The Most Important Day: An Essay Contest

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Sat Dec 16, 2006 4:03 pm

I agree.

Lindariel · Post by **Lindariel** » Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:48 pm

Sounds good to me, too. And many thanks to Iolanthe for her help with the image for my entry!

Riv Res · Post by **Riv Res** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:07 pm

I concur as well.

I think there will be much spirited debate after we read these essays. The entries posted so far have made their points eloquently and I think that the decisions here will be hard.

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:47 pm

We moderators at Middle-earth Journeys decided that we wouldn't compete for the Essay Contest prize. But we didn't want to deprive ourselves of the fun of writing an essay! So here is my offering:

[center]December 25, 3018[/center][/b]

Approach to the edge of Christian reference was here deliberate, as one can tell from the date Gandalf so carefully gives for the fall of Sauron (p. 931), ‘the twenty-fifth of March’. In Anglo-Saxon belief, and in European popular tradition both before and after that, 25 March is the date of the Crucifixion; also of the Annunciation (nine months before Christmas); also of the last day of Creation. By mentioning the date Tolkien was presenting his ‘eucatastrophe’ as a forerunner or ‘type’ of the greater one of Christian myth. It is possible to doubt whether this was a good idea. Almost no one notices the significance of 25 March, or of the Company setting out for Rivendell on 25 December . . .

--Tom Shippey, The Road to Middle-Earth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology (2003), p. 200-201

I certainly did not notice the significance of these dates before Professor Shippey’s wonderful book pointed it out. All Tolkien tells us in the chapter titled “The Ring Goes South” is that “It was a cold grey day near the end of December.” One would need to check the appendices for the exact date. Yet, for a devout Catholic Christian like Tolkien, it cannot be a coincidence that the start of the heroic quest occurs on the day he (and others, of course!) celebrated as the Feast of the Incarnation of Christ.

Actually, after all the talk of the Council of Elrond and Frodo’s dramatic last visit with Bilbo, the actual departure from Rivendell is quiet and a bit anti-climactic. Elrond gives some last minute advice and argues a bit with Gimli over whether oaths should be taken so that the members of the Fellowship should remain true; Boromir blows his horn

; Sam mutters to Bill the Pony; they all stand around being cold. Elrond attempts some little bit of ceremony: “'Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!’” But our author says that “There was no laughter, and no song or music. At last they turned away and faded silently into the dusk.”

artist: Ted Nasmith

But, as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And this is why I have chosen December 25 as the second most important date in The Lord of the Rings, second only to March 25. I take my clue from the text itself:

Aragorn sat with his head bowed to his knees; only Elrond knew fully what this hour meant to him.

What did this hour mean to him? This is the hour when Aragorn the Ranger fades and King Aragorn of the line of Elendil and Isildur emerges, for this is the hour that Aragorn bears Anduril, the reforged Sword of Kings, on his first steps to what will become the War of the Ring. This is the day when the salvation of Middle-earth begins in earnest. This is the birth, at least in some ways, of the King.

And it begins quietly, just as the first Christmas did. According to Christian mythology (and I use the word here as Tolkien and C. S. Lewis did, to mean deep truths, not fables), God could have chosen to enter the physical world as a conquering hero in a blaze of glory: that was how the Messiah was expected and hoped to make himself known. Instead, Jesus entered the world in obscurity, in poverty, and in community with a mortal family. Salvation did not occur according to expectations!

In the same way, Tolkien creates the situation such that Sauron expects the Ring-bearer to use the unearthly power of the Ring to challenge and usurp his dominion. The wisdom of Elrond and Gandalf prevails, however, and the forces of good rely instead on quiet, smallness, humility, and fellowship. The salvation of Middle-earth did not occur according to expectations, either!

In J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, Professor Shippey also addresses the significance of these dates:

25th March remains a date deeply embedded in the Christian calendar. In old tradition, again, it is the date of the Annunciation and the conception of Christ—naturally, nine months exactly before Christmas, 25th December. It is also the date of the Fall of Adam and Eve, the felix culpa [“happy fault”] whose disastrous effects the Annunciation and the Crucifixion were to annul or repair. One might note that in the Calendar of dates which Tolkien so carefully wrote out in Appendix B, December 25th is the day on which the Fellowship sets out from Rivendell. The main action of The Lord of the Rings takes place, then, in the mythic space between Christmas, Christ’s birth, and the crucifixion, Christ’s death.

--P. 208-209, emphasis mine

What does Shippey mean here by ‘mythic space’? I think he means that, since these three months in the Church year have tremendous importance in the Christian myth, Tolkien chose them to have the same kind of importance in his own mythology: these are the three months wherein the salvation of the earth, or Middle-earth, as the case may be, is accomplished.

