The Elvenking rides out from his gate: Tolkien and the Horns of Elfland
Have you heard the Horns of Elfland? I think I may have.
The title of this new painting is drawn, in part, from J.R.R. Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" quote of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Splendour Falls" - a line which was also quoted by C.S. Lewis in his book, Surprised By Joy. It is a phrase of wonder and longing for the Secondary World and has always called to my mind the horn-calls Bilbo and the dwarves hear when the Elvenking is out hunting in Mirkwood. We are told that at different times and seasons, he rides out to hunt or for other purposes.
Here, it is autumn in the beechwood that grows on the banks of both sides of the dark Forest River in the hills where Thranduil has his hall. After his father, Oropher, falls in the Dagorlad, Thranduil becomes the leader of the largest remaining settlement of elves in his day. They may not be so wise as the folk you meet in Rivendell, nor so ethereal as the Galadhrim of the Golden Wood, but they are numerous and marvelous.
The Elvenking's fair horse leaps over a fern brake, and two trumpeters follow behind, blowing on gold and silver horns. Legolas is in the distance and many more elves ride out of a hidden stable in the hillside, across the bridge. They do not take the straight path from the bridge, but dash off circuitously through the russet scene, with morning sunlight dappling the woods.
Hammond and Scull's J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator features many different views the Professor attempted of the Elvenking's gate before settling on the highly-stylized one for publication in The Hobbit. There is an earlier, more naturalistic view I particularly love (shown above), and which has helped me to capture the scene from an angle, rather than head-on. That earlier picture is the only one that shows the roots of the beech trees reaching right down to the river, as is described when the elves seize the dwarves. I love that detail! And what a joy it is to imagine that beechwood in its autumnal glory.
Thranduil is crowned in leaves and berries. I hoped to capture how it might be if you were present in this scene, and the gaze of the Elvenking fell upon you and held you in its regard. In the distance, two elves look on from the open threshold, where lamplight is just visible in the passage leading under the great, tall hill. Perhaps, someday, I will get to do an interior view of the Elvenking's mysterious hall.
My hope for this new painting is that it draws attention to the peculiar courage of the wood-elves.
Few of us would choose our residence amongst dreadful spiders and far worse! Yet, this is precisely what Thranduil's folk do. Perhaps they saw the beauty of the place, waiting to be rescued. We are in deep Tolkien Faërie in riding out with their company, and perhaps the elves have something to teach us about looking at a mistreated landscape and being able to see in it the promise of healing so that it can become as beautiful as Eryn Lasgalen.
What are the Horns of Elfland calling us to today? Experience something of the mystery of all this in this video short, and be on the lookout for a black squirrel:
