Issue 21

EDITORIAL

Welcome to 6.nQr 21: yet another issue squeezed in at the very end of term! This time we
have so many serious articles that I have finally succumbed to the pressure to include some of
my own work in an attempt at comic relief. Yet that is not to say that the serious articles are
boring! I found them most interesting and look forward to being able to print a comment
page packed with discussion in the next issue as a result.

S peaking (writing?) of the comment page, I, like my predecessors, am most happy to take
comments in any form: written, verbal, inscribed in tablets of stone or even recorded
magnetically on small plastic disk! So pleas�.pass your comments to me, or to any committee
member.

I also want to take this opportunity to give Noel Evans a short commercial. You may have
noticed his artwork in Issue 20 and there is more of it in this 6.n.Qr. Noel is prepared (more
like begging) to work to commission and can be contacted through me.

Duncan McLaren

P.S. No, you're not getting away with it: admittedly there was enough material this issue, but
the same people are writing each time and it would be nice to get more variety . . . there must
be more literate crs members out there somewhere ... how about starting with a nice easy
piece for the comment page saying how rude you think the editor is!

Credits
Editor (and typist): Duncan Mcl..aren
Artwork: Cover, Lynne Elson, Per Alhberg; pp 8, 21, Noel Evans;
Borders, Susan Foord..
Dirty work (photocopying): Stephen linley
Type-setting: Scan Brooke-Hughes & the expensive computers (again).

2
 Contents
The Road Goes Ever On: Reflections on Tolkien and the Classical Epic
Enulite literary criticism by Monica Gale 4

An Analysis of the Mortality of Hobbits

Being a record of detailed research by Graham Taylor 10

Middle-earth revisited
More humour from the pen of Susan Foord 13

The "other passage" of Cirith Ungol

Being a title that sounds m de for comic fiction that isn't quite so rude by Duncan
McLaren and Scan Brooke-Hughes 14

The Land of Narnia

Being a book review by Stephen Linley 17

Vandred
Poetry by Graham Dann 18

Comment
Being another page the editor gets to himself as no-one else could be bothered to write
tolz� w

Heroism in Tolkien
Being more teamed analysis from Jeremy King 10

lrhen.� 51'-'rr-uloLtS ore

once was a

\Vho found he could no lon,9er talk.;

J3ttt he wasn'f dit.ma;_Jed
As he proudly displa_yed
}-tis tor1_9ue on the end of his fork.

Susan Foord

3
 The Road Goes Ever On

Reflections on Tolkien and the Classical Epic

The Lord of the Rin�;s is often described as an 'epic' novel. Althou�,;h the 1n111 is pnh;q"
most often used by reviewer s and the writers of publi shers ' blurb I<> dr"��rL1Ic " ""'' "'

fantasy of a certain length (preferably in three vol u m e s ) in a v;q.;urly 'high' \Ilk, rl 'ccrm

w o rth attempting a more preci s e definition of the genre and lollk111g llltlre c·lt�sely "' rls

appropriateness as a descript ion of Tolkicn's writings. I propose in I h is ,,·trek, lirstlv '" dr.11,.

attention to certain features of L.QlR �hich justify its a ss ig n m c1 1 t t" tht· cp1c genre, ;r11tl
secondly to s ugg es t some ways in which the classical epic tr:1ditlllll 111.11 h.11c rrlllucrH't·d

Tolkien.

The d e fi n it io n of the term 'epic' is no simple matter, and I propose ' " rhc.tl slr;·.l1ilv l•1·

ad op t i n g the views put forward by Aristotle in the �. Arisl<>tk's "le''' .11c n�>t, " '

course, incontrovertible, but have two immediate advanlagcs in this l'lllllnt (,l'oldl' r ... lll
convenience): they derive from the same culture by which the term itsrlf " '" '"''l'llll'd, ;r11d

would no doubt have been familiar to Tolkien himself, through holh hi' Cl.<.""·"l .1nd hl):l1•.h

literary studies.

Paraphrasing two passages f rom the � 1 Aristotle's definition r"" ,,. sull111LIIJ'<'d "'·

follows: epic poetry is a metrical represe nt at io n of the ac t i on of hcroir l"' 'i:'"'d') i"d"·"lu;,h

in narrative form, constructed around a single piece of action (or 'achievcmcnl'), wilh "

begi n ning , a middle and an end. Leaving aside Tolkien's ob v ious diverg ence from Arislotlc's
s tipula tion that an epic must be in metre, we can s ee that in all other respects Will dncs

i ndee d conform to these requirements. The whole narrative is essentially concerned with a
singl e actionFrodo's casting of the Ruling Ring into th e Cracks of Doom - with its
•

2
background and its consequences. Most of the charact ers involved could convincingly b e
described as 'good' or 'heroic'. The hobbits, more mundane and 'down to earth' that the
human, dwarvish and elvish characters, are a possible exception. T ol kien sometimes exploits
this incongruity for comic effect (as in the encounter between Theoden, Merry and P ipp i n at
3
the gates of Isengard ) and several critics have pointed out the role of the hobbits in leadi ng

the reader gradually into the heroic world beyond the border of the Shire. I would argue that

they also represent Tollcien's concession to the novelistic genre to which LQill also (at lcasl

superficially) belongs, and which demands 'realistic' characte rs , not too much larger than life,
4
to whom the reader can rclate. The description 'epic novel' is then appropr i a te to the exll'nl
that the epic themes and figures of the story are set within the framework of a mod e rn novel.

