Caedus
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Posts posted by Caedus
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You mean fireworks as means of intimidating your enemy or inspiring your troops? Hmmm...sounds interesting.
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Better late than never, I would say!
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Hey, nobody mentions any Trolls in that army?! But then again, Merry deals with the captain of the Troll guard in the final battle and diversion against Mordor, of Gondor & Rohan.
And besides Trolls are rather stupid, and the older kind couldn't even stand the sun. So I'm sure Hobbits would have had a fair chance, because you can say much of them, but they are a pretty bright folk.
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Yes, you're probably right about that, but I still wanted to point it out as an interesting point
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Well, maybe the smilies are again worked upon, but I still don't see em
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About the worshipping part: I believe that two orcs that argue in Mordor, the two that Sam and Frodo overhear, really want to have the 'good old times' back. That is, the time before Sauron bossed them around and they could do their own: a little plunder here and there, but no war. So it's likely they don't worship him, it's just that if they don't work for him, they would be considered against him, and thus a potential target (=dead).
The same could be applied I think, to the Balrog.
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Well, I don't see the smilies any more. Where did they go?
Oh and the the avatars and group icons are missing too.
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Yes, and as the shirefolk are being presented as a minor civ in the Third Age, this should be reflected ingame.
But I don't think their fighting power is only a symbolical one. I mean, doesn't Tolkien say that people would be much surprised if they knew what those little folk can endure, if they are only judged by their appereance?! And besides, we can follow the ventures of Frodo, Sam, Merry & Peppin through the book and they seem to develop in quite some able fighters.
Not to mention that a force of Shire-folk held of and drove back an invasion of Orcs. I believe Tolkien even says that Bondrobas Took invented golf (or was it criquet) when dealing with the head of the Orc leader.
So I suspect they are quite able to defend themselves in times of need: they just need some 'inspiration'.
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Almost good, it has been published in 1991. But whoo!, I didn't know it was that expensive! I really have to give something back.
To bad I ripped a piece of the jacket, when I was in my early 'tweenies'. But it's still nice to have
.I think I'll read the second chapter on Thursday or maybe Friday.
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Yes, I like the parallels between the first chapter of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It gives it a somewhat deeper connection.
What I wondered about, when reading Gandalf's splendid display of fireworks: will any of this be included in TLA? I know it's a very minor point on the larger scale of things, but for our love's sake, why not! The dragon would be extremely nice, I bet
.I especially liked the amount of humour in this chapter. I often have to smile, or even to laugh out loud when reading it. Even when it's the x'th time I read it. I must confess I still haven't quite figured out what Bilbo means with the '...half as much as I would like...' statement. I really have to write that one down someone time and think about it. But it shows the creative mind of Tolkien at it's best, I would say. Also, when reading about the party, it strikes me to notice how well Jackson has filmed it, without making any significant changes to the content (and besides, who didn't smile when Gandalf set of some fireworks, when the little Hobbit children were running behind him?).
Like Curufinwe said, we get to know the Ring better. It has obviously been stirred by the growing power of Sauron and his search for it. We can deduce that, because Bilbo says it has been growing more heavily on his mind lately.
One last point: Hobbits seem to have a kleptomanic nature. I mean, half of Bilbo's smaller furniture is almost stolen the day after his party (not to mention old Lobelia...).
A good beginning to an even better book!
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Mae govannen, Mormegil!
It's quite remarkable to have read all those volumes at such a young age, but the again I know some more that did that (including myself
). I see you enjoyed them a lot and perhaps you're interested in joining our reading group, that has just started a week ago? You can easily catch up.@dathui: just a note, but are 'normal' visitors supposed to be able to post news here?
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I would say that ordering them on-line is more easy than going to the bookshop?
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PROLOGUE
3 - Of the Ordering of the Shire
...By no means all Hobbits were lettered, but those who were wrote constantly to all their friends (and a selection of their relations) who lived further off than an afternooon's walk....There it is.
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Just finished reading this first part, and I'm really getting into it again :-)!
Nathanael, I agree with what you say about the applicability of allegory. I think it's so easy to fall for the trap, that is, to approach it from the wrong direction and comparing it as a symbolical disguise of other (religious) stories.
