The time has finally come. At 465.64
miles (749.37 km), I have made it to Rivendell! The journey took me a little
over three months to complete, a much greater time than it took the hobbits. But
I live in a very different world from that of Middle Earth. For the
hobbits, reaching Rivendell, and the Last Homely House, was a big turning point
in the story. It was a respite from the horrors already experienced and a
transition to the struggle for good they would be thrust into shortly. For me,
reaching Rivendell was but one goal on a journey that will take me a year and
which promises to be interesting, but not perilous.
To get back to the story at hand,
reaching Rivendell was the end of a fortnight flight from the Black Riders for
Aragorn and the hobbits. There is little written about most of that fortnight
outside of a few pages detailing the overall journey, the encounter with
Bilbo’s stone trolls, and the flight to the ford of Bruinen in the end. The
flight to the ford is something I have always paid special attention to,
especially since the movie adaptions greatly changed the significance of the
scenes. The most noted absence in the movie adaption of that scene which was fairly important in the
books was the appearance of Glorfindel, one of the high elves. Glorfindel is an
important character to Middle Earth who is often overlooked, even though he had
a long history with the conflict in Tolkien’s story.
Many years before the occurrences in
Lord of the Rings, Glorfindel was present at the Fall
of Gondolin during the First Age. Though Gondolin was conquered by the Dark Lord Morgoth,
Glorfindel and some others managed to escape into the surrounding mountain.
Here they were ambushed by a Balrog whom Glorfindel managed to kill
single-handedly. His name became a byword in elvish society for strength and
courage. Later on, during the beginning of the Third Age, Glorfindel led the
elvish forces against the forces of Angmar in the Battle of Fornost. He fought
alongside Eärnur who would later become king of Gondor. Though they are
confronted by Sauron, a servant of Morgoth whom Glorfindel had fought thousands
of years prior, the dark lord manages to escape. It is in this battle that
Glorfindel foretells Sauron’s fall in the future (the one in which Eowyn will
come to fulfill).
The long story of Glorfindel is
long, but an important one to Lord of the
Rings. For in Frodo’s flight to the Ford and his brief defiance against the
Black Riders even as he fades, Glorfindel reveals himself in full wrath of an
Elf Lord. Later when Frodo feasted in the Hall of Fire with the other guests of
Elrond he would note about the elf, “Glorfindel was tall and straight; his hair
was of shining gold, his face fair and young and fearless and full of joy; his
eyes were bright and keen, and his voice like music; on his brow sat wisdom,
and in his hand was strength.” (The
Fellowship of the Ring). Glorfindel was one of the few who were able to
stand against the Ringwraiths. Though his character isn’t significant to the
overall storyline of Lord of the Rings
he is an important character in the history of Middle Earth and one I have
always been enthralled with. But the time has come for me to move on from
Glorfindel and focus back on the hobbits as they are the main characters in
this adventure.
For the hobbits it appeared that
they had finally reached the end of their journey. They had made it to
Rivendell with great peril and the ring was safe with Elrond and the elves.
Frodo noted how differently his adventure was from Bilbo’s but he looked
forward to returning home to the Shire. It is this desire that greatly stood
out to me. This desire would come into play when Frodo attended the Council of
Elrond. During the council, we learn much more about the perilous history of
the ring and the horrors facing Middle Earth. In light of this horror, many
important figures from across Middle Earth, representing many different races,
had converged on Rivendell. Here Frodo is faced with the decision whether or
not to return home to the Shire or to bear the rind hence to its destruction
and the salvation of Middle Earth. Frodo was but a hobbit cast into the wars
and struggles of an entire world, which crossed racial lines and affected every
nook and cranny of Middle Earth. His desire to return to the Shire was great,
but he put it on the backburner for a while in order to be part of something
much greater than himself, but still something that could not have been
accomplished without him.
It is in Rivendell that I really
became aware of how remarkable a character Frodo is. He has his ups, downs,
strengths, and flaws. He is trying to make his way in a world that he little
understands. But these all work together to make him the hobbit he is and to
highlight the sacrifices he makes and trials he endures over the course of the
story. As Gandalf once told Frodo, “Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I
have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a
month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch.” (The Fellowship of the Ring)
The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons
