Line #101 TheLordOfTheRings/TropesAToC


1	[[center:'''Tropes from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' (the book)''']]
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10	* AbandonedMine: The mines of Moria were once overflowing with dwarves, but their mining awakened an ancient demonic being that slaughtered them all. Now, the mines are empty except for unmanned equipment and decaying skeletons, with only said being and the Goblins living in the mountains remaining.
11	* AbsurdlyLongStairway: The peak called Zirakzigil by the dwarves had a stairway (appropriately enough, called the Endless Stair) that reached from the peak to the bottom of the Underdeeps of Khazad-dum (aka Moria), and was destroyed during Gandalf's battle with the Balrog.
12	* AcheyScars: Frodo Baggins's wounds received from the Morgul blade and Shelob often pain him afterwards and make him ill, especially on their anniversaries. [[spoiler:He actually sails to the True West with the elves because of this, in the hope of finding a way of reducing this physical pain and the emotional scars from bearing the Ring.]]
13	* AchievementsInIgnorance: Pippin unwittingly buys the remaining Fellowship a little more time by accidentally touching the palantír because he's compelled to. How? [[spoiler: Seeing him in the palantír makes Sauron think he's captured by Saruman. And he had just enough resistance and fear to tell Sauron nothing and maintain this illusion. Thus Sauron ends up spending extra time sending messengers to Saruman rather than going for Gandalf, the Hunters, Gondor, or Rohan.]]
14	* ActionGirl: Éowyn notes that she's trained as a warrior and finds it frustrating that she's supposed to stay at Meduseld and wait, only seeing battle if the war goes badly for the men. She joins the Battle of Pelennor Fields in disguise.
15	* ActOfTrueLove: The entirety of the trilogy is one of these for [[BattleButler Samwise]] [[UndyingLoyalty Gamgee]]. He followed [[TheNotLoveInterest Frodo]] into Mordor, being his keeper for the whole trip.
16	%% * ActualPacifist: Frodo towards the end of the story.
17	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Farmer Maggot thinks that the Black Rider may have been laughing after Maggot tells him off. He probably finds a hobbit having the gall to threaten him amusingly absurd.
18	* AddictiveMagic:
19	** The One Ring gives its user power of a sort, but at the same time creates an addiction to it, to the point where the user couldn't give it to anyone else, thus making him the only one powered by it. Only its maker Sauron is immune to this, as the "[[TitleDrop Lord of the Ring]]".
20	** During the period when Sauron was thought to be dead between his defeat by the Last Alliance and his return to power, people like Isildur, Gollum and Bilbo were attracted to the Ring for its [[GoldFever shiny beauty]], but still formed a strong attachment to it. It also serves as an InvisibilityCloak for the wearer (a side effect for mortals). When Sauron goes "active" again and the true nature of the Ring is revealed to the heroes, the Ring itself "awakens" also, and the potential power it bestows is extended to dominion over whole realms and races - although it is implied that to fully control the Ring, one would have to first defeat Sauron in a battle of wills for it; not only is that beyond the ability of any of the characters (save perhaps Gandalf), but the Ring is inherently tainted and the new master would not end up being any better than Sauron, if that.
21	*** Tolkien went so far as to say that had Gandalf claimed the Ring, he would be far worse than Sauron ever was. Sauron at least had the good grace to leave the line between good and evil unmarred so his villainy could be seen for what it was. Gandalf would destroy that line by being so oppressively good that evil would seem preferable.
22	** Plenty of things touched by Sauron seem to have this effect. A similar version happens to Pippin with Saruman's old ''palantir''; he maybe held it for a minute or two without looking into it only to have an overwhelming compulsion to touch it again and attempt to use it. Gandalf takes Pippin with him to Minas Tirith and gives the ''palantir'' to Aragorn just so Pippin isn't tempted to do so again and the influence can wear off.
23	%%* {{Adventure}}
24	%%* AdviceBackfire: Discussed.
25	%%-->'''Frodo''': It is said: 'Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.'\
26	'''Gildor''': Is that so? Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill.
27	* AerithAndBob: Due to the Conlang system in LOTR, this trope is inverted. Despite Westron being translated into English (including names), almost none of the characters has a realistic name that is commonly used nowadays (although there actually ''is'' a Bob, a hobbit working at the Prancing Pony inn[[note]]There's a few more, including Tom Bombadil; the Bree gatekeeper Harry; nasty Bill Ferny [[spoiler:who turns out to be working for Saruman]]; the mistreated pony he sells to the hobbits, also named Bill by Sam; and hobbits with names like Will, Ted, Dora, Angelica, Esmeralda, etc.[[/note]]. Sam and Pippin are the closest exception, though they are short for the less common "Samwise" and "Peregrin" respectively. In other words, real-life names are generally Aeriths in that universe.
28	* AnAesop:
29	** One of the most important and poignant Aesops in all of Tolkien's works is that times change and that all things, no matter how good or beautiful, will someday end. The First Age of Middle-earth, a time of immense beauty and magic when the gods walked the earth, ended without ever coming again. The whole race of the elves is a testament to this Aesop. Because of their immortality, the elves wither away from grief and longing of the Undying Lands if they stay on Middle-earth too long. They were only able to continue through the Second and Third Ages due to the [[RingOfPower rings]] Sauron showed them how to make. Once the rings lose their power the Elves depart. The mortality of humans is portrayed as a ''good thing'', because man is able to pass to a new world freely. More so, the same applies to the Shire, in the Book at least. The Scouring of the Shire drops an anvil about the safety of Home and personal investment in a fight.
30	** One of the defining themes of the books is the importance of mercy. Frodo wonders in the beginning why Gandalf hasn't just killed someone as vile as Gollum, but in Book 2, it is Gollum's guidance that assures Frodo that he can make it into Mordor. He fights for Gollum's life against the suspicion of Faramir, the temptation of the Ring, and even the complaints of his best friend Sam, who thinks bad guys like Gollum must be killed. In the end, [[spoiler:Sam pities Gollum enough to spare his life, allowing Gollum to take the Ring and destroy it in an act of providence.]]
31	---> '''Gandalf:''' ''Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment, for not even the very wise can see all ends.''
32	** One of the most powerful anvils dropped, yet oddly one of the most often missed, was how truly evil despair and defeatism are. All of the heroes keep pushing on despite apparent hopelessness, and eventually win through and defeat the BigBad. By contrast, the secondary villains -- Saruman and Denethor -- are both corrupted by their own despair into joining the wrong side, or giving up and [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] while leaving family and friends to die; and are both eventually destroyed.
33	** There's a rather lovely scene at the end of ''The Two Towers'' when Sam is talking about his very favourite stories, and how things go so bad that you wonder how anything could ever go back to the way it does before, and yet it does. Not only is it a not-so-subtle "This is what's happening right now to the person saying it" moment, but it perfectly encapsulates the anvil mentioned here.
34	** And, of course, the obvious messages of the One Ring: "Power Corrupts", and "The End Does Not Justify The Means". If you start using your enemy's methods against them you'll become a villain yourself. See Saruman, who at the mere prospect of being able to use the Ring, becomes a would-be tyrant attacking the lands of Men, torturing hobbits, and imprisoning his fellow wizard, Gandalf.
35	%%** For the series in general: "There is good in the world. There is also bad in the world, but the good is worth fighting for."
36	%%** "Never leave your friends behind."
37	* AfterActionHealingDrama: When Frodo has to be rushed to Rivendell, there is some question if the wound he received from the Ringwraiths can even be healed. With some effort, he survives, but the wound pains him for the rest of his life.
