Thranduil has golden hair, as described in The Hobbit: "at the head of a long line of feasters sat a woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair" - so it's not unreasonable to assume Legolas has inherited that hair from his father. But it could also be that his mother had dark hair and that Legolas comes after her when it comes to hair colour, so I think both versions are justified. 🙂
Extremely underrated RUclips channel, keep up the amazing content! I’ve seen no one else that goes into the metaphysics and theology of Tolkien as well as you, and it’s opened up a whole new level of appreciation for me!
Personally, I actually imagine Sam as a short, sturdy hobbit, with brownish skin, ruddy cheeks, freckles and reddish hair. In fact, it is said that one of his daughters, Elanor “The Beautiful,” had reddish-blonde hair, and the name of another of Sam's daughters, Ruby, could indicate that this daughter had red hair. The name Robin could also indicate that this son had red hair.
Legolas does mention that Gollum learned the trick of hanging on to tree branches with his feet when they would try to get him to come down during the times they brought him outside to let him have clean air in the attempt to cure him.
The armour Gimli, Boromir, and Aragorn often wear is a mix of brigantine and gambison. Gambison is knitted fabrics and is very often what we see people wearing in fantasy movies. These were very popular in the middle ages as they provided middling protection while allowing full unimpeded movement. Go see Shadiversity for more info.
@@anti-liberalismo Beard or no beard, he’s friggin beautiful. I actually prefer less hair on his face because at the end of ROTK, his beard was more full, and I like the stubble better.
Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo, mellon! I absolutely love Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings. Whenever I read the books I always picture Aragorn as he is portrayed in Bakshi's movie. That being said, I would just like to say that I love this channel, and that you're doing a great job; keep up the good work! :D
32:37 Life likes to evolve. When you're a creature who's been living in a rocky and snowy mountain for 500 years you're body is going change to suit said mountain/environment better.
I am curious if you know where the tradition of elves having pointed ears comes from? It's not stated officially in the text (unless it's in a letter I am unaware of), but it seems consistent across the artwork for a very long time. It is stated in The Fall of Gondolin that human and elf children are visually indistinguishable which suggests elf children don't have visibly pointed ears.
I know there’s a hint of it buried somewhere either in his letters or the History of Middle-Earth series, but if memory serves it’s a hint, not a direct statement.
I recall a letter from Tolkien saying the elves' ears were "leaf-like," by which I presume he meant slightly pointed, and not, y'know, oak leaves or palm fronds.
Going by the letter description of leaflike and comparing to the human (and presumably Hobbit) upside down egg shape, the image I get is of larger, longer, ears with the _lobes_ pointed.
There isn't much description of Gimli, but there are descriptions of the dwarves in The Hobbit, when Bilbo first meets them. They seem to be a colourful bunch. They have silver or gold belts, which they can tuck their beards into. All wear detachable party hoods - dark green, scarlet, blue, grey, brown, purple, yellow and sky blue with a long silver tassel. Dwalin has a blue beard, his brother Balin has a white beard. Fill and Kili have yellow beards. So I imagine they looked like a bunch of lawn ornaments, at least at parties.
Gimli does not wear a helmet in the book until the defence of Helm's deep where he aquires one, and a fairly serious wound to his head I think I remember.
@@kimpurcell8851 I reckon he must not have been decked out in anything remarkable in appearance. He spent a lot of time in close proximity to Eomer (also not in the movie), including saving Eomer's life on the causeway by killing two orcs that were playing dead. In the intense attack by Aragorn and Eomer, Gimli was hardly noticed.
We had the Sexy Gandalf trend, now we need Jacked Gandalf. I'm personally of the opinion that Boromir's appearance suffers most in adaptation. On the one hand, yes, you really just need a tallish good-looking human with non-blond hair to be in the right ballpark, but on the other hand, he's supposed to be a very commanding presence, like Aragorn and yet unlike, toeing the line between sophisticated noble and rugged wayfarer. A Turin-esque figure, as you've pointed out. And since he's only around for a few chapters' worth of story, you really can't miss any chance to communicate something of his nature to the audience. But no, instead of something like this we get a sassy redhead and an operahouse viking. Re: Gollum, it sounds like you also are still dealing with the emotional fallout of enduring 3+ hours of the ever-present threat of a CGI wardrobe malfunction. Thank goodness Tolkien specified that he was clothed. There are some mysteries that ought not be explored.
I feel like Arwen's dark hair is pretty important because she's supposed to resemble Luthien. Talking about dwarves and elves, it's interesting that Norse mythology is really, really scant on physical descriptions of the dvergar and álfar they're loosely based on. One dvergr (in Álvismál) is described as 'corpse pale,' and then there are descriptions of 'light elves' and 'dark elves,' but this may have nothing to do with their appearance. The dvergar are not even described as being short!
The earliest differencing I've seen comes across more like job descriptions: dvergar were makers, miners, builders; alfar were artists, singers, players. In elemental terms the dwarves were earth and fire, elves were water and air, solid vs fluid, etc. Not 100% obviously but you get the idea.
I always thought Legolas is blond because his father, Thranduil, is specifically stated to have golden hair in The Hobbit. And it always buffeled me where did that came from. Is there some unaccounted Vaniar in his heritage or how did this happend? Anyway, thanks for the video! 👍
The fairy feast (where we meet Thranduil) was a powerful motif for Tolkien. He used it again in the feast with Gildor. Out-of-universe it might come from a dedicatory poem which Andrew Lang wrote for a limited edition of 'The Blue Fairy Book', To Elspeth Angela Campbell. Tolkien references this in drafts for On Fairy-stories:: And you once more may voyage through The forests that of old we knew... And sit at feast with fairy kings And taste their wine, ere all be done Ay of that feast shall tales be told The marvels of that world of gold Fairy king, gold hair?
I suspect there will be some rare blondies among all of the kindreds, but perhaps it's more straw colored, whereas the Vanyar have a very distinct brilliant gold.
_"And it always buffeled me where did that came from."_ Technically, when Tolkien wrote the passage, he had not decided that only the Vanyar and those with Vanyarin descent were blond (which leads into a couple of inconsistancies in LotR as well).
A great overview, as always :) When popular images blend in one's mind, it's good to remember what is actually known. Maybe I'll throw in the Witch King in the battle of the Pelennor fields too,
"Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir, little less in height, was broader and heavier in build." - The Ring Goes South "Gandalf even bent must have been at least 5 ft. 6 . . . Which would make him a short man even in modern England, especially with the reduction of a bent back." from Tolkien's letter regarding Pauline Baynes' artwork
This was interesting stuff, i have always had a strong picture of gandalf in my mind, less so with the others. Probably the best person description he wrote is gandalfs introduction in the Hobbit. thanks and keep up the good work.
22:15 Jackson's Fellowship Gimli appears to wear mail on his sleeve and some plated shoulder defence. Both of fantastical construction methods. If I were to guess, I'd assume they intended a long sleeve mail shirt. The shoulder plate is weird. It could be part of some early coat of plates that were historically hidden underneath a surcoat. Why Jackson's Legolas wears knives on his back instead of his belt like a normal person? I don't know, for comedic value? 😂
Regarding Gollum's prehensile feet it could be something he developed over the hundreds of years he was living in exile. There are people who've lost or were born without arms/hands who paint using their feet and can even grasp objects, something most of us can't do. I've even heard of guitarists who have longer fingers on one hand from using the fretboard.
