JRR Tolkien - The History of Middle Earth Series vol11 GL1
PART ONE.
THE
GREY ANNALS.
THE GREY ANNALS.
The history of the Annals of Beleriand began about 1930, when my
father wrote the earliest version ('AB 1') together with that of the
Annals of Valinor ('AV 1'). These were printed in Vol.IV, The Shaping
of Middle-earth; I remarked there that 'the Annals began, perhaps, in
parallel with the Quenta as a convenient way of driving abreast, and
keeping track of, the different elements in the ever more complex
narrative web.' Second versions of both sets of Annals were composed
later in the 1930s, as part of a group of texts comprising also the
Lhammas or Account of Tongues, a new version of the Ainulindale,
and the central work of that time: a new version of 'The Silmarillion'
proper, the unfinished Quenta Silmarillion ('QS'). These second
versions, together with the other texts of that period, were printed in
Vol.V, The Lost Road and Other Writings, under the titles The Later
Annals of Valinor ('AV 2') and The Later Annals of Beleriand ('AB 2').
When my father turned again, in 1950-1, to the Matter of the Elder
Days after the completion of The Lord of the Rings, he began new
work on the Annals by taking up the AV 2 and AB 2 manuscripts from
some 15 years earlier and using them as vehicles for revision and new
writing. In the case of AV 2, correction of the old text was limited to
the opening annals, and the beginnings of a new version written on the
blank verso pages of this manuscript likewise petered out very quickly,
so that there was no need to take much account of this preliminary
work (X.47). In AB 2, on the other hand, the preparatory stages were
much more extensive and substantial.
In the first place, revision of the original AB 2 text continues much
further - although in practice this can be largely passed over, since the
content of the revision appears in subsequent texts. (In some cases, as
noted in V.124, it is not easy to separate 'early' (pre-Lord of the Rings)
revisions and additions from 'late' (those of the early 1950s).) In the
second place, the beginning of a new and much fuller version of the
Annals of Beleriand on the blank verso pages of AB 2 extends for a
considerable distance (13 manuscript pages) - and the first part of this
is written in such a careful script, before it begins to degenerate, that it
may be thought that my father did not at first intend it as a draft. This
is entitled 'The Annals of Beleriand', and could on that account be
referred to as 'AB 3', but I shall in fact call it 'GA 1' (see below).
The final text is a good clear manuscript bearing the title 'The
Annals of Beleriand or the Grey Annals'. I have chosen to call this
work the Grey Annals, abbreviated 'GA', in order to mark its
distinctive nature in relation to the earlier forms of the Annals of
Beleriand and its close association with the Annals of Aman ('AAm'),
which also bears a title different from that of its predecessors. The
abandoned first version just mentioned is then more suitably called
'GA 1' than 'AB 3', since for most of its length it was followed very
closely in the final text, and is to be regarded as a slightly earlier
variant: it will be necessary to refer to it, and to cite passages from
it, but there is no need to give it in full. Where it is necessary to
distinguish the final text from the aborted version I shall call the
former 'GA 2'.
There is some evidence that the Grey Annals followed the Annals of
Aman (in its primary form), but the two works were, I feel certain,
closely associated in time of composition. For the structure of the
history of Beleriand the Grey Annals constitutes the primary text, and
although much of the latter part of the work was used in the published
Silmarillion with little change I give it in full. This is really essential on
practical grounds, but is also in keeping with my intention in this
'History', in which I have traced the development of the Matter of the
Elder Days from its beginning to its end within the compass of my
father's actual writings: from this point of view the published work is
not its end, and I do not treat his later writing primarily in relation to
what was used, or how it was used, in 'The Silmarillion'. - It is a most
unhappy fact that he abandoned the Grey Annals at the death of Turin
- although, as will be seen subsequently (pp. 251 ff.), he added
elements of a continuation at some later time.
I have not, as I did in the case of the Annals of Aman, divided the
Grey Annals into sections, and the commentary, referenced to the
numbered paragraphs, follows the end of the text (p. 103). Subsequent
changes to the manuscript, which in places were heavy, are indicated
as such.
At the top of the first page of the old AB 2 text, no doubt before he
began work on the enormously enlarged new version, my father
scribbled these notes: 'Make these the Sindarin Annals of Doriath and
leave out most of the...' (there are here two words that probably read
'Nold[orin] stuff'); and 'Put in notes about Denethor, Thingol, etc.
from AV'.
Two other elements in the complex of papers constituting the Grey
Annals remain to be mentioned. There are a number of disconnected
rough pages bearing the words 'Old material of Grey Annals' (see p.
29); and there is an amanuensis typescript in top copy and carbon that
clearly belongs with that of the Annals of Aman, which I tentatively
dated to 1958 (X.47).
THE ANNALS OF BELERIAND
OR
THE GREY ANNALS.
$1. These are the Annals of Beleriand as they were made by
the Sindar, the Grey Elves of Doriath and the Havens, and
enlarged from the records and memories of the remnant of the
Noldor of Nargothrond and Gondolin at the Mouths of Sirion,
whence they were brought back into the West.
$2. Beleriand is the name of the country that lay upon either
side of the great river Sirion ere the Elder Days were ended. This
name it bears in the oldest records that survive, and it is here
retained in that form, though now it is called Belerian. The
name signifies in the language of that land: the country of Balar.
For this name the Sindar gave to Osse, who came often to those
coasts, and there befriended them. At first, therefore, this name
was given to the land of the shores, on either side of Sirion's
mouths, that face the Isle of Balar, but it spread until it included
all the ancient coast of the North-west of Middle-earth south of
the Firth of Drengist and all the inner land south of Hithlum up
to the feet of Eryd Luin (the Blue Mountains). But south of the
mouths of Sirion it had no sure boundaries; for there were
pathless forests in those days between the unpeopled shores and
the lower waters of Gelion.
VY 1050.
$3. Hither, it is said, at this time came Melian the Maia from
Valinor, when Varda made the great stars. In this same time the
Quendi awoke by Kuivienen, as is told in the Chronicle of
Aman.
1080
$4. About this time the spies of Melkor discovered the
Quendi and afflicted them.
1085
$5. In this year Orome found the Quendi, and befriended
them.
1090
$6. At this time the Valar came hither from Aman for their
assault upon Melkor, whose stronghold was in the North
beyond Eryd Engrin (the Iron Mountains). In these regions,
therefore, were fought the first battles of the Powers of the West
and the North, and all this land was much broken, and it took
then that shape which it had until the coming of Fionwe. For the
Great Sea broke in upon the coasts and made a deep gulf to the
southward, and many lesser bays were made between the Great
Gulf and Helkaraxe far in the North, where Middle-earth and
Aman came nigh together. Of these bays the Bay of Balar was
the chief; and into it the mighty river Sirion flowed down from
the new-raised highlands northwards: Dorthonion and the
mountains about Hithlum. At first these lands upon either side
of Sirion were ruinous and desolate because of the War of the
Powers, but soon growth began there, while most of Middle-
earth slept in the Sleep of Yavanna, because the Valar of the
Blessed Realm had set foot there; and there were young woods
under the bright stars. These Melian the Maia fostered; and she
dwelt most in the glades of Nan Elmoth beside the River Celon.
There also dwelt her nightingales.
1102-5.
$7 Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe were brought to Valinor by
Orome as ambassadors of the Quendi; and they looked upon
the Light of the Trees and yearned for it. Returning they
counselled the Eldar to go to the Land of Aman, at the summons
of the Valar.
1115.
$8. Even as the Valar had come first to Beleriand as they
went eastward, so later Orome leading the hosts of the Eldar
westwards towards Aman brought them to the shores of
Beleriand. For there the Great Sea was less wide and yet free
from the perils of the ice that lay further north. In this year of
the Valar, therefore, the foremost companies of the Vanyar and
Noldor passed through the vale of Sirion and came to the
sea-coast between Drengist and the Bay of Balar. But because of
their fear of the Sea, which they had before neither seen nor
imagined, the Eldar drew back into the woods and highlands.
And Orome departed and went to Valinor and left them there
for a time.
1128.
$9. In this year the Teleri, who had lingered on the road,
came also at last over Eryd Luin into northern Beleriand. There
they halted and dwelt a while between the River Gelion and
Eryd Luin. At that time many of the Noldor dwelt westward of
the Teleri, in those regions where afterwards stood the forests of
Neldoreth and Region. Finwe was their lord, and with him Elwe
lord of the Teleri had great friendship; and Elwe was wont often
to visit Finwe in the dwellings of the Noldor.
1130.
$10. In this year King Elwe Singollo of the Teleri was lost in
the wilderness. As he journeyed home from a meeting with
Finwe, he passed by Nan Elmoth, and he heard the nightingales
of Melian the Maia, and followed them deep into the glades.
There he saw Melian standing beneath the stars, and a white
mist was about her, but the Light of Aman was in her face. Thus
began the love of Elwe Greymantle and Melian of Valinor.
Hand in hand they stood silent in the woods, while the wheeling
stars measured many years, and the young trees of Nan Elmoth
grew tall and dark. Long his people sought for Elwe in vain.
1132.
$11. Now Ulmo, at the command of the Valar, came to the
shores of Beleriand and summoned the Eldar to meet him;
and he spoke to them, and made music upon his conches, and
changed the fear of all who heard him into a great desire for the
Sea. Then Ulmo and Osse took an island, which stood far out in
the Sea, and they moved it, and brought it, as it were a mighty
ship, into the Bay of Balar; and the Vanyar and Noldor
embarked thereon, and were drawn over Sea, until they came at
last to the Land of Aman. But a part of that island which was
deep-grounded in the shoals off the mouths of Sirion was
broken away and remained; and this was the Isle of Balar to
which afterward Osse often came.
$12. For the Teleri had not embarked, but remained behind.
Many indeed were dwelling at that time afar off in eastern
Beleriand and heard the summons of Ulmo too late; and many
others searched still for Elwe their king, and were not willing to
depart without him. But when the Teleri learned that their
kinsfolk, the Vanyar and the Noldor, were gone, the most part
hastened to the shore and dwelt thereafter nigh the mouths of
Sirion, in longing for their friends that had left them. And they
took Olwe, Elwe's brother, for their lord. Then Osse and Uinen
came to them, and dwelt in the Isle of Balar, and became the
friends of the Teleri and taught them all manner of sea-lore and
sea-music.
1149-50.
$13. In this year Ulmo returned to Beleriand. To this he was
most moved by the prayers of the Noldor and of Finwe their
king, who grieved at their sundering from the Teleri, and
besought Ulmo to bring Elwe and his people to Aman, if they
would come. And all those who followed Olwe were now
willing to depart; but Osse was sad at heart. For he went seldom
to the shores of Aman, and loved the Teleri, and he was
ill-pleased that their fair voices should be heard no longer by the
strands of Middle-earth, which were his domain.
$14. Osse therefore persuaded many to remain in Beleriand,
and when King Olwe and his host were embarked upon the isle
and passed over the Sea they abode still by the shore; and Osse
returned to them, and continued in friendship with them. And
he taught to them the craft of shipbuilding and of sailing; and
they became a folk of mariners, the first in Middle-earth, and
had fair havens at Eglarest and Brithombar; but some dwelt still
upon the Isle of Balar. Cirdan the Shipwright was the lord of
this people, and all that shoreland between Drengist and Balar
that he ruled was called the Falas. But among the Teleri were
none yet so hardy of heart, and of their ships none so swift and
strong that they might dare the deeps of the Great Sea or behold
even from afar the Blessed Realm and the Light of the Trees of
Valinor. Wherefore those that remained behind were called
Moriquendi, Elves of the Dark.
1150.
$15. The friends and kinsfolk of Elwe also remained; but
they would fain have departed to Valinor and the Light of the
Trees (which Elwe indeed had seen), if Ulmo and Olwe had been
willing to tarry yet longer while they sought still for Elwe. But
when Ulmo had tarried a full Year (and a Year of the Valar is
in length well nigh as are ten of the years that now are) he
departed, and the friends of Elwe were left behind. Therefore
they called themselves the Eglath, the Forsaken People; and
though they dwelt in the woods and hills rather than by the Sea,
which filled them with sorrow, their inmost hearts yearned ever
Westward.
1152.
$16. At this time, it is told, Elwe Singollo awoke from his
long trance. And he came forth from Nan Elmoth with Melian,
and they dwelt thereafter in the woods in the midst of the land;
and though Elwe had greatly desired to see again the light of the
Trees, in the face of Melian the fair he beheld the Light of Aman
as in an unclouded mirror, and in that light he was content.
Then his folk gathered about him in joy; and they were amazed,
for fair and noble as he had been, now he appeared as it were a
lord of the Maiar, tallest of all the Children of Iluvatar, his hair
as grey silver, and his eyes like unto stars. King of the Eglath he
became, and Melian was his Queen, wiser than any daughter of
Middle-earth.
1200.
$17. It is not known to any among Elves or Men when
Luthien, only child of Elwe and Melian, came into the World,
fairest of all the Children of Iluvatar that were or shall be. But it
is held that it was at the end of the first age of the Chaining
of Melkor, when all the Earth had great peace and the glory of
Valinor was at its noon, and though Middle-earth for the most
[part] lay in the Sleep of Yavanna, in Beleriand under the power
of Melian there was life and joy and the bright stars shone like
silver fires. In the Forest of Neldoreth it is said that she was born
and cradled under the stars of heaven, and the white flowers of
niphredil came forth to greet her, as stars from the earth.
1200-50.
$18. In this time the power of Elwe and Melian reached over
all Beleriand. Elu Thingol he was called in the tongue of his
people, King Greymantle, and all the Elves of Beleriand from
the mariners of Cirdan to the wandering huntsmen of the Blue
Mountains took him for lord. And they are called, therefore, the
Sindar, the Grey Elves of starlit Berleriand. And albeit they were
Moriquendi, under the lordship of Thingol and the teaching of
Melian they became the fairest and the most wise and skilful of
all the Elves of Middle-earth.
1250.
$19. In this year the Norn-folk came first over the moun-
tains into Beleriand. This people the Noldor after named the
Naugrim, whom some Men call Dwarves. Their most ancient
dwellings were far to the East, but they had delved for
themselves great halls and mansions, after the manner of their
kind, on the east-side of Eryd Luin, north and south of Mount
Dolmed, in those places which the Eldar named Belegost and
Nogrod (but.they Gabilgathol and Tumunzahar). Thence they
now came forth and made themselves known to the Elves; and
the Elves were amazed, for they had deemed themselves to be
the only living things in Middle-earth that spoke with words or
wrought with hands; and that all others were beasts and birds
only.
$20. Nonetheless they could understand no word of the
tongue of the Naugrim, which to their ears was cumbrous and
unlovely; and few ever of the Eldar have achieved the mastery of
it. But the Dwarves were swift to learn (after a fashion), and
indeed were more willing to learn the Elven-tongue than to
teach to aliens their own; and soon there was much parley
between the peoples. Ever cool was their friendship, though
much profit they had one of the other. But at that time those
griefs that lay between them had not yet come to pass, and they
were welcomed by King Thingol.
$21. How the Dwarves came into the world the Eldar know
not for certain, though the loremasters have elsewhere recorded
the tales of the Naugrim themselves (such as they would reveal)
concerning their beginning. They say that Aule the Maker,
whom they call Mahal, brought them into being; and however
that may be, certain it is that they were great smiths and
masons, though of old there was little beauty in their works.
Iron and copper they loved to work more than silver or gold,
and stone more than wood.
1300.
Of the building of Menegroth.
$22. Now Melian had after the manner of the Maiar, the
people of Valinor, much foresight. And when two of the ages of
the Chaining of Melkor had passed, she counselled Thingol that
the Peace of Arda would not last for ever; and he therefore
bethought him how he should make for himself a kingly
dwelling, and a place that should be strong, if evil were to
awake again in Middle-earth. He called therefore upon the
Enfeng, the Longbeards of Belegost, whom he had befriended,
and sought their aid and counsel. And they gave it willingly, for
they were unwearied in those days, and eager for new works.
And though the Dwarves ever demanded a price for all that they
did, whether with delight or with toil, at this time they held
themselves paid. For Melian taught them much wisdom, which
they were eager to get; whereas Thingol rewarded them with
many fair pearls. These Cirdan gave to him, for they were got in
great number in the shallow waters about the Isle of Balar; but
the Naugrim had not before seen their like, and they held them
dear. And one there was great as a dove's egg, and its sheen
was as the starlight upon the foam of the sea; Nimphelos it
was named, and the chieftain of the Enfeng prized it above a
mountain of wealth.
$23. Therefore the Naugrim laboured long and gladly for
Thingol, and devised for him mansions after the fashion of their
folk, delved deep in the earth. Where the River Esgalduin
flowed down, dividing Neldoreth from Region, there was in the
midst of the forest a rocky hill, and the river ran at its feet.
There they made the gates of the halls of Thingol, and they built
a bridge of stone over the river, by which alone the gates could
be entered. But beyond the gates wide passages ran down to
high halls and chambers far below that were hewn in the living
stone, so many and so great that that dwelling was named
Menegroth, the Thousand Caves.
$24. But the Elves also had part in that labour, and Elves
and Dwarves together, each with their own skills, there wrought
out the visions of Melian, images of the wonder and beauty of
Valinor beyond the Sea. The pillars of Menegroth were hewn in
the likeness of the beeches of Orome, stock, bough, and leaf,
and they were lit with lanterns of gold. The nightingales sang
there as in the gardens of Lorien; and there were fountains of
silver, and basins of marble, and floors of many-coloured
stones. Carven figures of beasts and of birds there ran upon
the walls, or climbed upon the pillars, or peered among the
branches entwined with many flowers. And as the years passed
Melian and her maidens filled the halls with webs of many hues,
wherein could be read the deeds of the Valar, and many things
that had befallen in Arda since its beginning, and shadows of
things that were yet to be. That was the fairest dwelling of any
king that hath ever been east of the Sea.
1300-50.
$25. After the building of Menegroth was achieved, there
was peace in the realm of Thingol. The Naugrim would come
ever and anon over the mountains and visit Menegroth and go
in traffick about the land, though they went seldom to the Falas,
for they hated the sound of the Sea and feared to look on it; but
otherwise there came to Beleriand no rumour or tidings of the
world without. But it came to pass that the Dwarves were
troubled, and they spoke to King Thingol, saying that the Valar
had not rooted out utterly the evils of the North, and now the
remnant, having long multiplied in the dark, were coming forth
once more and roaming far and wide. 'There are fell beasts,'
said they, 'in the land east of the mountains, and the dark-elves
that dwell there, your ancient kindred, are flying from the plains
to the hills.'
1330.
$26. And ere long (in the year 1330 according to the annals
that were made in Doriath) the evil creatures came even to
Beleriand, over passes in the mountains, or up from the south
through the dark forests. Wolves there were, or creatures that
walked in wolf-shapes, and other fell beings of shadow.
$27. Among these were the Orkor indeed, who after
wrought ruin in Beleriand; but they were yet few and wary and
did but smell out the ways of the land, awaiting the return of
their Lord. Whence they came, or what they were, the Elves
knew not then, deeming them to be Avari, maybe, that had
become evil and savage in the wild. In which they guessed all
too near, it is said.
$28. Therefore Thingol bethought [him] of arms, which
before his folk had not needed, and these at first the Naugrim
smithied for him. For they were greatly skilled in such work,
though none among them surpassed the craftsmen of Nogrod,
of whom Telchar the Smith was the greatest in renown. A
warlike race of old were all the Naugrim, and they would fight
fiercely with whomsoever aggrieved them: folk of Melkor, or
Eldar, or Avari, or wild beasts, or not seldom with their own
kin, Dwarves of other mansions and lordships. Their smith-
craft indeed the Sindar soon learned of them; yet in the
tempering of steel alone of all crafts the Dwarves were never
outmatched even by the Noldor, and in the making of mail of
linked rings (which the Enfeng first contrived) their work had
no rival.
$29. At this time therefore the Sindar were well armed, and
they drove off all creatures of evil, and had peace again; but
Thingol's armouries were stored with axes (the chief weapons of
the Naugrim, and of the Sindar), and with spears and swords,
and tall helms, and long coats of bright mail: for the hauberks
of the Enfeng were so fashioned that they rusted not and shone
ever as were they new-burnished. This proved well for Thingol
in the time that was to come.
1350.
The coming of Denethor.
$30. Now as is elsewhere recounted, one Dan of the host of
Olwe forsook the march of the Eldar at that time when the
Teleri were halted by the shores of the Great River upon the
borders of the westlands of Middle-earth. And he led away a
numerous people and went south down the river, and of the
wanderings of that people, the Nandor, little is now known.
Some, it is said, dwelt age-long in the woods of the Vale of the
Great River, some came at last to the mouths of Anduin, and
there dwelt by the Sea, and others passing by the White
Mountains came north again and entered the wilderness of
Eriador between Eryd Luin and the far Mountains of Mist.
Now these were a woodland folk and had no weapons of metal,
and the coming of the fell beasts of the North affrayed them
sorely, as the Naugrim reported. Therefore Denethor, the son of
Dan, hearing rumour of the might of Thingol and his majesty,
and of the peace of his realm, gathered such host of his scattered
folk as he could and led them over the mountains into
Beleriand. There they were welcomed by Thingol, as kin long
lost that return, and they dwelt in Ossiriand in the south of his
kingdom. For it was a great country, and yet little peopled; and
it was so named, the Land of Seven Rivers, because it lay
between the mighty stream of Gelion and the mountains, from
which there flowed into Gelion the swift rivers: Ascar, Thalos,
Legolin, Brilthor, Duilwen, and Adurant. In that region the
forests in after days were tall and green, and the people of
Denethor there dwelt warily and seldom seen, because of their
raiment of the colour of leaves; and they were called therefore
the Green-elves.
$31 Of the long years of peace that followed after the
coming of Denethor there is little tale; for though in this time
Dairon the minstrel, it is said, who was the chief loremaster of
the kingdom of Thingol, devised his Runes,' [added later in
margin: Cirth] they were little used by the Sindar for the keeping
of records, until the days of the War, and much that was held in
memory has perished in the ruin of Doriath. Yet verily of bliss
and glad life there is little to be said, ere it endeth; as works fair
and wonderful, while still they endure for eyes to see, are their
own record, and only when they are in peril or broken for ever
do they pass into song. In Beleriand in those days the Elves
walked, and the rivers flowed, and the stars shone, and the
night-flowers gave forth their scents; and the beauty of Melian
was as the noon, and the beauty of Luthien was as the dawn in
spring. In Beleriand King Thingol upon his throne was as the
sons of the Valar, whose power is at rest, whose joy is as an air
that they breathe in all their days, whose thought flows in a tide
untroubled from the heights to the deeps. In Beleriand still at
whiles rode Orome the great, passing like a wind over the
mountains, and the sound of his horn came down the leagues of
the starlight, and the Elves feared him for the splendour of his
countenance and the great noise of the onrush of Nahar; but
when the Valaroma echoed in the hills, they knew well that all
evil things were fled far away.
1495.
$32 It came to pass at last that the end of Bliss was at hand,
and the noontide of Valinor was drawing to its twilight. For as
is known to all, being written elsewhere in lore and sung in
many songs, Melkor slew the Trees of the Valar with the aid
of Ungoliante, and escaped and came back to the north of
Middle-earth. And hereafter he shall be known by that name
that Feanor gave him, the Dark Foe, Morgoth the Accursed.
$33 Far to the North befell the strife of Morgoth and
Ungoliante; but the great cry of Morgoth echoed through
Beleriand, and all its folk shrank for fear; for though few knew
what it foreboded, they heard then the herald of death.
$34 Soon after, indeed, Ungoliante fled from the North and
came into the realm of King Thingol, and a terror of darkness
These, it is said, he contrived first ere the building of Menegroth,
and after bettered them. The Naugrim, indeed, that came to Thingol
learned the Runes of Dairon, and were well-pleased with the device,
esteeming Dairon's skill higher than did the Sindar, his own folk; and
by the Naugrim they [later > the Cirth] were taken east over the
mountains and passed into the knowledge of many peoples.
was about her. But by the power of Melian she was stayed, and
entered not into Neldoreth, but abode long while under the
shadow of the precipices in which Dorthonion fell southward.
Therefore they became known as Eryd Orgoroth, the Moun-
tains of Terror, and none dared go thither, or pass nigh to them;
for even after Ungoliante herself departed and went whither she
would back into the forgotten South of the world, her foul
offspring dwelt there in form as spiders and wove there their
hideous webs. -There light and life were strangled, and there all
waters were poisoned.
$35. Morgoth, however, came not himself to Beleriand, but
went to the Iron Mountains, and there with the aid of his
servants that came forth to meet him he delved anew his vast
vaults and dungeons. These the Noldor after named Angband:
the Iron Prison; and above their gates Morgoth reared the vast
and threefold peaks of Thangorodrim, and a great reek of dark
smoke was ever wreathed about them.
1497.
$36. In this year Morgoth made his first assault upon
Beleriand, which lay south of Angband. Indeed it is said that the
gates of Morgoth were but one hundred and fifty leagues distant
from the bridge of Menegroth; far and yet all too near.
$37. Now the Orcs that had multiplied in the bowels of the
earth grew strong and fell, and their dark lord filled them with a
lust of ruin and death; and they issued from Angband's gates
under the clouds that Morgoth sent forth, and passed silently
into the highlands of the north. Thence on a sudden a great
army came.to Beleriand and assailed King Thingol. Now in his
wide realm many Elves wandered free in the wild or dwelt at
peace in small kindreds of quiet folk far sundered. Only about
Menegroth in the midst of the land, and along the Falas in the
country of the mariners were there numerous peoples; but the
Orcs came down upon either side of Menegroth, and from
camps in the east between Celon and Gelion, and west in the
plains between Sirion and Narog, they plundered far and wide;
and Thingol was cut off from Cirdan at Eglarest.
$38. Therefore he called upon Denethor, and the Elves came
in force from Region over Aros and from Ossiriand, and fought
the first battle in the Wars of Beleriand. And the eastern host of
the Orcs was taken between the armies of the Eldar, north of the
Andram and midway between Aros and Gelion, and there they
were utterly defeated, and those that fled north from the great
slaughter were waylaid by the axes of the Naugrim that issued
from Mount Dolmed: few indeed returned to Angband.
$39 But the victory of the Elves was dearbought. For the
Elves of Ossiriand were light-armed, and no match for the Orcs,
who were shod with iron and iron-shielded and bore great
spears with broad blades. And Denethor was cut off and
surrounded upon the hill of Amon Ereb; and there he fell and all
his nearest kin about him, ere the host of Thingol could come to
his aid. Bitterly though his fall was avenged, when Thingol
came upon the rear of the Orcs and slew them aheaps, the
Green-elves lamented him ever after and took no king again.
After the battle some returned to Ossiriand, and their tidings
filled the remnant of their folk with great fear, so that thereafter
they came never forth in open war, but kept themselves by
wariness and secrecy. And many went north and entered the
guarded realm of Thingol and were merged with his folk.
$40. And when Thingol came again to Menegroth he
learned that the Orc-host in the west was victorious and had
driven Cirdan to the rim of the Sea. Therefore he withdrew all
his folk that his summons could reach within the fastness of
Neldoreth and Region, and Melian put forth her power and
fenced all that dominion round about with an unseen wall of
shadow and bewilderment: the Girdle of Melian, that none
thereafter could pass against her will or the will of King Thingol
(unless one should come with a power greater than that of
Melian the Maia). Therefore this inner land which was long
named Eglador was after called Doriath, the guarded kingdom,
Land of the Girdle. Within it there was yet a watchful peace;
but without there was peril and great fear, and the servants of
Morgoth roamed at will, save in the walled havens of the Falas.
Of the Coming of the Noldor.
$41. But new tidings were at hand, which none in Middle-
earth had foreseen, neither Morgoth in his pits nor Melian in
Menegroth; for no news came out of Aman, whether by
messenger, or by spirit, or by vision in dream, after the death of
the Trees and the hiding of Valinor. In this same year of the
Valar (but some seven years after in the later reckoning of time)
Feanor came over Sea in the white ships of the Teleri, and
landed in the Firth of Drengist, and there burned the ships at
Losgar.
$42. Now the flames of that burning were seen not only by
Fingolfin, whom Feanor had deserted, but also by the Orcs and
the watchers of Morgoth. No tale hath told what Morgoth
thought in his heart at the tidings that Feanor his bitterest foe
had brought a host out of the West. Maybe he feared him little,
for he had not yet had proof of the swords of the Noldor, and
soon it was seen that he purposed to drive them back into the
Sea.
$43. Drengist is a long firth which pierces the Echoing Hills
of Eryd Lomin that are the west-fence of the great country of
Hithlum. Thus the host of Feanor passed from the shores into
the inner regions of Hithlum, and marching about the northern
end of the Mountains of Mithrim they encamped in that part
which was named Mithrim and lay about the great lake amid
the mountains that bore the same name.
$44 But the host of Melkor, orcs and werewolves, came
through the passes of Eryd-wethrin and assailed Feanor on a
sudden, ere his camp was fullwrought or put in defence. There
now on the grey fields of Mithrim was fought the second battle
of the Wars of Beleriand, and the first meeting of the might of
Morgoth with the valour of the Noldor. Dagor-nuin-Giliath it is
named, the Battle under the Stars, for the Moon had not yet
risen. In that battle, albeit outnumbered and taken at unawares,
the Noldor were swiftly victorious. Strong and fair were they
yet, for the light of Aman was not yet dimmed in their eyes;
swift they were, and deadly in wrath, and long and terrible were
their swords. The Orcs fled before them, and they were driven
forth from Mithrim with great slaughter, and hunted over that
great plain that lay north of Dorthonion, and was then called
Ardgalen. There the armies that had passed south into the vales
of Sirion and had beleagured Cirdan came up to their succour,
and were caught in their ruin. For Celegorn Feanor's son,
having news of them, waylaid them with a part of the Elven-
host, and coming down upon them out of the hills nigh Eithel
Sirion drove them into the Fen of Serech. Evil indeed were the
tidings that came at last unto Angband, and Morgoth was
dismayed. Ten days that battle endured, and from it returned
of all the hosts that he had prepared for the conquest of the
kingdoms of the Eldar no more than a handful of leaves.
$45 Yet cause he had for great joy, though it was hidden
from him for a while. For the heart of Feanor, in his wrath
against the Enemy, blazed like a fire, and he would not halt, but
pressed on behind the remnant of the Orcs, thinking, it is said,
so to come at Morgoth himself. And he laughed aloud as he
wielded his sword, and rejoiced that he had dared the wrath of
the Valar and the evils of the road that he might see that hour
of his vengeance. He knew naught of Angband or the great
strength of defence that Morgoth had so swiftly prepared; but
had he known, it would not have deterred him, for fey he was,
consumed by the flame of his own wrath. Thus it was that he
drew far ahead of the van of his host, and seeing this the
servants of Morgoth turned to bay, and there issued from
Angband Balrogs to aid them. There upon the confines of Dor
Daedeloth, the land of Morgoth, Feanor was surrounded, with
few friends about him. Soon he stood alone; but long he fought
on, and laughed undismayed, though he was wrapped in fire
and wounded with many wounds. But at the last Gothmog,*
Lord of the Balrogs, smote him to the ground, and there he
would have perished, but Maidros and three other of his sons in
that moment came up with force to his aid, and the Balrogs fled
back to Angband.
$46. Then his sons raised up their father and bore him back
towards Mithrim. But as they drew near to Eithel Sirion and
were upon the upward path to the pass over the mountains,
Feanor bade them halt. For his wounds were mortal, and he
knew that his hour was come. And looking out from the slopes
of Eryd-wethrin with his last sight he beheld afar the peaks of
Thangorodrim, mightiest of the towers of Middle-earth, and
knew with the foreknowledge of death that no power of the
Noldor would ever overthrow them; but he cursed the name of
Morgoth, and laid it upon his sons to hold to their oath, and to
avenge their father. Then he died; but he had neither burial nor
tomb, for so fiery was his spirit that, as it passed, his body fell to
ash and was borne away like a smoke, and his likeness has never
again appeared in Arda, neither has his spirit left the realm of
Mandos. Thus ended the mightiest of the Noldor, of whose
deeds came both their greatest renown and their most grievous
woe.
$47. Tidings of these great deeds came to Menegroth and to
Eglarest, and the Grey-elves were filled with wonder and with
hope, for they looked to have great help in their defence against
(* [Marginal note:] whom Ecthelion afterward slew in Gondolin.)
Morgoth from their mighty kindred that thus returned un-
looked-for from the West in their very hour of need, believing
indeed at first that they came as emissaries of the Valar to
deliver their brethren from evil. Now the Grey-elves were of
Telerian race, and Thingol was the brother of Olwe at Alqua-
londe, but naught yet was known of the kinslaying, nor of the
manner of the exile of the Noldor, and of the oath of Feanor. Yet
though they had not heard of the Curse of Mandos, it was soon
at work in Beleriand. For it entered into the heart of King
Thingol to regret the days of peace when he was the high lord
of all the land and its peoples. Wide were the countries of
Beleriand and many empty and wild, and yet he welcomed not
with full heart the coming of so many princes in might out of the
West, eager for new realms.
$48. Thus there was from the first a coolness between him
and the sons of Feanor, whereas the closest friendship was
needed, if Morgoth were to be withstood; for the [House >]
sons of Feanor were ever unwilling to accept the overlordship of
Thingol, and would ask for no leave where they might dwell or
might pass. When, therefore, ere long (by treachery and ill will,
as later is told) the full tale of the deeds in Valinor became
known in Beleriand, there was rather enmity than alliance
between Doriath and the House of Feanor; and this bitterness
Morgoth eagerly inflamed by all means that he could find. But
that evil lay as yet in the days to come, and the first meeting of
the Sindar and the Noldor was eager and glad, though parley
was at first not easy between them, for in their long severance
the tongue of the Kalaquendi in Valinor and the Moriquendi in
Beleriand had drawn far apart.
Excursus on the languages of Beleriand.
I interrupt the text here since the complex variant material that
follows in the two manuscripts cannot well be accommodated in the
commentary.
In place of GA 2 $48 just given, GA 1 (making no reference to the
active hostility that developed between Thingol and the Feanorians)
has only the following (after the words 'eager for new realms'):
Moreover in their long severance the tongues of the Sindar and the
Noldor had drawn apart, and at first parley was not easy between
them.
This is followed by a long 'excursus' (marked on the manuscript as an
intrusion into the main text) on the development and relations of
Noldorin and Sindarin in Beleriand, the end of which is also the end
of GA 1. This discussion reappears, rewritten, in GA 2, and then this
revised form was itself substantially altered. It seems desirable to give
all the versions of this passage, of central importance in the linguistic
history of Middle-earth. The numbered notes to this section are found
on p. 28.
The original version in GA 1 reads as follows.
It was indeed at the landing of Feanor three hundred and
sixty-five long years of the Valar (1) since the Noldor had passed
over the Sea and left the Teleri behind them. Now that time was
in length well nigh as three thousand and five hundred years of
the Sun. In such an age the tongues of mortal Men that were far
sundered would indeed change out of knowledge, unless it were
as written records of song and wisdom. But in Valinor in the
days of the Trees change was little to be perceived, save that
which came of will and design, while in Middle-earth under the
Sleep of Yavanna it was slow also, though before the Rising of
the Moon all things had been stirred from slumber in Beleriand,
as has before been told. (2) Therefore, whereas the tongue of the
Noldor had altered little from the ancient tongue of the Eldar
upon the march - and its altering had for the most part come in
the making of new words (for things old and new) and in the
softening and harmonizing of the sounds and patterns of the
Quendian tongue to forms that seemed to the Noldor more
beautiful - the language of the Sindar had changed much, even
in unheeded growth as a tree may imperceptibly change its
shape: as much maybe as an unwritten mortal tongue might
change in five hundred years or more.(3) It was already ere the
Rising of the Sun a speech greatly different to the ear from the
Noldorin, and after that Rising all change was swift, for a while
in the second Spring of Arda very swift indeed. To the ear, we
say, because though Dairon the minstrel and loremaster of
Menegroth had devised his Runes already by V.Y. 1300 (and
after greatly bettered them), it was not the custom of the Sindar
to write down their songs or records, and the Runes of Dairon
(save in Menegroth) were used chiefly for names and brief
inscriptions cut upon wood, stone, or metal.(The Naugrim (4)
learned the Runes of Dairon from Menegroth, being well-
pleased with the device and esteeming Dairon higher than [did]
his own folk; and by the Naugrim they were brought east over
the Mountains.)(5)
Soon, however, it came to pass that the Noldor in daily use
took on the Sindarin tongue, and this tongue enriched by words
and devices from Noldorin became the tongue of all the Eldar in
Beleriand (save in the country of the Green[-elves]) and the
language of all the Eldar, either in Middle-earth, or that (as shall
be told) went back from exile into the West and dwelt and dwell
now upon Eressea. In Valinor the ancient Elven-speech is
maintained, and the Noldor never forsook it; but it became for
them no longer a cradle-tongue, a mother-tongue, but a learned
language of lore, and of high song and noble and solemn use.
Few of the Sindar learned it, save in so far as they became,
outside Doriath, merged in one people with Noldor and
followed their princes; as indeed ere long happened indeed
except for few scattered companies of Sindar in mountainous
woods, and except also for the lordship of Cirdan, and the
guarded kingdom of Thingol.
Now this change of tongue among the Noldor took place for
many divers reasons. First, that though the Sindar were not
numerous they far outnumbered the hosts of Feanor and
Fingolfin, such as in the end survived their dreadful journeys
and reached Beleriand. Secondly and no less: that the Noldor
having forsaken Aman themselves began to be subject to change
undesigned while they were yet upon the march, and at the
Rising of the Sun this change became swift - and the change in
their daily tongue was such that, whether by reason of the like
clime and soil and the like fortunes, whether by intercourse and
mingling of blood, it changed in the same ways as did the
Sindarin, and the two tongues grew towards one anotner. Thus
it came that words taken from Noldorin into Telerin entered not
in the true forms of High Speech but as it were altered and fitted
to the character of the tongue of Beleriand. Thirdly: because
after the death of Feanor the overlordship of the Exiles (as shall
be recounted) passed to Fingolfin, and he being of other mood
than Feanor acknowledged the high-kingship of Thingol and
Menegroth, being indeed greatly in awe of that king, mightiest
of the Eldar save Feanor only, and of Melian no less. But though
Elu- Thingol, great in memory, could recall the tongue of the
Eldar as it had been ere riding from Finwe's camp he heard the
birds of Nan Elmoth, in Doriath the Sindarin tongue alone was
spoken, and all must learn it who would have dealings with the
king.
It is said that it was after the Third Battle Dagor Aglareb (6) that
the Noldor first began far and wide to take the Sindarin as they
settled and established realms in Beleriand; though maybe the
Noldorin survived (especially in Gondolin) until Dagor Arne-
diad (7) or until the Fall of Gondolin - survived, that is, in the
spoken form that it had in Beleriand as different both from the
Quenya (or Ancient Noldorin) and from the Sindarin: for
the Quenya never perished and is known and used still by all
such as crossed the Sea ere the Trees were slain.
This is the first general linguistic statement since the Lhammas,
written long before, and there have been major shihs from the earlier
theory. The third version of the Lhammas, 'Lammasethen', the latest
and shortest of the three, gives a clear statement of what is more
diffusely expressed in the longer versions, and I cite a part of it (from
V.193-4):
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.
There was also the book-tongue, 'Elf-Latin', Quenya, concerning
which the Lammasethen gives a different account from that in the
other versions (see V.195). The 'Elf-Latin', it is said (V.172), was
brought to Middle-earth by the Noldor, it came to be used by all the
Ilkorindi, 'and all Elves know it, even such as linger still in the Hither
Lands'.
Thus in the Lhammas account we are concerned essentially with
three tongues in Beleriand after the Return of the Noldor:
Quenya, the high language and book-tongue, brought from Valinor
by the Noldor;
Noldorin, the language of the Noldor in Kor, greatly changed in
Beleriand and much influenced by the Ilkorin speech especially
that of Doriath. (It is said in the Lhammas, V.174, that the
Noldorin tongue of Kor, Korolambe or Kornoldorin, was itself
much changed from ancient times through the peculiar inventive-
ness of the Noldor.)
Beleriandic, the Ilkorin tongue of Beleriand, which had become in
long ages very different from the tongues of Valinor.
The Noldorin speech of Gondolin was the language that survived in
Tol Eressea after the end of the Elder Days, though influenced by other
speech, especially the Ilkorin of Doriath during the sojourn at Sirion's
Mouths (see V.177 - 8).
In GA 1 we have still the conception that the language of the Noldor
in Valinor was changed by Noldorin inventiveness, though it is em-
phasized that it had altered little 'from the ancient tongue of the Eldar
upon the.march'; and the profound difference between the Noldorin
of the new-come Exiles out of Valinor and the ancient Telerian tongue
of Beleriand (now called Sindarin) likewise remains - indeed it is the
remark that at first communication between Noldor and Sindar was
not easy that leads to this excursus. But in GA 1 it is said that, while
the Sindarin tongue was 'enriched by words and devices from
Noldorin', Sindarin nevertheless became the language of all the Eldar
of Middle-earth and was the language of Tol Eressea after the Return;
while Noldorin of Valinor became a 'learned' tongue - equivalent in
status to the 'Elf-Latin' or Quenya of the Lhammas, but learned by
few among the Sindar; and indeed the 'Ancient Noldorin' is equated
with Quenya (p. 22, at the end of the text). Among the reasons given
for this development is that spoken Noldorin in Beleriand and
Sindarin 'grew towards' each other, and it is made clear in the last
paragraph of the text that there was at the end of the Elder Days a
profound difference between the spoken Noldorin of Beleriand, where
it survived, and 'Ancient Noldorin' or Quenya.
The statement that Fingolfin as 'overlord' of the Exiles 'acknow-
ledged the high-kingship of Thingol and Menegroth', being 'greatly in
awe of that king', is notable (cf. QS $121: 'and mighty though the
Kings of the Noldor were in those days ... the name of Thingol was
held in awe among them'). This is indeed one of the reasons given for
the adoption of Sindarin by the Noldor in Beleriand - for in Thingol's
domain only Sindarin might be used; but it is clear that as yet the idea
of an actual ban on the use of the Noldorin speech among the Sindar
had not arisen.
At the end of this linguistic passage in GA 1 my father wrote in
rapid pencil:
Alter this. Let Sindar and Noldor speak much the same tongue
owing (a) to changelessness in Valinor (b) to slow change in Middle-
earth (c) to long memories of the Elves. But there were of course
differences - new words in Noldorin and Sindarin. In both cases
more by invention than involuntary. But after Rising of Sun change
was sudden and swift - and the Noldor brought a special curse of
changefulness with them (designed to cut them off from converse
with Valinor?). The two tongues there changed and grew alike.
Generally in Beleriand a Noldorized (slightly) Sindarin was spoken.
In Doriath less Noldorin if any. [?Ossiriand] to be like Beleriandic.
The difference here from the primary text lies in a denial of any very
significant difference between the language of Beleriand and the
language of the incoming Noldor, with the subsequent history (as it
appears, from the brief and hasty words) being rather one of the
coalescence of the languages than of the abandonment of Noldorin.
The excursus on languages in GA 2, written in a much smaller script
than that of the main body of the text, reads as follows.
It was indeed at the landing of Feanor three hundred and
sixty-five long years of the Valar since the Noldor had passed
over the Sea and left the Sindar behind. Now that time was in
length well nigh as three thousand and five hundred years of the
Sun. In such an age the tongues of Men that were far sundered
would indeed change out of knowledge, save such as were
written down in records of song and wisdom. But in Valinor in
the days of the Trees change was little to be perceived, save that
which came of will and design, while in Middle-earth under
the Sleep of Yavanna the change of growth was slow also.
Nonetheless in Beleriand the Sleep before the coming of the Sun
had been stirred (as elsewhere is told) and the language of the
Sindar had in the long years changed much, even in unheeded
growth, as a tree may imperceptibly change its shape: as much,
maybe, as an unwritten tongue of the later days woud change in
five hundred years or more. Whereas the Noldorin tongue,
albeit still far nearer in most ways to the ancient common
speech of the Eldar, had been altered by will (to forms that
seemed to those in Aman more sweet upon the tongue or in the
ear) and by the invention of many new words unknown to the
Sindar. But speech between the two kindreds became easy and
free in this wise. First that after the Rising of the Sun the change
of all things in Arda was sudden and swift, and in the days of
the Wars both the tongue of the Noldor and that of the Sindar
changed greatly: moreover, whether by reason of the like clime,
and soil, and the like fortunes, whether by intercourse and the
mingling of the peoples, the two tongues changed in similar
ways and drew together again. Secondly because in time it came
to pass that most of the Noldor indeed forsook their own
tongue in daily use and took the tongue of Beleriand instead,
though they enriched it with many words of their own. Only in
Gondolin, which was early peopled (by Noldor alone)(8) and cut
off from intercourse with others, did the Noldorin tongue
endure unto the end of the city; whereas in Doriath only was the
Sindarin tongue maintained untouched by the Noldorin and less
changed than the language of those without. Now this change
in the speech of the Noldor came about in this wise. First:
though the Sindar were not numerous they much outnumbered
the hosts of Feanor and Fingolfin, such as survived their
dreadful journey. Secondly: because of the mingling of the
peoples, whereby in all the countries save only in Doriath
though the princes of the Noldor were the kings their followers
were largely Sindarin by race. Thirdly: because after the death
of Feanor the overlordship of the Exiles passed to Fingolfin
(save among the followers of Feanor's sons), and he acknow-
ledged the high-kingship of Thingol, being indeed in awe of that
king, mightiest of the Eldar save Feanor, and of Melian no less.
