VIII.
THE RING GOES SOUTH.
The intractable problems that had beset The Lord of the Rings thus far
were now at last resolved. The identity of Trotter had been decisively
established, and with the work done in successive versions of 'The
Council of Elrond' his place and significance in the history of
Middle-earth was already made firm - meagre though that history still
was by comparison with the great structure that would afterwards be
raised on these foundations. The hobbits were equally secure in
number and in name, and the only Bolger who ever roved far afield
would rove no more. Bombadil is to play no further part in the history
of the Ring. Most intractable of all, the question of what had
happened to Gandalf was now conclusively answered; and with that
answer had arisen (as it would turn out) a new focal point in the
history of the War of the Ring: the Treason of Isengard.
There still remained of older narrative writing the journey of the
Company of the Ring from Rivendell to the Red Pass beneath
Caradras, and the passage of the Mines of Moria as far as Balin's
tomb. One major question remained, however, and a final decision
must imperatively be made: who were the members of the Company
to be?
Notes and drafts written on the 'August 1940' examination script
show my father pondering this further. One manuscript page reads as
follows:
Chapter XV. Cut out converse in garden.(1)
Begin by saying hobbits were displeased with Sam.
Tell them of the scouts going out.
Elrond then says union of forces is impossible. We cannot send or
summon great force to aid Frodo. We must send out messages to
all free folk to resist as long as possible, and that a new hope,
though faint, is born. But with Frodo must go helpers, and they
should represent all the Free Folk. Nine should be the number to
set against the Nine Evil Servants. But we should support the war
in Minas Tirith.
Galdor Legolas (2)
Hobbits. Frodo. 1
Sam (promised) 2
Wizard. Gandalf 3
Elf. Legolas 4
Half-elf. Erestor 5
The road should go to Minas Tirith, therefore so far at least
should go:
Men. Aragorn 6
Boromir 7
Dwarf. Gimli son of Gloin 8
Merry, Pippin. They insist on going. [Struck out:
Pippin only if Erestor does not go.] Elrond says there may be .
work in the Shire, and it may prove ill if they all go.
Shall Pippin return to the Shire?
Then come preparations, and the scene with Bilbo and Frodo and
giving of Sting &c.
Here the number of Nine members of the Company, expressly
corresponding to the Nine Ringwraiths, is reached;(3) but even so there
remains a doubt as to its composition where the hobbits are concerned
(see p. 115), and my father's lingering feeling that one at least should
return to the Shire at this stage was still a, factor, especially since the
inclusion of Erestor 'Half-elf'(4) took the number to eight. But this was
the last moment of indecision. A short draft, written hastily in ink on
the same paper, introduces t he final complement of the Company of
the Ring. On it my father pencilled: 'Sketch of reduction of the
choosing of the Company'.(5)
In the end after the matter had been much debated by Elrond and
Gandalf it was decided that the Nine of the Company of the Ring
should be the four hobbits, aided by Gandalf; and that Legolas
should represent the Elves, and Gimli son of Gloin the Dwarves. On
behalf of Men Aragorn should go, and Boromir. For they were
going to Minas Tirith, and Aragorn counselled that the Company
should go that way, and even maybe go first to that city. Elrond was
reluctant to send Merry and Pippin, but Gandalf [?supported].
My father now proceeded to a new text of 'The Ring Goes South';
and of preliminary work nothing survives, if any existed, apart from a
few passages in rough drafting from the beginning of the chapter. The
new version is a good clear manuscript in ink, using in part the
'August 1940' script that had been used for the drafting of major
developments in 'The Council of Elrond'. The story now advanced
confidently, and for long stretches scarcely differs from that in FR in
the actual wording of the narrative and the speeches of the characters.
There are a number of later emendations, a good many of which can
be shown to come from a little later in the same period of composition.
As written, the chapter had no title, various possibilities being
pencilled in afterwards: although in the original text, when the chapter
was continuous with 'The Council of Elrond', there was a sub-heading
'The Ring Goes South' (VI.415), my father now tried also 'The
Company of the Ring Departs' and 'The Ring Sets Out'.
Since the previous chapter now ended where it ends in FR, at
the conclusion of the Council, the ensuing conversation among the
hobbits, interrupted by Gandalf, was moved to the beginning of 'The
Ring Goes South'. My father now took up his direction to 'cut out
converse in garden' (see note 1), and the chapter begins exactly as in
FR, with the hobbits talking in Bilbo's room later on the same day,
and Gandalf looking in through the window. The new conversation
almost reaches the form in FR (pp. 285 - 7), and only the following
differences need be mentioned. Gandalf speaks of 'the Elves of
Mirkwood', not of 'Thranduil's folk in Mirkwood', and he does not
say that 'Aragorn has gone with Elrond's sons' (who had not yet
emerged); and Bilbo's remarks about the season of their departure
were first written:
'... you can't wait now till Spring, and you can't go till the scouts
come back. So off you go nice and comfortable just when winter's
beginning to bite.'
'Quite in the Gandalf manner,' said Pippin.
'Exactly,' said Gandalf.
This was replaced at once by Bilbo's verse (When winter first begins to
bite) that he speaks here in FR. Lastly, Gandalf says: 'In this matter
Elrond will have [the decision >] much to say, and your friend
Trotter, Aragorn the tarkil, too' (FR: 'and your friend the Strider').
While still writing the opening of the chapter, my father hesitated
about the structure. One possibility seems to have been to keep the
new conversation in Bilbo's room but to put it back into the end of
'The Council of Elrond', ending at Sam's remark 'And where will they
live? That's what I often wonder'; another, to cut out the conversation
among the hobbits, and Gandalf's intervention at the window, almost
in its entirety. He went so far as to provide a brief substitute passage;
but decided against it.(6)
The chronology in FR, according to which the Company stayed
more than two months in Rivendell and left on 25 December, had not
yet entered. In the second version of 'The Council of Elrond', which
continued for some distance into the narrative of 'The Ring Goes
South', 'the hobbits had been some three weeks in the house of Elrond,
and November was passing' when the scouts began to return; and at
the Choosing of the Company the date of departure was settled for
'the following Thursday, November the seventeenth' (pp. 113, 115).(7)
In the new text the same was said ('some three weeks ... November
was passing'), but this was changed, probably at once, to 'The hobbits
had been nearly a month in the house of Elrond, and November was
half over, when the scouts began to return'; and subsequently (as in
FR p. 290) Elrond says: 'In seven days the Company must depart.' No
actual date for the leaving of Rivendell is now mentioned, but
it had been postponed to nearer the end of the month (actually to
24 November, see p. 169).
The account of the journeys of the scouts moves on from the
previous versions (VI.415 - 16 and VII.113 - 14), and largely attains the
text in FR, apart from there being, as at the beginning of the chapter,
no mention of Aragorn's having left Rivendell, nor of the sons of
Elrond. Those scouts who went north had gone 'beyond the Hoarwell
into the Entishlands', and those who went west had 'searched the
lands far down the Greyflood, as far as Tharbad where the old North
Road crossed the river by the ruined town'. This is where Tharbad first
appears. Those who had climbed the pass at the sources of the
Gladden had reached the old home of Radagast at Rhosgobel': this is
where Rhosqobel is first named, and in the margin my father wrote
'Brown hay'.(10)
These last had returned up the Redway (11) and over the high pass
that was called the Dimrill Stair'. The name 'Dimrill Stair' for the pass
beneath Caradras has appeared in later emendations to the original
version of 'The Ring Goes South' (VI.433 - 4, notes 14 and 21). In the
present passage the name was not emended at any stage; but further
on in the chapter, where in this text Gandalf says 'If we climb the pass
that is called the Dimrill Stair ... we shall come down into the deep
dale of the Dwarves', my father (much later) emended the manuscript
to the reading of FR (p. 296): 'If we climb the pass that is called the
Redhorn Gate ... we shall come down by the Dimrill Stair into the
deep vale of the Dwarves' (and thus Robert Foster, in The Complete
Guide to Middle-earth, defines Dimrill Stair as 'Path leading from
Azanulbizar to the Redhorn Pass'). The name of the pass (called in this
text the 'Dimrill Pass' as well as the 'Dimrill Stair') was changed also
at other occurrences in this chapter, but at this place my father having
missed it in the manuscript it was retained in the typescript that soon
followed (note 6), and so survived into FR, p. 287: 'over the high pass
that was called the Dimrill Stair' - an error that was never picked up.
