Timeline Event
Celeborn gives elven-boats to the Fellowship
Event Type: General
Age: 3rd Age - Ring War
Date: February 15, 3019
Description:
That night the Company was again summoned to the chamber of Celeborn.... At length [he] spoke of their departure.
'Now is the time,' he said, 'when those who wish to continue the Quest must harden their hearts to leave this land. Those who no longer wish to go forward may remain here, for a while. But whether they stay or go, none can be sure of peace.... Here those who wish may await the oncoming of the hour till either the ways of the world lie open again, or we summon them to the last need of Lórien. Then they may return to their own lands, or else go to the long home of those that fall in battle.'
'They all resolved to go forward,' said Galadriel looking in their eyes.
'As for me,' said Boromir, 'my way home lies onward and not back.'
'That is true,' said Celeborn, 'but is all this Company going with you to Minas Tirith? '
'We have not decided our course,' said Aragorn. 'Beyond Lothlórien I do not know what Gandalf intended to do....'
'Maybe not,' said Celeborn, 'yet when you leave this land, you can no longer forget the Great River... [It] cannot be crossed by travellers with baggage between Lórien and Gondor, save by boat....
'On which side will you journey? The way to Minas Tirith lies... upon the west; but the straight road of the Quest lies east of the River, upon the darker shore. Which shore will you now take? '
'If my advice is heeded, it will be the western shore, and the way to Minas Tirith,' answered Boromir. 'But I am not the leader of the Company.'... Aragorn looked doubtful and troubled.
'I see that you do not yet know what to do,' said Celeborn. 'It is not my part to choose for you; but I will help you as I may. There are some among you who can handle boats: Legolas, whose folk know the swift Forest River; and Boromir...; and Aragorn....'
'And one Hobbit!' cried Merry.... 'My people live by the banks of the Brandywine.'
'That is well,' said Celeborn. 'Then I will furnish your Company with boats. They must be small and light, for if you go far by water, there are places where you will be forced to carry them.... Boats may make your journey less toilsome for a while. Yet... in the end you must leave them and the River, and turn west — or east.'
Aragorn thanked Celeborn many times. The gift of boats comforted him much, not least because there would now be no need to decide his course for some days. The others, too, looked more hopeful. Whatever perils lay ahead, it seemed better to float down the broad tide of Anduin to meet them than to plod forward with bent backs. Only Sam was doubtful: he at any rate still thought boats as bad as wild horses, or worse....
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 8, Farewell to Lórien
Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 5May08
