House of Húrin

book!denethor for @farthest-stars: “Denethor looked indeed much more like a great wizard than Gandalf did, more kingly, beautiful, and powerful; and older.”

[Pippin] rode with the Prince of Ithilien, for he was the esquire of the Steward

See, Pippin swore to serve the Lord and Steward–and was technically released, but given the circumstances it’s not surprising that that would be ignored–when they were the same person. But now the lord of Gondor is Aragorn. Yet the position of Steward (which, after all, existed long before Mardil’s time) is retained by Faramir. In the text as is, it’s sort of elided as Pippin is still serving Gondor, though I think the implication is that Aragorn essentially receives Pippin’s oath.

But here Pippin’s oath is strictly attached to the Steward, transferring smoothly from Denethor to Faramir. It’s not even to ‘the Prince of Ithilien,’ though that’s Faramir’s description there (Tolkien uses ‘the Prince’ and 'the Steward’ pretty interchangeably), and obviously they’re the same person. Rather he serves the Stewardship itself. 

In some unlikely scenario where one of Faramir’s children became Steward and the other Prince (…hmm), Pippin would formally be esquire to the first and not the second.

(Well, if Faramir didn’t outlive Pippin by ~20 years.)

personally courageous and decisive, but also modest, fair-minded, and scrupulously just, and very merciful.

Kings made tombs more splendid than houses of the living, and counted old names in the rolls of their descent dearer than the names of sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry; in secret chambers withered men compounded strong elixirs, or in high cold towers asked questions of the stars. And the last king of the line of Anárion had no heir.

‘The Men of Gondor are valiant, and they will never submit; but they may be beaten down. Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon. Let the Ring be your weapon, if it has such power as you say. Take it and go forth to victory!’

tell me more

Well, I’ve frequently argued that fandom misconstrues all kinds of loyalty, ever, as Hufflepuff-style loyalty, even though in the books, different forms of loyalty are defining traits of at least three of the houses and probably all of them. IMO Hufflepuff loyalty is depicted as communal much more often than individualistic (individualistic loyalty is largely associated with Gryffindors and Slytherins). Hufflepuffs have individuals they care about, absolutely. But they’re most distinctive for group solidarity.

Also, what the songs repeat over and over again is that Hufflepuffs are hard-working. They’re not afraid of toil. By and large, they’re diligent and disciplined people, working steadily towards their purposes rather than driven by charismatic leaders or whatever.

And that’s just … totally Denethor? Denethor works relentlessly his entire life. He gives everything he has to his community—Gondor—and then more, until it breaks him. Meanwhile, he has very little respect for the kind of charisma that Gandalf and Aragorn and even Faramir possess; what he respects is loyal service to Gondor, the kind that Boromir exemplifies (this is part of what’s so devastating for him about Faramir’s return; after everything, Faramir goes down doing exactly what Denethor most highly regards).

In UT, Tolkien defends Denethor because “he loved Gondor and its people” and says that this was his main motivating drive. On the flipside, Tolkien also said in a letter that Denethor’s essential flaw is fighting Gondor’s enemies because they are Gondor’s enemies more than because they are evil. Whether seen positively or negatively, though, Denethor is all about loyalty to Gondor, love for Gondor, service to Gondor. It’s very community-oriented and very grounded in hard work and sacrifice.

On the meta-level, I think it is for the dramatic imagery, and the parallel to Denethor’s farewell; Faramir’s welcome back depended on the manner of his return, and then we’re given that return “after great deeds,” but now he’s dying without awareness of his welcome. Imrahil’s remark underscores all this (I think deliberately). 

Thank you! We can definitely agree that it’s probably not a reference to Denethor, and certainly is not proof of abuse.

Personally, I tend to think of it as a general role that Boromir took on, but which varied in the specifics depending on the situation and their ages at the time. I can see Boromir being Faramir’s protector from other children, or from getting into trouble with the various staff that would have surrounded them, or from Faramir himself (I have no difficulty imagining someone as independent and determined as Faramir getting himself into trouble, lol). It’s associated with Boromir helping Faramir, so I’m inclined to imagine it in that context.

That’s pretty vague, but … headcanon-wise, I do tend to imagine Boromir as somewhat overprotective, in part because of Tolkien’s description of him as a ‘bossy’ older brother in the letters. He would have been a lot. In this case, though, I envision it as a kind of outward manifestation of a certain emotional clinginess on Boromir’s part. Faramir barely remembers Finduilas, but Boromir would, and he’d see how it changed Denethor, too, while still a child himself. It’s easy to see him attaching all the more strongly to his tiny brother and appointing himself Faramir’s protector from ALL THE THINGS.

- Faramir: meh. does he have any proof?

- Denethor: who the fuck cares about the heirs of Isildur

‘Aragorn is descended in direct lineage, father to father, from Isildur Elendil’s son himself. And the sword that he bears was Elendil’s sword.’

A murmur of astonishment ran through all the ring of men. Some cried aloud: 'The sword of Elendil! The sword of Elendil comes to Minas Tirith! Great tidings!' But Faramir's face was unmoved.

‘Maybe,’ he said.

Denethor:

‘I am Steward of the House of Anárion. I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart. Even were his claim proved to me, still he comes but of the line of Isildur. I will not bow to such a one, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity.’

Boromir:

Oh, that’s interesting. 

Faramir:

“Ah well, sir,” said Sam, “you said my master had an elvish air; and that was good and true. But I can say this: you have an air too, sir, that reminds me of, of—well, Gandalf, of wizards.”

Denethor:

Faramir:

“Ah well, sir,” said Sam, “you said my master had an elvish air; and that was good and true. But I can say this: you have an air too, sir, that reminds me of, of—well, Gandalf, of wizards.”

Denethor:

“The breaking strain of Denethor’s confrontation of Sauron must be distinguished from the general strain of using the Stone. The latter Denethor thought he could endure (and not without reason) …

“It may be noted that the effects were different. Saruman fell under the domination of Sauron and desired his victory, or no longer opposed it. Denethor remained steadfast in his rejection of Sauron, but was made to believe that his victory was inevitable, and so fell into despair. The reasons for this difference were no doubt that in the first place Denethor was a man of great strength of will, and maintained the integrity of his personality until the final blow of the (apparently) mortal wound of his only surviving son. He was proud, but this was by no means merely personal: he loved Gondor and its people, and deemed himself appointed by destiny to lead them in this desperate time. And in the second place the Anor-stone was his by right, and nothing but expediency was against his use of it in his grave anxieties. He must have guessed that the Ithil-stone was in evil hands, and risked contact with it, trusting his strength. His trust was not entirely unjustified. Sauron failed to dominate him.”

‘He has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men, even of those that dwell far off. It is difficult to deceive him, and dangerous to try.’

Frodo with Faramir and Gollum:

‘Do you know the name of that high pass?’ said Faramir.

‘No,’ said Frodo.

‘It is called Cirith Ungol.’ Gollum hissed sharply and began muttering to himself. ‘Is not that its name?’ said Faramir turning to him.

'No!’ said Gollum, and then he squealed, as if something had stabbed him.

“And here in the wild I have you: two halflings, and a host of men at my call, and the Ring of Rings. A pretty stroke of fortune! A chance for Faramir, Captain of Gondor, to show his quality! Ha!” He stood up, very tall and stern, his grey eyes glinting.

Frodo and Sam sprang from their stools and set themselves side by side with their backs to the wall, fumbling for their sword-hilts. There was a silence. All the men in the cave stopped talking and looked towards them in wonder. But Faramir sat down again in his chair and began to laugh

“Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless eye.”

A sword rang as it was drawn. “Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may.”

“Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!”