LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 05 - A Conspiracy Unmasked

[Lyta_Underhill]

On the surface (no water pun intended ) we have a lighthearted river name that sounds like what the Hobbits seem to be at first glance - all about eating and drinking! But go down deeper and you find layers of meaning and of, well - depth, the toughness of the Hobbits.

I also get the feeling in this chapter that the appearance of the Hobbits as lighthearted and frivolous is only a mask, one that many of them have worn so long they forget how to be serious and how to face hard truths and challenges. Merry, Pippin, Sam and Fatty have not forgotten, and the 'unmasking' shows them to be the tough and true creatures that Gandalf became so fond of so long ago. This is one of my favorite chapters for one simple reason: there is an overwhelming sense, to me, of revelation, of help where it is least expected, of light in a bleak outlook. In short, I undergo all the surprise, joy and elation that Frodo does when the conspiracy is unmasked by layers, when his friends reveal themselves to be more true than he ever imagined, a light in the darkness.

Just as the Black Riders are showing the emptiness underneath their masks (the hood, which Farmer Maggot notices is so deep you can't see anything underneath it at all), his friends are showing their true colors and support beyond all Frodo's hopes. Even though Crickhollow proves to be only a stopping place, and as someone earlier said, Frodo is facing a houseless state, his friends have proven their willingness to sacrifice their comfort and safety for Frodo's sake, to help him take his home with him in a sense, the part of it that really matters anyway.

I know my thoughts aren't as coherent as they could be. I am also catching up, although I've read it quite a few times! I only hope I can keep up! But basically, this chapter is the one that uncovers the true beauty of hobbits, their earthy version of Light.

On another note, I find Pippin's tendency to overdo the exuberance of taking a hot bath to be another aspect of the hobbits' relentless lightheartedness, all the more pronounced for just having escaped an imminent danger, on the edge of another round of danger. I can't think of anything else, but I've quite enjoyed the etymological and historical posts as well!

Cheers!
Lyta

[Estelyn Telcontar]

One brief thought that occurs to me - Fredegar Bolger's decision to stay behind is told of matter-of-factly, with no condemnation for his decision. He misses out on the journey and its adventures, but he is not belittled for staying behind and doing what he is capable of doing there for his friends. That reminds me of Aragorn's generous dealings with those soldiers who are too afraid to go to the Black Gate with him - he gives them a task that is within their strength to accomplish and does not condemn them for their cowardice. Not everyone is able to tackle the same challenges, and there is no shame in admitting that some things are bigger than one can handle.

[Lalwendë]

Sorry about this, I'm going back to the linguistic thread as I had a few thoughts about it. I was reading this thread yesterday and decided to look up an old book (1967) by Basil Cottle - The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. The derivation for Buckland says:

Land held by charter (literally book-land) Old English

However, I think that may be a bit of a curveball, as reading further, other surnames beginning with the prefix "Buck-", such as Buckley, Buckden and Buckton, are all alleged to derive from the root "buck, male deer". Interestingly, this in it's turn is possibly a derivation from the Old English name Bucca.

Bucca means "male deer" or "he-goat" and appears to have been the name of a regional chieftain, as in the name Buckingham

River-meadow of Bucca's followers, Old English

As Bucca was the name of the first Thain of the Shire, Tolkien must have known of this derivation, which suggests that Buckland is probably intended to be from this root, and does not mean "Book-land".

In the same book, "Wine" is defined as simply "friend", from Old English. Alas, it appears that "Brandy" is not a surname! However, as already mentioned "Brand" is Old Norse for torch or firebrand, and the name "Brandreth" means "burnt clearing" in Old English. Does this suggest a burnt clearing in amongst their friends, the trees of the Old Forest? Maybe I'm imagining too much!

I couldn't resist looking up Took, too. It is given as Old Norse, probably a pet version of Thorkil or Thirkettle which, sinisterly, means "Thor's sacrificial cauldron".

