Paths of the Dead

Welcome.

They didn't really feature in the Peter Jackson films, but The Grey Company were a big part of the books, joining up with Aragorn and co. in Rohan and staying with him all the way through the Paths of the Dead, the Pelennor Fields and to the Gates of Mordor.

But who were they? We often refer to Aragorn as a ranger, one of the northern Dunedain, which he is, but Dunedain is really just a word for men of the west, those descended from faithful Numenoreans.

The Dunedain of the north were therefore the ruling classes of the kingdom of Arnor before it fell, and after it fell, they took to defending the land from the vestiges of evil there.

The first was some advice from Elrond via Elrahir.

The days are short.

If thou art in haste, remember the paths of the dead.

Aragorn says that he would have to be in a very big rush to be persuaded to go by that route, but two days later he does indeed do it.

Yes, it was Gimli.

It was Gimli in the Paths of the Dead, of course.

And a few people, those two people who got it incorrect, I think it was Andrew, wasn't it? And who else was it? Either way, they both said an elf would go under a ground where a dwarf dare not.

So, look, it's so close.

And Galadriel sent messages with Gandalf for the three hunters.

Aragorn's was largely prophetic, about the Grey Company of Northern Rangers riding south to him, and about him needing to go through the paths of the dead.

Legolas's was a warning that when he heard the sound of a seagull, he would get the sea longing that lay dormant in elves, making him want to sail west rather than stay in Middle-earth.

And Gimli's was a message of encouragement for her unlikely champion, and a gentle warning not to chop down the wrong trees.

It's, that's probably what Tolkien was thinking of.

But you find traces of the older cultures left behind, and there are many places of old stonework and double lines of stones which are reminiscent of this place, that the double lines of stones here are like the signpost into the Dwimorberg where Aragorn has ridden off into the Paths of the Dead.

And in this chapter, Éowyn and Éomer are both pretty desperate, pretty depressed about Aragorn's [laughs] chances.

That's the role they're playing.

The Druedain are the Wild Men of the, uh, of the forests, like to the northwest of Gondor.

Okay? Do you remember when reading The Lord of the Rings, it's got, like, uh, the Púkel-men, right? Do you remember that, like, with the, um, uh, it's like these, like, weird statues that they s- that they see, like, when they're going towards the Paths of the Dead? Um-

Oh, yeah.

Yeah

He comes back to it.

Well, first of all, he has to hero hell, right? He goes to the, he walks the paths of the dead, which no living man can do.

Mm-hmm.

And he, he holds the, the dead accountable and brings them to the, to Ministerith There's this kind of anticipation, uh, oh, the king is coming back, the king is coming back, and there's these whispers, right?

'Cause I think isn't that, doesn't Boromir and Faramir also talk about, like, seek for the sword that was broken? That's, that's kind of a, a prophecy moment.

Mm.

You also have that whole, um, when they do go to, um, to, uh, uh, the paths of the dead.

Mm.

Yeah.

Right? And he, he shies away from that to some degree throughout the story, and he finally accepts that when he knows the battle's coming and he says, you know, he's trying to figure out which path he's going to take, and he says, "I must go through the Path of the Dead."

Mm-hmm.

Right? So in this way, he's gonna kind of go through some of the failures of, of his ancestors.

Yeah

...

in order to achieve this path of going through the valley of, uh, the Path of the Dead.

Um, he's gotta take on the role of, "I am king."