The Book Of Lost Tales: Part I Part 19

The wizard Tvo told Nuin that the sleepers he had found were the new Children of Ilvatar, and that they were waiting for light. He forbade any of the Elves to wake them or to visit those places, being frightened of the wrath of Ilvatar; but despite this Nuin went there often and watched, sitting on a rock. Once he stumbled against a sleeper, who stirred but did not wake. At last, overcome by curiosity, he awakened two, named Ermon and Elmir; they were dumb and very much afraid, but he taught them much of the Ilkorin tongue, for which reason he is called Nuin Father of Speech. Then came the First Dawn; and Ermon and Elmir alone of Men saw the first Sun rise in the West and come over to the Eastward Haven. Now Men came forth from Murmenalda as 'a host of sleepy children'.

(In the tale of The Hiding of Valinor it was long after the first rising of the Suns.h.i.+p from Valinor that its Haven in the East was built; see p. 21415. It is interesting that the first Men, Ermon and Elmir, were woken by Nuin before the first rising of the Sun, and although it was known to Tvo that Men were 'waiting for light' no connection is made between Nuin's act and the Sunrise. But of course one cannot judge the inner tenor of the narrative from such summaries. It is notable also that whereas the tongue of the Elves, in origin one and the same, was a direct gift of Ilvatar (p. 232), Men were born into the world without language and received it from the instruction of an Ilkorin. Cf. The Silmarillion, p. 141: 'It is said also that these Men [the people of Bor] had long had dealings with the Dark Elves east of the mountains, and from them had learned much of their speech; and since all the languages of the Quendi were of one origin, the language of Bor and his folk resembled the Elven-tongue in many words and devices.') At this point in the story the agents of Melko appear, the vanimor, 'bred in the earth' by him (vanimor, 'who are monsters, giants, and ogres', have been mentioned in an earlier tale, p. 75); and Tvo protected Men and Elves from them and from 'evil fays'. A makes mention of Orcs besides.

A servant of Melko named 'Fkil or Fangli' entered the world, and coming among Men perverted them, so that they fell treacherously upon the Ilkorins; there followed the Battle of Palisor, in which the people of Ermon fought beside Nuin. According to A 'the fays and those Men that aided them were defeated', but B calls it an 'undecided battle' and the Men corrupted by Fangli fled away and became 'wild and savage tribes', wors.h.i.+pping Fangli and Melko. Thereafter (in A only) Palisor was possessed by 'Fangli and his hosts of Nauglath (or Dwarves)'. (In the early writings the Dwarves are always portrayed as an evil people.) From this outline it is seen that the corruption of certain Men in the beginning of their days by the agency of Melko was a feature of the earliest phase of the mythology; but of all the story here sketched there is no more than a hint or suggestion, at most, in The Silmarillion (p. 141): '"A darkness lies behind us," Bor said; "and we have turned our backs upon it, and we do not desire to return thither even in thought."7 The Awakening of Men

according to the later outline

Here it is told at the beginning of the narrative that Melko's vanimor had escaped when the G.o.ds broke the Fortress of the North, and were wandering in the forests; Fankil servant of Melko dwelt uncaptured in the world. (Fankil="=Fangli" / Fkil of A and B. In C he is called 'child of Melko'. Fankil has been mentioned at an earlier point in D, when at the time of the Awakening of the Elves 'Fankil and many dark shapes escaped into the world' see p. 107, note 3.) Nuin 'Father of Speech', who went again and again to Murmenalda despite the warnings of T (which are not here specified), woke Ermon and Elmir, and taught them speech and many things else. Ermon and Elmir alone of Mankind saw the Sun arising in the West, and the seeds of Palrien bursting forth into leaf and bud. The hosts of Men came forth as sleepy children, raising a dumb clamour at the Sun; they followed it westward when it returned, and were grievously afraid of the first Night. Nuin and Ermon and Elmir taught them speech.

Men grew in stature, and gathered knowledge of the Dark Elves,8 but T faded before the Sun and hid in the bottomless caverns. Men dwelt in the centre of the world and spread thence in all directions; and a very great age pa.s.sed.

Fankil with the Dwarves and Goblins went among Men, and bred estrangement between them and the Elves; and many Men aided the Dwarves. The folk of Ermon alone stood by the fairies in the first war of Goblins and Elves (Goblins is here an emendation from Dwarves, and that from Men), which is called the War of Palisor. Nuin died at the hands of the Goblins through the treachery of Men. Many kindreds of Men were driven to the eastern deserts and the southern forests, whence came dark and savage peoples.