But Thingol, because of the grievance of the Teleri against the
Noldor, would not speak the Noldorin tongue and forbade his
subjects to do so. Moreover it came to pass that the Noldor,
having of their own will forsaken Aman in rebellion, became
subject to change undesigned in a measure beyond even that of
the Sindar, and their own tongue in daily use swiftly became
unlike the high tongue of Valinor. But the Noldor, being
loremasters, retained that high tongue in lore, and ceased not to
use it for noble purposes and to teach it to their children.
Therefore the form of their speech in daily use came to be held
as debased, and the Noldor would use either the High Tongue
as a learned language, or else in daily business and in all matters
that concerned all the Eldar of Beleriand in general they would
use rather the tongue of that land. It is said that it was after the
Third Battle, Dagor Aglareb, that the Noldor first began far and
wide to take the Sindarin tongue, as they settled and established
their realms in Beleriand.
This restructuring and partial rewriting of the text does not change
very substantially the ideas expressed in the earlier form of it: my
father did not take up his pencilled note of projected alterations given
on p. 24. The passage concerning Dairon and the Runes is omitted,
but that had been introduced earlier in GA 2 ($31). It is now em-
phasized that the Sindarin of Doriath was to some degree archaic, and
'untouched' by Noldorin: this is not stated in GA 1, though it is said
there that 'in Doriath the Sindarin tongue alone was spoken'. The
acknowledgement by Fingolfin of Thingol's 'high-kingship' is retained
(with the reservation 'save among the followers of Feanor's sons'),
but there now appears the ban on the Noldorin tongue imposed
by Thingol on his subjects when he learned of the Kinslaying at
Alqualonde as one of the reasons for the abandonment of their own
tongue by the Noldor. Noldorin is now said to have changed even
more rapidly in Middle-earth after the Rising of the Sun than Sindarin,
and this is associated with their rebellion in Aman (cf. the words in the
pencilled comments at the end of the GA 1 text, p. 24: 'the Noldor
brought a special curse of changefulness with them'); while the
opinion coming to be held among the Noldor themselves that their
spoken tongue was debased provides a further explanation of its
abandonment.
My father then (probably after no long interval) rejected the whole
of this second text after the words 'and by the invention of many new
words unknown to the Sindar' (p. 24) and replaced it as follows:
But it came to pass ere long that the Exiles took up the tongue
of Beleriand, as the language of daily use, and their ancient
tongue was retained only as a high speech and a language of
lore, especially in the houses of the Noldorin lords and among
the wise. Now this change of speech was made for many
reasons. First, the Noldor were fewer in number than the
Sindar, and, save in Doriath [struck our later: and Gondolin],(9)
the peoples soon became much mingled. Secondly, the Noldor
learned the Sindarin tongue far more readily than the Sindar
could learn the ancient speech; moreover, after the kinslaying
became known, Thingol would hold no parley with any that
spake in the tongue of the slayers at Alqualonde, and he forbade
his folk to do so. Thus it was that the common speech of
Beleriand after the Third Battle, Dagor Aglareb, was the speech
of the Grey-elves, albeit somewhat enriched by words and
devices drawn from Noldorin (save in Doriath where the
language remained purer and less changed by time). [Struck out
later: Only in Gondolin did the tongue of the Noldor remain in
daily use until the end of that city; for it was early peopled by
Turgon with Noldor only, from the North-west of the land, and
was long hidden and cut off from all converse with others.(10)
The following replacement passage was written in the margin:]
but the Noldor preserved ever the High-speech of the West as a
language of lore, and in that language they would still give
names to mighty men or to places of renown. / But all the days
of the Wars of Beleriand, [wellnigh >] more than six hundred
years, were times of great change, not only because of the
labours and troubles of those years, but because in the first
years of the Sun and the second Spring of Arda the growth and
change of all living things was sudden and swift. Far other at the
end of the Wars were [both the Sindarin and Noldorin tongues
later >] the tongues of Beleriand (11) than they were at the landing
of Feanor, and only the High Speech being learned anew from
letters remained unaltered. But these histories were made after
the Last Battle and the end of the Elder Days, and therefore they
were made in the tongue of the remnant of the Elves as it then
was, ere it passed again into the West, and the names of those
that they record and of the places that are remembered have for
the most part that form which they had in the spoken speech at
the last.
Here ends that part which was drawn mainly from the
Grey Annals, and there follows matter drawn in brief from
the Quenta Noldorinwa, and mingled with the traditions
of Doriath.(12)
In this revised version, nothing is said about Sindarin and Noldorin
'drawing together' again, and there is no suggestion that the later
tongue of the Noldor came to be regarded as 'debased'; spoken
Noldorin endured (as the passage was originally written) in the wholly
Noldorin city of Gondolin until its fall. The whole conception
becomes in fact far simpler: the Noldor retained their own tongue as a
High Speech, but Sindarin became their language of daily use (and this
was because of the numerical inferiority of the Noldor and the
mingling of the peoples outside Doriath, the difficulty that the Sindar
found in acquiring the High Speech, and the ban imposed by Thingol).
Sindarin received .'loanwords' from Noldorin, but not in Doriath,
where the language remained somewhat archaic. By later changes to
the text (see notes 8-11) the idea that Noldorin remained in daily use
in Gondolin was abandoned.
It is interesting to read, at the end of this last version, that 'these
histories' were made 'after the Last Battle and the end of the Elder
Days, and therefore they were made in the tongue of the remnant of
the Elves as it then was, ere it passed again into the West.'
NOTES.
1. 365 years of the Valar: 1132-1497 (see GA $11).
2. On the awakening of Beleriand from the Sleep of Yavanna see
$$6, 17, and the commentary on $ $6, 10.
3. A rough draft of this passage is extant, and this has here:
Therefore whereas the tongue of the Noldor had changed for
the most part only in the making of new words (for things new
and old), and in the wilful altering of the ancient tongue of the
Quendi to forms and patterns that seemed to the Eldar more
beautiful - in which Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri differed and
drew apart - the tongue of the Sindar had changed as living
things change by growth - yet only so as in the later world
might pass in 400 years.
4. Earlier in GA 1 the form is Nauglath: see the commentary on
519.
5. On this passage concerning the Runes of Dairon see $31 and
commentary.
6. Dagor Aglareb, the Glorious Battle, was formerly the Second
Battle (see commentary on $$36 ff.).
7. Dagor Arnediad: the Battle of Unnumbered Tears (Nirnaith
Arnediad).
8. This represents my father's original view that there were no Grey-
elves among the people of Gondolin; see note 9.
9. The removal of the words 'and Gondolin' shows the entry of
the later conception (see note 8) that many Sindar dwelling in
Nivrost at the coming of the Noldor took Turgon to be their lord,
and that there were in fact more Elves of Sindarin origin than of
Noldorin in the people of Gondolin; see $$107, 113 and
commentary.
10. This passage was removed at the same time and for the same
reason as the words 'and Gondolin' earlier in this revised text
(note 9).
11. The change of 'both the Sindarin and Noldorin tongues' to 'the
tongues of Beleriand' was made later than the changes referred to
in notes 9 and 10, but presumably for the same reason, since the
reference was to the spoken Noldorin of Gondolin. The plural
'tongues' in the revised wording is rather puzzling; perhaps my
father was thinking of the speech of the Green-elves of Ossiriand,
or possibly he meant the varieties (dialects) of Sindarin.
12. The term Quenta Noldorinwa appears in the title of Q (IV.77).
I cannot say what conception my father had formed of the
historical tradition when he wrote these concluding words.
As I have said, the manuscript GA 1 does not continue after the end of
the discussion of the languages, but for the next section of GA 2 there
is a text on loose pages which may be regarded as a continuation of
GA 1. It constitutes part of the material labelled 'Old material of Grey
Annals' referred to on p. 4. This text runs from the (second) beginning
of the annal 1497 ('Now Morgoth being dismayed ...') to the end of
annal YS 20 (and for the annals 6 and 7 there is a very rough
preliminary draft as well). To this text the GA 2 manuscript is very
close indeed, and is scarcely more than a fine copy of it with changes of
wording here and there; a few interesting points of difference are
noticed in the commentary.
I return now to the text of GA 2, which need not now be
distinguished by a number.
1497.
$49. Now Morgoth being dismayed by the rout of his
armies and the unlooked-for valour of the Noldor, and desiring
time for new designs, sent emissaries to Maidros, and feigned
that he was willing to treat with him. And Maidros feigned that
he for his part was also willing, and either purposed evil to the
other. Therefore against covenant each came with great force to
the parley, but Morgoth with the more, and Maidros was
defeated and taken captive.
$50. Then Morgoth held Maidros as a hostage, and swore
only to release him, if the Noldor would march away, either to
Valinor, or else far from Beleriand into the South of the world;
and if they would not do this, then he would put Maidros to
torment. But the other sons of Feanor knew that Morgoth
would betray them, and would not release Maidros, whatsoever
they might do; and they were constrained also by their oath,
and might not for any cause forsake the war against their
Enemy.
1498.
$51. Therefore Morgoth took Maidros, and setting a band
of hellwrought steel about his right wrist hung him thereby
above a precipice upon the west-tower of Thangorodrim, where
none could reach him. But his brethren drew back and fortified
a great camp in Hithlum.
1500.
$52. In this time Fingolfin and those that followed him
crossed the grinding ice of Helkaraxe, and so came at last with
great woe and loss into the North of Endar; and their hearts
were filled with bitterness. And even as they set foot upon
Middle-earth, the ages of the Stars were ended, and the time of
the Sun and Moon was begun, as is told in the Chronicle of
Aman.
YS1.
$53 Here the Moon and the Sun, wrought by the Valar after
the death of the Trees, rose new in the heaven. First the Moon
came forth, and even as it rose above the darkness in the West
Fingolfin let blow his silver trumpets, and began his march into
Middle-earth; and the shadows of his host went long and black
before them.
$54. The Elves of Middle-earth looked up with hope and
delight at this new thing; but the servants of Morgoth were
amazed; and Morgoth sent spirits of darkness to assail Tilion,
the guardian of the moon, and there was strife in heaven. But
soon after there came the first Dawn of the Sun, and it was like
a great fire upon the towers of the Pelori, and the clouds of
Middle-earth were kindled, and all the mists of the world
smoked and glowed like gold. Then Fingolfin unfurled his blue
and silver banners, and flowers awoke from the Sleep of
Yavanna and sprang up beneath the feet of his host.
$55 Then indeed Morgoth was dismayed, and he descended
into the uttermost depths of Angband, and withdrew his
servants, sending forth great reek and dark cloud to hide his
land from the light of the Daystar. Therefore Fingolfin marched
from the North unopposed through the fastness of the realm of
Morgoth, and he passed over Dor-Daedeloth, 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. And Maidros heard them amid his torment
and cried aloud, but his voice was lost in the echoes of the stone.
$56. From this time are reckoned the Years of the Sun.
Swifter and briefer are they than the long Years of the Trees in
Valinor. Lo! in that time the growth and the changing and
ageing of all things was hastened exceedingly; and all living
things spread and multiplied in the Second Spring of Arda, and
the Eldar increased, and Beleriand grew green and fair.
$57 At the first Sunrise, it is said, Men, the younger children
of Iluvatar, awoke in Hildorien in the midmost regions of the
world. The Atani they were named; but the Eldar called them
also the Hildi, the Followers. Into the tale of Beleriand they
came ere the end.
2.
$58. Now Fingolfin, being of other temper than Feanor, and
wary of the wiles of Morgoth, after sounding his challenge
withdrew from Dor-Daedeloth and turned towards Mithrim,
for he had heard tidings that there he should find the sons of
Feanor, and he desired also to have the shield of the mountains,
while his folk rested and grew strong; for he had seen the
strength of Angband and deemed not that it would fall to the
sound of trumpets only. Therefore coming at length to Hithlum
he made his first camp and dwelling by the north-shore of Lake
Mithrim.
$59. But no love was there in the hearts of Fingolfin and his
folk for the people of Feanor; and though Fingolfin learned that
Feanor was dead, he held his sons the accomplices of their
father, and there was peril of war between the two hosts.
Grievous as were their losses upon the road, the people of
Fingolfin and Inglor son of Finrod were still more numerous
than the followers of Feanor; wherefore they withdrew before
Fingolfin and removed their dwelling to the south-shore, and
the Lake lay between the peoples.
$60. Many indeed of Feanor's folk repented them sorely of
the deed at Losgar, and were astounded at the valour which had
brought the friends that they abandoned over the Ice of the
North, and they would have welcomed them humbly had they
dared for shame. Thus because of the curse that lay on them the
Noldor achieved nothing, while Morgoth was dismayed and his
servants still cowed by the sudden light. And Morgoth let make
vast smokes and vapours in the pits of Angband, and they came
forth from the reeking tops of the Iron Mountains, and the east
wind bore them over Hithlum and darkened the new sun, and
they fell, coiling about field and hollow, and lying upon the
waters of Mithrim, drear and poisonous.
5.
$61. Here Fingon the Valiant resolved to heal the feud that
divided the Noldor, ere their Enemy should be ready for war;
for the earth trembled in the north-lands with the thunder of the
forges of Morgoth. Moreover the thought of his ancient
friendship with Maidros stung his heart with grief (though he
knew not yet that Maidros had not forgotten him at the burning
of the ships). Therefore he dared a deed which is justly re-
nowned among the feats of the princes of the Noldor: alone,
and without the counsel of any, he set forth in search of
Maidros; and aided by the very darkness that Morgoth had
made he came unseen into the fastness of his foes. In the Quenta
it is told how at the last he found Maidros, by singing a song of
Valinor alone in the dark mountains, and was aided by
Thorondor the Eagle, who bore him aloft unto Maidros; but
the bond of steel he could in no wise release and must sever
the hand that it held. Thus he rescued his friend of old from
torment, and their love was renewed; and the hatred between
the houses of Fingolfin and Feanor was assuaged. Thereafter
Maidros wielded his sword in his left hand.
6.
$62. Now the Noldor, being again united, set a watch upon
the borders of Dor-Daedeloth, and held their main force in the
north of the land, but they sent forth messengers far and wide to
explore the countries of Beleriand and to treat with the folk that
dwelt there.
$63. Beyond the Girdle of Melian those of Finrod's house
were suffered to pass, for they could claim close kinship with
King Thingol himself (their mother Earwen being his brother's
daughter). Now Angrod was the first of the Exiles to come to
Menegroth, as messenger of Inglor, and he spoke long with the
King, telling him of the deeds of the Noldor in the north, and
their numbers, and the ordering of their force; but being true
and wisehearted and deeming all griefs now forgiven, he spoke
naught of the deeds of Feanor save his valiant death.
$64. And King Thingol hearkened, and he said to Angrod
ere he went: 'Thus thou shalt speak for me to those that sent
thee. In Hithlum indeed the Noldor have leave to do as they
will, and in Dor Thonion they may dwell, and in the countries
east of Doriath even to the feet of the mountains of Eryd Luin
there is room and to spare. But elsewhere there are many of my
folk, and I would not have them restrained of their freedoms,
still less ousted from their homes. Beware therefore how ye
princes of the West bear yourselves, for I am the Lord of
Beleriand and all who seek to dwell there shall hear my word.
Into Doriath none shall come to abide there, but only such as I
call as guests, or who seek me in great need.'
7.
$65. Now the Noldor held council in Mithrim to ponder all
such matters, and to resolve how they should deal in friendship
with the Grey-elves, and yet best gather force and dispose it
for the war upon Morgoth. For that cause they had come to
Middle-earth; yet to many the northlands seemed chill and the
south countries fairer, and they desired greatly new homes
where their folk might increase in peace far from the camps of
war in the highlands.
$66. To this council came Angrod out of Doriath bearing the
words of King Thingol, and their welcome seemed cold to the
Noldor. The sons of Feanor indeed were wroth thereat; and
Maidros laughed, saying: 'He is a king that can hold his own, or
else his title is vain. Thingol does but grant us lands where his
power does not run. Indeed Doriath only would be his realm
this day, but for the coming of the Noldor. Therefore in Doriath
let him reign, and be glad that he hath the sons of Finwe for
neighbours, not the Orcs of Morgoth that we found. Elsewhere
it shall go as seems good to us.'
$67. But Cranthir, who loved not the sons of Finrod, and
was the harshest of the brethren and the most quick to anger,
cried aloud, Yea more! Let not the sons of Finrod run hither
and thither with their tales to this Dark-elf in his caves! Who
made them our spokesmen to deal with him? And though they
be come indeed to Beleriand, let them not so swiftly forget that
their father was a lord of the Noldor, though their mother was
of other kin.'
$68. Then Angrod was exceedingly wroth and went forth
from the council. Maidros indeed rebuked Cranthir; but the
greater part of the Noldor, of both followings, hearing his
words were troubled in heart, fearing the fell spirit of the sons
of Feanor that, it seemed, would ever be like to burst forth in
rash word or violence.
$69. Therefore when the council came to the choosing of
one to be the overlord of the Exiles and the head of all their
princes, the choice of all save few fell on Fingolfin. And even as
the choice was made known, all those that heard it recalled the
words of Mandos that the House of Feanor should be called the
Dispossessed for ever. None the less ill for that did the sons of
Feanor take this choice, save Maidros only, though it touched
him the nearest. But he restrained his brethen, saying to
Fingolfin: 'If there lay no grievance between us, lord, still the
choice would come rightly to thee, the eldest here of the house
of Finwe, and not the least wise.'
570 But the sons of Feanor departed then from the council,
and soon after they left Mithrim and went eastward to the
countries wide and wild between Himring and Lake Helevorn
under Mount Rerir. That region was named thereafter the
March of Maidros; for there was little defence there of hill or
river against assault from the North; and there Maidros and his
brethren kept watch, gathering all such folk as would come to
them, and they had little dealings with their kinsfolk westward,
save at need.
$71 It is said, indeed, that Maidros himself devised this
plan, to lessen the chances of strife, and because he was very
willing that the chief peril of assault (as it seemed) should fall
upon himself; and he remained for his part in friendship with
the houses of Fingolfin and Finrod, and would come among
them at whiles for common counsel. Yet he also was bound by
the Oath, though it slept now for a time.
20.
$72. In this year Fingolfin, King of the Noldor, called a great
council and made a high feast, that was long after remembered
as Mereth Aderthad, the Feast of Reuniting. And it was held
nigh the fair pools of Ivrin (whence the swift Narog arose), for
there the lands were green and fair at the feet of the mountains
that shielded them from the 'North. Thither came many of the
chieftains and people of Fingolfin and Inglor; and of the sons of
Feanor Maidros and Maglor with warriors of the March; and
there they were joined by Cirdan and many folk of the Havens,
and great concourse of the Grey-elves from woods and fields far
and near, and even from Ossiriand there came some of the
Nandor on behalf of their folk. But Thingol came not himself
from Doriath, and sent but two messengers, Dairon and
Mablung, bringing his greetings. At Mereth Aderthad many
counsels were taken in good will, and oaths were sworn of
league and friendship, and there was much mirth and good
hope; and indeed there followed after a fair time of peace, of
growth and blossoming, and all the land was glad, though still
the Shadow brooded in the North.
$73. (At this feast it is recorded that the tongue of the
Grey-elves was most spoken even by the Noldor, for whereas
the Noldor readily learned the speech of the land, the Sindar
were slow to master the tongue of Aman.)
50.
$74. Here after long peace, as Inglor and Turgon journeyed
together, and lay by night near the Twilight Meres, Ulmo laid a
deep sleep upon them and troubled them in dreams. And
thereafter each sought separately for places of strength and
refuge in the land, lest Morgoth should burst from Angband as
their dreams foreboded. [Added later: But Turgon found not
what he sought, and returned to Nivrost.]
52.
$75. In this year Inglor and his sister Galadriel were long the
guests of Thingol their kinsman. And Inglor was filled with
wonder at the beauty and strength of Menegroth, and he
desired greatly to make for himself a strong place in like
manner. Therefore he opened his heart to Thingol, telling him of
his dreams; and Thingol spoke to him of the caves under the
High Faroth on the west-bank of Narog, and when he departed
gave him guides to lead him to that place of which few yet knew.
Thus Inglor came to the Caverns of Narog and began there to
establish deep halls and armouries, after the manner of Mene-
groth; and that stronghold was called Nargothrond. Wherefore
the Noldor named him Felagund, Lord of Caves, and that name
he bore until his end. But Galadriel did not depart [added later:
from Doriath], and remained long with Melian, for there was
much love between them.
53.
$76. [Turgon journeying alone, by the favour of Ulmo later
>] In this year Ulmo appeared to Turgon upon the shores of
Nivrost, and at his bidding went forth alone, and by the favour
of Ulmo he / discovered that hidden vale amid the encircling
mountains where afterwards Gondolin was built. Of this he
spoke to none yet, but began secretly to devise the plan of a city
after the manner of Tirion upon Tuna, for which his heart now
yearned in exile.
60.
The Third Battle.
$77. Here Morgoth, believing the report of his spies that the
lords of the Eldar were wandering abroad with little thought of
war, made trial of the strength and watchfulness of his enemies.
Once more, with little warning, his might was stirred, and
suddenly there were earthquakes in the North, and fires came
from fissures in the earth, and the Iron Mountains vomited
flame; and an army of Orcs thrust down the Vale of Sirion and
attempted to pierce to the heart of Beleriand. But Fingolfin and
Maidros were not sleeping, and gathering swiftly great force of
both Noldor and Sindar they destroyed all the scattered bands
of the Orcs that had stolen into the land; but the main host they
repelled, and drove out onto the fields of Ardgalen, and there
surrounded it and destroyed it, to the least and last, within sight
of Angband. This was the Third Battle of the Wars, and was
called Dagor Aglareb, the Glorious Battle.
$78. A victory it was, and yet a warning; and the chieftains
took heed of it, and thereafter drew closer their leaguer, and
strengthened and ordered their watch, setting the Siege of
Angband, which lasted wellnigh four hundred years. And
Fingolfin boasted that (save by treason among themselves)
Morgoth could never again burst from the leaguer of the Eldar.
Yet neither could the Noldor take Angband nor regain the
Silmarils. And war never wholly ceased in all that time of the
Siege; for Morgoth was secretly forging new weapons, and ever
and anon he would make trial of his enemies. Moreover, he was
not encircled upon the uttermost north; and though the ice and
snow restrained his enemies from keeping watch in the frozen
wilderness, it hindered not his spies and messengers from secret
going and coming.
The following passage as the text was originally written began thus:
'At this time also Morgoth began a new evil. He bade his servants to
take alive any of the Eldar ...' This was replaced by the long rider
(written on a separate page) that follows here ($$79 - 81), returning
to the original text at 'He now bade the Orkor to take alive any of
the Eldar', the second sentence of $81.
$79. Nor himself, an he would go. Indeed we learn now in
Eressea from the Valar, through our kin that dwell still in Aman,
that after Dagor-nuin-Giliath Melkor was so long in assailing
the Eldar with strength for he himself had departed from
Angband, for the last time. Even as before at the awakening of
the Quendi, his spies were watchful, and tidings soon came to
him of the arising of Men. This seemed to him so great a matter
that secretly under shadow he went forth into Middle-earth,
leaving the command of the War to Sauron his lieutenant. Of his
dealings with Men the Eldar knew naught at that time, and
know little now, for neither the Valar nor Men have spoken to
them clearly of these things.
$80. But that some darkness lay upon the hearts of Men (as
the shadow of the kinslaying and the doom of Mandos lay upon
the Noldor) the Eldar perceived clearly even in the fair folk of
the Elf-friends that they first knew. To corrupt or destroy
whatsoever arose new and fair was ever the chief desire of
Morgoth; but as regards the Eldar, doubtless he had this
purpose also in his errand: by fear and lies to make Men their
foes, and bring them up out of the East against Beleriand. But
this design was slow to ripen, and was never wholly achieved,
for Men (it is said) were at first very few in number, whereas
Morgoth grew afraid of the tidings of the growing power and
union of the Eldar and came back to Angband, leaving behind
at that time but few servants, and those of less might and
cunning.
$81. Certain it is that at this time (which was the time of his
return, if the aforesaid account be true, as we must believe)
Morgoth began a new evil, desiring above all to sow fear and
disunion among the Eldar in Beleriand. He now bade the Orkor
to take alive any of the Eldar that they could and bring them
bound to Angband. For it was his intent to use their lore and
skill under duress for his own ends; moreover he took pleasure
in tormenting them, and would besides by pain wring from
them at times tidings of the deeds and counsels of his enemies.
Some indeed he so daunted by the terror of his eyes that they
needed no chains more, but walked ever in fear of him, doing
his will wherever they might be. These he would unbind and let
return to work treason among their own kin. In this way also
was the curse of Mandos fulfilled, for after a while the Elves
grew afraid of those who claimed to have escaped from
thraldom, and often those hapless whom the Orcs ensnared,
even if they broke from the toils would but wander homeless
and friendless thereafter, becoming outlaws in the woods.
$82 And though it was long ere all these evils began to
appear, it is said that even after the victory of the Third Battle
some of the Eldar (either caught by robber bands in the woods,
or over rash in pursuit of the foe) were thus seized and taken to
Morgoth. And thus he learned much of all that had befallen
since the rebellion of Feanor, and rejoiced seeing therein the
seed of many dissensions among his foes. But thus also it
became known to the Eldar that the Silmarils yet lived, and were
set in the Iron Crown that Morgoth wore upon his dark throne.
For the Noldor were a mighty race yet, and few of them could
he so daunt that they would do his will, but escaping they
became oft his deadliest foes.
$83. In the Quenta Noldorinwa it is recounted in what
manner after Dagor Aglareb the lords of the Noldor and Sindar
ordered the land, during the Siege of Angband. Here it suffices
to say that [added: westernmost at first Turgon abode in Nivrost
south of Drengist between Eryd Lomin and the Sea; but]
Fingolfin and Fingon held Hithlum and had their abode and
chief fortress at Eithel Sirion; and they had horsemen also that
rode upon the fields of Ardgalen, for from few their horses had
increased swiftly, and the grass of Ardgalen was yet rich and
green. Of those horses many of the sires came from Valinor, and
were given to Fingolfin by Maidros in atonement of his losses,
for they had been carried by ship to Losgar.
$84. The sons of Finrod held the land from Hithlum unto
the eastern end of Dorthonion. Inglor and Orodreth held the
pass of Sirion, but Angrod and Egnor held the north slopes of
Dorthonion as far as Aglon where began the March of Maidros
aforesaid.
$85. Behind this leaguer from the Sea to Eryd Luin the wide
countries of Beleriand, west and east of Sirion, were held in this
wise. Though Fingolfin of Hithlum was overlord of all the
Noldor, Inglor, well-beloved of all Elves, became indeed the
greatest prince in the land. For King Felagund he was in
Nargothrond, whereas his brothers Angrod and Egnor were
lords of Dorthonion and his vassals; and he had also a fort and
place of battle in the north, in the wide pass between Eredweth-
rin and Dorthonion through which Sirion flowed south. There
stood ah isle amid the river, and upon it Inglor built a mighty
watchtower: Minnas-tirith: and there, when Nargothrond was
made, he set Orodreth as warden. But upon either side of Narog
all the folk of either race that dwelt in the lands took him for
their lord, as far south as the Mouths of Sirion, and from
Nenning in the West to the borders of Doriath eastward. But in
Eglarest, and west of Nenning to the Sea, Cirdan the Shipwright
was lord, yet ever he was close in friendship with Nargothrond.
$86 Doriath in the midst of the land was the realm of King
Thingol; and east the wide countries south of the March of
Maidros, even to the borders of Ossiriand were held to be the
domain of the sons of Feanor. But few dwelt there save hunters
and Grey-elves wandering, and there Damrod and Diriel abode
and came seldom northward while the Siege lasted. Thither
other of the Elven-lords would ride at whiles, even from afar, to
hunt in the green-woods; but none ever passed east over Eryd
Luin or looked upon Eriador, save the Green-elves only, who
had kindred that dwelt yet in the further lands. Thus little news
and late came to Beleriand of what passed in the regions of the
East.
60-445.
$87. For the most part the time of the Siege of Angband was
a time of gladness, and the earth had peace under the new light,
while the swords of the Noldor restrained the malice of
Morgoth, and his thought being bent on their ruin he gave the
less heed to aught else in Middle-earth. In this time therefore
Men waxed and multiplied, [and they had converse with the
Dark-elves of the Eastlands >] and among them were some that
had converse with the Elves of Middle-earth, / and learned
much of them. [From them it is said that they took the first
beginnings of the many tongues of Men. Thus they heard
rumour of the Blessed Realms [sic] of the West and of the
Powers that dwelt there, and many of the Fathers of Men, the
Atanatari, in their wanderings moved ever westward. This
passage was rewritten to read:] From them it is said that they
took the first beginnings of the western tongues of Men; and
from them also they heard rumour of the Blessed Realms of the
West and of the Powers of Light that dwelt there. Therefore
many of the Fathers of Men, the Atanatari, in their wanderings
moved ever westward, fleeing from the darkness that had
ensnared them. For these Elf-friends were Men that had
repented and rebelled against the Dark Power, and were cruelly
hunted and oppressed by those that worshipped it, and its
servants.
64.
$88. Now the unquiet that Ulmo set in his heart returned to
Turgon in Nivrost, and he gathered therefore his folk together,
even to a third part of the Noldor of Fingolfin's people (nor
were any of the Sindar among them), and with their wives
and their goods they departed secretly along the south of
Ered-wethrin, and few knew whither they were gone. But
Turgon came to Gondolin, and there his folk pressed on with
the building of the city that he had devised in his heart; and they
set a guard upon it that none might come upon it from without.
[This annal was later changed to read:]
$89. Now the unquiet that Ulmo set in his heart returned to
Turgon in Nivrost, and he gathered therefore many of his most
skilled folk together and led them secretly to Gondolin, and
there they began the building of the strong city that Turgon had
devised in his heart; and they set a guard upon it that none
might come upon their work from without.
65.
$90. Here with the aid of the Noldor (whose skill far
surpassed that of the Sindar) Brithombar and Eglarest were
walled about with great walls, and fair towns were raised
within, and harbours with quays and piers of stone. And the
Tower of Ingildon was set up upon the cape west of Eglarest to
watch the Sea; though needlessly, as it proved. For at no time
ever did Morgoth essay to build ships or to make war by sea.
Water all his servants shunned, and to the Sea none would
willing go nigh, save in dire need.
66.
$91. Now Galadriel Finrod's daughter, as hath been told,
dwelt with Melian, and was dear to her. And at times they
would speak together of Valinor and the bliss of old; but beyond
the dark hour of the death of the Trees Galadriel would not go,
but fell ever silent.
$92. And on a time Melian said: 'There is some woe that lies
upon thee and thy kin. That I can see in thee, but all else is
'hidden from me; for by no vision or thought can I perceive
aught that passed or passes in the West: a shadow lies over all
the Land of Aman, and reaches far out over the Sea. [Wilt thou
not >] Why wilt thou not tell me more?'
'For that woe is past,' answered Galadriel; 'and I would take
what joy is here left untroubled by memory. And maybe there is
woe enough yet to come, though still hope may seem bright.'
$93. Then Melian looked in her eyes, and said: 'I believe not
that the Noldor came forth as messengers of the Valar, as was
said at first: not though they came in the very hour of our need.
For lo! they speak never of the Valar, nor have their high lords
brought any message to Thingol, whether from Manwe, or
Ulmo, or even from Olwe the king's brother and his own folk
that went over the Sea. For what cause, Galadriel, were the high
people of the Noldor driven forth as exiles from Aman? Or
what evil lies on the sons of Feanor that they are so haughty and
fell? Do I not strike near the truth?'
$94. 'Near, lady,' answered Galadriel, 'save that we were not
driven forth, but came of our own will, and against that of the
Valar. And through great peril and in despite of the Valar for
this purpose we came: to take vengeance upon Morgoth, [or >]
and regain what he stole.' Then Galadriel spoke to Melian of
the Silmarils, and of the slaying of King Finwe. But still she said
no word of the Oath, nor of the Kinslaying, nor of the burning
of the ships.
$95. But Melian, who looked still in her eyes as she spoke,
said: 'Now much thou tellest me, and yet more I perceive. A
darkness thou wouldst cast still over the long road from Tirion,
but I see evil there, which Thingol should learn for his
guidance.'
'Maybe,' said Galadriel, 'but not of me.'
$96. And Melian spoke then no more of these matters with
Galadriel; but she told to King Thingol all that she had heard of
the Silmarils. 'This is a great matter,' said she, 'a greater indeed
than the Noldor themselves understand. For lo! the Light of
Aman and the fate of Arda lie now locked in these things, the
work of Feanor, who is gone. They shall not be recovered, I
foretell, by any power of the Eldar; and the world shall be
broken in battles that are to come, ere they are wrested from
Morgoth. See now! Feanor they have slain (and many another I
guess); but first of all the deaths they have brought and yet shall
bring was Finwe thy friend. Morgoth slew him, ere he fled from
Aman.'
$97 Then Thingol was silent a while with grief and
foreboding; but at length he said: 'Now at last I understand the
coming of the Noldor out of the West, at which I wondered
much before. Not to our aid came they (save by chance); for
those that remain upon Middle-earth the Valar will leave to
their own devices, until the uttermost need. For vengeance and
redress of their loss the Noldor came. Yet all the more sure shall
they be as allies against Morgoth, with whom it is not now to be
thought that they shall ever make treaty.'
$98. But Melian said: 'Truly for these causes they came; but
for others also. Beware of the sons of Feanor! The shadow of
the wrath of the Gods lies upon them; and they have done evil, I
perceive, both in Aman and to their own kin. A grief but lulled
to sleep lies between the princes of the Noldor.'
$99. And Thingol said: What is that to me? Of Feanor I
have heard but report, which maketh him great indeed. Of his
sons I hear little to my pleasure; yet they are likely to prove the
deadliest foes of our foe.'
'Their words and their counsels shall have two edges,' said
Melian; and afterward they spake no more of this matter.
67
$100. It was not long ere whispered tales began to pass
among the Sindar concerning the deeds of the Noldor ere they
came to Beleriand. Whence they came is now clear (though it
was not so then), and as may well be thought, the evil truth was
enhanced and poisoned with lies. Morgoth chose the Sindar for
this first assault of his malice, because they knew him not, and
were yet unwary and trustful of words. Therefore Cirdan,
hearing these dark tales, was troubled. Wise he was, and
perceived swiftly that, true or false, these tales were put about at
this time with malice; but the malice he deemed was that of the
princes of the Noldor because of the jealousy of their houses.
Therefore he sent messengers to Thingol to tell all that he had
heard.
$101. And it chanced that at that time the sons of Finrod
were again the guests of Thingol, for they wished to see their
sister Galadriel. Then Thingol, being greatly moved, spake in ire
to Inglor, saying: 'Ill hast thou done to me, kinsman, to conceal
so great matters from me. For behold! I have learned of all the
evil deeds of the Noldor.'
$102 But Inglor answered: 'What ill have I done thee, lord?
Or what evil deed have the Noldor done in all thy realm to
grieve thee? Neither against thy kingship nor against any of thy
folk have they thought evil or done evil.'
$103. 'I marvel at thee, son of Earwen,' said Thingol, 'that
thou wouldst come to the board of thy kinsman thus red-
handed from the slaying of thy mother's kin, and yet say nought
in defence, nor yet seek any pardon!'
$104. And Inglor was sorely troubled, but he was silent, for
he could not defend himself, save by bringing charges against
the other princes of the Noldor; and this he was loath to do
before Thingol. But in Angrod's heart the memory of the words
of Cranthir welled up again with bitterness, and he cried: 'Lord,
I know not what lies thou hast heard, nor whence. But we come
not redhanded. Guiltless we came forth, save maybe of folly, to
listen to the words of fell Feanor, and become as folk besotted
with wine, and as briefly. No evil did we do on our road, but
suffered ourselves great wrong. And forgave it. For which we
are named tale-bearers to thee and treasonable to the Noldor.
Untruly as thou knowest, for we have of our loyalty been silent
before thee, and thus earned thy anger. But now these charges
are not longer to be borne, and the truth thou shalt know.' Then
he spake bitterly against the sons of Feanor, telling of the blood
at Alqualonde, and the doom of Mandos, and the burning of
the ships at Losgar. 'Wherefore should we that endured the
Grinding Ice bear the names of kinslayers and traitors?' he
cried.
$105. 'Yet the shadow of Mandos lies on you also,' said
Melian. But Thingol was long silent ere he spoke. 'Go now!' he
said. 'For my heart is hot within me. Later ye may return, if you
will. For I will not shut my doors for ever against you my kin,
that were ensnared in an evil that ye did not aid. With Fingolfin
and his folk also I will keep friendship, for they have bitterly
atoned for such ill as they did. And in our hatred of the Power
that wrought all this woe our griefs shall be lost.
$106. 'But hear this! Never again in my ears shall be heard
the tongue of those who slew my folk in Alqualonde! Nor in all
my realm shall that tongue be openly spoken, while my power
endureth. All the Sindar shall hear my command that they shall
neither speak with the tongue of the Noldor nor answer to it.
And all such as use it shall be held slayers of kin and betrayers
of kin unrepentant.'
$107. Then the sons of Finrod departed from Menegroth
with heavy hearts, perceiving how the words of Mandos would
ever be made true, and that none of the Noldor that followed
after Feanor could escape from the shadow that lay upon his
house. And it came to pass even as Thingol had spoken; for the
Sindar heard his word and thereafter throughout Beleriand they
refused the tongue of the Noldor, and shunned those that spoke
it aloud; but the Exiles took the Sindarin tongue in all their daily
uses, [save only in Gondolin where Noldor dwelt unmingled,
but that was yet hidden. >] and the High Speech of the West
was spoken only by the lords of the Noldor among themselves,
yet it lived ever as a language of lore wherever any of that folk
dwelt.
102.
$108. About this time it is recorded that Nargothrond was
full-wrought, and Finrod's sons were gathered there to a feast
and Galadriel came from Doriath and dwelt there a while. Now
King Inglor Felagund had no wife, and Galadriel asked him why
this was; but foresight came upon Felagund as she spoke, and he
said: 'An oath I too shall swear, and must be free to fulfill it and
go into darkness. Nor shall anything of all my realm endure that
a son should inherit.'
$109. But it is said that not until that hour had such cold
thoughts ruled him; for indeed she whom he had loved was
Amarie of the Vanyar, and she was not permitted to go with him
into exile.
116.
$110. In this year according to the records of that city
Gondolin was full-wrought, in fifty years after the coming of
Turgon from Nivrost. But no tidings of this came over the
mountains, nor were any of Turgon's kin bidden to a feast. [This
annal was later struck out and replaced by the following rider,
$$111-13:]
$111. In this year Gondolin was full-wrought, after fifty
[added: and 2] years of secret toil. Now therefore Turgon
prepared to depart from Nivrost, and leave his fair halls in
Vinyamar beneath Mount Taras; and then [for the last time
Ulmo himself came to him >] Ulmo came to him a second time /
and said: 'Now thou shalt go at last to Gondolin, Turgon; and I
will set my power in the Vale of Sirion, so that none shall mark
thy going, nor shall any find there the hidden entrance to thy
land against thy will. Longest of all the realms of the Eldalie
shall Gondolin stand against Melkor. But love it not too well,
and remember that the true hope of the Noldor lieth in the West
and cometh from the Sea.'
$112. And Ulmo warned Turgon that he also lay under the
Doom of Mandos, which Ulmo had no power to remove. 'Thus
it may come to pass,' he said, 'that the curse of the Noldor shall
find thee too ere the end, and treason shall awake within thy
walls. Then shall they be in peril of fire. But if this peril draweth
nigh, then even from Nivrost one shall come to warn thee, and
from him beyond ruin and fire hope shall be born for Elves and
Men. Leave, therefore, in this house arms and a sword, that in
years to come he may find them, and thus shalt thou know him
and be not deceived.' And Ulmo showed to Turgon of what kind
and stature should be the mail and helm and sword that he left
behind.
$113. Then Ulmo returned to the Sea; and Turgon sent forth
all his folk (even to a third part of the Noldor of Fingolfin's
House, and a yet greater host of the Sindar), and they passed
away, company by company, secretly, under the shadows of
Eryd Wethion, and came unseen with their wives and goods to
Gondolin, and none knew whither they were gone. And last of
all Turgon arose and went with his lords and household silently
through the hills and passed the gates in the mountains, and
they were shut. But Nivrost was empty of folk and so remained
until the ruin of Beleriand.
150.
$114. The people of Cranthir Feanor's son dwelt beyond the
upper waters of Gelion, about Lake Helevorn under the shadow
of the Blue Mountains. At this time it is said that they first
climbed into the mountains and looked eastward, and wide and
wild it seemed to them was Middle-earth. Thus it was that
Cranthir's folk first came upon the Naugrim, who after the
onslaught of Morgoth and the coming of the Noldor had ceased
their traffick into Beleriand. Now, though either people loved
skill and was eager to learn, there was little love between the
Noldor and the Dwarves. For the Dwarves were secret and
quick to resentment, whereas Cranthir was haughty and scarce
concealed his scorn for the unloveliness of the Naugrim, and his
folk followed their lord. Nonetheless, since both peoples feared
and hated Morgoth they made alliance, and had of it great
profit. For the Naugrim learned many secrets of craft in those
days, so that the smiths and masons of Nogrod and Belegost
became renowned among their kin; but the Noldor got great
wealth of iron, and their armouries became filled with store of
weapons and harness of war. Moreover thereafter, until the
power of Maidros was overthrown, all the traffick of the
dwarf-mines passed first through the hands of Cranthir, and
thus he won great riches.
155.
$115. Here after long quiet Morgoth endeavoured to take
Fingolfin at unawares (for he knew of the vigilance of Maidros);
and he sent forth an army into the white north, and it turned
then west and again south and came by the coasts to the firth
of Drengist, and so would enter into the heart of the realm of
Hithlum. But it was espied in time and taken in a trap among
the hills at the head of the firth, and the most of the Orcs were
driven into the sea. This was not reckoned among the great
battles, and was but the most dangerous of the many trials and
thrusts that Angband would make ever and anon against the
leaguer. Thereafter there was peace for many years, and no open
assault; for Morgoth perceived now that the Orcs unaided were
no match for the Noldor, save in such numbers as he could not
yet muster. Therefore he sought in his heart for new counsel,
and he bethought him of dragons.
260.
$116. Here Glaurung, the first of the Uruloki, the fire-
drakes of the North, came forth from Angband's gate by night.
He was yet young and scarce half-grown (for long and slow is
the life of those worms), but the Elves fled before him to
Erydwethrin and to Dorthonion in dismay; and he defiled the
fields of Ardgalen. Then Fingon, prince of Hithlum, rode
against him with archers upon horseback, and hemmed him
round with a ring of swift riders. And Glaurung in turn was
dismayed, for he could not endure their darts, being not yet
come to his full armoury; and he fled back to hell, and came not
forth again for many years. But Morgoth was ill pleased that
Glaurung had disclosed himself over soon; and after his defeat
there was the long peace of wellnigh two hundred years. In that
time there was naught but affrays on the north-marches, and all
Beleriand prospered and grew rich, and the Noldor built many
towers and fair dwellings and made many things of beauty, and
many poesies and histories and books of lore. And in many
parts of the land the Noldor and Sindar became welded into one
folk and spoke the same tongue; though ever this difference
remained between them, that the Noldor of purer race had the
greater power of mind and body, being both the mightier
warriors and sages, and they built with stone, and loved rather
the hill-slopes and open lands. Whereas the Sindar had the
fairer voices and were more skilled in music (save only Maglor
son of Feanor), and loved the woods and riversides, and some
still would wander far and wide without settled abode, and they
sang as they went.
[Isfin and Eol]
At this point in the manuscript my father inserted an annal entry for
the year 316 concerning Isfin and Eol, replacing the annal that stood
in the manuscript under 471, which was struck out. He wrote the
new annal on the back of a page from an engagement calendar for
November 1951; and on the same page he added two further annals
on the same subject, for the years 320 and 400. It is clearest and
most convenient to give all four annals (i.e. the original one for 471
and the three later ones) together here.
$117. [Rejected annal for the year 471] In this year Isfin the
White, sister of Turgon,, wearying of the city, and desiring to
look again upon Fingon her brother, went from Gondolin
against the will and counsel of Turgon; and she strayed into
Brethil and was lost in the dark forest. There Eol, the Dark-elf,
who abode in the forest, found her and took her to wife. In the
depths of the wood he lived and shunned the sun, desiring only
the starlight of old; for so he had dwelt since the first finding of
Beleriand, and took no part in all the deeds of his kin.
316
$118. Here Isfin the White, sister of Turgon, wearying of the
city, went from Gondolin against the [will >] wish of Turgon.
And she went not to Fingon, as he bade, but sought the ways to
the East, to the land of Celegorm and his brethren, her friends
of old in Valinor. But she strayed from her escort in the shadows
of Nan Dungorthin, and went on alone; and she came at last to
Nan Elmoth. There she came into the enchantments of Eol the
Dark-elf, who abode in the wood and shunned the sun, desiring
only the starlight of old. And Eol took her to wife, and she
abode with him, and no tidings of her came to any of her kin;
for Eol suffered her not to stray far, nor to fare abroad save in
the dark or the twilight.
320.
$119. Here Isfin the White bore a son in Nan Elmoth to Eol
the Dark-elf; and she would name him (?) Fingol [added: dur),
but Eol named him Glindur [later > Maeglin]; for that was the
name of the metal of Eol, which he himself devised, and it was
dark, supple, and yet strong; and even so was his son.
400.
