, one of the Two Trees destroyed by Morgoth and Ungoliant. It seedlings spread from the Elves in Galathilion to the tree Nimloth in Numenor. “The first White Tree [of Gondor] came from a fruit that Isildur, at great personal risk, managed to steal from Nimloth the Fair, the White Tree of Númenor, before that one was destroyed at Sauron's insistence. He suffered many wounds during this mission, and he came near death, but when the first leaf opened in the spring, Isildur was healed.” – Tolkien Gateway.  Sauron burned this tree in a sudden surprise attack in Second Age 3429.

Isildur planted a sapling in Minas Anor in memory of his brother Anorien. This second White Tree died in the Great Plague in the Third Age 1636. The third White Tree was planted by King Tarondor in Third Age 1640 and withered in Third Age 2872 under the Ruling Steward Belecthor II. This tree is the one we see here, ‘left until the King should come again’ since no new sapling was found.

Since there are no more (known) Heirs of Elendil, only the Citadel’s honor guard bear his arms. Mithril is of course the most precious metal in the world. The wings of sea-birds attached to the helms recall the fact that the Numenoreans are ‘sea-kings’, coming from over the waves to rule.

Gandalf’s little heads-up to Pippin not only brings him up to speed, but also wises up any readers who may have forgotten (or never put together) Aragorn’s storyline. The line of the Tree reflects the circumstances of the Heirs of Elendil, honored but in abeyance.