Links Between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, Part 3
Book III
(avg. read time: 5–11 mins.)
With Book III moving out of Elven lands and being without prominent Elven characters besides Legolas, it is unsurprising that the number of connections with The Silmarillion decreases relative to Book I and Book II. However, it is certainly not lacking points of connection. The relative hotspots are the chapters “Treebeard” and “The Palantír,” which are not particularly surprising because Fangorn and Gandalf, respectively, make these connections.
The first implicit connection with The Silmarillion is about Barad-dûr, where Aragorn says, “The Orcs in the service of Barad-dûr use the sign of the Red Eye” (III/1). That symbol comes from what is narrated in The Silmarillion, as the Eye became Sauron’s symbol after the destruction of Númenor and he could not take a fair appearance again. The other references to Barad-dûr are not necessarily historical connections (III/2; III/3; III/5; III/8; III/9; III/10; III/11).
There is also an implicit connection in the reference to the moon as “he” (III/2). In The Silmarillion, the sun and moon come from the last produce of Laurelin and Telperion, respectively. They were situated in the sky with the moon coming first and being guided by the Maia Tilion, and the sun being guided by the Maia Arien. Such things are only hinted at in LOTR, with the sun being referred to as “she” and the moon being referred to as “he.” There is a whole chapter dedicated to this story in The Silmarillion.
When Aragorn identifies himself to Éomer, he makes a number of references that we have already noted as connections to The Silmarillion: “I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil’s son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again” (III/2). This is the one reference to Isildur in Book III, and it is a reminder of how Aragorn is the living link of these original kings of the Dúnedain with the present story. As for Narsil, as an object connection with The Silmarillion, it is referenced here and in the Battle of the Hornburg (III/7). Aragorn even mentions its history at Meduseld as he says, “Telchar first wrought it in the deeps of time” (III/6). Telchar was one of the greatest of Dwarven smiths, having also forged Angrist, the knife Beren used to retrieve a Silmaril from Melkor’s Iron Crown, as well as the Dragon-helm of Dór-lomin (though this latter detail is noted in Unfinished Tales).
The Dúnedain and Númenor are also mentioned on multiple occasions beyond this instance. Fangorn/Treebeard describes them as the “Men of the Sea” multiple times (III/4). Gandalf bears a message to Aragorn from Galadriel referring to his people, the Dúnedain, who will come to him from the North (III/5). Aragorn also declares in a battle cry that his sword Andúril is here for the Dúnedain (III/7) and will also call himself a Dúnadan in Isengard (III/9). Númenor is referred to in song (in a “rhyme of lore among the Dúnedain”) as “the foundered land” after its destruction and in prose as “Westernesse” (III/11).
This is only the first time in Book III that Aragorn will reference Elendil. On a couple occasions, he uses the name as a battle cry (III/2; III/7). On other occasions, he identifies himself as Elendil’s heir bearing Elendil’s sword (III/2; III/6). Éomer himself refers to the “race of Elendil” (III/2). The other references to Elendil, including of the heir of Elendil, come from Gandalf in the final chapter (III/11). After all, Elendil was the one who had the palantirí brought to Middle-earth from Númenor when he fled there with the rest of the Faithful. There is even a particular palantír called “Elendil’s Stone,” which is noted in The Silmarillion as a palantír that only Elendil used to look west to try to see the Undying Lands, though, of course, he could no longer see Númenor.
This Book even contains references to the Elder Days. Aragorn says of Fangorn Forest that it and the Old Forest are the last remnants of “the mighty woods of the Elder Days” (III/2). The context of this reference puts part of the Elder Days well back before even the sun existed. The other reference is from Gandalf saying, “A thing is about to happen which has not happened since the Elder Days: the Ents are going to wake up and find that they are strong” (III/5). This could be a reference to the Ents destroying the Dwarves of Nogrod who had fought in the Battle of Sarn Athrad after they had sacked Doriath and taken the Nauglamír, which contained the Silmaril taken back from Morgoth. That would make this reference a more distinct link with The Silmarillion. This event could also fit with the later reference to the Ents as the “Shepherds of the Trees” (III/8), which is how they are described both in that story and in the story of their conception by the Vala Yavanna in The Silmarillion. Alternatively, this could be a reference to the time of the War of the Last Alliance, since Treebeard says elsewhere that the last time the Ents were so stirred was during that time (III/4).
In this same context of the first reference to the Elder Days, we also have another description of the Elves as “Firstborn” (III/2). Aragorn says the Firstborn roamed in these woods “while Men still slept.” The stories of the awakenings of both Elves and Men are related in The Silmarillion. Likewise, Treebeard calls them “Eldest of all, the elf-children” (III/4).
Treebeard’s song describing where he would go in the different seasons of ancient days features several links to The Silmarillion that only appear here in Book III (III/4). One, he speaks of going to Tasarinan/Nan-tasarion in the spring. These are names for the forest of Nan-Tathren near the Mouths of the Sirion, which was of relevance particularly to the refugees of Gondolin. Two, he speaks of going to the woods of Ossiriand in the summer. Ossiriand was the easternmost of the lands of Beleriand and its last remnants are what are now known as Lindon. Three, he speaks of going to the Forest of Neldoreth in the autumn. This was one of the regions that composed the realm of Doriath. Four, he speaks of going to the pine-trees of Dorthonion in the winter. This land was where Barahir and his outlaws, including his son Beren, operated after the land was overrun by the Orcs following the Dagor Bragollach.