I didn’t realize that Gollum wears clothes, until you pointed it out. Up until now, I’ve always assumed that Gollum kept the ring in his pocket meant he wore a little leather drawstring pouch. But him wearing clothes makes a lot more sense. Guess I just wasn’t paying much attention to descriptions. About the frog thing, I think it’s the ring.
Peter Jackson movies really failed to put enough hair on the hobbits feet. In the book some phrases give a clue: - Wooly footed - Brush up my toes These indicate thick fur-like feet, not just hairy like some men IRL.
Yes, Cirdan has a long beard in the Lord of the Rings because he was already in the third stage there. Mathan, father of Nerdanel, strangely enough, already had a beard in his second year. According to Tolkien he was an exception.
Humans can have prehensile feet, so not the biggest stretch to Gollum having them. Personally, though without a great deal of evidence, I always see the form we know him in being a corruption of his natural body, skills and personality, as the ring warps him, giving him "power" appropriate to his wants and needs, as base, selfish and limited as they are.
The description of Frodo - "Taller than some, and fairer than most" - I had always interpreted 'fairer' to mean good-looking, like the way the Elves are fair, not as in lighter skin tone and hair. I do believe Frodo was supposed to have finer and more noble features than most Hobbits, but I don't have the exact quote at the moment.
@@TolkienLorePodcast Yes, but starting to develop a bit of middle-aged spread! When he sees his reflection in the mirror upon awakening at Rivendell he is startled to see a much thinner reflection of himself, one that looks again like the young nephew of Bilbo who used to go hiking in the Shire. Frodo received the Ring when he was 33, which is probably the hobbits' equivalent of about 25 for a human. When he set out from Hobbiton he was fifty, which would normally be about the hobbits' equivalent of thirty-five - but he looked much younger, even if not quite as unchanged as a few characters remark.
@@brettevill9055 "he was 33, which is probably the hobbits' equivalent of about 25 for a human": more like 21, since 33 is the coming of age for hobbits, and at Tolkien's time the coming of age was at 21 years old.
This was great. It’s always shocking to me how different the lore accurate versions of the characters are from their film portrayals. I really wish Jackson, Bakshi, and Rankin Jr./Bass had been more careful and got all the little details right. As it is, they are inconsistent with each other and with what Tolkien wrote. I still enjoy all the movies, but think how much better they would be if they had gotten these characters exactly right.
I think one has to note on Gandalf's height that he at least had the ability to appear much larger than he was, if not actually gain in size. We know he does this to scare Bilbo early on, and I think he's explicitly said to some other times but I can't really remember, but it would further be fair I think to assume that when facing the Balrog he would seem his tallest and most imposing.
Huh. I knew about most of the other details, but I didn’t know that Boromir wasn’t supposed to be scruffy with facial hair. It’s interesting trying to imagine Gandalf as shorter than everyone else except Gimli and the hobbits, with how much of an imposing figure he is. Much as I love the film visual portrayals, I would like a better idea as to what they were supposed to look like from the books.
I know Tolkien says nothing about it, but I have wondered if Gollum's webbed, prehensile feet weren't an adaptation to living mostly in that lake for centuries. Owning the Ring is established as making physical - even metaphysical - changes in the owner, so maybe the Ring slowly adapted Gollum to his environment. Pure speculation, of course.
Head-canon is great, but it's worth noting that when Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, he hadn't really taken great pains to connect that world to his greater mythology, and neither the character of Gollum nor the One Ring existed as a part of that mythology. Gollum was just some odd fantastical character who lived in a lake in a cave for no known reason, and he could have been seen as perhaps part of a cave-lake-dwelling species, naturally adapted to water. It was only in LOTR that Gollum needed to be a changed creature, having come from a Stoor, and it was only then that the One Ring was retconned to be the most powerful magical object in Middle Earth. Before, it was just a magic ring that turned its wearer invisible.
That is what Tolkien suggest (in a late (1970) writing): "Gollum was according to Gandalf one of a riverside hobbit people-and therefore in origin a member of a small variety of the human race, although he had become deformed during his long inhabiting of the dark lake. His long hands are therefore more or less right. Not his feet. They are exaggerated. They are described as webby (Hobbit 88), like a swan’s (I 398), but had prehensile toes (II 219)." NoMe, Descriptions of Characters
As someone who sifts through a lot of artwork to find pieces for my audiobook recordings, I can tell you a lot of artists just don't care to abide by the descriptions of the things they are drawing. I've seen pictures drawn of a thing where the artist includes the description of the thing they are depicting alongside their artwork, and yet their artwork does not reflect the description they themselves included. It boggles my mind. A lot of the art is beautiful for what it is, but what it is is not what is described. This was particularly frustrating for my Lovecraft recordings. I don't know why artists have so much trouble sticking to what is explicitly described, but it's a universal problem among artists.
So indian aragron is fine from bashki but Frodo's hair is slightly to dark in pj? Frodo does have brown hair, it just looks darker in the movies because the rest of the actors have super light orangey- yellow wigs.
@@silentasher2390 "...a shaggy head of dark hair flecked with grey, and in a pale stern face a pair of keen grey eyes." At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
In the escape from Caradhras Boromir is described as being shorter than Aragorn but stockier in build, by which I assume he means Boromir is more muscular than Aragorn. Aragorn should have a craggy face that is not particularly handsome.
Aragorn is described as “fair and noble” when he was younger, and when Galadriel dresses him up, he looks more like an Elven-lord than a Man (The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen). Sure he's described as grim and stern when Frodo meets him at the Prancing Pony, but he has been out in the wilderness and wasn't trying to impress the hobbits by looking glamorous.
Despite loving the movies since I was 12, I read the books for the first time around my birthday in 2021 and I decided I was going to try and seek out all the differences between the books and the movies and absorbed the descriptions of everyone and every place to the best of my ability. I do remember noting no beards. I also remember them saying the Dunedain having tanned skin (at Bree I believe). I remember being frustrated with the lack of description for not only Legolas but Elrond in either of his appearances and being bewildered that not a single elf was described with pointed ears. This lack of pointed ears is brought to a head when Eomer tells the hunters he had initially mistaken Legolas for one of the Rohirrim, (is that where we get the blonde from?) which we would think the ears would always be a dead give away. I also remember somewhere that Gimli wore a green cap because upon reading it I was like "oh yeah Bakshi's had a green cap." Which makes sense because Thorin and company all wore their different colored caps. =) Feel free to correct me. Trying to recall all this from memory.
