A Long Time Ago, in a Middle-Earth Far, Far Away... - Page 2
© Michael Martinez
Ioreth is a curious paradox, a font of lost wisdom preserved in old wives tales, and a rumor-monger helping to build larger-than-life impressions. When Celeborn warns Boromir not to "despise the lore that has come down from distant years; for oft it may chance that old wives keep in memory word of things that once were needful for the wise to know", his words slumber for many chapters until they find vindication in Ioreth's ramblings in the Houses of Healing. She babbles on about how the hands of a king are the hands of a healer, inspiring Gandalf to set into motion Aragorn's long night of healing people throughout Minas Tirith.
Of course, Ioreth didn't create the legend of the valiant Halflings and the Return of the King all by herself. Faramir, upon awaking from his deathlike sleep, acknowledges Aragorn as the king without ever having laid eyes upon him before. Ioreth and other observers not privy to the Steward's council could not have known that Frodo had already told Faramir much about Aragorn. Faramir's miracle of recognition should not be dismissed, but it's not like he didn't know that someone special was coming to Minas Tirith. Nonetheless, word spread like wildfire through the city that The King was come.
Equally so, when Frodo and Sam were rescued from the fire, rumors must have spread immediately through the Army of the West and from them back to Minas Tirith, rumors of Frodo's journey into Mordor to destroy Barad-dur. Even though a minstrel put the story into song rather quickly, the true celebration of the event came in the folk-wisdom which explained all the mysterious and terrifying occurrences. Hence, though Frodo and his kinsmen were not really "princes" in the Gondorian sense, their status as leaders of their society, coupled with Pippin's reputation as "Ernil-i-Pheriannath" (derived from his donning the uniform of the Tower Guard), led Gondorians to conclude they were princes. The Shire probably didn't seem very rustic in the imagination of most Gondorians.
Ironically, the War of the Ring marked the Shire's emergence from the days of folklore into the days of history. Suddenly, Hobbits started looking beyond their old folktales and taking an interest in real history. They began with their own history, memorizing all the details of the Battle of Bywater. There is no hint of their embellishing the actual event with grandiose imaginings. And Merry brought a great deal of lore to the Shire from Rivendell and Rohan, helping the Hobbits acquire a passion for preserving a true knowledge of the past, before all such knowledge was completely lost.
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