Talk:Thorin's letter

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Latest comment: 9 March 2013 by KingAragorn

Just noticed this page after creating [[Bilbo's contract]]. Is the name Thorin's Letter used in LotR? I couldn't find it when searching the Appendices. If not, perhaps "Bilbo's contract" is a better name for the concept, made popular through PJ's films (and also a name used by Rateliff in his History of The Hobbit).--Morgan 13:43, 9 March 2013 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Ok, I found it: the narrator says in chapter "A Thief in the Night" in The Hobbit: "He drew from a pocket ... Thorin's letter". Still, I would perhaps prefer "Bilbo's contract" as the main name of this article, with an intro sentence something like "Bilbo's contract, referred to as Thorin's letter<ref>{{H|Thief}}</ref>, was the note written by...". Is is alright if I make this change and merge the two articles?--Morgan 13:59, 9 March 2013 (UTC)Reply[reply]
This is a tricky one. My first instinct is to use "Thorin's letter" to avoid the unnamed issue. But "Bilbo's contract" is far more descriptive of the letter's content. I'm on the fence, but if pushed I think I would go with "Thorin's letter".-- KingAragorn  talk  contribs  edits  email  17:40, 9 March 2013 (UTC)Reply[reply]
Yes, it's a tricky case. One could perhaps also argue that "Thorin's letter" is not intended as a name, merely a description of the the document (called a "note" in Chapter II), and that we therefore should still use Template:Unnamed. We could start the intro sentence along the lines of "Thorin's letter, commonly referred to as Bilbo's contract<ref group=note>A term not occuring in Tolkien's works, but often used by fans and scholars.</ref>, was the note...", which, however, is slightly out-of-universe.--Morgan 17:52, 9 March 2013 (UTC)Reply[reply]
That sounds OK to me.-- KingAragorn  talk  contribs  edits  email  17:55, 9 March 2013 (UTC)Reply[reply]