The hosts of Tareg the Ikorin marched North-west hearing a rumour of the Gnomes; and many of the lost kindreds joined him.

The History of the Exiled Gnomes

according to the earlier outlines

The Gnomes, after the pa.s.sage of Helkaraks, spread into Hisilm, where they had 'trouble' with the ancient Shadow Folk in that land-in A called 'fay-people', in B 'valear fays'. (We have met the Shadow Folk of Hisilm before, in the tale of The Coming of the Elves, p. 119, but there this is a name given by Men, after they were shut in Hisilm by Melko, to the Lost Elves who remained there after straying on the march from Palisor. It will be seen in the later outlines that these Shadow Folk were an unknown people wholly distinct from Elves; and it seems therefore that the name was preserved while given a new interpretation.) The Gnomes found the Waters of Asgon* and encamped there; then took place the Counting of the Folk, the birth of Turgon with 'prophecies', and the death of Fanor. On this last matter the outlines are divergent. In A it was Nlem, called also Fingolma, who died: 'his bark vanishes down a hidden way-said to be the way that Tuor after escaped by. He sailed to offer sacrifice in the islanded rock in Asgon.' (To whom was he sacrificing?) In B, as first written, it was likewise 'Fingolma (Nlem)' who died, but this was emended to Fanor; 'his bark vanished down a hidden [way]-said to be that opening that the Noldoli after enlarged and fas.h.i.+oned to a path, so that Tuor escaped that way. He sailed to the Islanded Rock in Asgon because he saw something brightly glitter there and sought his jewels.'

Leaving Asgon the Gnomes pa.s.sed the Bitter Hills and fought their first battle with Ores in the foothills of the Iron Mountains. (For the Iron Mountains as the southern border of Hisilm see p. 11112, 1589.) In the Tale of Tinviel Beren came from Hisilm, from 'beyond the Bitter Hills', and 'through the terrors of the Iron Mountains', and it thus seems clear that the Bitter Hills and the Iron Mountains may be equated.) The next camp of the Gnomes was 'by Sirion' (which here first appears); and here the Gnomes first met the Ilkorins-A adding that these Ilkorins were originally of the Noldoli, and had been lost on the march from Palisor. The Gnomes learned from them of the coming of Men and of the Battle of Palisor; and they told the Ilkorins of the tidings in Valinor, and of their search for the jewels.

Now appears for the first time Maidros son of Fanor (previously, in the tale of The Theft of Melko, the name was given to Fanor's grandfather, p. 146, 158). Maidros, guided by Ilkorins, led a host into the hills, either 'to seek for the jewels' (A), or 'to search the dwellings of Melko' (B-this should perhaps read 'search for the dwellings of Melko', the reading of C), but they were driven back with slaughter from the doors of Angamandi; and Maidros himself was taken alive, tortured-because he would not reveal the secret arts of the Noldoli in the making of jewels-and sent back to the Gnomes maimed. (In A, which still had Nlem rather than Fanor die in the Waters of Asgon, it was Fanor himself who led the host against Melko, and it was Fanor who was captured, tortured, and maimed.) Then the Seven Sons of Fanor swore an oath of enmity for ever against any that should hold the Silmarils. (This is the first appearance of the Seven Sons, and of the Oath, though that Fanor had sons is mentioned in the Tale of the Sun and Moon, p. 192.) The hosts of Melko now approached the camp of the Gnomes by Sirion, and they fled south, and dwelt then at Gorfalon, where they made the acquaintance of Men, both good and bad, but especially those of Ermon's folk; and an emba.s.sy was sent to Tvo, to Tinwelint (i.e. Thingol, see p. 132), and to Ermon.9 A great host was arrayed of Gnomes, Ilkorins, and Men, and Fingolma (Nlem) marshalled it in the Valley of the Fountains, afterwards called the Vale of Weeping Waters. But Melko himself went into the tents of Men and beguiled them, and some of them fell treacherously on the rear of the Gnomes even as Melko's host attacked them; others Melko persuaded to abandon their friends, and these, together with others that he led astray with mists and wizardries, he beguiled into the Land of Shadows. (With this cf. the reference in the tale of The Coming of the Elves to the shutting of Men in Hisilm by Melko, p. 118.) Then took place 'the terrible Battle of Unnumbered Tears'. The Children of rin* (Sons of rin, A) alone of Men fought to the last, and none (save two messengers) came out of the fray; Turgon and a great regiment, seeing the day lost, turned and cut their way out, and rescued a part of the women and children. Turgon was pursued, and there is a reference to 'Mablon the Ilkorin's sacrifice to save the host' Maidros and the other sons of Fanor quarrelled with Turgon-because they wanted the leaders.h.i.+p, A-and departed into the south. The remainder of the survivors and fugitives were surrounded, and swore allegiance to Melko; and he was wrathful, because he could not discover whither Turgon had fled.