When Treebeard describes Saruman to Merry and Pippin, he tells of how the Wizards first appeared, “after the Great Ships came over the Sea” (III/4). This story is related in the Appendices, but it is more extensively presented in The Silmarillion, as well as Unfinished Tales. Unfinished Tales and The Peoples of Middle-earth also provide more (though contradictory) detail on the two Wizards we never encounter in the main story: the Blue Wizards. He also speaks of how he thinks Saruman is, “plotting to become a Power” (III/4). That is, Treebeard thinks he aims to “move up” by becoming like a Vala. He is already a Maia, like Sauron and Gandalf. Of course, The Silmarillion is where one finds the details on the Valar (particularly in the “Valaquenta”).
Treebeard also refers to the “Great Darkness” or simply the “Darkness” multiple times, but he does not mean the same thing every time (III/4), even if it is largely consistent. In the first case, he refers to the Great Darkness that caused the Elves to pass over the Sea, which meant that they stopped visiting his forest. That is a reference to Sauron’s actions in the Second Age, which is narrated in The Silmarillion. The second time is when he says, “It is a mark of evil things that came in the Great Darkness that they cannot abide the Sun,” meaning the result of their corruption by Melkor/Morgoth. Likewise, when he speaks of “when Darkness came in the North,” that is another reference to Morgoth and his taking up residence in the north of Beleriand, since it would not be applicable to Sauron. He also describes how Sauron burned the gardens of the Entwives during his war with the Last Alliance, saying that the Men call this old place of the gardens “the Brown Lands.” This burning of the gardens happened prior to the great Battle of Dagorlad also narrated, though not in great detail, in The Silmarillion. After all, Treebeard says that he and other Ents went to find the Entwives “in the time of the war between Sauron and the Men of the Sea.” In the final instance, he says, “Trolls are only counterfeits, made by the Enemy in the Greak Darkness, in mockery of Ents, as Orcs were of Elves. We are stronger than Trolls” (III/4). While this particular story is not told in The Silmarillion, it connects with what is told in The Silmarillion about Melkor making only by corruption.
Finally, in the song Treebeard sings about the Ents and Entwives, the closing lines say, “Together we will take the road that leads into the West, / And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest” (III/4). This is another reference to Aman. Such a reference only makes sense in the cosmology established by The Silmarillion.
With Gandalf’s return to the story come a couple more links with The Silmarillion. First, as noted in the previous part, the Balrog was a living link with The Silmarillion (III/5). But he is not so anymore. He may well have been the last of the Balrogs of Morgoth. Also, when Gandalf arrives in Meduseld, there is a point when he speaks of his sword Glamdring, saying, “the Elves made it long ago” (III/6).
There are also some Dwarven connections with The Silmarillion, aside from the reference to Telchar. These connections are mainly in reference to Durin, whether Durin’s Bridge (III/5), Durin’s Tower (III/5), Durin’s folk (III/5; III/8), or Durin himself (III/8). Additionally, when Saruman mocks Gandalf’s demands, he laughs at the idea that the Key of Orthanc and his staff would be returned to him until after some absurd scenario in which Gandalf had acquired the Keys of Barad-dûr along with, “the crowns of seven kings” (III/10). This appears to be a reference to the seven Fathers of the Dwarves, of whom Durin was the first and foremost. Their formation is narrated in The Silmarillion, as is the belief among the Dwarves that these seven periodically returned, as in reincarnation.
Saruman also mocks Gandalf with the notion that he would seek to claim, “the rods of the Five Wizards” (III/10). As noted already, the story of the Istari/Wizards coming to Middle-earth is presented in The Silmarillion. Little is said anywhere about the two Blue Wizards, though for what detail is available, one can consult Unfinished Tales and The Peoples of Middle-earth. The other three are Radagast the Brown, Gandalf the Grey (now White), and Saruman the White (now removed from the order).
With our last hotspot of Book III, the center of gravity for all other connections are the palantirí (III/11). The Silmarillion gives more backstory on the stones coming from Númenor, but one can learn significantly more about them in Unfinished Tales. But what The Silmarillion certainly does provide more detail about are the various entities connected to the seven palantirí and their journey to Middle-earth.
One, Gandalf’s song refers to the nine ships that came out of Númenor. These were the nine ships of the Faithful commanded by Elendil, Isildur, and Anárion, which escaped the destruction of Númenor, though the resulting cataclysm separated them to the northern and southern bays of Middle-earth. Two, as seven of the nine ships bore the seven palantirí, the seven stars refer to the stars on the sails of each ship, which would become part of the emblem of Gondor as a symbol of Elendil (as well as a symbol borne on Andúril). Three, the white tree referred to was the scion of Nimloth, the result of Isildur saving a fruit of the tree before it was cut down. The significance of Nimloth for Númenor is also further explored in The Silmarillion, as is the history of its lineage. Four, Gandalf says that the palantirí come from beyond Westernesse, specifically Eldamar, the realm of the Elves in Aman. Five, he says the Noldor made them. As noted previously, the Noldor are most of the prominent Elves of The Silmarillion, as they were the ones who made the journey back to Middle-earth from Aman. Six, he says that Fëanor himself may have wrought the palantirí. We have already noted his significance. Seven, Gandalf says he has desired to look into the palantír they got from Orthanc to see if he could look back to a better time in Tirion. As I have noted, this is the central city of Eldamar. Eight, Gandalf describes the time in which Fëanor, if he made them, would have worked as being, “while both the White Tree and the Golden were in flower” (III/11). This is a reference to the Two Trees of Valinor: Telperion and Laurelin, which are rather crucial to the drama of the “Quenta Silmarillion.”