The Lord of the Rings is still regarded as one of the greatest fantasy/adventure stories of all time, and that’s unlikely to ever change. There are so many characters and scenes from LOTR that are now so widely loved by fans that they’ve become iconic. But which parts of the book are author J.R.R. Tolkien’s favorites?
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Some letters and other writings of J.R.R. Tolkien have resurfaced recently, as fans have come across them in online archives. One of the writings is a 1967 letter that Tolkien once sent to the Daily Telegraph Magazine, in which he shared his top 2 personal favorite scenes from The Lord of the Rings. Think you can guess what they are?
“If it is of interest, the passages that now move me most – written so long ago that I read them now as if they had been written by someone else – are the end of the chapter Lothlórien (I 365-7), and the horns of the Rohirrim at cockcrow,” Tolkien wrote.
What Happens In the “Lothlórien” Chapter of The Lord of the Rings?
As indicated by its title, the chapter of “Lothlórien” takes place after the Fellowship of the Ring has made it out of the Mines of Moria, at the great cost of Gandalf dying in his battle with the Balrog. The company moves on to the Elves’ mystical forest, Lothlórien, where they are to meet with Lady Galadriel.
Fans of Peter Jackson’s movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, never got to see the full version of the journey from Moria to Lothlórien as Tolkien wrote it in the book. In the book chapter “Lothlórien”, the Fellowship has a much trickier journey into the forest, including the Elves demanding that Gimli, a Dwarf, be blindfolded along the way, since the Elves don’t trust a Dwarf with their secrets. They also must camp in secret to avoid both a company of Orcs and Gollum.
However, it’s safe to assume that what really resonated with Tolkien was the end of the chapter: Aragorn lobbies for the entire Fellowship to be blindfolded, to stand in solidarity with Gimli. Eventually, they meet Celeborn and Galadriel, the Lord and Lady of Lórien, who welcome them all, free of discrimination. The chapter closes with the characters taking in the sight of Lothlórien and feeling the light of Galadriel.
It is understandable why Tolkien counts that section of LOTR as a top favorite: it’s basically his description of entering a heaven on Middle-earth. It must have been great to imagine and describe on the page.
LOTR: The Horns of Rohirrim at Cockcrow, Explained
Tolkien’s other favorite moment of The Lord of the Rings makes just as much sense as the first one. The “Battle of the Pelennor Fields” is the climactic battle of The Lord of the Rings (and the climax of the third film, The Return of the King). After generations of division, the surviving kingdoms of men fought to protect the city of Minas Tirith from Sauron’s siege, while also helping distract the dark lord from the final leg of Frodo Baggins’ quest to destroy the One Ring.
King Théoden and the riders of Rohan had been forced to circumvent Sauron’s forces to arrive at Gondor in time, and barely made it. In the book, brave Faramir and his Gondor soldiers had their lines broken by the enemy. But just when the Witch-king is mounting a final assault on the city of Minas Tirith, there is a cock that crows in the distance, as the sun is rising; then the horns of the Rohirrim are heard booming, as the riders come over the hillside.
Again, for Tolkien, this is one of the more epic and hopeful moments in the entire story. It must have been cathartic to write, after having written the “Battle of Osgiliath,” where Faramir and Gondor’s forces took heavy losses and were forced to retreat to Minas Tirith. For LOTR fans, “the horns of the Rohirrim at Cockcrow” has become an iconic symbol of desperate hopes (or faith) being rewarded.
What are your favorite moments of The Lord of the Rings? Let us know on the ComicBook Forum! And follow all updates on The Lord of the Rings franchise expansion that’s currently going on.
Forum Conversation: LOTR: What Are Your Fav Scenes?
Go to ForumThose are all great scenes. I literally love every single second of the entire trilogy, even the extended editions.
Yep that’s a great scene! I try to watch the entire trilogy yearly.
Agreed. There are so many great scenes in this trilogy.