Timeline Event
Travellers cross the Last Bridge
Event Type: General
Age: 3rd Age - Ring War
Date: October 13, 3018
Description:
An event in Frodo's Departure from the Shire and in the prelude to the Ambush at the Ford of Bruinen; see either entry for an overview.
Frodo crosses the Bridge.
The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Tale of Years: The Third Age
They hurried along..., and after a mile or two they saw the Last Bridge ahead, at the bottom of a short steep slope. They dreaded to see black figures waiting there, but they saw none. Strider made them take cover in a thicket at the side of the Road, while he went forward to explore.
Before long he came hurrying back. 'I can see no sign of the enemy,' he said, 'and I wonder very much what that means. But I have found something very strange.'
He held out his hand, and showed a single pale-green jewel. 'I found it in the mud in the middle of the Bridge,' he said. 'It is a beryl, an elf-stone. Whether it was set there, or let fall by chance, I cannot say; but it brings hope to me. I will take it as a sign that we may pass the Bridge; but beyond that I dare not keep to the Road, without some clearer token.'
At once they went on again. They crossed the Bridge in safety, hearing no sound but the water swirling against its three great arches. A mile further on they came to a narrow ravine that led away northwards through the steep lands on the left of the Road. Here Strider turned aside, and soon they were lost in a sombre country of dark trees winding among the feet of sullen hills.
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 1, Ch 12, Flight to the Ford
Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 15Jul06, 21Oct11
