Questions tagged [the-hobbit]
For questions about The Hobbit, a 1937 Children's novel by Tolkien. Please always use with the [tolkiens-legendarium] tag. For questions about the film adaptations use in conjunction with the film tags, [an-unexpected-journey], etc.
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Was Bilbo Baggins an actual burglar?
This is assuming that Gandalf did not have a sixth sense about Bilbo having a much bigger role to play in the quest; and ignoring the fact that Hobbits are generally more difficult to be detected ...
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What did Haldir mean by Elves not having dealings with Dwarves since the Dark Days even though they fought together in The Hobbit?
In both the Fellowship of the Ring novel and movie, when the fellowship lose Gandalf and travel to Lothlórien, they are greeted by Haldir and his Elven comrades. When the elves realise Gimli is with ...
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What's the difference between the "spiritual" beings in Tolkien's universe?
I'm looking for a brief synopsis of the Maiar, Valar, Ainur, and whatever Eru Ilúvatar is, and what the distinguishing characteristics of each group are.
The specific information I am looking for is ...
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Was there racism in Middle-earth?
According to the comments on this question, there may have been racism in Middle-earth. Was there? If so, was it rampant or isolated?
Please note that I am asking about in-universe racism, not ...
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What can Gandalf do, and what can't he do to help? [duplicate]
From what I've read on these forums the race or type of being Gandalf is sort of god-like immortal, like the rest of the wizards. I think I remember reading that they can't interfere in some way.
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What happens to Saruman when he goes after Sauron? [duplicate]
In the Hobbit movie: Saruman says to leave Sauron with him. What really happens?
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Has anybody killed a Balrog without dying?
I know of two people who have fought a Balrog and killed it but in the process lost their lives.
Glorfindel of Gondolin
He was able to stab it in the belly, but as the Balrog fell it reached out ...
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What are the dwarves saying (cheering or yelling) after Dain´s words: Let's give those bustards a good hammering?
I was wondering what are the words that the dwarves are yelling before battle in the movie The Battle of Five Armies. Can anyone tell me what those words are?
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Reincarnation of Durin
Quoting a text from http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Durin
It was also believed that Durin would be reincarnated a total of six times, each time as a descendant of an older Durin.
The page also displays ...
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Was Aragorn based on Bard from The Hobbit?
One thing I've noticed recently in The Hobbit book is how similar Bard is to Aragorn. Here is a list of similarities:
Both talk about how they're the heir to the ancestors (they both mention it a lot)...
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Did Gandalf know the origin of "Glamdring"?
I have few questions here:
Did Gandalf know the origin of Glamdring? If so, how did he know it?
Is it explained in the books how Glamdring made its way to a troll's treasure hoard or who had it ...
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What is the function of a Wizard's staff? [duplicate]
In the Middle Earth universe, "Wizards" are actually Maia, angelic or god-like beings who have taken mortal form (and accepted some Human frailties) to act as guides and advisors in the struggle ...
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Was there a symbolic reason for Thorin losing his shield in The Hobbit, The Unexpected Journey?
Remember the scene:
The company has been ambushed and cornered by the orcs and wargs. Thorin runs forth to do battle with Azog the Defiler, carrying the Oakenshield that earned him his name. It's a ...
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Meanings of the names in the Hobbit and LOTR?
I'm a huge hobbit and LOTR fan, so I did some research about the names. I found the meaning of a lot of names but some I didn't find, I thought maybe you can help me?
Here are the names I still don't ...
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What is Aragorn's age when Bilbo stops adventuring? [duplicate]
In the LOTR movies, Gandalf remarks that Bilbo's adventures ended 60 years before his eleventyfirst birthday.
Aragorn tells Eowyn that he is 87, so would that place him at 27 during the events of The ...
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Is Gandalf's origin discussed in the books but just excluded from the movies?
Solely from reading questions and answers here, I've learned a lot about the lore of Middle Earth, mainly to do with Maia, Valinor, Aman, Eldar, etc...
