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10-15-2005, 09:53 AM | #1 | |
Princess of Skwerlz
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
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LotR -- Book 6 - Chapter 4 - The Field of Cormallen
This relatively short chapter is of vital importance to the story. It ties together the previously separate threads of the tale; as a matter of fact, it brings the Fellowship back together again! First we are taken back in time briefly, going to the battle at the Black Gate just before the Ring is destroyed. Though the situation seems grave, we quickly see clues that the eucatastrophe is close at hand. Aragorn's gleaming eyes, a shadowless Gandalf, the clear sky to the north, and then the coming of the Eagles - the latter an especially eucatastrophic deja vu to those who previously read The Hobbit.
It's interesting to speculate on whether or not the Eagles could have won the battle against the Nazgűl, but like Gandalf vs. the Witch-King, it doesn't happen. The flight of the Ringwraiths has a different reason. Sauron's minions lose the central will that drives them, but there is a differentiation between orcs and similar creatures and the Men who are their allies. The latter have a will of their own. Explaining this difference will make for some interesting discussion! Gandalf's "Stand, Men of the West!" has a very Biblical ring to it, like the children of Israel who stood still (Jericho, etc.) to see their enemies conquered without their own effort. Going back to Frodo and Sam, we hear Frodo's last words once more, yet Sam, with his practical hope never quite quenched, tries to do something against the despair. Had he not, would there have been no possibility for the Eagles to rescue them? Sam again thinks of the story they are in - doubly so, for it is true both in their (fictional) time and in our time. The fulfillment of his wishes toward the end of the chapter is one of its most touching and moving moments! What do these sentences evoke in you when you (re-)read them? Quote:
Again Frodo rejects a sword, not even wanting to wear one ceremonially, but he is persuaded to do so by Gandalf. Why do you think that is important on this occasion? As always when members of the Fellowship meet after separation, there is much to tell. Tolkien uses their conversation to tie up loose ends, such as what happened to Pippin after we thought him dead. We have a poem, Legolas' longing for the Sea, prophetic in nature. How do you like it? The chapter ends with waiting, looking toward another transition - from war to peace, from Stewardship to Kingship for Minas Tirith. Which parts are your favourites? Do you feel relieved or bored now that the Quest is over?
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...' Last edited by Estelyn Telcontar; 10-16-2005 at 10:51 AM. |
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10-16-2005, 11:06 AM | #2 | ||||
Illustrious Ulair
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’This chapter begins a few moments before the ending of the previous one, but continues with its sense of impending doom - the Ring may have gone into the Fire but we do not expect Frodo & Sam to survive. The first thing that happens is the appearance of the Eagles. Eagles are the birds of Manwe & their sudden appearance heralds victory. So far ‘divine intervention’ has been in the form of winds out of the West, blowing away the Darkness of Mordor, Now the Eagles appear to drive off the Nazgul. This is an example of where a prior knowledge of The Silmarillion adds depth to the events in LotR. This is not simply an example of the Cavalry arriving in the nick of time, but of the Valar joining battle fully, supporting the king to be. It also shows that the sins of Numenor are forgiven, but it is also their swansong in Middle earth.