$120. Here Isfin and her son Glindur [later > Maeglin] fled
from Eol the Dark-elf in Nan Elmoth, and came to Gondolin,
and they were received with joy by Turgon, who had deemed his
sister dead or lost beyond finding. But Eol, following them with
stealth, found the Hidden Way, and was brought by the Guard
to Turgon. Turgon received him well, but he was wroth and
filled with hatred of the Noldor, and spoke evilly, and demanded
to depart with his son. And when that was denied to him he
sought to slay Glindur [not emended] with a poisoned dart, but
Isfin sprang before her son, and was wounded, and died in that
day. Therefore Eol was doomed to death, and cast from the high
walls of Gondolin; and he cursed his son as he died, foreboding
that he should die a like death. But Glindur [later > Maeglin]
abode in Gondolin and became great among its lords.
370.
$121. Here Beor, eldest of the Fathers of Men of the West,
was born east of the mountains.
388.
$122. Here Haleth the Hunter was born in Eriador.
390.
$123. Here also in Eriador was born Hador the Golden-
haired, whose house was after the most renowned of all the
kindreds of the Elf-friends.
400
$124 Here King Inglor Felagund went a-hunting in the
eastern woods, as is told in the Quenta, and he passed into
Ossiriand, and there came upon Beor and his men, that were
new-come over the mountains. Beor became a vassal of
Felagund, and went back with him into the west-country, and
dwelt with him until his death. There was great love between
them. In eastern Beleriand was born Bregolas son of Beor.
402.
$125. Here there was fighting on the north-marches, more
bitter than there had been since the routing of Glaurung; for the
Orcs attempted to pierce the pass of Aglon. There Maidros and
Maglor were aided by the sons of Finrod, and Beor was with
them, the first of Men to draw sword in behalf of the Eldar.
In this year Barahir son of Beor was born, who after dwelt in
Dorthonion.
413.
$126. Hundor son of Haleth was born.
417.
$127. Galion the Tall, son of Hador, was born [beneath the
shadows of Eryd Lindon >] in Eriador.
419.
$128. Gundor son of Hador was born beneath the shadows
of Eryd Lindon.
420.
$129. In this year Haleth the Hunter came into Beleriand
out of Eriador. Soon after came also Hador the Goldenhaired
with great companies of Men. Haleth remained in Sirion's vale,
and his folk wandered much in hunting, owning allegiance to
no prince; but their dwellings were deep in the forest of Brethil
between Taiglin and Sirion, where none before had dwelt
because of the greatness and darkness of the trees. Hador hear-
ing that there was room and need of folk in Hithlum, and being
come of a northland people, became a vassal of Fingolfin; and
he strengthened greatly the armies of the king, and he was given
wide lands in Hithlum in the country of Dor-Lomin. There was
ever great love between the Eldar and the house of Hador, and
the folk of Hador were the first of Men to forsake their own
tongue and speak the elven-tongue of Beleriand.
$130. It is said that in these matters none save Inglor took
counsel with King Thingol. And he was ill pleased, for that
reason and because he was troubled with dreams concerning the
coming of Men, ere ever the first tidings of them were heard.
Therefore he commanded that Men should take no lands to
dwell in save in the north, in Hithlum and Dorthonion, and that
the princes whom they served should be answerable for all that
they did. And he said, Into Doriath shall no Man come while
my realm lasts, not even those of the house of Beor who serve
Inglor the beloved.'
$131. Melian said naught to him at that time, but she said
after to Galadriel: 'Now the world runs on swiftly to great
tidings. And lo! 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; and the songs that shall
spring from that coming shall endure when all Middle-earth is
changed.'
422.
$132. Here at the prayer of Inglor Thingol granted to
Haleth's people to live in Brethil; for they were in good
friendship with the woodland Elves.
$133. In this time, the strength of Men being added to the
Noldor, their hope rose high, and Morgoth was more straitly
enclosed; for the folk of Hador, being hardy to endure cold and
long wandering, feared not at times to go far into the North and
keep watch on any movements of the Enemy. Now Fingolfin
began to ponder an assault upon Angband; for he knew that
they lived in danger while Morgoth was free to labour in his
deep mines, devising what evils none could foretell ere he
should reveal them. But because the land was grown so fair
most of the Eldar were content with matters as they were and
slow to begin an assault in which many must surely perish, were
it in victory or defeat. Therefore his designs were delayed and
came in the end to naught.
$134. The Men of the Three Houses now grew and multi-
plied; and they learned wisdom and craft and fair speech of the
Eldar, and became more like to them than any other race have
been, yet they were gladly subject to the Elf-lords and loyal; and
there was as yet no grief between the two kindreds.
$135. 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 no greater in stature than the Eldar of
that day. For the Noldor indeed were tall as are in the latter days
men of great might and majesty. But the people of Hador were
of yet greater strength and stature, mighty among the Children
of Eru, ready in mind, bold and steadfast. Yellowhaired they
were for the most part and blue-eyed * and their women were
tall and fair. Like unto them were the woodmen of Haleth, yet
somewhat broader and less high.
423.
$136. Hador's folk entered Dorlomin. [This annal u as a late
pencilled addition.]
[425 >] 424.
$137. Baragund son of Bregolas son of Beor was born in
Dorthonion.
428.
$138. Belegund his brother was born.
432.
$139. Beren son of Barahir son of Beor was born in
Dorthonion, who was after named Erchamion the One-handed
and Camlost the Emptyhanded. His mother was Emeldir the
Manhearted.
436.
$140. Hundor son of Haleth wedded Glorwendil daughter
of Hador.
441.
$141. Hurin the Steadfast son of Galion son of Hador was
born in Hithlum. In the same year was born Handir son of
Hundor.
[445 >] 443.
$142. Morwen Eledwen, the Elf-sheen, was born, daughter
of Baragund. She was the fairest of all mortal maidens of the
Elder Days.
444.
$143. Huor brother of Hurin was born.
(* Not so was Turin, but his mother was of Beor's house.)
450.
$144. Rian daughter of Belegund, mother of Tuor the
Blessed, was born. In this year Beor the Old, father of Men, died
of [old age >] age. The Eldar saw then for the first time [the
death of weariness, without wound or sickness; by late pencilled
change >] the swift waning of the life of Men and the coming
of death without wound or grief; and they wondered at the fate
of Men, grieving greatly at the short span that was allotted to
them. Bregolas then ruled the people of Beor.
455.
$145. The Fell Year. Here came an end of peace and mirth.
In the winter, at the year's beginning, Morgoth unloosed at last
his long-gathered strength, and he sought now to break with
one great blow the leaguer of Angband, and to overthrow the
Noldor and destroy Beleriand utterly. The Battle began sud-
denly on the night of mid-winter, and fell first and most heavily
upon the sons of Finrod. This is named the Dagor Bragollach,
the Battle of Sudden Flame. Rivers of fire ran down from
Thangorodrim, and Glaurung, Father of Dragons, came forth in
his full might. The green plains of Ardgalen were burned up and
became a drear desert without growing thing; and thereafter
they were called Anfauglith, the Gasping Dust.
$146. In the assault upon the defences of Dorthonion
Angrod and Egnor, sons of Finrod, fell, and with them Bregolas
was slain and a great part of the warriors of Beor's folk. But
Barahir his brother was in the fighting further westward nigh
the passes of Sirion. There King Inglor Felagund, hastening
from the south, was defeated and was surrounded with small
company in the Fen of Serech. But Barahir came thither with the
doughtiest of his men, and broke the leaguer of the Orcs and
saved the Elven-king. Then Inglor gave to Barahir his ring, an
heirloom of his house, in token of the oath that he swore unto
Barahir to render whatsoever service was asked in hour of need
to him or to any of his kin. Then Inglor went south to Nargoth-
rond, but Barahir returned to Dorthonion to save what he could
of the people of Beor.
$147. Fingolfin and Fingon had marched indeed from
Hithlum to the aid of the sons of Finrod, but they were driven
back to the mountains with grievous loss. Hador, now aged
[later > old and '65' added], fell defending his lord at Eithel
Sirion, and with him fell Gundor his [added later: younger] son,
pierced with many arrows. Then Galion the Tall took the
lordship of the House of Hador.
$148. Against the March of Maidros there came also a great
army and the sons of Feanor were overwhelmed. Maidros
and Maglor held out valiantly upon the Hill of Himring, and
Morgoth could not yet take the great fortress that they had
there built; but the Orcs broke through upon either side,
through Aglon and between Gelion and Celon, and they
ravaged far into East Beleriand driving the Eldar before them,
and Cranthir and Damrod and Diriel fled into the south.
Celegorn and Curufin held strong forces behind Aglon, and
many horsed archers, but they were overthrown, and Celegorn
and Curufin hardly escaped, and passed westward along the
north borders of Doriath with such mounted following as they
could save, and came thus at length to the vale of Sirion.
$149. Turgon was not in that battle, nor Haleth, nor any but
few of Haleth's men. [The following passage, to the end of
$150, was struck out later: It is said that in the autumn before
the Sudden Flame, Hurin son of Galion was dwelling as
fosterson (as the custom was among the northern men) with
Haleth, and Handir and Hurin, being of like age, went much
together; and hunting in Sirion's vale they found [by chance or
fate later >] by fate or the will of Ulmo I the hidden entrance
into the valley of Tumladin where stood Gondolin the guarded
city. There they were taken by the watch and brought before
Turgon, and looked upon the city of which none that dwelt
outside yet knew aught, save Thorondor King of Eagles. But
Turgon welcomed them, for [messages and dreams sent by
Ulmo, Lord of Waters, up the streams of Sirion had warned him
that a time of grief approached in which he would have need of
the help of Men. >] Ulmo, Lord of Waters, had warned him to
look kindly upon the folk of the House.of Hador, from whom
great help should come to him at need.
$150. It is said that Turgon had great liking for the boy
Hurin, and wished to keep him in Gondolin; but Thorondor
brought dread tidings of the great battle, and Handir and Hurin
wished to depart to share the troubles of their folk. Therefore
Turgon let them go, but they swore to him oaths of secrecy and
never revealed Gondolin; yet at this time Hurin learned
something of the counsels of Turgon, though he kept them
hidden in his heart.]
$151. When [later > But when] Turgon learned of the
breaking of the leaguer of Angband, he sent secret messengers to
the mouths of Sirion and to the Isle of Balar and there they [the
following passage was struck out and replaced at the time o f
writing: built many swift ships. Thence many set sail upon
Turgon's errand, seeking for Valinor, to ask for pardon and for
aid of the Valar, but none came ever to the West and few
returned.
$152. Now it seemed to Fingolfin, King of the Noldor, that
he beheld the utter ruin of his people, and the defeat beyond
redress of all their houses, and he was filled with wrath and
despair. Then he rode forth alone to the gates of Angband]
endeavoured to build ships that might sail into the uttermost
West on Turgon's errand, seeking for Valinor, there to ask for
pardon and the aid of the Valar. But the Noldor had not the art
of shipbuilding, and all the craft that they built foundered or
were driven back by the winds. But Turgon ever maintained a
secret refuge upon the Isle of Balar, and the building of ships
was never wholly abandoned.
$153. [Original date here 456 struck out at the time of
writing] Morgoth learning now of the defeat of the sons of
Finrod, and the scattering of the people of Feanor, hemmed
Fingolfin in Hithlum and sent a great force to attack the
westward pass into the vales of Sirion; and Sauron his lieuten-
ant (who in Beleriand was named Gorsodh) led that assault,
and his hosts broke through and besieged the fortress of Inglor,
Minnas-tirith upon Tolsirion. And this they took after bitter
fighting, and Orodreth the brother of Inglor who held it was
driven out. There he would have been slain, but Celegorn and
Curufin came up with their riders, and such other force as they
could gather, and they fought fiercely, and stemmed the tide for
a while; and thus Orodreth escaped and came to Nargothrond.
Thither also at last before the might of Sauron fled Celegorn
and Curufin with small following; and they were harboured in
Nargothrond gratefully, and the griefs that lay between the
houses of Finrod and Feanor were for that time forgotten.
$154. But Sauron took Minnas-tirith and made it into a
watch-tower for Morgoth, and filled it with evil; for he was a
sorcerer and a master of phantoms and terror. And the fair isle
of Tolsirion became accursed and was called Tol-in-Gaurhoth,
Isle of Werewolves; for Sauron fed many of these evil things.
456.
$155. Now Fingolfin, King of the Noldor, beheld (as him
seemed) the utter ruin of his people, and the defeat beyond
redress of all their houses, and he was filled with wrath and
despair. Therefore he did on his silver arms, and took his white
helm, and his sword Ringil, and his blue shield set with a star of
crystal, and mounting upon Rochallor his great steed he rode
forth alone and none might restrain him. And he passed over
the Anfauglith like a wind amid the dust, and all that beheld his
onset fled in amaze, deeming that Orome himself was come, for
a great madness of ire was upon him, so that his eyes shone like
the eyes of the Valar. Thus he came alone to Angband's gate and
smote upon it once again, and sounding a challenge upon his
silver horn he called Morgoth himself to come forth to combat,
crying: 'Come forth, thou coward king, to fight with thine own
hand! Den-dweller, wielder of thralls, liar and lurker, foe of
Gods and Elves, come! For I would see thy craven face.'
$156. Then Morgoth came. For he could not refuse such a
challenge before the face of his captains. But Fingolfin with-
stood him, though he towered above the Elven-king like a storm
above a lonely tree, and his vast black shield unblazoned
overshadowed the star of Fingolfin like a thundercloud. Mor-
goth fought with a great hammer, Grond, that he wielded as a
mace, and Fingolfin fought with Ringil. Swift was Fingolfin, and
avoiding the strokes of Grond, so that Morgoth smote only the
ground (and at each blow a great pit was made), he wounded
Morgoth seven times with his sword; and the cries of Morgoth
echoed in the north-lands. But wearied at last Fingolfin fell,
beaten to the earth by the hammer of Angband, and Morgoth
set his foot upon his neck and crushed him.
$157. In his last throe Fingolfin pinned the foot of his
Enemy to the earth with Ringil, and the black blood gushed
forth and filled the pits of Grond. Morgoth went ever halt
thereafter. Now lifting the body of the fallen king he would
break it and cast it to his wolves, but Thorondor coming
suddenly assailed him and marred his face, and snatching away
the corse of Fingolfin bore it aloft to the mountains far away
and laid it in a high place north of the valley of Gondolin; there
the eagles piled a great cairn of stones. There was lamentation in
Gondolin when Thorondor brought the tidings, for [the people
of the hidden city were all later >] many of the people of the
hidden city were / Noldor of Fingolfin's house. Now Rochallor
had stayed beside the king until the end, but the wolves of
Angband assailed him, and he escaped from them because of his
great swiftness, and ran at last to Hithlum, and broke his heart
and died. Then in great sorrow Fingon took the lordship of the
house of Fingolfin and the kingdom of the Noldor. [Late
pencilled addition: But his young son (?Findor) [sic] Gilgalad he
sent to the Havens.]
$ 158. Now Morgoth's power overshadowed the north-lands,
but [struck out: still] Barahir would not retreat and defended
still the remant of his land and folk in Dorthonion. But
Morgoth hunted down all that there remained of Elves or Men,
and he sent Sauron against them; and all the forest of the
northward slopes of that land was turned into a region of dread
and dark enchantment, so that it was after called Taur-nu-Fuin,
the Forest under Nightshade.
$159. At last so desperate was the case of Barahir that
Emeldir the Manhearted his wife (whose mind was rather to
fight beside her son and husband than to flee) gathered together
all the women and children that were still left, and gave arms to
those that would bear them, and led them into the mountains
that lay behind, and so by perilous paths, until they came with
loss and misery at last to Brethil. And some were there received
into Haleth's folk, and some passed on to Dorlomin and the
people of Galion Hador's son. (Among these were Morwen
Eledhwen daughter of Baragund, and Rian daughter of
Belegund.) But none ever again saw the menfolk that they had
left. For these were slain one by one, or fled, until at last only
Barahir and Beren his son, and Baragund and Belegund sons of
Bregolas, were left, and with them [eight >] nine desperate men
whose names were long remembered in song: Dagnir and
Ragnor, Radhruin and Dairuin and Gildor, Urthel and Arthad
and Hathaldir, and Gorlim Unhappy. Outlaws without hope
they became, for their dwellings were destroyed, and their wives
and children slain or taken or fled with Emeldir. No help came
to them and they were hunted as wild beasts.
458.
$160. Here Haleth and his men fought with the Orcs that
came down Sirion. In this battle they had help out of Doriath
(for they dwelt upon its west-march), and Beleg the Bowman
chief of the march-wards of Thingol brought great strength of
the Eglath armed with axes into Brethil; and issuing from the
deeps of the forest they took an Orc-legion at unawares and
destroyed it. Thus for a while the black tide out of the North
was stemmed in that region and the Orcs did not dare to cross
the Taiglin for many years after.
At this point my father inserted into the manuscript an extensive
rider, replacing the rejected passage in annal 455 ($$149-50). This
rider was written on the backs of two sheets from the engagement
calendar for 1951 (see p. 47), covering weeks in August - September
and December of that year.
$161. It is said that at this time Hurin and Huor, the sons of
Galion, were dwelling with Haleth [added later: their kinsman]
as fostersons (as the custom then was among northern Men);
and they went both to battle with the Orcs, even Huor, for he
would not be restrained, though he was but thirteen years in
age. And being with a company that was cut off from the rest,
they were pursued to the ford of Brithiach; and there they
would have been taken or slain, but for the power of Ulmo,
which was still strong in Sirion. Therefore a mist arose from the
river and hid them from their enemies, and they escaped into
Dimbar, and wandered in the hills beneath the sheer walls of the
Crisaegrim. There Thorondor espied them, and sent two Eagles
that took them and bore them up and brought them beyond the
mountains to the secret vale of Tumladen and the hidden city of
Gondolin, which no man else had yet seen.
$162. Then they were led before King Turgon, and he
welcomed them, for Ulmo had counselled him to deal kindly
with the House of Hador, whence great help should come to
him at need. And Hurin and Huor dwelt as his guests for well
nigh a year; and it is said that at this time Hurin learned
something of the counsels and purposes of Turgon. For Turgon
had great liking for Hurin, and for Huor his brother, and spoke
much with them; and he wished to keep them in Gondolin, out
of love and not for his law only. Now it was the law of the king
that no stranger who found the way in, or looked on the
guarded realm, should ever depart again until such time as the
king should [come forth from hiding >] open the leaguer and
the hidden people should come forth.
$163. But Hurin and Huor desired to return to their own
kin, and share in the wars and griefs that now beset them. And
Hurin said to Turgon: Lord, we are but mortal men, and unlike
the Eldar. They may endure long years, awaiting battle with
their enemies in some far distant day. But for us time is short,
and our hope and strength soon withereth. Moreover we found
not the road hither, and indeed we know not surely where this
city standeth; for we were brought in fear and wonder by the
high ways of the air, and in mercy our eyes were veiled.'
$164. Then Turgon yielded to their prayer, and said: 'By
the way that ye came ye have leave to depart, if Thorondor is
willing. I grieve at this parting, yet in a little while, as the Eldar
account it, we may meet again.'
$165. But it is said that [Glindur later >] Maeglin, the king's
sister-son, grieved not at all at their going, [save only later >]
though he begrudged it/ that in this the king showed them
favour, for he loved not the kindred of Men; and he said: 'Your
grace is greater than ye know, and the law is become less stern
than aforetime, or else no choice would be given you but to
abide here to your life's end.'
$166. 'The king's grace is great indeed,' answered Hurin;
'but if we have not thy trust then oaths we will take.' And the
brethren swore never to reveal the counsels of Turgon and to
keep secret all that they had seen in his realm. Then they took
their leave, and the Eagles coming bore them away and set them
down in Dor Lomin; and their kinsfolk rejoiced to see them, for
messages from Brethil had reported that they were slain or
taken by the Orcs. But though they told that they had dwelt a
while in honour in the halls of King Turgon, to none, kin or
stranger, would they ever speak of the manner of his land, or its
ordering, or where upon earth it might be found. Nonetheless
the strange fortune of the sons of Galion, and their friendship
with Turgon, became known far and wide, and reached the ears
of the servants of Morgoth.
The rider ends here, and I return to the original text of the Annals.
460.
$167. The forest of Dorthonion rose southward into moun-
tainous moors. There lay a lake, Tarn-aeluin, in the east of those
highlands, and wild heaths were about it, and all that land was
pathless and untamed; for even in the days of the Long Peace
none had dwelt there. But the waters of Tarn-aeluin were held in
reverence; for they were clear and blue by day and by night were
a mirror for the stars. Melian herself, it was said, had hallowed
that water in days of old. Thither Barahir and his outlaws
withdrew, and there made their lair, and Morgoth could not
discover it. But the rumour of the deeds of Barahir and his
twelve men went far and wide, and enheartened those that were
under the thraldom of Morgoth; and he therefore commanded
Sauron to find and destroy the rebels speedily. Elsewhere in the
Quenta and the Lay of Leithian is much told of this, and how
Sauron ensnared Gorlim by a phantom of his wife Eilinel, and
tormented him and cozened him, so that he betrayed the hidings
of Barahir. Thus at last the outlaws were surrounded and all
slain, save Beren son of Barahir. For Barahir his father had sent
him on a perilous errand to spy upon the ways of the Enemy,
and he was far afield when the lair was taken, and returned only
to find the bodies of the slain.
$168. Then Beren pursued the Orcs that had slain his father,
and coming upon their camp, at Rivil's Well above Serech, he
entered it and slew the captain even as he boasted that he was
the slayer of Barahir; and he snatched from him the hand of
Barahir that had been cut off as a token for Sauron. Thus he
regained the Ring of Felagund that his father had worn.
$169. Thereafter escaping from the Orcs Beren dwelt still in
those lands as a solitary outlaw for four years, and did such
deeds of single-handed daring that Morgoth put a price on his
head no less than upon the head of Fingon King of the Noldor.
462.
$170. Here Morgoth renewed his assaults, seeking to ad-
vance further into Beleriand and secure his hold southwards.
For great though his victory had been in the Bragollach, and he
had done grievous damage then and in the year after to his
enemies, yet his own loss had been no less. And now the Eldar
had recovered from their first dismay and were slowly regaining
what they had lost. Dorthonion he now held and had estab-
lished Sauron in the pass of Sirion; but in the east he had been
foiled. Himring stood firm. The army that had driven into East
Beleriand had been broken by Thingol on the borders of
Doriath, and part had fled away south never to return to him,
part retreating north had been stricken by a sortie of Maidros,
while those that ventured near the mountains were hunted by
the Dwarves. And still upon his flank Hithlum stood firm.
$171. He resolved, therefore, now to send force against
Hithlum; for in the eastward war he hoped ere long to have new
help unforeseen by the Eldar. The assault upon Hithlum was
bitter, but it was repelled from the passes of Erydwethrin. There,
however, in the siege of the fortress of Eithel Sirion Galion was
slain, for he held it on behalf of King Fingon. Hurin his son was
but then new come to manhood, but he was mighty in heart and
strength, and he defeated the Orcs and drove them with loss
from the walls into the sands of Anfauglith. Thereafter he ruled
the House of Hador. [Added subsequently:] Of less stature was
he than his father (or his son after him), but tireless and
enduring in body; lithe and swift he was, after the manner of his
mother's kin, the daughter of Haleth.
$172. But King Fingon with most of the Noldor was hard
put to it to hold back the army of Angband that came down
from the north. Battle was joined upon the very plains of
Hithlum, and Fingon was outnumbered; but timely help came
from Cirdan. His ships in great strength sailed into Drengist and
there landed a force that came up in the hour of need upon the
west flank of the enemy. Then the Eldar had the victory and
the Orcs broke and fled, pursued by the horsed archers even to
the Iron Mountains.
463.
$173. In this year new tidings came to Beleriand: the
Swarthy Men came out of Eriador, and passing north about the
Eryd Luin entered into Lothlann. Their coming was not wholly
unlooked-for, since the Dwarves had warned Maidros that
hosts of Men out of the further East were journeying towards
Beleriand. They were short and broad, long and strong in the
arm, and grew much hair on face and breast; their locks were
dark as were their eyes, and their skins were sallow or swart.
But they were not all of one kind, in looks or in temper, or in
tongue. Some were not uncomely and were fair to deal with;
some were grim and ill-favoured and of little trust. Their houses
were many, and there was little love among them. They had
small liking for the Elves, and for the most part loved rather the
Naugrim of the mountains; but they were abashed by the lords
of the Noldor, whose like they had not before encountered.
$174. But Maidros, knowing the weakness of the Noldor
and the Elf-friends, whereas the pits of Angband seemed to hold
store inexhaustible and ever renewed, made alliance with these
new-come Men, and gave them dwellings both in Lothlann
north of the March, and in the lands south of it. Now the two
chieftains
From this point there are two parallel versions of the text (the
remainder of the annal concerning the Swarthy Men and the story
of Beren and Luthien); on the manuscript a secretary wrote 'Version
I' (the first and much shorter version) and 'Version II' (much
longer), and similarly on the typescript of the Grey Annals, where
both forms are given. There can be no doubt at all that Version II
was written second (even though it has the earlier form Borthandos
while Version I has the later Borthand), for Version I is integral with
the whole text of the Annals, whereas Version II ends before the
bottom of a page. I give first the whole text of Version I, continuing
from the point in the annal for 463 on the Swarthy Men where the
text was broken off above.
that had the greatest followings and authority were named
Bor and Ulfang. The sons of Bor were Borlas and Boromir and
Borthand, and they followed Maidros and were faithful. The
sons of Ulfang the swart were Ulfast and Ulwarth and Uldor the
Accursed; and they followed Cranthir and swore allegiance to
him and were faithless.*
464.
$175. In the beginning of this year Beren was pressed so
hard that at last he was forced to flee from Dorthonion. In time
of winter and snow, therefore, he forsook the land and grave of
his father and climbed into the Eryd Orgorath, and thence
found a way down into Nan Dungorthin, and so came by paths
that no Man nor Elf else dared to tread to the Girdle of Melian.
And he passed through, even as Melian had foretold, for a great
doom lay on him. In this year, in the spring, Hurin Galion's son
of the House of Hador wedded Morwen Elfsheen daughter of
Baragund of the House of Beor [this sentence was later marked
for transposition to the beginning of the annal]. [Later inser-
tion:] In this year Turin son of Hurin was born in Dorlomin.
$176. In this year at the mid-summer Beren son of Barahir
met Luthien Thingol's daughter in the forest of Neldoreth, and
(* It was after thought that the people of Ulfang were already secretly
in the service of Morgoth ere they came to Beleriand. Not so the
people of Bor, who were worthy folk and tillers of the earth. Of them,
it is said, came the most ancient of the Men that dwelt in the north of
Eriador in the Second Age and [? read in] after-days.)
because of her great beauty and his love a spell of dumbness was
laid on him, and he wandered long in the woods of Doriath.
465.
$177. In this year at the first spring Beren was released from
his spell, and spoke to Luthien, calling her Tinuviel, the
Nightingale. Thus began the love of Beren the most renowned
and Luthien the most fair of which the Lay of Leithian was
made.
$178. Beren was brought before King Thingol, who scorned
him, and desiring to send him to death, said to him in mockery
that he must bring a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth as the
bride-price of Luthien. But Beren took the quest upon himself
and departed, and came to Nargothrond and sought the aid of
King Felagund. Then Felagund perceived that his oath had
returned to bring him to death, but he was willing to lend to
Beren all the aid of his kingdom, vain though it must prove.
$179. [Celegorm >] Celegorn and Curufin however hin-
dered the quest, for their Oath was roused from slumber, and
they swore that even should the quest be achieved they would
slay any that kept the Silmaril or gave it to any hands but their
own. And because of their fell words great fear fell on the folk
of Nargothrond, and they withheld their aid from the king.
$180. King Inglor Felagund and Beren set forth, with ten
companions only, and went northward; but they were waylaid
by Sauron and cast into a pit in Tol-in-Gaurhoth. There they
were devoured one by one by wolves; but Felagund fought the
wolf that was sent to devour Beren, and slew it, and was slain.
Thus perished from Middle-earth the fairest of the children of
Finwe, and returned never again; but dwells now in Valinor
with Amarie.
$181. Luthien desired to follow Beren, but was held captive
by her father, until she escaped and passed into the wild. There
she was found by Celegorn and Curufin, and taken to Nar-
gothrond. And evil entered into the hearts of the brethren, and
they designed to seize the kingship of Nargothrond, and wed
Luthien to Celegorn and compel Thingol to alliance, and so
make the sons of Feanor the greatest House of the Noldor
again.
$182. But Luthien escaped them and came to Sauron's isle
and with the aid of Huan the Hound of Valinor overthrew the
werewolves and Sauron himself, and rescued.Beren. And when
these tidings were heard in Nargothrond Orodreth took the
crown of Felagund and drove forth Celegorn and Curufin. And
they riding east in haste found Beren and Luthien near the
borders of Doriath, and would seize Luthien. But they were
foiled, and rode away; yet Beren was sorely wounded.
$183. When Beren was healed he led Luthien to her own
land and there left her sleeping and went forth alone on his
quest, but Luthien following overtook him upon the borders of
the Anfauglith.
[Added:] In the winter of this year, Turin son of Hurin was
born with omens of sorrow. [Written against this later: Place in
464]
466.
$184. In disguise Beren and Luthien came to Angband, and
Luthien cast Carcharoth the Wolf-warden of the gate into a
slumber; and they descended to Morgoth's throne. There
Luthien laid her spell even upon Morgoth, so that he fell asleep
against his will, and the Iron Crown rolled from his head.
$185. Luthien and Beren bearing a Silmaril were waylaid at
the gate by Carcharoth, and Carcharoth bit off the hand of
Beren that held the jewel, and being filled with madness fled
away. Then Thorondor and his eagles lifted up Beren and
Luthien, and bore them away and set them within the borders
of Doriath. Long Luthien fought with death, until Beren was
again healed. And in the spring of the year she led him back to
Menegroth. And when Thingol heard all that had befallen
them, his mood was softened, for he was filled with wonder at
the love of Luthien and Beren, and perceived that their doom
might not be withstood by any power of the world. For thus
was it appointed that the two kindreds, the elder and the
younger children of Eru, should be joined. Then Beren took the
hand of Luthien before the throne of her father.
$186. But soon after Carcharoth by the power of the
Silmaril burst into Doriath, and the Wolf-hunt of Carcharoth
was made. In that hunt were King Thingol, and Beren of the
One Hand, and Beleg and Mablung and Huan the Hound of
Valinor. And Carcharoth hurt Beren to the death, but Huan
slew him and then died. From the belly of the Wolf Mablung cut
the Jewel and Beren took it and gave it to Thingol, and said
'Now the Quest is achieved', and afterwards spoke no more.
But ere he died Luthien bade him farewell before the gates of
Menegroth, and said to him: 'Await me beyond the Western
Sea.'
Thus ended the Quest of the Silmaril.
As has been seen (p. 61), 'Version II' takes up at a point in annal 463
concerning the Swarthy Men, following the words 'Now the two
chieftains', my father copied out the end of that annal simply
because it stood at the head of the page on which the story of Beren
and Luthien began, as originally written. He inevitably introduced
some differences, however, and I give the second text in full.
(Conclusion of annal 463 in Version II)
[Now the two chieftains] that had the greatest followings and
authority were named Bor and Ulfang. The sons of Bor were
Borlas and Boromir and Borthandos, and they were goodly
men, and they followed Maidros and Maglor and were faithful.
The sons of Ulfang the Swart were Ulfast and Ulwarth and
Uldor the Accursed; and they followed Cranthir and swore
allegiance to him, and were faithless. (It was after thought that
the people of Ulfang were already secretly in the service of
Morgoth ere they came to Beleriand.)*
464.
$187. In the beginning of this year Beren was pressed so
hard that at last, [in the winter >] soon after the mid-winter, he
was forced to choose between flight and capture. He forsook
then Dorthonion and passed into the Eryd Orgorath and found
a way down into Nan Dungorthin, and so came by paths that
neither Man nor Elf else ever dared to tread to the Girdle of
Doriath. And he passed through, even as Melian had foretold to
Galadriel; for a great doom lay on him.
In this year in the spring Hurin of the House of Hador
wedded Morwen Elfsheen of the people of Beor [this sentence
was later marked for transposition to the beginning of the
annal, as in $175].
$188. In this year at the midsummer Beren son of Barahir
met Luthien Thingol's daughter in the forest of Neldoreth, and
becoming enamoured of her wandered long in the woods of
Doriath, for a spell of dumbness was upon him. [Later
insertion, as in $175:] Turin son of Hurin was born in Dor
Lomin.
(* Of the people of Bor, it is said, came the most ancient of the Men
that dwelt in the north of Eriador afterwards in the Second Age.)
465.
$189. In this year at the first spring Beren was released from
his spell and spoke to Luthien, calling her Tinuviel, the
Nightingale (for he knew not her name yet, nor who she was).
Thus began the love of Beren the blessed and Luthien the most
fair, of which the Lay of Leithian was made. Their meetings
were espied by Dairon the minstrel (who also loved Luthien)
and were bewrayed to King Thingol. Then Thingol was wroth
indeed, but Luthien brought Beren to Menegroth, and Beren
showed to him the ring of Inglor his kinsman. But Thingol
spoke in anger scorning mortal Men, saying that the service of
Beren's father to another prince gave the son no claim to walk in
Doriath, still less to lift his eyes to Luthien. Then Beren being
stung by his scorn swore that by no power of spell, wall or
weapon should he be withheld from his love; and Thingol
would have cast him into prison or put him to death, if he had
not sworn to Luthien that no harm should come to Beren. But,
as doom would, a thought came into his heart, and he answered
in mockery: 'If thou fearest neither spell, wall nor weapons, as
thou saist, then go fetch me a Silmaril from the crown of
Morgoth. Then we will give jewel for jewel, but thou shalt win
the fairer: Luthien of the First-born and of the Gods.' And those
who heard knew that he would save his oath, and yet send
Beren to his death.
$190. But Beren looked in the eyes of Melian, who spake
not, and he took upon himself the Quest of the Silmaril, and
went forth from Menegroth alone.
$191 Now Beren went west to Nargothrond, and sought
out King Felagund. And when Felagund heard of the quest he
knew that the oath he had sworn was come upon him for his
death (as long before he had said to Galadriel). But he kept
his oath, and would have mustered all his host for the service of
Beren, vain though all his strength must be in such a venture.
$192. But Celegorn and Curufin were in Nargothrond (as
was before told), and the quest roused from sleep the Oath of
Feanor. And the brethren spoke against Felagund, and with
their words set such a fear in the hearts of the people of
Nargothrond that they would not obey their king, neither for
many years after would they go to any open war.
$193. Then [Finrod >] Inglor cast off his crown and made
ready to go forth alone with Beren, but ten of his most faithful
knights stood beside him, and Edrahil, their chief, lifted the
crown and bade the king give it in keeping to Orodreth his
brother. But Celegorn said: 'Know this: thy going is vain; for
could ye achieve this quest it would avail nothing. Neither thee
nor this Man should we suffer to keep or to give a Silmaril of
Feanor. Against thee would come all the brethren to slay thee
rather. And should Thingol gain it, then we would burn Doriath
or die in the attempt. For we have sworn our Oath.'
$194. 'I also have sworn an oath,' said Felagund, 'and I seek
no release from it. Save thine own, until thou knowest more.
But this I will say to you, [son of Feanor >) Celegorn the fell, by
the sight that is given me in this hour, that neither thou nor any
son of Feanor shall regain the Silmarils ever unto world's end.
And this that we now seek shall come indeed, but never to your
hands. Nay, your oath shall devour you, and deliver to other
keeping the bride-price of Luthien.'
$195. Thus King Felagund and Beren and their companions
went forth, and waylaying a company of Orcs beyond the
Taiglin they passed towards [Tolsirion >] Tol-in-Gaurhoth,
disguised as soldiers of Morgoth. There they were questioned
and laid bare by Sauron, and cast into a pit.
$196. Now Luthien resolved in heart to follow Beren, but
seeking the counsel of Dairon (who was of old her friend) she
was again bewrayed to Thingol, and he in dismay set her in a
prison high in the trees. But she escaped by arts of enchantment
upon a rope of her own hair and passed into the wild. There she
was found by Celegorn and Curufin, as they were a-hunting,
and taken to Nargothrond, and there closely kept. For Celegorn
being enamoured of her beauty resolved to wed her, and compel
King Thingol's assent.
$197. But Luthien with the aid of Huan, the hound of Valinor,
who followed Celegorn but was won to the love of Luthien,
escaped from Nargothrond and came to Tol-in-Gaurhoth.
$198. There in the pits of Sauron one by one the twelve
companions were slain and devoured by werewolves, until at
last only Beren and Felagund remained. But none had betrayed
them, and Sauron could not learn the errand upon which they
went. He left the Elven-king to the last, for he knew who he
was, and deemed that he was the mover in whatever venture
was devised. But when the wolf came to Beren, Felagund with
his last strength broke his bonds, and wrestled naked-handed
with the wolf and slew it, and was slain.
$199. Thus perished Inglor Felagund son of Finrod, fairest
and most beloved of the children of Finwe, and returned never
again to Middle-earth. But it is said that released soon from
Mandos, he went to Valinor and there dwells with Amarie.
$200. Beren sank down now into a darkness of sorrow and
despair. In that hour Luthien and Huan came to the bridge that
led to Sauron's isle, and Luthien sang a song of Doriath. Then
Beren awoke from his darkness; and the towers of Sauron
trembled, and he sent forth Draugluin the greatest of his
werewolves. But Huan slew Draugluin, and when Sauron
himself came forth in wolf-hame he overthrew him. Thus
Sauron was constrained to yield up Tol-sirion, ere bereft of his
bodily form he passed away as a black shadow into Taur-nu-
Fuin.
$201. Thus Luthien rescued Beren, and set free many
hapless prisoners of Sauron. These prisoners Huan led back
to Nargothrond, for his loyalty constrained him to return to
Celegorn, his master. But when the tidings came to Nargoth-
rond of the death of Felagund, and the great deeds of the
Elf-maid, then Celegorn and Curufin were hated, and Orodreth
took the crown of Nargothrond, and drove them forth; and
they fled eastward to Himring.
$202. Luthien and Beren wandered in the wild together in
brief joy; and Beren led Luthien back towards Doriath. Thus by
ill chance Celegorn and Curufin came upon them as they rode to
the north-borders with Huan. There Celegorn would ride Beren
down, and Curufin seized Luthien; but Beren overthrew
Curufin, and took his horse and his knife, and was saved from
death at the hands .of Celegorn by Huan; who in that hour
forsook his master and served Luthien. Then Celegorn and
Curufin rode away upon one horse, and Curufin shooting back
smote Beren with an arrow and he fell.
466.
$203. Luthien and Huan guarded Beren in the woods, and
Luthien brought him back at last from the edge of death. But
when he was healed, and they had passed into Doriath, Beren
remembering his oath and proud words to Thingol, was
unwilling to return to Menegroth, neither would he lead
Luthien upon his hopeless quest. Therefore in great grief he left
her as she slept in a glade, and committing her to the care of
Huan, rode away north upon his horse that he took from
Curufin. And since Tol-in-Gaurhoth was now destroyed he
came at last to the north-slopes of Taur-nu-Fuin and looked
across the Anfauglith to Thangorodrim and despaired.
$204. There he sent away his horse, and bade farewell to life
and to the love of Luthien, and prepared to go forth alone to
death. But Luthien was borne swiftly after him by Huan, and
she came upon him in that hour, and would not be parted from
him. Then with the aid of Huan and her arts, Luthien disguised
Beren as a wolf in the hame of Draugluin, and herself as the
vampire Thuringwethil, and they passed over Anfauglith and
came to Angband, but Huan abode in the woods.
$205. At Angband's gate Luthien cast down the warden
of the gate, Carcharoth mightiest of all wolves, into a deep
slumber, and Beren and Luthien came into the dreadful realm of
Morgoth, and descended even into his uttermost hall and came
before his throne. There Beren slunk in wolf-form beneath the
very chair of Morgoth, but the disguise of Luthien did not
deceive Morgoth and she was revealed to him. Yet she eluded
his foul grasp, and even as he watched her dancing, held as in a
spell by her beauty, she set a deep slumber upon all the hall, and
at last Morgoth himself was overcome and fell from his seat into
a blind sleep, but the Iron Crown rolled from his head.
$206. Then Luthien roused Beren and stripping off the
wolf-hame he took the dwarf-knife of Curufin and cut from
Morgoth's crown a Silmaril. But desiring suddenly to go beyond
doom and rescue all the jewels he was betrayed by the knife
which snapped, and a splinter smote Morgoth and disturbed his
sleep.
$207. Then Beren and Luthien fled, but at the gates they
found Carcharoth once more awake, and he leaped upon
Luthien; and before she could use any art Beren sprang before
and would daunt the wolf with the hand that held the Silmaril.
But Carcharoth seized the hand and bit it off, and straightway
the Silmaril burned him, and madness seized him and he fled
away; but his howls roused all the sleepers in Angband. Then
Luthien knelt by Beren, as he lay in a swoon as it were of death,
and all their quest seemed in ruin. But even as she drew forth
the venom from Beren's wound with her lips, Thorondor came
with Lhandroval and Gwaihir, his mightiest vassals, and they
lifted up Luthien and Beren and bore them south, high over
Gondolin, and set them down on the borders of Doriath.
$208. There Huan found them and again they tended Beren
and won him from death, and as spring grew fair they passed
into Doriath and came to Menegroth. Glad was their welcome
in Doriath, for a spell of shadow and silence had lain upon all
the land since Luthien fled; and Dairon seeking her in sorrow
had wandered far away and was lost.
$209. Thus once more Luthien led Beren to the throne of her
father, and he marvelled at him, but was not appeased; and he
said to Beren: 'Didst thou not say that thou wouldst not return
to me save with a jewel from the crown of Morgoth?' And Beren
answered: 'Even now a Silmaril is in my hand.' And Thingol
said: Show it to me! But Beren said, That I cannot do,- for my
hand is not here.' And he held up his right arm; and from that
hour he named himself Camlost.
$210. Then Thingol's mood was softened, for it seemed to
him that this Man was unlike all others, and among the great in
Arda, whereas the love of Luthien was of a strength greater than
all the kingdoms of West or East. And Beren took Luthien's
hand and laid it upon his breast before the throne of her father,
and thus they were betrothed.
But now Carcharoth by the power of the Silmaril burst into
Doriath.
Here Version II breaks off abruptly, and not at the foot of a page.
The page on which Version I ends, with the words 'Thus ended the
Quest of the Silmaril' (p. 64), continues with the annal for 467.
467.
$211. In this year at the first breaking of Spring Luthien
Tinuviel laid her body as a white flower on the grass and her
spirit fled from Middle-earth, and she went unto Mandos, as it
saith in the Lay. But a winter as it were the hoar age of mortal
Men came upon Thingol.
468.
$212. In this time Maidros began those counsels for the
raising of the fortunes of the Eldar that are called the Union of
Maidros. For new hope ran through the land, because of the
deeds of Beren and Luthien, and it seemed to many that
Morgoth was not unconquerable, and that fear only gave him
his power. Yet still the Oath of Feanor lived and hindered all
good, and not least the evil that Celegorn and Curufin had done
because of it. Thus Thingol would lend no aid to any son of
Feanor; and small help came from Nargothrond: there the
Noldor trusted rather to defend their hidden stronghold by
secrecy and stealth. But Maidros had the help of the Naugrim,
both in armed force and in great store of weapons; and he
gathered together again all his brethren and all the folk that
would follow them; and the men of Bor and of Ulfang were
marshalled and trained for war, and given fair arms, and they
summoned yet more of their kinsfolk out of the East. And in
Hithlum Fingon, ever the friend of Maidros, prepared for war,
taking counsel with Himring. To Gondolin also the tidings came
to the hidden king, Turgon, and in secret also he prepared for
great battle. And Haleth gathered his folk in Brethil, and they
whetted their axes; but he died of age ere the war came, and
Hundor his son ruled his people.
469.
$213. In the spring of this year Maidros made the first trial
of his strength though his plans were not yet full-wrought. In
which he erred, not concealing his stroke until it could be made
suddenly with all strength, as Morgoth had done. For the Orcs
indeed were driven out of Beleriand once more, and even
Dorthonion was freed for a while, so that the frontiers of the
Noldor were again as they were before the Bragollach, save that
the Anfauglith was now a desert possessed by neither side. But
Morgoth being warned of the uprising of the Eldar and the
Elf-friends took counsel against them, and he sent forth many
spies and workers of treason among them, as he was the better
able now to do, for the faithless men of his secret allegiance
were yet deep in the secrets of Feanor's sons.
$214. In this year, it hath been [thought >] said, Beren and
Luthien returned to the world, for a while. For Luthien had won
this doom from Manwe that Beren might return to live again,
and she with him; but only so that she too thereafter should be
mortal as he, and should soon die indeed and lose the world and
depart from the numbers of the Eldalie for ever. This doom she
chose. And they appeared again unlooked for in Doriath, and
those that saw them were both glad and fearful. But Luthien
went to Menegroth and healed the winter of Thingol with the
touch of her hand; yet Melian looked in her eyes and read the
doom that was written there, and turned away: for she knew
that a parting beyond the end of the World had come between
them, and no grief of loss hath been heavier than the grief of the
heart of Melian Maia in that hour (unless only it were the grief
of Elrond and Arwen). But Luthien and Beren passed then out
of the knowledge of Elves and Men, and dwelt a while alone by
the green waters of Ossiriand in that land which the Eldar
named therefore Gwerth-i-guinar, the land of the Dead that
Live. Thereafter Beren son of Barahir spoke not again with any
mortal Man.
470.
$215. In this year was the birth of Dior Aranel the Beautiful
in Gwerth-i-Guinar, who was after known as Dior Thingol's
heir, father of the Halfelven.
