All Questions
Tagged with tolkiens-legendarium the-hobbit
470
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Why does Gandalf question Thorin after he had found the note?
Why does Gandalf question Thorin about their orc hunters, AFTER he had already found a note in black speech offering payment for Thorin's head and showing him this in the tavern.
Gandalf and Balin ...
- 27
12
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2
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Which plant was used as Athelas in LOTR / Hobbit movies?
There is already an exquisite thread concerning the plant described in the book
link here and its relative real life counterpart,
but my question is about the one actually used in the movies .
Any ...
- 131
36
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2
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What does the inscription on the pot of gold in "A Conversation with Smaug" say?
Tolkien painted a watercolour picture of "A Conversation with Smaug" for the cover of The Hobbit.
In the lower left corner there is a pot containing a pile of gold with an Elvish(?) ...
- 20.1k
2
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2
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Is there any backstory for the "extraordinary luck of widow's sons"?
“Gandalf, Gandalf! Good gracious me! Not the wandering wizard that gave Old Took a pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves and never came undone till ordered? Not the fellow who used ...
- 323
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3
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What two things did Bilbo say that Gandalf interpreted as asking for an adventure?
I mean, you used to upset things pretty badly in these parts once upon a time. I beg your pardon, but I had no idea you were still in business.” “Where else should I be?” said the wizard. “All ...
- 323
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Who was buried at the High Fells of Rhudaur?
I was recently rewatching the Hobbit movies and one thing stood out to me. From reading the various answers here, it was discussed that:
The Nazgul are not undead but just wraiths (i.e. faded due to ...
20
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2
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Did Gollum eat an orc child?
While looking for answers to another question about orcs on Quora, I read an answer that referred to Gollum killing and eating an orc child in the Hobbit, but I don't recall coming across that when I ...
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Did Tolkien ever address Gandalf's propensity to take risks? [closed]
Gandalf wanted to get rid of Smaug, fearing that Smaug could eventually become an ally and tool of Sauron. But at the time of The Hobbit, Smaug was slumbering in Erebor. Gandalf explicitly discouraged ...
- 306
14
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2
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4k
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Compass/magnetic directions in Middle-earth
Maps in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have North/South/East/West marked on them, and I am wondering if anyone can tell me what these directions mean and how they are determined in-universe.
The ...
- 2,749
29
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1
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Had Bilbo with Thorin & Co. camped before the rainy night or hadn't they?
From The Hobbit, chapter 2, "Roast Mutton:"
In the Lone-lands they had to camp when they could, but at least it
had been dry.
Then in the sixth paragraph later:
They decided in the end ...
- 3,873
24
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4
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7k
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Do we ever see a hobbit use their natural ability to “disappear”?
The Fellowship of the Ring prologue contains the following information about hobbits:
They possessed from the first the art of disappearing swiftly and
silently, when large folk whom they do not wish ...
- 7,167
11
votes
1
answer
2k
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Where do Saruman's loyalties lie during the events of The Hobbit?
In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Thorin's company comes to Rivendell. While there, Elrond, Galadriel, and Saruman privately brace Gandalf to inquire about his activities with the dwarves. (~1h35m)...
- 923
33
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1
answer
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Does everyone always eat, drink and sleep for free everywhere in Middle-earth?
Maybe it has to do with the specific and unique circumstances in which the characters we follow in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings find themselves, but it seems to me that everyone always assumes ...
- 413
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1
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Did Bag End have a second door?
This is a map of Bag End from The Atlas of Middle-earth (found here.)
There's a door at the end of the tunnel. Is it mentioned in the books? Or is the map not accurate?
- 2,201
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1
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Why was this speech by Bilbo added to the Hobbit movie?
After the goblin ordeal, when the dwarves and Gandalf are waiting and wondering where Bilbo is, in the movie, he shows up after taking off the Ring and gives a great speech something along the lines ...
- 61
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Did the eagles from Tolkien's works have other appearances where they saved the day?
