[ Daily Tolkien / Lord Of The Rings ] A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 1

Suite 101 ^ | May 19, 2001 | Michael Martinez

[JameRetief]

A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 1

[ Part three is the source notes as annotated in the article.  The appropriate source notes have instead been added to the end of the other two parts for consolidation]

In 1996 the editor of the journal Arda asked me to contribute some of my research to a twelfth volume which has, to my knowledge, never been published. I chose the war of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men as my topic because no one had really ever done a full treatment of the subject.

It remains, to my knowledge, the fullest treatment of the Last Alliance ever published. I am indebted to Rick House for reviewing the article at that time and offering suggestions and corrections.

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The legend of Gil-galad and Elendil's war against Sauron at the end of the Second Age of Middle-earth has been the subject of much research and speculation among Tolkien's fans. As with all aspects of his mythology, the few mentions of this great struggle imply a depth which draws the imagination toward a fuller account which surely must have existed in the author's mind, if not in any of his extant writings. Most of us are familiar with the outline of the war, and many can sketch out the events in a general progression from the first assault on Minas Ithil to the final combat on Orodruin.

Yet so many questions remain that one must wonder if Tolkien himself did not ask them of himself. Who were the great princes and captains the memory of whose banners made Elrond pause and sigh at his council an Age later? Where did these armies come from, and what were their reasons for joining the Alliance? If we do not know their numbers, do we know anything at all of their battle order and progressions?

Perhaps.

Some of what follows is necessarily speculative. It cannot be otherwise for there are gaps in the record. Yet Tolkien sprinkled here and there pieces of information concerning this great war in which "all living things were divided...save the Elves only" (The Silmarillion, p. 294).

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The final war of the Second Age brought together many peoples on both sides for a cataclysmic engagement which rivaled the great War of Wrath at the end of the First Age of the Sun. Although the Valar did not participate in this war, the conflict culminated a long and pendulous series of disputes between Sauron and the Elves and the Men of Numenor. The war represented Sauron's last desperate grasp for power in Middle-earth in his ancient campaign to gain control over the Elves and Men.

The seeds of the war were laid down millennia before when Sauron, in the guise of "Aulendil" ("Annatar"), began approaching the Elves in an effort to seduce them¹. Galadriel did not trust him, claiming to have known no such Maia in Valinor², and Gil-galad mistrusted him, having long sensed that some evil power had arisen in Middle-earth³. In fact, most of the Elven lords refused to treat with Sauron, except for the smith Celebrimbor, whose reasons for rejecting the counsel of Gil-galad are not given. But perhaps he had inherited the great pride of his house, and as the last surviving heir of Feanor he rejected Gil-galad's advice in an act of rebellion.

Celebrimbor did not live to see the fruition of the seeds he helped Sauron plant and nurture in the Rings of Power. Although he came to understand his folly before the War of the Elves and Sauron, Celebrimbor perished when Sauron took Ost-in-Edhil⁴. Like Feanor before him, Celebrimbor led the Noldor down a path the end of which he never saw, and their tragic history was both enriched and diminished because of the choices he made.

Because they aided Gil-galad during the War of the Elves and Sauron, the Dunedain became irrevocably enmeshed in the affairs of Middle-earth, earning Sauron's undying enmity. Within 100 years of the war the Dunedain began making permanent havens in Middle-earth: Lond Daer Ened, Pelargir, Umbar, and others now forgotten⁵. From these havens came at least three of the Nazgul, the Ringwraiths who by the year 2251 revealed themselves for the first time, leading Sauron's armies against his enemies⁶.

The conflicts between the Dunedain and Sauron eventually dwarfed the ongoing struggle between Sauron and the Elves. While many of the Eldar fled Middle-earth, more and more Dunedain settled there, coming from both factions in Numenor: the King's Men and the Faithful. The Dunedain pursued conquests of their own, clashing with Sauron's lieutenants and earning his greater hatred⁷. Sauron's rivalry with the Dunedain led to his voluntary imprisonment in Numenor where he seduced the greater part of the Dunedain to his cause. Their fortresses in Middle-earth southward of Pelargir thus extended Sauron's true power, where before they had contested it.