Hey there! Tolkien later described the elves ears as 'leaf shaped' when he remarked on the similarities between the elf words for 'ear' and 'leaf' which both stem from the same root word lassë in Quenya. He also described Hobbit ears as 'slightly pointed and elvish' and drew his hobbits with pointed ears, leading us to believe elves would also have pointed ears. As elves probably just wore their hair loose, Legolas' ears could easily be covered by his hair :) The blond for Legolas comes from his father Thranduil, who in the Hobbit was described as having a crown of leaves upon his golden hair ^_^
@@Vexarax Well I can honestly say I've never been more happy to be corrected. The Quenya etymology bit is exactly why we are all here in the first place. Tolkien is just the coolest.
_"I also remember them saying the Dunedain having tanned skin (at Bree I believe)."_ The Dunedain are described as pale: "As Frodo drew near he threw back his hood, showing a shaggy head of dark hair flecked with grey, and in a pale stern face a pair of keen grey eyes. ‘I am called Strider...". At the Sign of the Prancing Pony "They took off their masks now and again to cool them, as the day-heat grew, and Frodo saw that they were goodly men, pale-skinned, dark of hair, with grey eyes and faces sad and proud." Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit Regarding pointed ears,as Vexarax notes, Tolkien does write in one place that Elven ears are more pointed than human. Thiis is in the (pre-LotR) Etymologies. Post LotR in Words, Phrases and Passages, however, he does not say that when noting the etymology of lasse and las. I don't recall Gimli ever being said to wear a green cap. It sounds like some confusion from this passage: "But he [Gimli] chose a cap of iron and leather that fitted well upon his round head; and a small shield he also took. It bore the running horse, white upon green, that was the emblem of the House of Eorl." King of the Golden Hall (Though not stated in LotR, Gimli wore white).
Dwarfs are defined as both stout and sturdy, what I see as really broad-shouldered with a massive arms and hands, being smiths and miners, not the bunch of weedy wandering Roma as in The Hobbit trilogy.
I would have liked to see pictures of how they were portrayed for those of us who have not seen all the movies - and maybe even sketches what they should have looked like, especially the hobbits
Have you seen Bryan Seeker he does recastings and did recastings with Lord of the Rings Hobbits, fellowship, elves, humans, villains, others. Anyways his choices for the fellowship was: James McAvoy as Frodo Dean-Charles Chapman as Sam Ben Schnetzer as Merry Craig Roberts as Pippin Tom Hollander as Bilbo Liam Neeson as Gandalf Brendan Gleeson as Gimli Ben Barnes as Legolas Michael Fassbender as Aragorn Liev Schreiber as Boramir Was wondering your thoughts on his casting and if you would do a video of who you would cast in Lord of the Rings which it'd be a fun video since you did this one to compare the books to movie characters. Your list of actors would be interesting. Again your videos are educational.
@@TolkienLorePodcast I just said "assumed." But I only commented b/c the father of Legolas - who was specifically noted to have golden hair - wasn't mentioned at all.
I always assumed Sam's description of being short and brown-skinned was a reference to him being mostly a Harfoot as opposed to Frodo, Merry, and Pippin who had more of a Stoorish or Fallohide strain.
If Gollum has a full set of clothes, that's not only unlike any movie depiction, it's also unlike all drawings and paintings I've ever seen where he's always had some amount of loin cloth or else been stark naked, which is easy to rationalize as a cave dwelling loner (plus it lets us fully see his sunken physique and mistreatment). I've just thought his loin cloth somehow has a pocket built into it, even Jackson's Hobbit alludes to this. So it's is a public perception that's overrode the book for a _long_ time and unlikely to be corrected. It makes me wonder if he'd be warm enough - maybe his physical trasformation that made him more frog and ape like also changed how his body regulates heat. I've wondered if this was an unmentioned ability of the ring to adapt your body over time - perhaps it also gives him vitamin D supplements to keep his bones strong. :D
In fact, there are four pictures made by J.R.R. Tolkien himself (although two of them are just sketches) that show us that dwarves wear pointed hats. On this one where I know it sounds strange but we live in a “different time” today than Tolkien did. Accordingly, it should also be taken into account that the author (1892 - 1973) has been dead for more than 51 years. This tells us clearly (and I wonder if there is anyone out there who would dispute this) that his works and therefore the world (whose first origins date back to 1915 - most likely even earlier) are already old and very accomplished . But such a fact raises many questions. One of them and probably the most comprehensive: Could the world as the author foresaw it be a completely different and far larger and more powerful world than we believed for decades?
This was interesting, and fun. I disagree totally with the (frankly, absurd) notion that every single detail is equally important in adapting a work, especially from a literary medium (i.e. one which involves reading) and a dramatic one (one involving watching and listening). How many knives should Legolas carry? Pretty irrelevant. Exactly how tall everyone is? Almost totally irrelevant.
Yes, I agree with you, but I don't think (especially with all the effort Tolkien put in throughout his life) that it was unimportant to him. If it's just a film, a kind of theater, then I'll follow you. However, Tolkien's world can hardly be compared with today's fantasy novel that is purely intended for literary pleasure. You first have to understand this world to realize what a miracle Tolkien really created there. It is truly as if the world could really exist out there, but those who do not consider its indescribable depth and its true indescribable and unimaginable diversity and beauty important do not understand this. Personally, I think the most important thing is to pay attention to every tiny detail, be it the hair texture, the slightest differences in eye colors, the sizes, the exact skin tone and much more. Even if it proves impossible for the screen. In fact, it is also very important to know the exact meanings of the many names of the characters. In many old versions Glorfindel is called “locks of hair” or “locks of gold”. This is interesting because Inwe also had golden curls.
actually starvation victims will often get swollen bellies because their digestive systems stops working properly when you have long term undernutrition.
Gollum eats fairly well, though he complains otherwise, and maybe less often when sneaking around Mordor. His sunken look is more an effect of owning the ring - "stretched thin" as Bilbo puts it.
@@TolkienLorePodcast I mean Gimli is short but come on man ;p haha happens time to time i was still having a coffee and had to replay it a few times to make sure i caught that right
I view Middle earth through the lens of Rankin Bass. There was a beauty in the landscape and backrounds that I feel Peter Jackson failed to capture. Also Rankin Bass Gandalf is The Man. The only Gandalf for me.
There are pictures painted by Tolkien himself. Gandalf and Bilbo can be seen on these. In these pictures, Bilbo has brown hair (not dark brown), pale skin, red cheeks, and is fat. Gandalf looks as he is described, especially in the picture of him raising his staff in the air to petrify the trolls. He looks much more powerful, magical and alive than in the films. He seems far more characteristic, but in a special way, as if only he could seem so unique and great in this way.
How tall was the average human in the Third Age? The world portrayed is like our Middle Ages, and 5' 6" wasn't really below average at that time in history.
The main hobbits are all way too skinny, I understand that Hollywood doesn't want 4 9f your main characters to be chubby or fat, but they should've started out chubbier and ended up all much thinner after their journey. Great video, have a great day everyone
The irregularities in Golems(Gollum) physique I always attributed to a run-in with a wizard that physically altered his looks from a Hobbit. If you remember when Sam was eavesdropping and caught by Gandalf Sam begged Frodo not to let the wizard turn him into anything unnatural. So I assume that they were legends of wizards floating around about polymorphing. Also this is consistent with the account in Roverandom.