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by Lyta_Underhill

I also get the feeling in this chapter that the appearance of the Hobbits as lighthearted and frivolous is only a mask, one that many of them have worn so long they forget how to be serious and how to face hard truths and challenges. Merry, Pippin, Sam and Fatty have not forgotten, and the 'unmasking' shows them to be the tough and true creatures that Gandalf became so fond of so long ago.

Indeed! So not only was the conspiracy unmasked, so was the true nature of hobbits.

I could just imagine Fatty Bolger being left behind. I'm sure he wanted so much to go with them, but he chose to face the dangers that will be left behind as Frodo and the rest leaves. This act of his might not be given as much importance as the deeds of the other hobbits, but it is filled with loyalty and selflessness. He deserves as much praise as the others for this.

Finally, this chapter gives a sense of safety for the hobbits, while all the time there is an air of mystery around the dangers they would encounter next. If I could say so, this is the deep breath before the plunge.

[Lyta_Underhill]

I could just imagine Fatty Bolger being left behind. I'm sure he wanted so much to go with them, but he chose to face the dangers that will be left behind as Frodo and the rest leaves. This act of his might not be given as much importance as the deeds of the other hobbits, but it is filled with loyalty and selflessness. He deserves as much praise as the others for this.

Actually, I remember that Fatty had no desire to leave the Shire and was telling the other hobbits that he hoped he didn't have to send in a rescue party to the Old Forest before the day was out! He was probably glad he didn't have to go in there! I don't think he had truly thought out how dangerous his part would turn out to be, but he certainly finds out soon enough! I find it ironic that Fredegar (Fatty no longer by the end of it!) has quite a hard time of it, not only with the impersonation of Frodo at Crickhollow, but with the invasion of ruffians that came after! (But I'm getting WAAAAY ahead of myself here...)

Cheers!
Lyta

[Fingolfin II]

Originally posted by Estelyn Telcontar:

He misses out on the journey and its adventures, but he is not belittled for staying behind and doing what he is capable of doing there for his friends. That reminds me of Aragorn's generous dealings with those soldiers who are too afraid to go to the Black Gate with him - he gives them a task that is within their strength to accomplish and does not condemn them for their cowardice.

I totally agree. Fatty Bolger's 'hobbitish' sense of staying put, yet firm resilience and loyalty to his friends is shown here. Don't forget that he has the job of raising the people in the Shire and facing the terror of the Nazgul-

....little did they know how dangerous that job would be.

I certainly would not like to be in his shoes there.

For me, this chapter was not extremely interesting, though later on it appealed to me when I saw Sam unmasked as the 'conspirator' and when I saw him pledge his loyalty and solidarity to Frodo, the simpleness of it just touched me. Here are three young hobbits who blindly support their older friend through perils and danger that only Frodo really comprehends at this stage. This encapsulates Gandalf's observations on hobbits and seems to be the core characteristic that Tolkien protrays in all the hobbit characters- that though they may be slow and greedy, that they are all essentially good people (yes, even Lotho!). Frodo's description of the pity he feels for Lotho just before Saruman dies really sums up the case of the Sackville-Bagginses; that they are greedy, yet they are not wicked- just blind to the outside world and sometimes to their own desire.

On the subject of Frodo's dream of Gandalf-

It seemed to Frodo that the riders came straight towards him; but even as they passed over him and beat him to the ground, he thought in his heart: ‘I am not here; they cannot hurt me. There is something here that I must see’. He lifted his head and saw a white horse leap the wall and stride towards him. On it rode a grey mantled figure: his white hair was streaming, and his cloak flew like wings behind him. As the grey rider bore down upon him he strove to see his face. the light grew in the sky and suddenly there was a noise of thunder.

This, along with his other dream, are very symbolic (duh!). I don't think this can be called foreshadowing, as it happens in the present, but his other dream (as well as the one in Bombadil's house) certainly is. I'm not sure how Frodo sees this vision of Gandalf, but I certainly think you're on the right track with that special 'pyschic' bond Frodo has with Gandalf, as well as greater perception and vision than most other hobbits that I know of.

