Here At Last, Dear Friends

middle earth monday (pt. 14)

“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” —Gandalf, The Return of the King, Chapter: The Grey Havens, J.R.R. Tolkien

---

(the following is a free post from my Tolkien substack for everyone to enjoy! you’ll also find a link for 50% off paid subscriptions for a limited time below. I’m only able to offer this a few times a year and you’re welcome to snatch up it while it lasts!)

---

Happy Middle-earth Monday! 

This week, many people will celebrate Christmas on December 25th and on that day in Middle-earth the Fellowship of the Ring set out together from Rivendell. I find it quite fitting that our 2024 series on The Lord of the Rings is wrapping up on this very same week.

And we’re just getting started! While I have big plans to continue exploring the works of Tolkien with you in the coming year—The Appendices! The Silmarillion! The Hobbit! and more!---I'm taking a moment in this post to be grateful for so many of you joining me on our first journey through Middle-earth together and give The Lord of the Rings ‘a very fond farewell’. 

(if the button doesn’t work, you can also tap here)

The Grey Havens by Alan Lee

This book has been a companion for me throughout many dark seasons of my life. The lessons of mercy, justice, loyalty, vulnerability. The small courage of a few overcoming seemingly undefeatable darkness. The wholesome escapism that invites me to see my own reality through a whole new lens of beauty and wonder. It all means so much to me and I know you as well. It’s been an honor to share it together.

For this final post of 2024 from Many Meetings, I’ve included a small free gift (it is Christmas, after all). At the bottom of the post is a playlist I’ve compiled of some very “Tolkien-ish” songs you may or may not be familiar with and hope you enjoy.

Let’s get into it. 

Where I’m at this week:

I’m officially finishing my read-through of The Lord of the Rings for 2024 today. Though I’ve read this story (almost) every year since I was 12, it feels fresh every time. 

The bittersweetness of these chapters seems to roll in like a tide with each turn of the page. The second ‘breaking of the fellowship’. The Hobbits being forced to rid the Shire of the wickedness of Saruman. The mercy and leadership Frodo displays after all he’s been through. The long work Samwise does to heal his homeland. The final good-bye at The Grey Havens. I usually need a week to emotionally recover afterwards. Anyone else?

---

Enjoying your visit to Many Meetings? Click the button below to get 50% off your paid subscriptions to join our 2025 read-throughs!

---

What I loved:

• Arwen’s gifts to Frodo. Those who haven’t read the books don’t know that the only character who receives a necklace with a white gemstone from Arwen is Frodo. She also gives him her place on the ship to Valinor. At the beginning of the chapter, ‘Many Partings’ we read: 

“But the Queen Arwen said: 'A gift I will give you. For I am the daughter of Elrond. I shall not go with him now when he departs to the Havens; for mine is the choice of Lúthien, and as she so have I chosen, both the sweet and the bitter. But in my stead you shall go, Ring-bearer, when the time comes, and if you then desire it. If your hurts grieve you still and the memory of your burden is heavy, then you may pass into the West, until all your wounds and weariness are healed. But wear this now in memory of Elfstone and Evenstar with whom your life has been woven!' -The Return of the King, Chapter: Many Partings, J.R.R. Tolkien 

• Sam reuniting with his beloved Bill the Pony. When the Hobbits and Gandalf make a stop at The Prancing Pony to visit with Barliman Butterbur, the forgetful innkeeper tells Sam that Bill is being housed in the stables. Just knowing after all they’ve been through that Bill and Sam get to live out their days in the Shire together is so sweet. 

• Frodo praising Sam in front Rose to his gaffer when asked if Sam “behaved hisself”. Frodo then replies: 

“Indeed, if you will believe it, he's now one of the most famous people in all the lands, and they are making songs about his deeds from here to the Sea and beyond the Great River.' Sam blushed, but he looked gratefully at Frodo, for Rosie's eyes were shining and she was smiling at him.” The Return of the King, Chapter: The Scouring of the Shire, J.R.R. Tolkien 

• Frodo’s restraint and mercy during ‘The Battle of Bywater’. In the chapter, “The Scouring of the Shire Frodo repeatedly says he doesn’t want anyone killed if it’s at all possible. And we read how he didn’t even draw his sword in the battle but rather took on the role of preventing hobbits from slaying the enemies who put down their weapons in the midst of the fight. His wisdom and pity endures. 

