Gandalf reports these events from the safety of Rivendell, but my, what an epic battle we can imagine! Chapters earlier, Frodo sees the distant flashes of light, nearly fifty miles away. Strider describes the flashes as "lightning that leaps up from the hill-tops."

Who is this Gandalf, who can make lightning and can battle with the Dark Riders? Who are these Riders, who can "sense" the wizard's anger and who grow stronger at night? And what is Amon Sul, which apparently was the site of war-beacons in the distant past? With every mile, Tolkien draws the hobbits, and us with them, into the mystery and lore of Middle-earth. Little does Frodo know what the distant lights at Weathertop foreshadow.


Artwork: "Blackriders" by Alan Lee

Calendar entry by Merry

This is a very bleak part of the Hobbits' and Strider's journey to reach the safety of Rivendell. They have left the Marshes and are out in the open. There is fear both ahead and behind. Strider seems doubtful of what precisely lay ahead, and the fall weather has brought cold evenings and mornings. The Hobbits yearn for hearth and home, but manage to stay cheerful as is their nature.


It is just in these sorts of places that Tolkien will bring the haunting beauty of his poetry as an oasis in the gloom. Strider speaks of Gil-galad and Sam supplies the verse.

On this night, the Black Riders who have skulked in the shadows around Frodo make their move on him. Night has followed the long day in which Strider and the hobbits climbed Weathertop and saw five riders in the distance, and they have camped in a sheltered spot on the side of the hill, where Strider cheers them, and heartens himself as well, by telling tales from his store of elven lore. But when the stories are done, a feeling of dread closes in around the group, expressed best by Sam, who cries "I don't know what it is, but suddenly I felt afraid. I dursn't go outside this dell for any money; I felt that something was creeping up the slope."

Something was. Five riders came out of the night, closing in on hobbits, focusing on Frodo. He cannot resist the pressure to put on the Ring, and when he does, he enters their terrible world, seeing for the first time their true form. The Witch King of Angmar stabs him in the left shoulder, claiming him for Mordor's own with a cursed blade that will make a wraith of him if the would cannot be healed. The wraiths scatter when Strider accosts them with flaming brands, and Frodo collapses.

Frodo's wound will never really heal, and its pain and residual terror are no small part of the reason he cannot remain in Middle Earth, even after the Quest is done. But one good result comes of this encounter--after the Weathertop battle, the hobbits finally realize they can trust Strider. In a moment displaying his inherent tenderness, Aragorn kneels by Sam's side and gently tells him, "I am not a Black Rider, Sam, nor in league with them. And finally Sam believes him--marking the true beginning of one of the most unique relationships in fantasy literature.

Calendar entry by librislove

For the first time in this story the mood turns decidedly somber. Although Strider has tended to Frodo's wound, it becomes almost immediately apparent that this is no ordinary wound and we wonder what lasting effects the wound will have on both Frodo and the rest of the tale.

This part of the journey through the thickets takes a full five days and starts on an alarming note. Even as Strider leads the Hobbits away from Weathertop and across the Road... "...they heard far away two cries: a cold voice calling and a cold voice answering." From there they plunge into the thickets for cover and the going is slow.

Frodo is ill almost immediately and the pain grows worse by day and night. They hear nothing further, but live in fear of the dark nights and what they might bring. Yet this five day part of their journey is without event, and it seems to be too good to be true that at this early stage of the story it is possible that we will not encounter the Black Riders again. All too soon Tolkien will show us that the Riders are still very much a force that must be reckoned with.

The Enemy is moving.

In real life, events are not linear and they do not happen in isolation.

The events of this day have their beginnings on the evening of September 24th, the second day on the road for Frodo, Pippin and Sam. That night they camped with the elves on the ridge overlooking the village of Woodhall and Frodo spoke long with Gildor. Frodo told Gildor of his plans to go to Rivendell and that Gandalf was long overdue to meet them for this journey. That Gandalf was late troubled Gildor greatly and he promised to send word to all the fair folk that Frodo and his companions were on the road, that the Black Riders were about and looking for the hobbits, and that Gandalf was missing.

Word reaches Rivendell and those few who have strength to resist the riders are dispatched to keep watch for the Travelers. One of these elves is Glorfindel. So while our travelers continue their painful and slow trek, on this day, October 9th Glorfindel leaves Rivendell to keep watch for them along The Great East Road.


Artwork: "Rivendell" by Alan Lee


Calendar entry by Elizabeth