What are the Barrow-wights?

[@ethanletzer3507]

The mind of Tolken never ceases to amaze me. I can't meal plan for a week and yet this guy made over 3000 years worth of twists and turns that are all linked!!!!

[@matthewcopley7679]

To be fair, alot of his works were notes written down in downtime between battles and in the trenches of ww1 It helped him deal with trauma of war.

[@jamesclark2663]

​@@matthewcopley7679I literally was going to say something like this as a joke. I didn't know that it was actually true though!

[@ep7672]

Frank Hubert did, too

[@ep7672]

Arguably, Stephen King made an infinite universe with the Dark Tower series

[@staceynadeau6948]

Yes, and languages 😊

[@Crafty_Spirit]

The ritual the Barrow-Wight performs on the Hobbits is sick 🔥 Tolkien knew how to write horror. The Wight implied that he would sacrifice them all to the Darkness, and it seems he was referring to Morgoth, not Sauron.

[@toncek9981]

Definitely, the whole part about Barrow-downs is quite scary... especially in the contrast with the jovial Tom Bombadil who appears right before and right after that.

[@vail4639]

Horrors experienced during WWI no doubt influence these darker passages

[@aaronforsythe8556]

Wouldn't the darkness be ungolaint the spider. Might have spelt it wrong

[@SpiritStoneWarrior94-yx3gs]

​@@aaronforsythe8556 No it wouldn't, why would Barrow Wights that have no relation to Ungoliant sacrifice the hobbits to her? They are related to Sauron via the Witch King of Angmar, and Sauron was known to start/fan the flames of religions that made human sacrifices to Morgoth (the largest being Numenor)

[@JaimeTanner-b2i]

​@@SpiritStoneWarrior94-yx3gsand Sauron encouraged cults dedicated to Morgoth among the Numenorians and later the Haradrim.

[@jarrakul]

Tolkien seems to have fundamentally viewed evil as self-destructive. It could be clever, cunning, but it could never truly be wise, and would sooner or later lead itself to doom. This is just one of many examples.

[@4tdaz]

Or even just destructive. Mock vs make. Etc.

[@martavdz4972]

@@4tdaz It´s sort of the same in Christianity. When you perceive the world as God´s creation, destruction and self-destruction are quite similar. Either way, you´re destroying something that was initially good.

[@ThommyofThenn]

And associates it with dark colours but don't look too deeply into it. Written in a different time and what all

[@josephfisher426]

Evil is disorder, working against the natural order, and thus of necessity making obstacles for itself.

[@ItsmeInternetStranger]

@@ThommyofThennWhatever you think you're instantiating is substantiated in nothing but your own fantasy.

[@the_primal_instinct]

Mom used to read LotR to me and my brother when we were still young enough to be read books to, but old enough for LotR. The section with the crypts scared the shire out of me and probably gave nightmares but I regret nothing.

[@AdDewaard-hu3xk]

It is one of two memories I have of early teenaged reading.

[@Octomon]

I remember my mum reading this bit too!

[@ThailandOutsider]

"scared the shire out of me" 🤣🤣💀

[@DamonNomad82]

I had a similar experience. At age 6, I first got the mistaken impression that the barrow-wights and black riders were one and the same, possibly because my mom used the same deep, menacing tone when reading the words of both...

[@EarthsGeomancer]

Scares the shire out if you? 😂

[@albertlamar5938]

I must re read LOTR. My head canon always considered the Barrow Wights as eternally restless undead trapped in their own graveyard, and the ritual was a way for the wight to escape. I never connected that they were outside spirits sent there by the Witch King. Definitely have to reread. Many thanks. Your writing, narration, voice, and artwork are all superb. Worthy of the topic.

[@MoultrieGeek]

Agreed, every time I re-read the book I pick up on more of the delicious subtleties Tolkien wove throughout the narrative.

[@glowstickofdestiny1290]

It's always great when the villains of stories receive their most crushing defeats as a consequence of their own cruelty, or of their own most desperate attempts to prevent that very outcome.

[@ceejay0137]

It's very much a theme in LOTR. "Oft evil will shall evil mar".

[@random22026]

Tolkien's way of discerning a karmic come-uppance@@ceejay0137

[@MusMasi]

@@ceejay0137 Including the end of Sauron

[@random22026]

That's 'Arcadia'--and they are GOIN' DOWN. No choice in the matter.@ScribeOfAcadia

[@GlennWilson-n4t]

Karma, Baby!@@random22026

[@alonys]

Another thing that is worth thinking of is the strage story of what happened to Elronds wife. I think that attack was no coinsidence. It was meant to weaken both Elrond and Galadriel in one stroke. From the little we know, she was hurt beyond healing, or the capacity of Elrond at the time. That too ended worse for Sauron because I think that horrible fate of his wife is what made Elrond such a master healer. Because of the attack on Elronds wife he was able to heal Frodo enough for the journey to come to completion.

[@martavdz4972]

Wow, interesting point!

