… continued from my previous post
The
Fog on the Barrow-downs text tells us that in coming from the south, the hobbits reached a dished hill with a mounded rim and rode up and across its top. Peering towards the north, presumably when close to or at the northern rim, they decided not to descend but to take a break. At this point it is clear the four friends had bypassed the center of the hollow and its standing stone. The only question we need to concern ourselves with right now is:
‘On which side of the enchanted stone had they passed?’
In looking northwards atop his pony, we are told Frodo also glanced towards the east however the sight made him uneasy:
“… on that side the hills were higher and looked down upon them; and all those hills were crowned with green mounds, and on some were standing stones, pointing upwards like jagged teeth out of green gums.”
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs
Given that the text tells us:
“… they turned from the sight …”,
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs
in deciding to ride towards the center of the hollow, the logical deduction is that indeed the hobbits had passed by the stone on the eastern side as opposed to the western one. Otherwise, they would have turned towards those disconcerting range of high hills. The turn had to be an anticlockwise one conducted north-east of the stone. Thus, they had come from the south, then must have ridden past the stone’s eastern side and left it behind them as they had made their way to the hill top’s northern perimeter.
Mithadan in his post of 8-12-25 has come to this same conclusion and Karen Wynn Fonstad was another scholar who certainly agreed.
Extract from ‘The Atlas of Middle-earth’, Karen Wynn Fonstad
So indeed, we can safely conclude almost a half a circuit had been completed ‘widershins’ by the point the decision was taken to head backwards down into the hollow from their northern vantage point.
After reaching the solitary stone and unloading the pack-pony, they set their backs on its east face. Presumably, so slouched, the hollow was deep enough to mask the view of the menacing eastern hills. Anyhow – at their awakening, as the fog rolled in, the text tells us they then made a beeline for:
“… the western rim.”,
–
The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow-downs
only to see the Sun set before their eyes. The next question we have to ask ourselves is:
‘Which way around the menhir did they go?’
This is the first ‘riddle in the dark’ left for us to solve!
… to be continued