The Choosing of the Company is found in this manuscript in two
alternative versions. Though the essential content is the same in both,
and both end with the inclusion of Merry and Pippin after Gandalf's
advocacy, the one written first is rather nearer to the preceding version
(pp. 113 - 15): the chief difference between them being that in the first
the formation of the Company is seen as it takes place, whereas in the
second (which is almost identical to the form in FR) the deliberations
have been largely completed and Elrond announces the decision to the
hobbits.(12)
There are several differences worth noticing in the first of these
versions. After Gandalf's remark that his fate 'seems much entangled
with hobbits' Elrond says: 'You will be needed many times before the
journey's end, Gandalf; but maybe when there is most need you will
not be there. This is your greatest peril, and I shall not have peace till I
see you again.' The loss of Gandalf was of course foreseen (VI.443,
462). Aragorn, after saying to Frodo that since he himself is going to
Minas Tirith their roads lie together for many hundreds of leagues,
adds: 'Indeed it is my counsel that you should go first to that city'. And
after saying that for the two unfilled places needed to make nine he
may be able to find some 'of my own kindred and household' Elrond
continues (but the passage was at once deleted): 'The elf-lords I may
not send, for though their power is great it is not great enough. They
cannot walk unhidden from wrath and spirit of evil, and news of the
Company would reach Mordor by day or night.'
In these passages, and throughout the rest of the chapter (in
intention), Aragorn was again changed to Elfstone, and son of
Kelegorn to son of Elfhelm (see pp. 277 - 8), as also was Trotter,
except where he is directly addressed thus by one of the hobbits.
The reforging of the Sword of Elendil now enters, and the descrip-
tion of it is at once precisely as in FR (p. 290), with the 'device of seven
stars set between the crescent moon and the rayed sun', save that the
reforged sword is given no name. This was added in somewhat later:
'And Elfstone gave it a new name and called it Branding' (see p. 274
and note 19).
For the next part of the chapter (Bilbo and Frodo during the last
days at Rivendell) my father simply took over the actual manuscript
pages of the second version of 'The Council of Elrond', from 'The
weather had grown cold... ' (p. 115); this passage was already close
to the form in FR.(13) After I should like to write the second book, if I
am spared' (which is where the second version of 'The Council of
Elrond' ended) my father wrote on the manuscript 'Verses?', but
Bilbo's song I sit beside the fire and think is not found in this
manuscript. The original workings for the song are extant, however,
and certainly belong to this time.(14)
The day of departure was 'a cold grey day near the end of
November' (see p. 164). At first there were two ponies, as in the
original version (VI.416), but 'Bill' bought in Bree, and greatly
invigorated by his stay in Rivendell, was substituted as my father
wrote.(15) The departure was at this time much more briefly treated
than it is in FR: there is no blowing of Boromir's war-horn, no account
of the arms borne by each member of the Company or of the clothing
provided by Elrond, and no mention of Sam's checking through his
belongings - so that the important minor element of his discovery that
he has no rope is absent (cf. pp. 183, 280).
The story of the journey from Rivendell to Hollin is now very close
to FR, but there are differences in geography and geographical names,
which were evolving as the new version progressed. The journey had
still taken 'some ten days' to the point where the weather changed
(VI.418), whereas in FR it took a fortnight; and there was only one
great peak, not three. An Elvish name for Hollin: 'Nan-eregdos in the
elfspeech was added, apparently at the time of writing.(16) Gandalf
estimates that they have come 'fifty leagues as the crow flies' ('five-
and-forty leagues as the crow flies' FR, 'eighty leagues' in the original
version). And where in the first version, in reply to the observation of
Faramond (Pippin) that since the mountains are ahead they must have
turned east, Gandalf said 'No, it is the mountains that have turned', he
now replies, 'No, it is the mountains that have bent west' (FR: 'Beyond
those peaks the range bends round south-west'). On this difficult
question of geography see VI.440 - 1.
Gimli's speech about the Mountains is present, almost word for
word as in FR, except that the three peaks not yet being devised his
words 'we have wrought the image of those mountains into many
works of metal and of stone, and into many songs and tales' seem to
have a more general bearing. But he continues (as in FR): 'Only once
before have I seen them from afar in waking life, but I know them and
their names, for under them lies Khazad-dum, the Dwarrowdelf, that
is now called the Black [Gulf >] Pit,(17) Moria in the elvish tongue', and
it seems that he is here speaking of certain notable and outstanding
peaks, distinctive in the chain of the Misty Mountains, beneath which
lay Moria. (The three great Mountains of Moria were in any case just
about to enter, in Gimli's next speech.) Here he says, as in FR, 'Yonder
stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras', 'cruel' being altered
at the moment of writing from 'the windy', and that from 'the tall', as
also was Caradhras from Caradras.(18) And he speaks also of Azanul-
bizar, the Dimrill-dale that elves call Nanduhirion .(19)
Gandalf's reply, and Gimli's further words about the Mirrormere,
are a difficult complex of rapid changes in the manuscript, when new
elements are seen at the moment of emergence. With some slight doubt
as to the precise sequence of correction, the passage seems to have
developed thus:
'It is for Dimrill-dale that we are making,' said Gandalf. 'If we
climb the pass that is called the Dimrill Stair under the red side
of Caradhras, we shall come down into the deep dale of the
Dwarves.(20) There the River [Redway rises in the black wat(er)
Morthond Blackroot >] Morthond the cold rises in the Mirror-
mere.'
'Dark is the water of Kheledzaram,' said Gimli, 'and mirrors
only the far sky and three white peaks; and cold is the water of
Buzundush. My heart trembles at the thought that I may see
them soon.'
Obviously, it was as my father began to write the words he intended:
'the River Redway rises in the black wat[er of the Mirrormere]' that he
changed the name of the river to Morthond, 'Blackroot'; and I think
that it was here also that the three peaks above Moria entered,
mirrored in the water.(21) He then wrote a new passage, no doubt
intended to supersede part of that just given, but struck it out,
probably immediately:
There lies Kheledzaram, the Mirror-mere, deep and dark, in
which can be seen only the far sky and three white peaks. From
it issues Buzundush, the Blackroot River, Morthond cold and
swift. My heart trembles at the thought that I may see them
soon.'(22)
Gandalf replying said: '... we at least cannot stay in that valley. We
must go down the Morthond into the woods of Lothlorien...' (FR:
'into the secret woods'). This is where, as it seems, the name
Lothlorien first appears. And when Merry asked: 'Yes, and where
then?' the wizard answered: 'To the end of the journey - in the end. It
may be that you will pass through Fangorn, which some call the
Topless Forest. But we must not look too far ahead....' The reference
to Fangorn was deleted.
Several versions of Legolas' words about the forgotten Elves of
Hollin were written before the final form was achieved: the first reads:
'That is true,' said Legolas. 'But the Elves of this land were of
a strange race, and the spirit that dwells here is alien to me, who
am of the woodland folk. Here dwelt Noldor, the Elven-wise,
and all the stones about cry to me with many voices: they built
high towers to heaven, and delved deep to earth, and they are
gone. They are gone. They sought the Havens long ago.'