38	* AfterActionPatchup: After the mines of Moria, the Fellowship spends some time resting and healing amongst themselves. This also gives them time to mourn Gandalf.
39	* TheAgeless: The Elven race do not age, and do not experience death. Even when killed they are simply re-embodied back in Valinor. Glorfindel is the only Elf known to have returned to Middle Earth after being re-embodied, however.
40	* TheAlliance: The Free Peoples, the alliance between the human kingdoms of Gondor, Rohan and Dale, the Elven kingdoms of Lothlórien and Mirkwood, the Dwarven Kingdom of Erebor, the Ents of Fangorn forest, The Great Eagles and the Hobbits of Shire, was founded during the War of the Ring as a response against [[DarkLord Sauron's]] quest for conquest.
41	* AllThereInTheManual: A lot of epilogues and side stories are in the appendices, including the ''love story''. Tolkien's way of implying that the story of [=LotR=], despite being one of the most important things to happen in Middle-earth, was not the ''only'' thing happening.
42	** Arguably, from Aragorn's point of view, the ''whole War of the Ring'' is merely an EngagementChallenge.
43	** The Appendices also makes note of fighting in the North near Erebor and acknowledges those who triumphed and died in the fighting.
44	* AllThatGlitters: The phrasing is reversed--"all that is gold does not glitter"--but it fits the trope description. However it is a complete reversal of the well known phrase "not everything that glitters is gold".
45	* AllTrollsAreDifferent: They're 12 feet tall, turn to stone permanently when exposed to daylight, and are implied to be the result of Morgoth corrupting Ents. Then we have the Olog-hai, bred by Sauron shortly before the War of the Ring. They're similar to normal trolls in this setting, but bigger, stronger, and resistant to sunlight.
46	* AllUpToYou: Quite a few times, but most notably with Sam when Frodo is captured.
47	* AllWebbedUp: Frodo is trapped in a giant web after he escapes from Shelob's lair.
48	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler:Saruman has turned the Shire upside-down by the time the heroes get back from defeating the BigBad, ripping apart its forests, destroying villagers' homes, and robbing the Hobbits dry]].
49	* AlliterativeFamily: Happens a lot in hobbit families. The most notable example would probably be Peregrin (Pippin), son of Paladin, brother of Pearl, Pimpernel, and Pervinca.
50	* AlternativeCalendar: The different peoples have their own calendars, with varying degrees of difference between them. The books generally use the Shire (Hobbit) calendar.
51	* AlternativeNumberSystem: According to the appendices, elves habitually count in base 12.
52	* AlwaysChaoticEvil:
53	** In one possible BackStory, orcs were magically corrupted from elf stock to be Morgoth's minions. Tolkien's own thoughts on this suggest that this may not entirely be the case, though.
54	** Although the ''story'' required the BigBad and his [[TheDragon various proxies]] to have foot soldiers, Tolkien couldn't reconcile his own principles with the creation of even an imaginary race that was either a) soulless or b) predestined for damnation. The eventual compromise was that, while not inherently evil, they were raised from birth in a society where a good orc wouldn't survive and in any case were constantly being corrupted by Sauron's will.
55	* {{Ambadassador}}: Gandalf, ambassador from the Valar; most of the Fellowship were originally ambassadors to Rivendell. Their collected appearance prompted the Council of Elrond.
56	* AmbiguousSyntax: The doors of Moria have a message in Elvish saying "Speak friend and enter". Gandalf misenterprets this as "speak, friend, and enter" and spends hours trying to guess the password; in the end he realizes that it should be "speak 'friend' and enter".
57	** In standard Sindarin (Grey Elvish), the syntax isn't ambiguous: "friend" in "speak, friend" is a vocative, and in "say friend" it's a direct object; those are usually distinguished by consonantal mutation (''pedo mellon'' vs. ''pedo vellon'', respectively). However, the inscription at the Gate seems to be written in a dialect that doesn't mutate M's.
58	* AmbitionIsEvil:
59	** The One Ring corrupts by tempting the user with the power to fulfill their personal ambitions, even if those ambitions are noble at the start. Sam's only ambition is to raise a family and live quietly, so he is little affected by it, while Tom Bombadil, who is completely devoid of ambition, is completely immune to its power. Conversely Boromir, who desperately wanted to save Gondor, for love but also for glory, was easily manipulated. Faramir ardently desired peace for his people but understood that it was something the Enemy's weapon wouldn't give him, so while it affected him he didn't succumb to the temptation.
60	** The Ring does in fact try to tempt Sam with becoming Garden-Master of the World, Ruler of All That Grows. Sam considers for a moment before realizing how profoundly ''silly'' that is.
61	* AmplifierArtifact: All of the rings, especially the One. They give power, but mostly by amplifying the powers and skills the wearer already has; as Gandalf says, the One Ring grants "power according to [the wearer's] stature." For example, Smeagol was a mischievous sneak. He became far better at it even when visible, along with secondary things like magically overhearing hurtful information.
62	* AncientTomb: The Barrow-downs of the Northern Kingdom and the Dwimorberg (the haunted mountain at Dunharrow). The barrows of the Kings of Rohan and the tombs in Minas Tirith are also Ancient Tombs, but not haunted by anything.
63	* AncestralWeapon: Narsil; notable in that it wasn't a whole weapon, but rather the broken pieces. King Elendil's sword had been broken in combat with Sauron during the War of the Last Alliance, but Elendil's son Isildur took up one of the pieces and cut the ring from Sauron's hand, winning the war. The shards were then passed down to Isildur's heirs through the generations until Aragorn; they were then reforged into a new sword, Anduril.
64	* AndIMustScream:
65	** What becomes of Sauron after the Ring is destroyed. According to Gandalf, he lives on as a "mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, but cannot again grow or take shape." [[AlasPoorVillain Makes you almost feel sorry for him...]]
66	** The same fate befalls Saruman after his death, as he isn't allowed to enter the Halls of Mandos (the afterlife) and instead has to wander the Void as a restless and impotent spirit. This fate could also be seen as an IronicHell for him and Sauron, who craved power above all else and had every last bit of it stripped away from them.
67	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: The later books frequently change point of view between chapters. The first half of ''The Return of the King'' changes point of view in practically every chapter.
68	* AngelsDevilsAndSquid:
69	** The Istari are the equivalent of angels, and Sauron is the equivalent of a devil, but according to Gandalf there are also {{Eldritch Abomination}}s 'gnawing' deep in the earth.
70	** Shelob is actually the spawn of one 'Squid', the spider-creature Ungoliant (who only gets a brief name-drop in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and a larger - but still incomplete - explanation in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion.''
71	* AngelUnaware: The Istari. While all of the [[PhysicalGod Valar]] and [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Maiar]] -- being "spirits" created by [[{{God}} Eru]] before the dawn of time -- could be considered "angels" in a sense, Tolkien noted that the Wizards in particular are also literally ''angeloi'' -- "messengers" sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to offer wisdom to Elves and Men and help them resist the forces of evil.
72	* AnnoyingArrows:
73	** Played straight and then subverted; Boromir does get shot by ''several'' arrows, and ''does'' pull at least one out, but is still weakened and wounded to death and definitely cannot continue fighting.
74	** {{Lampshaded}} much later by Pippin, who comments that even the mightiest warrior can be killed by a single arrow.
75	* AnotherDimension: The "invisibility" granted by the ring is in fact phasing out of our level of reality and entering the spiritual reality in which Sauron and the Nazgul exist. Elves, particularly those who have lived in Valinor, being equally of flesh and spirit, exist simultaneously in both realms.