4
 n

Turning from these theoretical considerations, the plot of L21& contains a number of
elements derived from, or at least coinciding with, classical epic poetry, particularly the
�and Virgil's �- A number of these similarities were pointed out by Catherine
2,5 which draws attention to parallels between the stories of
lloolcy in an article in 1.\ruu

Odysseus, Aeneas and Aragorn: all three characters undertake a journey to the realms of the

dead, which is vital to their achievement of their goal; and all three are seeking to resume or

establish kingship. A recent article in Amon Hen6 also pinpoints a more specific resemblance

in the parallel scenes of leave-taking between Aragorn and Eowyn in B.QlK and Aeneas and
Dido in � 4. I would supplement these observations by noting further parallels between
Odysseus, Aeneas and Frodo.

The� and the first half of the� have the same basic structure: the hero wanders

for a number of years before attaining his goal and his journey is punctuated by various

encounters, which cause delays of varying length (Odysseus is confronted by the monstrous

Cyclops. the witch Circe, the nymph Calypso etc., while Aeneas makes various false starts in

his attempts to fulfil his destiny in founding a new Troy). The goal is eventually reached, but
only (in Odysseus' case) after he has gradually lost all his companions through one disaster or
another. Frodo's story is, in outline, similar: he undertakes a journey, which is divided into
stages by his encounters with Tom llombadil, Aragorn, Elrond, Faramir and finally Shelob.

Like Odysseus, he is (almost) bereft of companions before his quest is achieved. Moreover,
most of the characters encountered offer Frodo practical help (Bombadil, Aragorn), advice

(Elrond, llombadil) or gifts (Galadriel). This motif is also found in the�: Odysseus is

aided or advised, more or less willingly, by Circe, Calypso, Aeolus, Lord of the Winds, who

gives him a bag of winds to help him on his way home, and the Phaeacians, who actually return

him to Ithac a in their ships. The resemblance to the &ru:.ill. is still closer: Aeneas, like Frodo,
is initially unsure of his goal, but receives advice from various figures (the Delian oracle, the

seer I lclcnus, the Cumaean Sibyl) on his travels.

A few more specific correspondences may be tentatively suggested. Galadriel, for example, is

in some ways analogous to Circe. She is a powerful queen, who, although not, of course, a
7
witch, is apparently helieved to be something of the kind by Eomer and Faramir, and

lloromir says of Loth16rien • . .. it is said that few come out who once go in; and of that few

none have escaped unscathed" .8 The company spends a peaceful and relatively long period of

a month in her domain- Odysseus and his companions spent a year feasting on Circe's island·

and go on their way after receiving valuable help, in the form of gifts and advice, from

Galadriel and Celeborn.

Odysseus and Aeneas both encounter various monstrous creatures, most notably the Cyclops,

in the course of their journeys. Here again, Frodo's story provides an analogy, in the person

5
of Shelob, who is, like the Cyclops, a cave dwelling monster from whom the hero almost fails
to escape; although the episodes are, of course, very different in other respects.

Finally, there is the motif of the journey to the realm of the dead, which has already been

mentioned in connection with Aragorn. Frodo passes through the Dead Marshes on his way
to Mordor; but Mordor itself can also be seen a a kind of figurative hell. Whenever the

landscape is described, it is in terms of darkness, dryness and d eat h :

... down on the stones behind the fences of the Black Land the air seemed almost

dead ... The land all around was dreary, flat and drab-hued ... A few miles to the
north-east the foothills of the Ashen Mountains stood like sombre grey ghosts,

behind which the misty northern heights rose like a line of distant cloud hardly
9
darker than the lowering sky.

It is also notable that, like Aeneas, or Ged and Arren in Ursula le Guin's The Farthest Shore,

Frodo and Sam do not leave by the same route by which they entered th e Black Land.

This brings me to my final and perhaps most significant point of compar ison between Tolkien

and the classical epic. This is a theme common to much of Tolkien's writing, and also to the
10
�.the� and other ancient epics: the theme of homecoming, and the difficulty­
if not impossibility - of returning to one's point of departure. This theme is particularly

prominent in the Odyssey. which is concerned throughout with the hero's� (return) and

reestablishment in his kingdom of Ithaca. Homecoming is mentioned twice in the ten-line

prologue, and frequently thereafter, as , throughout the first half of the poem, the hero longs

to "see the day of his return". Ironically, he never does actually sec his return, because he is

asleep when the Phaeacians return him to Ithaca. Moreover, his homecoming is no! yet truly

accomplished, since he must disguise himself as a beggar in order to gain access to his own
house which has been occupied for several years by a group of suitors who arc importuning his

wife, Pcnclope, and feasting on his own meat and wine. Even when he has wreaked his

revenge on the suitors and been reunited w it h his son, his wife and his aged father, he cannot,

or so it is hinted, find rest. Earlier in the poem, du ring the hero's vi,it tu the underworld, he

is given a mysterious prophecy by the shade of the p rop het Tc ir c sia s :

"When you have killed the suitors in your own p alace ... then go forth, carrying

with you a balanced oar, till you come to men who know nothing of the sea and

eat food unseasoned with salt, men unacquainted with ships and their crimson

cheeks or with balanced oars that are to ships as arc wings t o birds. I will give
you a plain token you cannot miss. When another traveller falls in with you and

takes the thing on your shoulder to be a winnowing-fan then plant that balanced

oar in the ground and offer to Lord Poseidon the sacrifice of a ram and a bull

6
 •11
and a hoar that mates with sows. Then return home .
..

