The Revived Tolkien Trivia

[The Judge]

Hmmm. Firstly, you don't know our local library. Secondly, is the second quote from The Silmarillion? Because if so, I would direct your attention to the following:

How about a rule that you must choose a different book to the one from which you've just answered the last question?

and:

I like that rule....seconded!

and guess where HareBrain's question originated...

I don't know if it automatically became law when the great tentacled one suggested it and a certain fiery beast which shall remain nameless seconded it, but it seems an odd way to support it if you ask me.

J

 

[Pyan]

I don't know if it automatically became law when the great tentacled one suggested it and a certain fiery beast which shall remain nameless seconded it, but it seems an odd way to support it if you ask me.

J

Oh no - it was just a suggestion. Neither you and the Flying Dutchman seemed keen, so I didn't take it any further...

I think the other quote Grim mentioned is:

...Galadriel...said to Celebrimbor, the chief of the Elven-smiths: "I am grieved in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade that I have loved, so that the land of my dwelling is filled with regret that no Spring can redress."

"How otherwise can it be for the Eldar, if they cling to Middle-earth?" said Celebrimbor. "Will you then pass over Sea?"

"Nay," she said. "Angrod is gone, and Aegnor is gone, and Felagund is no more. Of Finarfin's children I am the last..."

UT, Part Two, IV: The History of Galadriel and Celeborn

If correct, I cede setting the next one to the Judge, for the first correct identification of Galadriel as the subject of this question was hers.

 

[Grimward]

That one captures the spirit of the challenge, although Galadriel in her griefhas neglected to mention Orodreth (and would therefore leave the poor Judge counting fingers and falling short). The Judge is quite correct about the not using the same source; I was in violation. In my focus to try to keep the challenge pedestrian, I completely forgot I'd just seconded the "no same source back-to-back" rule (guideline?). As Unfinished Tales is slightly outside of what the "casual" Tolkien reader might read, I primarily wanted either the family tree of Finwë or Olwë from The Silmarillion.

Your Honor, a bell with with the names of Finarfin's family awaits in the hands of the king below (although a queen might be more appropriate here, Rush has yet to release that album!), as well as the floor.

 

[The Judge]

Well, I'll set the next question, but I'm not sure I'm entitled to the bell since I couldn't give her genealogy...

Anyway, I'm interested in herbs, so where would you find - all named in the same place - a member of the daisy family useful for migraines, as well as moth repellants (and apparent aids for astral travel!) and a cheap alternative to candles?

J

PS This is an easy one for newcomers to the site - if any there be out there...

 

[The Judge]

No herbalists out there? I'd have thought these botanical names easy to discover.

J

 

[The Judge]

Well, I'm surprised that there's been no rush to get an answer in on this one - I thought the last clue threw a good light on the location. And a question about the names of medicinal herbs must be a simple one!** Anyway, I'm not trying to make mugs of you on the one hand, nor to butter you up on the other. This is just my style - warts and all, stings and burrs.

J

** pun not supplied by Great Bear Inc, hence not very good...

 

[HareBrain]

I, Rip Van Winkle, have returned, only to find things exactly as they were before I fell into my centuried sleep. This pleases me. I fear change.

Neverthless, this atrophy tests even my patience.

Well, I'll set the next question, but I'm not sure I'm entitled to the bell since I couldn't give her genealogy...

Anyway, I'm interested in herbs, so where would you find - all named in the same place - a member of the daisy family useful for migraines, as well as moth repellants (and apparent aids for astral travel!) and a cheap alternative to candles?

J

PS This is an easy one for newcomers to the site - if any there be out there...

The answer is, in the Prancing Pony, Bree.

The landlord introduced the newcomers to the Bree-folk, so quickly that, though they caught many names, they were seldom sure who the names belonged to. The Man of Bree seemed all to have rather botanical (and to the Shire-folk rather odd) names, like Rushlight, Goatleaf, Heathertoes, Appledore, Thistlewool and Ferny (not to mention Butterbur). Some of the hobbits had similar names. The Mugworts, for instance, seemed numerous.

LOTR, Book 1, ch9: "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony"

Rushlight is obviously the cheap candle alternative. Here's the dope on Butterbur:

Clinical evidence points to the efficacy of Butterbur in the treatment of Hayfever and for the prophylaxis (prevention) of Migraine. Other traditional uses remain to be backed up by well conducted clinical trials.

