It's amazing how the little things strike you in re-readings.
Quote:
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And high and noble as was Elemmakil, greater and more lordly was Ecthelion, Lord of the Fountains, at that time Warden of the Great Gate. All in silver was he clad, and upon his shining helm there was set a spike of steel pointed with a diamond...
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What's incredible here is that Tolkien very obviously still had the old idea of how Ecthelion killed Gothmog in mind while writing this; that's as clear a Chekhov's Gun (Chekhov's
Spike?) as any. Whether it would have survived in revisions if Tolkien had ever gotten round to writing the actual scene is of course unknown, but to see such an old concept bubble to the surface again is quite remarkable.