I think the only thing Peter Jackson got wrong with Boromir is the hair color. In The Nature of Middle Earth, Tolkien wrote that he never imagined Denethor, Aragorn, and Imrahil, and Faramir with beards, but mentions nothing about Boromir not having a beard (which would suggest that he did have a beard). Also, while Numenorean blood ran true in Denethor and Faramir, it did not in Boromir. Where did you get that Boromir was not supposed to have a beard?
I wanna see the LOTR special edition that’s exactly the same as the Peter Jackson extended editions, but Gandalf has comically ginormous eyebrows. Just, like, distractingly bushy. Like he’s smuggling a sheepdog puppy in his hat.
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius From the books. Try rereading them paying attention to the descriptions of Sam. Tolkien *never* calls Sam "fat." Gollum never calls Sam "fat." Alone among the four, his job was manual labor. And by the end of the quest, both Frodo and Sam were thin.
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius Maybe not quite as fat??? "Sam was now struck most by the leanness of his face and hands. 'Too thin and drawn he is,' he muttered." "When Frodo was asleep Sam bent over him and listened to his breathing and scanned his face. It was lined and thin", "As for himself, though weary and under a shadow of fear, he still had some strength left. The lembas had a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam's mind was filled with the memories of food, and the longing for simple bread and meats." 'Don't be a fool, Sam Gamgee,' came an answer in his own voice. 'He won't go another day like that, if he moves at all. And you can't go on much longer giving him all the water and most of the food.'
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius I was specific about them being thin at the end of the quest. Try reading closer. Also, Sam, in particular is thought of as fat. Look at the casting for the movies. Yet there's nothing in the books to back that up.
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius That explains a lot. I've read LotR more times than the years you've been alive. Here's a hint for you if you get into this fandom. There are people who've been in it for decades. Four decades for me. And there are plenty who've been in it longer than that. We know the books better than you. And we don't confuse the books with the movies.
Lol. Well there are larger deviations. Tolkien would have absolutely hated the very strange idea of an elf falling in love with a dwarf. It goes against their cultures behavior and ideologies and is an insult to the perspectives Tolkien held. Eowyn and Galadriel were tall noble warriors and their treatment in Jackson's movies relate more to the strong male weak female dynamic in the now deteriorating patriarchy.
When I read the books, I think the Hildebrandt paintings of the late 70's
Thranduil has golden hair, as described in The Hobbit: "at the head of a long line of feasters sat a woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair" - so it's not unreasonable to assume Legolas has inherited that hair from his father. But it could also be that his mother had dark hair and that Legolas comes after her when it comes to hair colour, so I think both versions are justified. 🙂
The thing is. Teleri Elves' hair is described as silver white, dark hair is typical - and maybe exclusive for - Noldor
Extremely underrated RUclips channel, keep up the amazing content! I’ve seen no one else that goes into the metaphysics and theology of Tolkien as well as you, and it’s opened up a whole new level of appreciation for me!
In that case try Tolkien channel 'The Red Book'.
Definitely! He puts out some great stuff.
I'm hooked
Everyone knows Legolas walked around in orange crocks.
Personally, I actually imagine Sam as a short, sturdy hobbit, with brownish skin, ruddy cheeks, freckles and reddish hair. In fact, it is said that one of his daughters, Elanor “The Beautiful,” had reddish-blonde hair, and the name of another of Sam's daughters, Ruby, could indicate that this daughter had red hair. The name Robin could also indicate that this son had red hair.
Legolas does mention that Gollum learned the trick of hanging on to tree branches with his feet when they would try to get him to come down during the times they brought him outside to let him have clean air in the attempt to cure him.
The armour Gimli, Boromir, and Aragorn often wear is a mix of brigantine and gambison. Gambison is knitted fabrics and is very often what we see people wearing in fantasy movies. These were very popular in the middle ages as they provided middling protection while allowing full unimpeded movement. Go see Shadiversity for more info.
Aragorns hair was long, when they passed the Argonath Tolkien said Aragorn's hair flowed in the wind
That gave me a stunning mental image.
@@AshleighBaggins yup, it was beautiful black hair, and he also didn't have no beard
@@anti-liberalismo
Beard or no beard, he’s friggin beautiful. I actually prefer less hair on his face because at the end of ROTK, his beard was more full, and I like the stubble better.
Gandalf would've been seen from below by the hobbits who penned the Red Book, which may have exaggerated the appearance his eyebrows somewhat.
Pippin's hair is "almost golden" (HOME IX, p.115.).
Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo, mellon! I absolutely love Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings. Whenever I read the books I always picture Aragorn as he is portrayed in Bakshi's movie. That being said, I would just like to say that I love this channel, and that you're doing a great job; keep up the good work! :D
32:37 Life likes to evolve. When you're a creature who's been living in a rocky and snowy mountain for 500 years you're body is going change to suit said mountain/environment better.
I am curious if you know where the tradition of elves having pointed ears comes from? It's not stated officially in the text (unless it's in a letter I am unaware of), but it seems consistent across the artwork for a very long time. It is stated in The Fall of Gondolin that human and elf children are visually indistinguishable which suggests elf children don't have visibly pointed ears.
I know there’s a hint of it buried somewhere either in his letters or the History of Middle-Earth series, but if memory serves it’s a hint, not a direct statement.
I recall a letter from Tolkien saying the elves' ears were "leaf-like," by which I presume he meant slightly pointed, and not, y'know, oak leaves or palm fronds.
@Earl Wajenberg That's a great point - the leaf of which tree? Scholars, get on it please.
Going by the letter description of leaflike and comparing to the human (and presumably Hobbit) upside down egg shape, the image I get is of larger, longer, ears with the _lobes_ pointed.
It's in a letter. He mentions that Hobbit ears are less pointed than Elf ears.
31:37 Do you think Puddleglum is a physical twin and moral reverse of Gollum, in CSL's intention?
I’d never made that connection; I’d have to think about it.
Great video. Love the comparisons between all the versions.
There isn't much description of Gimli, but there are descriptions of the dwarves in The Hobbit, when Bilbo first meets them. They seem to be a colourful bunch. They have silver or gold belts, which they can tuck their beards into. All wear detachable party hoods - dark green, scarlet, blue, grey, brown, purple, yellow and sky blue with a long silver tassel. Dwalin has a blue beard, his brother Balin has a white beard. Fill and Kili have yellow beards. So I imagine they looked like a bunch of lawn ornaments, at least at parties.
Gimli does not wear a helmet in the book until the defence of Helm's deep where he aquires one, and a fairly serious wound to his head I think I remember.
@@treebeardtheent2200 Gimli also refers to it as a "cap" so I would assume that it was a cervelliere, a simple iron skull cap.
@@kimpurcell8851 I reckon he must not have been decked out in anything remarkable in appearance. He spent a lot of time in close proximity to Eomer (also not in the movie), including saving Eomer's life on the causeway by killing two orcs that were playing dead. In the intense attack by Aragorn and Eomer, Gimli was hardly noticed.
It is said in whispers that if you shaved Gandalf's eyebrows, he would lose all his powers...
