The Shaping of Middle-Earth: The Quenta, the Ambarkanta and the Annals

242 Pages·1995·1.12 MB·English

by  Tze-jer Chuang

I. (cid:11)
(cid:11) PROSE FRAGMENTS
(cid:11) FOLLOWING THE LOST TALES.
(cid:11) (cid:11) Before
giving the 'Sketch of the Mythology', the earliest form(cid:11) of the prose
'Silmarillion', there are some brief prose texts that(cid:11) can be conveniently
collected here. (cid:11)
(cid:11) (i).
(cid:11)
(cid:11) Among loose papers there is an early piece, soon
abandoned,(cid:11) entitled Turlin and the Exiles of Gondolin. It will be seen
that(cid:11) it relates closely to the beginning of the tale of The Fall of(cid:11)
Gondolin (II. 149) but at the same time contains much that is(cid:11) new.
That it was the beginning of a later version of the tale is(cid:11) clear at
once from the name Mithrim, for this only replaced(cid:11) Asgon by
emendation in the final text of The Fall of Gondolin(cid:11) (II. 202). This
brief text reads as follows. At the first three oc-(cid:11) currences of the name
Turlin in the narrative (but not in the ti-(cid:11) tle) it was emended to
Turgon; at the fourth and fifth Turgon(cid:11) was so written from the first. I
give Turgon throughout. (cid:11)
(cid:11) 'Then' said Ilfiniol son of Bronweg
'know that Ulmo(cid:11) Lord of Waters forgot never the sorrows of the
Elfin kin-(cid:11) dreds beneath the power of Melko, but he might do
little(cid:11) because of the anger of the other Gods who shut their(cid:11)
hearts against the race of the Gnomes, and dwelt behind the(cid:11) veiled
hills of Valinor heedless of the Outer World, so deep(cid:11) was their ruth
and regret for the death of the Two Trees.(cid:11) Nor did any save Ulmo
only dread the power of Melko that(cid:11) wrought ruin and sorrow over
all the Earth; but Ulmo de-(cid:11) sired that Valinor should gather all
its might to quench his(cid:11) evil ere it be too late, and him seemed
that both purposes(cid:11)
(cid:11) (cid:11)(cid:11)
might perchance be achieved if messengers from the(cid:11) Gnomes should
win to Valinor and plead for pardon and for(cid:11) pity upon the Earth; for the
love of Palurien and Orome her(cid:11) son for those wide realms did but
slumber still. Yet hard(cid:11) and evil was the road from the Outer Earth to
Valinor, and(cid:11) the Gods themselves had meshed the ways with magic and(cid:11)
veiled the encircling hills. Thus did Ulmo seek unceasingly(cid:11) to stir the
Gnomes to send messengers unto Valinor, but(cid:11) Melko was cunning and
very deep in wisdom, and unsleep-(cid:11) ing was his wariness in all things
that touched the Elfin(cid:11) kindreds, and their messengers overcame not the
perils and(cid:11) temptations of that longest and most evil of all roads, and(cid:11)
many that dared to set forth were lost for ever. (cid:11) Now tells
the tale how Ulmo despaired that any of the(cid:11) Elfin race should surpass
the dangers of the way, and of(cid:11) the deepest and the latest design that he
then fashioned, and(cid:11) of those things which came of it.
(cid:11) In those days the greater part of the kindreds of Men(cid:11) dwelt
after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears in that land of(cid:11) the North that has
many names, but which the Elves of Kor(cid:11) have named Hisilome which is
the Twilit Mist, and the(cid:11) Gnomes, who of the Elf-kin know it best,
Dor-Lomin the(cid:11) Land of Shadows. A people mighty in numbers were there,(cid:11)
dwelling about the wide pale waters of Mithrim the great(cid:11) lake that lies
in those regions, and other folk named them(cid:11) Tunglin or folk of the Harp,
for their joy was in the wild(cid:11) music and minstrelsy of the fells and
woodlands, but they(cid:11) knew not and sang not of the sea. Now this folk
came into(cid:11) those places after the dread battle, being too late summoned(cid:11)
thither from afar, and they bore no stain of treachery(cid:11) against the
Elfin kin; but indeed many among them clung(cid:11) to such friendship with
the hidden Gnomes of the moun-(cid:11) tains and Dark Elves as might be still
for the sorrow and(cid:11) mistrust born of those ruinous deeds in the Vale of
Niniach.(cid:11) Turgon was a man of that folk, son of Peleg, son of Indor,(cid:11) son
of [Ear >] Fengel who was their chief and hearing the(cid:11) summons had
marched out of the deeps of the East with all(cid:11) his folk. But Turgon
dwelt not much with his kindred, and(cid:11)(cid:11) loved rather solitude and the
friendship of the Elves whose(cid:11) tongues he knew, and he wandered alone
about the long(cid:11) shores of Mithrim, now hunting in its woods, now
making(cid:11) sudden music in the rocks upon his rugged harp of wood(cid:11)
strung with the sinews of bears. But he sang not for the(cid:11) ears of
Men, and many hearing the power of his rough(cid:11) songs came from
afar to hearken to his harping; [?but](cid:11) Turgon left his singing and
departed to lonely places in the(cid:11) mountains.
