61-598: The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien 's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings . It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King . The volume's title is ambiguous, as five towers are named in the narrative, and Tolkien himself gave conflicting identifications of the two towers. The narrative is interlaced , allowing Tolkien to build in suspense and surprise. The volume
122-598: A siege that seemed to threaten civilisation. Further, in Livingston's opinion, the Steward Denethor's two sons, Boromir and Faramir , play the roles of Hector in Homer 's Iliad , "the heroic example of martial, mortal man", and of Paris , the younger brother "little loved by [his father]", in "asterisk" form, as they might have been. Livingston notes that Paris, like Faramir, is seriously wounded by
183-411: A "deadly dart"; he is dragged back into Troy, just as Faramir is carried to Minas Tirith's Houses of Healing. Both men suffer burning fevers. Paris can't be saved; Faramir can. Paris's body is burned on a pyre; his abandoned wife Oenone burns herself to death with him. Denethor has himself burned alive on a pyre, and he tries to have Faramir burned with him, but is foiled in this. Tolkien's map-notes for
244-826: A 1951 letter, Tolkien wrote of "the Byzantine City of Minas Tirith", thus associating Gondor's capital with Constantinople , the capital of the Byzantine Empire . The classical scholar Miryam Librán-Moreno writes that Tolkien drew heavily on the history of the Byzantine Empire, and its struggle with the Goths and Langobards . The Byzantine Empire and Gondor were both, in Librán-Moreno's view, only echoes of older states (the Roman Empire and
305-519: A deep blue hue", while Howe's city more closely resembles a traditional castle of fairytales with pennants on every pinnacle, in Fauvist style. Lee chooses instead to look within Minas Tirith, showing "the same glimmering spires and white stone", a guard standing in the foreground in place of Gandalf and his horse; his painting gives a feeling of "how massive the city is", with close attention to
366-451: A deep concern with moral issues; in other works, the conflict is a power struggle, with, for instance, wizards behaving irresponsibly whether they are "good" or "evil". Role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons with campaign settings like Dragonlance by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis and Forgotten Realms by Ed Greenwood are a common basis for many fantasy books and many other authors continue to contribute to
427-516: A letter, Tolkien stated that Minas Tirith, some "600 miles south [of the village of Hobbiton in the Shire], is at about the latitude of Florence . The Mouths of Anduin and the ancient city of Pelargir [in the south of Gondor] are at about the latitude of ancient Troy ." Michael Livingston comments in Mythlore that Minas Tirith resembled Troy in having "impregnable walls", and in being subjected to
488-614: A new trend in fiction. In The Observer , the Scottish poet Edwin Muir , who had praised The Fellowship of the Ring , called Tolkien's invention of the Ents and his account of the Battle of Helm's Deep magnificent. He wrote that contrary to some people's assumption, one could not equate the Ring to the atomic bomb ; rather, it directly represented evil. John Jordan, reviewing the book for
549-400: Is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters , themes , or plot . High fantasy is usually set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world , rather than the "real" or "primary" world. This secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy
610-407: Is an orphan or unusual sibling, and frequently portrayed with an extraordinary talent for magic or combat. They begin the story young, if not as an actual child, or are portrayed as being very weak and/or useless. The hero often begins as a childlike figure, but matures rapidly, experiencing a considerable gain in fighting/problem-solving abilities along the way. The progress of the story leads to
671-531: Is characterized by being set on Earth, the primary or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world with the inclusion of magical elements. The romances of William Morris , such as The Well at the World's End , set in an imaginary medieval world, are sometimes regarded as the first examples of high fantasy. The works of J. R. R. Tolkien —especially The Lord of the Rings —are regarded as archetypal works of high fantasy . The term "high fantasy"
