PART TWO.
VALINOR AND
MIDDLE-EARTH
BEFORE
THE LORD OF
THE RINGS.
I.
THE TEXTS AND THEIR
RELATIONS.
In the fourth volume of this History were given the Quenta Noldorinwa
(Q) or History of the Gnomes, which can be ascribed to the year 1930
(IV. 177 - 8); the earliest Annals of Beleriand (AB), which followed Q
but is not itself dateable to a year, and the beginning of a new version
(AB II); the earliest Annals of Valinor (AV), which followed the first
version of AB but preceded the second (IV. 327); and the Ambarkanta
or Shape of the World. The Lay of Leithian, given in Vol. III, was
abandoned when far advanced in 1931.
I have described in III. 364 ff. how in November 1937 a new though
unfinished version of 'The Silmarillion' was delivered to Allen and
Unwin; while the first draft of the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings
was written between 16 and 19 December 1937. Between 1930 and the
end of 1937 must be placed the texts following Q in Vol. IV, and in
addition these others which are given in this book (as well as The Fall of
Numenor and The Lost Road):
(1). Ainulindale, a new version of the original 'Lost Tale' of The Music
of the Ainur. This is certainly later than AV, since in it the First Kindred
of the Elves is named Lindar, not Quendi, and the old name Noldoli has
given place to Noldor.
(2). A new version of the Annals of Valinor, again with the forms
Lindar and Noldor. This version I shall call the Later Annals of Valinor,
referring to it by the abbreviation AV 2, while the earliest version given
in Vol. IV will be AV l.
(3). A new version of the Annals of Beleriand, which looks to be a close
companion text to A V z. This I shall refer to similarly as AB 2, the Later
Annals of Beleriand. In this case there are two antecedent versions,
mentioned above, and called in Vol. IV AB I and AB II. These, to keep
the parallel with the Annals of Valinor, can be referred to collectively as
AB 1 (since in writing AB 2 my father followed AB II so far as it went and
then followed AB I).
(4). The Lhammas or Account of Tongues. This, extant in three
versions, seems to have been closely related to the composition of the
Quenta Silmarillion.
(5). The new version of 'The Silmarillion' proper, a once very fine
manuscript whose making was interrupted when the material went to the
publishers; To distinguish this version from its predecessor the Quenta
Noldorinwa or simply the Quenta, I use throughout the abbreviation
QS, i.e. Quenta Silmarillion or History of the Silmarils.
These five works form a later group (though I do not mean to imply
that there was any significant gap in time between them and the earlier);
a convenient defining mark of this is that they have Noldor where the
earlier have Noldoli.
Although I have said (IV. 262) that there seems no way of showing
whether the Ambarkanta was earlier or later than the earliest version of
the Annals of Valinor, it now seems clear to me that the Ambarkanta
belongs with the later group of texts. This is shown, I think, by the fact
that its title-page is closely similar in form to those of the Ainulindale' and
the Lhammas (all three bear the Elvish name of the work in tengwar);
moreover the reappearance in the Ambarkanta of Utumna as the name of
Melko's original fortress (see IV. 259 - 60) seems to place it later than
AB 2, which still names it Angband (but AV 2 has Utumna).
On the whole, I would be inclined to place these texts in the sequence
AB 2, AV 2, Lhammas, QS; the Ambarkanta at any rate after AB 2, and
the Ainulindale demonstrably before QS. The Fall of Numenor was
later than the Ambarkanta (see p. g and IV. 261). But a definitive and
demonstrable sequence seems unattainable on the evidence; and the
attempt may in any case be somewhat unreal, for my father did not
necessarily complete one before beginning another. Certainly he had
them all before him, and as he progressed he changed what he had
already written to bring it into line with new developments in the stories
and in the names.
II.
THE LATER ANNALS OF
VALINOR.
The second version of the Annals of Valinor (A V z) is a fluent and legible
manuscript in my father's ordinary handwriting of that time, with very
little alteration during composition and very few subsequent changes in
the early period - as opposed to wholesale rewriting of the earlier annals
in the time after The Lord of the Rings: this being the initial drafting of
the major later work, the Annals of Aman, and at almost all points clearly
distinct from the emendations made many years before.
AV 2 shows no great narrative evolution from AV 1 (IV. 262 ff.), as
that text was emended; on the other hand there are some noteworthy
developments in names and conceptions. A curious feature is the
retention of the original dates between the destruction of the Trees and
the rising of the Sun and Moon, which in AV 1 were greatly accelerated
by later pencilled changes: see IV. 273 - 4 and the commentary on annal
2992 below. Thus for example in AV 1 as originally written, and in AV 2,
some ten years of the Sun (one Valian Year) elapsed between the Battle of
Alqualonde and the utterance of the prophecy of the North, whereas in
AV 1 as emended only one year of the Sun passed between the two
events.
In the brief commentary I treat A V r as including the emendations to
it, fully recorded in IV. 270 - 4, and discussed in the commentary on that
text. Later changes of the early period are recorded in the notes; these are
few, mostly aspects of the progressive movement of names, and are
merely referred forward to the place where they appear in original
writing. Towards the end A V z becomes scarcely more than a fair copy of
A V i, but I give the text in full in order to provide within the same covers
complete texts of the Annals and Quenta 'traditions' as they were when
The Lord of the Rings was begun.
AV 2 is without any preamble concerning authorship, but there is a
title-page comprising this and the closely similar later version of the
Annals of Beleriand (AB 2):
The Silmarillion
2. Annals of Valinor
3. Annals of Beleriand
With this compare the title-pages given on p. 202, where 'The Sil-
marillion' is the comprehensive title of the tripartite (or larger) work.
SILMARILLION.
II.
ANNALS OF VALINOR.
Here begin the Annals of Valinor and speak of the foundation of
the World.
At the beginning Iluvatar, that is Allfather, made all things.
Afterwards the Valar, or Powers, came into the world. These
are nine: Manwe, Ulmo, Aule, Orome, Tulkas, Osse, Mandos,
Lorien, and Melko. Of these Manwe and Melko were most puiss-
ant, and were brethren; and Manwe is lord of the Valar, and holy.
But Melko turned to lust and pride, and to violence and evil, and his
name is accursed, and is not uttered, but he is called Morgoth.
Orome, Tulkas, Osse, and Lorien were younger in the thought of
Iluvatar, ere the world's devising, than the other five; and Orome
was born of Yavanna, who is after named, but he is not Aule's son.
The queens of the Valar were Varda, Manwe's spouse, and
Yavanna, whom Aule espoused after in the world, in Valinor;
Vana the fair was the wife of Orome; and Nessa the sister of
Orome was Tulkas' wife; and Uinen, the lady of the seas, was wife
of Osse; Vaire the weaver dwelt with Mandos, and Este the pale
with Lorien. No spouse hath Ulmo or Melko. No lord hath
Nienna the mournful, queen of shadows, Manwe's sister and
Melko's.
With these great ones came many lesser spirits, beings of their
own kind but of smaller might; these are the Vanimor, the
Beautiful. And with them also were later numbered their children,
begotten in the world, but of divine race, who were many and fair;
these are the Valarindi.
Of the beginning of the reckoning of Time and the foundation
of Valinor.
Time was not measured by the Valar, until the building of
Valinor was ended; but thereafter they counted time by the ages of
Valinor, whereof each hath 100 years of the Valar, and each Valian
year is as ten years of the Sun now are.
Valian Years 500. It is said that the Valar came into the world
30, ooo Sun-years ere the first rising of the Moon, that is thirty ages
ere the beginning of our time; and that Valinor was built five ages
after their coming. In the long time before the fortifying of the
West, Aule made great lamps for the lighting of the world and set
them upon pillars wrought by Morgoth. But Morgoth was already
moved with hatred and jealousy and his pillars were made with
deceit. Wherefore the Lamps fell and growth that had begun with
the gathering of light was arrested; but the Gods assailed by many
waters withdrew into the West. There they began the building of
their land and mansions, between the Encircling Sea and the
Great Sea of the West, upon whose shore they piled high moun-
tains. But Morgoth departed to the North of the world. The
symmetry of earth and water was first broken in those days.
V.Y.1000. In this Valian Year, after Valinor was made, and
Valmar built, the city of the Gods, the Valar brought into being
the Two Trees, Laurelin and Silpion, of gold and silver, whose
bloom gave light to Valinor. All this while Morgoth dwelt in
Middle-earth, and he made his fortress at Utumna in the North;
but he held sway with violence and the lands were yet more broken
in that time.
V.Y.1000- 2000. A thousand Valian Years of bliss and splen-
dour followed the kindling of the Trees in Valinor, but Middle-
earth was in darkness. Thither came Yavanna at times, and the
slow growth of the forests was begun. Of the Valar only Orome
came ever there, and he hunted in the dark woods of the ancient
earth, when he was weary of the shining lands. Morgoth withdrew
before his horn.
V.Y.1900. Yavanna often reproached the Valar for their
neglected stewardship; wherefore on a time Varda began the
fashioning of the stars, and she set them aloft. Thereafter the
night of the world was beautiful, and some of the Vanimor strayed
into Middle-earth. Among these was Melian, whose voice was
renowned in Valmar. She was of Lorien's house, but she returned
not thither for many years, and the nightingales sang about her in
the dark woods of the western lands.
V.Y.1950. The mightiest of the works of Varda, lady of the
stars, was that constellation which is called by the Elves the Sickle
of the Gods, but by Men of the ancient North it was named the
Burning Briar, and by later Men it has been given many names
beside. This sign of the sickle Varda hung above the North as a
threat to Morgoth and an omen of his fall. At its first shining the
Elder Children of Iluvatar awoke in the midmost of Middle-earth.
They are the Elves.(1) Hence they are called also the children of the
stars.(2)
V.Y.1980-1990. Orome found the Elves and befriended
them; and the most part of that folk marched under his guidance
west and north to the shores of Beleriand, being bidden by the
Gods to Valinor.
But first Morgoth was overcome with war and bound and led
captive and imprisoned under Mandos. In that war of the Gods
the lands were rent anew.
V.Y.2000. From this time was counted the imprisonment of
Morgoth. By the doom of Manwe he should be confined in
punishment for seven ages, 700 Valian Years, after which time he j
should be given grace of repentance and atonement.
The Valian Year 2000 from the entry of the Gods into the ]
world, and 1000 from the kindling of the Trees, is accounted the j
Noontide of the Blessed Realm, and the full season of the mirth of
Valinor. In that time all the earth had peace.
In that year the first kindreds of the Elves came to the Western
Shore and entered into the light of the Gods. The Eldar are all
those Elves called who obeyed the summons of Orome. Of these
there are three kindreds, the Lindar, the Noldor, and the Teleri.
The Lindar and the Noldor came first to Valinor, and they built
the hill of Kor in a pass of the mountains nigh to the sea-shore, and
upon it upraised the city of Tun (3) and the tower of Ingwe their
king.
V.Y.2000-2010. But the Teleri, who came after them, waited
in the meanwhile for ten Valian Years upon the shores of
Beleriand, and some never departed thence. Wherefore they were
called Ilkorindi, for they came never unto Kor. Of these most
renowned was Tindingol or Thingol,(4) brother of Elwe, lord of the
Teleri. Melian enchanted him in the woods of Beleriand; and he
after wedded her and dwelt as a king in the western twilight. But
while he slept under the spells of Melian his people sought him in
vain, and ere he awoke most of the Teleri had departed. For they
were drawn upon an island by Ulmo and so passed the sea as the
Lindar and Noldor had done before.
[It is told that a company of the Noldor, whose leader was Dan,
forsook the host of Finwe, lord of the Noldor, early upon the
westward march, and turned south. But they found the lands
barren and dark, and turned again north, and marched west once
more with much wandering and grief. Of these some, under
Denithor(5) son of Dan, carne at last, about the year of the Valar
2700, over Eredlindon, and dwelt in Ossiriand, and were allies of
Thingol.(6) This have I, Pengolod, added here, for it was not known
unto Rumil.]
V.Y.2010 - 2110. By the deeds of Osse, as is elsewhere re-
counted, the Teleri came not at once into Valinor, but during this
time dwelt upon Tol-eressea, the Lonely Isle, in the Great Sea,
within sight of Valinor.
V.Y.2111. In this year the Teleri came in their ships to
Valinor, and dwelt upon its eastern strands; and there they made
the town and haven of Alqualonde, that is Swanhaven, thus
named because they moored there their swans, and their swan-
shaped boats.(7)
V.Y.2500. The Noldor had at this time invented gems, and
they fashioned them in many myriads. At length, about five ages
after the coming of the Noldor to Valinor, Feanor the Smith,
eldest son of Finwe, chief of the Noldor, devised the thrice-
renowned Silmarils, about whose fate these tales are woven. They
shone of their own light, being filled with the radiance of the Two
Trees, the holy light of Valinor, which was blended therein to a
marvellous fire.
V.Y.2700. In this time Morgoth sued for pardon; and at the
prayers of Nienna his sister, and by the clemency of Manwe his
brother, but against the wish of Tulkas and Aule and Orome, he
was released; and he feigned humility and repentance, obeisance
to the Valar, and love and friendship for the Elves, and dwelt in
Valinor in ever-increasing freedom. He lied and dissembled, and
most he cozened the Noldor, for he had much to teach, and they
had an overmastering desire to learn; but he coveted their gems
and lusted for the Silmarils.(8)
V.Y.2900. During two more ages the bliss of Valinor remained,
yet a shadow began to gather in many hearts; for Morgoth was at
work with secret whisperings and crooked counsels. Most he
prevailed upon the Noldor, and he sowed the seeds of dissension
between the proud sons of Finwe, lord of Gnomes, Feanor,
Fingolfin, and Finrod, and distrust was born between Noldor and
Valar.
About this time, because of the feuds that began to awake, the
Gods held council, and by their doom Feanor, eldest son of
Finwe, and his household and following, were deprived of the
leadership of the Gnomes. Wherefore the house of Feanor was
after called the Dispossessed, for this, and because Morgoth later
robbed them of their treasure. Finwe and Feanor departed from
the city of Tun and dwelt in the north of Valinor; but Morgoth hid
himself, and appeared only to Feanor in secret, feigning friend-
ship.
V.Y.2950. The Gods heard tidings of Morgoth, and sent to
apprehend him, but he fled over the mountains into the shadows
of Arvalin, and abode there long, plotting evil, and gathering the
strength of darkness unto him.
V.Y.2990. Morgoth now completed his designs, and with the
aid of Ungoliante out of Arvalin he stole back into Valinor, and
destroyed the Trees. Thence he escaped in the gathering dark
northward, and he sacked the dwellings of Finwe and Feanor, and
carried off a host of jewels, and stole the Silmarils. There he slew
Finwe before his doors, and many Elves, and defiled thus Valinor
and began murder in the world. This reward had Finwe and
Feanor for their friendship.
Morgoth was hunted by the Valar, but he escaped into the
North of Middle-earth, and re-established there his strong places,
and bred and gathered once more his evil servants, Orcs and
Balrogs.
(Then fear came into Beleriand, which for many ages had dwelt
in starlit peace. But Thingol with his ally Denithor of Ossiriand
for a long while held back the Orcs from the South. But at length
Denithor son of Dan was slain, and Thingol made his deep
mansions in Menegroth, the Thousand Caves, and Melian wove
magic of the Valar about the land of Doriath; and most of the
Elves of Beleriand withdrew within its protection, save some that
lingered about the western havens, Brithombar and Eglorest
beside the Great Sea, and the Green-elves of Ossiriand who dwelt
still behind the rivers of the East, wherein the power of Ulmo ran.
This have I, Pengolod, added to the words of Rumil of Valinor.]
V.Y.2990-3000. Of the last years before the Hiding of
Valinor.
V.Y.2991. Valinor lay now in great gloom, and darkness, save
only for the stars, fell on all the western world. Then Feanor,
against the will of the Valar, returned to Tun, and claimed the
kingship of the Noldor after Finwe; and he summoned all that
people unto Kor. There Feanor spoke unto them. Feanor was the
mightiest Gnome of all that have been, wordcrafty and hand-
oath should turn against them, hindering rather than aiding the
recovery of the jewels. A measure of mortality should visit the
Noldor, and they should be slain with weapons, and with tor-
ments, and with sorrow, and in the long end they should fade
upon Middle-earth and wane before the younger race. Much else
he foretold darkly that after befell, and he warned them that the
Valar would fence Valinor against their return.
But Feanor hardened his heart and held on, and with him went
still, but reluctantly, Fingolfin's folk, feeling the constraint of
their kinship and of the will of Feanor; they feared also the doom
of the Gods, for not all of Fingolfin's people had been guiltless of
the kinslaying. Inglor (who was after surnamed Felagund, Lord
of Caves) and the other sons of Finrod went forward also; for they
had aforetime had great friendship, Inglor with the sons of
Fingolfin, and his brothers Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor with
Celegorm and Curufin, sons of Feanor.' But the lords of the house
of Finrod were less grim and of kinder mood than the others, and
they had no part in the kinslaying; yet they did not escape its curse
who now refused to turn back. Finrod himself returned and many
of his people with him, and came at last once more unto Valinor
and received the pardon of the Gods. But Aule their ancient friend
smiled on them no more, and the Teleri were estranged.
Here endeth that which Rumil wrote.
Here followeth the continuation of Pengolod.
V.Y.2994. The Noldor came at length into the bitter North,
and further along the land they could not go by ship; for there is a
strait between the Westworld, whereon Valinor is built, that
curveth eastward, and the coast of Middle-earth, which beareth
westward, and through these narrows the chill waters of the
Encircling Sea and the waves of the Great Sea flow together, and
there are vast mists of deathly cold, and the sea-streams are filled
with clashing hills of ice, and the grinding of ice submerged. This
strait was named Helkarakse.
The ships that remained, many having been lost, were too few
to carry all across, save with many a passage and return. But none
were willing to abide upon the coast, while others sailed away, for
trust was not full between the leaders, and quarrel arose between
Feanor and Fingolfin.
Feanor and his folk seized all the ships and sailed east across the
sea, and they took none of the other companies save Orodreth,(10)
Angrod, and Egnor, whom Celegorm and Curufin loved. And
Feanor said: 'Let the murmurers whine their way back to the
shadows of Valmar! ' And he burned the ships upon the eastern
shore, and so great was its fire that the Noldor" left behind saw the
redness afar off.
V.Y.2995. In this year of the Valar Feanor came unto Beleriand
and the shores beneath Eredlomin, the Echoing Mountains; and
his landing was at the narrow inlet, Drengist, that runs into
Dorlomen. The Gnomes came thence into Dorlomen and about
the north of the Mountains of Mithrim, and camped in the land of
Hithlum in that part that is named Mithrim, and north of the great
lake that hath the same name.
In the land of Mithrim they fought the first of the battles of the
long war of the Gnomes and Morgoth. For an army of Orcs came
forth aroused by the burning of the ships and the rumour of their
advance; but the Gnomes were victorious and drove away the
Orcs with slaughter, and pursued them beyond Eredwethion into
the plain of Bladorion. That battle is the First Battle of Beleriand,
and is called Dagor-os-Giliath,(12) the Battle under Stars; for all was
yet dark.
But the victory was marred by the fall of Feanor. He advanced
unwarily upon Bladorion, too hot in pursuit, and was surrounded
when the Balrogs turned to bay in the rearguard of Morgoth. Very
great was the valour of Feanor, and he was wrapped in fire; but at
length he fell mortally wounded by the hand of Gothmog, Lord of
Balrogs. But his sons bore him back to Mithrim, and he died
there, reminding them of their oath. To this they added now an
oath of vengeance for their father.
V.Y.2996. Maidros, eldest son of Feanor, was caught in the
snares of Morgoth. For Morgoth feigned to treat with him, and
Maidros feigned to be willing, and either purposed evil to the
other; and each came with force to the parley, but Morgoth with
the more, and Maidros was made captive.
Morgoth held Maidros as a hostage, and swore only to release
him if the Noldor would march away, either to Valinor if they
could, or else from Beleriand and away to the South of the world.
But if they would not, he would torment Maidros. But the sons of
Feanor believed not that he would release their brother, if they
departed, nor were they willing to depart, whatever he might do.
V.Y.2997. Morgoth hung Maidros by the right wrist in a band
of hellwrought steel above a precipice upon Thangorodrim, where
none could reach him.
V.Y.2998-3000. Now Fingolfin and Inglor, son of Finrod,
won their way at last with grievous losses and with minished might
into the North of Middle-earth. This is accounted among the most
valiant and desperate of the deeds of the Gnomes; for they came
perforce over Helkarakse, being unwilling to retrace their way to
Valinor, and having no ships. But their agony in that crossing was
very great, and their hearts were filled with bitterness.
Even as Fingolfin set foot in Middle-earth the First Ages of the
World were ended, for they had tarried long in despair upon the
shores of the West, and long had been their bitter journey.
The First Ages are reckoned as 30000 years, or 3000 years of the
Valar; whereof the first Thousand was before the Trees, and Two
thousand save nine were the Years of the Trees or of the Holy
Light, which lived after, and lives yet, only in the Silmarils; and
the nine are the Years of Darkness, or the Darkening of Valinor.
Towards the end of these nine years, as is elsewhere told, the
Gods made the Moon and Sun, and sent them forth over the
world, and light came into the Hither Lands. The Moon was the
first to go forth.
Men, the Younger Children of Iluvatar, awoke in the East of the
world at the first Sunrise;" hence they are also called the Children
of the Sun. For the Sun was set as a sign of the waning of the Elves,
but the Moon cherisheth their memory.
With the first Moonrise Fingolfin set foot upon the North, for
the Moonrise came ere the Dawn, even as Silpion of old bloomed
ere Laurelin and was the elder of the Trees.
Year of the Sun 1 But the first Dawn shone upon Fingolfin's
march, and his blue and silver banners were unfurled, and flowers
sprang under his marching feet; for a time of opening and growth,
sudden, swift, and fair, was come into the world, and good of evil,
as ever happens.
Then Fingolfin marched through the fastness of Morgoth's
land, that is Dorl Daideloth,(14) the Land of Dread; and the Orcs
fled before the new light, amazed, and hid beneath the earth; and
the Elves smote upon the gates of Angband, and their trumpets
echoed in Thangorodrim's towers.
Now, being wary of the wiles of Morgoth, Fingolfin withdrew
from the doors of hell and turned unto Mithrim, so that the
Shadowy Mountains, Eredwethion, might be his guard, while his .
folk rested. But there was little love between Fingolfin's following
and the house of Feanor; and the sons of Feanor removed and
camped upon the southern shore, and the lake lay between the
peoples.
From this time are reckoned the Years of the Sun, and these
things happened in the first year. Now measured time came into
the world, and the growth, changing, and ageing of all things was
hereafter more swift, even in Valinor, but most swift in the Hither
Lands upon Middle-earth, the mortal regions between the seas of
East and West. And all living things spread and multiplied in
those days, and the Elves increased, and Beleriand was green and
filled with music. There many things afterward came to pass, as is
recorded in the Annals of Beleriand, and in the Quenta, and in
other songs and tales.
NOTES.
All the changes to the original text recorded here belong certainly to the
'early period', as distinct from alterations made after the completion of
The Lord of the Rings.
1. They are the Elves > They are the Quendi or Elves. See Lhammas
$1 and commentary.
2. the children of the stars > Eldar, the children of the stars. See
Lhammas $2 and commentary.
3. Tun > Tuna (and in annals 2900 and 2992). See Lhammas $5, QS
$39, and commentaries.
4. Tindingol or Thingol > Sindo the Grey, later called Thingol. See
Lhammas $6 and commentary.
5. Denithor > Denethor (and in annal 2990). See Lhammas $7 and
commentary.
6. Added here: These were the Green-elves.
7. The words szvans, and their are a careful addition, probably made at
the time of writing; but it seems odd, since my father can hardly
have wished to say that the Teleri 'moored' their swans at
Alqualonde.
8. Added here, perhaps at the time of composition of the Annals:
[Here the Danians came over Eredlindon and dwelt in Ossiriand.]
On the term Danians see commentary on Lhammas $7.
9. This sentence changed to read: for they had aforetime had great
friendship, Inglor and Orodreth with the sons of Fingolfin, and his
brothers Angrod and Egnor with Celegorn and Curufin, sons of
Feanor. See QS $42 and commentary. - Celegorm > Celegorn again
in annal 2994; see commentary on QS $41.
10. Orodreth struck out; see note g, and QS $73 and commentary.
11. Noldor was changed from Noldoli: see commentary on annal 2000.
Dagor-os-Giliath > Dagor-nuin-Giliath. See QS $88 and com-
mentary.
13. Men... awoke in the East of the world at the first Sunrise > At the
Sunrise Men... awoke in Hildorien in the midmost regions of the
world. See QS $82 and commentary.
14. Dor-Daideloth > Dor-Daedeloth. See QS $91 and commentary.
Commentary on the Later Annals of Valinor.
Opening section The mixture of tenses, already present in AV 1,
becomes now slightly more acute with Manwe' is for Manwe' was lord of
the Valar; see p. 208.
The sentence concerning Orome, Tulkas, Osse, and Lorien, who were
'younger in the thought of Iluvatar, ere the world's devising' than the
other five Valar, is not in A V i, nor is anything similar said in any text of
the Quenta tradition (though there does appear in QS $6 the statement
that Mandos was the elder and Lorien the younger of the Fanturi; cf. also
The Lost Road p. 63, where Alkar (Melko) is called 'the eldest in the
thought of Iluvatar'). The statements in AV z that 'Aule espoused
Yavanna after in the world, in Valinor', and that Orome is Yavanna's son
but not Aule's, are likewise absent from AV 1 and from the whole Quenta
tradition.
Two of the fragments of AElfwine's Old English translations of the
Annals given in Vol. IV bear on this. In the brief version III (IV. 291)
the statement concerning the relative 'youth' of certain of the Valar
appears, but it is confined to Tulkas and Orome; and there also it is said,
as here, that Aule and Yavanna became husband and wife (wurdon to
sinhiwan) after the Valar entered the world. That this text derives from
the post-Lord of the Rings period is suggested but not proved by the form
Melkor, not Melko (on this point see p. 338, commentary on $30). The
other Old English passage in question, a hastily-written scrap (IV. 293),
has the statement found in A V z that Orome was not Aule's son, but lacks
that concerning the later union of Yavanna and Aule.*
The opening of AV 2 was long after extensively changed and re-
written; but one alteration in the present passage looks as if it were made
during the earlier time. The sentence 'and Orome was born of Yavanna,
who is after named, but he is not Aule's son' was changed to this notable
statement:
and Orome was the offspring of Yavanna, who is after named, but not
as the Children of the Gods born in this world, for he came of her
thought ere the world was made.
This is associated with development in the idea of the lesser beings who
came into the world with the Valar, which underwent several changes
(ultimately emerging into the conception of the Maiar). In Q (IV. 78)
(* The uninterpretable mark following the name Orome in this passage, which
I explained to mean 'and Tulkas', may in fact be a shorthand for 'Orome, Tulkas,
Osse, and Lorien', as in AV 2, with which this Old English fragment evidently
belongs.
these spirits are mentioned but not given any name, and the same
remains the case in QS ($2). In AV 1 (IV. 263) a distinction is made
between the children of the Valar on the one hand and 'beings of their
own kind but of less might' on the other; but all entered the world with
the Valar, and all are called Valarindi. In A V z the distinction is
enlarged: the lesser spirits, 'beings of their own kind but of smaller
might', who came with the Valar, are the Vanimor, 'the Beautiful', and
the Children of the Valar, who did not enter the world with them but
were begotten in the world, are the Valarindi; these were 'later numbered
with' the Vanimor. In the Old English fragment referred to above the
same is said, though the name Valarindi is not there given to the
Children of the Valar (IV. 293).
Annal 500 The story (going back to the Lost Tales) that Morgoth
devised the pillars of the Lamps out of ice is told in the Ambarkanta (IV.
238) and indicated in AV 1 (IV. 263: 'Morgoth destroyed by deceit the
Lamps which Aule made'). In the other tradition, QS ($ 11) retains the
wording of Q (IV. 80), in which it is only said that Morgoth overthrew
the Lamps, and does not suggest the story of his deceit.
Annal 1000 On the appearance here of Utumna, a reversion to the Lost
Tales, as the name of Melko's original fortress see p. 108. This is an
indication that AV z followed AB 2, where (in the opening passage in
both texts) Angband was retained.
Annal 1000 - 2000 The phrase 'and the slow growth of the forests was
begun' is surprising. In S and Q (IV. iz, 82) the primaeval forests
already grew in Middle-earth at the time of the downfall of the Lamps,
and this is repeated in QS ($ 18). The present passage seems at variance
with that under V.Y.500 ('the Lamps fell and growth that had begun
with the gathering of light was arrested'), and to revert to the old story of
the Lost Tales: cf. the commentary on the tale of The Chaining of Melko
(I. 111): 'In this earliest narrative there is no mention of the beginning of
growth during the time when the Lamps shone, and the first trees and
low plants appeared under Yavanna's spells in the twilight after their
overthrow.'
Annal 1900 This is the first appearance of the idea that the Valar,
withdrawn behind their mountain-wall, 'neglected their stewardship' of
Middle-earth, and that it was the reproaches of Yavanna that led to
Varda's making of the stars. The idea of the two starmakings was not yet
present.
For Vanimor AV 1 has Valarindi: see the commentary on the opening
section.
Annal 2000. The form Noldor for Noldoli first occurs in these Annals
and in AB 2 (in that for V.Y. 2994 my father still inadvertently wrote
Noldoli before changing it to Noldor); and in the present passage is the
first appearance of the name Lindar of the First Kindred, replacing
earlier Quendi of S, Q, and AV 1 (Lindar occurs in the earlier texts by
emendation at this later time). This change implies also that the appli-
cation of Quendi had shifted, to its final meaning of 'all Elves' (this being
in fact a reversion to a nomenclature that appeared briefly long before,
I. 234 - 5); and indeed by an early change to the manuscript (note 1
above) 'They are the Elves' became 'They are the Quendi or Elves'. With
this shift went the narrowing of meaning, first found here, of the term
Eldar to those Elves who obeyed the summons of Orome (although in the
early change given in note z Eldar seems to be used as a simple equivalent
of Quendi); see the commentary on Lhammas $2.
Annal 2000 -2010. This is the first indication of a new meaning given to
Ilkorindi, narrowing it from the old sense of 'Dark-elves' in general
(IV. 85) to those of the Teleri who remained in Beleriand; see the
commentary on Lhammas $2.
The conclusion of the annal is enclosed in square brackets in the
manuscript, and this is no doubt original. It closely followed the
pencilled addition to AV 1 (I V. 270 - 1), where it is not however said that
this was an addition by Pengolod to Rumil's work; for the preamble to
AV i states that the Annals of Valinor were written in their entirety by
Pengolod. This had now been changed, with Pengolod becoming the
continuator of Rumil's annals. See the commentary on annals 2990 and
2993. - The coming of the 'Danians' over Eredlindon in V.Y.2700 is
referred to again in an addition to the annal for that year (note 8).
Annal 2700. Orome is not named in the other texts as opposed to the
release of Melko. In Q (IV. 90) and in QS ($48) it was Ulmo and Tulkas
who doubted its wisdom; in AV 1 Aule and Tulkas are named as
opposers.
Annal 2900. On the evolution of the story of Morgoth's movements at
this time see I V. 277-8.
Annal 2990. On the probable meaning of the sentence 'This reward had
Finwe and Feanor for their friendship' see IV. 278.
The phrase 'bred and gathered once more his evil servants, Orcs and
Balrogs', retained from AV i, shows the conception still present that the
Orcs were first brought into being long before Morgoth's return to
Middle-earth, in contrast to the opening of AB 2.
The conclusion of this annal, like that in annal 2000 - 2010, is enclosed
in square brackets in the manuscript, and like the former passage is
closely based on (though re-ordered from) interpolations to AV 1 (IV.
271), but with the addition attributing it to Pengolod.
Annal 2992. The accusation of Feanor against the Valar is not in AV 1.
- As first written AV 1 has 'Thus about 2992 of Valian Years befell...',
which was changed to 'Thus in the dread Year of the Valar 2999 (Sun
Year 29991)' (IV. 273). The fact that my father partially adopted the
revised phrasing ('the dread Year', 'this year of dread') suggests perhaps
that the revised dating in AV i, greatly accelerating the succession of
events, was before him, and he rejected it.
That some went on foot up the coast while others manned the ships is
not told in AV i, but goes back to the Lost Tales (see IV. 48).
Annal 2993. In the phrase in the Doom of Mandos 'they should be slain
with weapons' my father first put 'they should be lightly slain', as in
AV i, but struck out the word lightly as he wrote; see IV. 278 - 9.
After 'warned them that the Valar would fence Valinor against their
return' he put 'Here endeth that which Rumil wrote' (words added in
pencil at this point in AV 1, IV. 271 note 20), but at once struck them out
and set them at the end of the annal, as printed in the text. While the
preamble to AV x states that the Annals were the work of Pengolod alone,
a second version of the preamble (IV. 292) says that they 'were written
first by Rumil the Elfsage of Valinor, and after by [i.e. continued by]
Pengolod the Wise of Gondolin'; and I have suggested (IV. 292 - 3) that
Rumil was one of the Noldor who returned to Valinor with Finrod, and
that this would explain why the end of his part in the Annals was moved
further on in AV z - 'his part ends with the actual record of Finrod's
return, and of the reception that he and those with him received.' Cf. the
passages in annals 2000 - 2010 and 2990 where insertions are made by
Pengolod into Rumil's text.
In this annal (and in AB 2 annal 50) Felagund is for the first time
rendered 'Lord of Caves'. He was called Inglor Felagund in the Old
English version of AB (IV. 339, 341).
Annal 2998-3000. With the words 'For the Sun was set as a sign of the
waning of the Elves, but the Moon cherisheth their memory' (repeated in
QS $75) cf. The Lost Road, p. 72 (note 12).
III.
THE LATER ANNALS OF BELERIAND.
The manuscript of this version, AB 2, of the Annals of Beleriand is
closely similar to that of AV z, and obviously belongs to very much the
same time. As with AV 2, the manuscript was in its earlier part heavily
corrected and overwritten years later - the first stage in the development
of the final version of these chronicles, the Grey Annals. In this case,
however, there was far more revision in the earlier period than with
AV z, and in some places it is hard to separate the early from the late -,
reference to QS will usually decide the point, but doubt remains in cases
where QS was itself altered at an indeterminable time.
I give the text as it was originally written (admitting a few additions or
corrections that were clearly made at or very soon after the time of
composition), but make an exception in the case of dates. Here it is less
confusing and easier for subsequent reference to give the emended dates
in square brackets after the original ones. These major alterations in the
chronology took place during the writing of QS, and are discussed on
pp. 257 - 8. Changes others than those to dates, where I feel sufficiently
certain that they belong to the pre-lard of the Rings period, are recorded
in the notes; the great majority of them reflect movement of names and
narrative that had come in when QS was written (or in some cases
entered in the course of the writing of QS), and I do not discuss them in
the commentary on AB 2.
As already noted (p. 107), the two earlier versions of these Annals
given in Vol. IV (AB I and AB II) are here referred to as AB 1; as far as
annal 220 the comparison being with AB II, and after that point with
AB I. As with AV z, in the commentary I treat AB i as including the
emendations made to those manuscripts (fully recorded in IV. 310 - 13,
332 - 3), and do not take up again points discussed in the commentaries in
Vol. IV.
In content AB z remains in general close to AB i, but it is not only
fuller in matter but also more finished in manner; the Annals of
Beleriand was becoming an independent work, and less (as I described
AB i in I V. 294) a 'consolidation of the historical structure in its internal
relations and chronology' in support of the Quenta - but it is still
annalistic, retaining the introductory Here of the year-entries (derived
from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle), and lacking connection of motive
between events. And since, most unhappily, my father abandoned the
Grey Annals at the end of the story of Turin, the conclusion of AB 2
contains the last account in the Annals tradition of the fourth (becoming
the sixth) century of the Sun and of the Great Battle. Both AV 2 and AB 2
only came to light very recently (I was not aware of their existence when
The Silmarillion was prepared for publication).
SILMARILLION.
III.
ANNALS OF BELERIAND.
Before the uprising of the Sun Morgoth fled from the land of
the Valar and carried off the Silmarils, the holy gems of Feanor.
He returned into the northern regions of the West of Middle-
earth, and rebuilt his fortress of Angband, beneath the black
Mountains of Iron, where their highest peak Thangorodrim
towers. He brought forth Orcs and Balrogs; and set the Silmarils
in his iron crown. Thingol and Denithor(1) resisted the inroads of
the Orcs, but Denithor was slain, and Thingol withdrew to
Menegroth, and Doriath was closed.
Here the Dispossessed came into the North, and Feanor led
them, and with him came his seven sons, Maidros, Maglor,
Celegorm,(2) Curufin, Cranthir, Damrod, and Diriel, and with
them their friends, the younger sons of Finrod. They burned the
Telerian ships upon the coast, where it is since called Losgar, nigh
to the outlet of Drengist. Soon after they fought that battle with
the host of Morgoth that is named Dagor-os-Giliath," and Feanor
had the victory, but he was mortally wounded by Gothmog, and
died in Mithrim.
Maidros, Feanor's son, was ambushed and captured by
Morgoth, and hung upon Thangorodrim; but his brethren were
camped about Lake Mithrim, behind Eredwethion, the Shadowy
Mountains.
Years of the Sun.
1. Here the Moon and Sun, made by the Valar after the death
of the Two Trees, first appeared. At this time the Fathers of Men
awoke first in the East of the world. Here Fingolfin, and with him
Inglor son of Finrod, led the second host of the Gnomes over
Helkarakse, the Grinding Ice, into the Hither Lands. With the
first Moonrise they set foot upon Middle-earth, and the first
Sunrise shone upon their march.
At the coming of Day Morgoth withdrew, dismayed, into his
deepest dungeons; and there he smithied in secret, and sent forth
black smoke. Fingolfin blew his trumpets in defiance before the
gates of Angband, and came thence into Mithrim; but the sons of:
Feanor withdrew to the southern shore, and there was feud
between the houses, because of the burning of the ships, and the
lake lay between them.
2 [5]. Here Fingon, Fingolfin's son, healed the feud; for he
sought after Maidros, and rescued him with the help of Thorndor,(4)
King of Eagles.
1-50. Now the Gnomes wandered far and wide over Beleriand,
exploring the land, and settling it in many places, from the great
sea Belegar unto Eredlindon, that is the Blue Mountains; and they
took all Sirion's vale to dwell in, save Doriath in the midmost of
the land, which Thingol and Melian held, both the forest of
Region and the forest of Neldoreth on either side of Esgalduin.
20. Here was held the Feast of Reuniting, that is Mereth-
Aderthad in Gnomish speech. In Nan-Tathrin,(5) the Vale of
Willows, near the mouths of Sirion, were gathered the Elves of
Valinor, of the three houses of the Gnomes, and many of the
Dark-elves, both those of the woods and of the havens of the West,
and some of the Green-elves of Ossiriand; and Thingol sent
ambassadors from Doriath. But Thingol came not himself, nor
would he open his kingdom, nor remove the enchantment that
fenced it in, for he trusted not in the restraint of Morgoth to last
long. Yet a time of peace, of growth and blossoming, and of
prosperous mirth followed.
50. Here unquiet and troubled dreams came upon Turgon son
of Fingolfin, and Inglor his friend, son of Finrod; and they sought
in the land for places of strength and refuge, lest Morgoth burst
from Angband, as their dreams foreboded. Inglor found the caves
of Narog, and began there to establish a stronghold and armouries,
after the fashion of Thingol's abode in Menegroth; and he called
his deep halls Nargothrond. Wherefore the Gnomes called him
anew Felagund, lord of caverns, and that name he bore till death.
But Turgon journeyed alone, and by the grace of Ulmo dis-
covered the hidden valley of Gondolin, but of this he told no one
as yet.
51 [60]. Here Morgoth made trial of the strength and watch-
fulness of the Noldor. His might was moved once more on a
sudden, and there were earthquakes in the North, and fire came
from the mountains, and the Orcs raided Beleriand, and bands of
robbers were abroad far and wide in the land. But Fingolfin and
Maidros gathered great force of their own folk, and of the Dark-
elves, and they destroyed all the wandering Orcs; and they
pursued the main host unto Bladorion, and there surrounded it,
and destroyed it utterly within sight of Angband. This was the
Second Battle, Dagor Aglareb, the Glorious Battle.
Now was set the Siege of Angband,(6) and it lasted more than two
[> four] hundred years; and Fingolfin boasted that Morgoth
could never burst again from the leaguer of his foes. Yet neither
could the Gnomes take Angband or regain the Silmarils. But war
never ceased utterly in all this time, for Morgoth was secretly
forging new weapons, and ever anon he would make trial of his
enemies; moreover he was not encircled upon the uttermost
North.
52. Here' Turgon was troubled anew and yet more grievously
in sleep; and he took a third part of the Gnomes of Fingolfin's
people, and their goods and their womenfolk, and departed south,
and vanished, and none knew whither he was gone; but he came to
Gondolin and built there a city and fortified the surrounding hills.
In this fashion the other chieftains beleaguered Angband. In
the West were Fingolfin and Fingon, and they dwelt in Hithlum,
and their chief fortress was at Sirion's Well, Eithel Sirion, where
the river hath its source on the eastern slopes of Eredwethion. And
all Eredwethion they manned and watched Bladorion thence, and
their cavalry rode upon the plain even to the feet of the mountains
of Morgoth, and their horses multiplied, for the grass was good.
Of those horses many of the sires came from Valinor, and were
given back to Fingolfin by the sons of Feanor at the settlement of
the feud.'
The sons of Finrod held the land from Eredwethion unto the
eastern end of the Taur-na-Danion,(9) the Forest of Pines, from the
northward slopes of which they also held watch over Bladorion.
Here were Angrod and Egnor, and Orodreth was nighest to the
sons of Feanor in the East.(10) Of these Celegorm and Curufin held
the land between the rivers Aros and Celon, from the borders of
Doriath to the pass of Aglon, that is between Taur-na-Danion and
the Hill of Himling;(11) and this pass and the plain beyond they
guarded. Maidros had his stronghold upon Himling, and those
lower hills that lie from the Forest of Pines unto the foothills of
Eredlindon were called the Marches of Maidros. Thence he rode
often into East Bladorion, the plains to the north, but he held also
the woods south between Celon and Gelion. Maglor lay to the east
again about the upper waters of Gelion, where the hills are low
or fail; and Cranthir ranged beneath the shadows of the Blue
Mountains. And all the folk of Feanor kept watch by scout and
outrider towards the North-east.
To the south the fair land of Beleriand, west and east of Sirion,
was apportioned in this manner. Fingolfin was King of Hithlum,
and he was Lord of the Falas or Western Shore, and overlord of
the Dark-elves as far south as Eglorest and west of the river Eglor.
Felagund, lord of caverns, was King of Narog, and his brothers
were the lords of Taur-na-Danion and his vassals., and he
possessed the lands both east and west of the river Narog, as far
south as the mouths of Sirion, from Eglor's banks in the West, east
to the banks of Sirion, save only for a portion of Doriath that lay
west of Sirion, between the river Taiglin and Umboth-Muilin.(12)
But between Sirion and the river Mindeb no one dwelt; and in
Gondolin, to the south-west of Taur-na-Danion, was Turgon, but
that was not yet known.
Now King Felagund had his seat in Nargothrond far to the
south, but his fort and place of battle was in the north, in the wide
pass between Eredwethion and Taur-na-Danion, through which
Sirion flows to the south. There was an isle amid the waters of
Sirion, and it was called Tolsirion, and there Felagund built a
mighty watchtower.(14)
South of Taur-na-Danion was a wide space untenanted,
between the precipices into which those highlands fall, and the
fences of Melian, and here many evil things fled that had been
nurtured in the dark of old, and sought refuge now in the chasms
and ravines. South of Doriath and east, between Sirion and Aros
and Gelion, was a wide land of wood and plain; this was East
Beleriand, and it was wild and wide. Here few came and seldom,
save Dark-elves wandering, but this land was held to be under the
lordship of the sons of Feanor, and Damrod and Diriel hunted in
its borders and came seldom to the affrays in the northern siege.
Ossiriand, the Land of Seven Rivers, that lies between Eredlindon
and the river Gelion, and is watered by the streams of Ascar,
Thalos, Legolin, Brilthor, Duilwen, and Adurant, was not sub-
ject to Maidros. Here dwelt the Green-elves, but they took no king
after the death of Denithor, until Beren came among them. Into
East Beleriand the Elf-lords, even from afar, would ride at times
for hunting in the wild woods; but none passed east over
Eredlindon, save only the Green-elves, for they had kindred that
were yet in the further lands.
52-255 [60 - 455]. The time of the Siege of Angband was a
time of bliss, and the world had peace under the new light.
Beleriand became exceedingly fair, and was filled with beasts and
birds and flowers. In this time Men waxed and multiplied, and
spread; and they had converse with the Dark-elves of the East,
and learned much of them. From them they took the first be-
ginnings of the many tongues of Men. Thus they heard rumour of
the Blessed Realms of the West and the Powers that dwelt there,
and many of the Fathers of Men in their wanderings moved ever
westward.
65. Here Brithombar and Eglorest were built to fair towns,
and the Tower of Tindobel was set up upon the cape west of
Eglorest, to watch the Western Sea. Here some of the folk of
Nargothrond built new ships with the help of the people of the
havens, and they went forth and dwelt upon the great isle of Balar
that lieth in the Bay of Balar into which Sirion flows.
102. About this time the building of Nargothrond and of
Gondolin was complete.
104 [154]. About this time the Gnomes climbed Eredlindon
and gazed eastward, but they did not pass into the lands beyond.
In those mountains the folk of Cranthir came first upon the
Dwarves, and there was yet no enmity between them, and none-
theless little love. It was not known in those days whence the
Dwarves had origin, save that they were not of Elf-kin or of mortal
kind, nor yet of Morgoth's breeding. But it is said by some of the
wise in Valinor, as I have since learned," that Aule made the
Dwarves long ago, desiring the coming of the Elves and of Men,
for he wished to have learners to whom he could teach his crafts of
hand, and he could not wait upon the designs of Iluvatar. But
the Dwarves have no spirit indwelling, as have the Children of the
Creator, and they have skill but not art; and they go back into
the stone of the mountains of which they were made. o
In those days and regions the Dwarves had great mines and
cities in the east of Eredlindon, far south of Beleriand, and the
chief of these cities were Nogrod and Belegost. But the Elves went
not thither, and the Dwarves trafficked into Beleriand; and they
made a great road, which came north, east of the mountains, and
thence it passed under the shoulders of Mount Dolm,(17) and
followed thence the course of Ascar, and crossed Gelion at the
ford Sarn-Athrad, and so came unto Aros. But the Dwarves came
that way seldom after the coming of the Gnomes, until the power
of Maidros fell in the Third Battle.
105 [155]. Here Morgoth endeavoured to take Fingolfin at
unawares, and he sent forth an army into the white North, and it
turned then west, and again south, and came by the coast west of
Eredlomin. But it was destroyed and passed not into Hithlum,
and the most part was driven into the sea at Drengist. This is not
reckoned among the great battles. Thereafter there was peace for
many years, and no Orcs issued forth to war. But Morgoth took
new counsel in his heart, and thought of Dragons.
155 [260]. Here Glomund the first of Dragons came forth
from Angband's gate by night; and he was yet young and but half
grown. But the Elves fled before him to Eredwethion and Taur-
na-Danion in dismay, and he defiled Bladorion. Then Fingon,
prince of Gnomes, rode up against him with his horsed archers,
and Glomund could not yet withstand their darts, being not yet
come to his full armoury; and he fled back to hell, and came not
forth again for a long time.
170 [370]. Here Beor, Father of Men, was born in the East.
188 [388]. Here Haleth the Hunter was born.
190 [390]. Here was born Hador(18) the Goldenhaired.
200 [400]. Here Felagund hunting in the East with the sons of
Feanor came upon Beor and his men, new come into Beleriand.
Beor became a vassal of Felagund, and went back with him into
the West. In East Beleriand was born Bregolas son of Beor.
202 [402]. Here there was war on the East Marches, and Beor
was there with Felagund. Barahir son of Beor was born.
213 [413]. Hundor son of Haleth was born.
217 [417]. Gundor son of Hador was born.
219 [419]. Gumlin son of Hador was born, beneath the
shadows of Eredlindon.(20)
220 [420]. Here Haleth the Hunter came into Beleriand. In
the same year came also Hador the Goldenhaired, with his great
companies of men. Haleth remained in Sirion's vale, and his folk
wandered much, owning allegiance to none, but they held most to
the woods between Taiglin and Sirion. Hador became a vassal of
Fingolfin, and he strengthened much the armies of the king, and
was given lands in Hithlum. There was great love between Elves
and the Men of Hador's house, and the folk of Hador abandoned
their own tongue and spoke with the speech of the Gnomes.
222 [422]. In this time the strength of Men being added to the
Gnomes hope grew high, and Morgoth was straitly enclosed.
Fingolfin pondered an assault upon Angband, for he knew that
they lived in danger while Morgoth was free to labour in the dark;
but because the land was so fair most of the Gnomes were content
with matters as they were, and his designs came to naught.
The Men of the three houses grew now and multiplied, and they
learned wisdom and crafts of the Gnomes, and were gladly subject
to the Elf-lords. The Men of Beor were dark or brown of hair, but
fair of face, with grey eyes; of shapely form, having courage and
endurance, yet they were little greater in stature than the Elves of
that day. The people of Hador were yellow-haired and blue-eyed,
for the most part (not so was Turin, but his mother was of Beor's
house), and of greater strength and stature. Like unto them were
the woodmen of Haleth, but somewhat less tall and more broad.
224 [424]. Baragund, son of Bregolas son of Beor, was born in
Taur-na-Danion.
228 [428]. Belegund his brother was born.
232 [432]. Beren, after surnamed Ermabuin, the One-handed,
or Mablosgen, the Empty-handed, son of Barahir son of Beor, was
born.(22)
241 [441]. Hurin the Steadfast, son of Gumlin son of Hador,
was born in Hithlum. In the same year was born Handir, son of
Hundor son of Haleth.
244 [444]. Huor, brother of Hurin, was born.
245 [445]. Morwen Eledwen(23) (Elfsheen) was born to Bara-
gund. She was the fairest of all mortal maidens.
250 [450]. Rian, daughter of Belegund, mother of Tuor, was
born. In this year Beor the Old, Father of Men, died of old age.
The Elves saw then for the first time the death of weariness, and
they sorrowed over the short span allotted to Men. Bregolas
thereafter ruled the people of Beor.
* 255 [455] Here came an end of peace and mirth. In the
winter of this year Morgoth unloosed his long-prepared forces,
and he sought to break into Beleriand and destroy the wealth of the
Gnomes. The battle began suddenly on a night of mid-winter, and
fell first most heavily on the sons of Finrod. This is Dagor Hur-
Breged,(24) the Battle of Sudden Fire. Rivers of flame ran from
Thangorodrim. Here G1omund the Golden, father of Dragons,
came forth in his full might. The green plains of Bladorion were
turned into a great desert without growing thing; and thereafter
they were called Dor-na-Fauglith, Land of Gasping Thirst. In,
this war Bregolas was slain and a great part of the warriors of
Beor's folk. Angrod and Egnor, sons of Finrod, fell. But Barahir
son of Beor with his chosen companions saved King Felagund and
Orodreth, and Felagund swore an oath of help and friendship in
all need to Barahir and his kin and seed. Barahir ruled the remnant
of the house of Beor.
256 [456]. Fingolfin and Fingon marched to the aid of Fela- '
gund and his folk, but they were driven back with grievous loss.
Hador now aged fell defending his lord Fingolfin, and with him
fell Gundor his son. Gumlin took the lordship of the house of
Hador.
The sons of Feanor were not slain, but Celegorm and Curufin '
were defeated, and fled unto Orodreth in the west of Taur-na-
Danion.(25) Maidros did deeds of valour, and Morgoth could not as
yet take the heights of Himling, but he broke through the passes(26)
to the east and ravaged far into East Beleriand, and the Gnomes of
Feanor's house, for the most part, fled before him. Maglor joined
Maidros, but Cranthir, Damrod, and Diriel fled into the South.
Turgon was not in that battle, nor Haleth, nor any but few of
Haleth's folk. It is said that about this time(27) Hurin son of Gumlin
was being fostered by Haleth, and that Haleth and Hurin hunting
in Sirion's vale came upon some of Turgon's folk, and espied their
secret entrance into the valley of Gondolin. But they were taken
and brought before Turgon, and looked upon the hidden city,
whereof of those outside none yet knew save Thorndor King of
Eagles. Turgon welcomed them, for messages and dreams sent by
Ulmo Lord of Waters up the streams of Sirion warned him that
the aid of mortal Men was necessary for him. But Haleth and:
Hurin swore oaths of secrecy, and never revealed Gondolin; yet at
this time they learned something of the counsels of Turgon,
though they kept them hidden in their hearts. It is said that
Turgon had great liking for the boy Hurin, and wished to keep
him in Gondolin; but grievous tidings of the great battle came,
and they departed to the succour of their folk.
When Turgon learned of the breaking of the leaguer he sent
secret messengers to the mouths of Sirion and to the Isle of Balar,
and there was a building of swift ships. Many a messenger set sail
thence seeking for Valinor, there to ask for aid and pardon, but
none reached the West, or none returned.(28)
Fingolfin saw now the ruin of the Gnomes and the defeat of all
their houses, and he was filled with wrath and despair; and he rode
alone to the gates of Angband, and in his madness challenged
, Morgoth to single combat. Morgoth slew Fingolfin, but Thorndor
recovered his body, and set it under a cairn on the mountains
north of Gondolin. There was sorrow in Gondolin when those
tidings were brought by Thorndor, for the folk of the hidden city
were of Fingolfin's folk. Fingon now ruled the royal house of the
Gnomes.
257 [457]. Morgoth attacked now the west passes, and pierced
them, and passed into the Vale of Sirion; and he took Tolsirion
and made it into his own watchtower, and set there Thu the
Wizard, his most evil servant, and the isle became a place of dread,
and was called Tol-na-Gaurhoth, Isle of Werewolves. But
Felagund and Orodreth retreated, and went unto Nargothrond,
and strengthened it and dwelt in hiding. With them were
Celegorm and Curufin.(29)
Barahir would not retreat but defended still the remnant of his
lands in Taur-na-Danion. But Morgoth hunted his people down,
and he turned all that forest into a region of great dread and dark
enchantment, so that it was after called Taur-na-Fuin, which is
Forest of Night, or Gwathfuin-Daidelos,(30) which is Deadly
Nightshade. At length only Barahir and his son Beren, and his
nephews Baragund and Belegund, sons of Bregolas, were left,
with a few men yet faithful. Of these Gorlim, Radros,(31) Dagnir
and Gildor are named. They were a desperate band of outlaws, for
their dwellings were destroyed, and their wives and children were
captured or slain, save Morwen Eledwen daughter of Baragund
and Rian daughter of Belegund. For the wives of the sons of
Bregolas were of Hithlum, and were sojourning there when war
broke out, and Hithlum was not yet overthrown. But no help now
came thence, and Barahir and his men were hunted like wild
beasts.
258 [458]. Haleth and his folk dwelt now on the west marches
of Doriath, and fought with the Orcs that came down Sirion. Here
with the help of Beleg of Doriath they took an Orc-legion at
unawares, and were victorious, and the Orcs came not afterwards
for a long while into the land between Taiglin and Sirion: that is
the forest of Brethil.(32)
261 [460]. There was a high lake in the midst of Taur-na-Fuin,
and here there was much heath, and there were many tarns; but
the ground was full of deceit, and there was much fen and bog. In
this region Barahir made his lair; but Gorlim betrayed him, and
he was surprised and slain with all his company, save Beren only.
Beren pursued the Orcs, and slew his father's murderer, and
regained the ring of Felagund. Beren became now a solitary
outlaw, and did many deeds of singlehanded daring, and Morgoth
put a great price on his head.
262 [462]. Here Morgoth renewed his assaults; and the in-
vasion of the Orcs encompassed Doriath, both west down Sirion,
and east through the passes beyond Himling. And Morgoth went
against Hithlum, but was driven back as yet; but Gumlin was slain
in the siege of the fortress of Fingon at Eithel Sirion. Hurin his son
was new come to manhood, but he was mighty in strength, and he
ruled now the house of Hador, and served Fingon. In this time
Beren was driven south and came hardly into Doriath.
263 [463]. Here the Swarthy Men first came into Beleriand in
the East. They were short and broad, long and strong in the arm,
growing much hair on face and breast, and their locks were dark,
as were their eyes; their skins were swart, yet their countenances
were not uncomely for the most part, though some were grim-
looking and illfavoured. Their houses were many, and some had
liking rather for the Dwarves of the mountains, of Nogrod and
Belegost, than for the Elves. But Maidros seeing the weakness of
the Noldor, and the growing power of the armies of Morgoth,
made alliance with these Men, and with their chieftains Bor
and Ulfand.(33) The sons of Bor were Borlas and Boromir and
Borthandos, and they followed Maidros and Maglor and were
faithful. The sons of Ulfand the Swart were Uldor the Accursed,
and Ulfast, and Ulwar,(34) and they followed Cranthir the Dark and
swore allegiance to him, and proved faithless.
263-4 [463 - 4]. Here began the renowned deeds of Beren and
Luthien Tinuviel, Thingol's daughter, of Doriath.
264 [464] Here King Felagund and Beren son of Barahir were
emprisoned in Tol-na-Gaurhoth by Thu, and King Felagund was
slain in combat with Draugluin the Werewolf; but Luthien and
Huan, the hound of Valinor, slew Draugluin and overthrew Thu,
who fled to Taur-na-Fuin. Orodreth took now the kingship of
Nargothrond and broke friendship with Celegorm and Curufin,
who fled to their kinsfolk in the East; but Nargothrond was closely
hidden.
Hurin son of Gumlin wedded Morwen Elfsheen of the house of
Beor in Hithlum.
265 [465]. Beren and Luthien went unto Angband and took a
Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth. This is the most renowned
deed of these wars. Carcharoth, the wolfwarden of the gate, bit off
Beren's hand, and with the Silmaril in his belly burst in madness
into Doriath. Then there was made the Wolfhunt, and Huan slew
Carcharoth and the Silmaril was regained, but Carcharoth slew
both Huan and Beren.
Beren was recalled from the Dead by Luthien, and they passed
from the knowledge of Men and Gnomes, and dwelt a while by the
green waters of Ossiriand, Land of Seven Rivers. But Mandos
foretold that Luthien should be subject hereafter to death,
together with Beren, whom she rescued for a time.
In the winter of this year Turin son of Hurin was born with sad
omens.
265 - 70 [465 - 70]. In this time was begun the Union of
Maidros; for Maidros, taking heart from the deeds of Beren and
Luthien, planned the reuniting of the Elvish forces and the
liberation of Beleriand. But because of the deeds of Celegorm and
Curufin, Thingol would not aid him, and small help came from
Nargothrond. There the Gnomes sought to guard their dwelling
by stealth and secrecy. But Maidros had the help of the Dwarves
in the smithying of many weapons, and there was much traffick
between Beleriand and the mountains in the East; and he gathered
again all the Gnomes of Feanor's house, and he armed them; and
many Dark-elves were joined to him; and the men of Bor and
Ulfand were marshalled for war, and summoned yet more of their
kindred out of the East.
Fingon prepared for war in Hithlum; and tidings came also to
Turgon the hidden king, and he prepared for war in secret.
Haleth's folk gathered also in the woods of Brethil, and made
ready for battle.
267 [467]. Dior the Beautiful was born to Beren and Luthien
in Ossiriand.
268 [468]. Now the Orcs were driven back once more out of
Beleriand, east and west, and hope was renewed; but Morgoth
took counsel against the uprising of the Elves, and he sent spies
and secret emissaries far and wide among Elves and Men. Here
Haleth, last of the Fathers of Men, died in the woods; and Hundor
his son ruled over his folk.
271 [471]. Here Isfin, sister of Turgon, strayed out of
Gondolin, and was lost; but Eol the Dark-elf took her to wife.
* 272 [472] This is the Year of Sorrow. Maidros planned now
an assault upon Angband from West and East. With the main host
he was to march from the East across Dor-na-Fauglith, and as
soon as he gave the signal then Fingon should come forth from
Eredwethion; for they thought to draw the host of Morgoth
from its walls and take it between their two armies.
Huor son of Hador wedded Rian daughter of Belegund upon
the eve of battle, and marched with Hurin his brother in the army
of Fingon.
Here was fought the Fourth Battle, Nirnaith Dirnoth,(35) Un-
numbered Tears, upon the plains of Dor-na-Fauglith, before the
pass of Sirion. The place was long marked by a great hill in which
the slain were piled, both Elves and Men. Grass grew there alone
in Dor-na-Fauglith. There Elves and Men were utterly defeated,
and the ruin of the Gnomes was accomplished. For Maidros was
hindered on the road by the machinations of Uldor the Accursed,
whom the spies of Morgoth had bought. Fingon attacked without
waiting, and he drove in Morgoth's feinted onslaught, and came
even unto Angband. The companies of Nargothrond, such as
Orodreth suffered to depart to the aid of Fingon, were led by
Gwindor son of Guilin, a very valiant prince, and they were in the
forefront of battle; and Gwindor and his men burst even within
Angband's gates, and their swords slew in the halls of Morgoth.
But they were cut off, and all were taken captive; for Morgoth
released now a countless host that he had withheld, and he drove
back the Gnomes with terrible slaughter.
Hundor son of Haleth, and most of the Men of the woods, were
slain in the rearguard in the retreat across the sands of Dor-na-
Fauglith.(36) But the Orcs came between Fingon and the passes of
Eredwethion that led into Hithlum, and they withdrew towards
Tolsirion.
Then Turgon and the army of Gondolin sounded their horns,
and issued out of Taur-na-Fuin. They were delayed by the deceit
and evil of the forest, but came now as help unlooked for. The
meeting between Hurin and Turgon was very joyful, and they
drove back the Orcs.
Now the trumpets of Maidros were heard in the East, and hope
was renewed. It is said that the Elves would yet have had the vic-
tory, but for the deeds of Uldor; but very mighty was G1omund.
For Morgoth sent forth now all the dwellers in Angband, and hell
was emptied. There came a hundred thousand Orcs, and a
thousand Balrogs, and in the van was Glomund the Dragon; and
Elves and Men withered before him. Thus did Morgoth prevent
the union of the forces of Maidros and Fingon. And Uldor went
over to Morgoth with most of the Men of Ulfand, and they fell
upon the right flank of the sons of Feanor.
Cranthir slew Uldor, but Ulfast and Ulwar slew Bor and his
three sons, and many faithful Men; and the host of Maidros was
scattered to the winds, and the remnant fled far into hiding into
East Beleriand and the South, and wandered there in sorrow.
Fingon fell in the West, surrounded by a host of foes, and flame
sprang from his helm, as he was smitten down by the Balrogs. But
Hurin, and Huor his brother, and the Men of the house of Hador,
stood firm, and the Orcs could not yet gain the pass of Sirion. The
stand of Hurin is the most renowned deed of Men among the
Elves; for Hurin held the rear, while Turgon with part of his
battle, and some of the remnants of the host of Fingon, escaped
down Sirion into the dales and mountains. They vanished once
more, and were not found again by Elf or Man or spy of Morgoth,
until Tuor's day. Thus was the victory of Morgoth marred, and
his anger was very great.
