Sean Marchese (2:04)

Not quite, I guess. Well, folks, no matter how you arrived, you're all welcome here in the common room at the Prancing Pony podcast. We are reading and talking our way through Middle Earth with plenty of speculation and bad jokes along the way.

Alan Sisto (2:19)

Indeed. We do love our deep dives into the lore, though, and discussing our favorite themes and a whole lot more.

Sean Marchese (2:24)

But we try to keep it light and fun, like a couple of friends chatting at a pub. And we're glad you've joined us.

Alan Sisto (2:30)

And while you'll be glad you joined as well, this episode is going to be a Bit different, you see. Every year on March 25, the Tolkien Society organizes Tolkien Reading Day to encourage fans to celebrate and promote the life and works of J.R.R. tolkien by reading favorite passages.

Sean Marchese (2:46)

Why the 25th of March, you say? Well, we'll tell you, because that's the date of the downfall of Sauron and the destruction of Barad Dur. That's right. Now, because this episode is coming out a couple of days before March 25th. It's coming out on March 23rd. You've still got a day or two to figure out what your reading is going to be.

Alan Sisto (3:04)

That's right. Now, every year, the Tolkien Society chooses a different theme to focus on. And this year's theme is Fellowship and Community, and really could not have been a better fit because in keeping with this theme of Fellowship and community, I have asked each of my co hosts from the last couple of seasons to join me on this episode. We're each going to do a reading or two, have a brief discussion, and then we'll bring in the next co host.

Sean Marchese (3:29)

That's right. So, folks, you're going to get to hear readings from Don Marshall, the Nerd of the Rings, Sara Brown and James Tauber, and even Alan Sisto, I suppose. And then I'll come back later to do my reading, taking you all the way back to the first age.

Alan Sisto (3:45)

Speaking of going back in time, I am really very glad you could join me today. Sean, it is always such a pleasure to have you back on the show, and I especially looking forward to your readings.

Sean Marchese (3:54)

Thank you, my friend. It's good to be here, and I'm looking forward to it. I've. I've chosen something that will take us back. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Alan Sisto (4:02)

I'm looking forward to it. Well, folks, in keeping with our Tolkien Reading Day tradition here at the Prancing Pony Podcast, we're going to spend our time today, well, mostly reading and maybe not talking quite as much. And we want to get that reading started as soon as possible because we've got a lot of guests and a lot of passages. So we're going to get right to it. And we'll start by welcoming our first guest for this year's Tolkien Reading Day special. My current co host, who's almost finished serving his sentence. I mean, finished his long run with me, Matt from the Nerd of the Rings. Matt, what passage have you chosen?

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (4:34)

So I've chosen a bit of a. It's gonna be a bit of an amalgamation. We're gonna combine a couple conglomeration I like this conglomeration. Yeah, we're gonna. We're.

Sean Marchese (4:45)

We're.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (4:45)

Basically. I'll just say we're looking at the friendship of Turin and Beleg from the Children of Hurin. Yeah.

Alan Sisto (4:53)

Okay.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (4:54)

One of my favorite first age characters, Beleg, by the way.

Alan Sisto (4:56)

Beleg's awesome. Yeah.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (4:58)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (4:58)

All right, well, then where are we starting with this?

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (5:00)

So we're starting kind of toward the end of the chapter of Mim the Dwarf, and it'll take us a little bit into Land of Bowen Helm, and.

Alan Sisto (5:09)

Maybe a little bit further than that. Huh?

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (5:11)

Maybe a little further than that. I don't even want to say the chapter.

Alan Sisto (5:14)

I was going to say Tolkien and his spoilerific chapter titles, the Death of Beleg. Thanks, Tolkien. I appreciate knowing. That's a funny.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (5:21)

It's not even like the departure where, you know, it's open ended a little bit.

Alan Sisto (5:27)

At least he was a little sneaky in Boromir.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (5:29)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (5:30)

Yeah. Well, so we're gonna pick up, like you said, near the very end of chapter seven of the Children of Hurin, of Mim the Dwarf.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (5:37)

All right, so we're jumping in here, and the text is going to be referring to Turin and his company, his band of outlaws, if you recall in the story.

Alan Sisto (5:46)

Not his merry men. These aren't his.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (5:48)

Not his merry men. No, not merry men. Band of outlaws. It sounds much cooler.

Alan Sisto (5:52)

It does, doesn't it? All right.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (5:55)

But when autumn was past, the winter pressed them hard. Before Yule snow came down from the north, heavier than they had known it in the river vales at that time, and ever the more as the power of Angband grew, the winters worsened. In Beleriand, Amon, Ruth was covered deep, and only the hardiest dared stir abroad. Some fell sick, and all were pinched with hunger. In the dim dusk of a day in midwinter, there appeared suddenly among them a man as it seemed, of great bulk and girth, cloaked and hooded in white. He had eluded their watchmen, and he walked up to their fire without a word. When men sprang up, he laughed and threw back his hood, and they saw that it was Beleg's strongbow. Under his wide cloak he bore a great pack, in which he had brought many things for the help of men. In this way Beleg came back to Turin, yielding to his love against his wisdom. Turin was glad indeed, for he had often regretted his stubbornness, and now the desire of his heart was granted without the need to humble himself or to yield his own will. But if Turin was glad, not so was androg nor some others of his company. It seemed to them that there had been a tryst between Beleg and their captain which he had kept secret from them, and Ndrog watched them jealously as the two sat apart in speech together. Beleg had brought with him the helm of Hador, for he hoped that it might lift Turin's thought again above his life in the wild as the leader of a petty company. This is your own, which I bring back to you, he said to Turin as he took out the helm. It was left in my keeping on the North Marches, but it was not forgotten. I think almost, said Turin. But it shall not be so again. And he fell silent, looking far away with the eyes of his thought, until suddenly he caught the gleam of another thing that Beleg held in his hand. It was the gift of Melian. But the silver leaves were red in the firelight, and when Turin saw the seal, his eyes darkened. What have you there? He said. The greatest gift that one who loves you still has to give, answered Beleg. Here is lembis in Elith, the way bread of the Eldar, that no man has yet tasted. The helm of my fathers I take with goodwill for your keeping, said Turin. But I will not receive gifts out of Doriath. Then send back your sword and your arms, said Beleg. Send back also the teaching and fostering of your youth, and let your men, who you say have been faithful die in the desert to please your mood. Nonetheless, this whey bread was a gift not to you, but to me, and I may do with it as I will eat it not if it sticks in your throat, but others may be more hungry and less proud. Turin's eyes glinted, but as he looked in Beleg's face, the fire in them died and they went grey. And he said in a voice hardly to be heard, I wonder, friend, that you deign to come back to such a churl. From you I will take whatever you give, even rebuke. Henceforward you shall counsel me in all ways, save the road to Doriath only. And then we're going to continue for one more paragraph into the next chapter. The Land of Bow and Helm in the days that followed, Beleg labored much for the good of the company. Those that were hurt or sick he tended, and they were quickly healed. For in those days the Grey Elves were still a high people possessing great power, and they were wise in the ways of life and of all living things. And though they were less in crafts and lore than the exiles from Valinor, they had many arts beyond the reach of men. Moreover, Beleg the archer was great among the people of Doriath. He was strong and enduring and farsighted in mind as well as eye and at need. He was valiant in battle relying not only upon the swift arrows of his long bow but also upon his great sword, Anglachel. And ever the more did hatred grow in the heart of Mim who hated all elves, as has been told, and who looked with a jealous eye on the love that Turin bore to Beleg. So then, I'm going to skip a bunch here, but long story short, Memes, jealousy gets the best of him. Oh, yeah, that's putting it lightly. He betrays.

Alan Sisto (11:10)

Can we just say the joke? Meme is really petty.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (11:13)

Yes, he is very petty. He's the pettiest of dwarves.

Alan Sisto (11:17)

Yes, he is. I get it. Though, in fairness. I mean, I'm not actually. Poor guy. Meme. Memes had a rough life.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (11:23)

His son got killed. Yeah.

Alan Sisto (11:25)

And he's been hunted by the Elves, you know.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (11:28)

Yeah, he's been hunted by the Elves. Previously, his people.

Alan Sisto (11:31)

He's the last of his kind. Yeah, it's terrible. It's a terrible spot to be in.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (11:35)

It's kind of rough.

Alan Sisto (11:36)

I'd be in a bad mood too, in fairness.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (11:39)

Right.

Alan Sisto (11:39)

By the way, before we move on to your reading, I just thought I would comment real briefly. I loved the last bit of the chapter of Meme the Dwarf. When you said, I wonder, friend, that you deign to come back to such a churl, it made me think of how you come back to this show every year.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (11:58)

Oh, man. Wow.

Alan Sisto (12:00)

But I'm not going to let you counsel me in any really significant ways. All right, that's done. Let's pick up there after Meme's betrayal.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (12:09)

All right. Turin and Beleg retreated into the cave and rolled a great stone across the passage in these straits. Androg revealed to them the hidden stair that leading to the flat summit of Amon Rudh, which he had found when lost in the caves, as has been told. Then Turin and Beleg, with many of their men went up by this stair and came out on the summit, surprising those few of the orcs who had already come there by the outer path and driving them over the edge. For a little while, they held off the orcs climbing up the rock. But they had no shelter on the bare summit and many were shot from below. Most valiant of these was Androg who fell mortally wounded by an arrow at the head of the outside stair. Then Turin and beleg with the 10 men left to them drew back to the center of the summit, where there was a standing stone. And making a ring about it, they defended themselves until all were slain, save Beleg and Turin. For over them the orcs cast nets. Turin was bound and carried off. Beleg, who was wounded, was bound likewise, but was laid on the ground with wrists and ankles tied to iron pins driven into the rock. Now the orcs, finding the issue of the secret stair, left the summit and entered Bar in Danwaith, which they defiled and ravaged. They did not find Mim lurking in his caves. And when they had departed from Amon Rudh, Mim appeared on the summit. And going to where Beleg lay prostrate and unmoving, he gloated over him while he sharpened a knife. But Mim and Beleg were not the only living beings on that stony height. Androg, though himself wounded to the death, crawled among the dead bodies towards them, and seizing a sword, he thrust it at the dwarf. Shrieking in fear, Mim ran to the brink of the cliff and disappeared. He fled down a steep and difficult goat's path that was known to him. But Androg, putting forth his last strength, cut through the wristbands and fetters that bound Beleg and so released him. But, dying, he said, my hurts are too deep even for your healing. And then we're going to continue on to the next chapter, which I'm not even going to say the title of the chapter, Guys, it's chapter nine.

Alan Sisto (14:42)

These spoilerific titles. I know.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (14:45)

Beleg sought among the dead for Turin to bury him, but he did not discover his body. He knew then that Hurin's son was still alive and taken to Angband. But he remained perforce in Baron Dunwaith until his wounds were healed. He set out then with little hope to try to find the trail of the orcs. And he came upon their tracks near the crossings of Teglin. There they divided, some passing along the eaves of the forest of Brethil toward the ford of Brithioc, while others turned away westwards. And it seemed plain to Beleg that he must follow those that went direct with greatest speed to Angband, making for the pass of Anach. Therefore he journeyed through Dimbar and up to the pass of Anach in Ered Gorgoroth, the Mountains of Terror. And so to the highlands of Tar Nu Fuin, the forest under night. A region of dread and dark enchantment, of wandering and despair. Benighted in that evil land. It chanced that Beleg saw a small light among the trees, and going towards it, he found an Elf lying asleep beneath a great dead tree. Beside his head was a lamp from which the covering had slipped off. Then Beleg woke the sleeper and gave him lembas and asked him what fate had brought him to this terrible place. And he named himself Gwindor, son of Gwilyn. Grieving, Beleg looked at him, for Gwindor was but a bent and timid shadow of his former shape and mood when in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, that lord of Nargothrond rode to the very doors of Angband and there was taken. For few of the Noldor whom Morgoth took captive were put to death because of their skill in mining for metals and gems. And Gwindor was not slain, but put to labor in the mines of the north. These Noldor possessed many of the Feanorian lamps, which were crystals hung in a fine chain net, the crystals being ever shining, with an inner blue radiance marvellous for finding the way in the darkness of night or in tunnels of these lamps, they themselves did not know the secret. Many of the mining elves thus escaped from the darkness of the mines, for they were able to bore their way out. But Gwindor received a small sword from one who worked in the forges and when working in a stone gang, turned suddenly on the guards. He escaped, but with one hand cut off, and now he lay exhausted under the great pines of Tar Nu Fuin. From Gwindor, Beleg learned that the small company of orcs ahead of them from whom he had hidden had no captives and were going with speed. An advanced guard, perhaps, bearing report to Angband. At this news, Beleg despaired, for he guessed that the tracks he had seen turning away westwards after the crossings of Teglin were those of a greater host who had, in Orc fashion, gone marauding in the land seeking food and plunder and might now be returning to Angband by way of the narrow land, the long defile of Sirion, much further to the west. If this were so, his sole hope lay in returning to the ford of Brithiak and then going north to Tol Sirion. But scarcely had he determined on this than they heard a noise of a great host approaching through the forest from the south. And hiding in the boughs of a tree, they watched the servants of Morgoth pass, moving slowly, laden with booty and captives, surrounded by wolves. And they saw Turin, with chained hands, being driven on with whips. Then Beleg told him of his own errand in Tar Nu Fuin. And Gwindor sought to dissuade him from his quest, saying that he would but join Turin in the anguish that awaited him. But Beleg would not abandon Turin. And despairing himself, he aroused hope again in Gwindor's heart. And together they went on following the orcs until they came out of the forest on the high slopes that ran down to the barren dunes of the Anfauglith. There, within sight of the peaks of Thangorodrim, the orcs made their encampment in a bare dale and set wolf sentinels all about its rim. There they fell to carousing and feasting on their booty. And after tormenting their prisoners, most fell drunkenly asleep. By that time, day was failing and it became very dark. A great storm rode up out of the west and thunder rumbled far off as Beleg and Gwindor crept towards the camp. When all in the camp were sleeping, Beleg took up his bow and in the darkness shot four of the wolf sentinels on the south side. One by one and silently. Then, in great peril, they entered in. And they found Turin, fettered hand and foot and tied to a tree all about. Knives that had been cast at him by his tormentors were embedded in the trunk. But he was not hurt, and he was senseless in a drugged stupor or swooned in a sleep of utter weariness. Then Beleg and Gwindor cut the bonds from the tree and bore Turin out of the camp. But he was too heavy to carry far and they could go no further than to a thicket of thorn trees high on the slopes above the camp. There they laid him down. And now the storm drew nearer and lightning flashed on Thangorodrim. Beleg drew his sword, Anglicel, and with it cut the fetters that bound Turin.

Alan Sisto (21:02)

I love the way you just ended that. Yeah.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (21:05)

I think we'll just stop there.

