View Single Post
Old 11-30-2000, 01:34 AM   #5
Mister Underhill
Dread Horseman
 
Mister Underhill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Behind you!
Posts: 2,752
Mister Underhill has been trapped in the Barrow!
Ring

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 191
</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
<img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/eyepal.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: The Palantir

Of all the threads, this one was tailor made for the red-eye palantír icon!! Mith, you dropped the ball, man! (pun intended) <img src=laugh.gif ALT=":lol">

Here's what I make of it:

Both The Silmarillion and UT list Fëanor as the creator of the palantíri in their indices. It seems almost certain that he made them. Despite your keen observation about the lust inspired by some of Fëanor's creations, I think we can safely assume that the palantíri did not inspire an unquenchable desire to gaze into them of their own accord. From UT: &quot;Their use involved no peril...&quot;, and later, &quot;It must be remembered that the Stones were originally 'innocent', serving no evil purpose. It was Sauron who made them sinister, and instruments of domination and deceit.&quot;

My guess is that Sauron's domination of Saruman's Stone must have been the key factor in Pippin's irresistable urge to have another look (though I do not doubt that his natural inquisitiveness must have multiplied the urge and made it all the more unbearable).

The red glow is a stickier manner. I don't think you can postulate that it is the Eye of Sauron gazing into the companion Stone in Barad-dűr. The Stone was glowing when Wormtongue cast it down from Orthanc. If Sauron was gazing into his own Stone at this moment, wouldn't he have become aware of Saruman's defeat at Isengard? I admit that there's some wiggle-room in the description of how the palantíri work that would allow this possibility, but it just doesn't seem right to me.

That leaves two possibilities: (1) the glow was a natural function of the Stone becoming active, or (2) the glow became visible as a result of the Stone becoming active but was caused by a red glow in the chamber where it was housed in Barad-dűr. I favor the latter. I admit, though, that a quick scan of the texts didn't turn up any evidence to back up any theory on the glow one way or the other.

</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_profile&u=00000005>Mister Underhill</A> at: 11/30/00 2:38:33 am
Mister Underhill is offline