[@fueledbylove]

When Elrond got back to Valinor I'm certain there were plenty of unattached Noldorian wimmen so he could snag a 2nd wife.

[@alonys]

@@fueledbylove That is probably another interesting theme - what about love when you are immortal? is it forever or do the elves also get devorced on ocassion?

[@fueledbylove]

@@alonys Well cant rightly says thats outside the canon of the books I think

[@Magnetised_]

@@alonys I can think of two examples in the Silmarillion that touch on this subject: after Finwë's first wife, Miriel, had given birth to Fëanor she refused to have any more children. Finwë insisted, she went to rest in the gardens of Lorien (the original ones in Valinor), and then she effectively died (her soul left her body) but the body itself was preserved so it didnt look like she was dead. After a long time Finwë remarried because he still wanted more children. So there is at least one known case of a 2nd marriage. The second example concerns Fëanor and his wife Nerdanel. They loved each other a lot and had seven children together (apparently significantly more than was common). But eventually Fëanor's rivalry with his half-brother, and his actions in this rivalry, also caused a rift in his marriage. They "became estranged from one another" When he led the return to middle earth, chasing after Morgoth, she refused to go. His response was to call her an "unfaithful wife". We also know that by this point she had been living with her parents instead of her husband for some time already. Clearly they werent divorced in any technical sense, but they were also plainly not together anymore. (think like separating from your wife but staying married for tax benefits or public appearances or something for a real life equivalence)

[@Grimhart89]

I never thought about how the Witch King played a part in his own demise. He probably wouldn't have been defeated had he not awoken the Barrow Wights. That dagger would still be sleeping soundly.

[@istari0]

This is another example of how interconnected Tolkien made things in the Legendarium. The Dúnedain of Arnor crafted weapons, including those daggers, specifically to be effective against wraiths and even the Ringwraiths in the Angmar Wars. They still lost that war but some of those weapons survived and over 1000 years later one would end up in the hands of Merry, who would use it to help strike down the mightiest of all wraiths, the Witch-King of Angmar, the one who had led the war against the Dúnedain in the north.

[@mikeynth7919]

And the Witch-King, getting stabbed by a dagger he actually set free, says his last "D'oh!" and is never heard of again.

[@michelhv]

The Tom Bombadil poem about rings and otter skin is an allusion to the story of the dwarf Ótr from the prose Edda. He’s a shapeshifter and Loki killed him for his otter pelt. Ótr’s father demands a weregild of his son’s pelt covered in rings. But one hair wasn’t covered and Loki used a cursed ring to cover it.

[@errantwinds-up8uu]

The Battle of the Pelennor fields is my favourite part of LotR, and so much of it is because of the way that the past finally gets some justice on the Witch-King through Merry and Eowyn. It is so very epic, especially with all the lore layers.

[@ScrewFlanders]

"A sword rang as it was drawn. 'Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may.' " 'Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!' "Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. 'But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him.' " The movie version completely flubbed this scene, which is possibly the most dramatic scene in the entire trilogy.

[@sertaki]

@@ScrewFlanders It is still a powerful scene, but the focus is shifted a bit, focusing on both Merry and Eowyn in the book and linking back to not only the prophecy but also the Barrow-Wights, while the movie could not include all these details easily without making the trilogy drag - so they smartly chose to focus on the more dramatic parts and leave the subtle connection out. It's a shame, but I feel it wouldn't benefited the pacing and general quality of the movie if Peter Jackson had crammed a whole section of escaping Barrow-Wights into the first half of The Fellowship. There was need for some corners to be cut.

[@Tim_the_Enchanter]

Isn't Barrow Wight the guy who sings all those sexy songs?

[@jamesharmer9293]

The Walrus of Lurve...

[@constantk8780]

Yep, you've got it! He had such hits as Can't get enough of your Dunedain And Just the wraith you are

[@jamesharmer9293]

The Walrus of Lurve ...

[@MusikCassette]

Barry

[@Matthew10950]

Dude, that's barrow Manilow

[@TheLeadhound]

The Barrow Downs are one of the parts that really stick with me from when my dad read me Fellowship. An amazing moment.

[@Johnem-Love]

Merry’s blade is just as important as Eowyn’s thrust in dispatching the Witch-King

[@TechBearSeattle]

Iluvatar works in mysterious ways.

[@brianbalster3521]

Seems to ME, to be FAR MORE important.. "No other blade.."

[@LKMNOP]

Definitely because it caused him pain which other weapons could not and distracted him so that she could get him in the ice slots of the helmet

[@chrisdaigle5410]

That's true. Without the wound from the barrow blade, the witch king could not be killed by Eowyn,

[@johnvonkerman]

​@@chrisdaigle5410 true, but without being killed by Eowyn, the witch king would not have been killed by Eowyn. They both played their parts

[@nicholasmaude6906]

2:59 - The Witch-King didn't spark that division in Arnor when he appeared on the scene in TA1300, Robert, the split occurred in TA861 after the death of High King Earendur when his three sons squabbled over their inheritance. Amlaith, the oldest son, who was king of Arthedain claimed the title of High King of Arnor (The other two realms - Cardolan and Rhudaur eventually failed, with Rhudaur being taken over by Angmar and Cardolan collapsed after a great plague).

