Eagles

2012-12-26T03:41:29Z

24.107.211.112: /* Other explanations */

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{{race
| image=[[Image:Darrell Sweet - The Lord of the Eagles.jpg|250px]]
| name=Eagles
| dominions=[[Taniquetil]]<br/>[[Crissaegrim]]<br/>[[Eagles' Eyrie]]
| languages=At least [[Westron]], [[Sindarin]] and [[Valarin]]
| height=
| length=
| skincolor=
| haircolor=
| feathers=Brown
| distinctions=
| lifespan=
| members=[[Thorondor]], [[Great Eagle]], [[Gwaihir]], [[Landroval]], [[Meneldor]]
}}
The '''Eagles''' were birds that served as messengers of [[Manwë]]. Among those were the '''Great Eagles''', immense birds who were sentient and capable of speech, and often helped [[Men]], [[Elves]] and [[Wizards]] in the quests to defeat evil. They were "devised" by [[Manwë]] Súlimo, King of the [[Valar]], and were often called the '''Eagles of Manwë'''.

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

==History==
The Great Eagles were messengers of [[Manwë]], the ruler of the sky and Lord of the [[Valar]], being perhaps "spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles" that brought news from [[Middle-earth]] to his halls upon [[Taniquetil]].<ref>{{S|Days}}</ref>

===First Age===
[[Image:Ted Nasmith - Beren and Lúthien are Flown to Safety.jpg|thumb|Thorondor flies [[Beren|Beren Erchamion]] and [[Lúthien|Lúthien Tinúviel]] over [[Gondolin]].]]
At a command of [[Manwë]], for a time the Lord of the Eagles, [[Thorondor]], kept his eyries at the top of [[Thangorodrim]], the volcano above [[Angband]] itself<ref>{{S|Noldor}}</ref><ref>{{S|Fingolfin}}</ref>. While they lived there, Thorondor helped [[Fingon]] rescue [[Maedhros]]. Thorondor's folk later removed their eyries to the [[Crissaegrim]], part of the [[Echoriad]] about [[Gondolin]]. There they were friends of [[Turgon]], keeping spies off the mountains, bringing him news and keeping spies off the borders. Because of their guardianship, the [[Orcs]] were unable to approach either the nearby mountains,<ref name="Silm-TFG">{{S|Gondolin}}</ref> or the important ford of [[Brithiach]] to the south;<ref name="Tuor">{{UT|Tuor}}</ref> their watch had been redoubled after the coming of [[Tuor]],<ref>{{S|Doriath}}</ref> enabling Gondolin to remain undiscovered the longest of all Elven realms. When the city [[fall of Gondolin|fell]] at last, the eagles of Thorondor protected the fugitives, driving away the orcs that ambushed them at [[Cirith Thoronath]], the Eagles' Cleft north of Gondolin.<ref name="Silm-TFG"/>

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]]. After the appearance of winged [[dragons]], all the great birds gathered under Thorondor to [[Eärendil]], and destroyed the majority of the dragons.<ref>{{S|Earendil}}</ref>

===Númenor===
In the [[Second Age]], a pair of Eagles had an eyrie in the King's House in [[Armenelos]], the capital of Númenor until the time of [[Tar-Ancalimon]], when the [[Kings of Númenor]] became hostile to the Valar.

The [[Númenóreans]] believed that three eagles, "the Witnesses of Manwë", were sent by Manwë to guard the summit of [[Meneltarma]]; these appeared whenever one approached the hallow and staying in the sky during the [[Three Prayers]].

Many eagles lived upon the hills around [[Sorontil]] in the north of the island.<ref>{{UT|Numenor}}</ref>
[[File:Ted Nasmith - The Eagles of Manwë.jpg|thumb|left|''The Eagles of Manwë'' by [[Ted Nasmith]].]]
Eagle-shaped storm clouds, called the "Eagles of the Lords of the West", were sent by Manwë when he tried to reason or threaten them.<ref>{{S|Akallabeth}}</ref>

===Third Age===
{{quote|- Farewell! wherever you fare, till your eyries receive you at the journey's end!<br>- May the wind under your wings bear you where the [[sun]] sails and the [[moon]] walks.|Polite way to exchange good-bye with an Eagle|[[Queer Lodgings]]}}
By the end of the [[Third Age]], a colony under the [[Great Eagle]] lived in the northern parts of the [[Misty Mountains]] who mostly nested upon the eastward slopes not far from the [[High Pass]] leading from [[Rivendell]], and thus in the direct vicinity of the [[Goblin-town]] beneath; they often afflicted the goblins and disrupted their plans.