Alan Sisto (21:06)

That's.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (21:07)

And then they lived happily ever after.

Alan Sisto (21:09)

That's right. I like that Retcon. We're changing the story. Yay Bellow, who lived long into his old age to celebrate stories of his.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (21:21)

Heroism, lives so long that he. He grew a beard just like your dad.

Alan Sisto (21:26)

I love it.

Sean Marchese (21:27)

I love it.

Alan Sisto (21:28)

That's a really interesting choice of passage to talk about fellowship and community. I like it.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (21:34)

Yeah. I love Children of Hurid.

Alan Sisto (21:38)

It is such a good.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (21:40)

It's so good. And like.

Alan Sisto (21:41)

It's a hard word. It's high quality.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (21:43)

It's terrifyingly, insanely high quality. Like, it's one of those. I usually recommend to people to read it after Lord of the Rings.

Alan Sisto (21:55)

Yeah.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (21:56)

Like, even before reading Silmarillion, because it's. It's a complete narrative, you know.

Alan Sisto (22:00)

Oh, yeah. Because the Silmarillion will essentially spoil the whole story in just a few pages as opposed to letting you enjoy the whole thing.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (22:05)

The journey of reading this book is worth reading it before getting a very Cliff Notes version similar.

Alan Sisto (22:15)

I actually advise people to read the Silmarillion, but I actually advise them to skip the chapter on. Of Turin and the chapter on Beren.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (22:22)

That would work, too, so that they.

Alan Sisto (22:23)

Can get those in the full. Great tales. Yeah.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (22:26)

Beleg's always been one of my favorite. Like, he's usually my answer when people ask me who my favorite Middle Earth character is. I cheat and I give one for each age of the world. And so my first age answer is usually Beleg, unless I'm. I'm feeling spicy. And I go with Glaurung because he's such a great villain who also shows up in this book. Another reason why this book is so freaking good.

Alan Sisto (22:50)

Hail Nianor, daughter of Hurin.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (22:54)

Daughter of Hurin.

Alan Sisto (22:56)

Yeah. Oh, man. He's such a. Anyway, it's. I'm. This year's theme is not the villains. This year's theme is fellowship and community.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (23:04)

Yeah. It's not malice and contempt. Yeah.

Alan Sisto (23:07)

Yeah. I think you've got a really good choice here. I mean, we see a lot of. Well, the community aspect of it is really in the time where Beleg is there to help Turin's men. To help all of them.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (23:18)

Yeah. And he's. You know, and that's why I started where I did, you know, kind of setting the stage for. It's easy to forget. Like, they're in kind of rough shape. You know, they're sick and injured and everything. And Bella comes in, and he. It says, like, he is an amazing. He. Like, he is a godsend to these people. And. Yeah. And you get such great dynamics of, like, the friendship between Beleg and Turin. You know, Turin is a stubborn, stubborn guy.

Alan Sisto (23:50)

Yeah.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (23:50)

And he acknowledges it, which is pretty rare in this tale.

Alan Sisto (23:55)

You know, that may be, like, his most humble moment right there.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (23:59)

It is. Yeah. I think it's because of Beleg and because of the relationship that they have and the love he has for Belle.

Alan Sisto (24:05)

He really does.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (24:07)

Because every other. Every other point where he should show some humility, he doesn't.

Alan Sisto (24:12)

Turin does not. Yes, dear reader, he did not.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (24:16)

Yeah. Spoiler alert.

Alan Sisto (24:18)

Fantastic choice.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (24:19)

But, yeah, he's. And like, you know, we've. We've obviously talked around it, but Bella has quite the tragic end. And it's. It's just makes it heartbreaking because this guy is such a loyal and caring friend that, you know, he goes out into the wilderness and is among people, you know, Like, Androg is not a fan. Mim is not a fan.

Alan Sisto (24:40)

Like, he's not a fan. No.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (24:42)

Yeah. Like, he's relatively hostile. He's about to kill it.

Alan Sisto (24:46)

Right. I mean, that's the thing. He's bound in fetters on the top of the hill.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (24:50)

Yeah. That was part of the arrangement, the deal.

Alan Sisto (24:52)

Like, you can have my place and kill these men, but I get to kill Beleg. That's just so. Yeah. Not a fan is one way to describe it.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (25:00)

But out of love of Turin, he goes out into the wilderness. If you're wondering, is it more comfortable to live in Menegroth or on the.

Alan Sisto (25:09)

Top of Amon Rudh.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (25:11)

Yeah. In Amon Rudh, like this dwarf delving. A petty dwarf delving. We're not talking, like, grand.

Alan Sisto (25:17)

This is not the 21st hall in Khazad Dum.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (25:21)

Yes. Yeah.

Alan Sisto (25:21)

This is a tunnel, a cave with bare and sandy walls, with no chair to sit down on and no pantries. Like a Hobbit hole. No, this is.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (25:30)

Yes.

Alan Sisto (25:30)

Yeah. Probably the ends of worms and things like that, you know.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (25:33)

Oh, yes. Oozy smell.

Alan Sisto (25:35)

Oozy smell. I also like that we see, even briefly, a second little fellowship form between Beleg and Gwindor. And Gwindor says, you probably shouldn't do this, but then he still goes with him anyway to help.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (25:48)

Right.

Alan Sisto (25:49)

And then Beleg's just like, I can't.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (25:50)

And Beleg kind of rubs off a little bit, like, in this very brief time. Like, it's not long.

Alan Sisto (25:57)

Yeah. I mean, you think later in the story of Gwindor and Turin and Gwendor takes on a role that's very belly, like, in Turin's life and.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (26:05)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (26:05)

Until he doesn't. Right. So, yeah. Really, really good choice of passage, Matt. I like that. I like some of these deeper cuts. And I hope that some folks will go and read the Children of Hurin who haven't.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (26:16)

I hope so. I could. I cannot recommend it enough. I tell anyone who will listen, like, don't sleep on Children of Hurin. You know, a lot of times it. It kind of gets, like, thrown in the mix of, you know, oh, well, that's the deeper cut stuff. You know, when you talk about.

Alan Sisto (26:32)

Yeah.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (26:32)

People reading the Silmarillion and History of Middle Earth volumes, Baron and Luthien, Fall of Gondolin, which are both.

Alan Sisto (26:39)

Yeah. The other great tales.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (26:40)

Various. Yeah, they're. They're multiple versions of the same tale or unfinished tales, where it's like chunks of stories. Some of them contradict each other. Like, this is a full cover to cover single narrative. Like, there's no.

Alan Sisto (26:54)

It's.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (26:55)

It's not.

Alan Sisto (26:55)

Christopher did a fantastic job.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (26:57)

He did a marvelous job. And like, I often point to this and say, like, Like, I understand why he didn't, but I would have been okay if Christopher would have decided to.

Alan Sisto (27:07)

Finish the Fall of Gondolin.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (27:08)

Yeah, finish Fall of Gondolin, Baron and Luthia and like, really, like, make them cover to cover narratives, novelize them.

Alan Sisto (27:15)

Yeah, I agree. Yeah, that would have.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (27:17)

I think he would have done a fantastic job because this is. This is one of my favorite books. I love it.

Alan Sisto (27:23)

It's fantastic. Well, Matt, thank you for joining us for this year's Tolkien Reading Day special. It's been a privilege to spend all this time in Rohan with you this season.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (27:30)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (27:30)

I hope you'll be back next year for some more time with me in Unfinished Tales. And two years from now when I do the great Tales, I think it's pretty clear you need to come back to Huron.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (27:39)

Which one I would be interested in? Yes, sir. I've listened to the Christopher Lee audiobook. For those of you who are interested in audiobooks, you cannot do any better than Christopher Lee narrating the Children of Horan. It is a game changer.

Alan Sisto (27:55)

Yeah, it is fantastic. Out of all the. The Tolkien audiobooks, it is one of my favorites.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (28:01)

Yeah, I think it might be my favorite. And no disrespect to Rob Inglis or Circus or no the. The Wests or anybody, but like, no Christopher Lee. Like, I mean, we know from the behind the scenes stuff, Christopher Lee had a huge passion for these.

Alan Sisto (28:15)

He did.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (28:15)

And his. His grand voice and like, that rich voice is. Yeah. It is so perfect for an older tale. Like, you feel like it's being passed down from on high kind of thing. It's so good.

Alan Sisto (28:29)

It is good stuff. All right, Matt, thanks again, man. Matt, when I think about businesses that are just blowing up, you know, selling through the roof, like Allbirds Shoes or Gymshark where I bought some stuff, the first thing that hits me is that they sell a great product or maybe it's a cool brand. But something that people often overlook is the business behind the business that makes selling. And for shoppers, buying simple. And for millions of businesses. That business is Shopify.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (29:03)

Fact is, nobody does their selling better than Shopify, the home of the number one checkout on the planet. Their shop pay boosts conversions by up to 50%, so way fewer carts are abandoned and more sales go.

Alan Sisto (29:17)

So if you're looking to grow your business, your commerce platform has to be ready to sell wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling on their feed or in your store.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (29:27)

Businesses that sell more sell on Shopify.

Alan Sisto (29:30)

Upgrade your business and get the same checkout that Gymshark uses. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com pony all lowercase.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (29:40)

Go to shopify.com pony to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com pony.

James Tauber (29:52)

You don't wake up dreaming of McDonald's fries, you wake up dreaming.

Don Marshall (29:57)

Of McDonald's hash browns.

Sean Marchese (29:59)

McDonald's breakfast comes first.

Alan Sisto (30:13)

Now. Soon we'll get back to more passages celebrating fellowship and community. But before we do, we want to remind you there is a lot more talk going on at the Prancing Pony Podcast, thankfully, than just us.

Sean Marchese (30:24)

That's right, the PPP has an amazing listener community. They're always coming up with great questions and great discussions across all of our social media spaces. Check out our Common Room on Facebook, our dedicated subreddit, Twitter and more.

Alan Sisto (30:38)

Now on Facebook, just look for the Prancing Pony podcast. Follow the page to get the news and the episode drops. But you're going to want to join the group to get in some great discussions.

Sean Marchese (30:46)

Or if you prefer Reddit, find us there at R Prancingponypod on Twitter, Instagram, BlueSky, Twitch and YouTube, we're simply PrancingPonyPod.

Alan Sisto (30:57)

That's right. And if you want daily Tolkien content, check out today's Tolkien Times on the PPP YouTube channel and on all your favorite podcast apps. That's my short format daily show with everything from Middle Earth Map Monday to Silmarillion Saturday. And then there's my new twice weekly streaming of all fun things Middle Earth on the PPP plays. Be sure to check both of them out on the YouTube channel for all the PPP productions at YouTube.com prancingponypod well, now we're going to take a quick step back in time to earlier this season as we welcome back Don Marshall, the obscure Lord of the Rings Facts guy, though I'm still trying to figure out if he's claiming to be obscure or if it's just the facts that are obscure. Done. I'd ask what you've chosen to read for us today, but I Think I still want to know. Is it just the facts that are obscure or is the Lord of the Rings obscure? I that I have a hard time buying.

Don Marshall (31:46)

I don't think the Lord of the Rings themselves are obscure though. I was told by a friend of mine on the day that Tick Tock was quote unquote ending right. Most of my facts aren't actually that obscure, so I feel as though I need to step it up a little bit the most.

Alan Sisto (32:04)

Everybody knows this, but not everybody, and so I'm going to tell you facts guy just doesn't have the same ring to it though.

Don Marshall (32:10)

No, I suppose it doesn't.

Alan Sisto (32:11)

A little bit of a mouthful? Yeah, just a bit. So what have you chosen to read for us today?

Don Marshall (32:17)

Today I have chosen bath time.

Alan Sisto (32:20)

Oh, I like that.

Don Marshall (32:21)

Thank you, thank you. It felt the most appropriate given that it is one of the last sort of light hearted moments truly before everything sort of gets much, much darker.

Alan Sisto (32:34)

Yeah, well that's true.

Don Marshall (32:35)

So much darker.

Alan Sisto (32:36)

It does indeed. Well, I will with no further ado. Since it is Tolkien reading day and not Alan and Dawn talking day, I'm gonna let you go ahead and read.

Don Marshall (32:43)

The travelers hung up their cloaks and piled their packs on the floor. Mary led them down the passage and threw open a door. At the far end firelight came out and a puff of steam. A bath. Cried Pippin. Oh, blessed Meriadoc. Which order shall we go in? Said Frodo. Eldest first or quickest? First. You'll be last either way. Master Peregrine. Trust me to arrange things better than that, said Mary. We can't begin life at Crickhollow with a quarrel over baths. In that room there are three tubs and a copper full of boiling water. There are also towels, mats and soap. Get inside and be quick. Merry and Fatty went into the kitchen on the other side of the passage and busied themselves with the final preparations for a late supper. Snatches of competing songs came from the bathroom mixed with the sound of splashing and wallowing. The voice of Pippin was suddenly lifted up above the others in one of Bilbo's favorite bath songs. Sing hey. For the bath at the close of day that washes the weary mud away. A loon is he that will not sing. O hot water is a noble thing. O sweet is the sound of falling rain and the brook that leaps from hill to plain but better than rain or rippling stream is water hot that smokes and steams. Oh, water cold, we may pour at need down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed but better is beer if drink we lack and water hot poured down our back. Oh, water is fair that leaps on high in a fountain white beneath the sky but never did fountain sound so sweet as splashing hot water at my feet.

Alan Sisto (34:32)

Oh, I know that we shouldn't interrupt the reading, but I have to say Tolkien Singing Day is going exceptionally well. Thank you. That was fantastic.

Don Marshall (34:40)

It's my absolute pleasure and intense embarrassment to do that in front of just you. I can only imagine what's going to happen on the playback. We carry on.

Alan Sisto (34:49)

We do indeed.

Don Marshall (34:50)

There was a terrific splash and a shout of Whoa. From Frodo. It appeared that a lot of Pippin's Bath had imitated a fountain and leaped on high. Mary went to the door. What about supper and beer in the throat? He called. And Frodo came out, drying his hair. There's so much water in the air that I'm coming into the kitchen to finish, he said. Locks, said Merry, looking in. The stone floor was swimming. You ought to mop all that up before you get anything to eat, Peregrine, he said. Hurry up, or we shan't wait for you. They had supper in a kitchen, on the table near the fire. I suppose you three won't want mushrooms again, said Fredegar, without much hope.

Alan Sisto (35:29)

Yes, we shall.

