Hobbit2 - Chapter 03 - A Short Rest

[Formendacil]

Regarding the race of whom Elrond "was the chief," a few statements by Aragorn in Lord of the Rings have always seemed pertinent to me here (written, though they were, after the fact--at least, I assume so... I am actually not sure what edition of The Hobbit this statement about Elrond belongs to):

Originally Posted by Flight to the Ford

'Alas!' he cried. 'It was this accursed knife that gave the wound. Few now have the skill in healing to match such evil weapons. But I will do what I can.'

For the sake of completeness, the same chapter has a later quote on a similar note:

Originally Posted by Flight to the Ford

'Frodo has been touched by the weapons of the Enemy,' said Strider, 'and there is some poison or evil at work that is beyond my skill to drive out.'

Now, by itself this quote may not seem terribly remarkable--or even very pertinent--but I ask you to bear with me. In particular, it should be remembered that this is the first time Aragorn uses athelas in the story. I would also point out that in both these quotes, Aragorn marks himself as belonging to a select group of people who could heal such as wound, and as one who is not the foremost among that number. By itself, this could mean any number of things, but it crops up again, much later. In the meantime, as we well know, while Aragorn could only halt the Morgul-blade's advance, Elrond is the one who ultimately heals him. With this in mind, let us turn four books forward, right after Ioreth has remarked that "the Hands of the King are the Hands of a Healer":

Originally Posted by The Houses of Healing

Aragorn went first to Faramir, and then to the Lady Éowyn, and last to Merry. When he had looked on the faces of the sick and seen their hurts he sighed. 'Here I must put forth all such power and skill as is given to me,' he said. 'Would that Elrond were here, for he is the eldest of all our race, and has the greater power.'

(emphasis mine)

This later passage illumines the earlier ones from "Flight to the Ford," as it becomes clear that the "few" with the skill to battle the ailments of the Enemy are a race of people--the hands of the king are the hands of a healer and thus shall the rightful king be known. It is significant that Gandalf, far more powerful though he is than Aragorn, is not the one who cures the Black Breath.

Nor is it a red herring that the reference to "our race" here is aimed more at descendents of Lúthien (and thus of the Maiar) than of having "Elves and heroes of the North" for ancestors, since the mixed blood of Elves and heroes of the North (the Edain) only descended together through the children of Eärendil and Elwing, who were thus all descended from Lúthien. It is quite easy to read this passage from The Hobbit in that light, making "chief" the equivalent of "eldest." What is more, as jallanite's post suggests, the Dúnedain of the North were closely bound to the people of Elrond by this time. Elrond had the keeping of the Heirlooms of Isildur, including the Sceptre of Annúminas, which he hands over to Aragorn at Minas Tirith, and he fosters the Heirs of Isildur in his own house.

Indeed, it is also worth noting--though it's more trivia than intended surely, as far as this passage goes--that Aragorn and his mother Gilraen (herself a descendent of the Arnorian kings) were both in residence in Rivendell when Bilbo passed through. I mention Gilraen particularly, because I suspect that her case (that of belonging to a cadet branch of the House of Elendil) was probably typical of the Dúnedain of the North--even if it were not universal, their population must have dwindled to the point where having the blood of "our race" was more common than not. I don't think there's any need to make a case for Elrond being the interim chieftain of the Dúnedain to explain this passage however--"chief" does not only denote "chieftain" but also simply means "foremost," and I doubt that anyone would argue that Elrond was the foremost member of this "race," regardless of whatever formal status he had.

All of which is a lot of extracted thought from The Lord of the Rings on a fairly minor point in the text of The Hobbit, but it shows a compatibility between the texts--even if it was written before the The Lord of the Rings was ever conceived. And, if so, it demonstrates I guess the consistency of artistic vision that Tolkien possessed.