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#1732779719425732-571: Is more complex than this would suggest, as many smaller-scale interlacings occur as the characters travel through Middle-earth and the story. Interlacing allowed Tolkien to weave an elaborately intricate story, presented through the eyes of the Hobbit protagonists, "underscoring [their] frequent bewilderment and disorientation". Most directly, this is achieved by letting the reader know no more than what one character sees as he struggles forwards, not knowing what lies ahead, where his friends are, or whether
793-491: Is not considered to include the sword and sorcery genre. High fantasy has often been defined by its themes and messages. " Good versus evil " is a common one in high fantasy, and defining the character of evil is often an important theme in a work of high fantasy, such as The Lord of the Rings . The importance of the concept of good and evil can be regarded as the distinguishing mark between high fantasy and sword and sorcery. In many works of high fantasy, this conflict marks
854-696: Is shown as a black tower, three-horned, with Saruman's sign of the White Hand beside it. Between the two towers a Nazgûl flies. The narrative in the volume is interlaced , unlike the largely linear narrative in The Fellowship of the Ring , as the Fellowship is broken, and the different groups pursue their own quests. The main quest is not forwarded at all in book 3; conversely, the other quests are not progressed in book 4 as Frodo and Sam continue their dangerous journey towards Mordor. The timeline
915-525: The Dead Marshes . Sam overhears Gollum debating with his alter ego, Sméagol , whether to break his promise and steal the Ring. They find that the Black Gate of Mordor is too well guarded to pass through, so instead they travel south through the land of Ithilien to a secret pass that Gollum knows. On the way, they are captured by rangers led by Faramir , Boromir's younger brother, and brought to
976-543: The Irish Press , wrote admiring its narrative "weaving of epic, heroic romance, parable, and fairy tale, and the more adventurous kind of detective story, into a pattern at once strange and curiously familiar to our experience". He compared the wizard Gandalf 's death and reappearance to Christ's resurrection , writing that this could be done "without irreverence" because of Tolkien's seriousness about good and evil. High fantasy High fantasy , or epic fantasy ,
1037-678: The "first victory of Evil" in The Silmarillion as "resolved into the harmony of the victory of Good" in The Lord of the Rings . In The Silmarillion , the Dark Lord Melkor greatly influences the story, and the development of Middle-earth, whereas in The Lord of the Rings , Melkor's acolyte, the Dark Lord Sauron is almost successful but fails in his plans. In Peter Jackson 's film adaptation of The Lord of
1098-647: The Citadel through the Seventh Gate on its eastern part. The White Tower, at the city's highest level with a commanding view of the lower vales of Anduin , stood in the Citadel, 700 feet higher than the surrounding plains, protected by the seventh and innermost wall atop the spur. Originally constructed by a king of yore, it is also known as the Tower of Ecthelion, the Steward of Gondor who had it re-built. The seat of
1159-850: The King , rested in a secret chamber at the top of the Tower. There was a buttery of the Guards of the Citadel in the basement of the tower. Behind the tower, reached from the sixth level, was a saddle leading to the Hallows or necropolis of the Kings and Stewards, with its street of tombs, Rath Dínen. Tolkien was influenced by many authors when constructing Middle-earth, including several classical sources . Scholars, following various leads in Tolkien's fantasy and letters, have identified Minas Tirith with several different historical or mythical cities, including Troy, Rome, Ravenna, and Constantinople. In
1220-561: The Orcs unless Éomer's band of Riders of Rohan, disobeying orders from the King, had hunted the Orc intruders down. West states that each group and character has their own motivation, but their stories interact. It feels natural, and may appear "loose", but "everything is interconnected." The interlacing allows Tolkien to make hidden connections that can only be grasped retrospectively, as the reader realizes on reflection that certain events happened at
1281-519: The Orcs, who flee into the forest of Huorns, never to be seen again. Gandalf, Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli ride to Isengard, and are surprised to find Merry and Pippin relaxing amidst the ruins. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to turn away from evil. When Saruman refuses to listen, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. After Saruman leaves, Wormtongue throws down a hard round object to try to kill Gandalf. It misses and Pippin picks it up; Gandalf swiftly takes it, but Pippin steals it in
