RÓMENNA MEETING REPORT
February 10, 1985
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Present: | Randolph Fritz
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| Joanne Oliva-Purdy
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| David Purdy
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| Margaret Purdy
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| Carol Smith
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The February meeting of Rómenna took place at the Purdy household
in Ridgewood, New Jersey on what is becoming the usual Sunday
afternoon. We sat in front of a (loudly!) crackling fire and fortified
ourselves with hot mulled cider, spice bread and popcorn, which
was perhaps a good idea since the discussion started off in the
Midgewater Marshes. It was suggested that the so-called "midges"
might actually have been mosquitoes (they certainly act like it), but
it was pointed out that there are species of midges that bite. It's
interesting that they should still be active that late in the year
(about the beginning of October). We noted that the weather in that
part of Middle-earth is similar to that of the British Isles; a Scotswoman
of our acquaintance has been known to state that to her, a
"normal" sky is grey.
Backtracking a bit, we discussed the raid of the Nazgûl on
Crickhollow. The Black Riders do nothing but stand out in front of
the house for what seems an inordinate length of time; it was suggested
that they may have been "calling" Frodo. We wondered why their
"Ring-sense" didn't tell them that Frodo and the Ring were not in the
house any longer, and decided that the sense must be erratic. They
had only traced Frodo as far as Bucklebury Ferry and thus didn't know
for a fact that he had left. Fatty Bolger, in the meantime, spots
them, exercises the better part of valor, and runs for it. He does
not know very much about the Nazgûl, apart from what he's learned
from Frodo, Sam and Pippin, but he knows enough to know that he
doesn't want to mess with them. He raises the alarm and the Nazgûl,
having learned that Frodo and the Ring are no longer in Crickhollow,
leave, saying to themselves that "Sauron would deal with [the hobbits]
later." This may have been a bit of foreshadowing on Tolkien's
part, since the Shire is "dealt with" later on in the story, but by
Saruman, not Sauron. We also conducted a genealogical search at this
point (it being important, in dealing with hobbits, to know who is
related to whom, and in what degree) and determined that Fredegar
Bolger is Merry and Pippin's fourth cousin.
Meanwhile, back in Bree, Frodo has had a disturbing and possibly
clairvoyant dream that could refer to the raid on Crickhollow, the
raid on the inn, or both. The dream may have been prompted by his
carrying the Ring, but it has been noted before that Frodo is given
to such dreams anyway. The raid on the inn (which nobody seems to
have heard despite claims by Butterbur that he didn't sleep a wink
all night) was not made by the Nazgûl but by their mortal henchmen.
We noted that an old beat-up pony like Bill Ferny's is worth
about four silver pennies according to the going rate in the Breeland,
the silver penny evidently being the basic currency in Bree and
possibly the Shire as well. The value of the coin was probably determined
by the weight of the metal. (A digression on metals yielded the
interesting information that the often-mentioned "red gold" is 25%
copper, and that "white gold" is part silver; such mixtures are harder
than pure gold.) Horses and ponies are not abundant in Bree, and such
as there are are probably mostly draft or plow animals. Tolkien,
along with Sam, seems to take an interest in the pony; every so often
during the journey from Bree to Rivendell we get an update on how the
pony is doing (quite a bit better than it did with Bill Ferny).
We noted that Sam doesn't seem to trust much of anybody except
Elves. He doesn't fully trust Strider for a long time. Strider's
taking Sam aside and confiding to him the facts about his master's
condition may be seen as partly an attempt to win Sam's trust by
demonstrating that Strider trusts Sam. Strider himself is extremely
cautious, which shows up in his sensitivity to what is spoken aloud
(such as Frodo's witticism about becoming a wraith, or the name of
Mordor). He knows that words and names have power, and furthermore
that Sauron has many spies. His caution turns out to be justified;
when he and the hobbits stand in plain sight on Weathertop for all of
ten minutes, they are immediately spotted.
There are three poems or songs in this section: the fragment of
the Lay of Gil-galad recited by Sam, the Song of Beren and Lúthien,
which Aragorn (and Tolkien) don't seem to have been able to resist
including, and Sam's song about the troll (prompted by the party's
coming upon the three trolls of Bilbo's previous adventure, who are,
in the words of our resident punster, "thoroughly stoned"). We
decided that singing songs in the dell under Weathertop was actually
a pretty good thing to do: it passed the time, kept everybody awake,
and at the same time kept their minds off their fears so that they
wouldn't be paralyzed by them. Similarly, lighting a fire might
attract attention, but it also provides a weapon against the Nazgûl.
With the attack on the dell we get our first real "look" at the
Nazgûl: they are far from pretty, but are not described as skull-like
(though they're often drawn that way); they are "haggard,"
rather. We were a little surprised at Frodo knowing the name of
Elbereth until we remembered the song of Gildor's company--and even
then, Frodo recognized the name (having presumably learned it from
Bilbo). The Witch-king's knife with which he wounded Frodo was
compared to a "smart" missile, though of course in this case we're
dealing with magic not technology (though cf. Clarke's Third Law).
Frodo only escaped its full effects because he resisted all the way.
We wondered if Nazgûl eat; after some discussion it was concluded
that they probably had lost both the need and desire to do so.
"It's one of those imponderables. . ." We also noted with interest
(from the "Hunt for the Ring" chapter in the
Unfinished Tales) that
Sauron possesses the Nine Rings and thus, presumably, the "souls" of
the Nazgûl, so that they have no will but his. We speculated on
whether, if Sauron got the One back, he would return the Nine to the
Nazgûl. We also noticed that Glorfindel was powerful enough to chase
off three Nazgûl. Elves are not affected by the aura of fear the Nine
exude, though the Nazgûl are still dangerous without it, wielding both
physical and sorcerous weapons (at least some of them, Angmar for
instance, were sorcerors even before they acquired their rings). They
are wary of elves, however, as was demonstrated when the Black Rider
following Frodo, Sam and Pippin in the Shire withdrew at the approach
of Gildor's company.
We mused briefly on whether
athelas was the same as basil (the
Westron name for
athelas is "kingsfoil," and "basil" comes from a
Greek word meaning "King"), but couldn't find any textual evidence to
support the notion.
Glorfindel finally catches up with Strider and the hobbits after
having missed them on the way out because he was busy chasing Nazgûl.
He hurries them on toward Rivendell despite Frodo's condition
(which is, not surprisingly, worse at night). The Nazgûl catch up
with them at the Ford of Bruinen, but are fortunately hampered by the
fact that they don't like running water. We noted Tolkien's associations
of water with the music of creation and also with the Vala
Ulmo, who was the special protector of the Children of Ilúvatar.
After the flood unleashed by Elrond and Gandalf swept away the Riders
actually in the ford, the rest of the company drove the remaining ones
into the water, using fire and also Glorfindel's power. Frodo, under
the influence of the Ring able to see the "wraith-world" or the "other
side" (Tolkien avoids more precise terminology, wishing to steer clear
of theological subjects) sees him as a shining white figure.
At this point the chapter, Book I, and the discussion all came
to an end, leaving till next time the wonders of Rivendell.
Previous: January 13, 1984 -
Next: March 24, 1985
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