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[jackh9]

It is a good point you made about Ged being less sure of himself than Gandalf. I think the reason is probably that Gandalf is hundreds possibly thousands of years old. He has had time to learn everything so his advice is basically infallible. Ged is only like 70 so he has less life experience. 

Mentors and Trust

While there are many similarities between the relationship between Ged and Arren, and that of Gandalf and Aragorn, I am most interested in their differences. Yes, both involve wise wizards and men who lack magic, and both pairs go on perilous journeys to save the world, the way they interact with one another is starkly different. I think the root of this difference is in Gandalf’s own sureness in his own powers and limits. At any given time he knows exactly what he is capable of and how he can help. Aragorn trusts Gandalf completely, without question, in part because of this. While he may not understand everything that Gandalf says must be done or will come to pass, he knows that Gandalf is doing everything within his power to make things right. This trust has been built up over years of familiarity, as the two met long before the events of The Lord of the Rings, when Aragorn was much younger, only 25, some 50-60 years prior. Arren on the other hand barely knows Ged, and knows much more about his position as Archmage and the tales of his deeds. Much of the trust Arren does place in Ged is blind. Even Ged himself is much less sure of himself than Gandalf. Not being a being that has existed outside of the universe and time himself he still needs to find the limits of his own powers. As they sail towards their final confrontation Ged says, “A goatherd to set the heir of Morred on his throne! Will I never learn?” (The Farthest Shore pg. 200). Even at the end of his journey as the greatest wizard of all time, he is still surprised at what he can accomplish. Reflecting on it, its honestly no wonder that he doesn’t inspire the same trust in Arren that Gandalf does in Aragorn. 

[jackh9]

Brutality and violence appears to be a part of dragon culture, which makes sense given the descriptions from the text. It is noted that when the dragons lost their speech they began to fight each other, so it is interesting to think about how much the violence has to do with culture or how much it has to do with a loss of magic from the world. 

Dragons

In other stories and depictions in media dragons are powerful and terrifying creatures. The depiction and culture behind the dragons in The Farthest Shore fit these ideas and possible inspired other authors as well. The initial look at the dragons is explained when Arren watches them in the sky. “Their beauty was made up of terrible strength, utter wildness, and the grace of reason. For these were thinking creatures, with speech and ancient wisdom:…” (222) Not only are they intelligent but they are likely unfriendly to people sailing to them as they are angry and showing their impressive ability to breathe fire as they are circling around them. Brutality within their culture can also be seen with the dying dragon that is sailed by. The entrails being trampled by other dragons is one indication of this. Respect and courtesy are also an important thing to the dragons as it is said how difficult it is to speak to a dragon. Both out of respect but also as it is said how the dragons have a lot going through their minds which would make it difficult to get a clear answer from one as well as not wanting to offend one.

[jackh9]

Nov 23rd: Ch 10- Dragons’ Run

What I found interesting about this chapter is the way in which both dragons and humans are affected by the loss of magic from the world. The dragons are found to be fighting and killing each other when Ged and Arren are passing through the Dragons Run. The unnamed man, which I believe is the king of shadows mentioned in chapter 6, “takes the Speech of the Making from them, leaving them prey to their own wild nature” (Le Guin, 196). In what seems to be a similar course of action humans begin to kill each other or perform horrific acts. Orm Embar the dragon tells Ged that “on Kaltuel I saw villagers killing a baby on an altar stone, and on Ingat I saw a sorcerer killed by his townsfolk throwing stones at him" (Le Guin, 196). Both species are affected in similar ways and they both are giving in to the same darkness by giving up their speech, in the case of dragons, or their magic in the case of humans. Each group also perceives what is occurring in the same way with both Orm Embar and Akaren stating that “there is a hole in the world” and “the light is running out” (Le Guin, 197). At one point we did discuss in class how in the Earthsea lore humans sort of “evolved” from dragons, so it makes sense that they would react to events in similar fashion.