This is taken hy many cri!ics to rep resent an impossibility, implying that Odysseus' wanderings

will never truly end.

The hero of the illnriiL on the other hand, is seeking to set up a new kingdom, but it is often

spoken of as a new T roy and is to be founded in Italy, the land from which the ancestors of
,

the Trojans were believed to have come. Again this return is not unproblematic. Aeneas
makes several false starts, attempting to found his city in Thrace and Crete, to ally himself

with the Carthaginian queen Dido, and finally leaving some of his company to settle in Sicily,

before finally arriving in Italy. But, like Odysseus, he is to find that his trials are not yet over,
and he must fight and conquer the hostile natives before he can begin, at last, to build the city

which, long a ft er his death, is to become Rome.

A Jight·hearted version of this motif is already present in The Hobbjt. In the final chapter,

l lilho sings of returning to "trees and hills [he] long has known"; but in the event things turn
out not to be quite as he left them. Not only has his hobbit-hole been invaded, like Odysseus'
palace, by a motley collection of "people of all sorts, respectable and unrespectable", hoping

to huy his property at auction, but he himself has also changed:

Indeed, Bilbo had lost more than spoons - he had lost his reputation. It is true
that for ever after he remained an elf-friend, and had the honour of dwarves,

wizards and all such folk as ever passed that way; but he was no longer quite
respectable. he was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be
'queer' ..
.
12

Moreover, the app are n tly 'happy ever after' ending of Ill is not as final as it seems: at the
beginning of l&1.B., Bilbo is off on his travels again. For a time, he finds rest in Rivendell, but

even this will not be his final resting place. The song he sings on leaving Bag End is a
significant variation on his song of homecoming at the end of Ill:

'fl1e Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the Road has gone
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and e"ands meet.
3
And wither then? I cannot say.1
Frodo's homecoming at the end of .8..Q1K is closely parallel to Dilbo's, although in his case it is
not only Bag End, but the whole of the Shire that has been invaded, and must be 'scoured'

(again, like Odysseus' palace). Like Dilbo, Frodo has been altered by his experiences: "There

is no real going back", he realises on the road to Dree. "Though I may come to the Shire, it
4
will not be the same for I shall no be the same .. :1 In fact, he is unable to settle down again

7
 Resting at the roadside - Noel Evans

8
in his old home, and only two years after his return, he departs for the Grey Havens.

The themes of homecoming, change and loss are present too, in The Sjlmarilljoo. To consider
only the main overarching narrative of the Noldor and the search for the Silmarils, we read in

the last pages of the narrative:

And the Vanyar returned beneath their white banners, and were born in triumph

to Valinor; but their joy in victory was diminished, for they returned without the

Silmarils from Morgoth's crown, and they knew that those jewels could not be

found or brought together again unless the world be broken and remade.15

Moreover, the elves of Beleriand do not return to Valinor itself, but dwell on To! Eressea, the

Lonely Isle.

Tolkien's writing, then, is permeated by a sense of change and loss: once one has left home, it

is impossible to return - for it has changed, or one has changed oneself, or both. This is
doubtless connectcd with Tolkien's conservatism and strong sense of the tragic inevitability of

change; but I suspect that, de l i b era te ly or unconsciously, Tolkien was also influenced in this,

as in the construction of his narrative in the ways that I have discussed, by the traditions of
classical epic poetry.

Monica Gale
Footnotes
1. �. 1449 b5.7 and 1459 a23
2. The same could also be said of The Hobbjt and of The Sjlmarillion, which, although more
episodic and less obviously organised around a single action, is, as the title suggests, in
essence the story of the theft and 'recovery' of the Silmarils.
3. II. book 3, ch.B.
4. Bilbo's almost anti-heroic character in Il:i is an even more striking example.
5. "An Heroic Continuum: a Classicist's Perspective• in &l2r 2, 1983.
6. "Aragorn and Aeneas" in ArnOn Hen 99, 1989.
7. II. book 3, ch.2: 'Then there is a lady in the Golden Wood, as old tales tell!' [Eomer] said.
"Few escape her nets they say ... •; book 4, ch.S:'... ever and anon one will go in secret to
Lorien, seldom to return. Not I. For I deem it perilous now for mortal man wilfully to seek out
the Elder People".
8. E218. book 2, ch.6.
9. fiQlK, book 6, ch.3.
10. Such as the� a lost poem from the 'Epic Cycle' which told of the return of the Greek
leaders from Tray.

11. Oslyssey, 11.119.132 (trans. Wafter Shewring)

12. I.ti. ch.19.
13. EQlli, book 1 , eh. 1.
14. flQlK, book 6, ch.7.
15. .QS, ch.24.

9
 An Analysis of the Mortality of Hobbits

Previous articles in this journal have addressed the question of the size of the population of
1
the Shire, and have included an analysis of family sizc. However there appears to have been

no attempt made to determine the life expectancy or average age of llobbits. To this end such

data as is available has been collated and ordered and hopefully will some light can be thrown

on the issue of life and death in the Shire. The curve fitted to this data has been compared

with the English Life Tables No. 14 (ELT14 - the equivalent curve or 'graduation' of the
1980-82 deaths in England and Wales). For details of the graduation process sec Appendix 11.

