[davem]

This chapter divides up into three sections - the journey to the gate, the confrontation with the Mouth of Sauron & the attack on the Gondorians/Rohirrim by Sauron’s forces seen mainly from Pippin’s point of view.

During the journey east to the Gates three things stand out for me. First is the episode at the Crossroads:

Then Aragorn set trumpeters at each of the four roads that ran into the ring of trees, and they blew a great fanfare, and the heralds cried aloud: 'The Lords of Gondor have returned and all this land that is theirs they take back.' The hideous orc-head that was set upon the carven figure was cast down and broken in pieces, and the old king's head was raised and set in its place once more, still crowned with white and golden flowers; and men laboured to wash and pare away all the foul scrawls that orcs had put upon the stone.

‘Men laboured to wash & pare away all the foul scrawls that the orcs had put upon the stone.’ At first sight this may seem like a waste of time & effort. It doesn’t sound like an easy task - the word ‘labouring’ implies a good deal of effort. These are warriors heading for a battle. Setting them to mend the statue seems like something that should have been taken care of afterwards, if they had achieved victory, because if they had failed & been defeated, such an action would have been a waste, as the victorious forces oof Sauron would simply have knocked of the head again & replaced it with their mocking replacement.

Yet, it doesn’t seem like a waste of time & effort in the context- it seems exactly the sort of thing that they ought to do & in many ways it is part of the task they have set themselves. They are marching out to defy Sauron & play their part, not simply in defeating him, but in removing all traces of him from Middle-earth. Also, & maybe more importantly, it is a symbolic ‘coronation’ of the king - in fact it is a restoration of the king. It is yet another act of defiance, of provocation, on the part of Aragorn.

Not long after this provocation is emphasised:

Ever and anon Gandalf let blow the trumpets, and the heralds would cry: 'The Lords of Gondor are come! Let all leave this land or yield them up!' But Imrahil said: 'Say not The Lords of Gondor. Say The King Elessar. For that is true, even though he has not yet sat upon the throne; and it will give the Enemy more thought, if the heralds use that name.' And thereafter thrice a day the heralds proclaimed the coming of the King Elessar.

Gandalf seems to hold back a little here - he commands the heralds to proclaim the presence of the Lords of Gondor: it is Imrahil who states that they should rather order Sauron to depart in the name of the King. Why was Gandalf so reticent, especially after his words in the Last Debate? My own feeling is that he felt Aragorn should be hailed king by one of his own people. For all that Gandalf is their ‘spokesman’ & guide he knows that he is not the one to push forward Aragorn as king. In a real sense he is beginning to step back & let Men decide for themselves, rule their own house.

Next, we have Aragorn sending away those too terrified to go on:

Aragorn looked at them, and there was pity in his eyes rather than wrath; for these were young men from Rohan, from Wesffold far away, or husbandmen from Lossarnach, and to them Mordor had been from childhood a name of evil, and yet unreal, a legend that had no part in their simple life; and now they walked like men in a hideous dream made true, and they understood not this war nor why fate should lead them to such a pass.

As is made clear, these are ordinary men facing an extraordinary situation. Aragorn shows both compassion & a sharp wit. These men would have been unable to face what was ahead. If he had commanded them to go on they would have been worse than useless - they would very probably have seriously disheartened the rest of his forces. Yet at the same time he displays compassion & understanding by giving them another task to perform:

Then some being shamed by his mercy overcame their fear and went on, and the others took new hope, hearing of a manful deed within their measure that they could turn to, and they departed.

He shows his true royalty here - not simply his martial prowess & his authority to command, but just as importantly, his concern for hiis people - even if the result of that is that he himself is put at a disadvantage:

And so, since many men had already been left at the Cross-roads, it was with less than six thousands that the Captains of the West came at last to challenge the Black Gate and the might of Mordor.