The annal that follows now in GA, for 471, concerning Isfin and
Eol, was struck out; the revised version of the story appears on a
rider inserted at an earlier point, under the year 316 (see $$117 - 18,
where the rejected annal for 471 has been given). A new annal for
471 was added later in pencil:
471.
$216. In this year Huor wedded Rian daughter of Belegund.
472.
$217. This is the Year of Lamentation. At last Maidros
resolved to assault Angband from east and from west. With the
main host that he gathered, of Elves and Men and Dwarves, he
purposed to march with banners displayed in open force from
the east over Anfauglith. But when he had drawn forth, as he
hoped, the armies of Morgoth in answer, then at a signal Fingon
should issue from the passes of Hithlum with all his strength.
Thus they thought to take the might of Morgoth as between
anvil and hammer, and so break it to pieces.
$218. [Huor son of Galion wedded Rian daughter of
Belegund upon the eve of battle, and marched with Hurin his
brother in the army of Fingon. Changed in pencil to read:] Huor
son of Galion wedded Rian daughter of Belegund in the first
days of spring. But when he had been but two months wed,
the summons came for the mustering of the hosts, and Hurin
marched away with his brother in the army of Fingon.
$219. Here at midsummer was fought the Fifth Battle
Nirnaeth Arnediad, Unnumbered Tears, upon the sands of the
Anfauglith before the passes of Sirion. [Struck out later: The
place of the chief slaughter was long marked by a great hill in
which the slain were heaped, both Elves and Men: Haud-na-
Dengin, upon which alone in all Anfauglith the grass grew
green.]
$220. In this battle Elves and Men were utterly defeated and
the ruin of the Noldor was achieved. For Maidros was hindered
at his setting out by the guile of Uldor the Accursed: first he gave
false warning of an attack from Angband; then he must tarry for
not all his men were willing to march. And the army in the West
awaited the signal, and it came not, and they grew impatient,
and there were whispers of treason among them.
$221. Now the army of the West contained the host of
Hithlum, both Elves and Men, and to it was added both folk of
the Falas, and a great company from Nargothrond [and many
of the woodmen out of Brethil. This was struck out and the
following substituted:] And many of the woodmen came also
with Hundor of Brethil; and with him marched Mablung of
Doriath with a small force of Grey-elves, some with axes, some
with bows; for Mablung was unwilling to have no part in these
great deeds, and Thingol gave leave to him to go, so long as he
served not the sons of Feanor. Therefore Mablung joined him to
the host of Fingolfin [read: Fingon] and Hurin. / And lo! to the
joy and wonder of all there was a sounding of great trumpets,
and there marched up to war a host unlooked for. This was the
army of Turgon that issued from Gondolin, ten thousand
strong, with bright mail and long swords; and they were
stationed southwards guarding the passes of Sirion.
$222. Then Morgoth, who knew much of what was done,
chose his hour, and trusting in his servants to hold back
Maidros and prevent the union of his foes, he sent forth a force 1
seeming great (and yet but part of all that he had made ready)
and marched them on Hithlum. Then hot of heart Fingon
wished to assail them upon the plain, thinking he had the
greater strength; but Hurin spoke against this, bidding him
await the signal of Maidros, and let rather the Orcs break
themselves against his strength arrayed in the hills.
$223. But the Captain of Morgoth in the West had been
commanded to draw forth Fingon into open battle swiftly, by
whatsoever means he could. Therefore when his van had come
even to the inflowing of Rivil into Sirion and still none came
forth to withstand him, he halted, and sent forth riders with
tokens of parley; and they rode up close to the lines of their
enemies upon the west-shore of Sirion at the feet of the
mountains.
$224. Now they led with them Gelmir son of Guilin, a lord
of Nargothrond, whom they had taken in the Bragollach and
had blinded; and they showed him forth, crying: 'We have many
more such at home, but ye must make haste, if ye would find
them. For we shall slay them when we return, even so.' And they
hewed off Gelmir's hands and feet, and his head last, within
sight of the Elves.
$225. But by ill chance across the water stood Gwindor
Guilin's son, and he indeed against the will of Orodreth had
marched to the war with all the strength that he could muster
because of his grief for his brother. Therefore his wrath [struck
out: could no longer be restrained, but] was kindled to a flame,
and the men of Nargothrond sprang over the stream and slew
the riders, and drove then on against the main host. And seeing
this all the host of the West was set on fire, and Fingon sounded
his trumpets and leaped forth from the hills in sudden on-
slaught; and many also of the army of Gondolin joined in the
battle ere Turgon could restrain them.
$226. And behold! the light of the drawing of the swords of
the Noldor was like a fire in a field of reeds; and so fell was their
onset that almost the designs of Morgoth went astray. Ere the
army that he had sent westward could be strengthened, it was
swept away; [and assailed from west and south it was hewn
down as it stood, and the greatest slaughter of the Orcs was
then made that yet had been achieved. >] and the banners of
Fingolfin [? read Fingon] passed over Anfauglith and were
raised before the walls of Angband. I Gwindor son of Guilin
and the folk of Nargothrond were in the forefront of that battle,
and they burst through the outer gates and slew the Orcs [even
in the very tunnels of Morgoth >] within the very fortress of
Morgoth, and he trembled upon his deep throne, hearing them
beat upon his doors.
$227. But at the last Gwindor was taken and his men slain;
for none had followed them, and no help came. By other secret
doors in the mountains of Thangorodrim Morgoth had let forth
his main host that was held in waiting, and Fingon was beaten
back with great loss from the walls.
$228. Then in the plain of Anfauglith, on the [third >]
fourth day of the war, began the Nirnaeth Arnediad, for no song
can contain all its grief. The host of Fingon retreated over the
sands of the desert, and there fell Hundor son of Haleth [struck
out: in the rearguard] and most of the men of Brethil. But
as night fell, and they were still far from [Ered-wethion >]
Eryd-wethrin, the Orcs surrounded the army of Fingon, and
they fought until day, pressed ever closer. Even so, all was not
yet lost. In the morning were heard the horns of Turgon who
brought up now his main host to the rescue [struck out:
unlooked-for by the Orcs]; and the Noldor of Gondolin were
strong and clad in mail, and they broke [the leaguer, and once
again the might of Angband was defeated. >] through the ranks
of the Orcs, and Turgon hewed his way to the side of Fingon, his
brother. And it is said that the meeting of Turgon with Hurin
who stood by his king was glad in the midst of the battle.l
$229. And in that very day, at the third hour of morning, lo!
at last the trumpets of Maidros were heard coming up from the
east; and the banners of the sons of Feanor assailed the enemy in
the rear. It has been said that even then the Eldar might have
won the day, had all their hosts proved faithful; for the Orcs
wavered, and their onslaught was stayed, and already some
were turning to flight.
$230. But even as the vanguard of Maidros came upon the
Orcs, Morgoth loosed his last strength, and Angband was
emptied. There came wolves, and wolfriders, and there came
Balrogs a thousand, and there came worms and drakes, and
Glaurung, Father of Dragons. And the strength and terror of the
Great Worm were now grown great indeed, and Elves and Men
withered before him; and he came between the hosts of Maidros
and Fingon and swept them apart.
$231. Yet neither by wolf, balrog, nor dragon would
Morgoth have achieved his end, but for the treachery of Men. In
this hour the plots of Ulfang were revealed; for many of the
Easterlings turned and fled, their hearts being filled with lies and
fear; but the sons of Ulfang went over suddenly to the side of
Morgoth and drove in upon the rear of the sons of Feanor. And
in the confusion that they wrought they came near to the
standard of Maidros. They reaped not the reward that Morgoth
promised them, for Maglor slew Uldor the Accursed, the leader
in treason, and Bor and his sons slew Ulfast and Ulwarth ere
they themselves were slain. But new strength of evil men came
up that Uldor had summoned and kept hidden in the eastern
hills, and the host of Maidros being assailed now on three sides,
by the Orcs, and the beasts, and by the Swarthy Men, was
dispersed and fled this way and that. Yet fate saved the sons of
Feanor, and though all were wounded, none were slain, for they
drew together and gathering a remnant of Noldor and of the
Naugrim about them they hewed a way out of the battle and
escaped towards Mount Dolmed.
$232. Last of all the eastern force to stand firm were the
Enfeng of [Nogrod >] Belegost, and thus won renown. Now the
Naugrim withstood fire more hardily than either Elves or Men,
and it was the custom moreover of the Enfeng to wear great
masks [struck out: or vizors) in battle hideous to look upon,
which stood them in good stead against the drakes. And but for
them Glaurung and his brood would have withered all that was
left of the Noldor. But the Naugrim made a circle about him
when he assailed them, and even his mighty armour was not full
proof against the blows of their great axes; and when in his rage
he turned and struck down Azaghal of Belegost and crawled
over him, with his last stroke Azaghal drove a knife into his
belly and so wounded him that he fled the field and the beasts of
Angband in dismay followed after him. Had Azaghal but borne
a sword great woe would have been spared to the Noldor that
after befell [added:] but his knife went not deep enough. l But
then the Enfeng raised up the body of Azaghal and bore it away;
and with slow steps they walked behind, singing a dirge in their
deep voices, as it were a funeral pomp in their own country, and
gave no heed more to their foes; and indeed none dared to stay
them.
$233. But now in the western battle Fingon was surrounded
by a tide of foes thrice greater than all that was left to him
[struck out: and the Balrogs came against him]. There at last fell
the King of the Noldor, and flame sprang from his helm when it
was cloven. He was overborne by the Balrogs and beaten to the
earth and his banners blue and silver were trodden into dust.
$234. The day was lost, but still Hurin and Huor with the
men of Hador stood firm, and the Orcs could not yet win the
passes of Sirion. Thus was the treachery of Uldor redressed;
and the last stand of Hurin and Huor is the deed of war most
renowned among the Eldar that the Fathers of Men wrought in
their behalf. For Hurin spoke to Turgon saying: 'Go now, lord,
while time is! For last art thou of the House of Fingolfin, and
in thee lives the last hope of the Noldor. While Gondolin
stands, strong and guarded, Morgoth shall still know fear in
his heart.'
'Yet not long now can Gondolin be hidden, and being dis-
covered it must fall,' said Turgon.
$235. 'Yet [a while it must stand,' said Hurin; 'for out of
Gondolin >] if it stands but a little while,' said [Hurin >] Huor,
'then out of [Gondolin later >] thy house I shall come the hope
of Elves and Men. This I say to thee, lord, with the eyes of
death; though here we part for ever, and I shall never look on
thy white walls, from thee and me shall a new star arise.
Farewell! '
$236. [Struck out: Then Turgon withdrew and all the
Noldor of Gondolin went back down Sirion and vanished into
the hills. But all the remnant of the host of the west gathered
about the brethren and held the pass behind them.]
$237. [Added subsequently:] And [Glindur later >] Maeg-
lin, Turgon's sister-son, who stood by heard these words and
marked them well, [struck out later: and looked closely at
Huor,] but said naught.
$238. Then Turgon accepted the valiant words of the
brethren, and summoning all that remained of the folk of
Gondolin, and such of Fingon's host as could be gathered, he
[withdrew >] fought his way southward,l and escaped down
Sirion, and vanished into the mountains and was hidden from
the eyes of Morgoth. For Hurin and Huor held the pass behind
him, so that no foe could follow him, and drew the remnant of
the mighty men of Hithlum about them.
$239. Slowly they withdrew, until they came behind the Fen
of Serech, and had the young stream of Sirion before them,
and then they stood and gave way no more, for they were in
the narrow gorge of the pass. Then all the host of Morgoth
swarmed against them, and they bridged the stream with the
dead, and encircled the remnant of Hithlum as a gathering tide
about a rock.
$240. Huor fell pierced with a venomed arrow in the eye,
and all the valiant men of Hador were slain about him in
a heap, and the Orcs hewed their heads and piled them as a
mound of gold; for the sun was shining on the [fourth >] sixth
and last I day of the battle and their yellow locks shone amid the
blood. Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his
shield and wielded his axe two-handed; and it is sung that in
that last stand he himself slew an hundred of the Orcs. But they
took him alive at last, by the command of Morgoth, who
thought thus to do him more evil than by death. Therefore his
servants grappled him with their hands, which clung still to him
though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were
renewed until at the last he fell buried beneath them. Then
binding him they dragged him to Angband with mockery.
Thus ended the Nirnaeth Arnediad, and the sun sank red over
Hithlum, and there came a great storm on the winds of the
West.
$241. Great indeed now was the triumph of Morgoth; and
his design was accomplished in a manner after his own heart;
for Men took the lives of Men, and betrayed the Eldar, and fear
and hatred were aroused among those that should have been
united against him. From that day indeed began the estrange-
ment of Elves from Men, save only from those of the Three
Houses of Beor, Hador, and Haleth, and their children.
$242. The March of Maidros was no more. The fell sons of
Feanor were broken and wandered far away in the woods as
leaves before the wind. The Gorge of Aglon was filled with
Orcs, and the Hill of Himring was garrisoned by soldiers of
Angband; the pass of Sirion was pierced and Tol-sirion retaken
and its dread towers rebuilt. All the gates of Beleriand were in
the power of Morgoth. The realm of Fingon was no more
[struck out: for few ever of the host of Hithlum, Elves or Men,
came ever back over the mountains to their land]. To Hithlum
came back never one of Fingon's host, nor any of the Men of
Hador, nor any tidings of the battle and the fate of their lords.
$243. Doriath indeed remained, and Nargothrond was
hidden, and Cirdan held the Havens; but Morgoth gave small
heed to them as yet, either for he knew little of them, or because
their hour was not yet come in the deep purposes of his malice.
But one thought troubled him deeply, and marred his triumph;
Turgon had escaped the net, whom he most desired to take. For
Turgon came of the great house of Fingolfin, and was now by
right King of all the Noldor, [struck out: and from of old he
hated him, scarce less than Feanor, and feared him more. For
never in Valinor would Turgon greet him, being a friend of
Ulmo and of Tulkas; and moreover, ere yet darkness over-
whelmed him and the blindness of malice, he looked upon
Turgon and knew that from him should come, in some time that
doom held, the end of all hope.] and Morgoth feared and hated
most the house of Fingolfin, because they had scorned him in
Valinor, and had the friendship of Ulmo, and because of the
wounds that Fingolfin gave him in battle. Moreover of old his
eye had lighted on Turgon, and a dark shadow fell on his heart,
foreboding that, in some time that lay yet hidden in doom, from
Turgon ruin should come to him.
$244. Therefore Hurin was brought before Morgoth, and
defied him; and he was chained and set in torment. But
Morgoth who would ever work first with lies and treachery, if
they might avail, came to him where he lay in pain, and offered
him freedom, and power and wealth as one of his great
captains, if he would take service in his armies and lead a host
against Turgon, or even if he would but reveal where that king
had his stronghold. For he had learned that Hurin knew the
secret counsels of Turgon. But again Hurin the Steadfast
mocked him.
$245. Then Morgoth restrained his wrath and spoke of
Hurin's wife and son now helpless in Hithlum [written above
later: Dorlomin], and at his mercy to do what he would with
them.
$246. 'They know not the secrets of Turgon,' said Hurin.
'But an they did, thou shouldst not come at Turgon so; for they
are of the houses of Hador and Beor, and we sell not our troth
for any price of profit or pain.'
$247. Then Morgoth cursed Hurin and Morwen and their
offspring and set a doom upon them of sorrow and darkness;
and taking Hurin from prison he set him in a chair of stone
upon a high place of Thangorodrim. There he could see afar the
land of Hithlum westward and the lands of Beleriand south-
ward. There Morgoth standing beside him cursed him again,
and set his power upon him so that he could not stray from that
place, nor die, unless Morgoth released him.
$248. 'Sit now there!' said Morgoth. 'Look upon the lands
where the uttermost woe shall come upon those whom thou
hast delivered unto me. Yea, verily! Doubt not the power of
Melkor, Master of the fates of Arda! And with my eyes shalt
thou see it, [struck out: and nought shall be hidden from thee,
and all that befalls those thou holdest dear shall swiftly be told
to thee] and with my ears shalt thou hear all tidings, and nought
shall be hidden from thee!'
$249. And even so it came to pass; but it is not said that
Hurin asked ever of Morgoth either mercy ar death, for himself
or for any of his kin.
$250. Now the Orcs in token of the great triumph of
Angband gathered with great labour all the bodies of their
enemies that were slain, and all their harness and weapons, and
they piled them, Elves and Men, in a great hill in the midst of
the Anfauglith. [Haud-na-D(engin) > Haud-i-Nengin later >]
Haud-ina-Nengin was the name of that mound, and it was like
unto a hill. But thither alone in all the desert the grass came, and
grew again long and green, and thereafter no Orc dared tread
upon the earth beneath which the swords of the Noldor
crumbled into rust.
$251. Rian wife of Huor hearing no tidings of her lord went
forth into the wild, and there gave birth to Tuor her son; and he
was taken to foster by [the Dark-elves later >] Annael of the
Grey-elves of Mithrim. But Rian went to [Haud-i-Nengin
later > Haud-na-nDengin >] Haud-in-nDengin and laid her
there and died. And in Brethil Glorwendil, Hador's daughter,
died of grief. But Morwen wife of Hurin abode in Hithlum, for
she was with child.
$252. Morgoth now broke his pledges to the Easterlings
that had served him, and denied to them the rich lands of
Beleriand which they coveted, and he sent away these evil folk
into Hithlum, and there commanded them to dwell. And little
though they now loved their new king, yet they despised the
remnant of the folk of Hador (the aged and the women and the
children for the most part), and they oppressed them, and took
their lands and goods, and wedded their women by force, and
enslaved their children. And those of the Grey-elves that had
dwelt there fled into the mountains, or were taken to the mines
of the North and laboured there as thralls.
$253. Therefore Morwen unwilling that Turin her son,
being then seven years old, should become a slave, sent him
forth with two aged servants, and bade them find if they could a
way to Doriath, and there beg fostering for the son of Hurin,
and kinsman of Beren (for her father was his cousin).
473.
$254. In the [added:] first/beginning of this year was born to
Morwen Elfsheen a maid-child, daughter of Hurin; and she was
named Nienor, which is Mourning. And at about this time
Turin came through great perils to Doriath and was there
received by Thingol, who took him to his own fostering, as he
were king's son, in memory of Hurin. For Thingol's mood was
now changed towards the houses of the Elf-friends.
$255. In this year Morgoth having rested his strength,
and given heed to his own hurts and great losses, renewed
the assault upon Beleriand, which now lay open to him; and
the orcs and wolves passed far into the lands, even as far as the
borders of Ossiriand upon one side, and Nan Tathren upon the
other, and none were safe in field or wild.
$256. Many now fled to the Havens and took refuge behind
Cirdan's walls, and the mariner folk passed up and down the
coast and harried the enemy with swift landings. Therefore the
first assault of Morgoth was against Cirdan; and ere the winter
was come he sent great strength over Hithlum and Nivrost, and
they came down the Rivers Brithon and Nenning, and ravaged
all the Falas, and besieged the walls of Brithombar and Eglarest.
Smiths and miners and masters of fire they brought with them,
and set up great engines, and though they were stoutly resisted
they broke the walls at last. Then the Havens were laid in ruin,
and the Tower of Ingildon cast down, and all Cirdan's folk slain
or enthralled, save those that went aboard and escaped by sea
[added:] and some few that fled north to Mithrim.
$257. Then Cirdan took his remnant by ship, and they sailed
to the Isle of Balar, [struck out: and mingled with Turgon's
outpost there,] and made a refuge for all that could come
thither. For they kept also a foothold at the mouths of Sirion,
and there many light swift ships lay hid in the creeks and waters
where the reeds were dense as a forest. [And seven ships at
Turgon's asking Cirdan sent out into the West, but they never
returned. >] And when Turgon heard of this he sent again his
messengers to Sirion's Mouths, and besought the aid of Cirdan
the Shipwright. And at his bidding Cirdan let build seven swift
ships, and they sailed out into the West, and were never heard of
again - save one and the last. Now the captain of this ship was
Voronwe, and he toiled in the sea for many years, until
returning at last in despair his ship foundered in a great storm
within sight of land, and he alone survived, for Ulmo saved him
from the wrath of Osse, and the waves bore him up and cast
him ashore in Nivrost./
481.
$258. Turin waxed fair and strong and wise in Doriath, but
was marked with sorrow. In this his sixteenth year he went forth
to battle on the marches of Doriath, and became the companion
in arms of Beleg the Bowman. [Later pencilled addition:] Turin
donned the Dragon-helm of Galion.
484.
$259. Here Turin was a guest at Menegroth in honour for
his deeds of valour. But he came from the wild, and was un-
kempt and his gear and garments were wayworn. And Orgof
taunted him, and the people of Hithlum, and in his wrath he
smote Orgof with a cup and slew him at the king's board. Then
fearing the anger of Thingol he fled, and became an outlaw in
the woods, and gathered a desperate band, of Elves and of Men
[struck out: beyond the Girdle of Melian].
487.
$260. Here Turin's band captured Beleg and bound him; but
Turin returning released him, and they renewed their friend-
ship. And Turin learned of the king's pardon, but would not go
back to Menegroth, and remained upon the marches. And since
no foe yet could pass the Girdle of Melian, and he desired only
to take vengeance on the Orcs, he made a lair in the woods
between Sirion and Mindeb in the country of Dimbar.
The following passage was rewritten several times and it is not
possible to be perfectly certain of the detail of development at each
stage. As first written it seems to have read:
$261. Here Tuor son of Huor, being now fifteen years of age,
came to Hithlum seeking his kin, but they were no more, for
Morwen and Nienor had been carried away to Mithrim and
none remembered them.
This seems to have been cancelled as soon as written, and a second
form probably reads thus:
$262. Here Tuor son of Huor, being now fifteen years of age,
came to Hithlum seeking his kin, but he found them not. For
though the Elves that fostered him knew indeed their names,
they knew not where they dwelt of old, or dwelt now in the
change of the land. But Morwen and Nienor alone remained,
and they dwelt still in Dor Lomin; therefore Tuor searched in
Hithlum in vain, and the Easterlings seized him and enslaved
him. But he escaped and became an outlaw in the wild lands
about Lake Mithrim.
In the final form of the passage the date 488 was added:
488.
$263. Here Tuor son of Huor, being now sixteen years of
age, seeking to escape from Dorlomin, was made captive and
enslaved by Lorgan chief of the Easterlings; and he endured
thraldom for [seven years immediately >] three years, ere he
escaped and became an outlaw in the hills of Mithrim.
[Struck out: 488]
$264. Here Haldir Orodreth's son of Nargothrond was
trapped and hung on a tree by Orcs. Thereafter the Elves of
Nargothrond were yet more wary and secret, and would not
suffer even Elves to stray in their lands.
489.
$265. In this year Gwindor Guilin's son escaped from
Angband. Blodren Ban's son was an Easterling, and being taken
by Morgoth, and tormented because he was one of the faithful
that withstood Uldor, entered the service of Morgoth and was
released, and sent in search of Turin. And he entered the hidden
company in Dimbar, and served Turin manfully for two years.
But seeing now his chance he betrayed the refuge of Beleg and
Turin to the Orcs, as his errand was. Thus it was surrounded
and taken, and Turin was captured alive and carried towards
Angband; but Beleg was left for dead among the slain. Blodren
was slain by a chance arrow in the dark. [Pencilled against this
annal: What happened to the Dragon-helm?]
$266. Beleg was found by Thingol's messengers, and taken
to Menegroth and healed by Melian. At once he set forth in
search of Turin [pencilled in margin: bearing the Dragon-helm
that Turin had left in Menegroth]. He came upon Gwindor
bewildered in Taur-na-Fuin (where Sauron now dwelt) and
together they pursued the captors of Turin. From an orc-camp
on the edge of the desert they rescued him as he slept in drugged
sleep, and carried him to a hidden dell. But Beleg as he laboured
to unloose Turin's fetters pricked his foot, and he was roused,
and dreaming that he was surrounded by Orcs that would
torment him, seized Beleg's sword and slew him ere he knew
him. Gwindor buried Beleg, and led Turin away, for a dumb
madness of grief was on him.
490.
$267. Through great perils Gwindor led Turin towards
Nargothrond, and they came to the pools of Ivrin, and there
Turin wept and was healed of his madness. Gwindor and Turin
came at last to Nargothrond, and were admitted; for Finduilas
daughter of Orodreth, to whom Gwindor had been betrothed,
alone of his people knew him again after the torments of
Angband.
490-5.
$268. During this time Turin dwelt in Nargothrond, and
became great in counsel and renown. The Noldor took Beleg's
sword which Turin had kept, and re-forged it, and it was made
into a black sword with edges as of fire. Now Turin [added:]
had begged Gwindor to conceal his right name, for the horror
he had of his slaying of Beleg and dread lest it were learned in
Doriath; and he / had given out his name as Iarwaeth [struck
out: the blood-stained], but now it was changed to Mormegil
the Blacksword, because of the rumour of his deeds with that
weapon in vengeance for Beleg; but the sword itself he named
Gurthang Iron of Death. Then the heart of Finduilas was turned
from Gwindor (who because of his pains in Angband was half
crippled) and her love was given to Turin; and Turin loved her,
but spoke not, being loyal to Gwindor. [Added:] Then Finduilas
being torn in heart became sorrowful; and she grew wan and
silent. / But Gwindor seeing what had befallen was bitter at
heart, and cursed Morgoth, who could thus pursue his enemies
with woe, whithersoever they might run. 'And now at last,' he
said, 'I believe the tale of Angband that Morgoth hath cursed
Hurin and all his kin.'
$269. And he spoke on a time to Finduilas, saying: 'Daugh-
ter of the House of Finrod, let no grief lie between us, for,
though Morgoth hath laid my life in ruin, thee still I love. But go
thou whither love leads thee! Yet beware! Not meet is it that the
Elder Children should stoop to the Younger. Neither will fate
suffer it, save once or twice only for some high cause of doom.
But this Man is not Beren. A doom indeed lies on him, as seeing
eyes may well read in him, but a dark doom. Enter not into it!
And if thou wilt, then thy love shall betray thee to bitterness and
death. For behold! this is not Iarwaeth nor Mormegil, but Turin
son of Hurin.'
$270. And Gwindor told how Hurin's torment and curse
was known to all in Angband; and said: 'Doubt not the power
of Morgoth Bauglir! Is it not written in me?' But Finduilas was
silent.
$271. And later in like manner Gwindor spoke to Turin; but
Turin answered: 'In love I hold thee for rescue and safe-keeping.
And even were it not so, still I would do thee no hurt willingly,
who hast suffered such great wrongs. Finduilas indeed I love,
but fear not! Shall the accursed wed, and give as morrowgift his
curse to one that he loves? Nay, not even to one of his own
people. But now thou hast done ill to me, friend, to bewray my
right name, and call my doom upon me, from which I had
thought to lie hidden.'
$272. But when it became known to Orodreth [and the folk
of Nargothrond that Iarwaeth was indeed the son of Hurin,
then greater became his honour among them, and they would
do >] that Iarwaeth was indeed the son of Hurin, he gave him
great honour, and did I all that he counselled. And he being
troubled by this new grief (for ever the love of Finduilas that he
would not take grew greater) found solace only in war. And in
that time the folk of Nargothrond forsook their secrecy, their
war of ambush and hunting, and went openly to battle; and
they [struck out: allied themselves with Handir of Brethil, and]
built a bridge over the Narog from the great doors of Felagund
for the swifter passage of their arms. And they drove the Orcs
and beasts of Angband out of all the land between Narog and
Sirion eastward, and westward to the Nenning and the borders
of the desolate Falas. Thus Nargothrond was revealed to the
wrath and malice of Morgoth, but still at Turin's prayer his true
name was not spoken, and rumour spoke only of Mormegil of
Nargothrond.
The following entry, for the year 492, was struck out later. Its
replacement, an inserted annal for the year 400, has been given
earlier ($120).
$273. [Rejected annal for the year 492] Here Meglin son
of Eol was sent by his mother Isfin to Gondolin, and Turgon
rejoiced to hear tidings of his sister whom he had deemed lost,
and he received Meglin with honour as his sister-son. But it is
said that Meglin, having been nurtured in the shadows of
Brethil, was never wholly at ease in the light of Gondolin.
494.
$274. In this time, when because of the deeds of Mormegil
of Nargothrond the power of Morgoth was stemmed west of
Sirion, Morwen and Nienor fled at last from Dor Lomin and
came to Doriath, seeking tidings of Turin. But they found him
gone, and in Doriath no tidings had been heard of his name,
since the Orcs took him, five years before. [Added:] Morwen
and Nienor remained as guests of Thingol, and were treated
with honour, but they were filled with sorrow, and yearned ever
for tidings of Turin. /
495.
$275. Here [added:] Handir of Brethil was slain in the
spring in fighting with Orcs that invaded his land. The Orcs
gathered in the passes of Sirion. Late in the year having thus
mustered great strength / Morgoth assailed Nargothrond.
Glaurung the Uruloke passed [into Hithlum and there did great
evil, and he came thence out of Dorlomin over the Erydwethrin
>] over Anfauglith, and came thence into the north vales of
Sirion and there did great evil, and he came thence under the
shadows of the Erydwethrin / with a great army of Orcs in his
train, and he defiled the Eithil Ivrin. Then he passed into the
realm of Nargothrond, burning the Talath Dirnen, the Guarded
Plain, between Narog and Sirion. Then Orodreth and Turin
[struck out: and Handir of Brethil; added later:] and Gwindor /
went up against him, but they were defeated upon the field of
Tum-halad; and Orodreth was slain [struck out: and Handir.
Added later:] and Gwindor. [Pencilled in margin: Turin in the
battle wore the Dragon-helm.] Turin bore Gwindor out of the
rout, and escaping to a wood there laid him on the grass.
$276. And Gwindor said, 'Let bearing pay for bearing! But
hapless was mine, and vain is thine. For now my body is
marred, and I must leave Middle-earth; and though I love thee,
son of Hurin, yet I rue the day I took thee from the Orcs. But for
thy prowess, still I should have love and life, and Nargothrond
should stand. Now if you love me, leave me! Haste thee to
Nargothrond and save Finduilas. And this last I say to thee: she
alone stands between thee and thy doom. If thou fail her, it shall
not fail to find thee. Farewell!'
$277. Therefore Turin sped now back to Nargothrond,
mustering such of the rout as he met on the way. [Added:] And
the leaves fell from the trees in a great wind as they went, for the
autumn was passing to a dire winter. And one, Ornil, said:
'Even so fall the people of Nargothrond, but for them there
shall come no Spring.' And Turin hastened, I but Glaurung and
his army were there before him (because of his succouring of
Gwindor), and they came suddenly, ere those that were left on
guard were aware of the defeat. In that day the bridge that
Turin let build over Narog proved an evil; for it was great and
mightily made and could not swiftly be destroyed, and thus the
enemy came readily over the deep river, and Glaurung came in
full fire against the Doors of Felagund, and overthrew them,
and passed within.
$278. And even as Turin came up the ghastly sack of
Nargothrond was wellnigh achieved. The Orcs had slain or
driven off all that remained in arms, and they were even then
ransacking all the great halls and chambers, plundering and
destroying; but those of the women and maidens that were not
burned or slain they had herded on the terrace before the doors,
as slaves to be taken to Angband. Upon this ruin and woe Turin
came, and none could withstand him; or would not, though he
struck down all before him, and passed over the bridge, and
hewed his way towards the captives.
$279. And now he stood alone, for the few that had
followed him had fled into hiding. But behold! in that moment
Glaurung the fell issued from the gaping Doors of Felagund,
and lay behind, between Turin and the bridge. Then suddenly
he spoke by the evil spirit that was in him, saying: Hail, son of
Hurin. Well met!'
$280. Then Turin sprang about, and strode against him, and
fire was in his eyes, and the edges of Gurthang shone as with
flame. But Glaurung withheld his blast, and opened wide his
serpent-eyes and gazed upon Turin. And without fear Turin
looked in those eyes as he raised up his sword, and lo!
straightway he fell under the dreadful spell of the dragon, and
was as one turned to stone. Thus long they stood unmoving,
silent before the great Doors of Felagund. Then Glaurung spoke
again, taunting Turin. [Pencilled against this paragraph: For
while he wore the Dragon-helm of Galion he was proof against
the glance of Glaurung. Then the Worm perceiving this (sic)]
$281. 'Evil have been all thy ways, son of Hurin,' said he.
'Thankless fosterling, outlaw, slayer of thy friend, thief of love,
usurper of Nargothrond, captain foolhardy, and deserter of thy
kin. [Struck out: How long wilt thou live to bring ruin upon
all that love thee?] As thralls thy mother and sister live in
Dorlomin, in misery and want. Thou art arrayed as a prince,
but they go in rags. For thee they yearn, but thou reckest not of
that. Glad may thy father be to learn that he hath such a son, as
learn he shall.' And Turin being under the spell of Glaurung,
harkened to his words, and saw himself as in a mirror mis-
shapen by malice, and loathed that which he saw. And while he
was yet held by the eyes of Glaurung in torment of mind, and
could not stir, at a sign from the dragon the Orcs drove away
the herded captives, and they passed nigh to Turin and went
over the bridge. And behold! among them was Finduilas, and
she held out her arms to Turin, and called him by name. But not
until her cries and the wailing of the captives was lost upon the
northward road did Glaurung release Turin, and he might not
even stop his ears against that voice that haunted him after.
$282. Then suddenly Glaurung withdrew his glance, and
waited; and Turin stirred slowly as one waking from a hideous
dream. Then coming to himself with a loud cry he sprang upon
the dragon. But Glaurung laughed, saying: 'If thou wilt be slain,
I will slay thee gladly. But small help will that be to Morwen and
Nienor. No heed didst thou give to the cries of the Elf-woman.
Wilt thou deny also the bond of thy blood?'
$283. But Turin drawing back his sword stabbed at his eyes;
and Glaurung coiling back swiftly towered above him, and said:
'Nay! At least thou art valiant. Beyond all whom I have met.
And they lie who say that we of our part do not honour the
valour of foes. Behold! I offer thee freedom. Go to thy kin, if
thou canst. Get thee gone! And if Elf or Man be left to make tale
of these days, then surely in scorn they will name thee, if thou
spurnest this gift.'
$284. Then Turin, being yet bemused by the eyes of the
dragon, as were he treating with a foe that could know pity,
believed the words of Glaurung, and turning away sped over
the bridge. But as he went Glaurung spake behind him, saying
in a fell voice: 'Haste thee now, son of Hurin, to Dorlomin! Or
maybe the Orcs shall come before thee, once again. And if thou
tarry for Finduilas, then never shalt thou see Morwen or Nienor
again; and they will curse thee.' [Pencilled in margin: Glaurung
taunts him with the Dragon-helm.]
$285. But Turin passed away on the northward road, and
Glaurung laughed once more, for he had accomplished the
errand of his Master. Then he turned to his own pleasure, and
sent forth his blast, and burned all about him. But all the Orcs
that were busy in the sack he routed forth, and drove them
away, and denied them their plunder even to the least thing of
worth. The bridge then he broke down and cast into the foam of
Narog, and being thus secure, he gathered all the hoard and
riches of Felagund and heaped them, and lay then upon them in
the innermost hall, and rested a while.
$286. Now Turin hastened along the ways to the North,
through the lands now desolate, between Narog and Taiglin,
[added:] and the Fell Winter came down to meet him; for that
year snow fell ere autumn was passed, and spring came late and
cold. / Ever it seemed to him as he went that he heard the cries of
Finduilas, calling his name by wood and by hill, and great was
his anguish; but his heart being hot with the lies of Glaurung,
and seeing ever in his mind the Orcs burning the house of Hurin
or putting Morwen and Nienor to torment, he held on his way,
turning never aside.
There follows here a section of the text where the original writing
was heavily emended, after which the greater part of the section was
struck out and replaced. I give first the form as originally written.
For the antecedents of the Grey Annals (other than the entries
concerning Tuor) from this point to the end of the tale of Turin
($349) see the commentary on $$287 ff.
$287. At last worn and hungry by long days of journey, as
the sad autumn drew on he came to the pools of Ivrin, where
before he had been healed. But they were broken and defiled,
and he could not drink there again. An ill token it seemed to
him.
$288. Thus he came through the passes into Dorlomin, and
even as winter fell with snow from the North, he found again
the land of his childhood. Bare was it and bleak. And Morwen
was gone. Empty stood her house, broken and cold. It was more
than a year since she departed to Doriath. Brodda the Easterling
(who had wedded Morwen's kinswoman Airin) had plundered
her house, and taken all that was left of her goods. Then Turin's.
eyes were opened, and the spell of Glaurung was broken, and
he knew the lies wherewith he had been cheated. And in his
anguish and his wrath for the evils that his mother had suffered
he slew Brodda in his own hall, and fled then out into the
winter, a hunted man.
$289. Tidings came soon to Thingol in Doriath of the fall of
Nargothrond; and [it was revealed now that Mormegil was
indeed Turin son of Hurin >] fear walked on the borders of the
Hidden Kingdom.
$290. In this same year Tuor son of Huor was led by the
sendings of Ulmo to a secret way that led from Mithrim, by a
channel of water running under earth, and so came to the deep
cleft at the head of Drengist, and passed out of the knowledge of
the spies of Morgoth. Then journeying alone warily down the
coasts he came through the Falas and the ruined Havens and so
reached at the year's end the Mouths of Sirion. [Added and then
struck out: In the spring of this year also Handir of Brethil was
slain in fighting with the Orcs that ventured into Brethil.]
496.
$291. Too late now Turin sought for Finduilas, roaming the
woods under the shadow of Eryd Wethion, wild and wary as a
beast; and he waylaid all the roads that went north to the pass
of Sirion. Too late. For all trails had grown old, or had perished
in the winter. But thus it was that Turin passing southwards
down Taiglin came upon some of the folk of Haleth that dwelt
still in the forest of Brethil. They were dwindled now by war to
a small people, and dwelt for the most part secretly within a
stockade upon the Amon Obel deep in the forest. Ephel Brandir
was that place named; for Brandir son of Handir was now their
lord since [Handir had not returned from the stricken field of
Tum-halad. >] since Handir his father had been slain. And
Brandir was no man of war, being lame by a misadventure in
childhood; and he was gentle moreover in mood, loving wood
rather than metal, and the knowledge of all things that grow in
the earth rather than other lore.
At this point the rejected section of the narrative, beginning at $287,
ends. The text that replaced it belongs to the time of the writing of
the manuscript.
$292. At last worn by haste and the long road (for [eighty >]
forty leagues had he journeyed without rest) he came with the
first ice of winter to the pools of Ivrin, where before he had been
healed. But they were now but a frozen mire, and he could not
drink there again.
$293. Thus he came hardly by the passes of Dorlomin,
through bitter snows from the North, and found again the land
of his childhood. Bare was it and bleak. And Morwen was gone.
Empty stood her house, broken and cold, and no living thing
now dwelt nigh.
$294. It so befell that Turin came then to the hall of Brodda
the Incomer, and learned of an old servant of Hurin that Brodda
had taken to wife by force Airin Hurin's kinswoman, and
had oppressed Morwen; and therefore in the year before she
had fled with Nienor, none but Airin knew whither.
$295. Then Turin strode to Brodda's table, and with threats
learned from Airin that Morwen went to Doriath to seek her
son. For said Airin: 'The lands were freed then from evil by the
Blacksword of the South, who now hath fallen, they say.'
$296. Then Turin's eyes were opened, and the last shreds of
Glaurung's spell left him, and for anguish, and wrath at the lies
that had deluded him, and hatred of the oppressors of Morwen,
a black rage seized him, and he slew Brodda in his hall, and
other Easterlings that were his guests, and then he fled out into
the winter, a hunted man.
$297. But he was aided by some that remained of Hador's
people and knew the ways of the wild, and with them he
escaped through the falling snow and came to an outlaws'
refuge in the southern mountains of Dorlomin. Thence Turin
passed again from the land of his childhood, and returned to
Sirion's vale. His heart was bitter, for to Dorlomin he had
brought only greater woe upon the remnant of his people, and
they were glad of his going; and this comfort alone he had: that
by the prowess of the Blacksword the ways to Doriath had been
laid open to Morwen. And he said in his heart: 'Then those
deeds wrought not evil to all! And where else might I have better
bestowed my dear kin, even if I had come sooner? For if the
Girdle of Melian is broken, then last hope is ended. Nay, it is
better as it hath turned out. For behold! a shadow I cast
wheresoever I come. Let Melian keep them! But I will leave
them in peace unshadowed for a while.'
496.
$298. Here Tuor son of Huor met Bronwe of the Noldor at
the mouths of Sirion; and they began a journey northward
along the great river. But as they dwelt in Nan Tathrin, and
delayed because of the peace and beauty of that country in the
spring, Ulmo himself came up Sirion and appeared to Tuor, and
the yearning for the Great Sea was ever after in his heart. But
now at Ulmo's command he went up Sirion, and by the power
that Ulmo set upon them Tuor and Bronwe found the guarded
entrance to Gondolin. There Tuor was brought before King
Turgon, and spake the words that Ulmo had set in his mouth,
bidding him depart and abandon the fair and mighty city that
he had built, and go down to the Sea. But Turgon would not
listen to this counsel; and [Meglin later >] Glindur his sister-son
spoke against Tuor. But Tuor was held in honour in Gondolin,
for his kindred's sake.
This annal was much emended and added to (and the date changed
to 495), and then (since the text was now in a very confused state)
struck out as far as 'bidding him depart' and replaced by the
following version on a detached slip:
495.
$299. Now Tuor Huor's son had lived as an outlaw in the
caves of Androth above Mithrim for four years, and he had
done great hurt to the Easterlings, and Lorgan set a price upon
his head. But Ulmo, who had chosen him as the instrument
of his designs, caused him to go by secret ways out of the land of
Dorlomin, so that his going was hidden from all the servants
of Morgoth; and he came to Nivrost. But there, becoming
enamoured of the Sea, he tarried long; and in the autumn of the
year Ulmo himself appeared to Tuor, and bade him to depart,
and go to the hidden city of Turgon. And he sent to him
Voronwe, last of the mariners of Turgon, to guide him; and
Voronwe led Tuor eastward along the eaves of Eryd Wethion to
Ivrin. (And there they saw Turin pass, but spoke not with him.)
And at the last by the power that Ulmo set upon them they came
to the guarded gate of Gondolin. There Tuor was brought
before the king, and spoke the counsel of Ulmo, bidding Turgon
[the following is the text already given in $298] depart and
abandon the fair and mighty city that he had built, and go down
to the Sea. But Turgon would not listen to this counsel; and
[Meglin later >] Glindur his sister-son spoke against Tuor. But
Tuor was held in honour in Gondolin, for his kindred's sake.
[496]
$300. Now Turin coming down from Eryd Wethion sought
for Finduilas in vain, roaming the woods under the shadow of
the mountains, wild and wary as a beast; and he waylaid all the
roads that went north to the passes of Sirion. Too late. For all
the trails had grown old, or were washed away by the winter.
But thus it was that, passing southwards down Taiglin, Turin
came upon some of the Men of Brethil, and delivered them
from Orcs that had entrapped them. For the Orcs fled from
Gurthang.
$301. He named himself Wildman of the Woods, and they
besought him to come and dwell with them; but he said that he
had an errand yet unachieved: to seek Finduilas Orodreth's
daughter. Then Dorlas, leader of the woodmen, told the
grievous tidings of her death. For the woodmen at the Crossings
of Taiglin had waylaid the orc-host that led the captives of
Nargothrond, hoping to rescue them; but the Orcs had at once
cruelly slain their prisoners, and Finduilas they pinned to a tree
with a spear. So she died, saying at the last: 'Tell the Mormegil
that Finduilas is here.' Therefore they had laid her in a mound
near that place, and named it Haud-en-Ellas.
$302. Turin bade them lead him thither, and there he fell
down into a darkness of grief, and was near to death. Then
Dorlas by his black sword, the fame whereof had come even
into the deeps of Brethil, and by his quest of the king's daughter,
knew that this Wildman was indeed the Mormegil of Nargoth-
rond [added:] (whom rumour said was the son of Hurin of
Dorlomin). The woodmen therefore lifted him up, and bore him
away to their homes. These were set in a stockade upon a high
place in the forest, Ephel Brandir upon Amon Obel; for the folk
of Haleth were now dwindled by war to a small people, and
Brandir son of Handir who ruled them was a man of gentle
mood, and lame also from childhood, and he trusted rather in
secrecy than in deeds of war to save them from the power of the
North.
$303. Therefore he feared the tidings that Dorlas brought,
and when he beheld the face of Turin as he lay on the bier a
cloud of foreboding lay on his heart. Nonetheless being moved
by his woe, he took him into his own house and tended him; for
he had skill in healing. And with the beginning of spring Turin
cast off his darkness, and grew hale again; and he arose, and he
thought that he would remain in Brethil, hidden, and put his
shadow behind him, forsaking the past. He took therefore a
new name, Turambar, and besought the woodmen to forget that
he was a stranger among them or ever bore any other name.
Nonetheless he would not wholly leave deeds of war, for he
could not endure that the Orcs should come to the Crossings of
Taiglin or draw nigh Haud-en-Ellas, and he made that a place of
dread for them so that they shunned it. But he laid his black
sword by, and used rather the bow.
$304. Now new tidings came to Doriath concerning Nar-
gothrond, for some that had escaped from the defeat and the
sack, and had survived the fell winter in the wild, came at last to
Thingol, seeking refuge. But their tales were at variance, some
saying that Nargothrond was empty, others that Glaurung
abode there; some saying that all the lords and captains were
slain, others that, nay, the Mormegil had returned to Nargoth-
rond and there was made a prisoner under the spell of the dragon.
But all declared that it was known to many in Nargothrond ere
the end that the Mormegil was none other than Turin Hurin's
son. [Pencilled addition: And when she heard of the Dragon-
helm Morwen knew this was true.]