Don Marshall (35:30)

Cried Pippin. They're mine, said Frodo. Given to me by Mrs. Maggot, a queen among farmers. Wives, take your greedy hands away, and I'll serve them. Hobbits have a passion for mushrooms surpassing even the greediest likings of big people. A fact which partly explains young Frodo's long expeditions to the renowned fields of the Marish and the wrath of the injured Maggot. On the occasion, there was plenty for all, even according to Hobbit standards. There were also many other things to follow, and when they had finished, even Fatty Bulger heaved a sigh of content. They pushed back the table and drew chairs round the fire. We'll clear up later, said Merry. Now tell me all about it. I guess that you have been having adventures which was not quite fair without me. I want a full account. And most of all I want to know what was the matter with old Maggot and why he spoke to me like that. He sounded almost as if he was scared, if that was possible. We have all been scared, said Pippin after a pause in which Frodo stared at the fire and did not speak. You would have been, too, if you had been chased for two days by black riders. But what are they? Black figures riding on black Horses, answered Pippin. If Frodo won't talk, I will tell you the whole tale from the beginning. He then gave a full account of their journey from the time when they left Hobbiton. Sam gave various supporting nods and exclamations. Frodo remained silent. I should think that you were making it all up, said Merry. If I had not seen that black shape on the landing stage and heard the queer sound in Maggot's voice. What do you make of it all, Frodo? Cousin Frodo has been very close, said Pippin. But the time has come for him to open out. So far we have been given nothing more to go on than Farmer Maggot's guess that it has something to do with old Bilbo's treasure. That was only a guess, said Frodo hastily. Maggot does not know anything. Old Maggot is a shrew fellow, said Merry. A lot goes on behind his round face that does not come out in his talk. I've heard that he used to go into the Old Forest at one time and he had the reputation of knowing a good many strange things. But you can at least tell us, Frodo, whether you think his guess good or bad. I think, answered Frodo slowly, that it was a good guess. As far as it goes. There is a connection with Bilbo's old adventures and the writers are looking, or perhaps one ought to say searching, for him or for me. I also fear, if you want to know, that it is no joke at all and that I am not safe here or anywhere else. He looked round at the windows and walls as if he was afraid they would suddenly give way. The others looked at him in silence and exchanged meaningful glances among themselves. It's coming out in a minute, whispered Pippin to Merry. Merry nodded. Well, said Frodo at last, sitting up and straightening his back as if he had made a decision, I can't keep it dark any longer. I've got something to tell you all, but I don't know quite how to begin. I think I could help you, said Mary quietly, by telling you some of it myself. What do you mean? Said Frodo, looking at him anxiously. Just this. My dear old Frodo, you are miserable because you don't know how to say goodbye. You meant to leave the Shire, of course. But danger has come on you sooner than expected. And now you are making up your mind to go at once, and you don't want to. We are very sorry for you. Frodo opened his mouth and Shut it again. The look of surprise was so comical that they laughed. Dear old Frodo, said Pippin. Did you really think that you had thrown dust in all our eyes? You have not been nearly careful or clever enough for that. You have obviously been planning to go and saying farewell to all your haunts. All this year. Since April we have constantly heard you muttering, Shall I ever look down into that valley again, I wonder. And things like that. And pretending that you had come to the end of your money and actually selling your beloved Bag End to those Sackville Bagginses. And all those close talks with Gandalf. Good heavens, said Frodo. I thought I had been both careful and clever. I don't know what Gandalf would say. Is all the Shire discussing my departure, then? Oh, no, said Merry. Don't worry about that. The secret won't keep for long, of course. But at present it is, I think, only known to us conspirators. After all, you must remember that we know you well and are often with you. We can usually guess what you're thinking. I knew Bilbo, too. To tell the truth, I had been watching you rather closely ever since he left. I thought that you would go after him sooner or later. Indeed, I expected you to go sooner. And lately we have been very anxious. We have been terrified that you might give us the slip and go off suddenly all on your own, like he did. Ever since this spring we have kept our eyes open and done a good deal of planning on our own account. You are not going to escape so easily. But I must go, said Frodo. It cannot be helped, dear friends. It is wretched for us all. But it is no use your trying to keep me, since you have guessed so much. Please help me and do not hinder me. You do not understand, said Pippin. You must go, and therefore we must too. Merry and I are coming with you. Sam is an excellent fellow and would jump down a dragon's throat to save you if he did not trip over his own feet. But you will need more than one companion on your dangerous adventure, my dear and most beloved Hobbits, said Frodo, deeply moved. But I could not allow it. I decided that long ago, too. You speak of danger, but you do not understand. This is no treasure hunt, no there and back journey. I am flying from deadly peril into deadly peril. Of course we understand, said Merry firmly. This is why we have decided to come. We know the Ring is no laughing matter, but we are going to do our best to help you against the.

Alan Sisto (41:58)

Enemy oh, man, that is great stuff, isn't it?

Don Marshall (42:02)

I love it. That's one of my favorite passages, and not just because of the Bath song.

Alan Sisto (42:07)

Thank you for singing that, by the way. That was my pleasure.

Don Marshall (42:10)

I can only apologize to your listeners who I assume are still cringing a little bit.

Alan Sisto (42:14)

Well, if they're still listening, I'll take that. So as long as they haven't tuned out completely. Don't worry, folks, I will not be singing today. That was just a great choice. I mean, in terms of fellowship and community. This is such a shining example of fellowship.

Don Marshall (42:32)

It is. And it's one of those things that keeps coming back over and over again is that the hobbits truly have no idea what they're getting themselves into. Mary, Sam and Pippin are just. Yeah, of course we're coming. You're in danger.

Sean Marchese (42:44)

Right.

Don Marshall (42:45)

We don't know what it is and we don't care. And that to me is, is just like so heartwarming.

Alan Sisto (42:51)

You must go. And therefore we must too. It's just a given. Like you have to do this, so we have to do it with you.

Don Marshall (42:59)

Yeah. It, it almost not to bring it back as I so often do to World War I but it was almost a going over the trenches kind of thing. Well, one of us has to go. I have to go.

Alan Sisto (43:10)

I'm.

Don Marshall (43:10)

I'm in charge. Well, fine. We're going to. We must. We're all going with you. And it is, you know, at that point, obviously the other three have never. No idea what they're, what they're signing up for.

Alan Sisto (43:21)

And even Frodo's making it clear, look, this is not Bilbo's treasure hunt. No, this is not. Let's go on an adventure and come back. I'm going into deadly peril. This is something beyond what you're considering. And it's funny, Mary, just like. Yep, you know, we know the Ring isn't a laughing matter. The Ring? What do you mean, the Ring?

Don Marshall (43:39)

How do you know about that? And this is before they truly even know the true depth of the evil of the Ring. That hasn't even been described or explained. Like, we haven't had the Council of Elrond chapter yet.

James Tauber (43:51)

No.

Alan Sisto (43:51)

And in fact, this does a really good job of sort of preceding that. Right. I mean, we'll see. And I'm not trying to give spoilers because it may or may not have also been chosen as a reading for somebody else. But you know that section in the Council of Elrond where once again they insist on going and this is just such a lovely hobbit trait, this idea of fellowship and.

Don Marshall (44:12)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (44:12)

Under whatever circumstances, however difficult.

Sean Marchese (44:15)

Yeah.

Don Marshall (44:15)

It's the, it's the camaraderie and the brotherhood that really I think comes through in. In an incredible way to, I don't know, really grasp Tolkien's. Tolkien's got an incredible grasp of. Of brotherhood and camaraderie and staying true to each other.

Alan Sisto (44:31)

Yes.

Don Marshall (44:31)

They almost to a fault.

Sean Marchese (44:32)

Right.

Alan Sisto (44:33)

You.

Don Marshall (44:33)

I would not, I would not fault Samwise Gamgee, Mary or Pippin for staying behind saying, hey, you know that black writer that's after you. Not my problem right now. And Fredegar Bolger is a. I was.

Alan Sisto (44:43)

Gonna say Fredegar is a very good example of that.

Don Marshall (44:46)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (44:46)

Yeah. And yet he still does his part. I mean his role in staying at Crick Hollow.

Don Marshall (44:51)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (44:51)

And sort of sounding the alarm is absolutely critical to them. So. Yeah.

Don Marshall (44:56)

All have their roles to play.

Alan Sisto (44:58)

Yep. And yet it's all set up by the light hearted fun. The mushrooms and the bath and the.

Don Marshall (45:04)

Yeah, yeah.

Alan Sisto (45:05)

And it's just a reminder of what the hobbits are doing this for, you know, this is not. Yeah. I mean, yes, it is fantastic because it's about their friendship, you know, first and foremost. But it's a reminder of what that friendship is based on, you know.

Sean Marchese (45:19)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (45:20)

It's just. There's so much connection here and I just, I love the Bath song. It's so much fun.

Don Marshall (45:27)

It does juxtapose quite nicely with let's sing a song about getting all clean versus the death and destruction just outside our window.

Alan Sisto (45:36)

That's right. It's very Hobbity though, really, you know. Yes, it is dowdy at bay and tough to kill. And you know, they're also just always ready with a joke. Yeah. And that's certainly the case here. It's just a fantastic passage and I wanted to thank you. It's a really good one. I'm glad that you were able to come back by the way. So thank you. Thank you for having us. Yeah. On this Tolkien reading day. It's always great to have you here. I'm certainly enjoyed our time in Numenor, Arnor and Gondor earlier this season. And I hope to see you back next season as well.

Don Marshall (46:08)

Hopefully there are just as many names that are unpronounceable that you will give to somebody else.

Alan Sisto (46:14)

Oh, trust me. Just have a chat with Nerd of the Rings. He'll tell you I've made him do some very difficult things. Yes.

Don Marshall (46:21)

Oh, I've been Listening. Yeah.

Alan Sisto (46:22)

Good. I'm glad to hear that.

Don Marshall (46:24)

I can listen for the cuts of oh, did they mess that name up? Did they mess that name up?

Alan Sisto (46:28)

The seventh take, the eighth take.

Don Marshall (46:30)

Yeah, I think I got up to nine at one point, but I try not to think too much about it. There were a few, but it's all good.

Alan Sisto (46:36)

It was indeed. Well, thank you again, Don. I really appreciate it.

Don Marshall (46:38)

Thank you, Alan.

Alan Sisto (46:40)

Well and now folks, I am pleased to be joined by my friend and co host of the Rings of Power. Wrap up the Sage of the south himself, James Tauber. James, you're going to be joining me later this season. I'm super excited. June and July, I think, to cover all those fun little niggling details in the tale of years, the appendices on calendars, writing and languages. All of that fun stuff cannot wait for the deep dives. But today it's a whole nother ball game. What have you chosen to read for us today?

James Tauber (47:06)

So I'm going to read the beginning of the Ring Goes South, Chapter three of book two.

Alan Sisto (47:13)

Oh, that's going to be good. I'm already imagining some of the things in that passage. This has been so much fun to look at. What everybody's choosing for this. But since this is not the Alan and James talking show, I'm going to go ahead and let you get away with some Tolkien reading.

James Tauber (47:28)

