Someone – not I – should make a little frequency distribution chart of who is being referred to with each of these 110 instances. I double-dog-dare you.

My own students, please take note (colleagues, do as you please!!!):

Man was considered until the 20th cent. to include women by implication, though referring primarily to males. It is now frequently understood to exclude women, and is therefore avoided by many people.

“man, n.1 (and int.).” OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/113198. Accessed 5 December 2019.

• 1.007 was an old man with a staff.
• 1.012 pretending to take no more notice of the old man.
• 1.012 But the old man did not move.
• 1.017 Not the man that used to make
• 1.078 And harps of gold; where no man delves
• 1.078 Was sung unheard by men or elves.
• 1.080 And men looked up with faces pale;
• 1.098 that there was a man of the sort
• 1.099 You asked me to find the fourteenth man for your expedition,
• 1.099 Just let any one say I chose the wrong man or the wrong house,
• 1.109 and men of Dale.’
• 1.122 and treated with great reverence by the mortal men,
• 1.123 from men
• 2.036 when Balin, who was always their look-out man, said:
• 2.115 nor by any smith among men
• 3.032 and the first men
• 4.003 since the dragons had driven men from the lands,
• 5.008 that men have mostly never heard or have forgotten long ago.
• 5.054 man at table sitting on a stool,
• 5.129 No great leap for a man,
• 6.014 of a look-out man who let people walk right into them
• 6.061 like men do on horses.
• 6.062 bold men had of late been making their way back into it from the South,
• 6.095 anywhere near where men lived.
• 7.021 a man that calls rabbits conies,
• 7.022 sometimes he is a great strong black-haired man with huge arms
• 7.022 Others say that he is a man
• 7.022 descended from the first men who lived
• 7.023 and as a man he keeps cattle and horses
• 7.034 Standing near was a huge man with a thick black beard
• 7.036 of the man’s brown tunic.
• 7.038 growled the man.
• 7.042 Goblins?’ said the big man less gruffly.
• 7.044 said the man leading the way through a dark door
• 7.069 The big man was frowning at first,
• 7.070 in my merry men,
• 7.122 or to take vengeance on the men
• 8.131 and after the coming of Men they took ever more
• 9.006 he told his men to unbind them,
• 9.018 or from the vineyards of Men
• 9.019 It seemed a town of Men still throve there,
• 10.007 not a town of elves but of Men,
• 10.008 But men remembered little of all that,
• 10.009 Soon men would come up from the South
• 10.028 and with six men about them he led them over the bridge
• 10.033 of the Men of the Lake,
• 10.041 and wiser than the men of the town,
• 11.001 but none of the men of the town would stay with them
• 12.005 the look-out man,
• 12.015 since Men changed the language
• 12.032 that men had come up from the river and the lake
• 12.084 The Men of Dale used to have the trick
• 12.084 to fly to the Men of the Lake
• 12.103 but if you are not one of those men of the Lake,
• 13.048 wide enough for many men abreast.
• 14.002 The men of the lake-town Esgaroth
• 14.012 and the shouts of men
• 14.013 if it had not been for the grim-voiced man
• 14.016 Already men were jumping
• 14.016 Now men cursed their names.
• 14.023 With a shriek that deafened men,
• 14.031 and have not endured the rule of mere fighting men.
• 14.032 We have had enough of the old men
• 14.033 I am the last man
• 14.035 if he could but find the men.
• 14.037 unless it was to call loudly for men to bring him fire
• 14.038 Men spoke of the recompense for all their harm
• 14.042 and the men
• 14.043 and with him were some men of crafts
• 14.044 But all the men of arms
• 15.017 in battle with the men of Esgaroth
• 15.019 By the lake men murmur
• 15.020 he is a grim man but true.
• 15.020 and men
• 15.031 Before long they could see that both men of the lake armed
• 15.046 A tall man stood forward,
• 15.048 the dwellings of the men of Esgaroth,
• 15.050 no man has a claim,
• 15.053 with armed men at my gate.
• 15.056 for the comfort of the men of the Lake.’
• 16.006 and snow will bite both men
• 16.042 As they passed through the camp an old man,
• 17.003 before whom an old man wrapped
• 17.008 and at the same moment the old man opened the casket
• 17.016 The old man with the casket
• 17.032 Trumpets called men
• 17.044 and Men
• 17.045 and themselves to man the great spurs
• 17.048 on the Eastern spur were men
• 17.048 and some of the nimblest of men
• 17.048 A few brave men were strung before them
• 17.051 and beside them came the men of the Lake with long swords.
• 17.054 and men,
• 17.057 and Men!
• 17.059 lay many men
• 17.059 and upon either side men
• 18.005 Suddenly he was aware of a man climbing up
• 18.007 said the man halting
• 18.010 said the man striding forward.
• 18.012 said the man,
• 18.013 The man was swift
• 18.021 and men on either side of the valley
• 18.043 in man’s shape,
• 18.051 and men came from far
• 18.051 so that men went abroad without fear.
• 18.051 the men of his line had the power of taking bear’s shape,
• 18.051 and some were grim men
• 19.002 With strength that men trusted
• 19.043 and men had gathered to him
• 19.043 and men.

