22. B1:C10 - Strider - [LoTR Read Along]

The Nicks discuss whether Nicholas is in love with Aragorn and whether Frodo can trust Strider, the long-expected physical description of our main character, the danger outside, and a letter that is only 3 months late.

From the A Way With Words podcast episode entitled Pig Latin - 29 January 2017 -- "Why do so many people begin their sentences with the word So? In linguistics, this is called sentence-initial so. The word So at the start a sentence can serve a variety of functions."

Maps

Map of Middle-earth 

LoTRproject.com interactive map - Caution: spoilers for new readers!

Notes for this episode

What Happened Last Time?:

Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry take their leave of Tom Bombadil at the road outside of Bree, after a short walk they arrive at the gate at night and are greeted none-too-kindly by Harry the gatekeeper who is astonished that 4 Shire-hobbits have arrived after dark. Finding the Prancing Pony, and having a pleasant dinner Merry stays behind and/or goes for a walk in the town while Frodo, Sam, and Pippin visit the common room. They are greeted warmly by the locals, and find their stories welcome, though bordering on too much info. Frodo - trying to divert attention away from too many questions - accidentally makes their position much worse and raises more questions about themselves than ever.

Where Are We in the Narrative?:

Frodo and co. have finally made it to Bree after setting out from the Shire (small delays in the Old Forest and the Barrow Downs aside.) Gandalf is still MIA and word is spreading that he is unaccounted for.  A mysterious Ranger knows perhaps more than we’d like of Frodo Baggins of the Shire, and Rivendell seems a lofty distance away………………*OMINOUS*

The Story in this Chapter: (We didn't keep to our notes in the same way as other episodes)