Huor fell pierced with a venomed arrow, but Hurin fought until
he alone was left. He threw away his shield, and wielded an axe,
and he slew well nigh a hundred Orcs; but he was taken alive by
Morgoth's command, and dragged to Angband. But Hurin would
not reveal whither Turgon was gone, and Morgoth cursed him,
and he was chained upon Thangorodrim; and Morgoth gave him
sight to see the evil that befell his kindred in the world. Morwen
his wife went with child, but his son Turin was now well nigh
seven years old.
The Orcs now piled the slain, and poured into Beleriand. No
tidings came to Hithlum of the battle, wherefore Rian went forth,
and her child Tuor was born to her in the wild. He was taken to
nurture by Dark-elves., but Rian went to the Mound of Slain and
laid her there and died.
273 [473]. Morgoth was now lord of Beleriand, save Doriath,
and he filled it with roving bands of Orcs and wolves. But he went
not yet against the gates of Nargothrond in the far South, and of
Gondolin he could discover nothing. But the northern kingdom
was no more. For Morgoth broke his pledges to the sons of
Ulfand, and denied them the reward of their treachery; and he
drove these evil Men into Hithlum, and forbade them to wander
from that land. But they oppressed the remnant of the folk of
Hador, and took their lands and goods and their womenfolk, and
enslaved their children. Such as remained of the Elves of Hithlum
Morgoth took to the mines of Angband, and they became his
thralls, save few that lived perilously in the woods.
In the beginning of this year Nienor the Sorrowful was born in
Hithlum, daughter of Hurin and Morwen; but Morwen sent
Turin to Doriath, begging for Thingol's fostering and aid; for she
was of Beren's kindred. Two old men she had, Gethron and
Grithron, and they undertook the journey, as Turin's guides.
They came through grievous hardship and danger, and were
rescued on the borders of Doriath by Beleg. Gethron died in
Doriath, but Grithron returned to Morwen.
281 [481] The power of Morgoth grew now very great, and
Doriath was cut off, and no tidings of the lands without came
thither. Turin was now but in his sixteenth year; but he took to
war, and fought against the Orcs on the marches of Doriath in the
company of Beleg.
284 [484]. Here Turin slew Orgof, kinsman of Thingol, at the
king's board, and fled from Menegroth. He became an outlaw in
the woods, and gathered a desperate band, and plundered on the
marches of Doriath.
287 [487]. Here Turin's companions captured Beleg, but
Turin released him, and renewed his fellowship with him, and
they adventured together beyond Doriath, making war upon the
Orcs.
Tuor son of Huor came unto Hithlum seeking his kindred, but
they were no more, and he lived as an outlaw in the woods about
Mithrim.
288 [488]. Here Halmir (38) Orodreth's son of Nargothrond was
trapped and hung on a tree by Orcs.
289 [489]. Here Gwindor son of Guilin escaped from the
mines of Angband. Blodrin Ban's son betrayed the camp of Turin
and Beleg, and Turin was taken alive, but Beleg was left for dead.
Beleg was healed of his wounds by Melian, and followed the trail
of the captors of Turin. He came upon Gwindor bewildered in
Taur-na-Fuin, and together they rescued Turin; but Turin slew
Beleg by misadventure.
290 [490]. Turin was healed of his madness at Ivrineithel, and
was brought at last by Gwindor to Nargothrond. They were
admitted to the secret halls at the prayer of Finduilas, daughter of
Orodreth, who had before loved Gwindor.
290-5 [490 - 5]. During this time Turin dwelt in Nargothrond.
Beleg's sword, wherewith he was slain, was reforged for Turin;
and Turin rejected his former name, and he called himself
Mormael, Black-sword, but his sword he named Gurtholfin,(39)
Wand of Death. Finduilas forgot her love of Gwindor and loved
Turin, and he loved her, but spoke not, for he was faithful to
Gwindor. Turin became a captain of the host of Nargothrond,
and persuaded the Gnomes to abandon stealth and ambush and
make open war. He drove the Orcs out of all the land between
Narog and Sirion and Doriath to the east, and west to Eglor and
the sea, and north to Eredwethion; and he let build a bridge over
Narog. The Gnomes of Nargothrond allied themselves with
Handir of Brethil and his men. Thus Nargothrond was revealed to
the wrath of Morgoth.
292 [492]. Meglin son of Eol was sent by Isfin to Gondolin,
and was received as his sister's son by Turgon.
294 [494]. In this time when the power of Morgoth was stayed
in the West, Morwen and Nienor departed from Hithlum and
came to Doriath, seeking tidings of Turin. There many spake of
the prowess of Mormael, but of Turin no man had heard, since the
Orcs took him.
* 295 [495] Here Glomund passed into Hithlum and did
great evil, and he came over Eredwethion with a host of Orcs, and
came into the realm of Narog. And Orodreth and Turin and
Handir went up against him, and they were defeated in the field of
Tum-halad between Narog and Taiglin; and Orodreth was slain,
and Handir; and Gwindor died, and refused the succour of
Turin. Turin gathered the remnants of the Gnomes and hastened
to Nargothrond, but it was sacked ere his coming; and Turin was
deceived and bound in spell by Glomund. Finduilas and the
women of Nargothrond were taken as thralls, but Turin forsook
them, and deceived by the lies of Glomund went to Hithlum to
seek Morwen.
Tidings of the fall of Nargothrond came to Doriath, and
Mormael was revealed as Turin.
Tuor son of Huor departed from Hithlum by a secret way under
the leading of Ulmo, and journeying down the coast he passed the
ruined havens of Brithombar and Eglorest, and came to the
mouths of Sirion.
295 - 6 [495 - 6]. Turin found that Morwen had departed from
Hithlum. He slew Brodda in his hall and escaped from Hithlum.
He took now the name of Turambar, Conqueror of Fate,(40) and
joined the remnant of the Woodmen in Brethil; and he became
their lord, since Brandir son of Handir was lame from childhood.
296 [496]. Here Tuor met the Gnome Bronweg at the mouths
of Sirion. Ulmo himself appeared to Tuor in Nantathrin, and
Tuor went thence up Sirion, and guided by Ulmo found the
entrance to Gondolin. There Tuor spake the embassy of Ulmo;
but Turgon would not now harken to it, and Meglin urged him to
this against Tuor. But Tuor was held in honour in Gondolin for
his kindred's sake.
Glomund returned unto Nargothrond, and lay upon the
treasure of Felagund in the caves.
Morwen Eledwen went to Nargothrond seeking tidings of
Turin, and Nienor against her bidding rode in disguise among her
escort of Elves. But Glomund laid a spell upon the company and
dispersed it, and Morwen was lost in the woods; and a great
darkness of mind came upon Nienor.
Turambar found Nienor hunted by Orcs. He named her Niniel
the tearful, since she knew not her own name.
297-8 [497-8]. Niniel dwelt with the Woodmen, and was
loved both by Turambar and by Brandir the Lame.
298 [498]. Turambar wedded Niniel.
299 [499]. Glomund sought out the dwelling of Turin
Turambar; but Turin smote him mightily with Gurtholfin, and
fell aswoon beside him. There Niniel found him; but G1omund
ere death released her from spells and declared her kindred.
Nienor cast herself over the waterfall in that place which was
then called Celebros, Silver Rain, but afterwards Nen-girith,
Shuddering Water.
Brandir brought the tidings to Turin, and was slain by him, but
Turin bade Gurtholfin slay him; and he died there.
Hurin was released from Angband, and he was bowed as with
great age; but he departed and sought for Morwen.
Tuor wedded Idril Celebrindal, Turgon's daughter, of Gon-
dolin; and Meglin hated him.
300 [500]. Here was born Earendel the Bright, star of the Two
Kindreds, unto Tuor and Idril in Gondolin. In this year was born
also Elwing the White, fairest of all women save Luthien, unto
Dior son of Beren in Ossiriand.
Hurin gathered men unto him, and they came to Nargothrond,
and slew the dwarf Mim, who had taken the treasure unto himself.
But Mim cursed the treasure. Hurin brought the gold to Thingol
in Doriath, but he departed thence again with bitter words, and of
his fate and the fate of Morwen thereafter no sure tidings were ever
heard.
301 [501]. Thingol employed Dwarvish craftsmen to fashion
his gold and silver and the treasure of Nargothrond; and they
made the renowned Nauglamir, the Dwarf-necklace, whereon
was hung the Silmaril. Enmity awoke between Dwarves and
Elves, and the Dwarves were driven away unrewarded.
302 [502]. Here the Dwarves (41) came in force from Nogrod and
from Belegost and invaded Doriath; and they came within by
treachery, for many Elves were smitten with the accursed lust of
the gold. Thingol was slain and the Thousand Caves were plun-
dered; and there hath been war between Elf and Dwarf since that
day. But Melian the Queen could not be slain or taken, and she
departed to Ossiriand.
Beren and the Green-elves overthrew the Dwarves at Sarn-
Athrad as they returned eastward, and the gold was cast into the
river Ascar, which was after called Rathloriel, the Bed of Gold.
But Beren took the Nauglamir and the Silmaril. Luthien wore the
Silmaril upon her breast. Dior their son ruled over the remnants
of the Elves of Doriath.
303 [503]. Here Beren and Luthien departed out of the know-
ledge of Elves and Men, and their deathday is not known; but at
night a messenger brought the necklace to Dior in Doriath, and
the Elves said: 'Luthien and Beren are dead as Mandos doomed.'
304 [504]. Dior son of Beren, Thingol's heir, was now king in
Doriath, and he re-established it for a while. But Melian went
back to Valinor and Doriath had no longer her protection. Dior
wore the Nauglamir and the Silmaril upon his breast.
305 [505]. The sons of Feanor heard tidings of the Silmaril in
the East, and they gathered from wandering, and held council
together. Maidros sent unto Dior and summoned him to give up
the jewel.
306 [506]. Here Dior Thingol's heir fought the sons of Feanor
on the east marches of Doriath, but he was slain. This was the
second kinslaying, and the fruit of the oath. Celegorm fell in that
battle, and Curufin, and Cranthir. The young sons of Dior,
Elboron and Elbereth,(42) were taken captive by the evil men of
Maidros' following, and they were left to starve in the woods; but
Maidros lamented the cruel deed, and sought unavailingly for
them.
The maiden Elwing was saved by faithful Elves, and they fled
with her to the mouths of Sirion, and they took with them the
jewel and the necklace, and Maidros found it not.
Meglin was taken in the hills, and he betrayed Gondolin to
Morgoth.
307 [507]. Here Morgoth loosed a host of dragons over the
mountains from the North and they overran the vale of Tumladin,
and besieged Gondolin. The Orcs sacked Gondolin, and des-
troyed King Turgon and most of his people; but Ecthelion of the
Fountain slew there Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, ere he fell.
Tuor slew Meglin. Tuor escaped with Idril and Earendel by a
secret way devised before by Idril, and they came with a company
of fugitives to the Cleft of Eagles, Cristhorn, which is a high pass
beneath the cairn of Fingo1fin in the north of the surrounding
mountains. They fell into an ambush there, and Glorfindel of the
house of the Golden Flower of Gondolin was slain, but they were
saved by Thorndor, and escaped at last into the vale of Sirion.
308 [508]. Here the wanderers from Gondolin reached the
mouths of Sirion and joined there the slender company of Elwing.
The Silmaril brought blessing upon them, and they were healed,
and they multiplied, and built a haven and ships, and dwelt upon
the delta amid the waters. Many fugitives gathered unto them.
310 [510]. Maidros learned of the upspringing of Sirion's
Haven, and that the Silmaril was there, but he forswore his oath-
324 [524]. Here the unquiet of Ulmo came upon Tuor, and he
built the ship Earame, Eagle's wing, and he departed with Idril
into the West, and was heard of no more. Earendel wedded Elwing
the White, and was lord of the folk of Sirion.
325 [525]. Torment fell upon Maidros and his brethren, be-
cause of their unfulfilled oath. Damrod and Diriel resolved to win
the Silmaril, if Earendel would not give it up willingly. But the
unquiet had come also upon Earendel, and he set sail in his ship
Wingelot, Flower of the Foam, and he voyaged the far seas seeking
Tuor, and seeking Valinor. But he found neither; yet the marvels
that he did were many and renowned.(43) Elrond the Half-elfin,(44)
son of Earendel, was born while Earendel was far at sea.
The folk of Sirion refused to surrender the Silmaril, both
because Earendel was not there, and because they thought that
their bliss and prosperity came from the possession of the gem.
329 [529]. Here Damrod and Diriel ravaged Sirion, and were
slain. Maidros and Maglor were there, but they were sick at heart.
This was the third kinslaying. The folk of Sirion were taken into
the people of Maidros, such as yet remained; and Elrond was
taken to nurture by Maglor. But Elwing cast herself with the
Silmaril into the sea, and Ulmo bore her up, and in the shape of a
bird she flew seeking Earendel, and found him returning.
330 [530]. Earendel bound the Silmaril upon his brow, and
with Elwing he sailed in search of Valinor.
333 [533]. Earendel came unto Valinor, and spake on behalf of
the two races, both Elves and Men.
340 [540]. Maidros and Maglor, sons of Feanor, dwelt in
hiding in the south of Eastern Beleriand, about Amon Ereb,
the Lonely Hill, that stands solitary amid the wide plain. But
Morgoth sent against them, and they fled to the Isle of Balar.
Now Morgoth's triumph was complete, and all that land was
in his hold, and none were left there, Elves or Men, save such as
were his thralls.
333-343 [533-543]. Here the sons of the Gods prepared for
war, and Fionwe son of Manwe was their leader. The Light-elves
marched under his banners, but the Teleri did not leave Valinor;
but they built a countless multitude of ships.
347 [547]. Here the host of Fionwe was seen shining upon the
sea afar, and the noise of his trumpets rang over the waves and
echoed in the western woods. Thereafter was fought the battle of
Eglorest, where Ingwiel son of Ingwe, prince of all the Elves,
made a landing, and drove the Orcs from the shore.
Great war came now into Beleriand, and Fionwe drove the Orcs
and Balrogs before him; and he camped beside Sirion, and his
tents were as snow upon the field. He summoned now all Elves,
Men, Dwarves, beasts and birds unto his standard, who did not
elect to fight for Morgoth. But the power and dread of Morgoth
was very great and many did not obey the summons.
* 350 [550]. Here Fionwe fought the last battle of the ancient
world, the Great or Terrible Battle. Morgoth himself came forth
from Angband, and passed over Taur-na-Fuin, and the thunder
of his approach rolled in the mountains. The waters of Sirion lay
between the hosts; and long and bitterly they contested the
passage. But Fionwe crossed Sirion and the hosts of Morgoth were
driven as leaves, and the Balrogs were utterly destroyed; and
Morgoth fled back to Angband pursued by Fionwe.
From Angband Morgoth loosed the winged dragons, which had
not before been seen; and Fionwe was beaten back upon Dor-na-
Fauglith. But Earendel came in the sky and overthrew Ancalagon
the Black Dragon, and in his fall Thangorodrim was broken.
The sons of the Gods wrestled with Morgoth in his dungeons,
and the earth shook, and gaped, and Beleriand was shattered and
changed, and many perished in the ruin of the land. But Morgoth
was bound.
This war lasted fifty years from the landing of Fionwe.
397 [597]. In this year Fionwe departed and went back to
Valinor with all his folk, and with them went most of the Gnomes
that yet lived and the other Elves of Middle-earth. But Elrond the
Half-elfin remained, and ruled in the West of the world.
Now the Silmarils were regained, for one was borne in the airs
by Earendel, and the other two Fionwe took from the crown of
Melko; and he beat the crown into fetters for his feet. Maidros and
Maglor driven by their oath seized now the two Silmarils and fled;
but Maidros perished, and the Silmaril that he took went into the
bosom of the earth, and Maglor cast his into the sea, and wandered
ever after upon the shores of the world in sorrow.
Thus ended the wars of the Gnomes, and Beleriand was no
more.
NOTES.
From the end of annal 257 (457) the manuscript was very little changed,
either before The Lord of the Rings or after, and while the addition of zoo
years to every date was carried through to the end the alteration of names
became more superficial, and instances were ignored or missed. This is
obviously of no significance, but in the notes that follow I refer only to
the first occurrence of the change.
1. Denithor > Denethor (as in AV 2, note 5).
2. Celegorm > Celegorn (as in AV 2, note 9).
3. Dagor-os-Giliath > Dagor-nuin-Giliath (as in AU 2, note 12).
4. Thorndor > Thorondor. See commentary on QS $$96 - 7.
5. Nan-Tathrin > Nan-Tathren. See commentary on QS $ 109.
6. Now was set the Siege of Angband > But after this the chieftains of
the Gnomes took warning, and drew closer their leaguer, and
strengthened their watch; and they set the Siege of Angband
7. This first paragraph of annal 52 was struck out; see note 8.
8. New matter was added here, taking up that of the cancelled first
paragraph of annal 52 (note 7). The date of Dagor Aglareb was at
the same time changed from 51 to 60.
But Turgon held the land of Nivros [> Nivrost], between
Eredwethion and the sea, south of Drengist; and his folk were
many. But the unquiet of Ulmo was upon him, and a few years
after the Dagor Aglareb he gathered his folk together, even to a
third of the Gnomes of Fingolfin's house, and their goods and
wives, and departed eastward in secret, and vanished from his
kindred. And none knew whither he was gone; but he came to
Gondolin and built there a hidden city.
Against this is written the date 64. On Nivros(t) see QS $ 100 and
commentary; and on the changed chronology, as throughout, see
pp. 257 - 8.
9. Taur-na-Danion > Taur-na-Thanion > Dorthanion > Dorthonion.
Taur-na-Danion is emended at every occurrence, but hardly ever in
the same way; in addition, Taur-na-Donion and Taur-na-Thonion
are found (see IV. 211). The precise details are scarcely material,
and I do not notice these competing forms any further.
10. The sentence beginning Here were Angrod and Egnor changed to
read:
Inglor and Orodreth held the pass of Sirion, but Angrod and
Egnor held the northern slopes of Dorthanion, as far as Aglon
where the sons of Feanor lay.
See note 14 and commentary on QS $ 117.
11. Himling > Himring. This change is found also in late emendations
to Q.
The passage beginning Fingolfin was King of Hithlum changed to
read:
Fingolfin was King of Hithlum and Nivrost, and overlord of all
the Gnomes. Felagund, lord of caverns, was King in Nargoth-
rond, and his brothers Angrod and Egnor were the lords of
Dorthanion and his vassals;
By this change Fingolfin ceases to be Lord of the Western Havens;
see note 13.
13. Added here (see commentary on QS $ 109):
And he was held also to be overlord of the Falas, and of the Dark-
elves of the havens of Brithombar and Eglorest.
14. Added after a mighty watchtower:
Inglormindon; but after the founding of Nargothrond this was in
the keeping of Orodreth.
Subsequently Inglormindon > Minnastirith, and that in turn to
Minastirith. See QS $117 and commentary.
15. as I have since learned > as we have since learned. See com-
mentary on QS $123.
16. The passage beginning But the Dwarves changed to read:
And the Noldor believed that the Dwarves have no spirit in-
dwelling, as have the Children of the Creator, and they have skill
but not art; and that they go back into the stone of the mountains
of which they were made. Yet others say that Aule cares for them,
and that Iluvatar will accept from him the work of his desire, so
that the Dwarves shall not perish.
See the Lhammas $9 and QS $123, and commentaries.
17. a great road, which came north, east of the mountains, and thence it
passed under the shoulders of Mount Dolm > a great road, which
passed under the shoulders of Mount Dolmed. At the same time, no
doubt, the words far south of Beleriand earlier in the paragraph were
struck out; see commentary on QS $122.
18. Hador > Hador or Hador sporadically, where noticed; see IV. 317.
19. Annal zoo to this point changed to read:
400 Here Felagund hunting in the East with the sons of Feanor
passed into Ossiriand, and came upon Beor and his men, new
come over the mountains. Beor became a vassal of Felagund, and
went back with him into the West, and dwelt with him until
death. But Barahir his son dwelt in Dorthanion.
20. The three annals recording the births of Hundor, Gundor, and
Gumlin were misplaced after annal 220, as in AB 1, but a direction
moves them to their proper place, as I have done in the text printed.
Gundor > Gumlin the Tall; Gumlin > Gundor. See QS $140 and
commentary.
21. the woods > the woods of Brethil. Brethil occurs under the year 258
in the text as written (and subsequently); see the commentary on
that annal.
22. Ermabuin > Erchamion (but first to Erchamui), and Mablosgen >
Camlost. See p. 405. After this annal a new one was added:
436 Hundor son of Haleth wedded Glorwendel daughter of
Hador. On this see p. 310 ($13) and note 36 below.
23. Eledwen > Eledhwen.
24. Dagor Hur-breged > Dagor Vregedur. The latter occurs in QS $134.
25. Celegorm and Curufin were defeated, and fled unto Orodreth in the
west of Taur-na-Danion > Celegorn and Curufin were defeated,
and fled south and west, and took harbour at last with Orodreth in
Nargothrond. See commentary on QS $$117, 141.
26. the passes > the passes of Maglor.
27. about this time > in the autumn before the Sudden Fire. Cf. QS
$153.
28. or none returned > and few returned. Cf. QS $154.
29. The passage from But Felagund and Orodreth retreated changed to
read:
Orodreth, brother of Felagund, who commanded Minnastirith,
escaped hardly and fled south. There Felagund had taken refuge
in the stronghold he had prepared against the evil day; and he
strengthened it, and dwelt in secret. Thither came Celegorn and
Curufin.
See commentary on QS $$117, 141.
30. Gwathfuin-Daidelos > Delduwath. See QS $138.
31. Radros > Radruin. In QS $ 139 the name is spelt Radhruin.
32. Added here:
Hurin of Hithlum was with Haleth; but he departed afterward
since the victory had made the journey possible, and returned to
his own folk.
See QS $$153 and 156 (footnote to the text). Subsequently after-
ward > soon after, and the words since the victory had made the
journey possible removed.
33. Bor > Bor, and Ulfand > Ulfang. See QS $151 and commentary.
34. Ulwar > Ulwarth. See QS $151 and commentary.
35. Nirnaith Dirnoth > Nirnaith Arnediad. See I V. 3 I 2 note 38.
36. Added here: Glorwendel his wife died in that year of grief. See
note 22.
37. the Mound of Slain > Cum-na-Dengin the Mound of Slain. See IV.
312 note 42.
38. Halmir > Haldir (the name of Orodreth's son in the Etymologies,
stem SKAL').
39. Gurtholfin > Gurtholf. See p.406.
40. Conqueror of Fate > Master of Fate.
41. Dwarves > Dwarfs (the only occurrence of the change in the text).
See commentary on QS $122.
42. Elboron and Elbereth > Elrun and Eldun (a hasty pencilled
change). See IV. 325 - 6 and the Etymologies, stem BARATH.
43. Added here: Chief of these was the slaying of Ungoliante. See the
commentary on annal 325.
44. Elrond the Half-elfin > Elrond Beringol, the Half-elven. See the
commentary on annal 325.
Commentary on the Later Annals of Beleriand.
Before the uprising of the Sun I take the words 'rebuilt his fortress of
Angband' to mean that that was the name of Melko's original stronghold;
see the commentary on AV z, annal 1000.
The statement that Melko 'brought forth Orcs and Balrogs' after his
return to Middle-earth is retained from AB 1 (where the word devised
was used), in contrast to AV 1 and 2, where 'he bred and gathered once
more his evil servants, Orcs and Balrogs'; see my discussion of this,
IV. 314.
The sentence concerning Thingol and Denithor enters from the AV
tradition (annal 2990).
The name Losgar of the place where the Telerian ships were burnt
occurs here for the first time (and the only time in the texts of this
period). The name had been used long before in the old tale of The
Cottage of Lost Play, where it meant 'Place of Flowers', the Gnomish
name of Alalminore 'Land of Elms' in Tol-eressea, and where it was
replaced by Car Lossion (I. 16, 21).
Annal 1-50. Here are the first occurrences of the names Region and
Neldoreth (which were also marked in on the initial drawing of the
Second Map, p. 409).
Annal 20 The presence of Green-elves at Mereth Aderthad is not
mentioned in AB 1.
Annal 52 In AB 1 (IV. 329) the departure of Turgon to Gondolin is
placed in annal 51 (as is all that follows concerning the regions over which
the Noldorin princes ruled during the Siege).
The return of the horses to Fingolfin at the settlement of the feud is a
new element in the story.
In the third paragraph of this annal is a clear reference to 'Maglor's
Gap' (unnamed). The region where 'the hills are low or fail', shown
clearly on the Second Map (though the name was never written in),
is implied by the lines on the Eastward Extension of the First Map
(IV. 231).
In the passage at the end of the annal concerning the Green-elves new
elements in their history appear: that they were kingless after the death of
Denithor, and that they had kindred who remained east of the Blue
Mountains. The speech of the two branches of this people will have an
important place in the linguistic history expounded in the Lhammas.
Annal 52 - 255 The earliest references in my father's writings to the
origin of speech among Men are in outlines for Gilfanon 's Tale, I. 236 - 7,
where it is told that the Dark Elf Nuin 'Father of Speech', who awakened
the first Men, taught them 'much of the Ilkorin tongue'. In S (IV. 20)
and Q (IV. 99) it is told, as here, that the first Men learned speech from
the Dark-elves.
The reference to 'many of the Fathers of Men' wandering westward
suggests a different application of the term, which elsewhere seems
always to be used specifically of Beor, Hador, and Haleth; so in annal
268, recording the death of Haleth, he is 'last of the Fathers of Men'.
Annal 65. The matter of this entry is not dated to a separate year in
AB 1 (IV. 331), but is contained in the annal 51 - 255, of the Siege
of Angband. It is said there only that 'some went forth and dwelt upon
the great isle of Balar.'
Annal 104. In this annal (combining matter concerning the Dwarves
from the old entries 51 - 255 and 104) is the first emergence of the legend
of Aule's making of the Dwarves, forestalling the plan of Iluvatar, in
longing to have those whom he might teach; but the old hostile view of
them (see IV. 174) finds expression in the remarkable assertion that they
'have no spirit indwelling, as have the Children of the Creator, and they
have skill but not art.' With the words 'they go back into the stone of the
mountains of which they were made' cf. the reference in Appendix A
(III) to The Lord of the Rings to 'the foolish opinion among Men... that
the Dwarves "grow out of stone".'
Annal 105. The phrase 'sent forth an army into the white North, and it
turned then west', which is not in the earlier form of the annal, makes the
route of this army clearer; see QS $103, and the note on the northern
geography pp. 270 - I.
Annal 220. The second version of AB i comes to an end with the
beginning of this annal - a hasty note concerning the unfriendliness of
the sons of Feanor towards Men, which was not taken up into AB z. We
here go back to the earlier version of AB i (IV. 297), the dates in AB 2
being of course a hundred years later.
There is here the first mention of the abandonment of their own
tongue by the Men of Hador's house; cf. the Lhammas, $10. Afterwards
the idea became important that they retained their own language; in The
Silmarillion (p. 148), whereas in the house of Hador 'only the Elven-
tongue was spoken', 'their own speech was not forgotten, and from it
came the common tongue of Numenor' (see further Unfinished Tales,
p. 215 note 19). But at this time the large linguistic conception did not
include the subsequent development of Adunaic. In the second version
of The Fall of Numenor ($2) the Numenoreans 'took on the speech of the
Blessed Realm, as it was and is in Eressea', and in The Lost Road (p. 68)
there is talk in Numenor of 'reviving the ancestral speech of Men'.
Annal 222. With this allusion to Turin's dark hair, not in AB i, cf. the
Lay of the Children of Hurin (III. 17): the black-haired boy / from the
beaten people.
Annal 255. On the story repeated from AB r, that Barahir rescued
Orodreth as well as Felagund in the Battle of Sudden Fire see under
Annal 256.
Annal 256. In AB 1 the date 155 is repeated here (see IV. 319). The
date 256 in AB 2 is presumably because the Battle of Sudden Fire began
at midwinter of the year 255.
The confusion in the story of Orodreth at this point is not less than
that in the earlier Annals. In AB r Orodreth with his brothers Angrod
and Egnor dwelt in Taur-na-Danion (in the second version, IV. 330,
Orodreth is specifically placed furthest east and nearest to the sons of
Feanor); thus when Celegorm and Curufin were defeated in the Battle of
Sudden Fire they 'fled with Orodreth' (annal 155), which must mean
that they took refuge with Felagund on Tol Sirion, for two years later,
when Morgoth captured Tol Sirion, all four went south to Nargothrond
(annal 157). Obviously in contradiction to this story, however, is the
statement earlier in 155 that Barahir and his men rescued Felagund and
Orodreth in the Battle of Sudden Fire; see my discussion, IV. 319.
In AB 2 (annal 255) it is again said that Barahir rescued Orodreth as
well as Felagund, apparently contradicting the statement in annal 52 that
Orodreth dwelt furthest east on Taur-na-Danion. But where AB i says
that Celegorm and Curufin, defeated, 'fled with Orodreth', in AB a
(annal 256) they fled unto Orodreth in the west of Taur-na-Danion'
(the word west being perfectly clear). In annal 257 AB 2 agrees with AB i
that all four retreated together to Nargothrond. It does not seem possible
to deduce a coherent narrative from AB z. Alterations to the manuscript
given in notes 10, 14, 25 and 29 show the later story.
The story of the sojourn of Haleth and Hurin in Gondolin scarcely
differs from that in AB 1, except in the point that in the older version the
men 'came upon some of Turgon's folk, and were brought into the secret
vale of Gondolin', whereas here they 'espied their secret entrance'.
It is not said in AB i that Turgon's messengers went also to the Isle of
Balar (where, according to annal 65 in AB 2, Elves from Nargothrond
dwelt), nor that the messengers were to ask for 'aid and pardon'.
Annal 257 The puzzling statement in AB 1, that 'Felagund and
Orodreth, together with Celegorm and Curufin, retreated to Nargoth-
rond, and made there a great hidden palace', is now clarified, or anyway
made consistent with the earlier annals. I suggested (IV. 3I9) that the
meaning might be that 'though Nargothrond had existed for more than a
hundred years as a Gnomish stronghold it was not until the Battle of
Sudden Fire that it was made into a great subterranean dwelling or
"palace", and the centre of Felagund's power'; and the words of AB i
here ('went unto Nargothrond, and strengthened it') support this.
The named members of Barahir's band are now increased by Gildor,
who was not included in the addition to AB i (IV. 311 note 23).
The concluding sentences of this annal introduce the story that
Morwen and Rian only escaped because they were staying in Hithlum at
the time, with their mothers' people; for the wives of Baragund and
Belegund were of Hador's house. In AB i they were sent into Hithlum at
the taking of Taur-na-Danion by Morgoth.
Annal 258. This is the first appearance of the story (The Silmarillion
p. 157) of the defeat of the Orcs in Brethil by the people of Haleth and
Beleg of Doriath; and this is the first occurrence of Brethil in a text as
written.
Annal 261. To this corresponds in AB i annal 160, not 161; but when
(in the course of writing QS) my father lengthened the Siege of Angband
by a further 200 years, and then entered the revised dates on the AB 2
manuscript, he changed 261 to 460, not 461.
Annal 263. AB i does not name the sons of Bor, nor state that they
followed Maidros and Maglor. Bor's son Boromir is the first bearer of this
name. Afterwards the Boromir of the Elder Days was the father of Bregor
father of Bregolas and Barahir.
Annal 263-4. The matter of the much longer annal 163 - 4 in AB 1 is in
AB 2 distributed into annals 264 and 265.
Annal 264. It is strange that my father should have written here that
Felagund was slain by Draugluin (who himself survived to be slain by
Huan). Of this there is no suggestion elsewhere - it is told in the Lay
of Leithian that Felagund slew the wolf that slew him in the dungeon
(III. 250, line 2625), and still more emphatically in the prose tale: he
wrestled with the werewolf, and slew it with his hands and teeth' (The
Silmarillion p. 174).
Annal 273. Gethron and Grithron: the two old men are not named in Q
or AB i; in S (IV. 28) they are Halog and Mailgond, their names in the
second version of the Lay of the Children of Hurin. Later their names
were Gethron and Crithnir, and it was Grithnir who died in Doriath,
Gethron who went back (Unfinished Tales pp. 73 - 4).
Annal 287. It might seem from the statement here (not found in
AB i) that Tuor 'came unto Hithlum seeking his kindred' that he was
born after Rian had crossed the mountains, wandering towards the
battlefield, and that fifteen years later he came back; but there is no
suggestion of this anywhere else. In AB i, annal 173, it is said that 'Tuor
grew up wild among fugitive Elves nigh the shores of Mithrim', and
though this is omitted in AB z the idea was undoubtedly present; the
explanation of the words 'came unto Hithlum' is then that Mithrim and
Hithlum were distinct lands, even if the one is comprised within the
other (cf. QS $$88, 106).
Annal 290-5. As AB i was first written here, it was as a result of the loss
of the 'ancient secrecy' of Nargothrond in Turin's time that Morgoth
'learned of the stronghold'; but this was early changed (IV. 3 I 3 note 53)
to 'learned of the growing strength of the stronghold', which looks as if
my father was retreating from the idea that Nargothrond had till then
been wholly concealed from Morgoth. AB 2 is explicit that Nargothrond
was 'revealed' to him by Turin's policy of open war. See IV. 323 - 4.
Annal 292. In Q (IV. 140) Isfin and Meglin went to Gondolin together.
AB i is not explicit: 'Meglin comes to Gondolin'. AB z reverts to the old
story in S (IV. 35), that Meglin was sent to Gondolin by his mother.
Annal 295. It is now said expressly, what is implied in AB i, that
Glomund approached Nargothrond by way of Hithlum, with the
addition that he 'did great evil' there; see IV. 324. Here first appears the
name Tum-halad, but the site of the battle, to which the name refers, was
still east of Narog, not between Narog and Ginglith.
For an explanation of why the havens of Brithombar and Eglorest were
in ruins see IV. 324.
Annal 296. It was said also in AB x that Glomund returned to Nar-
gothrond in the year following the sack, though I did not there remark on
it. I cannot explain this. There is no suggestion elsewhere that after
Turin had departed on his journey to Hithlum Glomund did other than
crawl back into the halls of Nargothrond and lie down upon the treasure.
Annal 299. Celebros, here rendered 'Silver Rain', has previously been
translated 'Foam-silver', 'Silver Foam'; see the Etymologies, stem ROS'.
Annal 325. The early addition made to this annal (note 43), 'Chief of
these was the slaying of Ungoliante', is notable. This story goes back
through S and Q ($17) to the very beginning (II. 254, etc.), but it does
not appear again. It is told in S and Q ($4) that when Morgoth returned
with Ungoliante to Middle-earth she was driven away by the Balrogs
'into the uttermost South', with the addition in Q (and QS $62) 'where
she long dwelt'; but in the recasting and expansion of this passage made
long after it is reported as a legend that 'she ended long ago, when in her
uttermost famine she devoured herself at last' (The Silmarillion p. 81).
The surname given to Elrond in another addition (note 44), Beringol,
is not found again, but the form Peringol appears in the Etymologies,
stem PER, of which Beringol is a variant (see p. 298, note on Gorgoroth).
It is convenient to notice here a later, hastily pencilled change, which
altered the passage to read thus:
The Peringiul, the Half-elven, were born of Elwing wife of Earendel,
while Earendel was at sea, the twin brethren Elrond and Elros.
The order was then inverted to 'Elros and Elrond'. No doubt at the same
time, in annal 329 'Elrond was taken' was changed to 'Elros and Elrond
were taken'. Elros has appeared in late additions to the text of Q (IV. 155),
which were inserted after the arising of the legend of Numenor, and by
emendation to the second version of The Fall of Numenor (p. 34), where
he replaces Elrond as the first ruler.
Annal 340. It is not told in AB i that Maidros and Maglor and their
people fled in the end from Amon Ereb to the Isle of Balar. In Q nothing
is told of the actual habitation of Maidros and Maglor during the final
years.
Annal 350 Some new (and unique) elements appear in the account in
AB z of the invasion out of the West. The camp of Fionwe beside Sirion
(annal 347) does not appear in AB i (nor in Q or QS, where nothing is
said of the landing of Fionwe or of the Battle of Eglorest), nor is it said
there that Morgoth crossed Taur-na-Fuin and that there was a long battle
on the banks of Sirion where the host of Valinor attempted to cross; in
the second version of the story in Q $18 (repeated in QS, p. 329) it is
indeed strongly suggested that Morgoth never left Angband until he was
dragged out in chains.
After the words 'many perished in the ruin of the land' my father
pencilled in the following sentence:
and the sea roared in and covered all but the tops of the mountains, and
only part of Ossiriand remained.
This addition is of altogether uncertain date, but it bears on matters
discussed earlier in this book and may be conveniently considered here.
What little was ever told of the Drowning of Beleriand is very difficult
to interpret; the idea shifted and changed, but my father never at any
stage clearly expounded it. In the Quenta (cited on p. 22) and the Annals
there is a picture of cataclysmic destruction brought about by 'the fury of
the adversaries' in the Great Battle between the host of Valinor and the
power of Morgoth. The last words of the Annals, retained in AB z, are
'Beleriand was no more' (which could however be interpreted to mean
that Beleriand as the land of the Gnomes and the scene of their heroic
wars had no further history); in Q there remained 'great isles', where the
fleets were built in which the Elves of Middle-earth set sail into the West
- and these may well be the British Isles (see IV. 199). In the concluding
passage ($ 14) of The Fall of Numenor the picture is changed (see p. 23),
for there it is said (most fully in the second version, p. 28) that the name
Beleriand was preserved, and that it remained a land 'in a measure
blessed'; it was to Beleriand that many of the Numenorean exiles came,
and there that Elendil ruled and made the Last Alliance with the Elves
who remained in Middle-earth ('and these abode then mostly in
Beleriand'). There is no indication here of the extent of Beleriand
remaining above the sea - and no mention of islands; all that is said is that
it had been 'changed and broken' in the war against Morgoth. Later (at
some time during the writing of The Lord of the Rings) my father rewrote
this passage (see pp. 33 - 4), and there had now entered the idea that the
Drowning of Beleriand took place at the fall of Numenor and the World
Made Round - a far more overwhelming cataclysm, surely, than even the
battle of the divine adversaries:
Now that land had been broken in the Great Battle with Morgoth; and
at the fall of Numenor and the change of the fashion of the world it
perished; for the sea covered all that was left save some of the
mountains that remained as islands, even up to the feet of Eredlindon.
But that land where Luthien had dwelt remained, and was called
Lindon.
Into these successive phases of the idea it is extremely difficult to find a
place for the sentence added to this annal in AB z. On the one hand, it
describes the Drowning in the same way as does the later passage just
cited - a part of Ossiriand and some high mountains alone left above the
surface of the sea; on the other, it refers not to the time of the fall of
Numenor and the World Made Round, but to the Great Battle against
Morgoth. Various explanations are possible, but without knowing when
the sentence was written they can only be extremely speculative and fine-
spun, and I shall not rehearse them. It is in any case conceivable that this
addition is an example of the casual, disconnected emendations that my
father sometimes made when looking through an earlier manuscript -
emendations that were not part of a thoroughgoing preparation for a new
version, but rather isolated pointers to the need for revision. It may be
that he jotted down this sentence long after - perhaps when considering
the writing of the Grey Annals after The Lord of the Rings was completed,
and that its real reference is not to the Great Battle at all but to the time
after the fall of Numenor.
Annal 397. It is not said in AB i that the Iron Crown was beaten into
fetters. In Q ($18) it was made into a collar for Morgoth's neck.
IV.
AINULINDALE.
In all the works given in this history so far, there has been only one
account of the Creation of the World, and that is in the old tale of The
Music of the Ainur, written while my father was at Oxford on the staff of
the Dictionary in 1918 - 20 (1. 45). The 'Sketch of the Mythology' (S)
makes no reference to it (IV. i i); Q and AV i only mention in their
opening sentences 'the making of the World', the making of 'all things' by
Iluvatar (IV. 78, 263); and AV z adds nothing further. But now, among
the later writings of the 1930s (see pp. 107 - 8), he turned again to the tale
told by Rumil to Eriol in the garden of Mar Vanwa Tyalieva in Kortirion,
and wrote a new version; and it is remarkable that in this case he went
back to the actual text of the original Music of the Ainur. The new version
was composed with the 'Lost Tale' in front of him, and indeed he
followed it fairly closely, though rephrasing it at every point - a great
contrast to the apparent jump between the rest of the 'Valinorean'
narrative in the Lost Tales and the 'Sketch', where it seems possible that
he wrote out the condensed synopsis without re-reading them (cf. IV.
41-2).
The 'cosmogonical myth', as he called it long after (I. 45), was thus
already, as it would remain, a separate work, independent of 'The
Silmarillion' proper; and I believe that its separation can be attributed to
the fact that there was no mention of the Creation in S, where the Quenta
tradition began, and no account of it in Q. But QS has a new opening, a
brief passage concerning the Great Music and the Creation of the World,
and this would show that the Ainulindale' was already in existence, even
were this not demonstrable on other grounds (see note 20).
But the Ainulindale' consists in fact of two separate manuscripts. The
first, which simply for the purposes of this chapter I will call 'A', is
extremely rough, and is full of changes made at the time of composition -
these being for the most part readings from the old Lost Tales version
which were written down but at once struck out and replaced. There is
neither title-page nor title, but at the beginning my father later scribbled
The Music of the Ainur. The second text, which I will here call 'B', is a fair
copy of the first, and in its original form a handsome manuscript, without
hesitations or changes in the act of writing; and although there are a great
many differences between the two the great majority of them are minor
stylistic alterations, improvements of wording and the fall of sentences.
I see no reason to think that there was any interval between them; and I
think therefore that A can be largely passed over here, and comparison of
the substance made directly between the very finished second text B and
the original Tale of the Music of the Ainur; noting however that in many
details of expression A was closer to the old Tale. More substantial
differences between A and B are given in the notes.
B has a title-page closely associated in form with those of the
Ambarkanta and the Lhammas, works also ascribed to Rumil; see
p. 108.
Ainulindale.
The Music of the Ainur.
This was written by Rumil of Tun.
I give now the text of this version as it was originally written (the
manuscript became the vehicle of massive rewriting many years later,
when great changes in the cosmological conception had entered).
The Music of the Ainur
and the Coming of the Valar.
These are the words that Rumil spake to AElfwine concerning
the beginning of the World.'
There was Iluvatar, the All-father, and he made first the Ainur,
the holy ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they
were with him before Time. And he spoke to them, propounding
to them themes of music, and they sang before him, and he was
glad. But for a long while they sang only each alone, or but few
together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only
that part of the mind of Iluvatar from which he came, and in the
understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as
they listened they came to deeper understanding, and grew in
unison and harmony.
And it came to pass that Iluvatar called together all the Ainur,
and declared to them a mighty theme, unfolding to them things
greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the
glory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the
Ainur, so that they bowed before Iluvatar and were silent.
Then said Iluvatar: 'Of the theme that I have declared to you,
but only incomplete and unadorned, I desire now that ye make in
harmony together a great music. And since I have kindled you
with the Fire, ye shall exercise your powers in adorning this
theme, each with his own thoughts and devices. But I will sit and
hearken and be glad that through you great beauty has been
wakened into song.'
Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and
pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless
choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of Iluvatar
to a great music; and a sound arose of endless interchanging
melodies, woven in harmonies, that passed beyond hearing both
in the depths and in the heights, and the places of the dwelling of
Iluvatar were filled to overflowing, and the music and the echo of
the music went out into the Void, and it was not void. Never was
there before, nor has there since been, a music so immeasurable,
though it has been said that a greater still shall be made before
Iluvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Iluvatar
after the end of days.(2) Then shall the themes of Iluvatar be played
aright, and take being in the moment of their playing, for all shall
then understand his intent in their part, and shall know the
comprehension each of each, and Iluvatar shall give to their
thoughts the secret Fire, being well pleased.
But now the All-father sat and hearkened, and for a great while
it seemed good to him, for the flaws in the music were few. But as
the theme progressed, it came into the heart of Melko' to inter-
weave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with
the theme of Iluvatar; for he sought therein to increase the power
and glory of the part assigned to himself. To Melko among the
Ainur had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge,
and he had a share in all the gifts of his brethren," and he had gone
often alone into the void places seeking the secret Fire that gives
life. For desire grew hot within him to bring into being things of
his own, and it seemed to him that Iluvatar took no thought for the
Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness.' Yet he found not the
Fire, for it is with Iluvatar, and he knew it not. But being alone he
had begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his
brethren.
Some of these he now wove into his music, and straightway
discord arose about him, and many that sang nigh him grew
despondent and their thought was disturbed and their music
faltered; but some began to attune their music to his rather than to
the thought which they had at first. And the discord of Melko
spread ever wider and the music darkened, for the thought of
Melko came from the outer dark whither Iluvatar had not yet
turned the light of his face. But Iluvatar sat and hearkened, until
all that could be heard was like unto a storm, and a formless wrath
that made war upon itself in endless night.
Then Iluvatar was grieved, but he smiled, and he lifted up his
left hand, and a new theme began amid the storm, like and yet
unlike the former theme, and it gathered power and had new
sweetness. But the discord of Melko arose in uproar against it, and 1
there was again a war of sound in which music was lost. Then
Iluvatar smiled no longer, but wept, and he raised his right hand;
and behold, a third theme grew amid the confusion, and it was
unlike the others, and more powerful than all. And it seemed at
last that there were two musics progressing at one time before the
seat of Iluvatar, and they were utterly at variance. One was deep
and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with unquenchable
sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly came. The other had grown
now to a unity and system, yet an imperfect one, save in so far as it
derived still from the eldest theme of Iluvatar; but it was loud, and
vain, and endlessly repeated, and it had little harmony, but rather
a clamorous unison as of many trumpets braying upon one note.
And it essayed to drown the other music by the violence of its
voice, but it seemed ever that its most triumphant notes were
taken by the other and woven into its pattern.'
In the midst of this strife, whereat the halls of Iluvatar shook
and a tremor ran through the dark places, Iluvatar raised up both
his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the abyss, higher than
the firmament, more glorious than the sun, piercing as the light of
the eye of Iluvatar, the music ceased.
Then said Iluvatar: 'Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest
among them is Melko; but that he may know, and all the Ainur,
that I am Iluvatar, those things that ye have sung and played, lo! I
have caused to be. Not in the musics that ye make in the heavenly
regions, as a joy to me and a play unto yourselves, but rather to
have shape and reality, even as have ye Ainur. And behold I shall
love these things that are come of my song even as I love the Ainur
who are of my thought. And thou, Melko, shalt see that no theme
may be played that has not its uttermost source in me, nor can any
alter the music in my despite. For he that attempts this shall but
aid me in devising things yet more wonderful, which he himself
has not imagined. Through Melko have terror as fire, and sorrow
like dark waters, wrath like thunder, and evil as far from my light
as the uttermost depths of the dark places come into the design. In
the confusion of sound were made pain and cruelty, devouring
flame and cold without mercy, and death without hope. Yet he
shall see that in the end this redounds only to the glory of the
world, and this world shall be called of all the deeds of Iluvatar the
mightiest and most lovely.'
Then the Ainur were afraid, and understood not fully what was
said; and Melko was filled with shame and with the anger of
shame. But Iluvatar arose in splendour and went forth from the
fair regions that he had made for the Ainur and came into the dark
places; and the Ainur followed him.'
But when they came into the midmost Void they beheld a sight
of surpassing beauty, where before had been emptiness. And
Iluvatar said: 'Behold your music! For of my will it has taken
shape, and even now the history of the world is beginning. Each
will find contained within the design that is mine the adornments
that he himself devised; and Melko will discover there those
things which he thought to bring out new from his own heart, and
will see them to be but a part of the whole, and tributary to its
glory. But I have given being unto all.' And lo! the secret Fire
burned in the heart of the World.
Then the Ainur marvelled seeing the world globed amid the
Void, and it was sustained therein, but not of it. And looking upon
light they were joyful, and seeing many colours their eyes were
filled with delight; but because of the roaring of the sea they felt a
great unquiet. And they observed the air and winds, and the
matters whereof the middle-earth was made,' of iron and stone
and silver and gold and many substances: but of all these water
they most greatly praised. And it is said that in water there lives
yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance
else that is in the world, and many of the Children of Iluvatar
hearken still unsated to the voices of the sea, and yet know not for
what they listen.
Now of water had that Ainu whom we call Ulmo mostly
thought, and of all most deeply was he instructed by Iluvatar in
music. But of the airs and winds Manwe most had pondered, who
was the noblest of the Ainur. Of the fabric of earth had Aule
thought, to whom Iluvatar had given skill and knowledge scarce
less than to Melko; but the delight and pride of Aule was in the
process of making, and in the thing made, and not in possession
nor in himself, wherefore he was a maker and teacher and not a
master, and none have called him lord. (10)
Now Iluvatar spake to Ulmo and said: 'Seest thou not how
Melko has made war upon thy realm? He has bethought him of
biting cold without moderation, and has not destroyed the beauty
of thy fountains, nor of thy clear pools. Behold the snow, and the
cunning work of frost! Behold the towers and mansions of ice!
Melko has devised heats and fire without restraint, and has not
dried up thy desire, nor utterly quelled the music of the sea.
Behold rather the height and glory of the clouds, and the ever-
changing mists and vapours, and listen to the fall of rain upon the
earth. And in these clouds thou art drawn yet nearer to thy brother
Manwe whom thou lovest.'(11)
Then Ulmo answered: 'Yea, truly, water is become now fairer
than my heart imagined, neither had my secret thought conceived
the snow-flake, nor in all my music was contained the falling of the
rain. Lo! I will seek Manwe, that he and I may make melodies for
ever and ever to thy delight! ' And Manwe and Ulmo have from the
beginning been allied, and in all things served most faithfully
the purpose of Iluvatar.
And even as Iluvatar spake to Ulmo, the Ainur beheld the
unfolding of the world, and the beginning of that history which
Iluvatar had propounded to them as a theme of song. Because of
their memory of the speech of Iluvatar and the knowledge that
each has of the music which he played the Ainur know much of
what is to come, and few things are unforeseen by them. Yet some
things there are that they cannot see, neither alone nor taking
counsel together. But even as they gazed, many became en-
amoured of the beauty of the world, and engrossed in the history
which came there to being, and there was unrest among them.
Thus it came to pass that some abode still with Iluvatar beyond
the world, and those were such as had been content in their
playing with the thought of the All-father's design, caring only to
set it forth as they had received it. But others, and among them
were many of the wisest and fairest of the Ainur, craved leave of
Iluvatar to enter into the world and dwell there, and put on the
form and raiment of Time." For they said: 'We desire to have the
guidance of the fair things of our dreams, which thy might has
made to have a life apart, and we would instruct both Elves and
Men in their wonder and uses, when the times come for thy
Children to appear upon earth.' And Melko feigned that he
desired to control the violence and turmoils, of heat and of cold,
that he had caused within the world, but he intended rather to
usurp the realms of all the Ainur and subdue to his will both Elves
and Men; for he was jealous of the gifts with which Iluvatar
purposed to endow them.
For Elves and Men were devised by Iluvatar alone, nor, since
they comprehended not fully that part of the theme when it was
propounded to them, did any of the Ainur dare in their music to
add anything to their fashion; and for that reason these races are
called the Children of Iluvatar, and the Ainur are rather their
elders and their chieftains than their masters. Wherefore in
their meddling with Elves and Men the Ainur have endeavoured
at times to force them, when they would not be guided, but
seldom to good result, were it of good or evil intent. The dealings
of the Ainur have been mostly with the Elves, for Iluvatar made
the Elves most like in nature to the Ainur, though less in might
and stature; but to Men he gave strange gifts.
Knowing these things and seeing their hearts, Iluvatar granted
the desire of the Ainur, and it is not said that he was grieved. Then
those that wished descended, and entered into the world. But this
condition Iluvatar made, or it is the necessity of their own love (I
know not which), that their power should thenceforth be con-
tained and bounded by the world, and fail with it; and his purpose
with them afterward Iluvatar has not revealed.
Thus the Ainur came into the world, whom we call the Valar, or
the Powers, and they dwelt in many places: in the firmament, or in
the deeps of the sea, or upon earth, or in Valinor upon the borders
of earth. And the four greatest were Melko and Manwe and Ulmo
and Aule.
Melko for a long while walked alone, and he wielded both fire
and frost, from the Walls of the World to the deepest furnaces that
are under it, and whatsoever is violent or immoderate, sudden or
cruel, is laid to his charge, and for the most part justly. Few of the
divine race went with him, and of the Children of Iluvatar none
have followed him since, save as slaves, and his companions were
of his own making: the Orcs and demons that long troubled the
earth, tormenting Men and Elves."
Ulmo has dwelt ever in the Outer Ocean, and governed the
flowing of all waters, and the courses of all rivers, the replenish-
ment of springs and the distilling of rain and dew throughout the
world. In the deep places he gives thought to music great and
terrible; and the echo thereof runs through all the veins of the
world, and its joy is as the joy of a fountain in the sun whose wells
are the wells of unfathomed sorrow at the foundations of the
world. The Teleri learned much of him, and for this reason their
music has both sadness and enchantment. Salmar came with him,
who made the conches of Ulmo;(15) and Osse and Uinen, to whom
4 gave control of waves and of the inner seas; and many other
spirits beside.
Aule dwelt in Valinor, in the making of which he had most part,
and he wrought many things both openly and in secret. Of him
comes the love and the knowledge of the substances of earth, both
tillage and husbandry, and the crafts of weaving and of beating
metals and of shaping wood. Of him comes the science of earth
and its fabric and the lore of its elements, their blending and
mutation.(16) Of him the Noldor learned much in after days, and
they are the wisest and most skilled of the Elves. But they added
much to his teaching and delighted much in tongues and alphabets
and in the figures of broidery, of drawing and carving. For art was
the especial gift of the Children of Iluvatar. And the Noldor
achieved the invention of gems, which were not in the world
before them; and the fairest of all gems were the Silmarils, and
they are lost.
But the highest and holiest of the Valar was Manwe Sulimo, and
he dwelt in Valinor, sitting in majesty upon his throne; and his
throne was upon the pinnacle of Taniquetil, which is the highest
of the mountains of the world, and stands upon the borders of
Valinor. Spirits in the shape of hawks and of eagles flew ever to
and from his house, whose eyes could see to the depths of the sea
and could pierce the hidden caverns under the world, whose wings
could bear them through the three regions of the firmament
beyond the lights of heaven to the edge of darkness;(18) and they
brought word to him of well nigh all that passed: yet some things
are hid even from the eyes of Manwe.
With him was Varda the most beautiful. Now the Ainur that
came into the world took shape and form, such even as have the
Children of Iluvatar who were born of the world; but their shape
and form is greater and more lovely and it comes of the knowledge
and desire of the substance of the world rather than of that
substance itself, and it cannot always be perceived, though they be
present. And some of them, therefore, took form and temper as of
female, and some as of male.(19) But Varda was the Queen of the
Valar, and was the spouse of Manwe; and she wrought the stars,
and her beauty is high and aweful, and she is named in reverence.
The children of Manwe and Varda are Fionwe Urion their son and
Ilmar their daughter; and these are the eldest of the Children of
the Gods.(20) They dwell with Manwe, and with them are a great
host of fair spirits in great happiness. Elves and Men love Manwe
most of all the Valar,(21) for he is not fain of his own honour, nor
jealous of his own power, but ruleth all to peace. The Linda(22) he
loved most of all the Elves, and of him they received song and
poesy; for poesy is the delight of Manwe, and the song of words is
his music. Behold the raiment of Manwe is blue, and blue is the
fire of his eyes, and his sceptre is of sapphire; and he is the king in
this world of Gods and Elves and Men, and the chief defence
against Melko.
After the departure of the Valar there was silence for an age, and
Iluvatar sat alone in thought. Then Iluvatar spake, and he said:
'Behold I love the world, and it is a mansion for Elves and Men.
But the Elves shall be the fairest of earthly creatures, and they
shall have and shall conceive more beauty than all my children,
and they shall have greater bliss in this world. But to Men I will
give a new gift.'
Therefore he willed that the hearts of Men should seek beyond
the world and find no rest therein; but they should have a virtue to
fashion their life, amid the powers and chances of the world,
beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else.
And of their operation everything should be, in shape and deed,
completed, and the world fulfilled unto the last and smallest. Lo!
even we, Elves, have found to our sorrow that Men have a strange
power for good or ill, and for turning things aside from the
purpose of Valar or of Elves; so that it is said among us that Fate is
not master of the children of Men; yet are they blind, and their
joy is small, which should be great.
But Iluvatar knew that Men, being set amid the turmoils of the
powers of the world, would stray often, and would not use their
gift in harmony; and he said: 'These too, in their time, shall find
that all they do redounds at the end only to the glory of my work.'
Yet the Elves say that Men are often a grief even unto Manwe, who
knows most of the mind of Iluvatar.(23) For Men resemble Melko
most of all the Ainur, and yet have ever feared and hated him.(24) It
is one with this gift of freedom that the children of Men dwell only
a short space in the world alive, and yet are not bound to it, nor
shall perish utterly for ever. Whereas the Eldar remain until the
end of days, and their love of the world is deeper, therefore, and
more sorrowful. But they die not, till the world dies, unless they
are slain or waste in grief - for to both these seeming deaths are
they subject - nor does age subdue their strength, unless one grow
weary of ten thousand centuries; and dying they are gathered in
the halls of Mandos in Valinor, whence often they return and are
reborn in their children. But the sons of Men die indeed. Yet it is
said that they will join in the Second Music of the Ainur,(25) whereas
Iluvatar has not revealed what he purposes for Elves and Valar
after the world's end; and Melko has not discovered it.
NOTES.
1. There is nothing corresponding to this prefatory sentence in the
draft text A. It is notable that AElfwine still heard the story of the
Music of the Ainur from Rumil's own lips in Tol-eressea, as he did
in the Lost Tales.
2. The Tale has here: 'by the choirs of both Ainur and the sons of Men
after the Great End.' Both texts of the new version have: 'by the
choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Iluvatar after the end of
days.' On this see I. 63, where I suggested that the change in the
present version may have been unintentional, in view of the last
sentence of the text.
3. A has here: 'sitting upon the left hand of Iluvatar'.
4. The Tale has here: 'some of the greatest gifts of power and wisdom
and knowledge'; A has 'many of the greatest gifts of power and
knowledge'. The statement in B that Melko had 'the greatest gifts of
power and knowledge' is the first unequivocal statement of the idea
that Melko was the mightiest of all the Ainur; although in the Tale
(I. 54) Iluvatar says that 'among them [the Ainur] is Melko the most
powerful in knowledge' (where the new version has 'mightiest
among them is Melko' (p. 158)). In Q it is said (IV. 79) that 'Very
mighty was he made by Iluvatar, and some of the powers of all the
Valar he possessed' (cf. QS $ 10). In The Lost Road (p. 63) he was
'the eldest in the thought of Iluvatar', whereas in QS $10 he was
'coeval with Manwe'.
5. This sentence, from 'and it seemed to him', is not in A.
6. From this point a page is lost from the A manuscript. See note 7.
7. Here A takes up again after the missing page. It will be seen that in
this passage B is very close to the Tale (I. 54 - 5), and A may be
supposed to have been even closer.
8. The Tale has here: 'One thing only have I added, the fire that giveth
Life and Reality'; A has: 'But this I have added: life.'
9. A has 'a middle-earth' (in the Tale 'the Earth'). The use of 'middle-
earth' (which probably first appears in AV 1, IV. 264) here is
curious and I cannot account for it; there seems no reason to specify
the middle lands, between the seas, to the exclusion of the lands of
the West and East. But the reading survived through the post-Lord
of the Rings versions of the Ainulindale'; the change in The Sil-
marillion (p. 19) to 'the matters of which Arda was made' was
editorial.
10. This sentence, from 'but the delight and pride of Aule', is not in A.
Both A and B have Iluvatar speak to Ulmo of 'thy brother Manwe'.
The words 'and put on the form and raiment of Time' are not in A.
13. This notable sentence ('Few of the divine race...') is not in A.
14. A still closely echoed the passage in the Tale: 'In the deeps he
bethinks him of music great and strange, and yet full of sorrow (and
in this he has aid from Manwe).' - On 'the veins of the world' see
IV. 255.
15. Salmar appears here in the original Music of the Ainur and elsewhere
in the Lost Tales, but in no subsequent text until now. This is the
first mention of his being the maker of the conches of Ulmo.
16. This sentence is not in A.
17. A has here: 'For art was the especial gift of the Eldar.' The term
Eldar is presumably used here in the old sense, i.e. 'Elves', as again
also in the last paragraph of the text; cf. AV 2, annal 2000 and
commentary.
18. This sentence, from 'whose wings could bear them', is not in A. For
the three regions of the firmament (Vista, Ilmen, Vaiya) see the
diagrams accompanying the Ambarkanta, IV. 243, 245.
19. This passage replaces the following briefer wording of A: 'Now the
Ainur that came into the world took shape and form, such even as
the Children of Iluvatar who were born in the world; but greater
and more beautiful, and some were in form and mind as women and
some as men.' This is the first statement in my father's writings
concerning the 'physical' (or rather 'perceptible') form of the Valar,
and the meaning of gender as applied to them.
20. Fionwe Urion reappears from the Lost Tales; in the previous texts of
the 193Os he is Fionwe simply, as also in QS ($4). On his 'parentage'
see I V. 68. - Where B has Ilmar A has Ild Merilde' Ildume' Ind Este',
struck out one after the other, and then Ilmar (Ild and Ind are
perhaps uncompleted names). This was obviously where the name
llmar(e) arose (replacing Erinti of the Lost Tales), and it is thus
shown that the Ainulindale' preceded QS, which has Ilmare' as first
written ($4). A final - e was added, probably early, to Ilmar in B.
The occurrence of Este' among the rejected names in A is curious,
since Este already appears in the certainly earlier A V i as the wife of
Lorien; presumably my father was momentarily inclined to give
the name another application.
The statements that Fionwe and Ilmar(e) are the eldest of the
Children of the Gods, and that they dwell with Manwe, are not in A.
21. A retains the reading of the Tale, 'and Men love Manwe most of all
the Valar.'
22. A has: 'The Lindar whom Ingwe ruled'; cf. the Tale: 'The Teleri
whom Inwe ruled.'
23. A has: 'Yet the Eldar say that the thought of Men is often a grief to
Manwe, and even to Iluvatar.'
24. After 'feared and hated him' A (deriving closely from the Tale) has:
'And if the gift of freedom was the envy and amazement of the
Ainur, the patience of Iluvatar is beyond their understanding.'
25. This passage is somewhat different in A: 'whereas the Eldar remain
until the end of days, unless they are slain or waste in grief - for to
both these deaths they are subject - nor does age subdue their
strength, unless one grow weary in a thousand centuries; and dying
they are gathered in the halls of Mandos in Valinor, and some are
reborn in their children. But the sons of Men will it is said join in the
Second Music of the Ainur,' &c. In changing 'a thousand centuries'
to 'ten thousand centuries' my father was going back to the Tale
(I. 59).
On the mention specifically of Men at the Second Music of the
Ainur, which goes back to the Tale, see note z.