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#17327797194251342-411: The Rings , Minas Tirith was according to the concept designer Alan Lee given an ancient appearance reminiscent of Byzantium or ancient Rome. However, the appearance and structure of the city was based upon the inhabited tidal island and abbey of Mont Saint-Michel , France. In the films, the towers of the city, designed by Lee, are equipped with trebuchets . The film critic Roger Ebert called
1403-515: The Rings , Minas Tirith was given something of the look of a city of the Byzantine empire , while its seven-tiered shape was suggested by the tidal island and abbey of Mont Saint-Michel in France. Tolkien illustrators including Alan Lee , John Howe , Jef Murray , and Ted Nasmith have all produced realistic paintings of the city. For partly in the primeval shaping of the hill, partly by
1464-519: The South Road to the southern provinces of Gondor; and the road to Osgiliath, which lay to the north-east of Minas Tirith. Except for the high saddle of rock which joined the west of the hill to Mindolluin, the city was surrounded by the Pelennor , an area of farmlands. The city's main street zigzagged up the eastern hill-face and through each of the gates and the central spur of rock. It led to
1525-463: The Tower of Cirith Ungol . However, a month later, he wrote a note that is included at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring , and later drew a cover illustration, both of which identified the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. In the illustration, Minas Morgul is a white tower, with a thin waning moon above it, in reference to its original name, Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Rising Moon; Orthanc
1586-624: The Warden of the Houses of Healing and the Warden of the Keys. The Warden of the Keys was in charge of the city's security, especially its gates, and the safe-keeping of its treasury, notably the Crown of Gondor; he had command of the city when it was besieged by the forces of Mordor . Minas Tirith had seven walls: each wall held a gate, and for strength of defence each gate faced a different direction from
1647-405: The character's learning the nature of the unknown forces against them, that they constitute a force with great power and malevolence. The villains in such stories are usually completely evil and unrelatable. "High fantasy" often serves as a broad term to include a number of different flavors of the fantasy genre, including epic fantasy , mythic fantasy, dark fantasy , and wuxia . It typically
1708-413: The culture of ancient Egypt. Tuthill compares Howe's and Murray's versions of the same scene; Howe shows only a corner of the city, but vividly captures the movement of the horse and the rider's flying robes, with a strong interplay of light and dark, the white horse against the dusky rocks. Murray similarly uses strong contrast, with the white city against dark clouds overhead, but using "flat bold lines and
1769-525: The dead. Gandalf explains that he killed the Balrog . He was also killed in the fight, but was sent back to Middle-earth to complete his mission. He is clothed in white and is now Gandalf the White, for he has taken Saruman's place as the chief of the wizards. Gandalf assures his friends that Merry and Pippin are safe. Together they ride to Edoras , capital of Rohan. Gandalf frees Théoden , King of Rohan, from
1830-710: The destruction of their home countries; the brothers Romulus and Remus found Rome, while the brothers Isildur and Anárion found the Númenórean kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor in Middle-earth; and both Gondor and Rome experienced centuries of " decadence and decline ". Judy Ann Ford adds in Tolkien Studies that Minas Tirith was entirely built of stone, and "the only culture within [the Anglo-Saxons'] historical memory that had made places like Minas Tirith
1891-414: The fight, he finds Frodo unresponsive. Believing him to be dead, Sam takes the Ring to continue the quest alone. Before Sam gets far, however, Orcs find Frodo; Sam overhears them and learns that Frodo is still alive, but is separated from him. In letters to Rayner Unwin , Tolkien considered leaving the title ambiguous or naming the two as Orthanc and Barad-dûr , Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and
