Butterbur Day

Courtney Skinner
You may have noticed my Goldberry post on the 27th. Well, in yet another early post (I'm linking it but it's rather horrid: https://theredbooknews.blogspot.com/2014/09/wedding-of-denethor-and-finduilas.html) I decided that September 29th was Butterbur day. 
You know, what I need around here is a Tom Bombadil day, but he is (though it seems rather a paradox) famously forgotten. So I shall settle for making posts to fondly remember even more unappreciated characters. 
Butterbur does have the advantage of having been the movie...but as far as I can tell, only people who have read the books notice him as anything more than a random innkeeper, about as important as Peter Jackson eating carrots. And even in the book, Butterbur, like Goldberry, is commonly overlooked. 
Imrahil of Dol Amroth, on the other hand, is a beloved hero to book-savvy fans (or he should be), so he doesn't get a day. As for the loads of other characters (Fatty!!!!) who are forgotten, perhaps at some point I will have a day for all of them, just not right now. 

So anyway, go back to the Fellowship and reread the part at the Prancing Pony. Say hello to Butterbur, and tell him Goldenrod sent you (he has probably forgotten who I am...sigh). 



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(Lest there should be any confusion or matter of rights and whatnot, all quotes in this post are from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, unless otherwise mentioned. There may be slight errors, misspellings, or alternate punctuation in the quotes, and if you notice such, please inform me so that I can speedily remedy them. But I think the fact that I made this blog proves that I would never intentionally change something of Tolkien's in the transcribing of it.)

Goldberry Day



When I first started this blog, way back in good old 2014, I had a post (https://theredbooknews.blogspot.com/2014/09/mount-doom-is-awake.html)  in which I randomly decided that September 27th was Goldberry Day. Well it still is. Let as all take a moment to appreciate the lovely Goldberry.
Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My darling!

Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling.
Down along under Hill, shining in the sunlight,
Waiting on the doorstep for the cold starlight,
There my pretty lady is, River-woman's daughter,
Slender as the willow-wand, clearer than the water.
Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies bringing.
Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing?
Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o!
Goldberry, Goldberry, merry yellow berry-o!
Poor old Willow-man, you tuck your roots away!
Tom's in a hurry now. Evening will follow day.
Tom's going home again water-lilies bringing.
Hey! Come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?

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(Lest there should be any confusion or matter of rights and whatnot, all quotes in this post are from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, unless otherwise mentioned. There may be slight errors, misspellings, or alternate punctuation in the quotes, and if you notice such, please inform me so that I can speedily remedy them. But I think the fact that I made this blog proves that I would never intentionally change something of Tolkien's in the transcribing of it.)

Bilbo's Birthday




Let us turn back time and reminisce on Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday, because after all, it was one of special magnificence. There are still more posts to come, the scouring of the shire, the grey havens, the end....but in a way, September 22nd is the beginning of the end. 
Bilbo has his 129th and 130th birthdays in Rivendell, while the hobbits are restoring the Shire, and his very last birthday in Middle Earth, TA 3021 is the day that he meets Frodo to go to the grey havens. The Last Riding of the Keepers of the Rings. A week later, he and Frodo leave Middle Earth forever. And Gandalf. And now I'm sad. I would like to believe that Gandalf may some day be sent back to assist Middle Earth against some new evil, but somehow I don't think he will. His purpose is complete. The Age of Men has arrived. 
And now for one gross of a few quotes....
It seems fitting to begin with the very first line:
"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."

"[I]t seemed unfair that anyone should possess (apparently) perpetual youth as well as (reputedly) inexhaustible wealth."

"'A very nice well-spoken gentlehobbit is Mr. Bilbo, as I've always said,' the Gaffer declared. With perfect truth: for Bilbo was always very polite to him, calling him 'Master Hamfast', and consulting him constantly upon the growing of vegetables - in the matter of 'roots', especially potatoes, the Gaffer was recognized as the leading authority by all in the neighbourhood (including himself)."

People are always forgetting about the Gaffer, and it makes me mad.

"Inside Bag End, Bilbo and Gandalf were sitting at the open window of a small room looking out west on to the garden. The late afternoon was bright and peaceful. The flowers glowed red and golden: snap-dragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows."
And no, Nasturtians is not a typo. Some editor or proof-reader tried to change it to nasturtiums, but Tolkien did not permit this on the grounds that the two were actually very different plants. One must never try to tell Professor Tolkien how a word ought to be. He is a philologist after all. 

"Before long the invitations began pouring out, and the Hobbiton post-office was blocked, and the Bywater post-office was snowed under, and voluntary assistant postmen were called for. There was a constant stream of them going up the Hill, carrying hundreds of polite variations on Thank you, I shall certainly come."
Hobbits are not the most polite of people, indeed they can be rather rude and blunt at times, but at least they understand that one must always RSVP. The world would do well to follow in their large footsteps. 

"The lights went out. A great smoke went up. It shaped itself like a mountain seen in the distance, and began to glow at the summit. It spouted green and scarlet flames. Out flew a red-golden dragon - not life-size, but terribly life-like: fire came from his jaws, his eyes glared down; there was a roar, and he whizzed three times over the heads of the crowd. They all ducked, and many fell flat on their faces. The dragon passed like an express train, turned a somersault, and burst over Bywater with a deafening explosion."
I sympathize with this dragon. I too am very life-like, but not quite life-sized.

"'I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.' This was unexpected and rather difficult. There was some scattered clapping, but most of them were trying to work it out and see if it came to a compliment."



"I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!"





