September 27, 2002

Re: Which Are Two Towers?
Everett V.

Roger, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on your posting on The Two Towers, not so much in regard to which towers you say the Towers represent (I don't know anything significant regarding the British Birmingham (nor the one in Michigan for that matter).), but rather in regard to a couple of assertins that you make.

First of all, if you look in the index of names provided at the end of "The Silmarillion," you will find that Orthanc means, not "cunning mind," but "Forked Height."

Secondly, I believe the towers to which the title refers (The trailer not withstanding.) are not Barad-Dur and Orthanc, but Minas Morgul and Orthanc (I cannot be entirely sure on this because my LOTR is one book, as opposed to three separate ones, and Fellowship and TTT do not end with the "To Be Continued..." announcements.).

You may very well be right that Orthanc is based on the Chamberlain Tower (I'm not going to touch the letter game.), but that is not supported by the meaning of "Orthanc." Furthermore, you may be right to say that "Barad-Dur is the black smokey chimneys of central industrial Birmingham." However, if I am indeed right about Minas Morgul and not Barad-Dur being the second tower, that is of little relevance because what Barad-Dur represents is not relevant in any way to the title.