In the chapter ‘A long expected party’ of Tolkien’s original work, Gandalf replies ‘I hope he will. But nobody will read the book, however it ends.’ This is one of the very few times that the wise grey wizard is wrong, for the Red Book becomes a very important document in not only hobbit history but also in the other kingdoms of Middle Earth.
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At the end of the Return of the King, Frodo and Bilbo say goodbye to their dearest friends and set sail to the undying lands, with the beautiful melody ‘Into the West’ playing in the background. But just before they board the boat, Frodo hands the book to his most faithful companion Samwise Gamgee. At this point, it contains ‘There and Back Again,’ Bilbo’s account of the desolation of Smaug and the journey to reclaim the dwarven homeland of Erebor, seen in The Hobbit films, as well as ‘The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King’ which is Frodo’s personal writings of his journey to Mordor and the surrounding war that took place.
The book also features a collection of histories and maps and eleven writings which Bilbo compiled during his stay in Rivendell. From here Sam took the book, adding to it during his time as Mayor of The Shire, along with segments contributed by Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, two other members of the fellowship who joined the quest to destroy the ring, before passing it down into the hands of his daughter Eleanor Gamgee.
When Eleanor married and became a Fairbairn, she and her family took the guarding of the book very seriously, passing it down from generation to generation, and were thus awarded the title ‘The Wardens of Westmarch’ who were charged with the protection of the red book, which at this point contained a vast portion of important information.
Although the Fairbairns did an excellent job of keeping the book safe, it was decided that a few copies should be made and distributed around the other realms so that the peoples of the Reunited Kingdom in the Fourth Age of Middle Earth could learn about the events that transpired during the War of the Ring, and the legendary bravery of the hobbits involved. King Ellessar, known to most as Aragorn, had a copy drawn up in Minas Tirith, to which corrections were added of names, certain words, and especially quotations written in incorrect elvish language. Several volumes were added to this book, which became known as Thain’s book.
It is a most important pastime of hobbits to trace their lineage, understanding which of the three types of hobbits they are descended from, which are the most noble family lines, and what rightly belongs to whom, but when Bilbo first started out in the writing of his book, he never could have foreseen what an important document it would become in preserving the information of his lifetime, his people, and one of the greatest battles ever fought for Middle Earth.
However, there is an interesting theory among Lord of the Rings fans that there is one character in the books who does know about the fate of the book, the fate of the fellowship, the ring, and indeed all of Middle Earth, and that’s Galadriel. During the famous scene in which she pours water into the fountain of her mirror, she states that she has seen ‘things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass.’ The mirror is among many magical objects in Middle Earth, like the Palantiri, the seven seeing stones, that show glimpses of the future. Many conspirators believe that Galadriel, and thus several other members of the elven race, already know that the quest will be successful, the One Ring will be destroyed, and it will pass into legend and history among the peoples of the world.
This would account for why the elves are all preparing to leave Middle Earth, knowing that the Age of Men is about to begin, and that the 3 elven rings will lose their power once the One Ring Is destroyed. There seems to be a self-awareness of many characters that they are in a story or a fairytale where the ending is already set. Two other good examples of this include when Gollum is leading Frodo and Sam towards the stairs of Cirith Ungol, and Sam says ‘I wonder if they’ll ever write songs or stories about us.’
The second reference comes in an extended scene in which Aragorn tells Arwen he is feeling lost and confused and cannot find which path he is on, and she tells him that ‘It is already laid before your feet.’ Arguably, she could be referring to their likeness of Beren and Luthien who came before them, and lived a very similar story to them resulting in the giving up of immortality so that the elf maiden could be with her love, a mortal man, but fans believe it is more likely that she too already knows the outcome of all that is to follow.
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