I do look at this section quite often, in the vain hope of learning the dates by osmosis. Alas a damaged memory means I don't remember things that well.
But this does have it's benefits as I am often surprised by learning a 'new' fact. Such as Gollum being over 500 years old at the time of LotR; he had been hiding under the Misty Mountains for over 400 years with his 'precious' when Bilbo turned up. To put this into perspective, he found the Ring and went into hiding before the Rohirrim had even setled Rohan!
Imagine how different the world would have been to him when he finally emerged to hunt down his precious?
Another interesting fact is that Aragorn must have been about 10 when Gandalf turned up in Rivendell with the Dwarves and Bilbo. I wonder was he amongst the Elves singing Tra-la-la-lally?
This section also makes it clear that Hobbits have not always been quite so sedentary, as they even traversed the Misty Mountains before finally settling in and founding The Shire. Of course it could have been hardship which drove them onwards to seek new land, but even if it was this which made them move, it still proves that they were once a sturdy and strong race of people, and it's perhaps not so surprising that they have hidden strengths.
Quote:
Throughout the Third Age the guardianship of the Three Rings was known only to those who possessed them. But at the end it became known that they had been held at first by the three greatest of the Eldar: Gil-galad, Galadriel and Cirdan. Gil-galad before he died gave his ring to Elrond; Cirdan later surrendered his to Mithrandir. For Cirdan saw further and deeper than any other in Middle-earth, and he welcomed Mithrandir at the Grey Havens, knowing whence he came and whither he would return.
'Take this ring, Master,' he said, 'for your labours will be heavy; but it will support you in the weariness that you have taken upon yourself. For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill. But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and I will dwell by the grey shores until the last ship sails. I will await you. '
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This is an interesting passage. Firstly, it marks Cirdan out as an Elf with particular skills, as he could see "further and deeper than any other in Middle-earth". This must mean that he is blessed with the greatest foresight of anyone in Middle-earth, even more so than Galadriel, or Sauron, a Maia.
I find Cirdan a fascinating figure. Unlike most Elves he can live right beside the Sea without yearning to pass over it so much that he goes himself, he is simply content to be beside it. He waits for the 'last ship', which may well be for as long as Middle-earth endures. He is content to be the gatekeeper, and reminds me of Charon, the boatman on the Styx - and also I think of the scenes in His Dark Materials where they travel to the Land of the Dead (very upsetting). He lives in the Grey Havens, and dwells on the grey shores, and when I think of him I think of a grey figure. I cannot imagine Cirdan being the bearer of a Ring of Fire - and he even ends up giving Narya to the
grey wizard. All this grey is not quite dismal, but not joyful either.
He is witness to the bittersweet departures of Elves from Middle-earth. Bitter because they will not come back and sweet because it is in their nature to go to the Undying Lands. But he also witnesses something
very peculiar and that is the
arrival of the Istari. I cannot tell if he knew the destiny of the wizards or not, but here he addresses Gandalf as "Master", which is interesting. I wonder was he struck by Gandalf's presence, or did he 'see' something in him? Maybe he simply recognised the Istari as something greater than any Elf as they had travelled
the wrong way down the Straight Road.