(cid:11) Many strange things he learned there, broken
tidings of(cid:11) far off things, and longing came upon him for deeper lore,(cid:11)
but as yet his heart turned not from the long shores, and the(cid:11) pale
waters of Mithrim in the mists. Yet was he not fated(cid:11) to dwell for ever
in those places, for 'tis said that magic(cid:11) and destiny led him on a day
to a cavernous opening in the(cid:11) rocks down which a hidden river
flowed from Mithrim.(cid:11) And Turgon entered that cavern seeking to learn
its secret,(cid:11) but having entered the waters of Mithrim drave him for-(cid:11)
ward into the heart of the rock and he might not win back(cid:11) into the
light. This men have said was not without the will(cid:11) of Ulmo, at
whose prompting may be the Gnomes had(cid:11) fashioned that deep and
hidden way. Then came the(cid:11) Gnomes to Turgon and guided him along
the dark passages(cid:11) amid the mountains until he came out once more
into the(cid:11) light. (cid:11)
(cid:11) The text ends
here (though manuscript pages written at the(cid:11) same time continue on another
subject, see (ii) below). (cid:11) Turlin must have been a passing shift
from Tuor (cf. the form(cid:11) Tur that appears in texts of The Fall of Gondolin,
II. 148), and(cid:11) Turgon likewise; in the Tale Turgon is of course the name of
the(cid:11) King of Gondolin. This curious passing transference of a pri-(cid:11) mary
name in the legends may be compared with the brief sub-(cid:11) stitution of
Celegorm for Thingol and Maglor for Beren in the(cid:11) Lay of Leithian (III.
159). (cid:11) Particularly interesting is the
account here of the origins of(cid:11) Tuor's people: they came out of the East to
the Battle of Un-(cid:11) numbered Tears, but they came too late. This can
hardly be(cid:11)(cid:11) wholly unconnected with the coming of the Easterlings
before(cid:11) the battle in the later story. The genealogy of Tuor (Turlin,(cid:11)
Turgon) is here 'son of Peleg son of Indor son of Fengel'. In(cid:11) The Fall
of Gondolin he is 'son of Peleg son of Indor'(cid:11) (II. 160); in the
fragment of the Lay of the Fall of Gondolin he(cid:11) is the son of Fengel, and
in associated notes Tuor is himself(cid:11) called Fengel (III. 145). His people
are here the Tunglin, the(cid:11) folk of the Harp, whereas in The Fall of
Gondolin (ibid.) he(cid:11) belongs to 'the house of the Swan of the sons of
the Men of(cid:11) the North'.
(cid:11) Also noteworthy is the opening of the present text where(cid:11) Ulmo's
desires and devisings ate described: his unceasing at-(cid:11) tempts to
persuade the Gnomes to send messengers to Valinor,(cid:11) his isolation from
the other Valar, his wish that the power of(cid:11) Valinor should go against
Melko in time. There does not ap-(cid:11) pear to Le any other mention of
Ulmo's attempting to arouse(cid:11) the Gnomes to send messages to Valinor;
and though his iso-(cid:11) lation in his pity for the Gnomes in the Great
Lands appears(cid:11) strongly at the beginning of the tale of The Hiding of
Valinor(cid:11) g. 209), there Manwe and Varda beside Ulmo were opposed to(cid:11)
the withdrawal of Valinor from the fate of 'the world'. (cid:11) Lastly,
'the Vale of Niniach' must be the site of the Battle(cid:11) of Unnumbered
Tears; cf. 'the Vale (Valley) of Weeping Wa-(cid:11) ters' in the outlines
for Gilfanon's Tale (I.230-40). Niniach(cid:11) never occurs again in this
application, though the way by(cid:11) which Tuor went down to the sea
came to be called Cirith(cid:11) Ninniach, the Rainbow Cleft.
(cid:11)
(cid:11) (ii). (cid:11)
(cid:11) The
manuscript Turlin and the Exiles of Gondolin continues(cid:11) (the paper
and the handwriting are identical, and all were(cid:11) placed together) with
a further text of great interest, since it(cid:11) represents the first step
towards the later story of the coming(cid:11) of the Noldor to Middle-earth
since the outlines for Gilfanon's(cid:11) Tale g. 237 ff.). This was hastily
pencilled and is in places dif-(cid:11) ficult to make out.
