Timeline Event
Gwaihir bears Gandalf to Edoras
Event Type: General
Age: 3rd Age - Ring War
Date: September 19, 3018
Description:
An event in the aftermath of Gandalf's Imprisonment by Saruman; see that entry for an overview:
Then Saruman hastened to the summit of Orthanc — and found Gandalf gone. Away south against the setting moon he saw a great Eagle flying towards Edoras.
Unfinished Tales, Part 3, Ch 4, The Hunt for the Ring: Other Versions of the Story
'"How far can you bear me?" I said to Gwaihir.
'"Many leagues," said he, "but not to the ends of the earth. I was sent to bear tidings not burdens."
'"Then I must have a steed on land," I said, "and a steed surpassingly swift, for I have never had such need of haste before."
'"Then I will bear you to Edoras, where the Lord of Rohan sits in his halls," he said; "for that is not very far off." And I was glad, for in the Riddermark... the Rohirrim... dwell, and there are no horses like those that are bred in that great vale between the Misty Mountains and the White.
'"Are the Men of Rohan still to be trusted, do you think?" I said to Gwaihir, for the treason of Saruman had shaken my faith.
'"They pay a tribute of horses," he answered, "and send many yearly to Mordor, or so it is said;1 but they are not yet under the yoke. But if Saruman has become evil, as you say, then their doom cannot be long delayed."'
'He set me down in the land of Rohan ere dawn....'
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 2, The Council of Elrond
Gandalf comes to Edoras as a beggar, and is refused admittance.
The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Tale of Years: The Third Age
Notes
1 [Said Aragorn,] '... it grieves me more than many tidings that might seem worse to learn that Sauron levies such tribute. It was not so when last I was in that land.'
'Nor is it now, I will swear,' said Boromir. 'It is a lie that comes from the Enemy.... [The Rohirrim will not] buy their lives with horses. They love their horses next to their kin.'
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 2, The Council of Elrond
Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 14Feb05, 30Jul06