Later that day, the Hobbits held a meeting of their own in Bilbo's room. Merry and Pippin were indignant when they heard that Sam had crept into the council and had been chosen as Frodo's companion. It's most unfair, said Pippin. Instead of throwing him out and clapping him in chains, Elrond goes and rewards him for his cheek. Rewards? Said Frodo. I can't imagine a more severe punishment. You're not thinking what you're saying. Condemned to go on this hopeless journey. A reward. Yesterday I dreamed that my task was done and I could rest here a long while, perhaps for good. I don't wonder, said Merry, and wish you could, but we envying Sam, not you. If you have to go, then it will be a punishment for any of us to be left behind, even in Rivendell. We've come a long way with you and have been through some stiff times. We want to go on. That's what I meant, said Pippin. We Hobbits ought to stick together, and we will. I shall go unless they chain me up. There must be someone with intelligence in the party. Then you certainly will not be chosen Peregrine Took, said Gandalf, looking in through the window, which was near the ground, but you are all worrying yourselves unnecessarily. Nothing is decided yet. Nothing decided, Cried Pippin. Then what were you all doing? You were shut up for hours talking, said Bilbo. There was a deal of talk, and everyone had an eye opener, even old Gandalf. I think Legolas bit of news about Gollum even caught him on the hop, though he passed it off. You were wrong, said Gandalf. You were inattentive. I had already heard of it from Gwaihir, if you want to know. The only real eye openers, as you put it, were you and Frodo. And I was the only one that was not surprised. Well, anyway, said Bilbo, nothing was decided beyond choosing poor Frodo and Sam. I was afraid all the time that it might come to that if I was let off. But if you ask me, Elrond will send out a fair number when the reports come in. Have they started yet, Gandalf? Yes, said the wizard. Some of the scouts have been sent out already. More will go tomorrow. Elrond is sending Elves, and they will get in touch with the Rangers, and maybe with Thranduil's folk in Mirkwood. And Aragorn has gone with Elrond's sons. We shall have to scour the lands all round for many long leagues before any move is made. So cheer up, Frodo. You will probably make quite a long stay here. Ah, said Sam gloomily. We'll just wait long enough for winter to come. That can't be helped, said Bilbo. It's your fault partly, Frodo my lad. Insisting on waiting for my birthday. A funny way of honouring it, I can't help thinking. Not the day I should have chosen for letting the SBs into bag end. But there it is. You can't wait now till spring, and you can't go till the reports come back when winter first begins to bite and stones crack in the frosty night when pools are black and trees are bare. Tis evil in the wild to fare. But that, I'm afraid, will be just your luck. I'm afraid it will, said Gandalf. We can't start until we found out about the Riders. I thought they were all destroyed in the flood, said Merry. You cannot destroy Ringwraiths like that, said Gandalf. The power of their master is in them, and they stand or fall by him. We hope that they were all unhorsed and unmasked and so made for a While less dangerous. But we must find out for certain. In the meantime, you should try and forget your troubles, Frodo. I do not know if I can do anything to help you but I will whisper this in your ears. Someone said that intelligence would be needed in the party. He was right. I think I shall come with you. So great was Frodo's delight at this announcement that Gandalf left the window sill where he'd been sitting and took off his hat and bowed. I only said, I think I shall come. Do not count on anything yet in this matter. Elrond will have much to say. And your friend the Strider. Which reminds me, I want to see Elrond. I must be off. How long do you think I shall have here? Said Frodo to Bilbo when Gandalf had gone. Oh, I don't know. I can't count days in Rivendell, said Bilbo. But quite long, I should think. We can have many a good talk. What about helping me with my book and making a start on the next? Have you thought of an ending? Yes, several. And all are dark and unpleasant, said Frodo. Oh, that won't do, said Bilbo. Books ought to have good endings. How would this do? And they all settled down and lived together happily ever after. It will do well, if it ever comes to that, said Frodo. Ah, said Sam. And where will they live? That's what I often wonder. For a while the Hobbits continued to talk and think of the past journey and of the perils that lay ahead. But such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them and they were content with each good day as it came taking pleasure in every meal and in every word and song. So the days slipped away as each morning dawned bright and fair and each evening followed cool and clear. But autumn was waning fast. Slowly the golden light faded to pale silver and the lingering leaves fell from the naked trees. A wind began to blow chill from the Misty Mountains to the east. The Hunter's moon waxed round in the night sky and put to flight all the lesser stars. 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. The Hobbits had been nearly two months in the house of Elrond and November had gone by with the last shreds of autumn and December was passing when the scouts began to return. Some had gone north beyond the springs of the Horwell into the Ettenmoors and others had gone west and with the help of Aragorn and the Rangers had searched the lands far down the Grey Flood as far as Tharbud where the Old North Road crossed the river by a ruined town. Many had gone east and south, and some of these had crossed the mountains and entered Mirkwood while others had climbed the pass at the sources of the Gladden river and had come down into Wilderland and over the Gladden fields and so at length had reached the old home of Radagast at Hrosskobel. Radagast was not there, and they had returned over the high pass that was called the Red Horn Gate. The sons of Elrond, El Ladan and El Rahir were the last to return. They had made a great journey passing down the Silver Lode into a strange country. But of their errand they would not speak to any saved Elrond. In no region had the messengers discovered any signs or tidings of the Riders or other servants of the enemy. Even from the Eagles of the Misty Mountains they had learned no fresh news. Nothing had been seen or heard of Gollum. But the wild wolves were still gathering and were hunting again far up the great river. Three of the Black Horses had been found at once drowned in the flooded ford. On the rocks of the rapids below. Searchers discovered the bodies of five more and also a long black cloak, slashed and tattered, of the Black Riders. No other trace was to be seen and nowhere was their presence to be felt. It seemed that they had vanished from the North. Eight out of the nine are accounted for, at least, said Gandalf. It's rash to be too sure. Yet I think that we may hope now that the Ringwraiths were scattered and have been obliged to return as best they could to their master in Mordor, empty and shapeless. If that is so, it will be some time before they can begin the hunt again. Of course, the enemy has other servants. But they will have to journey all the way to the borders of Rivendell before they can pick up our trail. And if we are careful, that will be hard to find. But we must delay no longer. Elrond summoned the Hobbits to him. He looked gravely at Frodo. The time has come, he said. If the ring is to set out. It must go soon. But those who go with it must not count on their errand. Being aided by war or force, they must pass into the domain of the enemy, far from aid. Do you still hold to your word, Frodo, that you will be the ring bearer? I do, said Frodo. I will go with Sam. Then I cannot help you much, not even with counsel, said Elrond. I can foresee very little of your road. And how your task is to be achieved, I do not know. The shadow has crept now to the feet of the mountains and draws nigh even to the borders of the Grey Flood. And under the shadow all is dark to me you will meet many foes, some open and some disguised. And you may find friends upon your way when you least look for it. I will send out messages such as I can contrive to those whom I know in the wide world. But so perilous of a lands now become that some may well miscarry or come no quicker than you yourself. And I will choose you companions to go with you as far as they will or fortune allows the number must be few since your hope is in speed and secrecy. Had I a host of elves in armour of the elder days, it would avail little, save to arouse the power of Mordor. The company of the ring shall be nine, and the nine walkers shall be set against the nine riders that are evil with you and your faithful servant. Gandalf will go, for this shall be his great task and may be the end of his labors. For the rest, they shall represent the other free peoples of the world Elves, Dwarves and Men. Legolas shall be for the Elves, and Gimli, son of Gloin, for the Dwarves. They are willing to go at least to the passes of the mountains and maybe beyond. For Men you shall have Aragorn, son of Arathorn, for the ring of Isildur concerns him closely. Strider. Cried Frodo. Yes, he said with a smile. I ask leave once again to be your companion, Frodo. I would have begged you to come, said Frodo, only I thought you were going to Minas Tirith with Borrome. I am, said Aragorn. And the sword that was broken shall be reforged ere I set out to war. But your road and our road lie together for many hundreds of miles. Therefore, Boromir will also be in the company. He's a valiant man. There remain two more to be found, said Elrond. These I will consider of my household. I may find some that it seems good to me to send. But that will leave your place for us. Cried Pippin in dismay. We don't want to be left behind. We want to go with Frodo. That is because you do not understand and cannot imagine what lies ahead, said Elrond. Neither does Frodo, said Gandalf, unexpectedly supporting Pippin. Nor do any of us see clearly. It is true that if these Hobbits understood the danger they would not dare to go. But they would still wish to go, or wish that they dared and be shamed and unhappy. I think, Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom. Even if you chose for us an Elf Lord such as Glorfindel he could not storm the Dark Tower nor open the road to the fire by the power that is in him. You speak gravely, said Elrond. But I am in doubt. The Shire I forebode is not free now from peril. And these two I had thought to send back there as messengers to do what they could according to the fashion of their country to warn the people of their danger. In any case, I judge that the younger of these two Peregrine Took, should remain. My heart is against his going. Then, Master Elrond you will have to lock me in prison or send me home tied in a sack, said Pippin. For otherwise I shall follow the Company. Let it be so. Then you shall go, said Elrond. And he sighed. Now the Tale of Nine is filled. In seven days the Company must depart.

Alan Sisto (61:23)

That was beautiful, James. Thank you. That was a fantastic reading. I love the heart in this. I mean, there's so much in terms of the love that the Hobbits have for each other.

James Tauber (61:39)

Exactly. And I. It's really interesting the way Gandalf puts it when he says it's true that if the Hobbits understood the danger they would not dare to go. But they would still wish to go.

Alan Sisto (61:49)

Yes.

James Tauber (61:49)

Or wish that they dared.

Alan Sisto (61:53)

Like I really. Oh, I want to be able to go. I want to want to go.

James Tauber (61:58)

Yeah, exactly. And. And then he goes on to say that amazing line about. In this matter it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom.

Alan Sisto (62:09)

That is so good.

James Tauber (62:10)

And ultimately that's the basis for the fellowship, is that friendship and. And that sense that. That Gandalf has. And obviously Elrond agreed with him.

Alan Sisto (62:19)

Yeah.

James Tauber (62:19)

That it was. That was what was going to matter.

Alan Sisto (62:22)

Yeah. That makes the most sense too. I mean, under no other circumstances would you think that nearly half of the company should be Hobbits. I mean, if you're sending nine total people for half of them, almost to be the smallest and least powerful and least strong physically speaking race of people in Middle Earth, it's just like, why would you do that? And yet it's because they're trusting to friendship rather than great wisdom. And it kind of harkens back, actually, to the reading that Don did earlier. He chose the portion where they get to Crick Hollow and have the bath and have the little mushroom supper. And sure enough, we get the same sense of, you know you're in danger. We know you're in danger. And Frodo's like, oh, you can't stop me. Please don't stop me. Oh, you're getting it all wrong. We're going with you. No, they don't know then, either. And sure enough, they face some pretty crazy stuff between Crickhollow and here in Rivendell. Right. I mean, the. Just the Barrow Downs alone, you know, the Old Forest was scary enough. Old Man Willow in the Withywindle, the Barrow Whites all before they even get to Bree. And then it's all black writers from there on out. And yet they're still. We still don't know what we're going to face. It could be worse. But we still want to go with you. Total dedication.

James Tauber (63:39)

It's clear right from. From the start, right from that very first paragraph where Mary and Pippin are indignant.

Alan Sisto (63:45)

Yeah.

James Tauber (63:46)

That Sam had been chosen.

Alan Sisto (63:47)

Of course they were. Of course they were indignant. Yeah. Yeah. Even Fron's like, what do you mean, reward? That's not a reward. You have no clue what you're talking about. And that same theme comes up again and I just love. There's little tidbits throughout that kind of hint at other little fellowships, like the Rangers going out and trying to find news of the Riders and of Aragorn and Elrond's sons and, you know, just little hints and pieces of that. And there's that little interlude that I really loved. It's not directly connected on its own to fellowship and community, but the virtue of the land of Rivendell was such that all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. And to me, I just. It feels like now they can enjoy their fellowship and community. They're not worried about the thing in front of them.

James Tauber (64:36)

Exactly. Let me just. Let me just read that again because I'd highlighted that as one of my favorite parts as well. This after. After it's explained about the virtue of the land of Rivendell. It says the future goes good or ill was not forgotten but ceased to have any power over the present.

Alan Sisto (64:51)

I love that.

James Tauber (64:51)

Which is just such a wonderful philosophy in life.

Alan Sisto (64:54)

I know.

James Tauber (64:55)

And it continues. Health and hope grew strong in them and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal and in every word and song.

Alan Sisto (65:06)

That's Fellowship.

James Tauber (65:07)

Absolutely does come back to the Fellowship. Exactly. That's what enables us to live in the Presence. And even though we, we still acknowledge that there, there are bad things.

Alan Sisto (65:16)

Oh yeah.

James Tauber (65:17)

Ahead, we can still be very present because yeah, we're with friendship.

Alan Sisto (65:23)

I love that. The idea of the Hobbits together, you know, in their own small like community within a community here.

James Tauber (65:29)

Right.

Alan Sisto (65:29)

I mean it's the, the larger community of Rivendell and it's fantastic. And we get to see that come into play. But then we get this little smaller community of just the Hobbits and not just the four, but also Bilbo which is really got to be great for Frodo. I just love that. Wow, what a passage that was. That was excellent, James. Thank you so much. Really appreciate you being here. It is always a privilege to work with you. I cannot wait for our eight episode run to wrap up the ninth season of the ppp. And then after that, well, hopefully we won't have to wait two years for the next season of Rings of Power. We will. Hopefully it won't be an interminable wait for them to even make an announcement about the third season of the Rings of Power. But always a joy to have you here. So thank you again.

James Tauber (66:12)

Wonderful to be here. Thanks very much, Alan.

Alan Sisto (66:14)

And continuing on that Rings of Power wrap up Connection, I'm very happy to welcome the shield maiden of Rohan herself, Dr. Sara Brown. I am back to the PPP and not just for today either, folks. Sara is going to be joining me for the next eight episodes as we go back to Appendix A to spend time in the tale of Aragorn and Arwen before we spend the rest of our time together on the Hardy Dwarves. Sara, welcome back.

Sara Brown (66:37)

Oh, it's so good to be back. I'm so excited.

Alan Sisto (66:41)

I am too. Really looking forward to this run. What have you selected for today's reading on Fellowship and Community?

Sara Brown (66:48)

Okay, so this first extract I have chosen is from the Scouring of the Shire. The reason why I've chosen this one is because it's a wonderful moment where the hobbits come together to get rid of the ruffians. And yes, it's, it's this great moment where we see leadership from the. The main Hobbits that we've traveled with. Of course.

Alan Sisto (67:11)

Yeah.

Sara Brown (67:12)

But we actually see all the Hobbits of the Shire coming together to do what needs to be done.

Alan Sisto (67:17)

Ah, I like that. All right. Well, since it's not Sarah and Alan Talking Day, it's Tolkien Reading day. I shall give you the floor and let's go with the reading.

Sara Brown (67:26)

Excellent. Okay. Farmer Cotton's household and all his guests were up early next morning. Nothing had been heard in the night, but more trouble would certainly come before the day was old. Seems as if none of the ruffians were left up at Bag End, said Cotton. But the gang from Waymeat will be along any time now. After breakfast, a messenger from the Took Land rode in. He was in high spirits. The Thane has raised all our country, he said. And the news is going like fire. Always the ruffians that were watching our land have fled off south. Those had escaped alive. The Thane has gone after them to hold off the big gang down that way. But he sent Mr. Peregrine back with all the other folk he can spare. The next news was less good. Merry, who had been out all night, came riding in about 10 o'clock. There's a big band about four miles away, he said. They're coming along the road from Waymeat. But a good many stray ruffians have joined up with them. There must be close on a hundred of them. And they're fire raising as they come. Curse them. Ah, this lot won't stay to talk. They'll kill if they can, said Farmer Cotton. If Tooks don't come sooner, we'd best get behind cover and shoot without arguing. There's got to be some fighting before this is settled, Mr. Frodo. The tooks did come sooner. Before long they marched in a hundred strong from Tuckborough and the Green Hills with Pippin at their head. Merry now had enough sturdy Hobbitry to deal with the ruffians. Scouts reported that they were keeping close together. They knew that the countryside had risen against them and plainly meant to deal with the rebellion ruthlessly at its centre in Bywater. But however grim they might be, they seemed to have no leader among them who understood warfare. They came on without any precautions. Merry laid his plans quickly. The ruffians came tramping along the East Road and without halting turned up the Bywater Road, which ran for some way, sloping up between high banks with low hedges on top. Round a bend, about a furlong from the main road, they met a stout barrier of old farm carts, upturned that halted them. At the same moment they became aware that the hedges on both sides just above their heads were all lined with Hobbits. Behind them, other Hobbits now pushed out some more wagons that had been hidden in a field and so blocked the way back. A voice spoke to them from above. Well, you have walked into a trap, said Merry. Your fellows from Hobbiton did the same, and one is dead and the rest are prisoners. Lay down your weapons, then go back 20 paces and sit down. Any who try to break out will be shot. But the ruffians could not now be cowed so easily. A few of them obeyed, but were immediately set on by their fellows. A score or more broke back and charged the waggons. Six were shot, but the remainder burst out, killing two Hobbits and then scattering across country in the direction of the woody end. Two more fell. As they ran, Merry blew a loud horn call and they were answering calls from a distance. They won't get far, said Pippin. All that country is alive with our hunters now behind the trapped men in the lane still about fourscore tried to climb the barrier and the banks and the Hobbits were obliged to shoot many of them or hew them with axes. But many of the strongest and most desperate got out on the west side and attacked their enemies fiercely, being now more bent on killing than escaping. Several Hobbits fell and the rest were wavering. When Merry and Pippin, who were on the east side, came across and charged the ruffians. Merry himself slew the leader, a great squint eyed brute like a huge auk. Then he drew his forces off, encircling the last remnant of the men in a wide ring of archers. At last all was over. Nearly 70 of the ruffians lay dead on the field, and a dozen were prisoners. Nineteen Hobbits were killed and some 30 were wounded. The dead ruffians were laden on waggons and hauled off to an old sand pit nearby. And there, buried in the battle pit, as it was afterwards called, the fallen Hobbits were laid together in a grave on the hillside, where later a great stone was set up with a garden about it. So ended the Battle of Bywater, 1419, the last battle fought in the Shire and the only battle since the green fields, 11:47 away up in the north farthing. In consequence, though it happily cost very few lives, it has a chapter to itself in the Red Book, and the names of all those who took part were made into a roll and learned by heart by Shire historians. The very considerable rise in the fame and fortune of the Cottons dates from this time. But at the top of the roll in all accounts stand the names of Captains Meriadoc and Peregrine.

Alan Sisto (72:21)

I love that. What would Gandalf think of Captain Peregrine the Mighty? I think he'd still a fool of a toque.

