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In Western societies, straight lines are ubiquitous. We see them everywhere, even when they do not really exist. Indeed the straight line has emerged as a virtual icon of modernity, an index of the triumph of rational, purposeful design over the vicissitudes of the natural world. The relentlessly dichotomizing dialectic of modern thought has, at one time or another, associated straightness with mind as against matter, with rational thought as against sensory perception, with intellect as against intuition, with science as against traditional knowledge, with male as against female, with civilization as against primitiveness, and - on the most general level - with culture as against nature. It is not difficult to find examples of every one of these associations.
Tim Ingold, Lines: A Brief History, 2007.
'Yea truly, we know you, Mithrandir,' said the leader of the men, 'and you know the pass-words of the Seven Gates and are free to go forward. But we do not know your companion. What is he? A dwarf out of the mountains in the North? We wish for no strangers in the land at this time, unless they be mighty men of arms in whose faith and help we can trust.'
'I will vouch for him before the seat of Denethor,' said Gandalf. 'And as for valour, that cannot be computed by stature. He has passed through more battles and perils than you have, Ingold, though you be twice his height; and he comes now from the storming of Isengard, of which we bear tidings, and great weariness is on him, or I would wake him. His name is Peregrin, a very valiant man.'
'Man?' said Ingold dubiously, and the others laughed.
'Man!' cried Pippin, now thoroughly roused. 'Man! Indeed not! I am a hobbit and no more valiant than I am a man, save perhaps now and again by necessity. Do not let Gandalf deceive you!'
'Many a doer of great deeds might say no more,' said Ingold.
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of The Rings - Minas Tirith
Ingold (2000)
Allegheny Cemetery 2-2-2022-31
men of middle-earth ☀ misc. dúnedain ☀ headcanon disclaimer
Húrin the Tall was the Warden of the Keys of Minas Tirith at the time of the War of the Ring. Alongside Forlong, Hirluin, and Imrahil, he rode to the aid of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and when the Captains of the West marched on the Black Gate he remained in Gondor. When King Elessar returned victorious, it was Húrin who opened the barricade of the gatehouse to make way for the new King. The husband of Húrin was Suilor, the Warden of the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith. He was fascinated by herbs and herb-lore and tended to ramble on on these topics of his interest, much to the irritation of certain of his patients! Despite his enthusiasm for lore, Suilor was ignorant of certain important topics; it was not him, but his aged colleague Golunil, known by all as Ioreth for her advanced age, who remembered the old adage that The hands of the King are the hands of a healer. Hearing this wisdom, Mithrandir brought Aragorn to the Houses of Healing to tend to the sick, and both Ioreth and Suilor were able to bear witness to his miraculous healing of Faramir and Éowyn using the so-called “weed,” athelas. Another of Aragorn’s patients was the soldier Ingold, who manned the north-gate of Forannest. When an army out of the east crossed the River Anduin, Ingold had been forced into retreat, bringing the grim news that the Rohirrim were blocked from riding to their aid. Yet Rohan’s warriors found their way to the battle nonetheless, and their timely coming saved Ingold’s life in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, though he was not spared all injury. With the King’s careful healing, Ingold was brought back from the brink of death and was able to reunite with his brother Targon, a storehouse worker who had played his small part in the War by giving food to Beregond and Peregrin Took some days earlier. Suilor and Húrin had one daughter, an adopted orphan they named Morwen after the wife of Húrin’s namesake. She aided her father in the Houses of Healing, where she briefly flirted with Lady Éowyn’s brother Éomer. Morwen was well-regarded by Lothíriel of Dol Amroth, and her high opinion of the Rohirric king influenced her friend’s decision to give Éomer a chance when he began to court her. Morwen attended Lothíriel and Éomer’s wedding, and shortly thereafter moved to Meduseld as her lady’s handmaid, where she found true love with Idis, a lady of Rohan’s court.