[@mobes8876]

I understand the movies choosing to exclude Tom Bombadil because he is quite a momentum killer in the books, but the Barrow-Downs are such an important part of the story that has great significance later in the story, especially with Merry. Plus!! It’s one of the few moments when Frodo’s courage is on full display, and the film definitely could’ve used a great Frodo courage moment. Sad it was never included in the films

[@toncek9981]

But then again you need Tom Bombadil to save them in the end... You would have to make some workaround, like hobbits going there after Bree with Aragorn, who saves them or something...

[@daneast]

It seems like they could have handled it in a streamlined way. Like being told about Bombadil by Gandalf or someone else, but not having them encounter him ahead of time. The first they see of him is when he rescues them from the Barrow-Downs. Then maybe they stay with him right after it and they are quickly sent on their way.

[@fromthecheapseats7126]

@@toncek9981If the swords in that tomb could destroy the Witch-King, they could definitely destroy the wight, eliminating the need for Tom to rescue them.

[@FonicsSuck]

​@@fromthecheapseats7126that's true. I suppose it could have been written that Frodo picked up a curious dagger, and attacked the wight, with his courage on full display. Then they looted 😅

[@oldylad]

@@bwilson5401if you want a direct book to movie version sure, but if you want a good movie, no. The film is already 4 hours long. And Bombadil being included would kill the pacing of the early part of the film

[@Svensk7119]

"The Barrow Wights are... wights". No one else could this sentence off have pulled without sounding dumb. But IDG timed it perfectly, and it made perfect sense. Which means the Witch-King is a lich, a higher level undead with more agency and self-identify. The way you described that irony, Robert, was perfect. I could taste it. Well done, sir.

[@c.antoniojohnson7114]

Exactly, I've always considered the witch king a lich.

[@paulschrum4727]

Robert, you are one of the best at putting together links and connections in Tolkien, making the hard-to-see quite obvious. And I love your rhetorical style. Keep at it.

[@green_dragon_knight]

I like the death of the Witch-King as a parallel to the destruction of the One Ring, with Hobbits doing great deeds and helping to destroy great evil, despite their humble appearance.

[@chriswhealy4170]

I like your comments both about the "delicious irony" that the swords originally forged to kill wights were eventually used for that purpose - albeit in a way far removed from their original maker's expectation. Also, your comment that if Sauron had not dispatched the wights to inhabit these barrows, those swords would never have resurfaced, ready to fulfil their purpose. This all ties in withTom Shippey's insight that in the philosophy of Tolkien's world, good is always worth fighting for; not because there is a simple, straight line path between good overcoming evil, but because in the end, the evil is always self-defeating

[@PiscatorLager]

Is there a good explanation of what "breaking the spell that knit [the Witch-King's] unseen sinews to his will" actually means, technically? What did Merry's sword exactly do, on a magical level? The Witch-King's physical form is connected to his fëa via ring-magic, right? To me all this sounds like the Dúnedain of Arnor have found a way to counter ring-magic and then "forge" this spell into physical weapons, which is very impressive indeed.

[@thecappeningchannel515]

He cuts the link between ring and soul I suppose.

[@12classics39]

Frodo saving Sam from the Barrow-wight is one of the best moments in the whole book. It adds great weight to Frodo’s character, showing his incredible inherent bravery, and to his relationship with Sam. It’s a shame that the deletion of Tom Bombadil ended up depriving Elijah Wood of this incredible moment which he could’ve had in the films.

[@giokun100]

Unfortunately, it had to be deleted due to time constraints. You see, there was a Legolas skateboarding scene that absolutely had to be included. Truly masterpieces.

[@pettytyrant2720]

It's also the first time the Ring openly tempts him, with the thought of abandoning his friends and using the Ring to escape, but he overcomes it and it's a very important moment. Sadly film Frodo is hopeless and just falls over all the time.

[@jackinthebox301]

@@giokun100 ...those aren't even in the same movie. I agree its a silly scene, but come on lol

[@TheMarcHicks]

This js one of many reasons why I hate the depiction of Frodo in the Peter Jackson films. He always comes across as a bit milquetoast.

[@pettytyrant2720]

@@TheMarcHicks I quite agree. Book- overcomes rings temptation, hacks arm off Barrowowight, calls Bombadil to aid, saves his friends - film - nothing. Book - stands up to the Nazgul on Weathertop, stabs the Witchking and wounds him with a holy elven name - film drops his sword and falls over. Book rides alone to the Ford, confronts the Nazgul and defies and challenges them - film - gets carried there as baggage and falls off the horse. He even manages to fall over and drop the Ring on Caradhras and in the Mines instead of stabbing the troll as in the book, he falls over again. Not sure it's not an inside running joke. Trouble is in the films by not giving him any of the book moments and instead having him utterly passive in them, he just comes across as pretty pathetic and lacking any real grit. He gets none of the formative experiences before he reaches Rivendell he does in the book.