Surviving the destruction of Numenor, Sauron returned to a Middle-earth much changed. Gil-galad had recovered his ancient power and extended his sway to new lands⁸. All the Elves were now apparently united in purpose and strengthened by the long peaceful respite his absence had given them. The Dunedain who survived the Downfall of Numenor were still divided into two groups, but the Faithful now established two kingdoms which though nurtured by Gil-galad's power provided Lindon with a stronger buffer against invasion than either Eregion or Imladris ever had.

Elendil's realm in Arnor was greater in size and strength than his sons' kingdom of Gondor. The Dunedain and the peoples they settled amongst dwelt between the Lhun and the Gwathlo rivers⁹. Elendil's people dwelt mostly between the Lhun and the Baranduin rivers, and between the Hills of Evendim and the North Downs¹⁰. Some also settled in Tyrn Gorthad and the South Downs. Tharbad, an ancient Dunadan outpost and port on the river Gwathlo, became a link between the two kingdoms with a fortress on either side of Gwathlo and a bridge spanning the river¹¹.

Other Men lived in Eriador besides the Dunedain. The Men of Bree, most northerly representatives of their race, were akin to most of the peoples of Minhiriath and Enedwaith as well as to the wild tribes of Ered Nimrais and Calenardhon who lived on Gondor's western frontier¹². The hill-tribes who lived between Bruinen and Mithieithel may have been friendly to the Elves, but appear not to have acknowledged Elendil's authority. Nor did the tribes living in the north, members of the Forodwaith who later gave rise to the Lossoth and perhaps the Men of Carn Dum¹³. However, Elendil's people probably also included descendants of clans related to the Folk of Bor and Ulfang in the First Age¹⁴.

Gondor's people came mostly from the Dunedain and their kin living in and near Pelargir, as well as along the coast of Belfalas. They built the new cities of Osgiliath, Minas Anor, and Minas Ithil, thinking that Sauron was no longer a threat¹⁵. Elendil's sons extended their sway northward into Calenardhon as well.

But the choice of location for their new cities implies the Black Numenoreans of the south were a cause for concern¹⁶. And though the ancient Elvish haven of Edhellond lay west of Gondor's heart, the dales of Ered Nimrais from Lamedon to the sources of the rivers Lefnui and Adorn were home to a race of men who had served Sauron in previous centuries¹⁷. When it became evident that Sauron had survived the Downfall of Numenor, Isildur concluded an alliance with at least one group of these men, but their king feared Sauron too much to fulfill his oath.

There were other men in Enedwaith, akin to the mountain-folk of Ered Nimrais and the Men of Bree, who had long opposed Numenorean incursions. Their antipathy forced Gondor to construct the twin fortresses of Angrenost and Aglarond, which guarded the pass of Calenardhon against the west, rather than the east¹⁸. Thus the need for a strong garrison at Tharbad was underscored by the need for a strong guard over Enedwaith itself.

Although Sauron was a Maia of great power and wisdom, he seems to have underestimated the resolve and skill of his foes. Gil-galad, born in Beleriand in the First Age¹⁹, was a native son of Middle-earth, ruling his people in the last remnant of Beleriand itself, now called Lindon. He may have seemed weak to Sauron, having taken no action against Morgoth in the First Age, and unable or unwilling to defeat Sauron's own armies in Eriador without the aid the Dunedain. But the strategy the Eldar had used in their war with Sauron was Gil-galad's, who led the victorious army of Lindon and Numenor in sweeping Sauron's forces from the north. As High King of the Elves of the West, he sent Elrond against Sauron in the early years of the War of the Elves and Sauron²⁰.

Beside Gil-galad stood Cirdan, most ancient of the Elven lords and wise with the bitter lessons learned in the long war against Morgoth. Cirdan had been the only Sindarin lord to ally himself with the Noldor against Morgoth in the War of the Jewels²¹. Since Gil-galad had dwelt with Cirdan from an early age, the Noldorin king must have been greatly influenced by Cirdan, who was as brave and valiant as any Elven king. In the Second Age he befriended the Dunedain, teaching them how to build and sail ships, and how to manage the harbors they made in Middle-earth²². Cirdan, too, saw deep into the hearts of others, and he never refrained from the necessity of opposing either Morgoth or Sauron. Cirdan must have seemed a formidable opponent to Sauron.