76	* AnotherMansTerror: "''We cannot get out. The end comes'', and then ''drums, drums in the deep.'' I wonder what that means"
77	* AnswerToPrayers: Varda, one of the Valar (archangels), seems to respond quite directly to her name being invoked. When Samwise Gamgee holds up the Phial of Galadriel and calls on the power of Elbereth (another name for Varda), the Phial glows so brightly that it blinds and terrifies the many-eyed [[EldritchAbomination spider-monster Shelob the Great]].
78	* AntagonistTitle: The Lord of the Rings is Sauron.
79	* AntiVillain: Gollum (to the extent that he isn't "the real hero"; also doubles as TheWoobie)
80	* ApeShallNeverKillApe: Hobbits. Used in a heroic example during the [[spoiler:Scouring of the Shire. Frodo forbids killing hobbits, even if they turned evil, saying: "No hobbit has ever killed another on purpose in the Shire, and it is not to begin now."]]
81	* ApocalypticLog: The Book of Mazarbul, chronicling Balin's failed attempt to retake Moria up until their last stand. It trails off at the end:
82	--> "[...] we rescued Balin's body [...] we have barred the gates but doubt if [...] can hold them long. If there is [...] no escape it will be a horrible fate to suffer [...] '''We cannot get out. We cannot get out.''' They have taken the bridge and Second Hall... fell there bravely while the rest retr [...] Mazarbul. We still ho[...]g ... but hope u[...]n[...]Óin's party went five days ago but today only four returned. The pool is up to the wall at West-gate. The Watcher in the Water took Óin... we cannot get out. The end comes soon. We hear '''drums, drums in the deep."''' The last line is a trailing scrawl of elf-letters: '''"They are coming."'''
83	* {{Arcadia}}:
84	** The Shire is a subversion. It's a nice place to live, definitely, but it is far from perfect, and while the hobbits are generally kind, friendly and generous, they are also parochial, clannish, unimaginative and gossipy. The characters even make a point of not even letting the hobbits know Gondor and Rohan are duking it out against {{Mordor}}.
85	** Tom and Goldberry Bombadil ''really'' live in an Arcadia. Many people like to think this is a BigLippedAlligatorMoment from the first part of the story, but it might be the only place on Middle-Earth that would be safe from Sauron's ravages should he win.[[invoked]]Gandalf goes so far as to say that Bombadil would likely be the last to fall.
86	* ArcadianInterlude: The time spent with Tom Bombadil. The episode serves as character development for all the hobbits (especially Frodo), and to provide the hobbits with their swords, one of which becomes vitally important in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Tom Bombadil was content with himself and thus couldn't be tempted by the Ring. [[WordOfGod Tolkien himself]] stated that he considered the Tom Bombadil sequence one of the most important sequences in the entire story. From a narrative perspective, he represents the [[ShrugOfGod mystery that remains]] even after a reader thinks he knows all there is to know about Middle-Earth and represents what could be lost. From a writing perspective, he gives Tolkien a chance to present backstory exposition in a way that interests the reader. Still, considered a BigLippedAlligatorMoment by some readers, which might be why it is not found in the Bakshi film, the BBC Radio adaptation, the Jackson films…
87	* ArcNumber: 9 - Nazgûl, Fellowship (chosen to match the Nazgûl), Rings for Mortal Men (make them into the Nazgûl), number of people who touched the One Ring (Sauron, Isildur, Déagol, Sméagol, Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, Tom Bombadil, Sam), and [[spoiler:Frodo's fingers at the end]].[[note]]In RealLife, an ArcNumber both in Norse Mythology and popular Medieval Christianized astrology (where it represented perfection, a "trinity of trinities") - both of which influenced Tolkien immensely.[[/note]]
88	* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: Beregond deserts his post, kills a porter, breaks into Rath Dinen, and kills two fellow members of the Guard...all to save the life of Faramir.
89	* ArtifactOfAttraction: The One Ring has this power. Everyone who loses the ring wants to retake it. Even worse, anyone who brings the Ring to the one place that can [[NoManShouldHaveThisPower destroy the Ring]], then decides to keep the Ring.
90	* ArtifactOfDoom: The One Ring contains the power and will of the Dark Lord of Mordor, allowing it to manipulate any man with promises of glory. A wizard as wise as Gandalf refuses to take the Ring for fear of corruption and justly so, since perpetual possession of the Ring reduces Smeagol from a hobbit to an emaciated animal known as "Gollum."
91	* ArtShift: In the first authorised American paperback, Tolkien complained about Barbara Remington's [[http://ringlord.com/people/walrus/lotr/pix/LotR-1538x794.png creative artwork]] for the covers. "Horrible colours and foul lettering." ''The Hobbit'' featured the part of this work showing a "tree with bulbous fruit" and "lions and emus" on the [[http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320116062l/2170094.jpg covers]]. The editors' representative called Tolkien up to explain that Remington hadn't had time to read the book and that the ornaments on the tree were "meant to suggest a Christmas tree". Tolkien said (in somewhat more colourful language) that he felt like the OnlySaneMan. The Ballantine edition, with its expressionistic covers, is nicknamed the "[[http://lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/gallery/bookcovers/pages/04.htm Hippie Edition]]". ([[http://web.archive.org/web/20061202024855/http://www.andwerve.com/august06_featured_artist Interview with Remington here.]]) [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/books/barbara-remington-dead.html Remington's 2020 obit with more info.]] When Ballantine reprinted the books in 1978, the covers had Tolkien's own art.
92	* AsleepForDays: Frodo does this in Rivendell after being near-fatally wounded by the Nazgûl. It happens again to both him and Sam after getting rescued from Mount Doom, due to their near starving, wounded state.
93	* AssInAmbassador: Boromir not only represents Gondor at the Council, but this trope as well, interrupting Elrond’s explanation in order to talk about Gondor’s battles and his own prophetic dream, as well as eagerly proposing the use of an ArtifactOfDoom to defeat Sauron. And then there's the MouthOfSauron, who spends the entire time of the "negotiations" gloating and taunting everyone, even accusing them of striking him when the King of Gondor gives him a DeathGlare that has him recoiling.
94	* AthensAndSparta: Gondor is a human kingdom that is noble and heir to a powerful and advanced civilization, but on its final legs by the time of the book. Sadly, it's right next door to Mordor.
95	* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: The Mûmakil are enormous elephant-like beasts that the Haradrim ride into battle against Gondor.
96	* AttackOfTheMonsterAppendage: The Watcher in the Water is only seen as an uncountable number of tentacles - in the books, its body is never revealed.
97	* AudibleSharpness: Grishnákh's sword "rang faintly" when he drew it. In general, swords are described as ringing as they are drawn.
98	* AuthorAvatar:
99	** Faramir, whom Tolkien considered himself to be most like out of all the characters. An early version of him explained in depth about the Elves.
100	** On a more literal note, the minstrel at the Field of Cormallen, because he actually ''tells the whole story'' to the characters present in it. WordOfGod implies this as well.
101	* AuthorUsurpation: Of all of Tolkien's works, ''The Lord of the Rings'' gets the most attention and discussion. With the exception of ''The Hobbit'', his other books aren't talked about nearly as much, and his academic writings get ignored.
102	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor at the end, which is done with appropriate pomp, celebration, and even a minstrel to recount the parts of the tale the crowd doesn't know. His coronation is also a celebration not just of his return but of the final defeat of Sauron and the start of the Fourth Age.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:B]]
106	* BabiesEverAfter: Sam marries his longtime sweetheart the year after the end of War, and the next year sees the birth of little Elanor. He goes on to have twelve more, although, as the epilogue was cut, this is revealed in the Appendices instead of in the narrative.