• Words we use differently - faggot
• Strider - serious, friendly?, scared, knowledgeable, full of warnings, rascally look, quick ears, hunter, can avoid being seen, laughs, smiles, older than he looks, knows the lands from the Shire to the Misty Mountains (more?)
• • Reminds me of the CONSTANT VIGILANCE of Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody
• Overheard the hobbits on the road out of the downlands
• • Has been looking for Frodo
  • Hopped the gate
• Things he says that show he knows things and/or is a friend
• • Knows Tom Bombadil
  • He knows what chases them, and their number (not given)
  • He knows Frodo’s first name, not just Baggins
  • “The secret”
  • • Later mentions the Ring, no one mentions it before.
  • He speaks the verse
  • Shows the broken blade
  • Mentions that he learned of Frodo’s leaving the Shire from Gildor Inglorion
• Bill Ferny
• • Swarthy sneering fellow
  • • Swarthy means dark skinned (additional sources #1)
  • Would sell anything to anybody and make mischief for amusement
  • Friendly with a Southern stranger
• Strider’s face and body language when speaking of the black riders
• • He is really afraid of them, which should scare the hobbits even more
  • “You fear them, but you do not fear them enough”
• Sam - voice of reason? Caution
• • Stereotype of a vagabond
• Frodo’s leadership
• • “Caution is one thing, and wavering is another”
  • Assumes that the riders have missed him.
• Before the night is over the Black Riders will have heard of Frodo
• Butterbur Arrives
• • Apologies aplenty - though weak
  • First descriptions of Frodo’s physicality (it’s only chapter 10)
  • • Stout, red cheeks, taller than some, fairer than most, cleft chin, perky with a bright eye.
• Frodo Baggins - Number 1 Bagshot Row - Bag End - Hobbiton in the Shire
• • Mid Year’s Day - Summer Solstice
  • • We would think of this as the first day of Summer
    • EncArda - Mid-year’s Day - The day that marked the middle of the year
    • • Also called Loëndë, the day that fell in the middle of the year was an important feature in many of the calendars of Middle-earth. On a modern calendar, Mid-year's Day would be 22 June.
      • (Additional Sources #2)
  • If Gandalf is not with him - he may be in trouble
  • • Trouble is not far off - the black riders
    • Dogs yammering - geese screaming
    • Butterbur slammed the door on them
    • • They’re getting a lot of rejection
• Blocking Strider
• • Would never leave Bree
  • • The idea makes him scared
• MORDOR - The Shadow in the East
• • Butterbur even more scared
  • The worst news in Bree
• Story of Bilbo known in Bree - people putting it all together
• Merry is still missing
• The Letter - Post Scripts
• • Gandalf was in haste and had to add three addendums to make sure he told all
  • • 1 - don’t use it again - an assumption?
    • 2 - The real Strider - thanks for the poem…
    • • Aragorn
      • Broken sword
    • 3 - Poor, poor, Butterbur
• Gandalf in great danger
• • Not just a firework maker
• Trust Strider?
• • Trust without proofs
  • “The enemy has set traps for me before now”
  • Wants friendship
  • Pippin - Handsome is as handsome does
  • • “You would die first unless you are made of sterner stuff than you look to be”
  • Sam - Play-acting spy
  • • “If I was after the ring” ← first-time “ring” is used this chapter
  • “If by my life or death I can save you, I will”
  • Enemy would “Seem fairer and feel fouler”
• The verse
• Out of Bree
• • Get lost
  • Go to Weathertop
• Strider and Gandalf
• • Came back to the area in the Spring
  • Sarn Ford down the Brandywine - 1st of May
  • • Strider learned the original plan
  • Strider is troubled about Gandalf’s absence
• Word came to Strider from elven folk of Gildor had spread the word that Gandalf was missing and that the Riders were about.
• • Also, that Frodo has left Hobbiton - but no news about leaving Buckland (success!)
• What can hold Gandalf back? - THE enemy?
• • “This business of ours will be his greatest task
• Merry finally comes in, out of breath, he just saw the black riders!
• • Strider asks for more details, Merry is hesitant (first time he’s met him!)
  • Aragorn tells him he has a stout heart (dare I say surprised at him? Are they already proving more hardy than they look?), but Merry was “drawn somehow” after the Rider.
  • 2 Figures - one Muttering the other whispering or hissing.
  • Something knocked him over, made him feel like he had fallen into deep water.  Nobb found him with two men stooped over him… he called over to them and they fled.
  • • Nobb shouting is also possibly a brave thing - though he lives in a place where Man-kind and Hobbit-kind are equals - maybe not so brave as typical for him.
  • Strider calls it “the black breath” and declares that the southerner is a spy, and Bill Ferny too!
  • Reassures that the Riders will not openly attack a home….. Yet.
  • Stay here… and do not go to your rooms… we’ll stay together and bar the door.
• Frodo catches Merry up on everything he has missed while Strider and Nobb grab their luggage.
• • Nobb is proud of creating decoys of the hobbits in their rooms.
  • Pippin (at Frodo’s expense) - “Very lifelike”
  • Uncommon word for Nicholas when he first read this story - “Bolster” A long thick pillow placed under other pillows to add support or bolster them.
• They block the door with a chair, Frodo draws the curtains and Strider lights a fire and sits in the chair against the door.
• “Jumped over the moon… very ridiculous of you Frodo,” comments Merry.
• Strider - “I hope so.”
• SLEEP!

Other comments or observations:

• What is the timing of the events alluded to in the chapter?
• • Gandalf met Strider - May 1
  • Gandalf wrote the letter (Mid-Year - June 22)- where was Frodo?
  • How many weeks has Frodo and company lost?
  • • For that matter - how long has Gandalf been missing?

Notable Difference(s) from Films:

• Much shorter sequence, Nobb is not involved, nor are any southerners or spies.
• No letter from Gandalf.
• We are not told Strider’s true name this soon in the films.

Locations/Distance Traveled/Distance apart:

• Still in Bree/ The Prancing Pony

New Characters:

• Bill Ferny - The swarthy, sneering, Breelander

Info/History from Other Titles/Sources:

1. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/swarthy - Swarthy means dark skinned. If you like tall, dark and handsome men, you find a swarthy complexion attractive. Not everyone with dark skin is swarthy. The word is usually used to describe someone whose skin is weather beaten and darkened by the sun, or has an olive complexion.
2. http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/m/midyearsday.html

What to Watch for in the Next Chapter:

• Back on the road with a new guide - trying to get lost in the wilderness - hoping Strider is a good guy (he is).

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Special thanks to our friend Harry Murrell for the use of his music. Listen to more and subscribe to his channel here.