It will be seen that while every sentence of the original Tale of the Music
of the Ainur was rewritten, and many new elements entered, the central
difference between the oldest version and that in the published Sil-
marillion still survived at this time: 'the Ainur's first sight of the World
was in its actuality, not as a Vision that was taken away from them and
only given existence in the words of Iluvatar: Ea! Let these things Be! '
(I. 62).
V.
THE LHAMMAS.
There are three versions of this work, all good clear manuscripts, and I
think that all three were closely associated in time. I shall call the first
Lhammas A, and the second, developed directly from it, Lhammas B;
the third is distinct and very much shorter, and bears the title
Lammasethen. Lhammas A has now no title-page, but it seems likely
that a rejected title-page on the reverse of that of B in fact belonged to it.
This reads:
The Lammas.
Or 'Account of Tongues' that Pengolod of Gondolin wrote
afterward in Tol-eressea, using in part the work of Rumil the
sage of Kor.
The title-page of Lhammas B reads:
The 'Lhammas'.
This is the 'Account of Tongues' which Pengolod of Gondolin
wrote in later days in Tol-eressea, using the work of Rumil the
sage of Tun. This account AElfwine saw when he came into
the West
At the head of the page is written: 3. Silmarillion . At this stage the
Lhammas, together with the Annals, was to be a part of 'The Silmaril-
lion' in a larger sense (see p. 202).
The second version relates to the first in a characteristic way; closely
based on the first, but with a great many small shifts of wording and some
rearrangements, and various more or less important alterations of sub-
stance. In fact, much of Lhammas B is too close to A to justify the space
required to give both, and in any case the essentials of the linguistic
history are scarcely modified in the second version; I therefore give
Lhammas B only, but interesting points of divergence are noticed in the
commentary. The separate Lammasethen version is also given in full.
In order to make reference to the very packed text easier I divide it,
without manuscript authority, into numbered sections (as with the
Quenta in Vol. IV), and the commentary follows these divisions.
Associated with the text of Lhammas A and B respectively are two
'genealogical' tables, The Tree of Tongues, both of which are reproduced
here (pp. 169 - 70). The later form of the Tree will be found to agree
in almost all particulars with the text printed; differing features in the
earlier form are discussed in the commentary.
Various references are made in the text to 'the Quenta'. In $5 the
reference (made only in lhammas A, see the commentary) is associated
with the name Kalakilya (the Pass of Light), and this name occurs in QS
but not in Q. Similarly in $6 'It is elsewhere told how Sindo brother of
Elwe, lord of the Teleri, strayed from his kindred': the story of Thingol's
disappearance and enchantment by Melian has of course been told
elsewhere, but in Q he is not named Sindo, whereas in QS he is. It seems
therefore that these references to the Quenta are to QS rather than to Q,
though they do not demonstrate that my father had reached these
passages in the actual writing of QS when he was composing the
Lhammas; but that question is not important, since the new names
themselves had already arisen, and therefore associate the Lhammas with
the new version of 'The Silmarillion'.
There follows now the text of Lhammas B. The manuscript was
remarkably little emended subsequently. Such few changes as were
made are introduced into the body of the text but shown as such.
Of the Valian Tongue and its Descendants.
1.
From the beginning the Valar had speech, and after they came
into the world they wrought their tongue for the naming and
glorifying of all things therein. In after ages at their appointed
time the Qendi (who are the Elves) awoke beside Kuivienen, the
Waters of Awakening, under the stars in the midst of Middle-
earth.
There they were found by Orome, Lord of Forests, and of him
they learned after their capacity the speech of the Valar; and all the
tongues that have been derived thence may be called Oromian or
Quendian. The speech of the Valar changes little, for the Valar do
not die; and before the Sun and Moon it altered not from age to
age in Valinor. But when the Elves learned it, they changed it from
the first in the learning, and softened its sounds, and they added
many words to it of their own liking and devices even from the
beginning. For the Elves love the making of words, and this has
ever been the chief cause of the change and variety of their
tongues.
2.
Now already in their first dwellings the Elves were divided into
three kindreds, whose names are now in Valinorian form: the
Lindar (the fair), the Noldor (the wise), and the Teleri (the last,
for these were the latest to awake). The Lindar dwelt most
(The Tree of Tongues (earlier form).)
westerly; and the Noldor were the most numerous; and the Teleri
who dwelt most easterly were scattered in the woods, for even
from their awakening they were wanderers and lovers of freedom.
When Orome led forth the hosts of the Elves on their march
westward, some remained behind and desired not to go, or heard
not the call to Valinor. These are named the Lembi, those that
lingered, and most were of Telerian race. / But those that followed
Orome are called the Eldar, those that departed. [This sentence
struck out and carefully emended to read: But Orome named the
Elves Eldar or 'star-folk', and this name was after borne by all that
(The Tree of Tongues (later form).)
followed him, both the Avari (or 'departing') who forsook Middle-
earth, and those who in the end remained behind (changed from
who in the end remained in Beleriand, the Ilkorindi of Doriath
and the Falas).] But not all of the Eldar came to Valinor or to the
city of the Elves in the land of the Gods upon the hill of Kor. For
beside the Lembi, that came never into the West of the Hither
Lands until ages after, there were the folk of the Teleri that
remained in Beleriand as is told hereafter, and the folk of the
Noldor that strayed upon the march and came also later into the
east of Beleriand. These are the Ilkorindi that are accounted
among the Eldar, but came not beyond the Great Seas to Kor
while still the Two Trees bloomed. Thus came the first sundering
of the tongues of the Elves, into Eldarin and Lemberin; for the
Eldar and Lembi did not meet again for many ages, nor until their
languages were wholly estranged.
3.
On the march to the West the Lindar went first, and the chief
house among them was the house of Ingwe, high-king of the
Eldalie, and the oldest of all Elves, for he first awoke. His house
and people are called the Ingwelindar or Ingwi. The march began
when the Elves had dwelt for about thirty Valian years in the
Hither Lands, and ten more Valian years passed, ere the first
companies of the Lindar reached the Falasse, that is the western
shores of the Hither Lands, where Beleriand lay of old. Now each
Valian year in the days of the Trees was as ten years now are, but
before the making of the Sun and Moon the change and growth of
all living things was slow, even in the Hither Lands. Little
difference, therefore, was found yet in the speeches of the three
kindreds of the Eldalie. In the year 1950 of the Valar the Qendi
awoke, and in the year 1980 they began their march, and in the
year 1990 the Lindar came over the mountains into Beleriand; and
in the year 2000 of the Gods the Lindar and the Noldor came over
the seas unto Valinor in the west of the world and dwelt in the light
of the Trees. But the Teleri tarried on the march, and came later,
and they were left behind in Beleriand for ten Valian years, and
lived upon the Falasse and grew to love the sea above all else. And
thereafter, as is told in the Quenta, they dwelt, because of the
deeds of Osse, an age, which is 100 years of the Valar, on Tol-
eressea, the Lonely Isle, in the Bay of Faerie, before at last they
sailed in their swan-ships to the shores of Valinor. The tongue of
the Teleri became therefore sundered somewhat from that of the
Noldor and Lindar, and it has ever remained apart though akin.
Of the tongues of the Elves in Valinor.
4.
For nine ages, which is nine hundred Valian years, the Lindar
and Noldor dwelt in Valinor, ere its darkening; and for eight of
those ages the Teleri dwelt nigh them, yet separate, upon the
shores and about the havens of the land of the Gods, while 1
Morgoth was in captivity and vassalage. Their tongues therefore
changed in the slow rolling of the years, even in Valinor, for the
Elves are not as the Gods, but are children of Earth. Yet they
changed less than might be thought in so great a space of time; for
the Elves in Valinor did not die, and in those days the Trees still
flowered, and the changeful Moon was not yet made, and there
was peace and bliss.
Nonetheless the Elves much altered the tongue of the Valar,
and each of their kindreds after their own fashion. The most
beautiful and the least changeful of these speeches was that of the
Lindar, and especially the tongue of the house and folk of Ingwe.*
It grew therefore to be a custom in Valinor, early in the days of
the abiding there of the Elves, for the Gods to use this speech in
converse with the Elves, and Elves of different kindred one with
another; and for long this language was chiefly used in inscriptions
or in writings of wisdom or poetry. Thus an ancient form of
Lindarin speech became early fixed, save for some later adoptions
of words and names from other dialects, as a language of high
speech and of writing, and as a common speech among all Elves;
and all the folk of Valinor learned and knew this language. It was
called by the Gods and Elves 'the Elvish tongue', that is Qenya,
and such it is usually now named, though the Elves call it also
Ingwiqenya, especially in its purest and highest form, and also
tarquesta high-speech, and parmalambe the book-tongue. This is
the Elf-latin, and it remains still, and all Elves know it, even such
as linger still in the Hither Lands. But the speech of daily converse
among the Lindar has not remained as Qenya, but has changed
therefrom, though far less than have Noldorin or even Telerin
from their own tongues in the ancient days of the Trees.
The Noldor in the days of their exile brought the knowledge of
the Elf-latin into Beleriand, and, though they did not teach it to
Men, it became used among all the Ilkorindi. The names of the
Gods were by all the Eldar preserved and chiefly used only in
Qenya form; although most of the Valar had titles and by-names,
different in different tongues, by which in daily use their high
(* (Footnote, added after the writing of the main text:) But the Lindar
were soft-spoken, and at first altered the Elvish speech more than the
other peoples by the softening and smoothing of its sounds, especially the
consonants; yet in words [struck out: and forms] they were, as is
said, less changeful, and their grammar and vocabulary remained more
ancient than those of any other Elvish folk.)
names were usually supplanted, and they were seldom heard save
in solemn oath and hymn. It was the Noldor who in the early days
of their sojourn in Valinor devised letters, and the arts of cutting
them upon stone or wood, and of writing them with brush or pen;
for rich as are the minds of the Elves in memory, they are not as the
Valar, who wrote not and do not forget. But it was long ere the
Noldor themselves wrote in books with their own tongue, and
though they carved and wrote in those days many things in
monument and document, the language they used was Qenya,
until the days of Feanor's pride.
5
Now in this way did the daily speeches of the Lindar and
Noldor draw apart. At first, though they saw and marvelled at the
light and bliss of Valinor, the Elves forgot not Middle-earth and
the starlight whence they came, and they longed at times to look
upon the stars and walk a while in shadow. Wherefore the Gods
made that cleft in the mountain-wall which is called the Kalakilya
the Pass of Light. Therein the Elves piled the green hill of Kor,
and built thereon the city of Tun [> Tuna],* and highest amid the
city of Tun [) Tuna] was the white tower of Ingwe. And the
thought of the lands of earth was deepest in the hearts of the
Noldor, who afterward returned thither, and they abode in that
place whence the outer shadows could be seen, and among the
vales and mountains about Kalakilya was their home. But the
Lindar grew soon to love more the tree-lit gardens of the Gods,
and the wide and fertile plains, and they forsook Tun [> Tuna],
and dwelt far away and returned seldom; and though Ingwe was
ever held the high-king of all the Eldar, and none used his white
tower, save such as kept aflame the everlasting lamp that burned
there, the Noldor were ruled by Finwe, and became a people
apart, busy with the making of many things, and meeting with
their kin only at such times as they journeyed into Valinor for feast
or council. Their converse was rather with the Teleri of the
neighbouring shores than with the Lindar, and the tongues of
Teleri and Noldor drew somewhat together again in those days.
Now as the ages passed and the Noldor became more numerous
and skilled and proud, they took also to the writing and using in
books of their own speech beside the Qenya; and the form in
(* (Marginal note added at the same time as the change of Tun to
Tuna:) Which the Gods called Eldamar.)
which it was earliest written and preserved is the ancient Noldorin
or Kornoldorin, which goes back to the days of the gem-making of
Feanor son of Finwe. But this Noldorin never became fixed, as
was Qenya, and was used only by the Noldor, and its writing
changed in the course of years with the change of speech and with
the varying devices of writing among the Gnomes. For this old
Noldorin, the Korolambe (tongue of Kor) or Kornoldorin, besides
its change by reason of passing time, was altered much by new
words and devices of language not of Valian origin, nor common
to all the Eldar, but invented anew by the Noldor. The same may
be said of all the tongues of the Qendi, but in the invention of
language the Noldor were the chief, and they were restless in
spirit, even before Morgoth walked among them, though far more
so afterwards, and changeful in invention. And the fruit of their
spirit were many works of exceeding beauty, and also much
sorrow and great grief.
Thus in Valinor, ere the end of the days of Bliss, there was the
Elf-latin, the written and spoken Qenya, which the Lindar first
made, though it is not the same as their own daily speech; and
there was Lindarin the language of the Lindar; and Noldorin the
language, both written and spoken, of the Noldor (which is in its
ancient form named Korolambe' or Kornoldorin); and the tongue
of the Teleri. And over all was the Valya or Valarin, the ancient
speech of the Gods, that changed not from age to age. But that
tongue they used little save among themselves in their high
councils, and they wrote it not nor carved it, and it is not known to
mortal Men.
Of the tongues of the Elves in Middle-earth, and of the Noldorin
that returned thither
6.
It is elsewhere told how Sindo brother of Elwe, lord of the
Teleri, strayed from his kindred and was enchanted in Beleriand
by Melian and came never to Valinor, and he was after called
Thingol and was king in Beleriand of the many Teleri who would
not sail with Ulmo for Valinor but remained on the Falasse, and of
others that went not because they tarried searching for Thingol
in the woods. And these multiplied and were yet at first scattered
far and wide between Eredlindon and the sea; for the land of
Beleriand is very great, and the world was then still dark. In the
course of ages the tongues and dialects of Beleriand became
altogether estranged from those of the other Eldar in Valinor,
though the learned in such lore may perceive that they were
anciently sprung from Telerian. These were the Ilkorin speeches
of Beleriand, and they are also different from the tongues of the
Lembi, who came never thither.
In after days the chief of the languages of Beleriand was the
tongue of Doriath and of the folk of Thingol. Closely akin thereto
was the speech of the western havens Brithombar and Eglorest,
which is Falassian, and of other scattered companies of the
Ilkorindi that wandered in the land, but all these have perished;
for in the days of Morgoth only such of the Ilkorindi survived as
were gathered under the protection of Melian in Doriath. The
speech of Doriath was much used in after days by Noldor and
Ilkorindi alike, / for Thingol was a great king, and his queen
Melian divine [emended to: among the survivors at Sirion's
mouth, for Elwing their queen and many of their folk came from
Doriath.]
7.
About the year of the Valar 2700, and nearly 300 years of the
Valar ere the return of the Gnomes, while the world was still dark,
the Green-elves, that were called / in their own tongue Danas
[written over heavily struck out: Danyar (... Qenya Nanyar)],
the followers of Dan, came also into eastern Beleriand, and dwelt
in that region which is called Ossiriand, the Land of Seven Rivers,
beneath the western slopes of Eredlindon. This folk was in the
beginning of Noldorin race, but is not counted among the Eldar,
nor yet among the Lembi. For they followed Orome at first, yet
forsook the host of Finwe ere the great march had gone very far,
and turned southwards. But finding the lands dark and barren, for
in the eldest days the South was never visited by any of the Valar,
and its sky was scanty in stars, this folk turned again north. Their
first leader was Dan, whose son was Denethor; and Denethor led
many of them at last over the Blue Mountains in the days of
Thingol. For though they had turned back, the Green-elves had
yet heard the call to the West, and were still drawn thither at times
in unquiet and restlessness; and for this reason they are not among
the Lembi. Nor was their tongue like the tongues of the Lembi,
but was of its own kind, different from the tongues of Valinor and
of Doriath and of the Lembi [emended to: different from the
tongues of Valinor and of the Lembi, and most like that of
Doriath, though not the same.]
But the speech of the Green-elves in Ossiriand became some-
what estranged from that of their own kindred that remained east
of Eredlindon, being much affected by the tongue of Thingol's
people. Yet they remained apart from the Telerian Ilkorins and
remembered their kin beyond the mountains, with whom they
had still some intercourse, and named themselves in common
with these Danas. But they were called by others Green-elves,
Laiqendi, because they loved the green wood, and green lands of
fair waters; and the house of Denethor loved green above all
colours, and the beech above all trees. They were allied with
Thingol but not subject to him, until the return of Morgoth to the
North, when after Denethor was slain many sought the protection
of Thingol. But many dwelt still in Ossiriand, until the final ruin,
and held to their own speech; and they were without a king, until
Beren came unto them and they took him for lord. But their
speech has now vanished from the earth, as have Beren and
Luthien.* Of their kindred that dwelt still east of the mountains j
few came into the history of Beleriand, and they remained in the ]
Hither Lands after the ruin of the West in the great war, and have
faded since or become merged among the Lembi. Yet in the
overthrow of Morgoth they were not without part, for they sent
many of their warriors to answer the call of Fionwe.
Of the tongues of the Lembi nought is known from early days,
since these Dark-elves wrote not and preserved little; and now
they are faded and minished. And the tongues of those that linger
still in the Hither Lands show now little kinship one to another,
save that they all differ from Eldarin tongues, whether of Valinor
and Kor or of lost Beleriand. But of Lembian tongues are come in
divers ways, as is later said, the manifold tongues of Men, save
only the eldest Men of the West.
8.
Now we speak again of the Noldor; for these came back again
from Valinor and dwelt in Beleriand for four hundred years of the
Sun. In all about 500 years of our time passed from the darkening
of Valinor and the rape of the Silmarils until the rescue of the
remnant of the exiled Gnomes, and the overthrow of Morgoth by
the sons of the Gods. For nigh 10 Valian years (which is 100 of our
(* (Footnote to the text:) Yet this tongue was recorded in Gondolin, and
it is not wholly forgotten, for it was known unto Elwing and Earendel.)
time) passed during the flight of the Noldor, five ere the burning
of the ships and the landing of Feanor, and five more until the
reunion of Fingolfin and the sons of Feanor; and thereafter
wellnigh 400 years of warfare with Morgoth followed. And after
the rising of the Sun and Moon and the coming into the Hither
Lands of measured time, which had before lain under the move-
less stars without night or day, growth and change were swift for
all living things, most swift outside Valinor, and most swift of all
in the first years of the Sun. The daily tongue of the Noldor
changed therefore much in Beleriand, for there was death and
destruction, woe and confusion and mingling of peoples; and the
speech of the Gnomes was influenced also much by that of the
Ilkorins of Beleriand, and somewhat by tongues of the eldest Men,
and a little even by the speech of Angband and of the Orcs.
Though they were never far estranged, there came thus also to
be differences in speech among the Noldor themselves, and the
kinds are accounted five: the speech of Mithrim and of Fingolfin's
folk; and the speech of Gondolin and the people of Turgon; the
speech of Nargothrond and the house and folk of Felagund and his
brothers; and the speech of Himring and the sons of Feanor; and
the corrupted speech of the thrall-Gnomes, spoken by the Noldor
that were held captive in Angband, or compelled to the service
of Morgoth and the Orcs. Most of these perished in the wars of
the North, and ere the end was left only mulanoldorin [)
molanoldorin], or the language of the thralls, and the language
of Gondolin, where the ancient tongue was kept most pure. But
the folk of Maidros son of Feanor remained, though but as a
remnant, almost until the end; and their speech was mingled with
that of all the others, and of Ossiriand, and of Men.
The Noldorin that lives yet is come in the most part from the
speech of Gondolin. There the ancient tongue was preserved, for
it was a space of 250 years from the founding of that fortress until
its fall in the year of the Sun 307, and during most of that time its
people held little converse with Men or Elves, and they dwelt
in peace. Even after its ruin something was preserved of its
books and traditions, and has survived unto this day, and in
its most ancient form this is called Gondolic (Condolindeb [>
Gondolindren]) or Old [> Middle] Noldorin. But this tongue was
the speech of the survivors of Gondolin at Sirion's mouth, and it
became the speech of all the remnants of the free Elves in
Beleriand, and of such as joined with the avenging hosts of
Fionwe. But it suffered thus, after the fall of Gondolin, admixture
from Falassian, and from Doriathrin most (for Elwing was there
with the fugitives of Menegroth), and somewhat from Ossiriand,
for Dior, father of Elwing, was the last lord of the Danas of
Ossiriand.
Noldorin is therefore now the speech of the survivors of the
wars of Beleriand that returned again to the West with Fionwe,
and were given Tol-eressea to dwell in. But still in the Hither
Lands of the West there linger the fading remnants of the Noldor
and the Teleri, and hold in secret to their own tongues; for there
were some of those folk that would not leave the Middle-earth or
the companionship of Men, but accepted the doom of Mandos
that they should fade even as the younger Children of Iluvatar
waxed, and remained in the world, and are now, as are all those of
Quendian race, but faint and few.
9.
Of other tongues than the Oromian speeches, which have yet
some relationship therewith, little will here be said. Orquin, or
Orquian, the language of the Orcs, the soldiers and creatures of
Morgoth, was partly itself of Valian origin, for it was derived from
the Vala Morgoth. But the speech which he taught he perverted
wilfully to evil, as he did all things, and the language of the Orcs
was hideous and foul and utterly unlike the languages of the
Qendi. But Morgoth himself spoke all tongues with power and
beauty, when so he wished.
Of the language of the Dwarves little is known to us, save that its
origin is as dark as is the origin of the Dwarvish race itself; and
their tongues are not akin to other tongues, but wholly alien, and
they are harsh and intricate, and few have essayed to learn them.
(Thus saith Rumil in his writings concerning the speeches of the
earth of old, but I, Pengolod, have heard it said by some that
Aule first made the Dwarves, longing for the coming of Elves and
Men, and desiring those to whom he could teach his crafts and
wisdom. And he thought in his heart that he could forestall
Iluvatar. But the Dwarves have no spirit indwelling, as have Elves
and Men, the Children of Iluvatar, and this the Valar cannot give.
Therefore the Dwarves have skill and craft, but no art, and they
make no poetry.* Aule devised a speech for them afresh, for his
(* These two sentences were rewritten later, but very roughly; see the com-
mentary on $9.)
delight [is] in invention, and it has therefore no kinship with
others; and they have made this harsh in use. Their tongues are,
therefore, Aulian; and survive yet in a few places with the
Dwarves in Middle-earth, and besides that the languages of Men
are derived in part from them.)
But the Dwarves in the West and in Beleriand used, as far as
they could learn it, an Elf-tongue in their dealings with the Elves,
especially that of Ossiriand, which was nearest to their mountain
homes; for the Elves would not learn Dwarvish speech.
10.
The languages of Men were from their beginning diverse and
various; yet they were for the most part derived remotely from the
language of the Valar. For the Dark-elves, various folk of the
Lembi, befriended wandering Men in sundry times and places in
the most ancient days, and taught them such things as they knew.
But other Men learned also wholly or in part of the Orcs and of the
Dwarves; while in the West ere they came into Beleriand the fair
houses of the eldest Men learned of the Danas, or Green-elves.
But nought is preserved of the most ancient speeches of Men, save
of the tongue of the folk of Beor and Haleth and Hador. Now the
language of these folk was greatly influenced by the Green-elves,
and it was of old named Taliska, and this tongue was known still to
Tuor, son of Huor, son of Gumlin, son of Hador, and it was in
part recorded by the wise men of Gondolin, where Tuor for a
while abode. Yet Tuor himself used this tongue no longer, for
already even in Gumlin's day Men in Beleriand forsook the daily
use of their own tongue and spoke and gave even names unto their
children in the language of the Gnomes. Yet other Men there
were, it seems, that remained east of Eredlindon, who held to their
speech, and from this, closely akin to Taliska, are come after many
ages of change languages that live still in the North of the earth.
But the swarthy folk of Bor, and of Uldor the accursed, were not of
this race, and were different in speech, but that speech is lost
without record other than the names of these men.
11.
From the great war and the overthrow of Morgoth by Fionwe
and the ruin of Beleriand, which is computed to have happened
about the year 397 of the Sun, are now very many ages passed; and
the tongues of the waning Elves in different lands have changed
beyond recognition of their kinship one to another, or to the
languages of Valinor, save in so far as the wise among them use still
Qenya, the Elf-latin, which remains in knowledge among them,
and by means of which they yet at whiles hold converse with
emissaries from the West. For many thousands of years have
passed since the fall of Gondolin. Yet in Tol-eressea, by the power
of the Valar and their mercy, the old is preserved from fading, and
there yet is Noldorin spoken, and the language of Doriath and
of Ossiriand is held in mind; and in Valinor there flower yet the
fair tongues of the Lindar and the Teleri; but the Noldor that
returned and went not to war and suffering in the world are no
longer separate and speak as do the Lindar. And in Kor and in
Tol-eressea may still be heard and read the accounts and histories
of things that befell in the days of the Trees, and of the Silmarils,
ere these were lost.
[The following passage was added to the manuscript:]
The names of the Gnomes in the Quenta are given in the
Noldorin form as that tongue became in Beleriand, for all those
after Finwe father of the Noldor, whose name remains in ancient
form. Likewise all the names of Beleriand and the regions adjacent
(many of which were first devised by the Gnomes) dealt with in
the histories are given in Noldorin form. Though many are not
Noldorin in origin and only adjusted to their tongue, but come
from Beleriandic, or from Ossiriandic or the tongues of Men.
Thus from Beleriandic is the name Balar, and Beleriand, and the
names Brithombar, Eglorest, Doriath, and most of the names of
lakes and rivers.
Commentary on the Lhammas.
1.
The use of Quendi to signify 'all Elves' has appeared in a correction to
AV 2, and is in any case implied by the name Lindar which is used in
AV 2 for the First Kindred, formerly called Quendi; see the commentary
on annal 2000.
For much earlier references to the language of the Valar see I. 235. In
the small part of Gilfanon's Tale that was written it is said expressly
(I. 232) that 'the Eldar or Qendi had the gift of speech direct from
Iluvatar'. Now, in the Lhammas, the origin of all Elvish speech is the
speech of the Valar (in both forms of the Tree of Tongues called Valarin,
and in $5 also Valya), communicated to the Elves by the instruction of
Orome.
There is no mention in Q of Elves who would not leave the Waters of
Awakening: the Ilkorindi or Dark-elves are there ($2) defined as those
who were lost on the Great March. But in AV (both versions) it was only
'the most part' of the Elvenfolk who followed Orome, and there are very
early references to those who would not or did not leave Palisor (see
I. 234, II. 64). These Elves are here for the first time given a name: the
Lembi, those that lingered, opposed to the Eldar, those that departed -
and at this stage the old term Eldar was to bear, not merely this
reference, but this actual meaning: those that departed (see p.344).
The latter part of this section differs in Lhammas A:
These are called the Lembi, or those that were left. But the others were
called the Eldar, those that departed. Thus came the first sundering of
tongues, for the Eldar and Lembi met not again for many ages. With
the Lembi were merged and are reckoned such of the three kindreds of
the Eldar as fell out by the wav, or deserted the host, or were lost in the
darkness of the ancient world; save only the remnants of the Teleri and
the folk of Thingol that lingered in Beleriand. These also are called
Eldar, but surnamed Ilkorindi, for they came never to Valinor or the
city of the Elves in the land of the Gods upon the hill of Kor. The
tongue of the Ilkorindi of Beleriand showed still in after ages its
kinship with Telerian, and thus Quendian was divided into three:
Eldarin, and Ilkorin, and Lemberin; but the last was scattered and
diverse and never one.
This is very clear. The term Eldar has acquired its later significance of
the Elves of the Great Journey (only), and it is not restricted to those who
in the end went to Valinor, but includes the Elves of Beleriand: the Eldar
are those who completed the journey from Kuivienen to the country
between Eredlindon and the Sea. On the other hand all Elves who did
depart from Kuivienen but who did not complete that journey are
numbered among the Lembi. The term Ilkorindi is now used in a much
narrower sense than previously: specifically the Eldar of Beleriand - the
later Sindar, or Grey-elves. (These new meanings have in fact appeared,
without elaboration, in AV 2 (annals 2000 and 2000 - 2010), where 'The
Eldar are all those Elves called who obeyed the summons of Orome', and
where the Teleri who remained in Beleriand are called Ilkorindi.) Thus
whereas in Q there is the simple scheme:
Eldar (all Elves).
Quendi. Noldoli. Teleri.
Those lost on the Journey
Ilkorindi (Dark-elves).
in Lhammas A we have:
Quendi (all Elves).
Lindar Noldor Teleri.
Eldar. Lembi.
(those that departed). (those that remained in
the East; also those that
were lost on the journey to
Beleriand).
Those that went. Ilkorindi.
to Valinor. (Telerian Elves that
reached Beleriand but
remained there).
In Lhammas B (leaving aside for a moment the important emendation
made to the text) there is now no mention of Elves who though they set
out from Kuivienen were lost on the road, and were merged with the
Lembi; on the other hand, in addition to the Telerian Elves of Beleriand
another people is included among the Ilkorindi - 'the folk of the Noldor
that strayed upon the march and came also later into the east of
Beleriand': the Green-elves of Ossiriand. It is also added in Lhammas B
that most of the Lembi were of Telerian race (a statement not in fact
consonant with what was said in one of the outlines for Gilfanon's Tale
(I. 324), that the Elves who remained in Palisor were of the people of the
Teleri, for the Teleri in the Lost Tales were the First Kindred, not the
Third). The table just given for Lhammas A is changed to this extent,
therefore:
Eldar. Lembi.
(those that departed). (those that remained in
the East; mostly of
Telerian race).
Those that went. Ilkorindi.
to Valinor. (Telerian Elves of Beleriand;
and Noldorin Elves who
came later to the East of
Beleriand, the Green-elves).
See further the commentaries on $$6, 7.
With the emendation made to Lhammas B we meet at last the ideas
that it was Orome who named the Elves Eldar, that Eldar meant 'Star-
folk', and that Orome's name was given to the Elves as a whole when he
first found them, though it was only applied afterwards to those who set
out on the Great Journey following him. (It is said in AV 2, annal 1950,
that the Elves are called 'the children of the stars' on account of their
awakening at the making of the stars, and this was later changed to
'Eldar, the children of the stars'.) Here also appears for the first time the
name Avari, taking over from Eldar the meaning 'Departing' (later, with
the meaning changed to 'Unwilling', Avari was to replace Lembi). These
movements are reflected in the Etymologies (see p. 344). The table must
therefore now be further changed:
Eldar 'Star-folk', name given
to all Elves (Quendi) by Orome.
Eldar. Lembi.
(name restricted
to those that
followed Orome).
Avari. Ilkorindi.
'the Departing'. of Beleriand.
The further change made to the emended passage, from 'remained in
Beleriand, the Ilkorindi of Doriath and the Falas' to 'remained behind',
was perhaps introduced because my father wished to allow for the Green-
elves, who were Ilkorindi (and therefore Eldar), not Lembi.
We find here the first explanation of the name Teleri that has appeared
('the last, for these were the latest to awake'); see I. 267, entries Telelli,
Teleri. Another new element in this section is the idea that the Three
Kindreds were geographically separated in their first homes beside
Kuivienen - and the Noldor the most numerous of the three.
The fact that in Lhammas B the fundamental division of Elvish speech
is twofold, Eldarin and Lemberin, whereas in A it is threefold, Eldarin
and Ilkorin and Lemberin, does not, I think, represent any real difference
in the linguistic conception. The primary division was twofold, for
Eldarin and Lemberin speech began to move apart on separate paths
from the time when the Eldar left Kuivienen; but the division became
threefold when the Ilkorindi were left behind in Beleriand.
3.
The terms Ingwi and Ingwelindar, used here of the chief house of the
Lindar, have not occurred before; but in the Lost Tales (see especially
I.115) the Inwir are the royal clan, the house of Inwe, among the First
Kindred. It is now told that Ingwe was not only the high-king of the
Eldalie, but was 'the oldest of all Elves, for he first awoke.'
The dates in this section agree precisely with the dates in AV 2 (which
are those of AV i after emendation, IV. 272 - 3).
The form Falasse' is found on the Ambarkanta map I V (IV. 249).
With what is said here about the slowness of change ('even in the
Hither Lands') before the making of the Sun and Moon cf. the con-
clusion of AV 2:*
Now measured time came into the world, and the growth, changing
and ageing of all things was hereafter more swift, even in Valinor, but
most swift in the Hither Lands upon Middle-earth, the mortal regions
between the seas of East and West.
The reference to the Quenta at the end of this section, if to Q, is to
IV. 87; if to QS, to $37. On this point see p. 168.
The two texts have no significant difference in this section, except that
Lhammas A ends thus:
The tongue of the Teleri on Tol-eressea became therefore somewhat
sundered from the speech of the Lindar and Noldor, and they adhered
to their own tongue after; though dwelling many ages later in friend-
ship nigh to the Lindar and Noldor the tongue of the Teleri pro-
gressed, in such changes as befell in Valinor, alike with its kindred,
and became sundered far from the Telerian speech in Beleriand
(where moreover outside Valinor change was swifter).
In writing 'nine ages' and 'eight ages' (found in both versions) at the
beginning of this section my father seems for some reason to have been
counting only to V.Y.2900; for the Lindar and Noldor dwelt in Valinor
for 990 years (2000-2990) or nearly ten ages, and the Teleri dwelt on
the shores for 880 years (2111 - 2900) or nearly nine ages, before the
Darkening.
The complex linguistic development described in this section may be
summarised thus:
Lindar: - their early speech preserved ('Elf-latm')
- called Qenya (also tarquesta, parmalambe')
- also called ('especially in its purest and
highest form') Ingwiqenya
- used for writing, and also for converse with
Elves of different speech and with the Gods
Brought to
Middle-earth
by the Noldor
and used by
all the
Ilkorindi.
Lindar: - Lindarin, later daily speech of the Lindar,
changed from Qenya.
The section in Lhammas B was changed in structure and substantially
rewritten from that in A, but there is very little that materially changes
(* Reference to the Annals is made to AV z and AB z, the texts in this book, as
being more convenient, whether or not the matter cited is found in the earlier
versions given in Vol. IV.)
the linguistic history as set out in the earlier version. At the end of the
second paragraph, however, Lhammas A says of the speech of the
Lindar:
Least changed was the language of the Lindar, for they were closest to
the Valar and most in their company; and most like Valian was the
speech of Ingwe and his household.
In the next paragraph A makes no mention of Ingwiqenya (see the
commentary on $5); and states that it was the Gods who called the 'Elf-
latin' by the name Qendya (so spelt), 'Elfspeech', whereas the Elves
called it Eldarin. This is an application of the term Eldarin different
from its earlier use in A (see the commentary on $2) and from its use in 8
and in both versions of the Tree of Tongues.
Alboin Errol used the term 'Elf-latin' (or Eressean, in contrast to
Beleriandic); see p. 56. 'Elven-latin' is used of Quenya in Appendix F to
The Lord of the Rings.
5.
Lhammas A contains a reference to the Quenta which is omitted in B:
'wherefore, as is said in the Qenta, the Gods made that cleft in the
mountain-wall which is Kalakilya the Pass of Light'; see p. 168.
The removal of the Lindar from Tun is told in very similar terms in an
addition to Q (IV. 89 note 7), where appears also the story that the
Tower of Ingwe was not used afterwards except by those that tended the
lamp - a story that was not told in later texts of 'The Silmarillion'.
Lhammas B follows the earlier version closely in this section, but there
are one or two differences to be remarked. In the concluding paragraph,
summarising all the tongues of Valinor, Lhammas A adds a reference to
'the noble dialect' of the speech of the Lindar, called Ingwelindarin,
Ingwea, or Ingwiqendya (see the commentary on $4); in B $4, on the
other hand, Ingwiqenya is the 'purest and highest form' of the 'Elf-latin',
Qenya. The earlier form of the Tree of Tongues illustrates the account of
the matter in lhammas A; the later form does not have any represen-
tation of it, nor does it mention the name Ingwiqenya.
In lhammas A this section ends:
And over all was Valya or Valarin, the Valian language, the pure
speech of the Gods, and that changed little from age to age (and yet it
did change, and swifter after the death of the Trees, for the Valar are
not of the earth, yet they are in the world). But that tongue they used
little save among themselves, for to Elves, and to such Men as knew it,
they spoke the Qenya, and they wrote not nor carved in any letters the
things which they spoke.
By emendations to B (as also in AV 2, note 3) Tun becomes Tuna - but
it is still the name of the city, on the hill of Kor; afterwards Tuna was the
hill, Tirion the city. In the added marginal note 'which the Gods called
Eldamar' is the first occurrence of Eldamar since the Lost Tales (but the
form Eglamar is found twice in drafts of the Lay of Leithian, in the line
from England unto Eglamar, III.157,181). This was one of the original,
foundation names of the mythology, occurring in the poem The Shores of
Faery (1915) and its prose preface (II. 262, 272). In the Lost Tales the
name occurs very frequently, almost always with reference to the shores,
or rocks, or bay of Eldamar. Now it becomes a name of the Elvish city
itself, rather than of the regions in which the Elves dwelt and in which
was situated their city on the hill. See QS $39 and commentary.
This is a convenient place to mention an element in the second Tree of
Tongues which is not explained by anything in the text of the Lhammas.
An unbroken line is drawn from Valarin to Language of the Valarindi in
Valinor, and from there a dotted line to Qenya. The Valarindi are the
Children of the Valar; see pp. 110, 121. The meaning of the dotted and
unbroken lines is defined in a note to a Tree of Tongues made later on: the
dotted lines 'indicate lines of strong influence of one language upon
another' [e.g. that of French upon English], while the unbroken lines
'denote inheritance and direct descent' [e.g. from Latin to French].
A dotted line (originally drawn as unbroken) also runs from Noidorin
to Qenya. This presumably illustrates the statement in the text ($4) that
'an ancient form of Lindarin speech became early fixed [i.e. as Qenya],
save for some later adoptions of words and names from other dialects.'
6.
In the Lost Tales (I. 120) the people of Tinwe Linto (Thingol) sought
for him long when he was enchanted by Wendelin (Melian), but
it was in vain, and he came never again among them. When therefore
they heard the horn of Orome ringing in the forest great was their joy,
and gathering to its sound soon are they led to the cliffs, and hear the
murmur of the sunless sea.
In Q (IV. 87) appears first the story that some of the Teleri were
persuaded by Osse 'to remain on the beaches of the world'; of Thingol's
people all that is said in Q (IV. 85) is that 'they sought him in vain', and
no more is added in QS ($32).
With the reference here to the scattered Ilkorindi of Beleriand (i.e.
those other than the folk of the Havens and Thingol's people) being
gathered into Doriath at the time of Morgoth's return, cf. AV 2 (annal
2990, recounting the withdrawal after the fall of Denithor):
Melian wove magic of the Valar about the land of Doriath; and most of
the Elves of Beleriand withdrew within its protection, save some that
lingered about the western havens, Brithombar and Eglorest beside
the Great Sea, and the Green-elves of Ossiriand who dwelt still
behind the rivers of the East.
The reference to 'Sindo brother of Elwe, lord of the Teleri' is not in
Lhammas A, which introduces the subject of the language of Beleriand
differently:
Now in the courts of Thingol Valarin was known, for Melian was of the
Valar; but it was used only by the king and queen and few of their
household. For the tongue of Beleriand was the Eldarin speech of the
Telerian Ilkorins, being the language of those that in the end would
not sail with Ulmo, etc.
Sindo the Grey appears in A V z, but as a correction of Tindingol (note 4);
in QS $30 (again as Sindo the Grey) the name is present in the text from
the first, as here in Lhammas B. With this name cf. Singoldo in the Tale of
Tinuviel (II. 41), and Sindingul (> Tindingol) in AV 1 (IV. 264).
Where Lhammas 8 has 'These were the Ilkorin speeches of Beleriand,
and they are also different from the tongues of the Lembi, who came
never thither', Lhammas A has: 'These were the Ilkorin speeches of
Beleriand, and they retained tokens of their kinship with Telerian, and
they were different from the languages of the Lembi, for they saw none of
these, until the Green-elves came from the East, as is later told.' That the
Green-elves are reckoned as Lembi has been explicitly contradicted in
Lhammas B $2, where they are Ilkorindi and counted among the Eldar;
see the commentaries on $$2 and 7.
The emendation to Lhammas B at the end of the section modifies the
linguistic history, but the implications of the change are not clear to me.
As a result of it, it is no longer said that the Noldor and Ilkorindi in
Beleriand used the speech of Doriath 'because Thingol was a great king',
but, on the contrary, that the speech of Doriath was much used at
Sirion's Haven. In $8 it was the Noldorin speech of Gondolin that was
the speech of the Haven, influenced by that of Doriath because of the
presence there of Elwing and fugitives from the Thousand Caves.
7.
While the passage concerning the Green-elves very largely follows what
has already been told in AV, there are some interesting details. It was
said in A V that the Green-elves under their leader Dan found the
southward lands barren and dark; but the barrenness and darkness are
now explained: the Valar had neglected the South, and the skies had
been less bountifully strewn with stars. The South was a dark region in
the original myths: in the Tale of the Sun and Moon (I. 182) Manwe
appointed the course of the Sun between East and West 'for Melko held
the North and Ungweliant the South' - which as I noted (I. zoo) 'seems
to give Ungweliant a great importance and also a vast area subject to her
power of absorbing light.'
It has not been told before that many of the Green-elves passed into
Doriath after Morgoth's return; among these, much later, Turin's
enemy Saeros would be notorious (Unfinished Tales p. 77).
Other elements in the account in the Lhammas have already appeared
in AB z (annal 52): that after the fall of Denethor the Green-elves had no
king 'until Beren came among them', and also that they had kindred who
remained east of Eredlindon, and whom they visited at times. In an early
addition to annal 2700 in AV 2 (note 8) 'the Danians came over
Eredlindon', and these Elves, on either side of the mountain-range, are
called Danians also in Lhammas A (where B has Danas), with the
further information that those who remained in the East were called
Leikvir. In the earlier Tree of Tongues appears Leikvian where the later
has Danian speech of the East.
In AV 1 the name of the Green-elves is Laiqi or Laiqeldar (IV. 270);
in AV 2 no Elvish name is given; in Lhammas A they are Laiqi or
Laiqendi, Laiqendi in B.
In Lhammas A the name Denethor is written over another name, very
probably Denilos; in AV 1 Denilos > Denithor ( 1F. 271), in AV 2
Denithor > Denethor (note 5). In this connection there are some
interesting pencilled alterations and additions in Lhammas A that were
not taken up into B (or not made to it: it is not clear when these
annotations were made):
ndan- backwards, back. The turners-back. Thence the folk ndani.
ndani-tharo saviour of the Dani. Q [enya] Nanisaro. T [elerin]
Daintaro. N [oldorin] Dainthor. D [oriathrin] Denipor.
(With this cf. the Etymologies, stems DAN, NDAN.) At the same time, in
'This folk was in the beginning of Noldorin race' Noldorin was changed
to Lindarin, and 'the host of Finwe' to 'the host of Ingwe'; cf. the
conclusion of the Lammasethen.
The question again arises of whether the Danas were reckoned to be
Eldar or not. Lhammas A is explicit that they were not Eldar but Lembi
(commentary on $6); and again in the present section it is said in A that
'This folk was in the beginning of Noldorin race, but is not counted
among the Eldar' - because they forsook the Great March. In Lhammas
B on the other hand they are Ilkorindi and are counted among the Eldar
($2); yet in the present section the passage in A asserting that they were
not Eldar reappears - with the addition that they were not Lembi either,
because, although they turned back from the March, they were none-
theless still drawn towards the West. I presume that my father changed
his mind on this rather refined question as he wrote, and did not alter
what he had written earlier. In any case, the Danas are sufficiently
characterised as Elves of the Great March who abandoned it early on but
who still felt a desire for the West, and the suggestion in B is clearly that it
was this that ultimately brought a part of the people over the mountains.
Their position is anomalous, and might equally well be classified either
as Eldarin or as not Eldarin.
As a result, they introduce the possibility of a very distinct linguistic
type among the Quendian tongues (it will be seen that in both forms of
the Tree of Tongues their language is shown as branching from the
Quendian line of descent between Lemberin and Eldarin). This type is
characterised in an emendation to B as similar to the Ilkorin speech of
Doriath (whereas in the text as first written it was said to be distinct from
Eldarin of Valinor, from Lemberin, and from the speech of Doriath).
This emendation is rather puzzling. Why should the Danas show any
particular linguistic affinity with the Elves of Doriath, who had com-
pleted the journey to Beleriand so very long before (some 700 Valian
Years before)? Of course it is said immediately afterwards that the speech
of the Danas in Ossiriand was 'much affected by the tongue of Thingol's
people', but the emendation 'and most like that of Doriath, though not
the same' presumably refers to this 'Danian' tongue in its original nature.
See further the Lammasethen and commentary.
The sharp distinction made at the end of this section between all the
Lemberin tongues on the one hand and all the Eldarin tongues (includ-
ing those of the Ilkorindi of Beleriand) on the other is notable. It is
implicit that long years of the Great Journey, followed by the utter
separation of the Elves of Beleriand from those who remained in the East,
rendered the Ilkorin speech at once quite isolated in development from
any Lemberin tongue but also recognisably akin to Telerin of Valinor (at
least to those 'learned in such lore', $6).
8.
In this section Lhammas B followed A very closely, but one divergent
passage in the earlier version may be cited. After the reference to
mulanoldorin and the language of Gondolin as being the only forms of
Noldorin speech in Middle-earth that survived 'ere the end', A has:
First perished Fingolfin's folk, whose tongue was pure, save for some
small influence from Men of the house of Hador; and afterward
Nargothrond. But the folk of Maidros son of Feanor remained almost
until the end, as also did the thrall-Noldor whose tongue was heard not
only in Angband, but later in Mithrim and widely elsewhere. The
tongue of Feanor's sons was influenced largely by Men and by
Ossiriand, but it has not survived. The Noldorin that lives yet, etc.
With the account in the first paragraph of the swiftness of change after
the rising of the Sun and Moon cf. the commentary on $3. The reference
here to 'the moveless stars' is reminiscent of the old Tale of the Sun and
Moon, where it is said that certain of the stars 'abode where they hung and
moved not': see 1. 182, 200. - In the second paragraph the form Himring
(for Himling in Lhammas A) appears for the first time other than by later
emendation. - At the end of the third paragraph, 'somewhat from
Ossiriand' in B should probably be 'somewhat from Ossiriandeb', as here
in A and on the later form of the Tree of Tongues. - In the last paragraph
the languages of those Eldarin Elves who remained in Middle-earth are in
A called Fading Noldorin and Fading Ilkorin, terms that appear on the
earlier Tree of Tongues (together with Fading Leikvian: see the com-
mentary on $7).
The later dating pencilled into the manuscript AV r (whereby the
events from the Battle of Alqualonde to the arrival of Fingolfin in
Middle-earth were contracted into a single Valian Year, IV. 273- 4), not
adopted in AV 2, was not adopted in the Lhammas either. The dates of
the Sun-years are those of AB z (before they were changed), with the fall
of Gondolin in 307 and the Great Battle at the end of the fourth century
of the Sun.
The most noticeable feature of this section of the Lhammas in relation
to the later conception is the absence of the story that a ban was placed by
Thingol on the speech of the Noldor throughout his realm. In The
Silmarillion it is said (p. 113) that already at the Feast of Reuniting in the
year 20 'the tongue of the Grey-elves was most spoken even by the
Noldor, for they learned swiftly the speech of Beleriand, whereas the
Sindar were slow to master the tongue of Valinor', and (p. 129) that after
Thingol's ban 'the Exiles took the Sindarin tongue in all their daily uses,
and the High Speech of the West was spoken only by the lords of the
Noldor among themselves.' In the Lhammas it is indeed said (at the end
of $6, before emendation) that 'the speech of Doriath was much used in
after days by Noldor and Ilkorindi alike', and in the present section that
'the speech of the Gnomes was influenced much by that of the Ilkorins of
Beleriand'; but it was Noldorin (from Gondolin) that was the language
(influenced by other tongues) of Sirion's Haven and afterwards of Tol-
eressea. In its essential plan, therefore, though now much more com-
plex, the linguistic evolution still derives from that in the Lost Tales; as
I remarked in 1. 51 ,
In The Silmarillion the Noldor brought the Valinorean tongue to
Middle-earth but abandoned it (save among themselves), and adopted
instead the language of Beleriand, Sindarin of the Grey-elves who had
never been to Valinor... In the Lost Tales, on the other hand, the
Noldor still brought the Elvish speech of Valinor to the Great Lands,
but they retained it, and there it itself changed and became wholly
different ['Gnomish'].
There is no reference at the end of this section to any Gnomes
returning to Valinor (as opposed to Tol-eressea), as there is in Q (IV.
159, 162: But some returned even unto Valinor, as all were free to do
who willed'; this is retained in QS, p. 332 $27). For those who did not
depart into the West - the speakers of 'Fading Noldorin' and 'Fading
Ilkorin' in lhammas A - see the same passages in Q, again repeated
in QS.
9.
There appears here the first account of the origin of the Orc-speech: a
wilful perversion of Valian speech by Morgoth. The further remarkable
statement that Morgoth 'spoke all tongues with power and beauty, when
so he wished' is not found in Lhammas A.
The legend of Aule's making of the Dwarves has appeared in AB 2
(annal 104), in a passage strikingly similar to the present, and containing
the same phrase 'the Dwarves have no spirit indwelling'. The passage in
AB z was later modified (note 16) to make this not an assertion by the
writer but a conception of the Dwarves entertained by the Noldor, and
not the only opinion on the subject; in the Lhammas the passage was also
changed, very hastily, and quite differently, thus:
But the Dwarves derive their thought etc. (see Quenta). Therefore the
works of the Dwarves have great skill and craft, but small beauty.
This reference to the Quenta is not to Q, which has nothing correspond-
ing, but to QS, in which there is a chapter concerning the Dwarves. Here
occurs the following ($ 123):
Yet they derive their thought and being after their measure from only
one of the Powers, whereas Elves and Men, to whomsoever among the
Valar they chiefly turn, have kinship with all in some degree. There-
fore the works of the Dwarfs hare great skill, but small beauty, save
where they imitate the arts of the Eldar...
Where Lhammas B has 'Of the language of the Dwarves little is known
to us 'A has 'known to me' (i.e. Rumil).
10.
In Lhammas A the origin and early history of the tongues of Men is
somewhat differently described:
For the Dark-elves... befriended wandering Men... and taught
them such as they knew; and in the passing of the years the manifold
tongues of Men developed from these beginnings, altered by time, and
the invention of Men, and owning also the influence both of Dwarves
and Orcs. But nought is preserved of the most ancient speech of Men,
save [struck out: some words of) the tongues of Men of the West, who
earliest came into Beleriand and spoke with the Elves, as is recorded in
annals and accounts of those days by the Gnomes. Now the language
of the three houses of Beor, of Haleth, and of Hador, was Taliska, and
this tongue was remembered still by Tuor, and recorded by the wise
men of Gondolin. Yet Tuor himself used it no longer, for already ere
[> in] his father Huor's day Men in Beleriand forsook the daily use of
their own tongue, and spoke Noldorin, retaining some few words and
names.
At the end of the section in Lhammas A my father added rapidly in
pencil: 'But Taliska seems to have been derived largely from Danian'; see
the commentary on the Lammasethen.
In the earlier Tree of Tongues the languages of Men are derived solely
from Lemberin, agreeing with Lhammas A ('the manifold tongues of
Men developed from these beginnings'), whereas the later Tree shows
'influence' (dotted lines) from Dwarf-speech, from Orc-speech, and
from Lemberin (but no direct 'descent'), and 'influence' from the
'Danian speech of the East' on Taliska.
That the people of Hador abandoned their own language and adopted
that of the Gnomes is told in AB 2 (annal 220). The account in The
Silmarillion of the survival of the original tongue of the Edain, here
called Taliska,* is quite different: see the commentary on AB 2 ibid.
The statement at the end of this section that the speech of the Swarthy
Men 'is lost without record other than the names of these men' is not in
accord with the Etymologies (stems BOR, ULUG), where the names of Bor
and Ulfang and their sons are Elvish, given to them by the Noldor.
11.
In the words of Rumil here that 'many thousands of years have passed
since the fall of Gondolin' an obliterated reading lies beneath 'many
thousands of'; this was very probably '10,000', which is the reading of
Lhammas A.
The statement in this section that 'the Noldor that returned [i.e. after
hearing the Prophecy of the North] and went not to war and suffering in
the world are no longer separate and speak as do the Lindar' is not in
Lhammas A, but the earlier Tree of Tongues shows Noldolindarin as
a coalescence of 'Valinorian Noldorin and Lindarin'; the later Tree
similarly shows the 'speech of the folk of Finrod' (who returned to
Valinor) coalescing with Lindarin, and becoming 'Eldarin as it now is
in Valinor'.
The words 'in Kor' are not a simple slip, despite 'the Elves piled the
green hill of Kor, and built thereon the city of Tun' in $5; see QS $29.
As regards the passage added at the end of Lhammas B, it may be
noted that in Q (IV. 87) the names of the princes of the Noldoli are said to
be given 'in form of Gnomish tongue as it long was spoken on the earth',
and that there Finn (the form in S) was emended to Finwe. Of the place-
names cited here as Beleriandic names accommodated to Noldorin,
Balar, Beleriand, Brithombar and Eglorest appear in the Etymologies
(stems BAL, BIRIT, ELED) as Ilkorin names, but Doriath is Noldorin (stem
GAT(H)).
LAMMASETHEN.
I give now the third, very short Lhammas text, which is I think certainly
the latest of the three. At the head of it my father wrote in pencil Sketch of
a corrected version, but then erased it. Its brief history is largely in
agreement with that of Lhammas B, but it introduces a completely
changed account of the origin of Quenya (so spelt).
The shorter account of Pengolod: or Lammasethen.
Of the Elvish Tongues.
The original Elvish or Quendian languages were derived from
Orome, and so from Valarin. But the Elves not only, already in the
(*An historical grammar of Taliska is in existence).
brief period common to all, but especially in Eldarin, modified
and softened the sounds, especially the consonants, of Valarin,
but they began swiftly to invent new words and word-shapes, and
developed a language of their own.
Apart from new inventions their language changed slowly. This
was especially so in Valinor, but was true of all the tongues, for the
Elves do not die. In this way it will be seen that Telerin, the last to
leave Middle-earth, and isolated for an age and ten years of the
Valar, first in Beleriand and after in Tol Eressea, changed more
than Koreldarin, but being after rejoined to its kindred in Valinor,
remained closely akin to Noldorin and Lindarin. But its branch,
spoken by the Teleri left in Beleriand for nearly 1000 Valian
Years, changed more than the tongues of Valinor, and became
very different from them. In some ways it grew like the Danian
branch in Ossiriand.
Now the tongue of Noldor and Lindar was at first most akin.
But the Lindar ceased after a time to dwell in Tun or in close
consort with the Noldor, and association was closer between
Noldor and Teleri. Moreover the Lindar used a form of language
which they took afresh from the Valar themselves in Valmar; and
though they softened and altered this again it was in many ways
quite different from the old Elvish or Quendian derived from
Orome. The Lindarin, which was a form of Quendian or
Oromian, they used only among themselves, and never wrote. But
their new tongue (Valinorian) became used by the Lindar in
converse with the Gods, and in all their books of poetry, history,
and wisdom. Moreover it was the first Elf-tongue to be written,
and remained always the tongue used most in writing by Lindar,
Teleri, and Noldor. It was used also by all Elves much in
converse, especially among those of different kindred and dialect.
The Gods, too, used this tongue, not pure Valarin, in their speech
with all Elves. This tongue they called Quenya (that is Elvish).
Quenya is the Elf-latin, and this name is given to its common form
as used and written by all Elves. Therein are mixed some forms
and words derived from other Elvish (Oromian) tongues. But a
purer and more archaic form is used by Ingwe High-king of the
Elves and his court and household, who never use the common
Oromian Lindarin: this is Ingwiqenya.
Now ancient Noldorin, as first used, and written in the days of
Feanor in Tun, remained spoken by the Noldor that did not leave
Valinor at its darkening, and it abides still there, not greatly
changed, and not greatly different from Lindarin. It is called
Kornoldorin, or Finrodian because Finrod and many of his folk
returned to Valinor and did not go to Beleriand. But most of the
Noldor went to Beleriand, and in the 400 years of their wars with
Morgoth their tongue changed greatly. For three reasons: because
it was not in Valinor; because there was war and confusion, and
much death among the Noldor, so that their tongue was subject to
vicissitudes similar to those of mortal Men; and because in all the
world, but especially in Middle-earth, change and growth was
very great in the first years of the Sun. Also in Beleriand the
tongue and dialects of the Telerian Ilkorins was current, and their
king Thingol was very mighty; and Noldorin in Beleriand took
much from Beleriandic especially of Doriath. Most of the names
and places in that land were given in Doriathrin form. Noldorin
returned, after the overthrow of Morgoth, into the West, and lives
still in Tol-eressea, where it changes now little; and this tongue
is derived mainly from the tongue of Gondolin, whence came
Earendel; but it has much of Beleriandic, for Elwing his wife
was daughter of Dior, Thingol's heir; and it has somewhat of
Ossiriand, for Dior was son of Beren who lived long in Ossiriand.
In Tol-eressea are kept records of the ancient tongue of
Ossiriand, which is no more; and also the tongue of the Western
Men, the Elf-friends, whence came the mortal kindred of
Earendel. But this tongue is no more, and already in ancient days
the Elf-friends spake mostly Noldorin, or Beleriandic; their own
tongue was itself of Quendian origin, being learned east of the
Mountains from a branch of the Danians, kindred of those Elves
of Ossiriand which were called the Green-elves.
These are the Elvish tongues which are yet spoken, or of which
writings are preserved.
Valinorian. { Ingwiqenya. } Va1arin.
{ Qenya. (Elf-latin) }
Oromian. (a) { Lindarin.
Kornoldorin. Noldorin.} Eldarin.
Telerin.
(b) Doriathrin.
(c) Danian. Ossiriandic. Ilkorin.
Taliskan. (mortals)
(d) Lembian. (many scattered dialects) Lemberin.
The Danians were of the Lindar [> Noldor) and began the
march, but turned south and strayed, long ere Beleriand was
reached. They did not come unto Beleriand, and then but in part,
for many ages. Some reckon them Eldarin, some Lembian. In
truth they are neither and have a middle place.
Comnsentary on the Lammasethen.
A further Tree of Tongues illustrates the Lammasethen, and is repro-
duced on p. 196. The starred languages are 'yet in use'.
The meaning of the passage concerning Quenya in this text is clearly
that Quenya only arose after the separation of the Lindar from the
Noldor, when the Noldor remained in Tun but the Lindar retired into
Valinor. There the Lindar retained their own spoken Eldarin tongue, not
much different from the 'Finrodian' Noldorin of Tun (Kornoldorin); but
they also adopted and adapted a form of the Valarin language, and this
'Valinorian' tongue became Quenya. Much that is said of Quenya in the
other versions is repeated in the Lammasethen - it was used by the Gods
in converse with the Elves, by Elves in converse with Elves of different
speech, and as the chief written language. The effect of this new
conception is to withdraw Quenya from the various forms of Elvish
(Quendian, Oromian) speech in Valinor and make it a language apart.
Ingwiqenya remains as it became in Lhammas B, an especially pure and
archaic form of Quenya used in the household of Ingwe; but it is now a
pure and archaic form of 'Valinorian'. The differences between the
conceptions are thus:
Lhammas A (commentary on $5):
- Early Lindarin speech preserved, and fixed as a high speech, a
Common Speech, and a written tongue: Quenya
- Later speech of the Lindar: Lindarin
'the noble dialect' of this: Ingwiqendya (Ingwea, Ingwelindarin)
Lhammas B ($4):
- Early Lindarin speech preserved, and fixed as a high speech, a
Common Speech, and a written tongue: Quenya
Also called ('especially in its purest and highest form') Ingwiqenya
- Later speech of the Lindar: Lindarin
Lammasethen:
- The Lindar, after removal from Tun, adopted anew the Valarin
tongue; this 'Valinorian', a high speech, a Common Speech, and a
written tongue, is Quenya
A pure and archaic form of 'Valinorian': Ingwiqenya
- Original ('Quendian') speech of the Lindar, retained among them-
selves: Lindarin
There are a few other points to be noticed in the Lammasethen. The
stage of Koreldarin, before the departure of the Lindar from Tun upon
Kor, is marked on the third Tree of Tongues. - The Telerin speech of
Beleriand (the speech of the Elves of Doriath and of the Havens of the
Falas) is said to have 'grown like' (in some ways) the Danian tongue in
Ossiriand; cf. the emendation in Lhammas B ($7) (the tongue of the
Danians was 'most like that of Doriath, though not the same'), and my
remarks on this in the commentary. - The Danians are said, as in
Lhammas B $7, to be neither Eldar nor Lembi: they 'have a middle
place', though some will say one, and some the other. - The late
emendation to Lhammas A (commentary on $7), making the Danians an
originally Lindarin people, was adopted in the Lammasethen, but then
rejected and replaced again by Noldorin.
Taliskan is said in the Lammasethen to be 'of Quendian origin',
learned by the forefathers of the Western Men from Danian Elves east
of Eredlindon; and in the list of tongues at the end of the text it is classed
as an Ilkorin speech. In B ($ 10) the statements concerning Taliska are
not perfectly clear: the Western Men 'learned of the Danas, or Green-
elves', and their language was 'greatly influenced by the Green-elves'. In
the third Tree of Tongues Taliskan is shown as deriving directly from
Danian; cf. the addition to Lhammas A (commentary on $10): 'But
Taliska seems to have been derived largely from Danian.' It is not clear to
me why a dotted line (representing 'influence') leads from Taliskan to the
'tongues of Western Men'.
In the third Tree the name Leikvian reappears from the first, for the
tongue of the Danians who remained east of Eredlindon (the Leikvir in
Lhammas A, commentary on $7). The name Nauglian for the tongues of
the Dwarves, used in the third Tree, does not appear in the Lhammas
texts; in $9 they are called Aulian, as in the first Tree.
In conclusion, there is an interesting table of the Elvish peoples
associated with the Lhammas papers, reproduced above. When my
father made this table the Eldar were 'the Departing', as still in Lhammas
B $2 before the emendation. The Green-elves, here not Eldar, are shown
as a branch of the Quendi between Lembi and Eldar, just as in all three
versions of the Tree of Tongues the language of the Green-elves (Danian)
is shown as a branch from Quendian between Lemberin (Lembian) and
Eldarin. The Lindar, Noldor, and Teleri are here placed as subdivisions
of the Eldar, rather than as subdivisions of the Quendi before the Great
Journey: in contrast to my table on p. 182, which is based on the express
statement in Lhammas A and B ($2) that 'already in their first dwellings
the Elves were divided into three kindreds, the Lindar, the Noldor, and
the Teleri.'
An important new distinction appears in this table: Morimor,
Moriqendi 'Dark-elves', and Kalamor, Kalaqendi 'Light-elves'. The
Light-elves (a term formerly applied to the First Kindred) are now all
those Elves who went to Valinor and saw the Light of the Trees; and the
important overlap of nomenclature is introduced whereby the Ilkorindi
of Beleriand are Eldar but also Dark-elves. The terms Moriquendi and
Calaquendi of The Silmarillion here first appear. If this table is com-
pared with that which I made for The Silmarillion ('The Sundering of
the Elves') it will be seen that much had now emerged that was to remain,
if we substitute Avari for Lembi and Sindar for Ilkorindi (and Vanyar
for Lindar). The chief difference is that in the later formulations the
Laiquendi are Eldar; while as a corollary the Umanyar (equivalent in
meaning to Ilkorindi, for the one refers to Eldar who were not of Aman,
the other to Eldar who were not of Kor) necessarily in the later scheme
includes the Laiquendi, since they were Eldar. j
Lembi is here translated 'the Forsaken'; in Lhammas A 'those that
were left', in Lhammas B 'those that lingered' ($2 and commentary).
