| Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174144] |
Do, 24 November 2005 10:00 |
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I get the impression that the greensward (or sward of green) that the
Fellowship encounter around Mirrormere and at Parth Galen (which
translates as 'Green Sward') are lawns of grass. Parth Galen is
described as a lawn, and the sward at Mirromere is described as smooth.
But then I realised that both Parth Galen and Mirrormere have been
abandoned for years, if not hundreds of years. What would keep these
lawns nice and neat and cropped short? Sheep? Rabbits? Monthly visits by
the Middle-earth gardeners guild? Or are they simply not grass, but
another plant that would not be invaded and/or run wild?
Christopher
--
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Reply clue: Saruman welcomes you to Spamgard
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174145 ] |
Do, 24 November 2005 12:09 |
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Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
> I get the impression that the greensward (or sward of green) that the
> Fellowship encounter around Mirrormere and at Parth Galen (which
> translates as 'Green Sward') are lawns of grass. Parth Galen is
> described as a lawn, and the sward at Mirromere is described as smooth.
> But then I realised that both Parth Galen and Mirrormere have been
> abandoned for years, if not hundreds of years. What would keep these
> lawns nice and neat and cropped short? Sheep? Rabbits? Monthly visits by
> the Middle-earth gardeners guild? Or are they simply not grass, but
> another plant that would not be invaded and/or run wild?
In case of Mirrormere I'd say it's just part of the magic of the place.
--
Linards Ticmanis
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174146 ] |
Do, 24 November 2005 13:02 |
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"Christopher Kreuzer" <spamgard [at] blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in
news:Jifhf.14472$Lw5.7054 [at] text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:
>
> I get the impression that the greensward (or sward of green) that
> the Fellowship encounter around Mirrormere and at Parth Galen
> (which translates as 'Green Sward') are lawns of grass. Parth
> Galen is described as a lawn, and the sward at Mirromere is
> described as smooth. But then I realised that both Parth Galen and
> Mirrormere have been abandoned for years, if not hundreds of
> years. What would keep these lawns nice and neat and cropped
> short? Sheep? Rabbits? Monthly visits by the Middle-earth
> gardeners guild? Or are they simply not grass, but another plant
> that would not be invaded and/or run wild?
The Mirrormere wasn't abandoned. The orcs of Moria employed
gardeners who would mow the grass, tend the flowers, etc. Then came
these hooligans from the west who trampled through the lawn and
ruined the landscape. Luckily the wardens managed to reduce their
number by one before they got to the really scenic parts, but the
others got away.
Moria later sent out a search party, combining with the authorities
at Isengard and Mordor in an attempt to find and arrest these
vandals. They managed to catch a couple, but lost contact with them
around Fangorn National Park.
--
Cheers, ymt.
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174147 ] |
Do, 24 November 2005 13:27 |
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Or are they simply not grass, but
> another plant that would not be invaded and/or run wild?
As often with JRRT it might pay to consider the history of English,
because he did it all his waking hours and probably when dreaming too:
Oxford Dictionary of Etymology 1982 shows that "lawn" mean "an open
space between woods in the 16th century" but "a portion of level grassy
ground kept mown" in the 18th.It is a later form of 14th century
"laund" meaning glade or pasture, from the Old French.
I suspect he will have deliberately used the 16th cent. meaning, just
as he uses other words eg "doom" in older meanings.
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174154 ] |
Do, 24 November 2005 16:06 |
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Yuk Tang wrote:
> The Mirrormere wasn't abandoned. The orcs of Moria employed
> gardeners who would mow the grass, tend the flowers, etc. Then came
> these hooligans from the west who trampled through the lawn and
> ruined the landscape.
Don't tell me Kheled-zāram's been "discovered"? Now I suppose
they'll make a tacky theme park out of the place.
Sean
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174167 ] |
Do, 24 November 2005 20:08 |
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"Christopher Kreuzer" <spamgard [at] blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Jifhf.14472$Lw5.7054 [at] text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>I get the impression that the greensward (or sward of green) that the
> Fellowship encounter around Mirrormere and at Parth Galen (which
> translates as 'Green Sward') are lawns of grass. Parth Galen is
> described as a lawn, and the sward at Mirromere is described as smooth.