Examining the ages at death reveals no significant variation in mortality with sex, date of birth

or wealth, so the are no grounds for subdividing the data. It should however be noted that

fifty-six deaths constitutes a very small sample size and no firm conclusions can be reached.

There appears to be a slight tendency for female hobbits to die younger, but the majority of

these deaths are Baggins' who are said to be shorter lived than the Tooks or Brandybucks.

The hardworldng Gamgee family show no signs of dying young are rather arc long lived. The
two shortest lived hobbits dying from natural causes are Bilbo's parents llungo and
Belladonna who reached 80 and 82 respectively. There are no variations over time (with date
of birth) and in particular no deaths recorded from the Days of Dearth following the Long

Winte r, except perhaps for the 93 year old Thain lsumbras Ill in 1159. Three nonagenarian
_
Baggins' died during the Fell Winter of 1511.

The composite mortality rates should therefore be assumed to apply to male Ilobbits of at
least moderate wealth during times of plenty. The experience of the poor may be very

different and even that of the wealthy during times like the Dark plague of '37 or the Days of

Dearth when 'many thousands' died. In such groups and a such times the mortality rates may

have varied widely from those calculated.

Since the youngest death from natural causes is at the age of 80 it is problematic to determine

the distribution of deaths up to this point. This is compounded by the apparent omission
from the family trees of any infant or other premature deaths. Examining the time between
births in large families should reveal the existence of omissions and indeed there is a ten year

gap between the first two of Mungo Baggins' children, but only four year gaps between the

second, third and fourth children. This may of course be due to other circumstances but a
margin has been included to allow for such omissions.

The results are given in Appendix I. The data can be interpreted in several ways. Mortality

rates for hobbits are 60% of the equivalent for England (ELT14) at age 30 and drop to just

1% at age 70, rising thereafter to parity at around 110. Thus hob bits do not simply experience

lower mortality, but have a differently shaped distribution curve. Life expectancy is around 23

years longer up until age 60, but subsequently the gap narrows to zero at around age 110.

Alternatively, an 80 year old hobbit has much the same likelihood of dying as a 45 year old

10
Englishman. This difference also decreases to zero at around age 110. The number of deaths

by age peaks at age 99 compared with age 77 for humans. Hence hobbits can be considered to
remain in good health until their seventies, but then deteriorate at twice the rate of humans of

the same age. While 90% of hobbits reach 87 years of age, only 10% can be expected to reach
the age of 104 only 17 years later.

The age reached by 10% of the population can be taken to be representative of the underlying
life expectancy (ignoring avoidable deaths). For humans this calculation would give a life
expectancy of 85 years: for hobbits the figure is 104 years. Thus hobbit mortality is not
equivalent to that which could be expected for a human population living in idyllic conditions.

There remains a problem in predicting the mortality of very old hobbits. Although

statistically, one in 1800 hobbits could be expected to reach Bilbo's farewell Party age of
eleventy-one there is no statistical likelihood of attaining even 120 years. Yet the Old Took
lived to 130, wel l outside this limit. 'Old' Rory Brandybuck reached 106 and two others
reached 104, a surpri s ingly high proportion in such a small population sample. Although it is
possible to refit the curve to make 130 a mathematical possibility, this would unfortunately
significantly worsen the fit for younger age groups. Rather than altering the curve, an
explanation for this exception can be sought.

In The Ilobbjt it is said of the Old Took that "long ago one of the Took ancestors must have

taken a f ai ry wife". This is considered to be highly doubtful in the light of f urther information

now available on elves, but it is not impossible that some elvish influence was involved. In
particular, elvish food is known to have sustaining properties and its inclusion in the dier (of

the elderly) could conceivably have life prolonging properties.

Oilbo and Gollum are two clearly exceptional cases; both had long lives extended by the

influence of the Ring. T he latter lived for 78 years after losing the Ring, without any apparent
aging. This can he attributed entirely to the lingering effects of the Ring. Bilbo possessed the

Ring for a much shorter period, but also lived at least 20 years after passing on the Ring. This
may be attributed in part to the Ring, but also in part to life at Rivendell and elvish food. At

130 he was described as looking "very old" and indeed shows other signs of advanced age in his

conversations with Frodo. At 111 he felt "all thin, sort-of stretched", suggesting that this "very

respe ctable age" was greater than he would have achieved normally. He was already being

compared to the Old Took and I would suggest that he was then the oldest living hobbit in the

Shire by some years .

Graham Taylor

Appendix 1: Comparison of mortality rates

11
Comparison of the proportion aged x years dying b efor e attain i ng age x + 1 (Ox) with the same
proportion taken from the English Life Tables 14 for males.

Age Hobbit ELT14 Ilobbit as% of EU'I4

0 0.00050 0.01271 4.0
10 0.00050 0.000 24 208.0
20 0.00050 0.00093 54.0
30 0.000 50 0.00088 57.0
40 0.00050 0.00184 27.0
50 0.00050 0.00615 8.1
60 0.00050 0.01843 2.7
70 0.00050 0.04]03 1.1
80 0.00321 0.11334 2.8
90 0.03049 0.22693 13.0
100 0.20027 0.38087 53.0

Comparison of expectation of future life in years (E0x) with that from the English Life Tables
14 for males.

