Google| Subject | Woody End - More Geography |
| From | MasterDebater |
| Date | 11/10/2002 14:11 (11/10/2002 05:11) |
| Message-ID | <aqllt501t8v@enews1.newsguy.com> |
| Client | |
| Newsgroups | alt.fan.tolkien |
| Followups | ?jevind L?ng (4h & 44m) |
Problem1: The Lord of the Rings, p. 97 '... answered Frodo. "The Ferry is south-east from Woodhall."'
Frodo believed that Bucklebury Ferry was south-east from Woodhall. Neither Sam nor Pippin disagreed with him.
The Lord of the Rings, p. 28, A Map of The Shire: Bucklebury Ferry is not south-east from Woodhall, but, in fact, slightly north of a line running directly east from Woodhall.
Problem 2: The Lord of the Rings, p. 98 '"Why, this is the Stock-brook!' said Pippin. "If we are going to try and get back on to our course, we must cross at once and bear right."'
On the above-mentioned Map of The Shire, the Hobbits are presently at the approximate position where the Stock-brook emerges from The Woody End and flows out into the flatter lands of The Marish. At this point on the map, they are on the northwest bank of the stream, clearly south-west of The Bucklebury Ferry. Nevertheless, Pippin advises crossing the stream and bearing to the right, which, on the map, would head them in the direction of Rushy or even Deephallow.
Is it a wonder they got lost?
Optional problem 3: The Lord of the Rings, p.90 '[Gildor replied] "For tonight we go to the woods on the hills above Woodhall." ... at last the Elves turned aside from the path [to Woodhall]. A green ride lay almost unseen through the thickets on the right; and this they followed as it wound away back up the wooded slopes on to the top of a shoulder of the hills that stood out into the lower land of the river-valley [Brandywine]. Suddenly they came out of the shadows of the trees ... on three sides the woods pressed upon it; but eastward the ground fell steeply ...nearer at hand a few lights twinkled in the village of Woodhall.'
This indicates that the Hobbits and the Elves are west of Woodhall, in the woods near the top of an eastward-falling bank. The map of The Shire depicts the path to Woodhall as approaching Woodhall directly from the west. Therefore, as they are presently more-or-less directly west of Woodhall, then they cannot be too far from the path, which is indicated in the quoted text. Call this point A.
P. 98 'When they had struggled to the bottom of the bank, they found a stream ...'
This stream is later identified by Pippin as the Stock-brook, and, at this point, which we will call point B, the Hobbits are not too far from that point at which the Stock-brook emerges from the Woody End and flows out into the Marish. In struggling down a single bank, the Hobbits have traveled from point A to point B.
Yet on the scale of the map of The Shire, p. 28, it is clear that point A and B are well over a mile apart.
Distortions in the space-time continuum?
11/10/2002
