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The Magic of Lothlórien | Tolkien Explained

Nerd of the Rings

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The Fellowship in Lothlorien - Kuliszu
Lothlorien - Alan_Lee
Lothlorien - Ted Nasmith
Forest of Lothlorien in Spring - J.R.R. Tolkien
Frodo and Haldir in Lothlorien - Ted Nasmith
Gifts of Galadriel - Kuliszu
Lorien - Ralph Damiani
book - bryan bitter
Gandalf vs Saruman - Bryan Bitter
Celebrimbor - Angus_McBride
Caras Galadhon - Ralph Damiani
Leaf and Branch, Water and Stone - Miriam Ellis
Caras Galadhon - Anna Kulisz
nimrodel - Sara Morello
Galadriel and Gimli - Abe Papakhian
Lórien - John Howe
Galadriel - Anthony Catillaz
Crossing Nimrodel - Anke Eissmann
Cerin Amroth - Matěj Čadil
Lothlorien - Peter Xavier Price
Lothlorien - Matěj Čadil
Sam - Jerry Vanderstelt
Autumn_in_the_forest_of_Lorien - Šárka_Škorpíková
Lorien - Catherine Chmiel
Atop Cerin Amroth - Anke Eißmann
Galadriel - Marya Filatova
Egladil - John Howe
Caras Galadhon - Sara Morello
Galadriel - Anato Finnstark
valinor - Ralph Damiani
Galadriel - Ivan Cavini
Lothlórien - Miriam_Ellis
Galadriel, lady of light - Kinko White
Lady of the Golden Wood - Ralph Damiani
Lothlorien - Ted Nasmith
Galadriel and Boromir - Catherine Chmiel
Pippin - Catherine Karina Chmiel
Sam - Francesco Amadio
Galadriel - YidanYuan
The Fellowship of_the_Ring - Abe Papakhian
Bag End in Sam's Day - Miriam Ellis
Sam - Matt Stewart
Galadriel - Lida Klavina
Galadriel - Līga Kļaviņa
Ringbearers - Jenny Dolfen
Lady of the Golden Wood - Līga Kļaviņa
A cup of farewell - Catherine Chmiel
Galadriel - Janka Latečková
Galadriel Leaves of Gold - Matt Stewart
A Fading Crown - Jenny Dolfen
The_Great_Eye - Ralph Damiani
Sauron - Shadow of War
Galadriel - Alystraea
The Trial - Ralph Damiani
Mirror of Galadriel - Alan Lee
Galadriel - Matthew Stewart
Galadriel - John Howe
Galadriel - Ann Shetelia
Galadriel - John Howe
Mirror of Galadriel - Anna Kulisz
Graceful - Lída Holubová
Mirror of Galadriel - Anna Kulisz
Mirror of Galadriel - Lída Holubová
Galadriel - Ivan Cavini
Mirror of Galadriel - Peter Xavier Price
An Unwelcome Return - Alan Lee
Gandalf The Grey - John Howe
The Eye of Sauron - John Howe
Galadriel - Jenny Dolfen
Galadriel - Anna_Kulisz
Frodo - Angus McBride
Galadriel - Catherine Chmiel
Galadriel - Ted Nasmith
The Mirror of Galadriel - Peter Xavier Price
Mirror of Galadriel - Anna Kulisz
Mirror of Galadriel - Lída Holubová
Evening at Caras Galadhon - Ralph Damiani
Galadriel - Matt Stewart
Caras Galadhon - Ralph Damiani
Galadriel - Marya Filatova
Galadriel - Alan Lee
Nenya - Lída Holubová
The Forging - Ralph Damiani
celebrimbor and annatar - anotherstranger me
The_forging_of_the_Rings - Alan Lee
Nimrodel - Aegeri
Nimrodel 2 - Aegeri
Lothlorien - Peter Xavier Price
Song of Galadriel - Ted Nasmith
Gift of Galadriel - Brothers Hildebrandt
Galadriel and Gimli - Abe Papakhian
Frodo and Boromir - Anke Eissmann
Frodo Baggins - Matt Stewart
The Great River - Ralph Damiani
Haldir - Lida Klavina
frodo - Jenny Dolfen
haldir of lorien - mellorianj

#galadriel #lordoftherings #tolkien

20 Comments

@ajfarson 3 months ago

The older I get, the harder Tolkien's writings hit. The undertones of loss, sacrifice, and love become more powerful with age. Remembering friends, family, places, and moments lost forever and imagining having the foresight to understand such loss before it even happens is something I cannot comprehend. I think he was trying to capture his own feelings about such things in his writings.

Thanks for your channel and your content. Every video is like a homecoming for someone who's delved these pages so many times.

@oudugan8676 3 months ago (edited)

Matt, you have been producing your best work this year. Thank you for helping those new to legendarium understand it, and those who already know it stay engaged.

@Itzzz_maymay 3 months ago

Last time i was this early was Eru Iluvatar was still writing his sheet music.....

@DaveWooldridge-p7m 3 months ago

I could always use a well made belt, one that never stretches with age and keeps my trousers exactly where they should be.

@AmyBrueckman 2 months ago

It is so hard to explain the "magic" to casual Lord of the Rings fans without getting into The Deep Lore. You laid it out perfectly here!