Then the unexpected victory, the Eucatastrophe, comes. The Dark Tower falls, the Nazgul flee, the servanst of Sauron are unmanned. Sauron’s ‘ghost’ appears, menacing but impotent, blown away on the wind - and all this happens because Gollum fell over his feet. The question of why Gandalf takes three eagles with him is difficult to answer. Most probably because he didn’t know the fate of Gollum & thought there would be three survivors awaiting rescue. This would be interesting, showing that even at the end he was concerned for Gollum, & was still hoping for his ‘’salvation’. The interchange between Frodo & Sam encapsulates the difference between them now the Quest is over: Quote:
Yet we seem to see a change in Frodo when the two rescued Hobbits awaken in Ithilien. He laughs, & calls Sam ‘Sleepyhead’. He seems almost his old self again. But this is an illusion - its almost as if he himself has forgotten that he has no hope, being caught up in Sam’s joy. Soon, though, he will remember. The significance of the date of the Fall of Sauron has been pointed out by Shippey. It is the date of the Annunciation & the old date of Good Friday. The Gondorian new year will always begin on that day from then on. Again, Tolkien comes close to allegory here, but it is not blatant & most readers will miss it. Sam gets his hoped for ‘reward’ - the minstrel sings the ‘Lay of Frodo of the Nine Fingers & the Ring of Doom. There is joy & celebration, soon the survivng members of the Fellowship will meet up again & the whole story could end here, with victory achieved. Merry & Pippin appear, along with Gimli & Legolas. Aragorn is already the king - though he has not yet been crowned. But, as in real life, the participants must go home - if they can. So, the rest of the story will deal with that, & what happens when they get there. Frodo is urged by Gandalf to wear a sword. Frodo at first refuses, then gives in. His reason for refusing has been speculated on. Probably its because he has already told Sam that he did not think it was his part to bear a sword again. What’s interesting is that Gandalf urges him to wear one. Why? Just so he won’t be the only one not wearing ‘ironmongery’? A sword is the weapon of a warrior & this is a celebration of victory in war for the other participants. For Frodo it is not. It seems that he already feels he is not worthy to be there. He ‘gave way’ & wore the sword, but one gets the sense he would rather be somewhere else. Legolas, too, dreams of being elsewhere. Though he is a Sylvan Elf rather than one of the exiled Noldor, the Sea is in his heart Quote:
Tolkien stated that he wept during the writing of this chapter & as Humphrey Carpenter stated, it is written in his ‘epic style’. Sam is lost in wonder at it all, but Frodo clearly believes he doesn’t belong in an epic. He’s right. Frodo is out of place here. Frodo’s presence undermines the Heroic Romance. He’s a twentieth century man who’s strayed into the world of medieval epic poetry. His values are different, so he’s out of place. Yet his foray in that world has changed him to such a degree that he cannot go back to his own world. He has stared into the abyss too long & too deeply. At the heart of Middle-earth is a Fire that burns away all things - from Magic Rings to hope. Frodo didn’t die. He no longer knows how to live. Tolkien had wanted a happy ending for Frodo right from the begining. He speculated on him settling down & living happily ever after with Bilbo. Even in this chapter that hope surfaces: Quote:
Back to the Minstrel. Quote:
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10-16-2005, 11:08 AM | #3 | ||||
A Mere Boggart
Join Date: Mar 2004
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The idea of a May King is now not so common; we tend to just have May Queens, usually teenagers forced to dress up in frocks and look pretty for the day (and normally sulking about it ). But at one time a May King would also be present, possibly as the Green man or as a Robin Hood figure. Allegedly, sometimes the May King would also be subject to sacrifice at some date during the year; we see this idea in The Wicker Man. May Day is also traditionally a good time to find faeries, and it a time when the unsuspecting are 'taken' from one world into the other; when Aragorn passes through the gates of the city on May morning, it could be said to be symbolic of his passing from the old world of war and conflict into the new world in which he is King.
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10-16-2005, 12:24 PM | #4 | ||||
Late Istar
Join Date: Mar 2001
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We have at the beginning of the chapter another example of the story-telling technique Tolkien used for the arrival of the Rohirrim at the Pelennor fields. He gives the story up to the critical point first from one point of view, then from another; then he continues from the critical point from one point of view and then from the other. In this way, he is able to take the same event and make use of it four times; he maximizes the use he gets out of it.
