Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Day 27

Day 27 - Isengard or Mordor?
I would definitely have to say Isengard here.  Mordor, in my opinion, isn't nearly as interesting and doesn't have as much unique history.  I enjoy history, real or fictional, so the fact that Isengard has a fairly diverse history makes it more appealing to me.  So, for today's history lesson we are going to learn about Isengard.

Isengard was built in the Second Age by exiled Numenoreans around the tower Orthanc which

was also built during the Second Age.  The river Isen flowed to the north so Isengard was very green with many large trees and fields.  Isengard and the land all around belonged to Gondor up until Cirion, Steward of Gondor, gave Eotheod the land that became Rohan.  Isengard, however, remained under control of Gondor though it was nearly forgotten.  A small guard had been left there to guard the fortress, but overtime they intermarried with the Dunlendings until Isengard

became Dunlending in all but name.  Orthanc, however, remained closed off to them since the Steward of Gondor held the keys.  By around 2710, the Dunlendings had become openly hostile toward the Rohirrim and begun to raid Rohan.   It was during the rule of Helm Hammerhand that the Dunlendings attacked and almost destroyed the Rohirrim.  The Rohirrim retaliated and defeated the Dunlendings, eventually taking Isengard.

At that point the issue became one of what was to be done with Isengard since Gondor did not wish to give it up but lacked the strength and inclination to garrison it.  The solution came when

Saruman suddenly reappeared and very conveniently offered to guard it.  The keys to Orthanc were handed to Saruman and he settled into his new home.  Saruman remained Warden of Isengard on behalf of Gondor until 2953 when he took advantage of Sauron's return and the distraction of the Stewards and took Isengard for himself.  During the War of the Ring, Isengard was Saruman's base of operations as he sought to destroy the Rohirrim.  Eventually an army of Ents and Huorns attacked Isengard and took the fortress.

During the Fourth Age, Isengard was restored and the entire valley was given to the Ents.  The Ents tore down Isengard's walls and the new forest that grew there was renamed Treegarth of Orthanc.  And that is a very general history of Isengard, which, again, I find quite interesting and why I certainly prefer it to Mordor.

Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Days 21-26

And now to finally finish getting caught up!  Yay!!!

Day 21 - Most Inspiring Moment
There are two moments that really stand out to me as being very inspiring.  The first, and my favorite, is Sam's speech in Osgiliath and that whole scene there as he's speaking.  In case you haven't noticed by this point, many of my favorite scenes and moments revolve around Sam.  For me, I love this whole moment because the words are applicable not just to the context of the movie, but to real life as well which I personally feel makes them even more powerful.

The idea that the darkness, the shadow is just a passing thing is so true whether on a personal or global scale.  A new day will come, the sun will shine again.  Most people have heard the quote, "It's always darkest before the dawn," I feel like Sam's words go hand in hand with that quote to an extent.  So on a personal level, this part is just so inspiring to me because it's a reminder that there is always hope and that no matter how bad things might look, there's some good out there and it is worth fighting for.

The second moment that I find inspiring is Aragorn's coronation.  I find this moment to be inspiring

because it feels like all three movies have been leading up to this point where Aragorn steps out of exile and takes his place as King of Gondor.  It's just this beautiful, solemn occasion and I think it just really brings home that Sauron has at last been defeated.  After all the tragedies and struggles they have all been through, victory truly seems to be theirs as Aragorn is crowned.

Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Days 16-20

So obviously I am way behind.  The group I act with had our first performances last weekend so I was busy with that and then this week has been crazy and I've been having computer problems, so, yeah, I have not been getting online a whole lot.  But I got sick today (yay, day before second to last performance.  I'm not freaking out at all.) so I decided that while I'm lying in bed feeling miserable but rather happily listening to Christmas music, I might as well try to catch up some because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to blog again until Saturday at the earliest but in all likelihood not till Monday.  I'll do a few tonight and try to do the rest over the next few days so I'm caught up by the beginning of next wee.  So are you ready for a super long post delving into all things I love about Lord of the Rings?  Of course you are!

Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Days 14 & 15

And once again a crazy day prevented me from having the leisure time to get online and blog, so today you get two fashion answers!

