Fog on the Barrow-downs
 | |
|---|---|
| Fog on the Barrow-Downs | |
| Chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring | |
| Number | 8 |
| Synopsis | |
| Event | Frodo and his companions are captured by Barrow-wights; they are rescued by Tom Bombadil. |
| Date | 28 September 3018 |
| Location | Barrow-downs |
| Navigation | |
| < In the House of Tom Bombadil | |
| At the Sign of the Prancing Pony > | |
Fog on the Barrow-downs is the eighth chapter of the first book in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Summary[edit]
The next morning the Hobbits set out and arrived at the edge of the Barrow-downs by evening. They got lost and are captured by the Barrow-wights. Frodo called for Tom Bombadil using a song they had been taught; Tom rescued them. Tom sang them to consciousness and brought back their ponies, which had strayed. He gave them each a sword from the Barrow-wights' stolen treasure. The swords had been forged by the Men of Westernesse, foes of the Dark Lord. Tom saw the Hobbits off and they set out towards Bree. Frodo reminded the others that he was now traveling under the name of Underhill instead of Baggins.
Composition[edit]
The chapter contains the phrase "glistered and sparkled on the grass". The typists miread J.R.R. Tolkien's "r" as "n" and typed glistened, which has been twice corrected back to glistered by Tolkien and printed correctly in the first edition of 1954; however it was reverted back to its mistaken form in the unauthorised resetting of the Fellowship, and failed to be noticed in subsequent editions. The process has been detected by Steve Frisby, and it was finally corrected in the 50th Anniversary Edition.[1]
References
- ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pp. xlii, xliii
