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Das Buch

Chapter 4

by Sandalf13-(T)

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As he read Frodo’s letter, Sam had been unconsciously holding his breath near the letter’s end, and he suddenly sat down with a gasp. He could not gather his thoughts. He felt overwhelmed but happy, sad yet glad, and a host of other emotions surged throughout his being. This book, this book sitting before him on his desk, was written by the ten-year-old Estel, who now sat upon the Throne of Gondor and Arnor, King Elessar Telcontar, a true and valiant friend, free with his love, generous with his thought, as well as kind and just. Just so. This book, Estel’s Book for Bilbo, and the story that it told that meant so much to both Estel and Bilbo, this book was now his. Sam had long known that Bilbo gave Frodo The Red Book of Westmarch, along with three other volumes containing Bilbo’s translations of Elvish poetry and sagas, as well as many pages of unbound text, when they left Imladris after the War of the Ring. These books were given to Sam when Frodo left The Shire. Sam did not know then that Bilbo had also told Frodo about Estel’s Book, that he had kept hidden in his specially built bookcase, made by the Dwarves for so many years.

With a gentle touch, Sam held up the book, beautifully bound in green linen, titled with Elvish lettering in red and gold. He carefully opened the cover of Estel’s Book. He glanced at the fine writing, clear and well-formed, even though it was still the hand of a child, with a few erasures and corrections here and there. It was an artful piece of work, actually a small masterpiece, and Sam immediately took the book to his heart, and treasured it. Flipping through the pages, Sam again could hear the Elves in the dim light of the Hall of Fire at Imladris chanting the Lay of Beren and Lúthien, and suddenly, Sam wanted to see the Elves once more. As he neared the end of Estel’s Book, Sam saw that there were a couple of pages after Estel’s writing had ended. Inserted between the last page of the book, Sam saw a folded paper, with a poem, written by Bilbo, and Sam remembered that Bilbo loved his poetry. He read on.

Bilbo’s Lament

A boy’s book, Estel’s book,                Beautifully bound in soft green linen.
A labor of love, by his hand written, Lovingly laid out in lithe Elven letters,
His thoughtful Ada taught him.          Thus Elrond sought to school his son,
Young Estel, well.                             Yet youth that he was,
Estel knew not                                     His origin true, at Elrond’s rede.
Estel wrote of Beren and Lúthien,     His far distant forbears,
While I in Wilderland wandered,        For Erebor ever searching.
Estel labored mightily,                        While wondering where I might be.
He gave me this book, a gift,              As a goodly gesture of great hope
That I would not forget him,             A token of his true trust and love.
Through the tale of long years,         This book have I treasured
Above all else: the greatest gift          That Elf-like Estel gave me,
Besides his bountiful, blessed love,    Bringing boundless hope to me.
Now my winter comes,                     And I the whale-road shall seek,
To soothe my soul,                              And seek my long-sought peace
In Valinor, in Elvenhome,                 Where worry waits not,
And time thrusts grief aside,             Till all the world is mended.
Now sits the boy in Gondor,             A beardless man ⁵ ever-gazing northward,
To the lands of his fathers.                  He thinks of me, I know.
I would like Estel’s work for me,        Willingly written that winter long gone,
To straitly stay in Middle-Earth.         When Aragorn work-wearied becomes, and
Seeks Ilúvatar’s ⁶ soothing spirit,         His book will bring bright cheer
To those who toil tirelessly                  Soft solace ever seeking on this Middle-earth.

As he finished reading, tears filled Sam’s eyes, and he had to pause for a moment, collecting his varied thoughts and feelings. He was glad he was already seated. “So Bilbo wrote this poem when he knew he would be going to the Gray Havens, and put it in the book for Frodo to take back to The Shire. Frodo left Bilbo’s poem in the book for me to read now. So the tale goes on, and our part in it goes forth, a never-ending story in which we all play a part.,” thought Sam.

Sam’s mind was now made up. The decision was made. He would forgo a trip to the Southlands, and he would follow the path of Bilbo and Frodo, and seek the Gray Havens. As soon as his work in Bag End was done, as soon as he had cleaned up his things, and organized his papers for Elanor and Fastred, he too would make the journey to Mithlond. With a decision comes clarity, and Sam knew in his mind and felt in his heart that this was what he should do. He was sure his children would understand, and Merry and Pippin, his comrades, would as well. With a lighter step unburdened by doubt and wonder over his plans, Sam rose up, and continued his final cleaning of Bag End.

Finis

Footnotes:

(see References below for sources.)
(to go between the superscript number in the text and its footnote at the end of the story: click the superscript number and click *back in the footnote.)