Age IIobbit ELT14 Difference (years)

0 95.1 71.0 24.1
10 &5.6 62.2 23.4
20 76.0 525 235
30 66.3 42.9 23.4
40 56.6 33.3 23.3
50 46.9 24.3 22.6
60 37.1 16.4 20.7
70 27.3 10.1 17 . 2
80 175 5.8 11.7
90 8.8 3.3 5.5
100 3.1 1.9 1.2

Appendix 11: The graduation process

Dates of birth were taken from the family trees in A p pendi x C of L.u.ill,. Births arc assumed to

be uniformly distri buted over the calendar year. Dates of death were also taken from the

family trees supplemented by information from the Tale of Years in Appendix B of L.u.ill,. In

addition information for individuals known to be alive in a certain year, but for whom no date
of death is known has also been included, with a •year of exit" fr om the table set at the last

year they were known to be alive. Thus someone present at Di lb o s ' Farewell Party, with a
known birthdate would exit the table (without a death b eing recorded) at 1401, the year of the

par ty Deaths and exits are also assumed to be uniformly

. distributed over the calendar year.

Prom this data, the number of deaths at age x years (Dx) and the total number of years lived

(by the whole population) aged x last birthday (Ex) have been calculated. To smooth the

distribution, values of Dx and Ex were grouped into three year periods. Calculating Dx/Ex

provides an estimate of the proportion of those aged x years dying before ac hieving age (x +I)

12
years (Qx) for each interval. The curve

ln(Ox/l'x =a +hx
)

was fitterJ to the <Jata between ages 74.5 and 107.5 by the least squares method. This solves to

give values for a of -22.1316, for b of 0.2075 and an equation:

o/1)= Exp(a+bx)/l+Exp(a+bx)

There were only three deaths before the age of 80, (Lotho at 45, Primula at 60 and Drogo at

72 . This is for a total number of years lived of around 7,000. This means that up to the age
)
of 80 a value for Qx can only be an estimate. The calculation for Qx gives a value of 0.00043,

which can be roun<Jed up to:

o/2) = o.ooo5

2
The two CU!VeS, o/1) anrJ o/ ) intersect between ages 70 and 71 and to avoid a discontinuity

the cuiVes were blended between the ages of 70 and 85 to give a single smooth curve for all
ages.

Footnotes
1. See for example Dun can Mclaren 's 'The Society of the Shire' in &:l.Q[ 15

13
 The "other passage" of Cirith Ungol

Some demented ramblings by two old hobbits ...

Sorry, I mean 'the editor and his accomplice'.

Darkness was all around, a cold, clammy, silent sort of darkness, the sort that not even the

most unpleasant of ores likes to be out in on his own. The silence was broken by the sound of

quiet footsteps which suddenly halted with a squelching thud, followed by a voice, a broad
rustic voice, a voice so out of place that one would have wondered what it was doing there,
except for the fact that one would have been too busy wondering what one was doing there
oneself!1

'Why have we stopped, Mr Frodo?' said the voice.

Frodo took some time to answer, as though pondering a tricky problem, and then said:
'There's something blocking the tunnel, Sam.•

"What is it?"

"I don't know" answered Frodo, "I can't see."

"Yes," said Sam, "It is rather dark in here." He moved forward, narrowly missing the old and
dry ore's skull that was lying on the floor at his feet.

"Ugh," he said, "it's sticky whatever it is."

"I thought I told you to keep your hands out of that box that Galadriel g ave you!" snapped
Frodo.

"No, Mr Frodo," said Sam, I means this stuff in front of us!" Under his b re ath he added

"Pillock!" and mentally added another to the score. Quite what he was going to do to Mr
Frodo when they got out of this, Sam wasn't sure, but he knew that Frodo wouldn't enjoy it

one bit.

Meanwhile Frodo had begun feeling his way around the side of the tunnel and after some time

he announced that he had found a way round. Sam followed, hoping that the sticky stuff
clinging to his trousers was nothing worse than usual.

The soft f oots teps hurried on through the tunnel of Cirith Ungol, but then at the next corner

Sam let out a fearful scream.

"What's wrong?" whispered Frodo urgently.

Somehow Sam succeeded in stammering a reply: "I just, I just wish you'd watch where you're a

14
-

putting that swor<.l Mr Fro<.lo!' he said. Frodo did not answer. 'One day' he thought, 'one day
that idiot will learn to walk straight.'

For a long time the silence was unbroken, apart from the dripping of water, scuttling insects

an<.l far off, the occasional howl of an ore being tortured. Suddenly Frodo realised there was

something missing ... no 'f lip' 'flop' of Gotlum's footsteps. "Sam?" he said.

"Yes, Mr Fro<.lo,"

'IIave you seen Gollum recently?" as ke d Frodo, "You know, I haven't seen hide nor hair of

him since before I went to sleep last night .. remember, when you were complaining of feeling

hungry. Ilave you seen him since then?'

"No, Mr Frodo," said Sam, burping gently. Frodo let the subject drop.

Sometime later a thought crossed Sam ' s mind.

"Mr Frodo"!"

"Yes Sam,"

"You're a clever hobbit,"

"Yes Sam," sai<.l Frodo, somewhat smugly.

"Well," sai<.l Sam, "there's something I've been mean in g to ask you; and seeing as we m i g ht not

get out of here alive, particularly not with that sp i der that the author's planning to let loose

on us soon, !thought I'd better ask it now.'