Elrond, being half-Elven, did not forget his ties to the Dunedain. He had marched with their fathers against Thangorodrim in the War of Wrath²³, and he was in Lindon when Veantur first sailed to Middle-earth. He would have known Aldarion in his youth, the great mariner King of Numenor. Although he failed to break through Sauron's forces to relieve Eregion, Elrond had preserved many Elves and Men from death or capture in the War of the Elves and Sauron, and he withstood a lengthy siege. Descended of a powerful Maia and of both Sindarin and Noldorin kings, Elrond had been fostered by a son of Feanor, had stood with the Host of Valinor at the breaking of Thangorodrim, and had been enhanced by Eonwe in wisdom and skill upon choosing to be of Elven-kind. As he was Gil-galad's vice-regent in Eriador²⁴, so Elrond may have represented the High King of the Elves of the West in his dealings with other Elven lords.

Oropher was probably the greatest of the other Elven lords. Proud and independent, a survivor of Doriath, his realm dominated southern Greenwood the Great beyond Anduin. Although unfriendly to both the Noldor and the Dwarves²⁵, he may have revered Elrond's Sindarin ancestry, and clearly saw the need for joining in the alliance against Sauron. Oropher was strong-willed and proud, however, and he refused to march under Gil-galad's banner, but held himself an equal²⁶.

Amdir, known also as Malgalad²⁷, was probably the least powerful of the Elven kings of the Second Age. He ruled fewer people than Oropher yet was friendly toward the Noldor, taking many refugees from Eregion into his kingdom. He must also have been on friendly terms with the Dwarves of Khazad-dum, his neighbors and perhaps sometimes allies²⁸.

Isildur was the most rash of the Dunadan kings. He was proud and brave, renowned for his rescue of a sapling of Nimloth, the White Tree of Numenor, despite Sauron's precautions against such an attempt²⁹. He boldly planted himself (and the sapling) in the Ephel Duath on Sauron's border. But Isildur may have been less a captain in war than his father and brother, and perhaps was not the leader of Men that Elendil was. Yet it was Isildur's city which Sauron singled out for the first assault, perhaps seeking revenge against the Dunadan lord for his deeds in Numenor.

Elendil the Tall was a mighty sea-captain, a master of lore, and as High King of the Dunedain-in-Exile assembled a great host of Men in Arnor. He seems to have had no disputes with subject peoples and allies, unlike Isildur, though the distance between Sauron and the peoples of Eriador surely made his influence there quite weak. Elendil was deeply affected by the destruction of Numenor, and by the loss of his father, Amandil.

After Isildur departed for Arnor, Anarion ruled Gondor alone, defending it against Sauron's forces³⁰. Anarion seems to have commanded the entire southern campaign for the Alliance. He not only drove Sauron's armies back into Mordor, he eventually passed over the mountains himself.

Durin IV of Khazad-dum joined the Alliance as well³¹. Since his realm lay so close to Lorinand he must have mustered his army close to Amdir's. And yet, Oropher's reputed dislike for Dwarves may have forced Durin to march beside Gil-galad's army, perhaps even to stand as a fourth equal among the leaders of the full alliance: Gil-galad as lord of the Elves of the West, Elendil as lord of the Men of the West, Oropher as lord of the Elves of the East, and Durin as lord of the Dwarves of Khazad-dum (encompassing two or three Dwarven kindreds). Because the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost had long before swelled Khazad-dum's numbers, Durin's army may have been the largest Dwarf-host assembled to that time or any time since.

To be continued in Part 2...

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Notes

1. The Silmarillion, p. 287. "Men he found the easiest to sway of all the peoples of the Earth; but long he sought to persuade the Elves to his service, for he knew that the Firstborn had the greater power; and he went far and wide among them, and his hue was still that of one both fair and wise."

    

2. Unfinished Tales, p. 254. "...The note goes on to say that Galadriel was not deceived, saying that this Aulendil was not in the train of Aule in Valinor...." This and all subsequent references to Galadriel and Celeborn make use of the essay "Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn", provided in Unfinished Tales, which most closely fits with the events detailed in Tolkien's other writings. However, this narrative stipulates that Amroth was their son, an idea Tolkien later abandoned, which decision is accepted by and incorporated into this work.

    

3. Ibid., pp. 199-200. "A new shadow rises in the East...." The letter Gil-galad wrote to Tar-Meneldil was composed in SA 882. Since Tolkien elsewhere states that Sauron began stirring again around SA 500, it may be that Gil-galad was aware of some growing evil well before the end of the 9th Century.

