Shadowfax: Difference between revisions

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(clarification of "free horses")
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Shadowfax also possessed extraordinary courage.  He was the only free horse in the world capable of standing before the [[Lord of the Nazgûl]] instead of fleeing.
Shadowfax also possessed extraordinary courage.  He was the only free horse in the world capable of standing before the [[Lord of the Nazgûl]] instead of fleeing.
{{quote|. . .all fled before his face.  All save one.  There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínen.|[[The Siege of Gondor]]}}
{{quote|. . .all fled before his face.  All save one.  There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínen.|[[The Siege of Gondor]]}}
The phrasing "free horses" excludes horse enslaved by [[Sauron]], like the horses ridden by the Nazgûl in the guise of [[Black Riders]].


[[Category:Horses]]
[[Category:Horses]]

Revision as of 20:34, 25 October 2006

Gandalf and Shadowfax by Ted Nasmith.

Shadowfax was a mighty horse of Rohan, the chief of the Mearas, tamed by Gandalf and reluctantly granted as a gift to him by King Théoden of Rohan. Shadowfax is thought to have passed West over the Sea with his master.

Shadowfax had extraordinary speed and stamina. He was able to run from Edoras to Minas Tirith almost without stopping, and his ground speed rivalled the flying speed of the fell beasts of the Nazgûl.

Shadowfax also possessed extraordinary courage. He was the only free horse in the world capable of standing before the Lord of the Nazgûl instead of fleeing.

". . .all fled before his face. All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínen."
The Siege of Gondor

The phrasing "free horses" excludes horse enslaved by Sauron, like the horses ridden by the Nazgûl in the guise of Black Riders.