107	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Gandalf left the realm of "thought and time" after battling the Balrog, only to be sent back among the living to help end the reign of Sauron.]]
108	* {{Backstory}}: The Shire, Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor all have ancient legends and histories that inform the story, as found in ''Literature/TheHobbit'', ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', ''Literature/{{Unfinished Tales\|of Numenor and Middleearth}}'' and ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin''.
109	%%* BadassAdorable: The Hobbits probably count.
110	* BadassBoast:
111	** Éowyn's is probably the most famous.
112	---> '''Éowyn:''' "[[NoManOfWomanBorn But no living man am I!]] You look upon a woman. Éowyn am I, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."
113	%%** Frodo's to the Nazgûl at the ford.
114	** Gandalf leaving cautionary signs to the enemy that read as "Gandalf is here" all over the place, reciting his credentials while stonewalling the Balrog in Moria, and later reassuring Gimli by telling him:
115	---> '''Gandalf:''' And I too am [[GoodIsNotNice dangerous;]] more dangerous than anything you shall ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the throne of the Dark Lord. [[WorldOfBadass And Aragorn is dangerous, and Legolas is dangerous. You are beset with dangers, Gimli son of Glóin; for you too are dangerous in your way]].
116	* BadassBookworm: Faramir is a scholar but also a formidable fighter.
117	* BadassFamily: Théoden and his niece and nephew; Boromir and his brother Faramir; and Aragorn's [[RoyalBlood lineage]]. Tolkien seemed to be inordinately fond of this trope.
118	* BadassNormal: Boromir, Éowyn, and all the Hobbits, but especially Sam. All of these characters are lacking in mystical powers, nor do they have a 'kingly aura', nor are they of venerated age and experience, but they hold their own nonetheless.
119	* BanishingRitual: Gandalf's invocation: "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass" is, apparently, an attempt of such an abjuration against the Balrog of Moria.
120	* BarbarianLonghair: The hobbits initially do not trust Strider due to his barbarian appearance. The movies keep Aragorn (and most of the rest of the cast) attractively unkempt throughout.
121	* BarbarianTribe: The Orcs are a culture of slave-driving cannibals who cannot sustain their own nation and who rely on stealing the resources of tributary states. As soon as a group of them has an argument away from their commanders, they settle the matter by slaughtering each other until only one orc is left alive.
122	%%** Several Mannish cultures (the Haradrim, the Variags, the Dunlendings, and - on the heroic side - the Rohirrim.)
123	* BarelyChangedDubName: In the Hungarian translation, some characters have differently spelled names as the English original; many of them are phonetic transliterations. Frodo to Frodó, Bilbo to Bilbó, Sam to Samu, Took to Tuk, Tom Bombadil to Bombadil Toma, Gollum to Gollam, Sméagol to Szméagol, and, in older editions, Sauron to Szauron and Saruman to Szarumán (newer editions use the original spelling for these two).
124	* BarredFromTheAfterlife: The Dead Men of Dunharrow are cursed to an undead life until they have fulfilled their oath to aid Gondor's king in battle.
125	* BathsAreFun: The hobbits sing a bath song after arriving at Frodo's new house in Buckland, and have a lot of fun splashing around in the tubs. "Sing hey! For the bath at close of day..."
126	* BatmanGambit: Gandalf used one of these to [[WeNeedADistraction distract]] Sauron from the true location of the One Ring, convincing him that the Free People were planning to use it against him. The whole thing was [[WeNeedADiversion a diversion]] to allow the Hobbits to [[WalkIntoMordor enter Mordor]] [[RightUnderTheirNoses unnoticed]].
127	* BattleButler: Sam is described as the "batman" (no, not ''that'' Franchise/{{Batman}}) to Frodo's inexperienced [[OfficerAndAGentleman high-born WWI officer]].
128	* BearerOfBadNews: Gandalf has quite a reputation for this in many places. The Rohirrim don't like him much because of it -- they call him Stormcrow. Of course, as Gandalf himself points out, he has this reputation because he tends to seek out the places where his help is most needed.
129	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The Rings of Power ran on this.
130	** The Three helped the Elves to preserve the past, which made them more insular as time went on.
131	** The Seven Rings made the Dwarves richer than ever, but also made them paranoid.
132	** The Nine Rings granted the Humans who bore them longevity and great power, but at the cost of stretching their lives past enduring and ultimately replacing their wills with Sauron's.
133	** The Hobbits who bore the One used it for stealth, but in Mordor or when the Nazgûl were in the area they got the opposite of stealth. Plus, in ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Bilbo's invisibility had meant his getting knocked out went unnoticed.
134	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: [-"There are other forces at work besides the will of evil... Bilbo was ''meant'' to find the Ring, and ''not'' by its maker."-] Only in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' is the source of this "destiny" made clear: All events in the universe unfold according to the will of Eru ({{God}}), so presumably this is Gandalf's oblique way of saying that it was God's will for Bilbo to find the Ring.
135	* BeingWatched: Being eavesdropped on by Sam (for the most heart-warming conspiracy ever) and several times with Gollum. Also, there are several moments when the good guys either perceive directly the gaze of the Eye of Sauron, or feel themselves watched from above by the winged Nazgûl.
136	* BeneathTheEarth: The dwarven realm of Khazad-dûm is technically a vast, glorified mine under the mountains, connecting with ancient caves where orcs and monsters hide out of sight of the surface world. Erebor (or the Lonely Mountain, as it's called in ''Literature/TheHobbit''), a smaller-scale version of the same, is also mentioned.
137	* BenevolentBoss: Bilbo Baggins is quite charitable to Hamfast Gamgee, his gardener, and teaches Ham's son Sam to read, which seems to be a somewhat privileged skill in the Shire.
138	%%** In turn, Frodo to Sam.
139	* BerserkButton:
140	** When Éomer speaks of 'the Sorceress of the Golden Wood' with suspicion, Gimli immediately challenges him to single combat.
141	** When the Ents break into Isengard and start trashing the place, Saruman activates some machinery that sets one of them on fire. And so he and witnesses Merry and Pippin learn first-hand what a group of ''really'' angry Ents can do.
142	* BestFriendsInLaw: Sam and Pippin, thanks to the marriage of Goldilocks Gamgee to Faramir Took, are war buddies and grandfathers to the same children.
143	* BetrayalByInaction: The Oathbreakers were cursed by Isildur when they ignored his call to join his army to fight against Sauron, even though they had pledged allegiance to him.
144	* BetterThanABareBulb: Many examples, done very well, of characters noting they are like, or are, characters in a saga and that some trope applies to them. "Give us a story, I want to hear about 'Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom'", et cetera.
145	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Denethor burns himself alive rather than die protecting his city from the forces of evil. This is presented as an utterly reprehensible decision -- it comes closer than anything in the book to actually being called a sin. Tolkien deliberately has Gandalf use the term "heathen" (the only "religious" term he uses) when he lambastes Denethor.
146	* TheBerserker: Éomer finds Éowyn fallen on the Field of Pelennor and enters a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
147	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Few - if any - of the 'nice' characters are harmless once their anger is roused. Hobbits demonstrate the trope most strongly, but they're hardly the only ones.
148	* BewitchedAmphibians: Sam and Frodo reference this when Gandalf catches Sam eavesdropping in ''Fellowship'', and Gandalf plays along, though there's no evidence that he would be able to actually do it.
149	* BigBad: The books are about the war to defeat Sauron, the sorcerer-king of Mordor who wishes nothing more than to dominate the free races of Middle-earth. He commands other villains like the Ringwraiths, Saruman the White, Wormtongue, and the Orcs as they battle the Fellowship of the Ring throughout the land.
