Questions from 'The Hobbit'

[Bêthberry]

Great questions, hS.

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

Why did Thranduil have a dozen prison cells scattered around his palace? Why did he have prison cells at all; is there a lot of petty crime among the Nandor? My best guess: he didn't, and the 'cells' are just random rooms which happened to have locks and could be repurposed. The keys are a 'great bunch', which suggests every cell has a different key, supporting this idea.

It is possible that Tolkien, philologist that he was, wasn't thinking of our modern usage of prison cell, but of the original Anglo Saxon or Middle English meanings, such as a room or small apartment of a nunnery or monastery or priory, dependent on a larger community, a monk or hermit's cell or even a storage closet, if the Oxford English Dictionary has anything to say about the matter. For example, monasteries offered accommodations to travellers. Mirkwood wasn't a particularly hospitable place to travel, so perhaps Tolkien was thinking it would be appropriate for Thranduil to have such rooms for providing hospitality. So the Legendarium might not be the only reference applicable here.