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Okay, I know this is a picture of Cerin Amroth and not the Field of Cormallen! But it is the closest of Allen Lee's pictures that I have found that evokes the feeling of this day in Middle-earth history. For Sam wakes up after eleven days of unconsciousness to find that all is well!

Tolkien made an interesting choice in writing that the hobbits are honoured in Ithilien rather than in Minas Tirith. We could probably think of strategic reasons why they should remain there rather than go back to the city. But I think Tolkien thought up the most beautiful setting he could for this honour, and that means the healing and beautiful natural world: "As they came to the opening in the wood, they were surprised to see knights in bright mail and tall guards in silver and black standing there, who greeted them with honour and bowed before them. And then one blew a long trumpet, and they went on through the aisle of trees beside the singing stream. So they came to a wide green land, and beyond it was a broad river in a silver haze, out of which rose a long wooded isle, and many ships lay by its shores."

Sound familiar? Is this not a preview of the blessedness of Valinor, Tolkien's heaven? This is the real eucatastrophe of the story, when all that is sad comes untrue. And we are invited into the joy by a deeply emotional passage:

The happy culmination of the War of the Ring is the crowning of King Elessar: the good fortune of Middle Earth is mirrored in the triumphant personal journey Aragorn makes from Ranger to King. He takes on his destined role in a solemn ceremony before the damaged Gate of Minas Tirith, where Faramir meets him with the White Rod of Office and the ancient winged crown. Aragorn promptly returns the Rod to Faramir, making him the King's Steward, and Faramir formally introduces Elessar by calling his many names and asking the people to acclaim him as ruler. When Faramir holds up the Crown of the Sea Kings, Aragorn intones the ancient words "Out of the Great Sea to Middle-Earth I am come. In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto to the ending of the world."

But he does not don the crown. Instead, he asks Frodo to carry it to Gandalf, and Gandalf to place it on his head. In such manner he honors the truth that "by the labour and valour of many have I come into my inheritance." Gandalf pronounces "Now come the days of the King, and may they be blessed."

And they are. Elessar enters his city to music and flower strewn paths; "wisdom sat upon his brow, and strength and healing were in his hands, and a light was about him....And in his time the City was made more fair than it had ever been." To make that happen, Elessar invites the Children of the Wood and the Folk of the Mountain to help him rebuild, and so proclaims to the world his reign will be one of tolerance and peace between peoples.


And yet on this day of his crowning, one thing is lacking. Elessar looks to "a day draws near that I have looked for in all the years of my manhood, and when it comes I would have my friends beside me." In answer to that need and that day, as Elessar accepts his crown, Elrond and Arwen leave Rivendell with Elladan and Elrohir and host of Fair Folk, bound for Minas Tirith and the Royal Wedding.

It is not hard to imagine the emotions of this journey. Aragorn has just been crowned as Elessar. Éomer has inherited the throne of Rohan. Less than four months prior, both King Théoden of Rohan and his son and heir, Théodred were still alive...Éomer a mere nephew and cousin. Now both he and Éowyn return to Edoras so that the new King can take up his rule and care for his war ravaged Kingdom.

Éomer's words in parting from Elessar are some of my favorites.

It should not be forgotten that Elladan and Elrohir were both instrumental in the defeat of Sauron in Gondor while serving the King. They also leave with the party for Rohan, to meet a very special group of travelers who now make their way South from Rivendell.

It took our heroes of the Fellowship 22 days, over rough terrain, passing through the nightmare of Moria, to reach Lorien. It takes Elrond, Arwen and their entourage 20 days to reach Lorien. Tolkien makes no mention of this journey other than on his calendar in Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings. Looking at Karen Wynn Fostad's maps I note that there is no road that directly links Rivendell to Lorien and I am moved to wonder what path Elrond chose to follow. Did he take the West Road to the Anduin River and then journey by boat down the River or did he follow along the edge of the mountains like the Fellowship. I think I favor the river path.

Whichever path he took, I imagine that it was a journey of leisure and pomp. This is a journey of joy but one that is tinged with a bittersweet sadness. The King is restored, waiting one thing to seal his place on the throne and his union with Arwen. Elrond is preparing to give Arwen, his cherished daughter over to Aragorn, a man who he has loved as a son. Elrond knows that she has chosen the doom of men and that he will never see her again, but I believe he also knows that this union will make for a long and glorious chain of human Rulers for Middle-earth as it passes into the age of men.

They journey to join with Celeborn and Galadriel; parents of Celebrian, Elrond's long lost but beloved wife, grandparents to Arwen. I imagine them floating down the Anduin. I imagine the elves singing songs about the love that Elrond, Arwen, and Aragorn had for each other. I imaging flowing banners and gaily colored clothing. I imagine great feasts and vivid poetry. It is a time to honor the passing of an age. But, it is also time to honor the birth of a new one.

Elrond and Arwen left Rivendell on May the 1st and arrive in Lorien on this 20th day of May in 3019 of the Third Age.