| Burning LotR Questions |
| Have a burning LotR question you want answered? Scroll down and submit one to have it posted on this page. These questions can be hypothetical, factual, or whatever. If you have an answer or comment to add to any of these questions, please submit it! If your submission has an accompaning picture, please e-mail it to me at REclyps@netscape.net with your name and question included. However, please do not submit anything offensive. I thought this was common sense but apparently some people need to be told... You know who you are... This page is dedicated to those of us who over-analyze... |
| Question 1: Do Elves eat? Obviously they make Lembas so they CAN eat but if the only way for an Elf to die is by being slain or dying of a broken heart, why would they need to eat? They can't starve. Would they just need to eat to have energy and that's why things such as Lembas and Miruvor are so full of energy? ~Submitted by Diamond Baggins Answer(s): elves simply don't age so they do have to eat ~Submitted by mrs gamgee In the second slaying of elf by elf (the Silmarillion page 284), one of the elves kidnaps the other's sons and leaves them to starve in the woods. So therefore if elves can starve they must eat. ~Submitted by All_Pure_Angel Question 2: Do Elves sleep in beds? Since Elves don't sleep in a conventional way, they wouldn't need them but they apparently can craft them since there is one in Bilbo's room in Rivendell. And what about Elves that are injured? Wouldn't they need beds? ~Submitted by Diamond Baggins and Arramiel Greenleaf Answer(s): Elves don't sleep in beds. They actually sleep on the floor of the houses they have in trees. The beds that they had in Rivendell they did make, but they had the sole purpose of accomadating guests that were used to sleeping in beds such as hobbits and humans. ~Submitted by Isithrade Question 3: Why didn't the Eagles just drop the Ring into Mt. Doom? ~Submitted by Ivy Took Answer(s): I've wondered that myself. I heard someone say somewhere that it was because the Eagles weren't Middle-earth taxis but I would think that they would be willing to help destroy the Ring since they ARE part of Middle-earth after all. But then, I guess that would be entirely too easy... ~Submitted by Diamond Baggins The Eagles serve Manwe, one of the most powerful of the valar. After the downfall of Numenor, the valar were seperated from the happenings of middle earth. Therefore, the Eagles do not just jump to the rescue. Furthermore, there is the idea that through evil, greater beauty will be created. The glories that happened in the 3rd age would not of happened if the Eagles just dropped the ring in Mt. Doom. This all comes for the Silmarillion. ~Submitted by Rickamer Then there would be no story line what-so-ever ~Submitted by Leggy's_Girl Question 4: Why is it that in The Hobbit the elves are all silly songs and dances and crazy merriment (at least, the crazy elves of Rivendell) but then, as soon as we get into LOTR (only 77 years later) they're suddenly practically dead to the world? All slow wise zombie people that are all, "I'm too wise and old to talk to you" than their previous "Hee hee hee! I'm going to make fun of you through song!" attitude, and Tolkien talks about them as if they've ALWAYS been like that, but they HAVEN'T! It's nuts I tell ya.... ~Submitted by Ivy Took Answer(s): The only thing I can say on this one is I guess The Hobbit was a children's story and Tolkien didn't intend for the Elves to be so dark until he wrote LotR. ~Diamond Baggins Question 5: In a printed edition of The Hobbit that claims to be "Illustrated by the author" (So Tolkien drew these pics, not anyone else, and so everything in them came STRAIGHT from him...) why does he describe hobbits as not wearing shoes, then draw Bilbo as wearing high black boots? ~Submitted by Ivy Took Answer(s): What am i, a scientist? ~Submitted by Joe Scanlon You tell me, Sergeant Sarcasm. ~Submitted by Diamond Baggins I don't think anyone will be able to explain this one. Either some idiot drew it and said that it was illustrated by tolkien in an effort to sell more books, or tolkien was just really bonged when he drew it. Any neither of them seem very likely. That's why you don't ask questions like those to hobbits like me. ~Submitted by Paladin Bridger In the concerning hobbits section of LOTR, it states that they did wear shoes but only seldomly. They also went on adventures seldomly but Bibo went against this convention as well. ~Submitted by Erkenbrand of the Westfold Question 6: If Orcs are mutilated Elves, does that mean they're immortal and can