LotR -- Book 5 - Chapter 06 - The Battle of Pelennor Fields

[Lalwendë]

Right, where to start...?

Firstly, I liked what Celuien says about Eowyn's love. I think that what drives her to join the men in battle is love, unrequited love for Aragorn, and it is certainly love that gives her the courage to face the WK. That was a great insight! perhaps it is at this moment that Eowyn realises who she really does love, and that is her Uncle - this is a strong bond, possibly much stronger than the bond of the soldier and his superior/king/captain. The WK lacks anything approaching Love and this makes for a good opposite force. In addition, it shows that in Tolkien's world (and also in our own), the strength of Love is greater than the strength of Hate.

In this chapter are those terrifying lines:

He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye

I hadn't thought about these lines all that much until Eomer of the Rohirrim brought them up in another discussion, and now I can't get them out of my mind.

I still want to know what the 'houses of lamentation' are. Could they be something to do with what Gandalf says? The 'abyss' that was prepared for him? Or are they some kind of alternate Halls of Mandos? If both are different places, I do wonder just what kind of punishment an eternal abyss might be for a figure such as the WK; only a place which deprived such a figure of any power might be truly a threat.

And so in this place and that, by burned homestead or barn, upon hillock or mound, under wall or on field, still they gathered and rallied and fought until the day wore away.

This line I find gives us some interesting detail about the place where this battle takes place. Unlike the bleak and empty plain as seen in the films, this Pelennor is clearly a living landscape, a place which had been filled with farms and homes, it even has a field system with walls. Clearly this would affect the battle itself. it is easy to imagine the broad sweeping scenes of the films with horsemen and Mumakil thundering about, but going by this description it might have been a much more difficult environment for a battle, even taking into account that the enemy forces may have knocked down any buildings.

We also learn some facts about the enemies, that the Easterlings are experienced in battle, and the Corsairs strike fear into the hearts of the Gondorians (hinting at their past history of conflict). I do wonder who are the 'Variags of Khand'? When first mentioned I took them to be Men, but along with the orcs they fear light and I wonder exactly what race they belong to. This is something I shall have to look up.

to the land of the Haradrim came only a tale from far off: a rumour of the wrath and terror of Gondor

Despite the elation brought about by victory, I also felt a little sad when I read this line. The way it is worded, mentioning Gondor is the same breath as wrath and terror, I do wonder if it is intended to have that effect, to make us stop for a moment and think of the effects of war, even on the enemy. It is clear from it that the men who went to fight did not return, and their people would be left to survive without them. Likewise, it throws into relief the fate that would have faced Rohan if things had not gone their way.

I also was quite taken with the description of the evening sun hitting the battlefield and river and making them look as though they were bloody. It makes me think of a tale I heard from someone I know who was working in Africa and saw the waters of Lake Victoria (I hope i've got the right lake there!) turn red one day; the red was the blood washing downstream after a confrontation between Hutu and Tutsi forces.

The description of the origins and breeding of the WK's steed are also interesting, and suggest that it is one of a breed of creature that has somehow survived from ancient times. And where are the 'forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon'? Are there parts of Middle-earth where the sun does not reach? Maybe this is Khand and might explain why the Variags shun the light? Yet in the midst of the description of this terrifying creature I found something which made me smile:

the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats

As a fan of The League of Gentlemen, I wondered if Hilary Briss might have been the Dark Lord, feeding creatures on 'special stuff'.