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Branwyn's Baubles  by Branwyn 2 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 10 on 10/31/2005
All right--interesting view of the process! But are Hobbits the men of Carm Dun?

Author Reply: When Merry wakes up after being ensorcelled in the burial mound, he retains the memories of one of the barrow-wights. He says, "The men of Carn Dum came on us at night, and we were worsted. Ah! the spear in my heart!" So the men of Carn Dum were the people who killed the warriors who later became barrow-wights. I don't know whether Tolkien mentions it, but I had always assumed that the barrow-wights themselves were also Men. The barrow-wights had awakened and were walking long before the hobbits arrived. Certainly the barrow-wight who captured Merry in "Fog on the Barrow Downs" could remember his own death and who was the cause of it. Not sure they would mistake the hobbits for the men of Carn Dum, but I guess it is possible--after all, the barrow-wights are under an evil enchantment so their judgment is not the best. :-)
Thanks so much for reviewing!

mirthorReviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/30/2005
Almost a blast from the past, it's so rare we get drabbles about the wights. Whatever happened to them after the hobbits ran into them? I'm guessing they didn't disappear after the war, but didn't they serve the witch-king?

Author Reply: I believe that the dead warriors in the barrows were killed by the men of Angmar, but I am not sure if the witch-king ensorcelled the wights or not. Tolkien says that, after the mounds were raised, men still lived nearby for a time and grazed their sheep on the grassy slopes. Later, the lands became desolate, and something caused evil to stir within the barrows but Tolkien doesn't give the exact cause.

Thanks for your kind review!

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