J.R.R. Tolkien begins his trilogy The Lord of the Rings, with Bilbo Baggins' 111st birthday party celebration. Readers wonder why Tolkien chose 111.
J.R.R. Tolkien's story of hobbits, elves, dwarves and men, dealing with the Ring of Power, starts with the birthday celebrations of Bilbo Baggins and his nephew, Frodo. Bilbo is 111 and Frodo is 33. Tolkien himself steered clear of allegories, and thought of his book as an example of "applicability." Nevertheless, readers often seek for meaning in Bilbo's age, one hundred and eleventy years old.
Musings on Biblical Numerology of 111
The article "Biblical Numerology in the Birthday Part of Bilbo and Frodo: 111 and 33," and credited to Quirino M. Sugon, includes a quote from "The Long Expected Party."
"Bilbo was going to be eleventy-one, 111, a rather curious number, and a very respectable age for a hobbit (the Old Took himself had only reaced 130); and Frodo was going to be thirty three, 33, an important number: the date of his ‘coming of age’. (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 22)
Sugon explores possible meanings that Tolkien might have intended. One of Sugon's ideas, seen through a Christian lens, considers the numerology of Lucifer. If Lucifer tries to be greater than God, and uses the number 666, then the number 111 could stand for Bilbo's realization that he is a simple hobbit, not great or a god.
Sugon also looks at Frodo's age of 33, the Hobbit coming of age, at the same as Christ's coming of age and teaching. From a number standpoint, Sugon, by adding 111 to 33 arrives at 144, a number metioned in the Fellowship of the Ring. Sugon considers that 12 x 12 = 144, and explores the number 12 as representing the 12 apostles or 12 sons of Jacob.
Another of Sugon's thoughts is that the repetition of 111 echos the rhyme about the One Ring's three purposes: to rule them all, find them, and bind them in darkness.
Musings on War and the Number 111
Tolkien's experiences during World War I poured out into Lord of the Rings. As noted in the National Geographic documentary, Beyond the Movie, Tolkien was devastated by the horrors of war and the loss of his friends. The Battle of the Somme began on July 1, 1916, with Britain losing almost 60,000 soldiers that first day.
The battle dragged out almost five months, ending November 18. Over a million soldiers died, part of the battlefield filled with rotting corpses. It was in the battlefield trenches that Tolkien began Lord of the Rings. The warscape that Tolkien witnessed resurfaced in the Dead Marshes and Mordor.
Bilbo announces his one hundred and eleventieth birthday. The number 11 does show up in Tolkien's war experiences. Tolkien was linked with the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers, many of whom died in 1916.
World War I officially ended on November 11th, 1918, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
This timeline had been adapted from the feast of Saint Martin (316 to 397/400 A.D.). Martin, originally a soldier, became known as patron saint of conscientious objectors due to his rejection of war. Saint Martin's feast day celebrations often began at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Tolkien Disliked Allegories
In the forward to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien is on record as disliking allegories. "I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifiestations, and always have done since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence." In this case, Tolkien dismisses the notion that he used the one-to-one linking equations of allegory in his writing. Instead, Tolkien allows for "applicabilty," of the reader's bringing ideas to a story, and enriching the story in this way.
"I think that many confuse 'applicability' with 'allegory'; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author."
Readers may never totally understand the numerical choices Tolkien made for Bilbo's birthday. But readers will understand that Tolkien intended for readers to use their freedom in applying their thoughts and ideas about Bilbo's 111th birthday.
References
Musings on Biblical Numerology of 111
The article "Biblical Numerology in the Birthday Part of Bilbo and Frodo: 111 and 33," and credited to Quirino M. Sugon, includes a quote from "The Long Expected Party."