I'm imagining Sam now wearing a sort of tudor bonnet, I could see that suiting him!
We had the Sexy Gandalf trend, now we need Jacked Gandalf.
I'm personally of the opinion that Boromir's appearance suffers most in adaptation. On the one hand, yes, you really just need a tallish good-looking human with non-blond hair to be in the right ballpark, but on the other hand, he's supposed to be a very commanding presence, like Aragorn and yet unlike, toeing the line between sophisticated noble and rugged wayfarer. A Turin-esque figure, as you've pointed out. And since he's only around for a few chapters' worth of story, you really can't miss any chance to communicate something of his nature to the audience. But no, instead of something like this we get a sassy redhead and an operahouse viking.
Re: Gollum, it sounds like you also are still dealing with the emotional fallout of enduring 3+ hours of the ever-present threat of a CGI wardrobe malfunction. Thank goodness Tolkien specified that he was clothed. There are some mysteries that ought not be explored.
_Hobitit_ has a Boromir who would make a great Beleg Cúthalion (Strongbow) or similar.
How is Sean Bean not exactly what you described? Like wtf
I feel like Arwen's dark hair is pretty important because she's supposed to resemble Luthien.
Talking about dwarves and elves, it's interesting that Norse mythology is really, really scant on physical descriptions of the dvergar and álfar they're loosely based on. One dvergr (in Álvismál) is described as 'corpse pale,' and then there are descriptions of 'light elves' and 'dark elves,' but this may have nothing to do with their appearance. The dvergar are not even described as being short!
The earliest differencing I've seen comes across more like job descriptions: dvergar were makers, miners, builders; alfar were artists, singers, players. In elemental terms the dwarves were earth and fire, elves were water and air, solid vs fluid, etc. Not 100% obviously but you get the idea.
This is an awesome compilation of character descriptions!
I love how you present Tolkien topics unlike all the other Tolkien RUclipsrs.
Gimli was wearing a hood in Moria, and I'm pretty sure he's described as having dark eyes.
I always thought Legolas is blond because his father, Thranduil, is specifically stated to have golden hair in The Hobbit. And it always buffeled me where did that came from. Is there some unaccounted Vaniar in his heritage or how did this happend?
Anyway, thanks for the video! 👍
The fairy feast (where we meet Thranduil) was a powerful motif for Tolkien. He used it again in the feast with Gildor. Out-of-universe it might come from a dedicatory poem which Andrew Lang wrote for a limited edition of 'The Blue Fairy Book', To Elspeth Angela Campbell. Tolkien references this in drafts for On Fairy-stories::
And you once more may voyage through
The forests that of old we knew...
And sit at feast with fairy kings
And taste their wine, ere all be done
Ay of that feast shall tales be told
The marvels of that world of gold
Fairy king, gold hair?
I suspect there will be some rare blondies among all of the kindreds, but perhaps it's more straw colored, whereas the Vanyar have a very distinct brilliant gold.
Few elves would kill for blond hair, but some would dye for it?
_"And it always buffeled me where did that came from."_
Technically, when Tolkien wrote the passage, he had not decided that only the Vanyar and those with Vanyarin descent were blond (which leads into a couple of inconsistancies in LotR as well).
Fascinating comparisons. If anyone has made a book-accurate costume for any of these characters, it would be nice to see.
A great overview, as always :)
When popular images blend in one's mind, it's good to remember what is actually known.
Maybe I'll throw in the Witch King in the battle of the Pelennor fields too,
I decided to start watching lotr videos again, anticipating the prime show, I came straight back to your channel! Love the content.
Great video! Commenting for Al Gore's rhythm
"Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir, little less in height, was broader and heavier in build." - The Ring Goes South
"Gandalf even bent must have been at least 5 ft. 6 . . . Which would make him a short man even in modern England, especially with the reduction of a bent back." from Tolkien's letter regarding Pauline Baynes' artwork
This was interesting stuff, i have always had a strong picture of gandalf in my mind, less so with the others. Probably the best person description he wrote is gandalfs introduction in the Hobbit. thanks and keep up the good work.
22:15 Jackson's Fellowship Gimli appears to wear mail on his sleeve and some plated shoulder defence. Both of fantastical construction methods.
If I were to guess, I'd assume they intended a long sleeve mail shirt. The shoulder plate is weird. It could be part of some early coat of plates that were historically hidden underneath a surcoat.
Why Jackson's Legolas wears knives on his back instead of his belt like a normal person? I don't know, for comedic value? 😂
There is a great drawing of Aragorn by Angus McBride that fits my bill 95%. Like a regal british typ, eye brows like John Cleese:)
Regarding Gollum's prehensile feet it could be something he developed over the hundreds of years he was living in exile. There are people who've lost or were born without arms/hands who paint using their feet and can even grasp objects, something most of us can't do. I've even heard of guitarists who have longer fingers on one hand from using the fretboard.
I think it might have been a change made subconsciously with the power of the Ring.
I didn’t realize that Gollum wears clothes, until you pointed it out. Up until now, I’ve always assumed that Gollum kept the ring in his pocket meant he wore a little leather drawstring pouch. But him wearing clothes makes a lot more sense. Guess I just wasn’t paying much attention to descriptions.
About the frog thing, I think it’s the ring.
Peter Jackson movies really failed to put enough hair on the hobbits feet. In the book some phrases give a clue:
- Wooly footed
- Brush up my toes
These indicate thick fur-like feet, not just hairy like some men IRL.
~11:00 But elves do have beards. Cirdan (the guy whose ring Gandalf got) is noted for having a luxurious one, in fact.
Yes, Cirdan has a long beard in the Lord of the Rings because he was already in the third stage there. Mathan, father of Nerdanel, strangely enough, already had a beard in his second year. According to Tolkien he was an exception.
Humans can have prehensile feet, so not the biggest stretch to Gollum having them. Personally, though without a great deal of evidence, I always see the form we know him in being a corruption of his natural body, skills and personality, as the ring warps him, giving him "power" appropriate to his wants and needs, as base, selfish and limited as they are.
Thorin in the movies actually reminds me a heck of a lot of Boromir as described in book
The description of Frodo - "Taller than some, and fairer than most" - I had always interpreted 'fairer' to mean good-looking, like the way the Elves are fair, not as in lighter skin tone and hair. I do believe Frodo was supposed to have finer and more noble features than most Hobbits, but I don't have the exact quote at the moment.
None but the brave deserve the fair.
He is also the oldest of them, about fifty or so.
True but likely looks as young as any of them due to “good preservation”. ;)
@@TolkienLorePodcast Yes, but starting to develop a bit of middle-aged spread! When he sees his reflection in the mirror upon awakening at Rivendell he is startled to see a much thinner reflection of himself, one that looks again like the young nephew of Bilbo who used to go hiking in the Shire.
Frodo received the Ring when he was 33, which is probably the hobbits' equivalent of about 25 for a human. When he set out from Hobbiton he was fifty, which would normally be about the hobbits' equivalent of thirty-five - but he looked much younger, even if not quite as unchanged as a few characters remark.
