LotR -- Book 2 - Chapter 03 - The Ring goes South

[Tuor of Gondolin]

Related to earth features such as Caradhras seeming to have some kind of
consciousness, I've always found this rumination by Legolas to be curious:

Only I hear the stones lament them (Calebrimbor's people): 'deep they delved us, high they builded us; but they are gone'.

Should he be taken literally? I tend to think so.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Tuor of Gondolin

Related to earth features such as Caradhras seeming to have some kind of
consciousness, I've always found this rumination by Legolas to be curious:


Should he be taken literally? I tend to think so.

I tend to agree..... In some ways Legolas is an underdeveloped character, and says little especially during this phase of the journey (probably not unrelated to the fact that he hadn't quite " found his place" at this stage in the early drafts), but one of the things that gives him a depth beyond being the token keen sighted sharp-shooting elf, is his sensitivity to place. It can be seen here, will be seen a little later when he asks if they hear the voice of Nimrodel , in Fangorn and in Minas Tirith "The deeds of men wil lout last us Gimli". Maybe it is partly because he is an immortal being born into Middle Earth realtively late... the situation of the Sindar and silvan Elves at he end of the third age is rather different to that of the high. For them passing oversea is not "Going home" but something they do when desperate - like the people of Nimrodel. Yet if they remain they will diminish. Thinking about it - a lot of Legolas' speech is melancholy - if it isn't excessively light, flippant almost. At these times maybe he is overcompensating..

[Texadan]

The Hunter's Moon waxed round in the night sky, and put to flight all lesser stars. But low in the South one star shone red. Every night, as the Moon waned again, it shone brighter and brighter. Frodo could see it from his window, deep in the heavens, burning like a watchful eye taht glared above the trees on the brink of the valley.

Any clue what star this is and why it merited being singled out for such emphasis?

[Selmo]

If Frodo was star-gazing in our world, what he saw would probably be Mars.
There are other red stars low in the south in mid-winter, such as the ones in the constelations of Orion and Taurus but they are much less bright and not very obvious when close to a full moon.
.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I agree, Selmo, and being Mars, a planet, which changes its distance in relation to the Earth, would explain why it shines brighter over the course of several days/nights. Since Tolkien was always aware of the significance of natural objects and their relationship to mythology, I would interpret his use of Mars (the god of war) increasing as a sign of impending war. I could also imagine the red light in the sky evoking the image of a red burning eye.

Thanks for picking up that interesting detail, Texadan!

[davem]

As its a red star Borgil could be a possibility. More on M-e astronomy here

[Texadan]

I could not find how the stars were made though I'm fairly sure I've read it before. But the Sun and Moon originated from a fruit of Laurelin and a bloom of Telperion. Is there a place for planets as we know them in Tolkien's cosmology?

[Texadan]

Originally Posted by davem

As its a red star Borgil could be a possibility. More on M-e astronomy here

My apologies. I did not read far enough or closely enough in the article you linked to before my last post. The creation of the stars are given there.