These Eagles helped the Elves of [[Rivendell]] and [[Radagast]] in watching the land and in gathering news about the Orcs.<ref>{{FR|Council}}</ref><ref>{{FR|South}}</ref>. As a result of feeding on the sheep of the local [[Woodmen]] of [[Mirkwood]], their relationship was not good and the Eagles were afraid of their bows.

Those rescued [[Thorin|Thorin]]'s company from a band of goblins and [[warg]]s and carried them to the [[Carrock]]<ref>{{H|Queer}}</ref> and some days later they espied the mustering of goblins all over the Mountains, to be gathered under the Great Eagle in the [[Battle of Five Armies]] near [[Lonely Mountain|Erebor]]. It was only with their help that the Dwarves, Men and Elves managed to defeat the goblins.<ref>{{H|Return}}</ref> The Great Eagle became [[King of All Birds]].

The Eagles appeared in great numbers at the [[Battle of the Morannon]], helping the [[Host of the West]] against the [[Nazgûl]]. Several of them rescued [[Frodo Baggins]] and [[Samwise Gamgee]] from [[Mount Doom]] after [[the One Ring]] had been destroyed.<ref>{{RK|Cormallen}}</ref>

==Names==
In [[Gnomish]], one of [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s early conceptions of an [[Elvish|Elven]] language, a word for "eagle" is ''ioroth'' (poetic form ''ior''). A cognate of the same meaning in [[Qenya]] is the poetic ''ea(r)'' or ''earen''. Another Gnomish word for "an eagle" is ''thorn''.<ref>{{PE|11}}, pp. 51, 73</ref>

In the later languages, the [[Quenya]] word for eagle is ''soron'' and in [[Noldorin]]/[[Sindarin]] ''thoron/thorn''<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}}</ref>

The ''Thornhoth'' was the name for the eagle-folk in the earliest legends.<ref name="Fall">{{LT2|III}}, p. 103</ref>

==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.

==Other versions of the legendarium==
In the earliest version of the fall of Gondolin, the king of the eagles, Thorndor (later Thorondor), had no love for Melko (later Melkor) because he had caught many eagles and tortured them for the magic words that would enable him to fly (in order to challenge Manwë for command of the air). When the eagles refused to reveal the magic words Melko cut off their wings in order to fashion a pair form himself, "but it availed not".<ref name="Fall"/>

For some time Tolkien considered the Eagles as bird-shaped [[Maiar]],<ref>{{MR|Annals}} p. 138</ref> as he felt it unlikely [[Ilúvatar]] would grant ''[[Fëa and hröa|fëar]]'' to animals. However, the notion of a "Maia" like Thorondor having descendants contradicted later concepts and Tolkien later decided that the Great Eagles (like [[Roäc]] and the [[Thrushes|Thrush]] of ''[[The Hobbit]]'') were common animals that had been "taught language by the Valar, and raised to a higher level — but without ''[[fëar]]''."<ref name="MR409-11">{{MR|Myths}} pp. 409-11</ref>

==Flying the Ring to Mount Doom==
{{quote|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]]}}
[[File:Steve Notley - Bob the Angry Flower's Lord of the Ringz.gif|thumb|Parody comic strip by Steve Notley which shows [http://angryflower.com Bob the Angry Flower] flying the Ring to Mordor on an Eagle.]]
Many sceptical readers have wondered why the Eagles simply didn't carry Frodo and [[the One Ring]] into Mordor and drop the Ring in Mount Doom, or at least aid the Fellowship at some part of the journey, such as helping them avoiding the [[Redhorn Gate]] and [[Moria]].

