III.
THE QUENTA.
This work is extant in a typescript (made by my father) for
which there is no trace of any preliminary notes or drafts. That
the Quenta, or at any rate the greater part of it, was written in
1930 seems to me to be certainly deducible (see the commen-
tary on $10, pp. 213-4). After a quite different initial section
(which is the origin of the Valaquenta) this text becomes a re-
working and expansion of the 'Sketch of the Mythology'; and
it quickly becomes evident that my father had S (the 'Sketch')
in front of him when he wrote the Quenta (which I shall refer
to as 'Q'). The latter moves towards The Silmarillion in its
published form, both in structure and in language (indeed al-
ready in S the first forms of many sentences can be perceived).
Eriol (as in S; not AElfwine) is mentioned both in the title of
Q and at the end of the work, and his coming to Kortirion, but
(again as in S) there is no trace of the Cottage of Lost Play. As
I have said of its absence from S (p. 48), this does not dem-
onstrate that my father had rejected the conception in its en-
tirety: in S he may have omitted it because his purpose was
solely to recount the history of the Elder Days in condensed
form, while in the title of Q it is said that the work was 'drawn
from the Book of Lost Tales which Eriol of Leithien wrote'. At
least then, we may think, some venue in which the Lost Tales
were told to Eriol in Kortirion still existed.*
The title makes it very plain that while Q was written in a
finished manner, my father saw it as a compendium, a 'brief
(*It is said at the end of the Quenta that Eriol 'remembered things that he
had heard in fair Cortirion'. But this Book of Lost Tales was composed by
Eriol (according to the title) out of a 'Golden Book' which he read in
Kortirion. (Previously the Golden Book of Tavrobel was written either by
Eriol (AElwine) himself, or by his son Heorrenda, or by some other person un-
named long after; see II. 291.))
history' that was 'drawn from' a much longer work; and this
aspect remained an important element in his conception of
'The Silmarillion' properly so called. I do not know whether
this idea did indeed arise from the fact that the starting point
of the second phase of the mythological narrative was a con-
densed synopsis (S); but it seems likely enough, from the step
by step continuity that leads from S through Q to the version
that was interrupted towards its end in 1937.
It seems very probable that the greater number of the exten-
sions and elaborations found in Q arose in the course of its
composition, and that while Q contains features, omitted in S,
which go back to the earliest version, these features argue only
a recollection of the Lost Tales (to be assumed in any case! -
and doubtless a very clear recollection), not a close derivation
from the actual text. If that had been the case, one might ex-
pect to find the re-emergence of actual phrasing here and there;
but that seems to be markedly lacking.
The history of the typescript becomes rather complex
towards the end (from $15), where my father expanded and re-
typed portions of the text (though the discarded pages were
not destroyed). But I see no reason to think that much time
elapsed between the two versions; for near the very end ($19)
the original typescript gives out, and only the second version
continues to the conclusion of the Quenta, which strongly sug-
gests that the revisions belong to the same time as the original
text.
Subsequently the whole text was revised throughout, the
corrections being made carefully in ink; these changes though
frequent are mostly small, and very often no more than slight
alterations of expression. This 'layer' of emendation was
clearly the first;* afterwards further changes were made at dif-
ferent times, often very hastily and not always legibly in pen-
cil. To present the text as first typed with annotation of every
small stylistic improvement is obviously quite unnecessary, and
(*The occurrence of Beleriand in the original typescript, first in $13, note
10, not as previously by emendation in ink from typescript Broseliand,
shows that some of this 'layer' was carried out while the typescript was still
in process of composition.)
would in any case require the introduction into the text of a
forest of reference numbers to the notes. The text given here
includes, therefore, without annotation, all minor changes that
in no way affect the course of the narrative or alter its impli-
cations. Those emendations that are not taken up into the text
but recorded in the notes are marked as 'late changes' if they
are clearly distinguishable, as is not always the case, from the
first 'layer' described above.
I have divided the text into the same 19 divisions made in
S (see p. 11); but since the opening of Q has nothing corre-
sponding in S this section is not given a number.
*
THE QUENTA
herein is
QENTA NOLDORINWA
OT
Pennas-na-Ngoelaidh.
This is the brief History of the Noldoli
or Gnomes, drawn from the Book of Lost Tales
which Eriol of Leithien wrote, having read
the Golden Book, which the Eldar call Parma
Kuluina,* in Kortirion in Tol Eressea, the
Lonely Isle.
After the making of the World by the Allfather, who in El-
vish tongue is named Iluvatar, many of the mightiest spirits
that dwelt with him came into the world to govern it, be-
cause seeing it afar after it was made they were filled with
delight at its beauty. These spirits the Elves named the
Valar, which is the Powers, though Men have often called
(*The Elvish name of the Golden Book in the early dictionary of Qenya is
Parma Kuluinen (II. 310).)
them Gods. Many spirits' they brought in their train, both
great and small, and some of these Men have confused with
the Eldar or Elves: but wrongly, for they were before the
world, but Elves and Men awoke first in the world after the
coming of the Valar. Yet in the making of Elves and Men
and in the giving to each of their especial gifts Iluvatar
alone had part; wherefore they are called the Children of
the World or of Iluvatar.
The chieftains of the Valar were nine. These were the
names of the Nine Gods in Elvish tongue as it was spoken
in Valinor, though other or altered names they have in the
speech of the Gnomes, and their names among Men am
manifold. Manwe was the Lord of the Gods and Prince of
the airs and winds and the ruler of the sky. With him dwelt
as spouse the immortal lady of the heights, Varda the maker
of the stars. Next in might and closest in friendship to
Manwe was Ulmo Lord of Waters, who dwells alone in the
Outer Seas, but has in government all waves and waters,
rivers, fountains and springs, throughout the earth. Subject
to him, though he is often of rebellious mood, is Osse the
master of the seas of the lands of Men, whose spouse is
Uinen the Lady of the Sea. Her hair lies spread through all
the waters under skies. Of might nigh equal to Ulmo was
Aule. He was a smith and a master of crafts, but his spouse
was Yavanna, the lover of fruits and all the growth of the
soil. In might was she next among the ladies of the Valar
to Varda. Very fair was she, and often the Elves named her
Palurien, the Bosom of the Earth.
The Fanturi were called those brothers Mandos and Lorien.
Nefantur the first was also called, the master of the houses of
the dead, and the gatherer of the spirits of the slain. Olofantur
was the other, maker of visions and of dreams; and his gar-
dens in the land of the Gods were the fairest of all places in
the world and filled with many spirits of beauty and power.
Strongest of all the Gods in limbs and greatest in all feats
of prowess and valour was Tulkas, for which reason he was
surnamed Poldorea, the Strong One,(2) and he was the enemy
and foe of Melko. Orome was a mighty lord and little less
in strength than Tulkas. He was a hunter, and trees he loved
(whence he was called Aldaron and by the Gnomes
Tavros,(3) Lord of Forests), and delighted in horses and in
hounds. He hunted even in the dark earth before the Sun
was lit, and loud were his horns, as still they are in the
friths and pastures that Orome possesses in Valinor. Vana
was his spouse, the Queen of Flowers, the younger sister of
Varda and Palurien, and the beauty both of heaven and of
earth is in her face and in her works. Yet mightier than she
is Nienna who dwells with Nefantur Mandos. Pity is in her
heart, and mourning and weeping come to her, but shadow
is her realm and night her throne.
Last do all name Melko. But the Gnomes, who most
have suffered from his evil, will not speak his name
(Moeleg) in their own tongue's form, but call him Morgoth
Bauglir, the Black God Terrible. Very mighty was he made
by Iluvatar, and some of the powers of all the Valar he pos-
sessed, but to evil uses did he turn them. He coveted the
world and the lordship of Manwe, and the realms of all the
Gods; and pride and jealousy and lust grew ever in his
heart, till he became unlike his wise and mighty brethren.
Violence he loved and wrath and destruction, and all excess
of cold and flame. But darkness most he used for his works
and turned it to evil and a name of horror among Elves and
Men.
*
1. Many spirits > Many lesser spirits (late change).
2. the Strong One > the Valiant (late change).
3. Tavros > Tauros (late change).
Accents were put in throughout the work in ink (the typewriter did not
possess them), and in addition short marks were put in on certain
names in this section: Fanturi, Olofantur, Orome, Aldaron, Vana.
1.
In the beginning of the overlordship of the Valar they
saw that the world was dark, and light was scattered over
the airs and lands and seas. Two mighty lamps they made
for the lighting of the world and set them on vast pillars in
the North and South. They dwelt upon an island in the seas
while they were labouring at their first tasks in the ordering
of the earth. But Morgoth contested with them and made
war. The lamps he overthrew, and in the confusion of dark-
ness he aroused the sea against their island. Then the Gods
removed into the West, where ever since their seats have
been, but Morgoth escaped, and in the North he built him-
self a fortress and great caverns underground. And at that
time the Valar could not overcome him or take him captive.
Therefore they built then in the uttermost West the land of
Valinor. It was bordered by the Outer Sea, and the Wall of
the World beyond that fences out the Void and the Eldest
Dark; but eastward they built the Mountains of Valinor, that
are highest upon earth. In Valinor they gathered all light
and all things of beauty, and built their many mansions,
their gardens, and their towers. Amid most of the plain was
the city of the Gods, Valmar the beautiful of many bells.
But Manwe and Varda have halls upon the highest of the
Mountains of Valinor, whence they can look across the
world even into the East. Taniquetil the Elves named that
holy height, and the Gnomes Taingwethil, which in the
tongue of this island of old was Tindbrenting.
In Valinor Yavanna planted two trees in the wide plain not
far from the gates of Valmar the blessed. Under her songs
they yew, and of all the things which the Gods made most
renown have they, and about their fate all the stories of the
world are woven. Dark-green leaves had one, that beneath
were shining silver, and white blossoms like the cherry it
bore, from which a dew of silver light was ever falling.
Leaves of young green like the new-opened beech the other
had. Their edges were of shining gold. Yellow flowers swung
upon its boughs like the hanging blossom of the merry trees
Men now call Golden Rain. But from those flowers there is-
sued warmth and blazing light. For seven hours each tree
waxed to full glory, and for seven hours it waned.' Each fol-
lowed each, and so twice every day in Valinor there came an
hour of softer light, when each tree was faint and their gold
and silver radiance was mingled; for when white Silpion for
six hours had been in bloom, then golden Laurelin awoke.
But Silpion was the elder of the Trees, and the first hour that
ever it shone the Gods did not count into the tale of hours,
and called it the Hour of Opening, and from that hour dated
the beginning of their reign in Valinor, and so at the sixth
hour of the first of days Silpion ceased its first time of
flower, and at the twelfth was the first blossoming of
Laurelin at an end. These Trees the Gnomes called in after
times Bansil and Glingol; but Men have no names for them,
for their light was slain before the coming of the younger
children of Iluvatar upon earth.(2)'
*
1. This sentence was emended to read: In seven hours each tree waxed to
full glory and waned Before this emendation, the text was confused
since periods of both fourteen and seven hours are attributed to the
Trees; but the following sentence, beginning Each followed each...
was retyped over erasures that cannot be read, and this no doubt ex-
plains the confusion, which was rectified later by the emendation.
2. The typescript page beginning with the words Sea, and the Wall of the
World beyond and continuing to the end of the section was replaced by
another. As far as the end of the first paragraph the replacement is al-
most identical with the first, but with these differences: Manwe and
Varda had hails, whence they could look out; and new names appear
for Taniquetil:
Taniquetil the Elves named that holy height, and Ialasse the Ever-
lasting Whiteness, and Tinwenairin crowned with stars, and many
names beside; and the Gnomes spake of it in their later tongue as
Amon-Uilas; and in the language of this island of old Tindbrenting
was its name.
The replacement page then coatinues:
In Valinor Yavanna hallowed the mould with mighty song, and
Nienna watered it with tears. The Gods were gathered in silence
upon their thrones of council in the Ring of Doom nigh unto the
golden gates of Valmar the Blessed; and Yavanna Palurien sang be-
fore them, and they watched. From the earth came forth two slender
shoots; and silence was over all the world save for the slow chanting
of Palurien. Under her songs two fair trees uprose and grew. Of all
things which the Gods made most renown have they, and about their
fate all the tales of the world are woven. Dark-green leaves had the
one, that beneath were as silver shining, and he bore white blossoms
like the cherry, from which a dew of silver light was ever falling,
and earth was dappled with the dark and dancing shadows of his
leaves amid the pools of gleaming radiance. Leaves of young green
like the new-opened beech the other bore; their edges were of glit-
tering gold. Yellow flowers swung upon her boughs like the hanging
blossoms of the merry trees Men now call Golden-rain; and from
those flowers there came forth warmth and a great light.
In seven hours the glory of each tree waxed to full and waned
again to nought; and each awoke to life an hour before the other
ceased to shine. Thus in Valinor twice each day there came a gentle
hour of softer light, when both Trees were faint, and their gold and
silver radiances mingled. Silpion was the elder of the Trees, and came
first to full stature and to bloom, and that first hour wherein he shone,
the white glimmer of a silver dawn, the Gods reckoned not into the
tale of hours, but named it the Opening Hour, and counted there from
the ages of their reign in Valinor. Wherefore at the sixth hour of the
First of Days, and all the joyous days thereafter until the Darkening,
Silpion ceased his time of flower, and at the twelfth Lautelin her blos-
soming. These Trees the Gnomes called in after days Bansil and
Glingol; but Men have no names for them, for their light was slain
before the coming of the younger children of the world.
On the next page, and obviously associated with this re-
placement text, is a typed table here represented. At the
bottom of the replaced page, and clearly associated with the
emendation given in note 1 above, is a simpler table of pre-
cisely similar significance, with the note:
'Day' ends every second waning to nought of Laurelin or at end of sec-
ond hour of mingling of light.
2.
In all this time, since Morgoth overthrew the lamps, the
Outer (1) Lands east of the Mountains of Valinor were without
light. While the lamps had shown growth began therein,
which now was checked because of the darkness. But the
oldest of all things already grew upon the world: the great
weeds of the sea, and on the earth the dark shade of yew and
fir and ivy, and small things faint and silent at their feet.' In
such forests did Orome sometimes hunt, but save Orome and
Yavanna the Valar went not out of Valinor, while in the
North Morgoth built his strength, and gathered his demon
broods about him, whom the Gnomes knew after as the
Balrogs with whips of flame. The hordes of the Orcs he
made of stone, but their hearts of hatred. Glamhoth, people
of hate, the Gnomes have called them. Goblins may they be
called, but in ancient days they were strong and cruel and
fell. Thus he held sway. Then Varda looked on the darkness
and was moved. The silver light that dripped from the
boughs of Silpion she hoarded, and thence she made the
stars. Wherefore she is called Tinwetari, Queen of Stars, and
by the Gnomes Tim-Bridhil. The unlit skies she strewed with
these bright globes of silver flame, and high above the North,
a challenge unto Morgoth, she set the crown of Seven
mighry Stars to swing, the emblem of the Gods, and sign of
Morgoth's doom. Many names have these been called; but in
the old days of the North both Elves and Men called them
the Burning Briar, and some the Sickle of the Gods.
It is said that at the making of the stars the children of the
earth awoke: the elder children of Iluvatar. Themselves they
named the Eldar, whom we call the Elves, but in the begin-
ning mightier and more strong were they, yet not more fair.
Orome it was that found them, dwelling by a star-lit mere
Cuivienen,(3) Water of Awakening, far in the East. Swift he
rode home to Valinor filled with the thought of their beauty.
When the Valar heard his tidings they pondered long, and
they recalled their duty. For they came into the world
knowing that their office was to govern it for the children
of Iluvatar who should after come, each in the appointed
time.
Thus came it that because of the Elves the Gods made an
assault upon the fortress of Morgoth in the North; and this
he never forgot. Little do the Elves or Men know of that
great riding of the power of the West against the North and
of the war and tumult of the battle of the Gods. Tulkas it
was who overthrew Morgoth and bound him captive, and
the world had peace for a long age. But the fortress which
Morgoth had built was hidden with deceit in dungeons and
caverns far beneath the earth, and the Gods did not destroy
it utterly, and many evil things of Morgoth lingered there
still, or dared to roam in the secret pathways of the world.
Morgoth the Gods drew back to Valinor in chains, and
he was set in prison in the great halls of Mandos, from
which none, God, Elf, nor Man has ever escaped save by
the will of the Valar. Vast they are and strong, and built in
the North of the land of Valinor. The Eldalie,' the people
of the Elves, the Gods invited to Valinor, for they were in
love with the beauty of that race, and because they feared
for them in the starlit dusk, and knew not what deceits and
evil wrought by Morgoth still wandered there.
Of their own free will, yet in awe of the power and maj-
esty of the Gods, the Elves obeyed. A great march therefore
they prepared from their first homes in the East. When all
was ready Orome rode at their head upon his white horse
shod with gold. Into three hosts were the Eldalie arrayed.
The first to march forth were led by that most high of
all the elfin race, whose name was Ingwe, Lord of Elves.
Ing the Gnomes now make his name, but never came he
back into the Outer Lands until these tales were near their
end.' The Quendi' were his own folk called, who some-
times are alone called Elves; they are the Light-elves and
the beloved of Manwe and his spouse. Next came the
Noldoli. The Gnomes we may call them, a name of wis-
dom; they are the Deep-elves, and on that march their lord
was the mighty Finwe, whom his own folk in their tongue
later changed call Finn.' His kindred are renowned in elfin
song, and of them these tales have much to tell, for they
warred and laboured long and sore in the Northern lands of
old. Third came the Teleri. The Foamriders may they be
called; they are the Sea-elves, and the Solosimpi (9) they were
named in Valinor, the pipers of the shores.(10) Elwe (or Elu)
was their lord "
Many of the elfin race were lost upon the long dark
roads, and they wandered in the woods and mountains of
the world, and never came to Valinor, nor saw the light of
the Two Trees. Therefore they are called Ilkorindi, the
Elves that dwelt never in Cor, the city of the Eldar in the
land of the Gods. The Dark-elves are they, and many are
their scattered tribes, and many are their tongues.
Of the Dark-elves the chief in renown was Thingol. For
this reason he came never to Valinor. Melian was a fay. In
the gardens of Lorien she dwelt, and among all his fair folk
none were there that surpassed her beauty, nor none more
wise, nor none more skilled in magical and enchanting
song. It is told that the Gods would leave their business,
and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that Valmar's bells
were silent, and the fountains ceased to flow, when at the
-mingling of the light Melian sang in the gardens of the God
' of Dreams. Nightingales went always with her, and their
song she taught them. But she loved deep shadow, and of-
ten strayed on long journey into the Outer Lands, and there
filled the silence of the dawning world with her voice and
the voices of her birds.
The nightingales of Melian Thingol heard and was en-
chanted, and left his folk. Melian he found beneath the trees
and was cast into a dream and a great slumber, so that his
people sought him in vain. In after days Melian and
Thingol became Queen and King of the woodland Elves of
Doriath; and Thingol's halls were called the Thousand
Caves.
*
1. At all three occurrences of Outer Lands in this section Hither is writ-
ten above Outer (which is not struck out).
2. After at their feet is added: and in their thickets dark creatures, old
and strong.
3. Cuivienen > Kuivienen
4. the battle > the first battle
5. Written against Eldalie: Quendi (late change).
6. This sentence, beginning Ing the Gnomes now make his name, was
changed to read:
He entered into Valinor and sits at the feet of the Powers, and all
Elves revere his name, but he hath come never back into the Outer
Lands.
7. Quendi > Lindar (late change).
8. whom his own folk in their tongue later changed call Finn > wisest
of all the children of the world
9. Solosimpi > Soloneldi
10. the pipers of the shores > for they made music beside the breaking
waves.
11. Elwe {or Elu) was their lord > Elwe was their lord, and his hair was
long and white.
12. Cor > Kor
Short marks were written in on the names Eldalie, Teleri.
3.
In time the hosts of the Eldar came to the last shores of
the West.' In the North these shores in the ancient days
sloped ever westward, until in the northernmost parts of the
Earth only a narrow sea divided the land of the Gods from
the Outer' Lands; but this narrow sea was filled with grind-
ing ice, because of the violence of the frosts of Morgoth. At
that place where the elfin hosts first looked upon the sea in
wonder a wide dark ocean stretched between them and the
Mountains of Valinor. Over the waves they gazed waiting;
and Ulmo, sent by the Valar, uprooted the half-sunk island
upon which the Gods had first had their dwelling, and drew
it to the western shores. Thereon he embarked the Quendi (3)
and the Noldoli, for they had arrived first, but the Teleri
were behind and did not come until he had gone. The
Quendi and the Noldoli he bore thus to the long shores be-
neath the Mountains of Valinor, and they entered the land
of the Gods, and were welcomed to its glory and its bliss.
The Teleri thus dwelt long by the shores of the sea awaiting
Ulmo's return, and they grew to love the sea, and made
songs filled with the sound of it. And Osse loved them and
the music of their voices, and sitting upon the rocks he
spoke to them. Great therefore was his grief when Ulmo re-
turned at length to take them to Valinor. Some he persuaded
' to remain on the beaches of the world, but the most em-
barked upon the isle and were drawn far away. Then Osse
followed them, and in rebellion, it is said, he seized the isle
and chained it to the sea-bottom far out in the Bay of
Faerie, whence the Mountains of Valinor could but dimly
be descried, and the light of the realms beyond that filtered
through the passes of the hills. There it stood for many an
age. No other land was near to it, and it was called Tol
Eressea, or the Lonely Isle. There long the Teleri dwelt, and
learned strange music of Osse, who made the seabirds for
their delight. Of this long sojourn apart came the sundering
of the tongue of the Foamriders and the Elves of Valinor.
To the other Elves the Valar gave a home and dwelling.
Because even among the Tree-lit gardens of the Gods they
, longed at whiles to see the stars, a gap was made in the
: encircling mountains, and there in a deep valley that ran
down to the sea the green hill of Cor' was raised. From the
West the Trees shone upon it; to the East it looked out to
the Bay of Faerie and the Lonely Isle and the Shadowy
Seas. Thus some of the blessed light of Valinor came into
, the lands without, and fell upon the Lonely Isle, and its
, western shore grew green and fair. There bloomed the first
flowers that ever were east of the mountains of the Gods.
On the top of Cor the city of the Elves was built, the
. white walls and towers and terraces of Tun. The highest of
those towers was the tower of Ing,(5) whose silver lamp
shone far out into the mists of the sea, but few are the ships
of mortals that have ever seen its marvellous beam. There
dwelt the Elves and Gnomes. Most did Manwe and Varda
love the Quendi, the Light-elves,' and holy and immortal
were all their deeds and songs. The Noldoli, the Deep-
elves, that Men call Gnomes, were beloved of Aule, and of
Mandos the wise; and great was their craft, their magic and
their skill, but ever greater their thirst for knowledge, and
their desire to make things wonderful and new. In Valinor
of their skill they first made gems, and they made them in
countless myriads, and filled all Tun with them, and all the
halls of the Gods were enriched.'
Since the Noldoli afterwards came back into the Great
Lands, and these tales tell mostly of them, here may be
said, using the names in form of Gnomish tongue as it long
was spoken on the earth, that King of the Gnomes was
Finn.' His sons were Feanor, Fingolfin, and Finrod. Of
these Feanor was the most skilful, the deepest in lore of all
his race; Fingolfin the mightiest and most valiant; Finrod
the fairest and most wise of heart. The seven sons of
Feanor were Maidros the tall; Maglor a musician and
mighty singer whose voice carried far over hill and sea;
Celegorm the fair, Curufin the crafty, the heir of well nigh
all his father's skill, and Cranthir the dark; the last Damrod
and Diriel, who after were great hunters in the world,
though not more than Celegorm the fair, the friend of
Orome. The sons of Fingolfin were Finweg, o who was af-
ter king of the Gnomes in the North of the world, and
Turgon of Gondolin; and his daughter was Isfin the White.
The sons of Finrod were Felagund, Orodreth, Angrod, and.
Egnor.
In those far days Feanor began on a time a long and mar-
vellous labour, and all his power and all his subtle magic he
called upon, for he purposed to make a thing more fair than
any of the Eldar yet had made, that should last beyond the
end of all. Three jewels he made, and named them
Silmarils. A living fire burned within them that was
blended of the light of the Two Trees; of their own radiance
they shone even in the dark; no mortal flesh impure could
touch them, but was withered and was scorched. These
jewels the Elves prized beyond all the works of their hands,
and Manwe hallowed them, and Varda said: 'The fate of the
Elves is locked herein, and the fate of many things beside.'
The heart of Feanor was wound about the things he himself
had made.
Now it must be told that the Teleri seeing afar the light
of Valinor were torn between desire to see again their kin-
dred and to look upon the splendour of the Gods, and love
of the music of the sea. Therefore Ulmo taught them the
craft of shipbuilding, and Osse, yielding to Ulmo at last,
brought to them as his last gift the strong-winged swans.
Their fleet of white ships they harnessed to the swans of
Osse, and thus were drawn without help of the winds to
Valinor. There they dwelt upon the long shores of Fairy-
land, and could see the light of the Trees, and could visit
the golden streets of Valmar, and the crystal stairs of Tun,
if they wished - but most they sailed the waters of the Bay
of Faerie and danced in those bright waves whose crests
gleamed in the light beyond the hill. Many jewels the other
Eldar gave to them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals
that they strewed upon the pools and sands. Many pearls
they made, and halls of pearl, and of pearls were the man-
sions of Elwe at the Haven of the Swans. That was their
chief town, and their harbour. A marvellous arch of living
rock sea-carven was its gate, and it lay upon the confines
of Fairyland, north of the pass of Cor.
*
1. the last shores of the West > the last western shores of the Hither
Lands.
2. Hither written above Outer (see $2 note 1).
3. Quendi > Lindar at all three occurrences (late change; cf. $2.note 7).
4. Cor > KOr at both occurrences (as in $2).
5. Ing > Ingwe (see $2 note 6).
6. Light-elves > High-elves, and later to Fair-elves.
7. On a separate slip is the following passage in manuscript without pre-
cise direction for its insertion, but which seems best placed here:
But the love of the outer earth and stars remained in the hearts of
the Noldoli, and they abode there ever and in the hills and valleys
about the city. But the Lindar after a while grew to love rather the
wide plains and the full light of Valinor, and they forsook Tun, and
came seldom back; and the Noldoli became a separate folk and their
king was Finwe. Yet none dwelt in the tower of Ingwe nor... save
such as tended that unfailing lamp, and Ingwe was held ever as
high-king of all the Eldalie.
8. Hither written above Great.
9. Finn > Finwe (see $2 note 8).
10. Finweg > Fingon.
Now it may be told how the Gods were beguiled by
Morgoth. This was the high tide of the glory and the bliss
of Gods and Elves, the noontide of the Blessed Realm.
Seven' ages as the Gods decreed had Morgoth dwelt in the
halls of Mandos, each age in lightened pain. When seven
ages had passed, as they had promised, he was brought be-
fore their conclave. He looked upon the glory of the Valar,
and greed and malice was in his heart; he looked upon the
fair children of the Eldalie that sat at the knees of the Gods,
and hatred filled him; he looked upon their wealth of jewels
and lusted for them; but his thoughts he hid and his ven-
geance he postponed.
There Morgoth humbled himself before the feet of
Manwe and sought for pardon; but they would not suffer
him to depart from their sight and watchfulness. A humble
dwelling he was granted in Valinor within the gates of the
city, and so fair-seeming were all his deeds and words that
after a while he was allowed to go freely about all the land.
Only Ulmo's heart misgave him, and Tulkas clenched his
hands whenever he saw Morgoth his foe go by. Never has
Tulkas the strong forgotten or forgiven a wrong done to
himself or his. Most fair of all was Morgoth to the Elves
and he aided them in many works, if they would let him.
The people of Ing,(2) the Quendi,(3) held him in suspicion, for
Ulmo had warned them and they had heeded his words. But
the Gnomes took delight in the many things of hidden and
secret wisdom that he could tell to them, and some hark-
ened to things which it had been better that they had never
heard. And when he saw his chance he sowed a seed of lies
and suggestions of evil among such as these. Bitterly did
the folk of the Noldoli atone for it in after days. Often he
would whisper that the Gods had brought the Eldar to
Valinor but out of jealousy, for fear their marvellous skill
and beauty and their magic should grow too strong for
them, as they waxed and spread over the wide lands of the
world. Visions he would set before them of the mighty
realms they might have ruled in power and freedom in the
East. In those days, moreover, the Valar knew of the com-
ing of Men that were to be; but the Elves knew nought of
this, for the Gods had not revealed it, and the time was not
yet near. But Morgoth spoke in secret to the Elves of mor-
tals, though little of the truth he knew or cared. Manwe
alone knew aught clearly of the mind of Iluvatar concerning
Men, and ever has he been their friend. Yet Morgoth whis-
pered that the Gods kept the Eldar captive so that Men
coming should defraud them of their kingdoms, for the
weaker race of mortals would be more easily swayed by
them. Little truth was there in this, and little have the Valar
ever prevailed to sway the wills or fates of Men, and least
of all to good. Yet many of the Elves believed or half-
believed his evil words. Gnomes were the most of these. Of
the Teleri there were none.
Thus, ere the Gods were aware, the peace of Valinor was
poisoned. The Gnomes began to murmur against the Valar
and their kindred, and they became filled with vanity, and
forgot all that the Gods had given them and taught them.
Most of all did Morgoth fan the flames of the fierce and
eager heart of Feanor, though all the while he lusted for the
Silmarils. These Feanor at great feasts wore on brow and
breast, but at other times, locked fast in the hoards of Tun,
they were guarded close, though them were no thieves in
Valinor, as yet. Proud were the sons of Finn,4 and the
proudest Feanor. Lying Morgoth said to him that Fingolfin
and his sons were plotting to usurp the leadership of Feanor
and his sons, and supplant them in the favour of their fa-
ther and of the Gods. Of these words were quarrels born
between the children of Finn, and of those quarrels came
the end of the high days of Valinor and the evening of its
ancient glory.(5)
Feanor was summoned before the council of the Gods,
and there were the lies of Morgoth laid bare for all to see
who had the will. By the judgement of the Gods Feanor
was banished from Tun. But with him went Finn his father
who loved him more than his other sons, and many other
Gnomes. Northward in Valinor in the hills near the halls of
Mandos they built a treasury and a stronghold; but
Fingolfin ruled the Noldoli in Tun. Thus might Morgoth's
words seem justified, and the bitterness he sowed went on,
though his lies were disproved, and long after it lived still
between the sons of Fingolfin and of Feanor.(6)
Straight from the midst of their council the Gods sent
Tulkas to lay hands on Morgoth and bring him before them
in chains once more. But he escaped through the pass of
Cor, and from the tower of Ing the Elves saw him pass in
thunder and in wrath.
Thence he came into that region that is called Arvalin,
which lies south of the Bay of Faerie, and beneath the very
eastern feet of the mountains of the Gods, and there are the
shadows the thickest in all the world. There secret and un-
known dwelt Ungoliant, Gloomweaver, in spider's form. It
is not told whence she is, from the outer darkness, maybe,
that lies beyond the Walls of the World. In a ravine she
lived, and spun her webs in a cleft of the mountains, and
sucked up light and shining things to spin them forth again
in nets of black and choking gloom and clinging fog. Ever
she hungered for more food. There Morgoth met her, and
with her plotted his revenge. But terrible was the reward
that he must promise her, ere she would dare the perils ofd
Valinor or the power of the Gods.
A great darkness she wove about her to protect her, and
then from pinnacle to pinnacle she swung on her black
ropes, until she had scaled the highest places of the moun-
tains. In the south of Valinor was this, for there lay the wild
woods of Orome, and there was little watch, since, far from
the old fortress of Morgoth in the North, the great walls
there looked on untrodden lands and empty sea. On a lad-
der that she made Morgoth climbed, and he looked down
upon the shining plain, seeing afar off the domes of Valinor
in the mingling of the light; and he laughed as he sped
down the long western slopes with ruin in his heart.
So came evil into Valinor. Silpion was waning fast and
Laurelin but just begun to glow, when protected by fate
Morgoth and Ungoliant crept unawares into the plain. With
his black sword Morgoth stabbed each tree to its very core,
and as their juices spouted forth Ungoliant sucked them up,
and poison from her foul lips went into their tissues and
withered them, leaf and branch and root. Slowly they suc-
cumbed, and their light grew dim, while Ungoliant belched
forth black clouds and vapours as she drank their radiance.
To monstrous form she swelled.
Then fell wonder and dismay on all in Valmar, when twi-
light and mounting gloom came on the land. Black vapours
floated about the ways of the city. Varda looked down from
Taniquetil and saw the trees and towers all hidden as in a
mist. Too late they ran from hill and gate. The Trees died
and shone no more, while wailing throngs stood round
them and called on Manwe to come down. Out upon the
plain the horses of Orome thundered with a hundred
hooves, and fire started in the gloom about their feet.
Swifter than they ran Tulkas on before, and the light of the
anger of his eyes was as a beacon. But they found not what
they sought. Wherever Morgoth went a darkness and confu-
sion was around him that Ungoliant made, so that feet were
bewildered and search was blind.
This was the time of the Darkening of Valinor. In that
day there stood before the gates of Valmar Gnomes that
cried aloud. Bitter were their tidings. They told how
Morgoth had fled North and with him was a great black
shape, a spider of monstrous form it had seemed in the
gathering night. Sudden he had fallen on the treasury of
Finn. There he slew the king of the Gnomes before his
doors, and spilled the first elfin blood and stained the land
of Valinor. Many others too he slew, but Feanor and his
sons were not there. Bitterly they cursed the chance, for
Morgoth took the Silmarils and all the wealth of the jewels
of the Noldoli that were hoarded there.
Little is known of the paths or journeys of Morgoth after
that terrible deed; but this is known to all, that escaping from
the hunt he came at last with Ungoliant over the Grinding
Ice and so into the northern lands of this world. There
Ungoliant summoned him to give her the promised reward.
The half of her pay had been the sap of the Trees of Light,
The other half was a full share in the plundered jewels. Mor-
goth yielded these up, and she devoured them, and their
light perished from the earth, and still more huge grew
Ungoliant's dark and hideous form. But no share in the
Silmarils would Morgoth give. Such was the first thieves'
quarrel.
So mighty had Ungoliant become that she enmeshed
Morgoth in her choking nets, and his awful cry echoed
through the shuddering world. To his aid came the Orcs and
Balrogs that lived yet in the lowest places of Angband.
With their whips of flame the Balrogs smote the webs asun-
der, but Ungoliant was driven away into the uttermost
South, where she long dwelt.
Thus came Morgoth back to Angband, and there count-
less became the number of the hosts of his Orcs and de-
mons.' He forged for himself a great crown of iron, and he
called himself the king of the world. In sign of this he set
the three Silmarils in his crown. It is said that his evil
hands were burned black with the touch of those holy and
enchanted things, and black they have ever been since, nor
was he ever afterward free from the pain of the burning,
and the anger of the pain. That crown he never took from
his head, and it never was his wont to leave the deep dun-
geons of his fortress, but he governed his vast armies from
his northern throne.
*
1. Nine written above Seven but then struck out.
2. Ing > Ingwe at both occurrences, as previously.
3. Quendi > Lindar, as previously (late change).
4. Finn > Finwe at all occurrences (except once where overlooked),
previously.
5. The following was added here later faintly in pencil:
And Feanor spoke words of rebellion against the Gods and plotted
to depart from Valinor back into the outer world and deliver the
Gnomes, as he said, from thraldom.
6. The following was added here in the same way and at the same time
as the passage given in note 5:
But Morgoth hid himself and none knew whither he had gone. And
while the Gods were in council, for they feared that the shadows
should lengthen in Valinor, a messenger came and brought tidings
that Morgoth was in the North of the land, journeying towards the
house of Finwe.
7 Cor > Kor, as previously.
8 Written here later is the direction: Here mention making of Orcs (p. 4).
Page 4 of the typescript contains the sentence (p. 100) The hordes of
the Orcs he made of stone, but their hearts of hatred See p. 352.
5.
When it became at last all too clear that Morgoth had es-
caped, the Gods assembled about the dead Trees and sat
there in darkness for a long while in dumb silence, and
mourned in their hearts. Now that day which Morgoth chose
for this assault was a day of high festival throughout Valinor.
On this day it was the custom of the chief Valar, all save
Osse who seldom came thither, and of many of the Elves,
especially the people of Ing,(1) to climb the long winding
paths in white-robed procession to Manwe's halls on the
summit of Tindbrenting. All the Quendi and many of the
Gnomes, who under Fingolfin still lived in Tun, were there-
fore on Tindbrenting's height and were singing before the
feet of Varda, when the watchers from afar beheld the fading
of the Trees. But most of the Gnomes were in the plain, and
all the Teleri, as was their wont, were on the shore. The fogs
and darkness now drifted in from off the sea through the
pass of Cor,(3) as the Trees died. A murmur of dismay ran
through all Elfland, and the Foamriders wailed beside the
sea.
Then Feanor rebelling against his banishment summoned
all the Gnomes to Tun. A vast concourse gathered in the
great square on the top of the hill of Cor, and it was lit by
the light of many torches which each one that came bore in
hand.
Feanor was a great orator with a power of moving
words. A very wild and terrible speech he made before the
Gnomes that day, and though his anger was most against
Morgoth, yet his words were in great part the fruit of
Morgoth's lies. But he was distraught with grief for his fa-
ther and wrath for the rape of the Silmarils. He now
claimed the kingship of all the Gnomes, since Finn (4) was
dead, in spite of the decree of the Gods. 'Why should we
obey the jealous Gods any longer,' he asked, 'who cannot,
even keep their own realm from their foe?' He bade the
Gnomes prepare for flight in the darkness, while the Valar
were still wrapped in mourning; to seek freedom in the
world and of their own prowess to win there a new realm,
since Valinor was no longer more bright and blissful than
the lands outside; to seek out Morgoth and war with him
for ever until they were avenged. Then he swore a terrible
oath. His seven sons leaped to his side and took the self-
same vow together, each with drawn sword. They swore the:
unbreakable oath, by the name of Manwe and Varda and
the holy mountain,(5) to pursue with hate and vengeance to
the ends of the world Vala, Demon, Elf, or Man, or Orc
who hold or take or keep a Silmaril against their will.
Fingolfin and his son Finweg' spake against Feanor, and
wrath and angry words came near to blows; but Finrod
spoke and sought to calm them, though of his sons only
Felagund was on his side. Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor
took the part of Feanor. In the end it was put to the vote of
the assembly, and moved by the potent words of Feanor the
Gnomes decided to depart. But the Gnomes of Tun would
not renounce the kingship of Fingolfin, and as two divided.
hosts therefore they set forth: one under Fingolfin who with
his sons yielded to the general voice against their wisdom,
because they would not desert their people; the other under
Feanor. Some remained behind. Those were the Gnomes
who were with the Quendi upon Tindbrenting. It was long
ere they came back into this tale of the wars and wander-
ings of their people.
The Teleri would not join that flight. Never had they lis-
tened to Morgoth. They desired no other cliffs nor beaches
than the strands of Fairyland. But the Gnomes knew that
they could not escape without boats and ships, and that
there was no time to build. They must cross the seas far
to the North where they were narrower, but further still
feared to venture; for they had heard of Helkarakse, the
Strait of the Grinding Ice, where the great frozen hills ever
shifted and broke, sundered and clashed together. But their
white ships with white sails the Teleri would not give, since
they prized them dearly, and dreaded moreover the wrath of
the Gods.
Now it is told that the hosts of Feanor marched forth first
along the coast of. Valinor; then came the people of
Fingolfin less eager, and in the rear of this host were Finrod
and Felagund and many of the noblest and fairest of the
Noldoli. Reluctantly they forsook the walls of Tun, and
more than others they carried thence memories of its bliss
and beauty, and even many fair things made there by hands.