The story of the great silence over all the land of Hollin, the flights
of black crows, Pippin's disappointment at the news and Sam's failure
to comprehend the geography, the mysterious passage of something
against the stars, and the sight of Caradhras close before them on the
third morning from Hollin, all this is told in words that remained
virtually unchanged in FR, save for a few details. Trotter says that the
crows are 'not natives to this place', but does not add that 'they are
crebain out of Fangorn and Dunland'; and after saying that he has
glimpsed many hawks flying high up, he says 'That would account for
the silence of all the birds', this being struck out immediately (see
VI.420 and note 17). Sam calls Caradhras 'this Ruddyhorn, or
whatever its name is', as he did in the original version (VI.421), but
Ruddyhorn was then to be its accepted English name (VI.419 and note
11).
As the Company walked on the ancient road from Hollin to the
Pass, the moon rose over the mountains almost at the full'; as in the
original version it is said that the light was unwelcome to Trotter and
Gandalf, and 'they were relieved when at last late in the night the
moon set and left them to the stars'. In the original text it was a
crescent moon (VI.421 and note 19), and 'it stayed but a little while';
in FR the moon was full, and still low in the western sky when the
shadow passed across the stars.
In the original version it was Trotter who favoured the passage of
Moria, Gandalf who favoured the Pass, and what they said was
coloured by their opinions. This was still the case when my father
came to the new version, although what is said is virtually what is said
in FR (p. 300):
'Winter is behind,' [Gandalf] said quietly to Trotter. 'The
peaks away north are whiter than they were; snow is lying far
down their shoulders.'
'And tonight,' said Trotter, 'we shall be on our way high up
the Dimrill Stair. If we are not seen by watchers on that narrow
path, and waylaid by some evil, the weather may prove as
deadly an enemy as any. What do you think of our course now?'
Frodo overheard these words [@c. as in FR]
'I think no good of any part of our course from beginning to
end, as you know well, Aragorn', answered Gandalf, his tone
sharpened by anxiety. 'But we must go on. It is no good our
delaying the passage of the mountains. Further south there are
no passes, till one comes to the Gap of Rohan. I do not trust that
way, since the fall of Saruman. Who knows which side now the
marshals of the Horse-lords serve?'
'Who knows indeed!' said Trotter. 'But there is another way,
and not by the pass beneath Caradhras: the dark and secret way
that we have spoken of.'
'And I will not speak of it again. Not yet. Say nothing to the
others, I beg. Nor you, Frodo,' said Gandalf, turning suddenly
towards him. 'You have listened to our words, as is your right
as Ring-bearer. But I will not say any more until it is plain that
there is no other course.'
'We must decide before we go further,' said Gandalf.
'Then let us weigh the matter in our minds, while the others
rest and sleep,' answered Trotter.
Since the speakers of the last two speeches are out of order with the
preceding conversation, it was at this point that my father 'realised'
that it was Trotter and not Gandalf who especially feared Moria, and
at once changed the text of the passage accordingly.
Gandalf s words to the Company at the end of his discussion with
Trotter, and the whole account of the snowstorm, are very much as in
FR (pp. 300 - 2), though in the latter part of this chapter the actual
wording underwent more development later to reach the FR text than
had been the case till now. Boromir says that he was born in the Black
Mountains (see VI.436, note 31); and the reference to Bilbo alone of
hobbits remembering the Fell Winter of the year 1311 is absent.
Another use of names from the legends of the Elder Days, immediately
rejected, appears in Boromir's words about the snowstorm: 'I wonder
if the Enemy has anything to do with it? They say in my land that he
can govern the storms in [struck out: Mountains of Shadow Daedeloth
Delduath] the Mountains of Shadow that lie on the confines of
Mordor.'(23)
In Frodo's dream, as he fell into a snow-sleep, Bilbo's voice said:
Snowstorm on December the ninth (in the original version 2 Decem-
ber, VI.424; in FR 12 January). The journey from Rivendell to Hollin
had taken 'some ten days' (p. 165); and a chronological scheme that
seems clearly to derive from this time and to fit this narrative gives the
date of departure from Rivendell as the evening of Thursday 24
November. According to this scheme the Company reached Hollin on
6 December, the journey from Rivendell having thus taken eleven days
(and twelve nights), and 'Snow on Caradras' is dated 9 December.
The liquor that Gandalf gives to the Company from his flask is still
called 'one of Elrond's cordials', as in VI.424, and the name miruvor
does not appear. Gandalf, as the flame sprang up from the wood, said:
'I have written Gandalf is here in signs that even the blind rocks could
read', but he does not say, as he thrusts his staff into the faggot, naur
an edraith ammen!(24)
The account of the descent remains distinctively different from the
story in FR, and closer to the original (VI.426 - 7), despite the fact that
Trotter was there still a hobbit, and Gimli and Legolas not present.
'The sooner we make a move and get down again the better,'
said Gandalf. 'There is more snow still to come up here.'
Much as they all desired to get down again, it was easier said
than done. Beyond their refuge the snow was already some feet
deep, and in places was piled into great wind-drifts; and it was
wet and soft. Gandalf could only get forward with great labour,
and had only gone a few yards on the downward path when he
was floundering in snow above his waist. Their plight looked
desperate.
Boromir was the tallest of the Company, being above six feet
and very broad-shouldered as well. 'I am going on down, if I
can,' he said. 'As far as I can make out our course of last night,
the path turns right round that shoulder of rock down there.
And if I remember rightly, a furlong or so beyond the turn there
was a flat space at the top of a long steep slope - very heavy
going it was as we came up. From that point I might be able to
get a view, and some idea of how the snow lies further down.'
He struggled slowly forward, plunging in snow that was
everywhere above his knees, and in places rose almost shoulder-
high. Often he seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his
great arms rather than walking. At last he vanished from sight
and passed round the turn. He was long gone, and they began to
be anxious, fearing that he had been engulfed in some drift or
snow-filled hollow, or had fallen over the hidden brink into the
ravine.
When more than an hour had passed they heard him call. He
had reappeared round the bend in the path and was labouring
back towards them, 'I am weary,' he said; 'but I have brought
back some hope. There is a deep wind-drift just round the turn,
and I was nearly buried in it, but fortunately it is not wide.
Beyond it the snow suddenly gets less. At the top of the slope it
is barely a foot deep, and further down, white though it looks,
it seems to be but a light coverlet: only a sprinkling in places.'
'It is the ill will of Caradras,' muttered Gimli. 'He does not
love dwarves, or elves. He has cast his snow at us with special
intent. That drift was devised to cut off our descent.'
'Then Caradras happily has forgotten that we have with us a
mountaineer who knows his far kindred, the peaks of the Black
Mountains,' said Gandalf. 'It was a good fortune that gave us
Boromir as a member of our Company.'
'But how are we to get through this drift, even if we ever get
as far as the turn?' asked Pippin, voicing the thoughts of all the
hobbits.
'It is a pity,' said Legolas, 'that Gandalf cannot go before us
with a bright flame, and melt us a path.'
'It is a pity that Elves cannot fly over mountains, and fetch the
Sun to save them,' answered Gandalf. 'Even I need something to
work on. I cannot burn snow. But I could turn Legolas into a
flaming torch, if that will serve: he would burn bright while he
lasted.'
'Spare me!' cried Legolas. 'I fear that a dragon is concealed in
the shape of our wizard. Yet a tame dragon would be useful at
this hour.'
'It will be a wild dragon, if you say any more,' said Gandalf.
