| CotW - Appendix B (repost) [message #79531] |
Di, 12 Juli 2005 17:27 |
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[I'm relabeling the message so that it's clear this is the Chapter of the
Week. Sorry for the duplication.]
For those who think that reading the Tale of Years as it pertains to the
Third Age might be a bit superfluous, as the events covered overlap with the
narrative part of the Lord of the Rings, the introduction to Third Age
quickly sets that to rest. It begins with a bang as several revelations are
made. 1. The Wizards (Istari), such as Gandalf, Radagast and Saruman, who
are part of the tale to greater or lesser part and are a natural part of the
landscape, are mentioned as having only come to Middle Earth at the
beginning of the Third Age; that is, after the Disaster of the Gladden
Fields, when Isildur gave in to weakness and did not destroy Sauron's Ring.
2. Gandalf is said to have owned one of the lesser rings, one belonging to
the Elves, given to him by Cirdan the Shipwright of the Grey Havens.
Context is also given to the waning of the elder races of Middle Earth, such
as the Elves ("they attempted nothing new, living in memory of the past"),
and the Dwarves ("their ancient treasures were plundered, and they became a
wandering people"). Along with what we learn of the waning of the Onodrim
(Ents), in the narrative of the LotR, this presents the ascendancy of Man in
a fuller (pseudo-historical) context.
Because of the concise nature of the Tale of Years, some things become
apparent that otherwise might not be clear, such as the exact years and in
accordance with what other events the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen occurs In
addition, other facts are given that do not appear in the narrative LotR,
such as Saruman using the palantir and falling under Sauron's sway only in
the year preceding Bilbo's farewell party, the event that kicks off the Lord
of the Rings proper.
In addition to Cirdan, Aragorn, Arwen (mentioned above), the Tale of Years
makes clear much of the material presented in Appendix A. Thus we get to
see how the events of the Southern and Northern Kingdoms of Numenorean heirs
played out in context with one another, as well as the reemergence of
Sauron.
Much of the history of the Hobbits (called Perrianath) is clarified in the
Tale, and Saruman's growing suspicion and jealousy of Gandalf is detailed.
He sets spies to watch Gandalf and notes his interest in the Shire. It is
because of this that Saruman sets spies in Bree and elsewhere. If Gandalf
was interested in the Perrianath, he wanted to know why. Of course he does,
and so takes up his dark role in the events of the Lord of the Rings.
In the Tale of the Third Age, we see the rise and fall of Gondor, and the
fall and rise of the Numenorean heirs.
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