There is no doubt that trees had a special place in Tolkiens heart. In Middle-Earth they whisper, they walk, and before Sun and Moon was made, two trees gave light to the world. The forces of darkness, like Saruman and his orcs delight in cutting the woods down, but in Middle-Earth the trees themselves can go to war, led by those most curious of Tolkiens creations: the shepherds of the trees.
Trees and Tolkien
Some of the most enchanted places in Tolkiens world, like Lorien and Ithilien, were covered with woods. Where else find Galadriel and the heart of elvendom than in a golden wood of Mallorn trees? And the elves were not the only ones who gave special significance to trees. The very symbol of the Numenorean culture is a White Tree. When Aragorn, whose name means ‘royal-tree’, ascends the throne of Gondor, a sapling of the White Tree is sought out and found.\par
It is therefor not surprising that when Tolkien set out to write an allegory about storytelling, he chose to compare a story with a Tree. Most fitting when considering how The Lord Of The Rings branches out as we move from the gardens of Bag End.\par
Join us this weekend in #thehallofire as we explore the importance of trees in Tolkiens writings.
Upcoming Topics:
July 19-20: Tooks and Brandybucks
July 26-27: What fascinates you most about LoTR and Middle-earth?
August 2-3: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 1: The Tower of Cirith Ungol.
August 9-10: Tolkien and Canon
August 16-17: Colours in Tolkien’s World
August 23-24: RoTK, Book 6, Chapter 2: The Land of Shadow.
Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm ET (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat:
7:00 pm (19:00) CET
[also 1:00pm (13:00) ET and 3:00am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AET = Australian East Coast
Having trouble working out a time zone near you? Try this.
Do you have a possible topic for Hall of Fire? Drop us a line at halloffire@theonering.net. And don’t forget that you can check out previous chats here.