"Yes Sam," said Fro<.lo, "what is it?"

"Well, why, ... why do hobbits have hairy feet?" Sam blurted out.

Fro<.lo pause<.l, "Ah ... Ummm ... there's no one else here is there?" he asked.

"No, Mr Frodo.'

'Good," said Frodo, 'let me show you.'

The noises that followed were enough to put a troll off his dinner. The grunting and
squeaking got louder and more frantic, until at last Sam sighed in fulfilment.

"Do you understand now, Sam?" asked Frodo.

"Yes, thank-you Mr Frodo," sighed Sam, 'but I didn't think it would hurt so much!"

Despite the unpleasantness of their surroundings, the hobbits, exhausted by their exertions,

15
dropped off to sleep. Frodo was awoken much later by a loud chomping and chewi ng noise.

"Sam?" he queried tremulously. The noise continued, in fact if anything it got louder and he

could almost imagine the blood dripping and bones cracking under those blackened teeth.

"Sa m!?" he said again, slowly backing away. The noise ceased and was followed by a loud and

revolting burp.

"Sam!" cried Frodo in fear.

"Nice bit of roast G .. rabbit. that," said Sam, "would you like some Mr Frodo?"

"No, thank-you," snapped Frodo, marchiug off down the tunnel. Unf ortuna tely he didn't take

any notice of the direction he had taken, and completely missed the next junction. Some time
later he admitted: "Sam, I think were lost.•

"Yes," said Sam, "we should have come across that spider long a go." lie paused, and then

added: "Why don't we look at the map then?"

"Sam," said Frodo, trying to suppress his exas p era t ion, "it's dark!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," replied Sam, "it's in braille!"

"Right-on!" exclaimed Frodo.

Sam had dug the map out of his pack and unrolled it on the floor before Frodo finally realised
that they hadn't had a map before.

"Sam," he asked, "where did you get this?"

"Oh, that nice gentleman in black down at the tower sold it to me. "

"What for?" demanded Frodo.

"Just that old ring of yours,• said Sam, "a really good deal I thought . . . I knew you were

wanting to get rid of it!"

"You fool!" interrupted Frodo, raising his sword.

"You fell for it that time," sniggered Sam, completely failing to notice the large black spider
creeping up on Frodo.

Duncan McLarcn and Scan Brookc-Hughcs

(Based on an original concept by Adrian Watcrworth)

Footnotes:
1. In fact the voice had just escaped from a Ralph Bakshi film and had nothing whatsoever to do
with the Lord of the Rings.

16
 The Land ofNarnia

Brian Siblcy explores the world of C.S. Lewis, with illustrations by Pauline Baynes,
Collins Lions, £8.95 (hardback) £3.99 (paperback).

llot on the heels of the television adaptation of the Chronicles comes this guide to Narnia,

written by Brian Siblcy, better known, perhaps as the man behind the BBC radio adaptation of

LQill. To avoid re p e a tin g myself too often, I may as well point out now that the book is aimed

primarily at children, a fact evident in layout, large type-face, large number of illustrations

(more of which anon), an d in the general style of writing. A caveat before I start, then, is not
to ex pe rt a n ythin � stu n ning ly p r ofound or 'unsuitable for children'.

The boo�'' in vcvcn ch a pters, the fir st two of which give a brief bio graphy of Lewis up to the

ti m e of writ111� the Chronicles, and the immediate background to their being written. There

:trc a few 111tcrntin� details here, though little new to those familiar with, say, 'Surprised by
l"v", or ot hn l>io�raphies. \lost in tere s ting is the information which is more directly relevant

I<• l.ewis' own writings: the move, when he was seven, to the rambling house of Little Lea, his

avid reading of children's books, as well as 'grown-up novels' (sic), which seemed to feed his

viv id imagination, as did his discovery, five years later, of Germanic and Norse myths and

legends (incidentally, Tolkien's spelling 'dwarves' appears here, though not elsewhere in the

honk). There is also a survey of the stories which he himself was writing at this time,

obviously influenced by the books he was reading. Tolkien gets a name-check, and a picture
too, mcntcd not lca.vt by his important contribution to Lewis' return to Christianity. The

"'cond ci"<J'Icr "concerned m ore d ir ectly with the immediate circumstances which led to his

writ1ng the ( 'hron1clc.s.

Ch;1ptcr three �ivcs e x t en s ive plot summaries of all the books, in chronological, rather than

publicati on order, and aho fills in the gaps in the histories of both Narnia and this world. In

cl"""ing tl11s order Sihlcy cities Lewis' own remarks in defence. Obviously these are not

intended to he read � th e books, and the whole chapter (the longest in the book,

incid en ta lly . ) serves in e f fe ct only to point out the overall structure of the Chronicles as a

whole in a linear order, which is somewhat confused by the order of publication.

The f ollo wing two chapters deal respectively with the geography of Narnia and neighbouring

lands, including Lewis' own original map of Narnia; and the creatures, both real and

mythical/imaginary with which he populated his world. Sibley also points out the Norse and

Greek sources for the mythical creatures, and gives an extensive account of the development

of Lewis' most imaginative creation, Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle.

