October 3, 2003

How Much Sunlight to Turn a Troll to Stone?
Niphredil

The other day some friends and I were talking trolls over coffee (as you do) when it suddenly occurred to me that the cave troll in the FotR film must have been exposed to sunlight during the fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul. Remember that Balin’s tomb was bathed in a shaft of sunlight when first spotted by Gimli. This is an accurate reproduction of what Tolkien describes in the book. Not long into the fight the cave troll actually smashes the tomb in an attempt to squash Gimli which means that part of him (at least his arm or fist) must surely have come into the path of the shaft of sunlight. If not then, than surely sometime during the fight when the troll was lumbering all over the chamber. Wouldn’t this be enough to turn him to stone? In the book it is a “huge orc-chieftan, almost man-high” that spears Frodo, not a cave troll, so the sunlight in the chamber is not an issue.

Some of my friends were arguing that cloud cover would be enough to stop the troll from changing to stone but I don’t think I agree with this. In the Hobbit, Tom, Bert and William were changed to stone by the first rays of dawn, and they were in a clearing in a forest that would be full of shadows. I think Gandalf actually says something like trolls must be below ground before dawn or they will be turned to stone. I suppose the cave troll is below ground but I would have thought if he walked into the path of a shaft of sunlight this would be enough to change him to stone. What does everyone else think?