Shadowfax - Tumblr Posts
Coolest thing about lord of the rings? The king of horses shows up. It appears he is no different from all other horses
Reading the silmarillion and the magicians nephew at the same time is so fucking funny. Like the entirety of magicians nephew is like “so anyway this cool thing happened and I’d tell you about it but anyway check out this lion”. Tolkien is like “shut the fuck up and listen to 7 thousand geographical details and while I’m on this tangent let’s go through the entire lineage of every single person I can think of, what were we talking about”.
When narnia is being built it takes like 20 seconds for all the stars and planets to show up and Tolkien specifies like several thousand years before the moon shows up and it takes like a hundred pages before they start counting DAYS. Lewis is like see Johnald???? You can do worldbuilding in less than a page!
My favorite comparison my fiance has noted is that the cabbies horse, strawberry, gets as much character description, if not MORE, than Digory’s uncle. Shadowfax is the most specialest horse in middle earth. If we know one thing about Tolkien and Lewis it’s that they love a good horsey.
Mearas: Shadowfax, Lord of Horses
"That is Shadowfax. He is the Chief of the Mearas, lord of horses, and not even Théoden, King of Rohan, has ever looked on a better. Does he not shine like silver and run as smoothly as a swift stream? He has come for me: the horse of the White Rider. We are going to battle together."
- The Lord Of The Ring, J.R.R TOLKIEN
The Mearas were a breed of wild horses in the north of Middle-Earth. They surpass normal horses in intelligence, speed and strength. According to lore, the ancestors of the Mearas were brought from the West by Oromë.
The Mearas were strong, wild, and intelligent. They would bear no man but the kings or princes.
Famous among horses were Nahar, the steed of Oromë, Rochallor, the warhorse of Fingolfin, and Felaróf, the steed of Eorl the Young.
"The White Rider"
2022
There suddenly upon a ridge appeared a rider, clad in white, shining in the rising sun.
-"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", by J.R.R. Tolkien
My favorite moment from a great but otherwise slightly overrated battle. And one of the most enduring moments of hope in the whole of Lord of the Rings.
"Shadowfax"
2024
Shadowfax is my favorite Middle-earth horse. Majestic, clever, loyal, and brave, he was the only free horse of the world that could endure the terror of the Nazgûl, and did so many times. One of my favorite little details from the (extended edition) films is how he tries to protect Gandalf from the Witch-king and his fell beast. And they sure did pick a breathtakingly beautiful horse to play him.
Done for Day 9 of the Tolkien Art Challenge by Allan Whincup.