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(Lest there should be any confusion or matter of rights and whatnot, all quotes in this post are from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, unless otherwise mentioned. There may be slight errors, misspellings, or alternate punctuation in the quotes, and if you notice such, please inform me so that I can speedily remedy them. But I think the fact that I made this blog proves that I would never intentionally change something of Tolkien's in the transcribing of it.)

September

September 6
"They halt in sight of the Mountains of Moria"

September 13
"Celeborn and Galadriel depart, the other set out for Rivendell"

September 21
"They return to Rivendell"
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(Lest there should be any confusion or matter of rights and whatnot, all quotes in this post are from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, unless otherwise mentioned. There may be slight errors, misspellings, or alternate punctuation in the quotes, and if you notice such, please inform me so that I can speedily remedy them. But I think the fact that I made this blog proves that I would never intentionally change something of Tolkien's in the transcribing of it.)

Why I Read Tolkien: A guest post by Mary Grace Urbanczyk


When I was nine years old, my dad brought home a series of books. My inquisitive nature (and love of reading) prompted me to to inquire what books they were.
He answered, “This is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Would you like to read them?” I replied that I would, and thus began my discovery of the writings of Tolkien. Over the years I have been drawn to Tolkien’s works, time and time again, for many different reasons, but here I produce my top three:

#1 Tolkien clearly makes a distinction between good and evil characteristics and deeds,
#2
Tolkien describes his characters in depth and does not skim over detail,

#3
Tolkien has a realistic style of storytelling.

I particularly dislike certain novels that glorify people who commit questionable deeds to achieve a good end (i.e., Harry Potter).
In Tolkien’s writings this murky grey area does not exist; evil deeds are condemned whereas good ones are praised (by all who are wise enough to realize the goodness of the acts). Sacrifice and loyalty to attain a good end or change is a prominent theme throughout The Lord of the Rings. Frodo and Sam must embark on a long, dangerous journey to the Cracks of Doom, in the very heart of Mordor, where the Ring will be unmade.
Frodo Baggins, a hobbit of the comfortable Shire, sacrifices that comfort so that the Shire - and the whole of Middle Earth - might be spared from a perilous evil. His gardener, Samwise Gamgee, out of the utmost loyalty to Master Frodo, travels alongside Frodo as his constant companion and counselor, never once complaining of his own needs and hardships.
Both Hobbits display consistent examples of the good, true, and beautiful qualities that a true hero should possess. At times they must hide or flee, but never do they lie, cheat, steal, or commit some other evil deed to complete their mission.
Tolkien invests in every single one of his characters, whether they are major or minor to the plot of the story. The ultimate (and my personal favorite) example of this is Tom Bombadil. Tom Bombadil is neither Elf, Man, Dwarf, or Hobbit; in fact, no one is exactly sure where he came from. He simply is. The little band of Hobbits traveling through the old forest (Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin) are rescued by Tom and are led to his house, where they spend the night. The next morning they take leave of him, but are caught by a Barrow-wight from which he rescues them, and then he merrily returns to his house and is never seen again. While it appears Tom contributed very little to the overall plot, Tolkien still brings out his personality in such a way that one would think he is the most significant character. Tolkien designated a purpose for every character, place, and object; he dismisses nothing and no one, which is why I am particularly drawn to his writings.
The realistic quality of Tolkien’s storytelling is often taken for granted, especially by first-time readers. For example, in Book I of The Lord of the Rings, in the chapter “Three is Company”, Frodo, Sam, and Pippin set off to Buckland, where Frodo will move into a house (on pretense of staying there permanently), and leave shortly thereafter for Rivendell. The three hobbits walk many miles and run into some Elves, who journey alongside them. Not much else occurs in the chapter, which would prompt people to wonder why Tolkien spent so much time writing about walking. Tolkien is precise in the narrating of his story: the Hobbits walk all day, spend the night with the Elves, and two whole chapters later reach Buckland. I recall reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the first and wondering, “Why didn’t Tolkien simply cut to the action? Why spend two or three chapters writing about walking?” He did it that way because that is how it is in reality. If Tolkien had simply “cut to the action,” the whole journey would feel rushed and the lack of detail would be incredibly unsatisfying. Although some out there would declare that realistic writing is boring and unexciting, I find that attractive - it is yet another reason why I enjoy reading Tolkien so much.
I could continue on and on about the many reasons I read Tolkien (but I would get sidetracked and my faithful audience would become weary of reading this), so I will say this: If anyone has ever been doubtful about reading (or re-reading) The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, I hope that my reasons will motivate you to try. Distinguishing between good and evil characteristics, in-depth description of characters, and realistic narrating style are all qualities that I enjoy about the works of Tolkien. You will rarely find an author as excellent as Tolkien who can pull off these traits with fluency, so I encourage all of you to read his books. If you have any reasons as to why you read Tolkien, please comment below!


​A note about the author: 
I have been reading and studying Tolkien for 6 years now, and my love for it has grown with time. Besides Tolkien, I enjoy playing piano, studying languages (right now French, Latin, and Quenya ;)), and writing short stories and poems. I hope to travel to Italy someday, as well as Poland and New Zealand (because, you know, that's where Hobbiton and the rest of Middle Earth is!) That's a little about me :) Thanks for reading!


I'd like to thank Mary Grace for this excellent recommendation of Tolkien and his works. I imagine this will be helpful should any of you readers encounter someone who has reservations about reading LOTR, or if you haven't read it yourself. Also if you know someone who hasn't read it, you should make it your mission in life to get them to do so. After all, it's for their own good.
~Goldenrod