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1952-640: The films' interpretation of Minas Tirith a "spectacular achievement", and compared it to the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz . He praised the filmmakers' ability to blend digital and real sets. The setting of Minas Tirith has appeared in video game adaptations of The Lord of the Rings , such as the 2003 video game The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King where it is directly modelled on Jackson's film adaptation. Christopher Tuthill, in A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien , evaluates
2013-620: The gift given to him in Lothlórien : the Phial of Galadriel , which holds the light of Eärendil 's star. The light drives Shelob away, and Frodo and Sam are able to get through the pass safely. However, after they leave the pass, Shelob appears and attacks Frodo; before he can help his master, Sam is attacked by Gollum. After fighting off Gollum, Sam picks up Frodo's sword, Sting ; and the Phial. He seriously wounds and drives off Shelob, but after
2074-819: The illustrator Pauline Baynes indicate that Minas Tirith had the latitude of Ravenna , an Italian city on the Adriatic Sea , though it lay "900 miles east of Hobbiton more near Belgrade ". The Tolkien scholar Judy Ann Ford writes that there is an architectural connection with Ravenna in Pippin 's description of the great hall of Denethor, which in her view suggests a Germanic myth of a restored Roman Empire. Sandra Ballif Straubhaar states in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia that "the most striking similarities" are with ancient Rome . She identifies several parallels: Aeneas , from Troy , and Elendil, from Númenor, both survive
2135-612: The incapacitated Pippin. Gandalf immediately rides for Minas Tirith , the chief city of Gondor , taking Pippin with him. Frodo and Sam, heading for Mordor to destroy the One Ring, struggle through the barren hills and cliffs of the Emyn Muil . They become aware they are being watched and tracked; on a moonlit night they capture Gollum , who has followed them from Moria . Frodo makes Gollum swear to serve him, as Ringbearer, and asks him to guide them to Mordor. Gollum leads them across
2196-585: The influence of Saruman's spy Gríma Wormtongue . Théoden musters his fighting strength and rides with his men to the ancient fortress of Helm's Deep , while Gandalf departs to seek help from Treebeard. Meanwhile, the Ents, roused by Merry and Pippin from their peaceful ways, attack and destroy Isengard , Saruman's stronghold, and flood it, trapping the wizard in the tower of Orthanc . Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Théoden's aid. He brings an army of Rohirrim to Helm's Deep , and they defeat
2257-472: The mighty craft and labour of old, there stood up from the rear of the wide court behind the Gate a towering bastion of stone, its edge sharp as a ship-keel facing east. Up it rose, even to the level of the topmost circle, and there was crowned by a battlement; so that those in the Citadel might look from its peak sheer down upon the Gate seven hundred feet below. The entrance to the Citadel also looked eastward, but
2318-466: The most "fully rendered and realistic-looking" painting is Nasmith's Gandalf Rides to Minas Tirith , with a "wholly convincing city" in the background, majestic as the Wizard gallops towards it in the dawn light. He notes that Nasmith uses his architectural rendering skill to provide a detailed view of the whole city. He quotes Nasmith as writing that he studied what Tolkien said, such as likening Gondor to
2379-495: The most sheerly beautiful prose that this harsh decade has seen in print." The Times Literary Supplement called it a "prose epic in praise of courage" and stated that Tolkien's Westernesse "comes to rank in the reader's imagination with Asgard and Camelot ". Mahmud Manzalaoui, in the Egyptian Gazette , wrote that the book "has not pleased readers of the staple modern psychological novel", but that it signified
2440-474: The next, facing alternately somewhat north or south. Each level was about 100 ft (30 m) higher than the one below it, and each surrounded by a high stone wall coloured in white, with the exception of the wall of the First Circle (the lowest level), which was black, built of the same material used for Orthanc . This outer wall was also the tallest, longest and strongest of the city's seven walls; it
2501-454: The night. It is revealed to be a palantír , a seeing-stone that Saruman used to speak with Sauron, and that Sauron used to ensnare him. Pippin begins to be entranced by its power. While Gandalf sleeps, Pippin examines the palantír , inadvertently causing Sauron to see him; as Pippin is a hobbit, Sauron believes Pippin has the One Ring . Gandalf is awoken by the commotion and is able to save