In the Etymologies (stem LEB, LEM) the word lemba means 'left behind'.
VI.
QUENTA SILMARILLION.
As originally written, the Quenta Silmarillion (QS) was a beautiful and
elegant manuscript; and when the first changes were made to it they were
made with great care, usually by writing over erasures. It seems highly
improbable that my father could have achieved this form without any
intermediate texts developing it from the Quenta Noldorinwa (Q), and
here and there in QS it appears in any case that he was copying, for words
necessary to the sense were missed out and then put in above the line. But
there is now, remarkably, no trace of any such material, until the tale of
Beren and Luthien is reached: from that point preliminary drafts do
exist.
The manuscript became afterwards the vehicle of massive revisions,
and was changed into a chaotic palimpsest, with layer upon layer of
correction and wholesale rewriting, of riders and deletions. The great
mass of this alteration and revision is firmly dateable to the period after
the completion of The Lord of the Rings; but there is also an earlier phase
of emendation in pencil to the opening chapters, which is in places
substantial. From the manuscript thus emended my father made a
typescript which was for most of its length almost an exact copy, but
giving to the work a new title in addition to Silmarillion: 1 Eldanyare,
'The History of the Elves'. This new version did not proceed very far,
however - no further in fact than the end of the chapter here numbered
3 (c). In order to understand the state of 'The Silmarillion' during the
years when The Lord of the Rings was being written it is necessary to try to
determine when it was made. It is in any case clear at once that it long
preceded the major revision after The Lord of the Rings - the typescript,
so far as it went, was indeed used for that revision, and was reduced to a
shambles in the course of it.
In my father's letter to Stanley Unwin of 16 December 1937 - the day
on which he received back the QS manuscript and other writings which
he had submitted - he was still only 'promising to give thought and
attention' to the question of 'a sequel or successor to The Hobbit ' (Letters
no. 19); but no more than three days later, on ig December, he reported
that he had written 'the first chapter of a new story about Hobbits - "A
long expected party"' (Letters no. 20). It is certain, then, that he began
work on the 'new story' at the very time that the QS manuscript came
back into his possession; and I feel certain that when it did so he
abandoned (for good, as it turned out) the new 'Silmarillion' narrative at
the point he had reached (for he had continued it in rougher form while
the manuscript was away, see pp. 293 - 4). But it is also clear that he did
not as yet abandon the work entirely. This is shown by some notes on a
scrap of paper to which my father fortunately and uncharacteristically
added a date:
Nov. 20 1937.
Note when material returns.
Avari are to be non-Eldarin = old Lembi.
Lembi are to be Ilkorin Teleri.
Danians Pereldar.
llkorin: Alkorin [struck out].
hyarmen for harmen south.
The fact that the first three of these changes are among the early revisions
made to the QS manuscript (for their significance see pp. 218 - 19*)
shows that he did do some further detailed work on it 'when the material
returned', i.e. after?'he Lord of the Rings was begun. It does not of course
show more precisely when that work was done or when the 'Eldanyare'
typescript was made, but here a second note with a date attached
provides evidence:
Feb. 3 1938.
Tintalle Kindler can stand - but tinwe' in Q [uenya] only = spark
(tinta- to kindle)
Therefore Tinzcerina > Elerina
Tinwerontar > Elentari (or Tar-Ellion)
Now the alterations of Tinwerina to Elerina and Tinwerontar to Elentari
were not made to the QS manuscript and do not appear in the typescript
(they were written in subsequently on the latter, only). This shows that
the typescript was made before 3 February 1938 - or more strictly, it had
at least reached the point where the name Tinwerontar occurs (chapter
3 (a), $ 19).
I conclude therefore that it was precisely at this crucial time (Decem-
ber 1937 - January 1938) that my father - entirely characteristically -
turned back again to the beginning of the Quenta Silmarillion, revising
the opening chapters and starting a new text in typescript ('Eldanyare').
This soon petered out; and from that time the 'Silmarillion' narrative
remained unchanged for some thirteen years.
This conclusion determines the way in which the text of the first part
of the Quenta Silmarillion is presented in this book. In order to make the
contrast between 'The Silmarillion' of the earlier period and 'The
Silmarillion' after the major post-Lord of the Rings revision as clear in this
history as it was in fact, I give the text of the first five chapters (1 to 3 (c))
as it was after the first revision - which is the form of the typescript text as
(*For Alkorin besides Ilkorin see the Etymologies, stems AR(2), LA; for Harmen
> Hyarmen see p. 345).
it was originally made;* but important developments from the original
form are given in the commentaries following each chapter. A great deal
of this first rewriting was in fact a matter of improved expression rather
than of narrative substance.
Although there are two texts for the first part of the work, I use the
single abbreviation QS, distinguishing the manuscript and the typescript
when necessary.
This is the title-page of the QS manuscript:
The
Quenta Silmarillion
Herein
is Qenta Noldorinwa or Pennas in Geleidh
or
History of the Gnomes.
This is a history in brief drawn from many older tales; for all
the matters that it contains were of old, and still are among the
Eldar of the %est, recounted more fully in other histories and
songs. But many of these were not recalled by Eriol, or men
have again lost them since his day. This Account was composed
first by Pengolod of Gondolin, and AElfwine turned it into our
speech as it was in his time, adding nothing, he said, save
explanations of some few names.
In this title, in Geleidh is an emendation made carefully over an erasure:
the erased form was probably na-Ngoelaidh as in Q (IV. 77). The word
Silmarillion was an addition; at first there stood simply The Quenta,
as in Q.
In the preamble to Q only Eriol is named, and there is no mention of
Pengolod; but in the preamble to A V i (IV. 263) it is said that both sets
of Annals
were written by Pengolod the Wise of Gondolin, before its fall, and
after at Sirion's Haven, and at Tavrobel in Toleressea after his return
unto the West, and there seen and translated by Eriol of Leithien, that
is AElfwine of the Angelcynn.
The preamble to the QS manuscript is decisively different in its repre-
sentation of the literary history from that of Q; for in Q the abridgement
which that work is declared to be was drawn from the Book of Lost Tales
which Eriol wrote after he had read the Golden Book in Kortirion,
whereas in QS it was uritten by Pengolod and translated by Eriol (like
<Here and there my father made further very small alterations in wording as he
typed (i.e. beyond changes marked on the manuscript), and these are of course
included in the text given here. The relation between manuscript and typescript
changes in chapter 3 (c); see p. 220.
the Annals) - the work being conceived by Pengolod as an epitome on a
small scale against a background of 'histories and songs' in which the
matters were recounted at greater length (but many of these are lost
to us).
Associated with the QS typescript are no less than five sheets of title
and preamble. The first of these is in manuscript,a and reads thus:
The Silmarillion.
The history of the Three Jewels, the
Silmarils of Feanor, in which is told
in brief the history of the Elves from
their coming until the Change of the
World.
1. Qenta Silmarillion, or Pennas Hilevril
To which is appended
The houses of the princes of Men and Elves
The tale of years
The tale of battles.
2. The Annals of Valinor Nyarna Valinoren.
3. The Annals of Beleriand Nyarna Valarianden.
4. The Lhammas or Account of Tongues.
This manuscript page was then copied in typescript, with these differ-
ences: above The Silmarillion at the head stands Eldanyare, and the
Lhammas is not included. In both manuscript and typescript Nyarna
Valinoren was changed to Yenie Valinoren or Inias Valannor; and
Nyarna Valarianden to Inias Veleriand. (In Old English versions of the
Annals of Valinoi the Elvish name is Valinorelumien, IV. 284, 290).
Subsequently, in the typescript only, Pennas Hilevril > Pennas
Silevril; Inias Valannor > Inias Balannor; Inias Veleriand > Inias
Beleriand.
The next item is an elaborate and elegant page in red, blue, and black
inks, which in its content is virtually the same as the typescript page just
described; but here the name 1 Eldanyare', translated 'The History of
the Elves', is explicitly an alternative: '1 Eldanyare or Silmarillion'. The
Elvish names of the Annals are the emended forms of the previous two
pages: Yenie' Valinoren or Inias Valannor, and Inias Veleriand, with the
same later alterations of Hilevril, Valannor, and Veleriand to Silevril,
Balannor, and Beleriand found on the typescript. On all three title-pages
Silmarillion is a comprehensive title comprising within it not only the
Quenta Silmarillion but also the two sets of Annals; cf. p. 109. The name i
Qenta Noldorinwa is not used.
Following these title-pages is a preamble comprising a note by
AElfwine and a note by the Translator. Five lines of Old English verse
by AElfwine are the selfsame lines that Alboin Errol 'dreamed', and trans-
lated for his father, in The Lost Road (p. 44); they would reappear again
once more in association with the poem The Song of AElfwine (p. 103).
This preamble is found both in manuscript and typescript. The manu-
script form reads:
Silmarillion.
AElfwine's note.
These histories were written by Pengolod the Wise of Gon-
dolin, both in that city before its fall, and afterwards at
Tathrobel in the Lonely Isle, Toleressea, after the return unto
the West. In their making he used much the writings of Rumil
the Elfsage of Valinor, chiefly in the annals of Valinor and the
account of tongues, and he used also the accounts that are
preserved in the Golden Book. The work of Pengolod I learned
much by heart, and turned into my tongue, some during my
sojourn in the West, but most after my return to Britain.
pus cwaep AElfwine Widlast:
Fela bid on Westwegum werum uncudra,
wundra ond wihta, wlitescyne lond,
eardgeard ylfa ond esa bliss.
Lyt aenig wat hwylc his longad sie
pam pe eftsides yldu getwaefed.
Translator's note.
The histories are here given in English of this day, translated
from the version of Eriol of Leithien, as the Gnomes called
him, who was AElfwine of Angelcynn. Such other matters as
AElfwine took direct from the Golden Book, together with his
account of his voyage, and his sojourn in Toleressea, are given
elsewhere.
Eriol was altered to Ereol (cf. IV. 166, 283); and there is a pencilled
annotation against the Translator's note:
Specimens (not here) are extant
(a). of the original Eressean form and script
(b). of the annals as written by AElfwine in ancient English
AElfwine's note here is a development from the preamble to AV i
(cited above p. 201); cf. also the second version of that preamble and
my remarks about Rumil's part in the Annals (p. 123). There is now no
mention of Pengolod's having continued his work at Sirion's Haven after
the fall of Gondolin. The form Tathrobel for Tavrobel occurs in Old
English versions of AV r (IV. 282, 290). For the Golden Book see IV.
78, 274.
The typescript version of the preamble has some differences. The
page is headed Eldanyare, not Silmarillion, and AElfwine's note is
changed: the passage beginning 'after the return unto the West' reads
here:
after the Elves had returned into the West. In their making he used
much the writings of Rumil the Elf-sage of Valinor concerning other
matters than the wars of Beleriand; and he used also the accounts that
are preserved by the Elves of Eressea in the Golden Book. The work of
Pengolod I learned by heart...
In the Translator's note the spelling is Ereol and the words that is now
England are added after Angolcynn (so spelt).
I give now the text of the Quenta Silmarillion as I think it stood when
it was for long laid aside. As with The Fall of Numenor I have numbered
the paragraphs, the numbers running continuously through the text; the
paragraphing of the original is very largely retained. A commentary,
related to the paragraphs, follows each chapter.
QUENTA SILMARILLION.*
Here begins the Silmarillion or history of the Silmarils.
1. OF THE VALAR.
In the beginning the All-father, who in Elvish tongue is
named Iluvatar, made the Ainur of his thought; and they made
music before him. Of this music the World was made; for Iluvatar
gave it being, and set it amid the Void, and he set the secret fire to
burn at the heart of the World; and he showed the World to the
Ainur. And many of the mightiest of them became enamoured of
its beauty, and desired to enter into it; and they put on the raiment
of the World, and descended into it, and they are in it.
$2. These spirits the Elves name the Valar, which is the
Powers, and Men have often called them Gods. Many lesser
spirits of their own kind they brought in their train, both great and
small; and some of these Men have confused with the Elves, but
wrongly, for they were made before the World, whereas Elves and
Men awoke first in the World, after the coming of the Valar. Yet in
the making of Elves and of Men, and in the giving to each of their
especial gifts, none of the Valar had any part. Iluvatar alone was
their author; wherefore they are called the Children of Iluvatar.
$3. The chieftains of the Valar were nine. These were the
(*In the manuscript (only) the word Silmarillion was an addition, as on the
title-page (p. 201); but the heading 'Here begins the Silmarillion...' is original).
names of the Nine Gods in the Elvish tongue as it was spoken in
Valinor; though they have other or altered names in the speech of
the Gnomes, and their names among Men are manifold: Manwe
and Melko, Ulmo, Aule, Mandos, Lorien, Tulkas, Osse, and
Orome.
$4. Manwe and Melko were brethren in the thought of Iluvatar
and mightiest of those Ainur who came into the World. But
Manwe is the lord of the Gods, and prince of the airs and winds,
and ruler of the sky. With him dwells as wife Varda the maker of
the stars, immortal lady of the heights, whose name is holy.
Fionwe and Ilmare* are their son and daughter. Next in might
and closest in friendship to Manwe is Ulmo, lord of waters, who
dwells alone in the Outer Seas, but has the government of all
water, seas and rivers, fountains and springs, throughout the
earth. Subject to him, though he has often rebelled, is Osse, the
master of the seas about the lands of Men; and his wife is Uinen,
the lady of the sea. Her hair lies spread through all the waters
under skies.
(*Marginal note to the text: Ilma is in the Quendian tongue starlight).
$5. Aule has might but little less than Ulmo. He is the lord of
earth. He is a smith and a master of crafts; and his spouse is
Yavanna, the giver of fruits and lover of all things that grow. In
majesty she is next to Varda among the queens of the Valar. She is
fair and tall; and often the Elves name her Palurien, the Lady of
the Wide Earth.
$6. The Fanturi were brethren, and are named Mandos and
Lorien. Nurufantur the elder was also called, the master of the
houses of the dead, and the gatherer of the spirits of the slain. He
forgets nothing, and knows all that shall be, save only what
Iluvatar has hidden, but he speaks only at the command of
Manwe. He is the doomsman of the Valar. Vaire the weaver is his
wife, who weaves all things that have been in time in her storied
webs, and the halls of Mandos, that ever widen as the ages pass,
are clothed therewith. Olofantur the younger of these brethren
was also named, maker of visions and of dreams. His gardens in
the land of the Gods are the fairest of all places in the world, and
filled with many spirits. Este the pale is his wife, who walks not by
day, but sleeps on an island in the dark lake of Lorien. Thence his
fountains bring refreshment to the folk of Valinor.
Strongest of limb, and greatest in deeds of prowess, is
Tulkas, who is surnamed Poldorea, the Valiant. He is unclothed 1
in his disport, which is much in wrestling; and he rides no steed,
for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless. His
hair and beard are golden, and his flesh ruddy; his weapons are his
hands. He recks little of either past or future, and is of small avail
as a counsellor, but a hardy friend. He lias great love for Fionwe
son of Manwe. His wife is Nessa, sister of Orome, who is lissom of
limb and fleet of foot, and dances in Valinor upon lawns of
never-fading green.
$8. Orome was a mighty lord, and little less in strength than
Tulkas, though slower in wrath. He loved the lands of earth, while
they were still dark, and he left them unwillingly and came last to
Valinor; and he comes even yet at times east over the mountains.
Of old he was often seen upon the hills and plains. He is a hunter,
and he loves all trees; for which reason he is called Aldaron, and by
the Gnomes Tauros, the lord of forests. He delights in horses and
in hounds, and his horns are loud in the friths and woods that
Yavanna planted in Valinor; but he blows them not upon the
Middle-earth since the fading of the Elves, whom he loved. Vana
is his wife, the queen of flowers, who has the beauty both of
heaven and of earth upon her face and in all her works; she is the
younger sister of Varda and Palurien.
$9. But mightier than she is Nienna, Manwe's sister and
Melko's. She dwells alone. Pity is in her heart, and mourning and
weeping come to her; shadow is her realm and her throne hidden.
For her halls are west of West, nigh to the borders of the World
and the Darkness, and she comes seldom to Valmar, the city of the
Gods, where all is glad. She goes rather to the halls of Mandos,
which are nearer and yet more northward; and all those who go to
Mandos cry to her. For she is a healer of hurts, and turns pain to
medicine and sorrow to wisdom. The windows of her house look
outward from the Walls of the World.
$10. Last do all name Melko. But the Gnomes, who suffered
most from his evil deeds, will not speak his name, and they call
him Morgoth, the Black God, and Bauglir, the Constrainer. Great
might was given to him by Iluvatar, and he was coeval with
Manwe, and part he had of all the powers of the other Valar; but
he turned them to evil uses. He coveted the world and all that was
in it, and desired 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 brethren. Wrath consumed him, and he begot
violence and destruction and excess. In ice and fire was his
delight. But darkness he used most in all his evil works, and
turned it to fear and a name of dread among Elves and Men.
Commentary on Chapter 1.
$1. There is nothing in Q concerning the Music of the Ainur; but the
new version of that work was now in existence (see note 20 to the
Ainulindale) .
Though written in afterwards on the typescript, the marginal note
clearly belongs either with the original writing of the manuscript or
with the earliest changes. In the Lhammas ($1) Quendian is the term
for all the Elvish languages, derived from Orome, as a group. In the
Ambarkanta (and on the diagrams associated with it) the 'middle
air' was Ilma, replaced throughout by Ilmen (the form in the early
Numenorean writings, pp. 9, 13); in the Etymologies both Ilma and
Ilmen appear, under the stem GIL: 'Ilma starlight (cf. Ilmare)', 'Ilmen
region above air where stars are'.
The children of Manwe and Varda are not mentioned here in Q: see
note 20 to the Ainulindale.
$5. Lady of the Wide Earth was a carefully made alteration over an
erasure, the original reading being Bosom of the Earth, as in Q.
$6. Nurufantur was another early change like that in $5; here the erased
form was Nefantur, as in Q. This is the first appearance of these
elements in the character of Mandos: his knowledge of past and future,
and his speaking only when commanded so to do by Manwe (cf. I. go,
i i i). Here also are the first characterisations of Vaire and of Este, who
in A V are no more than names.
This description of Tulkas, now first appearing, was largely re-
tained in the ultimate form of this chapter, the Valaquenta, which like
the Ainulindale became a separate and distinct element in the whole
work (see The Silmarillion pp. 28 - 9); but his great love for Fionwe is
not mentioned there. - The original reading in the manuscript was He
had great love for Fionwe; see the remarks on tenses at the end of this
commentary.
$9. In AV Nienna had become the sister of Manwe and Melko, as still
here; in the Valaquenta (p. 28) she is 'sister of the Feanturi'.
The passage beginning 'For her halls are west of West' to the end of
the paragraph, not in Q, is retained in the Valaquenta. In the Lost
Tales the hall of Vefantur and Fui Nienna was 'beneath the roots of the
most cold and northerly of the Mountains of Valinor' (I. 76). I do not
certainly understand the statement that the windows of Nienna's
house 'look outward from the Walls of the World' for if her house is in
the extreme West of Valinor her windows must surely look into the
Chasm of Ilmen and through Vaiya to the Walls of the World (see the
Ambarkanta diagram and map IV. 243, 249, and cf. QS $12). But an
interpretation, admittedly rather forced, might be that from the
windows of her house the gaze passes unhindered through Ilmen
and Vaiya, and the invisible Walls of the World, and in this sense
'looks outward from the Walls'.
$10. In Q Bauglir is translated 'Terrible'. In the published Silmarillion
the name is not interpreted in the text; in the Index I translated it
'Constrainer' as here. In the Etymologies, stem MBAW, it is rendered
'tyrant, oppressor'.
Past and Present Tense in Chapter l.
In Q the past tense is used throughout in the account of the Valar, but
with exceptions in the cases of Osse, Uinen, and Nienna. These present
tenses would probably not have occurred had not my father been
imposing the past tense on thought that was not in fact so definite. In the
opening section of AV 1 there is a mixture of present and past which is
slightly increased in that of A V z. In QS the present tense is used, with
very few exceptions, and of these 'Manwe and Melko were brethren' and
'The Fanturi were brethren' were probably fully intended (sc. they were
brethren 'in the thought of Iluvatar'). Tulkas 'had great love for Fionwe'
was early corrected ($7); and only 'Orome was a mighty lord' remains - a
repetition of the phrase in Q. - In $2 the manuscript has 'the Elves
named the Valar'; the typescript has name.
OF VALINOR AND THE TWO TREES.
$11. In the beginning of the overlordship of the Valar they saw
that the World was dark, and that light was scattered over the airs
and lands and seas. They made therefore two mighty lamps for the
lighting of the World, and set them upon lofty pillars in the South
and North of the Middle-earth. But most of the Valar dwelt upon
an island in the seas, while they laboured at their first tasks in the
ordering of the World. And Morgoth contested with them, and
made war. He overthrew the lamps, and in the confusion of
darkness he roused the seas against their island.
Then the Gods removed into the West, where ever since
their seats have been; but Morgoth escaped from their wrath, and
in the North he built himself a fortress, and delved great caverns
underground.* At that time the Valar could not overcome him or
take him captive. Therefore they made their home in the utter-
most West, and fortified it, and built many mansions in that land
(*Marginal note to the text: Melko builds Utumno).
upon the borders of the World which is called Valinor. It is
bounded on the hither side by the Great Sea, and on the further
side by the Outer Sea, which the Elves call Vaiya; and beyond that
the Walls of the World fence out the Void and the Eldest Dark.
Eastwards on the shores of the inner sea the Valar built the
mountains of Valinor, that are highest upon earth.
$13. In that land they gathered all light and all fair things, and
there are their houses, their gardens and their towers. In the midst
of the plain beyond the mountains was the city of the Gods,
Valmar the beautiful of many bells. But Manwe and Varda had
halls upon the loftiest of the mountains of Valinor, whence they
could look out across the earth even into the furthest East.
Taniquetil the Elves name that holy mountain; and Oiolosse
Everlasting Whiteness; Elerina Crowned with Stars; and many
names beside. And the Gnomes spake of it in their later tongue as
Amon Uilos; and in the language of this island of old Tindbrent-
ing was its name, among those few that had ever descried it afar
off.
In Valinor Yavanna hallowed the mould with mighty
song, and Nienna watered it with tears. In that time the Gods
were gathered together, and they sat silent upon their thrones of
council in the Ring of Doom nigh unto the golden gates of Valmar
the Blessed; and Yavanna Palurien sang before them and they
watched.
From the earth there came forth two slender shoots;
and silence was over all the world in that hour, nor was there
any other sound save the slow chanting of Palurien. Under her
song two fair trees uprose and grew. Of all things which the Gods
made they have most renown, and about their fate all the tales
of the Eldar are woven. The one had leaves of a dark green that
beneath were as shining silver; and he bore white blossoms like
the cherry, from which a dew of silver light was ever falling, so
that the earth beneath was dappled with the dark dancing shadows
of his leaves and the flickering white radiance of his flowers. The
other bore leaves of young green like the new-opened beech; their
edges were of glittering gold. Yellow flowers swung upon her
branches like the hanging blossom of those trees Men now call
Golden-rain; and from those flowers came forth warmth and a
great light.
$16. Silpion the one was called in Valinor, and Telperion and
Ninquelote and many names in song beside; but the Gnomes
name him Galathilion. Laurelin the other was called, and
Kulurien and Malinalda, and many other names; but the Gnomes
name her Galadloriel. *
$ 17. In seven hours the glory of each tree waxed to full and
waned again to nought; and each awoke again to life an hour
before the other ceased to shine. Thus in Valinor twice every day
there came a gentle hour of softer light, when both Trees were
faint, and their gold and silver beams were mingled. Silpion was
the elder of the Trees, and came first to full stature and to bloom;
and that first hour in which he shone alone, the white glimmer of a
silver dawn, the Gods reckoned not into the tale of hours, but
named it the Opening Hour, and counted therefrom the ages of
their reign in Valinor. Therefore at the sixth hour of the First
Day, and of all the joyous days afterward until the Darkening,
Silpion ceased his time of flower; and at the twelfth hour Laurelin
her blossoming. And each day of the Gods in Valinor contained,
therefore, twelve hours, and ended with the second mingling of
the lights, in which Laurelin was waning but Silpion was waxing.
Commentary on Chapter 2.
The marginal note, with Utumno (not Angband) as the name of
Melko's original fortress as in the Ambarkanta and AV z, is an early
addition, since in $$62, 105 Utumno is an early change from Utumna,
whereas this is not the case in the note.
$13. The manuscript has 'named that holy mountain', but the type-
script 'name'; cf. the note on tenses in the commentary on Chapter x.
In $16 both texts have 'the Gnomes name him', 'the Gnomes name
her'.
Elerina is a change made to the typescript, which had Tinzverina,
but it belongs to the earlier period (1938): see p. zoo. The names
Oiolosse, Tinwerina, Amon Uilos are replacements over erasures, the
erased names being those found in Q (IV. 81), Ialasse (or perhaps
rather Iolosse, see the Etymologies, stem EY), Tinwenairin, Amon-
Uilas.
*Footnote to the text: Other names of Silpion among the Gnomes are
Silivros glimmering rain (which in Elvish form is Silmerosse),
Nimloth pale blossom, Celeborn tree of silver; and the image that
Turgon made of him in Gondolin was called Belthil divine radiance.
Other names of Laurelin among the Gnomes are Glewellin (which
is the same as Laurelin song of gold), Lhasgalen green of leaf,
Melthinorn tree of gold; and her image in Gondolin was named
Glingal hanging flame.
$16. Names of the Trees. This is the first occurrence in the texts of
Telperion, as also of Ninquelote, Kulurien, and Malinalda. The names
Galathilion and Galadloriel are replacements over erasures - i.e. of
Bansil and Glingol, as in Q, or of Belthil and Glingal, as in the
footnote.
The footnote was almost certainly added at the same time as these
changes. In this note Silmerosse is called the 'Elvish' form as distinct
from the Gnomish Silivros; later in QS ($25) the phrase 'The
Lindar... who sometimes are alone called Elves' survived from
Q (IV. 85), though it was struck out and does not appear in the
typescript; in the present note, on the other hand, this old distinction
between 'Elvish' and 'Gnomish' was retained in the typescript.
Nimloth, which now first appears, later became the name of the
White Tree of Numenor, a seedling of the White Tree of Tol-eressea.
Celeborn, also now first appearing, was later the Tree of Tol-eressea,
derived from the Tree of Tirion. With Lhasgalen 'green of leaf' cf.
Eryn Lasgalen 'Wood of Greenleaves', name of Mirkwood after the
War of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, III. 375).
Belthil and Glingal appear as late emendations of Bansil and Glingol
in both the 'Lays of Beleriand' (III. 80 - 2, 195), where they are the
names of the Trees of Valinor. The particular association of these
names (in the earlier forms) with the Trees of Gondolin goes back to
the old tale of The Fall of Gondolin, where however these Trees were
not images but scions of the Trees of Valinor; but in Q (and in QS
before the changes to Galathilion and Galadloriel) they are the
Gnomish names of Silpion and Laurelin. The present note is the first
indication that the Trees of Gondolin were images made by Turgon.
At the end of the chapter in the manuscript is a simplified form of
the table of the periods of the Trees given in Q (IV. 83).
3 (a). OF THE COMING OF THE ELVES.
[In the QS manuscript the third chapter ('Of the Coming of the Elves')
extends all the way through Chapters 3, 4 ('Of Thingol and Melian'), and
5 ('Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalie') in the published work,
though there is a sub-heading 'Thingol'. In the typescript text there are
two emphatic breaks and subheadings, 'Of Thingol' and 'Of Kor and
Alqualonde (which became 'Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalie'),
but they have no chapter-numbers; and after 'Of Kor and Alqualonde'
the typescript text comes to an end. It is convenient to treat the three
parts here as separate chapters, numbering them 3 (a), 3 (b), and 3 (c) ]
$18. In all this time, since Morgoth overthrew the lamps, the
Middle-earth east of the Mountains of Valinor was without light.
While the lamps were shining, growth began there, which now
was checked, because all was again dark. But already the oldest
living things had arisen: in the sea the great weeds, and on the
earth the shadow of dark trees. And beneath the trees small things
faint and silent walked, and in the valleys of the night-clad hills
there were dark creatures old and strong. In such lands and forests
Orome would often hunt; and there too at times Yavanna came,
singing sorrowfully; for she was grieved at the darkness of the
Middle-earth and ill content that it was forsaken. But the other
Valar came seldom thither; and in the North Morgoth built his
strength, and gathered his demons about him. These were the first
made of his creatures: their hearts were of fire, and they had whips
of flame. The Gnomes in later days named them Balrogs. But in
that time Morgoth made many monsters of divers kinds and
shapes that long troubled the world; yet the Orcs were not made
until he had looked upon the Elves, and he made them in mockery
of the Children of Iluvatar. His realm spread now ever southward
over the Middle-earth.
$19. Varda looked out upon the darkness, and was moved.
Therefore she took the silver dew that dripped from Silpion
and was hoarded in Valinor, and therewith she made the stars.
And for this reason she is called Tintalle, the Star-kindler, and
Elentari, Queen of Stars. She strewed the unlit skies with these
bright vessels, filled with silver flame; but high in the North, a
challenge unto Morgoth, she set the crown of seven mighty stars to
swing, the emblem of the Gods, and the sign of 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.
$20. It is told that at the opening of the first stars the children
of the earth awoke, the Elder Children of Iluvatar. Themselves
they named the Quendi, whom we call Elves; but Orome named
them Eldar, Star-folk, and that name has since been borne by all
that followed him upon the westward road. In the beginning they
were greater and more strong than they have since become; but
not more fair, for though the beauty of the Eldar in the days of
their youth was beyond all other beauty that Iluvatar has caused to
be, it has not perished, but lives in the West, and sorrow and
wisdom have enriched it. And Orome looking upon the Elves was
filled with love and wonder; for their coming was not in the Music
of the Ainur, and was hidden in the secret thought of Iluvatar. But
Orome came upon them by chance in his wandering, while they
dwelt yet silent beside the starlit mere, Kuivienen, Water of
Awakening, in the East of the Middle-earth. For a while he abode
with them, and taught them the language of the Gods, from
whence afterwards they made the fair Elvish speech, which was
sweet in the ears of the Valar. Then swiftly Orome rode back over
land and sea to Valinor, filled with the thought of the beauty of the
Elves, and he brought the tidings to Valmar. And the Gods were
amazed, all save Manwe, to whom the secret thought of Iluvatar
was revealed in all matters that concern this world. Manwe sat
now long in thought, and at length he spoke to the Valar, revealing
to them the mind of the Father; and he bade them to return now to
their duty, which was to govern the world for the Children of
Iluvatar, when they should appear, each kindred in its appointed
time.
$21. Thus it came to pass that after long council the Gods
resolved to make an assault upon the fortress of Morgoth in the
North.* Morgoth did not forget that the Elves were the cause of
his downfall. Yet they had no part in it; and little do they know of
the riding of the power of the West against the North in the
beginning of their days, and of the war and tumult of the first
Battle of the Gods. In those days the shape of the Middle-earth
was changed and broken and the seas were moved. It was Tulkas
who at last wrestled with Morgoth and overthrew him, and bound
him with the chain Angainor, and led him captive; and the world
had peace for a long age. But the fortress of Morgoth had many
vaults and caverns hidden with deceit far under earth, and these
the Gods did not utterly destroy, and many evil things still
lingered there; and others were dispersed and fled into the dark
and roamed in the waste places of the world.
$22. The Gods drew Morgoth back to Valinor bound hand and
foot and blindfold, and he was cast into prison in the halls of
Mandos, from whence none have ever escaped save by the will
of Mandos and of Manwe, neither Vala, nor Elf, nor Man. Vast
are those halls and strong, and built in the North of Valinor.
$23. Then the Quendi, the people of the Elves, were sum-
moned by the Gods to Valinor, for the Valar were filled with love
of their beauty, and feared for them in the dangerous world amid
the deceits of the starlit dusk; but the Gods as yet withheld the
living light in Valinor. In this many have seen the cause of woes
that after befell, holding that the Valar erred, and strayed from the
(*Marginal note to the text: Utumno).
purpose of Iluvatar, albeit with good intent. Yet such was the fate
of the World, which cannot in the end be contrary to Iluvatar's
design. Nonetheless the Elves were at first unwilling to hearken
to the summons; wherefore Orome was sent unto them, and
he chose from among them three ambassadors, and he brought
them to Valmar. These were Ingwe and Finwe and Elwe, who
after were kings of the Three Kindreds of the Eldar; and coming
they were filled with awe by the glory and majesty of the Valar,
and desired the light and splendour of Valinor. Therefore they
returned and counselled the Elves to remove into the West, and
the greater part of the people obeyed their counsel. This they
did of their own free will, and yet were swayed by the power of
the Gods, ere their wisdom was full grown. The Elves that obeyed
the summons and followed the three princes are called the Eldar,
by the name that Orome gave them; for he was their guide, and
led them at the last (save some that strayed upon the march)
unto Valinor. Yet there were many who preferred the starlight
and the wide spaces of the earth to the rumour of the glory of
the Trees, and remained behind; and these are called the Avari,
the Unwilling.
$24. The Eldar prepared now a great march from their first
homes in the East. When all was ready, Orome rode at their head
upon his white horse shod with gold; and behind him the Eldalie
was arrayed in three hosts.
$25. The first to take the road were led by Ingwe, the most
high lord of all the Elvish race. He entered into Valinor, and sits at
the feet of the Powers, and all Elves revere his name; but he never
returned nor looked again upon the Middle-earth. The Lindar
were his folk, the fairest of the Quendi; they are the High Elves,
and the beloved of Manwe and Varda, and few among Men have
spoken with them.
$26. Next came the Noldor. The Gnomes we may call them, a
name of wisdom; they are the Deep Elves, and the friends of Aule.
Their lord was Finwe, wisest of all the children of the world. His
kindred are renowned in song, and of them these tales have much
to tell, for they fought and laboured long and grievously in the
Northern lands of old.
$27. Third came the Teleri, for they tarried, and were not
wholly of a mind to forsake the dusk; they are the Sea Elves, and
the Soloneldi they were after named in Valinor, for they made
music beside the breaking waves. Elwe was their lord, and his hair
was long and white.
$28. The hindmost of the Noldor forsook the host of Finwe,
repenting of the march, and they turned southward, and
wandered long, and became a people apart, unlike their kin.
They are not counted among the Eldar, nor yet among the Avari.
Pereldar they are called in the tongue of the Elves of Valinor,
which signifies Half-eldar. But in their own tongue they were
called Danas, for their first leader was named Dan. His son
was Denethor, who led them into Beleriand ere the rising of the
Moon.
$29. And many others of the Eldar that set out upon the
march were lost upon the long road, 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
the Lembi, that is the Lingerers. And the Lembi and the Pereldar
are called also the Ilkorindi, because though they began the
journey they never dwelt in Kor, the city which the Elves after
built in the land of the Gods; yet their hearts were ever turned
towards the West. But the Ilkorindi and the Avari are called the
Dark Elves, because they never beheld the light of the Two Trees
ere it was dimmed; whereas the Lindar and the Noldor and the
Teleri are named the Light Elves, and remember the light that is
no more.*
$30. The Lembi were for the most part of the race of the
Teleri, and the chief of these were the Elves of Beleriand, in
the West of the Middle-earth. Most renowned among them was
that Elf who first was named Sindo, the Grey, brother of Elwe,
but is called now Thingol in the language of Doriath.
*Footnote to the text: Other names in song and tale are given to these
folk. The Lindar are the Blessed Elves, and the Spear-elves, and
the Elves of the Air, the Friends of the Gods, the Holy Elves,
and the Immortal, and the Children of Ingwe; they are the Fair
Folk and the White. The Noldor are the Wise and the Golden, the
Valiant, the Sword-elves, the Elves of the Earth, the Foes of Melko,
the Skilled of Hand, the Lovers of Jewels, the Companions of Men,
the Followers of Finwe. The Teleri are the Foam-riders, Musicians
of the Shore, the Free, the Wanderers, and the Elves of the Sea, the
Sailors, the Arrow-elves, Ship-friends, the Lords of the Gulls,
the Blue Elves, the Pearl-gatherers, and the People of Elwe. The
Danas are the Elves of the Woods, the Hidden Elves, the Green
Elves, the Elves of the Seven Rivers, the Lovers of Luthien, the
Lost Folk of Ossiriand, for they are now no more.
Commentary on Chapter 3 (a).
[The names of the divisions of the Elves underwent extremely com-
plicated changes on the QS manuscript to reach the form in the
typescript text printed here, since the same names were moved into
different references and given different meanings. I do not refer to the
original names in the notes that follow, since the individual changes
would be extremely hard to follow if given piecemeal, but attempt an
explanation in a general note at the end of this commentary.]
$18. The original text of the passage concerning the demons of Morgoth
ran as follows:
... in the North Morgoth built his strength, and gathered his
demon-broods about him, whom the Gnomes after knew as
Balrogs: they had whips of flame. The Uvanimor he made,
monsters of divers kinds and shapes; but the Orcs were not
made until he had looked upon the Elves.
The term Uvanimor occurs in the Lost Tales, 1. 75 ('monsters, giants,
and ogres'), etc.; cf. Vanimor' the Beautiful', p. r to. - On the question
of when the Orcs first came into being see p. 148 and commentary on
QS $62. It is said in The Fall of.Vumenor II ($1) that the Orcs are
'mockeries of the creatures of Iluvatar' (cf. also The Lost Road, p. 65).
In QS $62 the idea that the Orcs were mockeries of the Elves is found
in the text as originally written.
$19 Elentari was changed on the typescript from Tinwerotar, but the
alteration belongs to the earlier period, like Elerina > Tinwerina in
$13; see p. 200. - Tintalle 'the Kindler' is found in The Silmarillion
(p. 48) - and in The Lord of the Rings - but is there the name of Varda
'out of the deeps of time': the name 'Queen of the Stars' (Elentari) was
given in reference to the second star-making, at the time of the
awakening of the Elves. This second star-making of The Silmarillion
was still in QS, as in AV 2 (annal 1900), the first.
$20. The sentence beginning 'but Orome named them Eldar, "Star-
folk"...' is a footnote in the manuscript, a very early addition; in the
typescript it was taken up into the text. See the note on names at the
end of this commentary.
The whole paragraph, from the words 'but not more fair', was
greatly extended and altered in the first rewriting to give the text
printed. As originally written it was almost an exact repetition of Q
(IV. 84): 84.):
... yet not more fair. Orome it was that found them, dwelling by
the star-lit mere, Kuivienen, Water of Awakening, in the East of
Middle-earth. Swiftly he rode 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 afterward come, each in the appointed time.
In addition to the statement in the rewriting that Orome taught
the Elves 'the language of the Gods' (see the lhammas $1), the
new passage introduces an extraordinary development into the
thought of the Ainulindale: the coming of the Children of Iluvatar
was not in the Music of the Ainur, the Valar were amazed at
the news brought by Orome, and Manwe then revealed to them
the mind of Iluvatar. What in the original text was their known
duty ('For they came into the world knowing that their office was
to govern it for the Children of Iluvatar') is now (it seems) presented
to them as a duty indeed, but one of which they had until then
been ignorant. In the Ainulindale version of this period (pp. 160-1)
it is said:
For Elves and Men were devised by Iluvatar alone, nor, since they
comprehended not fully that part of the theme when it was pro-
pounded to them, did any of the Ainur dare in their music to add
anything to their fashion.
In the later, post-Lord of the Rings versions, while the conception is
changed and the idea introduced of the Vision seen by the Ainur before
the act of Creation, it is explicit that the Children of Iluvatar 'came
with the third theme' of the Music, and that the Ainur saw in the
Vision the arising of Elves and Men.
As originally written QS had 'symmetry' for 'shape', showing that
my father had in mind the passage in the Ambarkanta: 'But the
symmetry of the ancient Earth was changed and broken in the first
Battle of the Gods' (I V. 239 and the map IV. 251 ).
The passage from 'In this many have seen the cause of woes that
after befell' is an addition to the original text, which had simply
'Orome brought their ambassadors to Valmar.' Here the story of the
three ambassadors, curiously absent from S and Q (IV. 68), re-
emerges from the Lost Tales (1. 115 - 17); and the suggestion, first
appearing in the rewriting of QS, that the Valar erred in summoning
the Elves is also hinted at in the old tale: 'Maybe indeed had the Gods
decided otherwise the world had been a fairer place and the Eldar a
happier folk' (1. 117).
Elwe here, confusingly, is not Thingol, whose Quenya name is Elwe
in The Silmarillion. In the Lost Tales Tinwelint (Thingol) was one of
the three ambassadors; but the leader of the Third Kindred on the
Great March (after the loss of Tinwelint) was 'one Ellu' (1. 120). In
QS Thingol was not one of the ambassadors, and he never went to
Valinor; the ambassador and the leader of the Third Host was Elwe
(who was however the brother of Thingol). In The Silmarillion
Thingol (Elwe Singollo) was again one of the ambassadors, while the
leader of the Third Host (after the loss of Thingol) was his brother
Olwe - a return therefore to the Lost Tales, with the addition that the
two were brothers.
The original text of the passage following 'These were Ingwe and
Finwe and Elwe, who after were kings of the Three Kindreds of the
Eldar' was thus:
And returning they counselled that the Elves should remove into the
West. This they did of their own free will, yet in awe of the power
and majesty of the Gods. Most of the Elves obeyed the summons,
and these are they who afterward came unto Valinor (save some who
strayed), and are called the Eldar, the Departing.
This explanation of the name Eldar is the same as that in the Ihammas
($2 and commentary), and in both works it was overtaken by the
translation 'Star-folk', the name given by Orome: see under $20 above
and the note on names at the end of this commentary.
$25. After 'The Lindar were his folk, the fairest of the Quendi' the
original text added: 'who sometimes are alone called Elves'; see the
commentary on $16.
High Flves:Q had here 'Light-elves'; subsequently( IV.89 note 6 )
'Light-elves' was emended to 'High-elves', and that in turn to 'Fair-
elves'. The term 'Light Elves' was now differently employed: see $29,
and p. 197.
$27. This is the first appearance of the idea that the Teleri were the last
of the Three Kindreds because 'they tarried, and were not wholly of a
mind to forsake the dusk'. In the Lhammas ($2) they were the last
because they were 'the latest to awake'.
$28. For 'Pereldar they are called in the tongue of the Elves of Valinor,
which signifies Half-eldar' the original reading was: 'No name had
they in the tongue of Valinor.' See the note on names below.
$29. The words 'they never dwelt in Kor, the city which the Elves after
built' are a reversion to the original meaning of the name, the more
puzzling in view of $39: On the top of the hill of Kor the city of the
Elves was built, the white walls and terraces of Tun [> Tuna]'.
Similarly in the Lhammas $11 the words 'in Kor' contradict the
reference in $5 to Kor as the hill on which Tun [> Tuna] was built.
$30. It is said also in the Lhammas ($2) that the Lembi were for the
most part of Telerian race, but the meaning there is not precisely the
same, since in the Lhammas the name Lembi still meant the Elves who
never left the lands of their awakening. - On Sindo the Grey see the
commentary on Lhammas $6.
Note on the names of the divisions of the Elves.
Several of the changes referred to below are found in the list of proposed
alterations dated 20 November 1937 (p. 200).
As this chapter was originally written, the classification was:
($23). Eldar 'the Departing', opposed to Lembi 'the Lingerers',
those that remained behind. (This is the same formulation as in the
Lhammas $2, before emendation.)
($28). Those of the Noldor who repented of the journey and turned
south, the Danas, are counted neither as Eldar or Lembi. (This agrees
with the statement in the Lhammas $7 (but not with that in $2: on the
contradictory views see p. 188 and the Lammasethen, pp. 194- 5).
($29). Those of the Eldar who set out but 'were lost upon the long
road' and never came to Kor are called Ilkorindi. (This agrees with the
Lhammas $2, except that there the Danas are included among the
Ilkorindi.)
The earliest changes to the QS manuscript then brought in the ideas
that Eldar meant 'Star-folk' and was a name given to all Elves by Orome,
but also that this name was 'borne by all that followed him upon the
westward road'. The distinction was also introduced that those who
actually crossed the Sea were called Avari, 'the Departing'. This new
formulation was written in also to Lhammas $2 (see the commentary),
doubtless at the same time.
The third layer of early change to this passage in the QS manuscript,
giving the text printed, is not represented in the Lhammas. These are the
changes referred to in the notes dated 20 November 1937. Avari was
changed to mean 'the Unwilling', and replaced Lembi as the name for
those who remained behind in the East ($23); the Danas were given the
name 'in the tongue of Valinor' of Pereldar 'Half-eldar' ($28);* Lembi
was now given to the Eldar who were lost on the road and never came
to Kor ($29); and while the name Ilkorindi was retained (an alternative to
Lembi) it now included also the Danas (Pereldar) ($29) - to that extent
agreeing with Lhammas $2. Thus (in contrast to the table on p. 183):
Eldar 'Star-folk', name given
to all Elves (Quendi) by Orome.
Eldar. Avari.
(name restricted. ('the Unwilling').
to those that
followed Orome).
Those that went. Lembi. Pereldar.
to Valinor. ('Lingerers', lost. (Half-eldar)
on the road; chiefly. or Danas.
Telerian Elves of
Beleriand).
Ilkorindi.
Light Elves. Dark Elves.
(* In The Lord of the Rings the Sindarin form Peredhil has a totally different
application: 'The sons of Earendil were Elros and Elrond, the Peredhil or Half-
elven', Appendix A 1 (i). An earlier name was Peringol, Peringiul: see the
commentary on AB 2, annal 325 ).
3 (b). OF THINGOL.
$31. For this reason Thingol abode in Beleriand and came not
to Valinor. Melian was a fay, of the race of the Valar. She dwelt in
the gardens of Lorien, and among all his fair folk there were none
more beautiful than she, nor more wise, nor more skilled in songs
of magic and enchantment. It is told that the Gods would leave
their business, and the birds of Valinor their mirth, that the bells
of Valmar 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 she taught them
their song. She loved deep shadow, but she was akin, before the
World was made, unto Yavanna, and often strayed from Valinor
on long journey into the Hither Lands, and there she filled the
silence of the dawning earth with her voice and with the voices of
her birds.
$32. Thingol heard the song of the nightingales of Melian and
a spell was laid upon him, and he forsook his folk, and was lost,
following their voices amid the shadows of the trees. He came at
last upon a glade open to the stars; and there Melian stood, and the
light of Valinor was in her face. Nought she said, but being filled
with love Thingol came to her and took her hand, and he was cast
into a dream and a long slumber, and his people looked for him in
vain.
$33. In after days Melian and Thingol became Queen and
King of the Elves of Doriath, and their hidden halls were in
Menegroth, the Thousand Caves. Thus Thingol came never
across the Sea to Valinor, and Me1ian returned not thither while
their realm lasted; and of her a strain of the immortal race of the
Gods came among both Elves and Men, as after shall be told.
3 (C). OF KOR AND ALQUALONDE.
[The relation between the manuscript and the typescript texts here
becomes quite different, in that the manuscript (in which this is not a
separate chapter or in any way marked off from what precedes, see
p. 211) was scarcely emended at all, while the typescript has, already as
typed, a great many changes from it. The explanation is presumably that
in this case my father made the alterations from the manuscript as he
typed without pencilling them in on the manuscript first. There is not in
fact a great deal in the second text that seriously alters the narrative or
nomenclature of the first, though certain new elements do enter. As
hitherto, I follow the typescript text and record significant differences
from the manuscript in the commentary. With Of Kor and Alqualonde
the typescript ceases.]
$34. In time the hosts of the Eldar came to the last western
shores of the Hither Lands. In the North these shores, in the
ancient days after the Battle of the Gods, sloped ever westward,
until in the northernmost parts of the earth only a narrow sea
divided the Outer Land, upon which Valinor was built, from the
Hither Lands; but this narrow sea was filled with grinding ice,
because of the violence of the frosts of Melko. Therefore Orome
did not lead the Eldar into the far North, but brought them to the
fair lands about the River Sirion that afterwards were named
Beleriand; and from those shores whence first the hosts of the
Eldar looked in fear and wonder on the sea there stretched an
ocean, wide and dark and deep, between them and the Mountains
of Valinor.
$35. There they waited and gazed upon the dark waves. But
Ulmo came from the Valar; and he uprooted the half-sunken
island, upon which the Gods had dwelt in the beginning, but
which now long had stood alone amid the sea, far from either
shore; and with the aid of his servants he moved it, as it were a
mighty ship, and anchored it in the bay into which Sirion pours
his water.* Thereon he embarked the Lindar and the Noldor, for
they had already assembled. But the Teleri were behind, being
slower and less eager upon the march, and they were delayed also
by the loss of Thingol; and they did not come until Ulmo had
departed.
$36. Therefore Ulmo drew the Lindar and the Noldor over the
sea to the long shores beneath the Mountains of Valinor, and they
entered the land of the Gods and were welcomed to its bliss. But
the Teleri dwelt long by the shores of the western sea, awaiting
Ulmo's return; and they grew to love the sound of the waves, and
they made songs filled with the music of water. Osse heard them,
and came thither; and he loved them, delighting in the music of
their voices. Sitting upon a rock nigh to the margin of the sea he
spoke to them and instructed them. Great therefore was his grief
when Ulmo returned at length to bear them away to Valinor.
Some he persuaded to remain on the beaches of the Middle-earth,
(*Footnote to the text: And some have told that the great isle of Balar,
that lay of old in that bay, was the eastern horn of the Lonely Isle,
that broke asunder and remained behind, when Ulmo removed that
land again into the West).
and these were the Elves of the Falas that in after days had
dwellings at the havens of Brithombar and Eglorest in Beleriand;
but most of the Teleri embarked upon the isle and were drawn far
away.
$37. Osse followed them, and when they were come near to
their journey's end he called to them; and they begged Ulmo to
halt for a while, so that they might take leave of their friend and
look their last upon the sky of stars. For the light of the Trees, that
filtered through the passes of the hills, filled them with awe. And
Ulmo was wroth with them, yet he granted their request, and left
them for a while. Then Osse seized the isle and chained it to the
sea-bottom, far out in the Bay of Elvenhome, whence the Moun-
tains of Valinor could only dimly be descried. And when Ulmo
returned the island could not be moved or uprooted without peri1
to the Teleri; and it was not moved, but stood alone for many an
age. No other land was near it, and it was called Tol Eressea, or the
Lonely Isle. There the Teleri long dwelt, and of Osse they learned
strange musics and sea-lore; and he made the sea-birds for their
delight. By this long sojourn of the Teleri apart in the Lonely Isle
was caused the sundering of their speech from the language of the
Lindar and Noldor.
$38. To these the Valar had given a home and a dwelling. Even I
among the radiant flowers of the Tree-lit gardens of the Gods they
longed still to see the stars at times. Therefore a gap was made in
the encircling mountains, and there in a deep valley that ran down
to the sea the green hill of Kor was raised. From the West the light
of the Trees fell upon it, and its shadow lay ever eastward, and to
the East it looked towards the Bay of Elvenhome, and the Lonely
Isle, and the Shadowy Seas. The light of the Blessed Realm
streamed forth, kindling the waves with gleams of gold and silver,
and it touched 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.
$39. On the top of the hill of Kor the city of the Elves was built,
the white walls and terraces of Tuna, and the highest of the towers
of that city was the Tower of Ingwe, the Ingwemindon, whose
silver lamp shone far out into the mists of the sea. Few are the
ships of mortal Men that have seen its slender beam. In Tuna*
dwelt the Lindar and the Noldor.
(*Footnote to the text: That is the Hill-city. This city the Gods called
Eldamar (that is Elvenhome), and the Gnomes in their later speech
Tun or Eledun. But the regions where the Elves dwelt, and whence
the stars could be seen, were called Elende or Eldanor, that is
Elfland. The pass through the mountains which led to Elende was
named the Kalakilya, Pass of Light).
$40. Manwe and Varda loved most the Lindar, the High
Elves, and holy and immortal were all their deeds and songs. The
Noldor, the Gnomes, were beloved of Aule, and of Mandos the
wise; and great became their knowledge and their skill. Yet ever
greater was their thirst for more knowledge, and their desire to
make things wonderful and new. They were changeful in speech,
for they had great love of words, and sought ever to find names
more fit for all things that they knew or imagined. In Valinor they
first contrived the fashioning of gems, and they made them of
many kinds and hues in countless myriads; and they filled all
Tuna with them, and the halls of the Gods were enriched.
$41. The Noldor afterwards came back to the Middle-earth,
and this tale tells mostly of their deeds; therefore the names and
kinship of their princes may here be told, in that form which these
names after had in the tongue of the Gnomes as it was in Beleriand
upon the Middle-earth. Finwe was King of the Noldor. His sons
were Feanor, Fingolfin, and Finrod. Of these Feanor was the
mightiest in skill of word and of hand, more learned in lore than
his brethren; in his heart his spirit burned as flame. Fingolfin was
the strongest, the most steadfast, and the most valiant. Finrod was
the fairest, and the most wise of heart. The seven sons of Feanor
were Maidros the tall; Maglor a musician and a mighty singer,
whose voice carried far over land and sea; Celegorn the fair, and
Cranthir the dark; and Curufin the crafty, who inherited most of
his father's skill of hand; and the youngest Damrod and Diriel,
who were twin brethren alike in mood and face. They afterwards
were great hunters in the woods of the Middle-earth. A hunter also
was Celegorn, who in Valinor was a friend of Orome and followed
oft the great god's horn.
$42. The sons of Fingolfin were Fingon, who was after King of
the Gnomes in the North of the world; and Turgon of Gondolin;
and their sister was Isfin the White. The sons of Finrod were
Inglor the faithful (who afterwards was named Felagund, Lord
of Caves), and Orodreth, and Angrod, and Egnor. Inglor and
Orodreth were close in love, and they were friends of the sons of
Fingolfin; but Angrod and Egnor were friends of the sons of
Feanor.
$43. Here must be told how the Teleri came at last to Valinor.
For nigh on one hundred of the years of Valinor, which were each
as ten of the years of the Sun that were after made, they dwelt in
Tol Eressea. But slowly their hearts were moved, and were drawn
towards the light that flowed out over the sea unto their isle; and
they were torn between the love of the music of the waves upon
their shores, and desire to see again their kindred and to look upon
the splendour of the Gods. Yet in the end desire of the light was
the stronger. Therefore Ulmo taught them the craft of ship-
building; and Osse, submitting to Ulmo, brought them as his
farewell gift the strong-winged swans. These they harnessed to
their fleet of white ships, and thus they were drawn without the
help of the winds to Valinor.
$44. There they dwelt upon the long shores of Elvenhome,
and if they wished they could see the light of the Trees, and could
visit the golden streets of Valmar and the crystal stairs of Tuna
upon Kor. But most they sailed upon the waters of the Bay of
Elvenhome, or danced in the waves with their hair gleaming in the
light beyond the hill. Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals
and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the
shores and scattered in the pools. Marvellous were the beaches of j
Elende in those days. And many pearls they won for themselves
from the sea, and their halls were of pearl, and of pearl were the
For Alqualonde, the Haven of the Swans, was their chief town,
and the harbour of their ships; and these were fashioned in the
likeness of swans, white, and their beaks were of gold with eyes
of gold and jet. The gate of that harbour was an arch of living
rock sea-carven, and it lay upon the confines of Elfland, north
of the Kalakilya, which is the Pass of Light wherein stood the hill
of Kor.
$45. As the ages passed the Lindar grew to love the land of the
Gods and the full light of the Trees, and they forsook the city of
Tuna, and dwelt upon the mountain of Manwe, or about the
plains and woods of Valinor, and became sundered from the
Gnomes. But remernbrarce of the earth under stars remained in
the hearts of the Noldor, and they abode in the Kalakilya, and in
the hills and valleys within sound of the western sea; and though
many of them went oft about the land of the Gods, making far
journeys in search of the secrets of land and water and all living
things, yet their intercourse was more with the Teleri than with
the Lindar; and the tongues of Tuna and Alqualonde drew
together in those days. Finwe was King of Tuna and Elwe of
Alqualonde; but Ingwe was ever held High-king of all the Elves.
He dwelt at the feet of Manwe upon Taniquetil. Feanor and
his sons abode seldom in one place for long. They travelled
far and wide within the confines of Valinor, going even to the
borders of the Dark and the cold shores of the Outer Sea,
seeking the unknown. Often they were guests in the halls of
Aule; but Celegorn went rather to the house of Orome, and
there he got great knowledge of all birds and beasts, and all
their tongues he knew. For all living things that are or have
been on this earth, save only the fell and evil creatures of Melko,
lived then in Valinor; and there were many other creatures
beautiful and strange that have not yet been seen upon the
Middle-earth, and perchance never now shall be, since the fashion
of the World was changed.
Commentary on Chapter. 3 (c).
$34. It is not told in the manuscript version where Orome came to the
coast of the Great Sea; but cf. the Ambarkanta map (IV. 249) on
which the track of the March of the Elves is shown (and see IV. 257).
$35. The manuscript does not have the sentence 'and with the aid of
his servants...' nor the footnote. The story of the origin of the Isle of
Balar has not been told before.
In the last sentence of the paragraph the manuscript has only 'but
the Teleri were behind and came not until he had gone.' In the
typescript version enters the story that the loss of Thingol was one
cause of the late arrival of the Teleri on the shores (though this idea
was possibly present already in the original tale of The Coming of the
Elves, 1. 120); that they were less eager in any case has been said
earlier in QS ($27).
$36. It has not been said expressly before that the Elves who were
persuaded to remain by Osse were the Elves of Brithombar and
Eglorest.
$37. The story told here shows an interesting stage between Q and The
Silmarillion (pp. 58-9). In QS, as in S and Q, the old story of Osse's
rebellious anchoring of Tol Eressea still survives (see 1. 120, 134; IV.
45); but there is now the element, found in The Silmarillion, that the
Teleri hearing Osse calling to them begged Ulmo to stay the voyage,
and he did so, though in QS he was 'wroth with them'. In the final form
of the story, however, not only did Ulmo do so willingly, but it was he
himself who ordered Osse to root the island to the sea-bottom, for he
was opposed to the summoning of the Quendi to Valinor.
$39. The name Ingwemindon has not been used before. - The name
Tun in the body of the text was carefully altered to Tuna in the
manuscript at both occurrences in $39 and again in $$40, 44(but not in
$45: see the commentary), and the footnote clearly belongs to the same
time. The name Eldamar is now used of the city itself, while the new
names Elende and Eldanor are given to the region. This is another
case where my father altered the Lhammas in the same way and no
doubt at the same time as he altered QS: in $5. Tun was changed to
Tuna, with a marginal note 'which the Gods called Eldamar' (on the
history of the name see the commentary on that section).
$40. The sentence about the changefulness of speech among the Noldor
is not in the manuscript. Cf. the passage on this subject in the
Lhammas $5.
$41. With the opening sentence concerning the form in which the
names of the Noldorin princes are given cf. the passage added at the
end of the Lhammas ($11): 'The names of the Gnomes in the Quenta
are given in the Noldorin form as that tongue became in Beleriand, for
all those after Finwe father of the Noldor, whose name remains in
ancient form.' The manuscript has 'using the names in the form of the
Gnomish tongue as it long was spoken on the earth', as in Q (IV. 87).
For 'in his heart his spirit burned as flame' the manuscript has 'he
had a heart of fire'. Cf. the later interpretation of Feanaro as 'Spirit of
Fire', The Silmarillion p. 63 (in the Etymologies, stem PHAY, the name
is translated 'radiant sun'). - Celegorn here and throughout QS until
$141 was an early change on the manuscript from Celegorm, as also in
AV z and AB z. - The statement (not found in the manuscript version)
that Damrod and Diriel were twins is now first made, though it is
possible that they had always been conceived to be so (IV. 46).
$42. In AV 2 (annal 2993) the earlier idea of the alliances between the
Noldorin princes still survived, with Inglor Felagund a friend of
Fingon and Turgon, sons of Fingolfin, and his brothers Orodreth,
Angrod, and Egnor friends especially of Celegorm and Curufin. This
was changed in A V z to the story in QS, Orodreth becoming associated
with Inglor in friendship with the sons of Fingolfin.
The manuscript has 'Many pearls they made', as in Q (IV. 88). -
The description of the ships of the Teleri is not in the manuscript; in
the typescript text it re-emerges from the Lost Tales, I. 124 - 5.
Tun was not here emended to Tuna in the manuscript, where there
is a footnote to the text, added no doubt at the same time as that to $39:
'Which is therefore called hereafter by its name in the speech of the
Gnomes' (i.e. because the Lindar had departed).
The conclusion of this chapter was much developed from the form
in the manuscript, which has no mention of the drawing together of
the tongues of Tuna and Alqualonde after the departure of the Lindar
(cf. the Lhammas $5), nor of Celegorn's knowledge of the tongues of
birds and beasts, and it does not have the very curious concluding
passage concerning the existence in Valinor of all living things that
have ever been on earth, save only the creatures of Melko.
4. OF THE SILMARILS AND THE DARKENING OF
VALINOR.
[From this point, where the typescript version comes to an end, there
seems to have been scarcely any emendation to the manuscript until the
major revision was undertaken many years later. A few corrections,
however, certainly belong to the early period, while some points are
doubtful in this respect.]
$46. From this time, when the three kindreds of the Eldar
were gathered at last in Valinor, began the Noontide of the Blessed
Realm and its fullness of bliss and glory, which lasted many ages.
In that time, five ages after the coming of the Noldor, when they
had become full-grown in knowledge and skill, Feanor, son of
Finwe, began a long and marvellous labour; and he summoned all
his lore, and power, and subtle skill; for he purposed to make
things more fair than any of the Eldar had yet 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; yet all lights that fell upon them, however faint, they
took and reflected in marvellous hues to which their own inner fire
gave a surpassing loveliness. No mortal flesh, nor flesh unclean,
could touch them, but was scorched and withered. These jewels
the Elves prized beyond all their works, and Manwe hallowed
them; but Varda foretold that the fate of the World was locked
within them. And the heart of Feanor was bound fast to these
things that he himself had made.
$47. For two ages more the noontide of the glory of Valinor
endured. For seven ages then, as the Gods had decreed, Melko
had dwelt in the halls of Mandos, each age in lightened pain.
When these ages were past, as they had promised, he was brought
before their conclave. He looked upon the glory of the Valar, and
greed and malice were in his heart; he looked upon the fair
Children of Iluvatar that sat at the feet of the Gods, and hatred
filled him; he looked upon the wealth of gems and lusted for them;
but he hid his thoughts and postponed his vengeance.
$48. Before the gates of Valmar Melko humbled himself at the
feet of Manwe and sued for pardon, and Nienna his sister aided his
prayer. But the Gods would not suffer him to depart from their
sight and vigilance. He was given a humble dwelling within the
gates of the city; but so fair-seeming were all his deeds and words
that after a while he was permitted to go freely about all the land,
and both Gods and Elves had much help and profit from him. Yet
Ulmo's heart misgave him, and Tulkas clenched his hands when-
ever he saw Morgoth, his foe, go by. For Tulkas is quick to wrath
and slow to forgiveness.
