Tolkien's Eagles: Friends in High Places

With the power of his pen, J.R.R. Tolkien seemed to take a special joy in letting us know that the eagles can come unexpectedly. It's not a promise, but the possibility conveys hope. The great eagles are the dragon-fighters of the First Age, the steeds of Maiar, the rescuers of hobbits. They whisk folk off to the higher places, giving that valuable eagle's eye view which suggests that life may not be quite what it seems from the vantage point of the Road.

Manwë Sulimo - Miriam Ellis

It's Christmas week, and I'm thinking of the eagles, the messengers of Manwë, Lord of the Winds. Wind, breath, and Spirit are philologically linked, and rustle with good tidings. This is Arda Marred - Tolkien's secondary fallen world. The eagles can't always come, and that is hard, but it is also fact that, sometimes, they do.

And in a curious kind of way, Tolkien's books can take on eagle-shape, themselves. I'm just winding down from attending the wonderful Prancing Pony Podcast Moot. When you listen to almost any lineup of Tolkien presenters, it's impossible not to notice how one fellow reader after another has been rescued to some degree by these stories. They lift us up. They make a nest in our hearts and minds, filled with the highest thoughts. How good that is.

I hope this new painting gives a sense of the uncommonness of little Bilbo waking up on that bright morning in the Misty Mountains, a guest of eagles. He has been having the most terrifying time amid goblins and wargs. All the circumstances of his life at this moment are strange and uncertain to him. In fact, so uncertain that I've had him take off the boots he was wearing when he woke up in Tolkien's own beautiful illustration.

Bilbo and the boots

Detail, Bilbo woke up with the early sun in his eyes - J.R.R. Tolkien

Where did Bilbo get boots small enough for a hobbit, given that Westfarthing folk tend to go shoeless? Did the dwarves cobble him some? Did the elves kit him out at the Last Homely House? We don't know, but Bilbo must have found his boots a comfort in the harsh, craggy mountains, so unlike the soft pastures surrounding The Hill.

In my depiction, Bilbo is so uncertain about what will happen next that he has removed this useful footwear and tucked it under himself in climbing onto the eagle's back. Perhaps he fears this little saving grace might fly off his feet as they take to the skies and head for the Carrock. Sometimes, we cling to what we have. On other occasions, there's only faith to carry us along, and we hold on like Bilbo to wispy feathers of majesty.

When eucatastrophe wings in, we transcend all limitations. We sense that all will be well somehow, someday. That is the hope Professor Tolkien counted on when he sent his eagles to defeat his monsters and to save sweet hobbits from disaster. Again, how good that is.

Wishing a very Merry Christmas to all who observe, and Peace on Earth to all folk of good will! May the Eagles arrive just when you need them.