📖👀 Chapter 2 (📔Book III): The Riders of Rohan

[Rivendell_librarian]

This is a chapter with plenty of content and action. We meet for the first time some of the people of Rohan, in this case a cavalry force charged with the care of the eastern section of East Emnet. There are some beautiful descriptions of scenery and setting starting with the wonderful first paragraph. Yet, the land is otherwise bare of people, horses or cattle. There are also a number of mysteries that are only later resolved. The first one is a small number of dead orcs on the trail. Aragorn understands it as the result of a conflict between orcs from the North and those from Isengard.

"Before them in the West the world lay formless and grey" reminds me of this passage from Milton's Paradise Lost

The World was all before them, where to choose
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide:
and "formless and grey" reminds me of "formless and void" in the Genesis creation account that was read out on the Moon.

A little later when Aragorn spies the White Mountains (the northern frontier of Gondor) he cries out "Gondor, Gondor, would that I looked on you again in happier hour!" which compares with

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Did Tolkien decide to be playful with allusions in this short passage?

The chase is on. There is discussion over whether to carry on at night and so risk missing the trail or something of note. Aragorn finds the brooch of an elven-cloak (Pippins's) "not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall" -one of the most memorable quotes in the whole story imo. Legolas perceives they are thirty six hours behind the orcs though one wonders what they could have done had they caught them up. Legolas remains optimistic but Gimli becomes pessimistic - the Saruman effect?

Eventually they meet the Riders led by Eomer who are returning from killing the very orc band they have been chasing. They describe the hobbits or Halflings to the Riders but they were not seen: all were killed and burnt in a pyre. Gimli and Legolas challenge the Riders on first meeting - rather ridiculous given their numbers - the Saruman effect again? Aragorn acts as peacemaker rather as a captain parting angry players on the football field. Aragorn reveals Anduril and who he actually is to Eomer's amazement. We learn from Eomer about the military organisation of Rohan and the current situation with the threat coming from Isengard at this time. There are also dark hints about Theoden and the court at Edoras.

It is against the law of Rohan to allow strangers to roam freely in the land. Aragorn points out that he has ridden with the Rohirrim in the past and persuades Eomer to make an exception in the circumstances. Aragorn does not mention the Ring of course. We also learn that Boromir is well respected in Rohan but Gandalf less so having chosen Shadowfax as a mount last summer. Hammond and Scull discuss the slowness of Shadowfax in returning to Rohan.

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli find no trace of Merry and Pippin at the pyre. Other mysteries remain: a tree with fingers who seems to warm himself at their camp fire and an old man in a grey cloak and wide-brimmed hat who disappears along with their three horses the Riders had given them.

It's remarkable how similar this chapter to John Ford's The Searchers. In that film, three people are chasing a warrior band of Comanches who had kidnapped John Wayne's (Ethan Edwards) niece (or daughter?). Earlier when they are racing back to Ethan's brother's home, the younger Jeffrey Hunter (Martin Pawley) drives his horse on while Ethan and Mose Harper give their horse rest and grain. Later we see Martin carrying his saddle and asking for a lift (refused). Was John Ford a fan of Tolkien. The Searchers is based on an actual story but significant changes were made.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Gimli and Legolas challenge the Riders on first meeting - rather ridiculous given their numbers - the Saruman effect again? Aragorn acts as peacemaker rather as a captain parting angry players on the football field

For what it's worth -- if anything -- here's a discussion between (ahem) two "brand new" members on that encounter:

Introductions...

In, The Two Towers film when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet Eomer and the Riders of Rohan in the Riddermark why does Aragorn identify himself and Gimli as, "son of..." but introduce Legolas only as being an inhabitant of the Woodland Realm? Doesn't Aragorn know Legolas' father is Thranduil? He...

thetolkien.forum

 

[Muskrat]

No real tableaux, but good descriptions of Rohan.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I may be misunderstanding exactly what you mean by the term, but two come to mind for me:

First is the scene of the Riders circling the Three Hunters, drawing closer and closer, while Aragorn stands stoic, unmoving, like one of the great Native American -- or as Tolkien called them, "Red Indian" -- chiefs. A truly "cinematic" moment (flattened and ruined by PJ).

The second comes soon afterward, when Aragorn brings out Anduril, crying "Elendil!"; the reactions of Gimli, Legolas, and Eomer make the scene a tableau, at least in my mental picture.

 

[Muskrat]

Perhaps you are right, but I tend to think of them as frozen scenes in which nothing is happening.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I'll note an example of "contrasted parallels" is introduced in the chapter -- in this case, between Eomer, an open and forthright character, and Aragorn, who is more thoughtful and circumspect. Of course, another, more strikingly-contrasted character will be met, much later in the story.

Another parallel, which we'll see when we get to the next book, is that Frodo and Sam are negotiating the Emyn Muil at the time the Hunters are doing the same on the other side of the River.

