Plants and herbs have long been known to play an essential part in the quests of Middle Earth, from the famed pipe-weed of the hobbits, to the healing powers of the athelas flower. The latestRings of Powerepisode brought another important plant back into the focus of the audience. This plant is actually recognizable from theLord of the Ringsfilms, though fans may not have realized it, as it is called by another name.
What is interesting about the flower Alfirin is that it is sprinkled first by Adar, before he and his orcs march in to slaughter the people of Tirharad. Later, it is used bythe leader of those very same people, Bronwyn, when Arondir hands her the seeds of the plant. It’s not very often that the same tradition is observed by both the heroes and the villains of the story. What is the significance of Alfirin, and what does the tradition behind it mean?
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Alfirin, in the Sindarian language, means ‘not mortal,’ or ‘not dying.’ This is, in part, why it is such a precious flower for the elves. They find comfort in its eternity, which matches their own. But the flower also has another, more common name, used by men: Simbelmyne, which is familiar because it is the small white flower that grows on the graves of Rohan. In the famousLord of the Ringsscene, whenKing Theoden buries Theodred, he holds the small flowers. His voice trembles as he says:“Ever has it grown on the tombs of my forebears. Now it shall cover the gave of my son.”To this, Gandalf replies:“He was strong in life, he will find his way to the halls of your fathers.”And in many ways, that is exactly what Alfirin symbolizes. It represents a promise of something beautiful after the darkness, a reminder of the light of Valinor, life in defiance of death.
It is interesting that both Adar and Arondir still adhere to this elven ritual of planting the seeds before battle, in the hope of something new growing after the war passes. But despite being on opposite sides, in some ways, they are fighting for the same thing: freedom for their people. For Adar, this comes in the form of desiring to capture the land, so that he mayturn it into a home for his Uruk. He seeks a dark place where they can finally belong, free of the sunlight that burns them. Arondir fights for safety for Bronwyn andthe people of the Southlands, safety from the evil that has long haunted them and their ancestors. Arondir and Adar are both elves of some form, despite Adar beng a Moriandor, a twisted version who was corrupted by Morgoth long ago. Yet, they both clearly still hold onto this sacred notion of their race, that there is hope even in the most hopeless of places.
The Alfirin flowers are said to be the shape of small gold and white bells. They remind the elves ofthe halls in Valinor, their birth-place. They awake the longing of home in all who look upon them, which is, at the core, exactly what Adar and Arondir both long for as they plant them. The Alfirin seeds are also a direct connection to the gods of Middle Earth, the beings who are said to look out for and protect those most in need of it. Arondir tells Bronwyn as he gives her the seeds:
“It is believed that one of the valar watches over growing things, and those who tend them.”
The ritual of planting the seeds is, in part, to do with asking for the blessing and the guidance of Yavana, the valar who loves, above all else, to nurture life. She was the valar who first grewthe two trees in the Undying Lands; she was the valar who convinced Eru to bring the ents into the world. Even thousands of years later, the elves believed that if they tended the world that she loved, she in turn, would protect them from the evil they faced.
Alfirin stand literally for life after death. It stands for the plants that grow in the most barren and extreme places. It stands the people that fight against the oppression forced upon them. It stands for guiding those who give their lives nobly, in defense of those who can’t defend themselves, to a place of eternal peace and rest, like the men of Rohan. And Adar’s use of the seed shows that no matter how far one strays from the path, or how irredeemable they may seem, there is always a way back to light and to hope after the darkness has passed.