Our song is changing!!!

• 1.077 To claim our long-forgotten gold.
• 9.016 would suffer seriously if the Wood-elves claimed part of it,
• 10.044 You must claim your own.
• 14.033 From whom should we claim the recompense of our damage,
• 15.050 no man has a claim,
• 15.052 And still my other claims remain unanswered.’
• 15.054 though they had no claim but friendship on him,’
• 15.056 and we bid him consider well the claims that have been urged,
• 16.027 Personally I am only too ready to consider all your claims carefully,
• 16.027 in my own claim.
• 16.039 I am willing to let it stand against all my claim,
• 18.035 since so many have a claim
• 18.035 to lay aside all your claim,

Indeed. The sun was shining. That makes me smile. Perfectly Imperfect.

• 1.008 The sun was shining,
• 1.076 They meshed the light of moon and sun.
• 2.002 By that time the sun was shining;
• 2.030 Somewhere behind the grey clouds the sun must have gone down,
• 2.110 dug somewhere near to hide from the sun in?
• 3.026 when sun has been all day on the snow far up above.
• 3.034 with the early sun
• 3.044 “and the setting sun
• 3.047 and the sun
• 3.050 and the sun dancing on the water.
• 4.002 let loose by mid-day sun upon the snow,
• 5.036 Sun on the daisies it means,
• 5.146 the sun came out from behind a cloud
• 5.149 But they don’t like the sun:
• 5.149 and keeping out of the sun;
• 6.001 till the sun began to sink westwards –
• 6.045 The sun had long gone behind the mountains.
• 6.067 that could look at the sun unblinking,
• 7.001 with the early sun
• 7.002 The sun was still close to the eastern edge of things.
• 7.008 where the sun sails
• 7.014 in the sun,
• 7.045 and filled with the light of the westering sun which slanted into it,
• 7.089 the sun had fallen behind the peaks of the Misty Mountains
• 7.105 you must not stray outside until the sun is up,
• 7.111 We have been about looking for Beorn ever since the sun got up;
• 7.132 The sun had only just turned west when they started,
• 7.133 but soon the sun rose red
• 8.002 Occasionally a slender beam of sun
• 8.004 long after they were sick for a sight of the sun
• 8.004 and lived at times for long whiles without the light of the sun;
• 8.042 The sun was shining brilliantly,
• 8.043 that had been lightened by the sight of the sun
• 8.131 in the twilight of our Sun
• 9.064 Luckily there was no sun at the time to cast an awkward shadow,
• 10.006 The sun had set when turning
• 10.035 And grass beneath the sun;
• 11.013 until the sun began to sink towards the forest,
• 11.029 As the sun turned west
• 11.029 Soon he saw the orange ball of the sun
• 11.032 The sun sank lower
• 11.032 a red ray of the sun escaped like a finger through a rent
• 11.037 the sun sank,
• 12.042 The sun was shining when he started,
• 12.097 in the sun,
• 13.048 A misty sun sent its pale light
• 13.050 And I never expected to be so pleased to see the sun again,
• 13.051 they shivered in the sun.
• 13.065 and saw the wintry sun going downwards to the West.
• 14.008 His wealth is like the Sun,
• 17.005 and setting of a few suns,’
• 18.052 and a bright sun,
• 18.053 and looking backward they saw a white sun
• 19.029 By caves where never sun has shone,

Oh, my. Oh, this is delightful! Oh, look at the very first one!

