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A Long Time Ago, in a Middle-Earth Far, Far Away... - Page 3

© Michael Martinez

The "old bogey-stories Fatty's nurses used to tell him," as Merry described the Buckland folklore concerning the Old Forest, found vindication in the histories that Merry brought back, even though he originally dismissed them. The goblins and wolves Fatty's nurses remembered, really did attack the Shire on one occasion or another, and some undoubtedly came through the Old Forest. There was a time when the Dunedain of Cardolan took refuge in the Old Forest, and they were attacked there by the forces of Angmar. But that was before the Shire had been settled, or the Buckland colonized. And white wolves came out of the north during the Fell Winter of 1911. The Baranduin and other rivers froze over in that year. European folklore gave rise to the "fairy-story", tales of mortals doing impossible things or visiting impossible places. One such story is the tale of a man who sends his three sons off to learn trades: the son who masters his skill better than the others will inherit the family house. (It never seems to occur to anyone that the sons could just build their own houses.) In one variation of the story, one son becomes a barber and he only caters to the rich. The second son becomes a blacksmith. The third son becomes a soldier, studying sword-craft. When the father decides it's time to choose who gets the inheritance, the first son shaves passersby without having them stop. He doesn't nick anyone. The father is impressed. But when a carriage rolls by, the second son reshoes all the horses as they run along the road. Everyone really likes that feat. But finally it starts to rain, and the third son takes out his sword. He begins spinning and whirling, and the blade dances around his head. He is so fast and so accurate that, even though the rainstorm drenches everyone else, not a drop touches him. The father gives the third son the house, but the brothers are so devoted to each other that they all live together for the rest of their lives anyway. The brothers live long lives, and they all die within a day of one another. In a way it's a very happy tale, but really doesn't have larger implications. There is a statement about loyalty to one's kin, and we can infer that families sometimes tried to diversify the skills taught their sons. Tolkien doesn't provide us with any similar stories. The closest he comes to telling a tall tale would be something like "The Faithful Stone", where a Drug in Beleriand leaves a watch-stone to protect the family of Edain he is devoted to. The Drug goes off to visit his brother. When Orcs attack the family homestead, the watch-stone awakens and tramples the Orcs to death, but is burned in the struggle. The Drug returns and shows that his feet have suffered harm from the watch-stone's battle.

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