And if I have the timing right, the odd statements by Legolas:

'Strange things await us by the eaves of the forest. Good or evil, I do not know; but we are called. Awake!'

And:

' Tomorrow is unknown. Rede oft is found at the rising of the Sun.'

are paralleled nearly simultaneously by Frodo's "foresight":

'It's my doom, I think, to go to that Shadow yonder, so that a way will be found. But will good or evil show it to me?'

If I can be forgiven for injecting a bit of silliness here, I'll add a question from a physics textbook concerning the extraordinary eyesight demonstrated by Legolas, courtesy of Halasian:

I can just see it now!

 

[Olorgando]

If I can be forgiven for injecting a bit of silliness here, I'll add a question from a physics textbook concerning the extraordinary eyesight demonstrated by Legolas, courtesy of Halasian:

View attachment 32506

I can just see it now!
View attachment 32507

Ah! That relative of sine and cosine! 😁

Maybe Legolas's keen eyesight is related to a term in digital photography: pixels.
My 2004 Konica Minolta Dimage Z3 has a 4 megapixel CCD. There were other affordable digital cameras at the time that had up to 6 Mpix. Or if you wanted to shell out the equivalent of a compact car, Hasselblads with 20 Mpix.
I have no idea what resolution the camera parts of smartphones have nowadays, except that it's well beyond the 4 Mpix of my camera.
Pixels translate into rods (b&w) and cones (color) in the human eye (and others). So perhaps Elves have more tightly packed light receptors in their retinas than humans do, several times more so. Pupils might also factor in, not just size but shape, reducing distortion.
To belabor the comparison to my camera, perhaps elven eyes also have a zoom function. My camera has a twelve-fold zoom, ranging from 35 mm (equivalent), slightly wide-angle, to 420 mm, serious telephoto range - which you don't "shoot" free-handed, you definitely want a tripod or some place to put the camera down on.

On the other hand, that zoom business does conjure up (if minimal memory serves) visions of the Lee Majors title character in the 1970's TV series "The Six Million Dollar Man" ...

 

[Starbrow]

On the other hand, that zoom business does conjure up (if minimal memory serves) visions of the Lee Majors title character in the 1970's TV series "The Six Million Dollar Man" ...

Don't forget to include the beeping sound effects to go with the bionic eye.

 

[Vardarianna]

I may be misunderstanding exactly what you mean by the term, but two come to mind for me:

First is the scene of the Riders circling the Three Hunters, drawing closer and closer, while Aragorn stands stoic, unmoving, like one of the great Native American -- or as Tolkien called them, "Red Indian" -- chiefs. A truly "cinematic" moment (flattened and ruined by PJ).

The second comes soon afterward, when Aragorn brings out Anduril, crying "Elendil!"; the reactions of Gimli, Legolas, and Eomer make the scene a tableau, at least in my mental picture.

I'll note an example of "contrasted parallels" is introduced in the chapter -- in this case, between Eomer, an open and forthright character, and Aragorn, who is more thoughtful and circumspect. Of course, another, more strikingly-contrasted character will be met, much later in the story.

Another parallel, which we'll see when we get to the next book, is that Frodo and Sam are negotiating the Emyn Muil at the time the Hunters are doing the same on the other side of the River.

And if I have the timing right, the odd statements by Legolas:

And:

are paralleled nearly simultaneously by Frodo's "foresight":

I find this chapter quite interesting with the introduction of Eomer and the riders. The dynamics between the Three Hunters and Eomer and the Riders when they first meet is rather intense. I agree that it was "flattened and ruined" by PJ in the movie even if I swooned for Karl Urban depicting Eomer.

Also, the dynamics of the two bands of orcs are focused on and the different priorities between those of the Red Eye and the White Hand. Again, something "flattened and ruined" by PJ.

 

[Vardarianna]

If I can be forgiven for injecting a bit of silliness here, I'll add a question from a physics textbook concerning the extraordinary eyesight demonstrated by Legolas, courtesy of Halasian:

View attachment 32506

I would think Legolas.... elven eyes and all... would need some Ray-Ban polarized sunglasses on as he stood on a rocky ridge (which is something else I have a problem with in the movies), or are we saying that Middle Earth was still flat after the downfall of Numenor?

 

[Eljorahir]

The Strange Paths of Elvish Dreams​

"...and he could sleep, if sleep it could be called by Men, resting his mind in the strange paths of Elvish dreams, even as he walked open-eyed in the light of this world."



I guess I can't think of a comment other than: I really like this bit.

 

[Vardarianna]

Yes, that has always intrigued me about elves and how they gain their rest.

 

[Eljorahir]

The Strange Paths of Elvish Dreams

OK, now my brain found the comment I was looking for...

This phrase really jumps off the page for me and seems as though it could easily be the title of a book (most-likely of Elvish poetry).

My somewhat less-serious comment...
It could be the title of a textbook on elvish psychoanalysis:

The Strange Paths of Elvish Dreams
by Sigmundor of the House of Freudwe.