References That Are Clearly Explained Like This One Make Me Soo Happy As A Tolkien Fan!

References that are clearly explained like this one make me soo happy as a tolkien fan!

Gondor During The Hobbit

They didn’t know it, of course, but 2941 was sort of Gondor’s Last Summer, if you’ll excuse the WWI reference. Because by the end of The Hobbit, the White Council has driven Sauron out of Dol Guldur, and right back to his old stronghold in Mordor, which basically started a period of ongoing warfare with Gondor that lasted the next 78 years.

So, what was happening in Gondor during these last few months of relative peace?

Denethor II, father of Boromir and Faramir, is 11 years old. His grandfather, Turgon, is steward of Gondor, and he is at this point in his life likely living in Minas Tirith with his parents and two older sisters. Denethor was said to be an exceptionally learned man, so it’s likely that even at age 11 he’s already quite dedicated to his studies.

Turgon, the Steward of Gondor, is nearing the end of his life at 94 years old. He’s been ruling Gondor for 35 years now, and during his rule has had to deal with steadily worsening conditions in Ithilien (the region had been infested with orcs since the days of his father’s rule. Luckily, Turgon inherited the fortified and secret ranger camps that his father had had built. By 2941 these ranger forts were forty years old, so I’d imagine the entire ranger system was pretty well established by now. 

What with the orcs and all, Ithilien was only lightly populated by this point. And, in fact, when Sauron does arrive at the end of the year, the last of the people who lived in Ithilien fled the region. Many of the descendants of these people will make up the ranger force that Faramir commands during the War of the Ring.

Prince Angelimir, the grandfather of Imrahil and Finduilas, rules in Dol Amroth. Tolkien didn’t record anything of his rule, but it’s likely it was basically uneventful at that period, mainly just watching out for attacks from Umbar.

Morwen Steelsheen, Theoden’s mother, was 19 years old and living in Lossarnach. In two years she would marry her husband, Thengel son of the king of Rohan - it’s possible that they’ve already met.

Meanwhile, somewhere far to the north, a little hobbit is sorely missing his pantry back in Bag End, completely unaware of how his adventure is going to affect the rest of the world.

SOURCES: LOTR, LOTR Appendices, The Histories of Middle Earth vol. 12 (“The Heirs of Elendil”)

Solomon appreciation post 👏🏻

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@lilbeanz thanks for tagging me in Wip Snip!

… something i’ve never finished ?

their ao3 tag is so dryy this is me fueling the writers