The eagles play a pivotal deus ex machina role in both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. I have not read any of the background works about Middle Earth and would like to know if they played any ...
- 2,436
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3
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How can the bear-man refer to a "Jack-in-the-box" in The Hobbit?
The Hobbit is supposedly set waaay back in our world. Yet, Beorn refers to "jack-in-the-box" as in the toy, when the dwarves show up in pairs.
How can this be? How can anyone in that world/...
- 277
17
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1
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If the House of Elrond is the Last Homely House east of the Sea, what are the others?
As the books call it, Elrond's house is the Last Homely House east of the Sea. But if Rivendell is the last homely house, what are the other homely houses east of the sea? Or does Rivendell count as ...
- 1,102
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What (if anything) do we know about the orcs who fought against Sauron?
So, in this question, I saw that it was mentioned that all the races of Middle-earth, save the Elves, fought both for and against Sauron during the War of the Last Alliance.
The Silmarillion states:
...
- 2,133
6
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1
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501
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Why wasn't Thorin aware about the state of Mirkwood and the Old Forest Road?
In The Hobbit, in the "Queer Lodgings" chapter, Beorn explains to the company the dangers that they might face through Mirkwood:
“But your way through Mirkwood is dark, dangerous and ...
- 311
14
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2
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How come Balin and Dwalin never mention their travel with Thrain II in The Hobbit?
I'm re-reading The Hobbit and I was wondering why there was no reference to Balin and Dwalin accompanying Thrain II on his attempt to go to Erebor. It seems to me that in The Hobbit they act as if ...
- 311
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Has Tolkien ever commented on the similarity between the name "Baggins" and the French word for "ring"?
There is some discussion on the origins of the name Baggins in this question. However, it only revolves around whether or not it is related to Bilbo being a thief, and I am interested in something ...
- 5,592
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1
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Why did Gandalf change from blue to grey?
Everyone is familiar with Gandalf being described as "Gandalf the Grey", or, later, "Gandalf the White", and he was shown in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies as ...
- 576
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1
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Why does Tolkien make Thorin to be older than Balin, only to present Balin in the Hobbit as "very old-looking"?
Tolkien characterized Balin in the Hobbit as "very old-looking":
... Instead there was a very old-looking dwarf on
the step with a white beard and a scarlet hood; and he too hopped inside ...
- 1,587
5
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1
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867
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Why was Smaug able to take over Erebor with such ease?
The dwarves of Erebor were a powerful nation who were well aware of the existence of dragons (and their relative proximity to the Withered Heath). Despite vast resources, of both time and money, they ...
- 543
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Why was the Arkenstone left when Smaug attacked the Lonely Mountain?
When Smaug attacked the dwarves' kingdom in the Lonely Mountain to settle down there, why was the Arkenstone left? It seems to be this item which makes the owner king of all dwarves, so why did they ...
- 2,191
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Why did Bilbo on Ravenhill prefer on the whole to defend the Elvenking?
Chapter XVII when the battle seemed lost and their faith doomed.
Why thus Bilbo preferred on the whole to defend the Elvenking?
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Was Bilbo still on Ravenhill among the Elvenking's guard wearing the ring?
When the eagles had not come yet and the battle seemed lost, Bilbo stood on Ravenhill among the Elves and saw Gandalf sitting on the ground in deep thought, preparing, he supposed one last blast of ...
- 159
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1
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499
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Does the Necromancer from "The Hobbit" have anything to do with the Dark Lord Sauron? [duplicate]
I finished reading The Hobbit around a week or so ago, and given how ominously the Necromancer was mentioned, I was sure he was being set up to be the main villain (or somebody very important to the ...
- 573
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0
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85
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Would the sword be visible if Bilbo wasn't holding it? [duplicate]
Today was rewatching the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and got very curious about a scene after the riddle game between Gollum and Bilbo where Bilbo gets stuck between the cave walls / rocks ...
- 1,153