Sara Brown (72:28)

Yes, I think he would have quite a chuckle, to be honest.

Alan Sisto (72:31)

I think he would. I love that passage. I really do. That's a great choice for fellowship and community. I mean, it's the idea of all of the Shire coming together like that and. And facing off against a threat that. That in many ways was beyond them. Unless they came together like this in force, en masse and led by somebody who, you know, could come up with a strategy. In this case, sort of the, you know, the laying of the wagons and blocking them on the road.

Sara Brown (73:02)

Absolutely. I mean, it just tells us what Peregrine and sort of Pippin, rather and Merry have learned since they've been away.

Alan Sisto (73:09)

Yeah, they've both been in battle. They're both seasoned in that regard. They certainly aren't going to be as afraid as you might think. You know, somebody might be. The very first time they have to face off in battle against somebody I know I'd be terrified. I'd be looking to find a way out. Mary was stabbing the Witch King in the back of the leg not that long ago. So facing off against some half Orcs is not a big deal.

Sara Brown (73:32)

Yeah, I mean, this is it. These two. I've seen the battle of the Pelenor Fields and they were at the Black Gate.

Alan Sisto (73:38)

Yeah, this is so.

Sara Brown (73:39)

This is nothing.

Alan Sisto (73:40)

Yeah, we've got this.

Sara Brown (73:43)

But yes, yes, it needed them to bring the Hobbits together. That had to be the thing here. Because if even one of the ruffians had had strategy and it might have been more of a problem. But I think part of the point is that they are. They're portrayed as just this rabble who.

Alan Sisto (74:02)

And they really are. No discipline. No. Yeah, exactly. They're not. They're not skilled combatants. They're just bullies. And you know, to be able to face off against Hobbits who are now led makes a difference. But again, you have to have both elements there. You have to have that leadership and you have to have the Hobbits willing to do the fighting with them. And it's. It's a real tragedy that 19 of them were killed, you know, and you think about those Hobbit families who have lost their husbands, their sons, their daughters, perhaps even in that sense, the community still comes together. You know, they lay them all together in a single grave. They make it a memorial, and it becomes something that people learn the names of. It is what a wonderful example of community even into the future, that the names of everybody who took part were learned by heart by Shire historians. So just like the. The continuation of community. Really, really good choice.

Sara Brown (74:57)

Right. And I think that what makes this important is that they came together to fight for their home.

Alan Sisto (75:05)

Yes. Yes. 100%, yes. I mean, this is. Which is in essence what Frodo and Sam and Mary and Pippen did. They just had to take that fight elsewhere. But, you know, the motivation was for them always to protect the Shire. So, of course, when they come back and they see it as it was, something had to be done. Yeah, that's just wonderful. And I love the leadership of the Cottons, too, in this. You know, there's no mistaking at the end here when it talks about the. The rise in the fame and fortune of the Cotton states from this time. They were involved. You know, Farmer Cotton and his sons were.

Sara Brown (75:37)

Were right up the front.

Alan Sisto (75:39)

Absolutely. They were.

Sara Brown (75:40)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (75:40)

Yeah. Really great choice. And I know we still have some time, so I'm super excited because I believe you have another reading for us.

Sara Brown (75:49)

I do, and thank you so much for giving me extra time so I can give this second reading.

Alan Sisto (75:54)

Oh, yeah.

Sara Brown (75:54)

This is a wonderful passage. A bit less known, perhaps to some people than the Scouring of the Shire, which I'm sure is pretty familiar to all of your listeners.

Alan Sisto (76:05)

Yeah.

Sara Brown (76:06)

This one comes from the Unfinished Tales and it is the bit where we are told about the Oath of Cirion and A Hole.

Alan Sisto (76:16)

Oh, that is great. Matt and I got to talk through that whole section several weeks ago. I know we're. We're now this episode is dropping on March 30, so, you know, this was almost two months ago that we did the. The Oath, but I love hearing it. Never get tired of it. And for those who only listen to our specials occasionally and things. I'm really glad they get to hear you read this.

Sara Brown (76:36)

Okay, here we go then. In the days of Kyrion the Steward, there came a great assault by the Balchoth, who allied with Orcs, crossed the Anduin into the Wold and began the conquest of Calenardhon. From this deadly peril which would have brought ruin upon Gondor, the coming of Eorl the Young and the Rohirrim rescued the realm. When the war was over, men Wondered in what way the steward would honour Eorl and reward him and expected that a great feast would be held in Minas Tirith at which this would be revealed. But Cirion was a man who kept his own counsel. As the diminished army of Gondor made its way south. He was accompanied by Eorl and an eored of the Riders of the North. When they came to the Mering Stream, Cirion turned to Eorl and said to men's wonder, farewell. Now, Eorl, son of Leod, I will return to my home where much needs to be set in order. Calenardhon, I commit to your care for this time. If you are not in haste to return to your own realm in three months time I will meet you here again. And then we will take counsel together. I will come. They all answered. And so they parted. As soon as Cirion came to Minas Tirith he summoned some of his most trusted servants. Go now to the Whispering Wood, he said. There you must reopen the ancient path to Amon Anwar. It is long overgrown, but the entrance is still marked by a standing stone beside the road. At that point where the northern region of the wood closes in upon it. The path turns this way and that, but at each turn there is a standing stone following these. You will come at length to the end of the trees and find a stone stair that leads on upwards. I charge you to go no further. Do this work as swiftly as you may, and then return to me. Fell no trees. Only clear a way by which a few men on foot can easily pass upward. Leave the entrance by the road still shrouded so that none that use the road may be tempted to use the path before I come there myself. Tell no one whither you go or what you have done. If any ask, say only that the lord steward wishes for a place to be made ready for his meeting with the Lord of the Riders. In due time. Cirion set out with Hallas, his son and the Lord of Dol Amroth and two others of his council. And he met Eorl at the crossing of the Mering Stream. With Eorl were three of his chief captains. Let us go now to the place that I have prepared, said Cirion. Then they left a guard of riders at the bridge and turned back into the tree shadowed road and came to the standing stone. There they left their horses and another strong guard of soldiers of Gondor. And Cirion, standing by the stone, turned to his companions and said, I go now to the hill of or follow me, if you Will. With me shall come an esquire and another with Eorl to bear our arms. All others shall go unarmed as witnesses of our words and deeds in the high place. The path has been made ready though none have used it since I came here with my father. Then Cirion led Eorl into the trees and the others followed in order. And after they had passed the first of the inner stones their voices were stilled and they walked warily as if unwilling to make any sound. So they came at last to the upper slopes of the hill and passed through a belt of white birches and saw the stone stair going up to the summit. After the shadow of the wood the sun seemed hot and bright for it was the month of Urime. Yet the crown of the hill was green as if the year were still in Lotese. At the foot of the stair there was a small shelf or cove made in the hillside with low turf banks. There the company sat for a while until Cirion rose and from his esquire took the white wand of office and the white mantle of the stewards of Gondor. Then, standing on the first step of the stair, he broke the silence, saying in a low but clear I will now declare what I have resolved with the authority of the stewards of the kings to offer to Eorl, son of Leod, Lord of the Eother, in recognition of the valor of his people and of the help beyond hope that he brought to Gondor in time of dire need to Eol I will give in free gift all the great land of Calenardhon from Anduin to Isen. There, if he will, he shall be king and his heirs after him and his people shall dwell in freedom while the authority of the stewards endures. Until the great king returns. No bond shall be laid upon them other than their own laws and wills. Save in this they shall live in perpetual friendship with Gondor and its enemies shall be their enemies while both realms endure. But the same bond shall be laid also on the people of Gondor. Then Eorl stood up, but remained for some time silent for he was amazed by the great generosity of the gift and the noble terms in which it had been offered. And he saw the wisdom of Cirion both on his own behalf as ruler of Gondor seeking to protect what remained of his realm and as a friend of the Otheod of whose needs he was aware for they were now grown to a people too numerous for their land in the north and longed to return south to their former home. But they were restrained by the fear of Dol Guldur. But in Calenardhon they would have room beyond hope and yet be far from the shadows of Mirkwood yet beyond wisdom and policy. Both Cirion and Eorl were moved at that time by the great friendship that bound their peoples together and by the love that was between them as true Men. On the part of Cirion the love was that of a wise father old in the cares of the world for a son in the strength and hope of his youth While in Cirion Eorl saw the highest and noblest man of the world that he knew and the wisest on whom sat the majesty of the kings of Men of long ago. At last when Eorl had swiftly passed all these things through his thought he spoke saying Lord steward of the great king the gift that you offer I accept for myself and for my people. It far exceeds any reward that our deeds could have earned if they had not themselves been a free gift of friendship. But now I will seal that friendship with an oath that shall not be forgotten. Then let us go now to the high place, said Kirion and before these witnesses take such oaths as seem fitting.

Alan Sisto (83:06)

Absolutely fantastic. I mean, that whole chapter is such a great picture of a Fellowship. But I'm really glad that you got to that part. I wasn't sure where you were going to end it and I thought, oh, I wonder where you're gonna end it. I'm so glad you got to the part about beyond wisdom and policy. You know, this. This deep friendship is what has established the community between Rohan and Gondor established this sense of. Of, you know, alliance. But more than alliance, friendship. And it's just a wonderful choice. What a section that is. I mean, it really is.

Sara Brown (83:41)

It really is so important, of course to the events of the. The Lord of the Rings because. Oh, yeah, this is the reason why when Gondor called Rohan would answer.

Alan Sisto (83:54)

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and it's the thing, you know, we joke a little bit. There's sort of that meme about, you know where was Gondor when the Westfold fell. But the truth is that Gondor and Rohan helped each other many times throughout the history.

Sara Brown (84:08)

Many times.

Alan Sisto (84:09)

I mean, yes, it was more often Rohan helping Gondor but Gondor did it share as well. And it's just a fantastic history. I really love digging into that on the show with Matt. I mean, six episodes on Kyrie Underneoral was so much fun but that you picked the heart of that passage and I'm Just really, really grateful, you know. It's such a good fit for fellowship and community.

Sara Brown (84:32)

Good. I'm glad. I thought so too.

Alan Sisto (84:35)

I do feel like though, if we don't. If I don't take this opportunity to read his oath in Quenya, we'd be missing a chance.

Sara Brown (84:41)

Do you know, I had a funny feeling you would want to. Which is why I stopped where I stopped. I didn't want to take it away from you.

Sean Marchese (84:49)

I mean, you know, I know I.

Alan Sisto (84:50)

Have my own reading coming up. And folks, I'll just tell you right now. It actually piggybacks on Sarah's earlier reading, the one about the Hobbits. I'm going to talk about the restoration of the Shire and the community there. But I definitely have to do a little appendix here, because why not? Here's some great Quenya, so I'll go ahead and pick up a little bit before that. Kyrion then made answer. Standing to his full height, he laid his hand upon the tomb and in his right hand held up the white wand of the stewards and spoke words that filled those who heard them with awe. For as he stood up, the sun went down in flame in the west and his white robe seemed to be on fire. And after he had vowed that Gondor should be bound by a like bond of friendship and aid in all need, he lifted up his voice and said in Quenya, Vanda Sina Termarova Elena Norio al karanyalian ar elendil verando voronwe nai tiruvante siharar mahalmassan mi numen arieru I or ilye mahalmar ea tenoio. And again he said in the common speech, this oath shall stand in memory of the glory of the land of the star and of the faith of Elendil, the faithful in the keeping of those who sit upon the thrones of the west and of the the one who is above all thrones forever.

Sara Brown (86:08)

That was gorgeous. But you know. You know, I don't think we can have just one side of the oaths.

Alan Sisto (86:15)

No, I. So please take it away, okay?

Sara Brown (86:19)

Because EOL's side of the oath is equally beautiful. But of course you don't get the Quenya. But I wouldn't be treading on your toes then, would I? So I'll do, eol.

Alan Sisto (86:27)

Please do.

Sara Brown (86:29)

He spoke then in a great voice the oath of aol. This he said in the tongue of the Otheod, which in the common speech is interpreted. Hear now, all peoples who bow not to the shadow in the east by the Gift of the Lord of the Mundberg. We will come to dwell in the land that he names Calenardhon. And therefore I vow in my own name and on behalf of the Eotheod of the north, that between us and the great people of the west there shall be friendship forever. Their enemies shall be our enemies. Their need shall be our need. And whatsoever evil or threat or assault may come upon them, we will aid them to the utmost end of our strength. This vow shall descend to my heirs, all such as may come after me in our new land. And let them keep it in faith unbroken, lest the shadow fall upon them and they become accursed.

Alan Sisto (87:24)

Oh, I love that. And I just. I still so desperately wish we had the. The way he said it. Right. The. The little footnote to that says that this translation is imperfect because he, of course, spoke in the forms of verse and high speech that were used by the Rohirrim, in which Aorl had great skill. So, you know, it had to have been in alliterative verse, in Old English, alliterative verse.

Sara Brown (87:47)

Wouldn't it have been lovely to have had the alliterative verse?

Alan Sisto (87:50)

Still waiting for somebody to write that in, In Old English? That would be fantastic. What a great pair of passages. Sarah. Thank you.

Sara Brown (87:58)

Oh, thanks for asking me.

Alan Sisto (87:59)

And welcome back. Wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of months as we cover one of my favorite stories. And I know it's one of everybody's favorite stories, really, in the appendices, the tale of Aragorn and Arwen, but also all that fun talk about Dwarves, too.

Sara Brown (88:13)

Yes, absolutely fantastic. I'm so happy you asked me to come and do Aragorn and Arwen. I. I think there's a few things that I could say.

Alan Sisto (88:23)

I believe you will. This is certainly. I believe that our time with the Faramir and Aowyn story convinced me that there would be no better fit. So I'm looking forward to it.

Sara Brown (88:32)

Thank you.

Alan Sisto (88:33)

All right. Thank you. All right, folks, we'll be right back. Eczema isn't always obvious, but it's real.

Sean Marchese (88:49)

And so is the relief from Ebglis. After an initial dosing phase of 16 weeks, about 4 in 10 people taking EBGLIS achieved itch, relief and clear, or almost clear skin. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear. At one year, with monthly dosing, EBGLIS.

Alan Sisto (89:04)

Lebricizumab LBKZ a 250mg per 2ml injection is a prescription medicine used to treat adults in children children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to ebglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with ebglis. Before starting ebglis, tell your doctor or if you have a parasitic infection searching for real relief?

Sean Marchese (89:38)

Ask your doctor about epglis and visit epglis.lilly.com or call 1-800-lilyrx or 1-800-545-5979.