After a reference to 'the Mines of Melko' and 'the Spell of Bottomless Dread' (the spell that Melko cast upon his slaves), the story concludes with 'the Building of Gondolin' and 'the estrangement of Men and Elves in Hisilm, owing to the Battle of Unnumbered Tears': Melko fostered distrust and kept them spying on each other, so that they should not combine against him; and he fas.h.i.+oned the false-fairies or Kaukareldar in their likeness, and these deceived and betrayed Men.10 Since the outlines at this point return to mere headings for the tales of Tinviel, Trin, etc., it is clear that Gilfanon's Tale would have ended here.

The History of the Exiled Gnomes

according to the later outline

The Gnomes sojourned in the Land of Shadows (i.e. Hisilm), and had dealings with the Shadow Folk. These were fays (C); no one knows whence they came: they are not of the Valar nor of Melko, but it is thought that they came from the outer void and primeval dark when the world was first fas.h.i.+oned. The Gnomes found 'the Waters of Mithrim (Asgon)', and here Fanor died, drowned in the Waters of Mithrim. The Gnomes devised weapons for the first time, and quarried the dark hills. (This is curious, for it has been said in the account of the Kinslaughter at Alqalunt that 'so first perished the Eldar neath the weapons of their kin', p. 165. The first acquisition of weapons by the Eldar remained a point of uncertainty for a long time.) The Gnomes now fought for the first time with the Orcs and captured the pa.s.s of the Bitter Hills; thus they escaped out of the Land of Shadows, to Melko's fear and amazement. They entered the Forest of Artanor (later Doriath) and the Region of the Great Plains (perhaps the forerunner of the later Talath Dirnen, the Guarded Plain of Nargothrond); and the host of Nlem grew to a vast size. They practised many arts, but would dwell no longer in settled abodes. The chief camp of Nlem was about the waters of Sirion; and the Gnomes drove the Orcs to the foothills of the Iron Mountains. Melko gathered his power in secret wrath.

Turgon was born to Nlem.

Maidros, 'chief son of Fanor', led a host against Angband, but was driven back with fire from its gates, and he was taken alive and tortured-according to C, repeating the story of the earlier outline, because he would not reveal the secret arts of jewel-making. (It is not said here that Maidros was freed and returned, but it is implied in the Oath of the Seven Sons that follows.) The Seven Sons of Fanor swore their terrible oath of hatred for ever against all, G.o.ds or Elves or Men, who should hold the Silmarils; and the Children of Fanor left the host of Nlem and went back into Dor Lmin, where they became a mighty and a fierce race.

The hosts of Tareg the Ilkorin (see p. 237) found the Gnomes at the Feast of Reunion; and the Men of Ermon first saw the Gnomes. Then Nlem's host, swollen by that of Tareg and by the sons of Ermon, prepared for battle; and messengers were sent out North, South, East, and West. Tinwelint alone refused the summons, and he said: 'Go not into the hills.' rin and Egnor* marched with countless battalions.

Melko withdrew all his forces and Nlem believed that he was afraid. The hosts of Elfinesse drew into the Tumbled Lands and encamped in the Vale of Fountains (Gorfalong), or as it was afterwards called the Valley of Weeping Waters.