    

4. Ibid., p. 238. "...At last the attackers broke into Eregion with ruin and devastation, and captured the chief object of Sauron's assault...Then Celebrimbor was put to torment...Concerning the Three Rings Sauron could learn nothing from Celebrimbor; and he had him put to death."

   Although other parts of this history conflict with some of the sources, this much agrees with "Of The Rings Of Power And The Third Age" in The Silmarillion (p. 288), which implies that Celebrimbor died there.

    

5. The Return Of The King, p. 364. "The Tale Of Years" states only that the Numenoreans began making permanent havens around the year SA 1800. Unfinished Tales reveals something of Lond Daer (Vinyalonde) in the sections concerning Numenor and the History of Galadriel and Celeborn. Umbar and Pelargir are attested in various sources, and other, unnamed havens are said to have been built far to the south and east.

    

6. The Silmarillion, p. 267. "Yet Sauron was ever guileful, and it is said that three were great lords of Numenorean race." Since Sauron did not visit Numenor prior to his "imprisonment" there, he would have had to seduce the three Numenoreans in Middle-earth. It is interesting that he was able to do this relatively soon after the War of the Elves and Sauron. Perhaps they were already quite old for their race when they accepted the Rings.

   Unfinished Tales (p. 221) indicates that the Shadow first fell on Numenor in the days of Tar-Atanamir, but his father Tar-Ciryatan was the first "willful" king, and his entry in "The Line Of Elros" suggests the Shadow may have fallen on Numenor in his time. So, it may be that the Numenoreans were becoming uncomfortable with their mortality by the time of the War of the Elves and Sauron, and so three aging Numenorean lords could be easily seduced by Sauron.

    

7. The Silmarillion., pp. 269-70. "...For Pharazon son of Gimilkhad...had fared often abroad, as a leader in the wars that the Numenoreans made then in the coastlands of Middle-earth...For he had learned in Middle-earth of the strength of the realm of Sauron, and of his hatred of Westernesse. And now there came to him the masters of ships and captains returning out of the East, and they reported that Sauron was putting forth his might, since Ar-Pharazon had gone back from Middle-earth, and he was pressing down upon the cities by the coasts...."

    

8. Ibid., p. 290. "...There [Sauron] found that the power of Gil-galad had grown great in the years of his absence, and it was spread now over wide regions of the north and west, and had passed beyond the Misty Mountains and the Great River even to the borders of Greenwood the Great, and was drawing nigh to the strong places where once he had dwelt secure."

    

9. Unfinished Tales, p. 264. "...Later [the Glanduin], with the Gwathlo formed by its confluence with the Mitheithel, formed the southern boundary of the North Kingdom."

    

10. The Silmarillion says that Elendil's "people dwelt in many places in Eriador about the courses of the Lhun and the Baranduin; but his chief city was at Annuminas beside the water of Lake Nenuial. At Fornost upon the North Downs also the Numenoreans dwelt, and in Cardolan, and in the hills of Rhudaur..." (pp. 290-1).

     

11. Unfinished Tales, p. 264. "...Before the decay of the North Kingdom...both kingdoms shared an interest in [Enedwaith], and together built and maintained the Bridge of Tharbad and the long causeways that carried the road to it on either side of the Gwathlo and Mitheithel across the fens in the plains of Minhiriath and Enedwaith...."

     

12. The Return Of The King, pp. 407-8. "...Alien, too, or only remotely akin, was the language of the Dunlendings. These were a remnant of the peoples that had dwelt in the vales of the White Mountains in ages past. The Dead Men of Dunharrow were of their kin. But in the Dark Years others had removed to the southern dales of the Misty Mountains; and thence some had passed into the empty lands as far north as the Barrow-downs. From them came the Men of Bree...."

     

13. Ibid., p. 321. "These [Lossoth] are a strange, unfriendly people, remnant of the Forodwaith." Where the Forodwaith actually dwelt at the end of the Second Age is a matter of speculation, as Tolkien really tells us nothing of their history. Cf. note 14 below.

     

14. The War Of The Jewels, pp. 60-1. "It was after thought that the people of Ulfang were already secretly in the service of Morgoth ere they came to Beleriand. Not so the people of Bor, who were worthy folk and tillers of the earth. Of them, it is said, came the most ancient of the Men that dwelt in the north of Eriador in the Second Age and [? read in] after-days."