$305. Then Morwen was distraught, and refusing the
counsel of Melian, she rode forth alone into the wild to seek
her son, or some true tidings of him. Thingol, therefore, sent
Mablung after her, with many hardy march-wards, and some
riders, to guard her, and to learn what news they might; but
Nienor joined this company secretly in disguise, for she hoped
that when Morwen saw that her daughter would go with her
into peril, if she went on, then she would be willing to return to
Doriath and leave the seeking of tidings to Mablung. But
Morwen, being fey, would not be persuaded, and Mablung
perforce led the ladies with him; and they passed out over the
wide plain and came to Amon Ethir, a league before the bridge
of Nargothrond. There Mablung set a guard of riders about
Morwen and her daughter, and forbade them go further. But he,
seeing from the hill no sign of any enemy, went down with his
scouts to the Narog, as stealthily as they could go.
$306. But Glaurung was aware of all that they did, and he
came forth in heat of wrath, and lay into the river; and a vast
vapour and foul reek went up, in which Mablung and his
company were blinded and lost. Then Glaurung passed east
over Narog.
$307. Seeing the onset of Glaurung the guards upon Amon
Ethir sought to lead the ladies away, and fly with them with all
speed back eastwards; but the wind bore the blank mists upon
them, and their horses were maddened by the dragon-stench,
and were ungovernable, and ran this way and that, so that some
were dashed against trees and slain, and others were borne far
away. Thus the ladies were lost, and of Morwen indeed no sure
tidings came ever to Doriath after. But Nienor, being thrown by
her steed yet unhurt, groped her way back to Amon Ethir, there
to await Mablung, and came thus above the reek into the sun-
light. [Thus she came alone face to face with Glaurung himself,
who had climbed up from the other side. >] And looking west
she looked straight into the eyes of Glaurung, whose head lay
upon the hill-top.
$308. Her will strove with him for a while, but he put forth
his power, and having learned who she was (as indeed he
guessed full well) he constrained her to gaze into his eyes, and
laid a spell of utter darkness and forgetfulness, so that she could
remember nothing that had ever befallen her, nor her own
name, nor the name of any other thing; and for many days
indeed she could neither hear, nor see, nor stir by her own will.
Then Glaurung left her standing alone upon Amon Ethir, and he
went back to Nargothrond.
$309. Now Mablung, who greatly daring had explored the
halls of Felagund when Glaurung left them, fled from them at
the approach of the dragon, and returned to Amon Ethir. The
sun sank and night fell as he climbed the hill, and to his dismay
he found none there, save Nienor standing alone under the stars
as an image of stone. No word she spoke or heard, but would
follow, if he took up her hand. Therefore in great grief he led her
away, though it seemed to him vain; for they were both like to
perish, succourless, in the wild.
$310. But they were found by three of Mablung's com-
panions, and slowly they journeyed northward and eastward to
the fences of Doriath where, nigh to the inflowing of Esgalduin,
there was the secret gate by which those of its folk that returned
from without were wont to enter. Slowly the strength of Nienor
returned as they drew nearer to Doriath and further from
Glaurung, but as yet she could not speak or hear, and walked
blindly as she was led.
$311. But even as they drew near the fences at last she closed
her wild staring eyes, and would sleep; and they laid her down
and she slept; and they rested also, for they were utterly
outworn. Being thus less heedful than was wise, they were there
assailed by an Orc-band, such as now roamed often as nigh the
fences of Doriath as they dared. But Nienor in that hour
recovered hearing and sight, and being awakened by the cries of
the Orcs, sprang up in terror as a wild thing, and fled ere they
could come to her.
$312. Then the Orcs gave chase, and the Elves after; but
though they overtook the Orcs indeed and slew them ere they
could harm her, Nienor escaped them. For she fled as in a
madness of fear, swifter than a deer, and tore off all her raiment
as she ran, until she was naked [bracketed later:] but for a short
kirtle. And she passed out of their sight, running northward,
and though they sought her long they found her not, nor any
trace of her. And at last Mablung in despair returned to
Menegroth and told all his tidings. [Added: Greatly grieved
were Thingol and Melian; but Mablung went forth and for
three years sought in vain for tidings of Morwen and Nienor.]
$313. But Nienor ran on into the woods, until she was
spent, and then fell and slept, and awoke; and behold it was a
bright morning, and she rejoiced in light as it were a new thing,
and all things else that she saw seemed new and strange, for she
had no names for them. Nothing did she remember save a
darkness that lay behind her, and a shadow of fear; therefore
warily she went as a hunted beast, and became famished, for she
had no food and knew not how to seek it. But coming at last to
the Crossings of Taiglin she went over, seeking the shelter of the
great trees of Brethil, for she was afraid, and it seemed to her
that the darkness was overtaking her again from which she had
fled.
$314. But it was a great storm of thunder that came up from
the South, and in terror she cast herself down by the mound,
Haud-en-Ellas [pencilled in margin: Elleth], stopping her ears
from the thunder, but the rain smote her and drenched her, and
she lay like a wild beast that is dying.
$315. There Turambar found her, as he came to the Cross-
ings of Taiglin, having heard a rumour of Orcs that roamed
near. And seeing in a flare of lightning the body of a slain
maiden (as it seemed) lying upon the mound of Finduilas, he
was stricken [suddenly with fear o] to the heart. But the
woodmen lifted her up, and Turambar cast his cloak about her,
and they took her to a lodge nearby, and bathed her and
warmed her and gave her food. And as soon as she looked upon
Turambar she was comforted; for it seemed to her that she had
found something at last that she long sought in her darkness;
and she laid her hand in his and would not be parted from him.
$316. But when he asked her concerning her name and her
kin and her misadventure, then she became troubled as a child
that perceives that something is demanded but cannot under-
stand what it be. And she burst into tears. Therefore Turambar
said: 'Be not troubled! Doubtless thy tale is too sad yet to tell. It
shall wait. But a name thou must have, and I will call thee Niniel
(tear-maiden).' And at that name she shook her head, but said
Niniel. That was the first word she spoke after her darkness,
and it remained her name among the woodmen ever after.
$317. The next day they bore her towards Ephel Brandir,
but at the falls of Celebros a great shuddering came upon her
(wherefore afterwards that place was called Nen Girith), and
ere she came to the home of the woodmen she was sick of a
fever. She lay long in her sickness, but was healed by the skill of
Brandir and the care of the leech-women of Brethil; and the
women taught her language as to an infant. Ere autumn came
she was hale again, and could speak, but remembered nothing
before she was found by Turambar. Brandir loved her dearly,
but all her heart was given to Turambar. All that year since the
coming of Niniel there was peace in Brethil, and the Orcs did
not trouble the woodmen.
497.
$318. Turambar still remained at peace and went not to war.
His heart turned to Niniel, and he asked her in marriage; but for
that time she delayed in spite of her love. For Brandir foreboded
he knew not what, and sought to restrain her, rather for her
sake than his own or rivalry with Turambar; and he revealed to
her that Turambar was Turin son of Hurin, and though she
knew not the name a shadow fell on her heart. This Turambar
learned and was ill pleased with Brandir.
498.
$319. In the spring of this year Turambar asked Niniel
again, and vowed that he would now wed her, or go back to war
in the wild. And Niniel took him with joy, and they were
wedded at the mid-summer, and the Woodmen of Brethil made
a great feast. But ere the end of the year Glaurung sent Orcs
of his dominion against Brethil; and Turambar sat at home
deedless, for he had promised Niniel that he would go to battle
only if their home was assailed. But the woodmen were worsted,
and Dorlas upbraided him that he would not aid the folk that he
had taken for his own. Then Turambar arose and brought forth
again his black sword, and he gathered a great force of the Men
of Brethil, and they defeated the Orcs utterly. But Glaurung
heard tidings that the Black Sword was in Brethil, and he
pondered what he had heard, devising new evil.
499.
$320. Niniel conceived in the spring of this year, and became
wan and sad. At the same time there came to Ephel Brandir the
first rumours that Glaurung had issued from Nargothrond. And
Turambar sent out scouts far afield, for he now ordered things
as he would, and few gave heed to Brandir.
$321. And as it drew near to summer Glaurung came to the
borders of Brethil, and lay near the west-shore of Taiglin, and
then there was great fear among the wood-folk, for it was now
plain that the Great Worm would assail them and ravage their
land, and not pass by, returning to Angband, as they had hoped.
They sought therefore the counsel of Turambar. And he coun-
selled them that it was vain to go against the Worm with all
their force. Only by cunning and good fortune could they defeat
him. He offered therefore himself to seek Glaurung on the
borders of the land, and bade the rest of the people to remain at
Ephel Brandir, but to prepare for flight. For if Glaurung had the
victory, he would come first to the woodmen's homes to destroy
them, and they could not hope to withstand him; but if they
then scattered far and wide, then many might escape, for
Glaurung would not take up his dwelling in Brethil and would
return soon to Nargothrond.
$322. Then Turambar asked for companions willing to aid
him in his peril, and Dorlas stood forth, but no others. Then
Dorlas upbraided the people, and spoke scorn of Brandir who
could not play the part of the heir of Haleth; and Brandir was
shamed before his people, and was bitter at heart. But Torbarth
[pencilled above: Gwerin] kinsman of Brandir asked his leave to
go in his stead. Then Turambar said farewell to Niniel and she
was filled with fear and foreboding, and their parting was
sorrowful; but Turambar set out with his two companions and
went to Nen Girith.
$323. Then Niniel being unable to endure her fear, and
unwilling to wait in the Ephel tidings of Turambar's fortune, set
forth after him, and a great company went with her. At this
Brandir was filled more than ever before with dread, [struck
out: but she heeded not his counsels] and he sought to dissuade
her and the folk that would go with her from this rashness, but
they heeded him not. Therefore he renounced his lordship, and
all love for the people that had scorned him, and having naught
left but his love for Niniel, he girt himself with a sword, and
went after her; but being lame he fell far behind.
$324. Now Turambar came to Nen Girith at sundown and
there learned that Glaurung lay on the brink of the high shores
of the Taiglin, and was like to move when night fell. Then
he called those tidings good; for the Worm lay at [Cabad-en-
Aras >] Cabed-en-Aras, where the river ran in a deep and
narrow gorge that a hunted deer might o'erleap, and Turambar
deemed that he would seek no further, but would attempt to
pass over the gorge. Therefore he purposed to creep down at
dusk, and descend into the ravine under night, and cross over
the wild water, and then climb up the further cliff (which was
less sheer) and so come at the Worm beneath his guard.
$325 This counsel he then took, but the heart of Dorlas
failed when they came to the races of Taiglin in the dark, and
he dared not attempt the perilous crossing, but drew back
and lurked in the woods burdened with shame. Turambar and
Torbarth, nonetheless, crossed over in safety, for the loud
roaring of the water drowned all other sounds, and Glaurung
slept. But ere the middle-night the Worm roused, and with a
great noise and blast cast his forward part across the chasm and
began to draw his bulk after. Turambar and Torbarth were
well-night overcome by the heat and the stench, as they sought
in haste for a way up to come at Glaurung; and Torbarth was
slain by a great stone that, dislodged from on high by the
passage of the dragon, smote him upon the head and cast him
into the River. So ended the last of the right kin of Haleth, and
not the least valiant.
$326 Then Turambar summoned all his will and courage
and climbed the cliff alone, and he thrust Gurthang into the soft
belly of the Worm, even up to the hilts. But when Glaurung felt
his death-pang he screamed, and in his dreadful throe he heaved
up his bulk and hurled himself across the chasm, and there lay
lashing and. coiling in his agony. And he set all in a blaze about
him, and beat all to ruin, until at last his fires died, and he lay
still.
$327. Now Gurthang had been wrested from Turambar's
hand in the throe of Glaurung, and clave to the belly of the
Worm. Turambar, therefore, crossed the water once more,
desiring to recover his sword, and look on his foe. And he found
him stretched at his length, and rolled upon one side; and the
hilts of Gurthang stood in his belly. Then Turambar seized
the hilts and set his foot upon the belly, and cried in mockery
of the Worm and his words at Nargothrond: 'Hail, Worm of
Morgoth! Well met again! Die now and the darkness have thee!
Thus is Turin son of Hurin avenged.'
$328. Then he wrenched out the sword, but a spout of black
blood followed it, and fell on his hand, and the venom burned
it. And thereupon Glaurung opened his eyes and looked upon
Turambar with such malice, that it smote him as a blow; and by
that stroke and the anguish of the venom he fell into a dark
swoon, and lay as one dead, and his sword was beneath him.
$329. The yells of Glaurung rang in the woods and came to
the folk that waited at Nen Girith; and when those that looked
forth heard the scream of the Worm and saw from afar the ruin
and burning that he made, they deemed that he had triumphed
and was destroying those that assailed him. And Niniel sat and
shuddered beside the falling water, and at the voice of Glaurung
her darkness crept upon her again, so that she could not stir
from that place of her own will.
$330. Even so Brandir found her, for he came to Nen Girith
at last, limping wearily. And when he heard that the Worm had
crossed the river and had beaten down his foes his heart yearned
towards Niniel in pity. Yet he thought also: 'Turambar is dead,
but Niniel lives. Now maybe she will come with me and I will
lead her away and so we shall escape the Worm together.'
$331. After a while therefore he stood by Niniel and said:
'Come! It is time to go. If thou wilt, I will lead thee.' And he
took her hand, and she arose silently, and followed him; and in
the darkness none saw them go.
$332. But as they went down the path toward the Crossings
the moon arose, and cast a grey light on the land, and Niniel
said: 'Is this the way?' And Brandir answered that he knew no
way, save to flee as they might from the Worm, and escape into
the wild. But Niniel said: 'The Black Sword was my beloved and
my husband. To seek him only do I go. What else couldst thou
think?' And she sped on before him. Then she came towards the
Crossings of Taiglin and beheld Haud-en-Ellas in the white
moonlight, and great dread came on her. Then with a cry she
turned away, casting off her cloak, and fled southward along the
river, and her white raiment shone in the moon.
$333. Thus Brandir saw her from the hill-side and turned to
cross her path, but was still behind her, when she came to the
ruin of Glaurung nigh the brink of [Cabad-en-Aras >] Cabed-
en-Aras. There she saw the Worm lying, but heeded him not, for
a man lay beside him; and she ran to Turambar and called his
name in vain. Then, finding his hand that was burned, she laved
it with tears and bound it about with a strip of her raiment, and
kissed him and cried on him again to awake. Thereat Glaurung
stirred for the last time ere he died, and he spoke with his last
breath saying: Hail, Nienor daughter of Hurin. This is thy
brother! Have joy of your meeting, and know him: Turin son of
Hurin, treacherous to foes, faithless to friends, and [a] curse
unto his kin. And to thee worst of all, as now thou shalt feel!'
$334. Then Glaurung died, and the veil of his malice was
taken from her, and she remembered all her life; and she sat as
one stunned with horror and anguish. Then Brandir who had
heard all, standing stricken upon the edge of the ruin, hastened
towards her; but she leapt up and ran like a hunted deer,
and came to [Cabad-en-Aras >] Cabed-en-Aras, and there cast
herself over the brink, and was lost in the wild water.
$335. Then Brandir came and looked down into Cabad-
en-Aras, and turned away in horror, and though he no longer
desired life, he could not seek death in that roaring water. And
thereafter no man looked ever again upon Cabad-en-Aras, nor
would any beast or bird come there, nor any tree grow; and it
was named Cabad Naeramarth, the Leap of Dreadful Doom.
$336. But Brandir now made his way back to Nen Girith, to
bring tidings to the people; and he met Dorlas in the woods, and
slew him (the first blood that ever he had spilled and the last).
And he came to Nen Girith, and men cried to him: 'Hast thou
seen her? Lo! Niniel is gone.'
$337. And he answered saying: 'Yea, Niniel is gone for ever.
The Worm is dead, and Turambar is dead: and those tidings are
good.' And folk murmured at these words, saying that he was
crazed. But Brandir said: 'Hear me to the end! Niniel the
beloved is also dead. She cast herself into the Taiglin desiring life
no more. For she learned that she was none other than Nienor
daughter of Hurin, ere her forgetfulness came upon her, and
that Turambar was her brother, Turin son of Hurin.'
$338. But even as he had ceased and the people wept, Turin
himself came before them. For when the Worm died, his swoon
left him, and he fell into a deep sleep of weariness. But the cold
of the night troubled him, and the hilts of Gurthang drove into
his side, and he awoke. Then he saw that one had tended his
hand, and he wondered much that he was left nonetheless to lie
upon the cold ground; and he called and hearing no answer, he
went in search of aid, for he was weary and sick.
$339. But when the people saw him they drew back in fear
thinking that it was his unquiet spirit; and he said: 'Nay, be
glad; for the Worm is dead, and I live. But wherefore have ye
scorned my counsel, and come into peril? And where is Niniel?
For her I would see. And surely ye did not bring her from her
home?'
$340. Then Brandir told him that it was so and Niniel was
dead. But the wife of Dorlas cried out: Nay, lord, he is crazed.
For he came here saying that thou wert dead, and called it good
tidings. But thou livest.'
$341. Then Turambar was wroth, and believed that all that
Brandir said or did was done in malice towards himself and
Niniel, begrudging their love; and he spoke evilly to Brandir,
naming him Club-foot. Then Brandir reported all that he heard,
and named Niniel Nienor daughter of Hurin, and cried out
upon Turambar with the last words of Glaurung, that he was a
curse unto his kin and to all that harboured him.
$342. Then Turambar fell into a fury, and charged Brandir
with leading Niniel to her death, and publishing with delight the
lies of Glaurung (if he devised them not himself indeed), and he
cursed Brandir and slew him, and fled from the people into the
woods. But after a while his madness left him, and he came to
Haud-en-Ellas and there sat and pondered all his deeds. And he
cried upon Finduilas to bring him counsel; for he knew not
whether he would do now more ill to go to Doriath to seek his
kin, or to forsake them for ever and seek death in battle.
$343. And even as he sat there Mablung with a company of
Grey-elves came over the Crossings of Taiglin, and he knew
Turin and hailed him, and was glad to find him living. For he had
learned of the coming forth of Glaurung and that his path led to
Brethil, and at the same time he had heard report that the Black
Sword of Nargothrond now abode there. Therefore he came to
give warning to Turin and help if need be. But Turin said: 'Too
late thou comest. The Worm is dead.'
$344. Then they marvelled, and gave him great praise, but
he cared nothing for it, and said: 'This only I ask: give me news
of my kin, for in Dorlomin I learned that they had gone to the
Hidden Kingdom.'
$345. Then Mablung was dismayed, but needs must tell
to Turin how Morwen was lost, and Nienor cast into a spell
of dumb forgetfulness, and how she escaped them upon the
borders of Doriath and fled northward. Then at last Turin knew
that doom had overtaken him, and that he had slain Brandir
unjustly, so that the words of Glaurung were fulfilled in him.
And he laughed as one fey, crying: 'This is a bitter jest indeed!'
But he bade Mablung go, and return to Doriath, with curses
upon it. 'And a curse too on thy errand!' he said. 'This only was
wanting. Now comes the night! '
$346. Then he fled from them like the wind, and they were
amazed, wondering what madness had seized him; and they
followed after him. But Turin far out-ran them, and came to
Cabad-en-Aras, and heard the roaring of the water, and saw
that all the leaves fell sere from the trees, as though winter had
come. Then he cursed the place and named it Cabad Naera-
marth, and he drew forth his sword, that now alone remained
to him of all his possessions, and he said: 'Hail Gurthang! No
lord or loyalty dost thou know, save the hand that wieldeth
thee. From no blood wilt thou shrink. Wilt thou therefore take
Turin Turambar, wilt thou slay me swiftly?'
$347. And from the blade rang a cold voice in answer: Yea,
I will drink thy blood gladly, that so I may forget the blood of
Beleg my master, and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly. I will
slay thee swiftly.'
$348. Then Turin set the hilts upon the ground, and cast
himself upon the point of Gurthang, and the black blade took
his life. But Mablung and the Elves came and looked on the
shape of the Worm lying dead, and upon the body of Turin,
and they were grieved; and when men of Brethil came thither,
and they learned the reasons of Turin's madness and death, they
were aghast; and Mablung said bitterly: 'Lo! I also have been
meshed in the doom of the Children of Hurin, and thus with my
tidings have slain one that I loved.'
$349. Then they lifted up Turin and found that Gurthang
had broken asunder. But Elves and Men gathered then great
store of wood and made a mighty burning, and the Worm was
consumed to ashes. But Turin they laid in a high mound where
he had fallen, and the shards of Gurthang were laid beside
him. And when all was done, the Elves sang a lament for the
Children of Hurin, and a great grey stone was set upon the
mound, and thereon was carven in the Runes of Doriath:
Here the manuscript comes to an end, at the foot of a page, and
the typescript also. Later, and probably a good while later, since
the writing is in ball-point pen, my father added in the margin of the
manuscript:
TURIN TURAMBAR DAGNIR
GLAURUNGA
and beneath they wrote also:
NIENOR NINIEL.
But she was not there, nor was it ever known whither the cold
waters of Taiglin had taken her. [Thus endeth the Narn i Chin
Hurin: which is the longest of all the lays of Beleriand, and was
made by Men.]
It always seemed to me strange that my father should have abandoned
the Grey Annals where he did, without at least writing the inscription
that was carved on the stone; yet the facts that the amanuensis
typescript ended at this point also, and that he added in the inscription
in rough script on the manuscript at some later time, seemed proof
positive that this was the case. Ultimately I discovered the explanation,
which for reasons that will be seen I postpone to the beginning of Part
Three (p. 251).
C0MMENTARY.
In this commentary the following abbreviations are used:
AV. Annals of Valinor (see p. 3)
AAm. Annals of Aman (text with numbered paragraphs in Vol.X)
AB. Annals of Beleriand (see p. 3). I use the revised dating of the
annals in AB 2 (see V.124).
GA. Grey Annals (GA 1 abandoned opening, GA 2 the final text
when distinguished from GA 1: see pp. 3 - 4)
Q. The Quenta (text in Vol.IV)
QS. Quenta Silmarillion (text with numbered paragraphs in
Vol. V)
NE. The last part of the Narn i Chin Hurin, given in Unfinished
Tales (pp. 104 - 46), and referenced to the pages in that
book; see pp. 144-5.
$1. This opening paragraph is absent from the abandoned version
GA 1. Cf. the direction scribbled on the old AB 2 manuscript (p. 4)
to 'make these the Sindarin Annals of Doriath'. For the beginning of '
the Annals in GA 1 see under $2 below.
$2. This is a much more definite statement of the development of the
geographical concept of 'Beleriand' than that found in GA 1, where
the Annals begin thus:
The name Beleriand is drawn from the tongue of the Sindar, the
Grey-elves that long dwelt in that country; and it signifies the land
of Balar. For this name the Sindar gave to Osse, who came much
to those coasts, and there befriended them. In ancient days, ere
the War of Utumno, it was but the northern shoreland of the long
west-coast of Middle-earth, lying south of Eryd Engrin (the Iron
Mountains) and between the Great Sea and Eryd Luin (the Blue
Mountains).
This is in any case not easy to understand, since Beleriand 'in the
ancient days' is defined as 'but' the northern shoreland of the west-
coast of Middle-earth, yet extending south of the Iron Mountains
and from the Great Sea to the Blue Mountains, an area in fact much
greater than that described in GA 2 as its later extension of mean-
ing. The latter agrees with the statement on the subject in QS $108,
where 'Beleriand was bounded upon the North by Nivrost and
Hithlum and Dorthonion'.
A possible explanation of the opening passage of GA 1 may be
found, however, by reference to the Ambarkanta map IV (IV.249),
where it will be seen that 'Beleriand' could well be described as 'but
the northern shoreland of the long west-coast of Middle-earth, lying
south of the Iron Mountains and between the Great Sea and the
Blue Mountains'. The meaning of the opening of GA 1 may be,
therefore, not that this geographical description was the original
reference of the name 'Beleriand', but that before the War of
Utumno (when Melkor was chained) Beleriand was 'but the
northern shoreland of the long west-coast of Middle-earth', whereas
in the ruin of that war there was formed the Great Gulf to the
southward (referred to in GA $6, both texts; see Ambarkanta
map V, IV.251), after which Beleriand could not be so described.
In the List of Names of the 1930s (V.404) 'Beleriand' was said as
in GA 2 to have been originally the 'land about southern Sirion'; but
is there said to have been 'named by the Elves of the Havens from
Cape Balar, and Bay of Balar into which Sirion flowed'. In the
Etymologies (V.350, stem BAL) Beleriand was likewise derived from
(the isle of) Balar, and Balar in turn 'probably from * balare, and so
called because here Osse visited the waiting Teleri.' At that time
Osse was a Bala (Vala).
On the later form Belerian see my father's note on Sindarin
Rochand > Rochan (Rohan) in Unfinished Tales p. 318 (note 49 to
Cirion and Eorl ).
$3. Cf. the entry added to the annal for Valian Year 1050 in AAm
$40 (X.72, 77), concerning Melian's departure from Valinor. In the
preceding annal 1000 - 1050 in AAm it is told that Varda 'made stars
newer and brighter'.
$$3-5. The second sentence of the annal 1050 and the annals 1080
and 1085 were added to the manuscript subsequently. It is curious
that there was no mention of the Awakening of the Elves in GA 1
nor in GA 2 as written; but among the rough draft pages referred to
on p. 4 there is in fact a substantial passage beginning: 'In this same
time the Quendi awoke by the waters of Kuivienen: of which more
is said in the Chronicles of Aman.' The text that follows in this draft
is very close - much of it indeed virtually identical - to the long
passage interpolated into AAm ($$43-5) on the fear of Orome
among the Quendi, the ensnaring of them by the servants of Melkor,
and the breeding of the Orcs from those captured. There are no
differences of substance between this text and the passage in AAm;
and it is obvious that the latter followed, and was based on, the
former, originally intended for inclusion in the Grey Annals.
In AAm the same dates are given for the Awakening of the Elves
(1050) and for their discovery by Orome (1085); no date is given in
AAm for their discovery by Melkor, but it is said (AAm $43) that
this was 'some years ere the coming of Orome'.
$6. In GA 1 the sentence 'it took then that shape which it had until
the coming of Fionwe' reads '... which it had until the Change of
the World', using that expression not to refer to the World Made
Round at the Drowning of Numenor but to the destruction of
Beleriand in the final overthrow of Morgoth, at the end of the Elder
Days.
The Great Gulf (shown and thus named on the Ambarkanta map
V, IV.251) was referred to in QS $108: 'Beyond the river Gelion the
land narrowed suddenly, for the Great Sea ran into a mighty gulf
reaching almost to the feet of Eredlindon...' See under 52 above.
Unique to the Grey Annals is the statement that because the Valar
had set foot in the lands about Sirion, when they came from Aman
for the assault on Utumno, growth soon began there again 'while
most of Middle-earth slept in the Sleep of Yavanna', and that
Melian fostered the 'young woods under the bright stars'. See
further under $10 below.
$7. This annal was a later addition to the manuscript; the date was
first written 1102, then changed to 1102-5. AAm ($$54-5) has
entries concerning the three ambassadors, their going in 1102 and
their return to Kuivienen in 1104.
$8. In AAm the dates were so often changed and became so confused
that in rendering the text I gave only the final ones (see X.47 - 8); but
in this part of AAm all the dates were in fact originally 100 Valian
Years later - thus 1115, the year in which the Eldar reached the
Anduin (X.82) was an emendation of 1215. Already in GA 1 the
dates are in the 1100s as first written, showing that it followed
AAm, if at no long interval. But it is curious that in GA (both texts)
the coming of the Vanyar and Noldor to the Great Sea is placed in
1115; in AAm the march began in 1105, the Anduin was reached
in 1115, and the Sea in 1125.
$10. This annal has close relations not only with that in AAm for the
same year ($65) but also with the passage in the 'Silmarillion'
tradition (X.172, $32).
With 'the young trees of Nan Elmoth' cf. the change made on one
of the typescripts of AAm (X.91) of 'the trees of Nan Elmoth' to 'the
sapling trees of Nan Elmoth', though this was made years later. The
'young trees' are no doubt to be connected with the phrase in GA $9
'where afterwards stood the forests of Neldoreth and Region'; and it
seems clear that the trees were all young because, as is said in GA
$6, 'the lands upon either side of Sirion were ruinous and desolate
because of the War of the Powers, but soon growth began there,
while most of Middle-earth slept in the Sleep of Yavanna, because
the Valar of the Blessed Realm had set foot there; and there were
young woods under the bright stars.'
The conception that there were trees in a world illumined only by
starlight was a datum of the mythology (though years after the
writing of the Grey Annals my father rejected it: 'Neither could
there be woods and flowers &c. on earth, if there had been no light
since the overthrow of the Lamps!', X.375); on the other hand,
there appears in AAm ($30) the story, not present in the 'Silmaril-
lion' tradition, that Yavanna 'set a sleep upon many fair things that
had arisen in the Spring [i.e. before the fall of the Lamps], both tree
and herb and beast and bird, so that they should not age but should
wait for a time of awakening that yet should be.' In the other
tradition (X.158, $18) 'While the Lamps had shone, 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 great trees... In those lands
and forests Orome would often hunt...'
How these conceptions relate to each other is far from clear
on the basis of these texts; but now, in the Grey Annals ($6), the
peculiar nature of Beleriand is asserted, in that there alone growth
began again under the stars on account of the passage of the Valar
from Aman, and ($17) 'though Middle-earth for the most part lay in
the Sleep of Yavanna, in Beleriand under the power of Melian there
was life and joy and the bright stars shone like silver fires.'
$$11-12. This annal 1132 is very close to that in AAm ($66), largely
identical in structure and near in phraseology; the only important
feature in which it differs is the reference to the legend that a part of
the island that became Tol Eressea was broken off and became the
Isle of Balar. This story appears in a footnote to the next of QS $35
(V.221, X.174).
$$13-15. The annals 1149 - 50 and 1150 are again close to those in
AAm ($$70-1), and were I think based on them (it may be noted
that in GA 1, of which GA 2 is here for the most part scarcely more
than a fair copy, my father first wrote in $15 'The friends and
kinsfolk of Elwe also were unwilling to depart', as in AAm, but
changed the last words in the act of writing to 'also remained').
$14. The whole extent of the coastal region from the Firth of
Drengist south to Cape Balar is here named the Falas (cf. QS $109:
'the country of the Falas (or Coast), south of Nivrost'), and thus
Cirdan is made the ruler of the shorelands of Nivrost (later
Nevrast).
The last part of the annal 1149 - 50, concerning the fact that the
Elves of the Havens did not cross the Great Sea (though there was
no ban on their attempting to do so), is not in GA 1. It is indeed an
answer to a question that has not emerged in any previous writing -
though it becomes implicit from the first emergence of the sailing-
elves of the Havens (Elves persuaded by Osse to remain on the
shores of Middle-earth are first mentioned in Q, IV.87).
$16. The annal 1152 is closely related to that in AAm ($74). The
question arises why, if these Annals were the work of the Sindar (see
$1), should they have such obvious affinity to those of Aman?
Perhaps it should be supposed that both sets of Annals, as received,
derive from the editorial work of Pengolod in Tol Eressea.
$17. There is nothing corresponding to the interesting annal 1200 in
AAm. On the reference to the Sleep of Yavanna and the life and joy
in Beleriand see under $10 above. Melian's power and presence in
Beleriand is now given a greater significance. - Here niphredil
appears from The Lord of the Rings.
$18. The idea of the 'higher culture' of the Dark-elves of Beleriand
(the Sindar) goes back to the very early 'Sketch of the Mythology'
(IV.21): 'Only in the realm of Doriath, whose queen was of divine
race, did the Ilkorins equal the Koreldar'; this phrase with a slight
modification survived through Q (IV.100) into QS ($85).
$19. Cf. the passage inserted into annal 1250 in AAm ($84), a
Beleriandic interpolation by Pengolod, against which my father later
noted: 'Transfer to A[nnals of] B[eleriand]' (X.102, note 7). That
passage (very greatly expanded here in GA) begins:
In this time also, it is said among the Sindar, the Nauglath
[written above: Naugrim] whom we also name the Nornwaith
(the Dwarves) came over the mountains into Beleriand and
became known to the Elves.
The present annal in GA 1 begins: 'In this year, it is recorded among
the Sindar, the Nauglath came first over the mountains into
Beleriand. This people the Noldor after named the Norn-folk...' In
GA 2 the words 'it is recorded among the Sindar' are absent, and
Naugrim replaces Nauglath.
In QS $124 the Dwarvish names of the cities in Eryd Luin were
Gabilgathol (Belegost, the Great Fortress) and Khazaddum
(Nogrod, the Dwarfmine); Tumunzahar now first appears (also in
QS revised, p. 206, $7).
$20. For statements in the Lhammas and in QS on the languages of
the Dwarves see V.178-9, 273. - The concluding sentences of this
paragraph ('Ever cool was their friendship ...') are very close to
what is said in AAm ($84).
$21. This cautious and sceptical view of the story of the origin of the
Dwarves - ascribing it entirely to the Dwarves themselves - seems
to contrast with earlier texts, where it is said to be derived from
'the wise in Valinor' (V.129, 273). - The name Mahal of Aule has
not appeared before.
$22. Enfeng, the Longbeards of Belegost. In the old Tale of the
Nauglafring the Indrafangs or Longbeards were the Dwarves of
Belegost, while Dwarves of Nogrod were the Nauglath (see II.247).
In Q the Indrafangs had become those of Nogrod (IV.104), and this
reappears in QS ($124): those who dwelt in Nogrod they [the
Gnomes] called Enfeng, the Longbeards, because their beards swept
the floor before their feet.' In the passage in AAm ($84) the Long-
beards, as here, are again the Dwarves of Belegost. - The conclusion
of this paragraph is wholly different in GA 1:
For Melian taught them much wisdom (which also they were
eager to get), and she gave to them also the great jewel which
alone she had brought out of Valinor, work of Feanor, [struck out
but then ticked as if to stand: for he gave many such to the folk of
Lorien.] A white gem it was that gathered the starlight and sent it
forth in blue fires; and the Enfeng prized it above a mountain of
wealth.
This was an idea that did not fit the chronology, for Melian left
Valinor in 1050, the year of the Awakening of the Elves, as stated
both in AAm (see X.77) and GA (Feanor was born more than a
hundred Valian years later, AAm $78); and in GA 2 the story of the
great pearl Nimphelos was substituted.
$$23-4. Thingol's early association with the Dwarves is mentioned
in QS $122 (from their cities in the Blue Mountains the Dwarves
'journeyed often into Beleriand, and were admitted at times even
into Doriath'), but the aid of the Longbeards of Belegost in the
building of Menegroth did not appear until the interpolation in
AAm ($84). That brief mention is here greatly expanded into a
description of the Thousand Caves; cf. the Lay of Leithian
(III.188-9, lines 980-1008), and for the earliest conception - before
the rise of Thingol to his later wealth and majesty - see II.63, 128-9,
245-6.
$$25-9. In GA 1 the whole passage given here in the annals 1300-50
and 1330 is placed under 1320: the actual event in 1320 was the
speaking of the Dwarves to Thingol concerning their fears ('In this
year, however, the Dwarves were troubled...', where GA 2 has 'But
it came to pass that the Dwarves were troubled...'), and it was 'not
long thereafter' that 'evil creatures came even to Beleriand'. In a
note to the year 1320 on the typescript of AAm (X.106, $85) my
father added: 'The Orcs first appear in Beleriand'; in GA 2 ($26) the
event is dated ten Valian Years later, in 1330.
$25. The Dwarves' hatred and fear of the Sea has not been mentioned
before.
$26. GA 1 has 'over passes in the mountains, or up from the south
where their heights fell away': probably referring to the region of
the Great Gulf (Ambarkanta map V, IV.251).
$27. This paragraph was an addition to GA 1, though not long after
the primary text was made. This is the later conception, introduced
into AAm (see X.123, $127), according to which the Orcs existed
before ever Orome came upon the Elves, being indeed bred by
Morgoth from captured Elves; the older tradition, that Morgoth
brought the Orcs into being when he returned to Middle-earth from
Valinor, survived unchanged in the final form of the Quenta
Silmarillion (see X.194, $62). See further under $29 below.
$28. Telchar of Nogrod is not named here in GA 1. He goes back a
long way in the history, appearing first in the second version of the
Lay of the Children of Hurin (III.115), and in Q (IV.118) - where he
is of Belegost, not Nogrod.
$29. Axes were 'the chief weapons of the Naugrim, and of the
Sindar': cf. the name 'Axe-elves' of the Sindar, X.171. - Of the
appearance of Orcs and other evil beings in Eriador and even in
Beleriand long before (some 165 Valian Years) the return of Melkor
to Middle-earth, and of the arming of the Sindar by the Dwarves,
there has been no previous suggestion (see under $27 above).
$30. The coming of Denethor to Beleriand is more briefly recorded in
an annal interpolated into AAm ($86) under the same date, 1350 -
an interpolation by Pengolod which (like that referred to under $19
above) was marked later for transfer to the Annals of Beleriand.
With the mention of the halting of the Teleri on the shores of the
Great River cf. the fuller account in AAm, annal 1115 ($$60-1).
In GA 1 the name Nandor is interpreted, the Turners-back:
this expression is found also in a note to one of the texts of the
Lhammas, V.188.
It has not (of course) been said before that the coming of
Denethor over the Blue Mountains was brought about by the
emergence of 'the fell beasts of the North'. The later history and
divisions of the Nandor are now much more fully described: those
who 'dwelt age-long' in the woods of the Vale of Anduin (the Elves
of Lothlorien and Mirkwood, see Unfinished Tales p. 256), and
those who went down Anduin, of whom some dwelt by the Sea,
while others passed by the White Mountains (the first mention of
Ered Nimrais in the writings concerned with the Elder Days) and
entered Eriador. These last were the people of Denethor (of whom it ?
is said in AAm that 'after long wanderings they came up into
Beleriand from the South', see $86 and commentary, X.93, 104).
The words 'in after days' in 'In that region the forests in after days
were tall and green' are perhaps significant: the association of green
with the Elves of Ossiriand emerged after the rising of the Sun. See
further under $44 below.
$31. The passage corresponding to this in GA 1 is very much briefer:
Of the long years of peace that followed after the coming of
Denethor there is no tale, save only that Orome would come at
whiles to the land, or pass over the mountains, and the sound of
his horn came over the leagues of the starlight...
(concluding as in GA 2). But the passage in GA 2 concerning Dairon
and his runes is largely derived from a later passage in GA 1 (absent
in GA 2), for which see p. 20.
The word Cirth first appears here, though as a later addition to
the manuscript (perhaps at the time when my father was preparing
Appendix E to The Lord of the Rings). It is said in the footnote to
the paragraph that Dairon contrived his runes 'ere the building of
Menegroth' (begun in 1300, according to GA); so also in GA 1
'Dairon ... had devised his Runes already by V.Y.1300'. An annal
added to the typescript of AAm (X.106, $85) has '1300 Daeron,
loremaster of Thingol, contrives the Runes.' For an earlier view of
the origin of the Runes of Dairon (an invention of 'the Danian Elves
of Ossiriand', elaborated in Doriath) see The Treason of Isengard
pp. 453-5; there the name 'Alphabet of Dairon' is ascribed simply
to the fact of 'the preservation in this script of some fragments of the
songs of Dairon, the ill-fated minstrel of King Thingol of Doriath, in
the works on the ancient Beleriandic languages by Pengolod the
Wise of Gondolin'. See also my father's later statement concerning
the Alphabet of Daeron at the beginning of Appendix E (II) to The
Lord of the Rings.
$33. On the great cry of Morgoth see X.109, 296. Where GA 2 has
'few knew what it foreboded' GA 1 has 'few (save Melian and
Thingol) knew what it foreboded'.
$34. So also in AAm ($126) and in the late Quenta Silmarillion text
'Of the Thieves' Quarrel' (X.297) Ungoliante after her rout by the
Balrogs went down into Beleriand and dwelt in Nan Dungorthin
(Nan Dungortheb); but it is not said in those texts that the power of
Melian prevented her entry into the Forest of Neldoreth. In both it is
said that that valley was so named because of the horror that she
bred there, but the statement here that the Mountains of Terror
came to be so called after that time is not found elsewhere. That
Ungoliante departed into the South of the world is said also in AAm,
but in 'Of the Thieves' Quarrel' (X.297) 'whither she went after no
tale tells'.
$35. The stage of development in the tradition of Morgoth's fortress
is that of QS and AAm, in which Angband was built on the ruins of
Utumno (see X.156, $12). - In GA 1 the name Thangorodrim is
translated 'the Tyrannous Towers'; cf. the later translation 'the
Mountains of Oppression' (X.298).
$$36 ff. This is the first full account of 'the First Battle of Beleriand'
(a term previously applied to the Battle-under-Stars, which now
becomes the Second Battle). In the pre-Lord of the Rings texts the
first assault of the Orcs on Beleriand had been briefly described; thus
in the second version (AV 2) of the Annals of Valinor it was said
(V.114):
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...
In QS $115 the account ran thus:
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.
$36. Between Menegroth and Thangorodrim on the second Silmaril-
lion map (as drawn: not in my reproduction, V.409) the length is
14 cm, and the scale is stated to be 50 miles to 3-2 cm. (the length of
the sides of the squares); the distance was therefore 218 75 miles, or
just under 73 leagues (for my father's later interpretation of the scale
in inches, not centimetres, see p. 332, but the difference has no
significance here). The distance given here of 150 leagues (450
miles) from Menegroth to Angband's gate, more than doubling that
shown on the second map, seems to imply a great extension of the
northern plain. The geography of the far North is discussed in
V.270-2; but since it is impossible to say how my father came to
conceive it I discreetly omitted all indication of the Iron Mountains '
and Thangorodrim from the map drawn for the published Silmaril-
lion.
$38. GA 1 has here:
Therefore he called on Denethor [struck out: and on the Enfengs]
and the First Battle was fought in the Wars of Beleriand. And the
Orcs in the east were routed and slain aheaps, and as they fled
before the Elves they were waylaid by the axes of the Enfengs that
issued from Mount Dolmed: few returned to the North.
In GA 2 'Region over Aros' refers to that part of the Forest of
Region between the rivers Aros and Celon (see p. 183, square F 10).
The implication of the sentence seems clearly to be that these Elves
owed allegiance to Denethor; and this does not seem to be
consistent with what is said in $39, that after the First Battle many
of the Green-elves of Ossiriand 'went north and entered the guarded
realm of Thingol and were merged with his folk'. Against this
sentence in the typescript of GA my father wrote in the margin
'Orgol' and 'of the Guest-elves in Arthorien', marking these with
carets to indicate that something should be said of them. In
Unfinished Tales, p. 77, occurs the following passage:
Saeros... was of the Nandor, being one of those who took refuge
in Doriath after the fall of their lord Denethor upon Amon Ereb,
in the first battle of Beleriand. These Elves dwelt for the most part
in Arthorien, between Aros and Celon in the east of Doriath,
wandering at times over Celon into the wild lands beyond; and
they were no friends to the Edain since their passage through
Ossiriand and settlement in Estolad.
This was largely derived from an isolated note, very rapidly written
and not at all points intelligible, among the Narn papers, but
somewhat reduced. It is remarked in this note that 'the Nandor had
turned away, never seen the Sea or even Osse, and had become
virtually Avari. They had also picked up various Avari before they
came back west to Ossiriand.' Of those Nandor who took refuge in
Doriath after the fall of Denethor it is said: 'In the event they did not
mingle happily with the Teleri of Doriath, and so dwelt mostly in
the small land Eglamar, Arthorien under their own chief. Some of
them were "darkhearted", though this did not necessarily appear,
except under strain or provocation.' 'The chief of the "Guest-elves",
as they were called, was given a permanent place in Thingol's
council'; and Saeros (in this note called in fact Orgoph or Orgol)
was 'the son of the chief of the Guest-elves, and had been for a long
time resident in Menegroth'.
I think it very probable that my father wrote 'Orgol' and 'of the
Guest-elves in Arthorien' on the typescript of GA as the same time
as he wrote this note.
Arthorien was entered on the second map (p. 183, square F 10).
The application of the name Eglamar to Arthorien in this note is
puzzling (see p. 189, $57).
The intervention of the Dwarves has not been referred to
previously.
$40. The words 'unless one should come with a power greater than
that of Melian the Maia' replaced at the time of writing 'unless
haply some power greater than theirs should assail them'. -
Eglador: my father pencilled this name under Doriath on the second
map (see p. 186, $14).
$41. At the end of this paragraph the Annals of Aman cease to record
the events in the Grey Annals, and comparison is with QS (V.248
ff.), together with the conclusion of AV 2 (V.117 ff.) and with AB 2
(V.125 ff.). In this commentary I do not generally refer to later
developments in the Quenta Silmarillion tradition.
$44. For Eryd-wethrin, the valour of the Noldor, and Dagor-nuin-
Giliath GA 1 has Erydwethion, the valour of the Gnomes, and
Dagor-nui-Ngiliath (as in QS $88, marginal note).
This is the first occurrence of Ardgalen in the texts as here
presented, replacing Bladorion as the original name of the great
northern plain before its devastation. It is notable that Ardgalen 'the
green region' is expressly stated to have been the name at this time
before the rising of the Sun; cf. the change made long before to the
passage in Q describing the Battle-under-Stars (when the battle was
fought on the plain itself, not in Mithrim): 'yet young and green (it
stretched to the feet of the tall mountains)' > 'yet dark beneath the
stars' (IV.101, 103).
The Orc-hosts that passed southwards down the Vale of Sirion
are not of course mentioned in previous accounts of the Battle-
under-Stars. The attack on the Noldor in Mithrim is now taken up
into a larger assault out of Angband, and the victory of the Noldor
brought into relation with the newly-developed conception of the
beleaguered Sindar.
