"Simply Walking into Mordor: How Much Lembas Would..." Topic

…The Fellowship Need?

"Abstract: The Fellowship of the Ring were supposed to travel from Imraldis to the forges of Mt. Doom in order to destroy the One Ring of Sauron. For an ideal journey with all 9 members of the fellowship, using the metabolic rates for each species from, the total calorific consumption of the 92-day journey was found to be 1,780,214.59 kcal. If the elves of Imraldis had provided the Fellowship with lembas, this would equate to them having to carry a total of 675 pieces, or 75 pieces each. For the different species, this equates to 304 for the hobbits, 214 for Gandalf, Aragorn and Boromir; 99 for Gimli and 60 for Legolas.

Introduction: The One Ring is one of the darkest and most powerful artefacts in Middle Earth. It was created in the fires of Mount Doom by the dark lord Sauron in an attempt to gain control over the other 19 Rings of Power and thus, rule over all of Middle Earth. Sauron concentrated part of himself into the ring such that defeating him requires that the One Ring be cast into the fires from whence it was forged. This was a task set to a hobbit and his eight companions.

The fellowship consisted of four hobbits (Peregrin Took, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee), the Dúnedain ranger Aragorn, Boromir of the race of men, the Istari Gandalf, dwarrow Gimli and the elf Legolas Greenleaf. During their travels, the fellowship were given Lembas (Waybread) at Lothlórien, an elvish bread preserved in a leaf wrap. Lembas was said to ‘keep a traveller on his feet for a day of long labour'…"
Free to read here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Way to suck the joy out of good literature…

John T

I've thought about this since the movies came out. But suppose the bread is like a power bar and each 1 is better than a whole meal.

wow, this research paper.. is a poorly researched mass of assumptions.

Gimli, is considered to be a large hobbit.. (an odd assumption.)

Legolas and Gandalf are simply considered Human?

did someone get a pass from this paper?

I am not on my computer and wasn't about to download the file.Maddox is making me wish I would as it sounds like someone who never read a page of the trilogy.

"…is a poorly researched mass of assumptions."

also assumes they would eat nothing but the lembas

They had hobbit weed and probably took some meth too.

We know the metabolic rate of a dwarf and a elf?

And the books document every minute of a 92 day journey?

I know…let's talk water….no conversions for metabolic rate…no conversions for exertion or average daily temp…0.5 gallon per day-per person-92 day journey--8lbs weight per gallon---looks like everyone is carrying over 350lbs of water weight around

If this passes for a research paper---it is no wonder why there has been no significant leap in technology since the use of fossil fuels---LOL

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

If Xenephon can make it, so can The Fellowship.

Since the authors misspell Imladris throughout, it's hard to believe their scholarship is very sound.

Go to any Tolkien site and search the correct spelling (Imladris); you get hits for Rivendell etc.

On the same site search these authors' spelling (Imraldis); you won't get much.

Why did he call Gimli a dwarrow?

I figured they replenished their stock of lembas in Lothlorien. But if one bite fills you up, a 'loaf' or two would surely last 90 days.

They modelled the metabolic rates of the different species against animals.

Hobbits are possums.

Elves are deer.

Humans are foxes.

Humans

are

foxes

!

A better model would use, as an animal analog for humans, maybe….humans. Because, here's the clever science bit, humans actually do exist and we know pretty much what they should eat under a variety of different scenarios of activity.

And, for an active questing human – it's more than a fox.

I'm pretty sure Elves can just go without food for days.

And as TNE2300 said – the lembas is the "emergency rations". Even on the edge of Mordor Gollum can come up with a couple of rabbits to make a stew with.

I'm willing to bet that as a Maia Gandalf can also pass on the odd meal. Numenoreans are notably hardy – Aragorn could skip a meal or two.

And did you notice that the required calories are quoted to 2 decimal places – that's false accuracy and is just bad science.

And….hiking through the nicer part of the wilderness is just light exercise? Have these people ever tried carrying rucksacks, water skins, weapons, poles, etc etc for 10-12 hours a day over trackless wilderness? Maybe in the rain ? When I was much younger I used to do a fair bit of backpacking on long distance paths – and note, we had paths – and it is not light exercise.

The Fellowship, in this paper, grabs 8 hours sleep per day and rests for 6 hours per day. They travel for 10 hours per day. That doesn't seem to tie up with the book so well. And, even the sleeping calculation is wrong – they take "rest" in places like a slight overhang up a mountain in a snow storm – they are going to burn a lot more calories than quoted.

This paper would have been shot to pieces by any half educated assessor. I realise it's just "a bit of fun", presumably run as an activity by the university to get their science students to apply what they are learning in different ways. But: the methodologies applied are highly flawed, and that should not be encouraged. IMHO.

Tolkien discusses lembas several times in Letters.
Lembas and miruvor are the ME equivalent of RC Host and wine.
They were intended for use as "moral" strengthening,one might say,as Gandalf used them on Caradhras (the "cordial of Imladris").
Tolkien spoke of how they would grow in effectiveness as the consumption of "normal" food and drink(other than water)grew less,as in fasting. An RC member could shed mpoore light on this,perhaps.
He was particularly incensed about "Z" in the proposed Rings movie of the 50s called lembas a "food concentrate".He commented that "no chemical analysis of lembas would detect any difference from other food" or something to that effect.
The quote above from Legolas is instructive(though it was actually made not by Legolas,but by a Lothlorien elf): Peter Jackson changed it to " keep a man's belly full",exactly what Tolkien was not saying,a typical misreading.
In fact Tokien's comments on the treatment become enen more hilarious in light of the movies. I can't escape the impression that PJ and his cronies read Z's ideas and said "This sounds great!We have to do this!"

Oh,and if anyone cares,"dwarrows" is the "correct" plural of dwarf, according to Tolkien,or at least the one that would have existed if dwarves were still as common as sheep or geese. I don't think singular "Darrow" is correct,though I'd have to go back and look up Tolkien's comments to be sure.

He did express regret at not using "dwarrows" instead of "Dwarves, though he did at one point refer to Moria as the Dwarrowdelf.

He had plenty of problems as it was,with the printers changing "dwarves" to "dwarfs", "elven" to "elfin" etc.