Alan Sisto (89:46)

Your data is like gold to hackers. They're selling your passwords, bank details and private messages. McAfee helps stop them. Secure VPN keeps your online activity private, AI powered text scam detector spots phishing attempts instantly and with award winning Ant antivirus, you get top tier hacker protection. Plus you'll get up to $2 million in identity theft coverage, all for just $39.99 for your first year. Visit McAfee.com, cancel anytime terms apply. Now folks, if you're enjoying the ppp, please consider supporting the show by joining the Fellowship of the Podcast. That's what gives me the time and resources to work on making this show and all the others the best that they can be. Now when you join, you become part of an amazing discord community and that includes live episode recordings, hangouts every month. You also get episode postscripts, an ad free episode feed, free merch and more.

Sean Marchese (90:48)

You can also become part of our Questions After Nightfall episodes or even join the show as a guest in the North Wing. So please go to patreon.com prancingponypod. To show your support and join the Fellowship of the Podcast.

Alan Sisto (91:02)

And you can always help us out by giving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify. And please recommend us to your friends.

Sean Marchese (91:10)

All right, well Alan, it has been great to hear from. Wow, everybody who's been here so far, Matt, Don James, Sara, some of your great co hosts that you've had over the past couple years, but we can't always have such high standards. I think it's Your turn was nice.

Alan Sisto (91:28)

Thank you. Ah. It feels like home, doesn't it?

Sean Marchese (91:31)

It does. It just. It just. It comes so naturally now.

Alan Sisto (91:34)

It really does.

Sean Marchese (91:35)

I'm sorry. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Alan Sisto (91:38)

I. You know, I'm not sorry. It works for me. Okay.

Sean Marchese (91:41)

I was so nice when we first started.

Alan Sisto (91:43)

You were. I remember. I think I had to sort of sharpen the edges a little bit.

Sean Marchese (91:48)

You had to make me meaner.

Alan Sisto (91:49)

I did. I did. I just kept interrupting you.

Sean Marchese (91:51)

You locked me in a cage and fed me raw meat.

Alan Sisto (91:54)

Raw? Yeah.

Sean Marchese (91:55)

Sort of like table scraps.

Alan Sisto (91:57)

Like Carcharoth. Yeah, exactly.

Sean Marchese (92:00)

Yeah. Anyway, well, all joking aside, I am excited to hear your reading today, Alan. So why don't you tell us what you got selected for today's Tolkien Reading Day special.

Alan Sisto (92:14)

Well, there's so many wonderful examples of fellowship and community through the legendarium. And you know me, I typically try to go for, like, a deep dive. I think I've. I've pulled a couple of readings recently from, you know, Smith of Wooten Major or from Leaf by Niggle, because I. Or even I did one from Homecoming of Beart Noth Beorth Helm's Son, because I like to dig into the more obscure corners of the legendarium or even legendarium stories. This time around, though, I really wanted to showcase community fellowships, a little easier to find, you know, whether it's the. The company themselves or other fellowships. So what I wanted to do this time was sort of follow on to Sarah's reading. As you know, she actually read from the Scouring of the Shire and How the Hobbits Stood up to the Ruffians. I'm actually going to look at the Shire after all of that. Sort of the rebuilding of the Shire, if you will, and just the way the community comes together. And I'm going to start by reading from the beginning of the chapter the Grey Haven't.

Sean Marchese (93:12)

All right.

Alan Sisto (93:14)

The clearing up certainly needed a lot of work, but it took less time than Sam had feared. The day after the battle, Frodo rode to Mitchell Delving and released the prisoners from the lockholes. One of the first that they found was poor Fredegar Bulger Fatty no longer. He had been taken when the ruffians smoked out a band of rebels that he led from their hidings up in the Brockenbors by the hills of Skerry. You would have done better to come with us after all. Poor old Fredegar, said Pippin as they carried him out. Too weak to walk, he opened an eye and tried gallantly to smile. Who's this young giant with the loud voice? He whispered. Not little Pippin. What's your size in hats? Now then there was Lobelia. Poor thing, she looked very old and thin. When they rescued her from a dark and narrow cell she insisted on hobbling out on her own feet. And she had such a welcome and there was such clapping and cheering when she appeared, leaning on Frodo's arm but still clutching her umbrella that she was quite touched and drove away in tears. She had never in her life been popular before but she was crushed by the news of Lotho's murder and she would not return to Bag End. She gave it back to Frodo and went to her own people the brace girdles of Hardbottle. When the poor creature died next spring she was, after all, more than a hundred years old. Frodo was surprised and much moved. She had left all that remained of her money and of Lotho's for him to use in helping hobbits made homeless by the troubles. So that feud was ended. Old Will Whitfoot had been in the lockholes longer than any and though he had perhaps been treated less harshly than some, he needed a lot of feeding up before he could look the part of mayor. So Frodo agreed to act as his deputy until Mr. Whitfoot was in shape again. The only thing that he did as deputy mayor was to reduce the sheriffs to their proper functions and numbers. The task of hunting out the last remnant of the ruffians was left to Merry and Pippin, and it was soon done. The southern gangs, after hearing the news of the Battle of Bywater, fled out of the land and offered little resistance to the Thane. Before the year's end, the few survivors were rounded up in the woods and those that surrendered were shown to the boarders. Meanwhile, the labor of repair went on apace and Sam was kept very busy. Hobbits can work like bees when the mood and the need comes on them. Now there were thousands of willing hands of all ages from the small but nimble ones of the hobbit lads and lasses to the well worn and horny ones of the gaffers and gammers before Ewell. Not a brick was left standing of the new sheriff houses or of anything that had been built by Sharkey's men. But the bricks were used to repair many an old hole to make it snugger and drier. Great stores of goods and food and beer were found that had been hidden away by the ruffians in sheds and barns and deserted holes, and especially in the tunnels at Mitchell Delving and in the old quarries at Skerry, so that there was a great deal better cheer that Yule than anyone had hoped for. One of the first things done in Hobbiton, before even the removal of the new mill, was the clearing of the hill and Bag End and the restoration of Bagshot Row. The front of the new sandpit was all leveled and made into a large sheltered garden, and new holes were dug in the southward face back into the hill, and they were lined with brick. The gaffer was restored to number three, and he said often, and did not care who heard it, it's an ill wind as blows nobody no good, as I always say, and all's well as ends better. There was some discussion of the name that the new row should be given. Battle Gardens was thought of, or better Smiles, but after a while, in sensible Hobbit fashion, it was just called New Roe. It was a purely bywater joke to refer to it as Sharkey's End. The trees were the worst loss and damage, for at Sharkey's bidding they had been cut down recklessly far and wide over the Shire, and Sam grieved over this more than anything else. For one thing, this hurt would take long to heal, and only his great grandchildren, he thought, would see the Shire as it ought to be. Then suddenly, one day, for he had been too busy for weeks to give a thought to his adventures, he remembered the gift of Galadriel. He brought the box out and showed it to the other travelers, for so they were now called by everyone and asked their advice. I wondered when you would think of it, said Frodo. Open it. Inside it was filled with a gray dust, soft and fine, in the middle of which was a seed like a small nut with a silver shale. What can I do with this? Said Sam. Throw it in the air on a breezy day and let it do its work, said Pippin. On what? Said Sam. Choose one spot as a nursery and see what happens to the plants there, said Mary. But I am sure the lady would not like me to keep it all from my own garden now. So many folk have suffered, said Sam. Use all the wits and knowledge you have of your own, Sam, said Frodo. And then use the gift to help your work and better it, and use it sparingly. There is not much here, and I expect every grain has a value. So Sam planted saplings in all the places where specially beautiful or beloved trees had been destroyed, and he put a Grain of the precious dust in the soil at the root of each. He went up and down the Shire in this laboratory. But if he paid special attention to Hobbiton and Bywater, no one blamed him. And at the end he found that he still had a little of the dust left. So he went to the Three Farthing Stone, which is as near the center of the Shire as no matter, and cast it in the air with his blessing. The little silver nut he planted in the party field where the tree had once been. And he wondered what would come of it. All through the winter he remained as patient as he could and tried to restrain himself from going around constantly to see if anything was happening. Spring surpassed his wildest hopes. His trees began to sprout and grow as if time was in a hurry and wished to make one year due for 20. In the party field a beautiful young sapling leaped up. It had silver bark and long leaves and burst into golden flowers in April. It was indeed a mallorn, and it was the wonder of the neighborhood in after years as it grew in grace and beauty. It was known far and wide, and people would come long journeys to see it. The only Mallorn west of the mountains and east of the sea and one of the finest in the world altogether. 1420 in the Shire was a marvelous year. Not only was there wonderful sunshine and delicious rain in due times and perfect measure, but there seemed something more an air of richness and growth and a gleam of a beauty beyond that of mortal summers that flicker and pass upon this middle earth. All the children born or begotten in that year, and there were many, were fair to see and strong, and most of them had a rich golden hair that had before been rare among Hobbits. The fruit was so plentiful that young Hobbits very nearly bathed in strawberries and cream. And later they sat on the lawns under the plum trees and ate until they had made piles of stones like small pyramids or the heaped skulls of a conqueror. And then they moved on, and no one was ill, and everyone was pleased except those who had to mow the grass. In the south Farthing, the vines were laden and the yield of leaf was astonishing. And everywhere there was so much corn that at harvest every barn was stuffed. The north farthing barley was so fine that the beer of 1420 malt was long remembered and became a byword. Indeed, a generation later one might hear an old gaffer in an inn after a good pint of well earned. Alex put down his mug with a sigh. Ah, that was proper 1420, that was. Sam stayed at first at the Cottons with Frodo but when the new row was ready he went with the gaffer. In addition to all his other labors he was busy directing the cleaning up and restoring of Bag End. But he was often away in the shire on his forestry work so he was not at home in early March and did not know that Frodo had been ill. On the 13th of that month, Farmer Cotton found Frodo lying on his bed. He was clutching a white gem that hung on a chain about his neck and he seemed half in a dream. It is gone forever, he said, and now all is dark and empty. But the fit passed, and when Sam got back on the 25th, Frodo had recovered, and he said nothing about himself. In the meanwhile, Bag End had been set in order and Merry and Pippin came over from Crickallow bringing back all the old furniture and gear so that the old hole soon looked very much as it always had done. When all was at last ready, Frodo said, when are you going to move in and join me? Looked a bit awkward. There is no need to come yet, if you don't want to, said Frodo. But you know the gaffer is close at hand and he will be very well looked after by Widow Rumble. It's not that, Mr. Frodo, said Sam, and he went very red. Well, what is it? It's Rosyrose Cotton, said Sam. It seems she didn't like my going abroad at all, poor lass. But as I hadn't spoken, she couldn't say so. And I didn't speak because I had a job to do first. But now I have spoken, and she says, well, you've wasted a year, so why wait longer? Wasted, I says. I wouldn't call it that. Still, I see what she means. I feel torn in two, as you might say. I see, said Frodo. You want to get married and yet you want to live with me in Bag End too. But my dear Sam, how easy. Get married as soon as you can, and then move in with Rosie. There's room enough in Bag End for as big a family as you could wish for. And so it was settled. Sam Gamgee married Rose Cotton in the spring of 1420, which was also famous for its weddings. And they came and lived at Bag End. Oh, I love that so, so great, so much.

Sean Marchese (104:05)

Such a great passage. I'm so glad you chose that one. It really shows us Hobbits kind of at their best, doesn't it? It really does kind of returning to Hobbit community, especially for the. You know, for the four travelers after everything they've seen over the course of the story and. And even everything the Shire has seen with, you know, the. The. All the shark. Yeah, yeah. But here we see them just getting back to simple Hobbit life, simple Hobbit community. And I love the. The many nods to coming together that we see there.

Alan Sisto (104:40)

And all the hands working, you know, thousands of hobbies working.

Sean Marchese (104:44)

Everybody's working. To redo the ending of the feud with Lobelia. I mean, that's such a beautiful moment.

Alan Sisto (104:51)

That really is such a wonderful thing that I think it's so easy to almost overlook. I mean, the fact that she left all of her money and Lotho's to Frodo specifically to help the people that had been. Oh, that is beautiful. And it's.

Sean Marchese (105:06)

I remember us talking about that when we did this chapter last season and. Yeah, yeah. It's such a great moment. And you're right, it's easy to miss because, you know, Lobelia is just such a one joke character in the beginning.

Alan Sisto (105:18)

She kind of is.

Sean Marchese (105:19)

Yeah, she stops being that towards the end.

Alan Sisto (105:21)

She really does. I mean, she's such a hero and I love her strength. And, I mean, your heart breaks for her. You know, she gets out and she's free again, and the first thing she's got to learn is that her son is dead. He's been murdered. So.

Sean Marchese (105:36)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (105:37)

But it's just neat to see all of those come out of jail, you know, Mayor Whitfoot and Fatty Bulger, and there's a diet planned for you, but, you know, that'll do it. Yeah.

Sean Marchese (105:49)

Being stuck in prison. Yeah.

Alan Sisto (105:51)

I'm not sure I want to try that, but. Yeah, just the idea of Shire community, Shire rebuilding. But I love the way the passage that Tolkien puts together here goes back and forth from the larger Shire to the four, or even just to the two, to Sam and Frodo. And it's just wonderful to see their Fellowship, their small community inset in the large community of the Hobbits.

Sean Marchese (106:18)

That's a great point. I love that because. Yeah, I'm thinking about the way that the passage talks about the rebuilding and the end of the feud and all the stuff we were just talking about. But then there's that moment where it just kind of zooms into the four travelers again and the discussion of what to do with the gift of Galadriel. And then we go back up to the macro level.

Alan Sisto (106:37)

Exactly.

Sean Marchese (106:38)

When Sam actually shares the gift. Right. He goes up the Downshire. He shares it with the whole Shire. And, yeah, you know, he gives a little special attention to Hobbiton and Bywater. But people understand that not at anybody's expense, you know. Right. He shares it across the whole Shire. And then the last little bit, you know, a little bit of a nod to Pippin's suggestion where he just kind of scatters the last bit at the Three Farthing Stone and let it go where it may. It's great. It is a really cool macro level. Micro level. Then back to the macro.

Alan Sisto (107:10)

Yeah.

Sean Marchese (107:10)

And then back to the micro.

Alan Sisto (107:11)

Exactly.

Sean Marchese (107:12)

About Sam moving in with Frodo.

Alan Sisto (107:14)

I love that. I almost didn't read that part. I almost ended it with my favorite little bit about that proper 1420. It feels right. Maybe because I feel like I'm an old Gaffer and in myself, but I just felt like that little extra brings us back to their incredibly close fellowship. Frodo and Sam's friendship is so central to the whole of the Lord of the Rings. And to see Frodo encourage Sam. What do you want? Let's make it happen. You want to marry Rosie and you want to live here? Do it. Make it happen.