In Gondor, after the destruction of the Ring, the New Year began to be celebrated on March 25th. Shippey points out:

No one any longer celebrates the twenty-fifth of March, and Tolkien’s point is accordingly missed, as I think he intended. He inserted it only as a kind of signature, a personal mark of piety.

--J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, p. 208.

The same could be said about December 25th, except that it is widely (and somewhat excessively!) celebrated. While we appreciate Tolkien’s restraint from allegory, knowing his “personal mark of piety” for December 25th can help us to understand and appreciate his mythology or, possibly, both mythologies in a deeper way.

Lindariel · Post by **Lindariel** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 6:53 pm

Just wonderful, Merry! I hope more members will be encouraged to write an essay. It really is a fun exercise!

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:12 pm

Thanks! It is fun, isn't it? We'd like to remind members that you don't have to come up with a new date if the one you have chosen has been written about already: it is the essay that will be considered, not the date itself.

librislove · Post by **librislove** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:13 pm

Not just fun, either--though that is the most important. You ladies have come up with essays that equal and/or surpass much Tolkien scholarship I've seen. I 'm honored to be in your company.

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:11 pm

I was thinking that, too, librislove. We started this website with the hopes of generating some at least semi-professional scholarship. I think we have done that!

Having said that, I know that there are people out there who can make a contribution. Where art thou?

Riv Res · Post by **Riv Res** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:32 am

All of these essays are brilliant! Here is another date for your consideration. Our Denver blizzard has slowed me up, but I wanted to throw this into the mix.

Once again, as with Merry's, this essay is not in the running for the contest prize, but submitted for discussion and for fun...and because I couldn't resist.

September 23, TA 3018

It is easy to look back on many important dates in Tolkien’s epic, but I have settled on the one with so many implications and so much at stake.

The identity of the One Ring has been established completely by Gandalf’s and Frodo’s trial by fire. Gandalf’s alarm has been clearly evident as he has left the Shire, not only seeking counsel and aid, but also verifying suspicions of who is an ally and who is mortal enemy. But he has not returned as promised and his absence is unsettling to say the least.

The Dark Lord now knows that the Ring survives and is now pursuing it with all his resources. The Nine have been unleashed and have already made there way to the borders of the Shire. The Shire folk are unaware of their peril for the most part.

Frodo seems to languish through the summer and early autumn, seemingly reluctant to leave the Shire, all the while knowing the desperate need for flight. The foreboding is palpable.

This, to me, is the most important date in the War of the Ring in that the absolutely critical action of keeping the Ring from the grasp of the Dark Lord is taken, as it were, in the very nick of time. Even as Frodo is leaving Bag End, he overhears the Gaffer in conversation with one of the Black Riders and although Frodo does not actually see the Rider, the seed is planted…the feeling of evil has introduced been into Frodo’s heart and brain, and this will be pivotal, a matter of life and death in the days immediately afterwards. Frodo is now on alert.

“He turned to go back, and then stopped, for he heard voices, just round the corner by the end of Bagshot Row. One of the voices was certainly the old Gaffer’s; the other was strange, and somehow unpleasant. He could not make out what was said, but he heard the Gaffer’s answers, which were rather shrill. The old man seemed put out.”

September 23, TA 3018: The Ring begins its journey from the Shire, Frodo gets his behind moving together with his friends, and he has his first feelings of terror, caution, wariness and fear. Here also is introduced the longings for the peace and simplicity of times that are passing.

“After some time they crossed the Water, west of Hobbiton, by a narrow plank-bridge. The stream there was no more than a winding black ribbon, bordered with leaning alder-trees. A mile or two further south they hastily crossed the great road from the Brandywine Bridge; they were now in the Tookland and bending south-eastwards they made for the Green Hill Country. As they began to climb its first slopes they looked back and saw the lamps in Hobbiton far off twinkling in the gentle valley of the Water. Soon it disappeared in the folds of the darkened land, and was followed by Bywater beside its grey pool. When the light of the last farm was far behind, peeping among the trees, Frodo turned and waved a hand in farewell.

‘I wonder if I shall ever look down into that valley again,’ he said quietly.”

Imminent terror, palpable fear, and a sense of longing for the past are all the key themes that will permeate Frodo’s journey and Tolkien’s story from this point until its very climax and ending.

September 23, TA 3018: If the Ring is to be destroyed, it must leave the Shire. If Frodo and Company are to survive the earliest part of their journey, they must know of, and avoid capture by the Black Riders. It should also be remembered the Dúnedain were no match for the Nine and this was the day that the Riders chased them from there positions on the eastern borders of the Shire ensuring that the Rangers (and one of them in particular) were aware that the Nine were abroad.

Any further delay on Frodo’s part would spell disaster. In essence, without the happenings on this date, there would be no Fellowship, there would be no Quest.

librislove · Post by **librislove** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:20 am

Nice entry, Riv. It occurs to me we are all in some way concerned with beginnings of things.....