Thus, in book V, he tells up to the arrival of the Rohirrim first from the viewpoint of the people of Minas Tirith, then from the viewpoint of the Rohirrim; and then he continues with the story first from the point of view of the Rohirrim and then from that of the characters in Minas Tirith. He has told up to the point of eucatastrophe from the perspective of the army in the last chapter of book V. Then he switched to Frodo and Sam and told up to the same point in chapter 3 of book VI. Now in chapter 4 he carries on from the same point, first from the perspective of the army and then from that of Frodo and Sam. This is an interesting technique and, I think, it demonstrates Tolkien's supreme skill in the handling of a story. Every change in viewpoint seems to come at exactly the right moment. We have with the arrival of the eagles not only a reminder of The Hobbit but also of The Silmarillion. As a matter of fact, the eagles recall two moments in the Silmarillion. The more obvious is the eucatastrophe of that work, the coming of Earendil and the eagles to defeat Ancalagon and win the War of Wrath. But there is a more specific connection here with the tale of Beren and Luthien; Gwaihir and Landroval were the two eagles that accompanied Thorondor to rescue Beren and Luthien from the gate of Thangorodrim. This resonates with Sam's earlier observation that he and Frodo are part of the same story as Beren and Luthien. A small point that I just noticed re-reading this chapter: Gandalf says to Gwaihir, 'Twice you have borne me'. This must refer to his escape from Orthanc and his journey from Zirak-Zigil after the battle with the Balrog. But this would mean that the "lord of the eagles" from The Hobbit was not in fact Gwaihir. As for the rest of the chapter - in my opinion, this is perhaps the greatest evocation of pure joy in literature. Estelyn points out that: Quote:
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Nor do I think that Frodo's recovery is entirely illusory. He has lost something, and his wounds will not heal in Middle-earth. But he is far better off now, far healthier in mind and spirit, than he was in the preceding weeks. He is capable of joy again. In short, I don't think that any of the bad things that are to follow cancel or even mitigate the pure joy, the triumph, of the Field of Cormallen. Here (though of course, only here), Frodo and Sam are given the honour they deserve. Both Aragorn (king of Men) and Gandalf (emissary of the Valar) humble themselves before the Hobbits: Quote:
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10-17-2005, 07:33 AM | #5 | |||||
Gibbering Gibbet
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Beyond cloud nine
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Ok, call me a sentimental idiot, but this is easily one of my very favourite chapters as, for me, it is the fullest unravelling of the eucatastrophe of the tale. The ‘real’ climactic moment came in the last chapter, I suppose:
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“And as Gollum gazed upon the Ring” (not the unspecific ‘his prize’) “he stepped too far, and whether it was the buckling of the ground, or some last shred of Smeagol in the creature he had become that willed him to it, or perhaps even luck, he fell into the fire, and the Ring was no more.” OK, I know how pale that is in comparison to what Tolkien could have done, but I wanted to give an example of this ‘other’ kind of narrative that Tokien did not write. So why go back a chapter to talk about this one? Because the current chapter maintains and broadens this focus on the human and the individual and intimate, forsaking any narrative that would attempt to place the destruction of the Ring into any ‘wider’ scope. As davem has already pointed out, the first members of the Fellowship whom we see reacting to the success of the Quest are Sam and Frodo, and they have a conversation about their individual love and respect for one another. It’s also interesting that outside Mordor, where the ‘big events’ are really going on, the army is treated to that wonderful image of Sauron being blown away by the west wind, while Frodo and Sam see nothing of the kind just a few miles from Barad-Dur – they are too involved with each other to even see the great events unfold. This sets up the series of revelations that make this chapter so utterly moving to me. When Frodo awakens to see that Gandalf is alive he reacts with the joy of seeing that his friend is not dead: Quote:
When Sam sees the Man who has become Aragorn, Son of Aragorn, Elessar Telcontar the Returned King of the Reunited Kingdoms of Anor and Gondor, The Elf-Stone, Dunedain, he cries out: Quote:
And then comes the part that gets me misty every time I read it. I shall let it speak for itself: Quote:
Here’s Sam at his best – Sauron has fallen, the hosts of the west are free, the minstrel is going to sing a ‘big’ song, and Sam has his moment of uttermost joy for the sake of his dear friend – he’s happy that Frodo is going to be recognized and lauded as Sam feels he should be. It’s a moment of friendship that shatters me with its utter beauty and purity. It’s also Sam who brings the point home: when he hears of the ‘great’ events that have been taking place while he and Frodo toiled in their individual trials he merely says, Quote:
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10-17-2005, 10:13 AM | #6 | ||
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Essex, England
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Moments of pure emotion lace this chapter - just some examples.