In the account of the destruction of the western Orc-host by
Celegorn is the first appearance of the Fen of Serech: this was first
named in an addition to the second map the Fen of Rivil,
subsequently changed to the Fen of Serech (p. 181, $3). Rivil was
the stream that rising at Rivil's Well on Dorthonion made the fen at
its inflowing into Sirion.
$45. In AV 2 (V.117) and QS ($88) the Balrogs were in the rearguard
of Morgoth's host, and it was they who turned to bay. - Of the
rescue of Feanor GA 1 (following QS) has only: 'But his sons
coming up with force rescued their father, and bore him back to
Mithrim' (see under $46).
$46. The story of Feanor's dying sight of Thangorodrim and his
cursing of the name of Morgoth first appeared in Q (IV.101), where
the Battle-under-Stars was fought on the plain of Bladorion
(Ardgalen). In AV 1 and AV 2 (IV.268, V.117) the battle was fought
in Mithrim, and Feanor was mortally wounded when he advanced
too far upon the plain, but he was brought back to Mithrim and
died there; his sight of Thangorodrim and curse upon Morgoth do
not appear. In QS ($88) my father combined the accounts: Feanor
died in Mithrim, but it is also told that he 'saw afar the peaks of
Thangorodrim' as he died, and 'cursed the name of Morgoth thrice';
GA 1 follows this story (see under $45 above). It must have been the
consideration that from Mithrim Thangorodrim was not visible on
account of the heights of Eryd-wethrin that led to the story in GA 2
that Feanor caused his sons to halt as they began the climb above
Eithel Sirion, and that he died in that place.
$47. The initial misapprehension among the Grey-elves concerning
the return of the Noldor is a wholly new element in the narrative, as
is also the cold view taken by Thingol, seeing in it a threat to his
own dominion. In the old versions his coolness does not appear
until his refusal to attend the Feast of Reuniting (Mereth Aderthad)
in the year 20 of the Sun, and arises rather from his insight into
what the future might bring, Thingol came not himself, and he
would not open his kingdom, nor remove its girdle of enchantment;
for wise with the wisdom of Melian he trusted not that the restraint
of Morgoth would last for ever' (QS $99, and very similarly in AB 2,
V.126).
$49. The date 1497 is repeated from $36. - The Balrogs that
constituted the force that Morgoth sent to the parley in QS ($89 and
commentary) have disappeared.
$52. As in AAm $$157-8, 163 the form Endar ('Middle-earth') is
clear, but here as there the typist put Endor (see X.126, $157).
$53. The paragraph opens in the manuscript with a large pointing
hand.
$$54-5. In this passage, while there are echoes of the earlier texts, the
writing is largely new, and there are new elements, notably the cry
of Maidros on Thangorodrim.
$54. The story of Morgoth's assault on Tilion is told in AAm $179,
where however it took place after both Sun and Moon were
launched into the heavens. It is told in AAm that 'Tilion was the
victor: as he ever yet hath been, though still the pursuing darkness
overtakes him at whiles', evidently a reference to the eclipses of the
Moon.
$57. On the placing of Hildorien see AV 2 (V.120, note 13) and QS
$82. and commentary; also pp. 173-4. On the name Atani see X.7,
39.
$$58-60. While this annal for the second year of the Sun is obviously
closely related to and in large part derived from QS $$92 - 3, it
contains new elements, as the more explicit portrayal of Fingolfin's
anger against the Feanorians, and also the repentance of many of
the latter for the burning of the ships at Losgar.
$61. The reference to the Quenta is to the much fuller account of the
rescue of Maidros in QS $$94-7. In AAm ($160) it is told that
Maidros was 'on a time a friend of Fingon ere Morgoth's lies came
between', and ($162) that he alone stood aside at the burning of the
ships. - The spelling Maidros: at earlier occurrences in GA the name
is spelt Maidros, and Maidros appears again in the following line;
while in the draft text referred to on p. 29 the form is mostly
Maidros (cf. the later form Maedhros, X.177, adopted in the
published Silmarillion, beside Maedros X.293, 295).
$$63-4. The content of this passage is largely new; there has been no
previous mention of the coming of Angrod to Thingol and his
silence about many matters in respect of the Return of the Noldor.
The actual nature of Thingol's claim to overlordship, whereby he
'gave leave' to the princes of the Noldor to dwell in certain regions,
is now specified (the acceptance by Fingolfin of Thingol's claim is
referred to in the earlier forms of the linguistic excursus in GA, pp.
21, 25; cf. also the anticipatory words in $48, 'the sons of Feanor
were ever unwilling to accept the overlordship of Thingol, and
would ask for no leave where they might dwell or might pass'). -
The Telerin connection of the Third House of the Noldor through
the marriage of Finrod (> Finarfin) to Earwen Olwe's daughter
appears in AAm $$85, 156, and see X.177.
$$65-71. The content of the annal for the year 7 is largely new, save
that in QS ($98) there is told of the waiving of the high-kingship of
the Noldor by Maidros, and the secret disavowal of this among
some at least of his brothers ('to this his brethen did not all in their
hearts agree'). In GA there is no mention of what is told in QS, that
'Maidros begged forgiveness for the desertion in Eruman, and gave
back the goods of Fingolfin that had been borne away in the ships'
(but see $83 and commentary); on the other hand we learn here of
the scornful rejection of Thingol's claim by the Feanorians (with no
mention of Fingolfin's acceptance of it, see under $$63 - 4 above), of
Cranthir's harsh disposition and his insulting speech at the council,
of the choosing of Fingolfin as overlord of the Noldor, of the opinion
that Maidros was behind the swift departure of the Feanorians into
the eastern lands (in order to lessen the chances of strife and to bear
the brunt of the likeliest assault), and of his remaining in friendship
with the other houses of the Noldor, despite the isolation of the
Feanorians.
Curiously, the draft text has here and in $68 Caranthir (the later
form), while the final text reverts to Cranthir. In the very rough
initial draft for the annals 6 and 7 (see p. 29) the son of Feanor who
was 'the harshest and the most quick to anger' was Curufin,
changed to Caranthir. On Caranthir's scornful reference to Thingol
as 'this Dark-elf' see my note in the Index to the published Silmaril-
lion, entry Dark Elves. - In the draft text Caranthir says 'let them
not so quickly forget that they were Noldor!'
$72. In AB 2 (V.126) and QS ($99) Mereth Aderthad was held in
Nan Tathren, the Land of Willows. GA is more specific concerning
those who were present than are the earlier texts: Maidros and
Maglor; Cirdan; and Dairon and Mablung as the only two
representatives from Doriath (on Thingol's aloofness see $47 and
commentary).
$73. That the Noldor learned Sindarin far more readily than the
Sindar learned Noldorin has been stated already in the final form of
the linguistic excursus, p. 26. It is stated in all three versions of the
excursus that it was after Dagor Aglareb (in the year 60) that
Sindarin became the common speech of Beleriand.
$74. In AB 2 (V.126) Turgon discovered the hidden vale of Gondolin
in the same year (50) as Inglor Felagund discovered Nargothrond -
the year of their dreams.
$75. This is the first mention (as the texts are presented) of Galadriel
in Middle-earth in the Elder Days. The spelling Galadriel is note-
worthy, implying the association of her name with galadh 'tree'
(galad): see X.182 and Unfinished Tales p. 267.
In AB 2 (V.126) and QS ($101) there is no suggestion that Inglor
Felagund was aided by Thingol to his discovery of the caves where
he established Nargothrond. In QS 'the High Faroth' are named, at
a later point in the narrative, Taur-na-Faroth (see QS $112 and
commentary). The great highlands west of Narog were originally
called the Hills of the Hunters or the Hunters' Wold; see III.88,
IV.225, and the Etymologies in V.387, stem SPAR.
The passage beginning 'Thus Inglor came to the Caverns of
Narog' as far as 'that name he bore until his end' was an addition to
the manuscript, but seems certainly to have been made at the time of
the original writing. In view of the close relationship of this annal
to the later development of the story in the QS tradition, where a
very similar passage is found, I think that my father merely left it out
inadvertently and at once noticed the omission (see pp. 177-8, $101).
$76. It is said in QS ($116) only that Gondolin was 'like unto Tun of
Valinor'. This idea perhaps goes far back: see II.208.
$77. Dagor Aglareb, the Glorious Battle, was originally the Second
Battle in the Wars of Beleriand (see p. 21 and note 6).
$78. The Siege of Angband 'lasted wellnigh four hundred years':
from 60 to 455 (see V.257-8).
$$79-81. This inserted passage, which returns to the original text
near the beginning of $81, concerns Morgoth's departure from
Angband and his attempt to corrupt the first Men in the East, and is
of great interest. While in QS ($63) it was said of Morgoth that 'it
was never his wont to leave the deep places of his fortress', in AAm
($128, X.110) 'never but once only, while his realm lasted, did he
depart for a while secretly from his domain in the North'; but it is
not said or hinted for what purpose he went. (It is worth noting that
a rough draft for the present rider in GA is found on the same page
as a draft for the expansion of the passage in AAm, on which see
X.121 note 10.)
The insertion is carefully written in the same style as the main
text, and seems likely to belong to much the same time. It is notable
that the reverse of the page used for it carries drafting for the final
form of the insertion in AAm ($$43 - 5) concerning the ensnaring of
the Quendi by the servants of Melkor in the lands about Kuivienen
(cf. the words in $79, 'Even as before at the awakening of the
Quendi, his spies were watchful'). See further under $87 below.
$79. 'Nor himself, an he would go': i.e., nor did the ice and snow
hinder Morgoth himself, if he wished to go. - 'Indeed we learn now
in Eressea': cf. the end of the final version of the 'linguistic excursus'
(p. 27): 'these histories were made after the Last Battle and the end
of the Elder Days', and also the opening paragraph of the Grey
Annals (p. 5).
$83. The reference to the Quenta Noldorinwa (see p. 27 and note 12)
is to Chapter 9 'Of Beleriand and its Realms' in QS (V.258).
In QS $116 it is mentioned that 'many of the sires' of the horses of
Fingolfin and Fingon came from Valinor. The horses are here said to
have been 'given to Fingolfin by Maidros in atonement of his losses,
for they had been carried by ship to Losgar'. In an earlier passage in
GA (see the commentary on $$65-71) the reference in QS $98 to
the return of Fingolfin's goods that had been carried away in the
ships is absent.
$85. Eredwethrin: earlier in GA the form is Erydwethrin (also Eryd
Lomin, Eryd Luin); cf. under $113 below. - This is the first
occurrence of the river-name Nenning for earlier Eglor (at whose
mouth was the haven of Eglorest), named in AB 2 (V.128, 139) and
on the second map (V.408). On the map my father later struck out
Eglor and wrote in two names, Eglahir and Nenning, leaving both
to stand (p. 187, $22).
In QS ($109) it is said that the Dark-elves of Brithombar and
Eglorest 'took Felagund, lord of Nargothrond, to be their king'; see
the commentary on this passage, V.267. My father seems to have
been uncertain of the status of Cirdan: in a late change to the text of
AB 2 (the passage given in V.146, note 13) he wrote that 'in the
Havens the folk of the Falas were ruled by Cirdan of the Grey-elves;
but he was ever close in friendship with Felagund and his folk'
(agreeing with what is said here in GA), but he at once substituted:
'And in the west Cirdan the Shipwright who ruled the mariners of
the Falas took Inglor also for overlord, and they were ever close in
friendship.'
$87. The words '[Morgoth's] thought being bent on their ruin he
gave the less heed to aught else in Middle-earth' seem hardly to
agree with the inserted passage concerning Morgoth's departure
from Angband ($$79-80). It may be suggested, however, that that
passage is precisely concerned with the period before the attack on
Beleriand in the year 60 (Dagor Aglareb) - which was postponed
so long because of Morgoth's operations in the East, whence he
returned in alarm at 'the growing power and union of the Eldar'
($80)
By alteration to the original passage in this annal concerning the
beginning of the languages of Men a Dark-elvish origin is ascribed
only to the 'western tongues'. I think that this represents a
clarification rather than the entry of a new conception. It was said
already in Lhammas B (V.179, $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.
The very interesting addition at the end of the annal belongs with
the insertion about Morgoth's departure into the East. There it is
said ($80): 'But that some darkness lay upon the hearts of Men ...
the Eldar perceived clearly even in the fair folk of the Elf-friends that
they first knew'; but the present passage is the first definite statement
that Men in their beginning fell to the worship of Morgoth, and that
the Elf-friends, repentant, fled west to escape persecution. In the
long account of his works written for Milton Waldman in 1951, and
so very probably belonging to the same period, my father had said:
'The first fall of Man ... nowhere appears - Men do not come on
the stage until all that is long past, and there is only a rumour that
for a while they fell under the domination of the Enemy and that
some repented' (Letters no.131, pp. 147-8; see X.354 - 5).
$89. The new story in the revised form of the annal for 64, that
Turgon at this time led only a part of his people - those skilled in
such work - to Tumladen in order that they should begin the
building of Gondolin, is extended further in a greatly expanded
version of the annal for 116: see $$111-13.
$90. The Tower of Ingildon: this replaces the old name Tower of
Tindobel (Tindabel), which survived in QS ($120) and AB 2
(V.129); see p. 197, $120. It is not said in GA as it was in QS that
Inglor was the builder of the tower; this is perhaps to be connected
with what is said in $85, that Cirdan was lord of the lands 'west of
Nenning to the Sea'.
$$91-107. The entire content of the annals for 66 and 67 is new.
Highly 'un-annalistic' in manner, with its long and superbly
sustained discourse, this narrative is developed from the earlier
passage in GA ($48) - or perhaps rather, reveals what my father had
in mind when he wrote it:
When, therefore, ere long (by treachery and ill will, as later is
told) the full tale of the deeds in Valinor became known in
Beleriand, there was rather enmity than alliance between Doriath
and the House of Feanor; and this bitterness Morgoth eagerly
inflamed by all means that he could find.
A complete text of these annals is extant in a preliminary draft, but
the form in GA followed this draft closely and the development was
almost entirely stylistic. A few of the differences are worth noting:
$93. After 'not though they came in the very hour of our need'
my father added to the draft text: 'The new lights of heaven are the
sending of the Valar, not the Noldor, mighty though they be', and
this was not taken up in GA.
$95. Draft text: '... over the long road from the Kalakiryan'. -
After '"Maybe," said Galadriel, "but not of me"' the draft con-
tinues:
and being perplexed and recalling suddenly with anger the words
of Caranthir she said ere she could set a guard on her tongue: 'For
already the children of Finrod are charged with talebearing and
treason to their kindred. Yet we at least were guiltless, and
suffered evil ourselves.' And Melian spoke no more of these
things with Galadriel.
This passage was bracketed, and later in the draft the bitterness of
the memory of Cranthir's words of sixty years before appears in
Angrod's mouth, as in GA ($104). The draft has Caranthir in the
first passage, Cranthir in the second; see under $67 above.
$105. In the draft Thingol says: 'for my heart is hot as the fire of
Losgar'.
$107. After 'the words of Mandos would ever be made true' the
draft has: 'and the curse that Feanor drew upon him would darken
all that was done after.'
On the spelling Galadriel see under $75 above. In $94 appears
Galadriel; the draft text begins with Galadriel but then changes to
Galadriel. This distinction is however probably artificial, since it is
merely a question of the insertion or omission of the cross-line on
the d, written in both cases in a single movement (a reversed 6).
$107. The revision at the end of the annal for 67 depends on the later
story that the population of Gondolin was by no means exclusively
Noldorin, and is similar to those made to the final version of the
'linguistic excursus' (see p. 26 and notes 9 and 10), a consequence of
the rejection of the old conception that in Gondolin, and in
Gondolin only, which was peopled by Noldor and cut off from
intercourse with all others, the Noldorin tongue survived in daily
use; see $113 and commentary.
$$108-9. The content of this annal, extended from the opening
sentence recording the completion of Nargothrond (AB 2, V.129), is
also entirely new. For the earlier story that Felagund did have a wife,
and that their son was Gilgalad, see pp. 242-3.
$110. According to the chronology of the Grey Annals Turgon left
Nivrost in the year 64 ($88), and thus the figure here of fifty years is
an error for fifty-two. The error was repeated, but corrected, at the
beginning of the revised annal for 116. Possibly my father had
reverted in a momentary forgetfulness to the original dating, when
the years were 52 and 102 (V.127, 129). See the commentary on
$111.
$111. The change in the opening sentence of the new annal for 116
depends on the revised annal for 64 ($89), whereby Turgon did not
definitively leave Vinyamar in that year but began the building of
Gondolin. The erroneous fifty years, corrected to fifty-two, since the
start of the work was presumably merely picked up from the
rejected annal (see under $110).
$$111-12. Entirely new is the appearance of Ulmo to Turgon at
Vinyamar on the eve of his departure, his warning, his prophecy,
and his instruction to Turgon to leave arms in his house for one to
find in later days (cf. II.208, where I suggested that the germ of this
was already present in the original tale of The Fall of Gondolin -
'Thy coming was set in our books of wisdom'). But Ulmo's
foretelling that Gondolin should stand longest against Morgoth
goes back through Q (IV.136-7) to the Sketch of the Mythology
(IV.34).
$113. The later story that there were many Sindar among Turgon's
people has led to various changes already met in the text of GA: see
the commentary on $107. - The reversion to the old form wethion
in Eryd Wethion is curious (see commentary on $44).
At the foot of the page carrying the revised annal for 116 is the
following rapidly pencilled note:
Set this rather in the Silmarillion and substitute a short notice:
'In this year as is said in the Quenta Gondolin was fully wrought,
and Turgon arose and went thither with all his people, and
Nivrost was emptied of folk and so remained. But the march of
Turgon was hidden by the power of Ulmo, and none even of his
kin in Hithlum knew whither he had gone.
Against this my father wrote 'Neglect this'; but since a new chapter
was inserted into the Quenta Silmarillion which was largely based
on the present rider (see pp. 198 - 9) this was presumably an
instruction that was itself neglected.
$114. The date of this annal was first written 154, which was the
revised date of the meeting of Cranthir's people with the Dwarves in
the Blue Mountains in AB 2 (V.129, and cf. QS $125). The passage
describing the relations of Cranthir's folk with the Dwarves is new.
It was stated in AB 2 (V.129 - 30) thar the old Dwarf-road into
Beleriand had become disused since the return of the Noldor, and in
a late rewriting of that passage (precursor of the present annal) it is
said:
But after the coming of the Noldor the Dwarves came seldom any
more by their old roads into Beleriand (until the power of
Maidros fell in the Fourth Battle [i.e. the Dagor Bragollach in
455]), and all their traffic passed through the hands of Cranthir,
and thus he won great riches.
The meaning is therefore that after the meeting of Cranthir's people
with the Dwarves their renewed commerce with the Elves passed for
three hundred years over the mountains much further north, into
the northern parts of Thargelion about Lake Helevorn.
$115. The route of the Orc-army that departed from Angband 'into
the white north' remains unchanged from AB 2 (V.130); cf. the
account in QS $103, and my discussion of the geography in
V.270-1.
$116. Glaurung here appears for earlier Glomund, together with
Uruloki 'fire-serpents': cf. the original tale of Turambar and the
Foaloke in The Book of Lost Tales (and 'this loke (for so do the
Eldar name the worms of Melko)', II.85).
In QS $104 it was not said that Morgoth was 'ill pleased' that the
dragon 'had disclosed himself over soon', but on the contrary that
Glomund issued from Angband 'by the command of Morgoth; for
he was unwilling, being yet young and but half-grown.'
The content of the latter part of the annal has no antecedent in the
old versions. I take the words 'the Noldor of purer race' to mean
those Noldor who had no or little intermingling of Dark-elven
character, with perhaps the implication that they were more faithful
to their ancient nature as it had evolved in Aman.
$$117-20. The story, or rather the existence of a story, about Isfin
and Eol goes back to the beginning, and I shall briefly rehearse here
what can be learnt of it before this time.
In the original tale of The Fall of Gondolin (II.165, 168) Isfin
appears as Turgon's sister, and there is a reference to the 'tale of Isfin
and Eol', which 'may not here be told'. Meglin was their son.
In the fragmentary poem The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin
Fingolfin's wife and daughter (Isfin) were seeking for him when Isfin
was captured by Eol 'in Doriath's forest'; and Isfin sent Meglin her
son to Gondolin (III.146).
In the Sketch of the Mythology (IV.34-5) Isfin was lost in Taur-
na-Fuin after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears and entrapped by Eol;
Isfin sent Meglin to Gondolin (which at that stage was not founded
until after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears).
In Q (IV.136), similarly, Isfin was lost in Taur-na-Fuin after the
Battle of Unnumbered Tears, and captured by Eol; in addition, it is
said that 'he was of gloomy mood, and had deserted the hosts ere
the battle'. It is subsequently said (IV.140) that Isfin and Meglin
came together to Gondolin at a time when Eol was lost in Taur-
na-Fuin.
In AB 1 (IV.301), in the year 171 (the year before the Battle of
Unnumbered Tears), it is told that Isfin strayed out of Gondolin and
was taken to wife by Eol. [An error in the printed text of AB 1 here
may be mentioned: 'Isfin daughter of Turgon' for 'Isfin sister of
Turgon'.] In 192 'Meglin comes to Gondolin and is received by
Turgon as his sister's child', without mention of Isfin. This was
repeated in AB 2 (V.136, 139), with changed dates (271, 292, later
> 471, 492), but now it is expressly stated that Meglin was sent to
Gondolin by Isfin, and that he went alone (thus reverting to the
story in the Sketch of the Mythology).
QS has no mention of the story.
$117. In GA as originally written the loss of Isfin is still placed in the
'year (471) before the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, but the motive is
introduced that she left Gondolin in weariness of the city and
wishing to see her brother Fingon; and she was lost in Brethil and
entrapped by Eol, who had lived there 'since the first finding of
Beleriand' - which must mean that he withdrew into secrecy and
solitude when the Elves of the Great March first entered Beleriand.
The implication of the last words, 'took no part in all the deeds of
his kin', is not explained.
$118. In the replacement annal 316 something more is suggested of
Eol's nature, and the element enters that disregarding Turgon's
bidding Isfin went eastwards from Gondolin, seeking 'the land
of Celegorm and his brethren, her friends of old in Valinor'. A
description of Isfin on a page from an engagement calendar dated
October 1951 (and so belonging to the same time as the new annals
in GA discussed here) was attached to the account of the princes of
the Noldor in QS (see X.177, 182), and in this account it is said that
in Valinor Isfin 'loved much to ride on horse and to hunt in the
forests, and there was often in the company of her kinsmen, the sons
of Feanor'. It is further told in the new annal for 316 that she
became separated from her escort in Nan Dungorthin and came to
Nan Elmoth, where Eol's dwelling is now placed. She now leaves
Gondolin long before the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
$119. The name Fingol is not in fact written with a capital, but is pre-
ceded by an altered letter that I cannot interpret (it might possibly
be intended as an 0). As the annal was written Glindur (replacing the
primitive and long-enduring name Meglin) was primarily the name
of the metal devised by Eol, and with the later change of Glindur to
Maeglin this remained true of the name Maeglin.
$120. The story now reverts to that told in Q (IV.140): Isfin and
Glindur (Maeglin) came together to Gondolin; and the essential
features of the final drama now appear. The original text (see pp.
316 ff.) of the fully told story of Isfin and Eol and their son (Chapter
16 in the published Silmarillion, Of Maeglin) belongs to this period,
and indeed it was already in existence when these new annals were
written: they are a very condensed resume. (For the rejected annal of
which this is a replacement see $273 and commentary.)
$121. The date of Beor's birth remains unchanged from that in AB 2
(as revised: 170 > 370, V.130), as do the dates of the following
annals.
$122-3. The statements in the annals for 388 and 390 that Haleth
and Hador were born in Eriador were not made in AB 2.
$124. The reference to the Quenta is to QS $$126 ff. - Against the
first sentence of this annal my father afterwards pencilled an X, with
a scribbled note: 'This is too late. It should be the date of the
invitation of the [?Sires] of Men to come west'. This was struck
through, apart from the first four words: these are the first
indication of major changes in the chronology that would enter at a
later time.
$125. This annal is substantially extended from that in AB 2, where
no more was said than 'there was war on the East Marches, and
Beor was there with Felagund'.
$127. Galion replaces Gumlin of QS $127 (and AB 2 as early revised,
V.146 note 20: originally in this text the names of the sons of Hador
were in the reverse positions, Gundor being the elder). Later, the
name Galion was replaced by Galdor. The change to 'in Eriador'
was probably made for this reason: Hador entered Beleriand in 420;
thus Gallion was born while his father was somewhere in Eriador, in
417, but by the time of Gundor's birth in 419 Hador was already in
the eastern foothills of the Blue Mountains ($128).
$129. The first paragraph of the annal for 420 is close to that in AB 2
(V.130-1), with some additions: that Brethil had never before been
inhabited on account of the density of the forest, that Hador was the
more ready to settle in Hithlum 'being come of a northland people',
and that his lands in Hithlum were 'in the country of Dor-Lomin'.
In the margin against this last my father later scribbled: '[427 >]
423 Hador's folk come to Dor-lomin', but struck this out; see
$136. and commentary. The old view that the people of Hador
abandoned their own language in Hithlum is retained (see V.149,
annal 220).
$$130-2. The content of the latter part of the annal for 420 and the
opening of that for 422 is wholly new: Thingol's dreams concerning
Men before they appeared, his ban on their settlement save in the
North and on the entry of any Man (even of Beor's house) into
Doriath, Melian's prophecy to Galadriel, and Thingol's permission
to the people of Haleth to dwell in Brethil, despite his hostility to
Men in general and his edict against their taking land so far south.
$133. This passage follows closely the annal in AB 2 (V.131), but
with the interesting addition that the people of Hador would go far
into the cold North to keep watch.
$135. With the notable sentence (not in AB 2) 'For the Noldor indeed
were tall as are in the latter days men of great might and majesty' cf.
the collected references to the relative stature of Men and Elves in
the oldest writings, II.326. In the early texts it was said more than
once that the first Men were smaller than their descendants, while
the Elves were taller, and thus the two races were almost of a size;
but the present passage is not clear in this respect.
As the last sentence but one of the paragraph was originally
written it read: 'Yellowhaired they were and blue-eyed (not so was
Turin but his mother was of Beor's house) and their women were
tall and fair.' The words 'for the most part' were added; they had
appeared in a closely similar passage in QS chapter 10 (V.276,
$130).
$136. That Hador's folk were given lands in Dor-lomin was men-
tioned in the annal for 420, to which my father added afterwards,
but then struck out, '[427 >] 423 Hador's folk come to Dor-
lomin' (commentary on $129). The implication is presumably that
for a few years they dwelt in some other part of Beleriand.
$139. Beren's mother Emeldir 'Manhearted' is not named in the
earlier texts.
$142. In AB 2 the birth of Morwen was in 445. When the date was
changed in GA to 443 the entry was moved.
$144. Tuor has not previously been given the title of 'the Blessed'.
$$145-7. In AB 2 (V.131 - 2) the Battle of Sudden Fire, recorded in
the annal for 455, 'began suddenly on a night of mid-winter'; but
the passage beginning 'Fingolfin and Fingon marched to the aid of
Felagund' has a new date, 456. I suggested (V.150) that this was
because the Battle of Sudden Fire began at midwinter of the year
455, i.e. at the end of the year. In GA, on the other hand, it is
expressly stated ($145) that the assault out of Angband came 'at the
year's beginning', 'on the night of mid-winter'; thus the new year
began at the mark of mid-winter, and the battle was dated the first
day of the year 455. See commentary on $147.
$145. There are here the first appearances of the names Dagor
Bragollach (for Dagor Vreged-ur in QS, earlier Dagor Hur-Breged
in AB 2) and Anfauglith (for Dor-na-Fauglith).
$147. In QS (V.282, $140) Hador, who was born in 390, is said to
have been 'sixty and six years of age' at his death, not as here 65 (see
commentary on $$145-7).
$$149-50. This passage, later struck from the manuscript apart from
the opening sentence of $149, remained very close to that in AB 2
(V.132) with some influence in its structure from the story as told in
QS (V.288), except in one important particular: Hurin's companion
was not, as in AB 2 and QS, Haleth the Hunter himself, but Haleth's
grandson Handir, born in the same year as Hurin. - The story of
Hurin in Gondolin reappears in GA in a long rider to the annal 458
($$ 161-6).
$$151-2. As this passage concerning Turgon's messengers was first
written it followed closely that in AB 2 (V.132-3, and cf. the version
in QS, V.288); as revised it introduces the ideas of the inability of the
Noldor to build seaworthy ships, and of Turgon's nonetheless keep-
ing a secret outpost and place of shipbuilding on the Isle of Balar
thereafter.
$153. In the earlier accounts (AB 2 in V.132-3 with notes 25 and 29,
and QS $141 and commentary) the story of how Celegorn and
Curufin came to Nargothrond after their defeat in the east was
shifting and obscure, but there was at any rate no suggestion that
they played any part in the defence of Minnas-tirith on Tolsirion.
My father made a note at this time on the AB 2 manuscript,
suggesting a possible turn in the story: Celegorn and Curufin were
driven west and helped manfully in the siege of Minnas-tirith,
saving Orodreth's life: and so when Minnas-tirith was taken
Orodreth could not help but harbour them in Nargothrond. He
struck this out; but the story was now reintroduced and developed
in the Grey Annals.
The date of the capture of Minnas-tirith was changed in the Grey
Annals. In AB 2 the date was 457 (following the fall of Fingolfin in
456); so also in QS $143 'For nearly two years the Gnomes still
defended the west pass ... and Minnastirith withstood the Orcs',
and it was 'after the fall of Fingolfin' that Sauron came against
Tolsirion. In GA the present passage, describing the assault on the
Pass of Sirion, was first dated 456, but the date was struck out, so
that these events fall within the Fell Year, 455; and the fall of
Fingolfin follows (still dated 456).
$154. The later form Tol-in-Gaurhoth (for earlier Tol-na-Gaurhoth)
now appears.
$$155-7. The story of Fingolfin's death in AB 2 (V.133) had been
compressed into a few lines. Introducing a much extended account
into the new Annals, my father drew largely upon the story as it had
been told in QS ($$144-7 and commentary), with some regard also
to Canto XII of the Lay of Leithian (on which the QS version was
largely based). In content the differences are mostly small, but there
enters here the great ride of Fingolfin across Anfauglith on his horse
Rochallor, and the horse's flight from Angband and death in
Hithlum. In AB 2 (as in AB 1 and Q) it was Thorondor who built
Fingolfin's cairn, whereas in QS it was Turgon (see the commentary
on QS $147); now in the Grey Annals the building of the cairn is
ascribed to 'the eagles'.
$157. The change of 'the people of the hidden city were all Noldor'
to 'many of the people... were Noldor' depends on the development
whereby there were many Elves of Sindarin origin in Gondolin: see
commentary on $107 and references given there.
In the late addition at the end of this paragraph (present in the GA
typescript) appears the parentage of Gilgalad as adopted in the
published Silmarillion; see further pp. 242-3.
$158. The form Taur-nu-Fuin (for earlier Taur-na-Fuin) now
appears.
$159. In AB 2 (V.133), and in a closely similar passage in QS ($139),
it was said that the wives of Baragund and Belegund were from
Hithlum, and that when the Battle of Sudden Fire began their
daughters Morwen and Rian were sojourning there among their
kinsfolk - hence they were the only survivors. This story is now
superseded and rejected: Emeldir Beren's mother led the surviving
women and children of Beor's people away over the mountains in
the aftermath of the battle, and it was thus that Morwen and Rian
came to Dor-lomin (by way of Brethil). It is not made clear whether
their mothers were still women of Hithlum.
In AB 2 the full list of Barahir's band was not given, with a
suggestion that only certain names were remembered, but it appears
in QS ($139). The only name that differs in GA is Arthad for
Arthod. Radhruin of QS is here written Radhruin (Radruin by
emendation of Radros in AB 2, V.147 note 31), but this may not be
significant.
$160. This paragraph derives from the annal for 458 in AB 2 (V.133).
In the story as told in QS ($152) Beleg came to the aid of Haleth
'with many archers'; cf. GA $29, 'Thingol's armouries were stored
with axes (the chief weapons of the Naugrim, and of the Sindar)',
and the name 'Axe-elves' of the Sindar (transferred from the
Nandor), X.171. On the name Eglath ('The Forsaken') see X.85,
164, 170.
$161. Huor now at last appears as Hurin's companion in Gondolin,
replacing Handir grandson of Haleth in the earlier, rejected passage
in GA ($ 149).
Haleth was the kinsman of Hurin and Huor (as noticed in a late
addition to the manuscript) through the marriage in 436 ($140) of
Haleth's son Hundor to Glorwendil, daughter of Hador and sister
of their father Galion. But the genealogy was further developed in
the annal for 462 (see $171 and commentary) by the marriage of
Galion to Haleth's daughter, so that Haleth was the grandfather of
Hurin and Huor; and it seems very probable that this was the reason
for the addition of the words 'their kinsman' here.
The story now becomes decisively different from the old version
in AB 2 and QS, and still present in GA as originally written ($149);
for Hurin and his companion (now his brother Huor) were not
hunting in the Vale of Sirion before the Battle of Sudden Flame, but
the fact of the fostering of Hurin (and now of his brother also)
among the people of Haleth is brought into association with the
defeat of the Orcs in 458 by the men of Brethil, aided by Elves out of
Doriath, three years after the battle. There enters now also the story
that Hurin and Huor were taken to Gondolin by the Eagles. - On
the ford of Brithiach see p. 228, $28.
$$162-6. The story now reaches virtually its final form, with the
major innovation of Maeglin's hostility to the young men but also of
their being permitted to leave Gondolin despite the king's ban, here
first stated in its full rigour, on departure from the city of any
stranger who came there; and this permission was granted because
of their ignorance of how it might be found. (The riders on the story
of Isfin and Eol, $$118-20, were written at the same time as the
present one.)
$165. On the change of Glindur to Maeglin see $119 and commen-
tary.
$166. On the carbon copy of the typescript of GA my father wrote
against the words 'But though they told that they had dwelt a while
in honour in the halls of King Turgon': 'They did not reveal
Turgon's name.' See p. 169.
$170. 'The army that had driven into East Beleriand' must refer to
the invasions of the year 455: cf. AB 2, annal 456; QS $142; and
again in GA $148, in all of which the phrase 'far into East Beleriand'
occurs. In AB 2, in the renewed assaults of the year 462 (V.134), 'the
invasion of the Orcs encompassed Doriath, both west down Sirion,
and east through the passes beyond Himling.' Of this there is no
mention here in GA (nor in QS, $156); but there has also been
no mention before the present passage of Thingol's victory after the
Dagor Bragollach or indeed of the subsequent total destruction (as it
appears) of the eastern invading force.
$171. The statement that 'in the eastward war [Morgoth] hoped ere
long to have new help unforeseen by the Eldar' is a premonitory
reference to the coming of the Swarthy Men; cf. QS $150, where,
immediately before their entry into Beleriand, it is said that
Morgoth 'sent his messengers east over the mountains', and that
'some were already secretly under the dominion of Morgoth, and
came at his call'. In GA ($174, footnote) it is said that 'it was after
thought that the people of Ulfang were already secretly in the service
of Morgoth ere they came to Beleriand.' See further $$79 - 81 and
commentary.
Of the assault on Hithlum no more was said in AB 2 (V.134) than
that 'Morgoth went against Hithlum, but was driven back as yet'; in
QS ($156) it was Fingon, not Hurin, who 'drove [the Orcs] in the
end with heavy slaughter from the land, and pursued them far
across the sands of Fauglith.'
At the end of the paragraph, by later addition, is the first reference
to the short stature of Hurin, and also to the 'double marriage' of
Hador's son Galion and daughter Glorwendil to Haleth's daughter
(unnamed) and son Hundor. It seems likely that this extension of the
genealogy arose here, and was the basis of the addition of 'their
kinsman' to the annal for 458 discussed in the commentary on
$ 161.
$172. In QS ($156) there seems only to have been an assault on
Hithlum from the east, from Fauglith, for it is said that 'the Orcs
won many of the passes, and some came even into Mithrim'. In the
present annal it seems that Galion and his son Hurin defeated the
attack from the east, while Fingon attempted to defend Hithlum
from the north (the intervention of Cirdan is of course entirely new).
On the puzzling question of the geographical configuration of
the north of Hithlum see V.270-1 (and cf. what is said in GA of the
route of the attack out of Angband in the year 155, $115 and
commentary). The present passage does not clarify the matter,
though the statement that the horsed archers of the Eldar pursued
the Orcs 'even to the Iron Mountains' possibly suggests that
Hithlum was to some degree open to the north. This would indeed
be very surprising, since it would make Hithlum by far the most
vulnerable of the territories of the Eldar, and Morgoth would have
had little need to attempt to break through the vast natural defence
of the Shadowy Mountains. But this is the merest speculation, and I
know of no other evidence bearing on the matter.
$$173-4. New elements in this account of the Easterlings (cf. AB 2,
V.134, and QS $151) are the explicit statement that they did not
enter Beleriand over the Blue Mountains but passed to the north of
them; the warning of the Dwarves to Maidros concerning their
westward movement; the diversity of their tongues and their mutual
hostility; their dwellings in Lothlann and south of the March of
Maidros (in QS it is said only that they 'abode long in East
Beleriand', $152). The form Lothlann appears for earlier Lothland;
Lothlann (Lhothlann) is found in the Etymologies (stems LAD, LUS,
V.367, 370).
$174. On the first sentence of the footnote to this paragraph see the
commentary on $171. With the following remarks in the footnote
concerning the descendants of the people of Bor in Eriador in the
Second Age cf. QS chapter 16, $15 (V.310-11): 'From that day
[Nirnaith Arnediad] the hearts of the Elves were estranged from
Men, save only from those of the Three Houses, the peoples of
Hador, and Beor, and Haleth; for the sons of Bor, Boromir, Borlas,
and Borthandos, who alone among the Easterlings proved true at
need, all perished in that battle, and they left no heirs.' This suggests
that the people of Bor ceased to be of any account after 472; but it is
perhaps to be presumed in any case that these Men of Eriador were
a branch of that people who never entered Beleriand.
$$175-210. I have described in V.295 how, after The Lord of the
Rings was finished, my father began (on the blank verso pages of the
manuscript of AB 2) a prose 'saga' of Beren and Luthien, conceived
on a large scale and closely following the revised Lay of Leithian;
but this went no further than Dairon's betrayal to Thingol of Beren's
presence in Doriath. Unless this work belongs to a time after the
abandonment of the Grey Annals, which seems to me very im-
probable, the two versions of the tale that appear here in the Annals
are the last of the many that my father wrote (for a full account of
the complex history of the QS versions and drafts see V.292 ff.).
It will be seen that Version I is a precis of the narrative with no
new elements, or elements inconsistent with the 'received tradition',
apart from the reference to Amarie (see commentary on $180).
Version II, if at the outset conceived on a fairly ample scale, again
soon becomes another precis, though much fuller than Version I,
and a great deal that is told in the completed QS text ('QS II', see
V.292-3) is either not present or is treated much more cursorily:
thus for example, nothing is said in GA of Huan's understanding of
speech or speaking three times before his death, nor of his doom
(The Silmarillion pp. 172-3), and much else that there is no need to
detail here. But the structure of the two narratives remains very
close.
It is curious to observe that the relation of the two versions in GA
is the reverse of that between the two versions that my father made
for the Quenta Silmarillion. The fuller form of the latter ('QS I') was
very clearly an integral element in the QS manuscript as it pro-
ceeded, but he abandoned it and replaced it by the shorter form QS
II because (as I have said, V.292) 'he 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 Nargoth-
rond'. In the case of the Grey Annals, on the other hand, it was the
shorter form (Version I) that was integral to the text as written,
while the fuller form (Version II) was intended to supplant it
(though it was not finished).
For passages in the published Silmarillion derived from the Grey
Annals see V.298-301.
$175. Eryd Orgorath: on the typescript of AAm Ered Orgoroth was
changed to Ered Gorgorath (X.127, $126).
'And he passed through, even as Melian had foretold': see the
words of Melian to Galadriel, $131.
In AB 2 (V.135) Hurin wedded Morwen in 464, as in GA, but
Turin was born in the winter of 465 'with sad omens'. This insertion
in GA makes Turin's birth in the year of his parents' marriage. See
further the commentary on $183.
$178. The word 'bride-price' of the Silmaril demanded by Thingol
had been used by Aragorn when he told the story on Weathertop.
$179. Celegorm was the original form, appearing in the Lost Tales
(II.241). The name became Celegorn in the course of the writing of
QS (V.226, 289), and this remained the form in AAm and GA; later
it reverted to Celegorm (X.177, 179). The change of m to n here was
made at the time of or very soon after the writing of this passage,
and Celegorm was probably no more than a slip.
$180. With '[Felagund] dwells now in Valinor with Amarie' cf. QS I
(V.300): '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.' In Version II ($199) it is said that
'released soon from Mandos, he went to Valinor and there dwells
with Amarie.' It has been told in the annal for 102 ($109) that 'she
whom [Felagund] had loved was Amarie of the Vanyar, and she was
not permitted to go with him into exile.'
$183. Turin's birth ('with sad omens') was likewise given in the year
465 in AB 2. The present entry was only inserted later, I think,
because my father had inadvertently omitted it while concentrating
on the story of Beren and Luthien. Following the direction here
'Place in 464' a pencilled addition was made to the annal for that
year in both versions (see $175 and commentary, $188).
$185. It appears from the penultimate sentence of this paragraph that
the joining of the Two Kindreds is ascribed to the purpose of Eru.
This is not in QS (I) (see The Silmarillion p. 184), nor in Version II
of the story in the Grey Annals ($210).
$187. With the revised reading 'soon after the mid-winter' cf. the
commentary on $$145-7.
$189. '[Thingol] answered in mockery': his tone is indeed less sombre
and more briefly contemptuous than in QS (I) (The Silmarillion
p. 167). In the Lay of Leithian (III.192, lines 1132 - 3) Thingol's
warriors 'laughed loud and long' at his demand that Beren should
fetch him a Silmaril; see my remarks on this, III.196.
$190. The detail of the glance passing between Melian and Beren at
this juncture is not found in the other versions.
$191. The words 'as long before he had said to Galadriel' refer to
Felagund's prophetic words in Nargothrond recorded in the annal
for 102 ($108).
$193. The naming of Inglor 'Finrod' was perhaps no more than a slip
without significance; but in view of the occurrence of 'Finrod Inglor
the Fair' in a text associated with drafting for Aragorn's story on
Weathertop (VI.187-8) it seems possible that my father had con-
sidered the shifting of the names (whereby Inglor became Finrod
and Finrod his father became Finarfin) long before their appearance
in print in the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings.
$$193-4. In the long version QS (I), which ends at this point, when
Felagund gave the crown of Nargothrond to his brother Orodreth
'Celegorm and Curufin said nothing, but they smiled and went from
the halls' (The Silmarillion p. 170). The words of Celegorn and
Felagund that follow here are a new element in the story.
The foresight of Felagund is undoubtedly intended to be a true
foresight (like all such foresight, though it may be ambiguous). If
full weight is given to the precise words used by Felagund, then it
may be said that the conclusion of QS (V.331), where it is told that
Maidros and Maglor did each regain a Silmaril for a brief time, is
not contradicted.
$198. In QS (The Silmarillion p. 174) it is not said that Sauron 'left
the Elven-king to the last, for he knew who he was', but only that he
'purposed to keep Felagund to the last, for he perceived that he was
a Gnome of great might and wisdom.' See the Lay of Leithian, lines
2216 - 17 and 2581-2609 (III.231, 249).
$201. It is not told in other versions that Huan led the prisoners of
Tolsirion back to Nargothrond; in QS it is said only that 'thither
now returned many Elves that had been prisoners in the isle of
Sauron' (The Silmarillion p. 176).
$203. The new year is placed at a slightly later point in the narrative
in Version I, $184. In AB 2 all the latter part of the story of Beren
and Luthien, from their entry into Angband, was placed under the
annal for the year 465 (V.135).
$204. The absence of any mention of the story that Huan and
Luthien turned aside to Tol-in-Gaurhoth on their way north, and
clad in the wolfcoat of Draugluin and the batskin of Thuringwethil
came upon Beren at the edge of Anfauglith (The Silmarillion pp.
178-9), is clearly due simply to compression. It was not said in QS
(ibid. p. 179) that 'Huan abode in the woods' when Beren and
Luthien left him on their journey to Angband.
$207. It is not made clear in QS (The Silmarillion pp. 181 - 2) that it
was the howls of Carcharoth that aroused the sleepers in Angband. -
On the names Gwaihir and Lhandroval, which appear here in QS
but not in the published Silmarillion (p. 182), see V.301 and IX.45.
$211. This annal is very close to a passage in QS (The Silmarillion
p. 186).
$$212 ff. The text of QS is no longer the fine manuscript that was
interrupted when it was sent to the publishers in November 1937,
but the intermediate texts that my father wrote while it was away.
These have been described in V.293-4: a rough but legible manu-
script 'QS(C)' that completed the story of Beren and Luthien, and
extending through the whole of QS Chapter 16 Of the Fourth
Battle: Nirnaith Arnediad was abandoned near the beginning of
Chapter 17 (the story of Turin); and a second manuscript 'QS(D)'
which took up in the middle of Chapter 16 and extended somewhat
further into Chapter 17, at which point the Quenta Silmarillion
in that phase came to an end as a continuous narrative. From the
beginning of Chapter 16 I began a new series of paragraph-numbers
from $1 (V.306).