$49. Most fair of all was Morgoth to the Elves, and he aided
them in many works, if they would let him. The Lindar, the
people of Ingwe, held him in suspicion; for Ulmo had warned
them, and they heeded his words. But the Gnomes took delight in
the many things of hidden knowledge that he could reveal to them,
and some hearkened to words that it would have 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 Noldor atone for their folly in after-days.
$50. Often Morgoth would whisper that the Gods had brought
the Eldar to Valinor because of their jealousy, fearing that their
marvellous skill and beauty and their magic would grow too strong
for the Valar to control, as the Elves waxed and spread over the
wide lands of the world. Visions he would conjure in their hearts
of the mighty realms they might have ruled in power and freedom
in the East. In those days, moreover, though the Valar knew of the
coming of Men that were to be, the Elves knew yet nought of it; for
the Gods had not revealed it, and the time was not yet near. But
Morgoth spake to the Elves in secret of mortal Men, though he
knew little of the truth. Manwe alone knew aught clearly of the
mind of Iluvatar concerning Men, and he has ever been their
(* Footnote to the text: It is said that among other matters Melko spoke
of weapons and armour to the Gnomes, and of the power they give to
him who is armed to defend his own (as he said). The Elves had
before possessed only weapons of the chase, spears and bows and
arrows, and since the chaining of Melko the armouries of the Gods
had been shut. But the Gnomes now learned the fashioning of swords
of tempered steel, and the making of mail; and they made shields in
those days and emblazoned them with silver, gold, and gems. And
Feanor became greatly skilled in this craft, and he made store of
weapons secretly, as jealousy grew between him and Fingolfin. Thus
it was that the Noldor were armed in the days of their Flight. Thus,
too, the evil of Melko was turned against him, for the swords of the
Gnomes did him more hurt than anything under the Gods upon this
earth. Yet they had little joy of Morgoth's teaching; for all the
sorrows of the Gnomes came from their swords, both from the unjust
battle at Alqualonde, and from many ill deeds afterwards. Thus
wrote Pengolod).
friend. Yet Morgoth whispered that the Gods kept the Eldar
captive, so that Men coming should defraud them of the kingdoms
of Middle-earth; for the weaker and short-lived race the Valar saw
would more easily be swayed by them. Small 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. But many of the Elves
believed, or half-believed, the evil words. Most of these were
Gnomes.
$51. Thus, ere the Gods were aware, the peace of Valinor was
poisoned. The Gnomes began to murmur against the Valar and
their kindred; and many became filled with vanity, forgetting all
that the Gods had given them and taught them. Most of all
Morgoth fanned the flames of the 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 they were guarded
close, locked in the deep hoards of Tun, for though there were no
thieves in Valinor, as yet, Feanor loved the Silmarils with a greedy
love, and began to grudge the sight of them to all save himself and
his sons.
$52. The sons of Finwe were proud, but proudest was Feanor.
Lying Morgoth said to him that Fingolfin and his sons were
plotting to usurp the leadership of Feanor and his elder house,
and to supplant him in the favour of their father and of the Gods.
Of these lies quarrels were born among the children of Finwe, and
of these quarrels came the end of the high days of Valinor and the
evening of its ancient glory; for Feanor spake words of rebellion
against the Valar, and plotted to depart from Valinor back to
the world without, and deliver, as he said, the Gnomes from
thraldom.
$53. Feanor was summoned before the Valar to the Ring of
Doom, and there the lies of Morgoth were laid bare for all those to
see who had the will. By the judgement of the Gods Feanor was
banished for a while from Tun, since he had disturbed its peace.
But with him went Finwe his father, who loved him more than his
other sons, and many other Gnomes. Northward in Valinor in the
hills near to the halls of Mandos they built a strong place and a
treasury; and they gathered there a multitude of gems. But
Fingolfin ruled the Noldor in Tun; and thus in part Morgoth's
words seemed justified (though Feanor had wrought their fulfil-
ment by his own deeds), and the bitterness that he sowed went on,
though the lies were revealed, and long afterwards it lived still
between the sons of Feanor and Fingolfin.
$54. Straight from the midst of their council the Valar sent
Tulkas to lay hands on Morgoth and bring him again to judge-
ment, but Morgoth hid himself, and none could discover whither
he had gone; and the shadows of all standing things seemed to
grow longer and darker in that time. It is said that for a great while
none saw Morgoth, until he appeared privily to Feanor, feigning
friendship with cunning argument, and urging him to his former
thought of flight. But Feanor shut now his doors, if not his
heart; and Finwe sent word to Valmar, but Morgoth departed in
anger.
$55. Now the Gods were sitting in council before their gates
fearing the lengthening of the shadows, when the messenger came
from Finwe, but ere Tulkas could set forth others came that
brought tidings from Tun. For Morgoth had fled over the passes
of the mountains, and from Kor the Elves saw him pass in wrath as
a thunder-cloud. Thence he came into that region that is called
Arvalin, which lies south of the Bay of Elfland, and is a narrow
land beneath the eastern feet of the Mountains of Valinor. There
the shadows are deepest and thickest in the world. In that land,
secret and unknown, dwelt Ungoliante, Gloomweaver, in spider's
form. It is not told whence she came; 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; for she
sucked up light and shining things to spin them forth again in
black nets of choking gloom and clinging fog. She hungered ever
for more food.
$56. Morgoth met Ungoliante in Arvalin, and with her
he plotted his revenge; but she demanded a great and terrible
reward, ere she would dare the perils of Valinor and the power of
the Gods. She wove a great darkness about her for their protec-
tion, and black spider-ropes she span, and cast from rocky peak to
peak; and in this way she scaled at last the highest pinnacle of the
mountains south of Taniquetil. In this region the vigilance of the
Valar was less, because the Wild woods of Orome lay in the south
of Valinor, and the walls of the mountains looked there eastward
upon untrodden land and empty seas; and the Gods held guard
rather against the, North where of old Morgoth had raised his
throne and fortress.
$57. Now Ungoliante made a ladder of woven ropes, and upon
this Morgoth climbed, and sat beside her; and he looked down
upon the shining plain, seeing afar off the domes of Valmar
glittering in the mingling of the light. Then Morgoth laughed;
and swiftly he sped down the long western slopes with Ungoliante
at his side, and her darkness was about them.
$58. It was a day of festival, and most of the people of Valinor
were upon the mountain of Manwe, singing before him in his
halls, or playing in the upland pleasaunces upon the green slopes
of Taniquetil. The Lindar were there and many of the Noldor.
Valmar's streets were fallen silent, and few feet passed upon the
stairs of Tun; only upon the shores of Elvenhome the Teleri still
sang and played, recking little of times or seasons or the fate that
should befall. Silpion was waning and Laurelin had just begun to
glow, when protected by fate Morgoth and Ungoliante crept into
the plain. With his black spear Morgoth stabbed each tree to its
very core, and as their juices spouted forth Ungoliante sucked
them up; and the poison from her foul lips went into their tissues
and withered them, leaf and branch and root. Ungoliante belched
forth black vapours as she drank their radiance; and she swelled to
monstrous form.
$59. Then wonder and dismay fell on Valinor, when a sudden
twilight and a mounting gloom came upon the land. Black clouds
floated about the towers of Valmar, and darkness drifted down its
streets. Varda looked down from Taniquetil and saw the trees
drowned and hidden in a mist. Too late they ran from hill and
gate. The Two 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 thou-
sand hooves, and fire started in the gloom about their feet. Swifter
than they Tulkas ran before them, 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 confusion was around
him woven by Ungoliante, so that their feet strayed and their eyes
were blind, and Morgoth escaped the hunt.
Comrnentary on Chapter. 4.
$46. The danger of the Silmarils to Men is increased: for the words of Q
(IV. 88) 'no mortal flesh impure could touch them' are changed to 'no
mortal flesh, nor flesh unclean, could touch them'.
$49. The long footnote on Gnomish arms (the content of which is
entirely novel), if not written at the same time as the main text, was
certainly an early addition. 'Thus wrote Pengolod' seems to have been
written at the same time as the rest of the note, which is difficult to
explain, if Pengolod was the author of the Quenta Silmarillion any-
way; on this question see the commentary on $123.
$50. The words 'though the Valar knew of the coming of Men that were
to be' are not at variance with the rewritten text of $20; for although it
is said there that the coming of the Elves was not in the Music of the
Ainur and was unknown to the Valar save Manwe, it is also told that at
the awakening of the Elves Manwe 'spoke to the Valar, revealing to
them the mind of the Father; and he bade them to return now to their
duty, which was to govern the world for the Children of Iluvatar, .
when they should appear, each kindred in its appointed time.'
$54. 'But Feanor shut now his doors...': the story of Morgoth's going
to the stronghold of Finwe and Feanor at this juncture moves further
towards the final form (see AV 2, annal 2900).
$55. 'Bay of Elfland': in $$37 - 8, 44 the manuscript has 'Bay of Elfland'
where the typescript has 'Bay of Elvenhome'.
$58. 'With his black spear': 'With his black sword' Q ($4); cf. the story
in the Last Tales, I. 153.
5. OF THE FLIGHT OF THE NOLDOR.
$60. This was the time of the Darkening of Valinor. In that
day there stood before the gates of Valmar Gnomes that cried
aloud, bearing evil tidings. For they told that Morgoth had fled
northward, and with him went a thing before unseen that in the
gathering night had seemed to be a spider of monstrous form.
Suddenly they had fallen upon the treasury of Finwe. There
Morgoth slew the King of the Noldor before his doors, and spilled
the first Elvish blood that stained the earth. Many others he slew
also, but Feanor and his sons were not there. The Silmarils
Morgoth took, and all the wealth of the jewels of the Noldor that
were hoarded in that place. Great was the grief of Feanor, both for
his father and not less for the Silmarils, and bitterly he cursed the
chance that had taken him on that evil day to Taniquetil, thinking
in his folly that with his own hands and his sons he might have
withstood the violence of Morgoth.
$61. Little is known of the paths of Morgoth after his dreadful
deeds in Valinor. But it is told that escaping from the hunt he came
at last with Ungoliante over the Grinding Ice and so into the
northern regions of the Middle-earth once more. Then Ungoliante
summoned him to give her the promised reward. The half of her
pay had been the sap of the Trees. The other half was a full share
in the plundered jewels. Morgoth yielded these, and she devoured
them, and their light perished from the earth, but Ungoliante
grew yet darker and more huge and hideous in form. But Morgoth
would give her no share in the Silmarils. That was the first thieves'
quarrel.
$62. So great had Ungoliante become that she enmeshed
Morgoth in her choking nets, and his awful cry echoed through
the shuddering world. To his aid there came the Balrogs that lived
yet in the deepest places of his ancient fortress, Utumno in the
North. With their whips of flame the Balrogs smote the webs
asunder, and drove away Ungoliante into the uttermost South,
where she long remained. Thus Morgoth came back to his ancient
habitation, and he built anew his vaults and dungeons and great
towers, in that place which the Gnomes after knew as Angband.
There countless became the hosts of his beasts and demons; and
he brought into being the race of the Orcs, and they grew and
multiplied in the bowels of the earth. These Orcs Morgoth made
in envy and mockery of the Elves, and they were made of stone,
but their hearts of hatred. Glamhoth, the hosts of hate, the
Gnomes have called them. Goblins they may be called, but in
ancient days they were strong and fell.
$63. And in Angband Morgoth forged for himself a great
crown of iron, and he called himself the King of the World. In
token of this he set the three Silmarils in his crown. It is said that
his evil hands were burned black by the touch of those holy jewels;
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, though its weight was a deadly
weariness; and it was never his wont to leave the deep places of his
fortress, but he governed his vast armies from his northern
throne.
$64. When it became at last clear that Morgoth had escaped,
the Gods assembled about the dead Trees, and sat there in
darkness for a long while silent, and they were filled with grief.
Since the people of the Blessed Realm had been gathered for
festival, all the Valar and their children were there, save Osse who
came seldom to Valinor, and Tulkas who would not leave the
unavailing hunt; and with them the Lindar, the folk of Ingwe,
stood and wept. But most of the Noldor returned to Tun and
mourned for the darkening of their fair city. Fogs and shadows
now drifted in from the sea through the pass of Kor, and all shapes
were confused, as the light of the Trees perished. A murmur was
heard in Elfland, and the Teleri wailed beside the sea.
$65. Then Feanor appeared suddenly amid the Noldor and
called on all to come to the high square upon the top of the hill of
Kor beneath the tower of Ingwe; but the doom of banishment
from Tun which the Gods had laid upon him was not yet lifted,
and he rebelled against the Valar. A vast concourse gathered
swiftly, therefore, to hear what he would say, and the hill, and all
the stairs and streets that climbed upon it, were lit with the light of
many torches that each one that came bore in hand.
$66. Feanor was a great orator with a power of moving words.
That day he made before the Gnomes a mighty speech that has
ever been remembered. Fierce and fell were his words and filled
with wrath and pride, and they stirred the people to madness like
the fumes of potent wine. His anger was most against Morgoth,
yet most that he said was drawn from the very lies of Morgoth
himself; but he was distraught with grief for the slaying of his
father, and anguish for the rape of the Silmarils. He now claimed
the kingship of all the Noldor, since Finwe was dead, and mocked
the decree of the Valar. 'Why should we longer obey the jealous
Gods,' he asked, 'who cannot keep us, nor their own realm, safe
from their foe? And is not Melko the accursed one of the Valar?'
$67. He bade the Gnomes prepare for flight in the darkness,
while the Valar were still wrapped in idle 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 j!
the lands outside; to pursue Morgoth and war with him for
ever until they were avenged. 'And when we have regained the
Silmarils,' he said, 'we shall be masters of the enchanted light, and
lords of the bliss and beauty of the world.' Then he swore a terrible
oath. His seven sons leaped straightway to his side and took the
selfsame vow together, each with drawn sword. 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 to pursue with vengeance and hatred to the
ends of the world Vala, Demon, Elf, or Man as yet unborn, or any
creature great or small, good or evil, that time should bring forth
unto the end of days, whoso should hold or take or keep a Silmaril
from their possession.
$68. Fingolfin and his son Fingon spake against Feanor, and
there was wrath and angry words that came near to blows. But
Finrod spake gently and persuasively, and sought to calm them,
urging them to pause and ponder, ere deeds were done that could
not be undone. But of his own sons Inglor alone spake with him;
Angrod and Egnor took the part of Feanor, and Orodreth stood
j
aside. In the end it was put to the vote of the assembled people,
and they being moved by the potent words of Feanor, and filled
with desire for the Silmarils, decided to depart from Valinor. Yet
the Noldor of Tun would not now renounce the kingship of
Fingolfin; and as two divided hosts, therefore, they at length set
forth upon their bitter road. The greater part marched behind
Fingolfin, who with his sons yielded to the general voice against
their wisdom, because they would not desert their people; and
with Fingolfin were Finrod and Inglor, though they were loth to
go. In the van marched Feanor and his sons with lesser host, but
they were filled with reckless eagerness. Some remained behind:
both some that had been upon Taniquetil on the day of fate, and
sat now with the Lindar at the feet of the Gods partaking of their
grief and vigil; and some that would not forsake the fair city of
Tun and its wealth of things made by cunning hands, though the
darkness had fallen upon them. And the Valar learning of the
purpose of the Noldor sent word that they forbade the march, for
the hour was evil and would lead to woe, but they would not
hinder it, since Feanor had accused them, saying that they held
the Eldar captive against their will. But Feanor laughed hardening
his heart, and he said that sojourn in Valinor had led through bliss
to sorrow; they would now try the contrary, to find joy at last
through woe.
$69. Therefore they continued their march, and the house of
Feanor hastened ahead along the coast of Valinor, and they did not
turn their eyes back to look upon Tun. The hosts of Fingolfin
followed less eagerly, and at the rear came sorrowing Finrod and
Inglor and many of the noblest and fairest of the Noldor; and they
looked often backward, until the lamp of Ingwe was lost in the
gathering tide of gloom; and more than others they carried thence
memories of the glory of their ancient home, and some even of the
fair things there made with hands they took with them. Thus the
folk of Finrod had no part in the dreadful deed that then was done;
yet all the Gnomes that departed from Valinor came under the
shadow of the curse that followed it. For it came soon into the
heart of Feanor that they should persuade the Teleri, their
friends, to join with them; for thus in his rebellion he thought that
the bliss of Valinor might be further diminished, and his power for
war upon Morgoth be increased; moreover he desired ships. As
his mind cooled and took counsel, he saw that the Noldor might
hardly escape without many vessels; but it would need long to
build so great a fleet, even were there any among the Noldor
skilled in that craft. But there were none, and he brooked no delay,
fearing lest many should desert him. Yet they must at some time
cross the seas, albeit far to the North where they were narrower;
for further still, to those places where the western land and
Middle-earth touched nigh, he feared to venture. There he knew
was Helkarakse, the Strait of Grinding Ice, where the frozen hills
ever broke and shifted, sundering and clashing again together.
$70. But the Teleri would not join the Noldor in flight, and
sent back their messengers. They had never lent ear to Morgoth
nor welcomed him among them. They desired now no other cliffs
nor beaches than the strands of Elvenhome, nor other lord than
Elwe, prince of Alqualonde; and he trusted that Ulmo and the
great Valar would yet redress the sorrow of Valinor. And their
white ships with their white sails they would neither give nor sell,
for they prized them dearly, nor did they hope ever again to make
others so fair and swift. But when the host of Feanor came to the
Haven of the Swans they attempted to seize by force the white
fleets that lay anchored there, and the Teleri resisted them.
Weapons were drawn and a bitter fight was fought upon the great
arch of the Haven's gate, and upon the lamplit quays and piers, as
is sadly told in the song of the Flight of the Gnomes. Thrice the
folk of Feanor were driven back, and many were slain upon either
side; but the vanguard of the Noldor were succoured by the
foremost of the people of Fingolfin, and the Teleri were over-
come, and most of those that dwelt at Alqualonde were slain or
cast into the sea. For the Noldor were become fierce and des-
perate, and the Teleri had less strength, and were armed mostly
with slender bows. Then the Gnomes drew away the white ships
of the Teleri, and manned their oars as best they could, and took
them north along the coast. And the Teleri cried to Osse, and he
came not, for he had been summoned to Valmar to the vigil and
council of the Gods, and it was not decreed by fate nor permitted
by the Valar that the flight of the Noldor should be waylaid. But
Uinen wept for the slain of the Teleri; and the sea roared against
the Gnomes, so that many of the ships were wrecked and those in
them drowned.
$71. But most of them escaped and continued their journey,
some by ship and some by foot; but the way was long and ever
more evil going as they went on. After they had marched for a
great while, and were come at length to the northern confines of
the Blessed Realm - and they are mountainous and cold and look
upon the empty waste of Eruman - they beheld a dark figure
standing high upon a rock that looked down upon the shore. Some
say it was the herald of the Gods, others that it was Mandos
himself. There he spake in a loud voice, solemn and terrible, the
curse and prophecy which is called the Prophecy of the North,
warning them to return and ask for pardon, or in the end return
only at last after sorrow and unspeakable misery. Much he fore-
told in dark words, which only the wisest of them understood,
concerning things that after befell. But all heard the curse he
uttered upon those that would not stay or seek the doom and
pardon of the Valar, for the spilling of the blood of their kindred at
Alqualonde and fighting the first battle between the children of
earth unrighteously. For this the Noldor should taste death more
often and more bitterly than their kindred, by weapon and by
torment and by grief; and evil fortune should pursue the house of
Feanor, and their oath should turn against them, and all who now
followed them should share their lot. And evil should come most
upon them through treachery of kin to kin, so that in all their wars
and councils they should suffer from treason and the fear of
treason among themselves. But Feanor said: 'He saith not that we
shall suffer from cowardice, from cravens or the fear of cravens';
and that proved true also.
$72. Then Finrod and a few of his household turned back, and
they came at last to Valinor again, and received the pardon of the
Valar; and Finrod was set to rule the remnant of the Noldor in the
Blessed Realm. But his sons went not with him; for Inglor and
Orodreth would not forsake the sons of Fingolfin, nor Angrod and
Egnor their friends Celegorn and Curufin; and all Fingolfin's folk
went forward still, being constrained by the will of Feanor and
fearing also to face the doom of the Gods, since not all of them had
been guiltless of the kinslaying at Alqualonde. Then all too swiftly
the evil that was foretold began its work.
$73. The Gnomes came at last far to the North, and saw the
first teeth of the ice that floated in the sea. They began to suffer
anguish from the cold. Then many of them murmured, especially
those that followed Fingolfin, and some began to curse Feanor and
name him as the cause of all the woes of the Eldar. But the ships
were too few, many having been lost upon the way, to carry all
across together, yet none were willing to abide upon the coast
while others were transported; already fear of treachery was
awake. Therefore it came into the heart of Feanor and his sons to
sail off on a sudden with all the ships, of which they had retained
the mastery since the battle of the Haven; and they took with them
only such as were faithful to their house, among whom were
Angrod and Egnor. As for the others, 'we will leave the mur-
murers to murmur', said Feanor, 'or to whine their way back to the
cages of the Valar,' Thus began the curse of the kinslaying. When
Feanor and his folk landed on the shores in the west of the
northern regions of Middle-earth, they set fire in the ships and
made a great burning, terrible and bright; and Fingolfin and his
people saw the light of it afar off red beneath the clouds. They saw
then they were betrayed, and left to perish in Eruman or return;
and they wandered long in misery. But their valour and endurance
grew with hardship, for they were a mighty folk, but new come
from the Blessed Realm, and not yet weary with the weariness of
the earth, and the fire of their minds and hearts was young.
Therefore led by Fingolfin, and Fingon, Turgon, and Inglor,
they ventured into the bitterest North; and finding no other way
they dared at last the terror of the Grinding Ice. Few of the deeds
of the Gnomes after surpassed the perilous crossing in hardihood
or in woe. Many there perished miserably, and it was with
lessened host that Fingolfin set foot at last upon the northern
lands. Small love for Feanor or his sons had those that marched at
last behind him, and came unto Beleriand at the rising of the sun.
Commentary on Chapter. 5.
$60. Here first appears the story that Feanor went to the festival, of
which there is no suggestion in Q (IV. 92).
$62. Q has 'To his aid came the Orcs and Balrogs that lived yet in the
lowest places of Angband', but Orcs are absent here in QS. Here and
again in $105 Utumno is an early change from Utumna; see the
commentary on $12. That the slightly ambiguous sentence 'he built
anew...' means that he built Anghand on the ruins of Utumno is seen
from $105: Melko coming hack into Middle-earth made the endless
dungeons of Angband, the hells of iron, where of old Utumno had
been.' See IV. 259 - 60.
In Q the passage about Morgoth's making of the Orcs, precursor of
this in QS, is placed earlier (IV. 82), before the making of the stars and
the awakening of the Elves; at the corresponding place in QS ($ 18) it is
said that 'the Orcs were not made until he had looked upon the Elves.'
In Q, at the place (IV. 93) corresponding to the present passage in QS,
it is said that 'countless became the number of the hosts of his Orcs and
demons' - i.e. the Orcs were already in existence before Morgoth's
return (and so could come to his aid when they heard his cry); but
there is a direction in Q at this point (IV. 93 note 8) to bring in the
making of the Orcs here rather than earlier (the reason for this being
the idea that the Orcs were made 'in mockery of the Children of
Iluvatar').
$68. That Orodreth 'stood aside', taking the part neither of Finrod and
Inglor nor of Angrod and Egnor and the Feanorians, is a new element
in the story; see under $73 below.
$70. The account in QS of the Battle of Alqualonde, and of Feanor's
calculations before it, is given a better progression and is substantially
expanded from that in Q (IV. 95), while the concluding passage of
$70, recounting the calling of the Teleri upon Osse and the storm
raised by Uinen, is altogether absent from the earlier versions.
$71. Eruman is not used of this region in Q (where the name is applied
to the land where Men first awoke in the East, IV. 99, 171), but it
is found in this sense in the Ambarkanta (IV. 239; also on the maps,
IV. 249, 251).
Some elements in this version of the Prophecy of the North not in Q
(IV. 96) are found in AV annal 2993 (virtually the same in both
versions), as 'their oath should turn against them', and 'they should be
slain with weapons, and with torments, and with sorrow'. On the other
hand the AV version has an element not in QS, the prophecy that the
Noldor should 'in the long end fade upon Middle-earth and wane
before the younger race' (see IV. 171 - 2).
$73. In AV 2 annal 2994 the story still went that Orodreth, as well as
Angrod and Egnor, were taken by the Feanorians in the ships; but
with the separation of Orodreth from Angrod and Egnor in QS,
making him instead a close associate of his brother Inglor Felagund
($42), his name was struck from the annal (AV 2 note 10). It is notable
here that Orodreth is not named among the leaders in the passage of
the second host across the Grinding Ice. This is to be associated, I
think, with his 'standing aside' during the dissensions before the Flight
of the Noldor (see $68); suggestions of the decline in his significance
which I have described in III. 91, 246.
In QS $91 the first sun is said to have risen as Fingolfin marched into
Mithrim; thus 'Beleriand' is here used in a very extended sense (as also
in AV annal 2995: 'Feanor came unto Beleriand and the shores
beneath Eredlomin', repeated in QS $88). Similarly the Battle-under-
Stars, fought in Mithrim, was the First Battle of Beleriand. But in QS
$ 108. Beleriand 'was bounded upon the North by Nivrost and Hithlum
and Dorthonion'.
6. OF THE SUN AND MOON AND THE HIDING OF
VALINOR.
When the Gods learned that the Noldor had fled, and
were come at last back into Middle-earth, they were aroused from
their grief, and took counsel for the redress of the injuries of the
world. And Manwe bade Yavanna to put forth all her power of
growth and healing; and she put forth all her power upon the
Trees, but it availed not to heal their mortal wounds. Yet even as
the Valar listened in the gloom to her singing, Silpion bore at last
upon a leafless bough one great silver bloom, and Laurelin a single
golden fruit. These Yavanna took, and the Trees then died, and
their lifeless stems stand yet in Valinor, a memorial of vanished
joy. But the fruit and flower Yavanna gave to Aule, and Manwe
hallowed them, and Aule and his folk made vessels to hold them
and preserve their radiance, as is said in the song of the Sun and
Moon. These vessels the Gods gave to Varda, that they might
become lamps of heaven, outshining the ancient stars; and she
gave them power to traverse the region of the stars, and set them to
sail appointed courses above the earth. These things the Valar did,
recalling in their twilight the darkness of the lands outside, and
they resolved now to illumine Middle-earth, and with light to
hinder the deeds of Melko; for they remembered the Dark-elves,
and did not utterly forsake the exiled Gnomes; and Manwe knew
that the hour of Men was drawing nigh.
$75. Isil the Sheen the Gods of old named the Moon in
Valinor, and Urin the Fiery they named the Sun; but the Eldar
named them Rana, the wayward, the giver of visions, and Anar,
the heart of flame, that awakens and consumes. For the Sun was
set as a sign for the awakening of Men and the waning of the Elves;
but the Moon cherishes their memory. The maiden chosen from
among their own folk by the Valar to guide the ship of the Sun
was named Arien; and the youth who steered the floating island
of the Moon was Tilion.* In the days of the Trees Arien had
tended the golden flowers in the gardens of Vana and watered
them with the radiant dew of Laurelin. Tilion was a young hunter
of the company of Orome, and he had a silver bow. He loved
Arien, but she was a holier spirit of greater power, and wished to
be ever virgin and alone; and Tilion pursued her in vain. Tilion
forsook then the woods of Orome, and dwelt in the gardens of
Lorien, sitting in dream beside the pools lit by the flickering light
of Silpion.
$76. Rana was first wrought and made ready, and first rose into
the region of the stars, and was the elder of the lights, as was
Silpion of the Trees. Then for a while the world had moonlight,
(* Marginal note to the text: hyrned AE).
and many creatures stirred and woke that had waited long in the
dark; but many of the stars A ed affrighted, and Tilion the bowman
wandered from his path pursuing them; and some plunged in the
chasm and sought refuge at the roots of the earth. The servants of
Melko were amazed; and it is told that Fingolfin set foot upon the
northern lands with the first moonrise, and the shadows of his host
were long and black. Tilion had traversed the heaven seven times,
and was thus in the furthest East when the ship of Arien was
ready. Then Anar rose in glory and the snow upon the mountains
glowed with fire, and there was the sound of many waterfalls; but
the servants of Melko fled to Angband and cowered in fear, and
Fingolfin unfurled his banners.
$77. Now Varda purposed that the two vessels should sail the
sky and ever be aloft, but not together: each should journey from
Valinor into the East and back, the one issuing from the West as
the other turned from the East. Thus the first days were reckoned
after the manner of the Trees from the mingling of the lights when
Arien and Tilion passed above the middle of the earth. But Tilion
was wayward and uncertain in speed, and held not to his
appointed course; and at times he sought to tarry Arien, whom he
loved, though the flame of Anar withered the sheen of Silpion's
bloom, if he drew too nigh, and his vessel was scorched and
darkened. Because of Tilion, therefore, and yet more because of
the prayers of Lorien and Nienna, who said that all night and sleep
and peace had been banished from the earth, Varda changed her
design, and allowed a time wherein the world should still have
shadow and half-light. The Sun rested, therefore, a while in
Valinor, lying upon the cool bosom of the Outer Sea. So Evening,
which is the time of the descent and resting of the Sun, is the hour
of greatest light and joy in Valinor. But soon the Sun is drawn
down into Vaiya by the servants of Ulmo, and brought in haste to
the East, and mounts the sky again, lest night be overlong and evil
strengthened. But the waters of Vaiya are made hot and glow with
coloured fires, and Valinor has light for a while after the passing of
Arien; yet as she goes under the earth and draws towards the East
the glow fades and Valinor is dim, and the Gods mourn then most
for the death of Laurelin. At dawn the shadows of their mountains
of defence lie heavy on the land of the Valar.
$78. Varda commanded the Moon to rise only after the Sun
had left heaven, but he travels with uncertain pace, and still
pursueth her, so that at times they both are in the sky together,
and still at times he draws nigh to her, and there is a darkness amid
the day. But Tilion tarries seldom in Valinor, loving rather the
great lands; and mostly he passes swiftly over the western land,
either Arvalin or Eruman or Valinor, and plunges into the chasm
between the shores of the earth and the Outer Sea, and pursues his
way alone among the grots at the roots of the earth. There
sometimes he wanders long, and stars that have taken hiding there
flee before him into the upper air. Yet it happens at times that he
comes above Valinor while the Sun is still there, and he descends
and meets his beloved, for they leave their vessels for a space; then
there is great joy, and Valinor is filled with silver and gold, and the
Gods laugh recalling the mingling of the light long ago, when
Laurelin flowered and Silpion was in bud.
$79. Still therefore the light of Valinor is greater and fairer
than upon Middle-earth, because the Sun resteth there, and the
lights of heaven draw nearer to the land in that region; moreover
the Valar store the radiance of the Sun in many vessels, and in vats
and pools for their comfort in times of dark. But the light is not the
light which came from the Trees before the poisoned lips of
Ungoliante touched them. That light lives now only in the Sil-
marils. Gods and Elves, therefore, look forward yet to a time when
the Elder Sun and Moon, which are the Trees, may be rekindled
and the ancient joy and glory return. Ulmo foretold to them that
this would only come to pass through the aid, frail though it might
seem, of the second race of earth, the Younger Children of
Iluvatar. But Manwe alone heeded his words at that time; for the
Valar were still wroth because of the ingratitude of the Noldor,
and the cruel slaying at the Haven of the Swans. Moreover all save
Tulkas for a while were in doubt, fearing the might and cunning of
Morgoth. Therefore at this time they fortified all Valinor anew,
and set a sleepless watch upon the mountain-walls, which now
they raised, east, north, and south, to sheer and dreadful height.
Their outer sides were dark and smooth, without ledge or foothold
for aught save birds, and fell in precipices with faces hard as glass;
their tops were crowned with ice. No pass led through them save
only at the Kalakilya wherein stood the mound of Kor. This they
could not close because of the Eldar who were faithful; for all
those of Elvish race must breathe at whiles the outer air of Middle-
earth, nor could they wholly sunder the Teleri from their kin. But
the Eldar were set to guard that pass unceasingly: the fleet of the
Teleri kept the shore, the remnant of the Gnomes dwelt ever in
the deep cleft of the mountains, and upon the plain of Valmar,
where the pass issues into Valinor, the Lindar were camped as
sentinels, that no bird nor beast nor Elf nor Man, nor any creature
beside that came from Middle-earth could pass the leaguer.
$80. In that time, which songs call the Hiding of Valinor, the
Enchanted Isles were set, and filled with shadows and bewilder-
ment, and all the seas about were filled with shadows; and these
isles were strung across the Shadowy Seas from north to south
before Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle, is reached, sailing west; and
hardly might any vessel come between them in the gloom or win
through to the Bay of Elvenhome. For a great weariness comes
upon mariners in that region, and a loathing of the sea; but all such
as set foot upon those islands are there entrapped and wound in
everlasting sleep. Thus it was that the many emissaries of the
Gnomes in after days never came to Valinor - save one, the
mightiest mariner of song or tale.
Commentary on Chapter. 6.
$74. In the extremely brief account in Q (IV. 97) there is no mention of
Aule as having played any part in the making of the Sun and Moon,
and QS reverts in this to the original story in the Lost Tales (1. 185-6,
I 9 I - 2).
Of the passage beginning 'These vessels the Gods gave to Varda'
there is only a trace in Q. Varda appears as the deviser of the motions of
the Sun and Moon in the Ambarkanta (IV. 236).
$75. In Q the Moon is called Rana (without translation), and this
name is said to have been given by the Gods (so also in the Lost Tales,
I. 192). In QS the Gods' name is Isil 'the Sheen' (cf. the Elves' name
Sil 'the Rose' in the Lost Tales, ibid.) and Rana 'the wayward' that of
the Eldar. - In Q the name of the Sun, given by the Gods, is Ur (in
the Lost Tales, 1. 187, this was the Elvish name, meaning 'fire'; the
Gods called the Sun Sari). In QS the Gods' name is Urin 'the Fiery',
and the Eldarin name Anar. - In The last Road (p. 41) the names of
the Sun and Moon that 'came through' to Alboin Errol were Anar and
Isil (and also Anor and Ithil in 'Beleriandic' - which presumably here
means Exilic Noldorin: see the Etymologies, stems ANAR and sir.).
Almost the same words of the Sun and Moon in relation to Men and
Elves are used in AV 2 (annal 2998 - 3000 and commentary).
In Q the Sun-maiden was named Urien, emended throughout to
Arien. As QS was first written the name was still spelt Arien, but
changed throughout to Arien, Arien. This seems to have been a very
early change and I therefore read Arien in the text.
On 'the floating island of the Moon' see IV. 171. The marginal gloss
by AElfwine (see the preamble to QS on p. 201) is certainly con-
temporary with the writing of the manuscript. Old English hyrned
'horned'; cf. the Etymologies, stem til.
From 'He loved Arien, but she was a holier spirit of greater power' to
the end of $76. there is nothing corresponding in Q, except the
reference (IV. 97) to Tilion's pursuit of the stars. In Q Tilion is rather
the rival of Arien, as was Ilinsor in the Lost Tales (1. 195); but cf. the
Ambarkanta (where Arien and Tilion are not referred to): 'it happens
at times that he [the Moon] comes above Valinor ere the Sun has left it,
and then he descends and meets his beloved' (IV. 237) - a passage
closely echoed in QS $78.
$76. 'plunged in the chasm': the Chasm of Ilmen (see the Ambarkanta,
IV. 236). - This is the first appearance of the image of the long
shadows cast by Fingolfin's host as the Moon rose in the West behind
them. - In this sentence the word amazed is used in an archaic and
much stronger sense: overwhelmed with wonder and fear.
$77. 'his vessel was scorched and darkened': no explanation is offered in
Q for the markings on the Moon (for the old story concerning this see
1. 191, 194). It is said in the Ambarkanta that the Moon 'pursues ever
after the Sun, and overtakes her seldom, and then is consumed and
darkened in her flame.'
$$77 - 8. While a great deal of the description of the motions of the Sun
and Moon in these paragraphs is not found in Q, a passage in the
Ambarkanta (IV. 237), while briefer and without any reference to the
change in the divine plan, corresponds quite closely to QS in many
features. The QS account introduces an explanation of solar eclipses
('still at times he draws nigh to her, and there is a darkness amid the
day'), and of meteors ('stars that have taken hiding there flee before
him into the upper air') - cf. the old conception in the Lost Tales,
1. 216.
$79. The storing of the light of the Sun in vats and pools in Valinor
reflects an idea found long before in Kulullin, the great cauldron of
golden light in Valinor: the Gods gathered that light 'in the great vat
Kulullin to the great increase of its fountains, or in other bright basons
and wide pools about their courts, for the health and glory of its
radiance was very great' (1. 181). Afterwards the idea emerged again in
relation to the Two Trees: 'the dews of Telperion and the rain that fell
from Laurelin Varda hoarded in great vats like shining lakes, that were
to all the land of the Valar as wells of water and of light' (The
Silmarillion p. 39).
The passage beginning 'Gods and Elves, therefore, look forward
yet...' has survived through S and Q from the earliest conceptions. In
the phrase 'the Elder Sun and Moon' the word 'Elder' is written over an
erasure, and the obliterated word was certainly 'Magic' - the last
occurrence of the old 'Magic Sun'. On the mysterious foretelling of
Ulmo see IV. 50.
The account of the raising of the mountain-wall and the reason for
not closing the Pass of Kor is much enlarged from the corresponding
passage in Q.
It will be seen that at the time when my father began The lard of the
Rings the conceptions of the Ambarkanta were still fully in being, and
that the story of the making of the Sun and Moon from the last fruit and
the last flower of the dying Trees was still quite unshadowed by doubt of
its propriety in the whole structure of the mythologv.
7. OF MEN.
$81. The Valar sat now behind the mountains and feasted, and
all save Manwe and Ulmo dismissed the exiled Noldor from their
thought; and having given light to Middle-earth they left it for
long untended, and the lordship of Morgoth was uncontested save
by the valour of the Gnomes. Most in mind Ulmo kept them, who
gathered news of the earth through all the waters.
$82. At the first rising of the Sun above the earth the younger
children of the world awoke in the land of Hildorien in the
uttermost East of Middle-earth that lies beside the eastern sea; for
measured time had come upon earth, and the first of days, and the
long awaiting was at an end. Thereafter the vigour of the Quendi
that remained in the inner lands was lessened, and their waning
was begun; and the air of Middle-earth became heavy with the
breath of growth and mortality. For there was great growth in that
time beneath the new Sun, and the midmost lands of Middle-earth
were clothed in a sudden riot of forest and they were rich with
leaves, and life teemed upon the soil and in the waters. But the first
sun arose in the West, and the opening eyes of Men were turned
thitherward, and their feet as they wandered over earth for the
most part strayed that way.
$83. Of Men* little is told in these tales, which concern the
eldest days before the waxing of mortals and the waning of the
Elves, save of those Fathers of Men who in the first years of
Moonsheen and Sunlight wandered into the North of the world.
To Hildorien there came no God to guide Men or to summon
them to dwell in Valinor; and Men have feared the Valar, rather
than loved them, and have not understood the purposes of the
Powers, being at variance with them, and at strife with the world.
(*Footnote to the text: The Eldar called them Hildi, the followers;
whence Hildorien, the place of the birth of the Hildi, is named. And
many other names they gave to them: Engwar the sickly, and Firimor
the mortals; and named them the Usurpers, the Strangers, and the
Inscrutable, the Self-cursed, the Heavyhanded, the Nightfearers,
the Children of the Sun).
Ulmo nonetheless took thought for them, aiding the counsel and
will of Manwe; and his messages came often to them by stream
and flood. But they have not skill in such matters, and still less had
they in those days ere they had mingled with the Elves. Therefore
they loved the waters, and their hearts were stirred, but they
understood not the messages. Yet it is told that ere long they met
the Dark-elves in many places, and were befriended by them. And
the Dark-elves taught them speech, and many other things;
and Men became the companions and disciples in their childhood
of these ancient folk, wanderers of the Elf-race who had never
found the paths to Valinor, and knew of the Valar but as a rumour
and a distant name.
$84. Not long had Morgoth then come back into the Middle-
earth, and his power went not far abroad, and was moreover
checked by the sudden coming of great light. There was little
peril, therefore, in the lands and hills; and there new things, fair
and fresh, devised long ages before in the thought of Yavanna, and
sown as seed in the dark, came at last to their budding and their
bloom. West, north, and south the children of Men spread and
wandered, and their joy was the joy of the morning before the dew
is dry, when every leaf is green.
$85. But the dawn is brief and day full often belies its promise;
and now time drew on to the great wars of the powers of the North,
when Gnomes and Dark-elves 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 of old, and sowed ever anew among
his foes, and the curse that came of the slaying at Alqualonde, and
the oath of Feanor, were ever at work: the greatest injury they did
to Elves and Men. Only a part is here told of the deeds of those
days, and most is said of the Gnomes, and the Silmarils, and the
mortals that became entangled in their fate. In those days Elves
and Men were of like stature and strength of body; but Elves were
blessed with greater wit, and skill, and beauty; and those who had
dwelt in Valinor and looked upon the Gods as much surpassed the
Dark-elves in these things as they in turn surpassed the people of
mortal race. Only in the realm of Doriath, whose queen Melian
was of divine race, did the Ilkorins come near to match the Elves of
Kor. Immortal were the Elves, and their wisdom waxed from age
to age, and no sickness nor pestilence brought death to them. Yet
their bodies were of the stuff of earth and could be destroyed, and
in those days they were more like to the bodies of Men, and to the
earth, since they had not so long been inhabited by the fire of the
spirit, which consumeth them from within in the courses of time.
Therefore they could perish in the tumults of the world, and stone
and water had power over them, and they could be slain with
weapons in those days, even by mortal Men. And outside Valinor
they tasted bitter grief, and some wasted and waned with sorrow,
until they faded from the earth. Such was the measure of their
mortality foretold in the Doom of Mandos spoken in Eruman. But
if they were slain or wasted with grief, they died not from the
earth, and their spirits went back to the halls of Mandos, and there
waited, days or years, even a thousand, according to the will of
Mandos and their deserts. Thence they are recalled at length to
freedom, either as spirits, taking form according to their own
thought, as the lesser folk of the divine race; or else, it is said, they
are at times re-born into their own children, and the ancient
wisdom of their race does not perish or grow less.
$86. More frail were Men, more easily slain by weapons or
mischance, and less easily healed; subject to sickness and many
ills; and they grew old and died. What befell their spirits after
death the Elves know not. Some say that they too go to the halls of
Mandos; but their place of waiting there is not that of the Elves;
and Mandos under Iluvatar alone save Manwe knows whither they
go after the time of recollection in those silent halls beside the
Western Sea. They are not reborn on earth, and none have ever
come back from the mansions of the dead, save only Beren son of
Barahir, whose hand had touched a Silmaril; but he never spoke
afterward to mortal Men. The fate of Men after death, maybe, is
not in the hands of the Valar, nor was all foretold in the Music of
the Ainur.
$87. In after days, when because of the triumph of Morgoth
Elves and Men became estranged, as he most wished, those of the
Elf-race that lived still in the Middle-earth waned and faded, and
Men usurped the sunlight. Then the Quendi wandered in the
lonelier places of the great lands and the isles, and took to the
moonlight and the starlight, and to the woods and caves, be-
coming as shadows and memories, such as did not ever and anon
set sail into the West, and vanished from the earth, as is here later
told. But in the dawn of years Elves and Men were allies and held
themselves akin, and there were some among Men that learned the
wisdom of the Eldar, and became great and valiant and renowned
among the captains of the Gnomes. And in the glory and beauty of
the Elves, and in their fate, full share had the fair offspring of Elf
and Mortal, Earendel and Elwing, and Elrond their child.
Commentary on Chapter. 7.
$82. Hildorien as the name of the land where Men awoke (replacing
Eruman of Q) has appeared in the Ambarkanta: between the
Mountains of the Wind and the Eastern Sea (IV. 239). The name was
written into A V 2 (note 13): Hildorien in the midmost regions of the
world' - whereas in QS it lay 'in the uttermost East of Middle-earth'.
There is here only an appearance of contradiction, I think. Hildorien
was in the furthest east of Middle-earth, but it was in the middle
regions of the world; see Ambarkanta map IV, on which Hildorien is
marked (IV. 249). - My note in IV. 257 that the name Hildorien
implies Hildor needs correction: the footnote to the text in $83 shows
that the form at this time was Hildi (cf. also the Etymologies, stem
KHIL) .
$83. The footnote on Elvish names for Men belongs with the original
writing of the manuscript.
$85. There are some important differences in the passage concerning
the fate of the Elves from that in Q (IV. 100) on which this is based. Q
has nothing corresponding to the statement that Elvish bodies were
then more like mortal bodies, more terrestrial, less 'consumed' by 'the
fire of their spirit', than they afterwards became. Nor is there in Q the
reference to the Doom of Mandos - which in any case does not in Q
refer to the subject of Elvish mortality. This first appears in the
account of the Doom in A V (annal 2993), where the phrase 'a measure
of mortality should visit them' is used, echoed here in QS: 'Such was
the measure of their mortality foretold in the Doom of Mandos'; see
IV. 278-9. Another, and remarkable, development lies in the idea of
the Elves, returning at length out of Mandos, 'taking form according to
their thought, as the lesser folk of the divine race' (i.e. no longer as
corporeal beings, but as spirits that could 'clothe' themselves in a
perceptible form).
$86. The 'Western Sea' is here the Outer Sea, Vaiya. This may well be
no more than a slip, for Q has 'his wide halls beyond the western sea';
my father corrected it at some later time to 'Outer Sea'.
$87. With the great lands and the isles' cf. Q (IV. 162): the great isles,
which in the disruption of the Northern world were fashioned of
ancient Beleriand' (retained in QS, p. 331, $26).
It is clear from the last sentence of the chapter that at this time Elros
had not yet emerged, as he had not in The Fall of Numenor and The
Lost Road (pp. 30, 74); on the other hand, he is present in the
concluding portion of QS, p. 332, $28.
8. OF THE SIEGE OF ANGBAND.
$88. Before the rising of the Moon Feanor and his sons
marched into the North; they landed on the northern shores of
Beleriand beneath the feet of Ered-1omin, the Echoing Moun-
tains, at that place which is called Drengist. Thence they came
into the land of Dor-lomen and about the north of the Mountains
of Mithrim, and camped in Hithlum, the realm of mist, in that
region that is named Mithrim, north of the great lake that has the
same name. There a host of Orcs, aroused by the light of the
burning ships, and the rumour of their march, came down upon
them, and there was fought the first battle upon Middle-earth;
and it is renowned in song, for the Gnomes were victorious, and
drove away the Orcs with great slaughter, and pursued them
beyond Eredwethion into the plain of Bladorion. This was the first
battle of Beleriand, and is called the Battle-under-Stars.* Great
was the valour of Feanor and his sons, and the Orcs ever feared
and hated them after; yet woe soon followed upon triumph. For
Feanor advanced unwarily upon Bladorion, pursuing the Orcs
northward, and he was surrounded, when his own folk were far
behind, but the Balrogs in the rearguard of Morgoth turned
suddenly to bay. Feanor fought undismayed, but he was wrapped
in fire, and fell at length wounded mortally by the hand of
Gothmog, lord of Balrogs, whom Ecthelion after slew in
Gondolin. But his sons coming rescued him and bore him back to
Mithrim. There he died, but was not buried; for so fiery was his
spirit that his body fell to ash as his spirit sped; and it has never
again appeared upon earth nor left the realm of Mandos. And
Feanor with his last sight saw afar the peaks of Thangorodrim,
greatest of the hills of Middle-earth, that towered above the
fortress of Morgoth; and he cursed the name of Morgoth thrice,
and he laid it on his sons never to treat or parley with their foe.
$89. Yet even in the hour of his death an embassy came to them
from Morgoth, acknowledging defeat, and offering terms, even to
the surrender of a Silmaril. Then Maidros the tall, the eldest son,
persuaded the Gnomes to feign to treat with Morgoth, and to meet
his emissaries at the place appointed; but the Gnomes had as little
thought of faith as had Morgoth. Wherefore each embassy came
with greater force than was agreed, but Morgoth sent the greater
and they were Balrogs. Maidros was ambushed, and all his
company was slain, but he himself was taken alive by the com-
mand of Morgoth, and brought to Angband and tortured.
$90. Then the six brethren of Maidros drew back and fortified
a great camp in Hithlum; but Morgoth held Maidros as hostage,
(* Marginal note to the text: Dagor-nui-Ngiliath).
and sent word to Maglor that he would only release his brother if I
the Noldor would forsake their war, returning either to Valinor, or
else departing from Beleriand and marching to the South of the
world. But the Gnomes could not return to Valinor, having
burned the ships, and they did not believe that Morgoth would
release Maidros if they departed; and they were unwilling to
depart, whatever he might do. Therefore Morgoth hung Maidros
from the face of a precipice upon Thangorodrim, and he was
caught to the rock by the wrist of his right hand in a band of steel. j
$91. Now rumour came to the camp in Hithlum of the march
of Fingolfin and his sons, and Inglor the son of Finrod, who had
crossed the Grinding Ice. And all the world lay then in new
wonder at the coming of the Moon; for even as the Moon first rose
Fingolfin set foot upon Middle-earth, and the Orcs were filled
with amazement. But even as the host of Fingolfin marched into
Mithrim the Sun rose flaming in the West; and Fingolfin unfurled j
his blue and silver banners, and blew his horns, and flowers
sprang beneath his marching feet. For a time of opening and
growth, sudden, swift, and fair, was come into the world, and
good was made of evil, as happens still. Then the Orcs dismayed at
the uprising of the great light fled unto Angband, and Morgoth
was afraid, pondering long in wrathful thought. But Fingolfin
marched through the fastness of the realm of Morgoth, that is
Dor-Daedeloth, the Land of Dread, and his foes hid beneath the
earth; but the Elves smote upon the gates of Angband, and the
challenge of their trumpets shook the towers of Thangorodrim.
$92. But Fingolfin doubted the wiles of Morgoth, and he
withdrew from the doors of hell, and turned back unto Mithrim,
so that Eredwethion, the Shadow Mountains, might shelter his
folk while they rested. But there was little love between those that
followed Fingolfin and the house of Feanor; for the agony of those
that had endured the crossing of the ice had been great, and their
hearts were filled with bitterness. The numbers of the host of Tun
had been diminished upon that grievous road, but yet was the
army of Fingolfin greater than that of the sons of Feanor. These
therefore removed and camped upon the southern shore of
Mithrim, and the lake lay between the peoples. In this the work of
the curse was seen, for the delay wrought by their feud did great
harm to the fortunes of all the Noldor. They achieved nothing
upon the Orcs.
$93. Then Morgoth arose from thought, and seeing the
division of his foes he laughed. And he let make vast vapours and
great smoke in the vaults of Angband, and they were sent forth
from the reeking tops of the Iron Mountains, and afar off these
could be seen in Hithlum, staining the bright airs of those earliest
of mornings. The North shook with the thunder of Morgoth's
forges under ground. A wind came, and the vapours were borne
far and wide, and they fell and coiled about the fields and hollows,
dark and poisonous.
$94. Then Fingon the valiant resolved to heal the feud. Of all
the children of Finwe he is justly most renowned: for his valour
was as a fire and yet as steadfast as the hills of stone; wise he was
and skilled in voice and hand; troth and justice he loved and bore
good will to all, both Elves and Men, hating Morgoth only; he
sought not his own, neither power nor glory, and death was his
reward. Alone now, without counsel of any, he went in search of
Maidros, for the thought of his torment troubled his heart. Aided
by the very mists that Morgoth put abroad, he ventured unseen
into the fastness of his enemies. High upon the shoulders of
Thangorodrim he climbed, and looked in despair upon the deso-
lation of the land. But no passage nor crevice could he find
through which he might come within Morgoth's stronghold.
Therefore in defiance of the Orcs, who cowered still in the dark
vaults beneath the earth, he took his harp and played a fair song of
Valinor that the Gnomes had made of old, ere strife was born
among the sons of Finwe; and his voice, strong and sweet, rang in
the mournful hollows that had never heard before aught save cries
of fear and woe.
$95. Thus he found what he sought. For suddenly above him
far and faint his song was taken up, and a voice answering called to
him. Maidros it was that sang amid his torment. But Fingon
climbed to the foot of the precipice where his kinsman hung, and
then could go no further; and he wept when he saw the cruel
device of Morgoth. Maidros, therefore, being in anguish without
hope, begged Fingon to shoot him with his bow; and Fingon
strung an arrow, and bent his bow. And seeing no better hope he
cried to Manwe, saying: '0 King to whom all birds are dear, speed
now this feathered shaft, and recall some pity for the banished
Gnomes! '
$96. Now his prayer was answered swiftly. For Manwe to
whom all birds are dear, and to whom they bring news upon
Taniquetil from Middle-earth, had sent forth the race of Eagles.
Thorondor was their king. And Manwe commanded them to
dwell in the crags of the North, and keep watch upon Morgoth; for
Manwe still had pity for the exiled Elves. And the Eagles brought
news of much that passed in these days to the sad ears of Manwe;
and they hindered the deeds of Morgoth. Now even as Fingon
bent his bow, there flew down from the high airs Thorondor,
King of Eagles; and he stayed Fingon's hand.
$97. Thorondor was the mightiest of all birds that have ever
been. The span of his outstretched wings was thirty fathoms. His
beak was of gold. He took up Fingon and bore him to the face of
the rock where Maidros hung. But Fingon could not release the
hell-wrought bond upon his wrist, nor sever it, nor draw it from
the stone. Again, therefore, in his pain Maidros begged that he
would slay him; but Fingon cut off his hand above the wrist, and
Thorondor bore them both to Mithrim.
$98. There Maidros in time was healed; for the fire of life was
hot within him, and his strength was of the ancient world, such
as those possessed who were nurtured in Valinor. His body
recovered from its torment and became hale, but the shadow of his
pain was in his heart; and he lived to wield his sword with left hand
more deadly than his right had been. By this deed Fingon won
great renown, and all the Noldor praised him; and the feud was
healed between Fingolfin and the sons of Feanor. But Maidros j
begged forgiveness for the desertion in Eruman, and gave back the
goods of Fingolfin that had been borne away in the ships; and he
waived his claim to kingship over all the Gnomes. To this his
brethren did not all in their hearts agree. Therefore the house of
Feanor were called the Dispossessed, because of the doom of the
Gods which gave the kingdom of Tun to Fingolfin, and because of
the loss of the Silmarils. But there was now a peace and a truce to
jealousy; yet still there held the binding oath.
$99. Now the Gnomes being reunited marched forth from the
land of Hithlum and drove the servants of Morgoth before them,
and they beleaguered Angband from west and south and east. And
there followed long years of peace and happiness; for this was the
age which songs name the Siege of Angband, and it lasted more
than four hundred years of the Sun, while the swords of the
Gnomes fenced the earth from the ruin of Morgoth, and his power
was shut behind his gates. In those days there was joy beneath the
new Sun and Moon, and there was birth and blossoming of many
things; and the lands of the West of Middle-earth where now the
Noldor dwelt became exceeding fair. And that region was named
of old in the language of Doriath Beleriand, but after the coming
i
of the Noldor it was called also in the tongue of Valinor Ingolonde,
the fair and sorrowful, the Kingdom of the Gnomes. And behind
the guard of their armies in the North the Gnomes began now to
wander far and wide over the land, and they built there many fair
habitations, and established realms; for save in Doriath and in
Ossiriand (of which more is after said) there were few folk there
before them. These were Dark-elves of Telerian race, and the
Noldor met them in gladness, and there was joyful meeting as
between kinsfolk long sundered. And Fingolfin made a great feast,
and it was held in the South far from the threat of Morgoth, in the
Land of Willows beside the waters of Sirion. The joy of that feast
was long remembered in later days of sorrow; and it was called
Mereth Aderthad, the Feast of Reuniting, and it was held in
spring. Thither came all of the three houses of the Gnomes that
could be spared from the northern guard; and great number of
the Dark-elves, both the wanderers of the woods, and the folk of
the havens from the land of the Falas; and many also came of the
Green-elves from Ossiriand, the Land of Seven Rivers, afar off
under the walls of the Blue Mountains. And from Doriath there
came ambassadors, though Thingol came not himself, and he
would not open his kingdom, nor remove its girdle of enchant-
ment; for wise with the wisdom of Melian he trusted not that the
restraint of Morgoth would last for ever. But the hearts of the
Gnomes were high and full of hope, and it seemed to many of
them that the words of Feanor had been justified, bidding them
seek freedom and fair kingdoms in Middle-earth.
$100. But on a time Turgon left Nivrost where he dwelt and
went to visit Inglor his friend, and they journeyed southward
along Sirion, being weary for a while of the northern mountains;
and as they journeyed night came upon them beyond the Meres of
Twilight beside the waters of Sirion, and they slept upon his
banks beneath the summer stars. But Ulmo coming up the river
laid a profound sleep upon them and heavy dreams; and the
trouble of the dreams remained after they awoke, but neither said
aught to the other, for their memory was not clear, and each
deemed that Ulmo had sent a message to him alone. But unquiet
was upon them ever after and doubt of what should befall, and
they wandered often alone in unexplored country, seeking far and
wide for places of hidden strength; for it seemed to each that he
was bidden to prepare for a day of evil, and to establish a retreat,
lest Morgoth should burst from Angband and overthrow the
armies of the North.
$101. Thus it came to pass that Inglor found the deep gorge
of Narog and the caves in its western side; and he built there a
stronghold and armouries after the fashion of the deep mansions
of Menegroth. And he called this place Nargothrond, and made
there his home with many of his folk; and the Gnomes of the
North, at first in merriment, called him on this account Felagund,
or Lord of Caverns, and that name he bore thereafter until his
end. But Turgon went alone into hidden places, and by the
guidance of Ulmo found the secret vale of Gondolin; and of this he
said nought as yet, but returned to Nivrost and his folk.
$102. And even while Turgon and Felagund were wandering
abroad, Morgoth seeing that many Gnomes were dispersed over
the land made trial of their strength and watchfulness. He shook
the North with sudden earthquake, and fire came from the
Iron Mountains; and the Orcs poured forth across the plain of
Bladorion, and invaded Beleriand through the pass of Sirion in the
West, and burst through the land of Maglor in the East; for there
is a gap in that region between the hills of Maidros and the outliers
of the Blue Mountains. But Fingolfin and 'Maidros gathered great
force, and while others sought out and destroyed all the Orcs that
strayed in Beleriand and did great evil, they came upon the main
host from the other side, even as it was assaulting Dorthonion, and
they defeated the servants of Morgoth, and pursued the remnant
across Bladorion, and destroyed them utterly within sight of
Angband's gates. This was the second great battle of these wars
and was named Dagor Aglareb, the Glorious Battle; and for a long
while after none of the servants of Morgoth would venture from
his gates; for they feared the kings of the Gnomes. And many
reckoned from that day the peace of the Siege of Angband. For the
chieftains took warning from that assault and drew their leaguer
closer, and set such watch upon Angband that Fingolfin boasted
Morgoth could never again escape nor come upon them unawares.
$ 103. Yet the Gnomes could not capture Angband, nor could
they regain the Silmarils; and the stronghold of Morgoth
was never wholly encircled. For the Iron Mountains, from the
southernmost point of whose great curving wall the towers of
Thangorodrim were thrust forward, defended it upon either side,
and were impassable to the Gnomes, because of their snow and
ice. Thus in his rear and to the North Morgoth had no foes, and by
that way his spies at times went out and came by devious routes
into Beleriand. And the Orcs multiplied again in the bowels of the
earth, and Morgoth began after a time to forge in secret new
weapons for the destruction of his enemies. But only twice in all
the years of the Siege did he give sign of his purpose. When nearly
a hundred years had run since the Second Battle, he sent forth an
army to essay the northern ways; and they passed into the white
North. Many there perished, but the others turning west round
the outer end of the Iron Mountains reached the shores of the sea,
and came south along the coast by the route which Fingolfin
followed from the Grinding Ice. Thus they endeavoured to invade
Hithlum from the rear. But Fingon fell upon them by the firth of
Drengist, and drove them into the sea, and none returned to
Morgoth. This was not reckoned among the great battles, for the
Orcs were not in great number, and only part of the folk of
Hithlum fought there.
$104. Again after a hundred years Glomund, the first of
Dragons, issued at night from the gates of Angband, by the
command of Morgoth; for he was unwilling, being yet young and
but half-grown. But the Elves fled before him in dismay, and
abandoned the fields of Bladorion, and Glomund defiled them.
But Fingon, prince of Gnomes, rode up against him with horsed
archers; and Glomund could not withstand their darts, being not
yet come to his full armoury, and he fled back to hell. And Fingon
won great praise, and the Gnomes rejoiced; for few foresaw the
full meaning and threat of this new thing. But they had not seen
the last of Glomund.
Commentary on Chapter 8.
$88. In the opening passage my father was closely following AV annal
2995 (virtually the same in the two versions). The account of the
Battle-under-Stars, placing it in Mithrim, followed by pursuit of the
Orcs into the plain of Bladorion, likewise derives from AV; in Q the
battle was fought on the (still unnamed) plain itself. Comparison of
the texts will show that in the story of the pursuit of the Orcs and the
mortal wounding of Feanor he had both Q and AV in front of him
when he wrote it. I shall not point further to the way in which he
used Q and AV, and then AB, in this chapter (while at the same
time introducing new narrative elements), for these interrelations are
readily traced.
The marginal note Dagor-nui-Ngiliath is contemporary with the
writing of the manuscript. The earlier form Dagor-os-Giliath was
corrected to Dagor-nuin-Giliath in AV 2 (note 12) and AB 2 (note 3).
Feanor's death and fate as described here may be compared with
what is said in $85; the meaning is no doubt that Feanor was never
reborn, nor ever left Mandos in the manner described in the earlier
passage. - His cursing of the name of Morgoth as he died was
transferred, or extended, from Turin (IV. 172), who did the same
after the death of Beleg in the Lay of the Children of Hurin; but in the
Lay Turin cursed Morgoth thrice, as is not said of Feanor in Q, and
'thrice' now reappears.
$89. The words 'and they were Balrogs', deriving from Q, show that at
this time Balrogs were still conceived to exist in large numbers (see IV.
173); so also 'a host of Balrogs' in $143, and 'Balrogs one thousand' in
the Battle of Unnumbered Tears (p. 310 $15).
$91. Dor-Daedeloth was altered from Dor-Daideloth; this looks to be an
early change (the same in AV 2, note 14).
$92. It is not said in the earlier sources that Fingolfin's host remained
the greater.
$93. 'The North shook with the thunder of Morgoth's forges under
ground' reappears from S (IV. 22): 'The North shakes with the
thunder under the earth'; it is not found in Q, nor in AB.
$$96 - 7 Thorondor was an early change from Thorndor; but Thorondor
appears later in QS ($147) as the manuscript was originally written.
$98. Maidros' asking of forgiveness for the desertion in Eruman, his
returning of the goods of Fingolfin, the waiving of his claim to the
kingship, and the secret disavowal of this among his brothers, are all
new elements in the narrative (see IV. 173).