According to this answer, Gandalf is a 11,000+ ...
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Is there a reason the bees in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug are so big?
Seems like an odd question, I know. But when Thorin and company are visiting Beorn, it seems as if the camera focuses on the bees pretty heavily. Is there any significance of the bees or is it just ...
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Is there any Hierarchy among Wizards
From the movies and the books, it is clear that Saruman was the head of the wizarding order (before his demotion) and Gandalf was second. But there were three more wizards. Are there any references to ...
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What would Aragorn have done in the Hobbit movies?
Viggo Mortensen, the actor for Aragorn, was offered to be Aragorn in the Hobbit movies, but refused the role because the character Aragorn wasn't in the book The Hobbit.
Did they even have a plan ...
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Who has the right/authority to declare somebody as Elf-friend?
The LotR wiki lists people who have been deemed as Elf-friends by the Elves.
Different people have been named as Elf-friends for different reasons. Do all the Elf's have the power/authority to declare ...
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When and why did Bilbo write a song about Aragorn?
Bilbo wrote this song for Aragorn:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the ...
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Small bird knocking on Erebor (Lonely Mountain) at the end of movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Why is there a small bird knocking on Erebor (Lonely Mountain) at the end of movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey where Smaug is sitting inside the mountain.
Is that bird an informer for Smaug? ...
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During the War of the Ring did Sauron or Saruman actually win any major battles?
I've recently re-read The Lord of the Rings and one thing that simply bugs me, and makes Tolkien's books seem lesser, is the fact Sauron and Saruman seem to lose every battle. I sincerely hope that I'...
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What was JRR Tolkien's inspiration for the One Ring?
I was recently reading The Republic, by Plato, and when we came to the section about the ring of Gyges, my teacher claimed that this was the inspiration for the One Ring. I doubt he had any real ...
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How did Sauron not notice Gandalf sneaking about in Dol Guldur? [closed]
Maia are said to sense each other’s presence. I know Gandalf was in disguise but it just seems that he got into Dol Guldur then the dungeons then escaped a bit too easy. It might be possible that ...
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Did the dwarves in The Hobbit carry non-magical weapons before they got to The Lonely Mountain?
In Tolkien's book The Hobbit, is there any direct indication that the dwarves carried or used any weapons such as swords or axes before they found Orcrist, Glamdring and Sting? Or for that matter, at ...
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When Thranduil tells Legolas to go north, what did he mean?
At the end of the third Hobbit movie, I recall Thranduil telling Legolas to go north to look for Aragorn. They were at Erebor, and north of that was just the Iron Hills and Forodwaith. Aragorn would ...
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Would Dáin still be crowned King Under the Mountain even if Fíli or Kíli had lived?
In the films, Thorin talks to Fíli as Fíli is his heir, yet a few people I know said in the books that
Why is this?
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Timing sequence of Smaug's death
In the final Hobbit movie, The Battle of the Five Armies, why did the movie start with Smaug's death? Why did this not conclude during The Desolation of Smaug?
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Are the LOTR + Hobbit movies racist? [closed]
As discussed in this question, there are a number of elements in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies that could be construed as racist against Muslim and non-Caucasian people, for example the fact ...
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Who wrote Tolkien's riddles?
In The Hobbit chapter 5, Riddles in the Dark, were the riddles composed by Tolkien himself? I always assumed either that they were, since he seemed to have a knack for writing poetry, or that they ...
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Was Smaug woken up by a nut hitting the mountain?
I have been re-watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. By the end, the movie shows a how a bird came knocking (actually hitting a snail) on the mountain. And then there is shifting inside, and ...
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Why is Dale not mentioned in Lord of the Rings? [duplicate]
I am rewatching the Lord of the Rings series now after I saw all of the Hobbit parts and I'm wondering why the people of Dale don't play a role in the Lord of the Rings. Why are they not fighting with ...
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The fate of Thrain
From the extended scene in The Desolation of Smaug, does Sauron actually kill Thrain or do we not find out?