Sean Marchese (107:52)

Yeah. And at the risk of reading too much into this, I like the fact that when the story starts with Bilbo at the beginning of the Hobbit and we're told that in a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. And here at the end, we're seeing in the same hole in the ground there's gonna live a whole family of Hobbits. Ah, it's so beautiful. I love that. And that's. I not gonna say that Tolkien intended that, but I like it. It's gonna be part of my headcanon now that that's an intentional kind of changing of the original image. And I think that's really neat.

Alan Sisto (108:29)

I do, too. And you're right. Who knows how he intended us to take that? I mean, I think that's one thing we've talked about for years on this show is the applicability and the fact that we as readers get to enjoy it the way we want to. And I also liked. Liked is the strong word. I was touched by the sort of the first appearance of that phrase of being torn in two for Sam.

Sean Marchese (108:52)

Oh, yeah.

Alan Sisto (108:52)

You know, and it just leads to so much, you know, about Sam and even really Frodo, you know, he doesn't use that phrase himself. But Frodo's going to feel torn, and soon he's going to Leave, and it will be Sam again, torn in two, but this time torn into. With staying behind in the Shire or leaving.

Sean Marchese (109:18)

Right.

Alan Sisto (109:19)

Yeah.

Sean Marchese (109:20)

Each of them has to make a decision. Because you can't take both paths, right? No, you can't be torn in two. You have to be whole.

Alan Sisto (109:27)

Yes, you do. And you have to move forward in whatever path you choose and put your whole self there. And Sam does that fantastically for a very long time.

Sean Marchese (109:38)

He does.

Alan Sisto (109:39)

Yeah. It's a long time.

Sean Marchese (109:41)

He does really fully embrace his community, doesn't he? He does see that. He becomes mayor.

Alan Sisto (109:46)

Mayor for life.

Sean Marchese (109:46)

How many times. Right. And has this huge family, a brood.

Alan Sisto (109:52)

The Gardener brood.

Sean Marchese (109:53)

Yeah. I mean, Sam is really going to lean into community in a big way, as are Merry and Pippin. Frodo can't. You know. He can't.

Alan Sisto (110:04)

He's no longer able.

Sean Marchese (110:06)

Literally, he cannot.

Alan Sisto (110:09)

Yeah.

Sean Marchese (110:10)

Yeah. And so he needs to be alone. And he needs. I mean, he's going to the Undying Lands. He's not going to be alone, literally. But he's not going to be part of this community. He's going to have to leave this community behind, and he's going to go to a place where he's never really going. It's never really going to be his place. No.

Alan Sisto (110:28)

He'll always be a guest.

Sean Marchese (110:30)

Right.

Alan Sisto (110:32)

And I remember us speculating at the very end of last season about what happens with Frodo there and Sam. I remember sort of changing my mind. I still, you know, in my head, canon, we talked about the letter that Tolkien wrote about why Bilbo went with Frodo. And it was because Frodo needed Bilbo there. Like, he needed that touch of home. And Bilbo was that for him. And so it made me come to the conclusion that when Sam goes, Frodo's still around.

Sean Marchese (111:00)

He needs that same touch of home. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Alan Sisto (111:04)

That's beautiful. That was so much fun. I'm so grateful to have had a chance to read that. And it's funny, I chose my passage after everybody else had chosen theirs, so I wasn't sure what would still be available. Speaking of passages, you know, this is. You've always had a history of picking some of the most wonderful passages to illustrate the theme, and this year's no different. Would you tell us what you've selected, then? Do your thing.

Sean Marchese (111:28)

All right. Yes. Thank you. And I appreciate that. As you hinted at the beginning of this episode, you know, it's been a long time since we started this podcast together. We started it in the first Age with the Silmarillion. And true. I think, kind of coming back to the Prancing Pony podcast, at the risk of getting a little emotional about this, I kind of wanted to go back to the beginning, and I wanted to reach back to the Silmarillion. And I thought pretty quickly of a couple of passages that give us a chance to examine community again at that kind of macro level, the big level. And really not just community, but communities, how communities come together. And so I've got a couple of passages here that illustrate communities coming together, how they other each other in some ways and how they accept each other in other ways. And I didn't intend it, but after I picked these two passages, I realized that they both prominently featured one particular character. And I want to discuss that after I read them both, but I'll go ahead and read them both. So first, I've got a rather short passage from chapter 13 of the Silmarillion. This is of the return of the Noldor. And this is going to be the passage that starts with the Mereth Aradhad, the Feast of Reuniting. And so we'll see that. And we'll see how the Noldor start to kind of reassimilate back into the society, the Elvish society in Beleriand.

Alan Sisto (113:02)

Yeah.

Sean Marchese (113:03)

And then I'm gonna go to chapter 17 of the Silmarillion of the coming of men into the West. And I think everybody probably can guess what.

Alan Sisto (113:12)

Now I know which elf you're talking about is. Of course you do. My favorite first stage elf. But we'll. We'll talk about him after. Go ahead.

Sean Marchese (113:18)

All right. When 20 years of the sun had passed, Fingolfin, King of the Noldor, made a great feast. And it was held in the spring near to the pools of Ivrin, whence the swift river Narog rose. For there the lands were green and fair at the feet of the mountains of Shadow that shielded them from the north. The joy of that feast was long remembered in later days of sorrow. And it was called Medeth Adirdad, the Feast of Reuniting. Thither came many of the chieftains and people of Fingolfin and Finrod and of the sons of Feanor, Maedhros and Maglor, with warriors of the Eastern March. And there came also great numbers of the Grey Elves, wanderers of the woods of Beleriand and folk of the Havens with Cirdan, their lord. There came even green Elves from Assiriand, the Land of Seven Rivers. Far off under the walls of the Blue mountains. But out of Doriath there came but two messengers, Mablung and Da Don, bearing greetings from the king at Medeth. Araddad. Many counsels were taken in goodwill and oaths were sworn of league and friendship. And it is told that at this feast the tongue of the Grey Elves was most spoken even by the Noldor, for they learned swiftly the speech of Beleriand. Whereas the Sindar were slow to master the tongue of Valinor the hearts of the Noldor were high and full of hope. And to many among them it seemed that the words of Feanor had been justified bidding them seek freedom and fair kingdoms in Middle Earth. And indeed there followed, after long years of peace, while their swords fenced Beleriand from the ruin of Morgoth and his power was shut behind his gates. In those days there was joy beneath the new sun and moon and all the land was glad. But still the Shadow brooded in the north. And when again 30 years had passed Turgon, son of Fingolfin, left Navrast where he dwelt and sought out Finrod, his friend, upon the island of Tal Sirion. And they journeyed southward along the river, being weary for a while of the northern mountains. And as they journeyed, night came upon them beyond the meres of twilight beside the waters of Sirion. And they slept upon his banks beneath the summer stars. But Ulmo, coming up the river, laid a deep sleep upon them in heavy dreams. And the trouble of the dreams remained after they awoke. But neither said aught to the other, for their memory was not clear. And each believed that Ulmo had sent a message to him alone. But unquiet was upon them ever after and doubt of what should befall. And they wandered often alone in untrodden lands seeking far and wide for places of hidden strength. For it seemed to each that he was bidden to prepare for a day of evil and to establish a retreat lest Morgoth should burst from angband and overthrow the armies of the north. Now on a time, Finrod and Galadriel his sister, were the guests of Thingol, their kinsmen in Doriath. Then Finrod was filled with wonder at the strength and majesty of Menegroth its treasuries and armories and its many pillared halls of stone. And it came into his heart that he would build wide halls behind ever guarded gates in some deep and secret place beneath the hills. Therefore he opened his heart to Thingol, telling him of his dreams. And Thingol spoke to him of the deep gorge of the river Narog and the caves under the High Faroth in its steep western shore. And when he departed, he gave him guides to lead him to that place of which few yet knew. Thus Finrod came to the caverns of Narog and began to establish there deep halls and armories after the fashion of the mansions of Menegroth. And that stronghold was called Nargothrond. In that labor, Finrod was aided by the dwarves of the Blue Mountains. And they were rewarded well, for Finrod had brought more treasures out of Tirion than any other of the princes of the Noldor. And in that time was made for him the Nauglamir, the necklace of the dwarves, most renowned of their works. In the elder days it was a carcanet of gold and set therein were gems uncounted from Valinor. But it had a power within it so that it rested lightly on its wearer as a strand of flax and whatsoever neck it clasped, it sat always with grace and loveliness There in Nargothrond, Finrod made his home with many of his people and he was named in the tongue of the dwarves Felagund, hewer of caves. And that name he bore thereafter until his end. But Finrod Felagund was not the first to dwell in the caves beside the river Narog. Galadriel, his sister, went not with him to Nargothrond. For in Doriath Dwelt Celeborn, kinsman of Thingol. And there was great love between them. Therefore she remained in the hidden kingdom and abode with Melian and of her learned great lore and wisdom concerning Middle Earth. But Turgon remembered the city set upon a hill, Tyrion the Fair, with its tower and tree. And he found not what he sought, but returned to Nevrast and sat in peace in Vinyamar by the shores of the sea. And in the next year, Ulmo himself appeared to him and bade him go forth alone into the Vale of Sirion. And Turgon went forth. And by the guidance of Olmo, he discovered the hidden vale of Tum Ladin in the encircling mountains in the midst of which there was a hill of stone. Of this he spoke to none as yet, but returned once more to Nevrast. And there began in his secret councils to devise the plan of a city after the manner of Tyrion upon tuna, for which his heart yearned in exile.

Don Marshall (119:04)

Wow.

Alan Sisto (119:05)

Wow, wow. Sean, that was great. I mean, I knew you said you were going to do the Metathadathod. And I thought, oh, that's fantastic. I forgotten just how much more there is to that, you know, afterwards. I mean. Yeah. And when, again, 30 years had passed, but still, you know, it's that 10,000.

Sean Marchese (119:23)

Foot view of the silver.

Alan Sisto (119:24)

Exactly. That's. That's what the Silmarillion does for you. But I love that. I mean, you would get sort of the community. Even in Doriath, we get the friendship and community between Turgon and Finrod.

Sean Marchese (119:36)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (119:37)

And of course, we got the incredible example of the Metathadathot itself. I love that. I loved seeing all the different elves come together.

Sean Marchese (119:45)

The Noldor, even the Feanorians, a couple of them at least. You know, the Ems. They came.

Alan Sisto (119:50)

They did. And I like that. The Noldor were willing to speak the Sindarin tongue rather than forcing these Elves to try to learn their tongue.

Sean Marchese (120:00)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (120:01)

And you know, to do that by choice rather than later when they would have to.

Sean Marchese (120:04)

When they're forced to not speak Quenya. Yeah, yeah. And you think of how important language is to Tolkien and how language is so important to this story specifically, that is about the people that speak these languages Tolkien invented and. Yeah. I mean, it's a strong marker of community. Absolutely. And the fact that the Noldor are willing to speak Sindarin is them saying, hey, we're gonna, you know, we're gonna be on your level. We're in your land. We're going to speak your language. Yes. Okay. Your inferior gray Elven brains can't process the Quenya language. Put that aside. I mean.

Alan Sisto (120:44)

Exactly.

Sean Marchese (120:45)

There's a positive side to it, too.

Alan Sisto (120:47)

There is. There is. I mean. Yeah. They were slow to master the tongue of Valinor. Okay.

Sean Marchese (120:51)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (120:52)

But nonetheless, instead of being the haughty, arrogant Noldor that we're sort of accustomed to.

Sean Marchese (120:58)

Right, Absolutely.

Alan Sisto (121:00)

They go ahead and kind of humble themselves a little bit. And I think it's a really neat example. I love the reminder of Nargothrond and Finrod, the way he actually has a conversation with Thingol about that. A little bit of community building there as well.

Sean Marchese (121:19)

Yeah. The transmission of knowledge. Right. I mean, Finrod can't build Nargothrond without Thingol's knowledge of, hey, there's this river and there's a place that you could build a place like this.

Alan Sisto (121:30)

And. And here's the name and number of a really good Dwarven contractor.

Sean Marchese (121:35)

And that, too. The Dwarves coming to, you know, to work for Finrod.

Matt from the Nerd of the Rings (121:39)

And.

Sean Marchese (121:39)

Yeah. It's a Paid gig, obviously.

Alan Sisto (121:41)

Sure, of course. But they don't have to do it.

Sean Marchese (121:43)

Right. And there must be friendship there if they give him a name in their own tongue. We know the Dwarves are not. Yeah, they're not liberal with giving names in the Dwarven tongue, are they?

Alan Sisto (121:52)

That is true. And of course, they. They. And they made the Nauglimir. I mean, you almost forget that it was originally made for him because it's so closely tied with Thingol, with Fingal the Silmaril later that you forget. At least I have forgotten sometimes that it was originally made for Finrod. And what a description of that piece as well. But, yeah, just fantastic.

Sean Marchese (122:14)

And there's a couple of other things in there as well. You know, we've got Galadriel, obviously. We know that Galadriel learns a great deal from Melian and much of who she is in Lord of the Rings. She is. Because she learns from Melian how to be wise and how to be this sort of powerful matriarch of an Elven community. So we get that there, obviously.

Alan Sisto (122:35)

Hopefully Celeborn listens to her more than Thingol. Listen to Melian. He is called the wise. So I think he must.

Sean Marchese (122:41)

Right. Yeah, I think he must. I was bummed that we didn't get more of the founding of Gondolin in this passage. I think it's actually a couple of chapters further in and I just didn't. I couldn't get it in here. No. But, you know, we'll see. Something interesting in the way Finrod and Turgon both kind of deal with this premonition that they received from Ulmo and how they both build secret communities and fill them with, you know, with their people and. I mean, I guess it doesn't ultimately go well for either of them.

Alan Sisto (123:17)

Well, no. Pretty much anything in this realm. This is Beleriand. It will all end under the same.

Sean Marchese (123:22)

Everything's going to fall. It's interesting that Nargothrond isn't quite as isolationist as Gondolin will be. True.

Alan Sisto (123:28)

Though in some ways. Maybe it would have been better had it stayed that way. I'm thinking of.

Sean Marchese (123:33)

Certainly would have been better if they hadn't built that bridge.

Alan Sisto (123:35)

Yeah, exactly. Turin's sort of turning him from an isolationist community into an offensive force was a strategic error.

Sean Marchese (123:44)

You know what we need? We need a causeway coming in here.

Alan Sisto (123:47)

That's right.

Sean Marchese (123:48)

Maybe just like sort of, I don't know, dragon wide, maybe. Just throwing that out there.

Alan Sisto (123:53)

Exactly, Exactly. But not two dragons wide. We only wanted.

Sean Marchese (123:57)

Right. Just one. Just One. No dragon's gonna come over it. They can't fly. So come on.

Alan Sisto (124:06)

Oh, Turin, Turin, Turin. Yeah. I even love the reminder of the community of Tyrion. You know, that this is what sort of motivates Turgon in terms of his desire to build gondolas. And it's remembering this place, this fair city with its tower and tree. Remembering his Fellowship and the community of Tyrion. And he wants to duplicate that here.

