Who knows their trolls? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mister Underhill*** · 09-11-2000, 09:13 AM

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<img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/redeye.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Who knows their trolls?

I don't know if your rationalization re: the trolls being shielded from the sunlight is convincing, Master Galbasi -- if this company of trolls were garden-variety, they couldn't have been expected to last for more than an hour even under an enshrouding fog. In The Hobbit, the trolls turn to stone at the first crack of dawn. Not too smart to send a vanguard that has a shelf life of sixty minutes at the outside. Also, if you skip ahead to the Field of Cormallen, you will see that "the sun gleamed red" at the same time that the cry "The eagles are coming!" is raised.

I agree that Tolkien seems to use "orc" and "goblin" interchangeably, but I think he did go to some trouble to distinguish trolls as the "big guns" in Sauron's arsenal. Sure, they don't get as comprehensive a treatment as orcs do, but that's only because orcs are, for a variety of reasons, a much more practical foot-soldier and so we have many more opportunities to meet them in the field.

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09-11-2000, 09:13 AM	#11
*Mister Underhill* Dread Horseman Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Behind you! Posts: 2,744	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Animated Skeleton Posts: 0</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/redeye.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Who knows their trolls? I don't know if your rationalization re: the trolls being shielded from the sunlight is convincing, Master Galbasi -- if this company of trolls were garden-variety, they couldn't have been expected to last for more than an hour even under an enshrouding fog. In The Hobbit, the trolls turn to stone at the first crack of dawn. Not too smart to send a vanguard that has a shelf life of sixty minutes at the outside. Also, if you skip ahead to the Field of Cormallen, you will see that "the sun gleamed red" at the same time that the cry "The eagles are coming!" is raised. I agree that Tolkien seems to use "orc" and "goblin" interchangeably, but I think he did go to some trouble to distinguish trolls as the "big guns" in Sauron's arsenal. Sure, they don't get as comprehensive a treatment as orcs do, but that's only because orcs are, for a variety of reasons, a much more practical foot-soldier and so we have many more opportunities to meet them in the field. </p>