I know in the book he dies in the dungeons but are we to expect anything more from this ...
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How did demolishing the bridge to the lake town Esgaroth help against Smaug’s attack?
From Chapter XIV of The Hobbit, describing the preparations the men of the lake-town Esgaroth made against Smaug’s attack:
Every vessel in the town was filled with water, every warrior was armed, ...
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Neo-Khuzdul in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies?
I'm interested to know what all the Khuzdul (and languages other than the Common Speech) spoken in the third movie of The Hobbit means, as well as written out so the spelling is seen.
I'd like the ...
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Does Thranduil play any role in the War of the Ring? [duplicate]
Thranduil plays a big role in the events of The Hobbit, but he seems absent from the LOTR.
Does he play any part at all in the War of the Ring?
I've never read the books so I don't know if anything ...
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Timeline of Peter Jackson's Tolkien movies
The LotR trilogy made some significant condensation to the timeline, with the Quest taking place immediately after Bilbo's 111st birthday, instead of 17 years later, as in the book.
This change in ...
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In Hobbit-III movie, are there any hints of Saruman turning over to the dark side?
I watched the Hobbit-III movie today and I found the fight between Sauron vs Wizards+Elves combo interesting. For one, everyone except Saruman directly fought with Sauron. Saruman just enters the ...
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Legolas leaving Mirkwood/the Council of Elrond
(In the movies) Legolas says that he cannot return to Mirkwood, but other than Thranduil asking him to look for 'Strider', where does he go, or live?
And if he no longer lived in Mirkwood, why would ...
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The search for the One Ring
Was anyone looking for the One Ring (to destroy it) before Gollum or Bilbo found it?
I know Sauron wasn't particularly prevalent after Isildur took the ring, but I was just curious as to whether ...
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Does Tolkien ever talk about battle formations and tactics in his books?
During the movies you never really see any battles in an open field, it usually behind walls. So when I saw the Dwarves set up the shield wall it got me really excited and thinking, who is the best ...
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What does Kili say to Tauriel in dwarvish when he gives her the moon rune, in The Battle of The Five Armies?
Can anyone find the meaning of what Kili says to Tauriel when he gives her the moon rune in The Battle of the Five Armies, in both English and Dwarvish?
The scene right after they arrive on the ...
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What exactly does Sauron speak in "The Battle of the Five Armies"?
According to sources about Black Speech, there was a single line invented for the LotR movies (the one where Sauron tells Frodo that there's no life in void).
However, in The Battle of the Five ...
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Why are the Lonely Mountain and the dwarfs not shown in Lord of the Rings? [duplicate]
This has really been bugging me after watching the three Hobbit films and then, even though I had already watched them thousands of times, the Lord of the Rings trilogy (only to get a real insight ...
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Tauriel and Kili relationship: Can a dwarf and an elf reproduce? [duplicate]
The title sums it all, I just am seeking an answer in the Middle Earth world, not the Tolkien nor the Peter Jackson's world. I believe it is already a singularity to find a dwarf attracted to an elf ...
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Why did Tolkien choose to end this blood line?
Spoilers for the Hobbit ahead
At the end of the Battle of the Five Armies,
Does Tolkien discuss why he did so in any letters/writings? Is there any literary or historical (as important for the ...
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Does Gimli own Gloin's helmet in the book?
Recently I watched the third Hobbit movie, The Battle of the Five Armies, and Gloin (Gimli's dad) is wearing the same helmet Gimli wears during the three The Lord of the Rings movies.
Is that canon? ...
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Who plays the Auctioneer?
In the film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, who plays the role of the Auctioneer who is in charge of disposing of Bilbo's house and belonging?
Was it Ian McNiece from Doc Martin or someone ...
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What strategic value does the treasure hoard of Erebor have that makes it so desirable for so many factions?
What strategic value does the treasure hoard of Erebor have that makes it so desirable for so many factions? Will the gold be used for trade and industry by the parties involved? Is it merely greed or ...
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