(cid:11)(cid:11) (cid:11)
(cid:11) Then Gelmir king of the Gnomes marshalled his un-(cid:11) happy
folk and he said to them: 'We am come at last to the(cid:11) Great Lands and
have set our feet upon the Earth, and not(cid:11) even Elf-wisdom may yet say
what shall come of it; but the(cid:11) torment and the pain and the tears that
we have borne in(cid:11) the way hither shall be sung in song and told in tale by
all(cid:11) the folk of the Elfin race hereafter; yea and even among(cid:11) other
children of Ior shall some remember it.' (cid:11) Long time did
the Gnome-folk dwell nigh those west-(cid:11) ward shores in the northern
regions of the Earth; and their(cid:11) anguish was lessened. Some were there
that fared far afield(cid:11) and gained knowledge of the lands about, and
they sought(cid:11) ever to know whither Melko had fled, or where was hidden(cid:11)
the gems and treasury of Valinor. [Struck out: Then did(cid:11) Gelmir marshal
his hosts and three great armies had he, and(cid:11) Golfin his son was captain of
the one, and Delin his son of(cid:11) a second, [Oleg >] Luthien his son of the
third, but Gelmir(cid:11) was lord and king.] Thereafter did all the folk move
onward(cid:11) to the East and somewhat South, and all the armies of(cid:11) Golfin
and of Delin moved ahead unhampered. Now the ice(cid:11) melted, and the
snow [?thinned], and the trees grew deep(cid:11) upon the hills, and their
hearts knew comfort, till their(cid:11) harps and elfin pipes awoke once more.
Then did the rocks(cid:11) ring with the sweet music of the Elves, and
countless(cid:11) [?coming] of their many feet; new flowers sprang behind(cid:11)
those armies as they trod, for the earth was glad of the(cid:11) coming of
the Gnomes, nor had the sun or the white moon(cid:11) yet seen fairer things in
those places than their moving field(cid:11) of glinting spears and their
goldwrought elfin armoury. But(cid:11) the women and the Gnome-maids and
Gnome-children sang(cid:11) as they journeyed after, and no such clear song
of hope(cid:11) have the lands heard since, yet was it sad and boding be-(cid:11) side
that singing that was heard upon [Kor >] the hill of(cid:11) Tun while the Two
Trees blossomed still. (cid:11) Of all those scouts and
scattered hosts that went far(cid:11) ahead or upon either side of the
marching Gnomes none(cid:11) were more eager or burnt with greater fire than
Feanor the(cid:11) gem-smith and his seven sons; but nothing did they dis-(cid:11)(cid:11)
cover yet, and came the Gnomes at length unto that magic(cid:11) northern land
of which tales often speak, and by reason of(cid:11) its dark woods and grey
mountains and its deep mists the(cid:11) Gnomes named Dor Lomin land of
shadows. There lies a(cid:11) lake, Mithrim whose mighty waters reflect a
pale image of(cid:11) the encircling hills. Here did the Gnomes rest once more
a(cid:11) great while, and Gelmir let build dwellings for the folk(cid:11) about
the shores and shoreland woods, but there too be(cid:11) numbered and
marshalled all his hosts both of spearmen,(cid:11) and bowmen, and of
swordsmen, for no lack of arms did(cid:11) the Gnomes bring out of Valinor
and the armouries of(cid:11) Makar to their war with Melko. And three great
armies had(cid:11) Gelmir under his lordship, and Golfin his son was captain(cid:11)
of one, and Delin his son of another, and Luthien (not that(cid:11) Luthien of
the Roses who is of another and a later tale) of(cid:11) a third; and Golfin's
might was in swordsmen, and Delin(cid:11) had more of those who bore the
long... elfin spears, but(cid:11) Luthien's joy was in the number and... of
his bowmen -(cid:11) and the bow has ever been the weapon wherein the
Elf-kin(cid:11) has had the most wondrous skill. Now the colours of the(cid:11)
Gnomes were gold and white in those ancient days in mem-(cid:11) ory of the
Two Trees, but Gelmir's standard bore upon a(cid:11) silver field a crown of
gold, and each captain had a fair(cid:11) banner; and the sign of Golfin in
those days was upon gold(cid:11) a silver sword, and of Delin a green beech leaf
upon silver(cid:11) diapered with golden flowers, and of Luthien a golden(cid:11)
swallow that winged through an azure field as it were the(cid:11) sky set
with silver stars, and the sons of Feanor wrought(cid:11) that standard and
those banners, and they shone by sunlight(cid:11) and by mist and by moonlight
and by starless dark by the(cid:11) light of the Gnome-wrought gems that sewed
them [sic]. (cid:11) Now it happened on a while that Feanor got him
beyond(cid:11) to the hills that girt Dor Lomin in those parts [northward(cid:11) of
>] beyond Artanor where these were open empty lands(cid:11) and treeless
hills, and he had no small company and three(cid:11) of his sons were with
him. Thus came they on a day nigh(cid:11) evening to a hilltop, and afar off
descried a red light leaping(cid:11) in a vale open on that side that looked
towards [?them].(cid:11)(cid:11) (cid:11)
(cid:11) Then Feanor wondered what this fire might be, and he
and(cid:11) his folk marched in the still night swiftly thereto, so that ere(cid:11) dawn
they looked down into that vale. There saw they an(cid:11) armed company
no less than their own, and they sat around(cid:11) a mighty fire of wood.