At first glance this seems incredibly easy compared to what actually happened (and it would have made a boring book).

The party of Tolkienists that accepts this as a [[wikipedia:plot hole|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.
===Considering the Eagles===
Strangely, the possibility of using the Eagles has not been mentioned at all during the [[Council of Elrond]]. Although many flawed proposals are made during it (destroy the Ring, guarding it, sending it to the West, giving it to [[Tom Bombadil]]), none of the participants thought to propose this seemingly obvious solution, especially 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.

On the other hand, the Council was seen deciding the fate of the Ring, not the manner; this was left to the discretion of the Fellowship. Indeed, during its existence, the Fellowship had not even decided whether they should go directly to Mordor or to seek aid from Gondor, let alone the manner to do so, before decisively been [[Breaking of the Fellowship|broken]] at [[Amon Hen]]. If Gandalf ever considered requesting the help of the Eagles after some point (eg. after passing the Misty Mountains) it's not mentioned in the narrative.<ref>{{HM|FR}}, Book II</ref>

===Official explanation to the problem===
It seems that nobody noticed this alleged plot-hole during Tolkien's lifetime, as there is no surviving letter where Tolkien is inquired so. It is unknown whether Tolkien ever was aware of the issue while writing the book or later.

Tolkien's only relevant mention is concerning a possible adaptation of the ''Lord of the Rings'' into a movie, where he simply mentions that the Eagles should be used carefully as a plot device and was self-aware whenever he used them.<ref>{{L|210}}</ref>

Peter Jackson and [[Fran Walsh]] joke around the issue on the writer-director DVD commentary track; writing partner [[Philippa Boyens]] then bursts out and angrily declares one of the common explanations: "Why does everyone always say that?! The flying Nazgûl on their Fell Beasts would have stopped them! How more obvious does that need to be?! Mordor has flying creatures too!"

===Other explanations===
[[File:Ted Nasmith - At the Foot of Mount Doom.jpg|thumb|According to ''[[The Field of Cormallen]]'', some Eagles flew to Mount Doom, rescued Frodo and Sam and carried them back. Critics say that they could as well had carried them there in the first place.]]
As Tolkien's writings on the Eagles do not allow for an explanation, several speculative theories have been proposed by critics, although they are not definitive and can be countered.<ref>[[Tolkien FAQ]]</ref><ref>[http://www.sean-crist.com/personal/pages/eagles/index.html Could the eagles have flown Frodo into Mordor?]</ref>
*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.
:This often cited argument could possibly have been countered with a parallel divertive battle plan, more or less like the [[Battle of the Morannon]] begun to help Frodo.

*The Eagles, being Maiar, would most likely have become corrupted by the power of the Ring and would have most likely attempted to prevent the destruction. Gandalf himself not only knew that ''anyone'' might and would refuse to throw in the Ring, but he was also afraid of it; the Eagles, as Maiar, could have been corruptive and dangerous.

*Although Tolkien does not mention anything about it, it's possible that the Eagles were somehow limited in how they acted and participated, similar to how the [[Wizards]] were prohibited to directly fight Sauron by physical or supernatural force. The Eagles are seen to aid the [[free peoples]] and even [[Battle of Five Armies|participate]] in battles, but it's possible that for affairs of greater scope (such as Sauron and the Ring) they were either afraid, unwilling, incapable, or not allowed to take any part.

*The Fellowship may not have been able to contact the Eagles. Gwaihir only arrives at Isengard because he is sent by Radagast. Once he rescues Gandalf, the Wizard asks him how far he can bear him, to which the Eagle replies "Many leagues, but not to the ends of the earth. I was sent to bear tidings not burdens." It was for this reason Gwaihir took him to Edoras, so he could find a horse to ride, and then departed.

{{References}}

{{Ainur}}

==External links==
*[http://tolkien.slimy.com/faq/History.html#Eagles Tolkien FAQ] question and possible answer
*[http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/eagles.html Could the eagles have flown Frodo into Mordor?] a discussion investigating a possible battle plan that would help the eagles.
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Eagles