[@richleising8043]

I can't put into words how much this ignites the imagination. As a man in his fifties, I am still enthralled by quality fantasy literature. Of course Tolkien is the Master. As a young child I was hooked on fantasy after watching the movie Excalibur. When I was in my mid teens I read the Lord of the Rings. Watching this video stirs something in me that I can't explain.

[@avielp]

Wow. This part of the story always fascinated me but I didn't know why. Thanks for this video. I wouldn't have guessed or believed there's so much behind it.

[@simonmorris4226]

Never spotted the connection with rings. I think you make a good point there!

[@johnkeck]

Coincidentally, I was looking for a video from you on this topic last week. I'm glad to have your magisterially answer to the question!

[@Crafty_Spirit]

You know I sometimes wonder whether the spear that pierced the heart of the last prince of Cardolan (mind-boggling that Merry somehow relives his memories) was a Morgul blade. Gandalf later tells Frodo that Morgul wounds can turn you into a Wraith if left untreated

[@flashkraft]

I often thought that the Barrow Wights were lesser Wraiths created by the Witch Kings Morgul Blades.

[@Anime-Control]

Exactly my thought as well. It’s interesting, then, that the Barrow daggers appear to have some opposing magic - instead of being icy like Morgul blades, they’re almost flame-like, and are made to strike Wraiths while Morgul blades are designed to strike the living. It may not be a coincidence that both dissolve after striking their intended targets

[@killtie15]

Myself, I was always leaning towards the opinion that that particular wight WAS the last prince of Cardolan. It would be typical of the Witchking, this kind of merciless mockery of someone defeated. That's why Merry was relieving his memories upto and including "own" murder, that's why dressing up as princes and all the jewelry. Rings are coincidental here I feel, simply part of that typical royal attire. Perhaps it was hoping to create companions, perhaps it was hoping to ingest a little bit life force - bits of warmth and new memories to relieve the pain and the cold, perhaps trying to somehow placate the Darkness and be allowed to rest.

[@Crafty_Spirit]

@@killtie15 I think the Rings reflect earlier writings in which the Barrow-Wights and Ringwraiths were of the same kind.

[@Clayne151]

​@@flashkraftthat makes sense. The blade that was used on Frodo can't be a one of a kind special thing, otherwise nobody could have possibly known what it was or how to treat it.

[@resurgam_b7]

My dad read many book series to my siblings and me growing up, The Lord of the Rings was one such series and I vividly remember the chapter with the barrow-wights. It freaked me out for days afterwards. Now, many years later, it's the only part of the book that isn't just a vague memory, I still have memories of my emotions from that night, whereas for the rest of the book, I just kind of remember a general feeling of wonder and excitement, but I can't tie any chapter to a particular feeling except for that one.

[@obadiah_v]

I love it when the irony or providence of Eru speaks loudly in Middle Earth.

[@JohnnySnipshow]

For some reason I always thoughts the wights were some of the most dangerous and mysterious beings encountered with some type of ancient power that rivals more larger baddies

[@martavdz4972]

I understand that. I was always intrigued by Gandalf saying that being under the wraiths´ spell had been the most dangerous moment for the hobbits.

[@aceofspades9503]

totally get this- the way the sacrifice scene is written is one of the most chilling in the series. It feels like the closest the hobbits come to certain death. Even stuff like Frodo getting stabbed by the cave troll, or Gandalf challenging Durin's Bane doesn't quite have the same soul clenching immediacy to it.

[@Aufsammelkabbler]

It would have been quite interesting to see wether Gandalf without Elronds ring would have been able to defeat those wights on his own. Shure, he defeated the Balrog but as Gandalf told Frodo about the one ring, the power one can wield with such an item is highly connectet to how powerfull you are as a being without it. That should be true for rings of the elves as well.

[@fueledbylove]

@@Aufsammelkabbler Personally, I think as Maia that Gandalf should have creamed the Balrog and hardly gotten a scratch, you know in the 1st Age there were many of the nasty things slain by Elves and not all that fought them died too. I guess at his age Gandy was a bit out of shape plus that fall into very deep pit was no picnic.

[@Aufsammelkabbler]

@@fueledbylove Balrogs are Maia themself though. Also the term is used by Tolkien to describe a variety of different individuals with differing power levels. That Gandalf, a powerful Maia of his own right empowered by one of the rings of power was close to loosing the battle speaks volumes about the power of Durins Bane.

[@KimP0612]

Barrow-wights are my favorite part of the story, even as little as there is.

[@anna9072]

That’s one of the reasons I didn’t watch any of the movies after the first one. I objected to the way they made Merry and Pippin’s joining the expedition accidental, and I felt that leaving out the barrow wights left a serious gap in the story.

