by David Day
If Tolkien was ambiguous about the “meaning” of his tale, there is no doubt that the parallels between the One Ring and the Bomb were not missed by activists in the late 1960s and early 1970s. One need only read Robert Hunter’s The Greenpeace Chronicles to see how closely allied the counterculture was with Tolkien’s world.
Greenpeace came into being in 1969 in Vancouver, Canada, as an ecological guerrilla organization that attempted to stop American nuclear testing on Amchitka Island in Alaska. To this end, it chartered its first ship and attempted to prevent the bomb from being exploded by sailing into the test area.
Writing about this maiden Greenpeace voyage, Hunter tells how they had arrived at a point where even the stout hearts of his shipmates saw their task as rather comically hopeless. “There was something superbly comical about it: here we were, eight green-clad amateur seamen, on our way to confront the deadliest fire of the age, like Hobbits bearing the ring toward the volcano of Mordor.”
It was a comparison that carried them a long way. Like exhausted Hobbits, they persevered. If Hobbits could overcome the forces of Sauron, why couldn’t a ragtag band of hippies overthrow the US military-industrial complex? At one point the valves and pistons of the old engine of their rather battered vessel required such coaxing and constant care on their long voyage along the north Pacific coast that the activists dubbed themselves the “Fellowship of the Piston Rings”.
In Tolkien’s tale, when the One Ring is finally destroyed, the subsequent volcanic eruption closely resembles a nuclear explosion – but an explosion that destroys only the evil forces of the Ring Lord. One might also see in that explosive “unmaking” of the One Ring the reversal of the traditional ring quest in a moral sense as well. That Iron Age mentality of “might equals right”, which made the ring quest for power so important, ends with the nuclear age – when possession of such power entails only mutual destruction.
Gollum’s fall into the Fires of Doom
It was Albert Einstein who warned the world: “The unleashing power of the atom has changed everything except our way of thinking… we need an essentially new way of thinking if mankind is to survive.”
NEW TIMES, NEW HEROES
Tolkien’s reversal of the ring quest demonstrates this “new way of thinking”. Its version of the quest represents a desire to change power structures. Tolkien saw the results of the pursuit of pure power in two wars, and rejected it. In his private mythic world he understood a human truth that modern technology has brought home to humankind with a terrible vengeance in the form of the nuclear bomb. If ever there was a manifestation of the ultimate power of the One Ring, the Bomb was it. The “Cold War” was the result of the grudging admission that power of the kind represented by nuclear weapons was ultimately self-destructive.
Tolkien also displayed this “new way of thinking” in his inspired choice of heroes. One must not forget the importance of his Hobbits; it would do no good to change the nature of the quest without changing the nature of the hero. Not only did Tolkien turn the ring quest on its head; he also reversed many of the characteristics usually expected of the quest hero. He wrote:
The Hobbits are, of course, really meant to be a branch of the specifically human race (not Elves or Dwarves)… They are entirely without non-human powers, but are represented as being more in touch with “nature”, and abnormally, for humans, free from ambition or greed of wealth. They are made small partly to exhibit the pettiness of man, plain unimaginative parochial man… and mostly to show up, in creatures of very small physical power, the amazing and unexpected heroism of ordinary men “at a pinch”.
Ultimately, the greatest strength of Tolkien’s Hobbits in their epic struggle against all odds is their basic human decency. It is their essential humanity, their simple but pure human spirits, that allowed them to triumph in the end. And it is this human element, combined with the grandeur and pomp of a magnificently conceived mythic world, that has been the key to Tolkien’s continued popularity.
Characteristically, then, Frodo Baggins fails to live up to the classic “hero” image at the time of the ultimate test. At the last moment, on the edge of the Crack of Doom, the Hobbit’s resolve fails and he refuses to destroy the One Ring. Virtuous though Frodo is, it is not the strength of his will that allows the One Ring to be destroyed and Middle-earth to be saved. It is Frodo’s unprovoked and almost foolish charity toward an undeserving enemy. Out of a sense of mercy, the Hobbit allows the treacherous Gollum to live. Reason should tell Frodo that Gollum will betray him again, but the Hobbit chooses to obey his heart. In the end, the One Ring is destroyed exactly because Frodo takes pity on his enemy, and Gollum survives long enough to betray him again. On the edge of the Crack of Doom, Gollum wrestles with the Hobbit. Finally, he overcomes the weakened Frodo. He viciously bites off the Hobbit’s ring finger. Then, seizing the One Ring, Gollum topples backward into the fiery abyss. The One Ring is destroyed.
