Did 🧙Gandalf not return to Frodo before after 17 years?

[herlig9]

I must have missed that part? Would that mean Frodo Baggins was 36-40 years old by the time Gandalf first visited. Then turned 50 when he left the Shire with the ring?

However... timeline consistency feels weird here.

I dunno. Can someone fact check me. My apologies.

Timeline of Frodo Baggins

A timeline of the life of Frodo Baggins in the Third Age.

tolkiengateway.net

 

[Deimos]

Without looking at "Chapter and Verse" nor anyone else's calculations here is what I recall:
1) Bilbo's 111th Birthday is also Frodo's 33rd "coming of age" birthday. At that time he takes ownership of the RIng, Gandalf tell him to keep it hidden and not use it, then leaves.
2) He shows up off and on for next few years, then I think there is a long space of time (10 years?) where he doesn't show at all
3) When Frodo is approaching his 50th birthday and getting restless (knowing Bilbo went on his adventure at age 50) Gandalf shows up in the early spring.
He proves to Frodo that the Ring is The One Ring Sauron is searching for, and they decide on the necessity of Frodo's leaving the Shire.
4) Frodo wants to stay until his Birthday (in Sept) and Gandalf agrees but says not to delay beyond that time. Then he leaves, saying he must visit Saruman for advice. (And we know how that goes 🙄)
So I think ten years is his longest absence, if not from the Shire environs, at least from visiting Frodo.

 

[Eldacar]

From Appendix B - The Tale of years:

3001 Bilbo’s farewell feast. Gandalf suspects his ring to be the One Ring. The guard on the Shire is doubled. Gandalf seeks for news of Gollum and calls on the help of Aragorn.
3002 Bilbo becomes a guest of Elrond, and settles in Riv-
endell.
3004 Gandalf visits Frodo in the Shire, and does so at
intervals during the next four years.
3007 Brand son of Bain becomes King in Dale. Death of
Gilraen.
3008 In the autumn Gandalf pays his last visit to Frodo.
[...]
The great years
3018, April, 12 Gandalf reaches Hobbiton

@Deimos, you got chapter and verse spot on!

 

[herlig9]

From Appendix B - The Tale of years:

3001 Bilbo’s farewell feast. Gandalf suspects his ring to be the One Ring. The guard on the Shire is doubled. Gandalf seeks for news of Gollum and calls on the help of Aragorn.
3002 Bilbo becomes a guest of Elrond, and settles in Riv-
endell.
3004 Gandalf visits Frodo in the Shire, and does so at
intervals during the next four years.
3007 Brand son of Bain becomes King in Dale. Death of
Gilraen.
3008 In the autumn Gandalf pays his last visit to Frodo.
[...]
The great years
3018, April, 12 Gandalf reaches Hobbiton

@Deimos, you got chapter and verse spot on!

This sounds like Gandalf didnt come back for 10 years. But on the internet i am told he took 17 years? So i get confused


17 YEARS. Lies ...

 

[Eldacar]

We are part of the internet and say otherwise ^^

I think it's a misunderstanding stemming from communities of LotR Fans that concern themselves mostly with the movies. The sequence from Gandalf leaving the Shire, studying in Minas Tirith and coming back is odd because you lose your feeling of time. Everyone knows, since he travelled to Gondor he must have been away quite some time, but the pacing of the movie implies he's coming back instantly. This dissonance led viewers to ask how long he really was gone, and found the answer insofar that between the events in the movie (Bilbos Birthday and Gandalf's urging Frodo to leave the Shire) lay 17 years, which is correct, but as shown above, leaves a lot of things out. Most LotR Fans, or at least those that are very present online, are from my understanding predominantly fans of the movies. So if you google the question, a lot of answers (probably especially the AI Regurgitation at the very top of Google) will answer you, that Gandalf left the Shire for 17 years. That at least is my theory.

Edit: I haven't seen the Bakshi LotR yet and now, that you posted this scene, it might also have something to do with that. I wasn't aware it was outright stated like this.

 

[Radaghast]

4) Frodo wants to stay until his Birthday (in Sept) and Gandalf agrees but says not to delay beyond that time. Then he leaves, saying he must visit Saruman for advice. (And we know how that goes 🙄)

This is actually a movie thing. In the book, Gandalf is summoned by Saruman via Radagast.

Edit: I haven't seen the Bakshi LotR yet and now, that you posted this scene, it might also have something to do with that. I wasn't aware it was outright stated like this.

The Bakshi movie actually speeds through the 17 years. It's really rather odd.

 

[Deimos]

4) Frodo wants to stay until his Birthday (in Sept) and Gandalf agrees but says not to delay beyond that time. Then he leaves, saying he must visit Saruman for advice. (And we know how that goes 🙄)

This is actually a movie thing. In the book, Gandalf is summoned by Saruman via Radagast.

You are right... and I can't believe I conflated the two. 😬🙄
He says he is "going down beyond the southern borders [of the Shire] to get some news...." That is all.

 

[Radaghast]

You are right... and I can't believe I conflated the two. 😬🙄
He says he is "going down beyond the southern borders [of the Shire] to get some news...." That is all.

Yeah, that's happened with me quite a few times.

 

[Eljorahir]

Gandalf cites a seventeen-year interval at the counsel, but it's about his research into Bilbo's ring and his desire to find Gollum.

Maybe some are confusing this statement with time between Shire visits:

"So I set a watch for him, guessing that he would ere long come forth from his darkness to seek for his treasure. He came, but he escaped and was not found. And then alas! I let the matter rest... ... ...That was seventeen years ago."