[@aceofspades9503]

@@anna9072 Per the movie- Merry and Pippen went out to steal carrots one day.......and then disappeared for over a year. I can't imagine their families took it all that well. Come to think of it....I wonder if Farmer Maggot had the constable coming around to check his fields for corpses! 🤣🤣

[@Peter-dy3tf]

As someone that is reading the trilogy for the second time I can agree with this. Soo much in the first half of Fellowship is so amazing and sadly left out in the movie. That said - I will always love the movies. However I am becoming more critical as I age into a 5000 year old elf.

[@anna9072]

@@Peter-dy3tf you probably saw the film first, so that’s not surprising. I’d read the trilogy countless times, and knew it pretty much by heart, long before the movie came out, so I was not inclined to be forgiving.

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

@@anna9072 The movies are entertaining in their own right but when compared to the book they are a disrespectful travesty.

[@MariaVosa]

Lewis and Tolkien rarely intersected in their Fantasy stories (except in borad strokes about good/evil), but one of the few exceptions is Lewis' use of the barrows in Prince Caspain. It was one of the scariest parts to me as a young reader, with the old dark magic brought back in that setting. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the different ways these two friends included the old English superstitions about the burial barrows in their literary works.

[@sprucemaroose]

I used to go walking in the country as a kid, having read Lord of the rings it was always terrifying to pass a longbarrow... especially if it was getting towards dusk 😱

[@martavdz4972]

There are no barrows in Prince Caspian, where did you take that information from? There´s Aslan´s How where a hag suggests calling up the spirit of the dead White Witch, but that´s it. Lewis mentions dark magic and burial mounds very little in all the Chronicles of Narnia. And btw, Lewis and Tolkien actually intersected in their fantasy stories. They both have a motif of sailing out of this world, both their worlds were created by singing, they both have an army of trees deciding the outcome of a battle, Pippin´s experience in the last battle is very much like Shasta´s experience in the Battle of Anvard in The Horse and His Boy. They aren´t striking similarities, but they´re there.

[@josephfisher426]

There are barrows (tombs) in A Horse and His Boy, but they are little more than background. What reminded me more of the barrows was the Underworld in The Silver Chair, which 10-year-old me mashed up with LotR, resulting in me laughing at Sauron instead of the Green Witch.

[@Wooster23]

England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland have many standing stones and barrow mounds. The minds of Lewis and Tolkien may have intersected on this, or they may simple have drawn upon the same source. Both had a deep and abiding love for the countryside.

[@MisfortunateJustice]

Duuuude. I'm listening to the book-on-tape and I literally just passed this part and now here's your video. The timing is eerie. 😱

[@ericvanvlandren8987]

Perhaps Tom had foresight similar to that of Galadriel? Just as her gifts to the Fellowship were given with purpose and the benefit of vision, so too does the (pardon the pun) rather pointed choosing of those four blades for the hobbits. It seems to me that Tolkien liked to layer his themes and characters on a sort of repeat.

[@martavdz4972]

He easily might have that kind of foresight, but it´s also possible he simply thought they´d need weapons on their travels. Hard to say.

[@kevinmagee8185]

I think you missed a beat to do with the meaning of "wight" by itself. The common usage as an undead monster in e.g. Dungeons & Dragons is lifted directly from this episode in LotR. The older meaning, which Tolkien would have known, was just "creature" or "being". So it's the full phrase "barrow wight" (a thing that lives in tombs) that implies an undead monster. As an aside, hobbits could accurately be described as "burrow wights".

[@meganofsherwood3665]

😂

[@WizardReel]

I was watching Rings of Power (Spoiler alert), and saw the Barrow-wights there. I came across this video. Great timing! Robert, I appreciate you the back story on the Barrow-wights. It's interesting that these beings are directly from the dead in the mounds, but spirts sent to this area.

[@SomeGuy-ty7kr]

Evil being the source of its own doom is a common theme in LotR. Even the One Ring was arguably destroyed by itself (via Frodo commanding Gollum into a volcano if he ever attacked him again).

[@martavdz4972]

It´s sometimes like that in real life. Tolkien lived through the world wars and they were a good example of that. Hitler, Mussollini and Austria-Hungary, which proclaimed war on Bosnia even though it didn´t need to, ultimately destroyed themselves.

[@hpd385tannoylover2]

I'm glad I found this channel. I read LOTR many times in my younger years, but the films usurped my memories. This channel, Robert, rekindles my awe of Tolkien and Middle Earth, and I have begun the books again, this time on Audible. One thing about audiobooks is that I don't skim, as my speed reading tends to do. Thank you for the rekindling of awe and lore.

[@tico78742]

Thanks!

[@Mikey__R]

Interesting! This hypothesis suggests a wight is a lesser wraith, and it certainly does fit.

[@bityew]

Congratulations, Robert, on your Tolkien Society nomination! So well deserved!

[@EmblemParade]

The northern wars are such a fascinating and underdeveloped part of Middle-earth's history. The internal civil wars among the kingdoms, the rise of Angmar, the plague, the undead magic. There were surely so many stories and heroes and tragedies during that time. And even Hobbits were involved! And elves! And ents! But we only know the main events and their general contours. There's room here for many novels, movies, shows, video games, etc. I've always been surprised at how little attention has been given to the gradual fall of Arnor.