@@brettevill9055 "he was 33, which is probably the hobbits' equivalent of about 25 for a human": more like 21, since 33 is the coming of age for hobbits, and at Tolkien's time the coming of age was at 21 years old.
This was great. It’s always shocking to me how different the lore accurate versions of the characters are from their film portrayals. I really wish Jackson, Bakshi, and Rankin Jr./Bass had been more careful and got all the little details right. As it is, they are inconsistent with each other and with what Tolkien wrote. I still enjoy all the movies, but think how much better they would be if they had gotten these characters exactly right.
ha, "as tall as a young tree", I love the Professor's vagueries.
I think one has to note on Gandalf's height that he at least had the ability to appear much larger than he was, if not actually gain in size. We know he does this to scare Bilbo early on, and I think he's explicitly said to some other times but I can't really remember, but it would further be fair I think to assume that when facing the Balrog he would seem his tallest and most imposing.
No, I don't remember this being the case. Balrogs weren't huge.
Huh. I knew about most of the other details, but I didn’t know that Boromir wasn’t supposed to be scruffy with facial hair. It’s interesting trying to imagine Gandalf as shorter than everyone else except Gimli and the hobbits, with how much of an imposing figure he is. Much as I love the film visual portrayals, I would like a better idea as to what they were supposed to look like from the books.
are you sure Sams hands aren't just brown because he's a gardener who gets dirt on his hands?
Probably.
There is another member of the Fellowship not mentioned, Bill the Pony.
While we are on horses, Shadowfax was gray, not white.
Yeah, another fact no movie gets right.
@@TolkienLorePodcast I believe a truly white horse would be albino with red eyes.
A Gray that sometimes appeared more like silver.
McKellen is Gandalf, not only in costume, but in character portrayal. He nailed him.
With Legolas it can be assumed he has a knife as during the battle of Helm’s Deep they find him on the wall “whetting his long knife”.
I know Tolkien says nothing about it, but I have wondered if Gollum's webbed, prehensile feet weren't an adaptation to living mostly in that lake for centuries. Owning the Ring is established as making physical - even metaphysical - changes in the owner, so maybe the Ring slowly adapted Gollum to his environment. Pure speculation, of course.
Head-canon is great, but it's worth noting that when Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, he hadn't really taken great pains to connect that world to his greater mythology, and neither the character of Gollum nor the One Ring existed as a part of that mythology. Gollum was just some odd fantastical character who lived in a lake in a cave for no known reason, and he could have been seen as perhaps part of a cave-lake-dwelling species, naturally adapted to water. It was only in LOTR that Gollum needed to be a changed creature, having come from a Stoor, and it was only then that the One Ring was retconned to be the most powerful magical object in Middle Earth. Before, it was just a magic ring that turned its wearer invisible.
That is what Tolkien suggest (in a late (1970) writing):
"Gollum was according to Gandalf one of a riverside hobbit people-and therefore in origin a member of a small variety of the human race, although he had become deformed during his long inhabiting of the dark lake. His long hands are therefore more or less right. Not his feet. They are exaggerated. They are described as webby (Hobbit 88), like a swan’s (I 398), but had prehensile toes (II 219)."
NoMe, Descriptions of Characters
As someone who sifts through a lot of artwork to find pieces for my audiobook recordings, I can tell you a lot of artists just don't care to abide by the descriptions of the things they are drawing. I've seen pictures drawn of a thing where the artist includes the description of the thing they are depicting alongside their artwork, and yet their artwork does not reflect the description they themselves included. It boggles my mind. A lot of the art is beautiful for what it is, but what it is is not what is described. This was particularly frustrating for my Lovecraft recordings. I don't know why artists have so much trouble sticking to what is explicitly described, but it's a universal problem among artists.
I have prehensile toes. And I like sushi... maybe Im on a slippery slope.
How goes the transformation ? Have you had gollum cough yet ?
@@aumatomos7811 Ironically I have developed a cough.
5:34 I felt like I should not be seeing this part...
😂I’m really not sure how that managed to avoid the editing process….
So indian aragron is fine from bashki but Frodo's hair is slightly to dark in pj? Frodo does have brown hair, it just looks darker in the movies because the rest of the actors have super light orangey- yellow wigs.
Hey, Tolkien never tells us Aragorn is fair-skinned 😂
Is short-shorts Aragorn fine? Boromir's cow-horn helmet cracks me up, however.
Hmm I do seem to recall a passage saying that he was pale. Though I'd wager that could mean anything.
@@silentasher2390 "...a shaggy head of dark hair flecked with grey, and in a pale stern face a pair of keen grey eyes." At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
In the escape from Caradhras Boromir is described as being shorter than Aragorn but stockier in build, by which I assume he means Boromir is more muscular than Aragorn.
Aragorn should have a craggy face that is not particularly handsome.
Or Boromir has longer collarbones, wider rib cage, and a wider pelvis.
Aragorn is described as “fair and noble” when he was younger, and when Galadriel dresses him up, he looks more like an Elven-lord than a Man (The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen). Sure he's described as grim and stern when Frodo meets him at the Prancing Pony, but he has been out in the wilderness and wasn't trying to impress the hobbits by looking glamorous.
Starving people often have distended and swollen bellies.
In the Bakshi version Gimli is almost the same height as Legolas and Aragorn😂
Despite loving the movies since I was 12, I read the books for the first time around my birthday in 2021 and I decided I was going to try and seek out all the differences between the books and the movies and absorbed the descriptions of everyone and every place to the best of my ability. I do remember noting no beards. I also remember them saying the Dunedain having tanned skin (at Bree I believe). I remember being frustrated with the lack of description for not only Legolas but Elrond in either of his appearances and being bewildered that not a single elf was described with pointed ears. This lack of pointed ears is brought to a head when Eomer tells the hunters he had initially mistaken Legolas for one of the Rohirrim, (is that where we get the blonde from?) which we would think the ears would always be a dead give away. I also remember somewhere that Gimli wore a green cap because upon reading it I was like "oh yeah Bakshi's had a green cap." Which makes sense because Thorin and company all wore their different colored caps. =)
Feel free to correct me. Trying to recall all this from memory.
Hey there! Tolkien later described the elves ears as 'leaf shaped' when he remarked on the similarities between the elf words for 'ear' and 'leaf' which both stem from the same root word lassë in Quenya. He also described Hobbit ears as 'slightly pointed and elvish' and drew his hobbits with pointed ears, leading us to believe elves would also have pointed ears. As elves probably just wore their hair loose, Legolas' ears could easily be covered by his hair :) The blond for Legolas comes from his father Thranduil, who in the Hobbit was described as having a crown of leaves upon his golden hair ^_^
@@Vexarax Well I can honestly say I've never been more happy to be corrected. The Quenya etymology bit is exactly why we are all here in the first place. Tolkien is just the coolest.
_"I also remember them saying the Dunedain having tanned skin (at Bree I believe)."_
The Dunedain are described as pale:
"As Frodo drew near he threw back his hood, showing a shaggy head of dark hair flecked with grey, and in a pale stern face a pair of keen grey eyes.