¹In Sauron Defeated, edited by Christopher Tolkien, there is a lovely story about Sam reading a story to five of his eventual thirteen children, in March, 1436 S.R. The story notes that the children present are Elanor (15-years-old), Frodo-lad (13), Rose (11), Merry (9), and Pippin (6). Goldilocks (5) had already gone to bed, as had Ham (4) and little Daisy (3) in her cradle. This vignette takes place just before the visit of King Elessar and Queen Arwen to the Brandywine Bridge. An additional note states that the King’s invitation to meet at the Brandywine Bridge is for the 2nd day of April, 1436 (Fourth Age 14).
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²Like all else Tolkien, even the name “Holdwine” has a lengthy linguistic lineage, and is steeped in the sounds of Old English. According to the Tolkien Gateway, Merry’s name “Holdwine” is stated to be “Holdwine of the Shire,” however, it is clearly stated in the “Two Towers” that King Théoden addressed Meriadoc as “esquire of Rohan of the household of Meduseld.” After Éowyn tells Éomer (in the Houses of Healing) of Merry’s bravery and role in the killing of the Lord of the Nazgul, she implores Éomer to make him a knight of the Riddermark. Later, in “The Return of the King,” Éomer and Éowyn bid farewell to Merry, and say “Farewell now, Meriadoc of the Shire and Holdwine of the Mark!” Forever after, Merry is referred to as Holdine in the songs of praise sung by the people of Rohan in memory of the great deeds of Éowyn and (the) Holdwine on the Pelennor Fields. The Tolkien Gateway website states that “Holdwine” is Old English in origin, but that Tolkien never provided its exact meaning in the LoTR. The website goes on to say that there may be several meanings for the name Holdwine, including “faithful friend,” derived “from hold, ‘faithful, loyal’ and wine, ‘friend.”
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³Tolkien, Sauron Defeated.
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⁴The term “shake a leg” has a nautical etymology, being derived from the lexicon of the late 18th and 19th Century Royal Navy. The Boatswain’s Mate would pass through the sleeping compartments, yelling out “shake a leg, mates” in order to rouse the sailors. Showing a leg would indicate that a sailor was awake and ready to commence the duties of the day. In modern parlance, the term has taken on the meaning of getting active, or getting on with some work. Perhaps Sam heard the expression on his short trip to Mithlond, to watch Frodo sail for Valinor along with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Elves. In any case, Sam’s use of the term may reflect a longing on his part for the Great Sea, and shores of both Middle Earth and the Undying Lands far to the west.
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⁵In the Unfinished Tales, “The history of Galadriel and Celeborn,” Christopher Tolkien comments that in a note written by his father in December, 1972, J.R.R. Tolkien discusses that “the Elvish strain in Men” may be seen “in the beardlessness of those who were so descended.” C. Tolkien states that Elves were characteristically beardless, and that this remark written down by his father was among his last writings “on the subject of Middle-earth.” The note to which Christopher Tolkien is referring was written in December 1972. Specifically, “In December, 1972, seven months before he died, Tolkien replied to a fan letter saying that Aragorn did not have a beard. Sometime after that (though obviously before September), Tolkien wrote an essay about beards, which was briefly quoted from in Unfinished Tales has since been published in full in The Nature of Middle-earth.

“Tolkien says that not only did Aragorn not have a beard, he was unable to grow one, and that being beardless was a trait of the royal Númenórean line due to their elvish ancestry. “A note was sent to Patricia Finney (Dec. 9/72), answering a question about beards, that mentioned some of the male characters which she and a friend did not imagine as having beards. I replied that I myself imagined Aragorn, Denethor, Imrahil, Boromir, Faramir as beardless. This, I said, I supposed not to be due to any custom of shaving, but a racial characteristic. None of the Eldar had any beards, and this was a general racial characteristic of all Elves in my "world". Any element of an Elvish strain in human ancestry was very dominant and lasting (receding only slowly — as might be seen in Númenóreans of royal descent, in the matter of longevity also). The tribes of Men from whom the Númenóreans were descended were normal, and hence the majority of them would have beards. But the royal house was half-elven, having two strains of Elvish race in their ancestry through Lüthien of Doriath (royal Sindarin) and Idril of Gondolin (royal Noldorin). The effects were long-lasting: e.g. in a tendency to a stature a little above the average, to a greater (though steadily decreasing) longevity, and probably most lastingly in beardlessness. Thus none of the Númenórean chieftains of descent from Elros (whether kings or not) would be bearded. It is stated that Elendil was descended from Silmarién, a royal princess. Hence Aragorn and all his ancestors were beardless.” The Nature of Middle-earth - "Beards” Aragorn did not have a beard due to his elvish lineage: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/20367/is-there-any-evidence-regarding-aragorn-having-a-beard-in-tolkien
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⁶In a post on Reddit, entitled “Odin in Middle Earth,” u/oranger_juicier states that “The name Ilúvatar means “all-father,” no doubt inspired by Alföðr, another name for Odin in Norse mythology.” The author goes on to demonstrate how Gandalf also shares many similarities with Odin, including his name, magical abilities, and garb.
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References

Sauron Defeated, by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by ChristopherTolkien, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, NY, London, 1992. 482 pp.

Tolkien Gateway "Holdwine" (for Footnote 2, discussing the etymology of “Holdwine.”)

Stack Exchange Science Fiction and Fantasy: "Is there any evidence regarding Aragorn having a beard in Tolkien" (For Footnote 5)

Reddit: Odin in Middle Earth, u/oranger_juicier (Footnote 6)

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