#tolkien quote

[celebrimborium]

the rings of power + tolkien’s descriptions of canon characters

[wanderingwoodlandslotro]

ꜱᴘʀɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜɪʀᴇ

❝ ᴀ ʙʀɪɢʜᴛ ꜰɪʀᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʜ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴡᴀʀᴍ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅ ᴡᴀꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴏᴜᴛʜ. ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴇꜱʜ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡ ɢʀᴇᴇɴ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴘʀɪɴɢ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱʜɪᴍᴍᴇʀɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪᴇʟᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴘꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴇᴇꜱ' ꜰɪɴɢᴇʀꜱ. ❞ - ᴛᴏʟᴋɪᴇɴ

[sotwk]

"Upon his tomb the Elvenking then laid Orcist, the elvish sword that had been taken from Thorin in captivity." (The Hobbit, Chapter 18 - The Return Journey)

Consider this gesture from Thranduil, honoring the deceased Thorin by giving up Orcrist to rest upon his tomb for eternity. Thorin had no legitimate claim to such a priceless Elvish heirloom, other than "finders keepers". Unlike in the movies, Thorin never even carried it into his final battle, so there is no sentimental value tying him to it.

Orcrist (as well as Glamdring) was the sword of King Turgon, High King of Gondolin, making Elrond (his great-grandson) its clear and rightful heir. However, the movie Desolation of Smaug also portrayed Legolas claiming the sword as one made by his kin, so perhaps Thranduil's descendants, through his wife's side of the family, has some claim to it as well (as I mentioned in a previous post). At the very least, it makes sense that a famous Elvish blade should remain in the hands of an Elf. Imagine how deadly Legolas would have been if he'd wielded that bad boy on the Pelennor Fields.

Arguments about claims aside, it is an understated testament to Thranduil's sense of honor and diplomacy that he chose to use Orcrist to honor a Dwarf King. Thorin had not been very respectful to him in return, and would never get the chance to return the favor. But it seemed to matter to Thranduil that he lay something truly valuable on Thorin's tomb as a symbol of friendship and peace, perhaps with the intention of ending the feud between their races once and for all.

So much for those accusations of the Elvenking being "weak for treasure".

[striderstable]

"His rage passes description – the sort of rage that is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy suddenly lose something that they have long had but have never before used or wanted."

~J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

[peaceandnature]

“His grief he will not forget; but it will not darken his heart, it will teach him wisdom.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

[tuuliareads]

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

- J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

I sometimes look for my favorite books and my favorite authors for comfort, for ways to get some sense in things happening around me. Tolkien and LOTR are at the top of my lis as always. This quote hits kinda hard right now, I knew there was a reason it's been on my letterboard for years.

[bluejeanbeth]

Into darkness fell his star

In Mordor where the shadows are.

[revisitingmiddleearth]

It was not a cave and was open to the sky above; but at its inner end a flat wall rose up that in the lower part, close to the ground, was as smooth and upright as mason’s work, but without a joint or crevice to be seen. No sign was there of post or lintel or threshold, nor any sign of bar or bolt or key-hole; yet they did not doubt that they had found the door at last.

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

[mytortoisegotstuckinatupperware]

[catchymemes]

[hacked-wtsdz]

Every time I read or watch Lord of the Rings I can’t help but think about how Tolkien had survived one of the bloodiest, most cruel, most dirtiest and darkest wars in human history, came back and wrote this:

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

And this:

"'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.

'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'"

And this:

"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."

And this:

“Many that live deserve death and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be so eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see all ends."

And this:

“True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.”

And clearly they were all written partly because he survived the war, because of what he’d seen and done and learned. But at the same time the unwillingness to lose faith, the courage and strength that this man had to believe in these things after going through hell! It makes the nihilists look so cheap, so uninteresting! People who’ve went through concentration camps and wars believe in humanity anyway, isn’t that proof that hope and love exist? And many, many, many of them did not return or returned broken and cruel and traumatised to the point when no faith in others was possible for them, and nobody can blame them. But there were many who refused to lose faith and hope. They have seen some of the worst that life has to offer and came back believing that we shouldn’t be eager to deal out death in judgement and should love only that which the sword defends.

No matter how many people say that humanity is horrible and undeserving of love, and life is dark and worthless, and love doesn’t exist I remember this and have hope anyway. Because there were people who have actually had all reason to believe in the worst and still believed in the good, so the good must be real. The good is real, even despite the evil, and we must trust in it.

[celebrimborium]

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

[wanderingwoodlandslotro]

❝ ɪꜰ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴜꜱ ᴠᴀʟᴜᴇᴅ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʜᴇᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴏɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ʜᴏᴀʀᴅᴇᴅ ɢᴏʟᴅ, ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴍᴇʀʀɪᴇʀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. ❞

[autistook]

[stay-close]

How do you move on? You move on when your heart finally understands that there is no turning back.

J.R.R. Tolkien

[surqrised]

How do you move on? You move on when your heart finally understands that there is no turning back.

J.R.R. Tolkien