The most were asleep, but some few(cid:11) stirred, and Feanor stood then up
and called in his clear(cid:11) voice so that the dark vale rang: 'Who be
ye; men of the(cid:11) Gnomes or other what - say swiftly for 'tis best for
[you to](cid:11) know the children of Feanor compass you around.' (cid:11)
Then a great clamour broke forth in the vale and the folk(cid:11) of Feanor
knew full soon that here were no elfin folk, by(cid:11) reason of their
harsh voices and unlovely cries, and many(cid:11) arrows came winging in
the dark towards that voice, but(cid:11) Feanor was no longer there.
Swiftly had he gone and drawn(cid:11) the most of his folk before the
vale's mouth whence a(cid:11) stream issued forlh tree-hung
(cid:11)
(cid:11) Here the text ends abruptly and near the top of a new page;(cid:11) it is
clear that no more was written. (cid:11) The Noldorin
house has still not emerged, but we have a(cid:11) king Gelmir of the
Gnomes, with his sons Golfin, Delin,(cid:11) Luthien (the last emended from
Oleg), captains of his three ar-(cid:11) mies. There is no suggestion that Feanor
and his sons were as-(cid:11) sociated with these in any sort of close
kinship. In the(cid:11) fragment of the Lay of the Fall of Gondolin (see III.
146-7)(cid:11) there appears - for the first time - Fingolfin, who steps into(cid:11)
Finwe Noleme's place as the father of Turgon and Isfin, but is(cid:11) not the
son of Finwe, rather of Gelmir. I have suggested there(cid:11) that this Gelmir,
father of Golfin/Fingolfin, is to be identified(cid:11) with Finwe, father of
Fingolfin in the alliterative poems and(cid:11) later; and it may be that the
name Gelmir is formally con-(cid:11) nected with Fin-golma, which in the
outlines-for Gilfanon's(cid:11) Tale is another name for Finwe Noleme g.
238-9, and see(cid:11) I. 263, entry Noleme). It is to be remembered that
Finwe(cid:11) Noleme was not in the earliest legend the father of Feanor and(cid:11) was
not slain by Melko in Valinor, but came to the Great(cid:11) Lands. - Of
the other sons of Gelmir named in the present(cid:11) text, Delin and Luthien,
there is no trace elsewhere. (cid:11) It is certainly clear that Golfin
here is the first appearaace of(cid:11)(cid:11) Fingolfin, and by the same token that
this text preceded the(cid:11) abandoned beginning of the Lay of the Fall of
Gondolin. On(cid:11) the other hand, the obscure story of the death of Feanor in
the(cid:11) earliest outlines g. 238 - 9) has disappeared, and though the(cid:11)
present text breaks off too soon for certainty it seems ex-(cid:11) tremely
probable that, had my father continued it a little fur-(cid:11) ther, we should
have learned of Feanor's death in battle with(cid:11) the Orcs whom he and
his companions had aroused in the val-(cid:11) ley where they were encamped
It may be, too, that we should(cid:11) have had an explanation of the
puzzling lines of the Lay(cid:11) (III. 146):
(cid:11)
(cid:11) 'Twas the bent blades of the Glamhoth that drank
(cid:11) Fiagolfin's life as he stood alone by Feanor. (cid:11)
(cid:11) We are in any case
here still a long way from the story of the(cid:11) divided hosts and the
treachery of Feanor. (cid:11) The encampment of Mithrim
(Asgon) is refened to already(cid:11) in the early outlines, but in the later
of these there is mention(cid:11) g. 239) of the first devising of weapons by
the Gnomes at this(cid:11) time, whereas in the present text they are said to
have brought(cid:11) great store of arms 'out of Valinor and the armouries
of(cid:11) Makar'. Here also appears the earliest form of the idea of the(cid:11)
flowers springing beneath the marching feet of the Gnomish(cid:11) host.
(cid:11) A characteristic
heraldry appears in the armies led by(cid:11) Gelmir's sons, all in gold
and silver, in memory of the Two(cid:11) Trees - the banners made (curiously
enough) by the sons of(cid:11) Feanor. In the 'Sketch of the Mythology'
the banners of(cid:11) Fingolfin were in blue and silver, as they remained (p.