'Well, well! When heads are at a loss, bodies must serve, as
they say in my country,' said Boromir. 'I have some strength still
left; and so has Aragorn. We must use that, while it lasts. I will
carry one of the Little Folk, and he another. Two shall be set on
the pony, and led by Gandalf.'
At once he set about unlading Bill. 'Aragorn and I will come
back when we have got the Little Folk through,' he said. 'You,
Legolas and Gimli, can wait here, or follow behind in our track,
if you can.' He picked up Merry and set him on his shoulders.
Trotter took Pippin. Frodo was mounted on the pony, with Sam
clinging behind. They ploughed forward.
At last they reached and passed the turn, and came to the edge
of the drift. Frodo marvelled at the strength of Boromir, seeing
the passage that he had already forced through it with no better
tool than his sword and his great arms.(25) Even now, burdened
as he was with Merry clinging on his back, he was thrusting the
snow forward and aside, and widening the passage for those
who followed. Behind him Trotter was labouring. They were in
the midst of the drift, and Boromir and Merry were almost
through, when a rumbling stone fell from the slope above and,
hurtling close to Frodo's head, thudded deep into the snow. But
with the casting of that last stone the malice of the mountain
seemed to be expended, as if it were satisfied that the invaders
were in retreat and would not dare to return. There was no
further mishap.
On the flat shelf above the steep slope they found, as Boromir
had reported, that the snow was only shallow. There they
waited, while Trotter and Boromir returned with the pony to
fetch the packs and burdens and give some help to Legolas and
the dwarf.
By the time they were all gathered together again morning
was far advanced.
It was Gandalf's reply here ('It is a pity that Elves cannot fly over
mountains, and fetch the Sun to save them') to Legolas' remark
(originally Boromir's, VI.426) about melting a path that led to
Legolas' saying in FR 'I go to find the Sun!', and was very probably (as
I think) the source of the idea that the Elf, so far from being as
helplessly marooned as Gimli, Gandalf, and the hobbits, could run upon
the snow. It is noticeable that Gandalf's real ill-humour in the original
version is here diminished, while in FR it has probably disappeared.
The remainder of the chapter is as in FR, but it ends thus:
The wind was blowing stiffly again over the pass that was
hidden in cloud behind them; already a few flakes of snow were
curling and drifting down. Caradras had defeated them. They
turned their backs on the Dimrill Stair, and stumbled wearily
down the slope.
NOTES.
1. This refers to the story, first appearing in the original version of
'The Council of Elrond' (VI.407) and retained in the second
(p. 112), that Gandalf came upon the hobbits walking in the
woods in the afternoon following the Council.
2. This is probably the point at which my father determined on the
change of Galdor to Legolas (see p. 141). Legolas Greenleaf the
keen-eyed thus reappears after many years from the old tale of
The Fall of Gondolin (II.189, etc.); he was of the House of the
Tree in Gondolin, of which Galdor was the lord.
3. In fact, nine had been the original number, in the first sketch for
'The Council of Elrond' (VI.397): Frodo, Sam; Gandalf; Glorfin-
del; Trotter; Burin son of Balin; Merry, Folco, Odo. It is curious
to see how close in its conception the complement of the
Company was at the very beginning to the final form, though it
was at once rejected.
4. On Erestor 'Half-elf' see VI.400 and note 17.
5. The word 'reduction' may however imply that the first of two
alternative versions of the final 'Choosing of the Company' had
already been written; see note 12.
6. This latter option survived into a typescript text made not long
after (probably by myself), where the long and short openings of
the chapter are set out one after the other as variants.
7. On the days of the week in relation to the dates see p. 14. Frodo's
escape over the Ford of Bruinen took place on Thursday 20
October. If precisely three weeks are counted from that day we
are brought to Thursday 10 November.
8. Tharbad: see the Etymologies, V.392, stem THAR; and see Map
II on p. 305.
9. In the original form of the passage (VI.416) and in that in the
second version of 'The Council of Elrond', as well as in the
present text, my father wrote 'the sources of the Gladden'. This
was obviously based on the Map of Wilderland in The Hobbit,
where the Gladden, there of course unnamed, rises in several
streams falling from the Misty Mountains (these are not shown
on the First Map (Map II, p. 305), but the scale there is much
smaller). In the typescript that followed the present text the typist
put source, and my father corrected it to sources. I suspect
therefore that source in FR is an error.
10. Rhosgobel has appeared previously, but as a subsequent addition
to the fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond' (p. 149); the
present passage is clearly where the name was devised. In
Brownhay 'Brown' is evidently to be associated with Radagast
'the Brown', and 'hay' is the old word meaning 'hedge', as in the
High Hay, Ringhay (= Crickhollow, VI.299). For the etymology
of Rhosgobel see V.385, Noldorin rhosc 'brown' (stem RUSKA),
and V.380, Noldorin gobel 'fenced homestead', as in Tavrobel
(stem PEL(ES)).
11. Redway: original name of the Silverlode.
12. The brief account of the 'Choosing' given on p. 162 may be
compared: 'In the end after the matter had been much debated by
Elrond and Gandalf it was decided... ' It is possible that this text
followed the first and preceded the second of the alternative
versions: my father referred to the second as the 'short version'
(though it is not markedly shorter than the other), which may
explain why he noted on the brief draft text that it was a sketch of
a 'reduction' of the choosing of the Company. - As with the
variant openings of the chapter (note 6) both alternatives were
retained in the typescript.
13. A few minor changes were introduced (but not the mention of
the lay of Beren and Luthien heard by the hobbits in the Hall of
Fire); Bilbo now refers to the fact that Frodo's sword had been
broken (see p. 136, note 7), but does not produce the pieces (and
the mailcoat remains 'elf-mail', not 'dwarf-mail').
14. In these workings the last verse (for which there is a preparatory
note: 'He ends: but all the while he will think of Frodo') reads:
But all the while I sit and think
I listen for the door,
and hope to hear the voices come
I used to hear before.
This is the form of the verse in the typescript text, where the song
first appears in the chapter.
15. A halfway stage is found in a draft for the passage: here there
were still two pack-ponies, but one of them was the beast bought
in Bree; this Sam addresses as 'Ferny', though it is also called
'Bill'. Cf. the note about Bill Ferny's pony given on p. 9: 'Does
this remain at Rivendell? - Yes.'
16. Eregion was written in subsequently (this name appears in the
isolated text given on p. 124). No Elvish name is given in the
typescript.
17. This is the first occurrence of the name Dwarrowdelf. Cf. my
father's letter to Stanley Unwin, 15 October 1937 (Letters no.
17): 'The real "historical" plural of dwarf ... is dwarrows,
anyway: rather a nice word, but a bit too archaic. Still I rather
wish I had used the word dtuarrow.' - 'Black Gulf' as a
translation of Moria is found several times in the original text of
'The Ring Goes South', once as a correction of 'Black Pit'
(VI.435, note 24).
18. This is the first occurrence of the Dwarvish name Barazinbar,
concerning which my father wrote long after (in the notes
referred to in VI.466, notes 36, 39) that Khuzdul baraz (BRZ)
probably = 'red, or ruddy', and inbar (MBR) a horn, Sindarin
Caradhras < caran-rass being a translation of the Dwarvish
name. - Subsequently both Caradhras and Caradras occur as
the manuscript was originally written, but the latter far more
frequently.
19. On Azanulbizar see VI.465, note 36. Nanduhirion here first
occurs, but the form Nanduhiriath is found as an emendation to
the text of the original version of the chapter, VI.433, note 13.