$212. In this annal (468) my father followed that in AB 2 (465 - 70,
V.135) closely, and thus an important element in the 'Silmarillion'
tradition is absent: the arrogant demand of the Feanorians upon
Thingol for the surrender of the Silmaril, followed by the violent
menaces of Celegorn and Curufin against him, as the prime cause of
his refusal to aid Maidros (see QS $6, and the passage in Q from
which that derives, IV.116 - 17). In AB 2 Thingol's refusal is ascribed
to 'the deeds of Celegorm and Curufin', and this is followed in GA.
Again, the story in QS $7, absent in AB 2, that only a half of
Haleth's people came forth from Brethil on account of 'the
treacherous shaft of Curufin that wounded Beren', is not found in
GA.
Notably, it is said in GA that Maidros had the help of the
Dwarves 'in armed force' as well as in weapons of war; this was not
said in AB 2 and was expressly denied in QS, where the Dwarves
were represented as cynically engaged in the profitable enterprise of
'making mail and sword and spear for many armies' (see QS $3 and
commentary).
$213. The annal in AB 2 from which this paragraph derives is dated
468. The present annal is much more explicit about the unwisdom
of Maidros in revealing his power untimely than were the earlier
accounts. - In QS ($3) it is said that at this time 'the Orcs were
driven out of the northward regions of Beleriand', to which it is now
added in GA that 'even Dorthonion was freed for a while'.
$214. The span of the second lives of Beren and Luthien was said in
the QS drafts to have been long, but the final text has 'whether the
second span of his life was brief or long is not known to Elves or
Men' (see V.305-6 on the development of the passage concerning
the return of Beren and Luthien and its form in the published
Silmarillion). It seems possible that '[Luthien] should soon die
indeed' in the present text does not imply a short mortal span, but a
mortal span in contrast to that of the Eldar.
The final text of QS says that Beren and Luthien 'took up again
their mortal form in Doriath', but the account here of their return to
Thingol and Melian in Menegroth is entirely new (as also, of course,
is the reference to Elrond and Arwen).
The land of the Dead that Live is named in QS(B) Gwerth-i-Cuina
and in the final text of QS Gyrth-i-Guinar (V.305).
$215. In AB 2 the latter part of the legend of Beren and Luthien, from
their entry into Angband to their return from the dead, was placed
under the year 465, whereas in GA it appears under 466, and the
death of Luthien in 467 ($211). The birth of Dior (whose name
Aranel now appears) is here moved forward three years from the
date in AB 2, 467.
$216. The wedding of Huor and Rian was given in AB 2 in the annal
for 472, and was said to have taken place 'upon the eve of battle'.
See $218 and commentary.
$$217 ff. In the very long account of the Nirnaeth Arnediad that
follows my father made use both of the 'Silmarillion' and of the
'Annals' tradition, i.e. QS Chapter 16 and the account in AB 2. The
QS chapter was itself largely derived from an interweaving of Q and
AB 2 (see V.313). - A later version of the story of the battle, closely
based on that in GA but with radical alterations, is given in Note 2
at the end of this commentary (pp. 165 ff.)
$218. This passage was not removed when the record of Huor's
marriage to Rian was entered under 471 ($216); the typescript of
GA, however, has only the later 471 entry.
$219. The Nirnaeth Arnediad, formerly the fourth battle in the wars
of Beleriand, now becomes the fifth battle: see commentary on
$$36 ff. The time of the year was not stated in the earlier accounts.
The placing of the passage on the subject of the Hill of Slain
follows AB 2 (V.136); rejected here, it was replaced by another at
the end of the story of the Nirnaeth Arnediad in GA ($250): cf.
QS $19. On the name Haud-na-Dengin see V.314, $19; also GA
$$250-1.
$220. The actual nature of Uldor's machinations was not stated in
the earlier accounts.
$221. 'a great company from Nargothrond': earlier in GA ($212) it is
said that 'small help came from Nargothrond' (cf. QS $5: 'only a
small company'). - The addition concerning Mablung's presence,
not in AB 2, comes from QS ($6), deriving from Q (IV.117); but
in those texts Beleg ('who obeyed no man', 'who could not be
restrained') came also to the battle. Thingol's qualified permission
to Mablung is new in GA; in the Quenta tradition such permission
was given by Orodreth to the company from Nargothrond. - The
succession of Hundor on the death of his father, Haleth the Hunter,
is recorded in the annal for 468 ($212). (Much later, when the
genealogy of the People of Haleth was transformed, Hundor was
replaced by 'Haldir and Hundar'; on this see p. 236.)
On the unsatisfactory account of Turgon's emergence from
Gondolin in QS, amalgamating the inconsistent stories in Q and
AB 2, see V.313-15. In the Grey Annals the confusion is resolved.
Turgon came up from Gondolin before battle was joined (in the AB
story he and his host only came down from Taur-na-Fuin as
Fingon's host withdrew southwards towards the Pass of Sirion,
V.136 - '7), but only shortly before, and was stationed in the south
guarding the Pass of Sirion.
$222. The story of the opening of the battle as told here differs from
that in QS $10 (following Q), where Fingon and Turgon becoming
impatient at the delay of Maidros sent their heralds into the plain of
Fauglith to sound their trumpets in challenge to Morgoth.
$$224-5. There now appears the final link in this element of the nar-
rative: the captured herald (see commentary on $222) slaughtered in
provocation on the plain of Fauglith (QS $11) disappears and is
replaced by Gelmir of Nargothrond, Gwindor's brother, who had
been taken prisoner in the Battle of Sudden Flame. It was Gwindor's
grief for his brother that had brought him from Nargothrond
against the will of Orodreth the king, and his rage at the sight of
Gelmir's murder was the cause of the fatal charge of the host of
Hithlum. I have described the evolution of the story in IV.180.
$226. In $221 'the host of Fingolfin' is obviously a slip of the pen, for
'the host of Fingon', and so probably 'the banners of Fingolfin' here
also: QS ($12) has 'the banners of Fingon'.
$228. 'in the rearguard', struck out in GA, is found both in AB 2 and
in QS ($13). - It is not said either in AB 2 or in QS that the host of
Hithlum was surrounded, only that the enemy came between them
and Erydwethion, so that Fingon was forced to retreat towards the
Pass of Sirion.
It seems clear that Turgon emerged from the Pass only a brief time
before the coming of the decoy force out of Angband; therefore he
had not yet actually encountered Hurin.
$230. The Balrogs were still at this time conceived to exist in large
numbers; cf. AAm $50 (X.75): '[Melkor] sent forth on a sudden a
host of Balrogs' - at which point my father noted on the typescript
of AAm: 'There should not be supposed more than say 3 or at most
7 ever existed' (X.80).
$231. In AB 2 and in QS ($15) it was Cranthir, not Maglor, who slew
Uldor the Accursed. It is not said in those texts that 'new strength of
evil men came up that Uldor had summoned and kept hidden in the
eastern hills', nor, of course, that the Feanorians, fleeing towards
Mount Dolmed, took with them a remnant of the Naugrim, for it
was only with the Grey Annals that the Dwarves took part in the
battle (commentary on $212).
$232. Earlier in GA ($22) the Enfeng are the Dwarves of Belegost,
but there was a period (Q, QS) when they were those of Nogrod (see
commentary on $22); this no doubt explains Nogrod here, which
was struck out and replaced by Belegost as soon as written. - The
entire paragraph, and all its detail, is original in GA.
$233. In QS ($17) the banners of Fingon were white. In the account
in GA of the fall of Fingolfin ($155) his shield was blue set with a
star of crystal, and his arms silver; this is found also in the QS
version ($144).
$$234-5. The speeches between Turgon, Hurin, and Huor are
entirely new. In $235 one might expect Huor to have said: 'I shall
never look on thy white walls again' (as he does in the published
Silmarillion, p. 194), since he had been to Gondolin, fourteen years
before; but see p. 169.
$$235-6. Virtually all the changes in these paragraphs were made at
the time of the writing of the manuscript.
$237. The name Glindur has appeared in other passages introduced
into the primary text: $$119 - 20, 165.
$240. Original details in GA are the striking of Huor's eye by the
venomed arrow, and the piling of the dead men of Hador's house 'as
a mound of gold'.
$241. This paragraph is derived from passages in QS ($$15-16) that
occur at an earlier point in the narrative; but there is no mention in
GA of the sons of Bor (see commentary on $174).
$242. The statement here that 'Tol-sirion [was] retaken and its dread
towers rebuilt', not previously made, is clearly in plain contradiction
of what was said in QS (V.300): 'They buried the body of Felagund
upon the hill-top of his own isle, and it was clean again, and ever
after remained inviolate; for Sauron came never back thither.' In the
published Silmarillion this passage in QS was changed.
$243. 'Cirdan held the Havens' is of course an addition to the
passage in QS ($20) which is here being closely followed. - The
references to Morgoth's peculiar fear of Turgon, and to Ulmo's
friendship towards the house of Fingolfin, who scorned Morgoth in
Valinor, have no antecedents in earlier texts. It can be seen from the
rejected lines (rough and with many changes in the manuscript) that
my father was to some extent working out the thought as he wrote.
The words 'from Turgon ruin should come to him' are a reference to
Earendil and his embassage to Valinor.
$$244-9. The encounter of Hurin with Morgoth as told in GA is
based on and for the most part follows closely the story in QS
($$21-3), but with some expansions: Morgoth's words concerning
Hurin's wife and son now helpless in Hithlum, Hurin's sight of
Hithlum and Beleriand far off from his stone seat on Thangorodrim.
See further p. 169.
$251. It is at this point in the narrative that the draft manuscripts
QS(C) and QS(D), having concluded the 'Nirnaith' chapter with the
setting of Hurin on Thangorodrim, give a new heading, in QS(C)
'Of Turin the Hapless' and in QS(D) 'Of Turin Turamarth or Turin
the Hapless'. This, which was to be the next chapter (17) in QS,
begins with the birth of Tuor and the death of Rian on the Hill of
Slain (to which the Grey Annals likewise now turn); but QS(C) goes
only so far as Turin's departure from Menegroth to go out to fight
on the marches of Doriath wearing the Dragon-helm, and QS(D)
continues beyond this point only to Turin's self-imposed outlawry
after the slaying of Orgof (GA $259).
The fostering of Tuor by Dark-elves was recorded both in AB 2
(V.137) and in QS ($24); rejected in GA, there appears instead the
first mention of Annael and the Grey-elves of Mithrim (see com-
mentary on $252). Glorwendil's death of grief for her husband
Hundor son of Haleth is referred to in the course of the narrative of
the Nirnaith Arnediad in QS ($13).
$252. In both AB 2 (V.138) and in QS ($19) it was recorded that 'the
Elves of Hithlum' were enslaved in the mines of Morgoth at this
time, such of them as did not escape into the wild, and one would
naturally assume that this referred to Noldorin Elves of Fingolfin's
people - although the very reference to Tuor's fostering by 'Dark-
elves' shows that there were other Elves in Hithlum, and 'Grey-
elves' may be simply a later term for the Dark-elves of Beleriand
owning allegiance to Thingol. In his message to the new-come
Noldor by the mouth of Angrod (GA $64) Thingol did not indeed
suggest that there were any of his people (Grey-elves) in Hithlum:
among the regions where the Noldor might dwell he named
Hithlum, adding that 'elsewhere there are many of my folk, and I
would not have them restrained of their freedoms, still less ousted
from their homes.'
$253. At the end of this paragraph my father pencilled: '(Septem-
ber-Dec.)'; this clearly refers to the months of Turin's journey
from Hithlum to Doriath in the latter part of 472 (the Battle of
Unnumbered Tears was fought at midsummer of that year, $219).
According to the earlier dating ($183) he was born in the winter of
465; this was changed ($$175, 188) to 464, but without indication
of the time of the year. If he were born in the winter of 464, he
would still have been seven years old in the autumn of 472.
$256. The whole content of this paragraph is new to the history. In
the sentence 'Smiths and miners and masters of fire' the published
Silmarillion (p. 196), which derives from this passage, has 'makers
of fire': this was a misreading of the manuscript.
$257. It was said earlier in GA ($$151 - 2) that after the Dagor
Bragollach Turgon sent Elves of Gondolin to the mouths of Sirion
and to the Isle of Balar to attempt shipbuilding (it is perhaps a
question, why did he not approach Cirdan at that time?), and that
he 'ever maintained a secret refuge upon the Isle of Balar'. But the
phrase in the present passage 'and mingled with Turgon's outpost
there' was struck out, and the subsequent 'when Turgon heard of
this he sent again his messengers to Sirion's Mouths' suggests of
itself that the idea of a permanent outpost from Gondolin on Balar
had been abandoned.
Here, in an alteration to the text, Voronwe's story is extended
back, and he appears in a new role as captain of the last of the seven
ships sent out into the Western Ocean by Cirdan (it is not said that
he was an Elf of Gondolin). In earlier texts he has of course played
no such part. In Q (IV.141) Tuor at the mouths of Sirion met
Bronweg (> Bronwe) who had been of old of the people of Turgon
and had escaped from Angband. With $$256-7 cf. the story of Tuor
in Unfinished Tales, pp. 34-5 and note 13.
$258. If Turin were born in the winter of 464 (see commentary on
$253) he would have been in his seventeenth year in 481; it seems
therefore that the older date (465) for his birth is retained. The
Annals, very cursory, do not mention the occasion of Turin's going
to war (the ceasing of all tidings out of Hithlum).
The scribbled note 'Turin donned the Dragon-helm of Galion' is
not in the typescript of GA. The Dragon-helm goes back to the old
Lay of the Children of Hurin, and was described in Q (IV.118),
in the context of Hurin's not having worn it at the Battle of
Unnumbered Tears; in the Lay (not in Q) Turin's taking it to war at
this time is mentioned (III.16, line 377: 'then Hurin's son took the
helm of his sire').
$259. It is here that QS came to an end as a continuous narrative (see
V.321, 323).
$260 The first two sentences of this annal are derived from Q
(IV.123) and AB 2 (V.138); but those texts do not give the place of
Turin's lair, here said to be in Dimbar.
$261. The first part of this follows AB 2 (on Tuor's 'coming to
Hithlum' see V.151), but the statement that Morwen and Nienor
'had been carried away to Mithrim' seems altogether aberrant.
$263. The final form of the annal concerning Tuor, with the date
changed to 488 and his age changed to sixteen, and the appearance
of Lorgan chief of the Easterlings, is probably derived from the story
in Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin (Unfinished Tales pp.
18-19): in the manuscript of that work the date 488 was inserted
against the paragraph beginning 'Therefore Annael led his small
people ...' (p. 18), and Tuor's age was changed from fifteen to
sixteen in the same sentence. On the other hand that text has 'after
three years of thraldom' (p. 19) as it was written, whereas in GA
'three' is a change from 'seven'.
$264. This is the original annal for 488. When the preceding passage
on Tuor was given the date 488 the entry concerning Haldir of
Nargothrond became a continuation of that year. The event was
referred to in the Lay of the Children of Hurin (III.75, lines
2137-8), where Orodreth's son was named Halmir; Halmir in AB 2
was changed to Haldir (V.138 and note 38), which is the form in the
Etymologies (explained as meaning 'hidden hero', stem SKAL {1},
V.386).
$265. In Q Blodrin was a Gnome, with the later addition that he was
a Feanorian (IV.123 and note 5); the story told here that he was one
of the faithful Easterlings who became a traitor after his capture by
Morgoth is a new development. In Q his evil nature was ascribed to
his having 'lived long with the Dwarves', and this was derived from
the Lay (III.32). - On the pencilled query concerning the Dragon-
helm see $266.
$266. In Q Thingol's messengers arrived on the scene because they
had been sent to summon Turin and Beleg to a feast (IV.123). - The
attempt to develop the subsequent history of the Dragon-helm and
weave it into the existing story was inherently very difficult. Here,
the questions arise at once: (1) Why was the Dragon-helm in
Menegroth? This may be answered by supposing that when Turin
came to Menegroth for the feast at which he slew Orgof ($259) he
brought the Helm with him from Dimbar, and after the slaying he
fled from the Thousand Caves without it; on this assumption, the
Helm remained in Doriath during the following years (484 - 9). But
(2) if this is granted, why should Beleg now carry it off into the wilds
on what must have seemed an almost certainly vain search for
Turin, who had been captured by Orcs and haled off to Angband?
In my father's later work on the Turin legend he concluded finally
that Turin left the Dragon-helm in Dimbar when he went to
Menegroth for the fatal feast, and that (in the later much more
complex story) Beleg brought it from there when he came to Amon
Rudh in the winter snow: hence in the (extremely artificial) passage
in the published Silmarillion, p. 204, 'he brought out of Dimbar the
Dragon-helm of Dor-lomin'.
$267. In the Lay, likewise, it was Finduilas who asserted against the
disbelief and suspicion in Nargothrond that it was indeed Flinding
(Gwindor) who had returned (III.69 - 71).
$268. In this passage a new element enters the story: Turin's
assumption of a riddling name, Iarwaeth (cf. the later Agarwaen
'Bloodstained', The Silmarillion p. 210), and his asking Gwindor to
conceal his true name 'for the horror he had of his slaying of Beleg
and dread lest it were learned in Doriath'; and here also appears the
final form of the name of the re-forged sword, Gurthang 'Iron of
Death' for earlier Gurtholfin > Gurtholf (V.139 and note 39)
'Wand of Death' (Gurthang is a change on the manuscript from a
rejected name that cannot be read: the second syllable is tholf but ]
the first is not Gur, and the meaning given is probably 'Wand of
Death'). The form Mormegil appears in the earliest Annals (AB 1),
emended to Mormael (IV.304 and note 52); Q had Mormaglir and
AB 2 Mormael.
$$269-72. The greater part of this narrative appears for the first time
in the Grey Annals: Gwindor's revelation to Finduilas of Turin's
identity, his warning to her, and his assertion that all in Angband
knew of the curse upon Hurin; Turin's assurance to Gwindor
concerning Finduilas and his displeasure with him for what he had
done; the honour done to Turin by Orodreth when he learned who
he was and the king's acceptance of his counsels; Turin's unhappy
love for Finduilas leading him to seek escape from his trouble in
warfare.
$271. morrowgift: the gift of the husband to the wife on the morning
('morrow') after the wedding.
$272. The alliance of the Elves of Nargothrond with Handir of
Brethil goes back to the earliest Annals (IV.305); I do not know why
this element in the story was removed. See further the commentary
on $300. - The bridge over Narog is not said here to have been built
on Turin's counsel, but this appears subsequently ($277).
$273. This rejected annal for 492 adheres to the old story that
Meglin was sent by Isfin to Gondolin (although the later story that
Isfin and Meglin came together to Gondolin appeared long before in
Q: see $120 and commentary), and there is no trace of the story of
Eol's pursuit, the death of Isfin from Eol's dart aimed at Maeglin,
and Eol's execution and dying curse on his son.
$275. The somewhat later insertion at the beginning of the annal
replaces the subsequent statement in this paragraph that Handir
was slain in the battle of Tum-halad, which derives from AB 2
(V.139).
The removal of Glaurung's passage through Hithlum on his way
to Nargothrond (recorded in AB 2) is a great improvement to the
probabilities of the narrative. - Eithil Ivrin: formerly Ivrineithel
(V.139), 'Ivrin's Well', source of the Narog. This is the first reference
to the defiling of Ivrin by Glaurung.
The site of the battle is not made clear. In Q it was 'upon the
Guarded Plain, north of Nargothrond' (IV.126), and in AB 2
(V.139) 'between Narog and Taiglin'. In later work on the Narn my
father wrote in one of a series of narrative-outlines:
They contact the Orc-host which is greater than they knew (in
spite of Turin's boasted scouts). Also none but Turin could
withstand the approach of Glaurung. They were driven back and
pressed by the Orcs into the Field of Tumhalad between Ginglith
and Narog and there penned. There all the pride and host of
Nargothrond withered away. Orodreth was slain in the forefront
of battle, and Gwindor wounded to death. Then Turin came to
him and all fled him, and he lifted Gwindor and bore him out of
battle and [several words illegible] he swam the Narog and bore
Gwindor to [?a wood] of trees. But Glaurung went down east
of Narog and hastened [?on ?in] to Nargothrond with a great
number of Orcs.
This is, I believe, the only statement that the site of the battle was
between Ginglith and Narog; but my father pencilled in the name
Tumhalad between those rivers, towards their confluence, on the
map (p. 182, square E s). In GA Turin's escape with Gwindor 'to a
wood' is mentioned, but not his swimming of the Narog. This is a
curious detail: presumably he swam the Narog to escape from the
battle, and then went down the east bank of the river to the Bridge
of Nargothrond.
But it is hard to know what to make of this late conception of the
site of Tumhalad. It would seem that my father now conceived
Glaurung and the Orc-host to have come south from Ivrin on the
west side of Narog; but the text states that they 'went down east of
Narog' to Nargothrond, and therefore they also must have crossed
the river - by swimming, as Turin had done? In the published
Silmarillion (pp. 212-13) I was probably mistaken to follow this
very hastily written and puzzling text, and on the map accompany-
ing the book to mark the site of Tumhalad in accordance with it.
But in.any case I feel sure that the original site, in the plain east of
Narog, was still present in GA.
With regard to the pencilled note 'Turin in the battle wore the
Dragon-helm', the Helm was last mentioned in these marginal notes
on the subject when Beleg carried it with him from Menegroth on
the journey in search of Turin which led to his death (see $266 and
commentary). My father must have supposed therefore that Gwin-
dor and Turin carried it with them to Nargothrond. This raises the
obvious difficulty that the Helm would at once have revealed the
identity of Turin; but in Unfinished Tales (pp. 154-5) I have referred
to an isolated piece of writing among the Narn material which 'tells
that in Nargothrond Turin would not wear the Helm again "lest it
reveal him", but that he wore it when he went to the Battle of
Tumhalad.' The passage in question reads:
Beleg searching the orc-camp [in Taur-nu-Fuin] finds the dragon-
helm - or was it set on Turin's head in mockery by the Orcs that
tormented him? Thus it was borne away to Nargothrond; but
Turin would not wear it again, lest it reveal him, until the Battle
of Dalath Dirnen.
(Dalath Dirnen, the Guarded Plain, was the earlier form; the name
was so spelt when entered on the map, but changed subsequently as
in the texts to Talath Dirnen (p. 186, $17).)
$276. Against the first line of this paragraph my father wrote a date:
'Oct.13'; against the first line of $278 he wrote 'Oct.25'; and against
the first line of $288 he wrote 'Nov.1'. These very uncharacteristic
additions must refer to the actual days of his writing, in (as I
presume) 1951.
In AB 2 all that is said here is that 'Gwindor died, and refused the
succour of Turin.' The same was said in Q (IV.126), and also that he
died reproaching Turin: as I noted (IV.184), 'the impression is given
that the reproaches of Flinding (Gwindor) as he died were on
account of Finduilas. There is indeed no suggestion here that Turin's
policy of open war was opposed in Nargothrond'. Here in GA
appears the motive that Gwindor held his death and the ruin of
Nargothrond against Turin - or more accurately, reappears, since it
is clearly present in the old Tale of Turambar (II.83-4). Gwindor's
words in GA concerning Turin and Finduilas are altogether
different from those given to him in Q, and there now appears the
idea of the supreme importance to Turin of his choice concerning
Finduilas: but this is again a reappearance, from the Tale, where his
choice is explicitly condemned (II.87).
$277. It is a new element in the narrative that it was Turin's rescue of
Gwindor that allowed Glaurung and his host to reach Nargothrond
before he did.
This is a convenient place to describe a text whose relation to the
Grey Annals is very curious. The text itself has been given in
Unfinished Tales, pp. 159-62: the story of the coming of the
Noldorin Elves Gelmir and Arminas to Nargothrond to warn
Orodreth of its peril, and their harsh reception by Turin. There is
both a manuscript (based on a very rough draft outline written on a
slip) and a typescript, with carbon copy, made by my father on the
typewriter that he seems to have used first about the end of 1958
(see X.300). The manuscript has no title or heading, but begins (as
also does the rough draft and the typescript) with the date '495'.
The top copy of the typescript has a heading added in manuscript:
'Insertion for the longer form of the Narn', while the carbon copy
has the heading, also added in manuscript, 'Insertion to Grey
Annals', but this was changed to the reading of the top copy.
The curious thing is that while the manuscript has no 'annalistic'
quality apart from the date 495, the typescript begins with the
annalistic word 'Here' (a usage derived from the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle):
Here Morgoth assailed Nargothrond. Turin now commanded all
the forces of Nargothrond, and ruled all matters of war. In the
spring there came two Elves, and they named themselves Gelmir
and Arminas...
Moreover, while the manuscript extends no further than the text
printed in Unfinished Tales, ending with the words 'For so much at
least of the words of Ulmo were read aright', the typescript does not
end there but continues:
Here Handir of Brethil was slain in the spring, soon after the
departure of the messengers. For the Orcs invaded his land,
seeking to secure the crossings of Taiglin for their further
advance; and Handir gave them battle, but the Men of Brethil
were worsted and were driven back into their woods. The Orcs
did not pursue them, for they had achieved their purpose for that
time; and they continued to muster their strength in the passes of
Sirion.
Late in the year, having [struck out: gathered his strength and]
completed his design, Morgoth at last loosed his assault upon
Nargothrond. Glaurung the Uruloke passed over the Anfauglith,
[$277] l
and came thence into the north vales of Sirion, and there did great
evil; and he came at length under the shadow of Eryd Wethian
[sic], leading the great army of the Orcs in his train...
The text then continues, almost exactly as in the Grey Annals
$$275-6, concluding with Gwindor's words at the end of $276: 'If
thou fail her, it shall not fail to find thee. Farewell! ' The only
significant difference from the text in the Annals is the statement
that at the battle of Tum-halad 'Turin put on the Dragon-helm of
Hador'; this however had been said in a marginal note to GA $275.
This is very puzzling. So far as the content of the original
manuscript of 'Gelmir and Arminas' is concerned, there seems
nothing against the supposition that my father wrote it as an
insertion to the Grey Annals, and indeed in appearance and style of
script it could derive from the time when he was working on them,
before the publication of The Lord of the Rings. The puzzle lies in
my father's motive for making, years later, a typescript of the text
and adding to it material taken directly from the Grey Annals,
specifically reinforcing the place of 'Gelmir and Arminas' in the
annalistic context - together with his uncertainty, shown in the
headings to the carbon copy, as to what its place actually was to be.
Subsequently, indeed, he bracketed on the typescript the date and
opening words '495 Here Morgoth assailed Nargothrond', and
struck out the words 'Here' and 'in the spring' at the beginning of
the passage cited above, thus removing the obviously annalistic
features; but the conclusion seems inescapable that when he made
the typescript he could still conceive of the Annals as an ingredient
in the recorded tradition of the Elder Days. (A curious relation is
seen between a continuation of the Annals made after the main
manuscript had been interrupted and the opening of the late work
The Wanderings of Hurin: see pp. 251-4, 258-60.)
It should be mentioned that certain names in the text of 'Gelmir
and Arminas' as printed in Unfinished Tales were editorial altera-
tions made for the sake of consistency: in both manuscript and
typescript Gelmir refers to Orodreth as 'Finrod's son', changed to
'Finarfin's son'; Iarwaeth was changed to Agarwaen (the later name
found in the Narn papers); and Eledhwen was retained from the
manuscript (Eledwen) for the typescript Edelwen (the form used in
The Wanderings of Hurin).
$$278-85. This passage describing the fateful encounter of Turin
and Glaurung very greatly develops the bare narrative in Q
(IV.126 - 7), but for the most part it is not at odds in essentials with
the old version, and in places echoes it. On the other hand there is
an important difference in the central motive. In Q (IV.126) the
dragon offered him his freedom either 'to rescue his "stolen love"
Finduilas, or to do his duty and go to the rescue of his mother and
sister... But he must swear to abandon one or the other. Then Turin
in anguish and in doubt forsook Finduilas against his heart ...' In
the story in the Grey Annals, on the other hand, Turin had no
choice: his will was under Glaurung's when Finduilas was taken
away, and he was physically incapable of movement. The Dragon
does indeed say at the end: 'And if thou tarry for Finduilas, then
never shalt thou see Morwen or Nienor again; and they will curse
thee'; but this is a warning, not the offering of a choice. In all this
Glaurung appears as a torturer, with complete power over his victim
so long as he chooses to exert it, morally superior and superior in
knowledge, his pitiless corruption able to assume an air almost of
benevolence, of knowing what is best: 'Then Turin ... as were he
treating with a foe that could know pity, believed the words of
Glaurung'.
$280. The further pencilled note here on the subject of the Dragon-
helm, observing that while Turin wore it he was proof against
Glaurung's eyes, can be somewhat amplified. I have given at the end
of the commentary on $275 a note on the recovery of the Dragon-
helm when Turin was rescued from the Orcs in Taur-nu-Fuin,
whence it came to Nargothrond. That note continues with an
account of the meeting of Turin with Glaurung before the Doors of
Felagund (see Unfinished Tales p. 155). Here it is said that Glaurung
desired to rid Turin of the aid and protection of the Dragon-helm,
and taunted him, saying that he had not the courage to look him in
the face.
And indeed so great was the terror of the Dragon that Turin
dared not look straight upon his eye, but had kept the visor of his
helmet down, shielding his face, and in his parley had looked no
higher than Glaurung's feet. But being thus taunted, in pride and
rashness he thrust up the visor and looked Glaurung in the eye.
At the head of the page my father noted that something should be
said about the visor, 'how it protected the eyes from all darts (and
from dragon-eyes)'.
This text, or rather the idea that it contains, is obviously behind
the note in GA, and the last words of that note 'Then the Worm
perceiving this' would no doubt have introduced some phrase to the
effect that Glaurung taunted Turin with cowardice in order to get
him to remove it (cf. the note in the margin at $284- which is scarcely
in the right place). A further statement on the subject of the visor
of the Helm is found in the Narn (Unfinished Tales p. 75, an expan-
sion of the passage in QS Chapter 17, V.319): 'It had a visor (after
the manner of those that the Dwarves used in their forges for the
shielding of their eyes), and the face of one that wore it struck fear
into the hearts of all beholders, but was itself guarded from dart and
fire.' It is said here that the Helm was originally made for Azaghal
Lord of Belegost, and the history of how it came to Hurin is told.
In the published Silmarillion (p. 210) I adopted a passage from
another text in the vast assemblage of the Narn papers, telling how
Turin found in the armouries of Nargothrond 'a dwarf-mask all
gilded', and wore it into battle. It seems probable that this story
arose at a stage when my father was treating the Dragon-helm as
lost and out of the story (from the end of Dor-Cuarthol, the Land of
Bow and Helm, when Turin was taken by the Orcs), and I extended
Turin's wearing of it to the battle of Tumhalad (p. 212).
$$287 ff. From the Battle of Tumhalad to the end of the tale of Turin
the text of the Grey Annals was virtually the sole source of the latter
part of Chapter 21 'Of Turin Turambar' in the published Silmaril-
lion (pp. 213 - 26). There now enters an element in the history,
however, of which I was unaware, or more accurately misinter-
preted, when I prepared the text of the Narn for publication in
Unfinished Tales, and which must be made clear. At that time I was
under the impression that the last part of the Narn (from the
beginning of the section entitled The Return of Turin to Dor-lomin
to the end, Unfinished Tales pp. 104-46) was a relatively late text,
belonging with all the other Narn material that (in terms of the
narrative) precedes it; and I assumed that the story in the Grey
Annals (to which the last part of the Narn is obviously closely
related, despite its much greater length) preceded it by some years -
that it was in fact an elaboration of the story in the Annals.
This view is wholly erroneous, and was due to my failure to study
sufficiently closely the material (preserved in a different place) that
preceded the final text of the story in the Narn. In fact, it soon
becomes plain (as will be seen in the commentary that follows) that
the long narrative in the Grey Annals was based directly on the final
text of that in the Narn, and was a reduction of that text, congruent
with it at virtually all points. The manuscript of this latter is very
similar in appearance and style of script to that of the Annals of
Aman and the Grey Annals, and undoubtedly belongs to the same
period (presumptively 1951). Thus the massive development and
enhancement of the final tragedy in Brethil is yet another major
work of the prolific time that followed the completion of The Lord
of the Rings (see Morgoth's Ring, pp. vii and 3).
The manuscript was headed (later) 'The Children of Hurin: last
part', and at the top of the first page my father wrote 'Part of the
"Children of Hurin" told in full scale'. I shall devote a good deal of
the following commentary to showing how, in more important
instances, my father developed the narrative in the Narn. It is to be
remembered that the last version he had written was the very
compressed story in the Quenta (Q) of 1930 (IV.127-30), behind
which lay 'the earliest Silmarillion' or 'Sketch of the Mythology'
(IV.30 - 1), and behind that the old Tale of Turambar and the
Foaloke (II.88-112).
I shall not make a detailed comparison of the new narrative with
the older forms, nor of the last part of the Narn with the Grey
Annals. Since it is obviously out of the question to reprint the last
part of the Narn in this book, I must refer to the text in Unfinished
Tales, which is very close to the final form of the text in the
manuscript, but introduces some unimportant changes in wording;
the use of 'you' for 'thou' and 'thee' of the original; and some later
forms of names. In order to avoid ambiguity I shall identify the last
part of the Narn by the letters 'NE' (i.e. 'End of the Narn'); thus 'NE
p. 132' is to be understood as meaning the text of the Narn in
Unfinished Tales on p. 132. Where necessary I distinguish the actual
manuscript, or manuscripts, from the printed text. There is also a
later amanuensis typescript of NE.
$290. The addition concerning the death of Handir of Brethil,
rejected here, reappears at the beginning of the annal for 495
($275).
$291. The names Amon Obel and Ephel Brandir now first appear;
they were marked in on the second map (see the redrawing on
p. 182, square E 7). On the emendation concerning Handir of Brethil
see $275 and commentary.
$292. The opening of NE (p. 104) is almost the same as that of the
rewritten section in GA, rather than its original form ($287). This is
to be explained, I think, on the supposition that my father was
working (here at any rate) on the two versions at the same time. - In
both texts 'eighty leagues' was changed to 'forty leagues'; the
distance on the second map from Nargothrond to Ivrin measured in
a straight line is 8 cm. or 41 6 leagues (see V.412).
$293. Against Dorlomin my father wrote in the margin the Quenya
form Lominore, but he did not strike out Dorlomin.
$294. It is made clear in the later text from which the section The
Departure of Turin in the Narn is derived that Brodda forcibly
wedded Hurin's kinswoman Aerin (later form for Airin) before
Turin left Dor-lomin (see Unfinished Tales p. 69); in GA Turin only
learns of it now, on his return, and this was certainly the case also in
NE. Airin now becomes Hurin's kinswoman, not Morwen's, as she
was in Q and QS, and still in the rejected form ($288) of the present
passage.
It is seen from NE (p. 106) that the story of Turin's childhood
friendship with the lame Sador Labadal was already in being,
although it had not yet been written (the parts of the Narn narrative
preceding NE being unquestionably later); in GA there is no
suggestion of this story, but I think it certain that this is due merely
to the extreme condensation of the narrative here: the long
conversation in NE between Turin and Sador, and Sador's 'recogni-
tion', before ever Turin entered Brodda's hall, is reduced to a few
lines in the Annals. In that conversation and subsequently the text of
NE uses 'thou' and 'thee' throughout, but afterwards my father
sometimes changed them to 'you' and sometimes not. It seems
possible that where the changes were made it was because the
speakers were using the 'polite plural' (as Sador to Turin when he
found out who he was); but in the published text I adopted 'you'
throughout. - Where in NE (p. 105) Sador speaks of 'Hurin Galdor's
son' the manuscript has 'Hurin Galion's son', Galion being still at
that time the name of Hurin's father.
$$295-7. The whole episode in NE (pp. 106 - 9) following Turin's
entry into Brodda's hall, a massive development of the bare words
of Q (IV.127 and note 9), is again greatly reduced in these
paragraphs, and much is omitted: thus there is no mention of the
general fighting, of Airin's firing of the hall, or of Asgon, the man of
Dor-lomin (who will reappear).
$298. This annal concerning Tuor, dated 496, follows on from the
entry about his departure from Mithrim at the end of the annal for
495 in the rejected section of the manuscript ($290). It is based on
that in AB 2 (V.140), and adheres still to the old story that Tuor met
Bronwe (Voronwe) at the mouths of Sirion; thus it was written
before the addition was made to $257 whereby Voronwe became
the sole survivor of the seven ships sent into the West and was cast
ashore in Nivrost (see the commentary on that paragraph).
$299. Tuor was born in 472 ($251), was enslaved by Lorgan in 488
when he was sixteen years old and endured thraldom for three
years, thus until 491 ($263), and in 495 had lived as an outlaw in
the hills of Mithrim for four years.
This annal replaces both the preceding entries concerning Tuor
($$290, 298). Here the very old story of Tuor's going down to the
mouths of Sirion is at last abandoned, and Ulmo appears to Tuor
in Nivrost; Voronwe, cast ashore in Nivrost, now leads Tuor
eastwards to Gondolin along the southern faces of the Shadowy
Mountains. Here also appears the story that they saw Turin at Ivrin
on his journey northward from Nargothrond, and it may well be
that this accounts for the change of date from 496 to 495; but the
coming of Tuor to Turgon's ancient dwelling of Vinyamar and
finding the arms left there long before at Ulmo's counsel is not
referred to.
For the bidding of Ulmo to Turgon in Q, where it appears in two
versions, see IV.142, 146-7, and my remarks IV.193-4. In GA there
is no suggestion of Ulmo's counsel that Turgon should prepare for a
great war against Morgoth and that Tuor should be his agent in the
bringing of new nations of Men out of the East to his banners.
Elsewhere in GA the change is always Glindur > Maeglin; Meglin
> Glindur here depends on the time of writing, for while my father
was working on the Annals the series went Meglin > Glindur >
Maeglin.
$300. The manuscript has no date here, but it is clear that there
should be (it is obviously 496 later in the annal, where 'with the
beginning of spring Turin cast off his darkness', $303); in the
rejected version of the text the date 496 is given at this point ($291),
and in the manuscript of NE also. The omission is due to the
(second) rejected entry concerning Tuor ($298) having been dated
496.
The spelling Taiglin is found in NE also; Teiglin in both the
published texts is an editorial alteration to a later form (see pp. 228,
309-10).
The story of Turin's rescue of the men of Brethil from an attack
by Orcs, derived from the lively account of the incident in NE
(p. 110), is a new element in the narrative. It is to be noted, how-
ever, that as NE was first written there was no mention of it; the
original text tells simply that when Turin fell in with some of the
folk of Haleth in Brethil
... the men that saw Turin welcomed him, and even thus as a
wild wanderer they knew him for the Mormegil, the great captain
of Nargothrond, and the friend of Handir; and they marvelled
that he had escaped, since they had heard that none had come out
alive from the fortress of Felagund. Therefore they bade him
come and rest among them for a while.
Following this is a brief preliminary passage in which Turin's rescue
of the men of Brethil from the Orc-attack is introduced, and finally
the full account of the incident as it stands in NE. It is thus clearly
seen that this story arose in the course of the writing of NE, as also
did the motive that the woodmen deduced that the stranger was the
Mormegil after Turin had fallen into his swoon of grief. Both these
elements are present in the GA version. This is one of many un-
questionable evidences that the last part of the Narn preceded the
Grey Annals.
It is also said in the rejected passage of NE that when Turin told
the woodmen of his quest for Finduilas
... they looked on him with grief and pity. 'Seek no more!' said
one. 'For behold! the few of our men that escaped from
Tum-halad brought us warning of an Orc-host that came from
Nargothrond towards the crossings of Taiglin, marching slowly
because of the number of their captives....'
In the final text the statement that the woodmen fought at
Tumhalad disappears (and Dorlas says of their ambush of the
Orc-host from Nargothrond 'we thought to deal our small stroke in
the war', NE p. 111). This is to be related to the information in GA
which was struck out, that the Elves of Nargothrond 'allied
themselves with Handir' ($272 and commentary), and that Handir
was slain at Tumhalad ($275 and commentary).
$$301-3. The narrative (condensed from that of NE, pp. 109 - 12)
greatly expands that of Q (IV.127): new elements are 'Wildman of
the Woods', Dorlas, and the Haud-en-Ellas where Finduilas was laid
near the Crossings of Taiglin, which have not been named before;
Dorlas' realisation that the stranger must be the Mormegil, ru-
moured to be Turin son of Hurin (in Q there is no indication that
the woodmen knew who he was until the end); Brandir's foreboding
when he saw Turin on the bier, and his healing of Turin; Turin's
setting aside of the black sword. The old story in Q (IV.129) that
Turin became lord of the woodmen is now abandoned: Brandir, as
will be seen later in the narrative ($323, NE p. 132), remained the
titular ruler (and in NE, p. 129, at the council held before Turin's
setting out for the encounter with Glaurung, he 'sat indeed in the
high-seat of the lord of the assembly, but unheeded').
$301. Haud-en-Ellas: the later form -Elleth was pencilled in on both
the NE and GA manuscripts, and Haudh-en-Elleth is found in a
plot-sequence among the later Narn papers (p. 256); this was
adopted in both NE and The Silmarillion. The translation 'Mound
of the Elf-maid', not in GA, was introduced into The Silmarillion
from NE (p. 112), and comparison of the texts will show a number
of other instances, not recorded here, of this conflation.
$302. Against the name Ephel Brandir in NE (p. 110) my father
wrote faintly on the amanuensis typescript that was made from the
manuscript: Obel Halad and '.... of the chieftain'; the illegible
word might be 'Tower', but looks more like 'Town'. 'Town of the
Chieftain' is quite possibly the correct interpretation, if town is used
in the ancient sense of 'enclosed dwelling-place' (see II.292, and my
remarks on the name Tavrobel in V.412). On Obel Halad see pp.
258, 263.
$303. In GA Brandir's foreboding concerning Turambar came upon
him after he had heard 'the tidings that Dorlas brought', and
therefore knew who it was that lay on the bier; whereas in NE
(p. 111) his foreboding is more prophetic and less 'rational' (see
Unfinished Tales p. 111 and note 21). In NE Turambar 'laid his
black sword by' in response to Brandir's warning (p. 112), but this is
lost in GA.
$305. The new narrative is here further developed from Q (IV.128),
where 'Thingol yielded so far to the tears and entreaties of Morwen
that he sent forth a company of Elves toward Nargothrond to
explore the truth. With them rode Morwen...'; now she rides forth
alone and the Elves are sent after her. Nienor's motive in joining the
Elvish riders in disguise is now more complex; and Mablung,
entirely absent from the story in Q (and AB 2), enters the narrative.
There is a very great reduction in GA of the elaborate story told in
NE (pp. 112 - 16), but the narrative structure is the same (the flight
of Morwen followed by the company led by Mablung). In NE
Thingol already had the idea of sending out a party to Nargoth-
rond, independently of Morwen's wish to go.
In Q it seems certain that Nienor's presence was never revealed to
the company, including Morwen (see my remarks, IV.185). The
discovery of her at the passage of the Twilit Meres is not mentioned
in GA, but that she was at some point revealed is implied by the
words 'But Morwen... would not be persuaded' (i.e. by the presence
of Nienor); and Nienor was set with Morwen on the Hill of Spies.
The condensation in the Annals of the story in NE here produces
some obscurity, and in the passage in The Silmarillion (p. 217)
corresponding to this paragraph I made use of both versions (and
also Q), although at the time I misunderstood the relations between
them.
The reference in NE (p. 114) to the hidden ferries at the Twilit
Meres, not mentioned before, is lost in GA. In NE the sentence 'for
by that way messengers would pass to and fro between Thingol and
his kin in Nargothrond' continues in the manuscript 'ere the victory
of Morgoth' (i.e. at Tumhalad), and these last words were changed
to 'ere the death of Felagund'. This was omitted in the published
text, in view of the later reference (Unfinished Tales p. 153) to
the close relations of Orodreth with Menegroth: 'In all things
[Orodreth] followed Thingol, with whom he exchanged messen-
gers by secret ways'.
There appears here (in both versions) the Elvish name Amon
Ethir of the Hill of Spies (the Spyhill, NE), and also (in NE only) its
origin, which has never been given before: 'a mound as great as a
hill that long ago Felagund had caused to be raised with great
labour in the plain before his Doors'. In both versions it is a league
from Nargothrond; in Q (IV.128) it was 'to the east of the Guarded
Plain', but Morwen could see from its top the issuing of Glaurung.
On the first map (following p. 220 in Vol.IV) it seems to be a long
way east, or north-east, of Nargothrond (though 'Hill of Spies' is
named on the map it is not perfectly clear where it is, IV.225); on the
second map it is not named, but if it is the eminence marked on
square F 6 (p. 182) it was likewise a long way from Nargothrond
(about 15 leagues).
$306. 'But Glaurung was aware of all that they did': where NE
(p. 117) says of Glaurung that his eyes 'outreached the far sight of
the Elves' a rejected form of the passage has the notable statement:
'Indeed further reached the sight of his fell eyes than even the eyes of
the Elves (which thrice surpass those of Men).' Also, where it is said
in NE that Glaurung 'went swiftly, for he was a mighty Worm, and
yet lithe', there followed in the manuscript, but placed in brackets
later, 'and he could go as speedily as a man could run, and tire not in
a hundred leagues.'
$307. 'Thus the ladies were lost, and of Morwen indeed no sure
tidings came ever to Doriath after': so also in NE at a later point
(p. 121): 'Neither then nor after did any certain news of her fate
come to Doriath or to Dor-lomin', but against this my father wrote
an X in the margin of the typescript. In NE the passage (p. 118)
describing how one of the Elf-riders saw her as she disappeared into
the mists crying Nienor replaced the following:
After a while Morwen passed suddenly out of the mists, and near
at hand there were two of the elf-riders; and whether she would
or no her horse bore her with them swiftly away towards Doriath.