150	* BigBadDuumvirate: Subverted. Saruman seems to consider himself Sauron's equal partner and has long-term plans to [[TheStarscream double-cross]] him, but Sauron is far more powerful and smart enough to be fully aware of his pawn's ambitions. It's quite clear to everybody else that there is only ''one'' BigBad in ''The Lord of the Rings''.
151	* BigBadWannabe: Saruman, for the reasons above, is this on the whole, in the War of the Ring. It must be added though that his treason constituted at least half of the danger that the Fellowship faced during their journey and that he was more or less the BigBad for the one half of ''The Two Towers'' and for Rohan in particular, which he threatened on his own terms.
152	* BigDamnHeroes: Subverted when Boromir fails to rescue Merry and Pippin from the Uruk-hai, but played straight thereafter: Gandalf brings a host to Helm's Deep, Merry comes to Eowyn's aid against the Witch-King, Aragorn turns the tide at the Battle of the Pelennor, Sam rescues Frodo from Shelob ''and'' from imprisonment, and - toward the end - the four hobbits return from abroad and lead an uprising to deliver their nation from one last peril. There are also many cases where secondary characters save the day - see TheCavalry.
153	* BigEater: Pretty much the entire Hobbit race. Six meals a day is considered normal for them, and many young Hobbits learn to cook before they learn to read (if ever). Exaggerated when it comes to special occasions like Bilbo's 111th birthday party...
154	* BigGood: Gandalf was sent to rally the Free Peoples against Sauron by [[CouncilOfAngels the Valar]] and their leader, [[ArchangelMichael Manwë]], who are the highest authority for good on the physical plane, and above ''them'' is Eru, who is, in a nutshell, {{God}}. After the Ring and Sauron are gone, Aragorn takes over to lead Middle-Earth into the Fourth Age.
155	* BigOlEyebrows: Gandalf has bushy eyebrows that stick out wider than the brim of his hat.
156	* BilingualBackfire: This is referenced and narrowly averted at the hobbits' first encounter with elves, and Frodo reveals that he speaks High-Elvish:
157	-->'''Gildor:''' Be careful, friends! Speak no secrets! Here is a scholar in the Ancient Tongue. Bilbo was a good master. Hail, Elf-friend!
158	* BilingualBonus: Most of the {{Meaningful Name}}s. Generally speaking, the rest have translations given.
159	** For instance, "Gamling" is Swedish for "old man". A [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin fitting name]], considering the character is, well, an old man.
160	** Tolkien loved to do this, especially with the Rohirrim. For instance, Théoden's name is an Old English word for "king". Meduseld, the name of Edoras' central mead-hall, means.... [[ShapedLikeItself "mead-hall."]] In fact, if you look at the lineage of Rohan in the appendices, ''all'' the rulers, from Éorl to Éomer, have names that are Old English words or epithets for "king" or "nobleman".
161	** When introducing the Balrog, Tolkien writes that "a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it." ''Balrog'' is the Sindarin equivalent of Quenya ''Valarauko'', from ''vala-'' (power) and ''rauko'' (terror).
162	* BilingualRhyme: The Song of Durin sung by Gimli in ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' rhymes English with Khuzdul, the native Dwarven language:
163	--> The shadow lies upon his tomb
164	--> In Moria, in Khazad-dûm.
165	* BindingAncientTreaty: Gondor has one of these with Rohan, leading to a great [[GondorCallsForAid call for aid]].
166	* BittersweetEnding:
167	** Sauron and Saruman are defeated permanently, the One Ring is destroyed, Aragorn takes his rightful place as king and marries Arwen, and the hobbits return to the Shire... but the destruction of the One Ring also destroys the power of the Three Rings that has sustained Lothlórien and Rivendell, and the Elves leave Middle-earth. Frodo, unable to bear the weight of all he lost to save the world, [[YouCantGoHomeAgain can't go back]] to enjoying life, and leaves with them for the Undying Lands, as does Gandalf, and magic begins to go out of the world. Sam, Pippin, Merry, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Éomer live long and happy lives with their respective family and friends.
168	** The ending is also this for the world as a whole. While the destruction of the One Ring means that the malice of Sauron has been defeated and he can never grow to power again, it also means that the decay of the world which he helped to artificially prolong can no longer be stopped [[TheMagicGoesAway and the fantastical elements of the setting will gradually fade]]. Still, hard to argue against its being a worthy sacrifice if it means that the threat of global tyranny is stomped out forever.
169	* BlackCloak: The powerful Nazgûl wear black cloaks to interact with mortals, since their flesh is permanently invisible.
170	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands:
171	** The Nazgul seem to do this to Frodo at the Ford of Bruinen, forcing him to drop his sword and making it break.
172	** One of the Riders of Rohan shoots Grishnákh in the sword-hand, making him drop his sword. The shot is specifically noted as being "aimed with skill, or guided by fate."
173	** When Denethor is about to strike Beregond with his sword, Gandalf casts some sort of spell to make Denethor's sword fly out of his hand.
174	** A variation appears in Gandalf's final showdown with the defeated Saruman. Saruman's staff shatters in his grasp when Gandalf revokes the power Saruman was granted by the Valar.
175	* BlindIdiotTranslation:
176	** The infamous Swedish [[http://sswftapa.blogspot.com/2007/01/lord-of-errors-or-who-really-killed.html translation]].
177	** Amusingly, Gandalf's mistranslation of the inscription over the Doors of Durin. It's supposed to be [[SpeakFriendAndEnter "Speak 'friend' and enter"!]] instead of "Speak, friend, and then enter". [[WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma Commas are very important]].
178	* BloodStainedLetter:
179	** The account of the failed attempt to recolonise Khazad-Dum, discovered by Gandalf and the Fellowship when navigating through Moria, is explicitly described as hacked, chopped, partially burnt and smeared with long-spilt dried blood. Especially on the final page, carrying only the scrawled runes "They Are Coming!"
180	** Tolkien [[http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2013/02/11/middle-earth-revised-again/ went so far]] as to [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tk6YY1Zht3E/UwWpgPHcfuI/AAAAAAAAEaY/KHlxdN3qy2U/s1600/book+of+mazarbul+facsimile+page+created+by+tolkien+they+are+coming+dwarvish+runes+tengwar+script+elvish.jpg create several pages from the Book of Mazarbul]], writing the text first in English and then translating it, then carefully burning it, tearing it and ''staining it with his own blood.''
181	* BlowThatHorn:
182	** Boromir uses the Horn of Gondor to rally the rest of the Fellowship to fight off an orc attack.
183	** The fort at Helm's Deep is called Hornburg, named after a horn, that the Rohirrim (or in the film, Gimli) blow before they ride out to attack the besieging Uruk-Hai.
184	** ''Return of the King'' has the Rohirrim do this to announce their arrival to the defense of a besieged Minas Tirith. Not only is the sound heard miles away across the Pelennor Fields, Théoden blows it so strongly that ot breaks and is compared to one of the Valar.
185	** In the last book, Merry blows the Horn of Rohan to call out the hobbit militia to fight off Saruman's men.
186	* BluntYes: It isn't as explicit in the book as it is in the Movie, but Denethor admits he wished Faramir died in his brother's stead (the discussion is superficially about which brother should have been in Ithilien, but the message is still clear):
187	-->‘Do you wish then,’ said Faramir, ‘that our places had been exchanged?’
188	-->‘Yes, I wish that indeed,’ said Denethor.
189	* BodyCountCompetition: Legolas gets an early lead on Gimli at the Battle of the Hornburg, but Gimli ends up winning, forty-two to forty-one.
