[davem]

Baldor the Hapless

Away to the left something glittered in the gloom as Aragorn's torch drew near. Then Aragorn halted and went to look what it might be.
'Does he feel no fear?' muttered the Dwarf. 'In any other cave Gimli Gloin's son would have been the first to run to the gleam of gold. But not here! Let it lie!'
Nonetheless he drew near, and saw Aragorn kneeling, while Elladan held aloft both torches. Before him were the bones of a mighty man. He had been clad in mail, and still his harness lay there whole; for the cavern's air was as dry as dust, and his hauberk was gilded. His belt was of gold and garnets, and rich with gold was the helm upon his bony head face downward on the floor. He had fallen near the far wall of the cave, as now could be seen, and before him stood a stony door closed fast: his finger-bones were still clawing at the cracks. A notched and broken sword lay by him, as if he had hewn at the rock in his last despair.
Aragorn did not touch him, but after gazing silently for a while he rose and sighed, 'Hither shall the flowers of simbelmyne come never unto world's end,' he murmured. 'Nine mounds and seven there are now green with grass, and through all the long years he has lain at the door that he could not unlock. Whither does it lead? Why would he pass? None shall ever know!

The first time I read this chapter I was struck by the finding of the body at the door. This is an ioncredibly creepy moment. as the Comppany pass through the Paths of the Dead they find a corpse. He is not one of the Dead - he is merely dead. At this point in the narrative we are told nothing about him - although Aragorn seems to know his story he does not ellucidate for the benefit of his companions. In fact, it is not till the next chapter that we start to be given his background:

It is said that when the Eorlingas came out of the North and passed at length up the Snowbourn, seeking strong places of refuge in time of need, Brego and his son Baldor climbed the Stair of the Hold and so came before the Door. On the threshold sat an old man, aged beyond guess of years; tall and kingly he had been, but now he was withered as an old stone. Indeed for stone they took him, for he moved not, and he said no word, until they sought to pass him by and enter. And then a voice came out of him, as it were out of the ground, and to their amaze it spoke in the western tongue: The way is shut.
'Then they halted and looked at him and saw that he lived still; but he did not look at them. The way is shut, his voice said again. It was made by those who are Dead, and the Dead keep it, until the time comes. The way is shut.
'And when will that time be?' said Baldor. But no answer did he ever get. For the old man died in that hour and fell upon his face; and no other tidings of the ancient dwellers in the mountains have our folk ever learned. Yet maybe at last the time foretold has come, and Aragorn may pass.

We perhaps learn a little here about the nature of Baldor: he is not afraid to challenge this mysterous figure, the ‘guardian of the Door to the Paths of the Dead. He is also, it seems, an impatient young man. His innate curiosity comes across in the fact that though the man has told him that the way is shut until the time comes Baldor demands to know when that time shall be. This incident clearly plays on his mind - he cannot let it go. It seems to eat away at him, until opportunity arises:

'No man knows,' said Theoden: 'yet ancient legend, now seldom spoken, has somewhat to report. If these old tales speak true that have come down from father to son in the House of Eorl, then the Door under Dwimorberg leads to a secret way that goes beneath the mountain to some forgotten end. But none have ever ventured in to search its secrets, since Baldor, son of Brego, passed the Door and was never seen among men again. A rash vow he spoke, as he drained the horn at that feast which Brego made to hallow new-built Meduseld, and he came never to the high seat of which he was the heir

(2512-70: 2. Brego. He drove the enemy out of the Wold, and Rohan was not attacked again for many years. In 2569 he completed the great hall of Meduseld. At the feast his son Baldor vowed that he would tread 'the Paths of the Dead' and did not return.*2 Brego died of grief the next year.)

At Theoden’s funeral we are given Baldor’s ‘nickname’:

Then a minstrel and loremaster stood up and named all the names of the Lords of the Mark in their order: Eorl the Young; and Brego builder of the Hall; and Aldor brother of Baldor the hapless.

It’s interesting to look at the varioous meanings of the word ‘Hapless’:http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=hapless. There are various meanings, ranging from unlucky to cursed.

So, Baldor swears his rash vow at the feast, & dies mysteriously on the Paths of the Dead. We don’t know what he sought, but its clear that he didn’t die trying to escape from the Paths, but to get through the door he found in the cave wall:

He had fallen near the far wall of the cave, as now could be seen, and before him stood a stony door closed fast: his finger-bones were still clawing at the cracks. A notched and broken sword lay by him, as if he had hewn at the rock in his last despair.

It seems his ‘despair’ was not related to his inability to escape but to his inability to get through the door. What was on the other side - or, more importantly, what did Baldor believe was on the other side of it? Had the dead shown him something, only to take it away? Could he have escaped but chose not to go, preferring to die there? Or was it that he had become trapped by the Dead & saw the door as his only escape from them? We’ll never know, & I think that’s why this episode is at once so mysterious & disturbing. We both want to know what happened and at the same time do [/i]not[/i]!

Something else struck me. Baldor’s place in the royal line is taken by his younger brother, Aldor:

2544-2645: 3. Aldor the Old. He was Brego's second son. He became known as the Old, since he lived to a great age, and was king for 75 years. In his time the Rohirrim increased, and drove out or subdued the last of the Dunlendish people that lingered east of Isen. Harrowdale and other mountain-valleys were settled.

Is anyone else struck by the similarity between Baldor/Aldor & Boromir/Faramir? The older brother in each case is reckless, proud & ‘hapless’. Each falls, to be replaced by a wiser younger brother, who is more suited to rule. Maybe it was better in each case that the older brother died. Boromir redeems himself in his fall, Baldor, on the other hand, remains an example of folly. In the end, whatever vow he took in the Hall that night is not recorded - to go & return? To dare the Paths whetever betide? To test the old man’s words? Like the exact reason for his death in the darkness, we’ll never know. Certainly, it seems his fate was sealed by the old man’s words. And given the situation of the old man, one may be forgiven for wondering if, after all Baldor was cursed.