AUTHOR'S NOTES -


CHAPTER 28: THE MASTER OF BAG END
She sponged Sam down, talking to him all the time, but he made no response and didn’t stop his mutterings. He seemed to think he was in a land of dust and ashes - Mordor she guessed - and he was arguing with himself. There were just fragments of sentences until he suddenly muttered: ‘It’s all quite useless. He said so himself. You are a fool.’
The Return of the King, Mount Doom: “‘There you are,’ came the answer. ‘It’s all quite useless. He said so himself. You are a fool going on hoping and toiling. You could have lain down and gone to sleep together days ago, if you hadn’t been so dogged... you might just as well lie down now and give it up...’”

Merry appeared from further down the corridor in time to hear the question and Rosie’s response; he looked pale and unrested. ‘Have you any dried elderflower leaves or dried peppermint?’ he asked, yawning.

‘Elderflower, yes. But no peppermint leaves,’ said Rosie. ‘I can get that from the market later today. There’s some feverfew in the garden.’
All these may well have grown in the Shire. The Common Elder is a native to England, growing up to 10m tall. Elderflowers are very attractive, and make a great cordial but the leaves smell like cat’s wee in a confined space. The berries can be made into wine, if you can beat the blackbirds to them. In pagan mythology its presence near a house confered protection. The root, bark, young shoots, leaves and flowers are all said to have medicinial properties, but the fruit should not be eaten raw.

Picture of Elderflower.

Peppermint is a hybrid of Water Mint (Mentha aquatica) and Spear Mint (Mentha spicata).

Picture of Peppermint.

Herbal Fever Remedy
Ingredients
1 ounce dried Elder Flowers
1 ounce dried Peppermint Leaves
10 fl.oz. distilled water

Feverfew: The herb has a long history of use in traditional and folk medicine as a treatment for disorders often controlled by aspirin, such as fever, headaches and some of the accompanying symptoms such as nausea and depression. In England it is an introduced species, originally coming from south east Europe (with the Romans?)

Picture of Feverfew.

Pippin carried Sam to the bathroom while Rosie stripped the bed and remade it, ready for Sam to be laid back, wrapped in a towel and smelling of rosemary.
Rosemary is commonly grown in the herb garden as a domestic remedy, used especially as a tonic and pick-me-up when feeling depressed, mentally tired, nervous etc. Research has shown that the plant is rich in volatile oils, flavanoids and phenolic acids, which are strongly antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. Rosmarinic acid has potential in the treatment of toxic shock syndrome, whilst the flavanoid diosmin is reputedly more effective than rutin in reducing capillary fragility.

Rosmarol, an extract from the leaves, has shown remarkably high antioxidant activity. The whole plant is antiseptic, antispasmodic, aromatic, astringent, cardiac, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, nervine, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. An infusion of the flowering stems made in a closed container to prevent the steam from escaping is effective in treating headaches, colic, colds and nervous diseases. A distilled water from the flowers is used as an eyewash. The leaves can be harvested in the spring or summer and used fresh, they can also be dried for later use. This remedy should not be prescribed for pregnant women since in excess it can cause an abortion.

It was probably introduced to England by the Romans.

Picture of Rosemary


‘I spent a lot of time in the Houses of Healing, in Minas Tirith,’ he answered, moping up spilt liquid with a towel. ‘I was interested, and the herb-master and the wise-woman both loved talking. Someday, I’d like to write a book on herb-lore.’
The Fellowship of the Rings, The Prologue: “In Brandy Hall there were many works dealing with Eriador and the history of the Rohan. Some of these were composed or begun by Meriadoc himself, though in the Shire he was chiefly remembered for his Herblore of the Shire...”

It tasted salt and sweet at the same time.
Fluid replacement for dehydration: 1 pint water, 1 teasp sugar, 1 teasp. salt, a few drops of lemon juice.


He knew he was ill for several days; daylight, dimmed by the curtains, was intercut with the flickering light of candles, or darkness when the feel of Rosie pressed against his side brought him comfort... ‘He told Sandyman he must pay all rent arrears by the end of the month, which is only a week away, and he sent you his good wishes for a speedy recovery.’
Sam has therefore been ill for seventeen days, from the 6th to the 23rd of October.

Sam let Pippin chatter on. He drifted into sleep and the chatter smoothed into the sound of waves on the shores of Middle-earth.
The Return of the King, The Grey Havens: There still he stood far into the night, hearing only the sigh and murmur of the waves on the shores of Middle-earth, and thr sound of them sank deep into his heart.

The necklace had a fine silver chain from which hung a rope pattern as though two smooth strands of silver had been twined loosely together. In the centre, one strand made a small heart shape, while the other dipped down into a V. From the tip of the V hung a small blue stone, set in silver.

This is a necklace my daughter owns, of celtic design.