Boromir and his search for Rivendell

[radagastly]

From "The Council of Elrond:

"So said Denethor. And yet there lie in his hoards many records that few now can read, even of the lore-masters, for their scripts and tongues have become dark to later men."

Granted, Gandalf is referring to lore about the ring, but it implies that even lore-masters (like Denethor) have forgotten many things, including what little they knew of the location of Imladris. It was never well known:

From 'The Tale of Years,' appendix B, "The Return of the King":

1695-Sauron's forces invade Eriador. Gil-galad sends Elrond to Eregion.

1697-Eregion laid waste. Death of Celebrimbor. The gates of Moria are shut. Elrond retreats with remnant of the Noldor and founds the refuge of Imladris.

1699-Sauron overruns Eriador.

1700-Tar-Minastir sends a great navy from Numenor to Lindon. Sauron is defeated.

1701-Sauron is driven out of Eriador. The Westlands have peace for a long while.

c. 1800-From about this time onward the Numenoreans begin to establish dominions on the coasts. Sauron extends his power eastwards. The shadow falls on Numenor.

This shows that Rivendell existed only three years of the war before Sauron was defeated, and that Imladris was established as a "refuge," and Gondor/Arnor were only beginning to be established. Numenor was still at the height of it's power. Across the sea, I suspect maps of Middle-Earth (as much as WE all delight in them,) would have been scarce, if they existed at all. Certainly, none of them would have contained a detailed location of Imladris. It was, after all, a "refuge," in a world where Sauron not only still existed, but could still maintain a pleasing, charming form. It's location, especially since it contained one of the Three Rings, would not have been advertised, especially to Numenor, where "Alatar" resided. Elrond would never have taken such a chance.

So, in Minas Tirith, there would have remained VERY little information to start with, and even those who studied such things (not Denethor, surely. He would have prefered accounts of battles and strategies,) would have had very little information to convey to Boromir before he set out. In fact the only information that he seemed to have, comes from Boromir's own quote during the Council of Elrond:

Of these words we could understand little, and we spoke to our father, Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith, wise in the lore of Gondor. This only would he say, that Imladris was of old the name among the Elves of a far northern dale, where Elrond and Halfelven dwelt, greatest of lore-masters.

Actually, the fact that Boromir found Rivendell at all may be a case of intervention from Eru. How else could he have stumbled upon such a place, designed to be hidden, concealed by the Elves, an ancient legend, at best, as far as his people were concerned, and probably disguised from outsiders by Elrond's Ring? The odds of Boromir finding it then were about as good as the odds of you finding it now!

[Gordis]

I agree.

Despite the fact that Isildur himself had dwelt in Rivendell for a time with his sons while the army of the Last Alliance had been gathered there, it looks like neither of them left notes about its exact location. I wouldn't be surprised if all the Men swore to Elrond not to disclose its location afterwards. Secrecy was the main defense of the place, after all.

[radagastly]

Originally posted by Gordis:

Despite the fact that Isildur himself had dwelt in Rivendell for a time with his sons while the army of the Last Alliance had been gathered there, it looks like neither of them left notes about its exact location. I wouldn't be surprised if all the Men swore to Elrond not to disclose its location afterwards. Secrecy was the main defense of the place, after all.

Yeah. It would be the equivalent of a modern Macedonian trying to find a Tibetan temple that may or may not even exist, based on information that Alexander the Great may or may not have even transcribed.

[Rumil]

If I remember Boromir turned up apparently 'out of the blue' at the right time at Rivendell. Probably an argument for Eru's noodly appendage playing a part. .

However I've wondered if Elrond generally sent some sort of 'confuslement field' type vibe (magic whatever) to keep Rivendell hidden from undesirables, but could switch it to an 'attraction field' when there was a visitor who was welcome. Speculation I know but Saruman ceratinly sent some 'force' that hindered the three hunters and someone commented on how difficult Rivendell was to find (perhaps Gandalf in The Hobbit?)

[Kuruharan]

We have a splendid example of that in Melian and Doriath.

At least as far as deterrance...and she couldn't keep Beren out, but it seems similar.

[Gordis]

I wonder, what road did Boromir take after he lost his horse at Tharbad crossing?

Did he come up Mitheithel to the Last Bridge? Or did he pass through Bree? In either case he seems to have closely followed the Ring-party for the last leg of the journey Last Bridge-Rivendell. He was lucky not to meet any nazgul...

[Mithadan]

'How far is Rivendell' asked Merrry... 'I don't know that the Road has ever been measured in miles beyond the Foresaken Inn, a day's journey east of Bree,' answered Strider. 'Some say it is far, and some say otherwise. It is a strange road, and folk are glad to reach their journey's end, whether the time is long or short. But I know how long it would take me on my own feet, with fair weather and no ill fortune, twelve days from here to the Ford of Bruinen..."

A Knife in the Dark.

This is Aragorn speaking on Weathertop; Aragorn the Ranger who knew the country well and lived in Rivendell itself for much of his childhood. And what happens thereafter? After the confrontation at Weathertop, Aragorn leads the hobbits through a backcountry route, avoiding the road and, if not actually getting lost, goes astray ('We have come too far to the north... and we must find some way to turn back southwards again."). Clearly, Rivendell is hidden and difficult to find. There is an implication of some form of concealment through the power of Elrond perhaps in a manner similar to, if not as obvious and overt as, Melian's Girdle. Those who do not know where Imladris lies find it difficult to find it, and even those who have been there may encounter trouble.

To the extent that Elendil or any of his northern army visited Rivendell, many, including Elendil himself, died in the Siege of Mordor and those that survived perished in the disaster at Gladden Fields. It cannot be said that after the War any certain information regarding Rivendell's location would have been communicated to Gondor. As others have mentioned above, the fact that the road north was maintained long before the events in LoTR also does not guarantee that any such information survived the passage of time and it may simply be that no certain data on Rivendell's location ever existed in Gondor. Even it were roughly shown on a map, the difficulties in finding Rivendell that Aragorn refers to still would have delayed Boromir.

Aragorn's discussion of how the road to Rivendell is "strange" is reminiscent of Tolkien's descriptions of the Smith's journeys in Faerie in The Smith of Wootten Major. There the Smith's journeys seem longer or shorter even when he is travelling to the same place (assuming he can find it). When a mortal Man journeys to the Elves, particularly in the later Ages, perhaps he is going to a realm different from the mortal world in ways subtle and less subtle. This may be, in part, why Rivendell was hard to find.

[Bêthberry]

Shangri La, from Lost Horizons