In Frodo the Hobbit, Tolkien found a 20th-century Everyman who has, and will continue to have, universal appeal to people of any time and any place. In Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings the Hobbit teaches us that “attempting to conquer Sauron with the ring” is no longer the goal of the quest. In the end, it is not the power of the mind nor the strength of the body but the instincts of the human heart that save the world. It is the simple human capacity for mercy that finally allows evil to be overthrown.
Frodo the Hobbit.
The Gates of Valhalla
INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
PAGE NUMBERS IN ITALIC TYPE REFER TO ILLUSTRATIONS AND CAPTIONS
PAGE NUMBERS IN BOLD REFER TO CHARTS
A
Aachen 121
Adam and Eve 210
Adriatic Sea 16–18
Aeglos (spear) 58, 59
Aes Sídhe 131–2
Æsir 33, 41
Ainur (Holy Ones) 33, 200–4, 243
Akephalos 212
Aladdin 232
Alberich the Dwarf 156–9
Alberich the Nibelung 185, 252–6, 253, 255, 259, 264, 267–70, 274
alchemy 25–6, 225–8, 234–49, 238
Alferich 158
Alfheim 36, 37, 57, 142, 144
Allfather (Ilúvatar) 32, 200–4
Alps 151–4
Althing 32
Aman 33, 42, 56, 105
Amazon 183, 184–5
Amchitka Island 289
Amelungs 155–7, 158
Ammon 215
Amon Hen 56, 60, 61, 122
Amor 111, 112
Anduin River 27, 119
Andúril 101, 112, 112, 113
Andvari the Dwarf 64, 74–80, 75, 76–7, 90, 121, 144, 156–9, 185
Andvarinaut 64, 74–5, 75
Angband 42–4, 44, 154
Angel of the Sea 214
angels 204
Anglo-Saxon mythology 126–47
Angmar 27, 106
Angrist (dagger) 140, 241
Annatar the Lord of Gifts 193, 196, 243
anti-war movement 287, 288–9
Anzius, King 157
Aphrodite 191
Apollonius of Tyana 245–6
Ar-Pharazôn, King 207
Arabian mythology 232–3
Aragorn 94, 96, 96, 97, 100–1, 106, 110, 111, 111, 112, 115, 122, 124, 124, 125, 140, 145, 183
archangels 204, 210
archetypes 94, 101
Arda 33, 33, 54, 200–4
Ark of the Covenant 217
The Art of Memory (Yates) 246–8
Arthur, King 92–107 passim, 94, 95, 96, 97, 111, 122, 123, 124, 151, 158
Arthurian legend 65, 92–107, 111
Arwen 96, 124, 124, 125, 154,
183
Asgard 33, 36, 37, 42, 54, 59, 71, 204
Ashtaroth 216
Asian mythology 225
Asmodeus 207, 208, 209, 213–16
Atli, King of the Huns 88–90, 184
atomic bomb 286–92
Attila the Hun 184
Aulë the Smith 188, 189, 239, 240, 241
Avallónë 106
Avalon 106, 124
Avari 36
Awakening of Men 190, 191
B
Babylonian mythology 10, 123, 237
Baggins, Bilbo 10, 12, 13, 27, 60, 61, 106, 139, 145, 185
Baggins, Frodo 27, 56, 106, 107, 119, 142, 143, 145, 147, 185, 288, 293–4, 294, 295
Baghdad 247
Balder 59
Balin 36
Balmung (sword) 140, 163, 179
Balor of the Evil Eye 128–9
Balrogs 41, 45, 53, 105, 128
Ban the Bomb 287, 288
Barahir 133
Bard the Bowman, King of Dale 133, 139
Barrow-downs 141, 144
barrow graves 68
Barrow-wights 31, 142, 143, 144–7
