Over at “Wisdom from the Lord of the Rings” last week, we heard about Frodo’s conversation with Glóin. It begins with Frodo’s polite, “Am I right in guessing that you are the Glóin, one of the twelve companions of the great Thorin Oakenshield?”

The word companion sounded different to me this time. Before, I’d taken it to mean that Glóin held the rank of Count under King Dáin. But there’s another way to read it. There was another king called “the great” who had twelve companions. That’s Charlemagne, or in Anglo-Norman, …li reis Charle, ki poesté fud grant Par les dudze cumpaignuns…. (“King Charles, whose power was great through his twelve companions…”) If modern French helps (it’s not impossible) there’s a translation of the Song of Roland on line that carries the word “companion” in this sense into the modern era.

So it seems likely that we’re supposed to get echoes of Charlemagne’s companions here. Maybe Glóin is the Dwarvish version of a Paladin. He’s dressed all in white, I can’t help noticing.