20. On Dimrill Stair as the name of the Redhorn Pass see p. 164.
21. The names of the other Mountains of Moria were not devised at
once, however, since though entered on the manuscript they are
still absent from the typescript, where my father inserted them in
the same form. As first devised, the names of the other peaks were
Silverhorn, Celebras (Kelebras) the White (in FR Silvertine,
Celebdil), and the Horn of Cloud, Fanuiras the Grey (in FR
Cloudyhead, Fanuidhol); the Dwarvish names were as in FR,
Baraz, Zirak, Shathur (but Zirak was momentarily Zirik). In the
later notes referred to in note 18 my father said that since Shathur
was the basic Dwarvish name the element probably refers to
'cloud', and was probably a plural 'clouds'; Bund(u) in the fuller
name Bundu-shathur 'must therefore mean "head" or something
similar. Possibly bund ( BND) - u - Shathur "head in/of clouds>.
On Zirak and the longer form Zirakzigil see note 22.
22. When Silverlode superseded Blackroot, as it did before the
original text of the 'Lothlorien' story was completed, the passage
was changed to its form in FR: Dark is the water of Kheled-
zaram," said Gimli, "and cold are the springs of Kibil-nala."'
The name Kheledzaram first appears in these variant passages;
see VI.466, note 39, where I cited my father's much later note
explaining the name as meaning 'glass-pool'. In the same notes he
discussed the Dwarvish word for 'silver':
Zirak-zigil should mean 'Silver-spike' (cf. 'Silvertine', and
Celebdil < Sindarin celeb 'silver' + till 'tine, spike, point'). But
'silver' is evidently KBL in Kibil-nala - KBL seems to have
some connexion with Quenya telep- 'silver'. But all these
peoples seem to have possessed various words for the precious
metals, some referring to the material and its properties, some
to their colour and other associations. So that zirak (ZRK) is
probably another name for 'silver', or for its grey colour. Zigil
is evidently a word for 'spike' (smaller and more slender than a
'horn'). Caradhras seems to have been a great mountain
j
tapering upwards (like the Matterhorn), while Celebdil was
simply crowned by a smaller pinnacle.
Still later pencilled notes reversed this explanation, suggesting
that zigil (ZGL) meant 'silver' and zirak meant 'spike'. - Of
Kibil-nala my father noted that 'the meaning of nala is not
known. If it corresponds to rant [in Celebrant] and lode [in
Silverlode], it should mean "path, course, rivercourse or bed".'
He added later: 'It is probable that the Dwarves actually found
silver in the river.'
23. Delduath: 'Deadly Nightshade', Taur-na-Fuin; Dor-Daedeloth:
'Land of the Shadow of Dread', the realm of Morgoth. See
references in the Index to Vol. V, entries Delduwath, Dor-
Daideloth.
24. Literally: 'fire be for saving of us'.
25. The passage that follows here must have been rejected as soon as
written:
As he stepped forward Boromir suddenly stumbled on some
hidden point of stone, and fell headlong. Trotter, who was just
behind, was taken unawares and fell on top of him. Merry and
Pippin were flung from their shoulders and vanished deep into
the snow.
This, though changed to suit the altered story of the descent, was
derived from the old version, VI.427.
IX.
THE MINES OF MORIA (1):
THE LORD OF MORIA.
It seems very probable, if not actually demonstrable, that a new
version of the first part of the Moria story (corresponding to FR II
Chapter 4, 'A Journey in the Dark') preceded the first draft of its
continuation, and I therefore give the texts in their narrative sequence.
The original draft of 'The Mines of Moria' (VI.445-60) had come to
an end as the Company stood before the tomb of Balin, and at this
time the narrative of The Lord of the Rings went no further - apart
from a preliminary sketch of the further events in Moria, VI.442 - 3
and 462. This therefore is the last chapter for which formed narrative
from an earlier phase of work existed.
In a manuscript that bears a distinct resemblance in style to that of
the new version of 'The Ring Goes South' described in the last chapter,
my father now rewrote the first part of the story of the journey
through the Mines. As in the last chapter, there are a few pages of
rough initial drafting for particular passages, but (unless more have
been lost) the development of the new version was very largely
achieved in the actual writing of this manuscript, which is a mass of
(mostly small) corrections made at the time of composition. Of
subsequent pencilled emendation there is not a great deal, for the text
of FR II.4 was effectively reached here: for most of its length the only
differences from the final form are extremely minor points of sentence
structure and choice of words, with no significance for the narrative,
and for substantial stretches the two texts are identical. There are
however certain features where this is not the case.
The chapter, numbered XVI, was given a title, 'The Mines of Moria
(i)'. Pencilled titles were written in beside this: 'The Lord of Moria'
and 'The Tomb'; the latter was struck through, and the typescript that
followed this manuscript was titled: 'The Mines of Moria (1): The
Lord of Moria'. The original version had included the debate of
the Company after the descent from the Pass of Cris-caron and the
discussion of Moria in 'The Ring Goes South' (VI.428 - 30), and 'The
Mines of Moria' had begun at 'Next day the weather changed again'
(VI.445; FR p. 313). Now, of course, the new chapter XVI follows on
from the end of the new chapter XV, and the division is as in FR.
Aragorn is called Trotter throughout, and throughout Trotter was
changed later in pencil to Elfstone (see pp. 277 - 8).
In the debate of the Company Boromir's references to the geography
of the southern lands are very curious (cf. FR p. 309):
'It is a name of ill-omen,' said Boromir. 'Nor do I see the need
to go there. If we cannot cross the mountains, let us take the
road to my land that I followed on my way hither: through
Rohan and the country of Seven Streams. Or we could go on far
into the South and come at length round the Black Mountains,
and crossing the rivers Isen and Silverlode (1) enter Ond from the
regions nigh the sea.'
'Things have changed since you came north, Boromir,' said
Gandalf. 'Did you not hear what I told of Saruman? We must
not come near Isengard or the Gap of Rohan. As for the even
longer road, we cannot afford the time....'
The remainder of Gandalf's reply is very much as in FR, except that he
tells Boromir that 'you are free to leave us and return to Minas Tirith
by any road you choose.'
The 'Seven Rivers' have been referred to in the first version of
Gandalf's story to the Council of Elrond, where he reported Rada-
gast's words to him (p. 132): 'even if you set out this hour you will
hardly come to him [Saruman] before the Nine cross the Seven Rivers'
(in the next version this becomes 'before the Nine have crossed the
seventh river', p. 149).
Features of the geography much further to the South were already in
being. Before the story had got very much further it is made plain that
'the Land of Seven Streams' lay 'between the mountains [i.e. the Black
Mountains, the later White Mountains] and the sea' (see p. 272); yet
Boromir's words here seem only to allow of a quite contrary inter-
pretation of 'the country of Seven Streams'. The choices he proposes
are essentially as in FR: through Rohan from the West (i.e. passing
through the Gap of Rohan) and so to Minas Tirith, or going on South,
crossing the Isen, and coming to Minas Tirith through the lands
between the mountains and the sea; but they will traverse 'the country
of Seven Streams' if they choose the first option, and pass north of the
mountains. I cannot explain this, except on the assumption that it was
a mere slip, or else on the assumption that the geography of these
regions was still in a more fluid state than one would otherwise
suppose.
The river Isen first appears here in the narrative,(2) and the 'Silver-
lode', which was afterwards the 'Blackroot', the two names being
transposed (see p. 235). In this passage also are the first occurrences of
an Elvish name for Sauron's dwelling in Southern Mirkwood, and of
the name Barad-dur:
'I alone of you have ever been in the dungeons of the Dark Lord;
and only in his older and lesser dwelling at Dol-Dugol in
Southern Mirkwood. Those who pass the gates of Barad-dur,
the Dark Tower in the Land of Shadow, do not return.'
The confusion over Thror and Thrain is no longer present: 'Yet it will
not be the first time that I have been to Moria: I sought there long for
Thrain son of Thror after he was lost.' And Trotter utters his warning
to Gandalf (on the change of roles between Gandalf and Trotter in
their willingness to consider the passage of Moria see p. 168).