The 'Deeper Magic' is the subject of the next chapter, tactfully done, and the book ends with

the conclusion of the biographical d e tails , concentrating on his marriage to Joy, and his

17
,.
-

international fame, not only because of the Narnia books, but also as a Christian apologist as
a result of 'Miracles', 'Mere Christianity' and of course, 'The Scrcwtapc Letters'. There is

also a small photo of the Pevensies' coronation from the BBC dramatisation (there had to be
one somewhere!)

And now the illustrations. Well, as you might expect in a children's book, there arc lots, all

(except for those of academic interest) courtesy of the pen of Paulinc Bayncs. Many of these

will already be familiar with the books, but the chapter headings arc all new, as arc four

full-page colour paintings, one of which a lso appears on the cover. The frontispiece is Bayncs'

map of Narnia, which makes another page of colour. Being m yself, like Alicc, rather attracted
to books with pictures in, I cannot deny that it was these illustrations that first drew my

attention to this book; and when the pictures capture the mood of the text in the magical way

that Baynes' always seem to, the temptation is irresistible. Yes, I'm a f an, and at four quid for
the paperback this must be the cheapest, not to say the most handy, collection of her Narnia

illustrations around • it's worth that much just for the colour pages.

In conclusion; if you want a not-too-heavy guide to Narnia, and a brief biography of Lewis to
boot, you could do worse. If you want a collection of Baynes' artwork, ditto. The two

together make a winning combination. It's beautif ully laid out and, of course, lavishly

illustrated. What more can I say? Essential if only for the pictures. Excellent value for

money.

Stcphcn Linlcy

Vand red

In a time without time

He was begun.
All is of His hand.
He is the spirit
Which binds the Vami/.
He is time, fate, justice,
All things.
0 gracious Vandred, I kneel at your altar.
Graham Dann

18
 Comment

In the absence of any comment from anyone else, I thought I'd air some of my opinions on

recent topics covered hy An.Qr.

I was interested to read of the Norse version of the origin of dwarves "appearing in the earth
like maggots in meat". Despite being a rather undignified description of Durin, this is a good

analogy to the creation of the dwarves in Middle-earth, as they were still made from stone

originally, despite the existence of dwarf women. Perhaps Middle-earth's dwarves are even
more alike to Norse dwarves than Jeremy King argues.

Further, on the naming of the Dwarves in the Hobbit, Tolkien writes (� p21) "the

dwarf-names (Icelandic) .. [were] regretfully substituted to avoid abstruseness for the genuine

alphabets and names of the mythology into which Mr Baggins intrudes .. ." He also (�
p31.) describes the Scandinavian names of the Dwarves as an 'editorial concession'. Of
course, once the names were published, Tolkien was rather stuck with them, even if he did

manage to re-write the plot! In addition, more empoemically he notes that the dwarves never

revealed their true personal names to others, and thus justifies the substitution. (�
p !75.)

Richard Spontack in M.Qr 19 drew our attention to Gandalfs evolution between The Hobbjt
and l&!R, and asked why this may be. Although Gandalf had been around for many, many
years before the events in The llobbit, it is only after then that his 'Great Work' began, only
then that Saruman was revealed to him as a traitor. Although it might be argued that as a

result of these events Gandalf could have been expected to become more distant and concern

himself simply with greater t hi ng s , I would suggest that Gandalf finally became deeply

involved with a world which he had previously only been 'visiting'.

19
 Heroism in Tolkien

What is heroism? It is a term which is little understood today, perhaps because there are so
few heroes about. This was not always the case. Although by no means exclusive to the

Germanic peoples, heroic literature is very common in their cultures. This literature was well

known to Tolkien, and its influence on his writings can be identified e a sil y . So it is a natural

question to ask to what extent he uses the concept of heroism.

Heroism is much more than courage. A hero has definite ideas about the purpose of his
1
courage. He refuses to compromise with anything which will cause him shame and loss of
honour. He will not Jet fear of pain or.even death prevent him from upholding his honour.

He believes that yielding gains him nothing. As it is put in the Old Icelandic poem, the

Havamal:

The cowardly man

thinks he will live for ever
if he shuns battle;
but old age gives
him no peace,
even if spears do.

So a hei'O will fight on, even when there is no hope of survival. lt is better to die resisting

than to live on in shame. Indeed courage tends to increase as opposition gets fiercer. As
Beorhtwold said in the Old English poem The Battle of Malden:2

Thought shall be the harder, heart the keener,

mood the more, as our might lessens.

The greatest acts of a hero are usually his last, when be brings out her last reserves of skill

and courage to meet a challenge too great for him.

That definition is inadequate, and would be even if it were longer. The onl y proper way to

understand heroism is to study examples from literature. It is well worth reading any of the

Icelandic sagas to get a better picture. But two characters stand o ut particularly, both from

Brennu-Njals Sa£'a. Gunnarr was the archetypal warrior, expert with bow and halberd, a

veteran of many Viking expeditions. Back in Iceland, he was ambushed as part of a feud, and

was sentenced to exile for killing his attacker. He refused to leave, so was attacked at home by
a large band whom he fought off until his bowstring was broken. Ile asked his wife for some

of her hair to replace it. Not being on good terms, she refused. To have seized some would
have been dishonourable so he continued without. He killed two of his attackers and wounded
sixteen more before he was slain.

20
Njall was caught up in the same feud as an old
man because his sons killed rather too many
people. Eventually they were besieged in his
home. The attackers chose to set fire to the
building to avoid an open fight. But they

allowed the servants and women to leave, and

extended the same offer to Njall. He replied "I

do not want to go out, because I am an old

man and am little able to avenge my sons, but

do not want to live in shame".