$99. The entire passage that in Q ($9) follows 'beleaguered Angband
from west and south and east', concerning the dispositions of the
Noldorin lords in Middle-earth and their relations with the Dwarves,
is omitted here in QS, where the text now jumps on to IV. 104, 'This
was the time that songs call the Siege of Angband'; similarly no use is
made here of the long passage in AB on this subject (annal 52). The
reason for this is the introduction of the new chapter (9) in QS, Of
Beleriand and its Realms.
In 'it lasted more than four hundred years of the Sun' the word 'four'
was an early emendation over an erased word, obviously 'two'; see the
note on chronology at the end of this commentary.
With the statement that Beleriand was a Doriathrin name cf. the
passage added at the end of the Lhammas ($11): 'from Beleriandic is
the name Balar, and Beleriand'. In an addition to Q (IV. 107 note 2)
Beleriand was said to be Gnomish; and in the same place occurs
Ingolonde the fair and sorrowful: see IV. 174 and the Etymologies,
stem NGOLOD.
With 'Dark-elves of Telerian race' cf. the earlier passage in QS
($30): The Lembi were for the most part of the race of the Teleri, and
the chief of these were the Elves of Beleriand.'
$100. This is the first occurrence (other than in corrections to AB i) of
the name Nivrost (later Nevrast). It was in fact written Nivros, here
and subsequently, but the final t was added carefully in each case,
clearly soon after the writing of the manuscript (so also in the annal for
the year 64 added in to AB 2, note 8; Nivrost in the Etymologies, stems
NIB and Ros(2)).
The story of the discovery of Nargothrond by Inglor and of
Gondolin by Turgon derives from AB (annal 50), but it is not said
there that they journeyed together and slept by Sirion, that the
foreboding dreams were laid on them by Ulmo, or that neither spoke
to the other of his dream.
$101. Though Felagund has several times been rendered 'Lord of
Caves' or 'Lord of Caverns', it has not been said that it was at first a
laughing nickname given to him by the Noldor.
On the date of Turgon's actual departure to Gondolin see the note
on chronology at the end of this commentary.
$IO2. QS adds to the account of the Dagor Aglareb in AB 2, annal 51:
the Orc-hosts came through the Pass of Sirion and through Maglor's
Gap (see the commentary on AB z annal 52), and Fingolfin and
Maidros defeated the main host as it was assaulting Dorthonion. Here
and subsequently the form first written was Dorthanrion, but the
change to Dorthonion was made early. For the many forms preceding
Dorthonion see note g to AB z.
$1O3. On the relation of Angband to Thangorodrim and the Iron
Mountains see the commentary on the Ambarkanta, IV. 260, where I
noted that 'Thangorodrim is shown on map V as a point, set slightly
out from the Iron Mountains.' See also the beginning of Chapter g in
QS ($105).
In 'When nearly a hundred years had run since the Second Battle', 'a
hundred' was an early emendation from 'fifty'; see the note on chron-
ology below.
On the route of the Orc-army that left Angband by the unguarded
northern exit (described also in AB z, annal 105) see the note on the
northern geography, pp. 270 - 2.
$104. Here again (as in $103) 'a hundred' was an early change from
'fifty'; see the note on chronology below.
It is not said in AB 2 (annal 155) either that Glomund's first issuing
from Angband was by Morgoth's command, or that he was unwilling
to venture forth.
Note on the chronology.
This is a convenient place to discuss the chronology of the years of the
Siege of Angband in chapters 8 to 10.
In the chronology of AB z as originally written the Siege of Angband
lasted a little more than two hundred years; and important dates for the
present purpose are:
50. Turgon discovered Gondolin.
51. Dagor Aglareb and the beginning of the Siege of Angband.
52. Turgon departed to Gondolin.
105. Orc-raid down the west coast.
155. First emergence of G1omund.
255. Battle of Sudden Fire and the end of the Siege.
By corrections to the manuscript of AB 2 (given in parentheses in that
text) these dates were changed as follows:
(50. Turgon discovered Gondolin; unchanged)
60. Dagor Aglareb and the beginning of the Siege of Angband
64. Turgon departed to Gondolin (additional annal, given in note 8
to AB 2).
155. Orc-raid down the west coast.
260. First emergence of G1omund.
455. Battle of Sudden Fire and the end of the Siege
Thus the Siege lasted nearly four hundred years; on this final extension
of the chronology of the first centuries of the Sun, reaching that in the
published Silmarillion, see IV. 319 - 20.
The dates in QS before emendation were:
- The Siege of Angband 'lasted more than two hundred years' ($99);
- The western Orc-raid took place 'nearly fifty years' after the Dagor
Aglareb ($103) - which does not perfectly agree with the earlier
chronology of the Annals, where 54 years elapsed between the two
events);
- Glomund's first emergence from Angband was 'again after fifty
years' ($ 104).
These dates were all emended at an early stage, to give 'more than four
hundred years' for the Siege, 'nearly a hundred years' from the Dagor
Aglareb to the Orc-raid, and a further hundred years to Glomund's
coming forth. This agrees, if not quite precisely, with the revised
chronology in AB 2 (i.e. 60 to 455; 60 to 155; and 155 to 260).
In QS chapter 10 the new chronology was already in being as the
manuscript was written; thus in $ 125 the Orc-raid that ended at Drengist
is stated to have occurred in 155, and this was 105 years before the
appearance of Glomund; and after that, i.e. from the year 260, there
were 'well nigh two hundred years' of peace, i.e. till the Battle of Sudden
Fire in 455. Here also it is said that the encounter of the Noldor with the
Dwarves in the Blue Mountains took place about the time of the Orc-
raid, agreeing with the altered dating in AB 2, where the meeting with
the Dwarves, first given in the year 104, was changed to 154.
In QS therefore, though the date of Turgon's departure to Gondolin is
not precisely indicated, he left Nivrost in 64, 'a few years' ($ 116) after the
Second Battle, as in AB z revised.
9.OF BELERIAND AND ITS REALMS.
$105. This is the fashion of the lands into which the Gnomes
came, in the North of the western regions of Middle-earth, in the
ancient days. In the North of the world Melko reared Ered-engrin
the Iron Mountains; and they stood upon the regions of ever-
lasting cold, in a great curve from East to West, but falling short of
the sea upon either side. These Melko built in the elder days as a
fence to his citadel, Utumno, and this lay at the western end of his
northern realm. In the war of the Gods the mountains of Melko
were broken and distorted in the West, and of their fragments
were made Eredwethion and Eredlomin; but the Iron Mountains
bent back northward and there was a hundred leagues between
them and the frozen straits at Helkarakse. Behind their walls
Melko coming back into Middle-earth made the endless dungeons
of Angband, the hells of iron, where of old Utumno had been. But
he made a great tunnel under them, which issued south of the
mountains; and there he made a mighty gate. But above this gate,
and behind it even to the mountains, he piled the thunderous
towers of Thangorodrim; and these were made of the ash and slag
of his subterranean furnaces, and the vast refuse of his tun-
nellings. They were black and desolate and exceedingly lofty; and
smoke issued from their tops, dark and foul upon the northern
sky. Before the gates of Angband filth and desolation spread
southward for many miles. There lay the wide plain of Bladorion.
But after the coming of the Sun rich grass grew there, and while
Angband was besieged and its gates shut, there were green things
even among the pits and broken rocks before the doors of hell.
$106. To the West of Thangorodrim lay Hithlum, the land
of mist, for so it was named by the Gnomes because of the clouds
that Morgoth sent thither during their first encampment; and it
became a fair land while the Siege lasted, although its air was cool
and winter there was cold. It was bounded in the West by
Eredlomin, the Echoing Mountains that march near the sea; and
in the East and South by the great curve of Eredwethion, the
Shadowy Mountains that looked across Bladorion, and across
the vale of Sirion. In the East that corner which lay between
Eredwethion and the Mountains of Mithrim was called the land of
Mithrim, and most of Fingolfin's folk dwelt there about the shores
of the great lake. West of Mithrim lay Dor-lomen, and was
assigned to Fingon son of Fingolfin. West again lay Nivrost *
beyond the Echoing Mountains, which below the Firth of
Drengist marched inland. Here at first was the realm of Turgon,
bounded by the sea, and Eredlomin, and the hills which continue
(* Marginal note to the text: Which is West Vale in the tongue of
Doriath.)
the walls of Eredwethion westward to the sea, from Ivrin to
Mount Taras which standeth upon a promontory. And Nivrost
was a pleasant land watered by the wet winds from the sea, and
sheltered from the North, whereas the rest of Hithlum was open to
the cold winds. To the East of Hithlum lay Bladorion, as has been
said; and below that the great highland that the Gnomes first
named Dorthonion.* This stretched for a hundred leagues from
West to East and bore great pine forests, especially upon its
northern and western sides. For it arose by gentle slopes from
Bladorion to a bleak and lofty land, where lay many tarns at the
feet of bare tors whose heads were higher than the peaks of
Eredwethion. But southward where it looked towards Doriath it
fell suddenly in dreadful precipices. Between Dorthonion and the
Shadowy Mountains there was a narrow vale with sheer walls clad
with pines; but the vale itself was green, for the river Sirion flowed
through it, hastening towards Beleriand.
$ 107. Now the great and fair country of Beleriand lay on either
side of this mighty river Sirion, renowned in song, which rose at
Eithel Sirion in the east of Eredwethion, and skirted the edge of
Bladorion, ere he plunged through the pass, becoming ever fuller
with the streams of the mountains. Thence he flowed down south,
one hundred and twenty-one leagues, gathering the waters of
many tributaries, until with a mighty flood he reached his many
mouths and sandy delta in the Bay of Balar. And the chief of the
tributaries of Sirion were in the West: Taiglin, and Narog the
mightiest; and in the East: Mindeb, and Esgalduin the enchanted
river that flowed through the midst of Doriath; and Aros, with its
tributary Celon, that flowed into Sirion at the Meres of Twilight
upon the confines of Doriath.
$108. Thus Beleriand was bounded upon the North by
Nivrost and Hithlum and Dorthonion; and beyond Dorthonion
by the hills of Maidros, son of Feanor; and upon the West it was
bounded by the Great Sea; and upon the East by the towers of
Eredlindon, the Blue Mountains, one of the chief ranges of the
ancient world; and by Ossiriand between these mountains and the
river Gelion. And in the South it was held by some to be bounded
by Gelion, that turning westward sought the sea far beyond the
mouths of Sirion. Beyond the river Gelion the land narrowed
suddenly, for the Great Sea ran into a mighty gulf reaching almost
to the feet of Eredlindon, and there was a strait of mountainous
(* Marginal note to the text: Ilkorin name.)
land between the gulf and the inland sea of Helkar, by which one
might come into the vast regions of the South of Middle-earth.
But the land between the mouths of Sirion and Gelion was little
visited by the Gnomes, a tangled forest in which no folk went save
here and there a few Dark-elves wandering; and beyond Gelion
the Gnomes seldom came, nor ever east of Eredlindon while that
land lasted.
$109. Following Sirion from North to South there lay upon
the right hand West Beleriand, at its widest seventy leagues from
river to sea: first the Forest of Brethil between Sirion and Taiglin,
and then the realm of Nargothrond, between Sirion and Narog.
And the river Narog arose in the falls of Ivrin in the southern face
of Dorlomen, and flowed some eighty leagues ere he joined Sirion
in the Nan-tathren, the land of willows, south of Nargothrond.
But the realm of Nargothrond extended also west of Narog, even
to the sea, save only in the country of the Falas (or Coast), south of
Nivrost. There dwelt the Dark-elves of the havens, Brithombar
and Eglorest, and they were of ancient Telerian race; but they
took Felagund, lord of Nargothrond, to be their king. And south
of Nan-tathren was a region of fair meads filled with many flowers,
where few folk dwelt; and beyond lay the marshes and isles of
reeds about the mouths of Sirion, and the sands of his delta empty
of all living things save birds of the sea.
$110. But upon the left hand of Sirion lay East Beleriand, at its
widest a hundred leagues from Sirion to Gelion and the borders of
Ossiriand: first the empty lands under the faces of the southern
precipices of Dorthonion, Dimbar between Sirion and Mindeb,
and Nan-dungorthin between Mindeb and the upper waters of
Esgalduin; and these regions were filled with fear by the enchant-
ments of Melian, as a defence of Doriath against the North, and
after the fall of the Gnomes they became places of terror and evil.
Beyond them to the East lay the north-marches of Beleriand,
where the sons of Feanor dwelt. Next southward lay the kingdom
of Doriath; first its northern and lesser part, the Forest of
Neldoreth, bounded east and south by the dark river Esgalduin,
which bent westward in the midst of Doriath; and then the denser
and greater woods of Region, between Esgalduin and Aros. And
Menegroth the halls of Thingol were built upon the south bank of
Esgalduin, where he turned westward; and all Doriath lay west of
Sirion, save for a narrow region of woodland between the meeting
of Taiglin and Sirion and the Meres of Twilight. And this wood
which the folk of Doriath called Nivrim, or the West-march, was
very fair, and oak-trees of great beauty grew there; and it was
included in the girdle of Melian, so that some portion of Sirion
which she loved in reverence of Ulmo should be wholly under the
power of Thingol.
$111. Beyond Doriath to the East lay wide woods between
Celon and Gelion; here few folk dwelt, but Damrod and Diriel
took it as their realm and hunting-ground; and beyond, between
Gelion and the Blue Mountains, was the wide land of Thargelion,*
where Cranthir dwelt of old. But in the southern corner of
Doriath, where Aros flowed into Sirion, lay a region of great pools
and marshes on either side of the river, which halted there in his
course and strayed in many channels. This region the Elves of
Doriath named Umboth Muilin,+ the Twilight Meres, for there
were many mists, and the enchantment of Doriath lay over them.
$ 122. For all the northern half of Beleriand sloped southward
to this point and then for a while was plain, and the flood of Sirion
was stayed. But south of Umboth Muilin the land again fell
suddenly and steeply, though in no wise with so great a fall as in
the North. Yet all the lower plain of Sirion was divided from the
upper plain by this sudden fall, which looking North appeared as
an endless chain of hills running from Eglorest beyond Narog in
the West to Amon Ereb in the East, within far sight of Gelion.
Narog came south through a deep gorge, and flowed over rapids
but had no fall, and on its west bank the land rose into great
wooded highlands, Taur-na-Faroth, which stretched far south-
ward. On the west side of this gorge under Taur-na-Faroth, where
the short and foaming stream Ingwil tumbles headlong from the
highlands into Narog, Inglor established Nargothrond.
$ 113. But some seventy miles east of the gorge of Nargothrond
Sirion fell from the North in a mighty fall below the meres, and
then he plunged suddenly underground into great tunnels that the
weight of his falling waters delved; and he issued again three
leagues southward with great noise and smoke through rocky
arches at the foot of the hills which were called the Gates of Sirion.
But this dividing fall was named Andram, or the Long Wall, from
Nargothrond to Ramdal, or Wall's End, in East Beleriand. And in
the East the wall became ever less sheer, for the vale of Gelion
sloped ever southward steadily, and Gelion had neither fall nor
(* Marginal note to the text: or Radhrost.
+ Footnote to the text: But the Gnomish names were Hithliniath the
pools of mist or Aelin-uial Lakes of Twilight.)
rapids throughout his course, but was ever swifter than was
Sirion. But between Ramdal and Gelion there stood a single hill,
of great extent and gentle slopes, but seeming loftier than it was,
for it stood alone; and this hill was named Amon Ereb, and
Maidros dwelt there after the great defeat. But until that time all
the wide forests of East Beleriand south of Andram and between
Sirion and Gelion were little inhabited, and the Gnomes came
there seldom.
$ 114. And east of this wild land lay the country of Ossiriand,
between Gelion and Eredlindon. Gelion was a great river, and it
arose in two sources, and had at first two branches: Little Gelion
that came from the hill of Himring, and Greater Gelion that came
from Mount Rerir, an outlier of Eredlindon; and between these
branches was the land of Maglor, son of Feanor. Then joining his
two arms Gelion flowed south, a swift river but of small volume,
until he found his tributaries some forty leagues south of the
meeting of his arms. Ere he found the sea Gelion was twice as long
as Sirion, but ever less wide and full; for more rain fell in Hithlum
and Dorthonion, whence Sirion drew his waters, than in the East.
From Eredlindon flowed the tributaries of Gelion. These were
six: Ascar (that was after renamed Rathloriel), Thalos, Legolin,
Brilthor, Duilwen, and Adurant; they were swift and turbulent,
falling steeply from the mountains, but going southward each was
longer than the one before, since Gelion bent ever away from
Eredlindon. Between Ascar in the North and Adurant in the
South, and between Gelion and the mountains, lay Ossiriand,
the Land of Seven Rivers, filled with green woods wide and fair.
There dwelt the Danian Elves, who in the beginning
were of Gnomish race, but forsook the march from Kuivienen,
and came never to Valinor, and only after long wanderings came
over the mountains in the dark ages; and some of their kindred
dwelt still east of Eredlindon. Of old the lord of Ossiriand was
Denethor, friend of Thingol; but he was slain in battle when he
marched to the aid of Thingol against Melko, in the days when the
Orcs were first made and broke the starlit peace of Beleriand.
Thereafter Doriath was fenced with enchantment, and many of
the folk of Denethor removed to Doriath and mingled with the
Elves of Thingol; but those that remained in Ossiriand had no
king, and lived in the protection of their rivers. For after Sirion
Ulmo loved Gelion above all the waters of the western world. But
the woodcraft of the Elves of Ossiriand was such that a stranger
might pass through their land from end to end and see none of
them. They were clad mostly in green in spring and in summer,
and hence were called the Green-elves; and they delighted in
song, and the sound of their singing could be heard even across the
waters of Gelion, as if all their land was filled with choirs of birds
whose fair voices had taken thought and meaning.
$ 116. In this way the chieftains of the Gnomes held their lands
and the leaguer upon Morgoth after his defeat in the Second
Battle. Fingolfin and Fingon his son held Hithlum, and their chief
fortress was at Eithel Sirion in the east of Eredwethion, whence
they kept watch upon Bladorion; and their cavalry rode upon that
plain even to the shadow of Thangorodrim, and their horses
multiplied for the grass was good. Of those horses many of the
sires came from Valinor. But Turgon the wise, second son of
Fingolfin, held Nivrost until the Second Battle, and returned
thither afterward, and his folk were numerous. But the unquiet of
Ulmo increased upon him, and after a few years he arose and took
with him a great host of Gnomes, even to a third of the people of
Fingolfin, and their goods and wives and children, and departed
eastward. His going was by night and his march swift and silent,
and he vanished out of knowledge of his kindred. But he came to
Gondolin, and built there a city like unto Tun of Valinor, and
fortified the surrounding hills; and Gondolin lay hidden for many
years.
$117. The sons of Finrod held the northern march from the
pass of Sirion between Hithlum and Dorthonion unto the eastern
end of Dorthonion, where is the deep gorge of Aglon. And Inglor
held the pass of Sirion, and built a great watchtower, Minnastirith,
upon an isle in the midst of the river; but after the founding of
Nargothrond this fortress he committed mostly to the keeping of
his brother Orodreth. But Angrod and Egnor watched Bladorion
from the northern slopes of Dorthonion; and their folk was not
great for the land was barren, and the great highlands behind were
deemed to be a bulwark that Morgoth would not lightly seek to
cross.
$118. But east of Dorthonion the marches of Beleriand were
more open to attack, and only hills of no great height guarded the
vale of Gelion from the North. Therefore the sons of Feanor with
many folk, well nigh half of the people of the Gnomes, dwelt in
that region, upon the Marches of Maidros, and in the lands
behind; and the riders of the folk of Feanor rode often upon
the vast northern plain, Lothland the wide and empty, east
of Bladorion, lest Morgoth attempted any sortie towards East
Beleriand. And the chief citadel of Maidros was upon the hill of
Himring, the Ever-cold; and this was wide-shouldered, bare of
trees, and flat upon the summit, and surrounded by many lesser
hills. Its name it bore because there was a pass, exceeding steep
upon the west, between it and Dorthonion, and this was the pass
of Aglon, and was a gate unto Doriath, and a bitter wind blew ever
through it from the North. But Celegorn and Curufin fortified
Aglon, and manned it with great strength, and they held all the
land southward between the river Aros that arose in Dorthonion
and his tributary Celon that came from Himring. And between
Celon and Little Gelion was the ward of Damrod and Diriel. And
between the arms of Gelion was the ward of Maglor, and here in
one place the hills failed altogether; and here it was that the Orcs
came into East Beleriand before the Second Battle. Therefore the
Gnomes held much cavalry in the plains at that place; and the
people of Cranthir fortified the mountains to the east of Maglor's
Gap. For Mount Rerir, and about it many lesser heights, stood
out from the main range of Eredlindon westward; and in the angle
between Rerir and Eredlindon there was a lake, shadowed by
mountains on all sides save the south. This was Lake Helevorn,
deep and dark, and beside it Cranthir had his abode; but all the
great land between Gelion and Eredlindon, and between Rerir
and the river Ascar, was called by the Gnomes Thargelion (that is
the land beyond Gelion), or Dor Granthir the land of Cranthir;
and it was here that the Gnomes first met the Dwarves.*
$ 119. Thus the sons of Feanor under the leadership of Maidros
were lords of East Beleriand, but their folk was in that time mostly
in the north of the land; and southward they rode only to hunt,
and to seek solitude for a while. And thither for like purpose the
other Elflords would sometimes come, for the land was wild but
very fair; and of these Inglor came most often, for he had great
love of wandering, and he came even into Ossiriand and won
friendship of the Green-elves. But Inglor was King of Nargoth-
rond and overlord of the Dark-elves of the western havens; and
with his aid Brithombar and Eglorest were rebuilt and became fair
towns, recalling somewhat the havens of the Elves upon the shores
of Valinor.
$120. And Inglor let build the tower of Tindobel upon a cape
west of Eglorest to watch the Western Sea; and some of the folk of
(* Marginal note to the text: But Dor Granthir was before called by the
Dark-elves Radhrost, the East Vale.)
Nargothrond with the aid of the Teleri of the havens built new
ships, and they went forth and explored the great isle of Balar,
thinking here to prepare an ultimate refuge, if evil came. But it was
not their fate that they should ever dwell there. And Inglor's realm
ran north to Tolsirion the isle in the river aforesaid, and his brothers
held Dorthonion and were his vassals. Thus his realm was far the
greatest, though he was the youngest of the great lords of the
Gnomes, Fingolfin, Fingon, and Maidros, and Inglor Felagund.
But Fingolfin was held overlord of all the Gnomes, and Fingon after
him, though their own realm was but the northern lands of Nivrost
and Hithlum. Yet were their folk the most hardy and valiant, and
the most feared by the Orcs and most hated by Morgoth.
$121. And in Doriath abode Thingol, the hidden king, and
into his realm none passed save by his will, and when summoned
thither; and mighty though the Kings of the Noldor were in those
days, and filled with the fire and glory of Valinor, the name of
Thingol was held in awe among them.
Commentary on Chapter. 9.
$105. This is the first occurrence of the final form Ered-engrin (for
earlier Eiglir Engrin, IV. 220). The description of the Iron Mountains
here agrees with the Ambarkanta map IV (IV. 249), where they are
shown as a great wall across the North, slightly bowed southwards,
and where, as stated in QS, they do not extend to the shores of either
the Western or the Eastern Seas. I have discussed in IV. 258 - 60 the
relation of the Ambarkanta map V to the description here of
the changes in the northern mountains and of Angband and
Thangorodrim.
$106. Hithlum is called 'Land(s) of Mist' in the Lay of the Children of
Hurin, in Q, and in AB i, 'realm of mist' in QS $88, but this
explanation of the name has not been given before. It is interesting to
look back to the original idea (1. 122): 'Dor Lomin or the "Land of
Shadow" was that region named of the Eldar Hisilome' (and this means
"Shadowy Twilights")... and it is so called by reason of the scanty
sun which peeps little over the Iron Mountains [i.e. the Mountains of
Shadow] to the east and south of it.'
Nivrost, a1ways early changed from Nivros, is now placed geo-
graphically in the previously unnamed region which appears already
on the first Map (IV. 228), and it is here explicitly reckoned a part
of Hithlum (but in $120 there is a reference to 'the northern lands of
Nivrost and Hithlum'). The marginal note translating the name as
'West Vale' ('West-dales' in the Etymologies, stem NIB) is contem-
porary with the writing of the manuscript (in The Silmarillion the later
form Net rast is translated 'Hither Shore', p. 119). On Hithlum's ex-
posure to the North see the note on the geography of the far North,
pp. 270 - 2.
This is the first occurrence of Taras, but the great mountain was
clearly marked out on the second Map as originally drawn, and before
the name was inserted (p. 408, square D2).
The marginal note defining Dorthonion as an I1korin name (in
agreement with the Etymologies, stem THON) looks as if it belongs
with the original writing of the manuscript, although it contradicts the
statement in the text: 'the great highland that the Gnomes first named
Dorthonion.'
$108. At the first occurrence of Eredlindon in this paragraph there is a
footnote to the text added after the writing of the manuscript:
Which signifieth the Mountains of Ossiriand; for the Gnomes called
that land Lindon, the region of music, and they first saw these
mountains from Ossiriand. But their right name was Eredluin the
Blue Mountains, or Luindirien the Blue Towers.
I have not included this in the text printed, feeling uncertain of its
date. In the passages of revision to the second version of The Fall of
Numenor the name Lindon appears. I have shown that these revisions
come from a time during the writing of The Lord of the Rings (see
pp. 31 - 4) - although that does not necessarily imply that Lindon
had not arisen earlier. Originally Eredlindon certainly meant 'Blue
Mountains': see I V. 328, 34 I; and in the List of Names (p. 405) a word
lind 'blue' is adduced (cf. the Etymologies, stem GLINDI).
With the account of the extent of Beleriand cf. the legend on the first
Map (IV. 226 - 7). - The present passage is the first statement about
the lower course of Gelion; on the Ambarkanta map V (IV. 251) the
river (unnamed) is shown turning west and flowing into the sea in
another great bay south of Balar. Also shown on map V is the 'Great
Gulf', and 'the strait of mountainous land' (there called the 'Straits of
the World') 'between the gulf and the inland sea of Helkar' (see IV.
258 - 9).
$1O9. Nan-tathren was changed from Nan-tathrin, as in AB 2 (note 5).
- In AB 2 (annal 52) Fingolfin was 'Lord of the Falas or Western
Shore, and overlord of the Dark-elves as far south as Eglorest and west
of the river Eglor', while Felagund possessed the lands east of Eglor
(between Eglor and Sirion). Changes made to that manuscript (notes
12 and 13) altered the text to say that it was Felagund who was 'held to
be overlord of the Falas, and of the Dark-elves of the havens of
Brithombar and Eglorest'; and here in QS the Elves of the Havens
'took Felagund to be their king'.
$110. Here is the first occurrence of the name Dimbar. Cf. AB 2, annal
52: 'between Sirion and the river Mindeb no one dwelt.' On Nan-
dungorthin see IV. 222. Here also is the first occurrence of Nivrim, 'the
West-march'. On the second Map, as on the first, the region is marked
as 'Doriath beyond Sirion'; see IV. 224, 330.
$111. Thargelion, here first appearing, was an early change from Tar-
gelion (but in $122 Thargelion is original in the manuscript). The
marginal note 'or Radhrost' was probably a subsequent addition, but
certainly belongs to the early period; see under $118 below. The
second footnote is certainly original. While Umboth Muilin goes back
to the Lost Tales (see II. 225, 349), neither Hithliniath nor Aelin-uial
have occurred before.
$112. Here first appears the name Taur-na-Faroth of the highlands
previously called in the Lays of Beleriand 'the Hills of the Hunters',
'the Hunters' Wold', and on the first Map Duil Rewinion (IV. 225),
where these hills are shown extending far to the south of Nargothrond.
$113. This account of the Slope of Beleriand and the great dividing fall
is entirely new, as are the names Andram 'the Long Wall' and Ramdal
'Wall's End' (both written at both occurrences over other names that
were wholly obliterated). Ancient features of the rivers of Beleriand -
the torrential Narog, the Pools of Twilight, the plunging of Sirion
underground - are now related in a comprehensive geographical
conception. The 'Gates of Sirion'are new both as name and conception
(though marked and named on the second Map as originally drawn,
p. 410): nothing has been said hitherto of the issuing of the river from
its subterranean passage.
$114. The two tributary branches of Gelion are shown on the second
Map but are here first named; and now occurs for the first time Mount
Rerir, where Greater Gelion rose. The form Himring has already
appeared in Lhammas B, p. 189 (but it was still Himling on the second
Map as originally drawn).
At the name Adurant there is a footnote to the text added after the
writing of the manuscript:
And at a point nearly midway in its course the stream of Adurant
divided and joined again, enclosing a fair island; and this was called
Tolgalen, the Green Isle. There Beren and Luthien dwelt after
their return.
Like the footnote to $108, I have not included this in the text because
of uncertainty as to when the addition was made. The second Map
does not show the island formed by the divided course of Adurant; on
the other hand an addition to the stem AT(AT) in the Etymologies
explains the actual meaning of Adurant precisely from the divided
course (Ilkorin adu, ado 'double'). This is the first occurrence of the
name Tolgalen, and of this precise placing of the dwelling of Beren and
Luthien after their return. On the first Map 'the Land of the Dead that
Live' was moved several times, the final placing being in Ossiriand
(IV. 224, 230), as in Q (IV. 133).
$115. With 'when the Orcs were first made' cf. QS $62: 'he brought into
being the race of the Orcs' (i.e. when Morgoth came back to Middle-
earth).
This account of the Green-elves ('Danian Elves') will be found to be
in good agreement with the Lhammas $7. It is not told there that they
were called Green-elves because they were clad in green in spring and
summer (but 'the house of Denethor loved green above all colours');
and there is now the first mention of their singing, which led to their
land being named Lindon (see the commentary on $108, but also the
Etymologies, stem LIN (2)).
$116. From the beginning of this paragraph the text is derived, with
much alteration and expansion, from AB 2, annal 52.
On the lapse of time between Turgon's discovery of the hidden
valley of Gondolin and his final departure from Nivrost see pp. 257-8.
In AB z he 'departed south', i.e. from Hithlum, later changed (note 8)
to agree with QS, where he 'departed eastward', i.e. from Nivrost.
This is the first mention of the likeness of Gondolin to the city of the
Elves in Valinor, although, as I have suggested (II. 208), it was
perhaps an old underlying idea.
$117. The name Minnastirith is written over a total erasure, but the
obliterated name was clearly Inglormindon, which appears in an
addition to AB 2 (note 14), changed there also to Minnastirith (and
then to Minastirith).
Another element in the changed history of Orodreth now enters, an
aspect of his association with Inglor Felagund rather than with Angrod
and Egnor (see the commentary on $73): he no longer has land in the
east of Dorthonion, near to his friends Celegorn and Curufin, but is
the warden of Inglor's tower on Tol Sirion. This new story was
introduced into AB z by later corrections (notes 10, 25, 29).
$118. The account of the defences of Beleriand in the North-east and
the lands of the Feanorian princes does not differ in essentials from
that in AB 2, but is fuller and more precise in detail. The name
Lothland first appears here, and this is the first time that Himring
(Himling) has been described, or an interpretation given for either
form. The territory of Damrod and Diriel is made more definite, and
apparently more northward (earlier in this chapter, $111, its limits are
'between Celon and Gelion'). Lake Helevorn, beside which Cranthir
dwelt, is now first mentioned (the name being written over an erasure,
perhaps of Elivorn, see p. 405); it is not shown on the second Map as
originally drawn.
The words 'by the Gnomes Thargelion (that is the land beyond
Gelion) or Dor Granthir' were an addition, together with the marginal
note on the Dark-elvish name Radhrost, but made very carefully at an
earlier time. On Granthir beside Cranthir see the note on Gorgoroth,
p. 298. The encounter of Cranthir's people with the Dwarves in
Eredlindon is given in AB 2 under the year 104 (> 154), but the
account of the Dwarves at this point in the Annals is in QS reserved for
the new chapter that follows.
$$119 - 20. It is not said in AB z (annal 65) that Felagund aided the
Elves of the Falas in the rebuilding of their Havens, nor that it was
he who raised the Tower of Tindobel: for Fingolfin was still Lord of
the Falas (see under $109 above). The name was first written here
Tindabel, as also on the second Map: I read Tindobel on the assump-
tion that this was an early change, a reversion to the form on the first
Map and in AB 1 and 2.
Note on the geography of the furthest North.
I have remarked (IV. 259) when discussing the Ambarkanta maps that it
is interesting to see how near Hithlum is placed on Map V to the edge of
the world, the Chasm of Ilmen; and this is a convenient place to consider
a further aspect of the matter. In QS $ 105 it is said:
In the war of the Gods the mountains of Melko were broken and
distorted in the West, and of their fragments were made Eredwethion
and Eredlomin; but the Iron Mountains bent back northward and
there was a hundred leagues between them and the frozen straits at
Helkarakse.
Though very cramped and hastily sketched in, Map V seems to agree
well with this. I attempt here to enlarge and clarify the depiction of these
regions on the map, adding letters to make reference to it plainer.
The western end of the Iron Mountains (marked a on the sketch) now
turns in fairly sharply northwards to the Chasm of Ilmen; Eredwethion
(c) and Eredlomin (d) are clearly identifiable. The herring-bone line (b)
that runs along the edge of the Chasm is in pencil, whereas the other
ranges are inked over pencil, but it is not clear whether this has any
significance. The statement in QS just cited that there were a hundred
leagues between the end of the Iron Mountains and the Helkarakse
suggests that there were no great heights between Hithlum and the
Chasm - and cf. QS $106: 'Nivrost was sheltered from the North' (by
Eredlomin), whereas 'Hithlum was open to the cold winds'.
On the other hand, earlier in QS ($ 103) the army sent out by Morgoth
to test the defences of the Noldor 'turning west round the outer end of the
Iron Mountains reached the shores of the sea', endeavouring 'to invade
Hithlum from the rear'. This army came south along the coast and was
destroyed by Fingon at the Firth of Drengist. Does this imply that the
Orc-host could not invade Hithlum from the North owing to defensible
heights between Hithlum and the Chasm of Ilmen? In which case some
configuration after this fashion might be supposed:
But the evidence does not seem to allow of a certain answer; and the
second Map gives no help - indeed it presents a further problem in
the representation of Thangorodrim (p. 409). Here the colossal triple
peaks of Thangorodrim are surrounded by a closed circle of lesser
heights, and there is no suggestion of the 'great curving wall' of the
Iron Mountains from which 'the towers of Thangorodrim were thrust
forward' (QS $103). I am at a loss to explain this; but in all the years
during which my father used this map he never made any mark on it
suggesting that the picture should be changed.
At this time Thangorodrim was conceived to be quite near: the second
Map agrees closely with the Ambarkanta map V in this. In post-Lard of
the Rings writing it is said that 'the gates of Morgoth were but one
hundred and fifty leagues distant from the bridge of Menegroth' (The
Silmarillion p. 96); whereas according to the scale of the second Map (see
below) the distance was scarcely more than seventy.
Note on distances.
I list here the definitions of distance that are given in Chapter g:
- 100 leagues between the end of the Iron Mountains in the West and
the Helkarakse ($105).
- Dorthonion stretched for 100 leagues ($106).
- The length of Sirion from the Pass to the Delta was 121 leagues
($107).
- West Beleriand at its widest was 70 leagues from Sirion to the sea
($ 109).
- The length of Narog from Ivrin to its confluence with Sirion was
some 80 leagues ($ 109).
- East Beleriand at its widest was 100 leagues from Sirion to Gelion
($ 110).
- The great falls of Sirion were some 70 miles east of the gorge of
Nargothrond ($ 113).
- Sirion flowed underground for 3 leagues ($ 113).
- The confluence of Ascar and Gelion was some 40 leagues south of
the confluence of Greater and Little Gelion ($ 114).
A note on the back of the Map gives a scale of 50 miles to 3'2 cm. (the
length of the sides of the squares). On this scale most of the distances
given in QS agree well or very well with measurements on the Map (as
might be expected). The rivers were measured in a straight line, in the
case of Sirion from the northern opening of the Pass. But there are two
statements in QS that do not harmonise at all with the Map. These are
the length of Dorthonion (100 leagues) and the extent of West Beleriand
at its widest (70 leagues from Sirion to the sea). A glance will show that
Dorthonion was of far smaller extent than East Beleriand at its widest,
though both distances are given in QS as 100 leagues, and that West
Beleriand at its widest was virtually as great as East Beleriand. These
statements are, I think, simply errors, without further significance; and
they were in fact corrected (long after), the length of Dorthonion
becoming 60 leagues, and West Beleriand at its widest 99 leagues,
harmonising with the Map.
10. OF MEN AND DWARFS.
$ 122. Now in time the building of Nargothrond was complete,
and Gondolin had been raised in secret. But in the days of the
Siege of Angband the Gnomes had yet small need of hiding places,
and they ranged far and wide between the Western Sea and the
Blue Mountains in the East. It is said that they climbed Ered-
lindon and looked eastward in wonder, for the lands of Middle-
earth seemed wild and wide; but they did not pass the mountains,
while Angband lasted. In those days the folk of Cranthir came first
upon the Dwarfs, whom the Dark-elves named Naug-rim; for the
chief dwellings of that race were then in the mountains east of
Thargelion, the land of Cranthir, and were digged deep in the
eastern slopes of Eredlindon. Thence they journeyed often into
Beleriand, and were admitted at times even into Doriath. There
was at that time no enmity between Elves and Dwarfs, but
nonetheless no great love. For though the Dwarfs did not serve
Morgoth, yet they were in some things more like to his people than
to the Elves.
$123. The Naugrim were not of the Elf-race nor of mortal
kind, nor yet of Morgoth's breeding; and in those days the
Gnomes knew not whence they came. [But * it is said by the wise
in Valinor, as we have learned since, that Aule made the Dwarfs
while the world was yet dark, desiring the coming of the Children
of Iluvatar, that he might have learners to whom he could teach his
lore and craft, and being unwilling to await the fulfilment of the
designs of Iluvatar. Wherefore the Dwarfs are like the Orcs in this,
that they come of the wilfulness of one of the Valar; but they were
not made out of malice and mockery, and were not begotten of evil
purpose. Yet they derive their thought and being after their
measure from only one of the Powers, whereas Elves and Men, to
whomsoever among the Valar they chiefly turn, have kinship with
all in some degree. Therefore the works of the Dwarfs have great
skill, but small beauty, save where they imitate the arts of the
Eldar; and the Dwarfs return unto the earth and the stone of the
hills of which they were fashioned.] f
Iron they wrought rather than gold and silver, and the
making of weapons and of mail was their chief craft. They aided
(* Marginal note against the bracketed passage: quoth Pengolod.
+ Footnote to the text: Aule, in his love of invention, devised a new
speech for the Dwarfs, and their tongues have no kinship with
others; in use they have made them harsh and intricate, and few have
essayed to learn them. In their converse with the Elves of old they
used according to their ability the language of the Dark-elves of
Doriath. But their own tongues they maintained in secret, and
they survive still in Middle-earth, and in some part certain of the
languages of Men are derived from them. Against this is written in the
margin: So, the Lhammas.
the Gnomes greatly in their war with the Orcs of Morgoth; but it is
not thought that they would have refused to smithy also for
Morgoth, if he had had need of their work, or had been open to
their trade. For buying and selling and exchange was their delight,
and the winning of wealth. But this they gathered rather to hoard
than to use, or to spend save in commerce. Their stature was short
and squat; they had strong arms and sturdy legs, and their beards
were long. Themselves they named Khuzud, but the Gnomes
called them Neweg, the stunted, and those who dwelt in Nogrod
they called Enfeng, the Longbeards, because their beards swept
the floor before their feet. Their chief cities in those days were
Khazaddum and Gabilgathol, which the Elves of Beleriand
called, according to their meaning in the language of Doriath,
Nogrod, the Dwarfmine, and Belegost, the Great Fortress. But
few of the Elves, save Meglin of Gondolin, went ever thither, and
the Dwarfs trafficked into Beleriand, and made a great road,
passing under the shoulders of Mount Dolmed, which followed
thence the course of Ascar, and crossed Gelion at Sarn-athrad.
There battle later befell, but as yet the Dwarfs troubled the Elves
little, while the power of the Gnomes lasted.
$125. It is reckoned that the first meeting of Gnomes and
Dwarfs befell in the land of Cranthir about the time when
Fingolfin destroyed the Orcs at Drengist, one hundred and fifty-
five years after the crossing of the Ice, and one hundred and five
before the first coming of Glomund the Dragon. After his defeat
there was long peace, and it lasted for well nigh two hundred years
of the Sun. During this time the fathers of the houses of the Men
of Beleriand, that is of the Elf-friends of old, were born in the
lands of Middle-earth, east of the mountains; Beor the Vassal,
Haleth the Hunter, and Hador the Goldenhaired.
$126. Now it came to pass, when some four hundred years
were gone since the Gnomes came to Beleriand, that Felagund
journeyed east of Sirion and went hunting with the sons of
Feanor. But he became separated from his companions, and
passed into Ossiriand, and wandered there alone. At a time of
night he came upon a valley in the western foothills of Eredlindon,
and he saw lights in the valley and heard from afar the sound of
uncouth song; and he wondered greatly, for the Green-elves of
that land lit no fires and sang not by night. And the language of the
song, which he heard as he drew nigh, was not that of the Eldar,
neither of the Dark-elves nor of the Gnomes, nor was it that of the
Dwarfs. Therefore he feared lest a raid of the Orcs had escaped the
leaguer of the North, but he found that this was not so. For he
spied upon the camp beneath the hills, and there he beheld a
strange people. Tall they were, and strong, and fair of face, but
rude and little clad.
$127. Now these were the people of Beor, a mighty warrior
among Men, whose son was Barahir the bold that was after born in
the land of the Gnomes. They were the first of Men that wander-
ing west from far Hildorien passed over Eredlindon and came into
Beleriand. After Beor came Haleth father of Hundor, and again
somewhat later came Hador the Goldenhaired, whose children are
renowned in song. For the sons of Hador were Gumlin and
Gundor, and the sons of Gumlin were Hurin and Huor, and the
son of Hurin was Turin the bane of Glomund, and the son of Huor
Tuor father of Earendel the blessed. All these were caught in the
net of the fate of the Gnomes and wrought great deeds which the
Elves remember still among the deeds of their lords and kings of
old. But Haleth and Hador at that time were yet in the wild lands
east of the mountains.
$ 128. Felagund drew nigh among the trees to the camp of Beor
and he remained hidden, until all had fallen asleep. Then he went
among the sleeping men, and sat beside their dying fire, where
none kept watch; and he took a rude harp which Beor had laid
aside, and he played music upon it such as mortal ear had never
heard. For Men had as yet had no masters in such arts, save only
the Dark-elves in the wild lands. Now men awoke and listened to
Felagund as he harped and sang; and they marvelled, for wisdom
was in that song as well as beauty, so that the heart grew wiser that
hearkened to it. Thus it was that Men called King Felagund,
whom thev met first of all the Noldor, Gnome or Wisdom;" and
after him they named his race the Wise, whom we call the
Gnomes. At first they deemed that Felagund was one of the Gods,
of whom they had heard rumour that they dwelt far in the West.
But Felagund taught them true lore, and they loved him and
became his followers; and thus Beor the Vassal got his name
among the Gnomes.
(* Footnote to the text: It is recorded that the word in the ancient speech
of these Men, which they afterwards forsook in Beleriand for the
tongue of the Gnomes, so that it is now mostly forgotten, was Widris.
Against this is written in the margin: quoth Pengolod. Added to this:
& AElfwine.)
$129. Beor lived in the service of Felagund while his life
lasted; and Barahir his son served also the sons of Finrod, but he
dwelt mostly on the north marches with Angrod and Egnor. The
sons of Hador were allied to the house of Fingolfin, and the
lordship of Gumlin was in Hithlum; and there afterwards his son
Hurin dwelt, whose wife was Morwen of the house of Beor. She
was surnamed Eledhwen, the Eflsheen, for her beauty was like
unto the beauty of the daughters of the Eldalie. But Haleth and his
folk took no service and dwelt in the woods upon the confines of
Doriath in that forest that was called Brethil.
$130. In this time the strength of Men was added to the
Gnomes, and the folk of the three houses grew and multiplied.
Greatest was the house of Hador, and most beloved by the Elves.
His folk were yellow-haired and blue-eyed for the most part;
though Turin was dark of hair, for his mother Morwen was from
Beor's people. They were of greater strength and stature in body
than the Elves; quick to wrath and laughter, fierce in battle,
generous to friends, swift in resolve, fast in loyalty, young in
heart, the Children of Iluvatar in the youth of mankind. Like to
them were the woodland folk of Haleth, but they were not so tall;
their backs were broader and their legs shorter and less swift. Less
fiery were their spirits; slower but more deep was the movement of
their thought; their words were fewer, for they had joy in silence,
wandering free in the greenwood, while the wonder of the world
was new upon them. But the people of Beor were dark or brown of
hair; their eyes were grey, and their faces fair to look upon;
shapely they were of form, yet hardy and long-enduring. Their
height was no greater than that of the Elves of that day, and they
were most like to the Gnomes; for they were eager of mind,
cunning-handed, swift of understanding, long in memory. But
they were short-lived, and their fates were unhappy, and their joy
was blended with sorrow.
$131. Beor died when he had lived but eighty years, for fifty of
which he had served Felagund; and it is said that when he lay dead
of no weapon or sickness, but stricken by age, the Elves saw then
for the first time the death of weariness, and they grieved for the
short span allotted to mankind. Nonetheless these Men of old,
being of races young and eager, learned swiftly of the Elves all
such art and knowledge as they would teach; and in their skill and
wisdom they far surpassed all others of their kind, who dwelt still
east of the mountains, and knew not the Eldar of the West, ere ruin
befell Beleriand.
Commentary on Chapter 10.
$122. The transient use in this chapter and subsequently of the plural
form Dwarfs is curious (Dwarves, which goes back to the beginning,
and was the form in The Hobbit, is used in the previous chapter, $ 108).
In AB z Dwarves was at one occurrence only (note 41) changed to
Dwarfs. The form Naugrim first occurs here; the Dwarves were
Nauglath in the Lost Tales, Nauglir in Q. In the third Tree of
Tongues (p. 196) their language is Nauglian.
In AB 2 (annal 104) 'the Dwarves had great mines and cities in the
east of Eredlindon, far south of Beleriand, and the chief of these cities
were Nogrod and Belegost', as in the direction on the first Map
(Eastward Extension), IV. 231 - 2; but the Dwarf-cities are now
placed in QS as they were to remain, in the mountains east of
Thargelion, and AB z was corrected correspondingly (note 17). That
the Dwarves 'were admitted at times even into Doriath' has not been
said before, but the idea that they were already well-known to the
Dark-elves of Beleriand when the Gnomes first encountered them in
the Blue Mountains appeared in the second version of AB r (see IV.
332, 336), and their ancient road is there said to have extended to the
river Aros, i.e. to the confines of Doriath.
It is remarkable that at this time the statement that the Dwarves
were 'in some things more like to Morgoth's people than to the Elves'
still survived from Q (IV. 104); but this is now palliated by what is said
in $123, where the likeness of the Dwarves to the Orcs is represented
only as an analogous limitation of natural powers consequent on their
origins.
$123. This is the third account of the legend of the origin of the
Dwarves, following those in AB 2 (annal 104) and in the Lhammas $9,
both of which contain the remarkable assertion that the Dwarves have
'no spirit indwelling'; see the commentaries on those passages. Both
versions were modified in respect of this; the Lhammas text was
roughly emended with a specific direction to follow the passage here in
QS beginning 'Yet they derive their thought and being after their
measure from only one of the Powers...' But this passage in QS is
itself written over something else wholly erased. Very likely, then, QS
also had here a phrase concerning the absence of a 'spirit indwelling' in
the Dwarves, and my father corrected both QS and the Lhammas at
the same time, as he did elsewhere. Moreover, the account of the fate
of the Dwarves given here, their return 'unto the earth and the stone
of the hills of which they were fashioned', is taken from the same
passage in AB 2 (it is absent from that in the Lhammas), and this
is surely a concomitant of the conception that 'the Dwarves have no
spirit indwelling'.
The square brackets enclosing this passage can be seen to belong
with the writing of the manuscript; they evidently show to what
portion of the text the marginal 'quoth Pengolod' refers. The question
again arises (see $49) why Pengolod appears as annotator if he were
the author, as he certainly appears to be in the preamble to the Quenta
Silmarillion given on p. 201: This Account was composed first by
Pengolod of Gondolin'. A possible explanation is to be found in the
other forms of preamble on pp. 203 - 4. From the first of these it can be
concluded that the reference is to 'The Silmarillion' in the larger sense
(i.e. as including the Annals and the Lhammas), since it is said that
Pengolod 'used much the writings of Rumil... chiefly in the annals of
Valinor and the account of tongues'. The second (typescript) form of
this preamble makes the wording less precise: 'he used much the
writings of Rumil... concerning other matters than the wars of
Beleriand'. Both versions also say that he used the accounts preserved
in the Golden Book, though there is no indication of what matter the
Golden Book contained. In either case there is no statement one way
or the other specifically about the Quenta Silmarillion. It may be
therefore that my father now regarded Pengolod as redactor or
compiler rather than as author, at any rate in certain parts of the book,
and in these Pengolod marked off his own contributions and named
himself as authority for them - just as he did in the Annals of Valinor
and the Lhammas. Thus here, as in the Lhammas $9, the passage
concerning the origin of the Dwarves is an addition by Pengolod to
older material (in this case writing by Rumil).
The footnote on Dwarvish language, making specific reference to
the Lhammas, certainly belongs with the original writing of the
manuscript.
$124. Khuzud: the first appearance of this name, or of any Dwarvish
name for Dwarves. Cf. The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F: 'Khazad-
dum, the Mansion of the Khazad; for such is their own name for their
own race, and has been so, since Aule gave it to them at their making in
the deeps of time.'
Enfeng: cf. Q (IV. 104): 'those who dwelt in Nogrod they called
Indrafangs, the Longbeards, because their beards swept the floor
before their feet.' The name Enfeng here first appears. Originally the
Longbeards were the Dwarves of Belegost (II. 247).
Khazaddum is the first occurrence of the celebrated name. It is
interesting to observe that it existed - but as the Dwarvish name of
Nogrod - already at this time. Later the Dwarvish name of Nogrod
was Tumunzahar (The Silmarillion p. 91); Gabilgathol, now first
appearing, remained as the Dwarvish name of Belegost.
In this paragraph is the first reference to Meglin's association with
the Dwarves. - Dolmed now replaces Dolm (and AB 2 was corrected
correspondingly, note 17).
$125. In QS $103 it is said that it was Fingon who destroyed the Orcs at
Drengist. - On the new dating, now present from the first writing of
the manuscript, see the note on chronology, pp. 257 - 8.
$126. Parallel with the extension of the Siege of Angband by two
hundred years, the meeting of Felagund and Beor, originally dated in
the year zoo in AB z, undergoes a corresponding postponement.
$128. The footnote to the text is original. Whereas in The Silmarillion
the word in the language of the people of Beor for 'Wisdom' was Nom
(see IV. 175), here it is Widris, and it can hardly be doubted that this is
to be related to the Indo-European stem seen, for instance, in Sanskrit
veda 'I know'; Greek idein (from * widein) 'to see' and oida (from
* tvoida) '(I have seen >) I know'; Latin videre 'to see'; Old English
witan 'to know' and wat 'I know' (> archaic I wot), and the words that
still survive, wit, wise, wisdom. Cf. the Lhammas $ 10: 'Yet other Men
there were, it seems, that remained east of Eredlindon, who held to
their speech, and from this, closely akin to Taliska, are come after
many ages of change languages that live still in the North of the earth.'
- On the abandonment of their own tongue by Men in Beleriand see
the Lhammas $10 and commentary; and on the ascription of the
footnote to Pengolod see commentary on $ 123 above.
'Thus Beor the Vassal got his name among the Gnomes': in the
Etymologies the name Beor 'follower, vassal' is a Noldorin name (stem
BEW), whereas in The Silmarillion (p. 142) it is said that 'Beor signified
"Vassal" in the tongue of his people'.
$131. According to the original dating of AB z Beor was born in the year
170 and died in 250; with the altered chronology he was born in 370
and died in 450.
11. OF THE RUIN OF BELERIAND AND THE
FALL OF FINGOLFIN.
$132. Now Fingolfin, King of the North, and High-king of
the Noldor, seeing that his folk were become numerous and
strong, and that the Men allied to them were many and valiant,
pondered once more an assault upon Angband. For he knew that
they all lived in danger while the circle of the siege was incom-
plete, and Morgoth was free to labour in the dark beneath the
earth. This counsel was wise according to the measure of his
knowledge; for the Gnomes did not yet comprehend the fullness
of the power of Morgoth, nor understand that their unaided war
upon him was without final hope, whether they hasted or delayed.
But because the land was fair and their kingdoms wide, most of the
Noldor were grown content with things as they were, trusting
them to last. Therefore they were little disposed to hearken to
Fingolfin, and the sons of Feanor at that time least of all. Among
the chieftains of the Gnomes Angrod and Egnor alone were of like
mind with the King; for they dwelt in regions whence Than-
gorodrim could be descried, and the threat of Morgoth was
present to their thought. So the designs of Fingolfin came to
naught, and the land had peace yet for a while.
$ 133. But when the sons of the sons of the Fathers of Men were
but newly come to manhood, it being then four hundred years
and five and fifty since the coming of Fingolfin, the evil befell that
he had long dreaded, and yet more dire and sudden than his
darkest fear. For Morgoth had long prepared his force in secret,
while ever the malice of his heart grew greater, and his hatred of
the Gnomes more bitter; and he desired not only to end his foes
but to destroy also and defile the lands that they had taken and
made fair. And it is said that his hate overcame his counsel, so that
if he had but endured to wait longer, until his designs were full,
then the Gnomes would have perished utterly. But on his part he
esteemed too lightly the valour of the Elves, and of Men he took
yet no account.
$134. There came a time of winter, when night was dark and
without moon; and the wide plain of Bladorion stretched dim
beneath the cold stars from the hill-forts of the Gnomes to the feet
of Thangorodrim. The watchfires burned low, and the guards
were few; and on the plain few were waking in the camps of the
horsemen of Hithlum. Then suddenly Morgoth sent forth great
rivers of flame that poured, swifter than the cavalry of the Balrogs,
over all the plain; and the Mountains of Iron belched forth fires of
many colours, and the fume stank upon the air and was deadly.
Thus Bladorion perished, and fire devoured its grasses; and it
became a burned and desolate waste, full of a choking dust, barren
and lifefless; and its name was changed, and ever after was called
the Land of Thirst, Dor-na-Fauglith in the Gnomish tongue.
Many charred bones had there their roofless grave. For many
Gnomes perished in that burning, who were caught by the
running flame and could not fly to the hills. The heights of
Dorthonion and of Eredwethion held back the fiery torrents, but
their woods upon the slopes that looked toward Angband were all
kindled, and the smoke wrought confusion among the defenders.
This was the Third of the great Battles, Dagor Vreged-ur, the
Battle of Sudden Fire.
$135. In the front of that fire came Glomund the golden, the
father of dragons, and in his train were Balrogs, and behind them
came the black armies of the Orcs in multitudes such as the
Gnomes had never before seen or imagined. And they assaulted
the fortresses of the Gnomes, and broke the leaguer about
Angband, and slew wherever they found them both the Gnomes
and their allies, Dark-elves and Men. Many of the stoutest of the
foes of Morgoth were destroyed in the first days of that war,
bewildered and dispersed and unable to muster their strength.
War ceased not wholly ever again in Beleriand; but the Battle of
Sudden Fire is held to have ended with the coming of spring,
when the onset of Morgoth grew less. For he saw now that he had
not assembled sufficient strength, nor rightly measured the valour
of the Gnomes. Moreover his captains and spies brought him
tidings of the Elf-friends, the Men of Beleriand, and of their
strength in arms; and a new anger possessed his heart, and he
turned to thoughts of further evil.
$136. Thus ended the Siege of Angband; and the foes of
Morgoth were scattered and sundered one from another. The
Dark-elves fled south and forsook the northern war. Many were
received into Doriath, and the kingdom and strength of Thingol
grew greater in that time; for the power of the queen Melian was
woven about his borders and evil could not yet enter that hidden
realm. Others took refuge in the fortresses by the sea, or in
Nargothrond; but most fled the land and hid in Ossiriand, or
passing the mountains wandered homeless in the wild. And
rumour of the war and the breaking of the siege reached the ears of
Men in Middle-earth.
$137. The sons of Finrod bore most heavily the brunt of the
assault, and Angrod and Egnor were slain; and Bregolas son of
Beor, who was lord of that house of Men after his father's death,
was slain beside them. In that battle King Inglor Felagund was
cut off from his folk and surrounded by the Orcs, and he would
have been slain or taken, but Barahir son of Beor came up with his
men and rescued him, and made a wall of spears about him; and
they cut their way out of the battle with great loss. Thus Felagund
escaped and went south to Nargothrond, his deep fortress pre-
pared against the evil day; but he swore an oath of abiding
friendship and aid in every need unto Barahir and all his kin and
seed, and in token of his vow he gave to Barahir his ring.
$138. Barahir was now by right lord of the remnant of the folk
of Beor; but most of these fled now from Dorthonion and took
refuge among the people of Hador in the fastness of Hithlum. But
Barahir would not flee, and remained contesting the land foot by
foot with the servants of Morgoth. But Morgoth pursued his
people to the death, until few remained; and he took all the forest
and the highland of Dorthonion, save the highest and inmost
region, and turned it little by little to a place of such dread and
lurking evil that even the Orcs would not enter it unless need
drove them. Therefore it was after called by the Gnomes Taur-na-
Fuin, which is Mirkwood, and Delduwath, Deadly Nightshade;
for the trees that grew there after the burning were black and grim,
and their roots were tangled, groping in the dark like claws; and
those who strayed among them became lost and blind, and were
strangled or pursued to madness by phantoms of terror.
$ 139. At length only twelve men remained to Barahir: Beren
his son, and Baragund and Belegund, sons of Bregolas, his
nephews, and nine faithful servants of his house whose names are
yet remembered by the Gnomes: Radhruin and Dairuin they
were, Dagnir and Ragnor, Gildor and Gorlim the unhappy,
Arthod and Urthel, and Hathaldir the young. Outlaws they
became, a desperate band that could not escape and would not
yield; for their dwellings were destroyed, and their wives and
children captured or slain, save only Morwen Eledhwen daughter
of Baragund and Rian daughter of Belegund. For the wives of the
sons of Bregolas were of Hithlum, and were sojourning there
among their kinsfolk when the flame of war broke forth. But from
Hithlum there came now neither news nor help, and Barahir and
his men were hunted like wild beasts, and Morgoth sent many
wolves against them; and they retreated to the barren highland
above the forest, and wandered among the tarns and rocky moors
of that region, furthest from the spies and spells of Morgoth.
Their bed was the heather and their roof the cloudy sky.
$140. So great was the onslaught of Morgoth that Fingolfin
and Fingon could not come to the succour of Felagund and his
brethren; and the hosts of Hithlum were driven back with great
loss to the fortresses of Eredwithion, and these they hardly ]
defended against the Orcs. Hador the golden-haired, prince of
Men, fell in battle before the walls defending the rearguard of his
lord Fingolfin, being then sixty and six years of age, and with him
fell Gundor his younger son; and they were mourned by the
Elves. But Gumlin took the lordship of his father. And because of
the strength and height of the Shadowy Mountains, which with-
stood the torrent of fire, and by the valour of the Elves and Men of
the North, which neither Orc nor Balrog could yet overcome,
Hithlum remained yet unconquered, a threat upon the flank of
Morgoth's attack. But Fingolfin was sundered by a sea of foes from
his kinsmen.
$141. For the war had gone ill with the sons of Feanor, and
well nigh all the east marches were taken by assault. The pass
of Aglon was forced, though with great cost to Morgoth; and
Celegorn and Curufin being defeated fled south and west by the
marches of Doriath and came at last to Nargothrond, and sought
harbour with their friend Orodreth. Thus it came to pass that the
people of Celegorn swelled the strength of Felagund, but it would
have been better, as after was seen, if they had remained in the
East among their own kin. Maidros the chief of Feanor's sons did
deeds of surpassing valour, and the Orcs could not endure the
light of his face; for since his torment upon Thangorodrim his
spirit burned like a white fire within, and he was as one that
returneth from the dead, keen and terrible; and they fled before
him. Thus his citadel upon the hill of Himring could not at that
time be taken, and many of the most valiant that remained, both of
the folk of Dorthonion and of the east marches rallied there to
Maidros; and for a while he closed once more the pass of Aglon, so
that the Orcs could not enter Beleriand by that road.
But they overwhelmed the riders of the folk of Feanor
upon Lothland, for G1omund came thither, and passed through
Maglor's Gap, and destroyed all the land between the arms of
Gelion. And the Orcs took the fortress upon the west slopes of
Mount Rerir, and ravaged all Thargelion, the land of Cranthir;
and they defiled Lake Helevorn. Thence they passed over Gelion
with fire and terror and came far into East Beleriand. Maglor
joined Maidros upon Himring; but Cranthir fled and joined the
remnant of his people to the scattered folk of the hunters, Damrod
and Diriel, and they retreated and passed Rhamdal in the South.
Upon Amon Ereb they maintained a watch and some strength of
war, and they had aid of the Green-elves; and the Orcs came not
yet into Ossiriand or the wild of South Beleriand.
$ 123. For nearly two years the Gnomes still defended the west
pass about the sources of Sirion, for the power of Ulmo was in that
water, and Glomund would not yet adventure that way, for the
time of his full strength was not come; and Minnastirith withstood
the Orcs. But at length after the fall of Fingolfin, which is told
hereafter, Sauron came against Orodreth, the warden of the
tower, with a host of Balrogs. Sauron was the chief servant of the
evil Vala, whom he had suborned to his service in Valinor from
among the people of the Gods. He was become a wizard of
dreadful power, master of necromancy, foul in wisdom, cruel in
strength, mis-shaping what he touched, twisting what he ruled,
lord of werewolves: his dominion was torment. He took Min-
nastirith by assault, the tower of Inglor upon the isle of Sirion, for
a dark cloud of fear fell upon those that defended it; and he made it
a stronghold of evil, and a menace; * for no living creature could
pass through that vale that he did not espy from the tower where
he sat. And Morgoth held now also the western pass and his terror
filled the fields and woods of Beleriand.
$ 144. The death of Fingolfin. It came to pass that news came to
Hithlum that Dorthonion was lost and the sons of Finrod over-
thrown, and that the sons of Feanor were driven from their lands.
Then Fingolfin saw that the ruin of the Gnomes was at hand, and
he was filled with wrath and despair, and a madness came upon
him. And he rode alone to the gates of Angband, and he sounded
his horn and smote upon the brazen gates and challenged Morgoth
to come forth to single combat. And Morgoth came. That was the
last time in these wars that he passed the doors of his stronghold,
and it is said that he took not the challenge willingly; for though
his might is greatest of all things in this world, alone of the Valar
he knows fear. But he could not now deny the challenge before the
face of his captains; for the rocks rang with the shrill music of
the silver horn of Fingolfin and his voice came keen and clear
down into the depths of Angband; and Fingolfin named Morgoth
craven, and lord of slaves. Therefore Morgoth came, climbing
slowly from his subterranean throne, and the rumour of his feet
was like thunder underground. And he issued forth clad in black
armour; and he stood before the king like a tower, iron-crowned,
and his vast shield, sable unblazoned, cast a shadow over him like
a storm cloud. But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it like a star; for his
mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with
crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, and it glittered like ice,
cold and grey and deadly.