• When Frodo helps Sam name his daughter. Because of that sweet scene when Frodo suggests the name ‘Elanor’ after the yellow flowers in Lothlórien, I personally like to think Sam thinks of Frodo everytime he calls her name. 

• Lobelia’s redemption. Lobelia is a truly nasty person to Frodo (and Bilbo) but, in the end she is humbled by the circumstances at the end of the story. She proves this by giving Bag End back to Frodo using what money she has left at the end of her life to help the hobbits made homeless by Saruman’s invasion. I’ve had people argue with me that she isn’t “redeemed” by the end of the story, but what else could Tolkien be implying when he includes such specific details about this character and her arc? Whatever people think, it’s one of my favorite details: a decades-long family feud ended by the antagonist humbly giving whatever she could to help others. 

• How Tolkien takes his time with Frodo’s departure. That whole portion of the story is slow, measured and poetic. Everything from meeting the Elves, to Frodo explaining why he must leave, to the beautiful details describing the nature around them; it all weaves the most bittersweet notes together and brings to mind a line from The Silmarillion about the world of Arda that Tolkien created. 

"In the deep places he gives thought to music great and terrible; and the echo of that music runs through all the veins of the world in sorrow and in joy; for if joyful is the fountain that rises in the sun, its springs are in the wells of sorrow unfathomed at the foundations of the Earth." -The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien 

Things you might find interesting: 

• The Fellowship of the Ring all housed together in Gondor. This is technically a detail from a previous chapter but I had to include it here. 

“In those days the Companions of the Ring dwelt together in a fair house with Gandalf, and they went to and fro as they wished.” -The Return of the King, Chapter: The Steward and the King, J.R.R. Tolkien 

Can’t you just picture all the late night songs and tales? The laughter? Perhaps even some private grief and glasses lifted in honor of Boromir? I also noted that Tolkien doesn’t refer to them as ‘The Fellowship’ here, but rather the ‘Companions of the Ring’. 

• Fatty Bolger helped lead a rebellion against Saruman. It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it detail at the beginning of the chapter, ‘The Grey Havens’ but Tolkien tells us why faithful Fredegar Bolger was put in the Lockholes by Saruman’s henchmen: he led a band of rebels to the Brokenbores by the hills of Scary. Good ol’ Fatty! 

• Sam waited for hours on the shore of the Grey Havens after Frodo left. Because the beautiful “goodbye” scene from the film is so firmly fixed in our minds, it’s easy to think Sam said good-bye to Frodo and was back with Rosie and the kids in time for supper that same night. The reality is more heartbreaking. After Frodo has sailed out of sight we read: 

But to Sam the evening deepened to darkness as he stood at the Haven; and as he looked at the grey sea he saw only a shadow on the waters that was soon lost in the West. There still he stood far into the night, hearing only the sigh and murmur of the waves on the shores of Middle-earth, and the sound of them sank deep into his heart. Beside him stood Merry and Pippin, and they were silent.” - The Return of the King, Chapter: The Grey Havens, J.R.R. Tolkien

As sad as it makes me, I find this small note about Sam standing there in the dark for hours incredibly moving. What a beautiful way for him to find closure with the loss of his dearest friend. 

Thank you, Professor Tolkien, for giving us this story.

Links For You:

This will make you view Saruman’s death in a whole new way. 

Have you heard of the Lord of the Rings super trailer?

A gift from me: a Tolkien inspired playlist! 

---

Now it’s your turn!

Now that I’ve officially wrapped this series on The Lord of the Rings for 2024, I want to hear from YOU! 

• What’s one thing you’d tell a friend who is considering becoming a paid subscriber to Many Meetings?

• What was it like reading The Lord of the Rings with a private community like this?

• What thoughts do you have about your own personal read-through you want to share with the group?

Please jump in the comment section to chat whenever you can (I know today is a busy one for many!). I won’t be able to reply today due to the holiday but I can’t wait to come back and reply throughout the week to whatever you want to share.

Stay tuned for even more gatherings around the works of J.R.R. Tolkien in the coming year and DON’T FORGET: you can get half off of all paid subscriptions by clicking the button below. (this offer ends December 27th, 2024)

»»» psst, if the button doesn’t work, you can also tap here