(The outline D differs in its account of the events before the Battle of Unnumbered Tears from that in the earlier ones, here including C. In the earlier, the Gnomes fled from the camp by Sirion when Melko's hosts approached, and retreated to Gorfalon, where the great host of Gnomes, Ilkorins, and Men was gathered, and arrayed in the Valley of the Fountains. In D, there is no mention of any retreat by Nlem's hosts: rather, it seems, they advanced from the camp by Sirion into the Vale of Fountains (Gorfalong). But from the nature of these outlines they cannot be too closely pressed. The outline C, which ends here, says that when the Gnomes first encountered Men at Gorfalon the Gnomes taught them crafts-and this was one of the starting-points, no doubt, of the later Elf-friends of Beleriand.) Certain Men suborned by Melko went among the camp as minstrels and betrayed it. Melko fell upon them at early dawn in a grey rain, and the terrible Battle of Unnumbered Tears followed, of which no full tale is told, for no Gnome will ever speak of it. (In the margin here my father wrote: 'Melko himself was there?' In the earlier outline Melko himself entered the camp of his enemies.) In the battle Nlem was isolated and slain, and the Orcs cut out his heart; but Turgon rescued his body and his heart, and it became his emblem.11 Nearly half of all the Gnomes and Men who fought there were slain.

Men fled, and the sons of rin alone stood fast until they were slain; but rin was taken. Turgon was terrible in his wrath, and his great battalion hewed its way out of the fight by sheer prowess.

Melko sent his host of Balrogs after them, and Mablon the Ilkorin died to save them when pursued. Turgon fled south along Sirion, gathering women and children from the camps, and aided by the magic of the stream escaped into a secret place and was lost to Melko.

The Sons of Fanor came up too late and found a stricken field: they slew the spoilers who were left, and burying Nlem they built the greatest cairn in the world over him and the [?Gnomes]. It was called the Hill of Death.

There followed the Thraldom of the Noldoli. The Gnomes were filled with bitterness at the treachery of Men, and the ease with which Melko beguiled them. The outline concludes with references to 'the Mines of Melko' and 'the Spell of Bottomless Dread', and the statement that all the Men of the North were shut in Hisilm.

The outline D then turns to the story of Beren and Tinviel, with a natural connection from the tale just sketched: 'Beren son of Egnor wandered out of Dor Lmin* into Artanor...' This is to be the next story told by the Tale-fire (as also in outline B); in D the matter of Gilfanon's Tale is to take four nights.

If certain features are selected from these outlines, and expressed in such a way as to emphasize agreement rather than disagreement, the likeness to the narrative structure of The Silmarillion is readily apparent. Thus: -The Noldoli cross the Helkaraks and spread into Hisilm, making their encampment by Asgon (Mithrim); -They meet Ilkorin Elves (=manyar); -Fanor dies; -First battle with Orcs; -A Gnomish army goes to Angband; -Maidros captured, tortured, and maimed; -The Sons of Fanor depart from the host of the Elves (in D only); -A mighty battle called the Battle of Unnumbered Tears is fought between Elves and Men and the hosts of Melko; -Treachery of Men, corrupted by Melko, at that battle; -But the people of rin (Hrin) are faithful, and do not survive it; -The leader of the Gnomes is isolated and slain (in D only); -Turgon and his host cut their way out, and go to Gondolin; -Melko is wrathful because he cannot discover where Turgon has gone; -The Fanorians come late to the battle (in D only); -A great cairn is piled (in D only).

These are essential features of the story that were to survive. But the unlikenesses are many and great. Most striking of all is that the entire later history of the long years of the Siege of Angband, ending with the Battle of Sudden Flame (Dagor Bragollach), of the pa.s.sage of Men over the Mountains into Beleriand and their taking service with the Noldorin Kings, had yet to emerge; indeed these outlines give the effect of only a brief time elapsing between the coming of the Noldoli from Kr and their great defeat. This effect may be to some extent the result of the compressed nature of these outlines, and indeed the reference in the last of them, D, to the practice of many arts by the Noldoli (p. 240) somewhat counteracts the impression-in any case, Turgon, born when the Gnomes were in Hisilm or (according to D) when they were encamped by Sirion, is full grown at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.12 Even so, the picture in The Silmarillion of a period of centuries elapsing while Morgoth was straitly confined in Angband and 'behind the guard of their armies in the north the Noldor built their dwellings and their towers' is emphatically not present. In later 'phases' of the history my father steadily expanded the period between the rising of the Sun and Moon and the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. It is essential, also, to the old conception that Melko's victory was so complete and overwhelming: vast numbers of the Noldoli became his thralls, and wherever they went lived in the slavery of his spell; in Gondolin alone were they free-so in the old tale of The Fall of Gondolin it is said that the people of Gondolin 'were that kin of the Noldoli who alone escaped Melko's power, when at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears he slew and enslaved their folk and wove spells about them and caused them to dwell in the h.e.l.ls of Iron, faring thence at his will and bidding only'. Moreover Gondolin was not founded until after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.13 Of Fanor's death in the early conception we can discern little; but at least it is clear that it bore no relation to the story of his death in The Silmarillion (p. 107). In these early outlines the Noldoli, leaving Hisilm, had their first affray with the Orcs in the foothills of the Iron Mountains or in the pa.s.s of the Bitter Hills, and these heights pretty clearly correspond to the later Mountains of Shadow, Ered Wethrin (see p. 158, 238); but in The Silmarillion (p. 106) the first encounter of the Noldor with the Orcs was in Mithrim.

