The+Journey+Begins

=**Barad-dur**=



This is the rebuilding of the Dark Tower that was destroyed after the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. It could not be completely destroyed because the One Ring was not destroyed by Isildur, hence Sauron's ability to rebuild it.



This is a shot of the Nine Riders of Sauron emerging from Minas Morgul. Frodo and Sam will see this city again in the third film.

//"Not the imprisoned moonlight welling through the marble walls of Minas Ithil long ago, Tower of the Moon, fair and radiant// // in the hollow of the hills. Paler indeed than the moon ailing in some slow eclipse was the light of it now, wavering and // // blowing like a noisome exhalation of decay, a corpse-light, a light that illuminated nothing." // —The Two Towers: "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol"

Minas Morgul was a city-fortress of Mordor. Minas Morgul was once called Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Moon. It was the sister city of Minas Anor (later known as Minas Tirith) during the early part of the Third Age. Situated in an upland valley at the feet of the Mountains of Shadow, it commanded the only easily accessible pass through the mountains into Mordor and east of Osgiliath, near the pass of Cirith Ungol. Taken from the Lord of the Rings Wiki





Two great shots as Gandalf approaches Minas Tirith. The bottom shot is of the city of Osgiliath which will be prominent in the next two films. Gandalf is visiting Minas Tirith to search the archives for information on the Ring of Power.



This is a hobbit named Farmer Maggot who is a little more developed in the book. We hear of him again in the film version when Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry are running from him through his fields. For more background on him in the book see Farmer Maggot entry in the LOTR Wiki.



The hobbit on the right is Hamfast "Gaffer" Gamgee--Sam's father. Like his son Sam, he is a gardener by trade. Sam is one of his six children.



This is Rosie Cotton whom Sam will eventually marry. They will have 13 children naming four of them after Frodo, Pippin, Merry, and Bilbo.



A bit of trivia here: the two portraits in the back representing Bilbo's parents are really images of the director, Peter Jackson; and his partner and co-writer Fran Walsh.



This is the famous Ring inscription in Elvish writing. It is in the dreadful Black Speech of Sauron:

// Ash nazg durbatulûk, //// ash nazg gimbatul, //

//ash nazg thrakatulûk,// // agh burzum ishi krimpatul. //

In English they read:

// One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, // // One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. //



Here is an audio version of the inscription being read in the Black Speech:

The Ring Inscription in Black Speech of Sauron

Here is the complete version:

Full Ring Poem in the Black Speech

From a fan, Tolkien received a goblet with the Ring inscription on it in Black Speech. Because the Black Speech in general is an accursed language, and the Ring inscription in particular is a vile spell, Tolkien never drank out of it, and used it only as an ashtray. The Black Speech is one of the more fragmentary languages in the novels. Unlike [|Elvish], Tolkien did not write songs or poems in the Black Speech, apart from the One Ring inscription.



You really need to realize how heroic Gandalf is in this scene. Frodo freely offers him the One Ring of Power and Gandalf refuses. He knows that his desire to do good with the Ring will ultimately corrupt him. The moral truth of "One cannot use an evil means to bring about a good end" applies here. Compare contrast Gandalf's reaction to claiming the Ring versus Boromir, Gollum, Saruman, Galadriel, and Aragorn.



How providential that Sam was involved in the Quest. Be sure to note how much would have changed if Sam was not with Frodo. Apparently, Gandalf has foreseen this.



With the [|Dominion of Men] at hand, the elves became less numerous and more secluded with many becoming wearier of the now mortal lands. Only the realms of Lindon, Lothlorien, and Rivendell survived as havens of elven bliss. High Elves continued to live in Lindon but most sailed into the West after their [|king's] death. The last of the High Elves left Middle Earth after the final defeat of Sauron in the [|War of the Ring].



Gandalf approaches Orthanc or Isengard--see home page and @Tower of Orthanc for information and background.