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And then of course, we get the supreme moment (for me) in the whole of the book. (and as an aside the one bit in the movies when I cried like a baby!) Quote:
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11-05-2005, 05:39 AM | #7 | ||||||||
Deadnight Chanter
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Give me a medal, my lord? What for? Better make a song about me!
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But what is at it's fullest in this chapter, is a theme of 'reward' - what it is 'good' people get for their trouble at the end of their labour (or intermediate end, following Frodo/Sam discourse about 'tales that never end' and have not one 'beginning') I'll have to jump a bit between chapters to illustrate the poing, but the fullest expression, as mentioned, is the song of Frodo of Nine Fingers: Quote:
For Middle-Earth, song seems equivalent of what in modern world is expressed through medals and honours and awards. And not unlike our world, in most cases, such a 'medal' is given posthumously: Quote:
Likewise, fallen heroes of Pelennor Fields: Quote:
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You do deeds for the Good's sake, even, as Frodo, knowing that noone will mention you in song, or noone will be left to mention you, but you have the right to hope that if you do your duty to the end, there will be a song to mention you and be sung ever after. And Cormallen field is a place where deeds, (happy event - for heroes still alive), are fully paid for in that currency.
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01-07-2006, 09:25 AM | #8 | ||
Relic of Wandering Days
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: You'll See Perpetual Change.
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The contrast between the relationship of Frodo and Sam to that of Sauron and his minions is very striking here. Or at least it struck me. Even after Frodo ‘failed’ his last and greatest test, Sam of his own free will, did not abandon him, but rather moved to rescue his Master in this time of Frodo’s greatest weakness. This was not so with the crowd gathered around Sauron. While the Nazgul did come when called, the army, bereft of his constraining Will, melted away.
At this read through, I could not help but feel that there might have been a bit of a connection been Sauron and Frodo here in the following passage. Quote:
And despite Frodo’s strength and courage in bearing the Ring to the end, he must have felt himself the least of the company in Cormallen, after hearing of all their doings in this chapter. Upon reading this chapter and thread, I get the sense of a great jigsaw puzzle with many pieces. Each piece may not have an idea of their own value, or be able to know on what a truly grand scale the completed picture is, perhaps even encompassing the Valar, yet it could not have been completed without each of them. And the picture honestly is quite beautiful. Closing with a quote that has been mentioned before, but I think would bear another round. It is one of the most lovely things I have ever read, very true and wonderfully evocative of the feeling that overwhelms the reader. Quote:
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01-08-2006, 02:23 PM | #9 |
Wight
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: the Lepetomaine Gambling Casino For The Insane
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[quote]The question of why Gandalf takes three eagles with him is difficult to answer.[/qoute]
no it isn't, he was riding the third one.
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01-08-2006, 06:38 PM | #10 | |
Relic of Wandering Days
Join Date: Dec 2002
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The real question is how is it the eagles kept Frodo and Sam from falling off? I suppose they were exceptionally skilled, from all the practice!
But this following quote I found very curious. Quote:
Last edited by Hilde Bracegirdle; 01-08-2006 at 07:46 PM. |
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01-13-2006, 02:06 PM | #11 | ||||
Banshee of Camelot
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 5,830
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But just now I read Aiwendil's post: Quote:
But that rescuing in the Hobbit was quite some time ago (78 years, to be precise) so it could be that Gandalf is just mentioning the two other incidents in the same year. But isn't "Thrice shall pay for all" a kind of proverb, as we have in German: "Aller guten Dinge sind drei" ? And are Gwaihir and Landroval really meant to be the same eagles from the first age? or did Tolkien just re-use the names like he did with Legolas and Glorfindel? Quote:
But I supposed the same as Bergil - that Gandalf was riding the 3rd eagle. I guess the other 2 eagles were carrying Sam and Frodo in their claws, as in the movie (and in the Hobbit) Of course I do love this whole chapter, too! But after all the great posts here I have nothing else to add.