[jackh9]

The disdain for expensive silks within the Church may also extend from the fact that most monks and priests within the Catholic and Orthodox churches take a vow of poverty. Dressing expensively would have violated that vow, although the rules were probably broken in some cases. 

The Religious Similarities of Silk

It’s interesting to see how much religious usage of silk was shared between a vast amount of cultures and ways of worshipping.  Moreover, the fact that those in high positions of those parties, “…frowned upon monks or clerics acquiring or dressing in expensive silk” (Whitfield 215) is interesting to note.  While it makes perfect sense for the leaders of Buddhist practices to be against such garments as the extravagance goes against the teachings that they follow, what would be the exact reason for the powers that be within the Church to look down upon such a choice?  Maybe those in charge did not wish to waste such a fine, rare, and potentially holy material given its scarcity within the region?  Perhaps the distain for said clothing in their position is purely an endurance of said opinions and practices of where the material had once came.  Whatever the case may be, the fact that the concepts and reservations of a material can traverse continents and cultures as strongly as silk can is highly fascinating.

[jackh9]

Nov 19th, Palmyra and Lorbanery: Silk Cities

Textile work with silk makes the locations where the work takes place significantly wealthy through trade as can be seen in both Palmyra and in Lorbanery at their heights. The social hierarchy of Palmyra was organized around textile work and securing a steady supply of silk from caravans traveling from the Silk Road. Palmyra’s central role in the making of silk products placed women in a position of authority as Finlayson discusses in his article. Besides actively running textile industries in the city women also “owned properties, played roles in the political and economic affairs of the city, and through carefully orchestrated marriages guaranteed wealth and access to trade routes through clan alliances” to other regions (Finlayson, 4). In some cases women could potentially be founders of their own clans or families within Palmyra through a “traditional matriarchal marriage arrangement called the mot’a marriage in which the woman chose a male spouse for a specified period of time in order to produce children for her clan or tribe” (Finlayson, 4). I think that fact that textile work has been traditionally done by women in many cultures explains the influence they had politically in Palmyra because the city was prosperous due to its products made primarily with silk. In terms of changes in silk and silk products indicating other problems the garments found in Palmyra tombs decline in quality and quantity from older to newer tombs, which could be explained by political problems along the trade routes reaching the city. There are many similarities I saw between Palmyra and Lorbanery. One is that production of silk products was the expertise of one group, wizards in Lorbanery and women in Palmyra. It was more exclusive in Lorbanery though because there were not many wizards. They both had outside problems come in and disrupt the prosperity ruining the place. In Lorbanery it was the loss of magic by the mysterious shadow and Palmyra it was political problems on trade routes and destruction by the Romans in 273.

[jackh9]

I like your comparison of the way the Kargish Empire operates and the HRE and western Europe, i think it captures the basics of the political structure presented in the book. It seems that the Godking that rules is in competition with the Eaten One for power because the king considers himself to be a god. He pays to upkeep a temple to himself but not to the traditional gods so there seems to be some tension there. 

The Tombs of Atuan and the Roots of Holy Order

After reading these chapters, I cannot say that I agree with the notion that the Kargs are analogous to Vikings; while the way they interacted with the outside world as shown in the 1st chapter of the 1st book is similar to how a real-world Nordic raiding party would, the Tombs of Atuan make it seem as if most of the similarities end there.  I would, instead, relate them to being more similar to two other Northern European civilizations: the traditional and Holy Roman Empires.

Traditionally, while Vikings where definitely organized into their own groups and clans, a set-in-stone ruling power was never a large factor within their society as a whole.   Karg, however, follows a very rigid ruling system that forms their empire.   Additionally, the way many of their religious events are structured and most likely visually designed is very similar to how the Vestal Virgins of Rome would conduct their ceremonies.  Not only is the dress attire similar, with all black and white robes adorning all women involved, but the locations of said ceremonies being in both ancient tombs and bordering on underground caverns.  The women themselves also live very secluded lives far away from anyone else, only to be called upon by the empire on highest authority.

