Glimpsing the Days of the King on the Shores of Lake Evendim

For anyone living amid societal strife, empire, or war, it may be a strenuous reach to imagine the great peace of the Days of the King at the beginning of the Fourth Age of Men. Can you sense the feeling of it if you try? If only for a moment?

Some thousand years had passed in Eriador between the fall of the North Kingdom and the War of the Ring, yet a whisper of memory remained in the local saying that uncouth folk acted as if they hadn't heard of the king. The Rules by which the hobbits lived descended from the time when there was still a sovereign, making it particularly fitting that they play so large a role in bringing about the return of the king in Gondor. Frodo and his friends made the peace of this scene on the shores of Lake Evendim possible.

It is spring, and here we see the planned royal visit which Sam reveals to Elanor on her 15th birthday. The Gamgees receive the Court at the Brandywine Bridge, and all then proceed to this lovely lakeshore camp at the location of the former capitol of the lost North Kingdom. Renewal fills the air.

Elfstone and Evenstar promenade amid the wild daffodils and flowering plums with their friends as a court musician serenades them upon a Númenorean stringed instrument.

Sam is quite literally garlanded with his children. Little Hamfast is sleeping on his shoulders, tiny Primrose is carried in front, and one of my favorites - Goldilocks - holds his hand, pointing at the flowers. Rose carries the littlest child at this point in time - baby Bilbo. Pippin and Merry run ahead of the group, bearing the hobbit lanterns which they've been teaching their new friends to make in the camp. Elanor is old enough to carry baby Daisy as she strolls with little Rosie, and we catch a glimpse of 14-year-old Prince Eldarion walking with young Frodo.

From the many pleasant interactions I have had with fellow Tolkien readers, I am convinced that most of us deeply long for such days of peace. I hoped to capture some sense of the serenity that would pervade the land under a structure founded in goodness. I hope even a glimpse of such a possibility is a consolation. We are quite surrounded by fellow beings on the common Road who share our yearnings.

Please enjoy this beautiful scene from the second "Epilogue" to The Lord of the Rings via this video short. Our imagination matters.