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Yes! "wish-fulfilment dreams" we spin to cheat our timid hearts, and ugly Fact defeat! |
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01-13-2006, 02:47 PM | #12 | |||||
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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EDIT Maybe these sayings were part of a collection of lore passed down even among Hobbits: Quote:
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“Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects." Last edited by davem; 01-13-2006 at 03:44 PM. |
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01-13-2006, 03:23 PM | #13 | |
Spirit of the Lonely Star
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 5,133
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"Three" has a special meaning in fairy tales. For example, the hero is usually given three trials. He fails the first two and succeeds at the third. Thus, "three" is the path of wisdom. The number three is found in so many tales, and the third person or try often represents wisdom:
There are also three Graces (Greece), three Norns (past, present, future) of Norse myth, and, of course, the Trinity, all of these representing enlightenment. I known that some point to the mother/father/child triad as the origin of this usage with the child pointing to the path of wisdom. I think Tolkien is using three in its traditional sense, as a tip of the hat to the Gaffer's experience or wisdom, which his son acknowleges. I do know you can google the phrase "third time pays for all" and come up with several modern instances of the phrase. But as to how this specific saying originates in the context of Middle-earth (or of our earth), I am not sure at all. ________________________ P.S. I didn't see your edit till now. Very interesting. Notice also the use of three times three.
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Multitasking women are never too busy to vote. Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 01-13-2006 at 03:27 PM. |
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01-13-2006, 03:34 PM | #14 | |
Dead Serious
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There are three original kindreds of Elves: Minyar, Tatyar, Nelyar (Vanyar, Noldor, Teleri). There are three kindreds of Edain: Beorians, Halethrim, Hadorian. There are three kindreds of Hobbits: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. There were three Great Lights: Pillars, Trees, Sun and Moon. There were three Silmarils. There were "three Rings for the Elvenkings". There were three realms of divided Arnor: Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhuduar. There were Three Ages, as of the Lord of the Rings. And I'm sure there are more. Now, admittedly, some of these would seem to be more coincidental than incidental, the three realms of Arnor, in particular. But several of these would be highly significant, such as the original kindreds and the Silmarils. Of course, one can't say whether, in Middle-Earth, they had any connection to the saying "third time pays for all". A possibility for a fanfic, perhaps?
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I prefer history, true or feigned.
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01-13-2006, 04:26 PM | #15 | |
Banshee of Camelot
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Switzerland
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In UT there are also a lot of proverbs (I found 20 so far, many said by Sador Labadal!) See also Esty's game The Gaffer's mixed-up proverbs on the BD Homepage Since English isn't my mothertongue I don't always know which of them are genuine traditional proverbs and which ones are made up by Tolkien - they all sound authentic!
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Yes! "wish-fulfilment dreams" we spin to cheat our timid hearts, and ugly Fact defeat! Last edited by Guinevere; 01-13-2006 at 04:30 PM. Reason: forgot something |
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01-13-2006, 06:00 PM | #16 |
Spirit of the Lonely Star
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 5,133
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Formendacil,
Excellent list! Also, the quest to dispose of the Ring could not be accomplished by two. Frodo and Sam needed the help of Gollum. Surely, this is one of the most pivotal trios in the book. LotR itself, in its conception, was a "double three", representing the original six books.
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03-16-2019, 01:37 PM | #17 |
Dead Serious
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It's fascinating to reread this thread with its high praise for this chapter and mentions of it being personal favourites--because the thing that struck me most while I was rereading "The Field of Cormallen" was how... unreal it was.
Not in a bad sense! But the biggest moment that hit me in the chapter was the shift from Mordor to Ithilien, from the fumes of Orodruin to the herbs of Cormallen. And two weeks pass! Frodo waking in the House of Elrond was but the prefigurement of this moment. Part of the reason for my sense of unreality is no doubt that we are here seeing the story at its most heightened: not just the words, but the events themselves, are like something out of a legend or medieval epic. Sam's bewilderment, wondering if somehow all bad things are veing undone, describes the whiplash of this chapter, coming on the heels of the starvation, exhaustion, desperation, and injury of the previous chapter.
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I prefer history, true or feigned.
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