The Holy Roman Empire, while sharing very little similarities with its original form, also bares relation to the Karg Empire.  Though the political formation of the societies involved is not nearly as connected as the previous example. the religious structure is even more so.  While many ruled their bubbles as they pleased, the Church holds kingdom and court over all, no one more so than the speaker of the heavens himself, the Pope.  Karg, similarly, holds the Eaten One above all other mortals, even if their emperor may not want to admit so.  Even the formation of the modern ruling ideals of the empire reminds me of much of the middle period of the HRE, with Manan stating that, “…’there were a lot of lesser kings, princes, chiefs. They were always quarreling with each other. And they’d come here to settle their quarrels. That was how it was, they’d come from our land Atuan, and from Karego-At, and Atnini, and even from Hur-at-Hur, all the chiefs and princes with their servants and their armies. And they’d ask you what to do’” (Guin 25).  This rings shockingly close to how much of Western Europe was structured and interacted with each other as well as the function and importance of the Pope during the 11th to 13th centuries.

[jackh9]

Nov 10th: The Politics of Religion in the Kargad Empire

After reading the first five chapters of the Tombs of Atuan my thoughts on the Kargad Empire have changed in a few ways. These chapters revealed the religious background and institutions of the empire that seemed to have more prestige and power before the four lands were united. In chapter 3 Manan explains to Arha that before the Godkings ruled everyone the various lesser kings and rulers would seek the counsel of the One Priestess, but the Godking can “put down the unruly chiefs, and settle all the quarrels himself” and “being a god, you see, he doesn’t have to consult the Nameless Ones very often” (Le Guin, TOA, 28). This seems to me to indicate that the religious institution holds less sway over the political leadership than it did in the past. It also seems that the Godking seeks to transfer religious power to himself in that he has his own temple at the Tombs of Atuan that is upkept, but the others are not. Arha states that “his temple is painted fresh every year, there’s a hundredweight of gold on the altar” but “look at the Hall of the Throne- holes in the roof, and the dome cracking, and the walls full of mice, and owls, and bats” (Le Guin, 29). This is the first time that the political structure can be seen for what it is, which is theocratic in nature with the Godking making himself a god and making himself look better than the traditional Kargad gods. Although he still nominally respects the priestess class by sending prisoners. I did not consider the Kargads to have a religious side to their Viking-like raiding society before this book, but it is intriguing.

[jackh9]

Gift giving between friends is shown clearly when Vetch tells his true name to Ged, which seems to be the highest form of gift giving in Earthsea. I think that was truly an altruistic thing because they are friends so Vetch probably does not expect anything in return. The spirit in which the gift is given seems to effect the level of debt incurred. 

Gift Giving

The article really made me think about the laundry list of gifts that were apparently in the book. “Upon leaving each place, we should note, Ged has not only changed in attitude and acquired wisdom; he also leaves with different gifts. Although the respective gifts do not exactly match his spiritual and emotional gains, they clearly function as signs of renewal and engagement with others and serve to chart the stages of Ged’s develop.” (107) This was then proceeded by a myriad of cases that were in the book where gifts were given. Part of what gives the gifts some type of power in my opinion is the basic idea of these being valuable that they are giving out. Another note that the author makes is the spirit of the gift. This goes hand in hand and the level of gift given would have a impact on the spirit of the gift. When a gift is given between friends this would have less of a debt aspect to it as this can be a solely altruistic thing. When a stranger gives a gift, they may have ulterior motives to have something on someone. This is when you would see a debt element with gift giving.