"Bilbo was going to be eleventy-one, 111, a rather curious number, and a very respectable age for a hobbit (the Old Took himself had only reaced 130); and Frodo was going to be thirty three, 33, an important number: the date of his ‘coming of age’. (Fellowship of the Ring, p. 22)
Sugon explores possible meanings that Tolkien might have intended. One of Sugon's ideas, seen through a Christian lens, considers the numerology of Lucifer. If Lucifer tries to be greater than God, and uses the number 666, then the number 111 could stand for Bilbo's realization that he is a simple hobbit, not great or a god.
Sugon also looks at Frodo's age of 33, the Hobbit coming of age, at the same as Christ's coming of age and teaching. From a number standpoint, Sugon, by adding 111 to 33 arrives at 144, a number metioned in the Fellowship of the Ring. Sugon considers that 12 x 12 = 144, and explores the number 12 as representing the 12 apostles or 12 sons of Jacob.
Another of Sugon's thoughts is that the repetition of 111 echos the rhyme about the One Ring's three purposes: to rule them all, find them, and bind them in darkness.
Musings on War and the Number 111
Tolkien's experiences during World War I poured out into Lord of the Rings. As noted in the National Geographic documentary, Beyond the Movie, Tolkien was devastated by the horrors of war and the loss of his friends. The Battle of the Somme began on July 1, 1916, with Britain losing almost 60,000 soldiers that first day.
The battle dragged out almost five months, ending November 18. Over a million soldiers died, part of the battlefield filled with rotting corpses. It was in the battlefield trenches that Tolkien began Lord of the Rings. The warscape that Tolkien witnessed resurfaced in the Dead Marshes and Mordor.
Bilbo announces his one hundred and eleventieth birthday. The number 11 does show up in Tolkien's war experiences. Tolkien was linked with the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers, many of whom died in 1916.
World War I officially ended on November 11th, 1918, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
This timeline had been adapted from the feast of Saint Martin (316 to 397/400 A.D.). Martin, originally a soldier, became known as patron saint of conscientious objectors due to his rejection of war. Saint Martin's feast day celebrations often began at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Tolkien Disliked Allegories
In the forward to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien is on record as disliking allegories. "I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifiestations, and always have done since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence." In this case, Tolkien dismisses the notion that he used the one-to-one linking equations of allegory in his writing. Instead, Tolkien allows for "applicabilty," of the reader's bringing ideas to a story, and enriching the story in this way.
"I think that many confuse 'applicability' with 'allegory'; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author."
Readers may never totally understand the numerical choices Tolkien made for Bilbo's birthday. But readers will understand that Tolkien intended for readers to use their freedom in applying their thoughts and ideas about Bilbo's 111th birthday.
References
- "Biblical Numerology in the Birthday Part of Bilbo and Frodo: 111 and 33." By Quirino M Sugon, Jr., Dec. 19, 2009. St. Holbytla's Monastery.
- "Beyond the Movie." National Geographic. 2007.
- "The Feast of St. Martin." Fisheaters.
- The Quotations Page. J.R.R. Tolkien. Formerly referenced the now-deleted The Phoenix Rises. "I Dislike Allegory!: Blog of Rodney C. Johnson.
- "Tolkien: Allegory and Applicability."
- " World War I." By John Garth. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. By Michael D. C. Drout.
- "Martinmas, Armistice, Veterens Day, November 11." By Teresa Knudsen. Nov. 11, 2009. Suite 101
- Tolkien Gateway: The Battle of the Somme.
- Clugnet, Léon. "St. Martin of Tours." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 15 Sept. 2011
Reading and Literature, Fantasy, War Literature
Photo:
Tolkien in 1916Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tolkien_1916.jpg
This article by Teresa Knudsen was published on Suite 101 November 10, 2010.
There it remained until January 10-12, 2012, when it was moved to Sweet Suite Writings blogspot to mark the transition from Suite 101, thence to Pirates and Patriots blogspot
There it remained until January 10-12, 2012, when it was moved to Sweet Suite Writings blogspot to mark the transition from Suite 101, thence to Pirates and Patriots blogspot
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