The Revived Tolkien Trivia

[HareBrain]

Are thrushes nightingales? Are nightingales thrushes?

I can answer this at least: no. (Though the nightingale did used to be classed as a member of the thrush family.)

 

[Boaz]

Nan Elmoth seems to be associated with nightingales. And the appendix, of The Silmarillion, calls them lomelindi (lom - dusk, lind - singers). And there is a person in The Silmarillion, from Nan Elmoth, with lom in his name... Lomion. That's what his mother named him, but his father called him Maeglin. He was thrown from the heights of Amon Gwareth in Gondolin. His body "smote the rocky slope.... thrice." That sounds like crushing to me. Maeglin's body then fell int the flames. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.

This is all I can come up with.

 

[Pyan]

That's it, Boaz - well spotted that Maeglin was not his original name.

You to go, after polishing up a tiny, sweet-sounding mithril bell.

 

[Boaz]

That stretched my brain to the limit....

Maeglin had two first cousins. One had a child and one did not. The childless cousin and the offspring from the other both had their stories put into rhyme. Who recited these rhymes?

 

[HareBrain]

Maeglin's first cousins were Gil-galad and Idril Celebrindal, and the latter's son was Earendil (as shown by the first family tree at the end of The Silmarillion).

"Gil-galad was an Elven-King" was recited by Sam Gamgee in Fellowship, "A Knife in the Dark".

"Earendil was a Mariner" was recited by Bilbo baggins in Fellowship, "Many Meetings".

 

[Boaz]

YES!!! HB, you get the rare Bag End Bell.

Previsously, I've always worried that my references were too poor or obscure, so I'd rapidly give clues. This time I was determined to leave it alone.

@HareBrain Your turn...

 

[Pyan]

Don't worry, Boaz - this is a more gentle-paced, cerebral quiz thread than those in the hurly-burly of the Playrooms...

"Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then, and but a little while does that seem to us, waiting for a clue or solution",
...as Legolas nearly says as he looks out over the royal burial-mounds at the foot of Edoras. (LOTR, TT, Chapter 6, The King of the Golden Hall.)

 

[HareBrain]

Previsously, I've always worried that my references were too poor or obscure, so I'd rapidly give clues. This time I was determined to leave it alone.

Quite right. I can't speak for anyone else, but when first reading your challenge I was dismayed by the amount of knowledge (or work) that I thought were needed. When I took another look today and remembered there were family trees in TS, it proved fairly straightforward.

I'll come up with something later this evening.

 

[Pyan]

I've just worked out that on average, there's one post per 35 hours in this thread...

 

[farntfar]

Such much?

 

[Boaz]

Quite right. I can't speak for anyone else, but when first reading your challenge I was dismayed by the amount of knowledge (or work) that I thought were needed. When I took another look today and remembered there were family trees in TS, it proved fairly straightforward.

Good. pyan's last trivia about nightingales had me rereading every description of every Vala, Maia, and every obscure Elven/Dwarven/Entish maiden (Nimrodel, Dis, Fimbrethil).

"It's an ill wind as blows nobody no good, as I always say. And All's well as ends Better!"

 

[farntfar]

Oops. I thought it was a question.
But it's HB's turn.

 

[Boaz]

@farntfar Yes, you've made the connection. But it is not my turn to post trivia. My apologies.... I was just throwing out a quote that seemed apt to summarize my feeling on successfully answering trivia. I, uh, hmmmm... award you a real no-bell prize. And I guess I'll slink out of here and wait for HareBrain to post an intriguing bit of trivia.

 

[HareBrain]

Here goes:

Two sevens, and a one, are said to have made a journey.

Argue why one of the sevens should be an eight.

 

[farntfar]

Boaz,
I thought it was too easy, and removed my answer.

 

[The Judge]

Because Bill the packhorse/pony went, too?

 

[HareBrain]

No, sorry. You want to be thinking of a rhyme for the first part.

 

[farntfar]

Hmm!

The 2 sevens and the one relate to something Gandalf was muttering to himself in The Palantir.

Tall ships and tall kings
Three times Three
What brought they from the foundered lands
over the flowing sea?
Seven stars and seven stones
and one white tree.

Pippin asks what it was about and Gandalf replies that its about the Palantir, which only only tells you about the seven stones.
Are you suggesting there were eight stones? Because you are right that there is still the master stone on Tol Eressëa. But that wasn't brought over the flowing sea.
As for the seven stars, Gandalf doesn't explain, so if there was an eighth star, I can't think what it was.
At the end of Akallabeth, the nine ships are mentioned, but tot the stars or stones.

But hold that thought. There are other mentions of the palantir in the Akallabeth I think.

Back shirtly!

 

[HareBrain]

Good start, farn.

 

[Boaz]

farntfar's answer seems really good to me. He's even got a rhyme and a "God start" comment from HB. But since he did not get a bell...

Then I guess that the two sevens are the seven lords and ladies of the Valar. They traveled from Eru's presence to Ea. Melkor stole along on the trip... making him the one. The seven lords of the Valar should've been eight if Melkor had not rebelled... or they could be counted as eight after Tulkas joined them.