[jackh9]

Nov 5th: Earthsea Gifts

Gift giving in the world of Earthsea is clearly important as explained throughout Senior’s article and is based upon gift giving processes found in many real cultures. Gift giving is normally associated with the giving of a physical object but what I found interesting is that one of the most important gifts in Earthsea is telling someone your true name. It is a higher form of gift giving because in Earthsea “to give one’s true name is to render oneself completely” (Senior, 106). Senior explains that Vetch’s gift of his true name, Estarriol, to Ged gives Ged peace and security during a time of distress in his search for the shadow. The giving of this gift also has to do with trust because Vetch “had given that gift only a friend can give, the proof of unshaken, unshakable trust” (Le Guin, Wiz of Earthsea, 69). Ged would owe Vetch something in return to reciprocate the gift, which in this case would probably be his own true name. There is power attached to the gift of a true name because the receiver of the gift holds power over the giver because he knows the name. Ged becomes indebted to Vetch because of this incident of gift giving. It isn’t clear if Vetch expects reciprocation or not but it seems to be the way the world works.

[jackh9]

I think that the records of Viking slaving came from non-Scandinavian sources mostly because during the Viking age Scandinavian peoples did not have written language besides rune markings at least to my knowledge. It is interesting though that the Kargs did not try to take captives from Ten Alders so maybe later they will do so. 

Vikings and Fridays

While I have always known Vikings as raiders and pillagers, their involvement in the slave trade was never something I thought about. Clearly due to their frequent use of the sea, they would be one of the early cultures most suited to slave transport. In regards to the evidence for Viking slaving, Raffield writes, “it is important to recognise that the evidence for slaving derives entirely from non-Scandinavian sources” (pg. 685). This is extremely interesting to me, as I would imagine that slaving would be more present in Viking texts if it were an important part of the culture, which it clearly seemed to be. It is almost as though the Vikings did not view their raiding and abduction of peoples to be slavery. I wonder if they somehow believed that by ripping people away from their homes and lives they were exposing them to a better way of life, one where they could potentially rise up in society depending on their abilities. Obviously this is conjecture, but it seems possible. From the evidence Raffield presents, it seems that the Vikings were more likely to keep as slaves those they viewed as valuable or useful. By comparison, at this point in Earthsea, the Kargs have shown basically no interest in slaves, only in pillaging. I am very curious to see how their culture develops over the series, and if it will further mimic real Vikings. 

[jackh9]

The Kargs and Vikings- Raiding and Slaving

The Kargad raiders and the Vikings of our world’s past have similarities in the way they are described and their personality as I brought up in my previous post. The Vikings ran a whole network of slaving in which captives captured in raids were traded around Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Rus. The Kargads are described as engaging in raids that resulted in the capture of people who are then enslaved. “Then Spevy fell to the Kargs and was looted and laid waste, its people taken as slaves, so that even now it is an isle of ruins” (Le Guin, 7). Given that the world of Earthsea is all island based a lot of captives were probably captured at sea. Raffield mentions that a source from the eleventh century, a man named Adam of Bremen noted “pirates operating in the seas around Denmark during the eleventh century would regularly attack shipping in order to take captives“ (Raffield, 686). The Kargads are basically Vikings with no limits because they can sail everywhere and there are no continental inland areas that they can’t get to.

[jackh9]

I think part of the difference between Hobbits and the Ten Alders villagers is that Hobbits never faced much adversity at all before the ruffians show up. The people of Ten Alders given their location had probably faced coastal raiders before at least in recent memory, so this may explain their hardiness. 

Of Mountains and Holes

The Shire and Ten Alders, while providing similar cozy environments, are vastly different locations, most notably geographically.  The residence of the Hobbits is sunken, filled with holes to stay safe and comfortable in.  Ged, however, “…was born in a lonely village called Ten Alders, high on the mountain at the head of the Northward Vale” (Guin 2).  While both areas are certainly designed with seclusion and protection in mind, both tackle that concept in opposite ways.  The Shire is incredibly low to the earth, cutting out views of the outside world and giving a deep sense of security to the Hobbit residents, whether true or false.  Ged’s home village instead provides the ability to have complete understanding of the world around them, heightening the sense of wariness of its inhabitants.

