You are currently in 2-7/Columns  

“Oh look, more Lembas bread,” Sam complains as he opens his pack. Frodo and his faithful friend have been traveling through the rocky crags of Emin Muil for who knows how long, day after day eating nothing but the elvish crackers. The Lembas bread proves their only food for long days, and yet something about the thick crackers fills them up. As if there was more to the food that just the physical, it keeps them going, even if the taste gets repetitive. Some subtle magic of the elves, worked into the fibers so as to go unnoticed by Hobbit eyes.

Throughout Tolkien's stories, all of his characters encounter food of one kind or another. The Hobbits and Elves eat tasteful, filling food. Gollum, corrupt as he is, eats only raw fish and refuses normal vegetables. The Dwarves drink mead and eat mainly meat. The evil Orcs eat raw meat, spoiled bread, and drink hard liquor. And then of course, the Men of Middle Earth eat meals fit only for soldiers, reflecting their militaristic nature. While meals in the real world may not reflect our personality, in Middle Earth the different races consume food not only in a physical way, but also in a spiritual way. Most of them appreciate eating simply because its yet another gift Illuvatar has given them. In our day and age, this idea could stand to be spread a little more.         

 

Tolkien used a character’s likeness to elves as a symbol for the measure of one’s selfless love for their creator. Bilbo is called “elf-friend” and Gimli “friend of the elves” for their selfless kindness to the Elder race. Throughout The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the elves are upheld as the personification as all people could aspire to be. The elves being the closest to Illuvatar, the creator of Middle Earth, their selfless love for Him translates into every thing they do: even into making Lembas bread. In this way a bit of Illuvatar’s love is transferred to Frodo and Sam when they eat the bread, tasteless as it is. Just as Christ broke bread and gave it to his disciples, so the elves break bread and give the pieces to the Hobbits. Just as God quenches our thirst, so the bread made through love of Illuvatar fills the Hobbits.

 

Print       E-mail      

Just Listen The Bread of Life Food For Elves