Then Morgoth hurled aloft as a mace Grond, the
hammer of the Underworld, and swung it down like a bolt of
thunder. But Fingolfin sprang aside, and Grond rent a mighty pit
in the earth, whence smoke and fire darted. Many times Morgoth
essayed to smite him, and each time Fingolfin leaped away, as a
lightning shoots from under a dark cloud; and he wounded
Morgoth with seven wounds, and seven times Morgoth gave a cry
of anguish, whereat the rocks shivered, and the hosts of Angband
fell upon their faces in dismay.
(* Footnote to the text: And it became called' Tol-na-Gaurhoth, the Isle
of Werewolves.)
$ 146. But at last the king grew weary, and Morgoth bore down
his shield upon him. Thrice he was crushed to his knees, and
thrice arose again and bore up his broken shield and stricken helm.
But the earth was all rent and pitted about him, and he stumbled
and fell backward before the feet of Morgoth; and Morgoth set his
left foot upon his neck, and the weight of it was like a fallen hill.
Yet with his last and desperate stroke Fingolfin hewed the foot
with Ringil, and the blood gushed forth black and smoking and
filled the pits of Grond.
$147. Thus died Fingolfin, High-king of the Gnomes, most
proud and valiant of the Elven-kings of old. The Orcs make no
boast of that duel at the gate; neither do the Elves sing of it, for
sorrow; but the tale of it is remembered, for Thorondor, king of
eagles, brought the tidings to Gondolin, and to Hithlum. For
Morgoth took the body of the Elven-king and broke it, and would
hew it asunder and cast it to his wolves; but Thorondor came
hasting from his eyrie among the peaks of Gochressiel, and he
stooped upon Morgoth, and smote his golden beak into his face.
The rushing of his wings was like the noise of the winds of Manwe,
and he seized the body in his mighty talons, and soaring suddenly
above the darts of the Orcs he bore the Elven-king away. And he
laid him upon a mountain-top that looked from the North upon
the hidden valley of Gondolin; and Turgon coming built a high
cairn over him. Neither Orc nor Balrog dared ever after to pass
over the mount of Fingolfin or draw nigh his tomb, until the doom
of Gondolin was come and treachery was born among his kin.
Morgoth goes ever halt of one foot since that day, and the pain
of his wounds cannot be healed; and in his face is the scar that
Thorondor made.
$148. There was lamentation in Hithlum when the fall of
Fingolfin became known; but Fingon took the kingship of the
Noldor, and he maintained still his realm behind the Shadowy
Mountains in the North. But beyond Hithlum Morgoth pursued
his foes relentlessly, and he searched out their hiding-places and
took their strongholds one by one. And the Orcs growing ever
bolder wandered at will far and wide, coming down Sirion in the
West and Celon in the East, and they encompassed Doriath; and
they harried the lands, so that beast and bird fled before them, and
silence and desolation spread steadily from the North. Great
numbers of the Gnomes, and of the Dark-elves, they took captive
and led to Angband, and made thralls, forcing them to use their
skill and knowledge in the service of Morgoth. They laboured
without rest in his mines and forges, and torment was their wage.
$ 149. Yet Morgoth sent also his spies and emissaries among
the Dark-elves and the thrall-Gnomes, and among the free; and
they were clad in false forms and deceit was in their speech, and
they made lying promises of reward, and with cunning words
sought to arouse fear and jealously among the peoples, accusing
their kings and chieftains of greed, and of treachery one to
another. And because of the curse of the kin-slaying at Alqualonde,
these lies were often believed; and indeed as the times darkened
they had a measure of truth, for the hearts and minds of the Elves
of Beleriand became clouded with despair and fear. And most
the Gnomes feared the treachery of their own kin, who had been
thralls in Angband; for Morgoth used some of these for his evil
purposes, and feigning to give them liberty sent them abroad, but
their wills were chained to his, and strayed only to come back to
him again. Therefore if any of the captives escaped in truth,
and returned to their own people, they had little welcome, and
wandered alone outlawed and desperate.
$150. Of the Swarthy Men. To Men Morgoth feigned pity, if
any would hearken to his messages, saying that their woes came
only of their servitude to the rebel Gnomes, but at the hands of the
rightful lord of earth they would get honour and a just reward of
valour, if they would leave rebellion. But of the Three Houses few
men would give ear to him, not even were they brought to the
torment of Angband. Therefore he pursued them with hatred, but
he sent his messengers east over the mountains. And it is said that
at this time the Swarthy Men came first into Beleriand; and some
were already secretly under the dominion of Morgoth, and came at
his call; but not all, for the rumour of Beleriand, of its lands and
waters, of its wars and riches, went now far and wide, and the
wandering feet of Men were ever set westward in those days. And
Morgoth was glad of their coming, for he thought they would
prove more pliable to his service, and that through them he might
yet work great injury to the Elves.
$151. Now the Easterlings or Romenildi, as the Elves named
these newcomers, were short and broad, long and strong in the
arm; their hair was black, and grew much also upon their face and
breast; their skins were swart or sallow, and their eyes brown; yet
their countenances were for the most part not uncomely, though
some were grim and fierce. Their houses and tribes were many,
and some had greater liking for the Dwarfs of the mountains than
for the Elves. But the sons of Feanor, seeing the weakness of the
Noldor, and the growing power of the armies of Morgoth, made
alliances with these men, and gave their friendship to the greatest
of their chieftains, Bor and Ulfang. And Morgoth was well
content; for this was as he had designed. The sons of Bor were
Borlas and Boromir and Borthandos; and they followed Maidros
and Maglor, and cheated the hope of Morgoth, and were faithful.
The sons of Ulfang the Black were Ulfast and Ulwarth and Uldor
the Accursed; and they followed Cranthir and swore allegiance to
him, and proved faithless.
$ 152. There was small love between the Three Houses and the
Swarthy Men; and they met seldom. For the newcomers abode
long in East Beleriand; but the people of Hador were shut in
Hithlum, and Beor's house was well nigh destroyed. Yet Haleth
and his men remained still free; for they had been at first un-
touched by the northern war, since they dwelt to the southward in
the woods by Sirion. There now there was war between them and
the invading Orcs; for they were stout-hearted men and would not
lightly forsake the woods they loved. And amid the tale of defeats
of this time their deeds are remembered with honour: for after the
taking of Minnastirith the Orcs came through the western pass,
and would maybe have ravaged even unto the mouths of Sirion;
but Haleth sent swift word to Thingol, being friendly with many
of the Elves that guarded the borders of Doriath. And Thingol
sent Beleg the bowman, chief of his march-wardens, to his aid
with many archers; and Haleth and Beleg took an Orc-legion at
unawares in the forest, and destroyed it; and the advance of the
power of Morgoth southward down the course of Sirion was
stayed. Thus the folk of Haleth dwelt yet for many years in
watchful peace in the forest of Brethil; and behind their guard the
kingdom of Nargothrond had respite and mustered anew its
strength.
$153. It is said that Hurin son of Gumlin, son of Hador, of
Hithlum was with Haleth in that battle, and he was then seventeen
years of age; and this was his first deed of arms, but not his last.
For Hurin son of Gumlin was fostered for a while in boyhood by
Haleth, according to the custom of Men and Elves in that time.
And it is recorded that in the autumn of the year of Sudden Fire
Haleth took Hurin, then newcome from his father's house, and
they went hunting northward up the vale of Sirion; and by chance
or the will of Ulmo they came upon the secret entrance to the
hidden valley of Tumladin, where Gondolin was built. But they
were taken by the guards, and brought before Turgon; and they
looked upon the forbidden city, whereof none of those outside yet
knew aught, save Thorondor king of eagles. Turgon welcomed
them; for messages and dreams had come to him up Sirion from
the sea, from Ulmo, Lord of Waters, warning him of woe to come
and foretelling that the aid of mortal men would be necessary, if he
would save any of the Gnomes from their doom. But Turgon
deemed that Gondolin was strong, and the time not ripe for its
revealing; and he would not suffer the men to depart. It is said that
he had great liking for the boy Hurin, and love was joined to
policy; for he desired to keep Hurin at his side in Gondolin. But
tidings came of the great battle, and the need of Gnomes and Men;
and Haleth and Hurin besought Turgon for leave to go to the aid
of their own folk. Turgon then granted their prayer, but they
swore deep oaths to him, and never revealed his secret; and such
of the counsels of Turgon as Hurin had learned he kept hidden in
his heart.
Turgon would not as yet suffer any of his own folk to
issue forth to war, and Haleth and Hurin departed from Gondolin
alone. But Turgon, rightly deeming that the breaking of the Siege
of Angband was the beginning of the downfall of the Noldor,
unless aid should come, sent secret messengers to the mouths of
Sirion, and to the Isle of Balar. There they built ships, and many
set sail thence, seeking for Valinor, to ask for help and pardon.
And they besought the birds of the sea to guide them. But the seas
were wild and wide, and shadow and enchantment lay upon them,
and Valinor was hidden. Therefore none of the messengers of
Gondolin came ever unto the West at that time; and many were
lost and few returned; but the doom of Gondolin drew nearer.
$155. Rumour came to Morgoth of these things, and he was
unquiet amid his victories; and he desired greatly to learn tidings
of Felagund and Turgon. For they had vanished out of know-
ledge, and yet were not dead; and he feared what they might yet
accomplish against him. Of Nargothrond he knew indeed the
name, but neither its place nor its strength; but of Gondolin he
knew naught, and the thought of Turgon troubled him the more.
Therefore he sent forth ever more spies into Beleriand; but he
recalled the main hosts of his Orcs and mustered again his forces.
And it is said that he was dismayed to find how great had been
their loss, perceiving that he could not yet make a final and
victorious battle, until he had gathered new strength. Thus
Beleriand in the South had a semblance of peace again for a few
brief years; but the forges of Angband were full of labour.
$ 156. Siege of Eithel Sirion and Fall of Gumlin. Nor did the
assault upon the northern strongholds cease. Himring Morgoth
besieged so close that no help might come from Maidros, and he
threw suddenly a great force against Hithlum. The Orcs won
many of the passes, and some came even into Mithrim; but
Fingon drove them in the end with heavy slaughter from the land,
and pursued them far across the sands of Fauglith. Yet sorrow
marred his victory, for Gumlin son of Hador was slain by an arrow
in the siege of the fortress of Fingon at Eithel Sirion. Hurin his son
was then new-come to manhood, but he was great in strength both
of mind and body; and he ruled now the house of Hador and
served Fingon." And in this time also the outlaws of Dorthonion
were destroyed, and Beren son of Barahir alone escaping came
hardly into Doriath.
Commentary on Chapter 11.
$132. This paragraph is developed from the first part of annal 222 in
AB z (there is nothing of it in the earlier sources).
$133. 'The sons of the sons of the Fathers of Men' are the second
generation after Beor, Hador, and Haleth (Baragund, Belegund,
Beren; Hurin, Huor; Handir), whose birthdates, according to the
revised chronology in AB z, fall between 424 (Baragund) and 444
(Huor).
$138. The application of Mirkwood to Taur-na-Fuin is interesting. Cf.
the reverse case in Unfinished Tales, p. 281, where (long after) in a
note to The Disaster of the Gladden Fields my father wrote: 'the
shadow of Sauron spread through Greenwood the Great, and changed
its name from Eryn Galen to Taur-nu-Fuin (translated Mirkwood).'
$139. The only names of the men of Barahir's band given in AB 2
(annal 257), other than his son and nephews, are Gorlim, Radros (>
Radruin), Dagnir, and Gildor. - On the story that Morwen and Rian
were of Hithlum, and were stayirig there at the time of the Battle of
Sudden Fire, see AB 2 annal 257 and commentary.
$140. According to the revised dating, Hador was born in 390, and he
died with Gundor in 456. As AB 2 was originally written, Gundor was
the elder son, but he became the younger (note 20), born in 419
'beneath the shadows of Eredlindon' (i.e. before Hador crossed the
mountains into Beleriand).
$141. Celegorn, not Celegorm, was here the form first written (see
commentary on $41). - It is said in QS $ 117 that after the founding of
(* Footnote to the text: For he returned unto his own folk after the
victory in the woods of Brethil, while the ways north to Hithlum were
passable because of the defeat of the Orcs at that time.)
Nargothrond Inglor Felagund committed the tower of Minnastirith to
Orodreth; and later in the present chapter ($ 143) it is recounted how
Sauron came against Orodreth and took the tower by assault (the fate
of the defenders is not there mentioned). The statement here that
Celegorn and Curufin 'sought harbour with their friend Orodreth' -
rather than sought harbour with Felagund - is found also in an
emendation to AB 2 (note 25); the implication is that Orodreth
reached Nargothrond before them, and that their friendship with him
was the motive for their going to Nargothrond. This friendship sur-
vived the change of Orodreth's lordship from the east of Dorthonion
('nighest to the sons of Feanor', AB 2 annal 52 as originally written) to
the wardenship of the tower on Tol Sirion. The sentence 'the people of
Celegorn swelled the strength of Felagund, but it would have been
better... if they had remained in the East among their own kin' goes
back to Q (IV. 106), though in Q Celegorm and Curufin came to
Nargothrond together with Orodreth.
$142. The fortress on the west slopes of Mount Rerir is here first
mentioned.
$143. On the shifting representation of the growth of the great Dragon
to his full power and terror see IV. 181 - 2, 317 - 18. The statement in
AB 2 annal 255 that Glomund was 'in his full might' at the Battle of
Sudden Fire was not taken up in QS $135, and in the present passage
'the time of his full strength was not come'. In The Silmarillion
(p. 151) Glaurung was again 'in his full might' at the time of the battle:
this was taken from the final version of the Annals (the Grey Annals).
This is the first occurrence of the name Sauron in the 'Silmarillion'
tradition; but its actual first occurrence (in a text as first written) is
probably either in The Lost Road or in the second version of The Fall of
Numenor (see the commentary on FN II $5). The statement that
Morgoth suborned Sauron 'in Valinor from among the people of the
Gods' is notable. The implication must be that at this period my father
conceived Sauron to have followed Morgoth when he fled to Middle-
earth accompanied by Ungoliante.
With the words 'a host of Balrogs' cf. the commentary on $89.
$$144-7. The account of the death of Fingolfin in QS was largely based
on the Lay of Leithian Canto XII (see III. 293) - Which in turn had
followed the prose version in Q (IV. 176 - 8).
$147. In Q $9 (IV. 106) 'The Orcs sing of that duel at the gates', and in
the Lay of Leithian (lines 3584 - 5) 'Yet Orcs would after laughing tell /
of the duel at the gates of hell.'
The name Thorondor (for Thorndor) appears now in this form as
first written (see commentary on $$96 - 7).
Gochressiel: this name (on which see the Etymologies, stem KHARAS)
was afterwards changed to Crisaegrim. In Q $15 Thorndor dwelt on
Thangorodrim until the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, when he
removed his eyries 'to the northward heights of the Encircling Moun-
tains', and kept watch there 'sitting upon the cairn of King Fingolfin'.
This goes back to S ($15; see IV. 66). Afterwards the Crissaegrim
'abode of eagles' were expressly stated to be the peaks to the south of
Gondolin, and the name was so marked in on the second Map; but
Gochressiel in QS need not have had this narrower significance.
In Q $9 it was Thorndor who 'set' Fingolfin's cairn on the mountain-
top, just as in the Lay of Leithian (lines 3626 - 7) 'in mounded cairn the
mighty dead / he laid upon the mountain's head'; but in QS, with the
changed story of the foundation of Gondolin, it is Turgon who comes
up from the city in the valley beneath and builds his father's tomb.
$150. The earlier sources have nothing of the content of this paragraph,
in which first appears the important development that some of the
Swarthy Men were already under Morgoth's dominion before they
entered Beleriand (see IV. 179 - 80).
$151. In the description of the Swarthy Men, or Romenildi ('Eastern
Men', Easterlings) as they are called here, my father was following
AB z annal 263 (463), the year of their first coming into East
Beleriand. The form Bor was changed from Bor subsequent to the
writing of the manuscript, as in AB 2 (note 33), but Ulfang and
Ulwarth (appearing only by emendation in AB 2) are original.
$152. There is here the explicit assertion that the house of Beor was
well nigh destroyed -, earlier in this chapter ($138) it was said that after
the Battle of Sudden Fire 'Barahir was now by right lord of the
remnant of the folk of Beor; but most of these fled from Dorthonion
and took refuge among the people of Hador in the fastness of Hithlum.'
The passage concerning the people of Haleth and the destruction of
the Orcs in Brethil by Haleth and Beleg with archers out of Doriath is
derived from annal 258 in AB 2, and much expanded.
$153. The story of Hurin's sojourn in Gondolin is found in AB 2 (annal
256) in very much the same form as it is told here. The statement in the
opening sentence of the paragraph that Haleth and Hurin (then
seventeen years old) were 'in that battle' refers to the destruction of the
Orcs in Brethil in the year 458; Hurin was born in 441. See note 32 to
AB z.
$154. The account of the vain attempt of Turgon to send messengers
over the ocean to Valinor is developed from that in annal 256 in AB 2.
$156. The attack on Hithlum took place in the year 462, the year in
which Beren fled from Dorthonion. - The name Fauglith was written
Dor-na-Fauglith, but changed at the time of writing.
With the footnote (contemporary with the writing of the
manuscript) cf. the addition to AB 2 annal 258 (note 32): Hurin
of Hithlum was with Haleth; but he departed afterward since the
victory [in Brethil] had made the journey possible, and returned to
his own folk.'
12 - 15 OF BEREN AND TINUVIEL.
The Quenta Silmarillion came to an end not abruptly but raggedly. The
textual history now becomes very complex, but since it bears strongly On
the question of how matters stood when The Lord of the Rings was begun
I give here an account of it. Since, as I believe, the story of what
happened, and when, can be put together with a high degree of prob-
ability, I set it out on the basis of my reconstruction and in the order of
events that I deduce, since this will be briefer and clearer than to give all
the evidences first and only then to draw conclusions.
I have noticed earlier (p. 199) that there is now no trace of any rough
drafts underlying the polished and beautiful QS manuscript (though
they must have existed) until the tale of Beren and Luthien is reached;
but at this point they appear abundantly. The first of them is a very rough
manuscript which I shall call 'QS(A)', or simply 'A'; this represents, I
feel sure, the first essay at a prose version of the tale since the original
Tale of Tinuviel, a prose 'saga' to be told on a far more ample scale than
the brief account in Q ($ 10). The treachery of Gorlim, the surprising of
Barahir's lair on Dorthonion, and Beren's recapture of the ring from the
Orcs, are fully told; and in some two and a half thousand words this text
only reaches the words of Thingol's people when the woods of Doriath
fell silent (the Lay of Leithian lines 861 - 2).
On the basis of A (or perhaps of a further draft version now lost) my
father then continued QS in fine script through chapter 12 and into 13,
giving a general heading Of Beren and Tinuviel to both but entitling the
individual chapters Of the Meeting of Beren and Luthien Tinuviel and
The Quest of the Silmaril. Here too the story was told very fully, but less
so than in the rough draft A; for the story of Gorlim and the betrayal of
Barahir is dealt with in less than a page, and Dairon is entirely excluded
from the narrative. At the point where Inglor Felagund gave the crown of
Nargothrond to Orodreth, the text ends. It is convenient to call this - just
for the purpose of this discussion - 'QS I'.
QS I ends here because my father saw that it was going to be too long,
overbalancing the whole work. He had taken more than 4000 words to
reach the departure of Beren and Felagund from Nargothrond - and this
did not include the story of Luthien's imprisonment in the tree-house
and her escape from it, which in the Lay precedes the account of Beren in
Nargothrond. (That QS I was originally simply the continuation of QS is
obvious from the fact that in the course of it there is the new chapter-
heading numbered 13.) He therefore set it aside, and began anew on a
less ample version, though still by no means severely compressed (this
version reaches the departure of Beren and Felagund from Nargothrond
in some 1800 words); but he retained the first page of QS I, which he
considered to be sufficiently 'compressed'. This page takes the story to
the words [Beren] swore upon it an oath of vengeance (The Silmarillion
p. 163). For this reason QS I, as it now stands, has no beginning, but
takes up at the head of the second page with the words First therefore he
pursued the Orcs that had slain his father.
As a basis for the projected 'short' version of the tale, my father now
made a draft version of the whole. This manuscript, 'QS(B)' or 'B', starts
out clearly enough but rapidly declines into a scrawl. It begins, on page
i, with the words First therefore he pursued the Orcs that had slain his
father - because the first page of QS I, extending precisely to this point,
was retained for the new version.
From text B was derived the 'short' form of the story ('QS II') in the
QS manuscript, written in the same fine script. This retains the chapter
division 12/13 at the same point as it had been made in QS I, where Beren
left Doriath; chapter 13 ends with the burial of Felagund on Tol Sirion;
and chapter 14 is entitled The Quest of the Silmaril 2. Near the end of this
chapter the script changes, slightly but noticeably, from one page to the
next. The first script, extraordinarily uniform right through the manu-
script from the beginning, ends at the foot of page 91 with the words but
the jewel suffered his touch (The Silmarillion p. 181), and the new begins
at the head of page 92 with and hurt him not, continuing to the end of
chapter 14 a few lines down page 93 at for the power of the Silmaril was
hidden within him. I feel certain that it was at the foot of page 91 that my
father broke off when the QS manuscript went to Allen and Unwin on 15
November 1937.
But he was reluctant to set his work (the development of the rough text
B into the finished narrative QS II) suddenly aside. He therefore at once
began on an intermediate manuscript, 'QS(C)' or 'C', in a less fine and
time-consuming form (intending to copy this into the QS manuscript
when it came back to him). This I deduce from the fact that the first page
of text C is numbered 92 and begins with the words and hurt him not, just
as does the portion of QS I I in the changed script.
When QS came back from the publishers on 16 December 1937 my
father began immediately (see III. 366) on 'a new story about Hobbits',
and I do not think that after that time he extended the narrative of the
Quenta Silmarillion any further. But while the QS manuscript was away,
he had extended the text C for a good distance, completing the story of
Beren and Luthien through a final chapter (15) entitled The Quest of the
Silmaril 3: The Wolf-hunt of Carcharoth, writing a further chapter (16)
Of the Fourth Battle: Nirnaith Arnediad, and commencing 17 Of Turin
the Hapless. By this stage the manuscript had as usual degenerated into a
scrawl, and he left it at Turin's putting on the Dragon-helm and
becoming the companion of Beleg on the north marches of Doriath.
Still (if I am right) before the return of the QS manuscript, however,
he followed text C in this leap-frogging fashion with a further and clearer
manuscript, 'QS(D)' or 'D', which took up from C in the middle of
chapter 16 (Of the Fourih Battle) at the point where it is told that
Maidros was delayed by the machinations of Uldor the Accursed (The
Silmarillion p. 190), and continued somewhat further into chapter 17
(here called Of Turin Turamarth or Turin the Hapless), as far as the
words (referring to Turin's outlaw band) and their hands were turned
against all who came in their path, Elves, Men, or Orcs (The Silmarillion
p. 200). Here the Quenta Silmarillion comes to a stop; and it may well be
that these last words were written on the 16th of December 1937, and
When Bilbo, son of Bungo of the family of Baggins, prepared to celebrate
his seventieth birthday on the following day."
When the short passage in changed script at the end of chapter 14 in
the QS manuscript (see p. 293) was copied in from text C cannot be
determined; my father may have put it in when the manuscript came
back to him. But with the beginning of chapter 15 (The Wolf-hunt of
Carcharoth) the writing in the manuscript changes again and strikingly,
to a heavier, more ornate form with a thicker nib; this third script
completes the chapter and the story of Beren and Luthien, and this is
effectively the conclusion of the manuscript (a small portion was added
later in yet a fourth script).
In fact, chapter 15 was added to the QS manuscript long afterwards, in
the time following the completion of The Lord of the Rings. I base this
assertion on various evidences; in the first place on the script itself, which
has close affinity with that of manuscripts undoubtedly belonging to the
later time. Further, the draft text C, begun when the QS manuscript
went to the publishers, received important additions and alterations
which can be dated, for at the end of chapter 15 in C my father noted:
'revised so far, 10 May 1951'. Among these 1951 revisions is the phrase
(The Silmarillion p. 187) 'the Two Kindreds that were made by Iluvatar
to dwell in Arda, the Kingdom of Earth amid the innumerable stars.' This
phrase is found also in the later Ainulindale', where a cosmology decis-
ively different from that of the Ambarkanta had entered; moreover a
note of my father's gives a brief list of 'Alterations in last revision 1951',
which includes Arda ('Elvish name of Earth = our world'). On this list
see p. 338. It was the text of C with these revisions that was copied into
the QS manuscript; and thus he at last fulfilled (though only to this
point) his intention of fourteen years before.
The story can be summarised thus:
(1) A rough draft 'A', in which the telling of the tale of Beren and
Luthien was very amply conceived, was soon abandoned.
(2) The QS-manuscript version of the tale was begun, again in a very
full form but less so than in A, and was in turn abandoned quite early in
the tale ('QS I').
(3) A rough draft 'B' for the whole story of Beren and Luthien was
completed, and this was the basis for:
(* As will be seen subsequently (pp. 323 - 4) a rewriting of the end of the
'Silmarillion' narrative in Q also belongs to this time, and it is possible, though I
think it less likely, that this was the last work that my father did before beginning
'the new story about Hobbits'.)
(4) A second, more compressed version to stand in the QS manuscript
('QS II'); this was interrupted towards the end of the tale when the
manuscript went to the publishers.
(5) An intermediate text 'C', taking up from this point, was continued
as a substitute while the QS manuscript was gone, and this completed the
story of Beren and Luthien, extended through the chapter on the Battle
of Unnumbered Tears, and went some way into the story of Turin.
(6) When C became very rough, it was taken over by a text 'D', which
beginning in the course of the chapter on the Battle of Unnumbered
Tears extended somewhat further into the story of Turin; this was
abandoned when the QS manuscript returned in December 1937.
(7) In 195 I the conclusion of the tale of Beren and Luthien (chapter
15) was at last added to the QS manuscript.
On a covering page to the 'fuller' version QS I my father wrote:
Fragment of a fuller form of the Geste of Beren and Luthien told as a
separate tale; and in a letter of November 1949 he said:
The original intention was to tell certain of the included Tales at
greater length, whether within the Chronicle [i.e. the Quenta Sil-
marillion], or as additions. A specimen of what was intended will be
seen in the Tale of Luthien...
But, as I have shown, the 'fragment of a fuller form' only became so when
it had been rejected as unsuitable in its scale to stand as the version of the
story in QS. This is not to say, however, that my father never did really
intend to tell the tale as a long prose 'saga'; on the contrary, he greatly
wished to. The abandoned draft A and the abandoned QS I are
testimony to his reluctance to compress: the story kept overflowing the
bounds. When at the end of 1937 he had finally completed a prose
version, he must still have felt that even if one day he could get 'The
Silmarillion' published, the story would still not be told as he wished to
tell it. Thus at the time when he turned again to the Lay of Leithian (see
III. 330), The Lord of the Rings being finished but its publication very
doubtful, he embarked also once more on a prose 'saga' of Beren and
Luthien. This is a substantial text, though the story goes no further than
the betrayal by Dairon to Thingol of Beren's presence in Doriath, and it
is so closely based on the rewritten form of the Lay as to read in places
almost as a prose paraphrase of the verse. It was written on the verso
pages of the text AB z of the Annals of Beleriand, and was not known to
me when The Silmarillion was prepared for publication.
To present these texts would take many pages and involve a great deal
of pure repetition in relation to the published version, and I restrict
myself here therefore to remarking particular features and to indicating
the genesis of chapter 19 in The Silmarillion. Essentially, the published
text was based on the 'fuller' form, QS I, so far as it goes, and then
follows the 'shorter', complete form, QS II. The story was also told,
briefly, in the final version of the Annals of Beleriand, the Grey Annals,
and some passages in the published version are derived from that source.
I have mentioned above that the opening page of QS I, the com-
mencement of chapter 12, was retained as the opening of QS II, and I
give here the text of that page, for it was much modified and expanded in
the published work (pp. 162 - 3).
Among the tales of sorrow and ruin that come down to us from
the darkness of those days there are yet some that are fair in
memory, in which amid weeping there is a sound of music, and
amid the tears joy, and under the shadow of death light that
endureth. And of these histories most fair still in the ears of the
Elves is the tale of Beren and Luthien; for it is sad and joyous,
and touches upon mysteries, and it is not ended.*
Of their lives was made the Lay of Leithian, Release from
Bondage, which is the longest save one of the songs of the Noldor
concerning the world of old; but here the tale must be told in fewer
words and without song. When [Beor >] Bregolas was slain, as
has been recounted, Barahir his [son >] brother saved King
Felagund, and received his ring in token of never-failing friend-
ship. But Barahir would not forsake Dorthonion, and there
Morgoth pursued him to the death. At last there remained to him
only twelve companions, Beren his son, and the sons of Bregolas,
and nine other men. Of these Gorlim son of Angrim was one, a
man of valour. But Gorlim was caught by the guile of Sauron the
wizard, as the lay tells, and Morgoth wrung from him knowledge
of the hiding-place of Barahir; but Gorlim he rewarded with
death. Thus Morgoth drew his net about Barahir, and he was
taken by surprise and slain with all his companions, save one. For
by fortune Beren was not with them at that time, but was hunting
alone in the woods, as often was his custom, for thus he gained
news of the movement of their foes. But Beren was warned by a
vision of Gorlim the unhappy that appeared to him in sleep, and
he returned in haste, and yet too late. For his father was already
slain, and the carrion-birds arose from the ground as Beren drew
near, and sat in the alder-trees, and croaked in mockery. For there
was a high tarn among the moors, and beside it Barahir had made
his lair.
(* For the meaning of the words 'and it is not ended' (which should not have
been omitted in The Silmarillion) see p. 304: the thought underlying the last
sentence of the tale is much more explicit in the draft text B.
There Beren buried his father's bones, and raised a cairn of
boulders over him, and swore upon it an oath of vengeance.
Gorlim's father Angrim now appears. The words first written 'When
Beor was slain... Barahir his son saved King Felagund' are puzzling.
The original draft manuscript A had here likewise 'When Beor and
Bregolas were slain...' It was said in Q $9 that 'Beor lived till death with
Felagund', but in $10 that Beor was slain in the Battle of Sudden Fire;
this I took to be a (surprising) inconsistency within Q {IV. 179). In QS
$ 131. (and in AB 2, annal 250) Beor died of old age, five years before the
Battle of Sudden Fire, and in his death 'the Elves saw for the first time the
death of weariness, and they grieved for the short span allotted to
mankind'; thus the inconsistency appears again and still more surpris-
ingly in this version. But the corrections to QS here were made, almost
certainly, at the time of composition.
It is said here that 'Gorlim was caught by the guile of Sauron the
wizard, as the lay tells, and Morgoth wrung from him knowledge of the
hiding-place of Barahir.' In the much fuller draft A the story was still
almost exactly as in the Lay of Leithian (I I I. 162 - 4): Gorlim was all but
caught as he looked through the window of the house at the figure of his
wife Eilinel, he returned to his companions but said nothing, and finally,
with a far more deliberate treachery than in the later story, yielded
himself to the servants of Morgoth, who took him to Angband. A minor
development is that whereas in the Lay the house in which he thought he
saw Eilinel was not his own, it is now told that he went often to his own
deserted home, and Morgoth's spies knew this (cf. the Lay of Leithian
Recommenced, III. 337). More important, in A Morgoth 'revealed to
Gorlim that he had seen but a phantom devised by the wizardry of
Sauron to entrap him', which again advances the story to that of the
rewritten Lay, where the phantom was expressly made by Sauron (III.
339, and see III. 348). I see no reason to think that the brief sentence
which is all that is told of Gorlim in the QS version reflects a story
different in any way from that in A. Years later, when as mentioned
above (p. 295) my father once more attempted a full prose version of the
story, he went back to A and emended it in preparation for this new work.
The story now entered that Gorlim was captured on the first occasion
that he saw the image of Eilinel through the window; but he was still
taken to Angband, and addressed by Morgoth himself. This stage is
represented in the first version of the rewritten Lay at this point (see III.
348). Finally, pencilled alterations to A changed Angband to Sauron's
camp, and Morgoth to Sauron, and so reached the final story, as in the
second version of the rewritten Lay.
When I composed the text of the opening of chapter 19 in The Sil-
marillion I did not at all foresee the possibility of the publication of the
Lay of Leithian, and I wished to include the story of Gorlim, which is
virtually excluded from QS. The second paragraph of the chapter, from
'Now the forest of Dorthonion rose southward into mountainous moors',
was taken from the Grey Annals; and for the story of Gorlim that follows
I used the text of A - in its final form, as just described.
In the story of Beren's solitary life on Dorthonion, his flight south over
the Mountains of Terror, and his meeting with Luthien - as far as
'though the time was brief', The Silmarillion p. 166 - the two QS versions
are not in fact greatly different in length, and here I interwove some
elements from the 'shorter' version, QS II; but from the point where
Thingol learns of Beren's presence in the forest QS I was followed to its
end at the words 'and Celegorm and Curufin said nothing, but they
smiled and went from the halls' (The Silmarillion p. 170), for all of this
narrative is in QS I I compressed into two paragraphs. Thereafter QS II
was followed to the end of the story.
The QS version(s) of 'Beren and Luthien' are thus to be found in
chapter 19 of the published work, and are not given here; but significant
points in which the QS text(s) were altered editorially must be men-
tioned. I list these in order of their occurrence, with references to the
pages of The Silmarillion (hardback edition).
Tarn Aeluin (pp. 162 - 3): introduced from later sources (Crey Annals,
rewritten Lay, etc.)
Rivil's Well and the Fen of Serech (p. 163): introduced from later
sources.
Noldor for Cnomes (p. 164 and throughout, wherever Gnomes appears in
QS).
Gorgoroth, Ered Gorgoroth (p. 164). In QS I the latter is Ered-orgoroth,
and in A and QS II Ered-'orgoroth (beside Gorgoroth standing alone).
As I understand the matter, this variation is due to the phenomenon in
'Exilic Noldorin' (i.e. the language of the Noldor in Middle-earth, in
exile from Valinor) called 'Initial Variation of Consonants', whereby a
consonant at the beginning of the second element of a compounded
word (or of the second word in two words standing in a very close
syntactic relation, as noun and article) underwent the same change as
it would when standing in ordinary medial position. For example, the
original voiceless stops p, t, A remained in Exilic Noldorin unchanged
initially before vowels, but were voiced to b, d, g medially; so tal 'foot'
but i'dal 'the foot', or Thorondor (thoron + taur 'king'). Medially,
original voiced stop -g- became 'opened' to -3-, which then weakened
and disappeared; in this case therefore the 'initial variation' is between
g and nil, the lost consonant being represented by a sign called gasdil
('stopgap', see the Etymologies, stem DIL), transcribed as '. Thus
galad 'tree', i'alad 'the tree'; Gorgoroth, Ered-'orgoroth. (This was
an old linguistic conception, as is seen from forms given in the
original 'Gnomish dictionary', as Balrog but i'Malrog, from an initial
consonant combination mb- (I. 250).) In post-Lord of the Rings
texts the form is Ered Orgoroth (-ath), beside Gorgoroth (-oth), but
in a couple of cases the form after Ered was apparently emended to
Gorgoroth.
the rising of the Moon (p. 164) is an error; all the texts have raising.
Dungortheb (p. 164): later form for QS Dungorthin; again on p. 176.
Ungoliant (p. 164): introduced for agreement with the occurrence of the
name in The Lord of the Rings; QS Ungoliante'.
And he passed through the mazes that Melian neve about the kingdom of
Thingol, even as she had foretold for a great doom lay upon him
(pp. 164 - 5). QS I has here: 'he could not have found the way, if his fate
had not so decreed. Neither could he have passed the mazes that
Melian wove about Doriath, unless she had willed it; but she foresaw
many things that were hidden from the Elves.' QS II is similar. The
reason for the change in The Silmarillion is Melian's earlier foretelling
to Galadriel that 'one of Men, even of Beor's house, shall indeed come,
and the Girdle of Melian shall not restrain him, for doom greater than
my power shall send him' (ibid. p. 144), a passage introduced from the
Grey Annals; the sentence above is from the same source.
in the Grey-elven tongue (p. 165). QS I has 'in the speech of Beleriand',
with a marginal note 'quoth AElfwine'.
But Daeron the minstrel also loved Luthien, and he espied her meetings
with Beren, and betrayed them to Thingol (p. 166). As noticed earlier,
Dairon was omitted from QS I (he appears in QS II but much later in
the story). In view however of a pencilled note on QS I: Dairon, with a
mark of insertion, I introduced this sentence (derived from the Grey
Annals). QS I has here simply: 'But it came to pass that the coming
of Beren became known to Thingol, and he was wroth'; similarly in
OS II.
Who are you, ' said the King (p. 166). Here and subsequently through-
out, 'you', 'your' is substituted for QS 'thou', 'thy' (and 'ye' plural),
except in Luthien's words to Sauron, p. 175.
the badge of Finarfin (p. 167): QS the badge of Finrod.
the fate of Arda (p. 167): QS the fate of the world.
Talath Dirnen (p. 168): later form for QS Dalath Dirnen - the first
occurrence of the Elvish name of the Guarded Plain.
Taur-en-Faroth (p. 168): later form for QS Taur-na-Faroth.
Finrod Felagund (p. 169): QS Felagund; again on p. 174.
and he Anew that the oath he had sworn was come upon him for his death,
as long before he had foretold to Galadriel (p. 169). Added from the
Grey Annals; the reference is to The Silmarillion p. 130, where Fela-
gund said to Galadriel: 'An oath I too shall swear, and must be free to
fulfil it, and go into darkness' (also derived from the Grey Annals).
Celegorm (p. 169): QS Celegorn, and subsequently.
Finarfin's son (p. 169): QS Finrod's son; again on p. 170.
Then Celegorm arose amid the throng (p. 169). In QS this is followed by
'golden was his long hair'. In the Lay at this point (line 1844)
Celegorm has 'gleaming hair'; his Old English name was Cynegrim
Faegerfeax ('Fair-hair'), IV. 213. The phrase was removed in The
Silmarillion text on account of the dark hair of the Noldorin princes
other than in 'the golden house of Finarfin' (see I. 44); but he remains
'Celegorm the fair' in The Silmarillion p. 60.
Edrahil (p. 170). This name was taken from the Grey Annals; in QS the
chief of those faithful to Felagund is Enedrion.
Taur-nu-Fuin (p. 170): later form for QS Taur-na-Fuin (and subse-
quently).
Citation from the Lay of Leithian (p. 171). QS (where the narrative is
now only that of the shorter version, QS II) has: Sauron had the
mastery, and he stripped from them their disguise.' The introduction
of a passage from the Lay was justified, or so I thought, by the passage
cited later in QS (p. 178).
Tol-in-Gaurhoth (p. 172): later form for QS Tol-na-Gaurhoth.
but she sought the aid of Daeron, and he betrayed her purpose to the King
(p. 172). An addition, derived like that on p. 166 from the Grey
Annals; QS has only 'Thingol discovering her thought was filled with
fear and wonder.'
the Mountains of Aman (p. 174): QS the Mountains of the Gods.
the fates of our kindreds are apart (p. 174). In QS this is followed by:
'Yet perchance even that sorrow shall in the end be healed.'
in Tol-in-Gaurhoth, whose great tower he himself had built (p. 174) was
an editorial addition.
fairest and most beloved of the house of Finwe' (p. 174) was added from
the Grey Annals.
Ered Wethrin (p. 175): later form for QS Eredwethion.
unless thou yield to me the mastery of thy tower (p. 175). In QS this is
followed by: 'and reveal the spell that bindeth stone to stone.' A little
further on, the words and the spell was loosed that bound stone to stone
were an addition to the QS text. This rearrangement was mistaken.
(The draft text B has here: 'Then lest he be forced from the body
unwillingly, which is a dire pain to such spirits, he yielded himself.
And Luthien and Huan wrested from him the keys of the tower, and
the spell that bound stone to stone.')
and it was clean again (p. 176). The passage following this in The
Silmarillion was an editorial rewriting of QS, which has:
and it was clean again, and ever after remained inviolate; for Sauron
came never back thither. There lies still the green grave of Inglor,
Finrod's son, fairest of all the princes of the Elves, unless that land is
changed and broken, or foundered under destroying seas. But
Inglor walks with Finrod his father among his kinsfolk in the light of
the Blessed Realm, and it is not written that he has ever returned to
Middle-earth.
Cf. the Lay of Leithian lines 2871 - 7; and for 'the trees of Eldamar' in
the rewriting see the rewritten Lay, III. 358 lines 20 - 1.
In that time Celebrimbor the son of Curufin repudiated the deeds of his
father, and remained in Nargothrond (p. 176). This was an editorial
addition derived from a late note.
Maedhros (p. 176): later form for QS Maidros. After 'where Maidros
their brother dwelt' QS has: 'In the days of the Siege the high road
had run that way, and it was still passable with speed, since it lay
close,' &c. I do not now recollect why this change was made. This is
the first reference to a highroad running from East to West.
Anfauglith (p. 178): QS Fauglith.
There Beren slunk in wolf's form beneath his throne (p. 180): an addition,
taken from the Grey Annals; cf. the Lay, lines 3939 - 43.
She was not daunted by his eyes (p. 180). QS has: 'she alone of all things
in Middle-earth could not be daunted by his eyes.'
with wings swifter than the wind (p. 182). The draft text B (see p. 293)
has at this point: 'Thorondor led them, and the others were Lhan-
droval (Wide-wing) and Gwaewar his vassal.' In the following text C,
also of 1937, this became: Thorondor was their leader-, and with him
were his mightiest vassals, wide-winged Lhandroval, and Gwaewar
lord of the wind.' This was emended (in 1951, see p. 294) to 'Gwaihir
the lord of storm', and in this form the passage is found in the QS
manuscript. It was omitted in The Silmarillion on account of the
passage in The Return of the King (VI. 4): 'There came Gwaihir the
Windlord, and Landroval his brother... mightiest of the descendants
of old Thorondor, who built his eyries in the inaccessible peaks of the
Encircling Mountains when Middle-earth was young.' At the time, I
did not understand the nature and dating of the end of QS. It now
appears that there was no reason to suppress the names; in fact, it
seems that Gwaewar was changed to Gwaihir to bring it into accord
with The Lord of the Rings - however this is to be interpreted.
Gondolin the fair where Turgon dwelt (p. 182). This is followed in QS
by: 'But it is said in song that her tears falling from on high as she
passed came like silver raindrops on the plain, and there a fountain
sprang to life: the Fountain of Tinuviel, Eithel Ninui, most healing
water until it withered in the flame.' This passage, found already in the
draft text C, should not have been omitted.
Crissaegrim (p. 182). The draft texts B and C, and also the QS
manuscript as it was written, have here Gochressiel (see QS $147
and commentary); in QS it was emended (as also in QS $ 147) to
Crisaegrim.
Daeron (p. 183). Dairon (so spelt) here first appears in the QS version.
and among the great in Arda (p. 184). An addition, taken from the
Grey Annals.
Beren Erchamion (p. 185): QS Beren Gamlost; Beren Camlost (p. 186):
QS Beren Gamlost; but at the occurrence on p. 184, where the name
stands alone, QS also has Camlost. The C/G variation is found also in
the drafts B and C, and is another example of the 'Initial Variation of
consonants' referred to in the note on Gorgoroth above (original
voiceless stop k > g medially). But here also, as in the case of Ered
Orgoroth, late changes altered Beren Gamlost to Beren Camlost. -
Erchamion is original (and appears already in the draft B) at its
occurrence on p. 183, and is the first appearance of the name other
than by later emendation.
They bore back Beren Camlost (p. 186). At this point my father entered
(later) a new chapter-heading in the QS manuscript: 16 The Song of
Luthien in Mandos. In C chapter 16 is Of the Fourth Battle.
the Two Kindreds that mere made by Iluvatar to dwell in Arda, the
Kingdom of Earth amid the innumerable stars (p. 187). This is
original, deriving from QS as revised in 1951 (see p. 294).
Because of her labours and her sorrow (p. 187): QS 'because she was the
daughter of Melian, and because of her labours and her sorrow'; See
pp.304-5.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the alterations made to the QS
version(s) in the published text, but it includes all changes in names, and
all omissions and additions of any substance. I shall not here go into the
question of the justifiability of constructing a text from different sources.
I hope that it will be possible later to present the major texts from the
post-Lord of the Rings period, on the basis of which and in relation to
what has thus far been published almost every detail of the 'constructed'
text will be determinable. The tale of Beren and Luthien is only a small
and relatively very simple element in that construction, and is far from
providing sufficient evidence on which to judge either it or its justifica-
tion. I will say, however, that I now regret certain of the changes made to
this tale.
It is proper to mention that here as elsewhere almost every substantial
change was discussed with Guy Kay, who worked with me in 1974-5 on
the preparation of The Silmarillion. He indeed made many suggestions
for the construction of the text (such as, in the tale of Beren and Luthien,
the introduction of a passage from the Lay of Leithian), and proposed
solutions to problems arising in the making of a composite narrative - in
some cases of major significance to the structure, as will I hope be shown
in a later book. The responsibility for the final published form rests of
course wholly with me.
The more important differences between the narratives of the Lay of
Leithian and The Silmarillion have been sufficiently discussed in Vol.
III, and I make no further general analysis here. Many other small
divergences will be seen in a close comparison of the two works. There
are however certain particular points in the QS version and the prepara-
tory drafts that remain to be mentioned.
In QS I, Luthien's song at the birth of spring (The Silmarillion p. 165)
is likened to the song of the lark that 'rises from the gates of night and
pours its voice among the dying stars, seeing the sun behind the walls of
the world.' This self-evidently contradicts the Ambarkanta; but a
possible explanation is that my father was in fact thinking, not of the
Ilurambar beyond which is the Void, but of the Walls of the Sun,
the mountain-range in the furthest East answering to the Mountains
of Valinor in the West: see the Ambarkanta, IV. 236 - 7, 239, and the
map of the world, IV. 249. The lark flying high in the early dawn sees
the unrisen sun beyond the eastern mountains. On the other hand this is
not the only place where the expression 'the Walls of the World' is used in
a way that seems anomalous in relation to the Ambarkanta: see IV. 253,
and the commentary on QS $9.
In Q (IV. 113), when the knife (unnamed) which Beren took from
Curufin snapped as he tried to cut a second Silmaril from the Iron
Crown, it is called 'the knife of the treacherous Dwarves', cf. the Lay,
lines 4160 - 1: 'The dwarvish steel of cunning blade / by treacherous
smiths of Nogrod made'. The absence of this in QS may be significant,
but it is more likely due merely to compression. In the draft B 'the knife
of the Dwarfs snapped', which hints at the idea; C has simply 'the knife
snapped'. - The name Angrist of the knife is found in B, but it is not there
ascribed to Telchar; this is first found in QS (The Silmarillion p. 177),
where also Telchar becomes a Dwarf of Nogrod, not of Belegost as in Q
(named as the maker of the Dragon-helm, IV. 118).
Of much interest is the development of the conclusion of the tale (The
Silmarillion pp. 186 - 7, from 'Thus ended the Quest of the Silmaril; but
the Lay of Leithian, Release from Bondage, does not end.') The original
draft B, written in a rapid scrawl, was already near to the final form as far
as 'Manwe sought counsel in his inmost thought, where the will of
Iluvatar was revealed.' Text C, almost an exact copy of B to this point,
was emended long after (1951) to produce the form in the QS manu-
script, but a footnote to the sentence beginning 'But the spirit of Luthien
fell down into darkness' belongs to the earlier time (and was not taken up
into the final text):
Though some have said that Melian summoned Thorondor and bade
him bear Luthien living to Valinor, claiming that she had a part in the
divine race of the Gods.
With this cf. S $10 (IV. 25): Some songs say that Luthien went even
over the Grinding Ice, aided by the power of her divine mother, Melian,
to Mandos' halls and won him back, and Q $ 10 (IV.115): 'though some
songs say that Melian summoned Thorndor, and he bore [Luthien]
living unto Valinor.' - The text of B continues:
And this was the choice that he decreed for Beren and Luthien.
They should dwell now in Valinor until the world's end in bliss,
but in the end Beren and Luthien must each go unto the fate
appointed to their kind, when all things are changed: and of the
mind of Iluvatar concerning Men Manwe kn[ows] not. Or they
might return unto Middle-earth without certitude of joy or life;
then Luthien should become mortal even as Beren, and subject to
a second death, and in the end she should leave the earth for ever
and her beauty become only a memory of song. And this doom
they chose, that thus, whatsoever sorrow might lie before them,
their fates might be joined, and their paths lead together beyond
the confines of the world. So it was that alone of the Eldalie
Luthien died and left the world long ago: yet by her have the Two
Kindreds been joined, and she is the foremother of many. For her
line is not yet extinguished, though the world is changed, and the
Eldalie honour still the children of Men. And though these are
grown proud and strong, and often are blind, but the Elves are
diminished, they cease not to haunt the paths of Men, or to seek
converse with those that go apart, for haply such are descended
from Luthien, whom they have lost.
We meet here the conception of the 'choice of fate' by Beren and
Luthien before Mandos. In the earlier accounts there was no choice. In
the old Tale of Tinuviel - where Beren was an Elf - the fate of Beren and
Luthien was the simple decree of Mandos (II. 40); and in Q (IV. 115) it
is the same, though the decree is different, since Beren was now a Man. I
have discussed the meaning of these passages at some length (I I. 59 - 60;
IV. 63 - 4, 190 - 1). In the present text, if the first choice were accepted
Beren and Luthien must finally part, even though that parting is cast into
a future indefinitely remote - the end of the world; and that parting
would proceed from the different principles of their being, leading
inevitably to a different final destiny or doom. Beren could not finally
escape the necessity imposed upon by him his 'kind', the necessity of
leaving the Circles of the World, the Gift of Iluvatar that cannot be
refused, though he may dwell - by unheard-of privilege, as an unheard-
of reward - in Valinor until the End. The union of Beren and Luthien
'beyond the world' could only be achieved by acceptance of the second
choice, whereby Luthien herself should be permitted to change her
'kind', and 'die indeed'.
In the following text C this passage was entirely recast, virtually to the
form in which it was afterwards written into the QS manuscript. Here
the choices are imposed on Luthien alone (in the margin of QS is written
The Choices of Luthien), and they are changed; for the possibility of '
Beren accompanying Luthien to the Blessed Realm is not open. The
choice becomes therefore in a sense simpler: Luthien may leave Beren
now, and their fates be sundered for ever, now; or she may remain with
him 'for ever', by becoming mortal, changing her nature and her destiny.
The form of the first choice begins in C: 'She, being the daughter of
Melian, and because of her sorrow, should be released from Mandos',
becoming in QS: 'She, because she was the daughter of Melian, and
because of her labours and her sorrow, should be released from Mandos.'
This takes up the idea in the footnote to C cited above (p. 303): Melian
claimed that Luthien 'had a part in the divine race of the Gods'. The
words 'because she was the daughter of Melian' were regrettably omitted
from the Silmarillion text.
One other point may be noticed in the passage cited from the B text
(p. 303). It is said there that 'of the mind of Iluvatar concerning Men
Manwe knows not. With this cf. QS $86: Mandos under Iluvatar alone
save Manwe' knows whither they [Men] go after the time of recollection
in those silent halls beside the Western Sea.' In the passage of Q from
which this derives (IV. 100) it is said that 'Mandos under Iluvatar knew
alone whither they went.'
Text B continues on from 'Luthien, whom they have lost' as follows:
But yet Beren and Luthien abode together for a while, as living
man and woman; and Mandos gave unto them a long span of life.
But they dwelt not in Doriath, and taking up their mortal forms
they departed and wandered forth, knowing neither thirst nor
hunger, and came beyond the river into Ossiriand, Land of Seven
Streams. There they abode, and Gwerth-i-Cuina the Gnomes
named their dwelling, the Land of the Dead that Live, and
thereafter no mortal man spoke with Beren son of Barahir.
In C this passage becomes the opening paragraph of chapter i 6, Of the
Fourth Battle (and is so treated in The Silmarillion, where it opens
chapter 20, Of the Fifth Battle), but it was not altered from B in any
significant way. In the QS manuscript it was entered on a tinal page, in
yet a fourth script, careful but much less ornate, and here it is again the
conclusion of the previous chapter and the end of the tale of Beren and
Luthien. In QS it takes this form:
It is said that Beren and Luthien returned to the northern lands
of Middle-earth, and dwelt together for a time as living man and
woman; for taking up again their mortal form in Doriath, they
went forth alone, fearing neither thirst nor hunger, and they
passed beyond the rivers into Ossiriand, and abode there in the
green isle, Tol-galen, in the midst of Adurant, until all tidings of
them ceased. Therefore the Noldor afterwards called that land
Gyrth-i-Guinar, the country of the Dead that Live, and no mortal
man spoke ever again with Beren son of Barahir; and whether the
second span of his life was brief or long is not known to Elves or
Men, for none saw Beren and Luthien leave the world or marked
where at last their bodies lay.
The longer form that appears in The Silmarillion was 'integrated' with
the text of the Grey Annals. In QS, chapter 16 then opens, with the title
Of the Union of Maedros (despite the insertion of a chapter-heading 16
The Song of Luthien in Mandos, p. 302); but after the words 'In those
days Maedros son of Feanor lifted up his heart' my father laid down his
pen, and the manuscript ends there.
In B and C it is said, as it had been in Q (IV. 115), that the span of the
second lives of Beren and Luthien was long.* In the Annals of Beleriand
the first death of Beren took place, according to the latest chronology, in
465, and the final departure of Beren and Luthien is recorded under the
year 503. This date is found again in post-Lord of the Rings versions of the
Tale of Years; and on this account the words 'whether the second span of
his life was brief or long is not known to Elves or Men' were omitted from
The Silmarillion. But they should not have been. It is also said in the
annal for 503 that their deathday is not known: the annal records as fact
the coming of the messenger to Dior in Doriath by night, bearing the
Silmaril on the Necklace of the Dwarves, but as surmise the saying of the
Elves that Beren and Luthien must be dead, else the Silmaril would not
have come to their son. I think now that this is how the words of QS are to
be interpreted; the belief that the coming of the Silmaril to Dior was a
sign of their deaths is simply not referred to.
The name Gwerth-i-Cuina has appeared in later emendations to Q,
and in an emendation to the Eastward Extension of the first Map (IV.
233) . The placing of the dwelling of Beren and Luthien after their return
on the isle of Tol-galen in the river Adurant appears in an addition to QS
$114 (see the commentary).
16. OF THE FOURTH BATTLE:
NIRNAITH ARNEDIAD.
The two manuscripts of this chapter have been described on pp. 293 - 4:
the first, QS(C), was the intermediate text begun while QS was away in
November-December 1937, and this gives the whole of chapter 16,
while the second, QS(D), of the same period, begins some way through
it. To the point where D takes up, therefore, C (rough but legible) is the
only text. As noted above, in C the chapter opens with the paragraph
concerning the second lives of Beren and Luthien, whereas the QS
manuscript includes it at the end of chapter 15 and begins 16 with the
Union of Maidros, breaking off after the first words. I recommence the
paragraph-numbers here from $1.
The Union of Maidros.
$1. 'Tis said that Beren and Luthien returned into the lands
of the North, and abode together for a while, as living man and
(* In another passage of Q (IV. 134) the land where they dwelt after their return
had only a 'brief hour of loveliness', just as in the Tale of the Nauglafring (II. 240)
'upon Beren and Tinuviel fell swiftly that doom of mortality that Mandos had
spoken.'
woman; and the span of their second life was long. But they did
not dwell in Doriath; for taking up their mortal form they
departed thence and went forth alone, fearing neither thirst nor
hunger. And they passed beyond the rivers into Ossiriand, the
Land of Seven Streams, and dwelt among the Green-elves
secretly. Therefore the Gnomes called that land Gwerth-i-Cuina,
the Land of the Dead that Live; and thereafter no mortal marl
spoke with Beren son of Barahir.
$2. But in those days Maidros son of Feanor lifted up his heart,
perceiving that Morgoth was not unassailable; for the deeds of
Beren and Luthien and the breaking of the towers of Sauron werc
sung in many songs throughout Beleriand. Yet Morgoth would
destroy them all, one by one, if they could not again unite, and
make a new league and common council. Therefore he planned
the Union of Maidros, and he planned wisely.
$3. For he renewed friendship with Fingon in the West, and
they acted thereafter in concert. Maidros summoned again to his
aid the Dark-elves from the South, and the Swarthy Men were
gathered together, and he sallied from Himring in force. At the
same time Fingon issued from Hithlum. For a while the Gnomes
had victory again, and the Orcs were driven out of the northward
regions of Beleriand, and hope was renewed. Morgoth withdrew
before them and called back his servants; for he was aware of all
that was done, and took counsel against the uprising of the
Gnomes. He sent forth many spies and emissaries, secret or
disguised, among Elves and Men, and especially they came to the
Easterlings, the Swarthy Men, and to the sons of Ulfang. The
smithies of Nogrod and Belegost were busy in those days, making
mail and sword and spear for many armies; and the Dwarfs in that
time became possessed of much of the wealth and jewelry of Elves
and Men, though they went not to war themselves. 'For we do not
know the right causes of this quarrel,' they said, 'and we favour
neither side - until one hath the mastery.'
$4. Great and well-armed was the host of Maidros in the East.
In the West all the strength of Hithlum, Gnomes and Men, were
ready to his summons: Fingon and Huor and Hurin were their
chiefs. Then Turgon, thinking that maybe the hour of deliverance
was at hand, came forth himself unlooked for from Gondolin; and
he brought a great army and encamped upon the plain before the
opening of the western pass in sight of the walls of Hithlum. There
was joy among the people of Fingon his brother, seeing their
kinsfolk that had long been hidden.
$5. Yet the oath of Feanor and the evil deeds that it had
wrought did injury to the design of Maidros, and he had less aid
than should have been. Orodreth would not march from Nargoth-
rond at the word of any son of Feanor, because of the deeds of
Celegorn and Curufin. Thence came only a small company, whom
Orodreth suffered to go, since they could not endure to be idle
when their kinsfolk were gathering for war. Gwindor was their
leader, son of Guilin, a very valiant prince; but they took the
badge of the house of Fingolfin, and marched beneath the banners
of Fingon, and came never back, save one.
$6. From Doriath came little help. For Maidros and his
brethren, being constrained by their oath, had before sent to
Thingol and reminded him with haughty words of their claim,
summoning him to yield to them the Silmaril, or become their
enemy. Melian counselled him to surrender the jewel, and per-
chance he would have done so, but their words were proud and
threatening, and he was wroth, thinking of the anguish of Luthien
and the blood of Beren whereby the jewel had been won, despite
the malice of Celegorn and Curufin. And every day that he looked
upon the jewel, the more his heart desired to keep it for ever. Such
was its power. Therefore he sent back the messengers of Maidros
with scornful words. Maidros answered naught, for he had now
begun to devise the league and union of the Elves; but Celegorn
and Curufin vowed openly to slay Thingol and destroy his folk,
if they came victorious from war, and the jewel were not sur-
rendered of free will. For this reason Thingol fortified the
marches of his realm, and went not to war, nor any out of Doriath
save Mablung, and Beleg who could not be restrained.
$7. The treacherous shaft of Curufin that wounded Beren was
remembered among Men. Therefore of the folk of Haleth that
dwelt in Brethil only the half came forth, and they went not to join
Maidros, but came rather to Fingon and Turgon in the West.
$8. Having gathered at length all the strength that he could,
Maidros appointed a day, and sent word to Fingon and Turgon.
Upon the East was raised the standard of Maidros, and to it came
all the folk of Feanor, and they were many; and the Dark-elves of
the South; and of the Green-elves of Ossiriand many companies;
and the tribes and battalions of the Easterlings with the sons of Bor
and Ulfang. Upon the West was the standard of Fingon, and to it
were gathered the armies of Hithlum, both Gnomes and Men;
and Turgon with the host of Gondolin; to which was added such
strength as came from the Falas, and from Brethil, and from
Nargothrond; and they waited upon the borders of Dor-na-
Fauglith, looking for the signal of the advancing banners from the
East.
[At this point the manuscript D takes up, and is followed here. It is a very
close reworking of C, taking up the preparatory emendations made to the
earlier text but scarcely developing it except in small stylistic detail.]
$9. But Maidros was delayed upon the road by the machi-
nations of Uldor the Accursed, son of Ulfang; and continually the
emissaries of Morgoth went among the camps: and there were
thrall-Gnomes or things in Elvish form, and they spread fore-
boding of evil and the suspicion of treason among all who would
listen to them.
$10. Long the armies waited in the West, and fear of treachery
grew in their thoughts when Maidros tarried. The hot hearts of
Fingon and Turgon became impatient. Therefore they sent their
heralds forth upon the plain of Fauglith, and their silver trumpets
were blown, and they summoned the hosts of Morgoth to come
out.
$11. Then Morgoth sent a force, great and yet not too great.
Fingon was minded to attack it from the woods at the feet of
Erydwethion, where the most of his strength was hid. But Hurin
spake against it. Therefore Morgoth, seeing that they wavered,
led forth the herald of Fingon that he had wrongfully taken
prisoner, and he slew him upon the plain, and sent back the others
with his head. Thereupon the wrath of Fingon was kindled to
flame, and his army leaped forth in sudden onslaught; and ere
Turgon could restrain them, a great part also of his host joined in
the battle. The light of the drawing of the swords of the Noldor
was like a sudden fire kindled in a field of reeds.
$12. This was indeed as Morgoth designed; but it is said that
he had not reckoned the true number of his enemies' array, nor
measured rightly their valour, and almost his plan went astray.
Ere the army that he sent forth could be strengthened, it was
overwhelmed; for it was assailed suddenly from West and South;
and that day there was a greater slaughter of the servants of
Morgoth than had yet been achieved. Loud rang the trumpets.
The banners of Fingon were raised before the very walls of
Angband. It is told that Gwindor son of Guilin and the folk of
Nargothrond were in the front of the battle, and they burst
through the gates, and slew the Orcs upon the stairs of Angband,
and fear came upon Morgoth on his deep throne. But in the end
Gwindor and his men were taken or slain, for no help came to
them. By other secret doors in the mountains of Thangorodrim
Morgoth had let issue forth his main host that he had held in
waiting; and Fingon and the army of Hithlum were beaten back
from the walls.
$ 13. Then in the plain there began that Battle which is called
Nirnaith Arnediad, Unnumbered Tears, for no song or tale can
contain all the grief of that day, and the voices of those that sing of
it are turned to mourning. The host of Fingon retreated with great
loss over the sands of Dor-na-Fauglith, and Hundor son of Haleth
was slain in the rearguard, and with him fell most of the Men of
Brethil and came never back to the woods. And Glorwendil,
daughter of Hador and wife of Hundor, died of grief in that
unhappy year. But the Orcs came between Fingon and the passes
of Erydwethion that led into Hithlum; therefore he withdrew
towards the vale of Sirion. Before the entrance of that valley, upon
the borders of Taur-na-Fuin, there remained still in hiding a great
part of the host of Turgon; and Turgon now sounded his horns,
and came forth in might with help unlooked for, and many of the
Orcs, being caught between the two armies, were destroyed.