[@Daniel-rd6st]

Year would have been nice if somone with a billion dollars on his hand would have made a series on this, without having to constantly screw around with already firmly established lore... Another big playfield for a LotR series would be the eastern kingdoms, possibly featuring the blue wizards. Pretty much a blank slate to work with.

[@Aufsammelkabbler]

@@Daniel-rd6st Yeah, that would have been awesome. They would need good writers for this though and I seriously doubt that hollywood can provide those right now. Even the most expensive series of all time with a budget of close to half a billion wasn't able to get someone to write a story without more plotholes, inconsistencies and outright atrocious dialogues than a common telenovela.

[@Daniel-rd6st]

@@AufsammelkabblerYear i was reffering to Rings of Power with my first sentence 🙂

[@Aufsammelkabbler]

@@Daniel-rd6st Haha, I thought so, it is such a "milestone" as it is that I thought it kind of funny to treat as "He who must not be named" 😂

[@Raz.C]

re - 10:45 When Eru addresses the discord of Melkor, he tries to get Melkor to understand that "All that you do will turn and rebound to my greater glory." It's rather fitting, then, that Sauron should direct the Witch King, or that the Witch King, of his own volition, would in turn direct these Barrow Wights to do his bidding, but that his bidding should turn and rebound to 'His' greater glory (where 'His" refers to Eru Iluvatar and the Spirit of Eru, living in heart and deeds of that Numenorean who forged those Barrow Blades...

[@AXIOS.By.Kennedy]

*By far* one of the most underrated KZbin channels to date. I feel actual joy every time I get notified that this channel posts LOTR content. Hell, I've listened to "Where did the Entwives go?" at least 4 times because that video breaks down a few very intense subjects in a palatable manner. On that note, while typing this, I searched for that video and could not find it, so I ask: *Where did the, "Where did the Entwives Go?," go?*

[@bettina8315]

There seem to be quite a few LotR videos missing. I was looking for the one about Pippin and realized there are others that I couldn't find anymore. Which is too bad. I love rewatching them occasionally.

[@ansond88]

I especially love this right now, because I just listened to the audiobook of this part of Fellowship of the ring this morning ❤

[@brocklawer7635]

It’s always these small moments and small objects that have a bigger purpose later on than what’s happening at the moment, that makes this story compelling. The history of the lands and peoples before give the heroes of our tale the tools to win with a twist of chance and fate.

[@frankofam1069]

I *Can honestly listen to these and fall asleep!* -Not bc they’re “Boring” _I love these videos VERY much!_ *But that Golden Honey 🍯 voice* You should do some “Reading Videos” man! Like LOTR or GOT

[@sammyanagolum]

The perfect quote to describe this: *oft evil will shall evil mar* As said by Théoden

[@ludwigfranzpl]

Thank you for this wonderfully detailed "essay" that could have come out JRRT's Appendices. Please do one on Barliman Butterbur.

[@meganofsherwood3665]

I believe he did! "In Defense of Barliman", or something like that, though he may have taken it down since

[@ludwigfranzpl]

You are right on both points. After 2 or 3 nudges to Robert got no response, I was trying a different tactic to get it back.😀

[@thomasferraro479]

Love these videos, no matter how much I think I know about lotr I always learn at least 1 new thing in every video

[@chrisestes8458]

Really appreciate this as the Barrow-wights always intrigued me and are not much-discussed - but as you noted without that interaction the Witch king does not die? One other character(s) I would love you to cover are the storm giants in the Hobbit. Who were they? Are they just for the Hobbit not not the other Middle Earth stories - are there theories?

[@richardreed6142]

Could you do a video about the word of command and the idea of putting oneself into ones creation. I know that last one happens several times.

[@MrJkilloran]

Who is the artist who drew the skull-faced man with a crow on his shoulder (at 6:15) in the video? It's an amazing drawing.

[@random22026]

Love when you quote Tolkien directly, as you do at 7:01: mesmerizing detail! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@mikeboix3315]

Gread video, thanks for your work.

[@emelienevander]

I enjoy your videos so much! Thank you for taking the time to make them. Could you make a character video about Arwen? ❤

[@Drumbirdy]

Where is the rest of your LOTR playlist? Love this content and fall asleep to your soothing voice every night.

[@TootlinGeoff]

By completely leaving out Tom Bombadil and the hobbits gettingbtheir swords, Peter Jackson left outva critical part of the prophesy of the witch kings death as Merryxs blow was the critical one and met the prophecy even more than Eowyn, important as she was.

[@Wolfeson28]

I understand not wanting to see lore left out, but I think this was an understandable thing to cut for the films. It's a case of having to include so much additional stuff (the scene in the barrows, plus all the Tom Bombadil scenes) for fairly minimal gain. I don't think that not knowing the exact lore of Merry's sword really diminishes the magnitude of what Merry and Eowyn accomplish in confronting and killing the Witch-King, and that's the real payoff.

