The Middle Earth Popularity Cup

[Groin Redbeard]

Originally Posted by Gollum the Great

I like the Gaffer, but Frodo was, how shall I put it? Self-sacrificing.

You hit the nail right on the head, Gollum. Substance wins over empty rhetoric everytime, at least in my book. The Gaffer, as good as he is, has never shown the same type of courage that Frodo has already showed us; besides, I have suspicions that the Gaffer is actually a Flip-Flopper.

++"Mad" Baggins jr.

It looks like the Ring Bearer has won by a landslide!

[skip spence]

Yes, The Gaffer was quite out of his league, despite his 'taters expertise.

Moving on we have a thrilling encounter between two trusty friends, none too keen on trespassers. In the blue corner we have Farmer Maggot, a very popular figure despite beating Frodo on occation, and not in a popularity contest. In the red corner there's the imposing Beleg Strongbow, the mighty captain of Doriath. He's most famous for his big bow, but is he trying to compensate for something?

Beleg Strongbow vs. Farmer Maggot

Vote for your favourite!

[Aganzir]

++ Beleg

Every time I read about him and Túrin, I feel like drawing or painting them, just to see if I'm capable of picturing such a close bond, such a friendship. Maggot is okay (besides his wife cooks mushrooms, mmmm!), and in another situation he might have got my vote, but right now I prefer tragedy and strong emotions to nice, plain life.
Besides isn't it just adorable how Beleg returned to Túrin time and time again although in the end it resulted in his death?

[skip spence]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

++ Beleg
Every time I read about him and Túrin, I feel like drawing or painting them, just to see if I'm capable of picturing such a close bond, such a friendship.

If I were a painter I wouldn't mind having a go at the scene when Turin realises what he's done, kneeling over his slain best friend in the rain and thunder with blood-stained hands and face.

Farmer Maggot is too cool for school though.

++Maggot

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Just a short note to the previous voting, if I may:

Originally Posted by Groin Redbeard

You hit the nail right on the head, Gollum. Substance wins over empty rhetoric everytime, at least in my book. The Gaffer, as good as he is, has never shown the same type of courage that Frodo has already showed us; besides, I have suspicions that the Gaffer is actually a Flip-Flopper.

Gaffer is actually a "common man" and he is a very good person. "Empty rhetoric" is no way for him, he is actually even "wiser" than Frodo, in the more "down-to-ground" way. Have you seen, for example, the Magnificent Seven? "The villagers won..." The heroes win, but that does not make any single one of those others, non-heroes, any less significant.

Similarly with Farmer Maggot, although he is the one who is far more "clever", in the sense, far more "aware" of the world around him than Gaffer. But Gaffer is a "man in his place", truly. Frodo's vocation was to destroy the Ring, Gaffer's vocation was to care of taters. Both important. Frodo was maybe more of a "moral figure", but then, Gaffer was never in the position - how could we know how he would have acted, had he been the Ringbearer? (When it comes to the moral choices - not to skills, his skills were with taters, not with the knowledge of Elven lore or sneaking past Orc guards - I would say he may have resisted the Ring for as long and carried it as far as Frodo.)

That's just to clear something about the first "duel" - and to make it clear what was not the reason for me to pick Frodo. Now, on to the second one:

++Beleg

Simply because mostly of what was already said here, and especially because I found all the complex of people around Túrin most intriguing lately (those who know my WW game "Werewolves among the Wolf-Men" know well). And, okay, I like the Elves more than Hobbits

[Lalwendë]

++Maggot

1. Because he's a Hobbit and they win over Elves every time.

2. Because his missus knows how to cook up bacon and shrooms.

3. Because he's a farmer and so I can relate to him better.

4. Because he has a good name.

[Gollum the Great]

++The Strongbow

Friend of Friends, as Tolkien puts it. I get the shivers reading that line. This elf is one of my favourites.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Just a short note to the previous voting, if I may:

Gaffer is actually a "common man" and he is a very good person. "Empty rhetoric" is no way for him, he is actually even "wiser" than Frodo, in the more "down-to-ground" way. Have you seen, for example, the Magnificent Seven? "The villagers won..." The heroes win, but that does not make any single one of those others, non-heroes, any less significant.

Not wishing to steer this vote any further afield, but as an actual character, Gaffer is by far more interesting and deep than Frodo. Certainly, Frodo is a more important character than poor old Gamgee, but then Gaffer is much more indicative of actual Hobbits than Frodo (Bilbo and Frodo had that odd and uncharacteristic Tookish strain that was antithetical to stolid Hobbitishness).

In addition, we see the true genius of Tolkien's writing and his love of dialect and language more so in the Gaffer than in Frodo. To me, the Gaffer is more 'real', if one can say that about fictional folk, and he is a wonderful personification of old, befuddled but wise folk we all know or have met at one time or another. One can love Gaffer like one would your own cranky grandfather; Frodo, however, is a bit too whiny and melancholy (in a stilted literary sense) for my taste, and it is Gafffer's son, Samwise, bred of the same tough stock and prone to uttering the same bits of folksy wisdom, that saves the quest.

So if, indeed, your poll is asking who is the more popular, rather than most important character, my vote would certainly be Gaffer over Frodo.

The same would go for the Beleg vs Maggot question. Obviously, Beleg is an important figure and his friendship and loyalty are unquestionably great; however, he is a literary cipher without personality or depth, whereas we get a true sense of who Farmer Maggot really is. Ergo, I would choose Maggot.

[skip spence]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

So if, indeed, your poll is asking who is the more popular, rather than most important character, my vote would certainly be Gaffer over Frodo.

The same would go for the Beleg vs Maggot question. Obviously, Beleg is an important figure and his friendship and loyalty are unquestionably great; however, he is a literary cipher without personality or depth, whereas we get a true sense of who Farmer Maggot really is. Ergo, I would choose Maggot.

Your motivation behind a vote matters not to the result of the poll, so if you base your choice on how pretty the actor who played him/her in the movies is or on some high-brow theory of how well the character's heroic but vain struggles symbolises the pagan eschatological view that the destruction of man and all of his creations is inevitable, the end result is the same: one vote. I'd be interested to hear your reasoning though, be it humorous, serious or just whimsical.

I take it that your choice would be Maggot, Morth, in which case the score is tied at 3-3. It's anyone's game.

[mormegil]

++Beleg

[Eönwë]

++Farmer Maggot

Mmmm... Mushrooms.

[the phantom]

++Beleg

What more could you ask for than someone who is kind, forgiving, wise, a great warrior, and an even better friend?