• 1.070 and was swept away into dark lands under strange moons,
• 1.076 They meshed the light of moon and sun.
• 1.081 The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
• 1.081 Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
• 2.031 and a wandering moon appeared
• 3.010 for the moon had not risen.
• 3.040 The moon was shining
• 3.042 They can only be seen when the moon shines behind them,
• 3.042 it must be a moon of the same shape
• 3.042 in a crescent moon,
• 3.047 the first day of the last moon of Autumn
• 3.047 when the last moon of Autumn
• 3.049 “None to be seen by this moon,” said Elrond,
• 4.003 perhaps that very next last moon of Autumn
• 6.033 There will be a bit of moon,
• 6.033 Not that they mind the moon much,
• 6.048 The moon was up
• 6.049 It was wolves howling at the moon,
• 6.050 in the forest under the moon
• 6.052 in the moon as he peeped out.
• 6.067 Also he could see the glint of the moon
• 6.086 and there with the light of the moon on a hill-side rock or a stream
• 7.008 and the moon walks,’
• 7.023 on the top of the Carrock at night watching the moon
• 7.103 The moon set sail upon the gale,
• 7.106 a splash of white on the floor came from the high moon,
• 7.133 and into the night beneath the moon.
• 7.136 in the moon watching our camps.
• 8.131 and Moon,
• 11.029 and faint was a thin new moon above the rim of Earth.
• 11.032 The little moon was dipping to the horizon.
• 11.037 the moon was gone,
• 12.097 like rain upon the Moon!’
• 14.020 The moon is rising.
• 14.021 and as he came the moon rose above the eastern shore
• 14.023 in the moon –
• 14.024 white in the sudden dark under the moon.
• 14.025 The waxing moon rose higher
• 15.017 the third night back from now at the rising of the moon.’
• 19.003 The moon is far whiter
• 19.010 and the moon shining through an open window.
• 19.011 The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower,
• 19.014 Fall Moon! Dark be the land!
• 19.015 What time by the moon is this?
• 19.030 And under mountains in the moon.

I’m pretty certain that after this poem is complete I’m going to run to the Chapter 15 reprise so we can compare. Shall we?

• 1.076 The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
• 8.106 bobbing on a wire.
• 15.039 The dragon-fire, from twisted wire

I am fascinated by the change in what is wrought of twisted wire between chapters 1 and 15…

• 1.076 The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
• 5.009 in spite of a twist
• 5.111 when we twisted that nassty young squeaker.
• 7.134 their branches twisted,
• 9.005 and the elf-guards sang as they marched along the twisting,
• 9.038 and twisted
• 9.060 and twisted off down the stream,
• 13.044 that hung twisted on their hinges
• 14.025 It twisted the white fog into bending pillars
• 14.043 twisted upon the floor of the shallows.
• 15.039 The dragon-fire, from twisted wire

For those of you just catching up with the blog, welcome. We are working our way through “Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold”, making sure that every word is in our concordance except the very crazily most common. When I’m not sure where that line is, I take inspiration from Richard Blackwelder, whose A Tolkien Thesaurus contains every noun, verb, adjective, and adverb of The Lord of the Rings.

Friends, I notice that this word is almost missing in the war chapters. Mayhap my next project will include decoding that section. Well, after the Chapter 8 project. and the others.