> But then I realised that both Parth Galen and Mirrormere have been
> abandoned for years, if not hundreds of years. What would keep these
> lawns nice and neat and cropped short? Sheep? Rabbits? Monthly visits by
> the Middle-earth gardeners guild? Or are they simply not grass, but
> another plant that would not be invaded and/or run wild?
There are some types of grass that remain quite low-growing, even when not
regularly cut.
But rabbits are probably the most likely answer.
--
Jette Goldie
jette [at] blueyonder.co.uk
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174171 ] |
Fr, 25 November 2005 05:19 |
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Yuk Tang wrote:
> The Mirrormere wasn't abandoned. The orcs of Moria employed
> gardeners who would mow the grass, tend the flowers, etc. Then came
> these hooligans from the west who trampled through the lawn and
> ruined the landscape. Luckily the wardens managed to reduce their
> number by one before they got to the really scenic parts, but the
> others got away.
damn right. those elves and mortals and whatnot really bring property
values
dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooown.
i hate to sound bigotted, but really ...!
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174174 ] |
Fr, 25 November 2005 09:48 |
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Count Menelvagor <Menelvagor [at] mailandnews.com> wrote:
<snip>
Completely OT, but just posting a message for the Count.
Tried to e-mail a question to you recently and the e-mail bounced. Do
you have an e-mail address I can contact you at, or could you e-mail me?
Thanks.
Christopher
--
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Reply clue: Saruman welcomes you to Spamgard
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174830 ] |
Sa, 26 November 2005 21:14 |
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Yuk Tang <jim.laker2 [at] yahoo.com> wrote:
> "Christopher Kreuzer" <spamgard [at] blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in
> news:Jifhf.14472$Lw5.7054 [at] text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:
>>
>> I get the impression that the greensward (or sward of green) that
>> the Fellowship encounter around Mirrormere and at Parth Galen
>> (which translates as 'Green Sward') are lawns of grass. Parth
>> Galen is described as a lawn, and the sward at Mirromere is
>> described as smooth. But then I realised that both Parth Galen and
>> Mirrormere have been abandoned for years, if not hundreds of
>> years. What would keep these lawns nice and neat and cropped
>> short? Sheep? Rabbits? Monthly visits by the Middle-earth
>> gardeners guild? Or are they simply not grass, but another plant
>> that would not be invaded and/or run wild?
>
> The Mirrormere wasn't abandoned. The orcs of Moria employed
> gardeners who would mow the grass, tend the flowers, etc. Then came
> these hooligans from the west who trampled through the lawn and
> ruined the landscape. Luckily the wardens managed to reduce their
> number by one before they got to the really scenic parts, but the
> others got away.
>
> Moria later sent out a search party, combining with the authorities
> at Isengard and Mordor in an attempt to find and arrest these
> vandals. They managed to catch a couple, but lost contact with them
> around Fangorn National Park.
LOL!
I know you said the orcs employed gardeners, but I really got a strong
mental image of orcs carefully doing the gardening. Reminded me of the
Asterix in Britain running jokes about Englishmen and their gardens! :-)
BTW, I tried to e-mail you (Yuk Tang), but the e-mail address failed.
Would you be able to e-mail me off list? Thanks.
Christopher
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174833 ] |
So, 27 November 2005 00:04 |
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"Christopher Kreuzer" <spamgard [at] blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in
news:Em3if.16110$Lw5.3377 [at] text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:
>
> BTW, I tried to e-mail you (Yuk Tang), but the e-mail address
> failed. Would you be able to e-mail me off list? Thanks.
Sent an email to the ring of stone in the Blueyonder kingdom. The news
server demands a valid email address, but doesn't actually check, hence
one that looks right but doesn't actually work. Swen still stings.
--
Cheers, ymt.
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| Re: Greenswards (Parth Galen and Mirrormere) [message #174857 ] |
Mo, 28 November 2005 12:17 |
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kangaroos
Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
> I get the impression that the greensward (or sward of green) that the
> Fellowship encounter around Mirrormere and at Parth Galen (which
> translates as 'Green Sward') are lawns of grass. Parth Galen is
> described as a lawn, and the sward at Mirromere is described as smooth.
> But then I realised that both Parth Galen and Mirrormere have been
> abandoned for years, if not hundreds of years. What would keep these
> lawns nice and neat and cropped short? Sheep? Rabbits? Monthly visits by
> the Middle-earth gardeners guild? Or are they simply not grass, but
> another plant that would not be invaded and/or run wild?
>
> Christopher
>
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