[HairOfTheDog]

One thing that you may not realize from the movie

I, and probably the others who have not read Silmarillion, appreciate your summary, it "fills up the corners", so to speak. I would have believed that Elrond was there. Jackson's version works for simplicity, but I am happy to have you to fill us in .

[JenB]

Incidentally I wanted to say that I'm working on a site to summarize the history, for quick reference or what not. You already know that but I wanted to get the address out there for other people. It's here. I've finished summarizing the First Age, the age of legends, which doesn't much come into LotR, other than a few mentions of the Silmarils and Beren and Luthien - oh, and Earendil, of course. So for people who have yet to read Sil., this is available.

[Overtaxed]

The Shadow of the Past is indeed an important chapter...

According to the Foreword, The Shadow of the Past "is one of the oldest parts of the tale" and basically tells you what the problem with Bilbo's ring is and what must be done to fix the problem. It also foreshadows how hard it is going to be to "fix" the problem.

Like I said last chapter..."Poor Frodo!" (no Lobelia jokes this time!) :)