What I enjoyed about this chapter most though- besides the pledges of loyalty to Frodo- were the simple, forthright behaviour of the hobbits, and their treatment of each other as friends, without thought to the task ahead, taking one thing at a time. I too have a passion for mushrooms!

[davem]

Originally Posted by Lalwende

Bucca means "male deer" or "he-goat" and appears to have been the name of a regional chieftain, as in the name Buckingham

I'm still holding out for the 'folkloric' explanation!

Buccas, also known as Buckaboos, are of two sorts, white buccas & black buccas. they are cornish sea sprites or demons. The word is connected with the English Puck, but a bucca is adicted more to malevolent mishchief than to the good natured sort. (From 'In Search of Lost Gods: A Guide to British Folklore, by Ralph Whitlock

My feeling still, is that Tolkien is attempting to recreate England's lost mythology, by constructing 'explanations' for half forgotten traditions - little people, who seem to disappear at will into the earth, etc.

the name "Brandreth" means "burnt clearing" in Old English. Does this suggest a burnt clearing in amongst their friends, the trees of the Old Forest? Maybe I'm imagining too much!

I know this is becoming a favoured explanation, but my problem with it is that the Brandybucks were already called by that name before they began their 'scorched earth' policy against the Old Forest. The name, imo, relates to the river - there's something about the 'elvish' river itself which earned it the name, & the Oldbucks changed their name to Brandybuck because of their geographical relationship to it. Does anyone know if the elvish name Baranduin pre existed the name Brandybuck? Obvioously in terms of Middle earth history it did, but did Tolkien invent the elvish name to give a derivation for the hobbit surname, or was it the other way around? Perhaps its as simple as a philologist wishing to show how an apparently 'nonsense' name like 'Brandywine' could have an interesting derivation, if pursued back to its origin'.

Originally Posted by FingolfinII

I'm not sure how Frodo sees this vision of Gandalf, but I certainly think you're on the right track with that special 'pyschic' bond Frodo has with Gandalf, as well as greater perception and vision than most other hobbits that I know of.

Of course, that version of the dream at Crickhollow was discarded, as in the end Tolkien changed the events of the story & had Gandalf imprisoned by Saruman rather than trapped in one of the Elf Towers by the Black Riders. Its interesting that the idea of Gandalf being imprisoned in some form of tower/castle survives, going through various manifestations - either trapped by Black riders in an Elf Tower, or by Giant Treebeard, or by Saruman - as if Tolkien 'knew' he'd been trapped by someone, somewhere, but had to work out the details. Of course, by the time of this dream Gandalf had already escaped from whatever prison it was to be - Gandalf escaped from Orthanc on Sept 18th & Frodo dreams this dream on the night of the 25th. I think iIremember reading somewhere in HoME, though, that originally Frodo was to dream of the event as it was actuallly happening, which would increase the strength of the 'psychic' link between them.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This is another fairly brief, transitional chapter. Though it takes place in a safe haven, all involved know that it is only temporarily so.

This is the place to gather information about the history of the Brandybucks and Buckland - an unusual branch of the Hobbits, we are told. First of all, they liked water and some could swim; secondly, they kept their doors locked at night, since the border area was more susceptible to strange 'visitors'. The Reader's Companion gives an interesting bit of information about the founder of the family. His name, Gorhendad, is Welsh for 'great-grandfather'.

After getting to know the happy-go-lucky Pippin on the way to Crickhollow, this chapter aquaints us with Merry and his ability to organize things, to grasp connections and act on short notice. Introducing them seperately this way helps to distinguish them; I found it hard to figure out which was which at first in the movie.

Merry tells his companions (and us readers) that Farmer Maggot knows more than he shows; if he really went into the Old Forest, he was more adventurous than we would expect! We do know (from the Tom Bombadil poems) that he kept in contact with Bombadil - I wonder, which of them kept the other in touch with the wide world?!

We have a brief foreshadowing of things to come here in the account of Fatty Bolger's plans to stay in the cottage and play Frodo to keep up pretences.

The chapter closes with Frodo's dream - an interesting subject for thought and discussion.