The episode of the attack by the Wargs enters in this text, and
reached virtually the final form outright, with relatively little correc-
tion in the course of composition;(3) and the account of the journey of
the Company from the little hill where the attack took place to the
arrival of Gandalf, Gimli, and Frodo at the top of the steps by the Stair
Falls reaches the FR text in almost every point.(4) But Gandalf's words
when they saw what had happened to the Gate-stream were much
changed. At first he made no reference to the Door(s); then the
following was substituted:
'That is where the Door stood once upon a time,' said
Gandalf pointing across the water to the cliff opposite. But
Frodo could see nothing that marked the spot, unless it was
some bushes at the foot of the wall, and some rotting stems and
branches that stood up from the water near its further side.
This was in turn rejected and replaced by:
'That is where the Doors stood once upon a time,' said
Gandalf pointing across the water. 'There was the Elven-door at
the end of the road from Hollin by which we have come, [struck
out: and the Dwarven-door further south]. We must get across
[struck out: to the Elven-door] as quickly as we can. This way is
blocked....'
The idea that there were two distinct western entrances to Moria
had appeared in the original version, where Gandalf said (VI.429):
'There were two secret gates on the western side, though the chief
entrance was on the East.' Gandalf's words in the present passage in
FR (p. 315): 'And there the Gate stood once upon a time, the Elven
Door at the end of the road from Hollin by which we have come'
derive from this, although in the context of FR, where there is no
'Dwarven Door', the 'Elven Door' is understood in relation to what
Gandalf said subsequently: 'the West-door was made chiefly for [the
Elves'] use in their traffic with the Lords of Moria' (an idea which in
fact goes back to the original version, VI.448: 'the westgates were
made chiefly for their use in their traffic with the dwarves'). See further
p. 191 and note 3.
The many references to the Moon in this part of the chapter were
almost all removed by emendation to the typescript that followed this
manuscript, and do not appear in FR. All references to the time of day,
and the sunset, are here precisely as in FR to this point in the story, but
after the words 'The day was drawing to its end' (FR p. 315) my father
wrote: 'and the moon was already shining on the edge of the sunset',
where FR has 'and cold stars were glinting in the sky high above the
sunset'. As Pippin, the last in the Company (in FR Sam), stepped onto
the dry ground after wading through the 'green and stagnant pool'
(following the old version: in FR 'a narrow creek') at the north-
ernmost end of the lake, and there was 'a swish, followed by a plop' in
the distant water, 'at that moment shadows came over the last gleams
of the sunset, and the rising moon was veiled in a passing cloud.'
'Rising' can only be a slip without significance; but here FR has: 'The
dusk deepened, and the last gleams of the sunset were veiled in cloud.'
The two great holly-trees beneath the cliff stood 'stiff, dark, and silent,
throwing deep shadows in the moon', where FR has 'throwing deep
night-shadows about their feet'. Thus in FR there is no reference to the
moon until Gandalf passed his hands over the smooth space on the
cliff-wall and 'The Moon now shone upon the grey face of the rock'.
After this point, other references to the Moon were similarly
removed. When Gandalf's spells had no effect, it is said here that 'the
moon shone pale, the wind blew cold, and the doors stood fast'; in FR
'the countless stars were kindled,' etc. When the doors at last opened,
'a shadowy stair could be seen climbing steeply up. The moonlight fell
upon the lower steps, but beyond the darkness was deeper than night';
in FR the reference to the moonlight on the steps is absent. The
tentacles of the Watcher in the Water 'came wriggling over the
threshold, glistening in the moon', where FR (p. 322) has 'glistening in
the starlight'. But inside Moria, when Gandalf stood in doubt before
the archway opening into three passages, and said in the present text
'It is all night inside here; but outside the moon has long sunk and the
night is getting old [> the moon is sinking and the dark hours are
passing]', in FR he said 'outside the late Moon is riding westward and
the middle-night has passed.'
My father had said that six nights before, the first night march of the
Company from Hollin (p. 167), the Moon was 'almost at the full' ('at
the full', FR); and on the previous night, when the Wargs attacked
again, 'the night was old, and westward the waning moon was setting'
(so also in FR). My father had forgotten this, and as he wrote the
present version he evidently saw a young moon in the West ('shining
on the edge of the sunset'). When he realised that the moon must now
be almost into its last quarter and rising late he changed the text as
described above; but surely the reference to the moon shining on the
cliff-face should have been removed with all the others?(5)
A narrative element that came to nothing is seen in some rejected
passages. While Gandalf was 'gazing at the blank wall of the cliff' (FR
p. 317) it is said that Legolas (who in FR was 'pressed against the rock,
as if listening') 'exploring southward along the lake-side was lost in
the twilight ., and when the ripples on the water came closer to the
shore 'the voice of Legolas was calling; his feet were running in haste
towards them.' As Bill the pony dashed away into the darkness
'Legolas ran up breathless with his drawn knife in his hand; he was
talking wildly in the elvish tongue' - but this was evidently rejected as
soon as written in view of what is said subsequently, when Gandalf
drove the Company into the doorway: 'Legolas at last came running
up, gasping for breath' and sprang over the tentacles that were already
fingering the cliff-wall; 'Gimli grasped him by the hand and draped
him inside.' It was at this point that my father abandoned the idea.(6)
As first written, the description of the design that Gandalf brought
to light was scarcely developed from the original account (VI.449).
Beneath the arch of interlacing letters 'in the elvish character' there
were 'the outlines of an anvil and hammer surmounted by a crown and
crescent moon. More clearly than all else there shone forth three stars
with many rays.' It is now Gimli, not Gandalf, who says 'There are the
emblems of Durin!', and Legolas says 'And there are the star-tokens of
the High-elves!' Gandalf still says that 'they are made of some silver
substance that is seen only when touched by one who knows certain
words', but he adds: 'and I guess too that they shine only in the
moonlight' (in the original text, when the story was that the sun was
shining on the cliff-wall, he said 'at night under the moon they shine
most bright'). His words were changed, apparently at once, to the text
of FR: 'They are made of ithildin (7) that mirrors only the starlight and
the moonlight, and sleeps until it is touched by one who speaks words
now long forgotten in Middle-earth.'
The description of the design itself was changed to read:
... the outlines of an anvil and hammer surmounted by a crown
with seven stars. Below were two trees bearing a crescent moon.
More clearly than all else there shone forth in the middle of the
door a single star with many rays.
'There are the emblems of Durin!' cried Gimli.
'And there is the Tree of the High-elves!' said Legolas.
'They are made of ithildin,' said Gandalf...
Gandalf's reference in FR to 'the Star of the House of Feanor' is thus
absent.
There is found in this manuscript, as an integral part of the text, the
earliest drawing of the arch and the signs beneath (reproduced on p.
182).(8) It will be seen that this drawing fits the revised description, in
that the crown is accompanied by seven stars, there are two trees
surmounted by crescent moons, and there is only one star in the
centre, not three as in the first description. The natural assumption
would be that the alteration of the description in the text, which
stands on the page preceding the drawing, was made immediately; but
in that case it is very puzzling that a little later in this version, when
Gandalf uttered the word Mellon, 'the three stars shone out briefly,
and faded again' (which was not corrected).
Taum Santoski has provided the explanation of this characteristic
textual impasse. The fuzziness at the top of the trees is caused by heavy
erasures; and he suggests that in the drawing as it was originally made,
accompanying the first description in the text, there were three stars:
the one in the centre was retained, but the two to either side were
erased and replaced by trees. I have no doubt whatever that this is the
correct solution. The revised description in the text thus fits the revised
drawing; and at that time my further merely failed to notice the
subsequent reference to the three stars when Gandalf spoke the word
Mellon.