Something interesting to note about these two locations and the stories that occur around them is how an invasion is used to frame both the place and its characters.  Given the forces involved, the locations do not necessarily provide protection though, as stated above, influence those within and how they tackle the oncoming threat.  The stark difference in the attitude of the individuals who inhabit each location is also on full display.  The Hobbits of the Shire, knowing they have very little chance against the invading ruffians, bow and cave immediately; meanwhile, the villagers who decide to remain in Ten Alders spend the entire night forging equipment to take with them to the bitter end, showing their hardiness and unity.  Most importantly, both invasions are used to frame their leads in nearly opposite ways, with Sharkey’s gang showing how far the Hobbits had grown and assisting with the closing of the narrative.  The Kargs, on the other hand, demonstrate how much potential and power Ged could eventually reach for, opening the story to a vast sea of possibilities.

[jackh9]

Earthsea Chapter 1

I am unfamiliar with the work of Ursula Le Guin, so the reading for this week was my first introduction to the Earthsea Cycle. I just want to discuss my first impressions in this post and how the village of Ten Alders compares to the Shire culturally. Firstly, I like the concept of the world being composed almost entirely of islands as opposed to a large continental landmass seen in many other fantasy worlds. Based on this I have a feeling that sailing and coastal raiding will play a significant role in the story as it already has in chapter 1 with the Kargad raiders sailing in and raiding Gont. Le Guin seems to me to have been inspired by the Viking raids of the early Middle Ages in creating the Kargads. They are described as “a savage people, white-skinned, yellow-haired, and fierce, liking the sight of blood and the smell of burning towns” (Le Guin, Wiz of Earthsea, 7). Their description sounds a lot like how most people would describe Norse peoples or Vikings. The second thing that stuck out to me in this first chapter were the spells that Duny learned that allowed him to control animals. With one spell “the wild falcons stooped down to him from the wind when he summoned them by name” (Le Guin, 5). The magic presented in this first chapter is connected largely to nature and the natural world, which is clear in the control of animals but also in Duny’s ability to control the mist and air to scare off the Kargad raiders.

Duny/Ged’s home is similar to the Shire culturally in that the people are peaceful and have little experience fighting. They did not have any weapons “for the mountain folk of Gont are not warlike; it is not warriors they are famous for, but goat-thieves, sea pirates, and wizards” (Le Guin, 8). Both Hobbits and these villagers are able to fight off enemies when the need arises such as when the Kargad raiders attack or the Shire gets occupied by Saruman at the end of LOTR.

[jackh9]

Your point about the armies of WW1 being made up of volunteers and this connection to the Hobbits applies also to the fact that at the Council of Elrond, Frodo volunteered to take the Ring to Mordor. He had a sense of duty to carry the Ring and he proved himself to the world. Frodo and his friends are common people of Middle Earth. 

Livingston: War influences in LOTR

I will be the first to admit that I know little about the history of the World Wars. However, I learned from Livingston’s article that a huge portion of the armies in WWI were assembled purely by volunteers–that is, “common people.” I thought this was a really interesting connection to the Lord of the Rings as a whole, and how the Hobbits are constantly underestimated for who they are. On page 82, Livingston references another scholar who makes the connection that LOTR and WWI both exhibit the “tenacious courage revealed in the ordinary people of town and farm, with camaraderie and love as their chief motivations,” as the Hobbits ultimately are able to prove themselves and shock everyone with their incredible resilience and strength. The latter part of this statement struck me as well, as Livingston also notes that Tolkien, unlike many of his peers, believed the war was for the righteous cause of fighting evil, instead of just being needless violence. This theme shows up everywhere in the LOTR, from all parties against Sauron. Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits alike are able to unite with the shared passion to crush Sauron once and for all. They do frequently have hiccups in their faith that they will be successful, but they maintain the resolve that the War is necessary, and that their future will be better for it.

