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The Middle-Earth Prophecies - Page 6

© Michael Martinez

Hence, Elrond must have been given a subtle hint by one of the Valar, or perhaps by Iluvatar himself. Likewise, the dreams Faramir and Boromir experienced, admonishing them to seek for Rivendell, cannot have been the product of their reasoning. They simply didn't know enough to deduce such possible events. They might have heard something of Imladris as children and forgotten about it; they undoubtedly knew that Elendil's sword had been broken. But they could not know that a Halfling possessed a token of great power, or that a council would unfold in Imladris where a great doom would be chosen. Other examples of foresight among Elves and Men include Malbeth the Seer's prophecies (concerning Arvedui's name and Aragorn's journey on the Paths of the Dead), Glorfindel's prediction that the Lord of the Nazgul would not fall by the hand of man, and Isildur's prediction that the war with Sauron would not end quickly. The intuitive deductions by the Lossoth (that the Elvish ship sent to rescue Arvedui was not safe) and the Druedain (that Numenor no longer felt safe under their feet, and that a change was coming just prior to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields) appear to be more closely aligned with the reasoning behind forecasting, although these (primitive) peoples may have been more closely attuned to subtle cues provided by Iluvatar (or the Valar). And what about Elrond's concern for the Shire, and his desire to send Merry and Pippin back there as messengers? Tolkien does not reveal how much Elrond knows (or learns) of Saruman's activities in Eriador. But Gandalf and Aragorn were aware of the increased interest in the Shire. Gandalf asked Aragorn to increase the guard over the Shire. So, if Gandalf and Aragorn knew someone was up to something, Elrond must have known, too, what was going on. And Gandalf's revelation about Saruman's treachery would have helped Elrond conclude that the Shire was no longer safe from external influences. His concern is extremely vague, though it proves to be well-founded. Celeborn's admonishment to Aragorn is another example of Elvish forecasting, and indeed is a bit more straigtforward than Elrond's forecasting. Celeborn explains the lay of the land for the Company of the Ring, given the course they have chosen. And he gives them more time to think about the choices they will make by giving them boats, so they may continue south along the Anduin. But in the end, he points out, they have to choose whether to go east or west. And he reminds Boromir that old wives' tales may recall more than the Wise concerning some things. Perhaps Celeborn's warning to stay out of Fangorn was a glimmer of true foresight, where the Valar or Iluvatar may have been suggesting in a vague way that trouble was brewing.

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