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2562-511: The paintings of Minas Tirith made by the major Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee , John Howe (both of whom worked as concept designers for Peter Jackson's film trilogy), Jef Murray , and Ted Nasmith . Tuthill writes that it has become "hard to imagine" Middle-earth "without the many sub-creators who have worked within it", noting that the "dreaded effects" of what Tolkien called "silliness and morbidity" of much fantasy art in his time "are nowhere in evidence" in these artists' work. In Tuthill's view,
2623-443: The plot", where things happen apparently casually, as in real life. West illustrates this by examining Merry and Pippin's meeting with the Ents. This causes the Ents to overthrow their enemy Saruman, who was also the enemy of the kingdom of Rohan. This frees up Rohan to go to the aid of Gondor in their war with Sauron. The two Hobbits would never have met the Ents unless Saruman's Orcs had captured them. The Hobbits would not have escaped
2684-529: The quest has already failed. The bewilderment of the reader is minimized by the use of synchronizing 'narrative landmarks', such as the brooch dropped by Pippin and discovered by Aragorn. Equally, interlacing enables Tolkien to create suspense and " cliffhanger " section endings, as when the Ents and Huorns appear suddenly and decisively in a eucatastrophe on the battlefield of Helm's Deep. The Tolkien scholar Richard C. West writes that every reader must notice to some degree "the apparently meandering manner of
2745-690: The rulers of Gondor, the Kings and the Stewards, the tower stood 300 ft (91 m) tall, so that its pinnacle was some one thousand feet (300 m) above the plain. The main doors of the tower faced east, onto the Court of the Fountain. Inside was the Tower Hall, the great throne room where the Kings (or Stewards) held court. The Seeing-stone of Minas Tirith , used by Denethor in The Return of
2806-578: The same time. Interlace, West notes, can "show purpose or pattern behind change". This can appear, Shippey writes, as luck, where in daily life it is uncertain whether this is "something completely humdrum and practical or something mysterious and supernatural". Donald Barr in The New York Times gave a positive review, calling it "an extraordinary work – pure excitement, unencumbered narrative, moral warmth, barefaced rejoicing in beauty, but excitement most of all". Anthony Boucher , reviewing
2867-477: The secret fastness of Henneth Annûn . Unlike his brother, Faramir resists the temptation to seize the Ring and, disobeying standing orders to arrest strangers found in Ithilien, releases them. Gollum – who is torn between his loyalty to Frodo and his desire for the Ring – guides the hobbits to the pass of Cirith Ungol , but leads them into the lair of the great spider Shelob in the tunnels there. Frodo holds up
2928-663: The settings. Minas Tirith Minas Tirith is the capital of Gondor in J. R. R. Tolkien 's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings . It is a seven-walled fortress city built on the spur of a mountain, rising some 700 feet to a high terrace, housing the Citadel, at the seventh level. Atop this is the 300-foot high Tower of Ecthelion, which contains the throne room . Scholars, following various leads in Tolkien's fantasy and letters, have attempted to identify Minas Tirith with several different historical or mythical cities, including Troy , Rome , Ravenna , and Constantinople . In Peter Jackson 's film adaptation of The Lord of
2989-532: The time of a final, all-out siege from the East; however, Minas Tirith survived the siege whereas Constantinople did not . Swycaffer adds that Constantinople was famed for the strength of its defences, with its concentric walls. Tolkien stated that within the Court of the Fountain at the heart of Minas Tirith stood the White Tree, the symbol of Gondor. It was dry and dead throughout the centuries that Gondor
3050-435: The two hobbits. Aragorn , Gimli and Legolas decide to pursue the Orcs taking Merry and Pippin to Saruman. In the kingdom of Rohan , the Orcs are killed by Riders of Rohan , led by Éomer . Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by Treebeard , the oldest of the tree-like Ents . Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn. There they unexpectedly meet Gandalf , resurrected from
3111-1053: The unified kingdom of Elendil), yet each proved to be stronger than their sister-kingdoms (the Western Roman Empire and Arnor, respectively). Both realms were threatened by powerful eastern and southern enemies: the Byzantines by the Sassanid Persians and the Muslim armies of the Arabs and the Turks, as well as the Langobards and Goths; Gondor by the Easterlings, the Haradrim, and the hordes of Sauron. Both realms, as commentators including Librán-Moreno and Jefferson P. Swycaffer have observed, were in decline at