only die in battle or of a broken heart? ~Submitted by Fearey God Crab Answer(s): Yes, and no. Orcs can only die if they are killed. If they could die of a broken heart, they would be dead before they were alive, due to the fact that they are such depressed angry creatures. It is because of thier high insanity level that they were breed with the inability to take thier own lives. Therefore, as much as they may want to die, and orc cannot die unless he is killed by another, no matter how much heartbreak he has suffered. ~Submitted by Samwise the Brave Question 7: If one of the few ways that elves can die is of a broken heart, why was it such a big deal for Arwen to have chosen mortality for Aragorn? If she had chosen Immortality, would her heart not have been broken over the loss of him which would simply kill her significantly sooner than choosing mortality? By choosing mortality, she may be prolonging the inevitable, but she gets to live with Aragorn until the end. By choosing Immortality (and therefore the broken heart a.k.a. quicker mortality) her last days are absolutely miserable and she dies completely alone much sooner. Elrond wished for her to live on forever in the undying lands with the other elves, but would she have even made it that far before her heart was broken and she passed on? ~Submitted by Ivy Took Answer(s): If you watch towers closely enough Arwen is broken hearted. ~Submitted by BBarefootprinces My question had nothing to do with wondering if she was broken hearted. She was still clinging to a tiny shred of hope in TTT, so she wasn't as broken hearted as I am referencing in the question. ~Submitted by Ivy Took Yes, I think she would have died much sooner from the whole broken heart thing, but maybe Elrond didnt think of that (I mean hes not the brightest of people..if he was he would of tackled Isildur and destoryed the ring decades ago, but anyway) perhaps he didnt know just eaxctly HOW in love Arwen actually was. He could of thought it was a love thing that she would just move on from and forget about it. He probably never paid enough attention to know that Arwen and Aragorn were completely and utterly true love people! And if thats not it then it could just be that Elrond is stupid and his mom dresses him funny. ~Submitted by Arramiel Question 8: The Orcs are Elves so twisted they become evil so is that the breaking of their hearts? ~Submitted by BBarefootprinces Answer(s): Orcs are not just Elves that were broken hearted. In FotR, it states that Orcs were once Elves tortured and mutilated. Heartbreak may have been a part of thisbut there is a chance that they were alsio phisically beaten and even had some sort of magic spell cast on them. Correct me if I'm wrong. ~Submitted by Isil Question 9: What culture is Gollum? ~Submitted by Owen Greenleaf Answer(s): Gollum was once a hobbit-like creature. ~Submitted by Diamond Baggins gollum was one of the river folk, not so different from a hobbit. ~Submitted by babybloom Hobbits were divided into three different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. According to Appendix B in ROTK, the One Ring was found by Deagol the Stoor in year 2463 of the third age. Smeagol was a member of this Stoor culture of hobbits ~Submitted by Erkenbrand of the Westfold Question 10: ok with you notice that the rivendell elves have brown hair and brown eyes and the lorion elves have blond hair and blue eyes why does legolas a mirkwood elf have the same colourings as hilder a lorion elf? ~Submitted by mrs gamgee Answer(s): Actually, if you read the book, it doesn't TELL you what color hair Legolas has. PJ and friends were forced to go off of their imaginations, and they chose to make him a blonde. And besides, I believe it is told in the book that Glorfindel was blonde, but he was an Elf from Rivendell. ~Submitted by Reasonably Crazy The Mirkwood elves are a relation to the Lorien elves. If you read in the book, Galadriel says that they haven't seen one of their northen relations in a while (Legolas is a northern relation). I do not know exactly how the Rivendell elves fit in, though. I think that they might be part man. ~Submitted by LoTRocks! the elves don't have any set color for hair and eyes. I think that it just turned out that way when PJ put costumes together. I actually believe (though i am probably wrong) that in the book there were blonde elves in rivendell and brunette elves in Lorien ~Submitted by Lydia Question 11: Do elves sleep at all? can they get by with out sleep? ~Submitted by Leggy's_Girl Answer(s): They go into a trance like state, almost, never closing their eyes. They have to sleep, they can't die because they don't sleep, but they can become exhausted and tired. ~Submitted by Ehdelwen Elves sleep as they find necessary. They don't have to be laying down to sleep either. They can actually sleep while they walk and sleep while they are sitting. They can sleep while laying down. They actually normally sleep with their eyes open. Elves could get by without sleep but since they can sleep while walking and not hurt themselves (i can't walk fully awake without hurting myself) they don't have to lay down and sleep ~Submitted by Isithrade Question 12: When Elrond and Isildur where in Mt. Doom and Isildur said he wouldn't destroy the ring, wouldn't it have been simpler for Elrond to maybe knock Isildur out, take the ring and throw it in the fire? Or can elves not touch the ring? ~Submitted by Inwe Answer(s): Elrond couldn't have done that because he himself would be overcome by the Ring and take it for himself. ~Submitted by Dani Well, it's simple. If you were writing LOTR, would you make that happen? That is key for the whole story. And maybe it could have happened, just it wouldn't make a good story. ~Submitted by Paladin Question 13: why do people say that elves such as legolas are gay or prissy? is it because of their long hair, or beautiful appearences, because i love elves, and in my heart i am one of them! LONG LIVE THE ELVES! ~Submitted by elfgirl Answer(s): I think that people that say the elves are gay are really insecure about themselves. WE are in a society that you are considered gay if you look or act or dress a certain way. Since elves are beautiful elegant creatures they are considered gay, but if they are all gay then the race would die out. part of it might be what they wear, but this was set such a long time ago that their dress was different. Men used to wear skirts all the time in centuries passed ~Submitted by Lydia People say that Legolas is gay because they have either made the observation or heard from someone who has made the observation that despite the situation his hair is always flawless. That leads them to thinking that he is prissy because such perfect hair takes time and a heck of a lot of effort. As for gay...well some people are just rationalizing the situation. "Hmmm....I can't have him. Let's rethink this...I don't want him! Yeah, that's it! Uuh, cuz...well...errrr...he's gay! Yeah, that's it!" Or they simply like to get their kicks by saying things like that to people like you and watching you get upset. They're sadistic like that. Hope I helped in some way here. ~Submitted by Ivy You will find that most people who make fun of them are guys. The answer is: they're just jelious of all the attention that they get from girls. ~Submitted by Sorcha As far as I can tell from reading the spoofs and such that seem to indicate this, they don't REALLY think that. I'm sure that you know that many many classic tales have had spoofs made of them, and lotr is no exception. Well for the character Legolas, who is SO flawless, what CAN you do to make him funny but to make a running "dumb blonde" joke, just as Aragorn has a running "I need soap" and "not king yet" joke and Pippin has a running "not the brightest crayon in the box" joke and so on and so forth. Really, I think they're just using the fact that Legolas is so cute and turning it into a little laugh. I'm not knocking elves at all, i totally agree with you on the elves being wonderful creatures thing, but you can't take it all too seriously. I mean, if you can't laugh at something you yourself like, then how can you laugh at anything else at all? I'm not a big supporter of slash or anything (im DEFINETLY not prejudiced against gays either!) but really, if you stop to read some of the spoofs or captions out there, and really stop and think about, for example, Elrond having stolen that dress worn in the council of Elrond from Arwen's closet, it really does make you chuckle to think of it. Just you always have to keep an open mind to the humor in it, and if you can't take it, make the decision yourself not to read them! ~Submitted by fifle =) Question 14: In the MOVIE RotK, how does Shelob stab Frodo through his Mithril? Even if she was strong enough to stab through it, it would have shown a puncture or something when the orcs in the tower held it up. Oh I'm so confused! ~Submitted by Ivy Answer(s): If you watch the movie closely, Frodo is actually stabbed in his chest, rather than in the back of the neck as in the book (you can see the mark later in Cirith Ungol). My only guess is that it must have hit somewhere around the neck where it doesn't cover. The shirt also is able to be opened around the neck (you can see the slit where it opens in the picture) which could also make it easier for her to hit Frodo without hitting the Mithril. ~Submitted by Diamond Baggins Question 15: In TTT at Helms Deep Aragorn shouts "ladders" in elvish. The Gimli responds by shouting "good!". Now it was clear in FOTR when he got annyoed at Haldir for speaking in elvish that Gimli does not know elvish, so how exactly did he know what Aragorn had said? ~Submittedc by Arramiel Answer(s): Maybe its because he saw the ladders come up and he knew that Aragorn was going to say "ladders" to warn the others. ~Submitted by Stephanie Maybe Legolas told him that it meant ladders. ~Submitted by Christina I really don't think that there actually is a totally correct answer to this, because it's sorta silly to try and think of an explanation that might have gone on behind the shots. But that was kinda clever of you to notice..i hadn't even thought of that! But still, I don't think there is a clear cut answer: once my mother asked my friend in italian where her other sock was and my friend answered in english that it had fallen off! she doesn't speak italian and i was the only one who noticed it had happened; she didn't stop to think at all--i think she just got the general idea of what my mom was saying. Maybe it was something like that, and not even Gimli/the writers/John-Rhy Davies realized he was answering. ~Submitted by fifle =) Question 16: are there female dwarves? or do the dwarves just pop out of holes in the ground? ~Submitted by gimli Answer(s): It's true you don't see many dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, they are often mistaken for dwarf men. And this in turn has given rise to the belief that there are no dwarf women. And the dwarves just, spring out of holes in the ground! Which is of course ridiculous. ~Submitted by The Real Gimli Question 17: In the book it said Faramir and Eowyn were going to get married, but in the timelines at the end, it said nothing about their wedding unlike Sam's wedding and Pippin's wedding. Did they even get married? ~Submitted by Gollumgal Answer(s): Eowyn is later referred to in the appendix as the Lady Eowyn of Ithlien so one would assume she gained this title by marrying Faramir and living with him in Ithlien. ~Submitted by Diamond Baggins Question 18: Why is there so much hatred in the Old Forest? ~Submitted by MAster_dain Answer(s): The Old Forest, we can probably assume, is made up of the Entwives, and as it says in the the book, the Entwives left Fangorn because they had an argument with the Ents on whose land is best. The ents liked the untamed forests and natural growing of plants, while the entwives liked everything in neat rows, in a cultivated garden. I think some of the anger from this might have carried over. Either that, or they were becoming distraught from the fact that so few ents were left, not to mention trees, forests, and growing things, which were being torn down more and more due to the uprise of men. That's partially what the book is about--although the elves cared for these things, now the time of men was coming who cared much less. This is probably also why the forest wouldn't let the hobbits through in the book and kept leading them to the center..because they were living beings, which had recently been taking over the world that once belonged just to the trees. That's just my theory though of course. You all can correct me if im wrong ~Submitted by fifle =) Question 19: how many times does sam say frodo? ~Submitted by emma Answer(s): sam said frodo so many times that it is nearly impossible to count how many times he did say his name but he did switch from saying formally and like a best friend, mister frodo and just plain frodo. ~Submitted by technical reader Question 20: where are the entwives? and is Old Man Willow an ent? ~Submitted by Owen Greenleaf Answer(s): see my answer to question 18 =) ...IF i'm right though... ~Submitted by fifle =) Question 21: How old IS legolas? top trumps are wrong they say 7000. is it 2931 ~Submitted by Owen Greenleaf Answer(s): Tolkien never really mentioned how old our dear Legolas is. 2931 is just the number that the public made up for my...er...the beautiful elf's age. Either way...my dad says he's too old for me...darn... Submitted by Mornflower Question 22: what happened to the other rings (the 3,7 and9)? also can you die in valinor? ~Submitted by Owen Greenleaf Answer(s): It is possible for mortals such as hobbits to die in Valinor. However, the lives of these individuals would have been made significantly longer by the strong powers of the