An erasure above the crown shows that there was originally a
crescent moon here, as in the first form of the description. Taum
Santoski has also been able to see that in a preliminary stage of the
introduction of the two trees they were larger, and each had both a
circle (whether a sun or a full moon) and a crescent above it.(9)
When Gandalf was striving to find the spell that would open the
doors he said that he once knew 'every spell in all the tongues of Elf,
Dwarf, or Goblin' (FR 'of Elves or Men or Orcs') that was ever so
used; he did not say 'I shall not have to call on Gimli for words of the
secret dwarf-tongue that they teach to none'; and he declared that 'the
opening word was Elvish' (FR 'the opening words were Elvish') -
anticipating the solution of the riddle. The words of the first spell that
Gandalf tried remain exactly as in the original version (VI.451); but as
already indicated the opening word is now Mellon as in FR, not the
plural Mellyn as formerly.
When Frodo asked Gandalf what he thought of the monster in the
water of the lake (FR p. 323) Gandalf at first replied: 'I do not know. I
have never before seen or heard tell of such a creature'. This was
struck out and replaced by the words in FR, 'but the arms were all
guided by one purpose'. Possibly in relation to this, there is a pencilled
note at this point in the manuscript: '? Insert words of Gimli saying
that there were traditions among the Dwarves about strangling fingers
in the dark.' - 'Goblins' appear again, as in the old version, where FR
has 'Orcs', in Gandalf's 'There are older and fouler things than goblins
in the deep places of the world.'
In the account of the two long marches through Moria there are
The West Gate of Moria:
the earliest drawing of the inscription and signs.
scarcely any differences to be remarked. It is 'the hobbits' (not Pippin)
who dared not make the leap over the great fissure (FR p. 325); and
Sam's mention of rope ('I knew I'd want it, if I hadn't got it!') is absent
- just as the passage in which he goes through his belongings before
leaving Rivendell and discovers that he has no rope ('Well, I'll want it.
I can't get it now', FR p. 294) is absent from the preceding chapter (p.
165).(10)
When the Company came to the great hall in which they passed the
second night (and which Gandalf declared, as in FR, was a good deal
higher than 'the Dimrill Gate'), Gimli replied thus to Sam's question
'They didn't live down in these nasty darksome holes, surely?':
'They were not nasty holes, and even now they are not so,
unless others than the dwarves here made them so. How would
you have passed through, and breathed and lived, if it were not
for the skill of the builders long ago? Though many shafts, I
doubt not, are blocked and broken with the years, the air still
flows and is for the most part good. And of old the halls and
mines were not darksome
Here the text breaks off, all of Gimli's speech being struck through
and replaced by his words in FR: 'These are not holes. This is the great
realm and city of the Dwarrowdelf. And of old it was not darksome
but full of light and splendour, as [I will sing you a song >] is still
remembered in our songs.' There is an isolated draft for this rejected
speech of Gimli's, in which it is completed: 'And of old they were not
darksome: they were lit with many lights and sparkled with polished
metals and with gems.'
Gimli's song here appears (in a rider to the manuscript) written out
clear in its final form (but with countless lamps for shining lamps in
the third verse, and There ruby, beryl, opal pale for There beryl, pearl,
and opal pale in the fourth). A few pages of rough drafting are found
(one of which begins with the draft of Gimli's words in praise of
Moria just mentioned), but these do not carry the development of the
song very far; more workings must have been lost. Only the verse
beginning The world was fair, the mountains tall was achieved here,
and there is little else save fragmentary and rejected lines. There is also
drafting (no doubt the earliest) for a form in four-line stanzas with a
rhyme scheme aaba and internal rhyme in the third line; of this three
quatrains were completed:
The world was young, the mountains green,
No mark upon the moon was seen,
When Durin came and gave their name
To lands where none before had been.
nameless lands bad been.
The world was fair, the mountains tall,
With gold and silver gleamed his hall,
When Durin's throne of carven stone
Yet stood behind the guarded wall.
The world is dark, the mountains old,
In shadow lies the heaped gold;
In Durin's halls no hammer falls,
The forges' fires are grey and cold.
Among many other half-formed lines or couplets are:
When Durin woke and gave to gold
its first and secret name of old
When Durin carne to Azanul
and found and named the nameless pool (11)
There are also the isolated words Where Nenechui cold > Where cold
Echuinen spills. Nen Echui has occurred as the Noldorin name for
Cuivienen, the Waters of Awakening (V.366, 406); here my father was
pondering its application to Mirrormere (for the much later Elvish
name Nen Cenedril 'Lake Looking-glass' see VI.466, note 39).
On one of the pages of drafting for Gimli's song my father wrote:
'Gandalf on Ithil Thilevril (12) Mithril' (i.e. Gandalf is to speak on this
subject). This is the first appearance of the name Mithril, replacing the
passing Thilevril, Ithil, and the original Erceleb (see VI.458 and notes
34-5); and an isolated page of drafting shows my father developing
Gandalf's account of it. This text begins with various forms of
Gandalf's reply to Sam's question 'Are there piles of jewels and gold
lying about here then?' Several answers to this question were tried. In
one Gandalf said: 'There may be.... For the wealth of Durin was very
great: not only in such things as were found in the Mines themselves.
There was a great traffic to his gates from East and West.' In another
he said: 'No. The dwarves carried much away; and though the dread
of its dark mazes has protected Moria from Men and Elves it has not
defended it from the goblins, who have often invaded it and plundered
it.' Against these my father wrote: 'Mithril is now nearly all lost. Orcs
plunder it and pay tribute to Sauron who is collecting it - we don't
know why - for some secret purpose of his weapons notfor
beauty.'(13)
The final version here, written in a rapid scrawl with pencilled
additions and alterations, is as follows:
'No one knows,' said Gandalf. 'None have dared to seek for
the armouries and treasure chambers down in the deep places
since the dwarves fled. Unless it be plundering orcs. It is said
that they were laid under spells and curses, when the dwarves
fled.'
'They were,' said Gimli, 'but orcs have plundered often inside
Moria nonetheless [added: and nought is left in the upper
halls].'
'They came here because of Mithril,' said Gandalf. 'It was for
that that Moria was of old chiefly renowned, and it was the
foundation of the wealth and power of Durin: only in Moria
was mithril found save rarely and scantily. Moria-silver or
true-silver some have called it. Mithril was the Elvish name: the
dwarves have a name which they will not tell. Its value was
thrice that of gold, and now is beyond price. It was nearly as
heavy as lead, malleable as copper, but the dwarves could by
some secret of theirs make it as hard as [> harder than] steel. It
surpassed common silver in all save beauty, and even in that it is
its equal. [Added: It was used by the Elves who dearly loved it -
among many other things they [?wrought] it to make ithildin.
Also perhaps to be placed here: ... the dwarflords of Khazad-
dum were wealthier than any of the Kings of Men, and the
traffic to the Gates brought them jewels and treasure from many
lands of East and West.) Bilbo had a corslet of mithril-rings that
Thorin gave him. I wonder what he did with it. I never told him,
but its worth was greater than the value of the Shire and
everything in it.'(14)
[Added: Frodo laid his hand under his tunic, and felt the rings
of the mail-shirt, and felt somewhat staggered to think he was
walking about with the price [of the] Shire...]
The text of the passage that appears in the completed manuscript is
very close to FR. It is still said that mithril was not found only in
Moria: 'Here alone in the world, save rarely and scantily in far eastern
mountains, was found Moria-silver.' The reference to Bilbo's having
given his mailcoat to 'Michel Delving Museum' (not 'Mathom-house')
appears.
