Elven boats

The Elven boats that bore the Fellowship from Lothlórien down the Great River Anduin were no ordinary craft. Made of a wood whose origin even Legolas could not name, they were tough yet strangely light, so that Merry and Pippin alone could carry one with ease. Their design was cunning and unlike the boats of other folk: they would not sink, lade them as you will, but they were wayward if mishandled. Each boat was moved and steered with short-handled paddles that had broad leaf-shaped blades, and the Company was arranged in three of them: Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam in one; Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in another; and in the third, Legolas and Gimli, who had become fast friends, with most of the goods and packs stowed. The boats were moored at a hythe of white stones and white wood on the bank of the Silverlode, where the Elves stowed the travellers' goods and added coils of rope, slender but strong, silken to the touch, grey of hue like the elven-cloaks. Sam, who had a natural mistrust of boats, handled one with suspicion, but the Elves assured him that these ropes, made of hithlain, might be a help in many needs.

Construction and Nature

The boats were far less heavy than any had expected. Of what tree growing in the Elvish country they were made not even Legolas knew, but the wood was tough and yet strangely light. The Elves who gave them said: 'These boats are light-built, and they are crafty and unlike the boats of other folk. They will not sink, lade them as you will; but they are wayward if mishandled.' The Company was advised to accustom themselves to stepping in and out where there was a landing-place before setting off downstream. The boats were moved and steered with short-handled paddles that had broad leaf-shaped blades. When all was ready, Aragorn led them on a trial up the Silverlode, and the current was swift, but the boats proved manageable.

The Voyage Down the Anduin

From the moment they left the green field of the Tongue, the boats bore the Fellowship southward through a changing landscape. The trees drew down to the river's brink, and golden leaves tossed and floated on the rippling stream. The air was bright and still, and there was a silence, except for the high distant song of larks. As they passed the Swan-ship of Celeborn and Galadriel, the Lady sang a farewell song, and the boats followed the Swan slowly to the hythe for a parting feast. Then the Company took their places again, and the Elves of Lórien with long grey poles thrust them out into the flowing stream, and the rippling waters bore them slowly away. The boats turned and began to speed southward as the Silverlode passed out into the currents of the Great River. The travellers sat still without moving or speaking, watching Lórien slip backward like a bright ship masted with enchanted trees.

Perils and Utility

The boats proved both a refuge and a source of danger. At Sarn Gebir, the rapids nearly dashed them against sharp rocks, and Orcs shot arrows from the eastern shore, one smote Frodo between the shoulders but was foiled by his hidden coat of mail. The grey timber of the elf-wrought boats defeated the malice of the archers of Mordor, and the Company laboured on. Later, when they reached the portage-way, the boats were drawn out of the water and carried up; they were far less heavy than any had expected, and Merry and Pippin alone could carry their boat with ease along the flat. Nonetheless, it needed the strength of the two Men to lift and haul them over the tumbled waste of grey limestone-boulders. The boats were finally drawn up on the green banks of Parth Galen, where the Company made their camp. It was there that Frodo and Sam used one boat to cross the River and begin their journey into Mordor, leaving the others behind. The remaining boat was used to bear Boromir's body to the Falls of Rauros, where the River of Gondor took him. The Elven boats, thus, served not only as a means of travel but as a vessel for the dead, carrying the son of Denethor to his final rest.