In-universe, is there any reason Gandalf considered the number thirteen to be unlucky?
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}
In the first chapter of The Hobbit, Gandalf says this about choosing a hobbit for the fourteenth member of the party:
“Of course there is a mark,” said Gandalf. “I put it there myself. For
very good reasons. You asked me to find the fourteenth man for your
expedition, and I chose Mr. Baggins. Just let any one say I chose the
wrong man or the wrong house, and you can stop at thirteen and have
all the bad luck you like, or go back to digging coal.”
Now, I know why thirteen is an unlucky number to somebody like Tolkien. But all of the reasons for that would have to do with real, Earth history, and to my knowledge none of it applies to Middle Earth.
Is there some in-universe reason Gandalf would consider thirteen to be inherently unlucky?
tolkiens-legendarium the-hobbit
add a comment |
In the first chapter of The Hobbit, Gandalf says this about choosing a hobbit for the fourteenth member of the party:
“Of course there is a mark,” said Gandalf. “I put it there myself. For
very good reasons. You asked me to find the fourteenth man for your
expedition, and I chose Mr. Baggins. Just let any one say I chose the
wrong man or the wrong house, and you can stop at thirteen and have
all the bad luck you like, or go back to digging coal.”
Now, I know why thirteen is an unlucky number to somebody like Tolkien. But all of the reasons for that would have to do with real, Earth history, and to my knowledge none of it applies to Middle Earth.
Is there some in-universe reason Gandalf would consider thirteen to be inherently unlucky?
tolkiens-legendarium the-hobbit
add a comment |
In the first chapter of The Hobbit, Gandalf says this about choosing a hobbit for the fourteenth member of the party:
“Of course there is a mark,” said Gandalf. “I put it there myself. For
very good reasons. You asked me to find the fourteenth man for your
expedition, and I chose Mr. Baggins. Just let any one say I chose the
wrong man or the wrong house, and you can stop at thirteen and have
all the bad luck you like, or go back to digging coal.”
Now, I know why thirteen is an unlucky number to somebody like Tolkien. But all of the reasons for that would have to do with real, Earth history, and to my knowledge none of it applies to Middle Earth.
Is there some in-universe reason Gandalf would consider thirteen to be inherently unlucky?
tolkiens-legendarium the-hobbit
In the first chapter of The Hobbit, Gandalf says this about choosing a hobbit for the fourteenth member of the party:
“Of course there is a mark,” said Gandalf. “I put it there myself. For
very good reasons. You asked me to find the fourteenth man for your
expedition, and I chose Mr. Baggins. Just let any one say I chose the
wrong man or the wrong house, and you can stop at thirteen and have
all the bad luck you like, or go back to digging coal.”
Now, I know why thirteen is an unlucky number to somebody like Tolkien. But all of the reasons for that would have to do with real, Earth history, and to my knowledge none of it applies to Middle Earth.
Is there some in-universe reason Gandalf would consider thirteen to be inherently unlucky?
tolkiens-legendarium the-hobbit
tolkiens-legendarium the-hobbit
asked 15 mins ago
GGMGGGMG
4,02932148
4,02932148
add a comment |
add a comment |
0
active
oldest
votes
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "186"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fscifi.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f210949%2fin-universe-is-there-any-reason-gandalf-considered-the-number-thirteen-to-be-un%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
0
active
oldest
votes
0
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Thanks for contributing an answer to Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fscifi.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f210949%2fin-universe-is-there-any-reason-gandalf-considered-the-number-thirteen-to-be-un%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown