Okay, Children of Eru, two topics today, both based on the conceit that the events of Lord of the Rings actually happened much as they were recorded, recorded first by Frodo & Bilbo, with other bits added on by Merry and various Gondorian scribes. Obviously this is book-based rather than movie-based.
We’ll start with a bit of character discussion. Aragorn did not immediately tell Legolas & Gimli that Boromir tried to take the Ring from Frodo. The book doesn’t make it clear when he did, but I’ve always imagined he kept it to himself until Frodo came to him for information on what happened after the Breaking of the Fellowship. Therefore, the terms of our hypothetical are thus:
Frodo & Samwise die on Mount Doom. (Surely that’s not hard to imagine; all it would take would be for the Eagles to have left the vicinity of Black Gate for Ordruin a few minutes later, or the volcanic eruption to have been a little more intense, and when Gandalf will arrive only in time to retrieve their coprses.)
The story of the rest of the Fellowship happens just as recorded in the Red Bookh as as recorded; and finally
Assume Bilbo, hearing the news of his nephew’s death, no longer has any heart to write, but that Meriadoc decides to finish it instead.
At some point Merry is going to go to his friend Elessar and ask him what he knows about Elessar; alternatively, the young Prince of Ithilien may inquire as to his brother’s last horus. I’m fairly certain that Merry & Pippin didn’t know what Boromir had been up to immediately prior to his death. What do you think he would have said?
The second question is about the song the Three Hunters sing at Boromir’s hasty funeral. Now, though I prefer book to movie, I’ve always assumed that the latter is closer to what “actually” happened than the former; that is, Aragorn, Legolas, & Gimli, torn between giving honor to their friend and going to help the young hobbits, hastily put Boromir in a boat but did not take time to sing and such. The song about the North, West, and South winds was therefore added by later Gondorian scribes. It’s obvious why the East wind is not included in this; as Aragorn says, the folk of Gondor endure the wind from Mordor but do not ask it for tidings. What’s less obvious is why Gimli doesn’t get a verse. Share your thoughts on that.
I think Aragorn may well have kept Boromir’s final minutes to himself, and allowed him the valor he earned by his defense of Merry and Pippin to go unsullied. But I think Gandalf/Galadriel knew anyway. But by the time Merry would have asked, they were no longer much concerned with the affairs of Men, and likely would have kept the truth to themselves as well. I think Gandalf in particular understood that honesty is not always kindness, and sometimes kindness is the greater virtue. Let the past keep its secrets, when knowing helps no one.
I can’t see any reason to attribute significance to Gimli’s not getting a verse beyond the simple fact that the East Wind was what was left to him. Boromir would have been a man Gimli admired very much, soaked in testosterone as they both were.
Alternatively, would it be because the dwarven approach to singing wouldn’t have allowed him time? Look at the song the dwarves sang in Bilbo’s hobbit-hole - it was quite lengthy. I’ve always imagined the dwarves singing in their mines, around a fire, and the song goes on, and on, and on, because unlike in other cultures, the sun doesn’t arrived to put an end to the night. Gimli might have just thought, “Eh, I can’t do it justice - it would take hours, and we’ve got work to do”.
Faramir already knew the rough outline of what happened . He got it out of Sam and Frodo at Henneth Annûn.
So I think the true story would still be included. Boromir’s family already knows the truth, so there is no one to protect. And the tales that Aragorn was raised on are filled with examples of individuals with fatal character flaws, where the individual was still greatly honored. No one who is related to Turin or Isildur is likely to feel any need to whitewash Boromir’s fatal pride and desire for glory.
Besides Boromir’s story is one one of triumph. In the end he overcame his temptation to come to the defense of Merry and Pippen rather than continue to seek Frodo and the ring. Take away his fall and his redemption is lessened.
Oy!: Gandalf does know. Sometime after he has rejoined the Three Hunters he makes a remark to Aragorn at least that it was good Merry & Pippin came along because Boromir saved his soul trying to rescue them.
To answer the Rhymer’s first question, I think Elessar may have told Merry the truth. After all, the One Ring is an incredibly powerful artifact and Boromir was tempted more by the desire to save Gondor than his own personal aggrandizement. As Bartman pointed out, Boromir died a noble death.
You mean Boromir here,* I assume, and you don’t mean this here,** I also assume?: Horus - Wikipedia
I agree with Bartman’s take on things. There’s no next of kin who need protecting from the facts of the unpleasant side of Boromir’s personality, the story’s going to get out anyway, and the survivors of the Fellowship would always favor truth over falsehood anyway. Boromir recognized his error at the end, and redeemed himself, dying heroically.
Gimli composed his verse in Dwarvish, then refused to translate it for foreigners. The bit about the East Wind was a diplomatic fib to keep from annoying Faramir.
On a related note… does Gimli ever recite any poems, songs or the like? Aragorn sings and recites poetry several times. As do almost all of the members of the fellowship. But I can’t remember Gimli doing so. He quotes battle cries, and he almost turns some poetry in describing the glittering caves, but not quite.
It may be that that was just not his thing, and Aragorn took the third stanza of Boromir’s dirge so as not to put Gimli on the spot.
No, as I recall, Gimli said specifically that he would not sing because they had left the East Wind to him. Plus Gimli chants a long song of Dwarrowdelf in the chapter A Journey in the Dark in FotR.
It’s canon that there were many weeks in Minas Tirith when the survivors of the Fellowship enjoyed many long chats getting everyone else’s part of the story; one of the Appendices has Gandalf explaining how he started off the Quest of Erebor which resulted in Smaug’s downfall. I’m sure there would have been plenty of time for Merry to have gotten the straight dope from Aragorn. There is no shame to Boromir in admitting that the Ring worked its lure on him; it served a timely reminder that it was best to let the Ring-bearer go his way before anyone else could fall victim, and Boromir paid the price in the fullest possible measure.
Well, though the grieving winds song is my single favorite thing about the book, I still hold that in the “true” history (;)), they didn’t sing it. That’s a late redaction, like the last nine verses of Mark.
Boromir was his father’s son, in all ways. The honor and salvation of Gondor was of great importance to him, nearly paramount importance. For that reason, the Ring worked on him more than on some others. But in the end, his true character came out, and he gave his life with honor and valor, saving those who needed his help. I don’t see anything there not to tell.
So why would the scribes of Gondor not want to give Gimli a verse? They didn’t feel they could do the dwarven style justice? They didn’t think dwarves were sentimental enough to sing at funerals? They were racist against dwarves and wanted to exclude them from them ceremony?
They likely had little to no lore on the dwarves aside from what they might have had from the Rohirrim or elves. Besides who cares what the red headed step children of Eru do anyway? Especially when we have an elf and Isildur’s heir warbling away about the champion of Osgiliath.