Sean Marchese (124:31)

Yeah. He wants to create a little Tyrion in Beleriand. He wants to create. Bring a little bit of Eldamar here and. That's a lovely thought.

Alan Sisto (124:41)

Yeah. It's neat to see that he's motivated by that inspiration.

Sean Marchese (124:44)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (124:45)

All right, well, I know you've got more to read, so you said you're reading from 17, was it?

Sean Marchese (124:51)

Yes. So this is chapter 17. This is from near the beginning of the chapter.

Alan Sisto (124:57)

Okay.

Sean Marchese (124:57)

Which is also called of the Coming of Men into the West.

Alan Sisto (125:00)

I love that. All right.

Sean Marchese (125:01)

In a valley among the foothills of the mountains below the springs of Thalos Finrod saw lights in the evening. And far off he heard the sound of song. At this he wondered much for the green elves of that land lit no fires, nor did they sing by night. At first, he feared that a raid of Orcs had passed the Leaguer of the North. But as he drew near, he perceived that it was not so for the singers used a tongue that he had not heard before neither that of Dwarves, nor of Orcs. Then Feligund, standing silent in the night shadow of the trees looked down into the camp, and there he beheld a strange people. Now these were a part of the kindred and following of Beor the Old, as he was afterwards called a chieftain among Men. After many lives of wandering out of the east he had led them at last over the Blue Mountains the first of the race of Men to enter Beleriand. And they sang because they were glad and believed that they had escaped from all perils and had come at last to a land without fear. Long Felagund watched them and love for them stirred in his heart. But he remained hidden in the trees until they had all fallen asleep. Then he went among the sleeping people and sat beside their dying fire where none kept watch. And he took up a rude harp which Beor had laid aside and he played music upon it such as the ears of men had not heard. For they had, as yet, no teachers in the art save only the dark elves in the Wild lands. Now men awoke and listened to Felagund as he harped and sang. And each thought that he was in some fair dream until he saw that his fellows were awake also beside him. But they did not speak or stir while Felagund still played because of the beauty of the music and the wonder of the song. Wisdom was in the words of the Elven king. And the hearts grew wiser that hearkened to him. For the things of which he sang of the making of Arda and the bliss of Aman beyond the shadows of the sea came as clear visions before their eyes. And his elvish speech was interpreted in each mind according to its measure. Thus it was that men called King Felagund whom they first met of all the Eldar, Gnom, that is wisdom in the language of that people. And after him they named his folk Nomin the Wise. Indeed they believed at first that Felagund was one of the Valar of whom they had heard rumor that they dwelt far in the west. And this was, some say, the cause of their journeying. But Felagund dwelt among them and taught them true knowledge. And they loved him and took him for their lord and were ever after loyal to the house of Finarfon. Now the Eldar were beyond all other peoples skilled in tongues. And Felagund discovered also that he could read in the minds of men such thoughts as they wished to reveal in speech so that their words were easily interpreted. It is said also that these men had long had dealings with the dark elves east of the mountains and from them had learned much of their speech. And since all the languages of the Quendi were of one origin the language of Beor and his folk resembled the Elven tongue in many words and devices. It was not long, therefore, before Felagund could hold converse with Beor. And while he dwelt with him, they spoke much together. But when he questioned him concerning the arising of men and their journeys, Beor would say little. And indeed he knew little. For the fathers of his people had told few tales of their past and a silence had fallen upon their memory. A darkness lies behind us, Beor said. And we have turned our backs upon it and we do not desire to return thither. Even in thought. Westwards our hearts have been turned and we believe that there we shall find light. But it was said afterwards among the Eldar that when men awoke in Hildorien at the rising of the sun, the spies of Morgoth were watchful. And tidings were soon brought to him. And this seemed to him so great a matter that secretly under shadow he Himself departed from Angband and went forth into Middle Earth, leaving to Sauron the command of the war of his dealings with men. The Eldar indeed knew nothing at that time and learnt but little afterwards. But that a darkness lay upon the hearts of men as the shadow of the kinslaying and the doom of Mandos lay upon the Noldor. They perceived clearly even in the people of the elf friends whom they first knew to corrupt or destroy. Whatsoever arose new and fair was ever the chief desire of Morgoth. And doubtless he had this purpose also in his errand by fear and lies to make men the foes of the Eldar and bring them up out of the east against Beleriand. But this design was slow to ripen and was never wholly achieved. For men, it is said, were at first very few in number. Whereas Morgoth grew afraid of the growing power and union of the Eldar and came back to Angband, leaving behind at that time but few servants and those of less might and cunning. Now, Felagund learned from Beor that there were many other men of like mind who were were also journeying westward. Others of my own kin have crossed the mountains, he said, and they are wandering not far away. And the Haladin, a people from whom we are sundered in speech, are still in the valleys on the eastern slopes awaiting tidings before they venture further. There are yet other men whose tongue is more like to ours with whom we have had dealings. At times they were before us on the westward march, but we passed them, for they are a numerous people and yet keep together and move slowly, being all ruled by one chieftain whom they call Marach. Now, the Green Elves of Ossiriand were troubled by the coming of men. And when they heard that a lord of the Eldar from over the sea was among them, they sent messengers to Lord, they said, if you have power over these newcomers, bid them return by the ways that they came, or else to go forward. For we desire no strangers in this land to break the peace in which we live. And these folk are hewers of trees and hunters of beasts. Therefore we are their unfriends. And if they will not depart, we shall afflict them in all ways that we can. Then, by the advice of Felagund, Beor gathered all the wandering families and kindreds of his people and they removed over Gelion and took up their abode in the lands of Amrad and Amras upon the east banks of the Kelon, south of Nan Elmoth, near to the borders of Doriath. And the name of that land thereafter was Estolad, the encampment. But when, after a year had passed, Felagund wished to return to his own country. Beor begged leave to come with him. And he remained in the service of the king of Nargothrond while his life lasted. In this way, he got his name Beor, whereas his name before had been Balon, for Beor signified vassal in the tongue of his people. The rule of his folk he committed to Baran, his elder son, and he did not return again to Estalad. Wow.

Alan Sisto (132:07)

That was a really. That was a really interesting choice. I liked that. And I like that you kept going. Because I was thinking, okay, if we're just talking about, you know, fellowship and community, it's going to be Finrod getting to know the men. And yet you were able to bring in so much more. I loved the mention of the other houses of men that Bayor talks about. Of course, each of these being their own communities. And then interestingly, the first time we get some conflict with another community, we have the green elves of Ossiriand.

Sean Marchese (132:39)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (132:39)

So we have the green elves.

Sean Marchese (132:40)

Don't welcome them. They other. The men. They do. These people are not like us, and we don't want them here. We don't understand their ways. They're. Yeah, they're clumsy. Kill things. They cut down trees. Yeah, they. And I get it. I mean, you know, it's. It's scary.

Alan Sisto (132:57)

They are.

Sean Marchese (132:57)

Evan. They are different, and they are different.

Alan Sisto (133:00)

And the solution is fair. You know, Feldigan's like, you know what? You should probably move on. And so they do.

Sean Marchese (133:06)

And so they do. But. But they become part of his community in doing that. And Beor becomes his vassal forever. So much so that he leaves behind Estala. Eventually he changes his name. He takes on a new.

Alan Sisto (133:21)

My name is now vassal. That is.

Sean Marchese (133:23)

Yeah.

Alan Sisto (133:23)

That is really saying something. Yeah.

Sean Marchese (133:25)

Right? Yeah, yeah. It's kind of. It's kind of self effacing in a way. It's like, you know, my name is just vassal. Start to think about it. Like, that's. Yeah, dude.

Alan Sisto (133:36)

Because we talk about the three houses of men, right? The house of Beor, the house of vassal is really what we're saying. Every time the guy who has a really good point committed himself to Finrod. It's fantastic.

Sean Marchese (133:48)

And the whole identity of this people now becomes we are the people who are the vassals of Finrod. We are the first ones that he found. We are the first ones to love him and to know him and to become friends with him. That's lovely.

Alan Sisto (134:03)

It really, really is.

Sean Marchese (134:05)

Again, we see a name. We see people giving Finrod a name. In their language, they call him gnome. You know, I've long said, I think this is a nod to the Book of Lost tales, the early legendarium, when Tolkien called the Noldor the gnomes. This is a way of kind of bringing that back and saying, hey, when you learn about this wise people, gnomes of folklore, this is what you're hearing about. And it's based on this love between men and Finrod. Once upon a time.

Alan Sisto (134:34)

I do love that, the way that Tolkien takes the things that, you know, you might think of gnomes as, you know, these little guys with a funny hat sitting on your lawn. But let me tell you the real story, right?

Sean Marchese (134:45)

They're these tall, beautiful, musical people, immortal.

Alan Sisto (134:49)

And wise beyond imagining. And, yeah. And of course, Finrod. Yeah, Finrod always has been my favorite. And so I was so grateful that you chose this. He's so foresighted, you know, it would have been very easy for him to other these men, to lump them in with Orcs, Right. Or to lump them in with Dwarves, which is not to say a whole lot higher than Orcs in the eyes of a lot of the Elves. Not Finrod. Finrod, of course, you know, had already grown close to the Dwarves. But, you know, there's certainly no questioning that the elves are superior, so to speak.

Sean Marchese (135:27)

Yeah, well, and it's interesting that you mentioned his foresight because I was going to ask, what is it about Finrod that makes him so receptive to welcoming others? You know, we see it first with the dwarves so much that they give him a name in their own language. We see it here so much that they give him a name in their own language. Like, what is it about Finrod? Maybe it is his foresight. Maybe it is just the knowledge that if we are going to defeat evil, even for a short time, we're going to need the help of all these people. I can't build my hidden city without the help of these Dwarves. And these people, these men, they're strong. They're rustic and they're crude and they're rude and they're hairy. But they're strong. They will be good allies. And I think he sees that when the other Elves don't.

Alan Sisto (136:18)

It is so interesting that you mention that, because now I'm put in mind of his sister of Galadriel, who thinks the exact same way about the dwarves. Later on, she sees in the dwarves the Perfect fighters, the perfect warriors to defeat the Orcs. And she builds a friendship with them. It's just.

Sean Marchese (136:40)

Yeah, wow, that's a really good point.

Alan Sisto (136:42)

The two of them, they clearly didn't.

Sean Marchese (136:44)

Learn it from Thingol. I mean, they learned a lot of things from Thingol, but they did not learn this.

Alan Sisto (136:48)

No, they did not. They absolutely did not. So there must be something with Finarfon. I mean, he must have really taught them well, sort of what comes to mind.

Sean Marchese (136:58)

And you stop and think, man, what if he had come back to Nor? You know, because he stayed in Valinor.

Alan Sisto (137:03)

Right, Exactly. He didn't go on that march.

Sean Marchese (137:05)

Wow.

Alan Sisto (137:07)

Oh, my goodness. Yeah.

Sean Marchese (137:08)

So much wisdom there.

Alan Sisto (137:10)

Yeah, absolutely. What a fantastic passage. I really thank you again for joining me for this. I really hope that we'll see you back here again soon. By the way, no pressure.

Sean Marchese (137:20)

I look forward to coming back again soon. I know we couldn't make it happen this season. Well, except for this, but. Well, yeah, you know where to find me.

Alan Sisto (137:28)

I do indeed, sir. Well, folks, that does wrap it up for another episode of the Prancing Pony podcast. Join me again next week when Dr. Sarah Brown begins her run this season for the PPPS. Can't believe I'm saying this either. 30th questions after nightfall.

Sean Marchese (137:42)

Wow. Wow. I can't wait for that. And I can't wait for her next run on the show. It's going to be amazing.

Alan Sisto (137:50)

It is going to be good.

Sean Marchese (137:51)

Well, folks, Alan and I want to thank the members of Team ppp. That's our editor, Jordan Renels, our barlowman, Becca Davis, social media manager Casey Hilsey, event and Patreon community coordinator Katie McKenna, graphic artist Megan Collins, and website guru Phil Dean.

Alan Sisto (138:08)

And please take a minute to check out the prancingponypodcast.com that's where you'll find our show notes, outtakes, Prancing Pony ponderings, as well as our online storefront where you can get PPP merch, including with all of that great episode artwork that Megan's been doing for the show over the last two seasons.

Sean Marchese (138:24)

Oh, there's some amazing stuff out there. Absolutely.

Alan Sisto (138:26)

So amazing work.

Sean Marchese (138:28)

You'll also want to visit our library page. The Prancing Pony podcast is, after all, all a podcast about the books. So if you're interested in a book that we've mentioned on the show, you'll find a link for it in our library. And we do get a small amount of compensation when you make your purchase, so we thank you for that.

Alan Sisto (138:43)

And of course, we also want to thank our patrons at the Kir Dan's contribution tier. I'm going to start with Demay in Alaska, Chad in Texas, Lance in New Jersey, Paul in Colorado, Joseph in Michigan, Kathy from North Carolina, Carlos in California, Brian in the uk, Jerry from Orange, Washington, Joe in Washington, Irwin from the Netherlands, Ben in Minnesota, Anthony in Texas, Zaksu in Illinois, Sarah in New Jersey, Joshua in Massachusetts, Lucy in Texas, Keith in Alabama, and Erica in Texas.

Sean Marchese (139:11)

There's also Carson in Oklahoma, Vivian in California, James in Massachusetts, Ann in Kentucky, Sean in New Jersey, Mason in California, Maureen from Massachusetts, Olivia in London, Robert in Arizona, Nick in Wisconsin, Lewis in South Carolina, Thomas in Germany, Craig in California, Bailey in Texas, Kevin in Massachusetts, Julie in Washington, Bruce in California, Joe in Maryland, Nathan in Arizona, and Kevin in Pennsylvania. Folks, thank you all so, so very.

Alan Sisto (139:46)

Much for your support indeed. Thank you.

Sean Marchese (139:50)

And everyone listening. Make sure you don't miss any episodes of the Prancing Pony podcast. Subscribe now through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or whatever your favorite podcast app is.

Alan Sisto (140:00)

That's right. And one last thing. As always, don't forget to send your thoughts, comments, and most of all, your favorite passage on fellowship and community to barlamantheprancingponypodcast.com and if you want your voice.

Sean Marchese (140:13)

Literally heard, well, just. Just send us audio of your question. Visit podinbox.com prancingponypod and record your question for us. But please be sure to still email the question to Barlaman, though.

Alan Sisto (140:25)

Now, even though Barlaman's been a lot more reliable lately, there is still a lot of mail to sort through. We'll try to get to you just as soon as we're able. As always, though, this has been far too short a time to spend amongst such excellent and admirable listeners and co hosts. But until next time, farewell, friends.