Mirror of Galadriel

The Mirror of Galadriel was a silver basin of water used in the Elven realm of Lothlórien by Galadriel.^[1] The Mirror was used to grant the viewer things of the past, present, and possible future. It could show images that the viewer desired to see, or that of its own choice.

Its history is unknown. In the first year of the Quest of the Ring, before the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo Baggins looked into the Mirror and saw glimpses the Scouring of the Shire far in the future, among other things.

Portrayal in adaptations

Ralph Bakshi

In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 film, both Frodo and Sam look into the Mirror, which shows many colored images running back and forth. In eagerness Frodo bends down too closely with the One Ring on its chain, which nearly touches the water before Galadriel restrains him.

Peter Jackson's film trilogy

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring only Frodo is invited to look into the Mirror. He is shown a vision of the Shire being destroyed, Orcs slaughtering other Hobbits, the four (Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam) chained and forced to walk, being whipped by Orcs, as well as a final glance from the Eye of Sauron, at which the Ring slides from Frodo's shirt and almost touches the water. Peter Jackson later explained that the vision of the Shire in bondage was meant as a way of incorporating (by showing them as a possibility) some of the events of the chapter "The Scouring of the Shire" from the novel, since those events were not included in the films.

Translations around the world

References

1. ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 7: "The Mirror of Galadriel"