The meeting of Gnomes and Ilkorins survived in the meeting of the new-come Noldor with the Grey-elves of Mithrim (ibid. p. 108); but the Noldor heard rather of the power of King Thingol of Doriath than of the Battle of Palisor.

Whereas in these outlines Maidros son of Fanor led an attack on Angband which was repulsed with slaughter and his own capture, in The Silmarillion it was Fingolfin who appeared before Angband, and being met with silence prudently withdrew to Mithrim (p. 109). Maidros (Maedhros) had been already taken at a meeting with an emba.s.sage of Morgoth's that was supposed to be a parley, and he heard the sound of Fingolfin's trumpets from his place of torment on Thangorodrim-where Morgoth set him until, as he said, the Noldor forsook their war and departed. Of the divided hosts of the Noldor there is of course no trace in the old story; and the rescue of Maedhros by Fingon, who cut off his hand in order to save him, does not appear in any form: rather is he set free by Melko, though maimed, and without explanation given. But it is very characteristic that the maiming of Maidros-an important 'moment' in the legends-should never itself be lost, though it came to be given a wholly different setting and agency.

The Oath of the Sons of Fanor was here sworn after the coming of the Gnomes from Valinor, and after the death of their father; and in the later outline D they then left the host of (Finw) Nlem, Lord of the Noldoli, and returned to Dor Lmin (Hisilm). In this and in other features that appear only in D the story is moved nearer to its later form. In the return to Dor Lmin is the germ of the departure of the Fanorians from Mithrim to the eastern parts of Beleriand (The Silmarillion p. 112); in the Feast of Reunion that of Mereth Aderthad, the Feast of Reuniting, held by Fingolfin for the Elves of Beleriand (ibid. p. 113), though the partic.i.p.ants are necessarily greatly different; in the latecoming of the Fanorians to the stricken field of Unnumbered Tears that of the delayed arrival of the host of Maedhros (ibid. p. 1902); in the cutting-off and death of (Finw) Nlem in the battle that of the slaying of Fingon (ibid. p. 193-when Finw came to be Fanor's father, and thus stepped into the place of Bruithwir, killed by Melko in Valinor, his position as leader of the hosts in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears was taken by Fingon); and in the great cairn called the Hill of Death, raised by the Sons of Fanor, that of the Haudh-en-Ndengin or Hill of Slain, piled by Orcs in Anfauglith (ibid. p. 197). Whether the emba.s.sy to Tvo, Tinwelint, and Ermon (which in D becomes the sending of messengers) remotely antic.i.p.ates the Union of Maedhros (ibid. p. 1889) is not clear, though Tinwelint's refusal to join forces with Nlem survived in Thingol's rejection of Maedhros' approaches (p. 189). I cannot certainly explain Tinwelint's words 'Go not into the hills', but I suspect that 'the hills' are the Mountains of Iron (in The Hiding of Valinor, p. 209, called 'the Hills of Iron') above Angband, and that he warned against an attack on Melko; in the old Tale of Turambar Tinwelint said: 'Of the wisdom of my heart and the fate of the Valar did I not go with my folk to the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.'

Other elements in the story of the battle that survived-the steadfastness of the folk of rin (Hrin), the escape of Turgon-already existed at this time in a tale that had been written (that of Trin).