‘I am called Strider...".
At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
"They took off their masks now and again to cool them, as the day-heat grew, and Frodo saw that they were goodly men, pale-skinned, dark of hair, with grey eyes and faces sad and proud."
Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Regarding pointed ears,as Vexarax notes, Tolkien does write in one place that Elven ears are more pointed than human. Thiis is in the (pre-LotR) Etymologies. Post LotR in Words, Phrases and Passages, however, he does not say that when noting the etymology of lasse and las.
I don't recall Gimli ever being said to wear a green cap. It sounds like some confusion from this passage:
"But he [Gimli] chose a cap of iron and leather that fitted well upon his round head; and a small shield he also took. It bore the running horse, white upon green, that was the emblem of the House of Eorl."
King of the Golden Hall
(Though not stated in LotR, Gimli wore white).
Love your videos!!
Gimli probably wore a hood on his head, like the dwarves of the Hobbit.
He definitely did not wear a helmet when the fellowship left Rivendell.
Dwarfs are defined as both stout and sturdy, what I see as really broad-shouldered with a massive arms and hands, being smiths and miners, not the bunch of weedy wandering Roma as in The Hobbit trilogy.
I would have liked to see pictures of how they were portrayed for those of us who have not seen all the movies - and maybe even sketches what they should have looked like, especially the hobbits
I wanted to do that but I just didn’t have the time for all that editing, unfortunately.
Nice video. What about characters in Rohan?
Love you content🤘
Have you seen Bryan Seeker he does recastings and did recastings with Lord of the Rings Hobbits, fellowship, elves, humans, villains, others. Anyways his choices for the fellowship was:
James McAvoy as Frodo
Dean-Charles Chapman as Sam
Ben Schnetzer as Merry
Craig Roberts as Pippin
Tom Hollander as Bilbo
Liam Neeson as Gandalf
Brendan Gleeson as Gimli
Ben Barnes as Legolas
Michael Fassbender as Aragorn
Liev Schreiber as Boramir
Was wondering your thoughts on his casting and if you would do a video of who you would cast in Lord of the Rings which it'd be a fun video since you did this one to compare the books to movie characters. Your list of actors would be interesting. Again your videos are educational.
Trouble is I’m way out of touch with pop culture so I’d be hard pressed to make a good list. I don’t even recognize 3 of the names you mentioned. 😂
i second guessed you on Sam's felt bag 'hat' and thereby stake my claim to geekhood!
Lol it’s definitely there in the text. No one ever seems to remember it though (including me!). 😅
Legolas is assumed to have golden hair b/c Thranduil is described to have golden hair in the Hobbit.
True but that’s not guarantee.
@@TolkienLorePodcast I just said "assumed." But I only commented b/c the father of Legolas - who was specifically noted to have golden hair - wasn't mentioned at all.
23:16 - Wouldn't Gimli have been wearing a hooded mantle with a ridiculously long tassle?
Well in fairness he wasn’t a vagabond setting out on a quest but rather a diplomat’s son but that would be a nice touch. 😂
@@TolkienLorePodcast I'd have presumed that the hooded mantle was standard gear for dwarves when on travel.
Certainly possible. You’d think it might have gotten a mention though given the connection.
Actually though he is said to cast his hood over his face after the escape from Moria.
Durin = Sleepy, so it is possible.
When The Rings of Power comes out you're going to have your work cut out for outlining the differences between Tolkien's works and that show.
That's a life long venture.
My guess is. .they will get little right.
😄
I always assumed Sam's description of being short and brown-skinned was a reference to him being mostly a Harfoot as opposed to Frodo, Merry, and Pippin who had more of a Stoorish or Fallohide strain.
If Gollum has a full set of clothes, that's not only unlike any movie depiction, it's also unlike all drawings and paintings I've ever seen where he's always had some amount of loin cloth or else been stark naked, which is easy to rationalize as a cave dwelling loner (plus it lets us fully see his sunken physique and mistreatment). I've just thought his loin cloth somehow has a pocket built into it, even Jackson's Hobbit alludes to this. So it's is a public perception that's overrode the book for a _long_ time and unlikely to be corrected.
It makes me wonder if he'd be warm enough - maybe his physical trasformation that made him more frog and ape like also changed how his body regulates heat. I've wondered if this was an unmentioned ability of the ring to adapt your body over time - perhaps it also gives him vitamin D supplements to keep his bones strong. :D
I really enjoy your videos. You're my Middle earth mentor☺️.
sam had links cap from zelda
In fact, there are four pictures made by J.R.R. Tolkien himself (although two of them are just sketches) that show us that dwarves wear pointed hats. On this one where I know it sounds strange but we live in a “different time” today than Tolkien did. Accordingly, it should also be taken into account that the author (1892 - 1973) has been dead for more than 51 years. This tells us clearly (and I wonder if there is anyone out there who would dispute this) that his works and therefore the world (whose first origins date back to 1915 - most likely even earlier) are already old and very accomplished . But such a fact raises many questions. One of them and probably the most comprehensive: Could the world as the author foresaw it be a completely different and far larger and more powerful world than we believed for decades?
I see Rankin-Bass dwarves and hobbits as the ideal for those races.
This was interesting, and fun.
I disagree totally with the (frankly, absurd) notion that every single detail is equally important in adapting a work, especially from a literary medium (i.e. one which involves reading) and a dramatic one (one involving watching and listening). How many knives should Legolas carry? Pretty irrelevant. Exactly how tall everyone is? Almost totally irrelevant.
Yes, I agree with you, but I don't think (especially with all the effort Tolkien put in throughout his life) that it was unimportant to him. If it's just a film, a kind of theater, then I'll follow you. However, Tolkien's world can hardly be compared with today's fantasy novel that is purely intended for literary pleasure. You first have to understand this world to realize what a miracle Tolkien really created there. It is truly as if the world could really exist out there, but those who do not consider its indescribable depth and its true indescribable and unimaginable diversity and beauty important do not understand this. Personally, I think the most important thing is to pay attention to every tiny detail, be it the hair texture, the slightest differences in eye colors, the sizes, the exact skin tone and much more. Even if it proves impossible for the screen. In fact, it is also very important to know the exact meanings of the many names of the characters. In many old versions Glorfindel is called “locks of hair” or “locks of gold”. This is interesting because Inwe also had golden curls.
What's sad is that vikings did not wear horned helmets, either...that comes from opera in the 1800s.
actually starvation victims will often get swollen bellies because their digestive systems stops working properly when you have long term undernutrition.
True but he’s described as emaciated so clearly not with a distended belly.
Gollum eats fairly well, though he complains otherwise, and maybe less often when sneaking around Mordor. His sunken look is more an effect of owning the ring - "stretched thin" as Bilbo puts it.
1:26 Did you just refer to Gimli and Legolas as hobbits or am i crazy lol?
I think it was a slip but it’s been a while since I recorded this lol
@@TolkienLorePodcast I mean Gimli is short but come on man ;p
haha happens time to time i was still having a coffee and had to replay it a few times to make sure i caught that right
Makes me want to see drawings.