@Beryllahawk 3 months ago

Sam got the best gift imo. A gift that restored and healed the very place HE held most dear.
I wonder sometimes if, in that moment of temptation of the One Ring...did Galadriel perhaps think of her lost kin? Did she see her brothers and cousins, did she recall all the suffering and pain caused by the Silmarils? Might that memory have made resisting the Ring just a tiny bit easier for her, since she'd know what results that tainted might would bring about? Or if not knowing exactly, having a very good precedent on which to base an educated guess.
Or maybe she made her decision long before she ever met Frodo. Perhaps the very day she accepted Nenya into her keeping, she chose the inevitable fading. Maybe even then she knew that winning against Sauron would cost her everything she loved in Middle-Earth.
Either way it makes the line after the temptation bit that much more moving. "...and remain Galadriel." She's giving the last of her power to this effort, but she sees now that she will be permitted to come home at last. If she has any kin who never left Valinor, she'll see them again. And even if not, she will see once more the lands of her childhood, after such a long exile. With that blessing in her future, perhaps the loss of Lorien isn't quite so bitter.

@cormacmacsuibhne2867 3 months ago

9:03 This reminds me of when Frodo asked Gildor for advice and he when he is said it was his decision, Frodo is reminded of an old saying: Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes. Gildor retorts by saying "Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill." I think these are words to live by; only give advice when one knows all the facts or trouble may arise.

@Astrobrewster 3 months ago

I think the ‘no stain’ line is critical. It means that within the boundaries she has set, Morgoth’s influence is held in check. Her piece of Arda resembles what would have been without his corruption. The same might be said of ‘making’. Under the right love and care, the created thing can come close to its essence beyond the influence of Melkor

@TarMody 3 months ago

The phenomenon that humans call "magic" - and which the Elves express through the concept of "art" - is, in essence, the natural outcome of the incarnative efforts of their spiritual powers from a metaphysical perspective. The foundation of Galadriel's magic is Nenya; by neutralizing the corrupting influence of the spiritual power Morgoth incarnated into Arda, it enables Lothlórien to persist in Middle-earth - without fading - as a prototype of Valinor. All Rings of Power amplify the innate abilities of their bearers. As we know from Unfinished Tales, Galadriel possesses an innate gift of insight. Nenya transforms this insight into foresight by adding a temporal dimension to the faculty. The Music of the Ainur resonates most strongly within water among the elements of Arda; music is an instrument of creation that constructs the temporal dimension of the universe. Through Nenya, Galadriel deciphers the melody within the Music belonging to the person gazing into the mirror and presents it to that person's mind as a vision of a possible future. Through ósanwë, this vision simultaneously manifests in Galadriel's own mind.

@davidm.313 3 months ago

"Practical gifts"--Gimli's gift beyond measure--hair.

@miradfalco251 3 months ago

My husband and I both chimed in wanting the garden box.

@georgeshapiro301 3 months ago

I would like the dust of course. Take some of the magic home and let it live in the garden. Also that whole reference to everyone suddenly being unnaturally vital and healthy seems like a pretty nice perk.

@susanyoung6579 3 months ago (edited)

The fact that the power of Galadriel's ring was derived from the one ring makes the scene where Frodo offers it to her much more significant. Her refusal to take it speaks volumes about her wisdom and integrity.

@shawnvincent3458 3 months ago

This might be the most well thought out and presented explanation of Tolkien's system of magic and of the nature of Elves I've ever heard. Your narration accompanied by all the artwork is fantastic, as always, but I think this is my favorite video yet. I would show this to someone who is just getting interested in Tolkien's works, because explaining what magic is and what the Rings actually do can be kind of tricky, but you nailed it. Seriously, well done.

@biglawngnome 3 months ago

Love the longer format. And this is the kind of Tolkien breakdown I am SO here for🎉

@kianfarahza390 3 months ago

2:32 Sam's comment reminds me the fact that Galadrial was a student of Melian. A Maia who participated in Ainulindalë, and nourished a similar kingdom, Doriath.

@w.randyhoffman1204 3 months ago (edited)

I never thought of this before, but when Frodo and Sam glimpse Earendil's Silmaril shining through the fumes of Mordor, its light gives them inspiration and hope, but has no power to cleanse or purge the Shadow. That same light, rehomed in glass by Galadriel's art, is able to harm Shelob (Ungoliant's descendant) and break the will of the Watchers (spirits loyal to Morgoth's lieutenant). In the Phial, the magic of Galadriel brings to Middle-Earth not just a pure light, but a tiny measure of revenge -- or rather, justice -- for the Two Trees whence the light first came.

@shaggycan 3 months ago (edited)

3:00 that is because Sam is exactly correct. Arda was created by the song, and not just the now, it's entire history, past and present is a song. Magic is simply understanding, interpreting and subtly altering that song. All within Eru's design. For just as the Valar's voices are part of the song, so are the children of Illuvatar also part of the music.

@wutangforeverrr 3 months ago

Makes you really think how amazing that soil is when a single grain helps grow trees like that

@gregp6210 3 months ago

Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf instantly knew the One Ring had been destroyed, because their rings lost all their power at that exact moment. A huge relief also accompanied by a big psychological let down. That meant they were no longer on their now powerless ring's psychological highs, so the world faded around them, and heading west was the only way to get that feeling back -- and Gandalf never wanted to be sent east in the first place. So they got out quickly. Also now ancient Bilbo, not longer age stabilized by the One Ring existing, needed to be gotten out of ME promptly once he passed the age of the Old Took.