Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical | Places: Gladden Fields & River
The War of the Last Alliance was referenced by Gandalf as a major event in the history of the One Ring. Both Gil-galad and Elendil died in the Siege of Barad-dûr, the fortress of Sauron, along with many Elves and Men. While Isildur survived and killed Sauron by cutting off the finger wearing the One Ring, Isildur kept the ring instead of destroying it and was killed by Orcs two years later during the Disaster of Gladden Fields. This was a paradoxical location. The Gladden River was a tributary of the Great River Anduin, the longest river in Middle-earth, and the Gladden Fields were formed where the Gladden reached the Anduin. The soil in this area would have been fertile, perfect for growing plants, hence the many gladdens flowering in the area. At the same time, it would be remembered for generations as a place of death.
In this essay, I will explore the linguistics of the word “gladden” and the history of the flower it represents, along with exploring other rivers in folklore and comparing the Anduin to rivers in the Real World. Finally, I will describe the admittedly disappointing depictions of the fields and river as created by other artists.
Gladden Linguistics & History
The word “gladden” has two different meanings. The concept of “gladden” being associated with “gladness”, a synonym for happiness, dates from 1300 and comes from the Mercian language, a dialect of Old English. The term “gladden” as found in Gladden Fields is an alternative spelling of the Old English word gladdon, itself taken from the Latin word gladiolus for a wild iris. The name literally means “small sword”, just as a gladiator means “swordsman”. The use of a gladiolus as a sword even appears in the legendarium during the poem “The Sea-Bell”, describing how “gladdon-swords guarded the fords” and the self-declared king stood “with gladdon-sword and reed-mace”.
Gladiolus are ancient flowers, the earliest being cultivated over two thousand years ago with about 255 species existing today. In a letter to a fan, Tolkien noted that he preferred the Iris pseudocorus, a bright yellow flower, to the Iris foetidissima, a pale purple flower, which seems in line with the hobbit-like appreciation for “chiefly green and yellow”. He also noted that the Anglo-Saxon spelling of the word was gledene and did not like the spelling gladdon. He was a man of many opinions. As for the Elvish name, the river was called Sîr Ninglor in Sindarin, literally meaning “river of golden water-flower”, while the watery fields were Loeg Ningloron or “pools of golden water-flower”.
The connotation of gladiolus as a symbol of death appears to be a modern invention. Books describing Victorian flower language, or conveying hidden meaning through one’s bouquets, include very little about gladiolus. The concept of gladiolus as “funeral sprays” may date only from the early 20th century, around the time of World War I, as described in the pamphlet Gladiolus Studies published by Cornell University. Since The Lord of the Rings does act as a commentary on the author’s experience during World War I, I am comfortable with the concept of the gladiolus of Gladden Field foreshadowing the carnage about to take place.
Motifs of Rivers
The Gladden River does follow a specific motif found in folklore. While it may not be an extraordinary river (F715) like the Anduin, the story does align with the motif “Man jumps into the sea, river, or waterfall with his treasure” found in Iceland (N513.1) and the related “man leaps into river and drowns in effort to save his treasure” found in Spain (J2146.2), both of which result in the motif “treasure hidden in river” (N513.4).
The River Anduin
In the Real World, several rivers can claim the title of “Longest River on a Continent”. For North America, that is the Mississippi at about 2,340 miles in length. At seventy million years old, the river has garnered many names. Its current official name formed from the Ojibwe word Misi-ziibi, which literally means “long river”. Colloquially, it is sometimes known as Old Man River. The river was largest around four million years ago when its watershed reached as far as Canada and could carry up to eight times more water than the current version. The river is widest at eleven miles across when going through Lake Winnibigoshish in Minnesota. Outside of acting as a migratory pathway for hundreds of species, its waters inspire music and art.
Over in Egypt, the Nile, which ancient Egyptians called jtrw or “the river”, is known for its length and impact on culture from Ancient Egypt to the present. It dwarfs the Mississippi at 4,132 miles in length and flows north into the Mediterranean Sea. The seasonal cycle of the river allowed the earliest large nation to form along its banks by 3100 BC, when it was worshiped as part of the Osiris myth, honoring the god of death and agriculture. The soil of the Delta, which Ancient Egyptians called mhw meaning “marsh”, was extremely rich and allowed Egyptian to grow more crops than their neighbors, although unregulated flooding often destroyed crops.
In South America, the Amazon is almost four thousand miles in length and has four tributaries stretching over a thousand miles each, creating a river that is up to fifty miles across. The exact length of the Amazon is considered controversial by cartographers and geographers because of how much it bends and meanders. Local folktales describe animals and spirits that live in its waters and on its banks, from dolphins that transform into “fair-skinned young men” looking for human girlfriends to evil spirits and dark shamans.
In Asia, the Yangtze is about 3,875 miles in length, while its drainage basin or watershed covers 448 million acres, about a fifth of the land in China. I first learned about the river while in elementary school while on a quest to read all the Newbery Medal books, which are given for excellence in American children’s literature. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze was written by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, a former missionary in China. The main character had a more Western mindset than an actual Chinese teenager, but the book overall was an accurate portrayal of China in the 1920s. As for mythology involving the river, a Great Flood in the area could only be controlled after either Yu the Great invented irrigation, although he may have done this for the Yellow River instead, or his father Gun the Earl of Chong built dykes to stop the flood, which eventually collapsed and killed many people.
As for rivers the same length as the Anduin, the closest match I could find was the Red River that begins in New Mexico and flows through Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas before ending in Louisiana at the Atchafalaya River. The river is about 1,290 miles in length, making it the eighth longest river in the United States, where the Anduin was estimated at 1,388 miles in length by Karen Wynn Fonstad in The Atlas of Middle-earth.
Depictions of Gladden Field and River
Very few artists have depicted Gladden Fields in their illustrations, and not one seemed to include gladiolus! Donato Giancola shows Isildur lying in the shallows of the Gladden River surrounded by cattails, but no gladdens. Lída Holubová, also known as Gnóme, has a cute picture of a pair of hobbits, presumably Déagol and Sméagol, fishing in a wooden boat in the shallows near many cattails, but no gladdens. The images of Isildur by Anke Eißmann have long rushes and grasses, but no gladdens. I was admittedly a bit beside myself when looking at beautiful picture after beautiful picture and seeing not a single yellow flower.
Accordingly, my depiction of Gladden Fields and the nearby river attempts to remediate this omission. I created rows and rows of gladiolus in many shades of yellow among the rushes and cattails leading down to the river. While I may lack the many years of experience held by other artists who have depicted this landscape, at least I include the flower that gave the area its name!