Thus the people of Finrod had no part in the dreadful deed
that then was done, and not all of Fingolfin's folks shared
in it; yet all the Gnomes that departed from Valinor came
under the curse that followed. When the Gnomes came to
the Haven of the Swans they attempted to seize by force
the white fleets that lay anchored there. A bitter affray was
fought upon the great arch of the gate and on the lamplit
quays and piers, as is sadly told in the song of the Flight
of the Gnomes. Many were slain on either side, but fierce
and desperate were the hearts of the people of Feanor, and
they won the battle; and with the help beside of many even
of the Gnomes of Tun they drew away the ships of the
Teleri, and manned their oars as best they might, and took
them north along the coast.
After they had journeyed a great way and were come to
the northern confines of the Blessed Realm, they beheld a
dark figure standing high upon the cliffs. Some say it was
a messenger, others that it was Mandos himself. There he
spoke in a loud dread voice the curse and prophecy that is
called the Prophecy of Mandos,' warning them to return
and seek for pardon, or in the end to return only at last after
sorrow and endless misery. Much he foretold in the dark
words, which only the wisest of them understood, of things
that after befell; but all heard the curse he uttered upon
those that would not stay, because they had at Swanhaven
spilled the blood of their kindred, and fought the first battle
between the children of earth unrighteously. For that they
should suffer in all their wars and councils from treachery
and from the fear of treachery among their own kindred.
But Feanor said: 'He saith not that we shall suffer from
cowardice, from cravens or the fear of cravens', and that
proved true.(8)
All too soon did the evil begin to work. They came
at last far to the North and saw the first teeth of the ice that
floated in the sea. Anguish they had of the cold. Many of
the Gnomes murmured, especially of those that followed
less eagerly under the banners of Fingolfin. So it came into
the heart of Feanor and his sons to sail off suddenly with
all the ships, of which they had the mastery, and 'leave the
grumblers to grumble, or whine their way back to the cages
of the Gods.' Thus began the curse of the slaying at
Swanhaven. When Feanor and his folk landed on the shores
in the West of the northern world, they set fire in the ships
and made a great burning terrible and bright; and Fingolfin
and his people saw the light of it in the sky. Thereafter
those left behind wandered miserably, and were joined by
the companies of Finrod that marched up after.
In the end in woe and weariness Finrod led some back
to Valinor and the pardon of the Gods - for they were not
at Swanhaven - but the sons of Finrod and Fingolfin (9)
would not yield, having come so far. They led their host far
into the bitterest North, and dared at last the Grinding Ice.
Many were lost there wretchedly, and there was small love
for the sons of Feanor in the hearts of those that came at
last by this perilous passage into the Northern lands.
*
1. Ing > Ingwe, as previously.
2. At neither of the occurrences of Quendi is the name changed, as pre-
viously, to Lindar, clearly through oversight.
3 Cor > Kor at both occurrences, as previously.
4 Finn not emended to Finwe as previously, through oversight.
5 This sentence was rewritten:
They swore an oath which none shall break, and none should take,
by the name of the Allfather, calling the Everlasting Dark upon
them, if they kept it not, and Manwe they named in witness, and
Varda, and the Holy Mount, vowing
6. Finweg > Fingon, as in $3, note 10.
7. Prophecy of Mandos > Prophecy of the North
8. Here is written lightly in pencil: Finrod returned.
9. the sons of Finrod and Fingolfin > Fingolfin and the sons of Finrod.
(This emendation was made, I think, simply for clarity, the original
text having been intended to mean 'the sons of Finrod, together with
Fingolfin': for Fingolfin, not his son Finweg/Fingon, has become the
leader of the hosts across the Grinding Ice, since Finrod is now the one
who returned to Valinor - see the commentary on S $5, pp. 55 - 6.)
6.
When the Gods heard of the flight of the Gnomes they
were aroused from their grief. Manwe summoned then to
his council Yavanna; and she put forth all her power, but it
availed not to heal the Trees. Yet beneath her spells Silpion
bore at last one great and single silver bloom, and Laurelin
a great golden fruit. Of these, as is said in the song of the
Sun and Moon, the Gods fashioned the great lamps of
heaven, and set them to sail appointed courses above the
world. Rana they named the Moon, and Ur the Sun; and the
maiden who guided the galleon of the sun was Urien,(1) and
the youth who steered the floating island of the Moon was
Tilion. Urien was a maiden who had tended the golden
flowers in the gardens of Vana, while still joy was in the
Blissful Realm, and Nessa daughter of Vana (2) danced on
the lawns of never-fading green. Tilion was a hunter from
the company of Orome, and he had a silver bow. Often he
wandered from his course pursuing the stars upon the heav-
enly fields.
At first the Gods purposed that the Sun and Moon should
sail from Valinor to the furthest East, and back again, each
following the other to and fro across the sky. But because
of the waywardness of Tilion and his rivalry with Urien,
and most because of the words of Lorien and Nienna, who
said that they had banished all sleep and night and peace
from the earth, they changed their design. The Sun and
Moon were drawn by Ulmo or his chosen spirits through
the caverns and grottoes at the roots of the world, and
mounted then in the East, and sailed back to Valinor, into
which the Sun descended each day at time of Evening. And
so is Evening the time of greatest light and joy in the land
of the Gods, when the Sun sinks down to rest beyond the
rim of earth upon the cool bosom of the Outer Sea. Tilion
was bidden not to mount until Urien was fallen from the
sky, or far had journeyed to the West, and so it is that they
are now but seldom seen in the heaven together.
Still therefore is the light of Valinor more great and fair
than that of other lands, because there the Sun and Moon
together rest a while before they go upon their dark journey
under the world, but their light is not the light which came
from the Trees before ever Ungoliant's poisonous lips
touched them. That light lives now only in the Silmarils.
Gods and Elves therefore look forward yet to a time when
the Magic Sun and Moon, which are the Trees, may be re-
kindled and the bliss and glory of old return. Ulmo foretold
to them that this would only come to pass by the aid, frail
though it might seem, of the second race of earth, the youn-
ger children of Iluvatar. Little heed did they pay to him at
that time. Still were they wroth and bitter because of the in-
gratitude of the Gnomes, and the cruel slaying at the Haven
of the Swans. Moreover for a while all save Tulkas feared
the might and cunning of Morgoth. Now therefore they for-
tified all Valinor, and set a sleepless watch upon the wall of
hills, which they now piled to a sheer and dreadful height -
save only at the pass of Cor.' There were the remaining
Elves set to dwell, and they went now seldom to Valmar or
Tindbrenting's height, but were bidden to guard the pass
ceaselessly that no bird nor beast nor Elf nor Man, nor any-
thing beside that came from the lands without, should ap-
proach the shores of Faerie, or set foot in Valinor. In that
day, which songs call the Hiding of Valinor, the Magic Isles
were set, filled with enchantment, and strung across the
confines of the Shadowy Seas, before the Lonely Isle is
reached sailing West, there to entrap mariners and wind
them in everlasting sleep. Thus it was that the many emis-
saries of the Gnomes in after days came never back to
Valinor - save one, and he came too late.4
The Valar sit now behind the mountains and feast, and
dismiss the exiled Noldoli from their hearts, all save
Manwe and Ulmo. Most in mind did Ulmo keep them, who
gathers news of the outer world through all the lakes and
rivers that flow into the sea.
At the first rising of the Sun over the world the younger
children of earth awoke in the land of Eruman (5) in the East
of East.' But of Men little is told in these tales, which con-
cern the oldest days before the waning of the Elves and the
waxing of mortals, save of those who in the first days of
Sunlight and Moonsheen wandered into the North of the
world. To Eruman there came no God to guide Men or to
summon them to dwell in Valinor. Ulmo nonetheless took
thought for them, and his messages came often to them by
stream and flood, and they loved the waters but understood
little the messages. The Dark-elves they met and were
aided by them, and were taught by them speech and many
things beside, and became the friends of the children of the
Eldalie who had never found the paths to Valinor, and knew
of the Valar but as a rumour and a distant name. Not long
was then Morgoth come back into the earth, and his power
went not far abroad, so that there was little peril in the
lands and hills where new things, fair and fresh, long ages
ago devised in the thought of Yavanna, came at last to their
budding and their bloom.
West, North, and South they spread and wandered, and
their joy was the joy of the morning before the dew is dry,
when every leaf is green.
*
1. Urien > Arien at all occurrences.
2. daughter of Vana struck out. See pp. 326 - '7.
3. Cor > Kor, as previously.
4. and he came too late > the mightiest mariner of song.
5. At the first occurrence the name Eruman was later underlined in pen-
cil, as if for correction, but not at the second.
6. Added here:
for measured time had come into the world, and the first of days;
and thereafter the lives of the Eldar that remained in the Hither
Lands were lessened, and their waning was begun.
7.
Now began the times of the great wars of the powers of
the North, when the Gnomes of Valinor and Ilkorins and
Men strove against the hosts of Morgoth Bauglir, and went
down in ruin. To this end the cunning lies of Morgoth that
he sowed amongst his foes, and the curse that came of the
slaying at the Haven of the Swans, and the oath of the sons
of Feanor, were ever at work; the greatest injury they did to
Men and Elves.
Only a part do these tales tell of the deeds of those days,
and most they tell concerning the Gnomes and the Silmarils
and the mortals that became entangled in their fate. In the
early days Eldar and Men were of little different stature and
bodily might; but the Eldar were blessed with greater skill,
beauty, and wit, and those who had come from Valinor as
much surpassed the Ilkorins in these things as they in turn
surpassed the people of mortal race. Only in the realm of
Doriath, whose queen Melian was of the kindred of the
Valar, did the Ilkorins come near to match the Elves of
Cor.(1) Immortal were the Elves, and their wisdom waxed
and grew from age to age, and no sickness or pestilence
brought them death. But they could be slain with weapons
in those days, even by mortal Men, and some waned and
wasted with sorrow till they faded from the earth. Slain or
fading their spirits went back to the halls of Mandos to wait
a thousand years, or the pleasure of Mandos' according to
their deserts, before they were recalled to free life in
Valinor, or were reborn,' it is said, into their own children.'
More frail were Men, more easily slain by weapon or mis-
chance, subject to ills, or grew old and died. What befell
their spirits the Eldalie knew not. The Eldar said that they
went to the halls of Mandos, but that their place of waiting
was not that of the Elves, and Mandos under Iluvatar knew
alone whither they went after the time in his wide halls be-
yond the western sea. They were never reborn on earth, and
none ever came back from the mansions of the dead, save
only Beren son of Barahir, who after spoke never to mortal
Men. Maybe their fate after death was not in the hands of
the Valar.
In after days, when because of the triumphs of Morgoth
Elves and Men became estranged, as he most wished, those
of the Eldalie that lived still in the world faded, and Men
usurped the sunlight. Then the Eldar wandered in the lone-
lier places of the Outer' Lands, and took to the moonlight
and to the starlight, and to the woods and caves.'
*
1. Cor > Kor, as previously.
2. Mandos > Nefantur
3. or were reborn > or sometimes were reborn
4. Added here:
And of like fate were those fair offspring of Elf and mortal,
Earendel, and Elwing, and Dior her father, and Elrond her child.
Hither written above Outer, but Outer not struck out.
Added at the end:
and became as shadows, wraiths and memories, such as set not sail
unto the West and vanished from the world, as is told ere the tale's
ending.
8.
But in these days Elves and Men were kindred and allies.
Before the rising of the Sun and Moon Feanor and his sons
marched into the North seeking for Morgoth. A host of
Orcs aroused by the light of the burning ships came down
on them, and there was battle on the plain renowned in
song. Yet young and green it stretched' to the feet of the
tall mountains upreared over Morgoth's halls; but afterward
it became burnt and desolate, and is called the Land of
Thirst, Dor-na-Fauglith in the Gnomish tongue. There was
the First Battle.' Great was the slaughter of the Orcs and
Balrogs, and no tale can tell the valour of Feanor or of his
sons. Yet woe entered into that first great victory. For
Feanor was wounded to the death by Gothmog Lord of
Balrogs, whom Ecthelion after slew in Gondolin. Feanor
died in the hour of victory, looking upon the gigantic peaks
of Thangorodrim, the greatest of hills of the world;(3) and he
cursed the name of Morgoth, and laid it on his sons never
to treat or parley with their foe. Yet even in the hour of his
death there came to them an embassy from Morgoth ac-
knowledging his defeat, and offering to treat, and tempting
them with a Silmaril. Maidros the tall persuaded the
Gnomes to meet Morgoth at the time and place appointed,
but with as little thought of faith on his side as there was
on the part of Morgoth. Wherefore each embassy came in
far greater force than they had sworn, but Morgoth brought
the greater, and they were Balrogs. Maidros was ambushed
and most of his company was slain; but Maidros was taken
alive by the command of Morgoth, and carried to Angband
and tortured, and hung from the face of a sheer precipice
upon Thangorodrim by his right wrist alone.
Then the six sons of Feanor dismayed drew off and en-
camped by the shores of Lake Mithrim, in that northern
land which was after called Hisilome, Hithlum or Dorlomin
by the Gnomes, which is the Land of Mist. There they
heard of the march of Fingolfin and Finweg (4) and Felagund,
who had crossed the Grinding Ice.
Even as these came the first Sun arose; their blue and sil-
ver banners were unfurled, and flowers sprang beneath their
marching feet. The Orcs dismayed at the uprising of the
great light retreated to Angband, and Morgoth thwarted
pondered a long while in wrathful thought.
Little love was there between the two hosts encamped
upon the opposing shores of Mithrim, and the delay engen-
dered by their feud did great harm to the cause of both.
Now vast vapours and smokes were made in Angband
and sent forth from the smoking tops of the Mountains of
Iron, which even afar off in Hithlum could be seen staining
the radiance of those earliest mornings. The vapours fell
and coiled about the fields and hollows, and lay on
Mithrim's bosom dark and foul.
Then Finweg the valiant resolved to heal the feud. Alone
he went in search of Maidros. Aided by the very mists of
Morgoth, and by the withdrawal of the forces of Angband,
he ventured into the fastness of his enemies, and at last he
found Maidros hanging in torment. But he could not reach
him to release him; and Maidros begged' him to shoot him
with his bow.
Manwe to whom all birds are dear, and to whom they
bring news upon Tindbrenting of all things which his far-
sighted eyes do not see, sent' forth the race of Eagles.
Thorndor was their king. At Manwe's command they dwelt
in the crags of the North and watched Morgoth and hin-
dered his deeds, and brought news of him to the sad ears
of Manwe.
Even as Finweg sorrowing bent his bow, there flew
down from the high airs Thorndor king of eagles. He was
the mightiest of all birds that ever have been. Thirty feet'
Was the span of his outstretched wings. His beak was of
gold. So the hand of Finweg was stayed, and Thorndor bore
to the face of the rock where Maidros hung. But nei-
ther could release the enchanted bond upon the wrist, nor
sever it nor draw it from the stone. Again in agony Maidros
begged them to slay him, but Finweg cut off his hand
above the wrist, and Thorndor bore them to Mithrim, and
Maidros' wound was healed, and he lived to wield sword
with his left hand more deadly to his foes than his right had
been.
Thus was the feud healed for a while between the proud
sons of Finn' and their jealousy forgotten, but still there
held the oath of the Silmarils.
*
1. Yet young and green > Yet dark beneath the stars (and later it stretched
> the plain stretched). (This change was made no doubt because the
Sun had not yet risen; but it destroys the force of the antithesis with
but afterward it became burnt and desolate.)
2. Added here: the Battle under Stars.
3. the world > the hither world
4. Finweg > Fingon, as previously, at all occurrences.
5. The typescript had present tenses, finds, cannot, begs, early emended
to found, could not, begged; an indication that my father was closely
following the S manuscript. Present tenses are occasionally found later
in Q as originally typed.
6. sent > had sent
7. feet > fathoms
8. Finn > Finwe, as previously.
9.
Then the Gnomes marched forward and beleaguered
Angband from West, South, and East. In Hithlum and on its
borders in the West lay the hosts of Fingolfin. The South was
held by Felagund son of Finrod and his brethren. A tower
they had on an island in the river Sirion, which guarded the
valley between the northward bending mountains on the bor-
ders of Hithlum and the slopes where the great pine-forest
grew, which Morgoth after filled with such dread and evil
that not even the Orcs would go through it, save by a single
road and in great need and haste, and the Gnomes came to
call it Taur-na-Fuin, which is Deadly Nightshade. But in
those days it was wholesome, if thick and dark,' and the peo-
ple of Orodreth, of Angrod and Egnor, ranged therein and
watched from its eaves the plain below, that stretched to the
Mountains of Iron. Thus they guarded the plain of Sirion,
most fair of rivers in elfin song, most loved of Ulmo, and all
that wide land of beech and elm and oak and flowering
mead that was named Broseliand.(2)
In the east lay the sons of Feanor. Their watchtower was
the high hill of Himling, and their hiding place the Gorge
of Aglon, cloven deep between Himling and Taur-na-Fuin,
and watered by the river of Esgalduin the dark and strong,
which came out of secret wells in Taur-na-Fuin and flowed
into Doriath and past the doors of Thingol's halls. But they
needed little a hiding place in those days, and ranged far
and wide, even to the walls of Angband in the North, and
east to the Blue Mountains,' which are the borders of the
lands of which these tales tell. There they made war upon (4)
the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost; but they did not dis-
cover whence that strange race came, nor have any since.
They are not friend of Valar' or of Eldar or of Men, nor do
they serve Morgoth; though they are in many things more
like his people, and little did they love the Gnomes.' Skill
they had well-nigh to rival that of the Gnomes, but less
beauty was in their works, and iron they wrought rather
than gold and silver, and mail and weapons were their chief
craft. Trade and barter was their delight and the winning of
wealth of which they made little use. Long were their
beards and short and squat their stature. Nauglir the
Gnomes called them, and those who dwelt in Nogrod they
called Indrafangs, the Longbeards, because their beards
swept the floor before their feet. But as yet little they trou-
bled the people of earth, while the power of the Gnomes
was great.
This was the time that songs call the Siege of Angband.
The swords of the Gnomes then fenced the earth from the
ruin of Morgoth, and his power was shut behind the walls
of Angband. The Gnomes boasted that never could he
break their leaguer, and that none of his folk could ever
pass to work evil in the ways of the world.
A time of solace it was beneath the new Sun and Moon,
a time of birth and blossoming. In those days befell the first
meeting of the Gnomes with the Dark-elves, and the Feast
of Meeting that was held in the Land of Willows was long
recalled in after days of little joy. In those days too Men
came over the Blue Mountains into Broseliand (7) and
Hithlum,(8) the bravest and fairest of their race. Felagund it
was that found them, and he ever was their friend. On a
time he was the guest of Celegorm in the East, and rode
a-hunting with him. But he became separated from the oth-
ers,(9) and at a time of night he came upon a dale in the
western foothills of the Blue Mountains. There were lights
in the dale and the sound of rugged song. Then Felagund
marvelled, for the tongue of those songs was not the tongue
of Eldar or of Dwarves.(10) Nor was it the tongue of Orcs,
though this at first he feared. There were camped the peo-
ple of Beor, a mighty warrior of Men, whose son was
Barahir the bold. They were the first of Men to come into
Broseliand. After them came Hador the tall, whose sons
were Haleth and Gumlin, and the sons of Gumlin Huor and
Hurin,(11) and the son of Huor Tuor, and the son of Hurin
Turin. All these were tangled in the fates of the Gnomes
and did mighty deeds which the Elves still remember
among the songs of the deeds of their own lords and kings.
But Hador was not yet seen in the camps of the Gnomes.
That night Felagund went among the sleeping men of
Beor's host and sat by their dying fires where none kept
watch, and he took a harp which Beor had laid aside, and
he played music on it such as mortal ear had never heard,
having learned the strains of music from the Dark-elves
alone. Then men woke and listened and marvelled, for great
wisdom was in that song, as well as beauty, and the heart
grew wiser that listened to it. Thus came it that Men called
Felagund, whom they met first of the Noldoli, Wisdom;(12)
and after him they called his race the Wise, whom we call
the Gnomes.(13)
Beor lived till death with Felagund, and Barahir his son
was the greatest friend of the sons of Finrod.(14) But the sons
of Hador were allied to the house of Fingolfin, and of these
Hurin and Turin were the most renowned. The realm of
Gumlin was in Hithlum, and there afterward Hurin dwelt
and his wife Morwen Elfsheen, who was fair as a daughter
of the Eldalie.(15)
Now began the time of the ruin of the Gnomes. It was
long before this was achieved, for great was their power
grown, and they were very valiant, and their allies were
many and bold, Dark-elves and Men.
But the tide of their fortune took a sudden turn. Long
had Morgoth prepared his forces in secret. On a time of
night at winter he let forth great rivers of flame that poured
over all the plain before the Mountains of Iron and burned
it to a desolate waste. Many of the Gnomes of Finrod's
sons perished in that burning, and the fumes of it wrought
darkness and confusion among the foes of Morgoth. In the
train of the fire (16) came the black armies of the Orcs in
numbers such as the Gnomes had never before seen or
imagined. In this way Morgoth broke the leaguer of
Angband and slew by the hands of the Orcs a great slaugh-
ter of the bravest of the besieging hosts. His enemies were
scattered far and wide, Gnomes, Ilkorins, and Men. Men he
drove for the most part back over the Blue Mountains, save
the children of Beor and of Hador who took refuge in
Hithlum beyond the Shadowy Mountains, where as yet the
Orcs came not in force. The Dark-elves fled south to
Broseliand (17) and beyond, but many went to Doriath, and the
kingdom and power of Thingol grew great in that time, till
he became a bulwark and a refuge of the Elves. The magics
of Melian that were woven about the borders of Doriath
fenced evil from his halls and realm.
The pine-forest Morgoth took and turned it to a place of
dread as has been told, and the watchtower of Sirion he
took and made it into a stronghold of evil and menace.
There dwelt Thu the chief servant of Morgoth, a sorcerer of
dreadful power, the lord of wolves.(18) Heaviest had the bur-
den of that dreadful battle, the second battle and the first
defeat (19) of the Gnomes, fallen upon the sons of Finrod.
There were Angrod and Egnor slain. There too would
Felagund have been taken or slain, but Barahir came up
with all his men and saved the Gnomish king and made a
wall of spears about him; and though grievous was their
loss they fought their way from the Orcs and fled to the
fens of Sirion to the South. There Felagund swore an oath
of undying friendship and aid in time of need to Barahir
and all his kin and seed, and in token of his vow he gave
to Barahir his ring.
Then Felagund went South, (20) and on the banks of Narog
established after the manner of Thingol a hidden and cav-
ernous city, and a realm. Those deep places were called
Nargothrond. There came Orodreth after a time of breath-
less flight and perilous wanderings, and with him Celegorm
and Curufin, the sons of Feanor, his friends. The people of
Celegorm swelled the strength of Felagund, but it would
have been better if they had gone rather to their own kin,
who fortified the hill of Himling (21) east of Doriath and filled
the Gorge of Aglon with hidden arms.
Most grievous of the losses of that battle was the death
of Fingolfin mightiest of the Noldoli. But his own death he
sought in rage and anguish seeing the defeat of his people.
For he went to the gates of Angband alone and smote upon
them with his sword, and challenged Morgoth to come out
and fight alone. And Morgoth came. That was the last time
in those wars that he left the gates of his strong places, but
he could not deny the challenge before the faces of his
lords and chieftains. Yet it is said that though his power and
strength is the greatest of the Valar and of all things here
below, at heart he is a craven when alone, and that he took
not the challenge willingly. The Orcs sing of that duel at
the gates, but the Elves do not, though Thorndor looked
down upon it and has told the tale.
High Morgoth towered above the head of Fingolfin, but
great was the heart of the Gnome, bitter his despair and ter-
rible his wrath. Long they fought. Thrice was Fingolfin
beaten to his knees and thrice arose. Ringil was his sword,
as cold its blade and as bright as the blue ice, and on his
shield was the star on a blue field that was his device. But
Morgoth's shield was black without a blazon and its
shadow was like a thundercloud. He fought with a mace
like a great hammer of his forges. Grond the Orcs called it,
and when it smote the earth as Fingolfin slipped aside, a pit
yawned and smoke came forth. Thus was Fingolfin over-
come, for the earth was broken about his feet, and he
tripped and fell, and Morgoth put his foot, that is heavy as
the roots of hills, upon his neck. But this was not done be-
fore Ringil had given him seven wounds, and at each he
had cried aloud. He goes halt in his left foot for ever, where
in his last despair Fingolfin pierced it through and pinned
it to the earth.(22) But the scar upon his face Fingolfin did not
give. This was the work of Thorndor. For Morgoth took the
body of Fingolfin to hew it and give it to his wolves. But
Thorndor swept down from on high amid the very throngs
of Angband that watched the fight, and smote his claw"
into the face of Morgoth and rescued the body of Fingolfin,
and bore it to a great height. There he set his cairn upon a
mountain, and that mountain looks down upon the plain of
Gondolin, and over the Mount of Fingolfin no Orc or de-
mon ever dared to pass for a great while, till treachery was
born among his kin.
But Finweg (24) took the kingship of the Gnomes, and held
yet out, nighest of the scattered Gnomes to the realm of
their foe, in Hithlum and the Shadowy Mountains of the
North that lie South and East of the Land of Mist, between
it and Broseliand and the Thirsty Plain. Yet each of their
strongholds Morgoth took one by one, and ever the Orcs
growing more bold wandered far and wide, and numbers of
the Gnomes and Dark-elves they took captive and carried to
Angband and made thralls, and forced them to use their
skill and magic in the service of Morgoth, and to labour
unceasingly in tears in his mines and forges.(25) And Mor-
goth's emissaries went ever among the Dark-elves and the
thrall-Gnomes and Men (to whom in those days he feigned
the greatest friendship while they were out of his power),
and lying promises they made and false suggestions
the greed and treachery of each to each; and because of the
curse of the slaying at Swanhaven often were the lies be-
lieved; and the Gnomes feared greatly the treachery
those of their own kin who had been thralls of Angband,
that even if they escaped and came back to their people lit-
tle welcome they had, and wandered often in miserable ex-
ile and despair (26)
1. Added here: and it was called Taur Danin (late change).
2. Broseliand > Beleriand (see note 7), and the following added:
in Gnomish tongue; and Noldorien has it been called, [Geleithian>]
Geleidhian, the kingdom of the Gnomes, and Ingolonde the fair
and sorrowful.
3. east to the Blue Mountains > east unto Erydluin, the Blue Mountains.
Against Erydluin was pencilled later Eredlindon.
4. made war upon > had converse with (late change).
5. This sentence was emended to read: Little friendship was there be-
tween Elf and Dwarf, for these are not friend of Valar, &c. (late
change).
6. and little did they love the Gnomes bracketed for exclusion (late
change).
7. Broseliand > Beleriand at all occurrences (see note 2).
8. and Hithlum struck out.
9. Added here: and passed into Ossiriand (late change).
10. Almost illegible words were pencilled above Eldar or of Dwarves.
the (? Valar] or of [?Doriath ] nor yet of the Green Elves.
11. This sentence was emended to read: After them came Hador the
Golden-haired, whose sons were Gundor and Gumlin, and the sons of
Gumlin Hurin and Huor, &c. (late change). At the bottom of the
page, without direction for its insertion, is written: Haleth the hunter,
and little later
12. Wisdom > Gnome that is Wisdom > Gnome or Wisdom
13. Added here: Took F[elagund] to be a god (late change).
14. Added here: but he abode in Dorthonion (late change).
15. Written here, with mark of insertion: Dagor Aglareb and the Fore-
boding of the Kings (late addition).
16. In the train of the fire > In the pont of that fire came Glomund the
golden, the father of dragons, and in his train
17. Above Beleriand (emended from Broseliand, see note 7) is pencilled
Geleidhian (see note 2).
18. Scribbled against this: Sauron his servant in Valinor whom he sub-
orned.
19. the second battle and the first defeat > the Second Battle, the Battle
of Sudden Flame, and the first defeat (and later Second > Third).
20. Added here: and West
21. Himling > Himring (late change; at the first two occurrences of the
name, near the beginning of this section, it was not emended).
22. and pinned it to the earth struck through (late change).
23. claw > bill
24. Finweg > Fingon, as previously.
25. In this sentence magic > craft and in tears in his mines and forges to
an uncertain reading, probably and tears and torment were their
wages (late changes).
26. A page of the typescript ends here, and at the bottom of the page is
written Turgon (late addition).
10.
In these days of doubt and fear, after the Second (1) Battle,
many dreadful things befell of which but few are here told.
It is told that Beor was slain and Barahir yielded not to
Morgoth, but all his land was won from him and his people
scattered, enslaved or slain, and he himself went in out-
lawry with his son Beren and ten faithful men. Long they
hid and did secret and valiant deeds of war against the
Orcs. But in the end, as is told in the beginning of the lay
of Luthien and Beren, the hiding place of Barahir was be-
trayed, and he was slain and his comrades, all save Beren
who by fortune was that day hunting afar. Thereafter Beren
lived an outlaw alone, save for the help he had from birds
and beasts which he loved; and seeking for death in desper-
ate deeds found it not, but glory and renown in the secret
songs of fugitives and hidden enemies of Morgoth, so that
the tale of his deeds came even to Broseliand,(2) and was ru-
moured in Doriath. At length Beren fled south from the
ever-closing circle of those that hunted him, and crossed the
dreadful Mountains of Shadow,(3) and came at last worn and
haggard into Doriath. There in secret he won the love of
Luthien daughter of Thingol, and he named her Tinuviel,
the nightingale, because of the beauty of her singing in the
twilight beneath the trees; for she was the daughter of Me-
lian.
But Thingol was wroth and he dismissed him in scorn, but
did not slay him because he had sworn an oath to his daugh-
ter. But he desired nonetheless to send him to his death. And
he thought in his heart of a quest that could not be achieved,
and he said: If thou bring me a Silmaril from the crown of
Morgoth, I will let Luthien wed thee, if she will. And Beren,
vowed to achieve this, and went from Doriath to Nargo-
thrond bearing the ring of Barahir. The quest of the Silmaril
there aroused the oath from sleep that the sons of Feanor had
sworn, and evil began to grow from it. Felagund, though he
knew the quest to be beyond his power, was willing to lend
all his aid to Beren, because of his own oath to Barahir. But
Celegorm and Curufin dissuaded his people and roused up
rebellion against him. And evil thoughts awoke in their
hearts, and they thought to usurp the throne of Nargothrond,
because they were sons of the eldest line. Rather than a Sil-
maril should be won and given to Thingol, they would ruin
the power of Doriath and Nargothrond.
So Felagund gave his crown to Orodreth and departed
from his people with Beren and ten faithful men of his own-
board. They waylaid an Orc-band and slew them and dis-
guised themselves by the aid of Felagund's magic as Orcs.-
But they were seen by Thu from his watchtower, which'
once had been Felagund's own, and were questioned by
him, and their magic was overthrown in a contest between
Thu and Felagund. Thus they were revealed as Elves, but
the spells of Felagund concealed their names and quest.
Long they were tortured in the dungeons of Thu, but none
betrayed the other.
In the meanwhile Luthien learning by the far sight of
Melian that Beren had fallen into the power of Thu sought
in her despair to fly from Doriath. This became known to
Thingol, who imprisoned her in a house in the tallest of his
mighty beeches far above the ground. How she escaped and
came into the woods, and was found there by Celegorm as
they hunted on the borders of Doriath, is told in the lay of
Luthien. They took her treacherously to Nargothrond, and
Curufin the crafty became enamoured of her beauty. From
her tale they learned that Felagund was in the hands of
Thu; and they purposed to let him perish there, and keep
Luthien with them, and force Thingol to wed Luthien to
Curufin,4 and so build up their power and usurp Nargo-
thrond and become the mightiest of the princes of the
Gnomes. They did not think to go in search of the Sil-
marils, or suffer any others to do so, until they had all the
power of the Elves beneath themselves and obedient to
them. But their designs came to nought save estrangement
and bitterness between the kingdoms of the Elves.
Huan was the name of the chief of the hounds of
Celegorm. He was of immortal race from the hunting-lands
of Orome. Orome gave him to Celegorm long before in
Valinor, when Celegorm often rode in the train of the God
and followed his horn. He came into the Great' Lands with
his master, and dart nor weapon, spell nor poison, could
harm him, so that he went into battle with his lord and
saved him many times from death. His fate had been de-
creed that he should not meet death save at the hands of the
mightiest wolf that should ever walk the world.
Huan was true of heart, and he loved Luthien from the
hour that he first found her in the woods and brought her
to Celegorm. His heart was grieved by his master's treach-
ery, and he set Luthien free and went with her to the North.
There Thu slew his captives one by one, till only
Felagund and Beren were left. When the hour for Beren's
death came Felagund put forth all his power, and burst his
bonds, and wrestled with the werewolf that came to slay
Beren; and he killed the wolf, but was himself slain in the
dark. There Beren mourned in despair, and waited for
death. But Luthien came and sang outside the dungeons.
Thus she beguiled Thu to come forth, for the fame of the
loveliness of Luthien had gone through all lands and the
wonder of her song. Even Morgoth desired her, and had
promised the greatest reward to any who could capture her.
Each wolf that Thu sent Huan slew silently, till Draugluin
the greatest of his wolves came. Then there was fierce
battle, and Thu knew that Luthien was not alone. But he re-
membered the fate of Huan, and he made himself the great-
est wolf that had yet walked the world, and came forth. But
Huan overthrew him, and won from him the keys and the
spells that held together his enchanted walls and towers. So
the stronghold was broken and the towers thrown down and
the dungeons opened. Many captives were released, but
Thu flew in bat's form to Taur-na-Fuin. There Luthien
found Beren mourning beside Felagund. She healed his sor-
row and the wasting of his imprisonment, but Felagund
they buried on the top of his own island hill, and Thu came
there no more.
Then Huan returned to his master, and less was the love
between them after. Beren and Luthien wandered careless
in happiness, until they came nigh to the borders of Doriath
once more. There Beren remembered his vow, and bade
Luthien farewell, but she would not be sundered from him.
In Nargothrond there was tumult. For Huan and many of
the captives of Thu brought back the tidings of the deeds
of Luthien, and the death of Felagund, and the treachery of
Celegorm and Curufin was laid bare. It is said they had sent
a secret embassy to Thingol ere Luthien escaped, but
Thingol in wrath had sent their letters back by his own ser-
vants to Orodreth.' Wherefore now the hearts of the people:
of Narog tumed back to the house of Finrod, and they
mourned their king Felagund whom they had forsaken, and
they did the bidding of Orodreth. But he would not suffer
them to slay the sons of Feanor as they wished. Instead he
banished them from Nargothrond, and swore that little love
should there be between Narog and any of the sons of
Feanor thereafter. And so it was.
Celegorm and Curufin were riding in haste and wrath
through the woods to find their way to Himling,(7) when they
came upon Beren and Luthien, even as Beren sought to part
from his love. They rode down on them, and recognizing
them tried to trample Beren under their hooves. But
Curufin swerving lifted Luthien to his saddle. Then befell
the leap of Beren, the greatest leap of mortal Men. For he
sprang like a lion right upon the speeding horse of Curufin,
and grasped him about the throat, and horse and rider fell
in confusion upon the earth, but Luthien was flung far off
and lay dazed upon the ground. There Beren choked
Curufin, but his death was very nigh from Celegorm, who
rode back with his spear. In that hour Huan forsook the ser-
vice of Celegorm, and sprang upon him so that his horse
swerved aside, and no man for fear of the terror of the great
hound dared go nigh. Luthien forbade the death of Curufin,
but Beren despoiled him of his horse and weapons, chief of
which was his famous knife, made by the Dwarves. It
would cut iron like wood. Then the brothers rode off, but
shot back at Huan treacherously and at Luthien. Huan they
did not hurt, but Beren sprang before Luthien and was
wounded, and Men remembered that wound against the
sons of Feanor, when it became known.
Huan stayed with Luthien, and hearing of their perplexity
and the purpose Beren had still to go to Angband, he went
and fetched them from the ruined halls of Thu a werewolf's
coat and a bat's. Three times only did Huan speak with the
tongue of Elves or Men. The first was when he came to
Luthien in Nargothrond. This was the second, when he de-
vised the desperate counsel for their quest. So they rode
North, till they could no longer go on horse in safety. Then
they put on the garments as of wolf and bat, and Luthien
in guise of evil fay rode upon the werewolf.
In the lay of Luthien is all told how they came to
Angband's gate, and found it newly guarded, for rumour of
he knew not what design abroad among the Elves had come
to Morgoth. Wherefore he fashioned the mightiest of all
Wolves, Carcharas (8) Knife-fang, to sit at the gates.' But
Luthien set him in spells, and they won their way to the
presence of Morgoth, and Beren slunk beneath his chair.
Then Luthien dared the most dreadful and most valiant
deed that any of the women of the Elves have ever dared;
no less than the challenge of Fingolfin is it accounted, and
may be greater, save that she was half-divine. She cast off
her disguise and named her own name, and feigned that she
was brought captive by the wolves of Thu. And she be-
guiled Morgoth, even as his heart plotted foul evil within
him; and she danced before him, and cast all his court in
sleep; and she sang to him, and she flung the magic robe
she had woven in Doriath in his face, and she set a binding
dream upon him - what song can sing the marvel of that
deed, or the wrath and humiliation of Morgoth, for even the
Orcs laugh in secret when they remember it, telling how
Morgoth fell from his chair and his iron crown rolled upon
the floor.
Then forth leaped Beren casting aside the wolvish robe,
and drew out the knife of Curufin. With that he cut forth a
Silmaril. But daring more he essayed to gain them all. Then:
the knife of the treacherous Dwarves snapped, and the ring-
ing sound of it stirred the sleeping hosts and Morgoth
groaned. Terror seized the hearts of Beren and Luthien, and
they fled down the dark ways of Angband. The doors were
barred by Carcharas, now aroused from the spell of
Luthien. Beren set himself before Luthien, which proved ill;
for ere she could touch the wolf with her robe or speak
word of magic, he sprang upon Beren, who now had no
weapon. With his right he smote at the eyes of Carcharas,
but the wolf took the hand into his jaws and bit it off. Now
that hand held the Silmaril. Then was the maw of Carcharas
burned with a fire of anguish and torment, when the
Silmaril touched his evil flesh; and he fled howling from
before them, so that all the mountains shuddered, and the
madness of the wolf of Angband was of all the horrors that
ever came into the North o the most dire and terrible.
Hardly did Luthien and Beren escape, ere all Angband was
aroused.
Of their wanderings and despair, and of the healing of
Beren, who ever since has been called Beren Ermabwed the
One-handed, of their rescue by Huan, who had vanished,
suddenly from them ere they came to Angband, and of their
coming to Doriath once more, here there is little to tell.(11)
But in Doriath many things had befallen. Ever things had
gone ill there since Luthien fled away. Grief had fallen on
all the people and silence on their songs when their hunting
found her not. Long was the search, and in searching
Dairon the piper of Doriath was lost, who loved Luthien
before Beren came to Doriath. He was the greatest of the
musicians of the Elves, save Maglor son of Feanor, and
Tinfang Warble. But he came never back to Doriath and
strayed into the East of the world.>
Assaults too there were on Doriath's borders, for rumours
that Luthien was astray had reached Angband. Boldog cap-
tain of the Orcs was there slain in battle by Thingol, and
his great warriors Beleg the Bowman and Mablung
Heavyhand were with Thingol in that battle. Thus Thingol
learned that Luthien was yet free of Morgoth, but that he
knew of her wandering; and Thingol was filled with fear. In
the midst of his fear came the embassy of Celegorm in se-
cret, and said that Beren was dead, and Felagund, and
Luthien was at Nargothrond. Then Thingol found it in his
heart to regret the death of Beren, and his wrath was
aroused at the hinted treachery of Celegorm to the house of
Finrod, and because he kept Luthien and did not send her
home. Wherefore he sent spies into the land of Nargothrond
and prepared for war. But he learned that Luthien had fled
and that Celegorm and his brother were gone to Aglon. So
now he sent an embassy to Aglon, since his might was not
great enough to fall upon all the seven brethren, nor was his
quarrel with others than Celegorm and Curufin. But this
embassy journeying in the woods met with the onslaught of
Carcharas. That great wolf had run in madness through all
the woods of the North, and death and devastation went
with him. Mablung alone escaped to bear the news of his
coming to Thingol. Of fate, or the magic of the Silmaril
that he bore to his torment, he was not stayed by the spells
of Melian, but burst into the inviolate woods of Doriath,
and far and wide terror and destruction was spread.
Even as the sorrows of Doriath were at their worst came
Luthien and Beren and Huan back to Doriath. Then the
heart of Thingol was lightened, but he looked not with love
upon Beren in whom he saw the cause of all his woes.
When he had learned how Beren had escaped from Thu he
was amazed, but he said: 'Mortal, what of thy quest and of
thy vow?' Then said Beren: 'Even now I have a Silmaril in
my hand.' 'Show it to me,' said Thingol. 'That I cannot,'
said Beren, 'for my hand is not here.' And all the tale he
told, and made clear the cause of the madness of Carcharas,
and Thingol's h art was softened by his brave words, and
his forbearance, and the great love that he saw between his
daughter and this most valiant Man.
Now therefore did they plan the wolf-hunt of Carcharas.
In that hunt was Huan and Thingol and Mablung and Beleg
and Beren and no more. And here the sad tale of it must be
short, for it is elsewhere told more fully. Luthien remained
behind in foreboding, as they went forth; and well she
might, for Carcharas was slain, but Huan died in the same
hour, and he died to save Beren.'4 Yet Beren was hurt to the
death, but lived to place the Silmaril in the hands of
Thingol, when Mablung had cut it from the belly of the
wolf. Then he spoke not again, until they had borne him
with Huan at his side back to the doors of Thingol's halls.
There beneath the beech, wherein before she had been im-
prisoned, Luthien met them, and kissed Beren ere his spirit
departed to the halls of awaiting. So ended the long tale of
Luthien and Beren. But not yet was the lay of Leithian, re-
lease from bondage, told in full. For it has long been said
that Luthien failed and faded swiftly and vanished from the
earth, though some songs say that Melian summoned
Thorndor, and he bore her living unto Valinor. And she
came to the halls of Mandos, and she sang to him a tale of
moving love so fair that he was moved to pity, as never has
befallen since. Beren he summoned, and thus, as Luthien
had sworn as she kissed him at the hour of death, they met
beyond the western sea. And Mandos suffered them to de-
part, but he said that Luthien should become mortal even as
her lover, and should leave the earth once more in the man-
ner of mortal women, and her beauty become but a mem-
ory of song. So it was, but it is said that in recompense
Mandos gave to Beren and to Luthien thereafter a long
span of life and joy, and they wandered knowing thirst nor
cold in the fair land of Broseliand, and no mortal Man
thereafter spoke to Beren or his spouse.> Yet he came back
into these tales when one more sad than his was done.
*
1. Second > Third (late change); see $9 note 19.
2. Broseliand > Beleriand, as previously.
3. Mountains of Shadow > Mountains of Terror (see III. 170 - 1).
4. Curufin struck through and Cele[gorm] written above (late change).
5. Great > Hither (cf. $3 note 8).
6. This sentence, from Thingol in wrath, emended to: Thingol was
wroth, and would have gone to war with them as is later told.
7. Himling > Himring, as in $9 note 21 (late change).
8. Carcharas > Carcharoth at all occurrences.
9. Added here: Dire and dreadful was that beast; and songs have also
named him Borosaith, Everhungry, and Anfauglin, Jaws of Thirst.
10. Added here: ere Angband's fall
11. Late addition in the margin: Thorndor bore them over Gondolin to
Brethil.
12. save Maglor son of Feanor, and Tinfang Warble > and Maglor son
of Feanor and Tinfang Gelion alone are named with him.
13. Added here: where long he made secret music in memory of Luthien.
14. Added here: and he bade him farewell, and that was the third and
last time Huan spoke.
15. This sentence emended to: and they wandered knowing neither thirst
nor cold upon the confies of Geleidhian in fair Ossiriand, Land of
Seven Streams, Gwerth-i-cuina, the Living Dead; and no monal Man
thereafter, &c.
11.
Now' it must be told that Maidros son of Feanor per-
ceived that Morgoth was not unassailable after the deeds of
Huan and Luthien and the breaking of the towers of Thu,(2)
but that he would destroy them all one by one, if they did
not form again a league and council. This was the Union of
Maidros and wisely planned. The scattered Ilkorins and
Men were gathered together, while the forces of Maidros
made ever fiercer assaults from Himling,' and drove back
the Orcs and took their spies. The smithies of Nogrod and
Belegost were busy in those days making mail and sword
and spear for many armies, and much of the wealth and
jewelry of Elves and Men they got into their keeping in that
time, though they went not themselves to war. 'For we do
not know the rights of this quarrel,' they said, 'and we are
friends of neither side - until it hath the mastery.' Thus
great and splendid was the army of Maidros, but the oath
and the curse did injury to his design.
All the hosts of Hithlum, Gnomes and Men, were ready
to his summons, and Finweg (4) and Turgon and Huor and
Hurin were their chiefs.' Orodreth would not march from
Narog at the word of Maidros, because of the death of
Felagund, and the deeds of Curufin and Celegorm.(6) Yet he
suffered a small company of the bravest, who would not
endure to be idle when the great war was afoot, to go
North. Their leader was the young Flinding son of Fuilin,
most daring of the scouts of Nargothrond; but they took the
devices of the house of Finweg and went beneath his ban
ners, and came never back, save one.'
From Doriath none came.' For Maidros and his brethren
had before sent unto Doriath and reminded Thingol with
exceedingly haughty words of their oath, and summoned
him to yield up the Silmaril. This Melian counselled him to
do, and maybe he would have done, but their words were
overproud, and he thought how the jewel had been gained
by the sorrows of Thingol's people,' and despite the
crooked deeds of the sons of Feanor; and greed" too, it
may be, had some part in the heart of Thingol, as after-
wards was shown. Wherefore he sent the messengers of
Maidros back in scorn. Maidros said nought, for at that
time he was beginning to ponder the reunion of the forces
of the Elves. But Celegorm and Curufin vowed aloud to
slay Thingol or any of his folk they should ever see, by
night or day, in war or peace.
For this reason Thingol went not forth,(13) nor any out of
Doriath save Mablung, and Beleg who obeyed no man.
Now came the day when Maidros sent forth his sum-
mons and the Dark-elves, save out of Doriath, marched to
his banner, and Men from East and South. But Finweg and
Turgon and the Men of Hithlum were gathered in the West
upon the borders of the Thirsty Plain, waiting for the signal
of the advancing standards from the East. It may be that
Maidros delayed too long gathering his forces; certain it is
that secret emissaries of Morgoth went among the camps,
thrall-Gnomes or things in elfin form, and spread forebod-
ing and thoughts of disunion. To Men they went most, and
the fruit of their words was later seen.
Long the army waited in the West, and fear of treachery
fell upon them, when Maidros came not, and the hot hearts
of Finweg and Turgon became impatient.'4 They sent their
heralds across the plain and their silver trumpets rang; and
they summoned the hosts of Morgoth to come out. Then
Morgoth sent forth a force, great and yet not too great. And
Finweg was moved to attack from the woods at the feet of
the Shadowy Mountains where he lay hid. But Hurin spoke
against it.
Then Morgoth led forth one of the heralds of Finweg that
he had wrongfully taken prisoner and slew him upon the
plain, so that the watchers from afar might see - for far and
clear do the eyes of the Gnomes behold things in bright air.
Then the wrath of Finweg burst its bonds and his army
leaped forth to sudden onslaught. This was as Morgoth de-
signed, but it is said that he reckoned not the true number
of their array, nor knew yet the measure of their valour, and
well nigh his plan went ill. Ere his army could be suc-
coured they were overwhelmed, and that day there was a
greater slaughter of the servants of Morgoth than there yet
had been, and the banners of Finweg were raised before the
walls of Angband.
Flinding, it is said, and the men of Nargothrond burst
even within the gates; and fear came on Morgoth on his
throne. But they were slain or taken, for no help came." By
other secret gates Morgoth let issue forth the main host that
he had kept in waiting, and Finweg and the Men of
Hithlum were beaten back from the walls.
Then in the plain began the Battle of Unnumbered
Tears,' of which no song or tale tells the full, for the voice
of the teller is whelmed in lamentation. The host of the
Elves was surrounded. Yet in that hour there marched up at
last the banners of Maidros and his allies from the East.
Even yet the Elves might have won the day, for the Orcs
wavered. But as the vanguard of Maidros came upon the
Orcs, Morgoth let loose his last forces, and all Angband
was empty. There came wolves and serpents, and there
came Balrogs like fire, and there came the first of all the
dragons, the eldest of all the Worms of Greed. Glomund
was his name and long had his terror been noised abroad,
though he was not come to his full growth and evil, and
seldom had he been seen.(17) Thus Morgoth strove to hinder
the joining of the hosts of the Elves, but this the Eldar say
he would not even so have achieved, had not the captains
of Men in the hosts of Maidros turned and fled, and their
number was very great. Treachery or cowardice or both
was the cause of that grievous wrong. But worse is to tell,
for the swart Men, whom Uldor the Accursed led, went
over to the foe and fell upon Maidros' flank. From that day
were Elves estranged from Men, unless it be from the chil-
dren of the children of Hador.(18)
There Finweg fell in flame of swords, and a fire it is said
burst from his helm when it was cloven; but he was beaten
to the earth and his white banners were trodden under foot.
Then the army of the West, sundered from Maidros, fell
back as best it could win its way, step by step, towards the
Shadowy Mountains or even the dreadful fringes of Taur-
na-Fuin. But Hurin did not retreat, and he held the rear-
guard, and all the Men of Hithlum and his brother Huor
were there slain about him in a heap, so that not one came
back with tidings to their home. The valiant stand of Hurin
is still remembered by the Elves, for by it was Turgon en-
abled to cleave his way from the field and save part of his
battle, and rescue his people from the hills, and escape
southward to Sirion. Renowned in song is the axe of Hurin
that slew a hundred Orcs, but the magic helm that Gumlin
his sire bequeathed him he did not wear that day. Thereon
was set in mockery the image of the head of Glomund, and
oft it had gone into victory, so that the Men of Hithlum
said: We have a dragon of more worth than theirs. It was
Telchar's work, the great smithy of Belegost, but it would
not have availed Hurin on that field, for by the command
of Morgoth he was taken alive, grasped by the hideous
arms of the uncounted Orcs, till he was buried beneath
them.
Maidros and the sons of Feanor wrought great slaughter
on Orc and Balrog and traitor Man that day, but the dragon
they did not slay and the fire of his breath was the death of
many. And they were driven in the end far away, and the
Gorge of Aglon was filled with Orcs and the hill of
Himling with the people of Morgoth. But the seven sons of
Feanor, though each was wounded, were not slain. o
Great was the triumph of Morgoth. The bodies of his en-
emies that were slain were piled in a mound like a great hill
upon Dor-na-Fauglith, but there the grass came and grew
green in that place alone in all the desert, and no Orc there-
after trod upon the earth beneath which the Gnomish
swords crumbled into rust. The realm of Finweg was no
more, the sons of Feanor wandered in the East, fugitives in
the Blue Mountains. The armies of Angband ranged all
the North. To Hithlum Morgoth sent Men who were his ser-
vants or afraid of him. South and East his Orcs went in
plunder and ruin-, well nigh all Broseliand (22) they overran.
Doriath yet held where Thingol lived, and Nargothrond. But
he heeded these not much as yet, maybe because he knew
little of them. But one thing grievously marred his triumph,
and great was his wrath when he thought of it. This was the
escape of Turgon, and in no way could he learn whither
that king had gone."
Hurin was now brought before Morgoth and defied him.
He was chained in torment. Afterward Morgoth remember-
ing that treachery or the fear of it, and especially the treach-
ery of Men, alone would work the ruin" of the Gnomes,
came to Hurin and offered him honour and freedom and a
wealth of jewels, if he would lead an army against Turgon,
or even tell him whither that king had gone; for he knew
that Hurin was close in the counsels of the sons of
Fingolfin. But Hurin mocked him. Therefore Morgoth de-
vised a cruel punishment. Upon the highest peak of
Thangorodrim he set him chained upon a chair of stone,
and he cursed him with a curse of never-sleeping sight like
unto the Gods, but his kin and seed he cursed with a fate
of sorrow and ill-chance, and bade Hurin sit there and
watch the unfolding of it.
*
The first part of this section was heavily but hastily and roughly emended,
on top of the careful alterations that belong to an earlier 'layer'. In three
of the following notes (7, 14, 15) I give the final text of the passages that
were most changed.
1. Scribbled in the margin is Swarthy Men, apparently with a mark of
insertion to this point in the narrative.
2. the towers of Thu > Sauron's tower (late change).
3. This sentence emended to read: The Dark-elves were summoned
again from afar, and Men of the East were gathered together; and the
forces of Maidros sallied forth from Himling (late change). Himling >
Himring subsequently.
4. Finweg > Fingon throughout, as previously.
5. Added here: Yet less was the aid that Maidros had of Men than
should have been, because of the wounding of Beren in the wood; and
(Orodreth would nor march, &c.)
6. Celegorm > Celegorn at both occurrences (this change has not been
made previously).
7. This paragraph, after the changes given in notes 4-6, was rewritten
later (introducing the later story of the foundation of Gondolin), thus:
All the hosts of Hithlum, Gnomes and Men, were ready to his sum
mons; and Fingon and Huor and Hurin were their chiefs. And
Turgon himself deeming that haply the hour of deliverance was at
hand came forth himself unlooked for, and he brought a great
army, and they encamped before the West Pass in sight of the walls
of Hithlum, and there was joy among the people of Fingon his
brother. [An addition here was struck out, no doubt at the time
of writing, and replaced by a different statement about the folk of
Haleth below: The folk of Haleth made ready in the forest of
Brethil.] Yet less was the aid that Maidros had of Men than should
have been, because of the wounding of Beren in the wood; for the
folk of Haleth abode in the forest, and few came to war. Orodreth,
moreover, would not march from Narog at the word of Maidros,
because of the death of Felagund, and the deeds of Curufin and
Celegorn. Yet he suffered a small company of the bravest, who
would not endure to be idle when great war was afoot, to go North.
Their leader was Gwindor son of Guilin, a very valiant prince; but
they took the devices of the house of Fingon and went beneath his
banners, and came never back, save one.
8. From Doriath none came > From Doriath too came scanty aid.
9. Added here: and the anguish of Luthien
10. greed > covetice
11. beginning to ponder > already beginning to devise (late change).
12. This sentence changed to read: vowed aloud to slay Thingol, and de-
stroy his folk, if they came victorious from war, and the jewel were
not yielded of free-will
13. Thingol went not forth > Thingol fortified his realm, and went not
forth
14. From the beginning of the preceding paragraph (Now came the
day ...) the text was extensively rewritten in the later 'layer' of
change:
At length having gathered at last all the strength that he might
Maidros appointed a day, and sent word to Fingon and Turgon.
Now for a while the Gnomes had victory, and the Orcs were driven
out of Beleriand, and hope was renewed; but Morgoth was aware
of all that was done, and he took counsel against their uprising, and
he sent forth his spies and emissaries among Elves and Men, but
especially did these come unto the Swarthy Men, and to the sons
of Ulfang. Upon the East under the banner of Maidros were all the
folk of the sons of Feanor, and they were many; and the Dark-elves
coming from the South were with him, and the battalions of the
Easterlings, with the sons of Bor and Ulfang. But Fingon and
Turgon and the Men of Hithlum and such as came from the Falas
and from Nargothrond were gathered ready in the West upon the
borders of the Thirsty Plain, waiting under the banner of Fingon
for the signal of the advancing standards from the East. But
Maidros was delayed upon the road by the machinations of Uldor
the Accursed son of Ulfang, and ever the secret emissaries of
Morgoth went among the camps, thrall-Gnomes or things in elvish
form, and spread foreboding and thoughts of treason.
Long the army waited in the West, and fear of treachery grew in
their thought, when Maidros came not. Then the hot hearts
Fingon and Turgon became impatient.
15. This passage, from Flinding, it is said, was changed by late emenda-
tion to read:
Gwindor son of Guilin, it is said, and the men of Nargothrond
were in the forefront of the battle and burst within the gates; and
they slew the Orcs in the very halls of Morgoth, and fear came on
Morgoth on his throne. But at the last Gwindor and his men were
all slain or taken, for no help came to them.
16. Added here: Nirnaith Arnediad (late change).
17. Added here: since the second battle of the North.
18. Added here: and of Beor (late change).
19. But Hurin did not retreat > But there Hurin turned to bay
20. The following passage was added here:
But their arms were scattered, and their folk minished and dis-
persed and their league broken; and they took to a wild and wood-
land life, beneath the feet of Eryd-luin [later > Ered-luin], mingling
with the Dark-elves, and forgetting their power and glory of old.
21. wandered in the East, fugitives in the Blue Mountains > wandered as
leaves before the wind.
22. Broseliand > Beleriand, as previously.
23. The following passage was added here:
and his anger was the greater, for it is said that of all the Gnomes
he feared and hated most the house and people of Fingolfin, who
had harkened never to his lies and blandishments, and came into
the North, as has been told, only out of loyalty to their kin.
24. the ruin > the final ruin
12.
Morwen (1) the wife of Hurin was left in Hithlum and with
her were but two old men too old for war, and maidens and
young boys. One of these was Hurin's child, Turin son of
Hurin renowned in song. But Morwen was with child once
more, and so she stayed and mourned in Hithlum, and went
not like Rian wife of Huor to seek for tidings of her lord.
The Men' of the faithful race were slain, and Morgoth
drove thither in their stead those who had betrayed the
Elves, and he penned them behind the Shadowy Mountains,
and slew them if they wandered to Broseliand (3) or beyond;
and such was all they got of the love and rewards he had
promised them. Yet their hearts were turned to evil, and lit-
tie love they showed to the women and children of the
faithful who had been slain, and most of them they en-
slaved. Great was the courage and majesty of Morwen, and
many were afraid of her, and whispered that she had
learned black magics of the Gnomes.4 But she was poor
and well nigh alone, and was succoured in secret by her
kinswoman Airin whom Brodda, one of the incoming Men,
and mighty among them, had taken to wife. Wherefore it
came into her heart to send Turin, who was then seven
years of age, to Thingol, that he might not grow up a churl
or servant; for Hurin and Beren had been friends of old.
The fate of Turin is told in the 'Children of Hurin', and it
need not in full be told here, though it is wound with the
fates of the Silmarils and the Elves. It is called the Tale of
Grief, for it is very sorrowful, and in it are seen the worst
of the deeds of Morgoth Bauglir.
Turin grew up in Thingol's court, but after a while as
Morgoth's power grew news came no more from Hithlum,
for it was a long and perilous road, and he heard no more
of Nienor his sister who was born after he left his home,
nor of Morwen his mother; and his heart was dark and
heavy. He was often in battle on the borders of the realm
where Beleg the Bowman was his friend, and he came little
to the court, and wild and unkempt was his hair and his at-
tire, though sweet his voice and sad his song. On a time at
the table of the king he was taunted by a foolish Elf, Orgof
by name, with his rough garb and strange looks. And Orgof
in jest slighted the maidens and wives of the Men
of Hithlum. But Turin unwitting of his growing strength
slew Orgof with a drinking vessel at the king's board.
He fled then the court, and thinking himself an outlaw
took to war against all, Elves, Men, or Orcs, that crossed
the path of the desperate band he gathered upon the borders
of the kingdom, hunted Men and Ilkorins and Gnomes. One
day, when he was not among them, his men captured Beleg
the Bowman and tied him to a tree, and would have slain
him; but Turin returning was smitten with remorse, and re-
leased Beleg and forswore war or plunder against all save
the Orcs. From Beleg he learned that Thingol had pardoned
his deed the day that it was done. Still he went not back to
the Thousand Caves; but the deeds that were done on the
marches of Doriath by Beleg and Turin were noised in
Thingol's halls, and in Angband they were known.
Now one of Turin's band was Blodrin son of Ban, a
Gnome,' but he had lived long with the Dwarves and was
of evil heart and joined Turin for the love of plunder. He
loved little the new life in which wounds were more plen-
tiful than booty. In the end he betrayed the hiding-places of
Turin' to the Orcs, and the camp of Turin was surprised.
Blodrin was slain by a chance arrow of his evil allies in the
gloom, but Turin was taken alive, as Hurin had been, by
the command of Morgoth. For Morgoth began to fear that
in Doriath behind the mazes of Melian, where his deeds
were hidden from him, save by report,(7) Turin would cheat
the doom that he had devised. Beleg was left for dead be-
neath a heap of slain. There he was found by Thingol's
messengers who came to summon them to a feast in the
Thousand Caves. Taken back thither he was healed by Me-
lian, and set off alone to track Turin. Beleg was the most
marvellous of all woodsmen that have ever been, and his
skill was little less than Huan in the following of a trail,
though he followed by eye and cunning not by scent. None-
theless he was bewildered in the mazes of Deadly Night-
shade and wandered there in despair, until he saw the lamp
of Flinding Fuilin's son,(8) who had escaped from the mines
of Morgoth, a bent and timid shadow of his former shape
and mood. From Flinding he learned news of the Orc-band
that had captured Turin; and it had delayed long in the
lands plundering East among Men, but was now come in
great haste, owing to the angry message of Morgoth, and
was passing along the Orc-road through Taur-na-Fuin itself.
Near the issuing of this road, where it reaches the edge
of the forest upon the face of the steep' slopes that lie to
the south of the Thirsty Plain, Flinding and Beleg lay and
watched the Orcs go by. When the Orcs left the forest and
went far down the slopes to camp in a bare dale in sight of
Thangorodrim, Beleg and his companion followed them. At
night Beleg shot the wolf-sentinels of the Orc-camp, and
stole with Flinding into its midst. With the greatest diffi-
culty and direst peril they lifted Turin, senseless in a sleep
of utter weariness, and brought him out of the camp and
laid him in a dell of thick thorn trees high up on the hill-
side. In striking" off the bonds Beleg pricked Turin's foot;
and he, roused in sudden fear and anger, for the Orcs had
often tormented him, found himself free. Then in his mad-
ness he seized Beleg's sword, and slew his friend thinking
him a foe. The covering of Flinding's lamp fell off at that
moment, and Turin saw Beleg's face; and his madness left
him and he was turned as to stone.
The Orcs, awakened by his cries as he leaped on Beleg,
discovered the escape of Turin, but were scattered by a ter-
rible storm of thunder and a deluge of rain. In the morning
Flinding saw them marching away over the steaming sands
of Dor-na-Fauglith. But through all the storm Turin sat
without movement; and scarcely could he be roused to help
in the burying of Beleg and his bow in the dell of thorns.
Flinding afterwards led him, dazed and unwitting, towards
safety; and his mind was healed when he drank of the
spring of Narog by Ivrin's lake. For his frozen tears were
loosed, and he wept, and after his weeping made a song for
Beleg, the Bowman's Friendship, which became a battle
song of the foes of Morgoth.
*
1. Written in the margin against the opening of this section is Take in
Helm of Gumlin from page 34. Page 34 in the typescript contains the
passage concerning the Helm in $11, p. 142.
2. The Men > Most of the Men
3. Broseliand > Beleriand, as previously.
4. whispered that she had learned black magics from the Gnomes >
whispered that she was a witch (late change).
5. a Gnome > a Gnome of Feanor's house
6. the hiding-places of Turin > the hiding-places of Turin beyond the
eaves of Doriath
7. save by report > or upon its borders whence came but uncertain re-
port
8. Flinding Fuilin's son > Gwindor son of Guilin, and subsequently
Flinding > Gwindor (late changes; see 511 note 15).
9. steep > long
10. Added after high up on the hillside:
Then Beleg drew his renowned sword, made of iron that fell from
heaven as a blazing star, and it would cut all earth-dolven iron. But
fate was that day more strong, for in striking, &c.
13.
Flinding' led Turin in the end to Nargothrond. There in
days long gone' Flinding had loved Finduilas daughter of
Orodreth, and he called her Failivrin, which is the gleam on
the waters of the fair lake whence Narog comes. But her,
heart was turned against her will to Turin, and his to her.
Out of loyalty' he fought against his love and Finduilas
grew wan and pale, but Flinding perceiving their hearts
grew bitter.
Turin grew great and mighty in Nargothrond, but he
loved not their secret manner of fighting and ambush, and
began to long for brave strokes and battle in the open. Then
he caused to be forged anew the sword of Beleg, and the
craftsmen of Narog made thereof a black blade with shining
edges of pale fire; from which sword he became known
among them as Mormaglir.(4)
With this sword he thought to avenge the death of Beleg
the Bowman, and with it he did many mighty deeds; so that
the fame of Mormaglir, the Black-sword of Nargothrond,
came even unto Doriath and to the ears of Thingol, but the
name of Turin was not heard. And long victory dwelt with
Mormaglir and the host of the Gnomes of Nargothrond who
followed him; and their realm reached even to the sources
of Narog, and from the western sea to the marches of
Doriath; and there was a stay in the onset of Morgoth.
In this time of respite and hope Morwen arose, and leav-
ing her goods in the care of Brodda, who had to wife' her
kinswoman Airin, she took with her Nienor her daughter,
and adventured the long journey to Thingol's halls. There
did new grief await her, for she learnt of the loss and van-
ishing of Turin; and even as she dwelt a while as the guest
of Thingol, in sorrow and in doubt, there came to Doriath
the tidings of the fall of Nargothrond; whereat all folk wept.
Biding his hour Morgoth had loosed upon the folk of
Narog at unawares a great army that he had long prepared,
and with the host came that father of the dragons, Glo-
mund, who wrought ruin in the Battle of Unnumbered
Tears. The might of Narog was overwhelmed upon the
Guarded Plain, north of Nargothrond; and there fell Flind-
ing son of Fuilin,(6) mortally wounded, and dying he refused
the succour of Turin, reproaching him, and bidding him, if
he would amend the evil he had wrought his friend, to has-
ten back to Nargothrond to rescue even with his life, if he
could, Finduilas whom they loved, or to slay her else.
But the Orc-host and the mighty dragon came upon
Nargothrond before Turin could put it in defence, and they
overthrew Orodreth and all his remaining folk, and the
great halls beneath the earth were sacked and plundered,
and all the women and maidens of the folk of Narog were
herded as slaves and taken into Morgoth's thraldom. Turin
only they could not overcome, and the Orcs fell back be-
fore him in terror and amaze, and he stood alone. Thus ever
did Morgoth achieve the downfall of men by their own
deeds; for but little would men have accounted the woe of
Turin had he fallen in brave defence before the mighty
doors of Nargothrond.
Fire was in the eyes of Turin, and the edges of his sword
shone as with flame, and he strode to battle even with
Glomund, alone and unafraid. But it was not his fate that
day to rid the world of that creeping evil; for he fell under
the binding spell of the lidless eyes of Glomund, and he
was halted moveless; but Glomund (7) taunted him, calling
him deserter of his kin, friend-slayer, and love-thief. And
-the dragon offered him his freedom either to follow seeking
to rescue his 'stolen love' Finduilas, or to do his duty and
go to the rescue of his mother and sister, who were living
in great misery in Hithlum (as he said and lied) and nigh to
death. But he must swear to abandon one or the other.
Then Turin in anguish and in doubt forsook Finduilas
against his heart, and against his last word to Flinding (8)
(which if he had obeyed, his uttermost fate had not befallen
him), and believing the words of the serpent whose spell
was upon him, he left the realm of Narog and went to
Hithlum. And it is sung that he stopped in vain his ears to
keep out the echo of the cries of Finduilas calling on his
name as she was borne away; and that sound hunted him:
through the woods. But Glomund, when Turin had gone,
crept back to Nargothrond and gathered unto himself the
greater part of its wealth of gold and gems, and he lay
thereon in its deepest hall, and desolation was about him.
It is said that Turin came at length to Hithlum, and he
found not his mother or his kin; for their hall was empty
and their land despoiled, and Brodda had added their goods
unto his own. In his wooden hall at his own board Turin
slew Brodda; and fought his way from the house, but must
needs afterward flee from Hithlum.(9)
There was a dwelling of free Men in the wood, the rem-
nant of the people of Haleth, son of Hador and brother of
Gumlin the grandsire of Turin. They were the last of the
Men that were Elf-friends to linger in Beleriand,(10) neither
subdued by Morgoth, nor penned in Hithlum beyond the
Shadowy Mountains. They were small in numbers, but
bold, and their houses were in the green woods about the
River Taiglin that enters the land of Doriath ere it joins
with the great waters of Sirion, and maybe some magic of
Melian had yet protected them. Down from the sources of
Taiglin that issues from the Shadowy Mountains Turin
came seeking for the trail of the Orcs that had plundered
Nargothrond and must pass that water on their road back to
the realm of Morgoth.
Thus he came upon the woodmen and learned tidings of
Finduilas; and then he thought that he had tasted his fill of
woe, yet it was not so. For the Orcs had marched nigh to
the borders of the woodmen, and the woodmen had am-
bushed them, and come near to rescuing their captives. But
few had they won away, for the Orc-guards had slain most
of them cruelly; and among them Finduilas had been
pierced with spears,(11) as those few who had been saved told
him amid their tears. So perished the last of the race of
Finrod fairest of Elven-kings, and vanished from the world
of Men.
Grim was the heart of Turin and all the deeds and days
of his life seemed vile; yet the courage of the race of Hador
was as a core of unbent steel. There Turin vowed to re-
nounce his past, his kin, his name, and all that had been
his, save hatred of Morgoth; and he took a new name,
Turambar (Turumarth (12) in the forms of Gnomish speech),
which is Conqueror of Fate; and the woodmen gathered to
him, and he became their lord, and ruled a while in peace.
Tidings came now more clear to Doriath of the fall of
Orodreth and the destruction of all the folk of Narog,
though fugitives no more than could be counted on the
hands came ever into safety there, and uncertain was their
report. Yet thus was it known to Thingol and to Morwen
that Mormaglir was Turin; and yet too late; for some said
that he had escaped and fled,' and some told that he had
been turned to stone by the dreadful eyes of Glomund and
lived still enthralled in Nargothrond.
At last Thingol yielded so far to the tears and entreaties
of Morwen that he sent forth a company of Elves toward
Nargothrond to explore the truth. With them rode Morwen,
for she might not be restrained; but Nienor was bidden to
remain behind. Yet the fearlessness of her house was hers,
and in evil hour, for love and care of her mother, she dis-
guised herself as one of the folk of Thingol, and went with
that ill-fated riding.
They viewed Narog afar from the summit of the tree-clad
Hill of Spies to the east of the Guarded Plain, and thence
they rode down greatly daring towards the banks of Narog.
Morwen remained upon the hill with scanty guard and
watched them from afar. Now in the days of victory when
the folk of Narog had gone forth once more to open war,
a bridge had been built across the river before the doors of
the hidden city (and this had proved their undoing).
Towards this bridge the Elves of Doriath now came, but
Glomund was aware of their coming, and he issued forth on
a sudden and lay into the stream, and a vast and hissing va-
pour arose and engulfed them. This Morwen saw from the
hill-top, and her guards would not stay longer but fled back
to Doriath taking her with them.
In that mist the Elves were overwhelmed, and their
horses were stricken with panic, and they fled hither and
thither and could not find their fellows; and the most part
returned never back to Doriath. But when the mist cleared
Nienor found that her wandering had taken her only back
unto the banks of Narog, and before her lay Glomund, and
his eye was upon her. Dreadful was his eye, like to the eye
of Morgoth his master who had made him, and as she
gazed perforce upon it a spell of darkness and utter forget-
fulness fell upon her mind. Thence she wandered witless in
the woods, as a wild creature without speech or thought.
When her madness left her, she was far from the borders
of Nargothrond, she knew not where; and she remembered
not her name or home. Thus was she found by a band of
Orcs and pursued as a beast of the woods; but she was
saved by fate. For a party of the woodmen of Turambar in
whose land they were fell upon the Orcs and slew them;
and Turambar himself placed her upon his horse and bore
her to the woodmen's pleasant homes. He named her
Niniel, Tear-maiden, for he had first seen her weeping.
There is a narrow gorge and a high and foaming fall in the
river Taiglin, that the woodmen called the Falls of Silver-
bowl;(14) and this fair place they passed as they rode home,
and would camp there as they were wont; but Niniel would
not stay, for a chill and a mortal shivering took her in that
place.
Yet afterwards she found some peace in the dwellings of
the woodmen, who treated her with kindliness and honour.
There she won the love of Brandir, son of Handir, son of
Haleth; but he was lame of foot, being wounded by an Orc-
arrow as a child, and uncomely and of less might than
many, wherefore he had yielded the rule to Turin at the
choice of the woodfolk. He was gentle of heart and wise of
thought, and great was his love, and he was ever true to
Turambar; yet bitter was his soul when he might not win
the love of Niniel. For Niniel would not be parted ever
from the side of Turambar, and great love was ever be-
tween those twain from the hour of their first meeting. Thus
Turin Turambar thinking to cast off his ancient woes was
wed to Nienor Niniel, and fair was the feast in the woods
of Taiglin.
Now the power and malice of Glomund waxed apace and
well-nigh all the realm of Nargothrond of old he laid waste,
both west of Narog and beyond it to the east; and he gath-
ered Orcs to him and ruled as a dragon-king; and there
were battles on the marches of the woodmen's land, and the
Orcs fled. Wherefore learning of their dwelling, Glomund
issued from Nargothrond, and came crawling, filled with
fire, over the lands and to the borders of the woods of
Taiglin, leaving behind him a trail of burning. But
Turambar pondered how the horror could be warded from
his people; and he marched forth with his men, and Niniel
rode with them, her heart foreboding ill, until they could
descry afar the blasted track of the dragon and the smoking
place where he now lay, west of the deep-cloven bed of
Taiglin. Between them lay the steep ravine of the river,
whose waters had in that spot fallen, but a little way before,
over the foaming fall of Silver-bowl.
There Turambar thought of a desperate counsel, for he
knew but too well the might and malice of Glomund. He
resolved to lie in wait in the ravine over which the dragon
must pass, if he would reach their land. Six of his boldest
men begged to come with him; and at evening they climbed
up the further side of the ravine and clung in hiding among
the bushes at its brink. In the night the great dragon moved
nigh to the river, and the rumour of his approach filled
them with fear and loathing. Indeed in the morning all had
slunk away leaving Turambar only.
The next evening, when Turambar was now nearly spent,
Glomund began the passage of the ravine, and his huge
form passed over Turambar's head. There Turambar trans-
fixed Glomund with Gurtholfin, Wand-of-Death, his black
sword; and Glomund coiled back in anguish and lay dying
nigh to the river's brink and came not into the woodmen's
land. But he wrested the sword from Turambar's grasp in
his throes, and Turambar came now forth from hiding, and
placed his foot upon Glomund and in exultation drew out
his sword. Greedy was that blade and very fast in the
wound, and as Turambar wrenched it with all his might, the
venom of the dragon spouted on his hand and in the an-
guish of its burning he fell in a swoon.
So it was that the watchers from afar perceived that
Glomund had been slain,'yet Turambar did not return. By
the light of the moon Niniel went forth without a word to
seek him, and ere she had long gone Brandir missed her
and followed after. But Niniel found Turambar lying as one
dead beside the body of Glomund. There as she wept be-
side Turambar and sought to tend him, Glomund opened
his eyes for the last time, and spake, telling her the true.
name of Turambar; and thereafter he died, and with his
death the spell of forgetfulness was lifted from Niniel, and
she remembered her kin. Filled with horror and anguish, for
she was with child, she fled and cast herself over the
heights of Silver-bowl, and none ever found her body. Her
last lament ere she cast herself away was heard only by
Brandir; and his back was bowed and his head turned grey
in that night.
In the morn Turin awoke and found that one had tended
his hand. Though it pained him grievously, he returned in
triumph filled with joy for the death of Glomund, his an-
cient foe; and he asked for Niniel, but none dared tell him,
save Brandir. And Brandir distraught with grief reproached
him; wherefore Turin slew him, and taking Gurtholfin red
with blood bade it slay its master; and the sword answered
that his blood was as sweet as any other, and it pierced him
to the heart as he fell upon it.
Turin they buried nigh to the edge of Silver-bowl, and
his name Turin Turambar was carved there upon a rock.
Beneath was written Nienor Niniel. Men changed the name
of that place thereafter to Nen-Girith, the Shuddering Water.
So ended the tale of Turin the unhappy; and it has ever
been held the worst of the works of Morgoth in the ancient
world. Some have said that Morwen, wandering woefully
from Thingol's halls, when she found Neinor not there on
her return, came on a time to that stone and read it, and
there died.
*
1. Flinding > Gwindor at all occurrences, as previously (late changes).
2. in days long gone > in days before (late change).
3. Out of loyalty > Out of loyalty to Gwindor (late change).
4. Added here: but the sword he named Gurtholfin, Wand-of-Death.
5. The words Brodda, who had to wife struck through (late change), so
the sentence reads leaving her goods in the care of her kinswoman
Airin
6. Flinding son of Fuilin > Gwindor son of Guilin (late change).
This passage, from and he was halted moveless, was extended:
and long time he stood there as one graven of stone silent before the
dragon, until they two alone were left before the doors of
Nargothrond. Then Glomund taunted him, &c.
8. and against his last word to Flinding struck though.
9. This sentence rewritten to read:
Then Turin knew the lie of Glomund, and in his anguish and in his
wrath for the evil that had been done to his mother he slew Brodda
at his own board and fought his way from the house; and in the
night, a hunted man, he fled from Hithlum.
10. Beleriand here as originally typed, not emended from Broseliand; and
subsequently.
11. and among them Finduilas had been pierced > and Finduilas they
fastened to a tree and pierced
12. Turumarth > Turamarth
13. This passage, from came ever into safety there, was altered thus;
... came ever into safety in Doriath. Thus was it known to Thingol
and to Morwen that Mormaglir was Turin himself; and yet too late
they learned this; for some said that he was slain, and some told,
&c.
14. Ealls of Silver-bowl > Falls of Celebros, Foam-silver; and subse-
quently Silver-bowl > Celebros.
14.
But after the death of Turin and Nienor, Hurin was re-
leased by Morgoth, for Morgoth thought still to use him;
and he accused Thingol of faint heart and ungentleness,
saying that only thus had his purpose been brought about;
and Hurin distraught, wandering bowed with grief, pon-
dered these words, and was embittered by them, for such is
the way of the lies of Morgoth.
Hurin gathered therefore a few outlaws of the woods
unto him, and they came to Nargothrond, which as yet
none, Orc, Elf, or Man, had dared to plunder, for dread of
the spirit of Glomund and his very memory. But one Mim
the Dwarf they found there. This is the first coming of the
Dwarves into these tales' of the ancient world; and it is said
that Dwarves first spread west from Erydluin,(2) the Blue
Mountains, into Beleriand after the Battle of Unnumbered
Tears. Now Mim had found the halls and treasure of
Nargothrond unguarded; and he took possession of them,
and sat there in joy fingering the gold and gems, and letting
them run ever through his hands; and he bound them to
himself with many spells. But the folk of Mim were few,
and the outlaws filled with the lust of the treasure slew
them, though Hurin would have stayed them, and at his
death Mim cursed the gold.
And the curse came upon the possessors in this wise.
Each one of Hurin's company died or was slain in quarrels
upon the road; but Hurin went unto Thingol and sought his
aid, and the folk of Thingol bore the treasure to the Thou-
sand Caves. Then Hurin bade cast it all at the feet of
Thingol, and he reproached the Elfking with wild and bitter
words. 'Receive thou,' said he, 'thy fee for thy fair keeping
of my wife and kin.'
Yet Thingol would not take the hoard, and long he bore
with Hurin; but Hurin scorned him, and wandered forth in
quest of Morwen his wife, but it is not said that he found
her ever upon the earth; and some have said that he cast
himself at last into the western sea, and so ended the might-
iest of the warriors of mortal Men.
Then the enchantment of the accursed dragon gold began
to fall even upon the king of Doriath, and long he sat and
gazed upon it, and the seed of the love of gold that was in
his heart was waked to growth. Wherefore he summoned
the greatest of all craftsmen that now were in the western
world, since Nargothrond was no more (and Gondolin was
not known), the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, that they
might fashion the gold and silver and the gems (for much
was yet unwrought) into countless vessels and fair things;
and a marvellous necklace of great beauty they should
make, whereon to hang the Silmaril.
But the Dwarves coming were stricken at once with the
lust and desire of the treasure, and they plotted treachery.
They said one to another: 'Is not this wealth as much the
right of the Dwarves as of the elvish king, and was it not
wrested evilly from Mim?' Yet also they lusted for the
Silmaril.
And Thingol, falling deeper into the thraldom of the
spell, for his part scanted his promised reward for their la-
bour; and bitter words grew between them, and there was
battle in Thingol's halls. There many Elves and Dwarves
were slain, and the howe wherein they were laid in Doriath
was named Cum-nan-Arasaith, the Mound of Avarice. But
the remainder of the Dwarves were driven forth without re-
ward or fee.
Therefore gathering new forces in Nogrod and in
Belegost they returned at length, and aided by the treachery
of certain Elves on whom the lust of the accursed treasure
had fallen they passed into Doriath secretly. There they sur-
prised Thingol upon a hunt with but small company of
arms; and Thingol was slain, and the fortress of the Thou-
sand Caves taken at unawares and plundered; and so was
brought well nigh to ruin the glory of Doriath, and but one
stronghold of the Elves against Morgoth now remained, and
their twilight was nigh at hand.
Queen Melian the Dwarves could not seize or harm, and
she went forth to seek Beren and Luthien. Now the Dwarf-
road to Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains passed
through East Beleriand and the woods about the River
Ascar,(3) where aforetime were the hunting grounds of
Damrod and Diriel, sons of Feanor. To the south of those
lands between the river and the mountains lay the land of
Assariad, and there (4) lived and wandered still in peace and
bliss Beren and Luthien, in that time of respite which
Luthien had won, ere both should die; and their folk were
the Green Elves of the South, who were not of the Elves of
Cor,' nor of Doriath, though many had fought at the Battle
of Unnumbered Tears. But Beren went no more to war, and
his land was filled with loveliness and a wealth of flowers;
and while Beren was and Luthien remained Men called it
oft Cuilwarthien,(6) the Land of the Dead that Live.
To the north of that region is a ford across the river
Ascar, near to its joining with Duilwen (7) that falls in torrents
from the mountains; and that ford is named Sarn-athra,(8) the
Ford of Stones. This ford the Dwarves must past ere they
reached their homes," and there Beren fought his last fight,
warned of their approach by Melian. In that battle the
Green Elves took the Dwarves unawares as they were in
the midst of their passage, laden with their plunder; and the
Dwarvish chiefs were slain, and well nigh all their host. But
Beren took the Nauglafring, o the Necklace of the Dwarves,
whereon was hung the Silmaril; and it is said and sung that
Luthien wearing that necklace and that immortal jewel on
her white breast was the vision of greatest beauty and glory
that has ever been seen outside the realms of Valinor, and
that for a while the Land of the Dead that Live became like
a vision of the land of the Gods, and no places have been
since so fair, so fruitful, or so filled with light.
Yet Melian warned them ever of the curse that lay upon
the treasure and upon the Silmaril. The treasure they had
drowned indeed in the river Ascar, and named it anew
Rathlorion,(11) Golden-Bed, yet the Silmaril they retained.
And in time the brief hour of the loveliness of the land of
Rathlorion departed. For Luthien faded as Mandos had spo-
ken, even as the Elves of later days faded, when Men
waxed strong and usurped the goodness of the earth; and
she vanished from the world; and Beren died, and none
know where their meeting shall be again."
Thereafter was Dior Thingol's heir, child of Beren and
Luthien, king in the woods, most fair of all the children of
the world, for his race was threefold: of the fairest and
goodliest of Men, and of the Elves, and of the spirits divine
of Valinor; yet it shielded him not from the fate of the oath
of the sons of Feanor. For Dior went back to Doriath and
for a time a part of its ancient glory was raised anew,
though Melian no longer dwelt in that place, and she de-
parted to the land of the Gods beyond the western sea, to
muse on her sorrows in the gardens whence she came.
But Dior wore the Silmaril upon his breast and the fame
of that jewel went far and wide; and the deathless oath was
waked once more from sleep. The sons of Feanor, when he
would not yield the jewel unto them, came" upon him with
all their host; and so befell the second slaying of Elf by Elf,
and the most grievous. There fell Celegorm and Curufin
and dark Cranthir, but Dior was slain," and Doriath was
destroyed and never rose again.
Yet the sons of Feanor gained not the Silmaril; for faith-
ful servants fled before them and took with them Elwing
the daughter of Dior, and she escaped, and they bore with
them the Nauglafring, and came in time to the mouth of the
river Sirion by the sea.
*
1. This is the first coming of the Dwarves into these tales > Now for the
first time did the Dwarves take part in these tales
2. Eryd-luin > Ered-luin (late change).
3. Ascar > Flend > Gelion at the first two occurrences, but left un-
changed at the third.
4. This sentence emended to read: To the south of those lands between
the river Flend [> Gelion ] and the mountains lay the land of
Ossiriand, watered by seven streams, Flend [> Gelion], Ascar,
Thalos, Loeglin [> Legolin ], Brilthor, Duilwen, Adurant. There leved,
&c.
(The rivers were first written Flend, Ascar, Thalos, Loeglin,
Brilthor, Adurant. Duilwen was then added between Thalos and
Loeglin; then Legolin replaced Loeglin and Duilwen was moved to
stand between Brilthor and Adurant.)
5. Cor > Kor, as previously.
6. Men called it oft Cuilwarthien > Elves called it oft Gwenh-i-cuina
(see $10 note 15).
7. Duilwen > Ascar (see p. 285, entry Dwarf-road).
8. Sarn-athra > Sarn-athrad.
9. ere they reached their homes > ere they reached the mountain passes
that led unto their homes
10. Nauglafring > Nauglamir at both occurrences (late changes).
11. Rathlorion > Rathloriel at both occurrences (late changes).
12. Added here:
Yet it hath been sung that Luthien alone of Elves hath been num-
bered among our race, and goeth whither we go to a fate beyond
the world.
A large pencilled X is made in the margin against the sentence in the
typescript beginning For Luthien faded...; in my father's manu-
scripts this always implies that there is some misstatement in the text
that requires revision.
13. The words The sons of Feanor, when were struck out, and the sen-
tence enlarged thus:
For while Luthien wore that peerless gem no Elf would dare assail
her, and not even Maidros dared ponder such a thought. But now
hearing of the renewal of Doriath and Dior's pride, the seven gath-
ered again from wandering; and they sent unto Dior to claim their
own. But he would not yield the jewel unto them; and they came,
&c.
14. Added here: and his young sons Eldun and Elrun (late change).
[For much of this section there exist two typescript texts, the
later of the two being longer. Subsequently there is a lot more
of such replacement, and I shall call the earlier 'Q I', the later
'Q II'. Q II is given after the notes to Q I.]
Here must be told of Gondolin. The great river Sirion,
mightiest in elvish song, flowed through all the land of
Beleriand and its course was south-west; and at its mouth
was a great delta and its lower course ran through green
and fertile lands, little peopled save by birds and beasts. Yet
the Orcs came seldom there, for it was far from the north-
ern woods and fells, and the power of Ulmo waxed ever in
that water, as it drew nigh to the sea; for the mouths of that
river were in the western sea, whose uttermost borders are
the shores of Valinor.
Turgon, Fingolfin's son, had a sister, Isfin the white-
handed. She was lost in Taur-na-Fuin after the Battle of
Unnumbered Tears. There she was captured by the Dark-elf
Eol, and it is said that he was of gloomy mood, and had de-
serted the hosts ere the battle; yet he had not fought on
Morgoth's side. But Isfin he took to wife, and their son was
Meglin.
Now the people of Turgon escaping from the battle,
aided by the prowess of Hurin, as has been told, escaped
from the knowledge of Morgoth and vanished from all
men's eyes; and Ulmo alone knew whither they had gone.
Their scouts climbing the heights had come upon a secret
place in the mountains: a broad valley' entirely circled by
the hills, ringed about it in a fence unbroken, but falling
ever lower as they came towards the middle. In the mid-
most of this marvellous ring was a wide land and a green
plain, wherein was no hill, save for a single rocky height.
This stood up dark upon the plain, not right at its centre,
but nearest to that part of the outer wall that marched close
to the borders of Sirion. Highest were the Encircling Moun-
tains towards the North and the threat of Angband, and on
their outer slopes to East and North began the shadow of
dread Taur-na-Fuin; but they were crowned with the cairn
of Fingolfin, and no evil came that way, as yet.
In this valley the Gnomes took refuge,' and spells of hid-
ing and enchantment were set on all the hills about, that
foes and spies might never find it. In this Turgon had the
aid of the messages of Ulmo, that came now up the river
Sirion; for his voice is to be heard in many waters, and
some of the Gnomes had yet the lore to harken. In those
days Ulmo was filled with pity for the exiled Elves in their
need, and in the ruin that had now almost overwhelmed
them. He foretold that the fortress of Gondolin should stand,
longest of all the refuges of the Elves against the might of
Morgoth,' and like Doriath never be overthrown save by
treachery from within. Because of his protecting might the
spells of concealment were strongest in those parts nearest
to Sirion, though there the Encircling Mountains were at
their lowest. There the Gnomes dug a great winding tunnel
under the roots of the hills, and its issue was in the steep
side, tree-clad and dark, of a gorge through which Sirion
ran, at that point still a young stream flowing strongly
through the narrow vale between the shoulders of the Encir-
cling Mountains and the Shadowy Mountains, in whose
northern heights it took its rise.
The outer entrance of that passage, which they made at
first to be a way of secret issue for themselves and for their
scouts and spies, and for a way of return to safety for fu-
gitives, was guarded by their magic and the power of
Ulmo,4 and no evil thing found it; yet its inner gate which
looked upon the vale of Gondolin was guarded unceasingly
by the Gnomes.'
Thorndor King of Eagles removed his eyries from
Thangorodrim to the northward heights of the Encircling:
Mountains, and there he kept watch, sitting upon the cairn
of King Fingolfin. But on the rocky hill amid the vale,
Amon Gwareth, the Hill of Watch, whose sides they pol-
ished to the smoothness of glass, and whose top they lev-
elled, the Gnomes built the great city of Gondolin with
gates of steel, whose fame and glory is greatest of all
dwellings of the Elves in the Outer Lands. The plain all
about they levelled, that it was as smooth and flat as a lawn
of grass until nigh unto the feet of the hills; and nothing
might walk or creep across unseen.
In that city the folk waxed mighty, and their amouries
were filled with weapons and with shields, for they pur-
posed yet to come forth to war when the hour was ripe. But
as the years drew on they grew to love that place, and de-
sired no better. and few ever issued forth,(6) they shut them
behind their impenetrable and enchanted hills, and suffered
' none to enter, fugitive or foe, and tidings of the outer world
came but faint and far, and they heeded them little, and for-
got the messages of Ulmo. They succoured not Nargo-
thrond or Doriath, and the wandering Elves knew not how
to find them; and when Turgon learned of the slaying of
Dior, he vowed never to march with any son of Feanor,
and closed his realm, forbidding any of his folk to go ever
forth.'
Gondolin now alone remained of all the strongholds of
the Elves. Morgoth forgot not Turgon, and knew that with-
out knowledge of that king his triumph could not be
achieved; yet his search unceasing was in vain. Nargo-
thrond was void, Doriath desolate, the sons of Feanor
driven away to a wild woodland life in the South and East,
Hithlum was filled with evil men, and Taurna-Fuin was a
place of nameless dread; the race of Hador was at an end,
and the house of Finrod; Beren came no more to war, and
Huan was slain; and all Elves and Men bowed to his will,
or laboured as slaves in the mines and smithies of Ang-
band, save only the wild and wandering, and few there
Were of these save far in the East of once fair Beleriand.
His triumph was near complete, and yet was not quite full.(8)
*
1. This sentence was rewritten thus:
Ulmo alone knew whither they had gone; for they returned to the
hidden city of Gondolin that Turgon had built. In a secret place in
the mountains there was a broad valley, &c.
2. the Gnomes took refuge > Turgon had taken refuge
3. At this point the replacement text Q II begins.
4. the power of Ulmo > the power of Sirion beloved of Ulmo
5. The following passage was added in pencil in the margin without di-
rection for insertion. For its place in Q II, where it is embodied in the
text, see below.
For Turgon deemed after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears that
Morgoth had grown too mighty for Elves and Men, and that it were
better to ask the forgiveness and aid of the Valar ere all was lost.
Wherefore some of his folk would at whiles go down Sirion, and a
small and secret haven they there made, whence ever and anon ships
would set forth into the West. Some came back driven by contrary
winds, but many never returned; and none reached Valinor.
6. Added here: and they sent no more messengers into the West;
7. Here the replacement text Q II ends.
8. Added at the end: In this wise came the fall of Gondolin.
$15 in the Q II version
(see note 3 above).
and like Doriath never be overthrown save by treachery
from within. Because of his protecting might the spells of"
concealment were strongest in those parts nearest to Sirion,
though there the Encircling Mountains were at their lowest.:
In that region the Gnomes dug a great winding tunnel under
the roots of the hills, and its issue was in the steep side,
tree-clad and dark, of a gorge through which the blissful
river ran. There he was still a young stream, but strong,
flowing down the narrow vale that lies between the shoul-
ders of the Encircling Mountains and the Mountains of
Shadow, Eryd-Lomin,(1) the walls of Hithlum, in whose
northern heights he took his rise.(2)
That passage they made at first to be a way of return for
fugitives and for such as escaped from the bondage of
Morgoth; and most as an issue for their scouts and messen-
gers. For Turgon deemed, when first they came into that
yale after the dreadful battle,' that Morgoth Bauglir had
grown too mighty for Elves and Men, and that it were bet-
ter to seek the forgiveness and aid of the Valar, if either
might be got, ere all was lost. Wherefore some of his folk
went down the river Sirion at whiles, ere the shadow of
Morgoth yet stretched into the uttermost parts of Beleriand,
and a small and secret haven they made at his mouth;
thence ever and anon ships would set forth into the West
bearing the embassy of the Gnomish king. Some there were
that came back driven by contrary winds; but the most
never returned again, and none reached Valinor.
The issue of that Way of Escape was guarded and con-
cealed by the mightiest spells they could contrive, and by
the power that dwelt in Sirion beloved of Ulmo, and no
thing of evil found it; yet its inner gate, which looked upon
the vale of Gondolin, was watched unceasingly by the
Gnomes.
In those days Thorndor' King of Eagles removed his ey-
ries from Thangorodrim, because of the power of Morgoth,
and the stench and fumes, and the evil of the dark clouds
that lay now ever upon the mountain-towers above his cav-
ernous halls. But Thorndor dwelt upon the northward
heights of the Encircling Mountains, and he kept watch and
saw many things, sitting upon the cairn of King Fingolfin.
And in the vale below dwelt Turgon Fingolfin's son. Upon
Amon Gwareth, the Hill of Defence, the rocky height
amidst the plain, was built Gondolin the great, whose fame
and glory is mightiest in song of all dwellings of the Elves
these Outer Lands. Of steel were its gates and of marble
were its walls. The sides of the hill the Gnomes polished to
the smoothness of dark glass, and its top they levelled for
the building of their town, save amidmost where stood the
tower and palace of the king. Many fountains there were in
that city, and white waters fell shimmering down the glis-
tening sides of Amon Gwareth. The plain all about they
smoothed till it became as a lawn of shaven grass from the
stairways before the gates unto the feet of the mountain
wall, and nought might walk or creep across unseen.
In that city the folk waxed mighty, and their armouries
were filled with weapons and with shields; for they pur-
posed at first to come forth to war, when the hour was ripe.
But as the years drew on, they grew to love that place, the
work of their hands, as the Gnomes do, with a great love,
and desired no better. Then seldom went any forth from
Gondolin on errand of war or peace again. They sent no
messengers more into the West, and Sirion's haven was
desolate. They shut them behind their impenetrable and en-
chanted hills, and suffered none to enter, though he fled
from Morgoth hate-pursued; tidings of the lands without
came to them faint and far, and they heeded them little; and
their dwelling became as a rumour, and a secret no man
could find. They succoured not Nargothrond nor Doriath,
and the wandering Elves sought them in vain; and Ulmo
alone knew where the realm of Turgon could be found. Tid-
ings Turgon heard of Thorndor concerning the slaying of
Dior, Thingol's heir, and thereafter he shut his ear to word
of the woes without; and he vowed to march never at the
side of any son of Feanor; and his folk he forbade ever to
pass the leaguer of the hills.
Changes made to this passage.
1. Eryd-Lomin > Eredwethion
2. in whose northern heights he took his rise struck through.
3. This sentence marked with an X in the margin.
4. Thorndor > Thorondor throughout.
16.
[A substantial part of this section is again extant both in the
original typescript (Q I) and in a replacement text (Q II).]
On a time Eol was lost in Taur-na-Fuin, and Isfin came
through great peril and dread unto Gondolin, and after her
coming none entered until the last messenger of Ulmo, of
whom the tales speak more ere the end. With her came her
son Meglin, and he was there received by Turgon his moth-
er's brother,(1) and though he was half of Dark-elfin' blood
he was treated as a prince of Fingolfin's line. He was swart
but comely, wise and eloquent, and cunning to win men's
hearts and minds.
Now Hurin of Hithlum had a brother Huor. The son of
Huor was Tuor. Rian Huor's wife sought her husband
among the slain upon the field of Unnumbered Tears, and
there bewailed him, ere she died. Her son was but a child,
and remaining in Hithlum fell into the hands of the faithless
Men whom Morgoth drove into that land after the battle;
and he became a thrall. Growing of age, and he was fair of
face and great of stature, and despite his grievous life val-
iant and wise, he escaped into the woods, and he became an
outlaw and a solitary, living alone and communing with
none save rarely wandering and hidden Elves.(3)'
On a time Ulmo contrived, as is told in the Tale of the
Fall of Gondolin, that he should be led to a river-course
that flowed underground from Lake Mithrim in the midst of
Hithlum into a great chasm, Cris-Ilfing,(4) the Rainbow-cleft,
through which a turbulent water ran at last into the western
sea. And the name of this chasm was so devised by reason
of the rainbow that shimmered ever in the sun in that place,
because of the abundance of the spray of the rapids and the
waterfalls.
In this way the flight of Tuor was marked by no Man nor
Elf; neither was it known to the Orcs or any spy of
Morgoth, with whom the land of Hithlum was filled.
Tuor wandered long by the western shores, journeying
ever South; and he came at last to the mouths of Sirion, and
the sandy deltas peopled by many birds of the sea. There he
fell in with a Gnome, Bronweg,' who had escaped from
Angband, and being of old of the people of Turgon, sought
ever to find the path to the hidden places of his lord, of
which rumour ran among all captives and fugitives. Now
Bronweg had come thither by far and wandering paths to
the East, and little though any step back nigher to the thral-
dom from which he had come was to his liking, he pur-
posed now to go up Sirion and seek for Turgon in
Beleriand. Fearful and very wary was he, and he aided Tuor
in their secret march, by night and twilight, so that they
were not discovered by the Orcs.
They came first into the fair Land of Willows, Nan-
Tathrin which is watered by the Narog and by Sirion; and
there all things were yet green, and the meads were rich
and full of flowers, and there was song of many birds; so
that Tuor lingered there as one enchanted, and it seemed
sweet to him to dwell there after the grim lands of the
North and his weary wandering.
There Ulmo came and appeared before him, as he stood
in the long grass at evening; and the might and majesty of
that vision is told of in the song of Tuor that he made for
his son Earendel. Thereafter. the sound of the sea and the
longing for the sea was ever in Tuor's heart and ear; and an
unquiet was on him at whiles that took him at last into the
depths of the realm of Ulmo.' But now Ulmo bade him
make all speed to Gondolin, and gave him guidance for the
finding of the hidden door; and words were set in his
mouth to bear to Turgon, bidding him prepare for battle
with Morgoth ere all was lost, and promising that Ulmo
would win the hearts of the Valar to send him succour. That
would be a mortal and a terrible strife, yet if Turgon would
dare it, Morgoth's power should be broken and his servants
perish and never after trouble the world. But if Turgon
would not go forth to this war, then he must abandon
Gondolin and lead his people down Sirion, ere Morgoth
could oppose him, and at Sirion's mouth Ulmo would be-
friend him, and lend his aid to the building of a mighty
fleet wherein the Gnomes should sail back at last to
Valinor, but then grievous would be the fate of the Outer
Lands. Tuor's part if Turgon should accept the counsels of
Ulmo, would be to go forth when Turgon marched to war
and lead a force into Hithlum and draw its Men once more,
into alliance with the Elves, for 'without Men the Elves
shall not prevail against the Orcs and Balrogs'.
This errand did Ulmo himself perform out of his love of
Elves and of the Gnomes, and because he knew that ere
twelve years were passed the doom of Gondolin would
come, strong though it seemed, if its people sat still behind
their walls.
Obedient to Ulmo Tuor and Bronweg journeyed North,
and came to the hidden door; and passing down the tunnel
neath the hills they came to the inner gate and looked upon
the vale of Gondolin, the city of seven names, shining
white flushed with the rose of dawn upon the plain. But
there they were made captive by the guard of the gate and
led before the king. Tuor spoke his embassy to Turgon in
the great square of Gondolin before the steps of his palace;
but the king was grown proud and Gondolin so fair and
beautiful and he was so trustful of its secret and impregna-
ble strength, that he and the most of his folk wished no
longer to trouble with the Gnomes and Men without, nor
did they long more to return to the lands of the Gods.
Meglin spake against Tuor in the councils of the king,
and Turgon rejected the bidding of Ulmo, and neither did
he go forth to war nor seek to fly to the mouths of Sirion;
but there were some of his wiser counsellors who were
filled with disquiet, and the king's daughter spake ever for
Tuor. She was named Idril, one of the fairest of the maidens
of the Elves of old, and folk called her Celebrindal, Silver-
foot, for the whiteness of her slender feet, and she walked
and danced ever unshod.
Thereafter Tuor sojourned in Gondolin, and grew a
mighty man in form and in wisdom, learning deeply of the
lore of the Gnomes; and the heart of Idril was turned to
him, and his to hei. At which Meglin ground his teeth, for
he loved Idril, and despite his close kinship purposed to
Wed her; indeed already he was planning in his heart to
oust Turgon and to seize the throne, but Turgon loved and
trusted him. Tuor wedded Idril nonetheless, for he had be-
come beloved by all the Gnomes of Gondolin, even Turgon
the proud, save only Meglin and his secret following. Tuor
and Beren alone of mortal Men ever wedded Elves of old,
and since Elwing daughter of Dior son of Beren after wed-
ded Earendel son of Tuor and Idril, of them alone has come
the elfin blood into mortal Men. But yet Earendel was an
infant; and he was a child surpassing fair: a light was in his
face as of heaven, and he had the beauty and the wisdom
of Elfinesse (7) and the strength and hardihood of the Men of
old; and the sea spoke ever in his ear and heart, even as
with Tuor his father.
On a time when Earendel was yet young, and the days of
Gondolin were full of joy and peace (and yet Idril's heart
misgave her, and foreboding crept upon her spirit like a
cloud), Meglin was lost. Now Meglin loved mining and
quarrying after metals above other craft; and he was master
and leader of the Gnomes who worked in the mountains
distant from the city, seeking for metals for their smithying
of things both of peace and war. But often Meglin went
with few of his folk beyond the leaguer of the hills, though
the king knew not that his bidding was defied; and so it
came to pass, as fate willed, that Meglin was taken prisoner
by the Orcs and taken before Morgoth. Meglin was no
weakling or craven, but the torment wherewith he was
threatened cowed his soul, and he purchased his life and
freedom by revealing unto Morgoth the place of Gondolin
and the ways whereby it might be found and assailed. Great
indeed was the joy of Morgoth; and to Meglin he promised
the lordship of Gondolin, as his vassal, and the possession
of Idril, when that city should be taken. Lust for Idril and
hatred of Tuor led Meglin the easier to his foul treachery.
But Morgoth sent him back to Gondolin, lest men should
suspect the betrayal, and so that Meglin should aid the as-
sault from within when the hour came; and Meglin abode
in the halls of the king with a smile on his face and evil in
his heart, while the gloom gathered ever deeper upon Idril-
At last, and Earendel was then seven years of age,
Morgoth was ready, and he loosed upon Gondolin his Orcs
and his Balrogs and his serpents; and of these, dragons of
many and dire shapes were now devised for the taking of
the city. The host of Morgoth came over the Northern hills
where the height was greatest and the watch less vigilant,
and it came at night at a time of festival, when all the folk
of Gondolin were upon the walls to wait upon the rising
sun and sing their songs at its uplifting; for the morrow was
the feast which they named the Gates of Summer. But the
red light mounted the hills in the North and not in the East;
and there was no stay in the advance of the foe until they
were beneath the very walls of Gondolin, and Gondolin
was beleaguered without hope.
Of the deeds of desperate valour there done, by the chief-
tains of the noble houses and their warriors, and not least
by Tuor, is much told in The Fall of Gondolin; of the death
of Rog without the walls; and of the battle of Ecthelion of
the Fountain with Gothmog lord of Balrogs in the very
square of the king, where each slew the other; and of the
defence of the tower of Turgon by the men of his house-
hold, until the tower was overthrown; and mighty was its
fall and the fall of Turgon in its ruin.
Tuor sought to rescue Idril from the sack of the city, but
Meglin had laid hands upon her and Earendel; and Tuor
fought on the walls with him, and cast him down to death.
Then Tuor and Idril led such remnants of the folk of
Gondolin as they could gather in the confusion of the burn-
ing down a secret way that Idril had let prepare in the days
of her foreboding. This was not yet complete, but its issue
was already far beyond the walls and in the North of the
plain where the mountains were long distant from Amon
Gwareth. Those who would not come with them, but fled
to the old Way of Escape that led into the gorge of Sirion,
were caught and destroyed by a dragon that Morgoth had
sent to watch that gate, being apprised of it by Meglin. But
of the new passage Meglin had not heard, and it was not
thought that fugitives would take a path towards the North
and the highest parts of the mountains and the nighest to
Angband.
The fume of the burning, and the steam of the fair foun-
tains of Gondolin withering in the flame of the dragons of
the North, fell upon the vale in mournful mists; and thus
was the escape of Tuor and his company aided, for then
was still a long and open road to follow from the tunnel's
mouth to the foothills of the mountains. They came none-
theless into the mountains, in woe and misery, for the high
places were cold and terrible, and they had among them
many women and children and many wounded men.
There is a dreadful pass, Cristhorn (8) was it named, the
Eagle's Cleft, where beneath the shadow of the highest
peaks a narrow path winds its way, walled by a precipice to
the right and on the left a dreadful fall leaps into emptiness.
Along that narrow way their march was strung, when it was
ambushed by an outpost of Morgoth's power; and a Balrog
was their leader. Then dreadful was their plight, and hardly
would it have been saved by the deathless valour of yellow-
haired Glorfindel, chief of the House of the Golden Flower
of Gondolin, had not Thorndor' come timely to their aid.
Songs have been sung of the duel of Glorfindel with the
Balrog upon a pinnacle of rock in that high place; and both
fell to ruin in the abyss. But Thorndor bore up Glorfindel's
body and he was buried in a mound of stones beside the
pass, and there came after a turf of green and small flowers
like yellow stars bloomed there amid the barrenness of
stone. And the birds of Thorndor stooped upon the Orcs
and drove them shrieking back; and all were slain or cast
into the deeps, and rumour of the escape from Gondolin
came not until long after to Morgoth's ears.
Thus by weary and dangerous marches the remnant of
Gondolin came unto Nan-Tathrin and there rested a while,
and were healed of their hurts and weariness, but their sor-
row could not be cured. There they made feast in memory
of Gondolin and those that had perished, fair maidens,
wives, and warriors and their king; but for Glorfindel the
well-beloved many and sweet were the songs they sang
And there Tuor in song spoke to Earendel his son of the
coming of Ulmo aforetime, the sea-vision in the midst of
the land, and the sea-longing awoke in his heart and in his
son's. Wherefore they removed with the most part of the
people to the mouths of Sirion by the sea, and there they
dwelt, and joined their folk to the slender company of
Elwing daughter of Dior, that had fled thither little while
before.
Then Morgoth thought in his heart that his triumph was
fulfilled, recking little of the sons of Feanor, and of their
oath, which had harmed him never and turned always to his
mightiest aid. And in his black thought he laughed, regret-
ting not the one Silmaril he had lost, for by it he deemed
the last shreds of the elvish race should vanish yet from the
earth and trouble it no more. If he knew of the dwelling by
the waters of Sirion he made no sign, biding his time, and
waiting upon the working of oath and lie.
*
1. mother's brother > sister-son; no doubt as his sister-son was intended.
2. Dark-elfin > Dark-elven
3. This paragraph was largely struck out, as well as some hasty emenda-
tions that had been made to it (introducing the idea of Tuor's being
born 'in the wild' and fostered by Dark-elves, and Rian's dying on the
Hill of Slain - which is here called Amon Dengin). The passage was
then rewritten:
Now Hurin of Hithlum had a brother Huor, and as has been told
Rian his wife went forth into the wild and there her son Tuor was
born, and he was fostered by the Dark-elves; but Rian laid herself
down and died upon the Hill of Slain. But Tuor grew up in the
woods of Hithlum, and he was fair of face and great of stature, and
valiant and wise; and he walked and hunted alone in the woods, and
he became a solitary, living alone and communing with none save
rarely wandering and hidden Elves.
4. Cris-Ilfing > Kirith Helvin
5. Bronweg > Bronwe at the first two occurrences, but not at the third,
which occurs in the part replaced by the Q II text.
6. At this point the replacement text Q II begins.
7. Here the replacement text Q II ends.
8. Cristhorn > Kirith-thoronath
9. Thorndor > Thorondor, as previously.
$16 in the Q II version
(see note 6 above).
But now Ulmo bade him make all speed to Gondolin, and
gave him guidance for the finding of the hidden door; and
a message he gave him to bear from Ulmo, friend of Elves,
unto Turgon, bidding him to prepare for war, and battle with
Morgoth ere all was lost; and to send again his messengers
into the West. Summons too should he send into the East
and gather, if he might, Men (who were now multiplying
and spreading on the earth) unto his banners; and for that
task Tuor was most fit. 'Forget,' counselled Ulmo, 'the
treachery of Uldor the accursed, and remember Hurin; far
without mortal Men the Elves shall not prevail against the
Balrogs and the Orcs.' Nor should the feud with the sons of
Feanor be left unhealed; for this should be the last gathering
of the hope of the Gnomes, when every sword should count.
A terrible and mortal strife he foretold, but victory if Turgon
would dare it, the breaking of Morgoth's power, and the
healing of feuds, and friendship between Men and Elves,
whereof the greatest good should come into the world, and
the servants of Morgoth trouble it no more. But if Turgon
would not go forth to this war, then he should abandon
Gondolin and lead his people down Sirion, and build thee
his fleets and seek back to Valinor and the mercy of the
Gods. But in this counsel there was danger more dire than
in the other, though so it might not seem; and grievous
thereafter would be the fate of the Outer' Lands.
This errand Ulmo performed out of his love of the Elves,
and because he knew that ere many years were passed the
doom of Gondolin would come, if its people sat still behind
its walls; not thus should anything of joy or beauty in the
world be preserved from Morgoth's malice.
Obedient to Ulmo Tuor and Bronweg' journeyed North,
and came at last to the hidden door; and passing down the
tunnel reached the inner gate, and were taken by the guard
as prisoners. There they saw the fair vale Tumladin (3) set like
a green jewel amid the hills; and amidst Tumladin Gondolin
the great, the city of seven names, white, shining from afar,
flushed with the rose of dawn upon the plain. Thither they
were led and passed the gates of steel, and were brought be-
fore the steps of the palace of the king. There Tuor spake the
embassy of Ulmo, and something of the power and majesty
of the Lord of Waters his voice had caught, so that all folk
looked in wonder on him, and doubted that this were a Man
of mortal race as he declared. But proud was Turgon be-
come, and Gondolin as beautiful as a memory of Tun, and
he trusted in its secret and impregnable strength; so that he
and the most part of his folk wished not to imperil it nor
leave it, and they desired not to mingle in the woes of Elves
and Men without; nor did they any longer desire to return
through dread and danger to the West.
Meglin spoke ever against Tuor in the councils of the
king, and his words seemed the more weighty in that they
went with Turgon's heart. Wherefore Turgon rejected the
bidding of Ulmo; though some there were of his wisest
counsellors who were filled with disquiet. Wise-hearted
even beyond the measure of the daughters of Elfinesse was
the daughter of the king, and she spoke ever for Tuor,
though it did not avail, and her heart was heavy. Very fair
and tall was she, well nigh of warrior's stature, and her hair
was a fountain of gold. Idril was she named, and called
Celebrindal, Silver-foot, for the whiteness of her foot; and
she walked and danced ever unshod in the white ways and
green lawns of Gondolin.
Thereafter Tuor sojourned in Gondolin, and went not to
summon the Men of the East, for the blissfulness of
Gondolin, the beauty and wisdom of its folk, held him en-
thralled. And he grew high in the favour of Turgon; for he
became a mighty man in stature and in mind, learning
deeply of the lore of the Gnomes. The heart of Idril was
turned to him, and his to her; at which Meglin ground his
teeth, for he desired Idril, and despite his close kinship pur-
posed to possess her; and she was the only heir of the king
of Gondolin. Indeed in his heart he was already planning
how he might oust Turgon and seize his throne; but Turgon
the great, the city of seven names, white, shining from afar,
flushed with the rose of dawn upon the plain. Thither they
were led and passed the gates of steel, and were brought be-
fore the steps of the palace of the king. There Tuor spake the
embassy of Ulmo, and something of the power and majesty
of the Lord of Waters his voice had caught, so that all folk
looked in wonder on him, and doubted that this were a Man
of mortal race as he declared. But proud was Turgon be-
come, and Gondolin as beautiful as a memory of Tun, and
he trusted in its secret and impregnable strength; so that he
and the most part of his folk wished not to imperil it nor
leave it, and they desired not to mingle in the woes of Elves
and Men without; nor did they any longer desire to return
through dread and danger to the West.
Meglin spoke ever against Tuor in the councils of the
king, and his words seemed the more weighty in that they
went with Turgon's heart. Wherefore Turgon rejected the
bidding of Ulmo; though some there were of his wisest
counsellors who were filled with disquiet. Wise-hearted
even beyond the measure of the daughters of Elfinesse was
the daughter of the king, and she spoke ever for Tuor,
though it did not avail, and her heart was heavy. Very fair
and tall was she, well nigh of warrior's stature, and her hair
was a fountain of gold. Idril was she named, and called
Celebrindal, Silver-foot, for the whiteness of her foot; and
she walked and danced ever unshod in the white ways and
green lawns of Gondolin.
Thereafter Tuor sojourned in Gondolin, and went not to
summon the Men of the East, for the blissfulness of
Gondolin, the beauty and wisdom of its folk, held him en-
thralled. And he grew high in the favour of Turgon; for he
became a mighty man in stature and in mind, learning
deeply of the lore of the Gnomes. The heart of Idril was
turned to him, and his to her; at which Meglin ground his
teeth, for he desired Idril, and despite his close kinship pur-
posed to possess her; and she was the only heir of the king
of Gondolin. Indeed in his heart he was already planning
how he might oust Turgon and seize his throne; but Turgon
loved and trusted him. Nonetheless Tuor took Idril to wife;
and the folk of Gondolin made merry feast, for Tuor had
won their hearts, all save Meglin and his secret following,
Tuor and Beren alone of mortal Men had Elves to wife, and
since Elwing daughter of Dior son of Beren after wedded
Earendel son of Tuor and Idril of Gondolin, of them alone
has come the elfin4 blood into mortal race. But as yet
Earendel was a little child: surpassing fair was he, a light
was in his face as the light of heaven, and he had the
beauty and the wisdom of Elfinesse.
Changes made to this passage
1. Outer > Hither
2. Bronweg > Bronwe (see note 5 above).
3. Tumladin > Tumladen
4. elfin > elven
17.
[The whole of this section is extant in the two typescript ver-
sions Q I and Q II.]
Yet by Sirion there grew up an elfin folk, the gleanings
of Doriath and Gondolin, and they took to the sea and I
the making of fair ships, and they dwelt nigh unto its
shores and under the shadow of Ulmo's hand.
But in Valinor Ulmo spake grievous words unto the Valar
and unto the Elves the kinsfolk of the exiled and ruined
Gnomes, and he called on them to forgive, and to rescue
the world from the overmastering might of Morgoth, and
win back the Silmarils wherein alone now bloomed the
light of the days of ancient bliss when the Two Trees st(R)
shone. And the sons of the Valar prepared for battle,
Fionwe son of Tulcas was the captain of the host. With hi(R)
marched the host of the Quendi, the Light-elves, the folk
Ingwe, and among them such of the race of the Gnomes
[as] had not left Valinor; but remembering Swan Haven the
Teleri came not forth. Tun was deserted and the hill of Cor
knew no more the feet of the elder children of the world.
In those days Tuor felt old age creep upon him, and he
could not forbear the longing that possessed him for the
sea; wherefore he built a great ship Earame, Eagle's Pinion,
and with Idril he set sail into the sunset and the West, and
came no more into any tale. But Earendel the shining be-
came the lord of the folk of Sirion and took to wife fair
Elwing; and yet he could not rest. Two thoughts were in his
heart blended as one: the longing for the wide sea; and he
thought to sail thereon following after Tuor and Idril
Celebrindal who returned not, and he thought to find per-
haps the last shore and bring ere he died a message to the
Gods and Elves of the West, that should move their hearts
to pity on the world and the sorrows of Mankind.
Wingelot he built, fairest of the ships of song, the Foam-
flower; white were its timbers as the argent moon, golden
were its oars, silver were its shrouds, its masts were
crowned with jewels like stars. In the Lay of Earendel is
many a thing sung of his adventures in the deep and in
lands untrod, and in many seas and many isles; and most of
how he fought and slew Ungoliant in the South and her
darkness perished, and light came to many places which
had yet long been hid. But Elwing sat sorrowing at home.
Earendel found not Tuor, nor came he ever on that journey
to the shores of Valinor; and at last he was driven by the
winds back East, and he came at a time of night to the ha-
vens of Sirion, unlooked for, unwelcomed, for they were des-
olate. Bronweg alone sat there in sorrow, the companion of
his father of old, and his tidings were filled with new woe.
The dwelling of Elwing at Sirion's mouth, where still she
possessed the Nauglafring and the glorious Silmaril, be-
came known to the sons of Feanor; and they gathered to-
gether from their wandering hunting-paths. But the folk of
Sirion would not yield that jewel which Beren had won and
Luthien had worn, and for which fair Dior had been slain.
And so befell the last and cruellest slaying of Elf by Elf,
the third woe achieved by the accursed oath; for the sons of
Feanor came down upon the exiles of Gondolin and the
remnant of Doriath, and though some of their folk stood
aside and some few rebelled and were slain upon the other
part aiding Elwing against their own lords, yet they won the
day. Damrod was slain and Diriel, and Maidros and Maglor
alone now remained of the Seven; but the last of the folk
of Gondolin were destroyed or forced to depart and join
them to the people of Maidros. And yet the sons of Feanor
gained not the Silmaril; for Elwing cast the Nauglafring
into the sea, whence it shall not return until the End; and
she leapt herself into the waves, and took the form of a
white sea-bird, and flew away lamenting and seeking for
Earendel about all the shores of the world.
But Maidros took pity upon her child Elrond, and took
him with him, and harboured and nurtured him, for his heart
was sick and weary with the burden of the dreadful oath.
Learning these things Earendel was overcome with sor-
row; and with Bronweg he set sail once more in search of
Elwing and of Valinor. And it is told in the Lay of Earendel
that he came at last unto the Magic Isles, and hardly escaped
their enchantment, and found again the Lonely Isle, and the
Shadowy Seas, and the Bay of Faerie on the borders of the
world. There he landed on the immortal shore alone of living
Men, and his feet clomb the marvellous hill of Cor; and he
walked in the deserted ways of Tun, where the dust upon his
raiment and his shoes was a dust of diamonds and gems. But
he ventured not into Valinor. He came too late to bring mes-
sages to the Elves, for the Elves had gone.(1)
He built a tower in the Northern Seas to which all the
sea-birds of the world might at times repair, and ever he
grieved for fair Elwing looking for her return to him. And
Wingelot was lifted on their wings and sailed now even in
the airs searching for Elwing; marvellous and magical was
that ship, a starlit flower in the sky. But the Sun scorched
it and the Moon hunted it in heaven, and long Earendel
wandered over Earth, glimmering as a fugitive star.
*
1. At the foot of the page is written very quickly and faintly in pencil:
Make Earendel move the Gods. And it is said that there were Men
of Hithlum repentant of their evil in that day, and that so were ful-
filled Ulmo's words, for by Earendel's embassy and the aid of val-
iant Men the Orcs and Balrogs were destroyed, yet not as utterly as
might have been.
At the top of the next page is written; Men turned the [tide] (the last
word is illegible).
$l7 in the Q II version.
Yet by Sirion and the sea there grew up an elfin' folk,
the gleanings of Gondolin and Doriath, and they took to the
waves and to the making of fair ships, dwelling ever nigh
unto the shores and under the shadow of Ulmo's hand.
In Valinor Ulmo spoke unto the Valar of the need of the
Elves, and he called on them to forgive and send succour
unto them and rescue them from the overmastering might
of Morgoth, and win back the Silmarils wherein alone now
bloomed the light of the days of bliss when the Two Trees
still were shining. Or so it is said, among the Gnomes, who
after had tidings of many things from their kinsfolk the
Quendi, the Light-elves beloved of Manwe, who ever knew
something of the mind of the Lord of the Gods. But as yet
Manwe moved not, and the counsels of his heart what tale
shall tell? The Quendi have said that the hour was not yet
come, and that only one speaking in person for the cause of
both Elves and Men, pleading for pardon upon their mis-
deeds and pity on their woes, might move the counsels of
the Powers; and the oath of Feanor perchance even Manwe
could not loose, until it found its end, and the sons of
Feanor relinquished the Silmarils, upon which they had laid
their ruthless claim. For the light which lit the Silmarils the
Gods had made.
In those days Tuor felt old age creep upon him, and ever
a longing for the deeps of the sea grew stronger in his
heart. Wherefore he built a great ship Earame, Eagle's Pin-
ion,(2) and with Idril he set sail into the sunset and the West,
and came no more into any tale or song.(3) Bright Earendel
was then lord of the folk of Sirion and their many ships;
and he took to wife Elwing the fair, and she bore him
Elrond Half-elfin.(4) Yet Earendel could not rest, and his voy-
ages about the shores of the Outer (5) Lands eased not his un-
quiet. Two purposes grew in his heart, blended as one in
longing for the wide sea: he sought to sail thereon, seeking
after Tuor and Idril Celebrindal who returned not; and he
thought to find perhaps the last shore and bring ere he died
the message of Elves and Men unto the Valar of the West,
that should move the hearts of Valinor and the Elves of Tun
to pity on the world and the sorrows of Mankind.
Wingelot' he built, fairest of the ships of song, the Foam-
flower; white were its timbers as the argent moon, golden
were its oars, silver were its shrouds, its masts were
crowned with jewels like stars. In the Lay of Earendel is
many a thing sung of his adventures in the deep and in
lands untrodden, and in many seas and many isles.
Ungoliant' in the South he slew, and her darkness was de-
stroyed, and light came to many regions which had yet long
been hid. But Elwing sat sorrowing at home.
Earendel found not Tuor nor Idril, nor came he ever on
that journey to the shores of Valinor, defeated by shadows
and enchantment, driven by repelling winds, until in longing
for Elwing he turned him homeward toward the East. And
his heart bade him haste, for a sudden fear was fallen on him
out of dreams, and the winds that before he had striven with
might not now bear him back as swift as his desire.
Upon the havens of Sirion new woe had fallen. The
dwelling of Elwing there, where still she possessed the
Nauglafring' and the glorious Silmaril, became known unto
the remaining sons of Feanor, Maidros and Maglor and
Damrod and Diriel; and they gathered together from their
wandering hunting-paths, and messages of friendship and
yet stern demand they sent unto Sirion. But Elwing and the
folk of Sirion would not yield that jewel which Beren had
won and Luthien had worn, and for which Dior the Fair
was slain; and least of all while Earendel their lord was in
the sea, for them seemed that in that jewel lay the gift of
bliss and healing that had come upon their houses and their
ships.
And so came in the end to pass the last and cruellest of
the slayings of Elf by Elf; and that was the third of the
great wrongs achieved by the accursed oath. For the sons of
Feanor came down upon the exiles of Gondolin and the
remnant of Doriath and destroyed them. Though some of
their folk stood aside, and some few rebelled and were slain
upon the other part aiding Elwing against their own lords
(for such was the sorrow and confusion of the hearts of
Elfinesse in those days), yet Maidros and Maglor won the
day. Alone they now remained of the sons of Feanor, for in
that battle Damrod and Diriel were slain; but the folk of
Sirion perished or fled away, or departed of need to join the
people of Maidros, who claimed now the lordship of all
the Elves of the Outer Lands. And yet Maidros gained not
the Silmaril, for Elwing seeing that all was lost and her
child Elrond (9) taken captive, eluded the host of Maidros, and
with the Nauglafring upon her breast she cast herself into
the sea, and perished as folk thought.
But Ulmo bore her up and he gave unto her the likeness
of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a
star the shining Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek
Earendel her beloved. And on a time of night Earendel at
the helm saw her come towards him, as a white cloud
under moon exceeding swift, as a star over the sea moving
in strange course, a pale flame on wings of storm. And it
is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of
Wingelot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of
her speed, and Earendel took her unto his bosom. And in
the morn with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her
own form beside him with her hair upon his face; and she
Slept.
But great was the sorrow of Earendel and Elwing for the
ruin of the havens of Sirion, and the captivity of their son,
for whom they feared death, and yet it was not so. For
Maidros took pity on Elrond, and he cherished him, and
love grew after between them, as little might be thought;
but Maidros' heart was sick and weary" with the burden of
the dreadful oath. Yet Earendel saw now no hope left in the
lands of Sirion, and he turned again in despair and came
not home, but sought back once more to Valinor with
Elwing at his side. He stood now most oft at the prow, and
the Silmaril he bound upon his forehead; and ever its light
grew greater as they drew unto the West. Maybe it was due
in part to the puissance of that holy jewel that they came
in time to the waters that as yet no vessels save those of the
Teleri had known; and they came unto the Magic Isles and
escaped their magic;" and they came into the Shadowy
Seas and passed their shadows; and they looked upon the
Lonely Isle and they tarried not there; and they cast anchor
in the Bay of Faerie" upon the borders of the world. And
the Teleri saw the coming of that ship and were amazed,
gazing from afar upon the light of the Silmaril, and it was
very great.
But Earendel landed on the immortal shores alone of liv-
ing Men; and neither Elwing nor any of his small company
would he suffer to go with him, lest they fell beneath the
wrath of the Gods, and he came at a time of festival even
as Morgoth and Ungoliant had in ages past, and the watch-
ers upon the hill of Tun were few, for the Quendi were
most in the halls of Manwe on Tinbrenting's (13) height.
The watchers rode therefore in haste to Valmar, or hid
them in the passes of the hills; and all the bells of Valmar
pealed; but Earendel clomb the marvellous hill of Cor" and
found it bare, and he entered into the streets of Tun and
they were empty; and his heart sank. He walked now in the
deserted ways of Tun and the dust upon his raiment and his
shoes was a dust of diamonds, yet no one heard his call
Wherefore he went back unto the shores and would climb
once more upon Wingelot his ship; but one came unto the
strand and cried unto him: 'Hail Earendel, star most radiant,
messenger most fair!" Hail thou bearer of light before the
Sun and Moon, the looked-for that comest unawares, the
longed-for that comest beyond hope! Hail thou splendour of
the children of the world, thou slayer of the dark! Star of
the sunset hail! Hail herald of the morn!'
And that was Fionwe the son of Manwe, and he sum-
moned Earendel before the Gods; and Earendel went unto
Valinor and to the halls of Valmar, and came never again
back into the lands of Men." But Earendel spake the em-
bassy of the two races'" before the faces of the Gods, and
asked for pardon upon the Gnomes and pity for the exiled
Elves and for unhappy Men, and succour in their need.
Then the sons of the Valar prepared for battle, and the
captain of their host was Fionwe son of Manwe. Beneath
his white banner marche<i also the host of the Quendi, the
Light-elves, the folk of Ingwe, and among them such of the
Gnomes of old as had never departed from Valinor,"" but
remembering Swan Haven the Teleri went not forth save
very few, and these manned the ships wherewith the most
of that army carne into the Northern lands; but they them-
selves would set foot never on those shores.
Earendel was their guide: but the Gods would not suffer
him to return again, and he built him a white tower upon
the confines of the outer world in the Northern regions of
the Sundering Seas: and there all the sea-birds of the earth
at time=- repaired. And often was Elwing in the form and
likeness of a bird; and she devised wings for the ship of
Earendel, and it was lifted even into the oceans of the air.
Marvellous and magical was that ship, a starlit flower in the
sky, bearing a wavering and holy flame; and the folk of
earth beheld it from afar and wondered, and looked up from
despair, saying surely a Silmaril is in the sky, a new star is
risen in the West. Maidros said unto Maglor:" 'If that be
the Silmaril that riseth by some power divine out of the sea
into which we saw it fall, then let us be glad, that its glory
is seen now by many.' Thus hope arose and a promise of
betterment; but Morgoth was filled with doubt.
Yet it is said that he looked not for the assault that came
upon him from the West. So great was his pride become
that he deemed none would ever again come against him in
open war; moreover he thought that he had estranged the
Gnomes for ever from the Gods and from their kin, and
that content in their Blissful Realm the Valar would heed no
more his kingdom in the world without. For heart that is
pitiless counteth not the power that pity hath, of which stern
anger may be forged and a lightning kindled before which
mountains fall.
1. elfin > elven
2. Earame, Eagle's Pinion > Earrame, Sea-wing
3. Added here:
But Tuor alone of mortal Men was numbered among the elder race,
and joined with the Noldoli whom he loved, and in after time
dwelt still, or so it hath been said, [struck out: in Tol Eressea] ever
upon his ship voyaging the seas of Fairyland [> the Elven-lands],
or resting a while in the harbours of the Gnomes of Tol Eressea;
and his fate is sundered from the fate of Men.
4. and she bore him Elrond Half-elfin > and she bore him Elros and
Elrond, who are called the Halfelven.
5. Outer > Hither at both occurrences.
6. Wingelot > Vingelot at all three occurrences; at the first only, Vingelot
later > Wingilot
7. Ungoliant > Ungoliante at both occurrences.
8. Nauglafring > Nauglamir at both occurrences (cf. $14 note 10).
9. her child Elrond > her children Elros and Elrond
10. This passage was rewritten thus:
But great was the sorrow of Earendel and Elwing for the ruin of
the havens of Sirion, and the captivity of their sons; and they
feared that they would be slain But it was not so. For Maglor took:
pity on Elros and Elrond, and he cherished them, and love grew af-
ter between them, as little might be thought; but Maglor's heart
was sick and weary, &c.
11. and they came unto the Magic Isles and escaped their magic > and
they came to the Enchanted Isles and escaped their enchantment
12. Bay of Faerie > Bay of Elvenhome
13. Tinbrenting 's > Tindbrenting 's
14. This paragraph was emended at different times, and it is not perfectly
clear what was intended. The first change was the addition, after lest
they fell beneath the wrath of the Cods, of: And he bade farewell to
all whom he loved upon the last shore, and was taken from them for
ever. Subsequently nor any of his small company seems to have been
removed, with the result: and he would nor suffer Elwing to go with
him, lest she fell beneath the wrath of the Gods: but the previous ad-
dition was not struck out.
15. Cor > Kor, as previously.
16. This passage was altered to read:
Wherefore he turned back towards the shores thinking to set sail
once more upon Vingelot his ship; but one came unto him and
cried: 'Hail Earendel, radiant star, messenger most fair!'
17. came never again back into the lands of Men > never again set foot
upon the lands of Men.
18. races > kindreds
19. Added here: and Ingwiel son of Ingwe was their chief;
20. This passage, from the beginning of the paragraph, was extensively
rewritten:
In those days the ship of Earendel was drawn by the Gods beyond
the edge of the world, and it was lifted even into the oceans of the
air. Marvellous and magical was that ship, a starlit flower in the
sky, bearing a wavering and holy flame; and the folk of Earth be-
held it from afar and wondered, and looked up from despair, saying
surely a Silmaril is in the sky, a new star is risen in the West. But
Elwing mourned for Earendel yet found him never again, and they
are sundered till the world endeth. Therefore she built a white
tower upon the confines of the outer world in the Northern regions
of the Sundering Seas; and there all the seabirds of the earth at
times repaired. And Elwing devised wings for herself, and desired
to fly to Earendel's ship. But [?she fell back] ... But when the
flame of it appeared on high Maglor said unto Maidros:
18.
[The whole of this section is again extant in the two typescript
versions Q I and Q II.]
Of the march of Fionwe to the North little is said, for in
that host there were none of the Elves who had dwelt and
suffered in the Outer Lands, and who made these tales; and
tidings only long after did they learn of these things from
their distant kinsfolk the Elves of Valinor. The meeting
of the hosts of Fionwe and of Morgoth in the North is
named the Last Battle, the Battle Terrible, the Battle of
Wrath and Thunder. Great was Morgoth's amaze when this
host came upon him from the West, and all Hithlum was
ablaze with its glory, and the mountains rang; for he had
thought that he had estranged the Gnomes for ever from the
Gods and from their kin, and that content in their blissful
realm the Gods would heed no further his kingdom in the
world without. For heart that is pitiless counts not the
power that pity hath; nor foresees that of gentle ruth for an-
guish and for valour overthrown stern anger may be forged,
and a lightning kindled before which mountains fall.'
There was marshalled the whole power of the Throne of
Hate, and well nigh measureless had it become, so that
Dor-na-Fauglith might by no means contain it, and all
the North was aflame with war. But it availed not. All the
Balrogs were destroyed, and the uncounted hosts of the
Orcs perished like straw in fire, or were swept away like
shrivelled leaves before a burning wind. Few remained to
trouble the world thereafter. And Morgoth himself came
forth, and all his dragons were about him; and Fionwe for
a moment was driven back. But the sons of the Valar in the
end overthrew them all, and but two escaped. Morgoth es-
caped not. Him they threw down, and they bound him with
the chain Angainor, wherewith Tulkas had chained him
aforetime, and whence in unhappy hour the Gods had re-
leased him; but his iron crown they beat into a collar for
his neck, and his head was bowed unto his knees. The
Silmarils Fionwe took and guarded them.
Thus perished the power and woe of Angband in the
North and its multitude of captives came forth into the light
again beyond all hope, and looked upon a world all
changed. Thangorodrim was riven and cast down, and the
pits of Morgoth uncovered, roofless and broken, never to be
rebuilt; but so great was the fury of those adversaries that
all the Northern and Western parts of the world were rent
and gaping, and the sea roared in in many places; the rivers
perished or found new paths, the valleys were upheaved
and the hills trod down; and Sirion was no more. Then Men
fled away, such as perished not in the ruin of those days,
and long was it ere they came back over the mountains to
where Beleriand once had been, and not till the tale of
those days had faded to an echo seldom heard.
But Fionwe marched through the lands summoning the
remnants of the Gnomes and the Dark-elves that never yet
had looked on Valinor to join with the captives released
from Angband, and depart; and with the Elves should those
of the race of Hador and Beor alone be suffered to depart,
if they would. But of these only Elrond was now left, the
Half-elfin; and [he] elected to remain, being bound by his
mortal blood in love to those of the younger race; and of
Elrond alone has the blood of the elder race and of the seed
divine of Valinor come among mortal Men.
But Maidros would not obey the call, preparing to fulfil
even yet the obligation of his oath, though with weary
loathing and despair. For he would have given battle for the
Silmarils, if they were withheld from him, though he should
stand alone in all the world save for Maglor his brother
alone. And he sent unto Fionwe and bade him yield up
those jewels which of old Morgoth stole from Feanor. But
Fionwe said that the right that Feanor and his sons had in
that which they had made, had perished, because of the
many and evil deeds they had wrought blinded by their
oath, and most of all the slaying of Dior and the assault
upon Elwing. To Valinor must Maidros and Maglor return
and abide the judgement of the Gods, by whose decree
alone would he yield the jewels to any keeping other than
his own.
Maidros was minded to submit, for he was sad at heart,
and he said: 'The oath decrees not that we shall not bide
our time, and maybe in Valinor all shall be forgiven and
forgot, and we shall be vouchsafed our own.' But Maglor
said that if once they returned and the favour of the Gods
was not granted them, then would their oath still remain,
and be fulfilled in despair yet greater; 'and who can tell to
what dreadful end we shall come if we disobey the Powers
in their own land, or purpose ever to bring war into their
Guarded Realm again?' And so came it that Maidros and
Maglor crept into the camps of Fionwe, and laid hands on
the Silmarils; and they took to their weapons when they
were discovered. But the sons of the Valar arose in wrath
and prevented them, and took Maidros prisoner; and yet
Maglor eluded them and escaped.
Now the Silmaril that Maidros held - for the brothers had
agreed each to take one, saying that two brethren alone now
remained, and but two jewels - burned the hand of
Maidros, and he had but one hand as [has] been before told,
and he knew then that his right thereto had become void,
and that the oath was vain. But he cast the Silmaril upon
the ground, and Fionwe took it; and for the anguish of his
pain and the remorse of his heart he took his own life, ere
he could be stayed.
It is told too of Maglor that he fled far, but he too could
not endure the pain with which the Silmaril tormented him;
and in an agony he cast it from him into a yawning gap
filled with fire, in the rending of the Western lands, and the
jewel vanished into the bosom of the Earth. But Maglor
came never back among the folk of Elfinesse, but wandered
singing in pain and in regret beside the sea.
In those days there was a mighty building of ships on the
shores of the Western Sea, and most upon the great isles,
which in the disruption of the Northern world were fash-
ioned of old Beleriand. Thence in many a fleet the survi-
vors of the Gnomes, and of the Western companies of the
Dark-elves, set sail into the West and came no more into
the lands of weeping and of war; and the Light-elves
marched back beneath the banners of their king following
in the train of Fionwe's victory. Yet not all returned, and
some lingered many an age in the West and North, and es-
pecially in the Western Isles. Yet ever as the ages drew on
and the Elf-folk faded on the Earth, they would still set sail
at eve from our Western shores; as still they do, when now
there linger few anywhere of the lonely companies.
But in the West the Gnomes returned rehabited for the
most part the Lonely Isle that looks both East and West;
and with them were mingled the Dark-elves, especially
such as had once belonged to Doriath. And some returned
even to Valinor, and were welcomed amid the bright com-
panies of the Quendi, and admitted to the love of Manwe
and the pardon of the Gods; and the Teleri forgave their an-
cient bitterness, and the curse was laid to rest. But Tun was
never again inhabited; and Cor stands still a hill of silent
and untrodden green.
*
1. The content of this passage, from Great was Morgoth's amaze..., has
been given at the end of $17 in the Q II version, since it appears there
before the words Of the march of the host of Fionwe with which I be-
gin $18.
$18 in the Q II version.
Of the march of the host of Fionwe to the North little is
said, for in his armies carne none of those Elves who had
dwelt and suffered in the Outer' Lands, and who made
these tales; and tidings only long after did they leam of
these things from their kinsfolk the Light-elves of Valinor.
But Fionwe came, and the challenge of his trumpets filled
the sky, and he summoned unto him all Men and Elves
from Hithlum unto the East; and Beleriand was ablaze with
the glory of his arms, and the mountains rang.
The meeting of the hosts of the West and of the North is
named the Great Battle, the Battle Terrible, the Battle of
Wrath and Thunder. There was marshalled the whole power
of the Throne of Hate, and well nigh measureless had it be-
come, so that Dor-na-Fauglith could not contain it, and all
the North was aflame with war. But it availed not. All the
Balrogs were destroyed, and the uncounted hosts of the
Orcs perished like straw in fire, or were swept like shriv-
elled leaves before a burning wind. Few remained to trou-
ble the world thereafter. And it is said that there many Men
of Hithlum repentant of their evil servitude did deeds of
valour, and many beside of Men new come out of the East;(2)
and so were fulfilled in part the words of Ulmo; for by
Earendel son of Tuor was help brought unto the Elves, and
by the swords of Men were they strengthened on the fields
of war.' But Morgoth quailed and he came not forth; and he
loosed his last assault, and that was the winged dragons.4
So sudden and so swift and ruinous was the onset of that
fleet, as a tempest of a hundred thunders winged with steel,
that Fionwe was driven back; hut Earendel came and a
myriad of birds were about him, and the battle lasted all
through the night of doubt. And Earendel slew Ancalagon
the black and the mightiest of all the dragon-horde, and
cast him from the sky, and in his fall the towers of
Thangorodrim were thrown down. Then the sun rose of the
second day and the sons' of the Valar prevailed, and all the
dragons were destroyed save two alone; and they fled into
the East. Then were all the pits of Morgoth broken and un-
roofed, and the might of Fionwe descended into the deeps
of the Earth, and there Morgoth was thrown down. He was
bound' with the chain Angainor, which long had been pre-
pared, and his iron crown they beat into a collar for his
neck, and his head was bowed unto his knees. But Fionwe
took the two Silmarils that remained and guarded them.
Thus perished the power and woe of Angband in the
North, and its multitude of thralls came forth beyond all
hope into the light of day, and they looked upon a world all
changed; for so great was the fury of those adversaries that
the Northern regions of the Western world were rent and
riven, and the sea roared in through many chasms, and
there was confusion and great noise; and the rivers perished
or found new paths, and the valleys were upheaved and the
hills trod down; and Sirion was no more. Then Men fled
away, such as perished not in the ruin of those days, and
long was it ere they came back over the mountains to
where Beleriand once had been, and not until the tale of
those wars had faded to an echo seldom heard.
* * *
But Fionwe marched through the Western lands sum-
moning the remnants of the Gnomes, and the Dark-elves
that had yet not looked on Valinor, to join with the thralls
released and to depart. But Maidros would not harken, and
he prepared, though with weary loathing and despair, to
perform even yet the obligation of his oath. For Maidros
and Maglor would have given battle for the Silmarils, were
they withheld, even against the victorious host of Valinor,
and though they stood alone in all the world. And they sent
unto Fionwe and bade him yield now up those jewels
which of old Morgoth stole from Feanor. But Fionwe said
that the right to the work of their hands which Feanor and
his sons had formerly possessed now had perished, because
of their many and evil deeds blinded by their oath, and
most of all the slaying of Dior and the assault upon Elwing;
the light of the Silmarils should go now to the Gods
whence it came, and to Valinor must Maidros and Maglor
return and there abide the judgement of the Gods, by whose
decree alone would Fionwe yield the jewels from his
charge.
Maglor was minded to submit, for he was sad at heart,
and he said: 'The oath says not that we may not bide our
time, and maybe in Valinor all shall be forgiven and forgot,
and we shall come into our own.' But Maidros said that if
once they returned and the favour of the Gods were with-
held from them, then would their oath still remain, to be
fulfilled in despair yet greater; 'and who can tell to what
dreadful doom we shall come, if we disobey the Powers in
their own land, or purpose ever to bring war again into their
Guarded Realm?' And so it came that Maidros and Maglor
crept into the camps of Fionwe, and laid hands on the
Silmarils, and slew the guards; and there they prepared to
defend themselves to the death. But Fionwe stayed his folk;
and the brethren departed and fled far away.
Each took a single Silmaril, saying that one was lost unto
them and two remained, and but two brethren. But the
jewel burned the hand of Maidros in pain unbearable (and
he had but one hand as has before been told); and he per-
ceived that it was as Fionwe had said, and that his right
thereto had become void, and that the oath was vain. And
being in anguish and despair he cast himself into a gaping
chasm filled with fire, and so ended; and his Silmaril was
taken into the bosom of the Earth.
And it is told also of Maglor that he could not bear the
pain with which the Silmaril tormented him; and he cast it
at last into the sea, and thereafter wandered ever upon the
shore singing in pain and regret beside the waves; for
Maglor was the mightiest of the singers of old, but he came
never back among the folk of Elfinesse.
In those days there was a mighty building of ships on the
shores of the Western Sea, and especially upon the great
isles, which in the disruption of the Northern world were
fashioned of ancient Beleriand. Thence in many a fleet the
survivors of the Gnomes and of the Western companies of
the Dark-elves set sail into the West and came not again
into the lands of weeping and of war; but the Light-elves
marched back beneath the banners of their king following
in the train of Fionwe's victory, and they were borne back
in triumph unto Valinor.' But in the West the Gnomes and
Dark-elves rehabited for the most part the Lonely Isle, that
looks both East and West; and very fair did that land be-
come, and so remains. But some returned even unto
Valinor, as all were free to do who willed; and the Gnomes
were admitted again to the love of Manwe and the pardon
of the Valar, and the Teleri forgave their ancient grief, and
the curse was laid to rest.
Yet not all would forsake the Outer Lands where they
had long suffered and long dwelt; and some lingered many
an age in the West and North, and especially in the western
isles and the lands of Leithien. And among these were
Maglor as has been told; and with him Elrond the Half-
elfin,' who after went among mortal Men again, and from
whom alone the blood of the elder race' and the seed divine
of Valinor have come among Mankind (for he was son of
Elwing, daughter of Dior, son of Luthien, child of Thingol
and Melian; and Earendel his sire was son of Idril
Celebrindal, the fair maid of Gondolin). But ever as the
ages drew on and the Elf-folk faded on the Earth, they
would still set sail at eve from our Western shores: as still
they do, when now there linger few anywhere of their
lonely companies.
*
1. Hither written above or replacing Outer at both occurrences.
2. In this sentence, in the first 'layer' of emendation, many Men > some
few Men and many beside of Men > some beside of Men. Later the
sentence was rewritten rapidly in pencil:
And it is said that all that were left of the three Houses of the Fa-
thers of Men fought for Fionwe, and to them were joined some of
the Men of Hithlum who repenting of their evil servitude did deeds
of valour against the Orcs; and so were fulfilled, &c.
See note 3.
3. Added here at the same time as the rewriting given in note 2:
But most Men, and especially those new come out of the East, were
on the side of the Enemy.
4. Added here:
for as yet had none of these creatures of his cruel thought assailed
the air.
5. sons > children (late change).
6. and there Morgoth was thrown down altered and expanded thus:
and there Morgoth stood at last at bay; and yet not valiant. He fled
unto the deepest of his mines and sued for peace and pardon. But
his feet were hewn from under him, and he was hurled upon his
face. Then was he bound, &c.
Added here:
Yet little joy had they in their return, for they came without the
Silmarils, and these could not be again found, unless the world was
broken and re-made anew.
8. Half-elfin > Half-elven (cf. $17 in the Q II version, note 4).
9. the elder race > the Firstborn
19.
[Q I comes to an end soon after the beginning of this section.]
Thus did the Gods adjudge when Fionwe and the sons of
the Valar returned unto Valmar: the Outer Lands should
thereafter be for Men, the younger children of the world;
but to the Elves alone should the gateways of the West
stand ever open; but if they would not come thither and tar-
ried in the world of Men, then should they slowly fade and
fail. And so hath it been; and this is the most grievous of
the fruits of the works and lies of Morgoth. For a while his
Orcs and Dragons breeding again in dark places troubled
and affrighted the world, as in far places they do yet; but
ere the End all shall perish by the valour of mortal Men.
But Morgoth the Gods thrust through the Door of Time-
less Night into the Void beyond the Walls of the World; and
a guard is set for ever on that door. Yet the lies that
[Here the Q I text gives out, at the foot of a typescript page,
but Q II continues to the end.]
This was the judgement of the Gods, when Fionwe and
the sons of the Valar had returned unto Valmar: thereafter
the Outer Lands should be for Mankind, the younger chil-
dren of the world; but to the Elves alone should the gate-
ways of the West stand ever open; and if they would not
come thither and tarried in the world of Men, then they
should slowly fade and fail. This is the most grievous of the
fruits of the lies and works that Morgoth wrought, that the
Eldalie should be sundered and estranged from Men. For a
while his Orcs and his Dragons breeding again in dark
places affrighted the world, and in sundry regions do so yet;
but ere the End all shall perish by the valour of mortal
Men.
But Morgoth the Gods thrust through the Door of Time-
less Night into the Void, beyond the Walls of the World;
and a guard is set for ever on that door, and Earendel keeps
watch upon the ramparts of the sky, Yet the lies that
Melko,(1) Moeleg the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir
the Dark Power Terrible, sowed in the hearts of Elves and
Men have not all died, and cannot by the Gods be slain,
and they live to work much evil even to this later day.
Some say also that Morgoth at whiles secretly as a cloud
that cannot be seen or felt, and yet is, and the poison, is,(2)
creeps back surmounting the Walls and visiteth the world;
but others say that this is the black shadow of Thu, whom
Morgoth made, and who escaped from the Battle Terrible,
and dwells in dark places and perverts Men-' to his dreadful
allegiance and his foul worship.
After the triumph of the Gods Earendel sailed still in the
seas of heaven, but the Sun scorched him and the Moon
hunted him in the sky, [and he departed long behind the
world voyaging the Outer Dark a glimmering and fugitive
star.](4) Then the Valar drew his white ship Wingelot-- over
the land of Valinor, and they filled it with radiance and hal-
lowed it, and launched it through the Door of Night. And
long Earendel set sail into the starless vast, Elwing at his
side,(6) the Silmaril upon his brow, voyaging the Dark behind
the world, a glimmering and fugitive star. And ever and
anon he returns and shines behind the courses of the Sun
and Moon above the ramparts of the Gods, brighter than all
other stars, the mariner of the sky, keeping watch against
Morgoth upon the confines of the world. Thus shall he sail
until he sees the Last Battle fought upon the plains of
Valinor.
Thus spake the prophecy of Mandos, which he declared
in Valmar at the judgement of the Gods, and the rumour of
it was whispered among all the Elves of the West: when the
world is old and the Powers grow weary, then Morgoth
shall come back through the Door out of the Timeless
Night; and he shall destroy the Sun and the Moon, but
Earendel shall come upon him as a white flame and drive
him from the airs. Then shall the last battle be gathered on
j
the fields of Valinor. In that day Tulkas shall strive with
Melko, and on his right shall stand Fionwe and on his left
Turin Turambar, son of Hurin, Conqueror of Fate,(7) and it
shall be the black sword of Turin that deals unto Melko his
death and final end; and so shall the children of Hurin and
all Men be avenged.
Thereafter shall the Silmarils' be recovered out of sea
and earth and air; for Earendel shall descend and yield up
that flame that he hath had in keeping. Then Feanor shall
bear the Three and yield them unto Yavanna Palurien; and
she will break them and with their fire rekindle the Two
Trees, and a great light shall come forth; and the Mountains
of Valinor shall be levelled, so that the light goes out all
over the world. In that light the Gods will again grow
young, and the Elves awake and all their dead arise, and the
purpose of Iluvatar be fulfilled concerning them. But of
Men in that day the prophecy speaks not, save of Turin
only, and him it names among the Gods.'
Such is the end of the tales of the days before the days
in the Northern regions of the Western world. Some of these
things are sung and said yet by the fading Elves; and more
still are sung by the vanished Elves that dwell now on the
Lonely Isle. To Men of the race of Earendel have they at
times been told, and most to Eriol,(10) who alone of the mor-
tals of later days, and yet now long ago, sailed to the
Lonely Isle, and came back to the land of Leithien" where
he lived, and remembered things that he had heard in fair
Cortirion, the city of the Elves in Tol Eressea.
*
1. Melko > Melkor (but only at the first occurrence).
2. and yet is, and the poison is > and yet is venomous
3. This sentence was rewritten:
but others say that this is the black shadow of Sauron, who served
Morgoth and became the greatest and most evil of his underlings;
and Sauron escaped from the Great Battle, and dwelt in dark places
and perverted Men, &c.
4. This sentence survives from an earlier point in the narrative in Q I
(end of $17, p. 180); in Q II the latter part of it, and he departed long
behind the world voyaging the Outer Dark a glimmering and fugitive
star, was struck out, since it recurs immediately below.
5. Wingelot not here emended (as in $17 in the Q II version, note 6) to
Vingelot.
6. Elwing at his side struck out.
7. Added here in pencil: coming from the halls of Mandos
8. Thereafter shall the Silmarils > Thereafter Earth shall be broken and
re-made, and the Silmarils
9. among the Gods emended in pencil to among the sons of the Gods
10. Apparently changed, in pencil, to Ereol.
11. Leithien emended in pencil to Britain.
Commentary on the Quenta.
Opening Section.
This passage, to which there is nothing corresponding in S,
may be compared with the Lost Tales I. 58, 66 - 7 on the one
hand and with the Valaquenta (The Silmarillion pp. 25ff.) on
the other. This opening section of Q is the origin and precursor
of the Valaquenta, as may be seen from the fall of its sentences
and from many details of wording; while brief as it is it offers
no actual contradictions to the text of the Lost Tales, save in a
few details of names. The Nine Valar, referred to in S$1 and
in the alliterative Flight of the Noldoli (III. 133), are now for
the first time identified. This number was to remain in the
Eight Aratar (eight, because 'one is removed from their
number', The Silmarillion p. 29), though there was much shift-
ing in the composition of the number in later writings; in the
Lost Tales there were 'four great ones' among the Valar,
Manwe, Melko, Ulmo, Aule (I. 58).
The name of Mandos in the Lost Tales, Vefantur 'Fantur of
Death', who 'called his hall with his own name Ve' (I. 66, 76),
now becomes Nefantur. Nowhere is there any indication of the
meaning of the first element: but the new name bears a curious
resemblance to the Old English name of Mandos found in a
list of such names of the Valar (p. 255): Nefrea (Old English
ne(o) 'corpse', frea 'lord'). The late change of Tavros to
Tauros is made also to the B-text of the Lay of Leithian (III.
195, 282).
Vana (here specifically given as Vana) is now the younger
sister of Varda and Palurien (in the Lost Tales these goddesses
are not said to be 'related'); in The Silmarillion Vana remains
the younger sister of Yavanna. We meet here the Gnomish
name of Melko, Moeleg, which the Gnomes will not use; cf,
the Valaquenta (p. 31): 'the Noldor, who among the Elves suf-
fered most from his malice, will not utter it [Melkor), and they
name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World'. The orig-
inal Gnomish form was Belcha (II. 44, 67).
In this section of Q, before the replacement page (see
note 2) was written, the only important developments from S
are the reduction of the periods of the Trees from fourteen
hours to seven (and this only came in with an alteration to the
typescript, see note 1), and the explicit statement that Silpion
was the elder of the Trees, and shone alone for a time (the
Opening Hour). It is also said that the Gnomes afterwards
called the Trees Bansil and Glingol. In the tale of The Fall of
Gondolin these names were expressly those of the Trees of
Gondolin (see II. 214 - 16), but (especially since Glingol occurs
in a rejected reading in The Cottage of Lost Play (I. 22) as a
name of the Golden Tree of Valinor) it seems clear that they
were the Gnomish names of the original Trees, which were
transferred to their scions in Gondolin; in the Lay of the Chil-
dren of Hurin and in the Lay of Leithian, as here in Q, Glingol
and Basil (later emended to Glingal and Belthil) are the Trees
of Valinor. But in The Silmarillion Glingal and Belthil are the
particular names of Turgon's images of the Trees in Gondolin..
With the replacement page in this section (note 2) there are
several further developments, and the passage describing the
periods of the Trees and the mingling of the lights is effec-
tively the final form, only differing from that in The
Silmarillion (pp. 38 - 9) in some slight rhythmical changes in
the sentences. Yavanna no longer 'plants' the Trees, and
Nienna is present at their birth (replacing Vana of the Lost
Tales, I. 71-2); the Valar sit upon their 'thrones of council' in
the Ring of Doom near the golden gates of Valmar; and the
moving shadows of Silpion's leaves, not mentioned in S or in
Q as first written, reappear from the Lost Tales (see I. 88).
Here also appear the names of Taniquetil, Ialasse 'Everlasting
Whiteness', Gnomish Amon-Uilas, and Tinwenairin 'crowned
with stars'; cf. The Silmarillion p. 37:
Taniquetil the Elves name that holy mountain, and Oiolosse
Everlasting Whiteness, and Elerrina Crowned with Stars,
and many names beside; but the Sindar spoke of it in their
later tongue as Amon Uilos.
'Elves' is still used here in contradistinction to 'Gnomes'; on
this usage see pp. 50 - l.
2.
Q remains close to S in this section. I have noticed in com-
menting on S the absence of certain features that are found
both in the Lost Tales and in The Silmarillion: (1) the coming
of the three Elvish ambassadors to Valinor, (2) the Elves who
did not leave the Waters of Awakening, (3) the two
starmakings of Varda, and (4) the chain Angainor with which
Morgoth was bound; and there is still no mention of them. As
I have said (p. 92), the Quenta though written in a finished
manner is still very much an outline, and the absence of these
elements may be thought to be due merely to its compressed
nature. Against this, however, in respect of (1), is the statement
in Q that Thingol 'came never to Valinor', whereas in the old
story (I. 115) as in The Silmarillion (p. 52) Tinwelint/Thingol
was one of the three original ambassadors; and in respect of
(3), Varda is said in Q to have strewn 'the unlit skies' with
stars. As regards (4), it is said later in Q ($18) that Morgoth
was bound after the Last Battle 'with the chain Angainor,
wherewith Tulkas had chained him aforetime'.
The constellation of the Great Bear is called the Burning
Briar, and the Sickle of the Gods, in the Lay of Leithian.
It is said here that the Elves named themselves Eldar, in
contrast both to the old idea (I. 235) that Eldar was the name
given to them by the Gods, and to The Silmarillion (p. 49),
where Orome 'named them in their own tongue Eldar, the peo-
ple of the stars'.
The original statement in Q that Ingwe 'never came back
into the Outer Lands until these tales were near their end' is a
reference to his leadership of the March of the Elves of Valinor
in the second assault on Morgoth, in which he perished
(I. 129). The revised statement given in note 6, saying that
Ingwe never came back from the West, is virtually the same as
that in The Silmarillion (p. 53); see the Commentary on $17.
The Gnomish forms of the names of the three leaders, Ing,
Finn, and Elu, are removed by the rewritings given in notes 6,
8 and 11; and the use of Quendi for the First Kindred ('who
sometimes are alone called Elves', see p. 51) is displaced by
Lindar in a late emendation (note 7), while Quendi reappears
(note 5) as the name for all the Elves. These late changes be- .
long to a new nomenclature that came in after the Quenta was,
completed.
3.
While Q again follows S very closely here, there is one im-
portant narrative development: the first appearance of the story
of Osse's sitting on the rocks of the seashore and instructing
the Teleri, and of his persuading some to remain 'on the
beaches of the world' (the later Elves of the Havens of
Brithombar and Eglarest, ruled by Cirdan the Shipwright). And
with the late addition given in note 7 there appears the removal
of the First Kindred (here called the Lindar) from Tun, and
their sunderance from the Gnomes; here there is a detail not
taken up into subsequent texts (probably because it was over-
looked), that the Noldoli of Tun left the tower of Ingwe unin-
habited, though they tended the lamp.
As in $2, Finn was emended to Finwe (and Ing to Ingwe),
although the names of the Noldorin princes are said to be
given in Gnomish form, and Ylmir found in S is not taken up
in Q (similarly Oin in S$3, but Uinen in the opening section
of Q).
In the passage on the Noldorin princes (a later addition to S)
Celegorm becomes the friend of Orome (a development aris-
ing from the later story of Huan, see $10); Finrod's third son,
Anrod in S, becomes Angrod. On the change Finweg > Fingon
see p. 54.
4.
Many touches found in the story in The Silmarillion now
make their appearance in Q (as Feanor's wearing the Silmarils
at great feasts, Morgoth's sight of the domes of Valmar far off
in the mingling of the lights, his laugh 'as he sped down the
long western slopes', his great cry that echoed through the
world as Ungoliant's webs enmeshed him). I have noticed in
my commentary on S that 'the entire story of Morgoth's going
to Formenos (not yet so named) and his speech with Feanor
before the doors has yet to appear', and it has not done so in
Q; but the late interpolation given in note 6, stating that a mes-
senger came to the Gods in council with tidings that Morgoth
was in the North of Valinor and journeying to the house of
Finwe, is the first hint of this element. In The Silmarillion
(p. 72) messengers came to the Valar from Finwe at Formenos
telling of Morgoth's first coming there, and this is followed by
the news from Tirion that he had passed through the
Calacirya - a movement that appears at this point in S and Q
('he escaped through the pass of Kor, and from the tower of
Ingwe the Elves saw him pass in thunder and in wrath').
There is no mention in S$4 of the great festival at this point
in the narrative, and its appearance in $5 looks like an after-
thought (see p. 55); that the same is still true in Q shows the
close dependence of the later version on the earlier at this stage
in the work.
5.
In this section Q as usual contains many details and endur-
ing phrases not found in S, such as the wailing of the
Foamriders beside the sea, Feanor's contempt for the Valar
'who cannot even keep their own realm from their foe', the
drawn swords of the oath-takers, the fighting on 'the great arch
of the gate and on the lamplit quays and piers' of Swanhaven,
and the suggestion that the speaker of the Prophecy may have
been Mandos himself. There was no mention in S of the
Gnomes who did not join the Flight (they being those who
were on Taniquetil celebrating the festival): this now reappears
from the Lost Tales (I. 176); nor was it said that not all
Fingolfin's people shared in the Kinslaying at Swanhaven.
The reference to 'the song of the Flight of the Gnomes' may
be to the alliterative poem The Flight of the Noldoli
(III. 131 ff.), though that was abandoned at the Feanorian
Oath: perhaps my father still thought to continue it one day, or
to write a new poem on the subject.*
The pencilled addition 'Finrod returned' (note 8) indicates
the later story, according to which Finarfin (Finrod) left the
march of the Noldor after hearing the Prophecy of the North
(The Silmarillion p. 88); in S as emended (note 9) and in Q
Finrod only came up with Fingolfin after the burning of the
ships by the Feanorians, and only after that did Finrod return
to Valinor.
Helkarakse reappears in Q from the Lost Tales, but is now
rendered 'the Strait of the Grinding Ice', whereas its original
meaning was 'Icefang', and referred to the narrow neck of land
which 'ran out from the western land almost to the eastern
shores' and was separated from the Great Lands by the
Qerkaringa or Chill Gulf (I. 166 - 7 and note 5).
6.
If there ever was a 'song of the Sun and Moon' (called in
The Silmarillion p, 99 by an Elvish name, Narsilion) it has dis-
appeared. The account in Q scarcely expands the extremely
cursory passage in S; but the reason now given for the change
in the divine plan is not that the Gods 'find it safer' to send
the Sun and Moon beneath the Earth: rather it is changed on
account of 'the waywardness of Tilion and his rivalry with
Urien', and still more because of the complaints of Lorien and
Nienna against the unceasing light. This element re-emerges
from the Tale of the Sun and Moon (I. 189 - 90), where the
Valar who protested were Mandos and Fui Nienna, Lorien, and
(*Later this becomes a reference to 'that lament which is named
Noldolante, the Fall of the Noldor, that Maglor made ere he was lost' (The
Silmarillion p. 87); but I have found no trace of this.)
Vana. Likewise the names Rana and Ur given by the Gods to
the Moon and Sun go back to the old story, where however Ur
is said to be the Elvish name: the Gods named the Sun Sari
(I. 186 - 7).
The Sun-maiden is now named Urien, emended to Arien
(her name in The Silmarillion), replacing Urwendi (< Urwen);
she is said to have 'tended the golden flowers in the gardens
of Vana', which clearly derives from the tending of Laurelin
by Urwen(di) in the Lost Tales (1. 73). Tilion, the hunter with
the silver bow from the company of Orome, not Ilinsor, is now
the steersman of the Moon; but as I noted in I. 88, Tilion, who
in The Silmarillion 'lay in dreams by the pools of Este
[Lorien's wife] in Telperion's flickering beams', perhaps owes
something to the figure of Silmo in the Lost Tales, the youth
whom Lorien loved and who was given the task of 'watering'
Silpion. The words of Q concerning Tilion, *often he wandered
from his course pursuing the stars upon the heavenly fields',
and the reference to his rivalry with Urien (Arien), clearly de-
rive from the passage in the old tale (I. 195) where it is told
of Ilinsor that he was 'jealous of the supremacy of the Sun'
and that 'often he set sail in chase of [the stars]'.
A trace of the old conception of the Moon survives in the
reference to 'the floating island of the Moon', a phrase still
found in The Silmarillion (see I. 202).
The occurrence cf the name Eruman of the land where Men
awoke (Murmenalda in Gilfanon's Tale, 'far to the east of
Palisor', I. 232 - 3, Hildorien in The Silmarillion, 'in the east-
ward regions of Middle-earth') is strange, and can only be re-
garded as a passing application of it in a wholly different
meaning, for it was in fact retained in a refinement of its orig-
inal sense - the land between the mountains and the sea south
of Taniquetil and Kor, also in the Lost Tales called Arvalin
(which is the name given to it in S and Q): Eruman
(> Araman) afterwards became the wasteland between the
mountains and the sea north of Taniquetil (see I. 82 - 3).
Though the phrase in Q 'the oldest days before the waning
of the Elves and the waxing of mortals' was retained in The
Silmarillion (p. 103), a later addition to Q (note 6), not re-
tained, is more explicit: 'for measured time had come into the
world, and the first of days; and thereafter the lives of the El-
der that remained in the Hither Lands were lessened, and their
waning was begun.' The meaning of this is undoubtedly that
measured time had come into the Great or Hither Lands, for
the phrase 'thus measured time came into the Hither Lands' is
found in the earliest Annals of Beleriand (p. 353). This seems
to relate the waning of the Elves to the coming of 'measured
time', and may in turn be associated with the following pas-
sage from The Silmarillion (p. 103):
From this time forth were reckoned the Years of the Sun.
Swifter and briefer are they than the long Years of the Trees
in Valinor. In that time the air of Middle-earth became heavy
with the breath of growth and mortality, and the changing
and ageing of all things was hastened exceedingly.
In the earlier writings the waning or fading of the Elves is al-
ways, clearly if mysteriously, a necessary concomitant of the
waxing of Men.* Since Men came into the world at the rising
of the Sun it may be that the conceptions are not fundamen-
tally at variance: Men, and measured time, arose in the world
together, and were the sign for the declining of the Elves. But
it must be remembered that the doom of 'waning' was, or be-
came, a part of the Prophecy of the North (The Silmarillion
p. 88):
And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to
Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great bur-
den, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret be-
fore the younger race that cometh after.
On the phrase used of Earendel: 'he came too late', see II.
257; and cf. Q$17: 'He came too late to bring messages to the
Elves, for the Elves had gone.'
( *See II. 326. In one place it was said that the Elves 'cannot live in an air
breathed by a number of Men equal to their own or greater' (II. 283), In the
Lay of the Children of Hurin (see III. 54) appears the idea of 'the goodness of
the earth' being usurped by Men, and this reappears in $14 in both S and Q
(in S with the added statement that 'the Elves needed the light of the Trees'))
7.
In this section Q does scarcely more than polish the text of
S and embody the later alterations made to it, and the content
has been discussed in the commentary on S. In the sentence
added to the end of Q (note 6) there is a clear echo of the old
idea of the fading Elves of Luthany, and the Elves of Tol
Eressea who have withdrawn from the world 'and there fade
now no more' (see II. 301, 326).
Q provides here new details but otherwise follows S closely.
The site of the First Battle (by later interpolation called 'The
Battle under Stars') is now in the great Northern plain, still un-
named before its desolation, when it became Dor-na-Fauglith;
in The Silmnrillion (p. 106) the Orcs attacked through the
passes of the Mountains of Shadow and the battle was fought
'on the grey fields of Mithrim'. Feanor's sight of Thangoro-
drim as he died now appears, and his cursing of the name of
Morgoth as he gazed on the mountain - transferred from Turin,
who did the same after the death of Beleg in the Lay of the
Children of Hurin (III. 87).
A very minor structural change is found in the story of the
feign=d offer of a peace-treaty by Morgoth. In S this was made
before the death of Feanor, and Feanor indeed refused to treat;
after his death Maidros 'induced the Gnomes to meet
Morgoth'. In Q 'even in the hour of his death there came to
[his sons] an embassy from Morgoth acknowledging his defeat,
and offering to treat, and tempting them with a Silmaril'. The
greater force sent by Morgoth is now referred to; and it is seen
that the numbers of the Balrogs were still conceived to be very
great: but Morgoth brought the greater, and they were
Balrogs' (contrast The Silmarillion: 'but Morgoth sent the
more, and there were Balrogs').
In the story of the rescue of Maidros by Finweg (Fingon)
the explicit and puzzling statement of S that it was only now
that Manwe 'fashioned the race of eagles' is changed to a
statement that it was now that he sent them forth; by the later
change of 'sent' to 'had sent' the final text is reached. In Q are
found the details that Finweg (Fingon) climbed to Maidros un-
aided but could not reach him, and of the thirty fathoms of
Thorndor's outstretched wings, the staying of Finweg's hand
from his bow, the twice repeated appeal of Maidros that
Finweg slay him, and the heading of Maidros so that he lived
to wield his sword better with his left hand than he had with
his right - cf. the Lay of the Children of Hurin (III. 65): his left
wieldeth/his sweeping sword. But there are of course still many
elements in the final story that do not appear: as the former
close friendship of Maidros and Fingon, the song of Fingon
and Maidros' answer, Fingon's prayer to Manwe, and Maidros'
begging of forgiveness for the desertion in Araman and waiv-
ing of his claim to kingship over all the Noldor.
9.
In this section of the narrative Q shows an extraordinary and
unexpected expansion of S, much greater than has been the
case hitherto, and many elements cf the history in the pub-
lished Silmarillion appear here (notably still absent are the en-
tire story of Thingol's cold welcome to the new-come Noldor,
and of course the origin at this time of Nargothrond and
Gondolin):, but S, as emended and interpolated, was still the
basis. A few of the new features had in fact already emerged
in the poems: thus the Elvish watchtower on Tol Sirion first
appears in Canto VII cf the Lay of Leithian (early 1928); the
deaths of Angrod and Egnor in the battle that ended the Siege
of Angband, called the Battle cf Sudden Flame in one of
the earlier additions in this section (note 19), in Canto Vl of
the Lay (see p. 66): the Gorge of Aglon in Canto VII and
Himling in Canto X (both passages written in 1928); Esgalduin
already in the Lay of the Children of Hurin (but its source in
'secret wells in Taur-na-Fuin' has not been mentioned before).
But much of the content of Q in this sect!on introduces wholly
new elements into the legends.
The lates pencilled alterations and additions given in the
notes were put in a good while afterwards, and the names thus,
intrcduced (Taur Danin, Eredlindon, Ossiriand - which was
Assariad in Q$14, Dorthonion, Sauron) belong to later phrases.
But it may be noticed here that the change of Second Battle to
Third Battle (note 19) is explained by the development of the
Glorious Battle (Dagor Aglareb, a late addition given in note
15), so that the Battle of Sudden Flame became the third of the
Battles of Beleriand. With 'the Foreboding of the Kings' in
note 15 cf. The Silmarillion p. 115: 'A victory it was, and yet
a warning', or the reference may be to the foreboding dreams
of Turgon and Felagund (ibid. p. 114).
The names of Beleriand given in one of the earlier additions
(note 2), Noldorien, Geleidhian, and Ingolonde 'the fair and
sorrowful', are interesting. With these may be compared the
list of names given in III. 160, which include Noldorinan and
Golodhinand, the latter showing Golodh, the Sindarin equiva-
lent of Quenya Noldo; Geleidhian obviously contains the same
element (cf. Annon-in-Gelydh, the Gate of the Noldor).
Ingolonde occurs again in the next version of 'The
Silmarillion' (the version nearing completion in 1937, see I. 8):
And that region was named of old in the language of
Doriath Beleriand, but after the coming of the Noldor it was
called also in the tongue of Valinor Ingolonde, the fair and
sorrowful, the Kingdom of the Gnomes.
If Ingolonde means 'the Kingdom of the Gnomes', this name
also should probably be associated with the stem seen in
Noldo, Golodh. In much later writing my father gave the orig-
inal form of the word as ngolodo, whence Quenya noldo,
Sindarin golodh, noting that n = 'the Feanorian letter for the
back nasal, the ng of king'. He also said that the mother-name
of Finrod (= Felagund) was Ingoldo: this was 'a form of noldo
with syllabic n, and being in full and more dignified form is
more or less equivalent to "the Noldo", one eminent in the kin-
dred', and he noted that 'the name was never Sindarized (the
form would have been Angolod)'.
How significant is the likeness of Ingolonde to England? I
cannot certainly answer this; but it seems plain from the con-
clusion of Q that England was one of the great isles that re-
mained after the destruction of Beleriand (see the commentary
on $18).
The territory of the other sons of Finrod (Finarfin),
Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor, is now set in the pineclad high-
lands which afterwards were Taur-na-Fuin.
Quite new in Q is the passage concerning the Dwarves, with
the notable statement that the Feanorians 'made war upon' the
Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, changed afterwards to 'had
converse with' them; this led ultimately to the picture in The
Silmarillion (p. 113) of Caranthir's contemptuous but highly
profitable traffic with the Dwarves in Thargelion. The older
view of the Dwarves (see II. 247) was still present when my
father wrote the Quenta: though 'they do not serve Morgoth',
'they are in many things more like his people' (a hard saying
indeed); they were naturally hostile to the Gnomes, who as
naturally made war on them. The Dwarf-cities of Nogrod and
Belegost go back to the Tale of the Nauglafring, where the
Dwarves are called Nauglath (Nauglir in Q, Naugrim in The
Silmarillion); but in the Tale the Indrafangs are the Dwarves of
Belegost.
The Feast of Reunion, which goes back to Gilfanon's Tale
(I. 240) but is not mentioned in S (where there is only a ref-
erence to the 'meeting' of the Gnomes with Ilkorins and Men),
reappears in Q ('The Feast of Meeting'); it is held in the Land
of Willows, not as in The Silmarillion near the pools of Ivrin.
The presence of Men at the feast has been excised, and there
now enters the story of the passage of Men over the Blue
Mountains (called in an addition Erydluin, note 3) and the en-
counter of Felagund, hunting in the East with Celegorm, and
Beor. This passage in Q is the forerunner of that in The
Silmaril/ion (p. 140), with the strangeness of the tongue of
Men in Felagund's ears, his taking up Beor's harp, the wisdom
that was in Felagund's song, so that Men called him 'Gnome
or Wisdom' (note 12). It is interesting to observe that after my
father abandoned the use of the word 'Gnome' (see I. 43 - 4) he
retained Nom as the word for 'wisdom' in the language of the
people of Beor (The Silmarillion p. 141). The abiding of Beor
with Felagund until his death is mentioned (and in a late addi-
tion the dwelling of the Beorians on Dorthonion, note 14).
Hador, called the Tall and by a later change (note 11) the
Golden-haired, now first enters, and he is one of the two lead-
ers of Men to cross the Mountains into Beleriand. Later,
whereas in the House of Beor the original leader remained, and
new generations were introduced beneath him, in the case of
the House of Hador the original leader was moved downwards
and replaced by Marach; but the two Houses remained known
as the House of Beor and the House of Hador.
Hador has, beside Gumlin (who appeared in the second ver-
sion of the Lay of the Children of Hurin as Hurin's father,
III. 115, 126), another son Haleth; and this occurrence of
Haleth is not merely an initial application of the name without
particular significance, but implies that originally the
'Hadorian' and 'Halethian' houses of the Elf-friends were one
and the same: the affinity of the names Hador, Haleth (though
Haleth ultimately became the Lady Haleth) goes back to their
origin as father and son. The pencilled words 'Haleth the
hunter, and little later' (note 11) were very probably intended
to go after the words 'After them came', i.e.
They were the first of Men to come into Beleriand. After
them came Haleth the hunter, and little later Hador, &c.
This shows of course the development of the third house of the
Elf-friends, later called the Haladin; and with the removal of
Haleth to independent status as the leader of a third people the
other son of Hador became Gundor (note 11). Thus:
Quenta
as written. Hador the Tall.
Haleth.
Hurin Huor.
Quenta. Hador the Goldenhaired. Haleth.
as emended. the.
Hunter.
Gundor.
Hurin Huor.
The. Hador the Goldenhaired.
Silmarillion.
Gundor.
Hurin Huor.
Morwen now gains the name 'Elfsheen', and the association
of the House of Hador with Fingolfin in Hithlum appears.
The battle that ended the Siege of Angband had already
been described in Canto VI (III. 212 - 13) of the Lay of Leithian
(March 1928); a second description of it is found in Canto XI
of the Lay (HI. 275; September 1930). By later additions the
name 'The Battle of Sudden Flame' (note 19) and Glomund's
presence in it (note 16) are introduced (on the name Glomund.
see p. 71). Here also is the flight of many Dark-elves (not
Gnomes as in S) to Doriath, to the increase of Thingol's
power.
It is now suggested that Celegorm and Curufin came to
Nargothrond after the Battle of Sudden Flame as to a refuge al-
ready in being, and with them came Orodreth their friend; this
is to be related to the earlier passage in Q (55): 'Orodreth,
Angrod, and Egnor took the part of Feanor' (in the debate be-
fore the Flight of the Noldoli). That Thingol's halls in Doriath
were the inspiration for Nargothrond is also suggested.
With the account here of the challenge of Fingolfin and his
death compare the Lay of Leithian Canto XII. This dates from
late September 1930, and is later than this section of Q (see the
commentary on $10), as is seen by the reference to Thorndor's
'beak of gold' (line 3616, found already in the A-text of the
Lay), in contrast to his 'claw' in Q, emended to 'bill'
(note 23).*
(*Cf. also 'thirty feet' as the span of Thorndor's wings emended to 'thirty
fathoms' in Q$8 (note 7), 'thirty fathoms' in the Lay (line 3618).)
10.
'7
This version of the legend of Beren and Luthien is unlike
previous sections of the Quenta: for whereas hitherto it has 1
been an independent extension of S, here (for a good part of
its length) it is a compression of the Lay of Leithian. Very
slight differences between Q and the Lay are not in my opin-
ion significant, but are merely the results of precis.
At the end of the fight with Celegorm and Curufin, however,
Q and the Lay diverge. In the Lay Beren's healing (not men-
tioned in Q) is followed by debate between him and Luthien
(3148ff.), their return to the borders of Doriath, and Beren's
departure alone on Curufin's horse, leaving Huan to guard
Luthien (3219ff.). The narrative in Canto XI begins with
Beren's reaching Dor-na-Fauglith and his Song of Parting; then
follows (3342ff.) Luthien's overtaking of Beren, having ridden
after him on Huan, Huan's coming to them shortly after with
the wolfcoat and batskin from the Wizard's Isle, and his coun-
sel to them. In Q, on the other hand, the story is essentially dif-
ferent, and the difference cannot be explained by compression
(admittedly at this point severe): for Huan went off to the Wiz-
ard's Isle for the wolfcoat and batskin and then Beren and
Luthien rode North together on horseback, until they came to
a point where they must put on the disguises. This is clearly
the form of the story given in Synopsis IV for this part of the
Lay (III. 273):
Luthien heals Beren. They tell Huan of their doubts and de-
bate and he goes off and brings the wolfham and batskin
from the Wizard's Isle.
Then he speaks for the last time.
They prepare to go to Angband.
But Q is later than Synopsis IV, for the idea had already
emerged that Huan. spoke thrice, the third time at his death.
It seems at least extremely probable, then, that Q$10 was
written when the Lay of Leithian extended to about the point
where the narrative turns to the events following the routing of
Celegorm and Curufin and Huan's desertion of his master.
Now against line 3031 is written the date November 1929,
probably referring forwards (see the note to this line), and the
next date, against line 3220 (the return of Beren and Luthien
to Doriath), is 25 September 1930. In the last week of Septem-
ber of that year my father composed the small amount remain-
ing of Canto X, and Cantos XI and XII, taking the story from
Beren's solitary departure on Curufin's horse to the enspelling
of Carcharoth at the gates of Angband; and this part had not,
according to the analysis above, been composed when Q$10
was written.* These considerations make 1930 a virtually cer-
tain date for the composition of Q or at least the major part of
it; and this fits well with my father's statement {see p. 11) that
the 'Sketch' was written 'c. 1926 - 30', for we have seen that
the original writing of S dates from 1926 (III. 3), and the in-
terpolations and emendations to it, which were taken up into
Q, would belong to the following years. The statement in Q
that 'in the lay of Luthien is all told how they came to
Angband's gate' must be an anticipation of further composition
of the Lay that my father was at this time premeditating.
From here on there are minor narrative divergences between
Q and the Lay. Thus in the prose Morgoth 'fashioned' (rather
than bred) Carcharoth (cf. Synopsis III 'fashions', Synopsis V
'fashions' > 'chooses', III. 293 - 4). The wolf's names Boro-
saith, Everhungry, and Anfauglin, Jaws of Thirst (an addition
given in note 9), are not found in the Synopses or the Lay, but
the latter, in the form Anfauglir, reappears in The Silmarillion
(p. 180) with the same meaning.
In the prose Luthien is praised for casting off her disguise
and naming her own name, feigning 'that she was brought cap-
tive by the wolves of Thu', whereas in the Lay she claims at
first to be Thuringwethil, sent to Morgoth by Thu as a messen-
ger, and it seems that her bat-raiment falls from her at
Morgoth's command (lines 3959 - 65), and that he divines who
she is without her naming her name. In these features Q agrees
rather with Synopsis III, where she does say who she is, and
'lets fall her bat-garb' (III. 305). It is not said in the Lay that
'she flung the magic robe in his face' (but in The Silmarillion
p. 181 'she cast her cloak before his eyes'), and there is in the
(*Cf. also the internal evidence given in the commentary on $9 that the Fall
of Fingolfin in Canto XII is later than Q's account.)
prose the notable detail of the Orcs' secret laughter at
Morgoth's fall from his throne. In Q Beren leaps forth, casting
aside the wolfcoat, when Morgoth falls, whereas in the Lay
Luthien must rouse him from his swoon. The ascription of the
snapping of Curufin's knife to dwarvish 'treachery' agrees
however with the verse ('by treacherous smiths of Nogrod
made', line 4161) - this feature is not found in The
Silmarillion, of course; while the arousing of the sleepers by
the sound of its breaking agrees with the A-text of the Lay
(lines 4163 - 6), not with the revised version of B, where the
shard struck Morgoth's brow.
From the point where the Lay ends, with the biting off of
Beren's hand by the Wolf, the Q account can be compared
with the Synopses. The 'wanderings and despair' of Beren and
Luthien and 'their rescue by Huan' clearly associate Q with
Synopsis V (III. 312), and the marginal addition (note 11) con-
cerning their rescue by Thorndor, their flight over Gondolin,
and their setting down in Brethil, belongs with the brief late
outline given in III. 309. The structure of events in Doriath,
with Boldog's raid preceding the embassy from Celegorm to
Thingol, agrees with Synopsis IV (III. 310) rather than with
Synopsis V (III. 311), where Thingol's host moving against
Nargothrond meets Boldog; but Q agrees with Synopsis V in
many details, such as the presence of Beleg and Mablung in
the battle with Boldog, and Thingol's changed view of Beren.
At the end of this section the Land of the Dead that Live
reaches, in the emendation given in note 15, its final placing in
Ossiriand, and the name Gwerth-i-Cuina appears for the Dead
that Live (later in Q as originally written, $14, the names are
Assariad and Cuilwarthien, cf. i-Cuilwarthon of the Lost
Tales). On the name Geleidhian for Broseliand/Beleriand, oc-
curring in this emendation, see the commentary on $9.
On the statements at the end of this section concerning
Luthien's fate, and the 'long span of life and joy' granted to
Beren and Luthien by Mandos, see the commentary on $14.
A matter unconcerned with the story of Beren and Luthien
arises at the beginning of this section, where it is said that
Beor was slain in the Battle of Sudden Flame; in $9, on the
other hand, 'Beor lived till death with Felagund'. This can be
interpreted to mean that he died in Felagund's service at the
time that his son Barahir rescued Felagund, but such an expla-
nation is forced (especially since in the later form of his legend
his death was expressly of old age, and was a source of great
wonder to the Elves who witnessed it, The Silmarillion p. 149).
It seems more likely that there is here an inconsistency within
Q, admittedly surprising since the two passages are not widely
separated.
For the emendation of 'Second Battle' to 'Third Battle'
(note 1) see the commentary on $9; and with the change of
Tinfang Warble to Tinfang Gelion (note 12) cf. line 503 in the
Lay of Leithian, where the same change was made.
11.
In this section the Quenta becomes, both in structure and in
much of its actual wording, the first draft of Chapter 20 ('Of
the Fifth Battle') of The Silmarillion.
There appears now the unwise and premature demonstration
of his gathering strength by Maidros, warning Morgoth of what
was afoot among his enemies and allowing him time to send
out his emissaries among the Men from the East - though this
is less clear and explicit in Q as originally written than it be-
comes with the rewriting given in note 14, and even then the
two phases of the war are not clearly distinguished. Some fur-
ther development in this had still to come: in The Silmarillion
the coming of the Easterlings into Beleriand is told at an
earlier point (p. 157; cf. note 1 to this section in Q), and it is
said that some of them, though not all, 'were already secretly
under the dominion of Morgoth, and came at his call', the en-
try of his 'spies and workers of treason' was made easier 'for
the faithless Men of his secret allegiance were yet deep in the
secrets of the sons of Feanor' (p. 189). Though these agents of
Morgoth are said in Q (as rewritten, note 14) to have gone es-
pecially to the sons of Ulfang, and though Bor and his sons are
mentioned, there is no suggestion here of the good faith of
the sons of Bor, who slew Ulfast and Ulwarth in the midst of
the battle {The Silmarillion p. 193).
The Dwarves now play a part in these events, though only
as furnishers of weapons; but in Q they are shown as calculat-
ing and indeed cynical ('we are friends of neither side - until
it has won'), actuated solely by desire for gain. In The Silma-
rillion the Dwarves actually entered the war on Maedhros'
side, and 'won renown', Azaghal Lord of Belegost wounded
Glaurung as the dragon crawled over him (p. 193). But at this
time I do not think that my father would have conceived of the
Dwarves of the mountains taking any active part in the wars of
the Elves.
Whereas in S (as emended, $11 note 1) it is only said that
'Orodreth because of Felagund his brother will not come',
there now appears in Q the small company out of Nargothrond
who went to the war under the banners of Finweg (Fingon)
'and came never back, save one', the leader is Flinding son of
Fuilin, who comes out of the old Tale of Turambar and the Lay
of the Children of Hurin, and who is thus given a fuller history
before he fled from the Mines of Melko to meet Beleg in the
Forest of Night. In the tale as in the poem (see III. 53) it is
only said that he had been of the people of the Rodothlim (of
Nargothrond) and that he was captured by Orcs. By later
change in Q (note 7) he becomes Gwindor son of Guilin. But
it is notable that although the wild onrush of the Gnomes of
Nargothrond, that carried them even into Angband and made
Morgoth tremble on his throne, was led by Flinding/Gwindor,
his heroic fury had as yet no special cause: for the herald of
Finweg/Fingon who was murdered on Dor-na-Fauglith in order
to provoke the Elves of Hithlum to attack Morgoth's decoy
force is not named.* The next and final stage was for the her-
ald to become Gelmir of Nargothrond, Gwindor's brother, who
had been captured in the Battle of Sudden Flame: it was in-
deed grief for the loss of Gelmir that had brought Gwindor out
of Nargothrond against the will of Orodreth (The Silmarillion
p. 188). Thus Flinding/Gwindor, devised long before for a dif-
ferent story, ends by being, in his earlier life, the involuntary
cause of the loss of the great battle and the ruin of the king-
doms of the Noldor in Middle-earth.
(* The statement that 'Morgoth led forth one of the heralds... and slew him
upon the plain' certainly does not mean, I think, that Morgoth himself came
forth and did the deed; rather 'Morgoth' here stands for 'the servants of
Morgoth, obeying his command.')
The account of the behaviour of the people of Haleth in the
rewritten passage given in note 7 shows my father in doubt;
they made ready for war, then they abode in the forest and few
came forth 'because of the wounding of Beren in the wood'
(cf. 'Men remembered that wound against the sons of Feanor',
Q$10; 'Men remembered at the Marching Forth', the Lay of
Leithian line 3103). In the event, the former idea prevailed: 'In
the forest of Brethil Halmir, lord of the People of Haleth, gath-
ered his men, and they whetted their axes', and in the battle
'fell most of the Men of Brethil, and came never back to their
woods' (The Silmarillion pp. 189, 192).
In this same rewritten passage the later story of the founda-
tion of Gondolin before the Battle of Unnumbered Tears is
present, with Turgon coming forth 'unlooked for' with a great
host. It is perhaps strange that in the subsequent passage of re-
writing (note 14) Maidros 'appointed a day, and sent word to
Fingon and Turgon', and 'Fingon and Turgon and the Men of
Hithlum... were gathered ready in the West upon the borders
of the Thirsty Plain', which does not at all suggest that Turgon
had just arrived, but seems rather to revert to the earlier story
(in S, note 1, and in Q as originally written) according to
which he was one of the leaders of the Western Elves from the
beginning of the preparations for war ('all the hosts of Hithlum
... were ready to his summons, and Finweg and Turgon and
Huor and Hurin were their chiefs'). It seems that the emended
narrative in Q represents an intermediate stage: Turgon now
emerges from Gondolin already long since in existence, but he
does not march up in the nick of time, on the day itself, as in
the later story: he comes, certainly unexpected, but in time to
take part in the final strategic preparations.
The challenge to Morgoth, summoning by silver trumpets
his host to come forth, was afterwards abandoned, but
Morgoth's decoying force, 'great and yet not too great', sur-
vived, as did Burin's warning against premature attack. The
uncontrollable bursting forth of the Elves of Hithlum and their
allies is brought about in the same way as in the later story,
even though there is still lacking in Q the fine point that the
one slaughtered before their eyes was the brother of Gwindor
of Nargothrond; and there is present in the Q narrative the ini-
tial success of the hosts of Hithlum, the near-miscarriage of
Morgoth's plans, the sweeping of the banners of Finweg
(Fingon) over the plain to the very walls of Angband. The final
stages of the battle are less fully treated in Q, but all the essen-
tial structure is there; several features are indeed still absent, as
the death of Fingon at the hands of Gothmog (but the flame
from his helm as it was cloven is mentioned, a feature that
goes back to the Lay of the Children of Hurin, and from which
the words Finweg (Fingon) fell in flame of swords derive, see
III. 103), the fall of the Men of Brethil in the rearguard (see
above), the presence of the Dwarves of Belegost (with the
death of Azaghal and the wounding of the dragon), the fateful
words between Huor and Turgon that were overheard by
Maeglin (The Silmarillion p. 194).
Glomund's presence at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears was
introduced in a later addition to the text of S ($13, note 3) and
is now incorporated in the Q narrative; his earlier appearance
at the Battle of Sudden Flame enters with an addition to Q$9
(note 16), and is referred to again here (note 17) - 'the second
battle of the North', because the Glorious Battle, Dagor
Aglareb, which became the second battle, had not yet been de-
veloped. But according to Q the dragon 'was not yet come to
his full growth' at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears; later, he
was already full grown at the Battle of Sudden Flame (The
Silmarillion p. 151), and his first, immature emergence from
Angband was placed still further back {ibid. pp. 116 - 17).
The Dragon-helm of Dor-lomin here reappears from the Lay
of the Children of Hurin (see III. 26, 126), where in the second
version it is said that it was the work of Telchar, and
Would that he [Hurin] had worn it to ward his head
on that direst day from death's handstroke! (665 - 6)
But only now does the dragon-crest become the image of
Glomund. Afterwards the h! story of the helm was much en-
larged: in the Narn i Hin Hurin (Unfinished Tales p. 75) it is
told that Telchar (of Nogrod, not as in Q of Belegost) made it
for Azaghal of Belegost, and that it was given by him to
Maedhros, by Maedhros to Fingon, and by Fingon to Hador,
whence it descended to Hador's grandson Hurin. In the Narn
it is said that Hurin never in fact wore it; and also that the peo-
ple of Hithlum said 'Of more worth is the Dragon of Dorlomin
than the gold-worm of Angband!' - which originated in this
passage of Q, 'We have a dragon of more worth than theirs'.
A pencilled direction against the beginning of $12 in Q
(note 1) postpones the introduction of the Helm to the point
where Morwen sends it to Thingol, as it is placed in The
Silmarillion (p. 199).
Some other minor features now enter, as Melian's counsel to
restore the Silmaril to the sons of Feanor (The Silmarillion
p. 189), and in additions to the text the presence of Elves of
the Falas among the Western hosts at the great battle (note 14),
and the especial hatred and fear felt by Morgoth of the House
of Fingolfin (note 23; The Silmarillion p. 196, where however
the reasons for it are their frierdship with Ulmo and the
wounds that Fingolfin had given him - and Turgon, Fingolfin's
son). In emendations to Q (note 6) the name Celegorm begins
a long uncertainty between that form and Celegorn.
The mention of 'Dark-elves, save cut of Doriath' marching
to Maidros' banners shows that my father still naturally used
this term of Thingol's people; cf. the Index to The Silmarillion,
entry Dark Elves.
12.
It is immediately apparent, from many actual repetitions of
wording, that when my father composed the Q version of the
tale of Turin Turambar he had the 'Sketch' in front of him;
while many of the phrases that occur in The Silmarillion ver-
sion are first found here. There are also features in Q's narra-
tive that derive from the Lay of the Children of Hurin but
which were omitted in S. The statement in Q, repeated from S,
that the fate of Turin is told in the <Children of Hurin> no
doubt shows that my father had not yet given up all thought of
completing that poem some day.
In this first of the two sections into which the tale of Turin
is here divided there are only minor points to be noticed. Q,
though much fuller than S, is still expressly a synopsis, and the
entire element of the Dragonhelm is omitted (see note 1 and
the commentary on $11), together with the guiding of Turin by
the two old men and the return of one of them to Morwen: the
guides (Halog and Mailgond in S) are here not named. Rian
Huor's wife has already appeared in S at a later point ($16).
Airin, wife of Brodda and kinswoman of Morwen, re-enters
from the old Tale (she is mentioned in S$13 but not named),*
and the aid she gives to Morwen is secret, which perhaps sug-
gests a movement towards the worsening of Brodda's character
as tyrant and oppressor (see II. 127), though later in Q it is still
told that Morwen entrusted her goods to him when she left her
home (the text was subsequently altered here, $13 note 5). We
meet here the expression 'the incoming Men', surviving in the
term 'Incomers' used in the Narn, and also the element that the
Easterlings were afraid of Morwen, whispering that she was a
witch skilled in Elvish magic.
There has been virtually no further development in the story
of Turin in Doriath, the slaying of Orgof, and the outlaw band.
Blodrin the traitor is now described as a Gnome, and by a later
addition (note 5) a member of the House of Feanor; in the Lay
(as in S) it is not made clear who he was, beyond the fact that
he was an Elf who had been tumed to evil during his upbring-
ing among the Dwarves (III. 52).
In the passage concerned with Taur-na-Fuin there is the new
detail that the Orc-band that captured Turin 'had delayed long
in the lands plundering East among Men', which is found in
The Silmarillion (p. 206): the Orcs 'had tarried on their road,
hunting in the lands and fearing no pursuit as they came north-
ward'. This feature clearly arose from a feeling that Beleg
would never have caught up with the Orcs if they had returned
swiftly to Angband, but in both S and Q they were moving in
haste through Taur-na-Fuin, and in Q this is explained by 'the
angry message of Morgoth'.
The addition concerning Beleg's sword (note 10) is the first
indication that it was of a strange nature; the phrase 'made of
iron that fell from heaven as a blazing star, and it would cut all
(*In the Tale Airin was Morwen's friend (II. 93); in S and Q she was
Morwen's kinswoman; in The Silmarillion (p. 198) and the Narn (p. 69) she
was Hurin's kinswoman.)
earth-dolven iron' is found in The Silmarillion at a different
point (p. 201), where the origin of the sword is more fully told.
13.
There are several substantial developments in the latter part
of the story of Turin in Q.
Finduilas' name Failivrin is now ascribed to Flinding
(Gwindor); in the Lay occur the lines
the frail Finduilas that Failivrin,
the glimmering sheen on the glassy pools
of Ivrin's lake the Elves in love
had named anew. (III. 76, lines 2175 - 8)
In Nargothrond Turin, as the Black Sword, is Mormaglir, not
as in S Mormakil (cf. the Tale of Turambar, II. 84: 'Hence
comes that name of Turin's among the Gnomes, calling him
Mormagli or Mormakil according to their speech'). The final
form was Mormegil. It is now expressly stated that though ru-
mour of the Black Sword of Nargothrond reached Thingol 'the
name of Turin was not heard', but there is still no suggestion
that Turin deliberately concealed his identity.
The place where the Gnomes of Nargothrond were defeated
is not said to be between the rivers Ginglith and Narog (The
Silmarillion p. 212), but 'upon the Guarded Plain, north of
Nargothrond', and as will be seen later the battlefield at this
time was east of Narog, not in the triangle of land between it
and Ginglith. The impression is given that the reproaches of
Flinding (Gwindor) as he died were on account of Finduilas.
There is indeed no suggestion here that Turin's policy of open
war was opposed in Nargothrond, nor that it was this policy
that revealed Nargothrond to Morgoth; but since these ele-
ments were fully present in the Tale of Turambar (II. 83-4)
their absence from Q must be set down to compression. There
is also no mention at this point in Q of the bridge over the
Narog (see S$13 notes 1 and 5), but it is referred to later in
this section as having proved the undoing of the Elves of
Nargothrond. Orodreth was slain at Nargothrond, and not as in
The Silmarillion on the battlefield.
In an alteration to Q (note 9) a shift is implied in the motive
of Turin's slaying of Brodda. In the Tale Turin struck Brodda's
head off in explicit vengeance on 'the rich man who addeth the
widow's little to his much' (II. 90); in the revised passage in
Q (as afterwards in The Silmarillion, p. 215, and most clearly
in the Narn, pp. 107 - 8) Turin's action sprang in part from the
fury and agony of his realisation that the dragon had cheated
him.*
Whereas in S the Woodmen are placed 'east of Narog', in Q
they are said to dwell 'in the green woods about the River
Taiglin that enters the land of Doriath ere it joins with the great
waters of Sirion' - these being the first occurrences of Taiglin
and 'Doriath beyond Sirion' in the texts (though both are
marked on the earliest 'Silmarillion' map, see insert). I noted
in connection with the passage in S that it is strange that
whereas in the Tale the Woodmen had a leader (Bethos) when
Turin joined them, as also in the later story, in S Turin 'gath-
ered a new people'. Now in Q the Woodmen have an. identity,
'the remnant of the people of Haleth', Haleth being at this time
the son of Hador and uncle of Hurin, and the 'Hadorian' and
'Halethian' houses one and the same, as already in $9; but still
as in S Turin at once becomes their ruler. Brandir the Lame,
son of Handir son of Haleth, does indeed emerge here, replac-
ing Tamar (son of Bethos the ruler) of the Tale of Turambar
who is still present in S, and it is said that Brandir had 'yielded
the rule to Turin at the choice of the woodfolk', but in the later
story it is an important element that Brandir remained the tit-
ular ruler until his death, though disregarded by Turin.
Here is the first mention of Turin's vain seeking for
Finduilas when he came down from Hithlum, and the first ac-
count of Finduilas' fate; in the Tale and in S there is no sug-
gestion of what became of her. Finduilas is 'the last of the race
of Finrod' (later Finarfin) because Galadriel had not yet
emerged.
The narrative of Q also advances to the later form in making
Nienor accompany the expedition from Doriath in disguise
(see II. 128); and the 'high place... covered with trees' of the
(*In the Narn it is not made clear that Turin actually intended to kill Brodda
when he hurled him across the table.)
Tale and the 'hill-top' of S now becomes 'the tree-clad Hill of
Spies'. But in Q it was only Morwen who was set for safety
on the Hill of Spies: there is no mention of what Nienor did
until she was confronted by Glomund on the banks of Narog
(not, as later, on the Hill). This is a movement away both from
the Tale and from the later story, where Morwen and Nienor
remained together until the dragon-fog arose; but towards the
later story in that Nienor met the dragon alone (on the treat-
ment of this in S see the commentary). We must suppose that
at this stage in the development of the legend Nienor's pres-
ence was never revealed, either to her mother or to anyone else
save the dragon; in the later story she was discovered at the
passage of the Twilit Meres (The Silmarillion p. 217, Narn
pp. 114 - 15). The 'Mablung-element' is still wholly absent; and
it is to be noted that Morwen was taken back in safety to the
Thousand Caves, whence she afterwards wandered away when
she found that Nienor was gone. - The bridge over Narog
seems to have been still standing after the sack (in The
Silmarillion Glaurung broke it down, p. 214).
By emendation in Q (note 14) appears for the first time the
name Celebros, translated 'Foam-silver', for Silver-bowl; but
in Q (as in S) the falls are still in the Taiglin itself (see
II. 132). Later, Celebros became the name of the tributary
stream in which were the falls; and the falls were named
Dimrost, the Rainy Stair.
In the story of the slaying of the dragon, the six (not as af-
terwards two) companions of Turambar still survive through S
from the Tale (II. 106); though in Q they were not so much the
only companions that Turambar could find but rather 'begged
to come with him'. In the Tale the band of seven clambered up
the far side of the ravine in the evening and stayed there all
night; at dawn of the second day, when the dragon moved to
cross, Turambar saw that he had now only three companions,
and when they had to climb back down to the stream-bed to
come up under Glorund's belly these three had not the courage
to go up again. Turambar slew the dragon by daylight; Niniel
went down to the ravine on the second evening, and threw her-
self over the falls at sunrise of the third day; and Turambar
slew himself in the afternoon of that day. In S the only indica-
tion of time is that all six of Turambar's companions deserted
him during the night spent clingirg to the further lip of the ra-
vine. In Q the six all deserted Turambar during the first night,
as in S, but he spent the whole of the following day clinging
to the cliff; Glomund moved to pass over the ravine on the
second night (my father clearly wished to make the dragon-
slaying take place in darkness, but achieved this at first by ex-
tending the time Turambar spent in the gorge). But Niniel went
down and found him, and threw herself over the falls, on that
same night. Thus in Q the story has moved closer to that of
The Silmarillion and the Narn, and needed only the contraction
of the time before the dragon crossed the ravine, so that all
took place in a single night and the following morning. - It
seems to be suggested in Q that Glomund in his death-throes
hurled himself back on to the bank from which he was com-
ing; he 'coiled back in anguish ... and came not into the
woodmen's land'. If this is so Niniel must have crossed the ra-
vine to reach Turambar. In the Tale (II. 107) it is explicit that
'almost had [the dragon] crossed the chasm when Gurtholfin
pierced him, and now he cast himself upon its farther bank', as
also in the later versions.
That Niniel was with child by Turambar is now stated in the
text as written (in the Tale and in S this appears only in later
additions).
In the Tale (II. 111) Turambar slew himself in the glade of
Silver Bowl; it is not said in S or in Q where he died, though
in both he was buried beside Silver Bowl. - At the very end
appears in Q the name Nen-Girith, its first occurrence: 'Men
changed the name of that place thereafter to Nen-Girith, the
Shuddering Water.' In The Silmarillion (p. 220) it is said, in
the passage describing the great fit of shuddering that came on
Nienor at Dimrost, the falls of Celebros, that - on account of
this - 'afterwards that place was called Nen Girith', and in the
Narn (p. 123) that 'after that day' it was called Nen Girith.
These passages can be taken to mean that the falls of Celebros
were renamed Nen Girith simply on account of Nienor's shiv-
ering when she first came there. But this is surely absurd; the
event was, in itself and without aftermath, far too slight for a
renaming - too slight, indeed for narrative mention or legend-
ary recollection, if it had no aftermath: places are not renamed
in legend because a person, however important, caught a chill
there. Obviously the prophetic element is the whole point, and
it goes back to the Tale, where before ever the name Nen
Girith was devised Nienor 'not knowing why was filled with
a dread and could not look upon the loveliness of that foaming
water' (II, 101), and in the original story both Nienor and
Turambar died in that very place (see II. 134-5). I think that
the phrase in the Narn, 'after that day', must be interpreted to
mean 'after that time', 'after the events which are now to be
described had come to pass'. I noted in Unfinished Tales
(p. 149, note 24):
One might suppose that it was only when all was over, and
Turin and Nienor dead, that her shuddering fit was recalled
and its meaning seen, and Dimrost renamed Nen Girith; but
in the legend Nen Girith is used as the name throughout.
Almost certainly, the use of the name 'Nen Girith' in the later
narratives before the account of the events that must have
given rise to the name is to be explained in the same way as
that proposed by my father for Mablung: concerning which he
Silmaril from the belly of Carcharoth
the hand [of Beren] and jewel seemed to have so great a j
weight that Mablung's own hand was dragged earthward i
and forced open, letting the other fall to the ground. It was
said that Mablung's name ('with weighted hand') was pro-
phetic; but it may have been a title derived from the episode
that afterwards became the one that the hero was chiefly re-
membered by in legend.
I have no doubt that the story in Q shows the original idea:
Nienor shivered with prophetic but unconscious fear when she
came to the falls of Celebros; there both she and her brother
died horrifyingly; and after their deaths the falls were renamed
Nen Girith, the Shuddering Water, because the meaning was
understood. 'Afterwards', 'After that day', this became the
name of the falls; but in the legendary history, when all was
well-known both to the historian and to his audience, the later
name became generalised, like that of Mablung.
14.
At the beginning of this section it is made clear that Mim's
presence in Nargothrond did not go back to the time of the
dragon, since he 'had found the halls and treasure of
Nargothrond unguarded'. In the Lost Tales my father doubtless
saw no particular need to 'explain' Mim; he was simply there,
a feature of the narrative situation, like Andvari the Dwarf in
the Norse Volsung legend. But in Q the first step is taken to
relate him to the developing conception of the Dwarves of
Middle-earth: they spread into Beleriand from the Blue Moun-
tains after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. (Ultimately the
need to 'explain' Mim led to the conception of the Petty-
dwarves.) But Q's statement that the Dwarves only now enter
the tales of the ancient world seems at variance with earlier
passages: with $9, where it is said that the Feanorians made
war on the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, and with $11,
concerning the furnishing of weapons by the Dwarves to the
armies of the Union of Maidros.
Here Mim has some companions, slain with him by the out-
laws of Hurin's band, whom Hurin 'would have stayed', in the
Tale of Turambar (II. 113) Mim was alone, and it was Urin
himself who gave him his death-blow. Whereas in the Tale
Urin's band - large enough to be called a host - brought the
treasure of Nargothrond to the caves of Tinwelint in a mass of
sacks and rough boxes (while in S there is no indication what-
soever of how the treasure came to Doriath, and the outlaws
are not further mentioned after the slaying of Mim), in Q
Hurin's outlaws are as conveniently got rid of as they were
conveniently come by - 'each one died or was slain in quarrels
upon the road', deaths ascribed to Mim's curse; and since
Hurin now goes alone to Doriath and gets Thingol's help in the
transportation of the treasure the outlaw-band seems to serve
very little narrative purpose. The fight in the halls of Tinwelint
between the woodland Elves and the outlaws, not mentioned in
S, has now therefore been expunged (the emergence in Q of a
new fight in the halls, between the Elves and the Dwarves,
would demand its removal in any case, if Menegroth were not
to appear a permanent shambles).
But the problem remained: how did the gold come to
Doriath? It was an essential idea that Hurin, destroyed by what
he had seen (or by what Morgoth allowed him to see) and tor-
mented by bitterness and grief, should cast the treasure of
Nargothrond at Thingol's feet in a gesture of supreme scorn of
the craven and greedy king, as he conceived him to be; hut the
new story in Q is obviously unsatisfactory - it ruins the ges-
ture, if Hurin must get the king himself to send for the gold
with which he is then to be humiliate<i, and it is difficult
imagine the conversation between Hurin and Thingol when
Hurin first appeared in Doriath, announcing that the treasure
had become available.
However this may be, the gold comes to Doriath, and in all
versions Hurin departs: but now in Q, to drown himself in the
western sea, without ever finding Morwen again.
I have said in commenting on the corresponding section in
S that I think it probable that my father had already decided to
simplify the involved story in the Tale of the Nauglafring con-
cerning the gold of Nargothrond. In Q, which is a fully artic-
ulated narrative, if brief, the absence of Ufedhin can be taken
as a clear indication that he had been abandoned, and with
him, necessarily, many of the complexities of the king's deal
ings with the Dwarves. The story has become, then, quite sim-
ple. Thingol desires the unwrought gold brought by Hurin to
be worked; he sends for the greatest craftsmen on earth, the
Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost; and they coming desire the
treasure for themselves, the Silmaril also, and plot to gain it.
The argument that they use - that the treasure belonged in right
to the Dwarves, since it was taken from Mim - reappears from
the Tale of the Nauglafring, where it occurs in a different con-
text (II. 230: an argument used by Naugladur lord of Nogrod
to support his intention to attack Tinwelint).
The relative wealth or otherwise of Thingol has not
touched on in Q, but his riches are recounted in the Lay of the
Children of Hurin (see III. 26) and in the Lay of Leithian
(III. 160 - 1); and this is no doubt the force of the word 'even'
in 'Then the enchantment of the accursed dragon gold began to
fall even upon the king of Doriath.'
In S the king drives the Dwarves away without any pay-
ment; there is no mention of any strife at this point, and one
would think that even the most severe compression could
hardly have avoided mentioning it. But in Q the narrative now
takes a quite different turn. Thingol 'scanted his promised re-
ward', and this led to fighting in the Thousand Caves, with
many slain on both sides; and 'the Mound of Avarice', which
in the Tale of the Nauglafring covered the bodies of the slain
Elves of Artanor after the battle with the outlaws of Hurin's
band, now covers those of the Dwarves and Elves; the form of
the Elvish name is changed from Cum an-Idrisaith (II. 223) to
Cum-nan-Arasaith.
As in S, the sack of Menegroth by the Dwarves is still
treated in Q with the utmost brevity, and central features of the
story in the Tale of the Nauglafring do not recur, nor ever
would. But (in addition to the loss of Ufedhin) it seems likely
that the 'great host' of Orcs, paid and armed by Naugladur of
Nogrod (II. 230), would by now have been abandoned. Of
course the whole story arose in terms of, and continues to de-
pend on, the hostile view of the Dwarves which is so promi-
nent in the early writings.
The much emended geographical passage that follows now
in Q is best understood in relation to the first 'Silmarillion'
map, and I postpone discussion of the rivers of Ossiriand and
the Dwarf-road to Chapter IV, pp. 283ff. It is sufficient to no-
tice here that the courses of the six tributary rivers of Gelion
(here called Ascar,* before emendation to Flend and then to
Gelion, note 3) are drawn on that map in precisely the same
form as they have on that published in The Silmarillion, and
the first map names them in order of the original emendation
to Q (note 4) before that was itself changed: i.e., Ascar,
Thalos, Duilwen, Loeglin, Brilthor, Adurant.
It is now made explicit that it was Melian who warned
(* It seems probable that the first two occurrences of Ascar in this section
were mere slips, for Flend (> Gelion). At the third occurrence the name is
used, as it is on the map, for the northernmost of the rivers coming down out
of the Blue Mountains, afterwards renamed Rahlorion (> Rathloriel).)
Beren of the approach of the Dwarves (see p. 75); and the re-
moval of the Land of the Dead that Live from 'the woods of
Doriath and the Hunters' Wold, west of Nargothrond', where it
is still placed in S ($10), to Assariad (Ossiriand) in the East
makes the interception of the Dwarves far simpler and more
natural: the Stony Ford (which goes back to the Tale of the
Nauglafring and is there called Sarnathrod) now lies on the
river that bounds that very land. The geographical shift and de-
velopment has made the whole organisation of the story here
much easier.
Beren's people now at last become 'the Green Elves' (see
p. 74); but the story of the ambush at the ford is passed over
in Q as sketchily as it was in S: there is now no mention even
of the taking of the Nauglafring (> Nauglamir) from the slain
king. The story of the drowning of the treasure remains much
the same as in S, but there are suggestions of wider implica-
tions in the wearing of the Nauglafring: that the Land of the
Dead that Live became itself so fruitful and so fair because of
the presence of Luthien wearing the Silmaril. This passage is
retained almost word for word in The Silmarillion (p. 235). It
is clearly to be associated with a later passage, found both in
Q (p. 182) and in The Silmarillion (p. 247), where the people
dwelling at the Havens of Sirion after the fall of Gondolin
would not surrender the Silmaril to the Feanorians 'for it
seemed to them that in the Silmaril lay the healing and the
blessing that had come upon their houses and their ships'. But
the Silmaril was cursed (and this may seem a sufficiently
strange conception), and Melian warned Beren and Luthien
against it. In Q it is not said, as it is in S, that the Silmaril was
kept secretly by Beren, merely that he and Luthien 'retained'
it. In both texts the fading of Luthien follows immediately; but
while Q again makes no actual connection (see p. 75) the very
ordering of its sentences suggests that such a connection was
there: 'the Land of the Dead that Live became like a vision of
the land of the Gods... Yet Melian warned them ever of the
curse... yet the Silmaril they retained. And in time the brief
hour of the loveliness of the land of Rathlorion departed. For
Luthien faded as Mandos had spoken...'
The statements made in S$$10 and 14 on the fates of Beren
and Luthien have been discussed at some length (pp. 76 - 77).
When we turn to Q, we find that in the earlier passage ($10,
where the first death of Beren and Luthien's pleading with
Mandos is recounted), while there is mention of songs that say
that Luthien was borne living to Valinor by Thorndor, these are
discounted, and 'it has long been said that Luthien failed and
faded swiftly and vanished from the earth', and thus came to
Mandos: she had died, as Elves might die, of grief (cf. the old
Tale of Tinuviel, II. 40). And the dispensation of Mandos ex-
acted that 'Luthien should become mortal even as her lover,
and should leave the earth once more in the manner of mortal
women'. This seems precise: it can surely only mean that
Luthien had become, not an Elf with a peculiar destiny, but a
mortal woman. Her nature had changed.*
Yet Q retains the conception in the present passage of
Luthien's fading - her second fading. I think it can now be
seen why my father wrote an X against this sentence (note 12);
and note also the marginal addition at this point: 'Yet it hath
been sung that Luthien alone of Elves hath been numbered
among our race,' and goeth whither we go to a fate beyond
the world' (cf. The Silmarillion p. 236: 'Beren Erchamion and
Luthien Tinuviel had died indeed, and gone where go the race
of Men to a fate beyond the world').
Coming lastly to the story of Dior and the end of Doriath,
it is now Celegorm, Curufin, and Cranthir who were slain, as
in The Silmarillion (p. 236); and by a late addition to the text
(note 14) Dior has sons, Eldun and Elrun, who were killed
with their father. In The Silmarillion they were Elured and
Elurin, who were left by the servants of Celegorm to starve in
the forest.
(*The further judgement of Mandos in $10, that 'in recompense' he 'gave
to Beren and Luthien thereafter a long span of life and joy', seems at variance
with what is implied here in Q. See III. 125.
+ 'our race': the Quenta, according to its title (pp. 92 - 3), was 'drawn from
the Book of Lost Tales which Eriol of Leithien wrote'.)
15.
In this version of the story of Eol and Isfin it is told that Eol
'was of gloomy mood, and had deserted the hosts ere the battle
[of Unnumbered Tears]'. Nothing has been said before of how
Eol came to be dwelling in the terrible forest (and later his
earlier history was to be wholly changed again: The
Silmarillion p. 132).
The general description of the plain and city of Gondolin in
Q is obviously closely based on S, and shows little more than
stylistic development. But Thorndor is here said to have dwelt
on Thangorodrim before he moved his eyries to the Encircling
Mountains (see p. 80); and there is an interesting reference to
the original intention of the people of Gondolin to go to war
again when the time was ripe. The most important alteration
here is the pencilled addition (note 5), taken up into the Q II
text, telling that Turgon after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears
sent at times Elves down Sirion to the sea, where they built a
small haven and set sail, in vain, for Valinor. This is the forerun-
ner of the passage in The Silmarillion (p. 159), where however
the building of ships by the Gondolindrim and the setting sail
for Valinor 'to ask for pardon and aid of the Valar' is placed af-
ter the Dagor Bragollach and the breaking of the Leaguer of
Angband (for the foundation of Gondolin took place centuries
before the Battle of Unnumbered Tears). But in The Silmarillion
(p. 196) there was also a further attempt by Turgon to reach
Valinor in the time after the great battle, when Cirdan of the
Falas built for him seven ships, of which the only survivor was
Voronwe. The origin of this idea of the fruitless voyages of the
Gondolindrim is to be found in the tale of The Fall of Gondolin
(II. 162), where Ulmo by the mouth of Tuor counselled Turgon
to make such voyages, and Turgon replied that he had done so
'for years untold', and would do so now no more.
In the replacement text Q II (pp. 166 - 68), where the old
story of the foundation of Gondolin is still present, there is
very little to record in narrative development, except that the
sending of Elves to Sirion's mouth and the sailing of ships
from a secret haven is now incorporated in the text; and it is
said that as the years drew on these sailings ceased and the ha-
Maps to
THE SHAPING
OF
MIDDLE-EARTH.
J. R. R. TOLKIEN.
ven was abandoned. It is now explained why it was that
Thorndor (> Thorondor) moved his eyries from Thangorodrim.
The passage of time is left entirely vague in these narratives.
There is no indication of how many years elapsed between the
Battle of Unnumbered Tears or its immediate aftermath - when
in the first years of Gondolin Turgon was trying to get his
messages to Valinor - and the coming of Tuor, by which time
the haven at Sirion's mouth was desolate, none could enter
Goldolin from the outside world, and neither the king nor the
most part of his people wished any more for return to Valinor
(p. 171). But the change in feeling in Gondolin - and all the
mighty works of levelling and tunnelling - must imply a long
lapse of time ('as the years drew on', pp. 165, 168). This con-
ception goes back to the original Fall of Gondolin (see my re-
marks, II. 208); but at that time Tuor had no associations that
would tie him into a chronological framework. Already in S
($16), however, Huor, brother of Hurin, had become Tuor's fa-
ther, and Huor was slain in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
Clearly there was a major narrative-chronological difficulty
lurking here, and it was not long before my father moved the
founding of Gondolin {and with it that of Nargothrond) to a far
earlier point in the history. Unhappily, as I have mentioned be-
fore (II. 208, footnote), the Quenta account was the last that
my father ever wrote of the story of Gondolin from Tuor's
coming to its destruction; and therefore, though the revised
chronological structure is perfectly clear, the latest actual
formed narrative retains the old story of the founding of
Gondolin after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. Against the
words in the Q II replacement 'For Turgon deemed, when first
they came into that vale after the dreadful battle' my father
wrote an X (note 3); but in all the years that followed he never
turned to it again.*
The name Eryd-Lomin occurs for the first time+ in the Q II
(*The passage in The Silmarillion (p. 240) is an editorial attempt to use the
old narrative within the later structure.
+For the first time in the narrative texts. The actual first occurrence is
probably in the caption to my father's painting of Tol Sirion (Pictures by
J. R. R. Tolkien no. 36) of July 1928, which though it cannot be made out in
the reproduction reads: 'The Vale of Sirion, looking upon Dor-na-Fauglith,)
with Eryd Lomin (the Shadowy Mountains) on the left and the eaves of Taur-
na-Fuin on the right.')
replacement text, but its reference is to the Mountains of
Shadow fencing Hithlum, and it was later emended (note 1) to
Eredwethion (Ered Wethrin in The Silmarillion). The name
Eryd-Lomin did at this time mean 'Shadowy Mountains', just
as Dor-lomin meant 'Land of Shadows' (see I. 112, and I. 255
entry Hisilome). Subsequently Eryd-Lomin, Ered Lomin was
changed both in meaning ('Shadowy Mountains' to 'Echoing
Mountains', with lom 'echo', as also in Dor-lomin 'Land of
Echoes') and in application, becoming the name of the coastal
range to the west of Hithlum.
16.
At the beginning of this section we find the first beginnings
of the later story of the coming of Isfin and Meglin (Aredhel
and Maeglin) to Gondolin, rather than (as still in S) the send-
ing of Meglin by his mother; Eol was lost in Taur-na-Fuin, and
his wife and son came to Gondolin in his absence. There was
much further development to come (the story of Maeglin in
The Silmarillion is one of the latest elements in the book).
In the rewritten passage given in note 3 the birth of Tuor 'in
the wild' appears (see p. 81); the implication is no doubt that
as in The Silmarillion (p. 198) and with more detail in the
'later Tuor' (Unfinished Tales p. 17) he was born in the wilds
of Hithlum, and that it was after his birth that Rian went east
to the Hill of Slain (in the rough rewriting of the passage in
Q I now first given an Elvish name, Amon Dengin). But it is
odd that in the rewriting Tuor's servitude among 'the faithless
Men', found in S and in Q as first written, is excluded.
In the account of Tuor's flight from Hithlum the name of the
Rainbow Cleft as originally written was Cris-Ilfing (in the tale
of The Fall of Gondolin it was Cris Ilbranteloth or Glorfalc),
emended to Kirith Helvin (Cirith Ninniach in The Silmaril-
lion).
Tuor's journey remains unchanged. It was already said in S
that Bronweg 'had once been in Gondolin', now it is added that
he had escaped from Angband, and had reached Sirion after
long wanderings in the East. That he had been in Angband ap-
pears in fact already in the Lay of the Fall of Gondolin
(III. 148), and is implied in the Tale (II. 156 - 7). The story of his
lone survival from the last of the ships sent out on Turgon's or-
ders had not yet arisen; and his escape from Angband makes
him a rather obvious parallel to Flinding (Gwindor), or at least
points a general likeness between the stories of Turin and Tuor
at this point. In each case a Man is guided by an Elf escaped
from Angband to the hidden city of which the Elf was a citizen
in the past. - The visitation of Ulmo to Tuor 'as he stood in the
long grass at evening' in the Land of Willows goes back to the
Tale, where he stood 'knee-deep in the grass' (II. 155). This was
an essential element never abandoned; see II. 205. The song of
Tuor that he made for his son Earendel is extant, and is given
in Appendix 2 to this chapter (p. 262).
Ulmo's instructions to Tuor in Q remain the same as in S;
but in the Q II replacement there are important differences.
Here, the great war between Gondolin and Angband foreseen
by Ulmo is given a larger scope, and its succesful outcome
made to seem more plausible: Tuor's errand to Hithlum, where
he was to draw the ('evil' and 'faithless') Men of Hithlum (a
land full of Morgoth's spies) into alliance with the Elves, a
task it would seem of the utmost hopelessness, is now aban-
doned, and Tuor is to journey into the East and rouse the new
nations of Men; the feud with the Feanorians is to be healed.
But in the contrary case, Ulmo no longer makes any promise
to aid the people of Gondolin in the building of a fleet. His
foreknowledge of the approaching doom of Gondolin is made
progressively less precise: in S he knows that it will come
through Meglin in seven (> twelve) years, in Q I that it will
come in twelve years, but without mention of Meglin, in Q II
only that it will come before many years are passed, if nothing
is done.
In the story of Meglin's treachery in Q it is expressly stated
(as it is not in S, though it is almost certainly implied) that he
revealed the actual situation of Gondolin, of which Morgoth
was until then ignorant.
There are strong suggestions in this compressed account that
Gondolin's rich heraldry of houses and emblems was only in
abeyance, not abandoned. The seven names of Gondolin are
referred to, though not given, and Ecthelion of the Fountain
and Glorfindel of the House of the Golden Flower are named.
Indeed so many old features reappear - the Gates of Summer,
the 'death of Rog without the walls'* - that it does not need
the reference in the text to The Fall of Gondolin to show that
my father had the Tale very fully in mind. In the reference to
the 'devising' (rather than 'breeding') of new dragons by
Morgoth for the assault on the city there is even a suggestion
of the (apparently) inanimate constructions of the Tale (see
II. 213).
The relation between the present shor; version of the escape
of the fugitives and the ambush in Cristhorn (> Kirith-
thoronath), which is effectively that in The Silmarillion
(p. 243), and that in the Tale has been discussed in II. 213 - 14.
The absence from The Silmarillion of the fugitives who went
to the Way of Escape and were there destroyed by the dragon
lying in wait, an element present in S and Q, is due to editorial
excision, based on evidence in a much later text that the old
entrance to Gondolin had been blocked up. That text is the ba-
sis for the passage in The Silmarillion (p. 228) where Hurin af-
ter his release from Thangorodrim came to the feet of the
Encircling Mountains:
he looked about him with little hope, standing at the foot of
a great fall of stones beneath a shee! rock-wall; and he knew
not that this was all that was now left to see of the old Way
of Escape: the Dry River was blocked, and the arched gate
was buried.
The sentence in The Silmarillion p. 240 'Therefore in that time
the very entrance to the hidden door in the Encircling Moun-
tains was caused to be blocked up' was an editorial addition.
In Q reappears from the Tale the sojourn of the survivors of
Gondolin in the Land of Willows, and the return of the 'sea-
longing' to Tuor, leading to the departure from Nan-Tathrin
down Sirion to the Sea.
(*For the absence of Rog from the passage in The Silmarillion (p. 242) see
II. 211, second footnote.)
Lastly may be noticed the description of Idril Celebrindal in
Q II (p, 177) - tall, 'well nigh of warrior's stature', with
golden hair: the prototype of Galadriel (see especially the de-
scription of her in Unfinished Tales pp. 229 - 30),
17.
In the original Q text in this section the structure of S is
closely followed, and in many respects the story is still un-
changed where change was very soon to take place.
All trace of Ulmo's urging Earendel to undertake the voyage
to Valinor has disappeared (see S$17 note 3); but it is still
Ulmo's 'grievous words' to the Valar that lead to the coming
forth of the Sons of the Valar against Morgoth, and still
Earendel 'came too late to bring messages to the Elves, for the
Elves had gone' (cf. Q$6: 'he came too late'). There now ap-
pears, on the other hand, Earendel's wish to bring 'a message
to the Gods and Elves of the West, that should move their
hearts to pity on the world', even though, when he came, there
were none in Kor to whom to deliver it. But the ultimate story
is noted on the text in pencil (note 1).
In the account of the host that came from Valinor Fionwe is
still the son of Tulkas (see p. 82}; but now none of the Teleri
leave Valinor, while on the other hand there is mention of the
Gnomes who had not left Valinor at the time of the
Rebellion - cf. the earlier passage in Q ($5): 'Some remained
behind... It was long ere they came back into this tale of the
wars and wanderings of their people.'
Bronweg is still present as in S living alone at Sirion's
mouth after the attack by the Feanorians, and he still sails with
Earendel on the second voyage of Wingelot that brought them
to Kor. Earendel still at this point in the story builds the Tower
of Seabirds; his ship is raised, as in S, on the wings of birds,
as he searches for Elwing from the sky, whence he is hunted
by the Moon and wanders over the earth as a fugitive star.
Elwing still casts the Silmaril into the sea and leaps after it,
taking the form of a seabird to seek Earendel 'about all the
shores of the world'. Minor developments are the dissension
among the Feanorians, so that some stood aside and others
aided Elwing; the deaths of Damrod and Diriel (see p. 84); the
explanation of Maidros' pity for the child Elrond ('for his heart
was sick and weary with the burden of the dreadful oath'); and
the description of Wingelot. The name of Tuor's ship Earame
is translated 'Eagle's Pinion' (the old explanation of the name,
when it was Earendel's ship), not 'Sea-wing' (see p. 83). The
passage in S concerning the choice of Elrond Halfelven is here
omitted, but the matter reappears in $18.
With this section the rewriting of Q (as 'Q II') becomes con-
tinuous to the end of the work, and the original text ('Q I') in
fact gives out before the end. Since substantial stretches of Q
I remain unchanged in Q II, I do not suppose that much time
elapsed between them; but certain major new strokes are intro-
duced into the legend in the rewriting.
These major developments in the present section are, first,
that Ulmo's words to the Valar did not achieve the war against
Morgoth ('Manwe moved not'); second, that Elwing, borne up
as a seabird, bore the Silmaril on her breast, and came to
Earendel, returning from his first voyage in Wingelot: so that
the Silmaril of Beren was not lost, but became the Evening
Star; and third, that Earendel, voyaging to Valinor with Elwing,
came before the Valar, and it was his 'embassy of the two kin-
dreds' that led to the assault on Morgoth.*
But there are also many changes of a less structural charac-
ter in Q II, as: Earendel's earlier voyages about the shores of
the Outer Lands before he built Wingelot; his warning dreams
to return in haste to the Mouths of Sirion, which in the event
he never came back to, being intercepted by the coming of
Elwing as a seabird and her tidings of what had happened
there in his absence - hence the disappearance of Bronweg
from the story; the healing power of the Silmaril on the people
of Sirion (see p. 230): the great light of the Silmaril as
Wingelot approached Valinor, and the suggestion that it was
the power of the jewel that brought the ship through the en-
chantmerts and the shadows; Earendel's refusal to allow any
of those that travelled with him to come with him into Valinor;
the new explanation of the desertion of Tun upon Kor (for ',he
(*The first appearance of this central idea is in a hasty pencilled note to Q I
(note 1): 'Make Earendel move the Gods.')
story still endured that the city of the Elves was empty of its
inhabitants when Earendel came there); the greeting of
Earendel by Fionwe (now again the son of Manwe) as the
Morning and Evening Star; the manning by the Teleri of the
ships that bore the hosts of the West; and the sighting of
the Silmaril in the sky by Maidros and Maglor and the people
of the Outer Lands.
By subsequent emendation to Q II some further elements
enter. To Tuor is ascribed a fate (note 3) hardly less astonish-
ing than that of his cousin Turin Turambar. Elrond's brother
Elros appears (notes 4 and 9); and Maglor takes over Maidros'
role as their saviour, and as the less ruthless and single-minded
of the two brothers (note 10; see the commentary on $18). Tne
addition in note 19 stating that the leader of the Gnomes who
had never departed from Valinor was Ingwiel son of Ingwe is
at first sight surprising: one would expect Finrod (> Finarfin),
as in The Silmarillion (p. 251). I think however that this addi-
tion was imperfectly accommodated to the text: the meaning
intended was that Ingwiel was the chief of the Quendi (the
Light-elves, the Vanyar) among whom the Gnomes of Valinor
marched.* In a revision to Q$2 (note 6) the original text, say-
ing that Ingwe never came back into the Outer Lands 'until
these tales were near their end', was changed to a statement
that he never returned. Ingwiel replaces Ingil son of Inwe
of the Lost Tales, who built Ingil's Tower in Tol Eressea (I. 16)
after his return from the Great Lands.
As Q II was first written
Earendel was their guide [i e. of the fleet of the hosts of
Valinor]; but the Gods would not suffer him to return
again,+ and he built him a white tower upon the confines of
(*In the final version of this passage my father noticed the (apparent) error,
and changed Ingwiel son of Ingwe to Finarfin son of Finwe (hence the read-
ing in The Silmarillion). The result is that whereas in Q II only the leader of
!he First Kindred is named, Ingwiel, in the final version only the leader of the
Noldor of Valinor is named, Finarfin; but the one should not, I think, have re-
placed the other - rather both should have been named.
+ Cf. the letter of 1967 cited in II. 265: 'Earendil, being in part descended
from Men, was not allowed to set foot on Earth again.')
the outer world in the Northern regions of the Sundering
Seas, and there all the sea-birds of the earth at times re-
paired.
The Tower of Seabirds thus survives in the same place in the
narrative as in S and Q, where Earendel builds the tower after
his fruitless visit to Kor. At the end of this section in S Earendel
sails by the aid of [the seabirds'] wings even over the airs
in search of Elwing, but is scorched by the Sun, and hunted
from the sky by the Moon, and for a long while he wanders
the sky as a fugitive star.
Virtually the same is said at the end of the section in Q I. In
Q II, however, as first written, Elwing was with Earendel at
this time,* in the form of a bird, and it was she who devised
wings for his ship, so that 'it was lifted even into the oceans
of the air'.
In S and Q I Earendel does not yet bear a Silmaril when he
wanders the sky 'as a fugitive star' (for the Silmaril of Beren
is drowned with the Nauglafring, and the others are still in the
Iron Crown of Morgoth); whereas in Q II it is at this time that
the Silmaril appears in the sky and gives hope to the people of
the Outer Lands.
With the revision to Q II given in note 20 enters the idea
that it was the Gods themselves who set Earendel and his ship
in the sky. It is now Elwing who builds the Tower of Seabirds,
devising wings for herself in order to try to reach him, in vain;
and they are sundered till the end of the world. This no doubt
goes with the revision to Q II given in note 14: 'And he bade
farewell to all whom he loved upon the last shore, and was
taken from them for ever.'
In The Silmarillion the element of a small ship's company
remains: the three mariners Falathar, Erellont, and Aerandir
(p. 248). These, and Elwing, Earendil refused to allow to set
(*It is not actually said in Q II that Elwing returned to Earendel after being
bidden by him to remain behind when he landed on 'the immortal shores' and
went to Kor; but it is evident that she did, from her having devised wings for
his ship.)
foot on the shore of Aman; but Elwing leapt into the sea and
ran to him, saying: 'Then would our paths be sundered for
ever.' There Earendil and Elwing 'bade farewell to the com-
panions of their voyage, and were taken from them for ever',
but Elwing did not even so accompany Elendil to Tirion. She
sojourned among the Teleri of Alqualonde, and Earendil came
to her there after he had 'delivered the errand of the Two Kin-
dreds' before the Valar; and they went then together to Valmar
and heard Manwe s decree, and the choice of fate that was
given to them and to their children.
A curious point arises in the account in Q II of the voyage
of Earendel and Elwing that brought them to the coast of
Valinor. Whereas in Q I it is said that Earendel 'found again
the Lonely Isle, and the Shadowy Seas', in Q II 'they came
into the Shadowy Seas and passed their shadows; and they
looked upon the Lonely Isle...' This suggests that the Shad-
owy Seas had become a region of the Great Sea lying to the
east cf Tol Eressea; and the same idea seems to be present in
$6 both in S and in Q, for it is said there that at the Hiding of
Valinor 'the Magic Isles were... strung across the confines of
the Shadowy Seas, before the Lonely Isle is reached sailing
West'. Quite different is the account in the Lost Tales, where
'beyond Tol Eressea [lying west of the Magic Isles] is the
misty wall and those great sea glooms beneath which lie the
Shadowy Seas' (I. 125); and the Shadowy Seas extend to
the coasts of the western land (I. 68). Conceivably, this devel-
opment is related to the changed position of Tol Eressea -
anchored in, the Bay of Faerie within far sight of the
Mountains of Valinor, and not as in the Lost Tales in mid-
Ocean: a change that entered the geography in S$3.
In emendations to Q II the Magic Isles become the En-
chanted Isles (note 11; see II. 324 - 5) and the Bay of Faerie be-
comes the Bay of Elven-home (note 12); also the name
Earame of Tuor's ship becomes Earrame, with the later inter-
pretation 'Sea-wing' (note 2).
18.
There are several interesting developments in the story of
the Last Battle and its aftermath as told in the original Q I text
of this section. The very brief account in S is here greatly ex-
panded, and much of the final version appears, if still with
many differences( notably the absence of Earendel). That
Morgoth had been bound long before by Tulkas in the chain
Angainor now re-emerges from the Lost Tales (this feature is
absent in Q$2; see pp. 86, 201).
The passage describing the rending of Beleriand survives al-
most unchanged in The Silmarillion (p. 252), which in fact
adds nothing else. There is a notable statement (retained in
Q II) that
Men fled away, such as perished not in the ruin of those
days, and long was it ere they came back over the moun-
tains to where Beleriand once had been, and not till the tale
of those days had faded to an echo seldom heard.
I do not know certainly what this refers to (see below, p. 244).
Unhappily the evidence for the development of the conception
of the drowning of Beleriand is extremely scanty. Later, it was
only a small region (Lindon) that remained above the sea west
of the Blue Mountains; but this need not by any means yet
have been the case. It is also said in Q (again retained in Q II)
that
there was a mighty building of ships on the shores of the
Western Sea, and most upon the great isles, which in the dis-
ruption of the Northern world were fashioned of old
Beleriand.
Of the size and number of these 'great isles' we are not told.
On one of my father's sketchmaps made for The Lord of the
Rings there is the island of Himling, i.e. the summit of the Hill
of Himring, and also Tol Fuin, i.e. the highest part of Taur-na-
Fuin (see Unfinished Tales pp. 13 - 14); and in The Silmarillion
(p. 230) it is said that the stone of the Children of Hurin and
the grave of Morwen above Cabed Naeramarth stands on Tol
Morwen 'alone in the water beyond the new coasts that were
made in the days of the wrath of the Valar'. But it seems ob-
vious that my father was at this time imagining far larger is-
lands than these, since it was on them that the great fleets were
built at the end of the War of Wrath. Luthien () Leithien) as
the land from which the Elves set sail, named in S $18 and ex-
plained as 'Britain or England', is not named in Q; but the
words that follow in S: 'Thence they ever still from time to
time set sail leaving the world ere they fade', are clearly re-
flected in Q:
Yet not all returned, and some lingered many an age in the
West and North, and especially in the Western Isles. Yet
ever as the ages drew on and the Elf-folk faded on the
Earth, they would still set sail at eve from our Western
shores; as still they do, when now there linger few anywhere
of the lonely companies.
The relation between these passages strongly suggests that the
'Western Isles' were the British Isles,* and that England still
had a place in the actual mythological geography, as is explic-
itly so in S. In this connection the opening of AElfwine of En-
giand, in the final text AElfwine II (II. 312 - 13), is interesting:
There was a land called England, and it was an island of the
West, and before it was broken in the warfare of the Gods
it was westernmost of all the Northern lands, and looked
upon the Great Sea that Men of old called Garsecg; but that
part that was broken was called Ireland and many names be-
sides, and its dwellers come not into these tales.
All that land the Elves named Luthien and do so yet. In
Luthien alone dwelt still the most part of the Fading Com-
panies, the Holy Fairies that have not yet sailed away from
the world, beyond the horizon of Men's knowledge, to the
Lonely Island, or even to the Hill of Tun upon the Bay of
Faery that washes the western shores of the kingdom of the
Gods.
(*This may seem to be rendered less likely by the form of the passage in Q
II, where the first sentence is expanded: 'and especially in the western isles
and the lands of Leithien'. But I do not think that this phrase need be taken
too precisely, and believe that the equation holds.)
It is possible, as I suggested (II. 323 - 4), that this passage refers
to the cataclysm, and its aftermath, that is otherwise first men-
tioned in S $18. AElfwine II cannot be dated, but AElfwine I on
which it was based was probably written in 1920 or not much
later. It is also conceivable, if no more, that the meaning of the
words in Q, that it was long before Men came back over
the mountains to where Beleriand once had been, refers to the
bloody invasions of England in later days described in AElfwine
II; for there is very little in that text that cannot be readily ac-
commodated to the present passage in S and Q, with the pic-
ture of the fading Elves of Luthien 'leaving our Western
shores'.* But a serious difficulty with this idea lies in the com-
ing of Men 'over the mountains' to where Beleriand once had
been.
Certainly the most remarkable, even startling, feature of the
aftermath of the Last Battle in Q (I) is the statement that when
Fionwe marched through the lands summoning the Gnomes
and the Dark-elves to leave the Outer Lands, the Men of the
Houses of Hador and Beor were 'suffered to depart, if they
would'. But only Elrond was left; and of his choice, as Half-
elven, the same is told as in S $17. The implications of this
passage are puzzling. It is obvious that 'the race of Hador and
Beor' means those directly descended from Hador and Beor;
afterwards the conception of these Houses became much
enlarged - they became clans. But since of the direct descen-
dants only Elrond was left, what does this permission mean? Is
it a (very curious) way of offering the choice of departure to
the Half-elven, if he (they) wished? - because the Half-elven
had only come into existence in the Houses of Hador and Beor.
(*Two small likenesses may be noticed: in AElfwine 11 the ships of the Elves
weigh anchor from the western haven 'at eve' (II. 315), as in Q; and with 'the
lonely companies' of Q cf. 'the Fading Companies' of AElfwine II in the pas-
sage cited above.
A further attractive deduction, that this was the origin of the haven of
Belerion in AElfwine of England, the western harbour 'whence the Elves at
times set sail' (a survival of the old name Beleriand among the Men of later
days when its original reference was forgotten, and 'the tale of those days
had faded to an echo seldom heard'), cannot be sustained: for AElfwine 11 was
certainly written long before the earliest occurrences of Beleriand (rather
than Broseliand).)
But this seems too legalistic and contorted to be at all proba-
ble. Then does it imply that, if there had in fact been other
descendants - if, for example, Gundor son of Hador had had
children - they would have been permitted to depart? And
what then? Would they have ended their days as mortal Men
on Tol Eressea? The permission seems very obscure on either
interpretation; and it was removed from Q II. Nonetheless it
represents, as I think, the first germ of the story of the depar-
ture of the survivors of the Elf-friends to Numenor.
The story of the fate of the Silmarils in Q I advances on S,
and here reaches an interesting transitional stage between S
and Q II, where the final resolution is achieved. Maidros re-
mains as in S the less fiercely resolute of the two surviving
sons of Feanor in the fulfilment of the oath: in S it is Maglor
alone who steals a Silmaril from Fionwe's keeping, and in Q
I it is Maidros who is 'minded to submit', but is argued down
by Maglor. In Q II the arguments remain, but the parts of
Maidros and Maglor are reversed, just as in $17 (by later
emendation to Q II, note 10) Maglor becomes the one who
saved Elrond and Elros. In Q I both brothers go to steal the
Silmarils from Fionwe, as in the final version of the legend;
but, as in S, only Maglor carries his away - for in the new
story Maidros is captured. Yet, whereas as in S only one of the
two remaining Silmarils is consigned to the deep places by the
act of one of the brothers (Maglor), and the other is retained by
Fionwe and ultimately becomes Earendel's star - Maidros
playing, so far as can be seen, no further part in its fate, in Q I
the burning of the unrighteous hand, and the realisation that the
right of the sons of Feanor to the Silmarils is now void, be-
comes that of Maidros; and, a prisoner of Fionwe, he slays
himself, casting the Silmaril on the ground (and though the text
of Q I does not go so far as this, the logic of the narrative must
lead to the giving of this Silmaril to Earendel, as in S). The
emended version in S (notes 6 and 7), that Maglor casts his
Silmaril into a fiery pit and thereafter wanders singing in sor-
row by the sea (rather than that he casts himself also into the
pit), is taken up into Q I.
In Q II the story has shifted again, to the final harmonious
and symmetrical structure: the Silmaril of Beren is not lost,
and becomes the star of Earendel: both Maglor and Maidros
take a Silmaril from the camp of Fionwe, and both cast them
down into inaccessible places. Maidros still takes his own life,
but does so by casting himself into the fiery pit - and this is a
return to the original story of Maglor told in S. Maglor now
casts his Silmaril into the sea - and thus the Silmarils of earth,
sea, and sky are retained, but they are different Silmarils; for
in the earlier versions it was one of those from the Iron Crown
of Morgoth that became the Evening Star.
This extraordinarily complex but highly characteristic narra-
tive evolution can perhaps be shown more clearly in a table:
S.
The Silmaril cf
Beren is cast into
the sea by Elwing
and lost.
Maglor alone steals
a Silmaril from
Fionwe, and es-
capes.
Maglor knows
from the pain of
the Silmaril that he
no longer has a
right to it
QI.
As in S.
Maidros is minded
to submit, but
Maglor argues
against him.
Maidros and
Maglor together
steal both Silmarils
from Fionwe, but
Maidros is cap-
tured.
Maidros knows
from the pair of
the Silmaril that he
no longe has a
right to it.
QII.
The Silmaril of
Beren is brought
by Elwing to
Earendel on
Wingelot; with it
he goes to Valinor.
Maglor is minded
to submit, but
Maidros argues
against him.
As in Q I, hut both
Ma! dros and
Maglor are permit-
ted to depart bear-
ing the Silmarils.
As in QI.
Maglor casts
himself and the
Silmaril into a
fiery pit
> He casts the
Silmaril into a pit
and wanders by
the shores.
Maidros' Silmaril
is adjudged by the
Gods to Earendel.
Maidros casts his
Silmaril on the
ground and takes
his life.
Maglor casts his
Silmaril into a fiery
pit and wanders by
the shores.
[As in S, though
this point not
reached in Q I].
Maidros casts
himself and his
Silmaril into a
fiery pit.
Maglor casts his
Silmaril into the
sea and wanders
by the shores.
The Silmaril of
Beren, never lost,
is retained by
Earendel.
We find still in both versions of Q, as in S, the statement
that some of the returning Elves went beyond Tol Eressea and
dwelt in Valinor ('as all were free to do who willed'. Q II) -
and it is made clear in the Q texts that these included some of
the exiled Noldoli, 'admitted to the love of Manwe and the
pardon of the Gods'. Also retained in Q I (but not in Q II) is
the statement that Tun remained deserted., again without expla-
nation given (see p. 87). But whereas in S Tol Eressea was re-
peopled by 'the Gnomes and many of the Ilkorins and Teleri
and Qendi', in the Q-texts Teleri and Quendi are not mentioned
here, only Gnomes and Dark-elves ('especially such as had
once belonged to Doriath', Q I).
In a hasty pencilled note to Q I ($17 note 1) there is a ref-
erence to some Men of Hithlum being repentant, and to !he
fulfilment of Ulmo's foretelling (i.e. 'without Men the Elves
shall not prevail against the Orcs and Balrogs', $16): both by
the valour of the Men of Hithlum, and by the embassy of
Earendel to the Valar. This is taken up into Q II in the present
section, with the addition that many Men new come out of the
East fought against Morgoth; but further revision (notes 2 and
3) altered this to say that most Men and especially these new-
comers from the East fought on the side of the Enemy, and
also that in addition to the repentant Men of Hithlum 'all that
were left of the three Houses of the Fathers of Men fought for
S and Q.
Earendel (with Bronweg) visits Kor
fruitlessly, for the Elves have already
gone ($17).
He builds the Tower where all seabirds
come (Q: and grieves for the loss of
Elwing)($17).
By birds' wings Wingelot is lifted into the
sky ($17).
He is scorched by the Sun and hunted by
the Moon, and wanders as a fugitive star.
He has no Silmaril. ($17).
After the Last Battle the Silmaril of
Maidros is given to Earendel and Elwing
is restored to him; he sails into the Outer
Dark with Elwing, bearing the Silmaril
($ 19) [The Q I text ends before this point
is reached].
Q II.
Earendel (with Elwing, and bearing
the Silmaril) goes to Valinor, and
forbidding Elwing to accompany him
further declares 'the embassy of the Two
Kindreds' ($17).
He guides the fleet out of the West; he
builds the Tower of Seabirds, and
Elwing is with him ($17).
Elwing devises wings for Wingelot ($17).
He sails the sky bearing the Silmaril
(? with Elwing), and the star is seen by the
people of the Outer Lands ($ 17).
He descends from the sky to the Last
Battle with countless birds about him,
and slays Ancalagon ($ 18).
He is scorched by the Sun and hunted by
the Moon, and sails as a fugitive star ($19)
His ship is hallowed by the Valar and
launched through the Door of Night.
Elwing is with him ($ 19).
Revisions to Q II.
Earendel bids farewell to Elwing for ever
on the shore of Valinor ($ 17 note 14).
Earendel's ship is hallowed by the Valar
and set in the sky ($ 17 note 20).
Elwing builds the Tower and devises
bird-wings for herself, but cannot
reach Earendel, and they are sundered for
ever ($17 note 20).
(Elwing is not with him).
(Elwing is not with him; $19 note 6).
broken by Maidros); and with the awakening of the Elves and
the rising of their dead the purpose of Iluvatar will be fulfilled
concerning them. The appearance of Turin at the end remains
profoundly mysterious; and here it is said that the prophecy
names him among the Gods, which is clearly to be related to
the passage in the old Tale of Turambar (II. 116), where it is
said that Turin and Nienor 'dwelt as shining Valar among the
blessed ones', after they had passed through Fos' Almir, the
bath cf flame. In changes to the text of Q II it is said that
Turin is named among 'the songs of the Gods', rather than
among the Gods, and also that he comes 'from the halls of
Mandos' to the final battle; about which I can say no more
than that Turin Turambar, though a mortal Man, did not go, as
do the race of Men, to a fate beyond the world.
APPENDIX 1.
Fragment of a translation of the Quenta Noldorinwa
into Old English, made by AElfwine or Eriol;
together with Old English equivalents
of Elvish names.
There are extant. fragments of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) ver-
sions of the Annals of Valinor (three), the Annals of Beleriand,
and Quenta Noldorinwa. All begin at the beginning of the re-
spective works arid only one, a version of the Annals of
Valinor, constitutes a substantial text. The Old English version
of the Quenta which is given here had no title, but my father
later inserted in pencil the title Pennas; cf. Qenta Noldorinwa
or Pennas-na-Ngoelaidh, p. 77. in a brief detached list of El-
vish names and words that belongs to this period occurs this
entry:
Quenta story, tale (quete-'say'). N[oldorin] pent.
pennas history (quentasse).
At this time Eriol and AElfwine reappear together as the El-
vish and English names of the mariner who came to Tol
Eressea and there translated various Elvish works into his own
language: in the preamble to the Annals of Valinor (p. 310) he
is 'Eriol of Leithien, that is AElfwine of the Angelcynn', and in
one of the Old English versions of these Annals the work is
said (p. 334) to have been translated by 'AElfwine, whom the
Elves named Eriol'. (On the earlier relations of the two names
see II. 300 - 1.)
The Old English version of the Quenta is a very close
equivalent of the Modern English text from its opening 'After
the making of the World by the Allfather' to 'shadow is her
realm and night her throne' (pp. 94 - 6), where the Old English
ends. It is a manuscript in ink, obviously a first draft, with pen-
cilled emendations (mostly small alterations of word-order and
suchlike) which I take up into the text; the last paragraph is
written in pencil, very rapidly. Acute accents on long vowels
were put in rather sporadically and I have made the usage con-
sistent, as with the Old English texts throughout.
Penn as
AEfter pam pe Ealfaeder, se pe on elfisc Iluuatar
hatte, pas worolde geworhte, pa comon manige pa
mihtegostan gaestas pe mid him wunodon hire to
stieranne; for pon pe hi hie feorran ofsawon faegre
geworhte and hi lustfollodon on hire wlitignesse. has 5
gaestas nemdon pa Elfe Valar, paet is pa Moegen, pe
men oft siddan swapeah nemdon Godu. Opre gaestas
manige haefdon hi on hira folgode, ge maran ge
laessan, 7 para sume tealdon men sippan gedwollice
mid paem Elfum; ac hie lugon, for pam pe aer seo 10
worold geworht waere hi waeron, 7 Elfe and Firas (paet
sindon men) onwocon aerest on worolde aefter para
Valena cyme. Ealfaeder ana geworhte Elfe and Firas
ond aegperum gedaelde hira agene gifa; py hatad hi
woroldbearn oppe Ealfaederes bearn. 15
Para Valena ealdoras nigon waeron. Pus hatad pa
nigon godu on elfiscum gereorde swa swa pa elfe hit
on Valinore spraecon, peah pe hira naman sind opre 7
onhwerfede on nold-elfisc, and missenlice sind hira na-
man mid mannum. 20
Manwe waes goda hlaford, and winda and wedera
wealdend and heofones styrend. Mid him wunede to
his geferan seo undeadlice heanessa hlaefdige, uprodera
cwen, Varda tunglawyrhte. Him se nyxta on maegene,
and on freondscipe se cudesta, waes Ulmo agendfrea 25
ealra waetera, se pe ana wunad on Utgarsecge, 7 styred
swapeah eallum waegum 7 waeterum, earn 7 streamum,
wyllum ond aewelmum geond eordan ymbhwyrfte.
Him underpyded, peah he him oft unhold bid, is Osse,
se pe manna landa saem styred, 7 his gefera is Uinen 30
merehlaefdige. Hire feax lip gespraedd geond ealle sae
under heofenum.
On maegene waes Aule Ulmo swidost gelic. He waes
smip and creaftiga, 7 Yavanna waes his gefera, seo pe
ofet and haerfest and ealle eordan waestmas lufode. 35
Nyxt was heo on maegene para Valacwena Vardan.
Swipe wlitig waes heo, and hie pa Elfe nemdon oft
Palurien paet is 'eorpan sceat'.
Pa gebropru Mandos 7 Lorien hatton Fanturi.
Nefantur hated se aeresta, neoaerna hlaford, and 40
waelcyriga, se pe samnode ofslaenra manna gaestas.
Olofantur hated se oder, swefna wyrhta 7 gedwimora;
7 his tunas on goda landum waeron ealra stowa
faegroste on worolde 7 waeron gefylde mid manigum
gaestum wlitigum and mihtigum. 45
Ealra goda strengest 7 leopucraeftigost and
foremaerost ellendaedum waes Tulkas; py hated he eac
pon Poldorea se ellenrofa (se dyhtiga); and he waes
Melkoes unwine and his wiprbroca.
Orome waes mihtig hlaford and lytle laessa maegenes 50
ponne Tulkas sylf. Orome waes hunta 7 treowcynn
lufode - py hatte he Aldaron, 7 pa noldielfe hine
Tauros nemdon, paet is Wealdafrea - 7 him waeron
leofe hors and hundas. Huru he eode on huntod purh
pa deorce land aer pam pe seo sunne wurde gyt atend/ 55
onaeled; swipe hlude waeron his hornas, 7 swa beod
giet on fridum and feldum pe Orome ah on Valinore.
Vana hatte his gefera, seo waes gingra sweostor hira
Vardan 7 Palurienne, 7 seo faegernes ge heofenes ge
eordan bid on hire wlite and hire weorcum. Hire 60
mihtigre swapeah bid Nienna, seo pe mid Nefantur
Mandos eardad. Mildheort bid heo, hire bid geomor
sefa, murnende mod; sceadwa bid hire scir 7 hire
prymsetl peostru.
NOTES.
6. Morgen ('Powers') was emended to Reg... (?Regen ?Regin). Old
English regn- in compounds 'great, mighty', related to Old Norse
regin 'Gods' (occurring in Ragnarok).
11. Firas is an emendation of Elde (both are old poetic words for
'men'). At line 13 Firas is written beside Elde, which was
emended to AElde (and Elfe apparently to AElfe).
13. Valena genitive plural is an emendation from Vala; also in line 16.
26. on Utgarsecge: Ut-garsecg 'the Outer Seas'. Garsecg, one of
many Old English names of the sea, is used frequently in AElfwine
of England of the Great Sea of the West (in one of the texts spelt
Garsedge to represent the pronunciation).
41. waelcyriga: 'chooser of the slain (wael)', the Old English equiva-
lent of Old Norse valkyrja (Valkyrie).
55 - 6. atend, onaeled: these words are alternatives, but neither is marked
for rejection.
62-3. Cf. Beowulf lines 49 - 50: him waes geomor sefa, murnende mod
('sad was their heart and mourning in their soul').
*
Associated with the Old English texts are several lists of El-
vish names with Old English equivalents, some of which are of
much interest for the light they cast on the meaning of Elvish
names; though many are not in fact translations, as will be
seen.
There is firstly a list of the Valar:
The chief gods are Frean. os (ese).
[O.E. frea 'ruler, lord', os 'god' (in proper names as
Oswald), with mutated vowel in the plural.]
Manwe is Wolcenfrea [O.E. wolcen 'sky', cf. Modern English
welkin.]
Ulmo is Garsecges frea, & ealwaeter-frea [For Garsecg see
note to line 26 of the O.E. Quenta. In that text Ulmo is
called agendfrea ealra waetera 'Lord of Waters' (literally
'owning lord of all waters').]
Aule is Craeftfrea.
Tulkas is Afodfrea [O.E. afod, eafod 'might, strength'.]
Orome is Wadfrea and Huntena frea [O.E. wad 'hunting',
'Hunting Lord and Lord of Hunters'. In the O.E. Quenta he
is Wealdafrea 'Lord of Forests', translating Tauros.]
Mandos is Nefrea [O.E. ne(o) 'corpse', cf. neoaerna hlaford
'master of the houses of the dead' in the O.E. Quenta. On
the Elvish name Nefantur see p. 199.]
Lorien is Swefnfrea [O.E. swefn 'dream'.]
Melko is Manfrea, Bolgen, Malscor [O.E. man 'evil, wicked-
ness'; bolgen 'wrathful'. An O.E. verbal noun malscrung is
recorded, with the meaning 'bewildering, bewitching'; see
the Oxford English Dictionary s.v. Masker (verb), 'bewil-
der'.]
Osse is Saefrea.
There are also several lists of Old English equivalents of El-
vish names of persons and places, and since they all obviously
belong to the same period I combine them and give them in al-
phabetical order:
Aldaron: Beaming [O.E. beam 'tree'.]
A.mon Uilas: Sinsnaw, Sinsnaewen [O.E. sin- 'perpetual',
appears in the Quenta, p. 98 note 2.]
Ancalagon: Anddraca [O.E. and- as the first element in com-
pounds denotes opposition, negation (anda 'enmity, hatred,
envy'); draca 'dragon' (see II. 350).]
Angband: Engbend, Irenhell [Engbend contains O.E. enge
'narrow, strait, oppressive, cruel' and bend 'bond, fetter', it
is thus not a translation but a word-play between the two
languages.]
Asgar: Baening [This river, Ascar in Q as in The Silmarillion,
is also Asgar in the Annals of Beleriand (p. 367). I cannot
interpret Baening. If a derivative of O.E. ban 'bone' (cf.
baenen 'of bone') it might have some meaning like 'the
place (i.e. the river) filled with bones', with reference to
the Dwarves who were drowned in the river at the battle of
the Stony Ford; but this does not seem at all probable.]
Balrog: Bealuwearg, Bealubroga [O.E. bealu 'evil', cf. Mod-
ern English bale(ful); wearg 'felon, outlaw, accursed being'
(Old Norse vargr 'wolf, outlaw', whence the Wargs); broga
'terror'. These O.E. names are thus like Engbend ingenious
sound-correspondences contrived from O.E. words.]
Bansil: Beansil, Beansigel [The second element is O.E. sigel
'sun, jewel' (cf. J. R. R. Tolkien, Sigelwara land, in Medium
AEvum III, June 1934, p. 106); the first is presumably beam
'tree'. This is another case where AElfwine used Old English
words to give a likeness of sound (with of course a suitable
meaning), rather than a translation.- In the Name-list to The
Fall of Gondolin Bansil is translated 'Fair-gleam', II. 214.]
Baragund, Barahir: Beadohun, Beadomaer [O.E. beadu
'battle'.]
Bauglir: Broga [O.E. broga 'terror'.]
Beleg: Finboga [O.E. boga 'bow'.]
Belegar: Ingarsecg, Westsae, Widsae [The Gnomish name of
the Great Sea has not yet appeared in the texts. Ingarsecg =
Garsecg; Utgarsecg is the Outer Sea (see note to line 26 of
the O.E. Quenta).]
Belegost: Micelburg ['Great fortress', the original meaning
(see II. 336).]
Blodrin Ban's son: Blodwine Banan sunu [Blodwine presum-
ably contains O.E. blod 'blood'; while bana is 'slayer'.]
Doriath: Ealand, Folgen(fold), Infolde, Wudumaeraland
[O.E. ealand, land by water or by a river - doubtless with
reference to the rivers Sirion and Esgalduin. Folgen(fold):
O.E. folgen is the past participle of feolan 'penetrate, make
one's way, get to', but the cognate verbs in Gothic and Old
Norse have the meaning 'hide', and it may be that folgen is
here given the sense of Old Norse folginn 'hidden', i.e. 'the
hidden (land)'. Gondolin is called Folgenburg. Infolde, a
word not recorded, perhaps has some meaning like 'the in-
ner land', 'the land within'. Wudumaeraland no doubt con-
tains maere 'boundary, border'.]
Dor-lomen: Womanland [See Ered-lomen.]
Drengist: Nearufleot [Drengist has not yet appeared in the
texts. O.E. nearu' narrow', fleot ' arm of the sea, estuary,
firth'.]
Ered-lomen: Womanbeorgas [O.E. woma 'sound, noise',
beorg 'mountain'; sc. the Echoing Mountains, and similar!y
Womanland for Dor-lomen, Land of Echoes. This is the later
etymology of these names; see pp. 233 - 4,]
Gelion: Glaeden [Gelion appears by emendation of Flend in
the Quenta $14. O.E. glaedene 'iris, gladdon', as in the
Gladden Fields and Gladden River in The Lord of the
Rings.]
Gondolin: Stangaldor(burg), Folgenburg, Galdorfaesten
[O.E. stan 'stone'; galdor 'spell, enchantment', faesten 'fast-
ness, fortress'. For Folgenburg (? 'the hidden city') see
Doriath.]
Hithlum: Hasuglom, Hasuland (Hasulendingas) [O.E. hasu
grey ., glom 'gloaming, twilight'. Hasulendingas the people
of Hasuland'.]
Laurelin: Gleng(g)old [O.E. gleng ornament, splendour';
Glengold is not a translation but a sound-imitation of
Glingol ('Singing-gold', II. 216.]
Mithrim: Mistrand, Mistora [O.E. ora 'bank, shore', and
rand of the same meaning.]
Nargothrond: Hlydingaburg, Stangaldor(burg) [Hly-
dingaburg is the city of the Hlydingas, the people of Narog
(Hlyda). Stangaldor (burg) is also given as an O.E. name for
Gondolin.]
Narog: Hlyda [Hlyda 'the loud one' (O.E. hlud 'loud'; see
III. 87 - 8).]
Silmaril: Sigel, Sigelmaerels [For sigel see Bansil above. O.E
maerels 'rope', Sigelmaerels is another case of imitation - but
it refers to the Necklace of the Dwarves.]
Sirion: Fleot (Flewet), Scirwendel [Fleot must here have the
meaning 'river', which is scarcely evidenced in Old English,
though it is the general meaning of the word in cognate lan-
guage (cf. Drengist above). Scirwendel: O.E. scir 'bright';
wendel does not occur, but certainly refers to the windings
of a river's course - cf. Withywindle, the river in the Old
Forest, concerning which my father noted: '-windle does not
actually occur (Withywindle was modelled on withywind, a
name of the convolvulus or bindweed)' (Guide to the Names
in The Lord of the Rings, in A Tolkien Compass, p. 196).]
Taur-na-Danion: Furhweald [In an addition to the Quenta $9
(note 1) Taur Danin is given as the former name of Taur-na-
Fuin, when it was still 'wholesome, if thick and dark'; Taur-
na-Danion here was changed to Taur-na-Donion, precursor
of Dorthonion 'Land of Pines'. O.E. furh 'fir, pine', weald
'forest'.]
Taur-na-Fuin: Nihtsceadu, Nihtsceadwesweald, Atol
Nihtegesa, Nihthelm unfaele [O.E. sceadu 'shadow'; weald
'forest', atol 'dire, terrible', egesa 'terror'; niht-helm 'cover
of night', a poetic compound found in BeowuLf and other
poems; unfaele 'evil'. Cf. the Modern English translation,
found in the long Lays and in the Quenta, 'Forest of Deadly
Nightshade'.]
Tindbrenting pe pa Brega Taniquetil a nemnad ['Tindbrenting
which the Valar name Taniquetil': see III. 127, and for
Brega see Vala.]
Vala: Bregu [O.E. bregu ruler, lord, plural (unrecorded)
brega. Two other words were added to the list: Maegen
'powers', which is used in the O.E. Quenta line 6, and Ese
(see p. 255).]
Valinor: Breguland, Godedel [O.E. edel 'country, native
land'.]
Valmar: Godaburg, Bregubold [O.E. bold 'dwelling'.]
Another page gives Old English equivalents of the names of
the Kindreds of the Elves, and of the princes of the Noldoli ar-
ranged in a genealogical table. This page is headed:
Firas. Includes both Men and Elves.
This contradicts the use of Firas in the O.E. Quenta, where
it appears as an emendation of Elde (lines 11 and 13), used in
distinction to Elfe. Then follows:
Fira bearn.
$l. Paet eldre cyn: Elfe oppe Wine.
l. Ingwine: lyftelfe, heahelfe, hwitelfe, Lixend. Godwine
2. Eadwine: goldelfe, eordelfe, deopelfe, Raedend. Fin-
ning as
3. Saewine: saeelfe, merepyssan, flotwine, Nowend. Elwingas
Wine can only be O.E. wine (old plural wine) 'friend' (a word
used of equals, of superiors, and of inferiors); but its use here
as a general term equivalent to Elfe is curious.
Of the names given to the First Kindred, lyftelfe contains
O.E. lyft 'sky, air', Lixend 'Shining Ones'. The Second Kin-
dred: Ead- in the context of the Noldoli is in no doubt to be
interpreted 'riches'. I am not sure of the meaning of Raedend,
though it clearly refers to the know1edge and desire for knowl-
edge of the Noldoli in some aspect. Finningas 'the people of
Finn' (Ing and Finn as the Gnomish forms of Ingwe and Finwe
were still found in Q $2, though removed by later changes to
the text). The Third Kindred: O.E. merepyssa 'sea-rusher'
(used in recorded O.E. poetry of ships); flotwine contains O.
flot 'sea', Nowend 'mariners., shipmasters'.
In the geneaiogical table that follows Feanor is given the
Old English name Finbros Gimwyrhta ('Jewel-wright'); since
his sons are here called Brosingas (from Brosinga mene 'the
necklace of the Brosings' in Beowulf, line 1199) -bros is pre-
sumably a back-formation from Brosingas. They are also
called Yrfeloran: an unrecorded compound, 'those bereft o
their inheritance', the Dispossessed. The Brosingas or sons o
Feanor are given thus:
1. Daegred Winsterhand [O.E. daegred 'daybreak, daven';
winsterhand 'left-banded' {for the right hand of
Maidros was cut off in his rescue from Thangorodrim,
Q $8). l can cast no light on the O.E. equivalent
Daegred for Maidros, un1ess an extremely late note on
Maidros (Maedhros) is relevant (for ideas long buried
so far as written record goes might emerge again many
years later): according to this he inherited 'the rare red-
brown hair of Nerdanel's kin' (Nerdanel was the wife
of Feanor, The Silmarillion p. 64), and was called 'by
his brothers and other kin' Russandol 'copper-top'.]
2. Daegmund Swinsere [I cannot explain Daegmund for
Maglor. O.E. mund is 'hand', also 'protection',
swinsere (not recorded} 'musician, singer' (cf. swinsian
'make music').]
3. Cynegrim Fagerfeox [Celegorm 'Fairfax', i.e. fair-
haired. Cynegrim is probably the substitution of an
O.E. name with some;similarity of sound.]
4. Cyrefinn Facensearo [Curufin the Crafty, O.E. cyre
'choice', facen 'deceit, guile, wickedness' (a word of
wholly bad meaning); searu 'skill, cunning' (also with
bad meaning, 'plot, snare, treachery'); facensearu
'treachery'.]
5. Colpegn Nihthelm [Cranthir the Dark. O.E. col 'coal';
for nihthelm see under Taur-na-Fuin above.]
6. Deormod ) huntan [Damrod and Diriel the hunters.
7. Tirgeld )
O.E. deormod 'brave-hearted', tir 'glory'; -geld (-gild)
in names, 'of worth'.]
Fingolfin appears as Fingold Fengel (O.E. fengel 'king,
prince', cf. III. 145), and his sons are Finbrand (i.e. Finweg/
Fingon) and Finstan (i.e. Turgon); the element stan 'stone'
presumably showing that -gon in Turgon is gond (gonn)
'stone', see I. 254. Fingolfin's daughter is Finhwit (i.e. Isfin),
and Eol is Eor; Meglin is Manfrid (an unrecorded compound
of man 'evil deed, wickedness' and frid 'peace').
Finbrand (i.e. Finweg/Fingon) here has a son, Fingar; and
the daughter of Finstan (i.e. Turgon) is Ideshild Silfrenfot (i.e.
Idril Celebrindal).
Finrod (i.e. the later Finarfin) is called Finred Felanop
(felanop 'very bold'), and his sons are Inglaf Felahror (i.e.
Felagund; felahror has the same meaning as felanop), Ordred
(i.e. Orodreth), Angel (i.e. Angrod), and Eangrim (i.e. Egnor).
Ordred (i.e. Orodreth) has two sons, Ordhelm and Ordlaf;
his daughter is Fripuswip Fealuleome (i.e. Finduilas Failivrin;
fealuleome perhaps 'golden light').
Lastly, there is a fourth child of Finwe given in this table:
Finrun Felageomor (felageomor 'very sorrowful'),
The name given to Felagund, Inglaf Felahror, is notable; for
Felagund was to become his 'nickname', and his true name
Inglor (as it remained until replaced long afterwards by Finrod,
when the original Finrod became Finarfin); see p, 411.
*
APPENDIX 2.
The Horns of Ylmir.
This poem is unquestionably that referred to in the Quent
p. 170: 'the might and majesty of that vision is told of in the
song of Tuor that he made for his son Earendel.' It is extant
in three versions and five texts. The first version, found only
in one manuscript, consists of 40 lines, beginning:
I sat on the ruined margin of the deep-voiced echoing sea
and ending:
and I wake to silent caverns, and empty sands, and peace
(lines 15 and 66 in the text given below). To the manuscript in
ink my father added in pencil the title The Tides, together with
the notes Dec. 4 1914 and On the Cornish Coast. For his visit
to the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall in the summer of 1914 see
Humphrey Carpenter, Biography, pp. 70 - 1. But although I
have found nothing earlier than this text it is clear from my fa-
ther's notes to subsequent versions that he remembered the or-
igin of the poem to be earlier than that time.
The second version bears the title Sea Chant of an Elder
Day (and Old English Fyrndaga Saeleop), and is extant in two
manuscripts which differ only in small details. The second has
some minor emendations, and the date: Mar. 1915 < Dec.
1914 < 1912, also Essay Club [of Exeter College, Oxford]
March 1915. This version begins:
In a dim and perilous region, down whose great tempes-
tuous ways
I heard no sound of men's voices; in those eldest of the
days,
I sat on the ruined margin of the deep-voiced echoing
sea...
(i.e. it begins at line 13 in the text, p. 265) and contains two
further lines after 'and empty sands, and peace' (where The
Tides ends):
In a lovely sunlit region down whose old chaotic ways
Yet no sound of men's voices echoed in those eldest of all
days.
It is from this version, not that of 1914, that Humphrey Car-
penter cites the first six lines (ibid. pp. 73 - 4). The Sea Chant
differs from The Tides both by extension (it has 50 lines as
against 40) and in the reconstruction of many verses.
Against the second text of the Sea Chant my father wrote in
pencil:
This is the song that Tuor told to Earendel his son what time
the Exiles of Gondolin dwelt awhile in Dor Tathrin the Land
of Willows after the burning of their city. Now Tuor was the
first of Men to see the Great Sea, but guided by Ulmo
towards Gondolin he had left the shores of the Ocean and
passing through the Land of Willows became enamoured of
its loveliness, forgetting both his quest and his former love
of the sea. Now Ulmo lord of Vai coming in his deep-sea
car sat at twilight in the reeds of Sirion and played to him
on his magic flute of hollow shells. Thereafter did Tuor hun-
ger ever after the sea and had no peace in his heart did he
dwell in pleasant inland places.*
This very evidently belongs with the tale of The Fall of
Gondolin (see especially II. 153 - 6), and was no doubt added at
the time of the composition of the tale (and of the third version
of the poem), since the Sea Chant has no point of contact with
the Tuor legend, nor indeed with any feature of the mythology.
The third version, entitled The Horns of Ulmo, is extant in
a manuscript and in a typescript taken directly from it, and it
is only now that the references to Ulmo and Osse (and to the
rending of the Earth by the Gods in the primeval darkness) ap-
pear in the poem. A note on the MS, written at the same time
as the poem, reads:
(*Dor Tathrin occurs in the Name-list to The Fall of Gondolin, II. 346, and
Ulmo's 'deep-sea car' in the tale of The Chaining of Melko, I. 101.)
1910-11 - 12 rewr[itten] & recast often. Present shape due to
rewriting and adding introd[uction] & ending in a lonely
house near Roos, Holderness (Thistle Bridge Camp) Spring
1917
(For Roos see Humphrey Carpenter, Biography, p. 97.) A fur-
ther pencilled note adds: 'poem to 'The Fall of Gondolin".'
Thus the absorption of the poem into the legend of Tuor and
Earendel took place at much the same time as the writing of
the tale of The Fall of Gondolin (see I. 203, II. 146); it should
have been given in The Book of Lost Tales Part II.
A few small emendations were made to the MS of The
Horns of Ulmo, notably Ulmo > Ylmir (the latter being the
Gnomish form, found in the Lay of the Children of Hurin and
in the 'Sketch'), and the second reference to Osse (lines 41 - 2,
replacing two earlier verses). The typescript is essentially the
same as the manuscript (with the words 'from "The Fall of
Gondolin" ' added beneath the title), but it has some small al-
terations made in red ball-point pen, which therefore belong
to a much later time. These late changes are not incorporated
in the text given here, but are given in notes following the
poem.
The Horns of Ylmir
from
'The Fall of Gondolin'.
'Tuor recalleth in a song sung to his son Earendel
the visions that Ylmir's conches once called before
him in the twilight in the Land of Willows.'
'Twas in the Land of Willows where the grass is long and
green -
I was fingering my harp-strings, for a wind had crept un-
seen
And was speaking in the tree-tops, while the voices of the
reeds
Were whispering reedy whispers as the sunset touched the
meads,
5. Inland musics subtly magic that those reeds alone could
weave -
'Twas in the Land of Willows that once Ylmir came at
eve.
In the twilight by the river on a hollow thing of shell
He made immortal music, till my heart beneath his spell
Was broken in the twilight, and the meadows faded dim
10. To great grey waters heaving round the rocks where sea-
birds swim.
I heard them wailing round me where the black cliffs
towered high
And the old primeval starlight flickered palely in the sky.
In that dim and perilous region in whose great tempestu-
ous ways
I heard no sound of men's voices, in those eldest of the
days,
15. I sat on the ruined margin of the deep-voiced echoing sea
Whose roaring foaming music crashed in endless cadency
On the land besieged for ever in an aeon of assaults
And torn in towers and pinnacles and caverned in great
vaults;
And its arches shook with thunder and its feet were piled
with shapes
20. Riven in old sea-warfare from those crags and sable
capes.
Lo! I heard the embattled tempest roaring up behind the
tide
When the trumpet of the first winds sounded, and the
grey sea sang and cried
As a new white wrath woke in him, and his armies rose
to war
And swept in billowed cavalry toward the walled and
moveless shore.
25. There the windy-bannered fortress of those high and vir-
gin coasts
Flung back the first thin feelers of the elder tidal hosts;
Flung back the restless streamers that like arms of a ten-
tacled thing
Coiling and creeping onward did rustle and suck and
cling.
Then a sigh arose and a murmuring in that stealthy-
whispering van,
30. While, behind, the torrents gathered and the leaping bil-
lows ran,
Till the foam-haired water-horses in green rolling volumes
came -
A mad tide trampling landward - and their war-song burst
to flame.
Huge heads were tossed in anger and their crests were
towers of froth
And the song the great seas were singing was a song of
unplumbed wrath,
35 For through that giant welter Osse's trumpets fiercely
blew,
That the voices of the flood yet deeper and the High
Wind louder grew;
Deep hollows hummed and fluted as they sucked the sea-
winds in;
Spumes and great white spoutings yelled shrilly o'er the
din;
Gales blew the bitter tresses of the sea in the land's dark
face
40. And wild airs thick with spindrift fled on a whirling race
From battle unto battle, till the power of all the seas
Gathered like one mountain about Osse's awful knees,
And a dome of shouting water smote those dripping black
facades
And its catastrophic fountains smashed in deafening cas-
cades.
45. Then the immeasurable hymn of Ocean I heard as it rose
and fell
To its organ whose stops were the piping of gulls and the
thunderous swell;
Heard the burden of the waters and the singing of the
waves
Whose voices came on for ever and went rolling to the
caves,
Where an endless fugue of echoes splashed against wet
stone
50 And arose and mingled in unison into a murmuring
drone -
'Twas a music of uttermost deepness that stirred in the
profound,
And all the voices of all oceans were gathered to that
sound;
'Twas Ylmir, Lord of Waters, with all-stilling hand that
made
Unconquerable harmonies, that the roaring sea obeyed,
55. That its waters poured off and Earth heaved her glistening
shoulders again
Naked up into the airs and cloudrifts and sea-going rain,
Till the suck and suck of green eddies and the slap of rip-
ples was all
That reached to mine isled stone, save the old unearthly
call
Of sea-birds long-forgotten and the grating of ancient
wings.
60. Thus murmurous slumber took me mid those far-off el-
dest things
(In a lonely twilit region down whose old chaotic ways
I heard no sound of men's voices, in those eldest of the
days
When the world reeled in the tumult as the Great Gods
tore the Earth
In the darkness, in the tempest of the cycles ere our birth),
65. Till the tides went out, and the Wind died, and did all sea
musics cease
And I woke to silent caverns and empty sands and peace.
Then the magic drifted from me and that music loosed its
bands -
Far, far-off, conches calling - lo! I stood in the sweet
lands,
And the meadows were about me where the weeping wil-
lows grew,
70. Where the long grass stirred beside me, and my feet were
drenched with dew.
Only the reeds were rustling, but a mist lay on the
streams
Like a sea-roke drawn far inland, like a shred of salt sea-
dreams.
'Twas in the Land of Willows that I heard th'unfathomed
breath
Of the Horns of Ylmir calling - and shall hear them till
my death.
NOTES.
The following are the late changes made to the typescript, referred to on
p. 264:
1 and 6. Twas to It was.
16. The line changed to: Whose endless roaring music crashed in
foaming harmony, and marked with an X.
21. roaring to rolling.
28. The line marked with an X, probably primarily on account of
the use of did (cf. III. 153).
65. The line changed to: Till the tides went out, and the Wind
ceased, and all sea musics died (but this destroys the rhyme).
72. 'sea-roke'; roke is a medieval English word surviving until re-
cent times in dialect meaning 'mist, fog, drizzling rain'.
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