Battle of Gladden Fields 27, 145
Beelzebub, Lord of Demons 211–13, 212
Beleriand 44
Benares 233
Beowulf 138–9
Beren 44, 44, 140
Berne, Dietrich von (Dietrich of Verona) 65, 140, 151–4, 158, 177–8, 179
biblical mythology 205–6
Bifröst 45
Bifur 36
Black Breath 112
Black Death 112
black-elves 266
Black Gate of Mordor 145, 154
Black Serpent of the Barrows 129
Blacklocks 249
blasphemy 22
blood sacrifice 32, 163
blood-brothers 84, 85
Bodhisattva’s Ring 233
Bofur 36
Bombadil, Tom 147
Bombur 36
Boromir 122, 123
Brahmadatta 233
Brahmans 245
Branstock 65, 66, 66, 67, 100, 140
Brestisson, Sigmundur 24–5
Bretland 144
Bride of the Sea 17, 18
Broadbeams 249
Brokk 57
Bronze Age 26
Brunhild, Queen 162, 164–74, 179–85
Brunhilda, Queen of the Visigoths 182–3
Brunnhilde the Valkyrie 259–63, 271, 272–7
Brynhild 82–8, 96, 99, 101, 182, 183
Buddhist philosophy 10, 225, 233
Burgundians 162–4, 172, 179
Byzantium 20, 22, 112
C
Caepio 16
cannibalism 151–4
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 287
Carcharoth, the Giant Wolf of Angband 42, 44, 44, 45
Carolingian dynasty 108–25
Caucasian Mountains 25, 197
Celebrimbor 57, 196, 240, 249
celestial iron 220–2, 222–3
Celtic mythology 24, 101, 105, 106, 126–47, 200
Chaldeans 212
chansons de geste 111, 122
“Charge of the Rohirrim” 156
Charlemagne 65, 111, 140, 151, 158
Chesterton, G.K. 287
Chidambaram 233
Chilperic, King 182
Chinese folklore 225, 226–7, 228–32, 237
Chori, see Geser Khagan
Christian tradition 10, 52, 92–107, 111–25, 184, 198–217, 225, 236, 244–8
Chronicon Angliae 19
Cimmeria 192
Círdan the Shipwright 27, 249
Cirith Ungol 145
Cold War 292
Common Speech of Men 137
cosmic tree 60
cosmology 33, 36
Council Hall of the Gods 56
Council of the Valar 56
Courtain 124
Cracks of Doom 145, 243, 293–4
crows 65
crucifiction 52
Curufin 249
D
dactylomancy 17, 20, 21–2
Dáin 36
Daji, Princess 230, 231
Dancwart 174
Danes 122, 171
Danske, Holger 123
Danube River 173, 174
Dark elves 36
Dark Riders 60
Dark Tower 56, 99, 121, 239
Dead Marshes 145
dead men’s curses 30
Déagol 27, 145
Decani 211
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Gibbon) 21
Deer Tower (Luhtae) 230, 231
Demon Ring 17, 18–19
demons 41, 137, 207, 216–17
Denethor, Steward of Gondor 123, 124
Di Yi, Emperor 228–9
Dietrich of Verona, see Berne, Dietrich von
Doge of Venice 16–18
Dol Guldur 145
Domhring (Ring of Doom) 31
Donner 254, 257
Dori 36
Doriath 233
Dragons/Dragon-slayers 26, 31, 78–82, 78, 79, 84, 106, 112, 138, 156, 157, 163, 165, 179, 212, 260, 261, 262–70, 273
Draupnir 49, 57–9, 60, 64
Drusus 16
Dúnedain 111, 140, 241
Durin the Deathless (Durin I) 36, 40, 41, 249
Dwalin 36, 57
Dwarf-smiths 140
dwarfs 26, 36, 41, 57, 69, 74–8, 88, 121, 156, 156, 158, 185, 259, 264–6
Dwarves 31, 36, 40, 41, 137, 139, 158, 240, 240, 241, 249, 293