[jackh9]

Tolkien’s WWI Experience: Noman-land and the Approach to Mordor

There are definitely aspects of Tolkien’s writing in the LOTR that I believe were influenced by his experience in World War I. The description of the area between the Dead Marshes and the Black Gate of Mordor is reminiscent of the environment of a WW1 battlefield and reads as follows; “Here nothing lived, not even the leprous growths that feed on rottenness. The gasping pools were choked with ash and crawling muds, sickly white and gray, as if the mountains had vomited the filth of their entrails upon the lands about. High mounds of crushed and powered rock, great cones of earth fire-blasted and poison-stained, stood like an obscene graveyard in endless rows, slowly revealed in the reluctant light” (Tolkien, TT, 265). I think Tolkien intended for this area to bring up WW1 imagery because he actually uses the term “Noman-land” when describing the space with the statement “the arid moors of the Noman-lands” (265). Anyone with minimal knowledge of WW1 knows that the area between the trenches became known as “no-man’s land”, so the use of the phrase is intentional in my opinion to invoke imagery of WW1 destruction in the reader. There is even reference to the weaponry of the war in the adjectives “fire-blasted” and “poison-stained”, which I see as reference to the massive artillery barrages at the beginning of battle and the use of chemical weapons. I think Tolkien was able to describe such a desolate place so well because of what he witnessed, and he intentionally or not pulled from that.

[jackh9]

Dead Marshes and Decision Making

In the Lord of the Rings the Dead Marshes are a dangerous watery and swampy region that leads to the Black Gate and Frodo making a fateful decision on the best way to get into Mordor to complete his task to destroy the Ring. The physical aspects of the area being a muddy, misty, and boggy swamp reminds me of the planet Dagobah from Star Wars, which is the swamp planet where Luke Skywalker goes seeking master Yoda for training. That was the only swampy place from another story I could think of. I bring up this example more because the protagonists of both stories must make difficult decisions after being in similar environments. Frodo must choose to enter Mordor through the Black Gate somehow or take the secret path by Cirith Ungol as suggested by Gollum, and “This was an evil choice. Which way should he choose? And if both led to terror and death, what good lay in choice” (Tolkien, TT, 281). Frodo knows his task is already dangerous, so he probably takes up Gollum’s idea because its more likely to be successful even though he doesn’t see himself surviving the mission. In Star Wars Luke Skywalker discovers through the Force while on Dagobah that Leia and Han Solo have been captured by Darth Vader and must decide to either leave his Jedi training to go rescue them or stay and continue training. These are evil choices in a way because rescuing his friends could lead him to death and terror in the process, but continuing training to reach his destiny as a Jedi would abandon the others to terror and death. Both characters are forced to make difficult decisions throughout their stories in which both options were basically bad considering the implications.

[jackh9]

The inside of the hall being dark and unwelcoming shows that the normal hall life has been disrupted. Hume describes the hall as an “anti-hall” when its normal characteristics are suppressed such as gift giving and hospitality. Its also a good point that Grima’s manipulation of Theoden is a cause of this darkness and strife within the hall. 

Halls and Rohan

The Hume text talks about what a hall would mean to Beowulf. “In a world picture where the hall signifies order, social pleasure and security, that which is outside will naturally be an opposite. When strife is not the enemy of hall-life in a specific poetic context, storm often is, whether literally as wind, rain, snow, hail thunder, cold, and darkness or figuratively as metaphor for battle.” (Hume, 66-67) These halls were offering protection in a literal sense from the elements and from enemy when it would be present. I think that this is seen in Rohan as well when it is first presented. Legolas first describes it as “Within there rise the roofs of houses; and in the midst, set upon a green terrace, there stands aloft a great hall of men. And it seems to my eyes that it is thatched with gold.” (The Two Tower, 495-496) This hall in Rohan shows its commanding presence from its walls and surrounding buildings. Rohan has a golden thatched roof to protect form the element. This roof and walls of the hall separate both of these settings from the elements. This offers security as well and its exterior power is shown. There is a difference here with the inside of Edoras being referenced as dark and warm. Potentially showing the leechcraft and manipulation of Grima here.