I think I'll read your essay Adam, but not now, as I really have to go and catch some sleep...
But about the text I've read:
It's interesting to note that, even if it is seen as his 'magnum opus' and his best-selling work, Tolkien views his 'history of the elder days' as his hearts-work, and even the LotR tributes to it, by constantly pointing back at that history.
Somewhat ironic is the fact he had to type (and retype!) the whole story by himself, since hiring a professional typist was 'beyond my means'.
About the Hobbits: reading all about the style of houses they live in, I wonder how this will be reflected in TLA. Is there going to be a mixture between holes and houses? Or will the holes house Hobbits and normals buildings work as working places (like mills and such)? Basically the same for these few things: the liking for yellow/green clothes; the three distinctive Hobbit races and their ability in ranged weaponry. Will (and if so, how) this be reflected in TLA?
It strikes me again, how Tolkien calls Hobbits ancient and very closely related to Men. Where do Hobbits come from? Why has Eru let them be?
What do you guys think has happened with the company of archers the Shire sended to the last battle at Fornost? Where they even sended (as Men didn't chronicle such a batallion of soldiers) or didn't they arrive at the battle at all?
Furthermore, the talking about the 'Red Book' makes me want to have a red leatherbound edition of the whole LotR and preferably The Hobbit too. Anyone has any ideas? Easton Press has some really goodlooking (and bloody expensive) books here:
1. http://www.eastonpress.com/ViewProduct.asp?Sku=0193
2. http://www.eastonpress.com/ViewProduct.asp?Sku=1035
But they are not red as you can see.
This Dutch Site has a nice one:
http://www.tolkienwinkel.nl/nl/p_53.html
It really looks to me, like something a distinguished Hobbit library would have somewhere in the Fourth Age.
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Sorry for my late start, but I had to ask my sister if I could borrow her Lord of the Rings version. I've one myself, but that one is in Dutch, and she has an English one and I really wanted to stick with the text when reading with you all!
Anyway, I asked her, and you know what she did? She *gave* me her book! It's a big hardcover version with 50 (!) painting of Alan Lee. It's a pain to carry around, but it's a beaty to have :-). I've just read the Foreword and Prologue and will do the first chapter tomorrow.
Good night.
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silence!
john has three apples
kate has one
frank has seven, and shares three with kate
kate gives two apples to bill
bill takes his apples to his mother
mother makes a pie
a bird eats mothers pie
the bird is killed and roasted
the roast bird is eaten by three men
the men argue and leave north south and west
the men find their way to kates house
kate gives an apple to each of the men
how many apples remain?
(read it once and try to figure it out, otherwise it simple)
John has 3
Kate has 1 + 3 (from Frank) - 2 (to Bill) = 2
Frank has 7 - 3 = 4
Bill's mom does or does not make pie from apples?
But if I count: 3 + 2 + 4 = 9
The apples that Kate share still remain (I would say). But I'm afraid I might have done something wrong...
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As for the king arthur legends, I think that there are definitely parallels. But to make the claim that they are parallel because they are connected directly over the claim that they are parallel because cultural traditions follow similar patterns, is a big assumption.
Ehm, you didn't take that from my post did you?
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I thought it was 'Finished'???
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Ardaquenta
in News
I want point out a little something which I have noticed only now: the homepage of TLA is a bit disfigured because the banner of the Ardaquenta is placed in the same table as the poem ('The Road...'). Making them seperate would improve things, I think.
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Make it loyal to the books, balancing in the game and intuïtive/logical to the player and I will be very happy indeed
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A long expected party indeed
!May we all find inspiration, wisdom and a deeper understanding when reading Tolkien (again)!
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Correct
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I suspect he imeadiately abandons all his research on the rings and goes experimenting with the Ring. As he is a follower of Aulë he would investigate and admire the craftmanship of the ring, even if he dislikes the crafter. Of course, by the power of the Ring, he would keep his findings a secret and is gradually corrupted by the Ring. The Ring would try to go back to his master, but Saruman would certainly not allow that. If not for the sake of the Free People, then surely for his in sake, because he can see numerous possibilities now to increase his own power and perhaps even to improve the world (but in his own mechanical vision, so it wouldn't be the improvement Gandalf was waiting for!).