E
Ea 237
Eärendil the Mariner 206, 207, 209
The Earthly Paradise (Morris) 122–3
Easterlings 239, 249
Eastern mythology 157, 218–33
Ector, Sir 96
Edward III 19, 20
Egyptian mythology 10, 204, 206
Einstein, Albert 292
Elbeghast 158
Eldamar 36, 205
Eldar 36
Elendil the Tall 100, 140
Elf-smiths 140, 142, 158
Eliade, Mircea 26, 236
Elrond Half-Elven 27, 96, 249
Elven-smiths of Eregion 27, 99, 140, 196, 240–1, 243, 245
Elves 22, 27, 33, 36, 36, 39, 42, 44, 57, 96, 105–6, 121, 129, 131–7, 140, 145, 154, 155, 196, 200, 204–5, 209, 233, 239–41, 249, 282, 293
elves 31, 266
Encircling Mountains 154, 155
Enepsigos 212
Ents 107, 107, 137
Envy 212
Éomer 110, 111
Eönwë, Herald of the Valar 42
Éowyn 137, 183
Epiphas 212
Erchamion, Beren, see Beren
Erda 257, 271, 272
Eregion 27, 99, 140, 196, 240, 243
Eriador 141
Eru the One 200–4, 243
Etzel, Emperor of the Huns 159, 173–9, 176, 177, 184
European mythology 23–5, 111, 138, 155, 179, 283–5
Evil Eye 54, 128–9
Excalibur 100
Execetus 17, 22
Exeter Book 21, 22, 236
Eye of Sauron 54, 128–9, 233
F
Fafner the giant 254, 256, 257, 259
Fafner becomes a dragon 262–3
Fafner the dragon 264, 266–70, 276, 277
Fáfnir, Prince of All Dragons 72, 75–8, 80–2, 100, 260, 261
Fall of Man 210
Falls of Rauros 122
Faramir 123, 145, 183
Fasolt 254, 256, 257
Fathers of Dwarves 240, 241
Fëanor the Noldo 140, 205, 209, 239, 240, 249
Fellowship of the Piston Rings 289
Fellowship of the Ring 27, 145
Fenrir 44, 45
Fíli 36
Final Battle 42
Finwë, King of the Noldor 249
fire giants 45
Firebeards 249
Fires of Doom 290–1, 292
First Age of Sun 42
Flame Imperishable 243
flying ships 33
Formorians 129
Fountain of Wisdom 52
Franks 82, 182–3
Frastrada, Queen 114, 115–18, 115
Free Peoples 54
Freia 254, 256
Freyr, God of Sun and Rain 32, 45
Fricka, Queen 253–4, 259–61
Frodo the Hobbit, the Ringbearer, see Baggins, Frodo
Froh 254
frost giants 41
G
Gaea 188
Galadriel of Lothlórien 27, 106, 154, 249
Gandalf, Icelandic dwarf 41
Gandalf the Grey 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 101, 101, 102, 105
Gandalf the White 53, 54, 101, 103, 105
Gandalf the Wizard 12, 27, 32, 41, 45, 48, 49, 94, 106, 115, 116, 238, 241–3
Gandhi, Mahatma 288
Gareth 129
Garm the Hound 41
Gates of Angband 44
Gates of Valhalla 294, 295–6
Gelderland 18–19
Gengis Khan 225
Geoffrey of Denmark 122
German mythology 65, 140, 148–85, 159, 250–77, 283–5
Gernot, King 162, 174
Geser Khagan 220–2, 224, 225
Giant Spiders 107
Giant Wolves 42, 44
giants 31, 41, 42, 42, 43, 45, 137, 151–4, 254, 256, 257, 259, 262–3
Gibbon, Edward 21
Gibichungs 272–4
Gil-galad 27, 57, 58, 59
Giselher, King 162, 174
Gladden Fields 27, 145
Gladsheim 56
Glittering Heath 72, 78, 80
Glóin 36
Gnomes 239
Gnosticism 244–5, 247
Goblin Town 145, 147
goblins 137
