Re: White Council and Denethor Revisted | White Council Forum Archive - msg 2155
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Posted: February 09, 1999 at 13:50:24: by Michael Martinez
: : I would say Denethor would have severed, either formally or : : informally, any connections with the White Council by the : : time of the War of the Ring. Saruman was a threat to Rohan, : : and Denethor would have known this. : Tolkien hints that Denethor likely became aware early on of the : link between Orthanc and Barad-dur through his use of the Anor : palantir. "Whether he ever thus made with the Orthanc stone and : Saruman is not told; probably he did, and did so with profit to : himself." (UT) : In fact, this is one of those interesting threads that's never : developed at length, to wit: Denethor's realization that his : backing of Saruman over Gandalf, at variance with : Thorongil/Aragorn's counsel during the rule of Ecthelion, was : gravely mistaken (at least insofar as his trust in Saruman was : misplaced). Not something easy to stomach for such a proud man, : even if his advice was more about mistrust of Gandalf than any : affection for Saruman. It was surely more than offset by his : confirmation of Thorongil's true identity, and the "threat" he : posed to the rule of the Stewards. : Another sidebar: it seems unlikely that Denethor knew the true : extent of Saruman's treachery and preparations much before open : war came to the West Fold. He certainly would have informed : Boromir before his departure, either sending him by a less : dangerous route, or not sending him at all. Boromir showed no : evidence of any such suspicions. It's hard to tell. Boromir left Minas Tirith on July 4 and Gandalf was imprisoned in Orthanc six days later (before Boromir could have reached the Gap of Rohan). The first Battle of the Fords of Isen occurred on February 25 of the following year. Gandalf does mention that wolves and Orcs were housed in Isengard while he was kept prisoner there, but that "a dark smoke hung and wrapped itself about the sides of Orthanc". Perhaps the smoke was somehow intended to block Denethor's vision through the Palantir so he couldn't see much that was going on inside the Ring of Isengard. That's just a guess, and probably not a worthwhile one. But Denethor cannot have been too concerned about Saruman before the war finally broke out. ------------------ Parma Endorion: Essays on Middle-earth, Revised Edition |
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