The Fellowship - doomed to fail

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Anyway, I was really noting the unescorted part of the trip. I find that quite odd. Even on a secret errand, surely somebody should have gone with Boromir just to make sure some minor mishap on the road didn't kill or injure him.

I'm not so sure. Obviously Boromir was a noble, but I think, if Aragorn could, why not Boromir. I do not think Aragorn went on all his journeys with an escort even though he was a King in Exile. Boromir is as much a Dúnadan as Aragorn, and more likely than not, more than a match for any thug on the road he'd come across. Though I am with you about the escort, however, since it seems Aragorn was not bound to any escort (as I see when he's the bodyguard of the Ring-bearer to Rivendell, chased down by Nazgul) I suppose someone of Boromir's stature need not be either.

[Galadriel55]

Regarding the escort, perhaps Boromir's pride would not allow him to accept one, even if Denethor wanted him to have one. This isn't your usual trip up the mountains; it's a quest with something mystical to it. He may have said that he will go seek Rivendell with the same attitude as people said that they will go seek the Holy Grail. He would also want to prove himself as a hardened warrior not just in battle, to show that he is able to survive and accomplish his mission without an escort.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Regarding the escort, perhaps Boromir's pride would not allow him to accept one, even if Denethor wanted him to have one. This isn't your usual trip up the mountains; it's a quest with something mystical to it. He may have said that he will go seek Rivendell with the same attitude as people said that they will go seek the Holy Grail. He would also want to prove himself as a hardened warrior not just in battle, to show that he is able to survive and accomplish his mission without an escort.

Another consideration Denethor may have had regards the secretive nature of the mission. The matter of Isildur's Bane, even if that term wouldn't have been generally understood, would surely have been cause for utmost secrecy. Boromir could easily have been the one Denethor would have trusted most both to endure the journey, and to keep Elrond's advice just between the two of them.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Well, Boromir told the Council that Faramir had been the one initially wanting to go out looking for Imladris. Boromir had put himself forward as the one who should go, for the very reason that the journey was so uncertain. Maybe Denethor's love for his elder son itself caused him to be unable to forbid him.

One would think his love for Boromir would make it more likely that he would want a least a few people to go with him so that he, for example, doesn't accidently drown in Tharbad. To say nothing of the potential political risk of having his heir travelling in the Wild alone for hundreds of miles.

Originally Posted by Belegorn

I'm not so sure. Obviously Boromir was a noble, but I think, if Aragorn could, why not Boromir. I do not think Aragorn went on all his journeys with an escort even though he was a King in Exile.

Boromir's nobility is not the issue. Of course, they were both able to survive in the Wild on their own. The question is one of practicality. One person alone in the wilderness is much more likely to come to grief than four or five people, especially on a journey of this length.

since it seems Aragorn was not bound to any escort (as I see when he's the bodyguard of the Ring-bearer to Rivendell, chased down by Nazgul) I suppose someone of Boromir's stature need not be either.

Technically speaking, Aragorn was the rustic chief of an insignificant people until he became King of Gondor. Politically speaking, Boromir was a much more significant figure. Sending him off on horseback for hundreds of miles unescorted is a profound political risk. That is why it makes it so odd Denethor allowed this.

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Regarding the escort, perhaps Boromir's pride would not allow him to accept one, even if Denethor wanted him to have one. This isn't your usual trip up the mountains; it's a quest with something mystical to it. He may have said that he will go seek Rivendell with the same attitude as people said that they will go seek the Holy Grail. He would also want to prove himself as a hardened warrior not just in battle, to show that he is able to survive and accomplish his mission without an escort.

A fair point, even though Lancelot and Galahad had their squires...

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Another consideration Denethor may have had regards the secretive nature of the mission. The matter of Isildur's Bane, even if that term wouldn't have been generally understood, would surely have been cause for utmost secrecy. Boromir could easily have been the one Denethor would have trusted most both to endure the journey, and to keep Elrond's advice just between the two of them.

Another fair point, still the escorts wouldn't need to be briefed on the mission or allowed to attend anything important.

On the whole I am inclined to chalk this up as an oopsie of the same type (although not magnitude) as the dwarves setting off on the Quest of Erebor with no weapons.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

A fair point, even though Lancelot and Galahad had their squires...

Gondor has no squires. Gondor needs no squires.

(But fair point too - he could at least have taken one trustworthy companion or squire.)

[Zigûr]

Is it not possible that Boromir himself refused to take an escort of any kind? To quote Gandalf:
"Boromir claimed the errand and would not suffer any other to have it. He was a masterful man, and one to take what he desired."
Galadriel55 noted this in terms of Boromir's pride, but perhaps he simply desired to go alone and, if any gainsaid him, he stood firm to his convictions. Perhaps he had a noble reasoning like "No other worthy man should be made to abandon the defence of Gondor on my account."

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

Galadriel55 noted this in terms of Boromir's pride, but perhaps he simply desired to go alone and, if any gainsaid him, he stood firm to his convictions. Perhaps he had a noble reasoning like "No other worthy man should be made to abandon the defence of Gondor on my account."

That could be, although it wouldn't speak well of his good sense.