His secret wouldn't last long, because the Council would notice that a shadow comes over his spirit and Sauron would catch glimpses through the Palantir of Saruman's experiments of the Ring.
Ultimately in his lust for power (which he always had, even when he was still fully fighting for the cause against Sauron) Saruman would grab the power of the Ring, defy Sauron and tell the Council that only he is fit for this kind of power and thus clearing the path for a third faction: Isengard. But this time not the Isengard in semi-service of Mordor (and in search of the Ring), but Isengard as a stand-alone nation with enough power to defy both Mordor, Rivendell/Lorien and Rohan/Gondor.
Interestingly I don't think it would automatically mean that Sauron wins. I rather think Sauron would be forced back or perhaps even driven out of Mordor. But this depends on how Saruman would focus his attention: towards gaining power over the other rings (over which he now has much direct knowledge through his own Ring); or fighting of the Elves in the North and Men in the south; or towards driving away Sauron. That would be his only weakness: he shall be surrounded by enemies. However in this three faction war, all factions would be the enemy of all other factions.
My view, typed out in about 5 minutes of inspiration
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Yiuel gets my point, in that I want to say that a standalone writer connected the lotr and his view on arthurian legends.
Of course I suspect too that Tolkien has been inspired by the Arthurian legends of old (and who wouldn't?!), but clearly in this case it's a writer that has been inspired by both works and has written a story with that. But I would really suggest to read it once, if you come accros it at some library or marketstand.
[LotR] - Chapter 02 - 'The Shadow of the Past'
in TLA Community Reading Group
Posted
Ah, how wonderful it must have been to read his progress and comment on it
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I really have to agree with what Adam said, about this chapter being the bridge between The Hobbit and TLotR: when Gandalf is telling his story, the shadows seem to grow and evil near: it's getting darker and more serious. Poor Frodo.
Now for some comments of my own:
I hadn't really thought about this, but even though Frodo is (almost) fifty, he still looks like in his tweens. I just point this out, because I read somewhere on some forum (don't know if it was this one) that the movies got it wrong, with the age of Frodo (he was supposedly to young). But it seems that has played out rather well, as the Ring already has its effect on Frodo.
Btw. how would the normal age and behaviour of a Hobbit at fifty compare to a Man (as in: how old would a Man be that's on the same developed level, emotionally/maturally/psychologically wise)?
Gandalf states that evil things are walking around increasingly more. He also says that there are Trolls that are more cunning and have 'dreadful weapons'. What exactly would he mean with that? For a wizard of his stature I wouldn't call an ordinairy club 'dreadful'.
The 'Tree-man' or giant Sam is talking about in the Green Dragon, would that be an Ent? Or possibly an Ent-wife?
Are there any stories of what happened to people that received the lesser Rings, or the 'try-outs' of the Elven craftsman?
Why did Gandalf wait so long with acting, if he know from the beginning that the Ring was a Great Ring?
Gandalf tells us that the Great Rings that were giving to the Dwarves, were either taken by Sauron or consumed by dragons. But how would this last thing have happened? Why would dragons want to consume magical (and also dangerous) Rings? Did Sauron just allowed them to do that?
Gandalf also tells that Sauron first believed the Ring to be destroyed. But if so, wouldn't he have felt that? And how could he again become so powerful is the Ring was destroyed?
He, Gandalf, is already suspiciant of Saruman, but doesn't specifically expresses his doubts yet. Still he trusts him, and calls it pride that has taken hold of the great White Wizard.
Gandalf calls Aragorn the 'greatest huntsman and traveller' of this age of the world. Would he mean the whole Third Age with that? If so, Gandalf really thinks highly of Aragorn, even more highly than of his, direct, ancestors.
Clearly, Frodo can't bring himself to destroy the Ring. Wouldn't this be a major flaw in Gandalfs plan later on, as, even if he did went with Frodo to Mordor, Frodo would never allow harm to be done to the Ring. How would Gandalf have solved this?
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As you can see, many points that can be discussed upon
. Overall, I think it's a chapter that takes hold of the reader, sets the tone for the book and gives one an idea of the vastness that is (the history of) Middle-Earth.