    The connection between the Folk of Bor (and Ulfang) and the northernmost men of Eriador in the Second Age implies that the Lossoth (and, hence, the Forodwaith, of whom the Lossoth were a "remnant") were in fact the descendants of these clans.

     

15. The Return Of The King, p. 317. "...Elendil was the High King and dwelt in the North at Annuminas; and the rule in the South was committed to his sons, Isildur and Anarion. They founded there Osgiliath, between Minas Ithil and Minas Anor, not far from the confines of Mordor. For this good at least they believed had come out of ruin, that Sauron also had perished."

     

16. The Silmarillion, p. 291. "...The chief city of this southern realm was Osgiliath, through the midst of which the Great River flowed...." In fact, the narrative makes no such connection. But why would Isildur and Anarion build their cities north of Pelargir and Emyn Arnen? That the narrative makes mention of Herumor and Fuinur implies that they were significant in some way to the historians of Gondor.

     

17. Ibid., p. 291. "...and to the westward Minas Anor...as a shield against the wild men of the dales...."

    Tolkien says very little about the constituent "tribes" of this race. The group who broke their vow to Isildur swore their oath at Erech but haunted Dunharrow on the northern side of the mountains. There probably was another tribe in what became Lamedon, one dwelling in the upper vales by the source of the Lefnui, another dwelling near the Adorn, another to the north of the Isen, and another tribe dwelling in Calenardhon itself. Obviously other groups lived north of that region as far as Bree.

     

18. The Silmarillion says "other works marvellous and strong [the Numenoreans] built in the days of their power, at the Argonath, and at Aglarond, and at Erech; and in the circle of Angrenost..." (p. 291). No specific date is given for when these works were erected, though the context implies the early years of Gondor's history.

    However, The Return Of The King says that Minalcar "built the pillars of the Argonath at the entrance to Nen Hithoel" (p. 326), whereas Isildur is said to have erected the stone at Erech (p. 55). We also know that one of the Palantiri, given to Amandil by the Eldar of Tol Eressea and taken to Middle-earth by Elendil and his sons, was placed at Orthanc in Angrenost, so the fortress must have been constructed no later than the beginning of the realm of Gondor.

    If Angrenost and Aglarond were older than Gondor then perhaps they were constructed as a defense against Mordor; but if Isildur and Anarion built the fortresses, they would have used them to guard Calenardhon against the Dunlendings, who had long been unfriendly to the Dunedain, since the Dunedain thought Sauron had perished in Numenor's Downfall.

     

19. The Silmarillion, p. 154. Tolkien says here only that (after Fingolfin's death) "his young son Ereinion (who was after named Gil-galad) [Fingon] sent to the Havens." "Young" implies that Ereinion was not yet a fully adult Elf. Morgoth's Ring states that Elves required about fifty years (of the Sun) to achieve full maturity (p. 210). Hence, Ereinion was probably born sometime after the year FA 405 (given that the Dagor Bragollach and Fingolfin's death occurred in FA 455).

     

20. The Return Of The King, p. 364. This entry in "The Tale Of Years" agrees with the account given in Unfinished Tales in "Concerning Galadriel And Celeborn", which describes the war in the fullest detail published to date.

     

21. The Silmarillion, p. 113. At Mereth Aderthad, Tolkien writes, the Elves swore oaths of alliance. Cirdan was one of the lords who attended the feast. He subsequently aided the Noldor on several occasions (pp. 154, 160, & 190).

     

22. Unfinished Tales., pp. 171, 175. "...But there were shipwrights among them who had been instructed by the Eldar..." and "...It is said that [Aldarion's] delay was due to the eagerness he had to learn all that he could of Cirdan, both in the making and management of ships, and in the building of walls to withstand the hunger of the sea."

     

23. The Fellowship Of The Ring, p. 256. "'...It recalled to me the glory of the Elder Days and the hosts of Beleriand, so many great princes and captains were assembled. And yet not so many, nor so fair, as when Thangorodrim was broken....'"

     

24. Unfinished Tales, p. 239. As with Celebrimbor's fate, it seems reasonable to use "Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn" as a source concerning other individuals such as Elrond. The founding of Imladris is certainly confirmed in "The Tale Of Years". Cf. note 20 above.