190	* BodyMotifs: A subtle theme throughout the book is that good guys tend to be gifted with better sight and/or hearing; clean, human senses. Bad guys, meanwhile, have much better smell, which lends them an animalistic or UncannyValley feel. Sauron is an exception, although the eye that he uses as his symbol still is uncanny, being 'a great eye, lidless, and wreathed in flame'. On the other hand, Frodo finds that his sight (in the dark) and hearing are improved after he has been stabbed with the Morgul blade, an evil weapon.
191	* BoringReturnJourney: Traveling is a lot easier when you aren't being pursued by Sauron's servants. (Also an ironic callback to ''The Hobbit,'' since it ends with unexpected trouble when they finally get home.)
192	* BornInTheSaddle: An unusually civilised version in Rohan. They're said to value their horses as much as their own children, and horses feature heavily in their banners and iconography. Indeed, some of the horses of their early history are venerated as much as the warriors who rode them. When Boromir refutes the rumors that Rohan pays a tribute in horses to Mordor, he backs it up with these points.
193	* BottleEpisode: The arc with Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-Downs. It comes out of nowhere, then almost never gets referenced again. Basically the only purpose it serves is to arm the minor hobbits. [[ChekhovsGun And then one of them goes on to have a major role in a major battle in the third book.]]
194	* BravingTheBlizzard: The Fellowship attempts to cross the mountains in a frigid snowstorm. They lose, and end up having to go down into [[DugTooDeep Moria]] instead.
195	* BreakingLecture: Saruman harangues all of his triumphant enemies, and all are swayed by the power of his voice; likewise, the Riders of Rohan (except for Théoden, as it happens) are wholly overcome by it, while Pippin is particularly shamed. Gandalf breaks the effect by [[spoiler:laughing]].
196	* BreakTheCutie: Frodo mainly, but Sam to a lesser extent.
197	* BreakTheHaughty: Saruman goes from the most powerful wizard in the world to a powerless old man trapped in a tower by some old trees to a dirty beggar lost in the woods in the course of a few short months.
198	* BreatherEpisode: "In the House of Tom Bombadil" is a very light, whimsical chapter where the Hobbits get to rest easy for a little while, and which so happens to lie between the more suspenseful "Old Forest" and "Fog on the Barrow-Downs" chapters.
199	* BrickJoke:
200	** Early in the quest Gandalf is incredibly pleased to hear from Butterbur that the Hobbits have left with Aragorn, and shouts "May your beer be under an enchantment of surpassing excellence for seven years!" At the very end of the book the Hobbits find that while everything else has gone to hell in their absence, Butterbur's beer is better than ever.
201	** In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was caught trying to take the silverware from Bag End when Bilbo returned from Erebor and he had been declared LegallyDead. After the Party, Bilbo's semi-comedic will states the Sackville-Baggins are to receive his spoons. Lobelia is not amused. She did take the spoons, though.
202	** When Frodo and his companions arrive at the inn in Bree, they realize they're going to need a plausible explanation for their wandering out of the Shire — so Frodo claims to be a historian who's thinking of writing a book about the relationship between the Shire and Bree. Two volumes later, as they're returning home through Bree, Frodo is asked if he's written his book yet. He says he's still getting his notes in order.
203	*** That may be an in-joke. Tolkien, a lifelong procrastinator and sometime AbsentMindedProfessor, must have used this line a thousand times when his friends asked him if he'd completed stuff he'd been working on.
204	* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Éowyn and Merry nearly died after killing the Witch-King. Éowyn's left arm was literally broken, but this was the least of her hurt.
205	* BulletProofVest: Bilbo gifts Frodo his mithril mail shirt from ''Literature/TheHobbit''. It saves Frodo from being stabbed on multiple occasions.
206	* BusCrash:
207	** [[spoiler:Balin, Óin, and Ori]] are all revealed to have died in [[spoiler:their effort to recapture Moria]] between the events of ''The Hobbit'' and ''Fellowship''.
208	** Bard is revealed to have died, presumably of old age, before ''Fellowship'' began.
209	* ButNowIMustGo: With the destruction of the One Ring and the elimination of Sauron's threat, all the beings who only remained among men to fight Sauron fulfill this trope. Tragically this means that Gandalf, who was meant to serve as [[TheParagon a paragon]] in Middle-Earth, must leave forever: in the longer term, all the Elves (except Arwen and a few silvan-elf holdouts) are departing too. Frodo technically doesn't ''have'' to leave, but the pain (both physical and mental/emotional) that he feels as long as he stays in Middle Earth effectively forces him to.
210	* ButtDialingMordor:
211	** Frodo sits on the hill Amon Hen while wearing the One Ring, which allows him to see vast distances. Unfortunately he looks at Mordor, which allows Sauron to detect him and start searching for him. Luckily Frodo gets a telepathic warning from Gandalf (who's supposedly dead at the time) and takes off the Ring just before Sauron reaches him.
212	** Pippin tries to use the Palantir and unintentionally ends up getting face time with Sauron himself.
213	[[/folder]]
214
215	[[folder:C]]
216	* CallAndResponseSong:
217	** "The Ent and the Entwife" is written as a back-and-forth duet between a male and a female Ent. In the first four verses, the two alternate between the Ent pleading for the Entwife to join him in his forests and the Entwife rebuffing him and instead praising her farmlands. The last two verses instead discuss the world's eventual death, with the Ent mourning the death of forests and the Entwife the death of fields, before singing the last lines -- a promise to find each other and seek a better land -- in harmony.
218	** The Lament for Boromir is formatted as a version of this where the singers ask the West, South and North Winds for news of Boromir, with the main speaker singing a question, the wind singing a reply, and the main speaker singing a response. The first two winds deny any knowledge of Boromir's fate and tell the singer to ask the North Wind, who in turn reports Boromir's death.
219	* CallARabbitASmeerp: Pipe-weed (tobacco), Oliphaunts (large elephants). Though oliphaunt is an archaic English usage, so not literally Smeerp territory, and they're described as something mightier than modern elephants.
220	* CallBack:
221	** One of the Ithilien Rangers remarks on an unknown creature to Faramir after Frodo and Sam are brought to their secret base, which both Frodo and the reader immediately know is Gollum, who became separated from the hobbits earlier. Not knowing what Gollum is and not getting a good look at him besides, the ranger's best guess is that it was some kind of huge black squirrel and mentions hearing that such squirrels live in Mirkwood. This refers back to the Mirkwood chapters in ''The Hobbit'' where the desperately-starved dwarves try to hunt such squirrels to little success.
222	** The Battle of the Black Gates has one to ''The Hobbit'', with Pippin hearing the shout of "The Eagles! The Eagles are coming!" In a parallel with the Battle of the Five Armies as well, [[spoiler:Pippin is knocked unconscious immediately after hearing it, as Bilbo was just after saying it. He doesn't even believe that he actually heard the cry, since he thinks 'That came in his [Bilbo's] tale, long long ago.']]
223	* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Frodo never actively resists the Call, but by delaying his departure until the last minute (waiting for Gandalf), he barely avoids meeting a Nazgûl literally on his front doorstep; it's his neighbor, Ham Gamgee (Sam's father), who tells the Black Rider that Frodo has gone away -- and doesn't quite tell him precisely ''where'' Frodo has gone.
224	--> '''The Gaffer:''' Where? Where's none of my business, nor yours!
225	* CameBackStrong:[[spoiler:Gandalf the Grey]] dies and comes back as [[spoiler:Gandalf the White.]]
226	* CampCook: Sam is always the cook, but he is neither bad at it nor comic relief.
