Enchanted Sleep

Enchanted Sleep is a magical state of unconsciousness that overtakes Bombur after he falls into the black, enchanted stream crossing the path through Mirkwood, a condition that leaves him utterly insensible to the world for days and becomes a severe burden on the starving company.

Origin and Mechanism

The enchanted stream flows fast and strong across the forest path, its water black in the gloom. Beorn had warned the dwarves and Bilbo against it, saying it carries enchantment and a great drowsiness and forgetfulness. When Bombur stumbles and topples backward into the dark water after a hart charges through the company, he is pulled out drenched from hair to boots. Almost immediately he is fast asleep, one hand clutching the rope so tightly that the others cannot free it from his grasp. Despite all their efforts, he remains in that state, smiling on his fat face as if he no longer cares for any of the troubles that vex them.

Consequences for the Company

Bombur's enchanted sleep imposes a terrible physical toll on the dwarves. They must carry his heavy body along with them, taking turns of four each while the others share his pack. The burden becomes nearly impossible as their own food runs out; a slumbering and smiling Bombur is a poor exchange for packs filled with food, however heavy. The company grows weary and desperate, and their hunger becomes gnawing. When they finally have nothing left to eat, Bombur suddenly wakes up, sitting up and scratching his head, unable to make out where he is or why he feels so hungry. He has forgotten everything that happened since the party at Bilbo's house long ago. When he hears there is nothing to eat, he sits down and weeps, feeling very weak and wobbly in the legs, and laments having woken from beautiful dreams of a woodland feast.

Narrative Significance

The enchanted sleep functions as a direct consequence of the company's failure to heed Beorn's warning about the stream, and it accelerates their desperation, pushing them to abandon the path and approach the elf-fires that lead to their capture by the Wood-elves. Bombur's dream of a woodland king with a crown of leaves and a great feast prefigures the actual elvish feasts they later encounter, creating a haunting echo between his unconscious vision and the real danger that awaits them. The state also underscores the theme of heedlessness versus wisdom that runs through the Mirkwood episode, as the dwarves' disregard for the prohibition against the stream brings them to the brink of starvation and captivity.