[@swayback7375]

@@Wolfeson28I dunno, I rewatched them recently and kept thinking how pointless it was to follow eowyn around so much… all she did was pine over Aragorn until he finally shut her down then she and merry went and showed them all… She really could have been excluded and it wouldn’t have hurt the plot at all… or with more lore/context then maybe she could have been relevant

[@TootlinGeoff]

@@Wolfeson28 It didn't need the whole Tom Bombadil. Just the Barrow Wight scene.

[@Wolfeson28]

@@TootlinGeoff Except then how do you explain this random guy in blue jacket and yellow boots who rescues them from the wights? I mean maaaaybe you could have Aragorn show up and rescue them instead, but then the whole meeting in Bree scene doesn't work.

[@TootlinGeoff]

Well he just appeared in the book, just earlier on.

[@danielatherton1631]

I was looking forward to this part so much when I went to the cinema. I think the cast would have nailed it.

[@DoctorZomboo]

Such a fantastic story for what is a seemingly unimportant item. Really on point with the whole theme of the series; small and seemingly inconsequential things can lead to great world altering changes and feats.

[@TennisOnion]

My favorite part of the first book - a real loss it wasn't in the films.

[@gaminawulfsdottir3253]

Excellent video. I had not made that connection between the Witch-King, the barrow-wights, and Merry's sword.

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

10:30 Gotta love that people complete misunderstand the text, it's not that the witchking was invulnerable to normal weapons or had some amazing protection that needed lowering. Those short swords were just extra potent against him. A normal sword could have still harmed the witchking, just not to the same extent as the Westerness blade that Merry used on the witchking..

[@forsakenquery]

What a brilliant little video. Thanks Rob.

[@smegleymunroe863]

I was not expecting the Lich art from Battle for Wesnoth at 7:59, but I’m all for it

[@deusexaethera]

It's clear to me at this point that Tom Bombadil is Tolkien's version of Deadpool -- the one character who knows they're in a fictional universe and thus doesn't take anything seriously.

[@ChrisABaldwin]

And Patchface in ASOIAF

[@marckrieger3277]

I really love the lore of the barrow downs and the weapons the hobbits took from there! Great video, espacially the poems i didn't knew. Not as impressives then wounding the witch king but i think one could add that pippin named his dagger of westernes troll bane bc he killed a troll chieftrain with it at the battle of the black gate.

[@procrastinator9]

Tolkien's use of foreshadowing and circling around is so much more artful and long-term than any other artist. Other stories would have the mom cough in scene one and die of consumption in scene two.

[@Anditover]

What I couldn't quite get my head around is what would have happened if the transformation of the hobbits into the reincarnation of the princes had been allowed to continue. It struck me that the hobbits were not turned into something evil, but were imbued with memories of being something noble, and were possessed by ancient, allied spirits, albeit briefly.

[@aceofspades9503]

I wonder if the spell had continued if the noble memories would have turned darker, ending with the hobbit's sacrifice as both the memory of the death and actual death coincided...leading to their resurrection as wraiths. Nothing to base that on, but it would be a fun twist- especially for anyone looking for inspiration for a table top game 😊😊

[@markp6062]

Today I learned... Always thought they were of the people buried there, not some external force. Thanks for enlightening me.

[@aceofspades9503]

same here. I wonder how the original inhabitants felt about their graves being used by the barrow wights.....and also what they thought about Tom removing goods. Granted, the swords were to be used in the fight against the Dark Lord, so I doubt they minded that much.

[@edithengel2284]

@@aceofspades9503 I think they would have been pleased that their burial place had been cleansed of the barrow wight; the dispersal of their grave goods would have been part of that. I too think they would not have minded.

[@eikonise]

At the end of the 3rd age "Smite IV" was a rare--, unheard of enchantment, very fortuitous that Tom Bombadilla found the chest with that rare loot.

[@Flara555]

awesome vid as usual, Robert!

[@JustDefense]

Excellent presentation, well researched. Thank you!

[@skyborne80]

Sadly in the movies, they are given to the Hobbits by Aragorn as almost an afterthought and seem to just be random mundane swords.

[@vibalite395]

No galadriel gives them in lothlorien

[@Economics21st]

@@vibalite395 I'm going to have to rewatch the films to check, but I thought they already had the swords on Weathertop.

[@skyborne80]

@@vibalite395 Galadriel gives some of the Fellowship gifts in Lothlorian, but none of them are swords for the Hobbits. Aragorn gives them the swords on Weathertop and says, "Keep them close."

[@kyos8462]

@@skyborne80the special edition shows galadrial giving Merry and Pippin swords/daggers, Sam the magic rope, gimli I think a lock of her hair, frodo got the light crystal. Reg versions don't show it. Strider gave all the hobbits common swords barely sharp

[@skyborne80]

@@kyos8462 Ahh, well I've only seen the theatrical versions so interesting to know. However, I stand by my original point. In the theatrical version the Hobbits are given seemingly mundane swords which kinda sucks from a lore perspective.