The geographical indications are slight, and there is no map of the Great Lands for the earliest period of the legends; in any case these questions are best left until the tales that take place in those lands. The Vale (or Valley) of the Fountains, afterwards the Valley (or Vale) of Weeping Waters, is in D explicitly equated with Gorfalong, which in the earlier outlines is given as Gorfalon, and seems to be distinct; but in any case neither these, nor 'the Tumbled Lands', can be brought into relation with any places or names in the later geography-unless (especially since in D Turgon is said to have fled 'south down Sirion') it may be supposed that something like the later picture of the Pa.s.s of Sirion was already in being, and that the Vale of the Fountains, or of Weeping Waters, was a name for it.

NOTES.

1 Above Turuhalm are written Duruchalm (struck out) and Halmadhurwion.

2 This paragraph is marked with queries.

3 The word may be read equally well as 'dim' or 'dun'.

4 The original reading here was: 'and few of his folk went with him, and this T forbade to his folk, fearing the wrath of Ilvatar and Manw yet did' (sc. curiosity overcome Nuin, etc.).

5 Earlier in the Tales, 'the Lost Elves' are those who were lost from the great journey and wandered in Hisilm (see p. 118).

6 In the tale the 'fairies' of T's dominion (i.e. the Dark Elves) are given the name Hisildi, the twilight people; in outlines A and B, in addition to Hisildi, other names are given: Humarni, Kaliondi, Lmarni.

7 Cf. also Sador's words to Trin in his boyhood (Unfinished Tales p. 61): 'A darkness lies behind us, and out of it few tales have come. The fathers of our fathers may have had things to tell, but they did not tell them. Even their names are forgotten. The Mountains stand between us and the life that they came from, flying from no man now knows what.'

8 Cf. The Silmarillion p. 104: 'It is told that ere long they met Dark Elves in many places, and were befriended by them; and Men became the companions and disciples in their childhood of these ancient folk, wanderers of the Elven-race who never set out upon the paths to Valinor, and knew of the Valar only as a rumour and a distant name.'

9 Above Ermon is written, to all appearance, the Old English word sc ('ash'). It seems conceivable that this is an anglicizing of Old Norse Askr ('ash'), in the northern mythology the name of the first man, who with the first woman (Embla) were made by the G.o.ds out of two trees that they found on the seash.o.r.e (Vlusp strophe 17; Snorra Edda, Gylf.a.ginning 8).

10 The text has here the bracketed word '(Gongs)'. This might be thought to be a name for the Kaukareldar or 'false-fairies', but in the Gnomish word-list Gong is defined as 'one of a tribe of the Orcs, a goblin'.

11 The cutting out of Nlem's heart by the Orcs, and its recapture by Turgon his son, is referred to in an isolated early note, which says also that Turgon encased it in gold; and the emblem of the King's Folk in Gondolin, the Scarlet Heart, is mentioned in the tale of The Fall of Gondolin.

12 Cf. p. 167: 'Turondo son of Nlem was not yet upon the Earth.' Turgon was the Gnomish name of Turondo (p. 115). In the later story Turgon was a leader of the Noldor from Valinor.

13 After the story was changed, and the founding of Gondolin was placed far earlier, the concluding part of The Silmarillion was never brought into harmony; and this was a main source of difficulty in the preparation of the published work.

APPENDIX.

NAMES IN THE LOST TALES-PART I.

There exist two small books, contemporary with the Lost Tales, which contain the first 'lexicons' of the Elvish languages; and both of them are very difficult doc.u.ments.

One is concerned with the language called, in the book, Qenya, and I shall refer to this book as 'QL' (Qenya Lexicon). A good proportion of the entries in the first half of the alphabet were made at one time, when the work was first begun; these were very carefully written, though the pencil is now faint. Among these original entries is this group: Lemin 'five'

Lempe 'ten'

Leminkainen '23'

The choice of '23' suggests that this was my father's age at the time, and that the book was begun therefore in 1915. This is supported by some of the statements made in the first layer of entries about certain figures of the mythology, statements that are at odds with everything that is said elsewhere, and which give glimpses of a stage even earlier than the Lost Tales.

The book naturally continued in use, and many entries (virtually all of those in the second part of the alphabet) are later than this first layer, though nothing more definite can be said than that all entries belong to the period of (or not long preceding) the Lost Tales.

The words in QL are arranged according to 'roots', and a note at the beginning states: Roots are in capitals, and are not words in use at all, but serve as an elucidation of the words grouped together and a connection between them.

