I've been
wondering for some time how much time does the Lord of the Rings’ plot lasts. I
did some research and I was able to create a timeline for the most important
events until the ring is destroyed. Now everything I need to do is make the
sum! *SPOILER ALERT* This post spoils some of the main events in the Lord of the Rings plot.
September 22, 3001 - Bilbo leaves the
Shire.
April 13, 3018 - Gandalf tells Frodo about the ring.
Sept 26, 3018 - The Hobbits leave the Shire.
Sept 29, 3018 – The hobbits encounter
Aragorn in Bree.
October 6, 3018 – Frodo is pierced by
the Morgul blade.
October 20, 3018 - The Hobbits and Aragorn arrive at Rivendell.
December 25, 3018 - The fellowship leave Rivendell.
Jan 13 – the company reaches Moria.
Jan 25 – Gandalf falls with the Balrog
of Moria.
Feb 15 – the fellowship reaches Lorein.
Feb 26, 3019 – the fellowship is
scattered.
Feb 29, 3019 – Merry and Pippin find
Treebeard.
March 2, 3019 – Frodo and Sam get to the
end of the dead marshals.
March 3 – the ents destroy isengard.
March 5 – Theoden and Gandalf reach
Isengard.
March 12, 3019 – Gollum leads Frodo and
Sam into Shelob’s lair.
March 25, 3019 - The ring is destroyed.
All of the
months in the Shire calendar have 30 days. A Shire year is 12*30=360 days long
From September,
3018 to March, 3019 there are 6 months, that’s 6*30 days, or 180 days. There’s
almost 6 exact months since the start of the journey until the destruction of
the one ring (1 day less). It took exactly 179 days to destroy the ring, if we
count since Frodo becomes aware of the situation he’s in we would need to add
13 days (to get to April 26) and 5 more months (5*30 = 150 days), so the total
would end up being 179+163=342 days, almost a full year!
We can also see
that Frodo took (163/342)*100= 48% of the total time waiting on Gandalf,
forcing the Fellowship to have their adventure starting in the winter.
I kept doing
some calculations just out of curiosity, kind of finding out what characters
are more productive and to give some use to the other dates in the timeline
(none of them count the waiting time at the start):
Time spent in
Rivendell: 2 months (60 days) + 5 days = 65 days, that is (65/179)*100 = 36% of
the journey
Since Merry and Pippin were separated from the fellowship it
took them 5 days (to get to march 1) + 2 days = 7 days to destroy Isengard with
the aid of the Ents. That’s (7/179)*100 = 4% of the journey! (This didn’t delay
the ring’s destruction though)
It took Frodo and Sam 1 month (30 days) – 1 day =29 days to
destroy the ring. That is (29/179)*100 = 16% of the time
The first time of the journey (until the fellowship was scattered,
without counting the waiting time) took 5 months (150 days), (150/179)*100= 84%
of the journey, while the second part (from the scatter of the fellowship to
the destruction of the ring) took 29 days, (29/179)*100 = 16% of the journey. I
consider this break of first and second part of the journey fair because the
distances are similar (the first part is a bit longer) and I also considered
that Frodo and Sam had no horse/pony and had to choose another way into Mordor
after finding the first one. Just in case I chose other frontiers:
From the leaving of the Shire until their arrival at
Rivendell; then to the destruction of the ring (keep in mind Rivendell is SO
much closer to the Shire than to Mordor): first =30-6 = 24 days, (24/179)*100 =
13%. Second: 5 (to get to oct 25) + 5*30 = 155 days, (155/179)*100 = 87%
From the leaving of the shire to the leaving of the
fellowship from Rivendell; then to the destruction of the ring: first: first =
3*30 (3 months)-1 day = 89 days, (89/179)*100 = 50%. Second: 3*30 = 90 days,
(90/179)*100 = 50% (Yay! I found where they were at the middle of the time by
accident!)
Form the leaving of the Shire until the arrival at Moria;
then to the destruction of the ring: first = 17 (to get to oct 13) +3*30= 107
days, (107/179)*100= 60%. Second= 12 (to get to jan 25) + 2*30 days = 72 days,
(42/179)*100= 40%
From the leaving of the Shire until they arrive at Lorein;
then to the destruction of the ring: first = 19(to get to oct 15) + 4*30 = 139
days, (120/179)*100 = 78%. Second= 10 days (to get to feb 25) + 30 days= 40
days, 22%
I don’t consider Rivendell a proper distance half since it
is too far away from Mordor. My conclusion is: the first part of the journey
took longer than the second part.
Note: I only used the calculator to get the percentages and the
large sums; some of my steps in getting the answer were to make my like easier
and less confusing. I added a map to help in guidance and orientation.
