This article is about the chapter. For the place itself, see Lothlórien. |
Lothlorien is the sixth chapter of Book Two of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Plot[]
The Fellowship meets the Elves of Lothlórien. The Elves reluctantly agree to let Gimli, the Dwarf, pass. Aragorn takes Frodo to the hill of Cerin Amroth.
Synopsis[]
With Gandalf lost, Aragorn assumes command of the Company. Hopeless though they all feel, the Ranger leads them away from the Misty Mountains and toward the Elvish forest of Lothlórien (often simply called Lórien). Stopping briefly to tend to Frodo’s injury, Aragorn is amazed to find Bilbo Baggins's Mithril Coat, which saved Frodo from his spear wound in Moria. Moving on, the Company comes to a deep well of crystal-clear water. Legolas and Aragorn are relieved to arrive at Lórien, but Boromir is wary; among Men, the name of the forest is surrounded by strange rumors.
Legolas tells the others of the history of Lothlórien: sorrow came in the Dark Days, when the Dwarves awakened the evil in Moria that then spread out into the hills and threatened Lórien. Gimli bristles at this mention. The Company enters the woods as night falls but is suddenly stopped by a group of Elves, led by one named Haldir, who have been watching from the trees in the Northern Fences. Luckily, the Elves recognize Legolas as kindred and have also heard something of Frodo’s quest, so they bring the strangers up to their tree-platforms. After night falls, a company of Orcs passes under them, chasing after the Fellowship, but the creatures are waylaid by the Elves. Frodo and the others then see another strange creature—a small, crouching shape with pale eyes—but it slips away into the night.
In the morning, the Company walks further into Lórien, reaching the river Silverlode. At one point, the Elves tell Gimli that he must be blindfolded so that he does not know where he is walking, especially because the Dwarves and Elves have not gotten along since the Dark Days. Gimli strongly objects, and the dispute nearly comes to blows. Thinking quickly, Aragorn demands that all the Company, even Legolas, be blindfolded. Gimli assents, so all the members of the Fellowship are led blindfolded into the Naith, or heart, of Lórien. Once they arrive, Haldir receives word that Galadriel, lady of the forest, has decreed that the Fellowship’s blindfolds may be removed.
When the blindfolds are taken off, the strangers behold a forest that seems to belong to another age. Its trees and flowers surpass the beauty of any other growing things, and the light and colors are ethereal golds and greens. They are at Cerin Amroth, a hill with a double ring of trees that is, in Aragorn’s words, “the heart of Elvendom on earth.” Haldir takes Frodo and Sam up to a platform on top of the trees, from which they gaze at the enchanted land surrounding them, noticing also the forbidding lands beyond. When the hobbits descend, they find Aragorn in a powerful and blissful daydream.
Appearances[]
Characters | Species and creatures | Locations | Factions, groups and titles |
Events | Objects and artifacts | Miscellanea |
Characters
Dramatis personae
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Other characters
Species and creatures
Locations
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Events
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Songs and verses[]
- Song of the maiden Nimrodel
In adaptations[]
In Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring film, Haldir confronts the Fellowship along with his brothers. The Fellowship's stay with the Galadhrim is omitted; instead, Haldir escorts the Fellowship, without blindfolding them, to Caras Galadhon.