Then hope was renewed in the hearts of the Elves. And in
that hour the trumpets of Maidros were heard coming from the
East, and the banners of the Sons of Feanor and their allies came
up on the flank of the Enemy. And some have said that even now
the Elves might have won the day, had all been faithful; for the
Orcs wavered, and their onslaught was stayed, and already some
were turning in flight.
$ 15. But even as the vanguard of Maidros came upon the Orcs,
Morgoth let loose his last strength, and hell was emptied. There
came wolves and serpents, and there came Balrogs one thousand,
and there came Glomund the Father of Dragons. And the
strength and terror of the Worm were now grown very great; and
Elves and Men withered before him. Thus Morgoth hindered the
joining of the hosts of the Elves; yet he would not have achieved
this, neither with Balrog nor Dragon, had the captains of the
Easterlings remained true. Many of these men now turned and
fled; but the sons of Ulfang went over to the side of Morgoth, and
they fell upon the rear of Maidros and wrought confusion. From
that day the hearts of the Elves were estranged from Men, save
only from those of the Three Houses, the peoples of Hador, and
Beor, and Haleth; for the sons of Bor, Boromir, Borlas, and
Borthandos, who alone, among the Easterlings proved true at
need, all perished in that battle, and they left no heirs. But the
sons of Ulfang reaped not the reward that Morgoth had promised
them; for Cranthir slew Uldor the Accursed, the leader in treason,
and Ulfast and Ulwarth were slain by the sons of Bor, ere they
themselves fell.
$26. Thus the design of Morgoth was fulfilled in a manner
after his own heart; for Men took the lives of Men, and betrayed
the Elves, and fear and hatred were aroused among those who
should have been united against him. And the host of Maidros,
assailed in front and rear, was dispersed and was driven from the
battle eastward; and the Gorge of Aglon was filled with Orcs, and
the Hill of Himring garrisoned by the soldiers of Angband, and
the gates of the land were in the power of Morgoth. But fate saved
the Sons of Feanor, and though all were wounded none were slain.
Yet their arms were scattered, and their people diminished, and
their league broken; and they took to a wild and woodland life
beneath the feet of Eredlindon, mingling with the Dark-elves,
bereft of their power and glory of old.
In the west of the battle Fingon fell, and flame sprang
from his helm when it was cloven. He was overborne by the
Balrogs and beaten to the earth, and his white banners were
trodden underfoot. But Hurin and Huor his brother, and the men
of the House of Hador, stood firm, and the Orcs could not yet gain
the pass of Sirion. Thus was the treachery of Uldor redressed.
The last stand of Hurin is the most renowned of the deeds of Men
among the Elves; for he held the rear while the remnant of the
hosts of the West withdrew from the battle. Few came ever back
over Eredwethion to Hithlum; but Turgon mustered all that
remained of the folk of Gondolin, and such of Fingon's folk as he
could gather; and he escaped down Sirion into the dales and
mountains, and was hidden from the eyes of Morgoth. Neither Elf
nor Man nor spy of Angband knew whither he had gone, nor
found the hidden stronghold until the day of Tuor son of Huor.
Thus the victory of Morgoth was marred, and he was wroth.
$18. But the Orcs now surrounded the valiant Men of Hithlum
like a great tide about a lonely rock. Huor fell pierced with a
venomed arrow, and all the children of Hador were slain about
him in a heap, until Hurin alone was left. Then he cast away his
shield and wielded his axe two-handed; and it is said that standing
alone he slew one hundred of the Orcs. At length he was taken
alive by Morgoth's command, for in this way Morgoth thought to
do him more evil than by death. Therefore his servants grasped
Hurin with their hands, and though he slew them, their numbers
were ever renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them, and
they clung to him like leeches. Then binding him they dragged
him with mockery to Angband.
$19. Great was the triumph of Morgoth. The bodies of his
enemies that were slain he let pile in a great mound in the midst of
the plain; and it was named Haud-na-Dengin, the Hill of Slain.
But grass came there and grew green upon that hill alone in all the
desert that Morgoth made; and no Orc thereafter trod upon the
earth beneath which the swords of the Gnomes crumbled into rust.
The realm of Fingon was no more, and the Sons of Feanor wan-
dered as leaves before the wind. To Hithlum none of the men of
Hador's house returned, nor any tidings of the battle and the fate
of their lords. But Morgoth sent thither Men who were under his
dominion, swarthy Easterlings; and he shut them in that land and
forbade them to leave it, and such was all the reward that he gave
them: to plunder and harass the old and the children and women-
folk of Hador's people. The remnant of the Elves of Hithlum he
took to the mines of Angband, and they became his thralls, save
some few that eluded him and wandered wild in the woods.
$20. But the Orcs went freely through all the North and came
ever further southward into Beleriand. Doriath yet remained, and
Nargothrond was hidden; but Morgoth gave small heed to them,
either because he knew little of them, or because their hour was
not yet come in the deep purposes of his malice. But the thought of
Turgon troubled him greatly; for Turgon came of the mighty
house of Fingolfin and was now by right the lord of all the
Gnomes. And Morgoth feared and hated most the house of
Fingolfin, both because they had scorned him in Valinor, and
because of the wounds that Fingolfin had given him in battle.
$21. Hurin was now brought before Morgoth, and defied him;
and he was chained and set in torment. But Morgoth remembered
that treachery, and the fear of treachery, alone would work the
final ruin of the Gnomes, and he thought to make use of Hurin.
Therefore he came to him where he lay in pain, and he offered to
him honour and freedom and both power and wealth, if he would
accept service in his armies and would lead a host against Turgon,
or even if he would reveal where that king had his secret strong-
hold. For he had learned that Hurin knew the secret of Turgon,
but kept it silent under oath. But Hurin the Steadfast mocked
him.
$22. Then Morgoth devised a cruel punishment; and taking
Hurin from prison he set him in a chair of stone upon a high place
of Thangorodrim. There he was bound by the power of Morgoth,
and Morgoth standing beside him cursed him with a curse of
unsleeping sight like unto the Gods, but upon his kin and seed he
laid a doom of sorrow and dark mischance.
$23. 'Sit now there,' said Morgoth, 'and behold the working of
the doom that I have appointed. For thou shalt see with my eyes,
and know with my thought, all things that befall those whom thou
lovest. But never shalt thou move from this place until all is
fulfilled unto its bitter end.' As so it came to pass; for Morgoth
kept life in Hurin. But it is not said that Hurin ever spoke in
pleading, either for death or for mercy upon himself or his
children.
Commentary on Chapter 16.
A comparison with Q $11 and AB 2 annal (272>) 472 will show that the
present text is very largely derived from these two sources, which are
interwoven. In the treatment of the part played by Turgon and the
people of Gondolin in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears the result of this
combination is (surprisingly) not entirely coherent, and this is discussed
in a note at the end of the Commentary.
$1. On the development of this paragraph see pp. 305 - 6. In the
sentence dwelt among the Green-elves secretly, the word secretly was
struck out and replaced by in Tol-galen the Green Isle; and Gwerth-i-
Cuina was changed to Gwerth-i-Guinar. These may have been much
later changes preparatory to the inclusion of the paragraph as the final
instalment of the QS manuscript (which has however Gyrth-i-
Guinar).
$3. It is not said elsewhere that 'Fingon issued from Hithlum' during
the initial period of warfare under the Union of Maidros in which the
Noldor were victorious.
The passage concerning the cynical and calculating Dwarves de-
rives closely from Q (IV. 116). Against it my father scribbled 'Not true
of Dwarvish attitude'; this, I feel sure, was put in long after. The
plural form Dwarfs associates the text with QS chapters 10 and 11 (see
the commentary on $ 122). It was used also in the manuscript QS(B) of
the tale of Beren and Luthien (p. 303).
$7. The wounding of Beren by Curufin, not mentioned in the Annals in
connection with the response of the Men of Brethil to the Union of
Maidros, reappears (see IV. 180 - 1), and 'only the half' of Haleth's
people came to the war, although in $13 (as in AB 2) 'most of the Men
of Brethil' were slain.
$8. Neither in Q nor in the Annals are the Green-elves of Ossiriand
mentioned among the forces of Maidros.
That the heralds were sent back bearing the head of the one who
had been executed is a new detail.
$13. The retreat of the western host towards the Pass of Sirion, and the
destruction of the Men of Brethil in the rearguard, is derived from the
Annals, not from Q.
An addition to AB 2 (note 22) gives a new annal: 436. Hundor son
of Haleth wedded Glorwendel daughter of Hador', and an addition
to the annal describing the Battle of Unnumbered Tears states:
'Glorwendel his wife died in that year of grief.' These are the first
allusions to this union between the House of Hador and the People of
Haleth. In The Silmarillion Hador's daughter is Gloredhel.
The number of a thousand Balrogs (found in both versions of the
Annals) was still present (see the commentary on $89). - After 'all
perished in that battle' the earlier text (C) has the addition 'defending
Maglor against the assault of Uldor', but this was not taken up in D. It
is not said in the Annals that Ulfast and Ulwar(th) were slain by the
sons of Bor ('ere they themselves fell'), but the reverse.
$17. Text D has Erydwethion in $$11 and 13, but Eredwethion here; C
has Eredwethion throughout.
$ 18. In Q the Dragon-helm, reappearing from the Lay of the Children of
Hurin, is first described at this point in the narrative (for Hurin was
not wearing it at the battle); but a note to Q postpones it to the tale of
Turin, as is done in this version.
$ 19. Haud-na-Dengin: C had Cum-na-Dengin (see note 37 to AB z),
changed to Amon Dengin (see IV. 146), with Haud na written above
Amon. This is the first occurrence of Haud-na-Dengin (the form in
text D); cf. Haudi Ndengin in the Etymologies, stems KHAG, NDAK.
Turgon's part in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
As noted above, the combination of Q and the Annals produced here a
most uncharacteristic incoherence. Turgon came forth from Gondolin
unlooked for and encamped on the plain before the western pass in sight
of the walls of Hithlum ($4); when the day was appointed 'Maidros sent
word to Fingon and Turgon', and the host of Gondolin was arrayed
under the standard of Fingon ($8); Turgon and Fingon became im-
patient and sent their heralds out onto the plain of Fauglith ($ 10). In all
this my father was closely following Q as emended (IV. 120-1, notes 7
and 14), where, as I suggested (IV. 181), there seems to be a stage
intermediate between the original story (in which Turgon was one of the
leaders of the Western Elves from the beginning of the preparations for
war) and that in The Silmarillion: '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.'
Then, in the present account, 'a great part' of Turgon's host joined in
the premature assault, though he would have restrained them if he could
($ 11). This is not in Q, which only further mentions Turgon as escaping
down Sirion. But then, Turgon 'sounded his horns', and 'a great part' of
his host that had remained in hiding before the Pass of Sirion and on the
borders of Taur-na-Fuin came forth unlooked for, so that many Orcs
were destroyed, caught between Turgon's army and that of Fingon
retreating southwards ($ 13). It seems that at this point my father went
over to the Annals; but they (both AB r and AB z) tell a different story
from that in Q. In the Annals, 'tidings came to Turgon' long before the
battle, and 'he prepared for war in secret' (annal 465 - 70, according to the
final dating); there is no suggestion of his playing any part at all until
Fingon, cut off from the passes of Eredwethion, retreated towards Sirion
- and then 'Turgon and the army of Gondolin sounded their horns, and
issued out of Taur-na-Fuin': they had been 'delayed by the deceit and
evil of the forest, but came now as help unlooked for.' There now took
place, in the Annals, the joyful meeting between Turgon and Hurin (the
story of Hurin's sojourn in Gondolin had not emerged when Q was
written). This meeting does not take place in the present account; for
they would have met again much earlier (when 'there was joy among the
people of Fingon, seeing their kinsfolk that had long been hidden', $4).
This chapter appears in subsequent amanuensis typescripts, but my
father never changed them or corrected them in any way.
17. OF TURIN TURAMARTH OR
TURIN THE HAPLESS.
The two manuscripts QS (C) and QS (D) continue into one further
chapter, and D extends somewhat further in it than does C (see
pp. 293 - 4). C is here extremely rough, and the text given is that of D,
since it followed C very closely and scarcely deviated from it save in small
points of expression. D was substantially corrected and added to, and the
concluding pages struck out in their entirety, but I believe that all this
belongs to a much later phase of work on the 'Turinssaga', and I give the
text as it was originally written.
This version of the story, so far as it goes, shows a huge expansion on
the very brief account in Q $ 12 - and would have run into the same
problem of length as did the QS version of the tale of Beren and Luthien.
The primary source for this chapter was in fact the Lay of the Children of
Hurin in the section Turin 's Fostering (III. 8 ff., and in the revised form
of the poem III. 104 ff.), which in turn derived quite closely from
the original story, the Tale of' Turambar. The later evolution of the
'Turinssaga' is as tangled as Taur-na-Fuin, and need not be in any way
considered here; but it may be noticed that the present chapter is not
(apart from a few phrases) the antecedent of the opening of chapter 21 in
The Silmarillion. On the other hand, it will be found that much of the
chapter is in fact preserved embedded in the Narn i Hin Hurin in
Unfinished Tales (from 'Now Turin was made ready for the journey',
p. 73), despite the introduction of several major new elements (the
history of the Dragon-helm, Nellas the friend of Turin's childhood, the
changed story of Orgof/Saeros, etc.).
The dependence of the new version on the Lay is in places close,
extending even to actual wording here and there; on the other hand some
features of the Lay are changed (as for example the taunting of Orgof ),
reduced (as the account of Orgof and his character), or omitted (as the
avenging wrath of Orgof's kinsmen and Thingol's placating gifts). But
the comparison between the two is now easily made, and I restrict the
commentary to a few particular points. The relation between the Lay and
the Narn is in any case studied in the commentary on the Lay (III.
24-8).
$24. Rian, daughter of Belegund, was the wife of Huor. When
no tidings came of her lord, she went forth, and her child Tuor
was born of her in the wild. He was taken to nurture by Dark-
elves; but Rian went to Haud-na-Dengin and laid her there and
died. But Morwen daughter of Baragund was wife of Hurin, and
she abode in Hithlum, for her son Turin was then seven years old,
and she went again with child. With her there remained only old
men, too aged for war, and maidens and young boys. Those days
were evil; for the Easterlings dealt cruelly with the people of
Hador and robbed them of all that they possessed and enslaved
them. But so great was the beauty and majesty of the Lady
Morwen that they were afraid and whispered among themselves,
saying that she was perilous and a witch skilled in magic and in
league with the Elves. Yet she was now poor and without aid, save
that she was succoured secretly by her kinswoman Airin, whom
Brodda had taken to wife. Brodda was mighty among the in-
coming Men, and wealthy (such as wealth was reckoned in that
time of ruin); for he had taken for his own many of the lands and
cattle of Hurin.
$25. Morwen could see no hope for her child Turin son of
Hurin but to become a churl or a servant of the Easterlings.
Therefore it came into her heart to send him away in secret and to
beg King Thingol to harbour him. For Beren son of Barahir was
her father's cousin, and had been, moreover, a friend of Hurin ere
evil befell. But she herself did not at that time venture forth from
Hithlum, for the road was long and perilous, and she was with
child. Also her heart still cheated her with hope, and she would
not yet leave the house in which she had dwelt with Hurin; and she
listened for the sound of his feet returning in the watches of the
night, for her inmost thought foreboded that he was not dead.
And though she was willing that her son might be fostered in the
halls of another after the manner of that time, if boys were left
fatherless, she would not humble her pride to be an almsguest
even of the King of Doriath. And thus was the fate of Turin
woven, which is full told in that lay which is called iChurinien, the
Children of Hurin, and is the longest of all the lays that speak of
those days. Here that tale is told in brief, for it is woven in with the
fate of the Silmarils and of the Elves; and it is called the Tale of
Grief, for it is sorrowful, and in it are revealed the worst of the
works of Morgoth Bauglir.
$26. It came to pass that on a day Turin was made ready for
the journey, and he understood not the purpose of his mother
Morwen, nor the grief that he saw upon her face. But when his
companions bade him turn and look upon the house of his father,
then the anguish of parting smote him like a sword, and he cried:
'Morwen, Morwen, when shall I see thee again?', and he fell upon
the grass. But Morwen standing on her threshold heard the echo
of that cry in the wooded hills, and she clutched the post of the
door so that her fingers were torn. This was the first of the sorrows
of Turin.
$27. After Turin was gone Morwen gave birth to her child,
and it was a maiden, and she named her Nienor, which is
Mourning. But Turin saw not his sister, for he was in Doriath
when she was born. Long and evil was the road thither, for the
power of Morgoth was ranging far abroad; but Turin had as
guides Gethron and Grithron, who had been young in the days of
Gumlin; and albeit they were now aged, they were valiant, and
they knew all the lands, for they had journeyed often through
Beleriand in former times. Thus by fate and courage they passed
over the Shadowy Mountains and came down into the vale of
Sirion and so to the Forest of Brethil; and at last weary and
haggard they reached the confines of Doriath. But there they
became bewildered, and were enmeshed in the mazes of the
Queen, and wandered lost amid the pathless trees, until all their
food was spent. There they came near to death, but not so light
was Turin's doom. Even as they lay in despair they heard a horn
sounded. Beleg the Bowman was hunting in that region, for he
dwelt ever upon the marches of Doriath. He heard their cries and
came to them, and when he had given them meat and drink he
learned their names and whence they came, and he was filled with
wonder and pity. And he looked with great liking upon Turin, for
he had the beauty of his mother Morwen Elfsheen and the eyes of
his father, and was sturdy and strong of limb and showed a stout
heart.
$28. 'What boon wouldst thou have of King Thingol?' said
Beleg to the boy. 'I would be a captain of his knights, and lead
them against Morgoth and avenge my father,' said Turin. 'That
may well be when the years have increased thee,' said Beleg. 'For
though thou art yet small, thou hast the makings of a valiant man,
worthy to be the son of Hurin the Steadfast, if that were possible.'
For the name of Hurin was held in honour in all the lands of the
Elves. Therefore Beleg gladly became the guide of the wanderers,
and he led them through the marches of the Hidden Kingdom,
which no mortal man before had passed save Beren only.
$29. Thus Turin came at last before Thingol and Melian; and
Gethron spoke the message of Morwen. Thingol received them
kindly, and he set Turin upon his knee in honour of Hurin the
mightiest of Men and of Beren his kinsman. And those that saw
this marvelled, for it was a sign that Thingol took Turin as foster-
son, and this was not at that time done by kings. 'Here, 0 son of
Hurin, shall thy home be,' said he; 'and thou shalt be held as my
son, Man though thou art. Wisdom shall be given thee beyond the
wit of mortals, and the weapons of the Elves shall be set in thy
hands. Perchance the time may come when thou shalt regain the
lands of thy father in Hithlum; but dwell now here in love.'
$30. Thus began the sojourn of Turin in Doriath. With him
for a while remained Gethron and Grithron his guardians, though,
they longed to return again to their lady, Morwen. Then age and
sickness came upon Grithron and he stayed beside Turin until he
died; but Gethron departed, and Thingol sent with him an escort
to guide him and guard him, and they brought words from
Thingol to Morwen. They came at last to the house of Morwen,
and when she learned that Turin was received with honour in the
halls of Thingol, her grief was lightened. And the Elves brought
also rich gifts from Melian, and a message bidding her return with
Thingol's folk to Doriath. For Melian was wise and foresighted,
and she hoped thus to avert the evil that was prepared in the
thought of Morgoth. But Morwen would not depart from her
house, for her heart was yet unchanged and her pride still high;
moreover Nienor was a babe in arms. Therefore she dismissed the
Elves with her thanks, and gave them in gift the last small things of
gold that remained to her, concealing her poverty; and she bade
them take back to Thingol the helm of Gumlin. And behold!
Turin watched ever for the return of Thingol's messengers; and
when they came back alone he fled into the woods and wept; for he
knew of Melian's bidding and had hoped that Morwen would
come. This was the second sorrow of Turin.
$31. When the messengers brought Morwen's answer, Melian
was moved with pity, perceiving her mind; and she saw that the
fate which she foreboded could not lightly be set aside. The helm
of Gumlin was given into Thingol's hands. It was made of grey
steel adorned with gold, and thereon were graven runes of victory.
A power was in it that guarded any who wore it from wound or
death, for the sword that hewed it was broken, and the dart that
smote it sprang aside. Upon this helm was set in mockery an image
of the head of Glomund the dragon, and oft had Gumlin borne it
to victory, for fear fell on those who looked upon it towering above
the heads of Men in battle. But the Men of Hithlum said: 'We have
a dragon of more worth than Angband hath.' This helm was
wrought by Telchar the dwarf-smith of Belegost, whose works
were renowned. But Hurin wore it not, in reverence of his father,
lest it should suffer hurt or be lost, so greatly did he treasure the
heirloom of Gumlin.
$32. Now Thingol had in Menegroth deep armouries filled
with great wealth of weapons; metal wrought like fishes' mail and
shining like water in the moon; swords and axes, shields and
helms, wrought by Telchar himself or by his master Zirak the old,
or by elven-wrights more skilful still. For many things he had
received in gift that came out of Valinor and were wrought by
Feanor in his mastery, than whom no craftsman was greater in all
the days of the world. Yet he handled the helm of Gumlin as
though his hoard were scanty, and spoke courteous words saying:
'Proud were the head that bore this helm, which Gumlin bore,
father of Hurin.'
$33. Then a thought came into his heart and he summoned
Turin, and he told him that Morwen had sent to her son a mighty
thing, the heirloom of his grandsire. 'Take now the Dragonhead
of the North,' he said, 'and when the time cometh, go wear it
well!' But Turin was yet too young to lift the helm, and he heeded
it not because of the sorrow of his heart.
$34. For nine years Turin lived in the halls of Thingol; and in
that time his grief grew less; for Thingol gained tidings of
Hithlum as he could, and messengers went at times between
Morwen and her son. Thus Turin learned that Morwen's plight
was bettered, and that his sister Nienor grew in beauty, a flower
among maidens in the grey North. Greatly he desired to see her.
$35. Meanwhile Turin grew, until while yet a boy his stature
was great among Men and surpassed that of the Elves of Doriath;
and his strength and courage were renowned in the realm of
Thingol. Much lore he learned, and was wise in word and crafty in
hand; yet fortune favoured him little, and oft what he wrought
went awry, and what he wished he did not gain. Neither did he
win friendship easily, for sorrow sat upon him, and his youth was
scarred. Now when he was seventeen years of age and upon the
threshold of manhood he was strong of arm and skilled with all
weapons, and in the weaving of words in song or tale he had a great
craft, whether in the tongue of the Noldor or of Doriath; but
mirth was not in his words or his works, and he brooded upon the
downfall of the Men of Hithlum.
$36. Still deeper became his grief when after nine years tidings
came no more from his home; for Morgoth's power was over the
land of Hithlum, and doubtless he knew much of all the doings of
Hurin's folk, and had not further molested them, so that his
design might be fulfilled. But now in pursuit of this purpose he set
a close watch upon all the passes in the mountains, so that none
might come out of Hithlum or enter into it; and the Orcs swarmed
about the sources of Narog and Taiglin and the upper waters of
Sirion. Thus there came a time when the messengers of Thingol
did not return, and he would send no more. He was ever loath to
let any stray beyond the guarded borders, and in nothing had
shown greater goodwill to Turin than in sending his people
through many perils to Morwen.
$37. Now the heart of Turin grew grim and heavy, for he knew
not what evil was afoot, or what dire fate had befallen Morwen and
Nienor. Therefore he put on the helm of Gumlin, and taking mail
and sword and shield he went to Thingol, and begged him to give
him Elf-warriors for his companions; and he went to the marches
of the land and made war upon the Orcs. Thus while yet a boy in
years his valour was proved; for he did many daring deeds. His
wounds were many by spear, or arrow, or the crooked blades of
Angband; but his doom delivered him from death. And word ran
through the woods that the Dragon-helm was seen again in battle;
and Men said: 'Who hath waked from death the spirit of Gumlin,
or hath Hurin of Hithlum indeed returned from the pits of hell?'
$38. One only was there mightier in war at that time than the
boy Turin, and that was Beleg the Bowman; and they became
friends and companions in arms, and walked far and wide in the
wild woods together. Turin came seldom to the halls of Thingol,
and he cared no longer for his looks or raiment, but was unkempt
of hair and his mail was covered with a grey cloak stained with the
weather. But on a time it chanced that Thingol summoned him to
a feast, to do him some honour for his prowess; and Turin came
and sat at the table of the king. And at the same table sat one of the
Dark-elves, Orgof by name, and he was proud and was no lover of
Men, and thought that Turin had slighted him; for Turin would
oft make no answer to words that others spoke to him, if sorrow or
brooding were on him. And now as they sat and drank Orgof spoke
across the board to Turin, and Turin heeded him not, for his
thought was upon Beleg whom he had left in the woods. Then
Orgof took out a golden comb and cast it towards Turin, and he
cried: 'Doubtless, Man of Hithlum, you came in great haste to this
feast and may be excused thy ragged cloak; but there is no need to
leave thy head untended like a thicket of brambles. And maybe if
thy ears were uncovered thou wouldst hear somewhat better.'
$39. Then Turin said nought but turned his eyes upon Orgof,
and he being wroth was not warned by the light that was in them.
And he said to one that sat nigh him: 'If the Men of Hithlum are so
wild and fell, of what sort are women of that land? Do they run like
the deer, clad only in their hair?'
$40. Then Turin, unwitting of his growing strength, took up a
drinking vessel and cast it in Orgof's face, and he fell backwards
and died, for the vessel was heavy and his face was broken. But
Turin, grown suddenly cold, looked in dismay at the blood upon
the board, and knowing that he had done grievous offence he rose
straightway and went from the hall without a word; and none
hindered him, for the king was silent and gave no sign. But Turin
went out into the darkness, and he fell into a grim mood, and
deeming himself now an outlaw whom the king would pursue he
fled far from Menegroth, and passing the borders of the realm he
gathered to himself a company of such houseless and desperate
folk as could be found in those evil days lurking in the wild; and
their hands were turned against all whom came in their path,
Elves, Men, or Orcs.
Commentary on Chapter 17.
In the title of the chapter (which has in fact no number in either C or D)
Turamarth is emended from Turumarth; the same change in Q (IV. 131
note 12).
$24. Haud-na-Dengin: C has here Amon Dengin; cf. the commentary
on chapter 16, $19,
$25. In Q it is said that the fate of Turin is told in the 'Children of
Hurin', which is certainly a reference to the alliterative Lay, though
that had been abandoned several years before; now the Lay is ex-
pressly mentioned, and given the Elvish name iChurinien. This form
is a further example of the phenomenon of 'Initial Variation of
Consonants' in Exilic Noldorin (see pp. 298, 301). The original
aspirated stops ph, th, kh were 'opened', and Ah became the spirant [x]
(as in Scottish loch), represented as ch; this sound remained medially,
but initially was reduced to [h]. Thus aran Chithlum 'King of
Hithlum' (Etymologies, stem TA-), iChurinien. It may be noted here
that later iChurinien was replaced by Narn i Chin Hurin, which is so
spelt at all occurrences, but was improperly changed by me to Narn i
Hin Hurin in Unfinished Tales (because I did not want Chin to be
pronounced like Modern English chin).
$27. Gethron and Grithron as the names of Turin's guides appear in
AB 2, annal (2730') 473. See under $30 below.
$28. Of the words between Beleg and Turin (preserved in the Narn,
p. 74) there is no suggestion in the Lay.
$30. In AB 2 it was Gethron who died in Doriath, Grithron who went
back (see the commentary on annal 273). - The gifts of Melian to
Morwen are not mentioned in the old versions.
$31. It is curious that whereas in the tale of Beren and Luthien in QS
Telchar is of Nogrod (p. 303), he now becomes a smith of Belegost, as
he had been in Q (IV. 118). - A new element in this passage is the
statement that Hurin never wore the Dragon-helm, and the reasons for
this; in Q he did not wear it 'that day' (i.e. at the Battle of Unnumbered
Tears), and in the Lay he often bore it into battle (line 314). In the
much enlarged account of the Helm found in the Narn Hurin's reasons
for not wearing it are quite different (Unfinished Tales p. 76).
$32. Here first appear Telchar's master Zirak, and the story that
Thingol possessed many treasures that had come from Valinor (both
preserved in the Narn).
$34. On the 'betterment' of Morwen's plight see II. 127.
$35. Dates in Turin's early life. According to the (later) dating of AB 2,
Turin was born in the winter of 465, and departed for Doriath in 473,
when he was seven years old (as is said here in $24); in 481 all tidings
out of Hithlum ceased, and he being 'in his sixteenth year' went to war
on the marches (his sixteenth birthday fell in the winter of that year).
In the present text, however, the dates appear to be different by a year.
The reference in $35 to his being seventeen is presumably made
because it was then that he went out to fight; and in $$36-7 the ending
of news from Hithlum and his going to the marches took place 'after
nine years' (i.e. from his coming to Doriath).
The supposition must be that Turin had acquired a knowledge of
the Noldorin tongue from the Noldor in Hithlum - or perhaps rather
from his father and mother - while he was a child.
$38. In the Tale and the Lay Turin's peculiar gloominess on that night
was caused by its being the twelfth anniversary of his departure from
Hithlum.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE
QUENTA SILMARILLION.
There remains one further text to be considered within the framework of
the Quenta Silmarillion. This is a clear manuscript very similar in style
to QS(D), which has been followed to its conclusion in the last chapter,
and may conveniently be called 'QS(E)' or 'E'. The first page is num-
bered '55', and it begins in the middle of a sentence: and they looked
upon the Lonely Isle and there they tarried not', which will be found in
the second version of Q (Q II) $ 17, IV. 153. The passage describes the
voyage of Earendel and Elwing to Valinor:
they came to the Enchanted Isles and escaped their enchantment; and
they came into the Shadowy Seas and passed their shadows; [here
page 54 of the Q II typescript ends and page 55 begins] and they
looked upon the Lonely Isle and they tarried not there...
This manuscript E is in fact a further version of the conclusion of Q: and
the question arises, when was it written? A note on a page found with Q
provides, I think, a clear answer. This says: 36 - 54 is still included in
main version, being unrevised.' Now on p. 36 of the Q typescript occurs
the sentence (IV. 123):
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.
This is the antecedent of the sentence which ends the QS(D) version of
the tale of Turin (p. 321); and at this point on the Q typescript a line is
drawn across, separating what precedes from what follows.
By 'main version' my father probably meant the Quenta Noldorinwa,
the implication being that the narrative from Turin's outlawry to the
voyage of Earendel to Valinor (i.e. pages 36 - 54 in the Q typescript) had
tet been rewritten, and so was absent from the Quenta Silmarillion (QS)
and still only found in the Quenta Noldorinwa (Q). I think therefore
that it is certain that the text QS(E) now to be given belongs to the same
period (i.e. immediately before the commencement of The Lard of the
Rings) as the other chapters (the end of 'Beren and Tinuviel', the Battle
Of Unnumbered Tears, the beginning of 'Turin') that belong with the
QS manuscript but were not written into it (or, in the case of the last part
of 'Beren and Tinuviel', not till long after).* Why my father should have
jumped to the end in this way, taking up in mid-sentence, I cannot at all
explain.
It is seen then that at the period with which this book is concerned the
missing parts of the QS narrative were the greater part of the tale of
Turin, the destruction of Doriath, the fall of Gondolin, and the earlier
part of the tale of Earendel. But my father never returned to these tales
(in the strictly 'Silmarillion' tradition: the Turin story was of course
enormously developed later, and some slight elaboration is found else-
where for the other parts. The Grey Annals were abandoned at the end of
the tale of Turin, and the later tale of Tuor (given in Unfinished Tales)
before Tuor came to Gondolin).
The manuscript E was emended, frequently but not radically, at
different times: some changes were made at or very near the time of its
original composition (and these are adopted silently into the text);
others, made very roughly in pencil, are clearly from long after (and
these are not mentioned here).
The text is closely related to Q II, $$17 - 19, and for substantial
stretches, especially towards the end, the earlier work was followed with
unusual fidelity: thus for example the Second Prophecy of Mandos,
with its mysterious elements, was repeated virtually without change. Of
course, the later emendations made to Q I I and given in the notes to that
text were, according to my father's usual practice, preparatory to the
present version, and very likely belong to this time: the amount of change
is therefore, to appearance, diminished, as between the material given in
Vol. IV and the present chapter. It would have been possible to restrict
the text printed here to those passages which differ significantly from
Q II (as revised), but I have thought it best to give it in its entirety. The
very fact that the end of 'The Silmarillion' still took this form when The
Lord of the Rings was begun is sufficiently remarkable, and by its
inclusion in full a complete view of the Matter of Middle-earth and
Valinor at that time is provided.
The numbering of the paragraphs begins again here from $1.
$1. And they looked upon the Lonely Isle and there they
tarried not; and at the last they cast anchor in the Bay of Elven-
home 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, alone of
living Men, landed on the immortal shores; and he said to Elwing
and to those that were with him, three mariners who had sailed all
the seas beside him, and Falathar, Airandir, and Erellont were
(* The existence of the rewritten conclusion should have been mentioned in the
footnote to III. 366.)
their names: Here shall none but myself set foot, lest you fall
under the wrath of the Gods and the doom of death; for it is
forbidden. But that peril I will take on myself for the sake of the
Two Kindreds.'
And Elwing answered: 'Then shall our paths be sundered
for ever. Nay, all thy perils I will take on myself also! ' And she
leaped into the white foam and ran towards him; but Earendel was
sorrowful, for he deemed that they would now both die ere many
days were past. And there they bade farewell to their companions
and were taken from them for ever.
$3. And Earendel said to Elwing: 'Await me here; for one only
may bear the messages that I am charged with'; and he went up
alone into the land, and it seemed to him empty and silent. For
even as Morgoth and Ungoliante came in ages past, so now
Earendel had come at a time of festival, and wellnigh all the
Elvenfolk were gone to Valinor, or were gathered in the halls of
Manwe upon Taniquetil, and few were left to keep watch upon the
walls of Tun.
$4. These watchers rode therefore in great haste to Valmar;
and all the bells in Valmar pealed. But Earendel climbed the great
green hill of Kor and found it bare; and he entered into the streets
of Tun and they were empty; and his heart was heavy, for he
feared that some evil had come even to the Blessed Realm. He
walked now in the deserted ways of Tun, and the dust upon his
raiment and his shoes was a dust of diamonds, and he shone and
glistened as he climbed the long white stairs. And he called aloud
in many tongues, both of Elves and Men, but there were none to
answer him. Therefore he turned back at last towards the shores,
thinking to set sail once more upon Vingelot his ship and abandon
his errand, and live for ever upon the sea. But even as he took the
shoreward road and turned his face away from the towers of Tun
one stood upon the hill and called to him in a great voice, crying:
'Hail Earendel, radiant star, 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,
splendour of the children of the world, slayer of the dark! Star of
the sunset, hail! Hail, herald of the morn! '
$5. And that was the voice of Fionwe son of Manwe; and he
came from Valmar and he summoned Earendel to come before the
Gods. And Earendel went to Valinor and to the halls of Valmar,
and never again set foot upon the lands of Men. There before the
faces of the undying Gods he stood, and delivered the errand of
the Two Kindreds. Pardon he asked for the Noldor and pity for
their great sorrows, and mercy upon unhappy Men and succour in
their need. And his prayers were granted.
$6. Then the sons of the Valar prepared for battle, and the
captain of their host was Fionwe son of Manwe. Beneath his white
banner marched also the Lindar, the Light-elves, the people of
Ingwe; and among them were also those of the Noldor of old who
had never departed from Valinor, and Ingwiel son of Ingwe was
their chief. But remembering the slaying at the Swan-haven and
the rape of their ships, few of the Teleri were willing to go forth to
war; but Elwing went among them, and because she was fair and
gentle, and was come also upon her father's side from Thingol
who was of their own kindred, they harkened to her; and they sent
mariners sufficient to man and steer the ships upon which most of
that army was borne east oversea; but they stayed aboard their
ships and none ever set foot upon the shores of the Hither Lands.
And thus it was that Elwing came among the Teleri.
Earendel was long time gone and she became lonely and afraid;
and she wandered along the margin of the sea, singing sadly to
herself; and so she came to Alqualonde, the Swan-haven, where
lay the Telerian fleets; and there the Teleri befriended her. When
therefore Earendel at last returned, seeking her, he found her
among them, and they listened to her tales of Thingol and Melian
and the Hidden Kingdom, and of Luthien the fair, and they were
filled with pity and wonder.
$8. Now the Gods took counsel concerning Earendel, and they
summoned Ulmo from the deeps; and when they were gathered
together Mandos spoke, saying: 'Now he shall surely die, for he has
trodden the forbidden shores.' But Ulmo said. "For this he was born
into the world. And say unto me: whether is he Earendel Tuor's son
of the line of Hador, or Idril's son Turgon's daughter of the Elven-
house of Finwe? Or being half of either kindred, which half shall
die?' And Mandos answered: 'Equally was it forbidden to the
Noldor that went wilfully into exile to return hither.'
$9. Then Manwe gave judgement and he said: 'To Earendel I
remit the ban, and the peril that he took upon himself out of love
for the Two Kindreds shall not fall on him; neither shall it fall
upon Elwing who entered into peril for love of Earendel: save only
in this: they shall not ever walk again among Elves or Men in the
Outer Lands. Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in
whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be
granted to them; but in this matter the power of doom is given to
me. This is my decree: to Earendel and to Elwing and to their sons
shall be given leave each to choose freely under which kindred
they shall be judged.'
$10. Then Earendel and Elwing were summoned, and this
decree was declared to them. But Earendel said to Elwing:
'Choose thou, for now I am weary of the world.' And she chose to
be judged among the Firstborn, because of Luthien, and for the
sake of Elwing Earendel chose alike, though his heart was rather
with the kindred of Men and the people of his father.
$11. The Gods then sent Fionwe, and he came to the shore
where the companions of Earendel still remained, awaiting
tidings. And Fionwe took a boat and set therein the three
mariners, and the Gods drove them away East with a great wind.
But they took Vingelot, and they hallowed it, and they bore it
away through Valinor to the uttermost rim of the world, and there
it [added: passed through the Door of Night and] was lifted up
even into the oceans of heaven. Now fair and marvellous was that
vessel made, and it was filled with a wavering flame, pure and
bright; and Earendel the mariner sat at the helm, glistening with
dust of elven-gems; and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow.
Far he journeyed in that ship, even into the starless voids; but
most often was he seen at morning or at eve, glimmering in sunrise
or sunset, as he came back to Valinor from voyages beyond the
confines of the world.
$12. On those journeys Elwing did not go, for she had not the
strength to endure the cold and pathless voids, and she loved
rather the earth and the sweet winds that blow on sea and hill.
Therefore she let build for her a white tower upon the borders of
the outer world, in the northern region of the Sundering Seas; and
thither all the sea-birds of the earth at times repaired. And it is said
that Elwing learned the tongues and lore of birds, who had herself
once worn their shape; and she devised wings for herself of white
and silver-grey, and they taught her the craft of flight. And at
whiles, when Earendel returning drew near again to earth, she
would fly to meet him, even as she had flown long ago, when she
was rescued from the sea. Then the farsighted among the Elves
that dwelt most westerly in the Lonely Isle would see her like a
white bird, shining, rose-stained in the sunset, as she soared in joy
to greet the coming of Vingelot to haven.
$13. Now when first Vingelot was set to sail on the seas of
heaven, it rose unlooked-for, glittering and bright; and the folk of
earth beheld it from afar and wondered, and they took it for a sign
of hope. And when this new star arose in the West, Maidros said
unto Maglor: 'Surely that is a Silmaril that shineth in the sky?'
And Maglor said: If it be verily that Silmaril that we saw cast into
the sea that riseth again by the power of the Gods, then let us be
glad; for its glory is seen now by many, and is yet secure from all
evil.' Then the Elves looked up, and despaired no longer; but
Morgoth was filled with doubt.
Yet it is said that Morgoth looked not for the assault that
came upon him from the West. So great was his pride become that
he deemed that none would ever again come up with open war
against him. Moreover he thought that he had for ever estranged
the Gnomes 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 to him that is pitiless the deeds of pity are
ever strange and beyond reckoning.
$15. Of the march of the host of Fionwe to the North little is
said in any tale; for in his armies went none of those Elves who had
dwelt and suffered in the Hither Lands, and who made the
histories of those days that still are known; and tidings of these
things they learned long afterward from their kinsfolk, the Light-
elves of Valinor. But at the last Fionwe came up out of the West,
and the challenge of his trumpets filled the sky; and he summoned
unto him all Elves and Men from Hithlum unto the East; and
Beleriand was ablaze with the glory of his arms, for the sons of the
Gods were young and fair and terrible, and the mountains rang
beneath their feet.
$16. The meeting of the hosts of the West and of the North is
named the Great Battle, the Battle Terrible, and the War of
Wrath. There was marshalled the whole power of the Throne of
Morgoth, and it had become great beyond count, so that Dor-na-
Fauglith could not contain it, and all the North was aflame with
war. But it availed not. The Balrogs were destroyed, save some
few that fled and hid themselves in caverns inaccessible at the
roots of the earth. The uncounted legions of the Orcs perished like
straw in a great fire, or were swept like shrivelled leaves before a
burning wind. Few remained to trouble the world for long years
after. And it is said that all that were left of the three Houses of the
Elf-friends, Fathers of Men, fought for Fionwe; and they were
avenged upon the Orcs in those days for Baragund and Barahir,
Gumlin and Gundor, Huor and Hurin, and many others of their
lords; and so were fulfilled in part the words of Ulmo, for by
Earendel son of Tuor help was brought unto the Elves, and by the
swords of Men they were strengthened on the fields of war. But
the most part of the sons of Men, whether of the people of Uldor or
others newcome out of the East, marched with the Enemy; and
the Elves do not forget it.
$17. Then, seeing that his hosts were overthrown and his
power dispersed, Morgoth quailed, and he dared not to come
forth himself. But he loosed upon his foes the last desperate
assault that he had prepared, and out of the pits of Angband there
issued the winged dragons, that had not before been seen; for until
that day no creatures of his cruel thought had yet assailed the air.
So sudden and ruinous was the onset of that dreadful fleet that
Fionwe was driven back; for the coming of the dragons was like a
great roar of thunder, and a tempest of fire, and their wings were
of steel.
$18. Then Earendel came, shining with white flame, and
about Vingelot were gathered all the great birds of heaven, and
Thorondor was their captain, and there was battle in the air all the
day and through a dark night of doubt. And ere the rising of
the sun Earendel slew Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the
dragon-host, and he cast him from the sky, and in his fall the
towers of Thangorodrim were thrown down. Then the sun rose,
and the Children of the Valar prevailed, and all the dragons were
destroyed, save two alone; and they fled into the East. Then all the
pits of Morgoth were broken and unroofed, and the might of
Fionwe descended into the deeps of the earth. And there Morgoth
stood at last at bay, and yet unvaliant. He fled into 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 he was
bound with the chain Angainor, which long had been prepared;
and his iron crown they beat into a collar for his neck, and his head
was bowed upon his knees. But Fionwe took the two Silmarils
which remained and guarded them.
$19. Thus an end was made of the power of Angband in the
North, and the evil realm was brought to nought; and out of the
pits and deep prisons a 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 asunder, and the
sea roared in through many chasms, and there was confusion and
great noise; and rivers perished or found new paths, and the
valleys were upheaved and the hills trod down; and Sirion was no
more. Then Men, such as had not perished in the ruin of those
days, fled far away, and it was long ere any came back over
Eredlindon to the places where Beleriand had been.
$20. But Fionwe marched through the western lands sum-
moning the remnant of the Noldor, and the Dark-elves that had
not yet looked on Valinor, to join with the thralls released and to
depart from Middle-earth. But Maidros would not harken, and he
prepared, though now with weariness and loathing, to attempt in
despair the fulfilment of his oath. For Maidros would have given
battle for the Silmarils, were they withheld, ever. against the
victorious host of Valinor and the might and splendour of the sons
of the Gods: even though he stood alone in all the world. And he
sent a message unto Fionwe, bidding him yield up now those
jewels which of old Feanor made and Morgoth stole from him.
$21. But Fionwe said that the right to the work of their hands,
which Feanor and his sons formerly possessed, had now perished,
because of their many and merciless deeds, being blinded by their
oath, and most of all because of the slaying of Dior and the assault
upon Elwing. The light of the Silmarils should go now to the
Gods, whence it came in the beginning; and to Valinor must
Maidros and Maglor return and there abide the judgement of the
Valar, by whose decree alone would Fionwe yield the jewels from
his charge.
$22. Maglor desired indeed to submit, for his heart was
sorrowful, 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 in peace.' But Maidros said that, if
once they returned and the favour of the Gods were withheld from
them, then their oath would still remain, but its fulfilment be
beyond all hope. '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 holy realm? ' And Maglor said: 'Yet if
Manwe and Varda themselves deny the fulfilment of an oath to
which we named them in witness, is it not made void?' And
Maidros answered: 'But how shall our voices reach to Iluvatar
beyond the circles of the World? And by Him we swore in our
madness, and called the Everlasting Darkness upon us, if we kept
not our word. Who shall release us?' 'If none can release us,' said
Maglor, 'then indeed the Everlasting Darkness shall be our lot,
whether we keep our oath or break it; but less evil shall we
do in the breaking.' Yet he yielded to the will of Maidros, and
they took counsel together how they should lay hands on the
Silmarils.
$23. And so it came to pass that they came in disguise to the
camps of Fionwe, and at night they crept in to the places where the
Silmarils were guarded, and they slew the guards, and laid hands
upon the jewels; and then, since all the camp was roused against
them, they prepared to die, defending themselves until the last.
But Fionwe restrained his folk, and the brethren departed un-
fought, and fled far away. Each took a single Silmaril, for they
said: Since one is lost to us, and but two remain, and two
brethren, so is it plain that fate would have us share the heirlooms
of our father.'
$24. But the jewel burned the hand of Maidros in pain un-
bearable (and he had but one hand, as has before been told); and
he perceived 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 the Silmaril that he bore was taken into the
bosom of Earth.
$25. And it is told of Maglor that he could not endure the pain
with which the Silmaril tormented him; and he cast it at last into
the sea, and thereafter he wandered ever upon the shores 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 people of
the Elves. And thus it came to pass that the Silmarils found their
long homes: one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires of the
heart of the world, and one in the deep waters.
$26. In those days there was a great building of ships upon 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 companies of the Dark-elves of Doriath and
Ossiriand, set sail into the West and came never again into the
lands of weeping and of war. But the Lindar the Light-elves,
marched back beneath the banners of their king, and they were
borne in triumph unto Valinor. Yet their joy in victory was
diminished, for they returned without the Silmarils and the light
before the Sun and Moon, and they knew that those jewels could
not be found or brought together again until the world was broken
, and re-made anew.
$27. And when they came into the West the Gnomes for the
most part rehabited the Lonely Isle, that looks both West and
East; and that land became very fair, and so remains. But some
returned even to Valinor, as all were free to do who willed; and
there 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.
$28. Yet not all the Eldalie were willing to forsake the Hither
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 in the Land of Leithien. And among these were
Maglor, as hath been told; and with him for a while was Elrond
Halfelven, who chose, as was granted to him, to be among the Elf-
kindred; but Elros his brother chose to abide with Men. And from
these brethren alone the blood of the Firstborn and the seed divine
of Valinor have come among Mankind: for they were the sons of
Elwing, Dior's daughter, Luthien's son, child of Thingol and
Melian; and Earendel their sire was Idril's son Celebrindal, the
fair maid of Gondolin. But ever as the ages drew on and the Elf-
folk faded upon earth, they would set sail at eve from the western
shores of this world, as still they do, until now there linger few
anywhere of their lonely companies.
$29. This was the doom of the Gods, when Fionwe and the
sons of the Valar returned to Valmar and told of all the things that
had been done. Thereafter the Hither Lands of Middle-earth
should be for Mankind, the younger children of the world; but to
the Elves, the Firstborn, alone should the gateways of the West
stand ever open. And if the Elves would not come thither and
tarried in the lands 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 other evils that he had devised or
nurtured lived on, although he himself was taken away; and Orcs
and Dragons, breeding again in dark places, became names of
terror, and did evil deeds, as in sundry regions they still do; but
ere the End all shall perish. But Morgoth himself the Gods thrust
through the Door of Night into the Timeless 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.
$30. Yet the lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Mor-
goth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts
of Elves and Men are a seed that doth not die and cannot by the
Gods be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and bears
dark fruit even to these latest days. Some say also that Morgoth
himself has at times crept back, secretly as a cloud that cannot be
seen, and yet is venomous, surmounting the Walls, and visiting
the world to encourage his servants and set on foot evil when all
seems fair. But others say that this is the black shadow of Sauron,
whom the Gnomes named Gorthu, who served Morgoth even in
Valinor and came with him, and was the greatest and most evil
of his underlings; and Sauron fled from the Great Battle and
escaped, and he dwelt in dark places and perverted Men to his
dreadful allegiance and his foul worship.
$31. Thus spake Mandos in prophecy, when the Gods sat in
judgement in Valinor, and the rumour of his words was whispered
among all the Elves of the West. When the world is old and
the Powers grow weary, then Morgoth, seeing that the guard
sleepeth, shall come back through the Door of Night out of the
Timeless Void; and he shall destroy the Sun and Moon. But
Earendel shall descend upon him as a white and searing flame and
drive him from the airs. Then shall the Last Battle be gathered on
the fields of Valinor. In that day Tulkas shall strive with Morgoth,
and on his right hand shall be Fionwe, and on his left Turin
Turambar, son of Hurin, coming from the halls of Mandos; and
the black sword of Turin shall deal unto Morgoth his death and
final end; and so shall the children of Hurin and all Men be
avenged.
$32. Thereafter shall Earth be broken and re-made, and the
Silmarils shall be recovered out of Air and Earth and Sea; for
Earendel shall descend and surrender that flame which he hath
had in keeping. Then Feanor shall take the Three Jewels and bear
them to 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
shall go out over all the world. In that light the Gods will grow
young again, 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 of Mandos doth not speak, and no Man it
names, save Turin only, and to him a place is given among the
sons of the Valar.
$33. Here endeth The Silmarillion: which is drawn out in
brief from those songs and histories which are yet sung and told by
the fading Elves, and (more clearly and fully) by the vanished
Elves that dwell now upon the Lonely Isle, Tol Eressea, whither
few mariners of Men have ever come, save once or twice in a long
age when some man of Earendel's race hath passed beyond the
lands of mortal sight and seen the glimmer of the lamps upon the
quays of Avallon, and smelt afar the undying flowers in the meads
of Dorwinion. Of whom was Eriol one, that men named AElfwine,
and he alone returned and brought tidings of Cortirion to the
Hither Lands.
Commentary on the conclusion of the Quenta Silmarillion.
[All references to Q are to the second version, Q II.]
$1. After 'landed on the immortal shores' my father wrote (following Q,
IV. 153) 'and neither Elwing nor any of his three mariners would he
suffer to go with him, lest they fall under the wrath of the Gods', but
struck this out in the moment of composition and replaced it by the
passage given. The three mariners were not named in Q, where it is
only said that Earendel had a 'small company'. Cf. The last Road p. 60
and note 8.
$2. The story here of Elwing's leaping into the surf in the Bay of
Elvenhome, and (in $3) of Earendel's command to her to stay by the
shores and await his return, is changed from that found in revisions to
the text of Q (IV. 156), where Elwing was sundered for ever from
Earendel (see IV. 197 - 8).
$6. It is notable that the Lindar are here (and again in $$15, 26) called
the 'Light-elves', this being a reversion to the earlier application of the
term. At the beginning of QS ($$25, 40) the Lindar are the 'High
Elves', and 'the Lindar and the Noldor and the Teleri are named the
Light Elves' ($29), thus distinguished from the 'Dark Elves' who
never passed over the sea to Valinor.
The words 'and Ingwiel son of Ingwe was their chief' first appear in
an addition to Q (IV. 156 note 19). I suggested (IV. 196) that what my
father really meant was that Ingwiel was the chief of the Lindar,
among whom went the Noldor of Valinor; not that Ingwiel was the
leader of the Noldor themselves - that was Finrod (later Finarfin).
$$6 - 7. A new element in the story is the sojourn of Elwing among the
Teleri; the implication is clearly that the Teleri were influenced by her
in providing their ships and mariners. Elwing was the great-grand-
niece of Elwe Lord of Alqualonde. In AB z (annal 333 - 4.3), following
AB 1, none of the Teleri left Valinor, though 'they built a countless
multitude of ships.'
$$8 - 11. Wholly new is the matter of the council of the Gods, the decree
of Manwe declared to Earendel and Elwing, their choices of fate, and
the despatch of the three mariners eastwards with a great wind. - On
'the forbidden shores' and the Ban of the Valar see the commentary on
The Fall of Numenor I, $4.
$9. It is to be observed that according to the judgement of Manwe Dior
Thingol's Heir, son of Beren, was mortal irrespective of the choice of
his mother.
$11. As Q II was originally written, Elwing devised wings for Earendel's
ship, whereby he sailed into the sky bearing the Silmaril ($17), but
after the Great Battle and the expulsion of Morgoth through the Door
of Night, because Earendel was scorched by the Sun and hunted by
the Moon, the Gods took his ship Wingelot and hallowed it, and
launched it through the Door of Night ($ 19). In view of the statement
in Q here that Earendel 'set sail into the starless vast... voyaging the
Dark behind the world', and in view also of the very explicit account of
the Door in the Ambarkanta (IV. 237) - it 'pierceth the Walls and
opens upon the Void' - I have supposed (IV. 203) that this act of the
Valar was to protect Earendel, by setting him to sail in the Void, above
the courses of the Sun and Moon and stars, where also he could
guard the Door against Morgoth's return.' In the same passage of the
Ambarkanta it is said that the Valar made the Door of Night 'when
Melko was overcome and put forth into the Outer Dark', and that it is
'guarded by Earendel'.
The passage in Q $17 was, however, revised (IV. 156 note 20), and
the launching of Wingelot by the Gods introduced at an earlier point in
the narrative, before the Great Battle, and so before the making of the
Door of Night (according to the Ambarkanta). It is not said in this
revised passage that Earendel passed through the Door, nor is it made
explicit into what high regions he passed: his ship 'was lifted even into
the oceans of the air'. This revision is taken up here in the present text,
and again (as originally written) the Door of Night is not mentioned:
the ship 'was lifted up even into the oceans of heaven' - and Earendel
journeyed far in it, 'even into the starless voids'. One could therefore
possibly accommodate the revised story of the launching of Earendel
in Vingelot to the Ambarkanta by supposing that it was no longer my
father's thought that he passed through the Door of Night (which was
not yet in existence): he did not pass into Ava-kuma, the Outer Dark,
but remained within 'the starless voids' of Vaiya. But this theory is
undone by my father's addition of the very words in question, 'passed
through the Door of Night', to the account. (This addition was not one
of those made at the time of the writing of the manuscript, but it was
made carefully in ink and does not belong with the rough alterations
made much later.) In any case the words 'as he came back to Valinor
from voyages beyond the confines of the world' suggest that he sailed
into the Void. It seems therefore only possible to explain this on the
assumption that the Ambarkanta conception had in this point been
abandoned, and that the Door of Night was already in existence before
Morgoth's great defeat.
$12. On the history of the white tower whither all the sea-birds of the
world at times repaired see IV. 197. In Q II as originally written it was
Earendel who built the tower; by the revision (IV. 156 note 20) it was
built by Elwing, who devised wings for herself in order to try to fly to
him, but in vain., and they are sundered till the world endeth.' Now the
story shifts again. Elwing still builds the tower, but it is added that she
learns the tongues of the birds and from them the craft of flight; and
she is not now parted for ever from Earendel after his transformation
into the Star: she rises to meet him from her tower as he returns from
his voyages beyond the confines of the world.
$15. A substantial space is left in the text after $15, and $15 begins with
an ornate initial, suggesting that my father foresaw the beginning of a
new chapter here. This was in fact inserted at the time of the late,
pencilled emendations: Of the Great Battle and the War of Wrath.
$$15 - 16. In the account of the Great Battle my father simply followed
the opening of Q II $18, though the outline of a much fuller tale had
appeared at the end of AB z: the landing of Ingwiel at Eglorest, the
Battle of Eglorest, Fionwe s camp by Sirion, the thunderous coming of
Morgoth over Taur-na-Fuin (this, if not actually excluded, at least
made to seem very improbable in Q and QS), and the long-contested
passage of Sirion.
$16. In my view there is no question that the words (not in Q) 'save
some few [Balrogs] that fled and hid themselves in caverns inaccessible
at the roots of the earth' preceded by a good while the Balrog of Moria
(there is in any case evidence that a Balrog was not my father's original
conception of Gandalf's adversary on the Bridge of Khazad-dum). It
was, I believe, the idea - first appearing here - that some Balrogs had
survived from the ancient world in the deep places of Middle-earth
that led to the Balrog of Moria. In this connection a letter of my
father's written in April 1954 (Letters no. 144, p. 180) is interesting:
[The Balrogs] were supposed to have been all destroyed in the
overthrow of Thangorodrim... But it is here found... that one had
escaped and taken refuge under the mountains of Hithaeglin [sic].
On the words 'all that were left of the three Houses of the Elf-friends,
Fathers of Men' see the commentary on The Fall of Numenor I, $1.
$18. On the retention of the motive of the birds that accompanied
Earendel (which arose from an earlier form of the legend) see IV. 203.
Thorondor as the captain of 'the great birds of heaven' is not named in
Q, which has here 'a myriad of birds were about him.'
$20. A further heading was pencilled in against the beginning of this
paragraph (see under $ 15 above): Of the Last End of the Oath of
Feanor and his Sons.
$22. The debate between Maglor and Maidros is articulated further
than it was in Q, with the last and wisest word to Maglor, though the
outcome is the same: for Maidros overbore him.
$26. A final heading was pencilled at the beginning of this paragraph: Of
the Passing of the Elves.
$28. On the earlier accounts of Elrond's choice see p. 23. Now there
appears both his changed decision, 'to be among the Elf-kindred', and
the choice of his brother Elros 'to abide with Men'. Elros has been
named in emendations to Q (IV. 155) and in later alterations to AB 2
(commentary on annal 325), and though these additions say nothing
about him he was obviously introduced into these texts after the legend
of Numenor had begun to develop. This is shown by the fact that still
in the second text of The Fall of Numenor it was Elrond the mortal who
was the first King of Numenor and the builder of Numenos ($2), and
Elros only appears in his place by emendation.
In view of the presence here of Elros beside Elrond - whereas Elros
is still absent in QS $87 - and the respective choices of the Half-elven,
it is perhaps surprising that in $16 my father made no mention of the
land of Numenor made for the Men of the Three Houses (see $$ 1 - 2 in
both FN I and FN II); still more so, that he followed Q so closely in
features where the 'intrusion' of Numenor had already introduced new
conceptions. Thus he still wrote here in $ 19 that after the Great Battle
'Men ... fled far away, and it was long ere any came back over
Eredlindon to the places where Beleriand had been', and in $26 of 'the
great building of ships upon 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.'
It is not easy to trace the evolution of my father's conception of the
survival of Beleriand (especially in relation to the destruction wrought
at the Downfall of Numenor, see pp. 153 - 4); but in the FN texts there
is clearly already a somewhat different view from that in Q. In FN II
(where as noted above Elros had not yet emerged and which must
therefore have preceded the present text) the story of the Last Alliance
was already developed ($14): Elendil the Numenorean, a king in
Beleriand,
took counsel with the Elves that remained in Middle-earth (and
these abode then mostly in Beleriand); and he made a league with
Gil-galad the Elf-king... And their armies were joined, and passed
the mountains and came into inner lands far from the Sea.
While the passages cited above from the present text are not in necess-
ary or explicit contradiction to this, they are hardly congruent with it.
The fact that my father later pencilled against $28 the names Gilgalad
and Lindon could indeed be taken at first sight as showing that the
conception of the undrowned land west of the Blue Mountains, and
the alliance between Men and Elves who dwelt there, arose after it was
written; but the evidence is decisive against this being the case.
I cannot offer any convincing explanation of this situation. It might
be suggested that my father had the conscious intent to represent
different and to some degree divergent 'traditions' concerning events
after the overthrow of Morgoth and the great departure of Elves into
the West; but this seems to me improbable. (On the name Lindon of
the undrowned land see pp. 31 - 4 and the commentary on QS $108.)
Idril's son Celebrindal is an old idiom = Idril Celebrindal's son.
$30. Notable, and disconcerting to the editor, is the form Melkor
(instead of Melko), which is quite certainly original here. I have said in
IV. 282 that 'Melkor for Melko was not introduced until 1951.' The
evidence for this lies in the note referred to on p. 294, which gives a list
of Alterations in last revision [i.e. of 'The Silmarillion'] 1951: these
include Aman, Arda, Atani / Edain, Ea, Eru, Melkor, and a few less
significant names. This important scrap of paper provides an external
date - rare good fortune in this study - by which pre- and post-Lord of
the Rings texts can often be distinguished; and the checks furnished by
it are in complete harmony with what may be more tentatively
deduced on other grounds. I have found nowhere any reason to
suspect that Aman, Arda, etc. were ever used in the pre-Lord of the
Rings period; and I therefore too readily assumed that the same was
true of Melkor (which differs from the others in that it is not an entirely
new name but only a new form), not having observed that it occurred
in the present passage as an original form. It is to be noted that Melko
was changed to Melkor on the Q-text at the same point (IV. 166
note 1).
No doubt the explanation of my father's including Melkor as an
alteration made in 1951 when he had used it long before is in fact quite
simple: he decided on Melkor at this time, and when he returned to
'The Silmarillion' after The Lord of the Rings was finished he used it in
his revisions and rewritings of QS, and it was therefore an alteration of,
1951. This is a good example of the traps that he most unwittingly laid,
and which I cannot hope to have evaded in more significant matters
than this.
The difficult passage concerning Morgoth's 'surmounting' the Walls
of the World survives from Q (IV. 164): see IV. 253.
Gorthu: thus the name Thu, compounded Gorthu, reappears as the
name of Sauron in the Noldorin tongue (see the Etymologies, stem
THUS). Gorthu has occurred in emendations to the Lay of Leithian
(III. 232 - 3), and in a change to the typescript text of FN II (p. 33). -
With the statement that Sauron served Morgoth in Valinor cf. QS
$143 and commentary ('Sauron was the chief servant of the evil Vala,
whom he had suborned to his service in Valinor from among the
people of the Gods'). In Q here 'others say that this is the black shadow
of Thu, whom Morgoth made', changed (IV. 166 note 3) to a reading
close to that of the present text.
$33. The quays of Avallon. At this time Avallon was a name of Tol
Eressea: 'the Lonely Island, which was renamed Avallon', FN II $1.
The meads of Dorwinion must be in Tol Eressea. The name has
previously occurred as a land of vines in 'the burning South' in the Lay
of the Children of Hurin, in the wine of Dorwinion in The Hobbit, and
as marked on the map made by Pauline Baynes; see III. 26, which
needs to be corrected by addition of a reference to this passage.
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