24). (cid:11) The name Ior, which occurs at the beginning of the text
in(cid:11) the expression 'among other children of Ior' (as opposed to(cid:11) 'the
Elfin race') and seems therefore to refer to Iluvatar,' occurs(cid:11) elsewhere
only in a quite different reference: it is given in the(cid:11) early Gnomish
dictionary as the equivalent of Qenya Ivare,(cid:11) 'the famous "piper of the
sea" '. (cid:11)(cid:11)
(iii). (cid:11)
(cid:11) Thirdly and lastly, an isolated slip of paper
contains a most cu-(cid:11) rious trace of a stage in development between The
Flight of the(cid:11) Noldoli in the Lost Tales and the 'Sketch of the
Mythology'.(cid:11) (cid:11)
The Trees stand dark. The Plain is full of trouble. The(cid:11) Gnomes
gather by torchlight in Tun or Cor; Feanor laments(cid:11) Buithwir
(Felegron) [emended to (Feleor)] his father, bids(cid:11) Gnomes depart &
seek Melko and their treasures - he longs(cid:11) for the Silmarils -
Finweg & Fingolfin speak against him.(cid:11) The Gnomes shout and
prepare to depart. The Solosimpi(cid:11) refuse: the wise words of
Ethlon (Dimlint). Foamriders(cid:11) [?beaches]. The threats of Feanor to
march to Cu nan Eilch.(cid:11) The arch, the lamplit quays; they seize the
boats. One(cid:11) Gilfanon sees his mighty swanwinged swan-feather
boat(cid:11) with md.oars [?going] & he k his sons run to the arch and(cid:11)
threaten the Gnomes. The fight on the arch & Gilfanon's(cid:11) [?curse]
ere they throw him into the waves. The Gnomes(cid:11) reach Fangros k
repent - burn the boats. (cid:11)
(cid:11) Here Bruithwir (with the additional
name Felegron > Feleor)(cid:11) is still the father of Feanor as in the Lost Tales;
but Fingolfin(cid:11) and Finweg have emerged, and speak against Feanor (it is
not(cid:11) clear whether Finwegh ere is Fingolfin's father ( Finwe) or(cid:11)
Fingolfin's son (later Fingon): see IIL 137 - 8, 146). Narrative(cid:11) features
that were never taken up in the later development of(cid:11) 'The Silmarillion'
here make their only appearance. What lay(cid:11) behind 'the wise words of
Ethlon (Dimlint)' and 'the threats of(cid:11) Feanor to march to Cu nan
Eilch' has now vanished without(cid:11) trace. The name Fangros appears once
elsewhere, in the allit-(cid:11) erative Children of Hurin, III. 31 line 631
(earlier Fangair),(cid:11) where there is a reference to a song, or songs, being sung
(cid:11) (cid:11)
of the fight at Fangros, and Feanor's sons' (cid:11) oath
unbreakable (cid:11)
(cid:11) (the fight and the oath need not be
in any way connected). But(cid:11) whatever happened at Fangros is lost
beyond recall; and no-(cid:11)(cid:11) where later is there any suggestion that the
burning of the ships(cid:11) arose from repentance. In the Lost Tales g. 168)
the Gnomes(cid:11) 'abandoned their stolen ships' when they made the passage
of(cid:11) the Ice; Sorontur reported to Manwe (I. 177) that he had seen(cid:11) 'a
fleet of white ships that drifted empty in the gales, and some(cid:11) were burning
with bright fires', and Manwe 'knew thereby that(cid:11) the Noldoli were gone
for ever and their ships burned or aban-(cid:11) doned'.
(cid:11) Lastly, Gilfanon appears as an Elf
of Alqualonde, one of(cid:11) those hurled by the Gnomes into the sea, though it
is not said(cid:11) that he was drowned. Gilfanon of Tavrobel was a
Gnome(cid:11) g. 174-5); and it seems virtually certain that the two Gilfanons(cid:11)
were not the same. In that case it is most probable that the Elf(cid:11) of
Tavrobel had ceased to be so named; though he had not, as(cid:11) I think,
ceased to exist (see pp. 325-326). (cid:11)(cid:11)
(cid:11)
(cid:11)
II. (cid:11)
(cid:11) THE EARLIEST 'SILMARILLION'.
(cid:11) (The 'Sketch of the Mythology').
(cid:11) (cid:11) I
have earlier (III. 3) given an account of this text, but I repeat(cid:11) the
essentials of it here. On the envelope containing the man-(cid:11) uscript my
father wrote at some later time: (cid:11)
(cid:11) Original 'Silmarillion'.
Form orig [inally] composed(cid:11) c. 1926-30 for R. W. Reynolds
to explain background of(cid:11) 'alliterative version' of Turin & the
Dragon: then in progress(cid:11) (unfinished) (begun c. 1918).
(cid:11)
(cid:11) The 'Sketch' represents a new starting-point in the history of(cid:11) 'The
Silmarillion', for while it is a quite brief synopsis, the(cid:11) further
written development of the prose form proceeded from(cid:11) it in a direct
line. It is clear from details that need not be re-(cid:11) peated here that it was
originally written in 1926 (after the Lay(cid:11) of the Children of Hurin had
been abandoned, III. 3); but it(cid:11) was afterwards revised, in places very
heavily, and this makes(cid:11) it a difficult text to present in a way that is
both accurate and(cid:11) readily comprehensible. The method I have adopted is
to give(cid:11) the text exactly as it was first written (apart from a very few(cid:11)
slight alterations of expression in no way affecting the narra-(cid:11) tive,
which are adopted silently into the text), but to break it up(cid:11) into short
sections, following each with notes giving the later(cid:11) changes made in that
section. I must emphasize that there is no(cid:11) manuscript warrant for the 19
divisions so made: it is purely a(cid:11) matter of convenience of
presentation. This method has certain(cid:11) advantages: the later changes can
be readily compared with the(cid:11) original text immediately preceding; and
since the following(cid:11) version of 'The Silmarillion', the Quenta, has
been treated in(cid:11) the same way and divided into corresponding
numbered sec-(cid:11) tions, passages of the one can be easily related to those in
the(cid:11) other. (cid:11) The
later changes are referenced by numbers that begin with(cid:11) 1 in each
section. The commentary follows at the end of the(cid:11) complete text, and is
related to the numbered sections. (cid:11)
(cid:11) Sketch of the mythology with especial
reference to the (cid:11) 'Children of Hurin'
(cid:11)(cid:11) 1.(cid:11)
(cid:11) After the despatch of the Nine Valar
for the governance(cid:11) of the world Morgoth (Demon of Dark) rebels
against the(cid:11) overlordship of Manwe, overthrows the lamps set up to
il-(cid:11) lumine the world, and floods the isle where the Valar (or(cid:11) Gods)
dwelt. He fortifies a palace of dungeons in the North.(cid:11) The Valar remove
to the uttermost West, bordered by the(cid:11) Outer Seas and the final
Wall, and eastward by the towering(cid:11) Mountains of Valinor which the Gods
built. In Valinor they(cid:11) gather all light and beautiful things, and build
their man-(cid:11) sions, gardens, and city, but Manwe and his wife Bridhil(cid:11)
have halls upon the highest mountain (Timbrenting or(cid:11)
Tindbrenting in English, Tengwethil in Gnomish, Taniquetil(cid:11) in Elfin)
whence they can see across the world to the dark(cid:11) East. Ifan
Belaurin(1) plants the Two Trees in the middle of(cid:11) the plain of Valinor
outside the gates of the city of Valmar.(cid:11) They grow under her songs,
and one has dark green leaves(cid:11) with shining silver beneath, and white
blossoms like the(cid:11) cherry from which a dew of silver light falls; the
other has(cid:11) golden-edged leaves of young green like the beech and yel-(cid:11)
low blossom like the hanging blossoms of laburnum which(cid:11) give out
heat and blazing light. Each bee waxes for seven'(cid:11) hours to full glory
and then wanes for seven; twice a day(cid:11) therefore comes a time of
softer light when each tree is(cid:11) faint and their light is mingled.
(cid:11)
(cid:11) * (cid:11) 1.
Yavanna Palurien added in the margin. (cid:11) 2.
At both occurrences of seven in this sentence my father first wrote six,(cid:11) but
changed it in the act of writing the manuscript. (cid:11)
(cid:11)
2. (cid:11)
(cid:11) The Outer Lands
are in darkness. The growth of things (cid:11) was checked when
Morgoth quenched the lamps. There are (cid:11) forests of darkness,
of yew and fir and ivy. There Orome (cid:11) sometimes hunts, but
in the North Morgoth and his de- (cid:11) monic broods (Balrogs)
and the Orcs (Goblins, also called (cid:11) Glamhoth or people of
hate) hold sway. Bridhil looks on (cid:11) the darkness and is moved,
and taking all the hoarded light (cid:11) of Silpion (the white tree)
she makes and strews the stars. (cid:11) At the making of the stars
the children of Earth awake - (cid:11) the Eldar (or Elves). They are
found by Orome dwelling by (cid:11) the star-lit pool (Cuivienen,
water of awakening) in the (cid:11) East. He rides home to Valinor
filled with their beauty and (cid:11) tells the Valar, who are reminded
of their duty to the Earth, (cid:11) since they. came thither knowing
that their office was to (cid:11) govern it for the two races of Earth
who should after come (cid:11) each in appointed time. There follows
an expedition to the (cid:11) fortress of the North (Angband,
Iron-hell), but this is now (cid:11) too strong for them to
destroy. Morgoth is nonetheless (cid:11) taken captive, and
consigned to the halls of Mandos who (cid:11) dwelt in the North of
Valinor. (cid:11) The Eldalie (people of
the Elves) are invited to Valinor (cid:11) for fear of the evil things
of Morgoth that still wandered in (cid:11) the dark. A great march is
made by the Eldar from the East (cid:11) led by Orome on his
white horse. The Eldar are divided (cid:11) into three hosts, one
under Ingwe (Ing) after called the (cid:11) Quendi (or Elves proper,
or Light-elves), one under Finwe (cid:11) (Finn) after called the
Noldoli (Gnomes or Deep-elves), one (cid:11) under Elwe (Elu) after
called the Teleri (Sea-elves, or (cid:11) Solosimpi, the Shoreland
Pipers or Foamriders). Many of (cid:11) them are lost upon the
march and wander in the woods of (cid:11) the world, becoming after
the various hosts of Ilkorindi (cid:11) (Elves who never dwelt in
Cor in Valinor). The chief of (cid:11) these was Thingol, who heard
Melian and her nightingales (cid:11)(cid:11) singing and was enchanted and
fell asleep for an age. Me-(cid:11) lian was one of the divine maidens of the
Vala Lorien who(cid:11) sometimes wandered into the outer world. Melian
and(cid:11) Thingol became Queen and King of woodland Elves in(cid:11) Doriath,
living in a hall called the Thousand Caves. (cid:11)
(cid:11) The other Elves came to the ultimate
shores of the West.(cid:11) In the North these in those days sloped westward
in the(cid:11) North until only a narrow sea divided them from the land(cid:11) of
the Gods, and this narrow sea was filled with grinding(cid:11) ice. But at the
point to which the Elf-hosts came a wide(cid:11) dark sea stretched west.
(cid:11) There were two Valar of the Sea. Ulmo
(Ylmir), the(cid:11) mightiest of all Valar next to Manwe, was lord of all wa-(cid:11)
ters, but dwelt often in Valinor, or in the 'Outer Seas'. Osse(cid:11) and the lady
Oin,(1) whose tresses lay through all the sea,(cid:11) loved rather the seas of
the world that washed the shores(cid:11) beneath the Mountains of Valinor. Ylmir
uprooted the half-(cid:11) sunk island where the Valar had first dwelt, and
embarking(cid:11) on it the Noldoli and Qendi, who arrived first, bore them to(cid:11)
Valinor. The Teleri dwelt some time by the shores of the(cid:11) sea awaiting
him, and hence their love of it. While they(cid:11) were being also transported
by Ylmir, Osse in jealousy and(cid:11) out of love for their singing chained the
island to the sea-(cid:11) bottom far out in the Bay of Faerie whence the
Mountains(cid:11) of Valinor could dimly be seen. No other land was near it,(cid:11) and
it was called the Lonely Isle. There the Teleri dwelt a(cid:11) long age becoming
different in tongue, and learning strange(cid:11) music of Osse, who made the
sea-birds for their delight. (cid:11) The Gods gave a home in Valinor to
the other Eldar. Be-(cid:11) cause they longed even among the Tree-lit
gardens of(cid:11) Valinor for a glimpse of the stars, a gap was made in the(cid:11)
encircling mountains, and there in a deep valley a green(cid:11) hill, Cor,
was built. This was lit from the West by the(cid:11) Trees, to the East it
looked out onto the Bay of Faerie and(cid:11) the Lonely Isle, and beyond to
the Shadowy Seas. Thus(cid:11)(cid:11) some of the blessed light of Valinor filtered into
the Outer (cid:11) Lands, and falling on the Lonely Isle caused its
western (cid:11) shores to grow green and fair.
(cid:11) On the top of Cor the city of the Elves was built
and (cid:11) called Tun. The Qendi became most beloved by
Manwe (cid:11) and Bridhil, the Noldoli by Aule (the Smith) and
Mandos (cid:11) the wise. The Noldoli invented gems and made
them in (cid:11) countless numbers, filling all Tun with them, and
all the (cid:11) halls of the Gods '
(cid:11) The greatest in skill and magic of the Noldoli was
Finn's (cid:11) second son Feanor. (His elder son Fingolfin'
whose son (cid:11) was Finnweg comes into the tale later.) He
contrived three (cid:11) jewels (Silmarils) wherein a living fire
combined in the (cid:11) light of the Two Trees was set, they
shone of their own (cid:11) light, impure hands were burned by them.
(cid:11) The Teleri seeing afar the light of
Valinor were tom be- (cid:11) tween desire to rejoin their kindred and
to dwell by the sea. (cid:11) Ylmir taught them craft of
boat-building. Osse yielding (cid:11) gave them swans, and harnessing
many swans to their boats (cid:11) they sailed to Valinor, and dwelt
there on the shores where (cid:11) they could see the light of the
Trees, and go to Valmar (cid:11) if they wished, but could sail
and dance in the waters (cid:11) touched to light by the radiance that
came out past Cor. The (cid:11) other Eldar gave them many gems,
especially opals and di- (cid:11) amonds and other pale crystals
which were strewn upon the (cid:11) beaches of the Bay of Faerie.
They themselves invented (cid:11) pearls. Their chief town was
Swanhaven upon the shores (cid:11) northward of the pass of Cor.
(cid:11)
(cid:11) *
(cid:11)
(cid:11) 1. Uinen pencilled against Oin.
(cid:11) 2. The following passage was afterwards added here:
(cid:11)
(cid:11) Since the Gnomes or Noldoli afterwards came
back into the &eat(cid:11) Lands, and these tales deal mostly with them, it
may here be said(cid:11) that Lord or King of the Noldoli was Finn. His
sons were Feanor,(cid:11) Fingolfin, and Finrod. Of whom Feanor was the
most skillful, the(cid:11) deepest in lore, Fingolfin the mightiest and most
valiant, Finrod the(cid:11)(cid:11) fairest, and the most wisehearted and gentle. The
seven sons of(cid:11) Feanor were Maidros the tall; Maglor a musician and
mighty singer(cid:11) whose voice carried far over hill and sea; Curufin the crafty
who in-(cid:11) herited most of his father's skill; Celegorm the fair; Crantbir
the(cid:11) dark; and Damrod and Diriel who after were great hunters. The sons(cid:11)
of Fingolfin were Finweg who was after the king of the Noldoli in(cid:11) the
North of the world, and Turgon of Gondolin; and his daughter(cid:11) was Isfin
the white. The sons of Finrod were Orodreth, Felagoth,(cid:11) Anrod, and Egnor.
(cid:11)
(cid:11) In the last sentence Felagoth >
Felagund, and Orodeth moved to (cid:11) stand after Felagund.
(cid:11) 3. Finn's second son Feanor and His elder
son Fingolfin > Finn's elder(cid:11) son Feanor and His second son Fingolfin (an
early change, quite pos-(cid:11) sibly made at the time of the writing of the
manuscript). (cid:11)(cid:11) 4.(cid:11)
(cid:11) The Gods were now
beguiled by Morgoth, who having(cid:11) passed seven ages in the
prisons of Mandos in gradually(cid:11) lightened pain came before the
conclave of the Gods in due(cid:11) course. He looks with greed and
malice upon the Eldar,(cid:11) who also sit there about the knees of the
Gods, and lusts es-(cid:11) pecially after the jewels. He dissembles his
hatred and de-(cid:11) sire for revenge. He is allowed a humble
dwelling in(cid:11) Valinor, and after a while goes &eely about
Valinor, only(cid:11) Ylmir foreboding ill, while Tulcas the strong who
first cap-(cid:11) tured him watches him. Morgoth helps the Eldar in
many(cid:11) deeds, but slowly poisons their peace with lies. (cid:11)
He suggests that the Gods brought them to Valinor out of(cid:11)
jealousy, for fear their marvellous skill, and magic, and(cid:11)
beauty, should grow too strong for them outside in the(cid:11) world.
The Qendi and Teleri are little moved, but the(cid:11) Noldoli, the
wisest of the Elves, become affected. They be-(cid:11) gin at whiles to
murmur against the Gods and their kindred;(cid:11) they are filled with vanity
of their skill.' (cid:11) Most of all does Morgoth fan
the flames of the heart of(cid:11) Feanor, but all the while he lusts
for the immortal Silmarils,(cid:11) although Feanor has cursed for ever
anyone, God or Elf or(cid:11) mortal that shall come hereafter,
who touches them.(cid:11) Morgoth lying tells Feanor that Fingolfin
and his son(cid:11)(cid:11) Finnweg am plotting to usurp the leadership of the
Gnomes(cid:11) from Feanor and his sons, and to gain the Silmarils. A(cid:11) quarrel
breaks out between the sons of Finn. Feanor is sum-(cid:11) moned before the Gods,
and the lies of Morgoth laid bare.(cid:11) Feanor is banished from Tun, and
with him goes Finn who(cid:11) loves Feanor best of his sons, and many of
the Gnomes.(cid:11) They build a treasury Northward in Valinor in the hills near(cid:11)
Mandos' halls. Fingolfin rules the Gnomes that are left in(cid:11) Tun. Thus
Morgoth's words seem justified and the bitter-(cid:11) ness he sowed goes on after
his words are disproved. (cid:11) Tulcas is sent to put Morgoth in
chains once more, but(cid:11) he escapes through the pass of Cor into the dark
region be-(cid:11) neath the feet of Timbrenting called Arvalin, where the(cid:11)
shadow is thickest in all the world. There he finds(cid:11) Ungoliant,
Gloomweaver, who dwells in a cleft of the(cid:11) mountains, and sucks up
light or shining things to spin(cid:11) them out again in webs of black and
choking darkness, fog,(cid:11) and gloom. With her he plots revenge. Only a
terrible re-(cid:11) ward will bring her to dare the dangers of Valinor or the(cid:11)
sight of the Gods. She weaves a dense gloom about her to(cid:11) protect her
and swings on cords hem pinnacle to pinnacle(cid:11) till she has scaled the
highest peak of the mountains in the(cid:11) south of Valinor (little guarded
because of their height and(cid:11) their distance from the old fortress of
Morgoth). She makes(cid:11) a ladder that Morgoth can scale. They creep into
Valinor.(cid:11) Morgoth stabs the Trees and Ungoliant sucks up their(cid:11)
juices, belching forth clouds of blackness. The Trees suc-(cid:11) cumb slowly
to the poisoned sword, and to the venomous(cid:11) lips of Ungoliant.
(cid:11) The Gods are dismayed by a twilight at
midday, and va-(cid:11) pours of black float in about the ways of the city. They
are(cid:11) too late. The Trees die while they wail about them. But(cid:11) Tulcas
and Orome and many others hunt on horseback in(cid:11) the gathering gloom
for Morgoth. Wherever Morgoth goes(cid:11) there the confusing darkness is
greatest owing to the webs(cid:11) of Ungoliant. Gnomes from the treasury of
Finn come in(cid:11) and report that Morgoth is assisted by a spider of darkness.(cid:11)
They had seen them making for the North. Morgoth had(cid:11)(cid:11) stayed his