The Rele ance o Ri endell’s G owing Cul u al Value om The
Hobbi o The Lo d o he Rings
Andoni Cossio
a,b
a
Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Spain;
b
Cen e o Fan asy and he Fan as ic, School o C i ical S udies,
Uni e si y o Glasgow, Uni ed Kingdom
The a en ion o de ail J. R. R. Tolkien showcased in medie al schola ship, widely ecognized o i s
in luence on he discipline,
1
did no diminish in his ic ional w i ings. In he sequel o The Hobbi (H,
1937), The Lo d o he Rings (Lo R, 1954–1955), Tolkien made signi ican addi ions o he p equel’s
e isi ed loca ions. Among his supplemen al ma e ial, he cul u al addenda o Ri endell bea ul e io
signi icance. I he a e o he expedi ion is, in pa , de e mined in H’s Ri endell, i can be a gued ha
he des uc ion o he Ring and he all o Sau on could no ha e occu ed wi hou Ri endell’s
assis ance in Lo R. This sho a icle will p o e his o en-o e looked ac while i cha s he cul u al
e olu ion o Ri endell om he p equel o he sequel.
In he well-known le e o Mil on Waldman, Tolkien w o e, c. la e 1951, ha Ri endell is “a kind o
enchan ed sanc ua y” and ha he house o El ond “ ep esen s Lo e – he p ese a ion in e e en
memo y o all adi ion conce ning he good, wise, and beau i ul. I is no a scene o ac ion bu o
e lec ion. Thus, i is a place isi ed on he way o all deeds, o ‘ad en u es’” (Le e s 153, #131, i alics in
he o iginal). In Lo R, Ri endell con inues o ul il he same unc ion as in H by p o iding he
p o agonis s wi h he necessa y supplies (H III.45; Lo R II.3.280), and allowing hem o heal hei
bodies, es , and p epa e psychologically o ace u u e ad e si ies (H III.50; Lo R II.3.274).
2
Howe e ,
he change in s a us ha Ri endell unde goes om H o Lo R is mo i a ed in pa by i s s eng hened
cul u al alue.
Reade s a e gi en an incipien sample o he cul u al memo y p ese ed in H’s Ri endell when
El ond eaches he p o agonis he names and his o y o he swo ds O c is and Glamd ing, and how
o ead Th ó ’s Map (H III.50–51).
3
El ond also ad ises Gandal , Tho in, Bilbo, and he pa y o
dwa es on wha oad o ake and how o en e he Lonely Moun ain (H III.51–52). In Lo R, he s o ed
knowledge is sugges ed o be e en g ea e ; uncoun ed ales a e sa ed om being o go en in
Ri endell, as hose A ago n ecalls abou Gandal : “ he e a e ales in Ri endell o g ea e deeds o
his han any ha I ha e seen” (Lo R II.4.311), and F odo is unde he imp ession ha “In Ri endell
he e was memo y o ancien hings,” many o which ha e p ac ical applica ions (Lo R II.6.349). Fo
ins ance, Sam and F odo lea n om Bombadil in he Old Fo es ha “Middle-ea h magic is
dependen on poe ic speech and songs” (Eilmann 110), bu hey ye lacked bo h he Phial o
Galad iel and he ly ical wo ds ha could cas he ligh o he wo ees o Valino , and help hem
o e come ce ain obs acles such as Shelob (Lo R IV.9.720, IV.10.729) and he Wa che s o he Towe
o Ci i h Ungol (VI.1.915) in Mo do . I is in Ri endell whe e hey lea n such knowledge by paying
heed o Bilbo’s song “Eä endil was a ma ine ” and he El es’ pe o mance “A Elbe e h Gil honiel,”
which bu ied hem deep in hei subconscious minds while bo h a e ei he awake o in he ealm o
sleep (Lo R II.1.233–238). This knowledge can be e ie ed in eme gencies as a las eso , as when Sam
is abou o be slain by Shelob: “he hea d oices a o bu clea : [...] he music o he El es as i came
h ough his sleep in he Hall o Fi e in he house o El ond. Gil honiel A Elbe e h!” (Lo R IV.10.729,
CONTACT Andoni Cossio [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed] Cen e o Fan asy and he
Fan as ic, School o C i ical S udies, Uni e si y o Glasgow, Uni ed Kingdom
This a icle has been co ec ed wi h mino changes. These changes do no impac he academic con en o he a icle.
ANQ: A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SHORT ARTICLES, NOTES AND REVIEWS
2024, VOL. 37, NO. 3, 433–435
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/0895769X.2023.2209862
© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published wi h license by Taylo & F ancis G oup, LLC.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/),
which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. The e ms on which his
a icle has been published allow he pos ing o he Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
i alics in he o iginal). Fu he mo e, he ac ha Ri endell “is a place isi ed on he way o all deeds”
(Tolkien, Le e s 153, #131) assu es a s eam o isi o s o di e se p o enance who can supplemen
Ri endell’s physical and o al eposi o y wi h dis an ales and lo e, as happens du ing he Council o
El ond (Lo R II.2.239–271). Thus, hough we a e ne e old how, i is unsu p ising ha Gandal , Bilbo,
and he pa y o dwa es’ “plans we e imp o ed wi h he bes ad ice” in H’s Ri endell (H III.50). In
Lo R ins ead he ex ensi e wo chap e s (Lo R II.1.219–238 and II.2.239–271) se in his wooded a ea
p o ide he Fellowship wi h explici indispensable in o ma ion and ad ice o succeed in hei pe ilous
mission.
All hings conside ed, he au ho acknowledges ha he e a e many in ica e and in e con-
nec ed easons o he F ee Peoples’ e en ual success in he Wa o he Ring. Howe e , as his no e
has made clea , Ri endell is bo h an essen ial cul u al s onghold and acili a o o ic o y.
Unlikely as i is ha Bilbo and he Dwa es would ha e ound he sec e en y o he moun ain
wi hou paying a isi o Ri endell, he chances o F odo su i ing he Mo gul blade and se ing o
o Mo do wi h he igh equipmen and company a e nex o naugh wi h no Ri endell in sigh .
Wi h no cul u al cen e which p ese ed he lo e and a i ac s o Gondo ’s and A no ’s o me
mona chies, no uni ie king could ha e been es o ed ei he , and wi hou a s ong ule , he inal
ba le o he Wa o he Ring and i s a e ma h would ha e esul ed in e en mo e d ama ic
consequences, i no de ea .
4
I hope ha his b ie incisi e no e nudges o he schola s o econside
Ri endell’s cul u al ele ance, as well as spa k a deba e and u he esea ch conce ning Ri endell’s
cen ali y in his ega d wi hin he wide con ex o Tolkien’s en i e legenda ium, no jus his wo
bes -known published wo ks.
5
No es
1. See Leona d Neido o ecen examples (“J. R. R.” 1; “Finnsbu g”44–45, 47). See also Andoni Cossio (171).
2. In Ri endell, Bilbo gi es F odo wo i ems ha will g ea ly aid him, di ec ly o indi ec ly, in he Ques o he Ring:
he magical S ing and a Mi h il shi o mail (Lo R II.3.277).
3. The ad en u e is a e ha poin cons ained by he spa ial- empo al dimension o inding he sec e en ance o
he Lonely Moun ain be o e/by he las sun ays o Du in’s day. This is only es ablished a e he cul u al
cus odian o Ri endell, El ond, unco e s and ende s he map’s moon unes in o Common Speech, which has
bo h a di ec bea ing on he me ana a i e and in a-s o y le els.
4. The ph ase “ isi ed on he way o all deeds, o ‘ad en u es’” encapsula es bes he A ago n-Ri endell ela ion
(Tolkien, Le e s 153, #131). Ri endell p ese es A ago n’s pas , p esen , and u u e, and i becomes an unending
sou ce o inspi a ion h oughou his li e, bu especially du ing he Wa o he Ring. I is in his sanc ua y whe e
S ide cas s his ags, soub ique , and old wande ing li e aside, and A ago n begins o ansi in o his u u e-king
pe sona.
5. Da id D. Obe helman’s succinc depic ion o his aspec o Ri endell may p o ide a s a ing poin : “El ond
es ablished his e uge o ga he he las o he Noldo in he no he n hal o Middle-ea h and p ese ed hei
wisdom and lo e, bo h o al and w i en, wi hin his e uge. In he Hall o Fi e he ancien songs, ales, and o he
o al adi ions o he Fi s and Second Ages a e eplayed, bu Imlad is also holds a la ge cache o maps, books, and
manusc ip s he Noldo ha e managed o e ain a e he des uc ion o Bele iand and E egion in he Second age”
(161–162). Obe helman’s b ie ex ac o e s a glimpse in o Tolkien’s wide legenda ium, no jus Lo R. This o
simila lines o enqui y ha con ex ualize Ri endell’s g owing cul u al alue in he his o y o Middle-ea h a e
wo h pu suing.
Acknowledgemen
I would like o exp ess my g a i ude o Jane B ennan C o and Dimi a Fimi o hei use ul commen s on an ea lie
d a .
Disclosu e s a emen
No po en ial con lic o in e es was epo ed by he au ho .
434 A. COSSIO
Funding
This a icle was comple ed unde he auspices o a Nex Gene a ion EU Ma ga i a Salas pos doc o al g an (MARSA22/
19), inanced by he Minis y o Uni e si ies (Go e nmen o Spain) and he Eu opean Union, and by he esea ch g oup
REWEST (IT-1565-22), unded by he Basque Go e nmen and UPV/EHU. Open access sponso ed by he Uni e si y o
Glasgow.
ORCID
Andoni Cossio h p://o cid.o g/0000-0003-2745-5104
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