Aragorn swoon thread!

[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

Well, I'd just like to say that I've never heard of so-called "swoon-threads," and that such things are generally discouraged at all of the Tolkien fora of which I am a member. I'm afraid, Araswoon, that you won't find much swooning going on here at the Downs.

[Bêthberry]

My fellow linguistic, fantasy, and Tolkien enthusiasts,

It could well be that we have erred in our understanding of this term 'swoon tread.' If we excavate the etymology of 'swoon' we are left with a possible link to the most important act of Arwen in LOTR.

'swoon' is a modern form of the archaic 'swound' or, perhaps, s'wönd in Sindarin. Through the natural loss of sibilants at the end of words (commensurate with the Great Vowel Shift) , this could likely have been swûnds' the common interjection of "God's wounds". However, this raises the distinct possibility of a scribal transcription error from the Sindarin. Rather than God's wounds we more properly should have gon, S for 'commander,' wounds.

Here we clearly have a case wherebye the banner Arwen prepared for Aragorn was sewn with threads offering a talismanic protection against the commander's wounds.

Consequently, we must therefore have here irrefutable if not undeniable evidence for a banner thread.

[mark12_30]

Is it not therefore the height of irony that the hunky, sizzling Roggie never had anyone devoted enough to him to weave him a flameproof banner? The records are silent on whether he carried banners of a more incendiary nature (aside from his flaming mane which can hardly be construed as a gift of support and admiration.) Apparently his admirers had no access to asbestos fiber.

If they had, perhaps he would have rallied even to the point of withstanding Feanor-- after all, Roggie's eyeliner made him all but invinceable and his defeat was fatal to Feanor in the end. Imagine how the course of history would have been changed by a combination of makeup and the proper non-combustible fabric.

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

Originally Posted by mark12_30

Is it not therefore the height of irony that the hunky, sizzling Roggie never had anyone devoted enough to him to weave him a flameproof banner?

Exactly the point I was about to bring up, mark, as he was definitely the hottest creature in Middle Earth, apart from Denethor.
Love the linguistics lesson Bethberry, my favorite word is "etymology"...

But as for swooning, that's kind of only for movie-fans, and not really applicable to those who love the books in addition, i.e. everyone on Barrowdowns. And it wouldn't really be Aragorn we would swoon over, but Viggo, in which case, it would be better if done on his fan site. But if we were to swoon over Aragorn as the character in the book, I wonder if that would be different?

[Kransha]

If I might try my hand at swooning complexities.

Webster's New Collegate Dictionary defines swoon;
1. Swoon: a) faint, b) to become enraptured, c) FLOAT, FADE
2. Swoon: a) A total or partial loss of consciousness, b) DAZE, RAPTURE, c) a languourous drift

Now then, to simplify matters, I am male. This excludes me from the common swooning circles of life, sadly. Now, fainting is an all too common occurence. I could understand fainting as a result of hearing the haphazardly dashing exploits of Elessar Telcontar, that certainly makes sense, even for us males, via technicality. I don't believe my gender would be 'enraptured' by Aragorn or any other warrior of Tolkeindom per se, but I could also understand floating or fading.

Of course, that seems a more common linking to Earendil or perhaps the floating Halls of Mandos. Are we talking about fading because of Aragorn? Maybe we are to place ourselves in the shoes of some darkened souls, fear I believe they are called, and thus fade from Arda's continuum. Maybe, like Curumo, we are now doomed to fade and float like the houseless. Is that what we're going for here? Also, languourous drift would seem to imply dangling in the emptyness of time.

So, in conclusion, I assume that swooning over Aragorn means that we are relating the point of view of a servant of the enemy, who has been banished by the righteous gem of Estel to fate, floate, and drift languourously.

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

Originally Posted by Kransha

So, in conclusion, I assume that swooning over Aragorn means that we are relating the point of view of a servant of the enemy, who has been banished by the righteous gem of Estel to fate, floate, and drift languourously.

In which case it would be easier to swoon over Leggy and Gimli, as they travel by ship to the Grey Havens? Oh wait, Aragorn took over the corsair ship. Is it safe to say that his companions were swooning?

okay, nevermind me...

[Kransha]

Originally Posted by Lady Snickerdoodle

In which case it would be easier to swoon over Leggy and Gimli, as they travel by ship to the Grey Havens? Oh wait, Aragorn took over the corsair ship. Is it safe to say that his companions were swooning? ...

Therein lies the secondary meaning, Either the swooning is very symbolic, ala references to houseless spirits, or it is blatant and obvious. Thus, swooning could be in fact a seward reference, in which case I finally understand your choosing of Aragorn, son of Arathorn. He was, at least somewhat, a man who had seafaring knowledge.

Honestly, I believe that the more likely swooning candidates are, as Lady Snickerdoodle said, Gimli and Legolas, who travelled across the sea. But, the ideal candidates are, in fact, Earendil the Mariner, noble sailor who slew Ancalagon, Cirdan the Bearded Elven Shipwright of the Grey Havens, or Isengrim the Mariner, the little known hobbit of seafaring fame.