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Originally Posted by Raynor
Then again, when we first see Legolas and Gimli after Boromir falls, only the elf seems to have actually fought ("all his arrows were spent"), while the dwarf may simply have been hunting (no actual slaying). Legolas might give him credit for slaying too, but Gimli sets the matters right later. It don't think it would have been appropiate for the dwarf to mention at that time that "hey, errr, my feet were to short to catch up with any of the retreating orcs, but I am glad you think of me that way  ". |
Or maybe he forgot his axes & had to kill the Orcs with his bare hands
I think the consensus is that Tolkien slipped there (as he did in other places in the story - like the distance from Bucklebury Ferry to Brandywine Bridge which is ten, not twenty miles & amended to that in the 50th Anniversary edition). The problem with simply accepting every statement as factually true & rejecting any possibility of a simple mistake on the author's part is that one has to start inventing sub text & backstory - if you're right about Legolas giving Gimli credit for kills he didn't make then we have to accept Legolas just made that story up on the spot & that Gimli didn't bother to correct him - why - embarrassment? Legolas comes across as patronising, Gimli as willing to accept credit for acts he had no part in. In other words the whole dynamic of the scene is changed, & its not about the death of Boromir but rather about the subtle & complex inter-relationship of Legolas & Gimli.
On the whole I think its easier to assume Tolkien forgot what he'd written earlier. Same thing, I think, with the Sauron never using his true name thing. This has folkloric roots, in that one's true name could be used to gain power over one.
Of course, its entirely possible that when Aragorn & Legolas were speaking it was true that Sauron never used his proper name (wanting to keep his actions secret as far as possible - or something like that) & that by the time of the confrontation at the Black Gate he no longer cared, as he thought he was about to win (or lose, if Aragorn had the Ring - but either way secrecy no longer mattered).