And the riders comforted her, saying: 'You must go in our
keeping. But others will guard your daughter. It is vain to tarry.
Fear not! For she was mounted, and there is no horse but will
make best speed away from the dragon-stench. We shall meet her
in Doriath.'
This is another example of the precedence of NE as first written over
GA; for this rejected text was apparently following the old story of
Q (IV.128), that Morwen returned to Doriath. - In Q Nienor, whose
presence was never revealed (see commentary on $305), did not go
to the Hill of Spies with Morwen, but met with the Dragon on the
banks of the Narog.
In the passage in NE (p. 118) describing the eyes of Glaurung
when Nienor came face to face with him on the hill-top, the words
'they were terrible, being filled with the fell spirit of Morgoth, his
master' contain an editorial alteration: the manuscript reads 'the fell
spirit of Morgoth, who made him' (cf. IV.128). My father under-
lined the last three words in pencil, and faintly and barely legibly at
the foot of the page he noted: 'Glaurung must be a demon [??con-
tained in worm form].' On the emergence at this time of the view that
Melkor could make nothing that had life of its own see X.74, 78.
$$309-12. There is a further great development in this passage
(condensed from NE, pp. 119-21), following the enspelling of
Nienor. There enters now Mablung's exploration of the deserted
halls of Nargothrond; his discovery of Nienor on Amon Ethir in the
early night; the meeting with the three other Elves of Mablung's
company; the secret entrance into Doriath near the inflowing of
Esgalduin; the attack by Orcs as they slept, and the slaying of the
Orcs by Mablung and his companions; the flight of Nienor naked;
and Mablung's return to Doriath and subsequent three-year-long
search for Morwen and Nienor. In Q there is none of this; and it was
Turambar with a party of the woodmen who slew the Orcs that
pursued Nienor (IV.128 - 9).
$310. Where GA has 'the secret gate' into Doriath near the inflowing
of Esgalduin into Sirion, NE (p. 120) has 'the guarded bridge'. A
bridge is indeed more to be expected than a gate, for the West-
march of Doriath, Nivrim, was within the Girdle of Melian
(V.261 - 2).
$312. Similarly in the manuscript of NE, after 'until she went naked'
(p. 121), the words 'but for the short elven-kirtle above the knee
that she had worn in her disguise' were bracketed for exclusion.
$317. The falls of Celebros. In NE the passage beginning 'In the
morning they bore Niniel towards Ephel Brandir' (pp. 122 - 3)
replaced an earlier text, as follows:
In the morning they bore Niniel towards Ephel Brandir. Now
there was a fair place on the way, a green sward amid white
birches. There a stream leaping down from Amon Obel to find its
way to the Taiglin went over a lip of worn stone, and fell into a
rocky bowl far below, and all the air was filled with a soft spray,
in which the sun would gleam with many colours. Therefore the
woodmen called those falls Celebros, and loved to rest there a
while.
The name Celebros first appeared in Q, 'the Falls of Silver-bowl' >
'the Falls of Celebros, Foam-silver', and the falls were in the Taiglin
(see IV.129 and note 14). In GA the falls are still called Celebros, as
in the passage just cited from NE from which it derives, but as in
that passage my father would obviously have now placed them
in the tributary stream falling down from Amon Obel towards the
Taiglin.
In the NE manuscript, however, the passage was rewritten, and it
is the rewritten text that stands in Unfinished Tales pp. 122 - 3: 'In
the morning they bore Niniel towards Ephel Brandir, and the road
went steeply upward towards Amon Obel until it came to a place
where it must cross the tumbling stream of Celebros', &c. Thus
Celebros becomes the name of the tributary stream, and in the
continuation of this rewritten passage the falls themselves become
Dimrost, the Rainy Stair. This change was not entered on the text of
GA, but was incorporated in The Silmarillion (p. 220).
On the curious matter of the use in both versions of the name Nen
Girith 'Shuddering Water' as if it were due to the fact of Niniel's fit
of shuddering when she first came there, rather than to the
prophetic nature of that shuddering whose meaning was not seen
until she and Turambar were dead, see IV.186-7, where I discussed
it fully.
$318. In Q (IV.129) it was said here that Brandir yielded the rule of
the woodmen to Turambar (see commentary on $$301 - 3), and that
'he was ever true to Turambar; yet bitter was his soul when he might
not win the love of Niniel.' This is not said in GA (or NE); but on
the other hand there was nothing in Q about Niniel's delaying of the
marriage, nor of Brandir's seeking to restrain her on account of his
forebodings, nor yet of Brandir's revealing to her who Turambar
was - indeed in Q, as I have mentioned (commentary on $$301-3),
there is no indication that the woodmen knew his identity.
In NE, following the story in Q, the first draft of the passage
begins: 'Turambar asked her in marriage, and she went to him
gladly, and at the midsummer they were wed, and the woodmen
made a great feast for them' (see NE pp. 124 - 5). In a second stage
Brandir counselled Niniel to wait, but did not tell her that
Turambar was Turin son of Hurin: that entered with a further
revision to the manuscript. GA has this final form. In NE (p. 125),
however, Turambar's displeasure with Brandir was at his counsel of
delay: in GA it was (apparently) at Brandir's revelation to Niniel of
his identity. - The motive of Niniel's delaying of the marriage goes
back to the Tale (II.102): she delayed him, saying nor yea nor no,
yet herself she knew not why'.
$$322-5. Following the words in NE (p. 129) 'the tale of the scouts
that had seen [Glaurung] had gone about and grown in the telling'
the text as originally written continued:
Then Brandir who stood [before his house in the open place of
Ephel Brandir >] nigh spoke before them and said: 'I would fain
come with thee, Captain Black Sword, but thou wouldst scorn
me. Rightly. But
This was changed immediately to the text printed, with Dorlas'
crying scorn on Brandir, who sat 'unheeded', 'in the high-seat of the
lord of the assembly'.
Up to this point, drafting for the manuscript of NE consists of
little more than scribbled slips. From here on, however, there are in
effect two manuscripts: one (which I shall refer to as 'the draft
manuscript') being the continuation of the original, which became
so chaotic with rewriting that my father subsequently copied it out
fair. The draft manuscript in this part of the narrative has much
interest as showing my father's development of the story from the
form it had reached in Q (IV.129 - 30).
The words given in NE to Brandir's kinsman Hunthor (Torbarth
in GA) were given first to Brandir, speaking in self-defence:
'Thou speakest unjustly, Dorlas. How can it be said that my
counsels were vain, when they were never taken? And I say to
thee that Glaurung comes now to us, as to Nargothrond before,
because our deeds have bewrayed us to him, as I feared. But the
son of Handir asketh none to take his place at need. I am here and
will gladly go. The less loss of a cripple unwedded than of many
others. Will not some stand by me, who have also less care to
leave behind?'
Then five men came and stood by him. And Turambar said:
'That is enough. These five I will take. But, lord, I do not scorn
thee, and any who do so are fools. But see! We must go in great
haste...'
[$$322-5]
This follows, in structure, the story in Q, where 'six of his boldest
men begged to come with him'. In the draft manuscript 'Turambar
with Dorlas and their five companions took horse and rode away in
haste to Celebros'; and when later Turambar crossed the Taiglin
(NE p. 133), 'in the deep dark he counted his following. They were
four. "Albarth fell," said Dorlas, "and Taiglin took him beyond aid.
The other two, I deem, were daunted, and skulk now yonder."'
Albarth, who here first appears, seems to have been first written
Albard.
The draft manuscript continues:
Then after a rest they that remained climbed, foot by foot, up the
steep slope before them, till they came nigh the brink. There so
foul grew the reek that their heads reeled, and they clung to the
trees as best they could. The night was now passing, but there was
a flicker above them as of smouldering fires, and a noise of some
great beast sleeping; but if he stirred the earth quivered.
Dawn came slowly; and its glimmer came to Turambar as he
strove with dark dreams of dread in which all his will had been
given only to clinging and holding, while a great tide of blackness
had sucked and gnawed at his limbs. And he woke and looked
about in the wan light, and saw that only Dorlas remained by
him.
'Seven wounds I hoped to give him,' he thought. 'Well, if it be
two only, then they must go deep.'
But when day came indeed all passed as Turambar had hoped.
For suddenly Glaurung bestirred himself, and drew himself
slowly to the chasm's edge; and he did not turn aside, but
prepared to spring over with his clawed forelegs and then draw
his bulk after. Great was the horror of his coming, for he began
the passage not right above Turambar, but many paces to the
northward, and from under they could see his hideous head and
gaping jaws as he peered over the brink. Then he let fly a blast,
and the trees before him withered, and rocks fell into the river,
and with that he cast himself forward and grappled the further
bank and began to heave himself over the narrow chasm.
Now there was need of great haste, for though Turambar and
Dorlas had escaped from the blast since they lay not right in
Glaurung's path, they could not now come at him, and soon all
the device of Turambar was in point to fail utterly. Heedless now
of all else he clambered down, and Dorlas followed him. Then
swiftly he came beneath the Worm; but there so deadly was the
heat and the stench that he tottered and was almost blinded. And
Dorlas because of the reek, or being daunted at last, clung to a
tree by the water, and would not move fell and lay as in a swoon
[sic; the sentence changed to:] But Dorlas was overcome, and his
[$$322-5]
will daunted at last, and he stumbled and fell and was engulfed in
the water.
Then Turambar said aloud: 'Now thou art alone at the end,
Master of Doom. Fail now or conquer!' And he summoned to
him all his will, and all his hatred of the Worm and his Master,
and climbed up, as one finding strength and skill beyond his
measure; and lo! now the midmost parts of the dragon came
above him...
I repeat here my remarks in IV.186:
In the Tale (II.106) the band of seven clambered up the far side of
the ravine in the evening and stayed there all night; at dawn of the
second day, when the dragon moved to cross, Turambar saw that
he had now only three companions, and when they had to climb
back down to the stream-bed to come up under Glorund's belly
these three had not the courage to go up again. Turambar slew the
dragon by daylight... In Q the six all deserted Turambar during
the first night ... but he spent the whole of the following day
clinging to the cliff; Glomund moved to pass over the ravine on
the second night (my father clearly wished to make the dragon-
slaying take place in darkness, but achieved this at first by
extending the time Turambar spent in the gorge).
Curiously enough, in the text just given my father reverted, so far as
the time-scale is concerned, to the story in the Tale, where Turambar
spent the whole night in the ravine and the dragon moved to cross at
the beginning of the next day (see further the commentary on
$$329-32).
In the condensed account in Q nothing is said of the need to move
along the river and then to climb up again to come under the
dragon's belly ('The next evening... Glomund began the passage of
the ravine, and his huge form passed over Turambar's head'); and
here also it seems certain that my father went back to the Tale,
where this is described in a way very similar to that in the draft
manuscript of NE. In the Tale as in this draft there is no suggestion -
that the men had taken into account the possibility that the dragon
might not cross at the point they had chosen (and therefore, in the
final version, after attempting to climb they returned - as it must be
assumed: it is not expressly stated - to the bottom of the ravine and
waited); in both, they climbed up the far side of the gorge and clung
beneath its brink, whence they had to climb down again to the
water when the dragon moved. Dorlas' failure 'because of the reek'
when he and Turambar came, in the riverbed, beneath the dragon
corresponds to the failure of the three men in the Tale, who 'durst
not climb the bank again' because 'the heat was so great and so vile
the stench' (II.107).
[$$322-5]
The behaviour of Turambar's companions in the different ver-
sions can be set out thus:
The Tale.
Three deserted during the night.
The three others climbed down with Turambar to get beneath the
dragon, but dared not climb up again.
The Quenta.
All six deserted during the (first) night (nothing is said of the need
to change position).
Draft manuscript of NE.
Two feared to cross the river and one (Albarth) was drowned in
the crossing.
Two more fled away during the night.
The last (Dorlas) climbed down with Turambar to get beneath the
dragon, but dared not climb up again.
The revised and final story (NE pp. 133 - 4) is far better (and of
course the version in GA, though very brief, is in agreement with it).
By this time the passage in which Brandir defends himself against
Dorlas (p. 152) had been emended to the final form (NE p. 129),
except that Albarth (at first simply one of the five volunteers, but
named because he fell and was drowned in the river) had become
the kinsman of Brandir who rebukes Dorlas. There are now only
two companions of Turambar, and the hard and boastful warrior
Dorlas becomes the coward, while Albarth is the brave man who
stays beside Turambar until he is struck by a falling stone. The
development is a characteristic complex:
Brandir defends himself Albarth defends Brandir
against Dorlas' scorn against Dorlas' scorn
Turambar takes six Turambar takes Dorlas and
companions Albarth only as companions
One of these, Albarth, is
drowned in the crossing; Dorlas flees
four flee; only Dorlas Albarth remains by Turambar
remains by Turambar
Dorlas is drowned in the river. Albarth is drowned in the river.
A curious detail in the final form of the story is worth remarking.
In the new account, it occurs to Turambar that they are wasting
their strength in climbing up the far side of the gorge before the
dragon moves. It is not said that they descended from whatever
point they had reached when he came to this realisation, and the
passage concerning his dream 'in which all his will was given to
[$$322-5]
clinging' reappears from the earlier version (p. 153). But in the new
story there was no need for them to cling: they could have, and
surely would have, descended to the bottom and waited there. In
fact, it is clear that this is what they did: it is said (NE p. 134) that
when Glaurung moved to cross the ravine they were not standing
right in his path, and Turambar at once 'clambered along the
water-edge'. Thus the revised story still carries an unneeded trait
from the earlier.
A draft slip, not fully legible, shows my father working out the
new story:
Let Turin slay dragon at nightfall. He reaches Nen Girith as sun is
going down. He warns them that Glaurung will move in dark. He
outlines his plan. They go down to Taiglin but there the heart fails
his men, and they say: 'Lord, forgive us, but our hearts are not
great enough for the venture. For [illegible words] the thought of
those we have left.'
'What of me?' said Turambar. He dismissed them with scorn.
He goes on with Dorlas and Albarth.
This is an intermediate stage: there are other 'volunteers' beside
Dorlas and Albarth, but they beg off before the crossing of the river.
These others were abandoned.
This may seem much ado about a single episode, but it seems to
me to illustrate in miniature the complex and subtle movement that
is found in the history of the legends at large. It was, also, an episode
of great importance: there are few 'monsters' to rival Glaurung, and
my father strove to perfect the tale of how Turin earned the title of
Dagnir Glaurunga.
It remains to mention that in the final manuscript of NE Albarth
was changed to Torbarth, the name in GA; but at all occurrences in
NE of Torbarth it was changed later to Hunthor. In GA this further
alteration was not made (it was of course adopted in The Silmaril-
lion), but at the first occurrence only ($322) of Torbarth in GA my
father pencilled above it Gwerin: on this name see further pp. 163-5.
$323. In the Narn (p. 132) it is told that Niniel and the people with
her came to Nen Girith 'just at nightfall', but in the draft manuscript
they reached the falls 'at the first breath of morning' (see commen-
tary on $$329-32). In the draft manuscript, also, Brandir did not
limp slowly after the others on his crutch, but 'took the small
ambling horse that was trained to bear him, and he rode westward
after Niniel and her companions. And many that saw him go had
pity, for in truth he was well beloved by many.'
$324. As in GA, Cabad-en-Aras was corrected throughout, except
where omitted by oversight, to Cabed-en-Aras on the final text of
NE. The draft manuscript had Mengas Dur, changed to Cabad-en-
Aras at the time of writing. In NE (p. 130) Turambar says of the
ravine that over it, 'as you tell, a deer once leaped from the
huntsmen of Haleth', and later (p. 140) Brandir says that Niniel
'leaped from the brink of the Deer's Leap'.
In NE (p. 130), when Turambar came to Nen Girith at sunset, he
looked out over the falls, and seeing the spires of smoke rising by the
banks of the Taiglin he said to his companions that this was good
news, because he had feared that Glaurung would change his course
and come to the Crossings, 'and so to the old road in the lowland'. I
take this to be the old south road to Nargothrond, coming down
from the Pass of Sirion and running through the western eaves of
Brethil on its way to the Crossings; but the draft manuscript has
here 'and so along the old road to Bar Haleth', against which my
father wrote later: 'into deep Brethil'. Bar Haleth was written in
above Tavrobel (struck out) on the map (see p. 186, $19). Beyond
the fact that 'Tavrobel' was in the extreme east of Brethil it is not
possible to be sure of its site. Bar Haleth was in turn crossed out. It
seems certain therefore that this was a transient name for Ephel
Brandir, which was marked in subsequently in the centre of Brethil;
and 'the old road' in the draft manuscript distinct from that referred
to in the final text.
$325. In NE it is told (p. 131) that from Nen Girith Turambar and
his companions took the path to the Crossings, but 'before they
came so far, they turned southward by a narrow track', and moved
through the woods above the Taiglin towards Cabed-en-Aras. Mr
Charles Noad has suggested that my sketch-map in Unfinished
Tales, p. 149, should be modified, and the track shown to turn again
westward to reach the Taiglin: thus 'The first stars glimmered in the
East behind them'. See further p. 159, $333.
'So ended the last of the right kin of Haleth': 'right kin' must
mean 'direct line'. But Torbarth was not the last, for Brandir, son of
Handir son of Hundor son of Haleth, still lived.
$$329-32. The narrative of these paragraphs as first written in
NE had many differences from the final text (pp. 135 - 7, begin-
ning 'Now the screams of Glaurung came to the people at Nen
Girith ...'), and I give the earlier text (which exists in two drafts);
for the time-scale see commentary on $$322 - 5.
Now when the screams of Glaurung came to the folk at Nen
Girith they were filled with terror; and the watchers beheld from
afar the great breaking and burning that the Worm made in his
throes, and deemed that he was trampling and destroying all
those that had assailed him. Then those that had been most eager
to come and see strange deeds were most eager to go, ere
Glaurung should discover them. All therefore fled, either wild
into the woods, or back towards Ephel Brandir.
[$$329-32]
But when Niniel heard the voice of the Worm, her heart died
within her, and a shadow of her darkness fell on her, and she sat
still, shuddering by Nen Girith.
The morning passed, and still she did not stir from the spot. So
it was that Brandir found her. For he came at last to the bridge,
spent and weary, having limped all the long way alone on his
crutch; and it was seven leagues from Ephel Brandir. Fear had
urged him on. For he met with some of those that fled back, and
heard all that they had to tell. 'The Black Sword is surely dead,
and all with him,' they said. But when he found that Niniel was
not with them, and that they had left her behind in their terror, he
cursed them and pressed on to Nen Girith, thinking to defend her
or comfort her.
But now that he saw her still living, he found naught to say, and
had neither counsel nor comfort, and stood silent looking on her
misery with pity.
Time wore on, and the sun began to wester, and there came
neither sound nor tidings. Brandir looking out could see no
longer any smoke by the Taiglin. And suddenly he thought in his
heart: 'Beyond doubt he is slain. But Niniel lives.' And he looked
at her and his heart yearned towards her, and then he was aware
that it was cold in that high place; and he went and cast his cloak
about her, but she said naught to him. And he stood yet a while,
and he could hear no sound but the voices of the trees and the
birds and the water, and he thought: 'Surely the Worm is gone,
and has passed into Brethil. He will overtake the hapless folk on
the way.' But he pitied them no more: fools that had flouted his
counsel. Nor his people waiting in Ephel Brandir: he had forsaken
them. Thither Glaurung surely would go fast, and he would have
time to lead Niniel away and escape. Whither he scarce knew, for
he had never strayed beyond Brethil [first draft only: and though
he knew of the Hidden Kingdom he knew little more than that its
king loved not Men, and few were ever admitted]. But time was
fleeting, and soon evening would come.
Then he went again to Niniel's side, and said: 'It groweth late,
Niniel. What wouldst thou do?'
'I know not,' said she. 'For I am adread. But could I overcome
my shuddering, I would arise and go, and seek my lord; though I
fear that he is dead.'
Then Brandir knew not what to answer; and he said: 'All is
strange. Who shall read the signs? But if he lives, would he not go
to Ephel Brandir, where he left thee? And the bridge of Nen Girith
doth not lie on the only road, or the straightest, thither from the
place of battle.'
[$$329-32]
Then Niniel was roused at last, and she stood up, crying:
'Towards tidings I came hither, and yet all tidings I miss! Hath
some spell been laid on me that I linger here?' And she began to
hasten down the path from the bridge. But Brandir called to her:
'Niniel! Go not alone. I will go with thee. Thou knowest not what
thou may find. A healer thou mayest need. But if the dragon lies
there, then beware! For the creatures of Morgoth die hard, and
are dangerous in death.'
But she heeded him not and went now as though her blood
burned her, which before had been cold. And though he followed
as he could, because of his lameness she passed away until she
was out of his sight. Then Brandir cursed his fate and his weak-
ness, but still he held on.
Night fell and all the woods were still; and the moon rose away
beyond Amon Obel, and the glades became pale. And Niniel ran
on; but as she came down from the upland towards the river it
seemed to her that she remembered the place, and feared it.
Thus Niniel passed the whole of the day at Nen Girith (in this earlier
version she and the people with her had come there 'at the first
breath of morning', commentary on $323, and Glaurung was slain
in the morning); when Brandir perceived that it was cold and cast
his cloak about her it was the second evening, whereas in the final
story it was the night of Glaurung's death (and no long time can
elapse between his death, Brandir's coming to Nen Girith, and
Niniel's running down to Cabed-en-Aras). A further important
divergence, among many other differences of detail, is that in the
earlier all the people fled from Nen Girith, leaving Niniel alone. But
from this point the draft manuscript and the final manuscript
become closely similar.
$332. In NE (p. 136), as also at the end of the earlier version given in
the commentary on $$329 - 32, 'the moon rose beyond Amon Obel'.
The sketch-map in Unfinished Tales (p. 149) is not well oriented: as
is seen from revisions made to the second map (and so reproduced
on my map to the published Silmarillion), Amon Obel was almost
due east of the Crossings of Taiglin.
$333. There are, two points of detail to be mentioned in the text of
NE corresponding to this paragraph. The words concerning the
track that Brandir took to head off Niniel, 'went steeply down
southward to the river' (p. 137), were an editorial change from the
reading of the manuscript, which has 'went steeply down west-
ward'. The change was made because it is expressly said here that it
was the path that Turambar and his companions had taken earlier:
cf. p. 131 'they turned southward by a narrow track'; but Mr
Noad's clearly correct suggestion (see p. 157, $325) makes this
emendation unnecessary. Secondly, in the words of Glaurung to
Niniel at his death (p. 138) 'We meet again ere the end', 'ere the end'
is a simple error for 'ere we end'.
$334. '[She] ran like a hunted deer, and came to Cabed-en-Aras': the
name Cabed-en-Aras referred to the actual ravine in the Taiglin, and
(as I suggested in Unfinished Tales p. 150, note 27) it may be
supposed that the death-leap of Glaurung had carried him a good
distance beyond the further cliff, so that Niniel had some way to run
to the ravine. The wording of NE is clearer: 'Swiftly she came to the
brink of Cabed-en-Aras'.
$335. Cabad Naeramarth: in an earlier form of this passage in NE
(p. 138) the name was Cabad Amarth 'Leap of Doom'. In $$335,
346 Cabad was not corrected.
$$336-7. In Q there was no mention of Brandir's bringing the tidings
to the waiting people. This was due to Q's compression, for it
appears in the Tale (II.110); and his words in GA (deriving from
NE) 'and those tidings are good' echo those in the Tale: 'and that is
well; aye very well': in both, those who heard him thought that he
was mad.
$$339-42. Q was here exceedingly compressed, saying only: 'he
asked for Niniel, but none dared tell him, save Brandir. And Brandir
distraught with grief reproached him; wherefore Turin slew him...'
The complex scene in NE and GA goes back in a very general way to
the Tale (II.111); there also Turambar calls Tamar (Brandir) 'Club-
foot', and it is this (as it appears) that leads him to tell all that he
knows, which in turn incites Turambar to murder him, believing
him to be lying out of malice.
$$346-7. In the Tale and Q the voice from the sword does not speak
of Beleg or of Brandir. In NE as first written Turambar himself
named them in his address to the sword: 'From no blood wilt thou
shrink. Not from Beleg slain in madness, not from Brandir slain
unjustly. That was a wicked deed, thou black sword. Do now a
better and take Turin Turambar! Wilt thou slay me swiftly?' And
the voice from the blade replied: 'Thy blood will I gladly drink.,For
it is of the best, and sweeter will it seem than any that thou hast
given me. Swift will I slay thee!' - echoing the words of Gurtholfin
in the Tale, II.112; cf. also Q, IV.130.
$349. The sword was not broken in the Tale or in Q. - At the top of
the manuscript page my father wrote hastily in pencil: 'Turin should
slay himself on Finduilas' tomb' (cf. Unfinished Tales p. 150, note
28).
The conclusion of NE (p. 146) in the manuscript actually reads:
'Thus endeth the tale of the Children of Hurin [added:] as it was
told in the Glaer nia [later > Narn i] Chin Hurin, the longest of all
the lays of Beleriand.' The conclusion added afterwards to GA is
thus almost exactly the same as that in NE, which does not however
have the words 'and was made by Men'; with this cf. X.373.
NOTE 1.
Variant forms at the end of the tale of
the Children of Hurin.
There are, first, some rough draft texts that sketch out ideas for the
denouement of the tragedy; there can be no doubt that they were all
abandon d in favour of the actual ending in NE and GA. One of them,
beginning as in NE p. 143 immediately after the slaying of Brandir,
reads as follows:
now cursing Middle-earth and all the life of Men, now calling upon
Niniel. But when at last the madness left him, he walked still in the
wild bent and haggard, and pondered all his life in his thought, and
ever Niniel's image was before him. And now with opened eye he
saw her, remembering his father: there in woman's form was his
voice and his face and the bend of his brows, and his hair like to
gold, even as Turin had the dark hair and the grey eyes, the [?pale
cheek] and [illegible words] of Morwen his mother of the House of
Beor. Doubt could not be. But how had it chanced? Where then was
Morwen? Had they never reached the H[idden] K[ingdom]? How
had they met Glaurung? But no, he dared never seek Morwen.
I believe that this was a soon abandoned idea that Turin could come,
through his own reflections, to a recognition that what Brandir had
said was true. It was displaced by the story of the coming of Mablung
to the Crossings of Taiglin and meeting Turin there.
In two related passages my father entertained the idea that Turin
met Morwen before his end. The first is very brief:
And as he sat like a beggar-man near the Crossings of Taiglin, an old
woman came by bowed on a stick; ragged she was and forlorn and
her grey hair blew wild in the wind. But she gave him good-day,
saying: 'And good day it is, master, for the sun is warm, and then
hunger gnaws less. These are evil days for our likes: for I see by your
bearing that, as I and so many, you have seen prouder days. In the
summer we can drag on our lives, but who dare look beyond
winter?'
'Whither go you, lady?' he said, 'for so methinks you were once
wont to be called.'
'Nowhither,' she answered. 'I have long since ceased to seek what
I missed. Now I took for naught but what will keep me over night to
the next grey dawn. Tell me, whither goes this green road? Do any
still dwell in the deep forest? And are they as fell as wanderers' tales
tell?'
'What say they?' he asked.
This is followed on the manuscript page by 'now cursing Middle-earth
and all the life of Men' &c., leading into a draft of the final version,
where Mablung appears at the Crossings.
The second of these passages is longer, but only barely legible and in
places altogether illegible. It begins in the same way as that just given,
but Morwen's second speech ends at 'I look for naught beyond what
will keep me through the cold night to next dawn.' Then Turin speaks:
'I seek not either,' said he. 'For what I had is now lost utterly and
is gone from Middle-earth for ever. But what would you seek?'
'What would an old woman seek,' said she, 'out in the wild, but
her children, even if all say they be dead. I sought for a son once, but
he went long ago. Then I sought for my daughter, but 'tis five years
since she was lost in the wild. Five years is a long time for one young
and fair - if the Worm did not get her, the Orcs have [illegible], or
the [? cold heedless] wild.'
Then suddenly T[urin]'s heart stood still. 'What like was your
daughter, lady? Or what maybe was her name?'
The old woman told him that her daughter was tall, with golden hair
and blue eyes, fleet-footed, a lover of all things that grow;
'... Yet a little she leaped in her words, as her sire did also. Nienor
daughter of Hurin she would have named herself, an you asked her.
But maybe it would mean naught. For the name of Hurin was great
[illegible words] All- the realms [illegible words] are beaten down
and mean folk or evil are lords. Yet you are of the older folk, I deem.
I see by thy face that the old name meant somewhat to thee still.'
Turin stared at her as a man that sees a ghost. 'Yea,' said he at last
slowly. 'The name of Hurin of Hithlum and Morwen Baragund's
daughter was known to me.
Of the remainder I can only read snatches:
and Morwen and her daughter went to the Hidden Kingdom
[illegible] they say in Hithlum.' The old woman laughed bitterly.
'And what else did they say? That first Turin went there and was
used by the king in his border wars and lost, but came to
Nargothrond and that Morwen went to seek him there with tardy
aid of Thingol, but [illegible words] by the great drake Glaurung.
[illegible words] Then she wept [illegible words]
This is clearly the beginning of another narrative route whereby Turin
might learn the truth, likewise abandoned before it was developed. - A
pencilled note shows the entry of the 'Mablung-intervention':
Mablung searches and brings tidings to Thingol of Glaurung setting '
forth. This coincides with rumour (among orcs and wanderers)
that the Black Sword has reappeared in Brethil. Mablung comes to
Brethil (without orders from Thingol?) to warn Turin and bring
news of Nienor and Morwen.
Morwen should go back to Thingol and then depart as a beggar
in the wild.
Lastly, and very remarkable, there is the following synopsis of the
end of the story, written carefully on a slip, apparently over the same
or similar text set down very roughly in pencil:
Turambar sets out. Asks for two companions. Dorlas volunteers,
and speaks scorn of Brandir. Gwerin kinsman of Brandir volunteers.
Brandir is embittered. Turambar bids Niniel stay at home.
When T[urambar] has gone Niniel insists on following. Brandir
forbids but she takes no heed. Brandir appears to the Men of
Brethil, but they will not obey him - they beg Niniel to remain, but
as she will not, they will not restrain her by force. The wives of
Dorlas and Gwerin go with her. Brandir follows after them.
The slaying of the Dragon may be told more or less as already
done. But when Niniel reaches Nen Girith shuddering again takes
her, and she can go no further. The wives also are not willing to go
on - for they meet the scouts at Nen Girith and learn how near the
Worm is..... [sic]
When Turin draws his sword out of Glaurung's belly, Glaurung's
blood burns his sword hand; also Glaurung speaks to him, and says
that Niniel is his sister. Turin falls into a swoon of pain and horror.
The Dragon dies. Suddenly Niniel recovers her memory and all
her past life is revealed to her. She sits aghast. Brandir sees her
anguish, but believes that it is due to belief that Turin has been slain
- the dreadful cries of Glaurung have been heard at Nen Girith.
Niniel gets up to flee, and Brandir thinking that she will really go in
search of Turin (while Glaurung is abroad) restrains her, saying
Wait!
She turns to him, crying that this was ever his counsel, and to her
sorrow she did not take it. But he may give that counsel once too
often!
As indeed it proved. For at that moment Turin appears. When the
Dragon died his swoon also departed, but the anguish of the venom
on his hand remained. He came, therefore, to Nen Girith for help,
believing the scouts there. (It is Turin that slays Dorlas on the way?)
As Turambar appears, Niniel gives a wail, crying: 'Turin son of
Hurin! Too late have we met. The dark days are gone. But night
comes after!' 'How know you that name?' 'Brandir told me, and
behold! I am Nienor. Therefore we must part.' And with that, ere
any could hold her, she leapt over the fall of Nen Girith, and so
ended, crying 'Water, water, wash me clean! Wash me of my life!'
Then the anguish of Turin was terrible to see; and a mad fury
took him, and he cursed Middle-earth and all the life of Men. And
stooping over the falls, he cried in vain Niniel, Niniel. And he turned
in wrath upon all those that were there, against his command; and
all fled away from him, save only Brandir, who for ruth and horror
could not move. But Turin turned to him and said: 'Behold thy
work, limping evil! Had Niniel remained, as I left her, and hadst
thou not told my name, she might have been restrained from death.
I could have gone away and left her, and she might have mourned
for Turambar only.'
But Brandir cursed him, saying that their wedding could not have
thou hast shorn of all that I had, and would have - for thou art
reckless and greedy!'
Then Turin slew Brandir in his wrath. And repenting, he slew
himself (using same words to the sword).
Mablung comes with news, and is heart-stricken. The Elves help
Hurin - but N[iniel] was not there, and her body could not be
found: mayhap Celebros bore it to Taiglin and Taiglin to the Sea.
A further simplification would be to make Brandir willing to go
with Niniel, to guard her - for he thought Turin would die. j
This last sentence presumably refers to Brandir's attempt to stop
Niniel from following Turambar from Ephel Brandir.
It seems impossible actually to demonstrate at what point in the
evolution of the legend this was written, but that it is anyway as late as
the rewritten, final form of the last part of the Narn is clear from such
a detail as that Celebros is the name of the stream (see commentary on
$317). I think that it belongs with the other passages given in this
Note, in that it represents another, though far more drastic, attempt
to reach the denouement of Turin's 'recognition' - this time from
Nienor herself, who has learned the truth through no inter-
mediary, but simply from the removal of the spell on her memory by
the Dragon's death. But Mablung appears, though now after Turin's
death, and so I suspect that it is the latest of these attempts, and may
very probably have succeeded the final form of the text. Gwerin as
the name of Brandir's kinsman (Albarth, Torbarth, Hunthor)
has appeared once before, pencilled over the first occurrence of
Torbarth in GA ($322).
That my father should even have contemplated, to the extent of
roughing out a synopsis, breaking so violently the superb interlocking
narrative structure represented by the final text of the last part of the
Narn is extraordinary and hard to fathom. Did he feel that it had
become too evidently a 'structure', too complex in those interlocking
movements, reports, forebodings, chances? The concluding note ('A
further simplification would be ...') may support this. But it seems to
me most probable that he was primarily concerned with the coming of
Mablung (or indeed Morwen) as a deus ex machina at that very
moment, bearer of the irrefutable proof, which he felt to be a serious
weakness.
However this may be, the result is, I think, and granting that it is
only represented by a rapid synopsis written in a certain way, far
weaker; and since, apart perhaps from the pencilled name Gwerin in
the Grey Annals, there is no other trace of it, it may be that he thought
likewise.
NOTE 2.
A further account of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
The text of Chapter 20 in the published Silmarillion was primarily
derived from the story in the Grey Annals, but elements were
introduced from the old Chapter 16 in QS (V.307-13), and also from
a third text. This is a typescript made by my father, and to all
appearance made ab initio on his typewriter; it was explicitly intended
as a component in the long prose Tale of the Children of Hurin (the
Narn), but he had the manuscript of the Grey Annals in front of him,
and for much of its length the new version remained so close to the
Annals text that it can be regarded as scarcely more than a variant,
although unquestionably much later. For this reason, and also because
some of its divergent (additional) features had in any case been
incorporated in the Silmarillion chapter, I excluded it from the Narn in
Unfinished Tales (see pp. 65-6 and note 2 in that book), except for its
end. There is however a major divergence in the Narn account which
altogether contradicts the previous versions, and this is a convenient
place to record it, together with some other details.
The text opens as follows (the typescript was a good deal corrected
in ink, I think almost certainly very soon after it had been made, and I
adopt these corrections silently except in certain cases).
Many songs are yet sung, and many tales are yet told by the
Elves of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Battle of Unnumbered
Tears, in which Fingon fell and the flower of the Eldar withered.
If all were now retold a man's life would not suffice for the
hearing. Here then shall be recounted only those deeds which
bear upon the fate of the House of Hador and the children of
Hurin the Steadfast.
Having gathered at length all the strength that he could
Maedros appointed a day, the morning of Midsummer. On that
day the trumpets of the Eldar greeted the rising of the Sun, and
in the east was raised the standard of the Sons of Feanor; and in
the west the standard of Fingon, King of the Noldor.
Then Fingon looked out from the walls of Eithel Sirion, and
his host was arrayed in the valleys and woods upon the east
borders of Eryd-wethion, well hid from the eyes of the Enemy;
but he knew that it was very great. For there all the Noldor of
Hithlum were assembled, and to them were gathered many
Elves of the Falas and [struck out at once: a great company] of
Nargothrond; and he had great strength of Men. Upon the right
were stationed the host of Dor-lomin and all the valour of
Hurin and Huor his brother, and to them had come Hundar of
Brethil, their kinsman, with many men of the woods.
Then Fingon looked east and his elven-sight saw far off a dust
and the glint of steel like stars in a mist, and he knew that
Maedros had set forth; and he rejoiced. Then he looked towards
Thangorodrim, and behold! there was a dark cloud about it and
a black smoke went up; and he knew that the wrath of Morgoth
was kindled and that their challenge would be accepted, and a
shadow fell upon his heart. But at that moment a cry went up,
passing on the wind from the south from vale to vale, and Elves
and Men lifted up their voices in wonder and joy. For
unsummoned and unlooked-for Turgon had opened the leaguer
of Gondolin, and was come with an army, ten thousand strong,
with bright mail and long swords and spears like a forest. Then
when Fingon heard afar the great trumpet of Turgon, the
shadow passed and his heart was uplifted, and he shouted
aloud: Utulie'n aure! Aiya Eldalie ar Atanatarni, sctulie'n aure!
(The day has come! Lo, people of the Eldar and Fathers of Men, the
day has come!) And all those who heard his great voice echo
in the hills answered crying: Auta i lome! (The night is passing!)
It was not long before the great battle was joined. For
Morgoth knew much of what was done and designed by his foes
and had laid his plans against the hour of their assault. Already
a great force out of Angband was drawing near to Hithlum,
while another and greater went to meet Maedros to prevent the
union of the powers of the kings. And those that came against
Fingon were clad all in dun raiment and showed no naked steel,
and thus were already far over the sands before their approach
became known.
Then the heart of Fingon [> the hearts of the Noldor] grew
hot, and he [> their captains] wished to assail their foes on the
plain; but Hurin [> Fingon] spoke against this.
'Beware of the guile of Morgoth, lords!' he said. 'Ever his
strength is more than it seems, and his purpose other than he
reveals. Do not reveal your own strength, but let the enemy
spend his first in assault on the hills. At least until the signal of
Maedros is seen.' For it was the design of the kings that
Maedros should march openly over the Anfauglith with all his
strength, of Elves and of Men and of Dwarves; and when he had
drawn forth, as he hoped, the main armies of Morgoth in
answer, then Fingon should come on from the west, and so the
might of Morgoth should be taken as between hammer and
anvil and be broken to pieces; and the signal for this was to be
the firing of a great beacon in Dorthonion.
But the Captain of Morgoth in the west had been commanded
to draw out Fingon from his hills by whatever means he could.
It is most remarkable that in this Narn version there is no reference
whatever to the hindering of Maedros by the guile of Uldor the
Accursed; while on the other hand there is here the entirely new
statement that a second and greater force left Angband to intercept
Maedros and 'prevent the union of the powers of the kings' (contrast
GA $222, where it is said that Morgoth 'trusted in his servants to hold
back Maidros and prevent the union of his foes' - referring of course
to the machinations of Uldor). Later in this narrative, the passage
corresponding to the opening of GA $228 reads:
Then in the plain of Anfauglith, on the fourth day of the war,
there began the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, all the sorrow of which no
tale can contain. Of all that befell in the eastward battle: of the
routing of Glaurung the Drake by the Naugrim of Belegost;
of the treachery of the Easterlings and the overthrow of the host
of Maedros and the flight of the Sons of Feanor, no more is here
said. In the west the host of Fingon retreated over the sands ...
Here 'the eastward battle' is spoken of as if it were altogether
separate from the fighting in the west: there is no suggestion here that
the host of Maedros finally came up and fell upon the rear of the
enemy (GA $229). Finally, where in GA the meeting of Turgon and
Hurin in the midst of the battle is followed ($229) by the coming of
the host of Maidros, the Narn version reads:
And it is said that the meeting of Turgon with Hurin who stood
beside Fingon was glad in the midst of battle. For a while then
the hosts of Angband were driven back, and Fingon again began
his retreat. But having routed Maedros in the east Morgoth had
now great forces to spare, and before Fingon and Turgon could
come to the shelter of the hills they were assailed by a tide of
foes thrice greater than all the force that was left to them.
With these last words the Narn version returns to the GA text at
$233. Thus my father, for whatever reason, had expunged the entire
element of 'the machinations of Uldor' in delaying Maedros, and
radically altered the course of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears by
introducing the defeat and rout of the eastern host before any junction
of the forces was achieved.
In The Silmarillion I preserved (inevitably) the story as told in the
Grey Annals, but incorporated certain elements from the Narn, as
may be seen from a comparison of the opening of the latter (pp.
165 - 6) with The Silmarillion pp. 190-1: the cloud and smoke over
Thangorodrim, the great cry of Fingon, the 'dun raiment' of the force
from Angband that came towards Hithlum. Some other minor points
in this passage may be mentioned. The 'great company from Nar-
gothrond' (see $221 and commentary) is corrected (p. 166); and the
name of the leader of the men of Brethil, in GA Hundor son of Haleth
the Hunter, is changed to Hundar: later in the text his father is said to
be Halmir - an aspect of the extremely complex refashioning of the
genealogies of the Edain which need not be entered into here (see pp.
236-8).
In GA ($222), following QS ($11), it was Fingon who was all for
attacking at once the force from Angband on the plain, and Hurin
who opposed it; this was followed in the Narn, but then corrected to
make it Fingon who opposed the rashness of his captains. The change
was perhaps made for probability's sake: such prudence and experi-
ence of Morgoth should lie rather with Fingon King of the Noldor
than with Hurin, a Man of no more than thirty-one years. - Hurin
(> Fingon) urged that the western host should wait in its positions 'at
least until the signal of Maedros is seen'. In GA ($217) the occasion
of the signal of Maidros to Fingon (not particularised as a beacon
in Dorthonion) was to be the moment when the march of Maidros in
open force over Anfauglith had incited the host of Morgoth to come
forth from Angband; and owing to Uldor the Accursed the signal did
not come. In the Narn Fingon with his far sight had actually seen that
Maedros had set out, and it is also told that great force was on its way
from Angband to meet him; but it is not said that the beacon was fired.
Other features of the story as told in The Silmarillion that are not
found in GA are derived from the Narn. In the latter there is a more
detailed account of the confrontation between the two hosts, and the
riders of Morgoth come to the walls of the fortress at Eithel Sirion
(here called Barad Eithel ): thus whereas in GA Gwindor saw the
slaughter of his brother Gelmir 'across the water', in the Narn he was
'at that point in the outposts'. The account of the western battle is very
close indeed to that in GA, but the death of Fingon is differently and
more fully told (see The Silmarillion p. 193): with the coming of
Gothmog 'high-captain of Angband' Fingon was cut off from Hurin
and Turgon, who were driven towards the Fen of Serech. The speeches
of Turgon, Hurin, and Huor were scarcely changed from their form in
GA ($$234 - 5), but the needed change in Huor's words to 'I shall never
look on thy white walls again' was made (see the commentary on
$$234-5). Lastly, in the Narn it is said that Hurin 'seized the axe of an
Orc-captain and wielded it two-handed', and again Gothmog appears
(see The Silmarillion p. 195).
In the account of the Mound of the Slain the Narn version names it
Haudh-en-Ndengin, subsequently changed to Haudh-en-Nirnaeth.
The Narn text concludes with a remarkable elaboration of the
confrontation of Hurin and Morgoth on the basis of GA $$244 - 8
(itself an elaboration of QS $$21-3); this was the only part of the text
included in Unfinished Tales (pp. 66 - 8). As the speeches were typed
they were set entirely in the second person singular, 'thou wert',
'knowest thou', etc.; but my father went through it changing every
'thou' and 'thee' to 'you', and the equivalent verb-forms - and
changing 'Knowest thou' to 'Do you know' rather than 'Know you'
(also 'puissant' to 'mighty'). In this form, of course, the text was
printed in Unfinished Tales.
NOTE 3.
A further account of the coming
of Hurin and Huor to Gondolin.
As in the case of the story of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears described
in Note 2 above, there is also a version of that of Hurin and Huor in
, Gondolin found as a component of the Narn. This is even more closely
based on the story in the Grey Annals $$161 - 6: while there are many
small variations in the precise wording, virtually none are of any
moment in respect of the narrative, until the end is reached, where a
significant difference appears. This story was excluded from the Narn
in Unfinished Tales, but its existence noted: p. 146; note 1. Before the
end the only point worth mentioning is that Maeglin's words (GA
$165) are here much fiercer: 'The king's grace to you is greater than ye
know; and some might wonder wherefore the strict law is abated for
two knave-children of Men. It would be safer if they had no choice but
to abide here as our servants to their life's end.'
According to the story in GA, Hurin and Huor told when they
returned to Dor-lomin that 'they had dwelt a while in honour in the
halls of King Turgon', even though they would say nothing else.
Against this my father noted on the GA typescript (p. 127, $166):
'They did not reveal Turgon's name'; and in the Narn version they
refused altogether to declare even to their father where they had been.
This version was adopted in the published Silmarillion (p. 159), with
only a change at the end. Here the Narn text has:
Then Galion [> Galdor] questioned them no more; but he and
many others guessed at the truth. For both the oath of silence and
the Eagles pointed to Turgon, men thought.
The conclusion of the passage in The Silmarillion ('and in time the
strange fortune of Hurin and Huor reached the ears of the servants of
Morgoth') was taken from the GA version.
On these two (otherwise so closely similar) texts of the story see
further p. 314.