There is a good deal of uncertainty, expressed by queries, in the formulation of the roots, and in the ascription of words to one root or another, as my father moved among different etymological ideas; and in some cases it seems clear that the word was 'there', so to speak, but its etymology remained to be certainly defined, and not vice versa. The roots themselves are often difficult to represent, since certain consonants carry diacritic marks that are not defined. The notes on names that follow inevitably give a slightly more positive impression than does the book itself.

The other book is a dictionary of the Gnomish language, Goldogrin, and I shall refer to this as 'GL' (Goldogrin, or Gnomish, Lexicon). This is not arranged historically, by roots (though occasionally roots are given), but rather, in plan at least, as a conventional dictionary; and it contains a remarkable number of words. The book is ent.i.tled iLam naNgoldathon (i.e. 'the tongue of the Gnomes'): Goldogrin, with a date: 1917. Written beneath the t.i.tle is Eriol Sarothron (i.e. 'Eriol the Voyager'), who else is called Angol but in his own folk Ottor Wfre (see p. 23).*

The great difficulty in this case is the intensity with which my father used this diminutive book, emending, rejecting, adding, in layer upon layer, so that in places it has become very hard to interpret. Moreover later changes to the forms in one entry were not necessarily made in related entries; thus the stages of a rapidly expanding linguistic conception are very confused in their representation. These little books were working materials, by no means the setting-out of finished ideas (it is indeed quite clear that GL in particular closely accompanied the actual composition of the Tales). Further, the languages changed even while the first 'layer' was being entered in GL; for example, the word m 'sheep' was changed later to moth, but later in the dictionary uimoth 'sheep of the waves' was the form first written.

It is immediately obvious that an already extremely sophisticated and phonetically intricate historical structure lies behind the languages at this stage; but it seems that (unhappily and frustratingly) very little indeed in the way of phonological or grammatical description now survives from those days. I have found nothing, for instance, that sets out even in the sketchiest way the phonological relations between the two languages. Some early phonological description does exist for Qenya, but this became through later alterations and subst.i.tutions such a baffling muddle (while the material is in any case intrinsically extremely complex) that I have been unable to make use of it.

To attempt to use later materials for the elucidation of the linguistic ideas of the earliest period would in this book be quite impractical. But the perusal of these two vocabularies shows in the clearest possible way how deeply involved were the developments in the mythology and in the languages, and it would be seriously misleading to publish the Lost Tales without some attempt to show the etymological connections of the names that appear in them. I give therefore as much information, derived from these books, as is possible, but without any speculation beyond them. It is evident, for instance, that a prime element in the etymological constructions was slight variation in ancient 'roots' (caused especially by differences in the formation of consonants) that in the course of ages yielded very complex semantic situations; or again, that an old vocalic 'ablaut' (variation, in length or quality, of vowels in series) was present; but I have thought it best merely to try to present the content of the dictionaries as clearly as I can.

It is noteworthy that my father introduced a kind of 'historical punning' here and there: so for instance the root SAHA 'be hot' yields (beside saiwa 'hot' or sra 'fiery') Sahra 'the South', and from NENE 'flow' come nen 'river', nenu 'yellow water-lily', and nenuvar 'pool of lilies'-cf. nenuphar 'water-lily', modern French nenufar. There are also several resemblances to early English that are obviously not fortuitous, as hr 'old', HERE 'rule', rm 'secret (whisper)'.

It will be seen that a great many elements in the later languages, Quenya and Sindarin, as they are known from the published works, go back to the beginning; the languages, like the legends, were a continuous evolution, expansion, and refinement. But the historical status and relations.h.i.+p of the two languages as they were conceived at this time was radically changed later on: see p. 51.

The arrangement of the material has proved difficult, and indeed without a better understanding of relations.h.i.+ps and their s.h.i.+fting formulations could scarcely be made satisfactory. The system I have adopted is to give etymologically-connected groups of words, in both Qenya and Gnomish, under an important name that contains one of them; to this entry other occurrences of a word in the group are referred (e.g. glor- in Glorvent, Brglorin is referred to the entry Laurelin, where the etymological a.s.sociations of Qenya laur 'gold' are given).* Every name in the Lost Tales of this volume is given-that is, if any contemporary etymological information is to be found concerning it: any name not found in the following list is either quite opaque to me, or at least cannot be identified with any certainty. Rejected names are also included, on the same basis, but are given under the names that replaced them (e.g. Dor Uswen under Dor Faidwen).