undying lands. ~Submitted by Feanor II The three Rings of the Elves were never lost; they were held by many different elves through time but at the end of return of the king they were in the hands of Elrond (Vilya), Galadriel (Nenya), and Gandalf (Narya). The Nine that were given to men all returned to Sauron when they became Wraiths. As for the Seven of the Dwarves, Sauron has a few, and I *think* that the rest are lost. ~Submitted by Reasonably Crazy everything reasonably crazy said plus the fact that i THINK a few of the dwarf rings were also eaten by dragons...only one or two possibly. I think those 7 just all got pretty jumbled up and went in a whole lot of different directions but they were all either with Sauron or lost at the end of the third age. No one was in possession of them. ~Submitted by fifle =) Question 23: In ROTK, Elrond meets with Arragorn before the battle of the Pelennor fields and says: "Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the ring", how and why did that happen? ~Submitted by Feanor II Answer(s): arwens fate was now tied to the ring because if it was destroyed then aragorn could come back to her and he would become king and all that, but if the ring was not destroyed then aragorn would probably be captured and killed so that there was no one standing in the way of saurons power, so please correct me if i am totally off track here but i think it just depends on that and the fact that she would be heart broken and therefore die if the latter happpened. :) ~Submitted by Pippinsgurl I think that Elrond says that Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the ring because if the ring is destroyed, then Aragorn will become king, meaning that he lives. If Sauron get's the ring, then everyone will die or become enslaved, including Aragorn, thus breaking Arwens heart (not to mention she'll die too!) ~Submitted by Glorfindel Question 24: what is known about the fate of the blue istari that travelled from valinor to middle earth with Mithrander, Radagast, and Curunir? ~Submitted by Feanor II Answer(s): In some of Tolkien's last notes, it was stated that the names of the blue istari (Ithryn Luin) are Morinehtar and Romestamo and were sent as emissaries to the east of middle earth to circumvent Sauron and aid in the war against him around 1600 in the second age. They then possibly fell away from their mission against Sauron. ~Submitted by Erkenbrand of the Westfold Question 25: Was the city of MInas Tirith fashioned after the great elven realm of Gondolin? They both have seven gates and levels. ~Submitted by Feanor II Answer(s): Question 26: What did Sauron do with the rings of power that he was able to obtain, such as the 7 and the 9? ~Submitted by Feanor II Answer(s): I could be TOTALLY wrong about this, but i was under the impression that the ones that he had (the 9 and an unknown amount of the 7...or possibly all of the 7?) were somehow or other joined or gave him some sort of power...something or other...so that he only needed the one ring to regain full power...i think that had something to do with the fact that he now had at least the form of an eye instead of being totally bodyless and powerless....anyway, all i think he did was to use them to get some sort of power. all i know is he I'm pretty sure he didn't wear them to make his fingers look pretty like I do! ~Submitted by fifle =) Question 27: It is said in the Silmarillion that the baelrogs of melkor were in fact miar like Sauron. If this is so, how is it that Sauron was able to control another miar, the one in Moria? ~Submitted by Feanor II Answer(s): He didn't necessarily control the balrog...Unless it said that he did and I forgot...anyway, it could just be that the balrog wanted them out...How would YOU feel if someone woke you up from a 1000 year nap? lol. ~Submitted by Rachel In the Silmarillion it says that Balrogs are demons created by melkor in mockery of the Maia, not actually maia but sauron is a maia! ~Submitted by Durin Question 28: Pippin isn't an adult yet, so how did Pippin get to go? ~Submitted by Esmerelda Answer(s): He more or less insisted. Elrond was unhappy about any of the Hobbits going to Mordor, but he was against Pippin's going especially. Pippin said that if he was to be left behind, Elrond would have to send him home tied in a sack. Elrond told the young Hobbit that he didn't know what he was trying to get into, but Gandalf unexpectedly supported him by pointing out that Frodo didn't, either. So in the end, it was all Gandalf's doing. Oh the irony. ~Submitted by Reasonably Crazy Question 29: I was actually lecturing another on the details of