[@MatthewJohnson-ex3hi]

i'd say a pretty solid answer regarding what for me has been a perplexing question. thanks.

[@93kis]

One of my favourite stories is the story of the barrow wright swords and how such an ancient and seemingly benign things plays such a pivotal role in the greater story. Tolkien was a mastermind story crafter

[@christopherwitt9062]

In the Music of the Ainur, Iluvitsr says, “And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.’” This is an echo of that…even though the Witch-King was trying to foil Iluvitar’s plan, he ended up moving the plan forward to his own demise. A great, yet subtle, echo.

[@xJarlaxle]

What happened to the LOTR playlist that was linked at the end of videos before "the Maesters' MasterPlan" came out? I can't seem to find the playlist

[@martavdz4972]

Yeah, more comments here saying the same. No answer so far.

[@killtie15]

Myself, I was always leaning towards the opinion that that particular wight WAS the last prince of Cardolan. It would be typical of the Witchking, this kind of merciless mockery and cruelty towards someone defeated. That's why Merry was relieving his memories upto and including "own" murder, that's why dressing up as princes and all the jewelry. Rings are coincidental here I feel, simply part of that typical royal attire. Perhaps it was hoping to create companions, perhaps it was hoping to ingest a little bit life force - bits of warmth and new memories to relieve the pain and the cold however briefly, perhaps trying to somehow placate the Darkness and be allowed to rest.

[@codehaunta9878]

Thanks as always for the upload!

[@gwade777]

Excellent, as always Robert!

[@Cosper79]

Best Tolkien content on KZbin!

[@Gbelk]

@8:55 not sure the still from fellowship where Aragorn unceremoniously dumps a pile of disparate shabby weapons on the ground for the hobbits to use at weathertop is the best image to use while describing the blades Tom Bombadil gave to the the hobbits from the Barrow.

[@kjetilhansen5363]

The barrow-wights seem to be heavily based on the draugar found in Norse sagas, who are basically undead guardians of burial cairns.

[@B.D.F.]

As much as I love the Peter Jackson trilogy I don’t feel like I’ll ever read the books, which is why I’m so grateful for a channel like this to exist. Thumbs up and watch until the end every time so you get as much of my Premium subscription as possible.

[@LeeBrasher]

Read the books!

[@davideberhardt6150]

The books are absolutely perfect for the winter months ... get comfy, have some hot chocolate or tea near, and read 'em. It's a very special kind of escapism, I do it every couple years.

[@jaredwalley5692]

I absolutely love these lore videos. Great job, Robert.

[@katelynlawrence9034]

Been waiting for a video on this !! Thank you

[@sargonixofur1234]

Tom is such a great character and a great ally to have. He is a little bit of joy in the world. He might get on your nerves after a while though.

[@SEAKPhotog]

That was great. Thanks!

[@mandreadfg]

Got to see these boys in action last night. Pretty cool

[@richardaproche]

A few thousand years early though, right? There should have been nothing scary about the place at that time 3:13

[@karim1387]

@@richardaproche That thought distracted me while watching too

[@DisFantasy]

My issue was that Elves should have no problem with these things whatsoever.

[@whitmerule2753]

And the Witch-king destroyed another of those four swords, not just Merry's: he broke Frodo's at the ford, with a word of command. We don't know if he could have done that to any weapon, or if it was easier (or harder) for him to do it to one of those particular blades. Either way, it's an interesting little set-up for the later significance of Merry's blade.

[@thelonesomefisherman7425]

There's another lesson about life that this story tells, and Gandalf alludes to when he says, "Not even the very wise can see all ends." The lesson is that the things we do and say today can have far-reaching consequences into the future, even so far as to affect generations yet unborn.

[@CloneShockTrooper]

Thank you for this video

[@rockadoodoo]

That is some great story weaving, by both Tolkien and by you. Well done.

[@stefanbalmus1659]

Any speculations regarding whom the brooch mentioned at 5:20 belonged to?

[@charleslampman6971]

I appreciate your storytelling, always❤

[@hjsimmer1742]

This is so interesting. I have yet to attempt the books. So my only experience with the barrow downs and the wights is in The Lord of the Rings Online. Loved that game!

[@Slim_Ch4rles]

This man is so good at presenting i can listen for hours

[@Stathio]

My Dad read me the entirety of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings piece by piece as a bedtime story when I was old enough to appreciate it, over years, or at least what seemed like it to me. I remember the part with the Barrow-Wights the most out of almost all of LotR- my recall of the details may be hazy, but the feeling of it I remember well. Having played it at a similar time to this, I likened the Barrow-Wights to the infamous Dead Hand from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time- in my mind, the description of them from the book fit them exactly, especially the cold, hard grip of their hands. I wonder if they were inspired by Tolkien's Barrow-Wights? I like to think they might have been, whether or not that is actually the case.

[@jsa-z1722]

Brilliant video. Thank you 🙏