     

25. Ibid, pp. 258. "...Oropher...had withdrawn northward beyond the Gladden Fields. This he did to be free from the power and encroachments of the Dwarves of Moria...and also he resented the intrusions of Celeborn and Galadriel into Lorien." Oropher's motives and history, like those of Galadriel and Celeborn, contain some inconsistencies. Cf. also pp. 280-1.

     

26. Ibid. In fact the passage states that "the Silvan Elves were hardy and valiant, but ill-equipped with armour or weapons in comparison with the Eldar of the West; also they were independent, and not disposed to place themselves under the supreme command of Gil-galad."

     

27. The name of this Elf-king is in doubt. In one narrative he is called Amdir and in another Malgalad (Unfinished Tales, pp. 240, 243-4, 258). Christopher Tolkien is unable to establish which name his father preferred for this character; hence, I have adopted the convention of referring to him as Amdir Malgalad, or simply Amdir, which is used more frequently and matches the style of Amroth, his son's name.

     

28. The Silmarillion, p. 288-90. "From that time war never ceased between Sauron and the Elves...." Being closest of all Elven realms to Mordor, Amdir's kingdom in Lorinand must have borne the brunt of this extended period of conflict, and the influx of Noldor and Sindar from Eregion after the fall of that Elven realm would have provided impetus to a friendship between Amdir's people and the Dwarves, though certainly not one as close as had existed between Eregion and Khazad-dum.

     

29. Ibid, p. 273. "...For [Isildur] passed in disguise to Armenelos and to the courts of the King, which were now forbidden to the Faithful; and he came to the place of the Tree, which was forbidden to all by the orders of Sauron, and the Tree was watched day and night by guards in his service...and Isildur passed through the guards and took from the Tree a fruit that hung upon it...."

     

30. Ibid, p. 293. "When therefore Sauron saw his time he came with great force against the new realm of Gondor, and he took Minas Ithil...But Isildur escaped...and they sailed from the mouths of Anduin seeking Elendil. Meanwhile Anarion held Osgiliath against the Enemy, and for that time drove him back to the mountains...."

     

31. Ibid, p. 294. Claiming that this king was actually named Durin may be erroneous. The passage says only: "Of the Dwarves few fought upon either side; but the kindred of Durin of Moria fought against Sauron." If he was named Durin, then he could not have been Durin III, because that was the Durin who opposed Sauron in the War of the Elves and Sauron (Unfinished Tales, p. 238). So, he was either Durin IV or Durin V. I have elected to call him Durin IV for lack of any information concerning either.

    It is also strange that Tolkien says "...the kindred of Durin..." in referring to these Dwarves. Elsewhere he writes that most of the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost migrated to Khazad-dum early in the Second Age. They seem to have retained their distinctive lineages until the end of the Third Age as the Appendix to The Return Of The King says "Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur were descended from Dwarves of Moria but were not of Durin's line" (p. 361).

Author: Michael Martinez
Published on: May 19, 2001
Michael Martinez is the author of Visualizing Middle-earth

[JameRetief]

The Daily Tolkien articles by various authors	The Tolkien Virgin articles by Mark Edmond
ARTICLES 1-10
ARTICLES 11-20
21) The Merchants of Middle-earth
22) Dear Gandalf ...	1) Pre-amble and The Ainulindalë
23) Why did Bilbo choose Frodo as his heir?	2) Ainulindalë/Valaquenta
24) Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the wargs of fandom!	3) Of Aule and Yavanna
25) Tolkien and Chivalry
26) The Nature Of Faramir?
27) The men who would be Steward
28) Kicking the Hobbit

[JameRetief]

Your Daily Tolkien Ping!

Coming from many sources, these articles cover many aspects of Tolkien and his literary works. If anyone would like for me to ping them directly when I post articles such as this let me know. Enjoy!

[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

[Maigret]

I am at the last chapter of ROTK and am already beginning to have 'withdrawal' symptoms, so I thank you mightily for this daily 'fix'. It helps! :)

[Cap'n Crunch]

Wow! I see I have some catching up to do. I've only read the three Rings books.

[ThinkPlease]

Now that was a cool bit of Tolkien scholarship. As a Tolkien world buff, I thank you. If only a world I created could be as rich as his. Sigh.

[paul544]

This was great. Need to start re-reading.