227	* CampStraight: Tom Bombadil. He embodies the reason why [[HaveAGayOldTime "gay" changed meaning from "enormously happy" to "campy homosexual"]]. He's very happily married. In fact, he's very happy in general.
228	* CannotCrossRunningWater: When the Ringwraiths attempt to pursue Frodo across the river Bruinen toward Rivendell, the waters rise up and overcome them at the command of Elrond, with a little help from Gandalf. The Ringwraiths seem reluctant to enter the water until Frodo provokes them. This seems to be a call back to an earlier draft where the Nazgûl ''were'' afraid to enter water, an idea that Tolkien ultimately abandoned due to the existence of multiple river crossings between Mordor and the Shire. The earlier thwarting of the Nazgûl at the Brandywine is justified by the depth of the river, forcing the Ringwraiths to go north ten miles to cross the bridge there.
229	* CanonImmigrant: Tom Bombadil, Goldberry, Old Man Willow and Farmer Maggot were all characters from a series of poems Tolkien had written that he incorporated into ''The Fellowship of the Ring''.
230	* CastingAShadow:
231	** The [[TheUndead Nazgûl]], and [[GiantSpider Shelob]]. Unlike [[EldritchAbomination her mother Ungoliant]], Shelob's WeakenedByTheLight but does not ''actively consume'' light to weave her [[DarkIsEvil webs of shadow]].
232	** There is a moment where Frodo and Sam pass by Shelob's actual lair and can feel or see nothing but the stench of her lair, which is suggested to be even blacker than the pitch black around it, as if inhabited by the actual absence of light. A very effective case of NothingIsScarier, since you don't know if she's home or not.
233	* TheCavalry: Gildor's high elves unknowingly save the hobbits from the Nazgul in the Shire. Glorfindel shows up in the nick of time to help get Frodo to Rivendell. Gandalf brings Erkenbrand to the relief of those besieged in Helm's Deep. Theoden rides to the aid of Gondor at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. And the Eagles fly in to rescue Frodo and Sam from the eruption of Mount Doom.
234	* CavalryBetrayal: Inverted. The fleet of ships of the Corsairs of Umbar, allies of Sauron, arrive at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields to the rejoicing of his armies... only Aragorn had intercepted and captured it, and the ships are flying the royal colours and filled with soldiers from southern Gondor.
235	* CavalryOfficer: Éomer is an example of a Cavalry Officer in a non-western setting.
236	* CaveBehindTheFalls: Henneth Annûn is hidden in this way.
237	* CerebusSyndrome: [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] by the author [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkien]] himself in his ''Letters''. The book started out as a ''shorter sequel'' to ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and the earlier chapters display much of the whimsy of the latter. Gandalf's personality also gets DarkerAndEdgier as time goes on. Less surprising when recalling that the ''Hobbit'''s story was moved to Middle-earth, and its previously existing tales had already been even darker.
238	* CharacterTitle: ''The Lord of the Rings'' is none other than Sauron, the main antagonist; ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' refers to the nine protagonists in the Fellowship; and ''The Return of the King'' to Aragorn.
239	* CharmPerson: Saruman, until the heroes break free of it.
240	* ChekhovsGun: Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship and the elven rope from Lórien play useful parts later. The Númenórean barrow-blade given to Merry proves vital in defeating the Witch-King. The One Ring itself is a retroactive ChekhovsGun from ''Literature/TheHobbit''.
241	* ChekhovsBoomerang: Frodo's ''mithril'' shirt, given to him by Bilbo. It saves his life in Moria. Later it comes in handy when it [[spoiler:incites the Orcs to fight over it. After coming in useful for the enemy during the parley at the Black Gate, it proves helpful yet again when it foils Saruman's attempt to stab Frodo.]]
242	* {{Chessmaster}}: Sauron, Saruman, Gandalf, and Denethor make their continent-wide battle-plans in chess terms. Denethor's "he uses others as his weapons" is probably the main doctrine of Chessmastery.
243	* ChessMotifs: Gandalf analogizes the war to a chess game and calls Pippin a "pawn." Pippin glumly agrees to this, but says he's "on the wrong chessboard."
244	* TheChewToy: Poor Arvedui, the last king of Arnor, couldn't catch a break. His parents named him "Last King" because a seer told them he'd be last. He inherited Arthedain when it was little more than a rump state reduced by wars against Angmar, and his claim to kingship of Gondor (through marriage to the daughter of King Ondoher) was rejected because only male inheritance was valid in Gondor, Arthedain was not nearly powerful enough to lay claim to Gondor, and Arvedui himself was OvershadowedByAwesome, namely by the victorious general Earnil who ''was'' related distantly to Ondoher. Then Angmar invaded Arthedain again, overran Fornost, and Gondor comes too late to help. Arvedui fled north to take a ship to Lindon, but the ship crashed and he drowned, taking the ''palantíri'' of Annúminas and Amon Sûl with him.
245	* TheChosenOne: Frodo (and Bilbo) were ''meant'' to have the Ring. Also, Aragorn is Isildur's heir.
246	* {{Chronoscope}}: The Mirror of Galadriel can show visions of the past and the future. Sam sees events that will occur in ''The Two Towers'' during his and Frodo's entry into Mordor, as well as events in the Shire during ''Return of the King.'' Frodo sees the fall of Númenor and the founding of Gondor, which occurred in the distant past.
247	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The wizard Radagast the Brown delivers a message to Gandalf, is mentioned in passing at the Council of Elrond, and... and then isn't in the book anymore. Glorfindel is established as a very powerful Elf-lord, puts in a few lines at the Council of Elrond, and... then he isn't in the book either. ''Possibly'' cases of HeroOfAnotherStory - the War of the Ring was much bigger than a single assault on Gondor.
248	* CitadelCity: Minas Tirith being one of the codifying examples. Minas Morgul as well.
249	* CityOfSpies: Bree in one style: Minas Morgul in quite another.
250	* ClingyMacGuffin: The One Ring. Justified: the Ring ''wants'' to be found.
251	* ClueOfFewWords: ''Literature/TheFellowshipOfTheRing'' has the questing party come to the huge gates of Moria, the ancient home base of dwarves. Inscribed on the lintel are the words "Speak friend and enter." Gandalf tries spell after spell to get the gate to open, but nothing works. Then, Gandalf rebukes himself for a fool, and utters "Mellon!" which is the elvish word for "friend." The gates open up grandly at this word.
252	-->'''Legolas''': So, one has only to speak "friend" to enter.
253	-->'''Gimli''': [wistfully] Those were happier times.
254	* CluelessBoss: Theoden was this due to the schemes of Wormtongue, before Gandalf came and restored him.
255	* ColdBloodedTorture: Orcs do it to anyone they can get away with doing it to, including each other.
256	* CollectibleCardGame: Two, ''Middle Earth'' in the 1990s and [one of] The Game[s] Of the movie.
257	* CollapsingLair: Barad-dûr collapses to ruin when the Ring is destroyed. A bit unusual in that no heroes are escaping it when it collapses, but according to Gandalf, no prisoner has ever escaped Barad-dûr anyway. ...whoops.
258	* ColorCodedWizardry: Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown. There's also the Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, but they [[AllThereInTheManual do not appear in any stories]]; we're told that they went far into the east and were never seen in the West of Middle-earth again, and no-one there knows precisely what they got up to. Saruman was prompted to reveal his plans to Gandalf when Gandalf noticed Saruman was not wearing white. Saruman goes on a rant to the effect that he is no longer the White but now [[AllYourColorsCombined Saruman of Many Colours]].