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:46 am

Yes, true! You make a good argument, RR. It was incredibly brave of Frodo and Sam to have set out alone.

Looking at the illustration of the Black Rider, it also occurs to me that Tolkien might not have meant them to be so terrifying as artists have portrayed them. If that Rider questioned a hobbit, he would be more than 'shrill' and 'put out'. He would have dropped dead of fear and thought that the end of the world was nigh!

Iolanthe · Post by **Iolanthe** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:37 pm

Inspired by Merry and Riv, here is my Non-Competition essay, just for the fun of it!

October 25 TA 3018: The Council of Elrond

Even in the history of Middle-earth the Council of Elrond is a great event. It is the coming together of the representatives of all the free peoples of Middle-earth to express their fears, share their information, to simply find out what’s going on and finally to decide what to do about it. In the Last Homely House, in the last days of the Third Age, they debate the fate of all. If they make the wrong decision, if they despair, if they fail to act, Middle-earth will fall under the dominion of evil forever and all that has been built and cherished over the long years will be finally be lost.

As the members of the Council each say their piece in turn, those assembled learn many new and disturbing things. They learn that Dáin and King Brand have been threatened by fearsome messengers, Saruman has turned to evil, Gondor has lost control of Osgiliath, Aragorn is Isildur’s Heir and has decided to go to Gondor, Rohan is beset and Gollum is free. But most important of all, Isildur’s Bane has been found, beyond any question of a doubt. Through a pooling of information their true situation is unmasked for the first time and is revealed to be desperate. Indeed, there may no longer be enough time to act. There can be no half measures, no temporary solutions. Gandalf reminds them, chillingly, that soon the tongue of Mordor will soon ‘be heard in every corner of the West’. He then reveals to all assembled the true weight of their responsibility. He says:

…it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should make a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.

They come to one inescapable conclusion, ‘Now’ says Elrond ‘at last we must take a hard road, a road unforeseen’. A road which was unforeseen until they all met together in this Council and had their eyes opened to the true extent of Sauron’s growing power and the uncovering of his terrible creation which was now trying to return to him. With, as Gandalf puts it, ‘folly’ as their cloak - they must destroy the Ring.

This decision sets all the main characters in the book on their path and the real quest – or anti-quest, as something is to be destroyed, not found – begins here. But on this day of days there is another seminal moment still to come. As Elrond assesses the situation he puts his finger on Sauron’s only weakness: ‘the only measure that he knows is desire’. He sees that Sauron would never expect them to destroy so powerful a tool, and Elrond reveals that:

….neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon [the road]. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.

So we come to one of the most important themes of the book, the humble achieving what the great cannot. And all the great are assembled; mighty warriors, High Elves of great wisdom, a Wizard who is a Maiar with powers none can even guess at, a High King in waiting, heir to the mighty Numenoreans. But Elrond’s meaning is clear. Brave Bilbo steps up to the plate only to be reminded that the Ring has passed on, and Frodo now knows that the task is his and his alone. He makes the only possible decision that will lead to the destruction of the Ring:

‘I will take the Ring’, he said, ‘though I do not know the way.’

Elrond acknowledges the weight of the decision when he tells Frodo that his seat will be among the great elf-friends of old: Hador and Húrin, and Túrin, and Beren himself.

Many important things spring from the Council of Elrond. It is the birth of a new unity between Men, Elves and Dwarves. It is the day the Hobbits take their place among the most honoured of Middle-earth – not by achieving the quest but by being willing to attempt the almost impossible. It is the day the future King of Gondor casts aside Strider and proclaims who he truly is. It is the day all who are good and true decided to destroy the very thing which Sauron believes they will use against him if they can, and finally it is the day Frodo says ‘I will take the Ring’.

So I would argue that October 25th is not only the most important date in the War of the Ring, but one of the greatest days in all of Middle-earth’s long history, the true start of a journey of great heroism, sacrifice and unlooked for victory over an old, old evil, beyond hope and in the face of overwhelming odds.

Lindariel · Post by **Lindariel** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:56 pm

Oh boy, oh boy, this is really great! thanks Riv and Iolanthe for these splendid essays. I can't wait for the contest to be over, so we can start debating the merits of these various arguments. They're all so good!

librislove · Post by **librislove** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 3:21 pm

Another wonderful entry--about beginnings.......

This is more fun than I've had in awhile--what a great idea this contest was.

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 8:51 pm

In a way, I guess, the Council of Elrond is what the White Council should have been all along. Maybe the mistake of the White Council was that they includedjust 'the Wise', and not all free people.

Iolanthe, you've almost convinced me to change my date! Well said. And I love the Alan Lee.