Ringbearer

***Valandil*** · 06-04-2005, 08:38 PM

I have wondered about this before, but am thinking about it much more today.

Part of what Tolkien liked to do was to sort of 'plant' things in his Middle Earth mythology that would be connected to traditions that we carry with us today. After all, that seems to be the apparent 'purpose' of much mythology (which he in large part attempted to emulate) - to create explanations for why things were the way they were.

I don't know if all of you are familiar with this custom, but in America these days, it's common for there to be two very young members of a 'wedding party' - a young lady who is called a 'Flower Girl' and a young gentleman who is called a 'Ring Bearer'. I was never a ring bearer myself as a child, and we didn't have those positions at our wedding (my wife's preference - she was afraid they would just be a couple things wrong waiting to happen

). Today however, we had a wedding at our church, and our oldest son, now 7, was the Ring Bearer (which is why I'm thinking of it).

So anyway: 'Ring Bearer' (uh - let's save the discussion on comparisons between a wedding ring and a Ring of Power for another thread, OK?

) - carrying a ring, short Hobbit-sized guy, etc, etc. Was Tolkien thinking of this AT ALL when he used the term? In particular, it seems like Aragorn and Arwen use that term often in addressing Frodo after their own wedding.

Whatchaguysthink?

06-04-2005, 08:38 PM	#1
*Valandil* High King at Annuminas Administrator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Wyoming - USA Posts: 10,752	Ringbearer I have wondered about this before, but am thinking about it much more today. Part of what Tolkien liked to do was to sort of 'plant' things in his Middle Earth mythology that would be connected to traditions that we carry with us today. After all, that seems to be the apparent 'purpose' of much mythology (which he in large part attempted to emulate) - to create explanations for why things were the way they were. I don't know if all of you are familiar with this custom, but in America these days, it's common for there to be two very young members of a 'wedding party' - a young lady who is called a 'Flower Girl' and a young gentleman who is called a 'Ring Bearer'. I was never a ring bearer myself as a child, and we didn't have those positions at our wedding (my wife's preference - she was afraid they would just be a couple things wrong waiting to happen ). Today however, we had a wedding at our church, and our oldest son, now 7, was the Ring Bearer (which is why I'm thinking of it). So anyway: 'Ring Bearer' (uh - let's save the discussion on comparisons between a wedding ring and a Ring of Power for another thread, OK? ) - carrying a ring, short Hobbit-sized guy, etc, etc. Was Tolkien thinking of this AT ALL when he used the term? In particular, it seems like Aragorn and Arwen use that term often in addressing Frodo after their own wedding. Whatchaguysthink? __________________ My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!! Last edited by Valandil : 06-04-2005 at 08:43 PM.