The second part of the chapter is the confrontation with the Mouth. This is a bluff on Sauron’s part - but we only realise that later, or on a second reading. On a first reading we are in more or less the same position as the Captains. The last we heard of Frodo was that he had been captured by the orcs of Cirith Ungol. Everything the Mouth says may well be true. Frodo has been taken & stripped & the Ring is now in/on the hand of Sauron & the Captains about to die in a pointless battle.

Yet...Sauron does not have the Ring & suspects that Aragorn may have it, so why the elaborate game? Why would he send his servant out to offer the release of Frodo if the West surrenders? Precisely because he doesn’t know for certain that Aragorn has it. This is a test. Back Aragorn into a corner & force him to show his hand. If he has the Ring he will tell Sauron where to get off as far as surrender is concerned. On the other hand, if he does surrender that will confirm beyond doubt that Aragorn does not have the Ring (at least that would be Sauron’s take on things. Wisely, Aragorn does not speak to confirm or deny, but he does use his greater ‘will’ to daunt the Mouth - an ambiguous action which neither confirms nor denies Sauron’s suspicions.

Before them towards Mordor lay like a moat a great mire of reeking mud and foul-smelling pools. When all was ordered, the Captains rode forth towards the Black Gate with a great guard of horsemen and the banner and heralds and trumpeters. There was Gandalf as chief herald, and Aragorn with the sons of Elrond, and Eomer of Rohan, and Imrahil; and Legolas and Gimli and Peregrin were hidden to go also, so that all the enemies of Mordor should have a witness.

This is almost a repetition of what happened in the confrontation with Saruman. Representatives of all the free folk go to the parley, but Gandalf serves as spokesman.

The Mouth is an interesting figure. He is not a monster but a man:

At its head there rode a tall and evil shape, ..The rider was robed all in black, and black was his lofty helm; yet this was no Ringwraith but a living man. The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dur he was, and his name is remembered in no tale; for he himself had forgotten it, and he said: 'I am the Mouth of Sauron.' But it is told that he was a renegade, who came of the race of those that are named the Black Numenoreans; for they established their dwellings in Middle-earth during the years of Sauron's domination, and they worshipped him, being enamoured of evil knowledge. And he entered the service of the Dark Tower when it first rose again, and because of his cunning he grew ever higher in the Lord's favour; and he learned great sorcery, and knew much of the mind of Sauron; and he was more cruel than any orc.

‘No Ringwraith but a living man.’ He is not a slave, but a willing servant, one who has chosen to serve Sauron. He has not been seduced, or conned into that service. He has chosen it in full knowledge ‘being enamoured of evil knowledge.’ He ‘worships’ Sauron (we were told earlier that Gollum ‘worshipped’ Shelob, & Gollum was originally driven by his desire for hidden knowledge, for ‘secrets’). He sneers at those gathered before him, mocking their intelligence & already treating them as the slaves he is convinced they will soon be. Yet he is a typical coward - as soon as he is challenged he breaks & begs for ‘mercy’:

Aragorn said naught in answer, but he took the other's eye and held it, and for a moment they strove thus; but soon, though Aragorn did not stir nor move hand to weapon, the other quailed and gave back as if menaced with a blow. 'I am a herald and ambassador, and may not be assailed!' he cried.

Churchill’s words come to mind: ‘The nazi is always either at your throat, or at your knees.’ The fate held out for Frodo is very close to the fate of Hurin at the hands of Morgoth & its pretty certain that some at least among those present would have had that story very much in mind:

And now he shall endure the slow torment of years, as long and slow as our arts in the Great Tower can contrive, and never be released, unless maybe when he is changed and broken, so that he may come to you, and you shall see what you have done

Gandalf seems broken by the threat to Frodo: 'Name the terms,' said Gandalf steadily, but those nearby saw the anguish in his face, and now he seemed an old and wizened man, crushed, defeated at the last.’ It seems that Sauron’s bluff is about to work, but at the last moment Gandalf calls it:

Where is this prisoner? Let him be brought forth and yielded to us, and then we will consider these demands.'
It seemed then to Gandalf, intent, watching him as a man engaged in fencing with a deadly foe, that for the taking of a breath the Messenger was at a loss; yet swiftly he laughed again.
'Do not bandy words in your insolence with the Mouth of Sauron!' he cried. 'Surety you crave! Sauron gives none. If you sue for his clemency you must first do his bidding. These are his terms. Take them or leave them!'

