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Old 03-22-2020, 10:11 AM   #55
William Cloud Hicklin
Loremaster of Annúminas
 
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.William Cloud Hicklin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mithadan View Post
The characterization that the plague was carried "on the wind" is a typical archaic reference. The recognition of means of transmission is a modern discovery. I have seen the Spanish Flu from 1918 characterized in period pieces as black clouds and smog. Tolkien would not attempt to incorporate concepts such as aerosol transmission into his mythos; they would be out of place.
Malaria means literally "bad air," because it was believed by the ancients to be caused by the noisesome vapors of swamps and marshes.
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The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it.
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