“Thee” and “thou” in “The Lord of the Rings”

[Galadriel]

I do believe that our dear professor wanted his books to have an ancient feel (or sound!) to them. Personally, I would have liked his works less if he had not done it that way.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Thanks for the additional information, Selmo! I'd read that but never experienced it, which accounts for not really believing it, I guess.

Galadriel, I understand what you're saying, but my point was that the archaic form is not something that is used throughout the book, but just in such isolated cases that it makes me look twice.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I just looked at what Hammond and Scull have to say about this passage in their LotR Reader's Companion:

Originally Posted by Hammond and Scull

Éowyn began this conversation with Aragorn using formal you, your, but here pointedly changes to the intimate thee, expressing her feelings. When their conversation resumes the next day, she continues to use thee, thou, but Aragorn consistently addresses her with you, your, painfully polite.

I hadn't read that before posting my thoughts, so I'm delighted to hear that the experts agree with me!

[Galadriel55]

Nice find, Esty! Fut the "thee" that always brought my attention was this one:

Then Eowyn looked in the eyes of Aragorn, and she said: "Wish me joy, my liege-lord and healer!"
And he answered: "I have wished thee joy ever since first I saw thee. It heals my heart to see thee now in bliss."

Quite the reverse here! Eowyn is being formal, and Aragorn is showing that they are closer than she thinks.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Ah, very nice find, Gal55! I hadn't realized that this passage rounds off the ones I quoted! I like that very much!

The Reader's Companion points to Kocher's Master of Middle-earth, Chapter "Aragorn":

It is symptomatic of his [Aragorn's] ease that he now dares use to her the familiar 'thee' with which she addressed him in her wooing but which he avoided in addressing her. Never has Tolkien looked into the human heart to better purpose than in this inset tale of Éowyn and Aragorn.

Now that Aragorn is (safely! ) married to Arwen, and no longer fears waking false hopes in Éowyn, (who is also now 'safely' in other hands) he comes full circle and shows that he cares deeply for her, though not as she formerly wished him to love her.

I do like this story of unrequited love.

[Inziladun]

If Éowyn's use of the archaic forms is due to an emotional outbreak, what does that say for some of the other uses?

There are many examples in Denethor's final speech to Gandalf:

'With the left hand thus wouldst use me for a little while as a shield against Mordor, and with the right bring up this Ranger of the North to supplant me.
But I say to thee, Gandalf Mithrandir, I will not be thy tool!'

And later with the Mouth of Sauron:

'Then thou art the spokesman, old greybeard? Have we not heard of thee at whiles, and of thy wanderings, ever hatching plots and mischief at a safe distance? But this time thous has stuck out thy nose too far, Master Gandalf; and thou shalt see what comes to him who sets his foolish webs beneath the feet of Sauron the Great.

I'd always thought the use of the old forms by Denethor annd the Mouth to have been a result of the speakers' desire to lend their words extra authority at those moments.