Lord of the Rings (they neglected to read the book), but the woman sprung a difficult question. One Bilbo gave up the Ring, the full impact of his age came down upon him. But Gollum was well over 500 when he lost the ring, yet he became no more senile than he had been before. Was this because he wasn't EXACTLY a hobbit, only something similar? Or was it because the Ring was taken from him by force, not willingly given like Bilbo? ~Submitted by Reasonably Crazy Answer(s): Maybe it was because Gollum had already had the ring for longer then he was supposed to live, So you just can't notice the change. ~Submitted by Esmerelda I was actually trying to figure that out myself. That's a tough question! I think that if Bilbo had the ring as long as Gollum did, he would have ended up like that too. It probably took Gollum a long time to get that gangly, weird way. It certainly didn't happen overnight, since i THINK he went back for a while and was kicked out by his grandmother after they found out he killed Deagol. He lost the ring 94 years before Frodo left the Shire (if I still remember how to do math--its summer) and I think by that time he was a bit beyond getting old and dying. Bilbo, however, only had the ring for 61 years and was 111 when he lost it, so 17 years later, when Frodo saw him in Rivendell (again assuming my math is right...) he was 128 years old, which is old but not AS old as Gollum was. Really, could you picture Gollum getting any older than he was? Ok, I'm just showing off math stuff now, and probably failing horribly. I'll leave it there =) ~Submitted by fifle =) Question 30: What is tig??? ~Submitted by babybloom Answer(s): Tig is actually a game that Dom and Billy made up shooting the whethertop scene in the FOTR movie. They were trying to confuse Elijah. It's a game with completely made up rules except to fool the person who's trying to learn to play. Billy and Dom would start by poking one another back and forth saying tig. Billy would poke him back saying Tog. Elijah would try to play and poke Billy and say Tig. Dom and Billy would then tell him that you can't Tig on a Tog when you're poking Billy. Just completely made up rules to try and mess up the person who's trying to play. Elijah believed them until they finally told them that no one has any idea what they're doing! Tis the game of Tig. Pass it on. ~Submitted by Fatty Question 31: Radagast the Brown was a wizard that spoke with Gandalf about the Nazgul's departure before his imprisonment in Orthanc, but what I would really like to know is what on earth was he doing for the rest of the book? Could he not care less for the fate of middle earth? Did he not live in middle earth? I need help! (however, none of you who only saw the movie would understand) ~Submitted by Paladin Answer(s): Question 32: Does Legolas have magic powers? ~Submitted by Technical Reader Answer(s): Question 33: In the Fotr, why did Gimli and Legolas make such a big deal about being blindfolded? ~Submitted by technical reader Answer(s): In FotR, Gimli is offended that of all his companions, he alone has to be blindfolded. Because he is a dwarf the elves do not trust him. I think that the fact that Legolas walked freely through Moria (though it was in ruins and uncivilized) may have added to the offense. It may also be the reason why Gimli wants Legolas specifically blindfolded. (You have to remember that Middle Earth had some very extremem problems with racist people at the time) Now Legolas was upset about being blindfolded because he felt that due to the fact that he was of the race of elves he shouldn't be so mistrusted. I think he felt a little left out by his own kind. ~Submitted by Isilme Question 34: Who os what is Tom Bombadil? ~Submitted by Durin Answer(s): Question 35: Who built Moria, i can find no references in the books to it being built by the Dwarves? ~Submitted by Durin Answer(s): Question 36: In the Silmarillion it says that Orcs are tortured and mutilated elves that reproduce after the fashion of men, so where are the women orcs? ~Submitted by Durin Answer(s): Question 37: If an elf dies in Middle Earth can s/he still go to Valinor? What about other species? In ROTK Gandalf seems to speak to Pippin about everyone going to Valinor, is this true? Does everyone go to Valinor when they die? If so, what is the big deal about Arwen dying? (Please forgive me if the answer is in the books, I haven't finished them yet.) ~Submitted by Mortified Penguin Answer(s): Question 38: why do dwarves and elves hate each other so much??? ~Submitted by babybloom Answer(s): |
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