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Old 10-22-2001, 02:48 AM   #1
Peanut
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New guy curiouse about the Symbol on Bilbo Baggins door

O.k. So here's the deal. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could send me a pic. and an explanation of the symbol carved into Bilbo Baggins door by Gandalf. I just started on my quest to read all of the four books and am interested in this. Please help!
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Old 10-22-2001, 07:26 AM   #2
anduin
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Hullo and welcome Peanut!

That is a very good question you have there. Awhile ago we had the same question posted here and as you will see we didn't really come up with an answer. I'm going to leave this thread open at any rate and maybe someone else will be able to come up with an answer.
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Old 10-24-2001, 11:52 AM   #3
Grendel
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My research leads to the same conclusion as the previous thread. It seems clear that Gandalf put something on the door that labeled Bilbo as a thief for hire. I have some difficulty with the mark being called a rune. The problem is that no single rune ever provided by Tolkien says so much at once (see the full quote at the end below). The runes tend to be symbols for a single word, or just a few words. Perhaps Gandalf simply put the thief mark on Bilbo's door and then embellished the meaning of the rune in a manner that Bilbo would understand and not take offense to. This would explain why Gandalf removed the mark. Labeling poor Bilbo as a thief would cause him trouble in the future, especially when the townspeople find out about the horde of money he eventually brings back with him.

In the end I just write it off as a plot device. We never get to see the mark or hear it described because it doesn't exist or because describing it does nothing to further the story. Either way, it is enough to know that Gandalf led the dwarves to Bilbo's door through the use of the mark.


http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/3095/hobbit.htm

"He discovers that Gandalf has scratched a mark on his door, by which the dwarves could tell that he was looking for a job as a burglar."


http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/...pmHobbit12.asp

In the ensuing conversation, he learns that Gandalf had placed a mark on his door saying, 'Burglar wants a good job, plenty of excitement and reasonable reward' and had arranged for the dwarves to meet him."

Grendel
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Old 07-29-2015, 02:06 AM   #4
Alcuin
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Tolkien drew a picture of Gandalf marking the door with his staff.. You can find it in Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator by Hammond & Scull, page 99, illustration 91. (Google that and you can see it for yourself.)

It you look very closely, you can make out these runes:


They’re Anglo-Saxon runes, the kind Tolkien used throughout The Hobbit. Balin seems to have interpreted them as,
B = “Burglar”
D = “Danger”
a jewel = “Reward”
The jewel for “Reward” is a foreshadowing of Bilbo’s choosing the Arkenstone as his share of the reward.



(PS – I think this pic used my pic! Well, if so, that’s what it’s for…)
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Old 07-29-2015, 05:22 PM   #5
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That's so cool that you found that, Alcuin!!!
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Old 09-23-2015, 03:23 PM   #6
Hobbit103
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There's really no pic, but the reason Gandalf put the mark there was for the dwarves to know Bilbo was the picked out burglar and Gandalf is really wise and can see the future(I'm guessing!) but he knows about the ring and a) either knows the future, b)he is suspicious about the ring or c)he can see inside pockets if he sets his mind to it. All these are just theories conjured from inside my Elfit brain. (A Elfit is a Elf and a hobbit combined).
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