Lord of the Rings Q & A
 

Questions and answers about master Tolkien's masterpiece, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and the entire world he created. Want to know something? Forgot a name? Curious as to someone's history? Want to how long and thick Gandalf's beard was? Ask here.

Now, with the that said, let's start quizzing innocent people. Me first:

If you don't know the answer to a question, and are rather embarassed by it, please, do not google or check the book index yourself, try to remember. It's not a contest for money, but for fun. ;)

Good one! Meduseld. I think it was actually derived from old English, "mead hall" or something. When Eowyn sings a lament for the slain son of Theoden, I think you can hear her pronounce the word.
Now my turn: how is the Took residency called, in which "farthing" is it located in the Shire and who is head honcho over there (title). It's a starter question so I get to ask three things :)

The Great Smials. In the Westfarthing. The Took, who traditionally also inherits the office of the Thain (which one are you looking for?)

My turn: let's try a bit of ancient history for a change. There were three unions that merged the bloodlines of Elves and Men. Arwen and Aragorn was one of them. What were the other two?

Three? Strange, I remember there were only two …

Luthien and Beren were the first ones. The other ones … lemme think. Ah yes! How foolish of me! :D

Earendil and Eowing. Can't believe how I forgot ye olde halfelven family :)

Another question. Continuing on the topic, the first silmaril was placed on the sky, on Earendil's forehead, the second was lost in the sea, and the third into the depths of the Earth. Who threw it where?

I'm pretty sure the Valar placed the one in the sky. The other two were lost by two brothers because they got burnt by the light of the jewels. The one who threw it in the depths of the earth threw himself after or with it, but the name? Can't remember the other one's name too…..damn you stumped me already….Silmarillion knowledge is not my strong point. Let's see if somebody else comes up with the answers (I'll check Wikipedia for the answer in the mean time :))

@Khass -- sorry, that's close, but no cigar. Beren and Lúthien is correct, Eärendil and Elwing is not; since both were half-elven it doesn't count. (Hint: Elwing is of the line of Lúthien, but she's not related to Eärendil.) Try again…?

Elu Thingol and Melian … no, Melian is a maiar … hmmmm …

[5 minutes later]

Humm humm! Tuor and Idril. Idril is actually a common nick for my RPG female characters, that's the reason I remembered it :)

Same question as above, slam23, you get another try ;) Or if anyone else wants to try, please go ahead :)

This is getting to be a bit of a closed club, but here goes anyway. Maglor son of Fëanor threw one of them in the sea, and Maedhros son of Fëanor cast himself with the silmaril into a fiery chasm in the earth (to my recollection it's not mentioned where said chasm was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same one where the Ring was forged).

Here's another one: in the Lord of the Rings, Gimli son of Glóin asked asked to have a lock of Galadriel's hair. This was not the first time this was requested of Galadriel. Who was the first to make the same request of Galadriel, and how did she respond that time?

Now this one I don't recollect, but I'm quite sure it happened in Valinor, and it was done by one of sons of Feanor, or maybe Finrod? Am I close?

And yeah, this is becoming a closed club :(

This one I know (with a teensy bit of help from Khass for the name :)): Feanor asked, because he was captivated by the shimmering quality of her hair. She refused though I believe and Feanor went on to make the Silmarils, maybe as some artificial substitute? Have to reread that to be sure…
A simple question to draw others into this smal club: Aragorn wears a particular ring that is briefly shown in the movies (loved that detail): what is the name and can you tell something about it's history?

Good one, slam. Let's see who gets it first…

It's Barahir's ring, but before that it was Finrod's ring. In Dagor Bragollach, Finrod was left alone in the middle of the battlefield, but Barahir and some of his best men came and made a spear circle around Finrod, thus saving his life. To thank him, the king of Nargothrond gave him his ring, that had two emerald snakes on it.

I know this thing in detail because I'm 99% sure Barahir's ring is the oldest existing artifact in Middle Earth. :)

Ok, question: What did Hurin Thalion yell when he was alone on the battlefield (can't remember the name, but it was his last before he was captured by Morgoth)? (this doesn't have to be accurate; the number of times he yelled that is optional ;) )

I have no clue….."help!!" maybe? :)

Aurë entuluva! Means "the day will come again." He yelled it seventy times, one for each troll he felled, until he was dragged down under their weight. Whoo, gives me a shiver just to recall that scene, one of my favorites in the Silmarillion. (The name of the battle was Nirnaeth Arnoediad, or Unnumbered Tears.)

Speaking of Húrin: what was the epitaph for his son Túrin? Elvish or English.

Oh, and… it's possible the Palantíri are even more ancient. They were made by Fëanor before the Sun and the Moon. I don't know when or where Finrod's ring was made.

"Turin Turambar, master of destiny" ? Can't remember it correctly, but Turin and Hurin and probably my favourite characters in the Silmarillion :)

Nope, it's Túrin Turambar Dagnir Glaurunga, or Túrin Turambar Slayer of Glaurung.

You're thinking of Nienor's last words, "A Túrin Turambar turun ambartanen," "O Túrin Master of Doom by Doom mastered."

OK, here's a really esoteric one, since we're on the topic of the Children of Húrin; I'll be surprised if anyone gets it. And it's not one you can just look up in the books either.

After Túrin has slain Glaurung and the dragon's curse is lifted, and the truth is revealed, Túrin falls on his sword Gurthang:

"Then he drew forth his sword, that now alone remained to him of all his possessions, and he said: 'Hail Gurthang! No lord or loyalty dost thou know, save the hand that wieldeth thee. From no blood wilt thou shrink. Wilt thou therefore take Túrin Turambar, wilt thou slay me swiftly?'
"And from the blade rang a cold voice in answer: 'Yea, I will drink thy blood gladly, that so I may forget the blood of Beleg my master, and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly. I will slay thee swiftly.'"

This dialogue is based on a similar scene in a traditional tale, with which the Tale of the Children of Húrin shares many other characteristics as well, including the theme of unwitting incest, revenge, and indeed the personality of the hero.

Which tale is this?

The Ballad of Oedip?

Nope. Oedipus doesn't fall on his sword, he just sort of disappears.

Its from the Finnish Kalevala. A lot of LOTR original source material can be traced
there.

You can also find echoes of both Sigmund and sigurd in Turin ofcourse but the
sword scene is a dead ringer for the Kalevala…

Edited:
Here is a good Link for anyone interested:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/index.htm

A good site on the whole if you are a mythology buff like myself.

@JonNik -- correct on both counts, specifically the tale of Kullervo son of Kalervo. The death scene is in Rune 36.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune36.htm

I think that the tale of Kullervo and the tale of Sigurd are related, btw. Cf. Untamo and Hunding, for example.

So, JonNik -- your turn. Being a mythology buff and all, I bet you can think of something nice and esoteric. :-)