259	* ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive: Aragorn gets introduced this way in Bree, albeit in a particularly slow-moving fashion. While it's implied the hobbits would have been quickly ambushed in their beds without him, they do spend some time gathering supplies prior to departure (though a great deal of ''that'' is due to the hobbits' ponies having fled, denying them a quick exit and forcing them to procure another--Bill--to carry their excess supplies). This is more pronounced in the film, however.
260	* ComeToGawk: After his impoverishment, Saruman's accuses the Hobbits of returning to him to take joy in his misery. He maintains this even as they do him charity.
261	* CommonTongue: The TropeNamer. During the timeframe of the story, the Common Tongue is spoken by lots of peoples either as a mother tongue or as a second language lingua franca.
262	* CompellingVoice:
263	** Although his is more of the [[CharmPerson charm and persuade variety]], Saruman has a voice that allows him to turn whole populations to his will, allowing him to arrange an army around Isengard with little difficulty.
264	** Saruman has it turned around on him after the Ents take Isengard. When he tires of treating with Gandalf, he tries to retreat back into Orthanc. Gandalf tells him simply to come back, and he is ''unable'' to refuse.
265	** The One Ring allows its wielder to command bearers of lesser Rings and others mastered by the Ring, if their will is strong enough. The one case of this that we see occurs when Gollum attacks Frodo and Sam on the slopes of Mount Doom. Frodo uses the Ring to force him to go away, saying, "If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom!" And indeed, when Gollum returns and attacks Frodo, he falls into the Cracks of Doom, taking the Ring with him.
266	* CompressedHair: Played straight when Éowyn reveals her presence on the battlefield by removing her helmet and unloosing her hair. In an early draft, though, Tolkien averted the trope by noting that Éowyn had cut her long hair short before donning armor.
267	* ConfusingMultipleNegatives: As part of the build-up to his "joke" with the Ring, Bilbo drops into his birthday speech the amusing line "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like--and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve!" This sends the party into a moment of confusion, including a widespread counting of fingers, to see if that's actually a compliment...[[note]]For those readers still confused, it does appear to be a compliment, although it may not apply to everyone. The Sackville-Bagginses are no doubt in the sections that are not being complimented.[[/note]]
268	* ConLang: Elvish languages Quenya and Sindarin, some of the most developed in literature. And other less detailed ones, like Khuzdul (Dwarvish), the BlackSpeech (Sauron and the orcs), etc. [[ShownTheirWork Tolkien was a philologist, after all.]]
269	* ConstantlyCurious: Pippin during the ride with Gandalf to Minas Tirith. Gandalf tries answering questions, but finds each answer just leads to more questions; they wind up joking together about Pippin's curiosity. Exposition nicely done.
270	* ConstructedWorld: Set in the world of Tolkien's legendarium, on the continent Middle-earth.
271	* ContrivedCoincidence: Gollum just so happens to have found his way into Moria, and is lurking there at the ''exact same time'' the Fellowship pass through. There are a few other instances, supporting Gandalf's belief that a hidden hand is opposing Sauron very, very subtly.
272	* CoolChair: The ancient stone Seat of Seeing on Amon Hen has some kind of magic that permits the user to see things miles away clearly. There's presumably a corresponding seat on Amon Lhaw, the "Hill of Hearing."
273	** The throne of the King of Gondor and the Steward's chair are given a great deal of symbolic importance. Since the last King died, no one has presumed to sit on the throne, but the Stewards sit on a chair at the throne's foot, showing that they essentially wield the authority of kings yet are still considered servants of the king in absentia.
274	* CoolHorse: Glorfindel's "elf-horse," Shadowfax (and the Mearas of which he is 'the chief'). The pony Bill is a comic-relief example.
275	* CoolOldGuy: Gandalf. His impressiveness isn't just because he's a wizard, but because most of the hobbits he's friends with usually describe him in grandfatherly terms.
276	* CoolSword: Gandalf has Glamdring, Frodo has Sting, and Aragorn has Andúril. The Witch-King of Angmar wields a flaming sword at the Siege of Gondor, and the Balrog of Moria uses a burning sword as well.
277	* CorpseLand: The Dead Marshes, a foul bog stretching for miles filled with corpses from the first war with Sauron. Spirits of the men, elves, and orcs that were buried there try to lure travelers into the marshes to add to the body count.
278	* TheCorruptible:
279	** Boromir was the one in the Fellowship most open to the seduction of the Ring due to his fears for his country's survival and his pride in thinking he could save them if he just had the Ring.
280	** Without Isildur's fall to the corruption of the Ring, it would not have survived Sauron's fall. The race of Men in general are often seen as easily corrupted.
281	** Saruman, once the leader of the Istari and head of the White Council, becomes corrupted and joins forces with Sauron after communicating with him through the Palantir (although he also has plans to take the ring for himself and usurp Sauron if the opportunity presents itself.
282	** And then there's Gollum...
283	** Technically, ''everyone'' is this to the Ring, with the single exception of Tom Bombadil.
284	* CosmopolitanCouncil: The Council of Elrond. Possibly also The White Council -- which we know included Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel and Celeborn, and Elrond.
285	* {{Counterspell}}: While the Fellowship is in Moria being pursued by orcs (and worse), Gandalf stays behind to hold a door closed. The opposition breaks through anyway, but the door's destruction also causes a cave-in, blocking the passage behind. A few moments later Gandalf tells the rest of the Fellowship what happened.
286	-->I could think of nothing to do but to try and put a shutting-spell on the door. [...] Then something came into the chamber [...] and then it perceived me and my spell.\
287	What it was I cannot guess, but I have never felt such a challenge. The counter-spell was terrible. It nearly broke me. For an instant the door left my control and began to open! I had to speak a word of Command. That proved too great a strain. The door burst in pieces.
288	* CourtlyLove: Gimli praises Galadriel for her beauty without seeking her hand. He prizes three strands of her hair above the more precious and practical gifts she gives to the rest of the Fellowship, and offers to fight anyone who sees her face and does not declare her the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman, but since she's married that's as far as it goes.
289	* CreepyCrows: ''Crebain'' are crows allied with the forces of Evil, serving as spies for Sauron and Saruman.
290	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass:
291	** Tom Bombadil has quite a few supernatural abilities. Most of which he doesn't ordinarily use.
292	** Gandalf sometimes cultivates this image, such as when he pretends to be a harmless old man at Meduseld. Hama the doorwarden isn't fooled -- "A staff in the hands of a wizard may be more than a prop for age" -- but he still ''trusts'' in Gandalf's essential goodness.
293	** A racial trait in hobbits. Hobbits, in their natural state, are bucolic hedonists, fond of food, drink and music, and largely too sanguine and easy-going to keep up any genuine malice towards anyone for any amount of time. However, as Orcs, Goblins, Wolves, Saruman and Nazgûl have all learned the hard way, hobbits ''do'' have a limit as to how far they are willing to be pushed, and a hobbit pushed over that line is a force to be reckoned with. Even the narrator in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' notes that hobbits are very stealthy when they want to be, and far more resilient than anyone gives them credit for.
294	** Interestingly, the prologue itself notes that it's ''because'' hobbits are fond of their hedonism that they have gained the resiliences they have. Essentially the hobbit mindset is that the good life is too good to give up so easily, thus a surprising amount of tricks up their sleeves to keep it going as much as they can into old age.
295	* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:Saruman warps Frodo's decision to spare him into a cruel attempt to deny him the joy of Revenge Through Corruption.]]
296	* CrystalBall: The Palantíri ("those that see from afar") are glass orbs of ancient kingdom that grant knowledge infallibly, if not always contextually, to whoever looks into them.
297	[[/folder]]
298

Context TheLordOfTheRings / TropesAToC