More Questions with Short Answers
ANSWER: One reason why your question may sit in a folder waiting to be answered for months is that I cannot think of much to say in response. That doesn’t make it a bad question. I receive a lot of good, interesting questions for which the only appropriate answer is “I don’t know” or “that is all Tolkien wrote about the topic”. There just isn’t much to say for the following questions readers have submitted over the past year.
Q: What happened to the Blue Wizards (both after the Istari set out and after the War of the Ring) since they’re rarely mentioned in comparison to Saruman, Gandalf and Radagast in a majority of Tolkien’s works?
A: There is no final, definitive answer to this question. The most thorough discussion of the Blue Wizards can be found in the chapter on the Istari in Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth. J.R.R. Tolkien appears to have experimented with several explanations but he was never compelled to write a full story (that has been published) that we could agree is close to being canonical. Of course, the whole question of what is canon is a huge can of worms.
As far as I am concerned the Blue Wizards are simply legends whose fates are unknown and unknowable.
Q: What do you think of this blogger’s composite maps of Beleriand and Eriador? (See the maps here).
A: I think it is an interesting attempt to merge the maps. I believe the reader who submitted that question in 2016 was inspired to do so by my 2013 article, “Do Any Maps Accurately Show Beleriand and Eriador Together?” It appears to me that Turin Turambar published that composite map on Tumblr in April 2016 so when I went looking for maps his (her?) map didn’t exist.
Turin’s composite map appears to be using a scale slightly larger than the one I suggested might work. I am not the person to say whether it’s more accurate than any other other composites but it’s a more satisfying composite than what I have seen elsewhere. And, yes, I am aware of Karen Fonstad’s Atlas of Middle-earth. That book, unfortunately, needed to be revised and her publisher would not allow her to correct any of the significant errors readers had found.
Q: Not really a question, but the picture used in this article about dwarf armor shows the wrong type of mail. “The mail on the picture is butted (the ends of each ring just put together without overlapping), but I’m pretty sure that Romans (and in fact all European armies) used riveted mail instead which is far superior than butted mail.”
A: Thank you for pointing out the detail. I closed the comments on that article earlier than usual because I sensed that the tone was becoming grim. Rather than be blamed for yet another flame war not of my making or choosing I decided to just end the debate before everyone could have a chance to comment. In my defense, it’s not easy to find the kinds of pictures we want even with all the machine learning algorithms that Bing, Google, and Yandex employ in their image search engines. After a couple of hours looking for a good example I compromised on quality. I’ll probably never be forgiven for that article.
I should also point out that whereas Roman armor continued to evolve after they first adopted Celtic chain in the 1st Century BCE (they eventually moved on to less expensive so-called “banded” armor that worked better against missiles), nearly all of Tolkien’s civilizations were stuck with chain armor for something like 11,000 years. Such is the way of fantasy fiction.
Q: What other allies (besides Rohan) had Gondor once called upon? The question cites Boromir in the Council of Elrond: “Only from Rohan now will any men ride to us when we call.”
A: If one only looks at Tolkien’s published stories, previous allies included Elves, Dwarves, and the peoples of Arnor (Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan). Gondor was also allied with various tribes of Northmen in earlier centuries.
The last time any major armies marched south to Gondor or nearby lands was Eorl’s ride in 2510. Prior to that time the only significant force to march south was Gil-galad and Elendil’s army. However, Gondor maintained a joined frontier with Arnor, then Cardolan, then Arthedain along the Gwathlo river up until the time of the Great Plague. And Gondor’s army was joined by Elves, Dwarves, northern Men, and Hobbits when Angmar’s forces were finally defeated in T.A. 1975.
Q: Is there any significance to the red star that Frodo sees in Rivendell? The reader cites this from the book: “But low in the South one star shone red. Every night, as the Moon waned again, it shone brighter and brighter. Frodo could see it from his window, deep in the heavens, burning like a watchful eye that glared above the trees on the brink of the valley.”
A: Shortest answer: I do not know. Somewhat less short answer: this question has probably drawn more thought and commentary than it should. Tolkien did not leave any clues about which star that is, or even if it should be identified with any natural stars we know of. Some people speculate there is more than a symbolic connection to Sauron. Doctor Kristine Larsen, an astronomer, wrote a paper on the use of red stars by Tolkien and George R.R. Martin (and other authors) for the 2013 Mythmoot, but she did not cite this specific passage.
The identification I find most reasonable is Aldebaran but there is no textual support for such a conclusion. If you want to reconstruct Tolkien’s frame of reference you can look for almanacs from the early 1940s or 1911, the latter year being when Tolkien hiked through Switzerland. If you can find out what the southern night sky may have looked like from Lauterbrunnen in 1911, maybe you’ll find the answer to your question. Many people accept that Lauterbrunnen probably served as the inspiration for Rivendell. I used a picture of the valley as the cover for my last book, Mindfaring Through Middle-earth (for the Amazon Kindle).
Q: Do the elves eat in the Undying Lands & live the way they did in Middle Earth (hunting, raising crops)?
A: Yes, they do, but references to these kinds of details are very few and there are no “canonical” sources of information. The clearest indications are Tolkien’s discussions of Elvish physiology in which he says they must eat just as we do and in references to the feasts hosted by the Valar. If you look at older stories you’ll find a couple of passages where Orome was hunting in Valinor and I think some of the Elves may have joined him, but I could be wrong on that point. Tolkien’s basic conception of the Elves seems to have changed very little after the 1930s.