‘Collapse of stout party’:

(Gandalf) cast aside his cloak and a white light shone forth like a sword in that black place. Before his upraised hand the foul Messenger recoiled, and Gandalf coming seized and took from him the tokens: coat, cloak, and sword. 'These we will take in memory of our friend,' he cried. 'But as for your terms, we reject them utterly. Get you gone, for your embassy is over and death is near to you. We did not come here to waste words in treating with Sauron, faithless and accursed; still less with one of his slaves. Begone!'
Then the Messenger of Mordor laughed no more. His face was twisted with amazement and anger to the likeness of some wild beast that, as it crouches on its prey, is smitten on the muzzle with a stinging rod. Rage filled him and his mouth slavered, and shapeless sounds of fury came strangling from his throat. But he looked at the fell faces of the Captains and their deadly eyes, and fear overcame his wrath. He gave a great cry, and turned, leaped upon his steed, and with his company galloped madly back to Cirith Gorgor.

Finally, battle comes, & we see it, in the main, through Pippin’s eyes:

He drew his sword and looked at it, and the intertwining shapes of red and gold; and the flowing characters of Numenor glinted like fire upon the blade. 'This was made for just such an hour,' he thought. 'If only I could smite that foul Messenger with it, then almost I should draw level with old Merry. Well, I'll smite some of this beastly brood before the end. I wish I could see cool sunlight and green grass again!'...
Then Pippin stabbed upwards, and the written blade of Westernesse pierced through the hide and went deep into the vitals of the troll, and his black blood came gushing out. He toppled forward and came crashing down like a falling rock, burying those beneath him. Blackness and stench and crushing pain came upon Pippin, and his mind fell away into a great darkness.
'So it ends as I guessed it would,' his thought said, even as it fluttered away; and it laughed a little within him ere it fled, almost gay it seemed to be casting off at last all doubt and care and fear.

Pippin runs the gamut of emotions - he begins in defiance, goes through feelings of regret, defiance, & ends, strangely, happy & at peace. On a first reading we are pretty certain he has died there before the Black Gates.

And then even as it winged away into forgetfulness it heard voices, and they seemed to be crying in some forgotten world far above:
'The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming!'
For one moment more Pippin's thought hovered. 'Bilbo!' It said. 'But no! That came in his tale, long long ago. This is my tale, and it is ended now. Good-bye!' And his thought fled far away and his eyes saw no more.

This, obviously, is a reference to Bilbo’s experience at the Battle of Five Armies. The appearance of the eagles is far more moving here, as befits what is a much more serious work. Also, the appearance of eagles of Manwe at times of hopelessness runs through The Sil. This appearance of eagles is meant, I think, to make us recall what happened to Bilbo - Bilbo was knocked unconscious but woke up none the worse for it. It is another instance of Tolkien attempting to tie in the earlier book to the Legendarium.

Some of us (a very few, I accept) have to struggle at those points to recall only certain things from TH at that point. It is a potentially dangerous manouvre on Tolkien’s part to remind us too strongly of TH at this point - the image of the attacking trolls here being called Bert & Tom & speaking in bad ‘Cockerney’ risks turning the incident into farce:

But through them there came striding up, roaring like beasts, a great company of hill-trolls out of Gorgoroth. Taller and broader than Men they were, and they were clad only in close-fitting mesh of horny scales, or maybe that was their hideous hide; but they bore round bucklers huge and black and wielded heavy hammers in their knotted hands. Reckless they sprang into the pools and waded across, bellowing ‘Poor little blighters!’as they came.