The list of secondary names of the Valar which is written out on blank facing pages in the tale of The Coming of the Valar (see p. 93) is referred to as 'the Valar name-list'. The sign < is="" used="" only="" where="" it="" is="" used="" in="" the="" gnomish="" dictionary,="" as="" alfa="">< alchwa,="" meaning="" that="" the="" one="" was="" historically="" derived="" from="" the="" other:="" it="" is="" not="" used="" in="" this="" appendix="" to="" refer="" to="" alterations="" made="" by="" my="" father="" in="" the="" dictionaries="">

Ainur Among the original entries in QL are ainu 'a pagan G.o.d' and aini 'a pagan G.o.ddess', together with ye 'hail!' and Ainatar 'Ilvatar, G.o.d'. (Of course no one within the context of the mythology can call the Ainur 'pagan'.) GL has Ain: 'also with distinctive masc. and fem. forms Ainos and Ainil, a G.o.d, i.e. one of the Great Valar'.

Alalminr See Aldaron, Valinor. In QL Alalminr is glossed 'Land of Elms, one of the provinces of Inwinr in which is situated Kortirion (Warwicks.h.i.+re)' i.e. Alalminr="Warwicks.h.i.+re" (see p. 25). Gnornish words are laln or larm, also lalmir, 'elm'.

Aldaron In QL is a root ALA 'spread', with derivatives alda 'tree', alda 'tree-shadowed', aldon 'avenue of trees', and alalm 'elm' (see Alalminr). In GL this name of Orom appears as Aldor and Ormaldor (Orom is Orma in Gnomish); ald 'wood (material)', later altered to l.

Alqalunt QL alqa 'swan' GL alcwi, with the corresponding word in Qenya here given as alq, alcwi changed later to alfa <>

QL lunt 's.h.i.+p' from root LUTU, with other derivatives lto 'flood' and verb lutta-, lutu- 'flow, float' (cf. Ilsalunt). GL has correspondingly lunta 's.h.i.+p', lud- 'flow, stream, float'.

Aluin See Lmin.

Amillo This appears in QL but with no indication of meaning; A million is Amillo's month, February (one of the most 'primitive' entries).

Angaino Together with angaya.s.s 'misery', angaitya 'torment', Angaino is given in QL separately from the 'iron' words (see Angamandi) and was first defined as 'a giant', emended to 'the great chain'. In GL Melko has a name Angainos, with a note: 'Do not confuse Gnomish Angainos with Qenya Angaino (Gnomish Gainu), the great chain of tilkal.' Under Gainu there is a later note: 'popularly connected with ang "iron" but really = "tormentor".'

Angamandi QL has anga 'iron' (which is the a of tilkal, p. 100), angaina 'of iron', Angaron(ti) 'Mountains of Iron', and Angamandu or Eremandu 'h.e.l.ls of Iron' (added later: 'or Angamandi, plural'). The Gnomish forms are ang 'iron' (as in Angol, see under Eriol), angrin 'of iron', Angband-which, strangely, is said in GL to be 'Melko's great fortress after the battle of Countless Lamentation down to the battle of the Twilit Pool' (when Tulkas finally overthrew Melko). See Mandos.

Angol See Eriol.

Arvalin See Eruman.

Aryador This is said (p. 119) to be the name among Men of Hisilm but according to GL it was a word of Ilkorin origin, meaning 'land or place of shadow' QL Arandor, Aranor 'name of a mountainous district, the abode of the Shadow Folk' (see p. 237). See Eruman.

Asgon GL has Asgon 'name of a lake in Dor Lmin (Hisilm), Q. Aksanda' QL has aksa 'waterfall', of which the Gnomish equivalent is given as acha of the same meaning. (No light is cast on the later name Mithrim in the dictionaries.) Aul A word aul 's.h.a.ggy' is given in QL as a derivative from a root owo (whence also oa 'wool', u 'fleece'), but without any indication that this is to be connected with the name of the Vala. The Gnomish form of his name is la, changed to li, without further information. In the Valar name-list Aul is called also Tamar or Tamildo. These are given in QL without translation under root TAMA 'smelt, forge', with tamb 'copper' (the t of tilkal, p. 100), tambina 'of copper', tamin 'forge' Gnomish words are tam 'copper', tambin 'of copper', tambos 'cauldron'. For other names of Aul see Talka Marda.