Gondor is a nation that has long been at war. From the time that the Numenorians first came across to Middle Earth, there have been many enemies, both from other lands, like the Haradrim who brought theiroliphaunts from the South, and within their midsts, likeQueen Beruthiel and her crafty cats. But in all this time of war and trouble, Gondor has also garnered itself many friendships and alliances.
And in order for Gondor to summon these friends, to rush to their aid when their need was so desperate that they could not stave an enemy off alone, and had no other hope of survival than to draw on surrounding kingdoms, they needed ways to call for aid. The most famous of these is the Horn of Gondor, which is shown in Peter Jackson’s adaptation ofThe Fellowship of the Ring, when Boromir dies trying to protect Merry and Pippin from the orcs who want to take them tothe corrupted Isengard.
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Overwhelmed and outnumbered, Boromir blows the horn, and Aragorn and Legolas come rushing to his aid, only to find that they are too late and that he has been slain. They put his body, and the horn, in a boat, and sail it down the river Anduin. The horn is then found by Faramir at the secrethide-out of his Rangers, and then he knows that his brother is dead, and that some awful fate has fallen the quest that Boromir set out on many months ago.
The second famous call for help that is shown in the movie adaptation is the Beacons. It was an interesting choice on behalf of the directorial team to have such conflict surrounding the great pyres on the mountains, in which Denethor refuses to have them lit, and Pippin must make his way up into the tower unspotted by the guards, withthe aid of Gandalf the White. Denethor clearly cannot see the sense of calling for help, so the two light the beacon as an act of subterfuge against the Steward of Gondor.
In one of the most breathtaking and powerful scenes of the trilogy, featuring strong music by Howard Shore, and a beautiful shot of the mountain ranges in New Zealand where the films were made, the audience can see the beacons for many miles being lit one by one as a summons for Rohan to go to the aid of Minas Tirith, which is currently under siege. The beacons each have individual names, and are manned by generations of families across the entire White Mountain range: Amon Din, Eilenach, Nardol, Erelas, Min Rimmon, Calenhad, and Amon Anwar.
But the beacons are not, in fact, how the riders of Rohan are summoned in the books. That would be the Red Arrow, and old and ancient custom of Gondor that is used when the kingdom is in dire straights. As the men of Rohan camp up nearby, a messenger arrives in the middle of the night. ‘In his hand he bore a small arrow, black-feathered and barbed with steel, but the point was painted red.’ It is thought that the arrow is black to symbolize the crude and poisonous weapons of the orcs, and that the tip is painted red as a symbol of Gondor’s fallen blood, and as a visual representation of how dire the need for help has become.
The messenger, by the name of Hirgon, informs them that the city will not stand much longer. He implores ‘My lord does not issue any comand to you, he begs you only to remember old friendship, andoaths long ago spoken, and for your own good to do all that you may.’ Theoden fears that the riders will not be able to make it before dawn on the 7th day, and Hirgon tells them that this is a dark fate, and that the white city will be reduced to rubble long before then. In a last-bid effort, Theoden rallies his men, and they ride at first light.
However, they get but a day or two down the road, and discover, to their dismay that news of their rescue attempt never reached Denethor in Minas Tirith, and that the steward must surely be feeling betrayed that his pleas for protection have seemingly gone unanswered, because they find two dead men upon the path. ‘They were errand riders of Gondor; Hirgon was one of them maybe. At least his hand still clasped the Red Arrow, but his head was hewn off.’ This devastation at believing they would all die without Rohan’s help, might be what drove Denethor to the madness of trying to set himself andthe brave Faramiralight on a death pyre. However, the drastic action is unneccesary, for Rohan rides in at the last moment and saves the day after all.
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