Of Oaths and Promises

This post is the third in a series about the characters, plot, and cultures featured in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

 

King Elrond of Rivendell gathered emissaries from the allied kingdoms of Middle Earth to decide what should be done with the Ring of Power that Frodo carried.

Those emissaries discussed the matter during the Council of Elrond where they consulted with Gandalf and Frodo. Frodo ultimately offered to bring the ring to Mount Doom — and destroy the ring by dropping it into the volcano from which it was forged.

Several other adventurers agreed to accompany Frodo on his journey. Together, they formed The Fellowship of the Ring, which the volume was named after.

During and after the Council of Elrond, two discussions demonstrated the significance the cultures of Middle Earth placed on promises and oaths, and the value they placed upon their word.

Gloin, a dwarf, spoke during the council about his king’s response to a request from Mordor, the dominion of the Dark Lord Sauron. King Dain was reluctant to make a promise to the Dark Lord’s messenger.

 

"Then about a year ago a messenger came to Dain, but not from Moria — from Mordor: a horseman in the night, who called Dain to his gate. The Lord Sauron the Great, so he said, wished for our friendship. Rings he would give for it, such as he gave of old. And he asked urgently concerning hobbits, of what kind they were, and where they dwelt. "For Sauron knows," said he, "that one of these was known to you on a time."

'At this we were greatly troubled, and we gave no answer. And then his fell voice was lowered, and he would have sweetened it if he could. "As a small token only of your friendship Sauron asks this," he said: "that you should find this thief," such was his word, "and get from him, willing or no, a little ring, the least of rings, that once he stole. It is but a trifle that Sauron fancies, and an earnest of your good will. 

'Find it, and three rings that the Dwarf sires possessed of old shall be returned to you, and the realm of Moria shall be yours forever. Find only news of the thief, whether he still lives and where, and you shall have great reward and lasting friendship from the Lord. Refuse, and things will not seem so well. Do you refuse?"

'At that his breath came like the hiss of snakes, and all who stood by shuddered, but Dain said: "I say neither yea nor nay. I must consider this message and what it means under its fair cloak."

'"Consider well, but not too long," said he.

'"The time of my thought is my own to spend," answered Dain.

'"For the present," said he, and rode into the darkness.

'Heavy have the hearts of our chieftains been since that night. We needed not the fell voice of the messenger to warn us that his words held both menace and deceit; for we knew already that the power that has re-entered Mordor has not changed, and ever it betrayed us of old. 

'Twice the messenger has returned, and has gone unanswered. The third and last time, so he says, is soon to come, before the ending of the year. (The Fellowship, Book Two, Chapter 2)

 

Sauron’s messenger described the Ring of Power as “a trifle that Sauron fancies” and “the least of rings,” both of which were lies. The Ring of Power was Sauron’s key to world domination, not a mere trinket or mathom.

I find it notable that King Dain chose to withhold a promise of assistance rather than to promise assistance and then fail to provide it.

That alternative would appear to have the upside of appeasing his enemies while not actually aiding their nefarious endeavor.

On a practical level, the wrath of Sauron might be more severe if the lie was exposed, although I doubt his good graces would be offered in response to an honest delay to consider his proposal.

On a moral level, Dain’s reluctance demonstrates the value that he placed upon his verbal promises, even with his enemies.

The outsized value of promises in Middle Earth seems distinct from modern cultural values, which consider promises important, but not significantly more important than potentially competing concerns.

I imagine King Dain might have difficulty maintaining his commitment to making only informed promises while reading the lengthy Terms of Service of various modern software products.

 

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Another passage from The Fellowship concerns the significance of another type of promise, an oath. 

Elrond offered parting advice to Frodo, the ring bearer, and the other members of the Fellowship. 

 

At that moment Elrond came out with Gandalf, and he called the Company to him. 'This is my last word,' he said in a low voice. 'The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need.’

‘The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road.'

'Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,' said Gimli.

'Maybe,' said Elrond, 'but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.'

'Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart,' said Gimli.

'Or break it,' said Elrond. 'Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!' (The Fellowship, Book Two, Chapter 3)

 

After giving his guidance to Frodo, Elrond tells the other members of the Fellowship that they may go as far as they desire along their journey.

Specifically, Elrond tells them they shouldn’t take an oath to accompany Frodo until the end, because they don’t fully know the dangers of the path ahead.

Gimli believes refusing to take an oath to complete the full quest with Frodo is an act of cowardice.

I love Elrond’s reply, “let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.”

Elrond doesn’t want the other members of the fellowship to make a promise that would bring them into dangers they don’t fully understand.

The exchange reminds me of the Oath of Fëanor that many elves took in The Silmarillion. 

 

 

Morgoth, the original Dark Lord, stole three beautiful jewels, known as Silmarils, from the Elf Fëanor, who created them.

Fëanor convinced several elves to vow to reclaim the Silmarils and kill anyone who took or kept a Silmaril from them.

 

Then Fëanor swore a terrible oath. His seven sons leapt straightway to his side and took the selfsame vow together, and red as blood shone their drawn swords in the glare of the torches.

They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by the name even of Ilúvatar, calling the Everlasting Dark upon them if they kept it not; and Manwë they named in witness, and Varda, and the hallowed mountain of Taniquetil, vowing to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World Vala, Demon, Elf, or Man as yet unborn, or any creature, great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril from their possession. (The Silmarillion, Chapter 9)

 

This oath led Fëanor’s followers to slay the Teleri Elves, who declined to give or sell their ships to Fëanor as he pursued Morgoth.

This in turn led to the Valar, a pantheon of benevolent gods, to proclaim that Fëanor and his followers would be forbidden from returning to Valinor, the realm of the gods, if they didn’t repent for their immoral actions and forsake their quest to retake the Silmarils.

Specifically, the proclamation, possibly delivered by the Vala Mandos, included an ominous warning about the Oath of Fëanor.

 

Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be forever.

Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death's shadow. (The Silmarillion, Chapter 9)

 

The Silmarils were the original cursed jewelry of Tolkien’s epic tales, upon which the fate of entire cultures revolved. The cursed Ring of Power would play a similar role in later years.

Upon hearing the Doom of Mandos, some of the elves repented and returned to Valinor. Others continued onward with Fëanor to Middle Earth.

Ultimately, the Oath of Fëanor led to two more deadly battles between the Elves, known as kin-slayings.

The Oath to reclaim the Silmarils at all costs was the original sin of many Elves, and it led to much suffering.

 

All of these events took place before The Lord of the Rings. Elrond certainly would have known about these key events in Elvish history.

Given the significance of the Oath of Fëanor, I find it interesting that Elrond, an elf, cautioned against taking an oath regarding the ring, while Gimli, a dwarf, argued in favor of one.

Elrond was born after the flight of Fëanor and other elves into Middle Earth — but those events undoubtedly informed his judgement on the potential deadly consequences of taking an oath.

 

In my next post, I will discuss the Fellowship’s journey through Moria, the abandoned Dwarvish mining city of Khazad-dûm.