• 1.032 he said when he caught sight of Dwalin’s green hood hanging up.
• 1.075 They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
• 2.035 He got into the river before they could catch him;
• 2.066 “I caught him anyway.”
• 2.077 and he was not caught unawares.
• 2.079 He caught up a big branch
• 2.079 He caught hold of Tom’s leg –
• 2.113 Two caught their eyes particularly,
• 3.018 Soon Bilbo caught glimpses of them
• 4.005 and catching them,
• 4.025 and anyway goblins don’t care who they catch,
• 5.003 the goblins had not caught him;
• 5.087 and caught a small goblin-imp.
• 5.116 The goblinses will catch it then.
• 5.117 and catch us,
• 5.144 or caught by feel.
• 6.026 so that they often caught people benighted near their gates.
• 6.041 Some caught hold of the trunks
• 6.050 and do not need to see you to catch you!
• 6.051 Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!’ he said,
• 6.064 and immediately his shaggy coat caught fire,
• 6.070 The wolves that had caught fire
• 6.079 The bark caught fire,
• 6.083 He just managed to catch hold of Dori’s legs,
• 7.118 We shall all be caught
• 7.122 he had caught a Warg
• 7.131 and they will have the longer ride to catch you.
• 8.002 in not being caught
• 8.003 he could catch glimpses of them whisking off the path
• 8.017 they had used for catching their packs
• 8.020 let’s hope the hook will catch.’
• 8.021 caught the rope,
• 8.031 His hand caught it,
• 8.041 and caught himself just
• 8.089 only catching itself with its own thread just
• 8.097 You’ll never catch me up your tree!
• 8.099 Very soon the hobbit would be caught
• 8.111 The spiders had caught them pretty easily the night before,
• 8.120 Hoping desperately that Bilbo had not been caught
• 8.130 Thorin had been caught much faster than they had.
• 8.130 their cries as the spiders caught them
• 9.003 to catch them up
• 9.011 More than once he was nearly caught
• 9.035 until they were caught again.
• 9.054 poor little Bilbo caught hold of it
• 9.062 Also he had caught a glimpse of a fire through the trees,
• 9.068 and quicker as they caught the main stream
• 11.021 in which he sometimes thought he could catch glimpses
• 11.029 as if the light caught the last pale leaves.
• 11.030 It had caught a snail
• 12.020 he had caught the dim echoes of a knocking sound
• 12.022 till he had caught the thief
• 12.041 and less hopeful of catching this one napping.
• 12.044 when he caught a sudden thin
• 12.060 and I shall catch
• 12.067 Had you never thought of the catch?
• 12.076 that the hobbit had already caught a glimpse
• 12.078 Ponies take some catching,
• 12.090 that catching a dragon napping
• 12.102 of catching unawares something
• 13.010 if you can catch me!’
• 13.018 they caught a glint
• 13.019 and he caught his breath.
• 13.023 and caught a glimpse of great passages
• 13.027 though the only word they could catch was ‘help!’
• 13.032 which they had caught as they went along
• 15.033 and they caught faintly the fragrance of woodland flowers
• 19.044 but being of the kind that easily catches such disease

In playing with this word, I have updated Pallid, and took a beautiful journey through “fallow” (which can be a color!!!) and “pullous” (related to Vedic Sanskrit “Palita” – grey-haired – which would make a lovely pseudonym, don’t you think? – so now I need a secret double life just so I can call myself Palita). What a lovely morning!

• 1.073 To seek the pale enchanted gold.
• 1.080 And men looked up with faces pale;
• 4.038 A pale light was leading them on.
• 5.005 It shone pale
• 5.012 except for two big round pale eyes
• 5.012 He was looking out of his pale lamp-like eyes for blind fish,
• 5.013 with his pale eyes like telescopes.
• 5.016 and he suddenly saw the pale eyes sticking out at him.
• 5.101 the light of his eyes burned with a pale flame.
• 5.134 but a pale out-of-doors sort of light.
• 6.087 The pale peaks of the mountains
• 8.005 were horrible pale bulbous sort of eyes.
• 8.036 and herbs with pale leaves
• 9.061 He could see the paler sky between them.
• 11.029 as if the light caught the last pale leaves.
• 11.029 and there pale
• 11.030 its pale yellow breast freckled with dark spots.
• 12.007 in a pale sky barred with black
• 12.014 and his long pale belly crusted with gems
• 12.031 until dawn came pale through the crack of the door.
• 13.009 there was a pale white glint,
• 13.048 A misty sun sent its pale light
• 13.049 They flung their pale torches to the ground,
• 15.031 The morning was still pale
• 18.053 snow yet unmelted was gleaming pale.