So heroism is a philosophy of life, setting

personal honour above fear of death, rather

than exceptional courage or ability. When

deciding whether any of Tolkien's characters

arc heroic, it is therefore a question of the

moral principles guiding their actions, rather

than of the actions themselves. So this study

may throw light on more general areas, such as

good and evil, right and wrong, or fate and

free will.

To do a co m p le te survey I should consider the

characters in The Sjlmarjlljon, and no doubt in

the apocryphal llistoey of Middle-earth series

3
too. However, the constraints of space limit

me to The Lord of the Rjn�s. which also

per haps has more narrative and character

description than the rest put t ogether .

If asked to name a hero in this book, many

readers would probably think of Aragorn. lie

was undoubtedly skilled in fighting, enduring

in hardship, and more than averagely
courageous. In this sense he is a model of the
popular concept of a hero. Some of his actions

were quite obviously in defiance of any fear of

death. Travelling the Paths of the Dead was

an enormous risk, and leading the assault of

Gondor on Mordor was suicidal, to say the

least. He was certainly not going to avoid
anything merely because of a risk of pain or

death.
But what were his motives for taking these risks? Obviously he was quite keen on becoming
king of Arnor and Gondor, and enjoying all the power, prestige and privileges that would

come with the job. But primarily he was intent on saving the world from Sauron. l l is actions
were geared to this, so often he let people get away with great slights to his honour. l lis

treatment by the people of Bree would not be tolerated by many heroes, and De net hor's

insults would have provoked swift vengeance. But Aragorn put the future of M iddle-earth

above his own honour, so let this behaviour go unchecked.

Frodo is another name which would soon be mentioned in any discussion about heroes. lie

was, after all, the main character in the book, and played a considerable part in Sauron's

downfall. He was not, of course, a typical warrior. Indeed as the talc progressed, he seemed

to find killing more and more distasteful. But in incidents such as the fighting in Moria, he

showed a certain amount of skill, and a great deal of courage. But his greatest act of courage

was his journey into Mordor. few heroes have ever possessed such bravery that they would
journey into the heartland of the enemy with no protection. And Frodo had little idea of what

he would find, inadequate provisions, and an enemy far greater than anyone around today. lie
rose to the challenge that this presented, and just like Beorhtwold, his determination

increased as his strength gave out on the way to Mount Doom.

However, like Aragorn, his motives were not heroic. !le did not journey to Mordor to get a

story told about himself. Indeed, back in the Shire he became something of a recluse, and did
not mind the fact that Merry and Pippin were held in higher esteem than the ringbcarcr. All

along he had been giving up every hope of staying alive for the sake of a very far fetched plan.
A true hero would have given short shrift to any wizard who suggested such lunacy.

Gimli is perhaps a better candidate when it comes to preserving his honour. His resentment

at being asked to be blindfolded in Lothlorien was well-founded. The suggestion that he was
less trustworthy than the others was a gross insult. Being a true dwarf, he was prepared to die
rather than to yield. Likewise his wrath at Eomer's words about Galadriel was typically
heroic; insults directed towards friends are just as important to avenge. And yet this same

insult showed that Gimli too was not consistently heroic. At the end of the tale, (�omer

taunted Gimli by claiming that Arwen was more beautiful than Galadriel. Whether or not she
was is immaterial. Earner was evidently mocking Gimli and yet the dwarf did not bat an

eyelid. Similarly he refused to ride horses, but very soon gave in under the insistence of
Legolas, rather than be left behind.

So, does LQl.F. provide better examples of heroism than these? Arc there any characters who

actually care about their honour, and take steps to avoid shame? Eowyn would seem to fit this

description. She was brought up in a culture similar to that which nurtured Beorhtwold. She

was trained as a warrior, and no doubt would have been more than a match for most men in a

duel. But as was noted before, it takes more than skill and courage to make a hero.

Eowyn cared about her honour. That is why she resented Aragorn's rejection of her, which

22
led to her resisting Paramir's advances. That is why she was annoyed when aragorn ignored

her advice about the Paths of the Dead, and then refused to let her go with him. That is why

she resented being kept behind when her comrades went off to battle, and why she eventually

sneaked off incognito.

In the Battle of the Pellenor Pields she displayed real heroism. With Theoden killed, and
no-one about save Merry, she faced the chief of the Ringwraiths, an enemy far beyond her

apparent power. But she refused to yield and retreat in shame. Without hope she fought on

to safeguard her honour in battle. This was not for any altruistic motive such as saving the
world- it was more important than that.

So why does Tolkien largely abandon the heroic stance of the sources from which he drew?

Probably because he did not approve of heroism in its old sense. In many ways it is a selfish

philosophy. Tolkien, quite rightly perhaps is keen to show that selfishness is wrong. So in the

story of Eowyn, although it is easy to sympathise with her, and to rejoice over the results of

her action, there is still a feeling that she did wrong in riding to battle. So while he portrays

courage used in the service of Good as excellent, Tolkien rejects traditional ideas of heroism

in favour of a new morality.

JeremyKing
Footnotes
1 The poem to which The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son is an epilogue.

2. The nature of these works as extended histories means that they tend to reveal less about
The Hobbjt is not serious enough to be of much help.
individuals and their motives, while

23
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24