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#17327797194253172-419: The volume contain a Synopsis for readers who have not read the earlier volume. The body of the volume consists of Book Three: The Treason of Isengard, and Book Four: The Ring Goes East. A party of large Orcs , Uruk-hai , sent by Saruman , and other Orcs sent by Sauron and led by Grishnákh , attack the Fellowship. Boromir tries to protect Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, but they kill him and capture
3233-502: The volume in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction , wrote that The Two Towers "makes inordinate demands upon the patience of its readers" with passages which "could be lopped away without affecting form or content". Nevertheless, he lavished praise on the volume, saying "no writer save E. R. Eddison has ever so satisfactorily and compellingly created his own mythology and made it come vividly alive ... described in some of
3294-708: The west side of the world should sing a mass beneath it". Lisa Anne Mende, in Mythlore , contrasts the happy eucatastrophes which rescue Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings – the last-minute arrivals of the Riders of Rohan, and then of Aragorn in the enemy's ships – with the unmitigated disasters of the Fall of Gondolin and the other Elvish cities of Beleriand in The Silmarillion . She notes Tolkien's Christianity, which influenced Middle-earth , and describes
3355-530: Was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, "High Fantasy and Heroic Romance", which was originally given at the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians in October 1969. Many high fantasy stories are told from the viewpoint of one main hero. Often, much of the plot revolves around their heritage or mysterious nature, along with a world-threatening problem. In many novels the hero
3416-617: Was delved in the heart of the rock; thence a long lamp-lit slope ran up to the seventh gate. Thus men reached at last the High Court, and the Place of the Fountain before the feet of the White Tower: tall and shapely, fifty fathoms from its base to the pinnacle, where the banner of the Stewards floated a thousand feet above the plain. The Lord of the Rings , book 5, ch. 1 "Minas Tirith" Minas Tirith ( Sindarin : "Tower of Guard" )
3477-443: Was largely welcomed by critics, who found it exciting and compelling, combining epic narrative with heroic romance. The Lord of the Rings is composed of six "books", aside from an introduction, a prologue and six appendices. However, the novel was originally published as three separate volumes, due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. The Two Towers covers Books Three and Four. Some editions of
3538-447: Was ruled by the Stewards; Aragorn brought a young living sapling of the White Tree into the city on his return as King, symbolising the rebirth of the monarchy. Tolkien's biographer John Garth writes that the White Tree has been likened to the Dry Tree of the 14th century Travels of Sir John Mandeville . The tale runs that the Dry Tree has been dry since the crucifixion of Christ , but that it will flower afresh when "a prince of
3599-452: Was the Roman Empire." Tolkien intended to create a mythology for England , so that while the Third Age is ostensibly many thousands of years ago, much of the setting is medieval . She comments that Tolkien's account echoes the decline and fall of Rome , but "with a happy ending", as it "somehow withstood the onslaught of armies from the east, and ... was restored to glory." She finds multiple likenesses between Minas Tirith and Rome. In
3660-445: Was the capital of Gondor at the end of the Third Age of Middle-earth . It lay at the eastern end of the White Mountains, built around a shoulder of Mount Mindolluin. The city is sometimes called "the White Tower", a synecdoche for the city's most prominent building in its Citadel, the seat of the city's administration. The head of government is the Lord of the City, a role fulfilled by the Stewards of Gondor. Other officials included
3721-412: Was vulnerable only to earthquakes capable of rending the ground where it stood. The Great Gate of Minas Tirith, constructed of iron and steel and guarded by stone towers and bastions, was the main gate in the first or outer wall of the city. In front of the Great Gate was a large paved area called the Gateway. The main roads to Minas Tirith met here: the North-way that became the Great West Road to Rohan ;
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