(From Butterbur.co.uk - Medical Applications of Butterbur

And Mugwort:

In the Middle Ages, mugwort was used as a magical protective herb. Mugwort was used to repel insects, especially moths, from gardens. Mugwort has also been used from ancient times as a remedy against fatigue and to protect travelers against evil spirits and wild animals. Roman soldiers put mugwort in their sandals to protect their feet against fatigue.[12] Mugwort is one of the nine herbs invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in the 10th century.[citation needed]
Much used in witchcraft, mugwort is said to be useful in inducing lucid dreaming and astral travel. Consumption of the plant, or a tincture thereof, prior to sleeping is said to increase the intensity of dreams, the level of control, and to aid in the recall of dreams upon waking. One common method of ingestion is to smoke the plant

(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_vulgaris


Edumacational!

 

[The Judge]

Absolutely correct, my good hare, and a suitably flowery bell for you (a campanula rotundifolia I think...) as well as the responsibility for the next question.

J

PS This was my 500th post!

 

[HareBrain]

Absolutely correct, my good hare, and a suitably flowery bell for you (a campanula rotundifolia I think...)

Ha ha! I can guess what that is!

PS This was my 500th post!

Congrats! Now you can never post again so you don't ruin that nice round number.

Here's my question: who is always saying that he's seen things? (And I want his/her full name, not a shortened version).

 

[The Judge]

Well, I don't know if anyone else is around,** but I could do with a clue. I thought it was Ted Sandyman at first, but that led nowhere.

J

** Is anyone else around? Is the Trivia folding through lack of interest? Do we need to bring on the dancing girls/chippendale boys to get some life back into the thread?

 

[Grimward]

Actually, I thought similar, Your Honor. I kept looking for either Sandyman, his dad or the Gaffer (who of course has two names that are less used), but none of the references seem optical enough....

 

[HareBrain]

You're both very close, in fact there's only a hill in between ...

 

[Grimward]

Maybe a little more than a hill, for this one.....

On the last occasion he beat me, and then took me and showed me to his dogs. "See, lads," he said, "next time this young varmint sets foot on my land, you can eat him.

'But this fellow was the most outlandish I have ever set eyes on.

'Then you haven't seen him?' said the farmer.

'Now, Mr. Peregrin,' he said, 'where might you be coming from, and where might you be going to? Were you coming to visit me? For, if so, you had gone past my gate without my seeing you.'

We don't see many of the Big Folk over the border;

I didn't like the looks of him; and when Grip came out, he took one sniff and let out a yelp as if he had been stung: he put down his tail and bolted off howling.

I am not asking you to tell me anything you have a mind to keep to yourself; but I see you are in some kind of trouble.

All of which, of course, are attributed to the redoubtable Farmer Maggot.

The Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Chapter IV, A Shortcut to Mushrooms

 

[HareBrain]

Well, ten out of ten for effort, Grim. Though in several of those quotes old Maggot is actually saying that he hasn't seen things ...

Anyway, you've got colder. Perhaps I should have put quote marks in the original question, but I thought that would make it too easy.

 

[goldhawk]

Lord of the Rings: Chapter 2: The Shadow of the Past

'All right,' said Sam, laughing with the rest. 'But what
about these Tree-men, these giants, as you might call them?
They do say that one bigger than a tree was seen up away
beyind the North Moors not long back.'

'Who's they?'

'My cousin Hal for one. He works for Mr Boffin at overhill
and goes up to the Northfarthing for hunting. He saw one.'

'Says he did, perhaps. You Hal's always saying that he's
seen things; and maybe he sees things that ain't there.'

His full name is Halfast Gamgee. It is found in Appendix C: The Longfather-tree of Master Samwise.

 

[HareBrain]

Well done Goldhawk, Halfast it was. A bell for you (perhaps you could tie it to your leg, falconry-style). Your turn to ask the question.

 

[goldhawk]

A bell for my jesses, how sweet.

Here's an easy one: who was Treebeard's long, lost love?

 

[Clansman]

Fimbrethil, or Wandlimb the light-footed.

To be found in a few places, but the "Treebeard" Chapter of The Two Towers at p. 79 is the most obvious:

"When the world was young, and the woods were wide and wild, the Ents and the Entwives -- and there were Entmaidens then: ah! the loveliness of Fimbrethil, of Wandlimb the lightfooted, in the days of our youth! -- they walked together and they housed together."

Also to be found in Appendix F of The Return of the King, p. 409:

"Some are Sindarin: as Fangorn 'beard (of) tree', or Fimbrethil 'slender-beech'."

Thread has been quiet for too long.

My 900th post, btw.

 

[goldhawk]

Correct, Clanny. The bell is yours.

 

[HareBrain]

My 900th post, btw.

Snap!