Q: Is Middle-earth the same as our world?
A: Yes, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote on numerous occasions (and I believe also mentioned in a couple of interviews) that Middle-earth is just the Earth, “our world, round and inescapable, the habitable lands of men”. He went to great lengths to dispel any notion that Middle-earth might be some world other than the globe-shaped world you and I grew up on. Even so, people have continued to speculate it is not the Earth.
The reader mentioned this video on YouTube, which manages to get a lot of details wrong in about 6 minutes. One thing she did sort of get right is that Middle-earth is an Old English name for the world. It’s technically modernized but we don’t need to get into all that.
Q: What happened to the Rangers after the War of the Ring?
A: Tolkien does not say exactly what became of Halbarad’s company after the war. Most readers assume they returned to the north but Tolkien does not say when. I think most people assume they stayed for Aragorn’s wedding. Gandalf tells Barliman that he (and the hobbits) “came back with” the Rangers who had guarded Bree, but there is no mention of any Rangers on the return journey. Since Aragorn re-established the northern kingdom it is also generally assumed that his northern people participated in that effort, but they were reinforced by colonists from Gondor.
Q: Did the Third Age Nothern Dunedain speak Sindarin?
A: Yes, they still spoke Sindarin, although we only have their names and a few snippets of Elvish spoken by Aragorn (and his mother, Gilraen) to illustrate that point. Given that they continued to live in close proximity to and interact with the Elves of Lindon and Rivendell I think it’s reasonable to assume many of them would have had opportunities to use Sindarin in everyday speech with Elves.
Q: Who were the people of Nurnen, specifically those who settled the area around the sea of Nurn? After the defeat of Sauron, could the area have possibly become a true power and kingdom in its own right?
A: They were “slaves”.
Sorry, there is no other information about who lived near Nurnen or what became of them after Aragorn freed them and gave them their own lands. Although we cannot say they became “a true power” they appear to have been left to their own governance.
The reader is free to imagine whatever type of races or society they wish.
Q: (More of a comment): You made an error about Gandalf’s staff (in this article).
A: There is no error in the article, which I wrote in 2011 and have elected NOT to update with respect to the “Hobbit” movies. The article does discuss Gandalf’s staff in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” movies but the discrepancies noted by movie fans would have to have been incredibly foresighted given that Peter did not have any “Hobbit” movies in mind when he made “The Lord of the Rings”. So, no, there is no error in the article. It just doesn’t attempt to retcon anything based on the “Hobbit” movies (the first of which was released in 2012, a year after I wrote that article).
After receiving the comment described above I added the following note to the end of the article: “Any retconning of Radagast the Brown’s staff from ‘The Hobbit’ into this movie is inappropriate for this question.”
I’m not trying to be rude but the article is completely unrelated to anything in the “Hobbit” movies. While Peter may have cleverly retconned Radagast’s staff into the whole discussion, I’m not going to rewrite that article. Hopefully, this answer satisfies everyone who wants me to acknowledge that Gandalf appears to have Radagast’s staff at one point in the movies (which is completely inconsistent with the books and I’m not going to invest any more time in the staff minutiae).
Q: What language was spoken in Angband?
A: That is a question that will be unanswered for ages.
See also …
- Answers for Short Questions from Tolkien Fans (September 2018)
- Short Questions and Answers (March 2018)
- Answers Too Short for Their Own Articles (May 2017)
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Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
Hi there. Excellent work on here. Really enjoyed reading.
I saw your response to one reader’s question; or rather, statement – regarding Gandalf’s staff in the Fellowship. I may be wrong, but I believe the supposed error you made, doesn’t pertain to the Hobbit movies, but to the Fellowship itself. I recall, from reading ‘Weapons and Warfare (I think it was called) that 2 different staffs are seen carried by Gandalf in this movie. I also recall looking up both versions, as I believe both replicas were available from Weta at a time.
Specifically, Gandalf’s first staff is more sleek looking and reminiscent of his Hobbit staff. This is then confiscated by Saruman. The 2nd staff is a variation with a sidewards ‘growth’ and allows for a crystal insertion. I believe the crystal is the defining difference portrayed by Weta.
Just thought I’d offer an alternative opinion on your otherwise excellent article.
Best regards,
Arthur.
Thank you. I have copied part of your comment into the article about Gandalf’s staff. The comments (yes, more than one) I have received have been more than adamant in arguing that Radagast’s staff in the “Hobbit” movies is Gandalf’s staff. Peter certainly could have taken one of Gandalf’s two staffs (staves) and given it to Radagast to retcon things for some reason, but my article is still unrelated to the “Hobbit” films in any way.
It’s a bit like people arguing that Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan stories should have included the character of Jai, who was played by Manuel Padilla Jr. in the 1966-8 television show of the same name. Ron Ely played Tarzan in that show. So far as I know, Jai was never in the books.
As an aside, since I’ll probably never remember this again, Ron Ely replaced Mike Henry as Tarzan. Henry had starred in three Tarzan movies in the mid-1960s but he sustained so many injuries he gave up on the franchise, even suing the production company over a chimp bite. Manuel Padilla, Jr. appeared in two of the three movies. His character(s) was/were named Ramel and Pepe. So Ramel / Pepe / Jai was definitely not a canonical ERB character by any means, just as the notion that Gandalf and Radagast share the same staff is not canonical.