Eagles

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"I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess." — Sam
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The Eagles were immense flying birds that were sentient, and could speak, "devised" by Manwë Súlimo, leader of the Valar, and were often called Eagles of Manwë.

They were sent from Valinor to Middle-earth to keep an eye on the exiled Ñoldor, and on their foe the evil Vala Morgoth.

History

Thorontor flies Beren Erchamion and Lúthien Tinúviel over Gondolin.

For a time the Lord of the Eagles, Thorondor, kept his eyries at the top of Thangorodrim, the volcano above Angband itself. While they lived there, Thorondor helped Fingon rescue Maedhros. Thorondor's folk later removed their eyries to the Crissaegrim, part of the Echoriath or Encircling Mountains about Gondolin. There they were friends of Turgon, and kept spies off the mountains.

Thorondor wounded Morgoth in the face after Morgoth's battle with Fingolfin, and he carried Fingolfin's corpse to the Echoriath, where he was buried by Fingon.

The Eagles fought alongside the army of the Valar, Elves and Edain during the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age.

In the Second Age, a pair of Eagles had an eyrie in the King's House in Armenelos, the capital of Númenor until the Kings became hostile to the Valar. The Eagles also watched the peak of Mount Meneltarma, and three Eagles would always appear when someone climbed to the summit.

In the Third Age, Thorondor's descendants Gwaihir and Landroval lived in an eyrie to the east of the Misty Mountains in Wilderland.

In The Hobbit, no eagles are identified by name. Only the title Lord of the Eagles distinguishes the eagle leader from other eagles in this story. The text adds that he was given the title King of All Birds at a later date. Many readers assume, without hard evidence, that it was Gwaihir and Landroval who rescued Thorin Oakenshield and company from a band of Wargs and Goblins, flying them to the river Anduin, and later assisted in the Battle of Five Armies fought near Erebor, the Lonely Mountain.

Before and during the War of the Ring, one of Gwaihir's people rescued Gandalf the Grey from the top of Isengard, and others of his people rescued Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee from Mount Doom in Mordor after the One Ring had been destroyed.

Inspiration

Tolkien's painting of an eagle on a crag appears in some editions of The Hobbit. According to Christopher Tolkien, the author based this picture on a painting by Archibald Thorburn of an immature Golden Eagle, which Christopher found for him in The Birds of the British Isles by T.A. Coward. However, Tolkien's use of this model does not necessarily mean that his birds were ordinary Golden Eagles. In his last writings Tolkien speculated that these great Eagles were actually Maiar in bird-shape, as he felt it unlikely Ilúvatar would grant feär to animals. If this is true, then Roäc the Raven and the Thrush, who appear in The Hobbit, must also be Maiar or other spirits in animal form (and possibly even Beorn, who sometimes takes the form of a bear).

Flying the Ring to Mount Doom

"The Eagles are a dangerous 'machine'. I have used them sparingly, and that is the absolute limit of their credibility or usefulness. "
Letter 210, J.R.R. Tolkien

Many skeptical readers have wondered why the Eagles simply didn't carry Frodo and the One Ring into Mordor and drop the Ring in Mount Doom. At first glance this seems incredibly easy compared to the alternative (and it would have made a boring book).

Concerning Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, many cast and crewmembers have casually joked about how "the Eagles don't take the Ring to Mordor because that would have ended the story quickly!". Particularly, on the writer-director DVD commentary track, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh repeat this statement and begin joking around about it; writing partner Philipa Boyens then bursts out and angrily declares "Why does everyone always say that?! The flying Nazgul on their Fell Beasts would have stopped them! How more obvious does that need to be?! Mordor has flying creatures too!" As a consequence, Jackson and Walsh fall silent, then quietly admit that her explanation entirely makes sense.

Several explanations have been given as internal story-wise reasons; some of them are:

  • The Eagles coming from the air would have been fairly obvious and defensless to Sauron; the Fell beasts and/or archers would most likely have stopped the attempt. The Eagles expressed fear in The Hobbit about going into the Lands of Men because of their bows. However this danger perhaps could possibly have been countered with a parallel divertive battle plan.
  • The Eagles would most likely have become corrupted by the power of the Ring and would have most likely attempted to prevent the destruction of the Ring. Gandalf already knew that anyone might and would refuse to throw in the Ring but the Eagles, as Maiar, could have been more dangerous.
  • The Eagles would have refused to aid the Fellowship because they, being emissaries of the Valar like Gandalf, were not allowed to go on the offensive against evil. Flying the Ring to Mordor could have been the Fellowship's first priority but maybe they were unable to contact the Eagles in time.

The Eagles not being mentioned at all during the Council of Elrond is considered a logical plot hole by itself. Although many flawed proposals are made during it, none of the participants thought to propose this quite obvious solution, especially since it was not long after Gandalf described his escape with Gwaihir; even if the Eagle plan was to be countered or dismissed implausible later for some reason (such the ones above), it would be only logical to be mentioned.

The party of Tolkienists that accepts this as a plot hole usually respond that in any book there are usually plot holes. In a larger, far more detailed and realistic book we expect fewer (if any) plot holes, when in reality there is a far greater chance.

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