Weird. My head canon Gandalf has always been tall. And I first read The Hobbit and LOTR 40 years ago..
Why were _Hobitit_ and _Khraniteli_ not included in the comparison? I would take either over Rankin-Bass and Ralph Bakshi.
Less well known lol.
@@TolkienLorePodcast _Khraniteli's_ promotional budget would not buy Peter Jackson a single carrot.
I would have liked to see them too, though I think they strayed even further from the books in terms of character design.
I view Middle earth through the lens of Rankin Bass. There was a beauty in the landscape and backrounds that I feel Peter Jackson failed to capture. Also Rankin Bass Gandalf is The Man. The only Gandalf for me.
They looked as beautiful as he could make them
@@Galvatronover perhaps he tried his best.
24:29 Are we talking something like Shadiversity and his Medieval lore?
I’ve watched many of his videos, the war bow ones in particular. ;) but I also have some personal experience with bows myself.
@@TolkienLorePodcast Ah, ok, I haven't ...
Funny they have the scene where Gandalf hits his head
i need pictures
There are pictures painted by Tolkien himself. Gandalf and Bilbo can be seen on these. In these pictures, Bilbo has brown hair (not dark brown), pale skin, red cheeks, and is fat. Gandalf looks as he is described, especially in the picture of him raising his staff in the air to petrify the trolls. He looks much more powerful, magical and alive than in the films. He seems far more characteristic, but in a special way, as if only he could seem so unique and great in this way.
Where are those pictures?
How tall was the average human in the Third Age? The world portrayed is like our Middle Ages, and 5' 6" wasn't really below average at that time in history.
Tolkien specifically gives the 5’6” figure so he must have meant average modern man.
I thought cirdan had a beard because he was so old? Being around from just after the awakening of the elves?
That was something Tolkien played with at one point, though it’s not clear where he finally landed I don’t think.
Tolkien Lore is based and knows what's up and is very good at showing this without being obnoxious. Very good, very good.
Aragorn should have been a very intimidating menacing figure. But somehow they went with the likable scoundrel type. Extremely miscast.
Aragorn did play the likable scoundrel type so that’s not a problem. The real trick is finding someone who can do that AND the king.
@@TolkienLorePodcast Not in the book. Read it again.
Dude I’ve read it multiple times. Read the Prancing Pony chapter. He even describes himself as a “rascal.”
He is Aragorn, not Eregorn
Aragorn II, you mean. 😉
But Aragorn in _Khraniteli_ looks like Eragon in Eragon.
The main hobbits are all way too skinny, I understand that Hollywood doesn't want 4 9f your main characters to be chubby or fat, but they should've started out chubbier and ended up all much thinner after their journey. Great video, have a great day everyone
Gandalf is kind of like Odin. But not the Marvel version. The Norse version that wanders cloaked with a pointed hat.
Deliberately so i recall. Basically he's a fit Santa / Father Christmas.
@@nealjroberts4050 if you consider the Norse god like Santa.
@@jkhristian9603 Well, the Northern European image that became Santa appears to be Odin/Woden/Wotan
@@nealjroberts4050 Do you mean the tall thin Santa? I could see some Odin influence there. Never really thought about it before.
The irregularities in Golems(Gollum) physique I always attributed to a run-in with a wizard that physically altered his looks from a Hobbit. If you remember when Sam was eavesdropping and caught by Gandalf Sam begged Frodo not to let the wizard turn him into anything unnatural. So I assume that they were legends of wizards floating around about polymorphing.
Also this is consistent with the account in Roverandom.
Golem is a monster made from clay animated by a Rabbi.
@@tominiowa2513 you are correct "voice to text "will do you wrong
Except Gollum wasn't a hobbit. His kin were somewhat akin to Hobbits, however...id guess it's a sub-race that is now extinct or absorbed.
@@tominiowa2513 silly rabbi kicks are for treads
I think the only thing Peter Jackson got wrong with Boromir is the hair color. In The Nature of Middle Earth, Tolkien wrote that he never imagined Denethor, Aragorn, and Imrahil, and Faramir with beards, but mentions nothing about Boromir not having a beard (which would suggest that he did have a beard). Also, while Numenorean blood ran true in Denethor and Faramir, it did not in Boromir. Where did you get that Boromir was not supposed to have a beard?
If Denethor and Faramir are beardless the odds of Boromir not being so are very slim, and his mother is theoretically part Elf to boot.
He specifically mentioned Boromir:
"But not Denethor, Boromir, Faramir, Aragorn, Isildur, or other Númenórean chieftains."
NoMe, Beards, fn1
I wanna see the LOTR special edition that’s exactly the same as the Peter Jackson extended editions, but Gandalf has comically ginormous eyebrows. Just, like, distractingly bushy. Like he’s smuggling a sheepdog puppy in his hat.
Gandalf as Leonid Brezhnev?
And Sam isn't fat.
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius From the books. Try rereading them paying attention to the descriptions of Sam. Tolkien *never* calls Sam "fat." Gollum never calls Sam "fat." Alone among the four, his job was manual labor. And by the end of the quest, both Frodo and Sam were thin.
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius
Maybe not quite as fat???
"Sam was now struck most by the leanness of his face and hands. 'Too thin and drawn he is,' he muttered."
"When Frodo was asleep Sam bent over him and listened to his breathing and scanned his face. It was lined and thin",
"As for himself, though weary and under a shadow of fear, he still had some strength left. The lembas had a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam's mind was filled with the memories of food, and the longing for simple bread and meats."
'Don't be a fool, Sam Gamgee,' came an answer in his own voice. 'He won't go another day like that, if he moves at all. And you can't go on much longer giving him all the water and most of the food.'
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius I was specific about them being thin at the end of the quest. Try reading closer.
Also, Sam, in particular is thought of as fat. Look at the casting for the movies. Yet there's nothing in the books to back that up.
@@Ales_Dei_Nuntius That explains a lot. I've read LotR more times than the years you've been alive. Here's a hint for you if you get into this fandom. There are people who've been in it for decades. Four decades for me. And there are plenty who've been in it longer than that.
We know the books better than you. And we don't confuse the books with the movies.
I love Ralph Bakshi. And I love Lord of the Rings. But I do not like Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings.
I took issue with Ian Mckellans Gandalf. But Aragorn just walked right out of my imagination. Exactly what I envisioned.
I have prehensile webbed feet and am pretty Hobbittish. Don’t discriminate..😉
Lol. Well there are larger deviations. Tolkien would have absolutely hated the very strange idea of an elf falling in love with a dwarf. It goes against their cultures behavior and ideologies and is an insult to the perspectives Tolkien held. Eowyn and Galadriel were tall noble warriors and their treatment in Jackson's movies relate more to the strong male weak female dynamic in the now deteriorating patriarchy.
I don’t get “weak female” from PJ’s Galadriel or Eowyn. Not sure where you get it….
Completely backwards. Eowyn was primarily only covered in footnotes and appendicies in the book.
Yeah sorry the Warrior Galadriel never existed other than in the rings of power amazon bs...
May not be quite bag like, but Rankin bass did give Sam a hat in trotk