Day 14 - Favorite Outfit
As I'm sure you can imagine, I am once again torn between two:  the gorgeous white dress that Galadriel wears and the lovely blue velvet dress with red sleeves that Arwen wears.  The gold dress

that Eowyn wears is a very close second.  So Galadriel's dress.  It is simply stunning.  I'm not a huge fan of all white clothing on anyone, least of all myself, unless it's a wedding dress.  I generally think it's just too, well white I guess.  Whatever piece of clothing is white has to be just the right style and shape with the right fabric for it to really work, in my opinion.  There, now you know something about my fashion taste. lol  What I love about her dress though is that it's a very long white dress, but it doesn't look like a wedding dress, though I'm quite certain it would make a lovely one.  It's elegant and it makes her look even more like the queen she is.  And it's such a simple design.  It doesn't have a lot of frills or anything other than, if memory serves, all the hand-sewn beads.  But I think the fact that it does have that simple elegance just allows her natural beauty to come forth.

As for Arwen's dress, well I am not an Arwen fan, at least not in the movies, but I do love several of her dresses.  My favorite is the one that she wears when she's asking Elrond to reforge Narsil, the sword that was broken.  Besides the fact that it's absolutely beautiful, I have a special affection for it because my mom and I made a costume for me years and years ago based on this dress.  It's just such a richly colored dress with that dark blue velvet that looks almost black and the dark red of the sleeves.  The gold embroidery along the neckline and the top part of the sleeves just brings it all together.  And I'll admit as much as I'm not an Arwen or Liv Tyler fan, she looks stunning in this dress.  I really like velvet and the way that it lays as a fabric and it just works so well here.




Day 15 - Favorite Armor
And we have another tie, this time between the Elves armor and Theoden's armor.  One of the things I have always loved about the Elves is how they take so much of their design in terms of
architecture and decoration from nature.  The same is true with their armor.  As their race began to decline, the Elves of the Third Age reflected that in the design of their armor with autumnal themes and colors like coppers, browns, and golds.  The hauberk (a type of mail armor which is constructed of interlocking loops of metal woven into a tunic or shirt) was made to give the appearance of a carpet of leaves fallen from a tree.  The cuirass (a piece of armor consisting of breastplate and backplate fastened together) and fauld (a piece of armor worn below a breastplate to protect the waist and hips) were also designed to look like fallen leaves.  The armor was also detailed with filigree of delicate vines and the tengwar of Quenya.  The helmet was designed to give the appearance of a torn leaf.  Every piece, while fully functional, was designed to reflect the Elves love of nature.  As someone who loves nature and being out in nature, the Elves' armor is just amazing to me and frankly is the most beautiful that I've ever seen.

Theoden's armor, while not as elegant as the Elves', was no less beautiful in my opinion.  As king, his armor was naturally made from the finest materials and with the utmost care which I think

truly shows.  One of the things I really appreciate about his armor and all the Rohirrim's armor is that, like the Elves', it's not the typical silver color you usually see.  It was made from bronze which I think gives it a more rustic feel.  Since the armor was mostly covered with black leather, the uncovered bronze really stands out and just highlights the beauty of the armor.  The leather was carved with designs of horses, suns and swirls that were meant to suggest the movement of the mearas (a race of exceptional horses), adding a lot of interest to it all.  Even his helmet was painstakingly decorated and topped with a crest in the shape of a horse.  The detail of it all has just always astounded me.  And I love horses, so armor extensively carved with horse designs?  Yup, I'm gonna love it!

Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Day 13

Day 13 - Favorite Weapon

So by this time you really shouldn't be surprised when I say my favorite is a toss up between two weapons.  First would be Legolas's bow and knives.  No, not because I have a 10+ year crush on the guy, but because I like the idea of the versatility they would provide not to mention the fact that they're absolutely beautiful.  The Galadhrim made the best bows, they could shoot much farther than any other bows and if memory serves the only weapon in Middle-Earth that could fire a missile farther was a trebuchet.  As for the knives, they were short enough that they could easily fit into the sheaths attached to his quiver and could no doubt be used for other tasks other than just fighting, but they were also long enough that with his skill he could fight off enemies with swords and longer weapons.  With both the bow and the knives, Legolas was just as deadly in close combat as he was from afar.

Tied for favorite would be Anduril, Flame of the West, Aragorn's sword.  Again this is a beautiful weapon but what I love about it is the history.  Anduril was forged from the shards of Narsil, the sword that Isildur used to cut the ring off Sauron's hand.  Aragorn is Isildur's heir so it's fitting that he would wield the reforged Narsil.  Besides the history though, what the sword does with Aragorn as its wielder is just cool.  For example, the scene where Aragorn very briefly fights with the king of the dead at Dunharrow is amazing.  Because the army abandoned Isildur in his time of need, Isildur cursed them so they couldn't die until they had fulfilled their oath.  Being Isildur's heir, Aragorn is the only one who can control them or fight them because other's weapons simply fly right through the dead.  Besides that, the sword is also very effective at separating orc heads from their bodies and severing other body parts of the enemy.