History Headscratchers / LordOfTheRingsBooks

* Many argue that the Eagles didn't take the hobbits to Mordor because they were afraid of Sauron and/or because they knew that the ring would have corrupted them if they got anywhere near it. But once Sauron is dead and the ring has been destroyed, there's no reason why they can't swoop in to save Frodo and Sam.

** [[StoryExistenceFailure Per the above]], it doesn't matter in my opinion but Gandalf did mention approaching Mordor from the East. Or rather, [[WordOfGod Tolkien]] mentioned [[AuthorStandIn Gandalf]] mentioning it [[AllThereInTheManual off-screen]] in ''Letters.'' Long and short of it was, that is the route Gandalf preferred to take [[WalkIntoMordor on foot]], being unguarded, but it would have required Aragorn or Gandalf remain with the party for a long trek thru enemy territory while the two decoy hobbits and surplus warriors proceeded to Gondor. Unfortunately, since the Ring's powers increased, having two walking [[SuperWeight power beacons]] to [[StoneWall protect them]] might have been a bad thing, leading the hobbits to get captured, or worse, Aragorn or Gandalf might have been tempted to take the Ring to "protect" the [[TheLoad helpless and slow-moving]] Hobbits.

** All Númenóreans had far longer lives than ordinary Men, just the royal clan (descendants of Elros and so having a significant percent of Elven genes) lived up to 300-400 years, while commoners [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld only]] lived a bit more than 200 years. It's in the ''Literature/UnfinishedTales'', the story of King Aldarion and Erendis: he lived to be 398 years old and reigned for 192 of them, while she, as a commoner, lived only 214 years. Their daughter, Queen Ancalimë (half-Elrosian by genes), lived 412 years.

** All Númenóreans had far longer lives than ordinary Men, just the royal clan (descendants of Elros and so having a significant percent of Elven genes) lived up to 300-400 years, while commoners [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld only]] lived a bit more than 200 years. It's in the ''Literature/{{Unfinished Tales'', the story of King Aldarion and Erendis: he lived to be 398 years old and reigned for 192 of them, while she, as a commoner, lived only 214 years. Their daughter, Queen Ancalimë (half-Elrosian by genes), lived 412 years.

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*** On the other hand, Gollum was liberated from the elves by the Mirkwood orcs. And even the White Council, as we know, hadn't been sure or some time that it was Sauron who stood behind the evil in Mirkwood. It's possible that Gollum doesn't know aboud the allegiance of Mirkwood evil and thus distinguishes between Mordor and Mirkwood, deeming the latter his friends.

* The elves who were trying to dissuade the Númenóreans from invading the undying lands point out that it's not the land that makes them immortal, and that any humans who were permitted to go there would actually ''shorten'' their lifespan, since the sheer glory of the place basically burns mortal bodies out all the more quickly.

** In Tolkien's extended notes he writes that Lembas was made from a special, silver-coloured kind of corn (the medieval/European definition of corn, namely wheat) that, along with the art of lembas making was closely guarded by a an-female Elven guild called the Ivandilli of which Galadriel was simply the last, high ranking member at the end of the Third Age. Said corn was difficult to grow in Middle Earth (it didn't grow in the shade of other plants) and kept out o sight to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. Really, the bigger question is where Galadriel grew all that corn in her closed-off forest.It's even perfectly possible that end the end of the Third Age the corn wasn't grown at all anymore and Lothlorien was working off a finite supply of Lembas Flour that was kept from spoiling by the power of Nenya alone.

** Some orcs did free Gollum from Mirkwood and the elves are pretty sure it had somehow been prearranged and Gollum was in on it...so as strange as it sounds...yes, Gollum does see Sauron's forces as friends in his twisted worldview.

** It's what you could call the ''Piper At The Gates of Dawn'' theory: this is the chapter of ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows'' that serves no apparent purpose, breaks continuity. which in tone and style is completely different, a sort of dream-like interlude... but the book would feel incomplete without it. Grahame, like Tolkien, is demonstrating that there is a greater whole, an unexplored world, unanswered questions, that would still be there regardless, however this currenr tale ends, or indeed if it never happened at all.

*** You mean that the fear and hatred for Sauron Gollum clearly shows much later while talking to Frodo is exclusively due to the fact that Sauron is also after the Ring?