Tolkien geekery

[annathepiper]

0. Bah. No viewing of Two Towers: Special Edition on the big screen for me. Stupid not having any monex!

1. Probably going to have to wait till next week to try to score a viewing of Return of the King. solarbird and I might make with a viewing on Christmas or Christmas Eve.

2. I had a total Tolkiengeek moment as I saw a trailer on TV, glimpsed the white tree on Aragorn's armor, and realized what it must represent: the White Tree of Gondor, who was as I recall descended from the Two Trees in Valinor. I'm not remembering names, but I was nevertheless simultaneously pleased that that little detail was in there and that the film does in fact refer to all that lovely backstory if you know where to look... and amused that I'm geek enough to have caught that little detail.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

the original white tree was called telperion. but though i'm geek enough to know that, i am *not* geek enough to know whether the tree depicted on the armor is *actually telpirion* or is intended to represent the white trees of numenor and minas tirith, which were the descendents of galathilion, which was an image of telpirion made by yavanna. i sort of lean towards the latter, but that's purely aesthetic choice on my part rather than actual scholarship :)

[annathepiper]

Hrmm. I think I'm thinking the Minas Tirith tree then when I think "White Tree of Gondor". I remembered something about a seedling brought to Numenor... but I don't remember Yavanna making her own version of Telpirion. Hrmmm!

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i just did a quick google on galathilion:

"The White Tree made by Yavanna for the Elves of the city of Tirion. From it came Celeborn, the White Tree of Tol Eressëa, through which it became the ancestor of all the White Trees of Númenor and Middle-Earth."

for some reason i am better with middle-earth tree history than with symbols of kings per se :)

[annathepiper]

That does seem oddly fitting of you. ^_-

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

The original two trees have a brief moment in a back scene in Rivendell.

[annathepiper]

Which movie? I haven't caught the special edition of Two Towers yet even on DVD! Sniffle. :)

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

Two towers. I saw it in special edition, but it might have been in the original.

[annathepiper]

If solarbird and I get the special edition for Christmas/Solstice, I'll look for the Trees! I don't remember anything standing out in the theatrical release about them--in fact, I remember very little Rivendell mileage in the movie except for the scene where Elrond comes to talk to Arwen about what she should do, and there doesn't seem to be much in there in the way of context to mention the Trees. Not that I can remember, at any rate!

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

The trees weren't specifically mentioned, but they were standing in front of artwork for them.

[annathepiper]

Hrmm. Hrmm. Clearly it's been too long since I've seen the movie! I shall definitely have to look out for that. :)

solarbird tried to buy the theatrical edition when it came out on DVD but got the wrong one by mistake--stupid pan-and-scan! We haven't been able to get a replacement yet. Doh!

[starfallz.livejournal.com]

Buh? I must look for that. The two trees before the sun and the moon were made?

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

Yes. The moon was made from a leaf from one and the sun from the fruit of the other.

[starfallz.livejournal.com]

Yah, realize that. I for some reason keep thinking there was another pair of trees somewhere else in the Silmarillion... No idea though.

Whereabouts in the movie?

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

Extended edition, when Elrond is talking to Arwen about what becoming mortal will mean.

[annathepiper]

Gleep! No wonder I haven't seen this yet. :)