But there is one important difference. It is said in this text: 'The
dwarves tell no tale, but even as mithril was the foundation of their
wealth so also it was their destruction: they delved too greedily and
too deep, and disturbed that from which they fled.'(15) This is exactly as
in FR, but without the last two words: Durin's Bane. In this connection
also, where Gandalf says in FR: 'And since the dwarves fled, no one
dares to seek the shafts and treasuries down in the deep places: they
are drowned in water - or in a shadow of fear', my father first wrote in
this manuscript: '... some are drowned in water, and some are full of
the evil from which the dwarves fled and of which they will not speak.'
This was changed to: '... they are drowned in water - or in shadow.'
The absence of the words 'Durin's Bane' does not of course prove
that the conception of 'Durin's Bane' had not yet arisen; while a
feeling that the words 'some are full of the evil from which the
dwarves fled' are not really appropriate to the Balrog is too slight to
build on. That there was a Balrog in Moria appears in the original
sketch for the story given in VI.462. Even so, I think it probable that at
this stage it was not the Balrog that had caused the flight of the
Dwarves from the great Dwarrowdelf long before. The strongest
evidence for this comes from the original version of the Lothlorien
story, where it is at least strongly suggested (being represented as the
opinion of the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien) that the Balrog had been
sent from Mordor not long since (see further on this question p. 247
and note 11). Moreover, in the texts of the story of the Bridge of
Khazad-dum from this time Gimli does not cry out 'Durin's Bane!'
(pp. 197, 202-3).
I think also that Gandalf is represented as not knowing himself what
was the evil from which the Dwarves fled (it cannot be said, of course,
what my father knew).(16)
There is nothing else to note in the remainder of the chapter except
the Runic inscription on the tomb of Balin (on which see the Appendix
on Runes, pp. 456 - 7). Gandalf's words about the inscription differ
from what he says in FR: 'These are dwarf-runes, such as they use in
the North. Here is written in the old tongue and the new: Balin son of
Fundin, Lord of Moria.' In FR he says: 'These are Daeron's Runes,
such as were used of old in Moria. Here is written in the tongues of
Men and Dwarves...'
The inscription is written on a strip of blue paper,(17) and since that
could not be reproduced in black and white there is here reproduced
instead the version from the typescript that followed the manuscript,
this being very closely similar to the first in its design and identical in
all its forms.
The inscription reads:
BALIN SON OF FUNDIN
LORD OF MORIA
Balin Fundinul Uzbad Khazaddumu.
NOTES.
1. Silverlode was changed in pencil to Blackroot; see p. 235. At the
same time Ond was changed to Ondor.
2. On the First Map the name was first Iren, changed to Isen; see
p. 298.
3. Gandalf's cry as he tossed the blazing brand into the air (FR
p. 312) here takes the form: Naur ad i gaurhoth!
4. The references to the 'power that wished now to have a clear light
in which things that moved in the wild could be seen from far
away', and Gandalf's remark that 'here Aragorn cannot guide us;
he has seldom walked in this country', are lacking; while a
comment is made in this text on the fact of the land in which
Gandalf sought for the Sirannon, the Gate-stream, being 'bleak
and dry': 'not a flake of snow seemed to have fallen there.'
5. The change in the present text of 'outside the moon has long
sunk' to 'outside the moon is sinking' implies the corrected view
of the moon's phase, but none of the previous references were
emended on the manuscript.
6. This is a convenient place to mention a textual detail. Gimli says
that Dwarf-doors are invisible when shut, 'and their own makers
cannot find them or open them, if their secret is forgotten.'
Makers is certain (but could be misread), and seems altogether
more appropriate and likely than masters. This, appearing in the
first typescript of the chapter, was clearly an error, perpetuated in
FR (p. 317).
7. The name ithildin was devised here. My father first wrote
starmoon or thilevril (on thilevril see p. 184 and note 12).
8. This has been previously reproduced by Humphrey Carpenter,
Biography, facing p. 179. - The writing on the arch, but nothing
more, appears in the original version of the chapter, VI.450.
9. The trees in the design reproduced on p. 182 are of a highly
stylized form seen frequently in my father's pictures (for example,
the tree in the drawing of Lake-town in The Hobbit). These trees
might be further formalized into geometrical shapes, or their
surfaces cut into planes (so that they appear like rocks rising from
trunks). The tree pencilled in above the arch, with distinct
branches, single large leaves, and a crescent moon as its topmost
growth, was the model for a second version of the design (also at
Marquette University), which differs from the first only in the
form of the trees. It may be that it was to this that the corrected
text in the manuscript refers, since the trees are said to bear
crecent moons. In a third version (in the Bodleian Library) the
trees, much larger, still bear a crescent moon at the summit, but
the branches also curl over into crescents (as in the final form). A
fourth version (also in the Bodleian) differs from the final form
only in that the branches pass behind and do not entwine the
pillars.
It can be seen in the narrative passage above the first version of
the design that the name Narvi was first spelt Narf[i], as in the
original text (VI.449). The stroke through the first m of Celeb-
rimbor in the transcription of the tengwar at the bottom of the
page removes an erroneous m; the stroke through the second
removes a necessary m. - The second tengwa in the penultimate
word of the inscription, transliterated as i-ndiw, is used in the
words ennyn and minno to represent nn, not nd. Perhaps to be
connected with this is the form of the eighth tengwa in Celebrim-
bor, which would naturally be interpreted as mm, not mb.
10. The origin of Gandalf's sword Glamdring is still referred to here,
as in VI.454, since the passage where it occurs in FR (p. 293), the
account of the arms borne by the members of the Company, had
not yet been added to the previous chapter.
11. Cf. VI.466, note 36.
12. Thilevril was thus a rejected possibility for both ithildin and
mithril (see note 7).
13. Another draft puts this slightly more fully: 'They give it in tribute
to Sauron, who has long been gathering and hoarding all that he
can find. It is not known why: not for beauty, but for some secret
purpose in the making of weapons of war.'
14. This is the point (at least in terms of actual record) at which the
connection was made between mithril or 'Moria-silver' and
Bilbo's mailcoat, ultimately leading to an alteration in the text of
The Hobbit, Chapter XIII: see VI.465 - 6, notes 35, 38. The
mailcoat will no longer be called 'elf-mail' (see p. 173, note 13).
15. A final draft for this passage ends illegibly: 'The dwarves will not
say what happened; but mithril is rich only far down and
northward towards the roots of Caradras, and some... [?think]
they disturbed some [?guarding]'. - Caradras is spelt thus also in
the text of the passage in the completed manuscript; see p. 174,
note 18.
16. In the fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond' (p. 142) Gloin says
that the Dwarves of Moria 'delved immeasurably deep', and
'under the foundations of the hills things long buried were waked
at last from sleep'.
In FR there seems to be some ambiguity on the question of
what Gandalf knew. He says that the Dwarves fled from Durin's
Bane; but when the Balrog appeared, and Gimli cried out
'Durin's Bane!', he muttered: 'A Balrog! Now I understand.'
(These words, like Gimli's cry, are lacking in the versions of the
scene from this time, pp. 197, 202 - 3). What did Gandalf mean?
That he understood now that the being that had entered the
Chamber of Mazarbul and striven with him for the mastery
through the closed door was a Balrog? Or that he understood at
last what it was that had destroyed Durin? Perhaps he meant
both; for if he had known what Durin's Bane was, would he not
have surmised, with horror, what was on the other side of the
door? - 'I have never felt such a challenge', 'I have met my match,
and have nearly been destroyed.'
17. The blue paper is from the cover of one of the booklets of the
'August 1940' examination script, which my father was still using
for drafting. The strip was pasted onto the manuscript page,
covering an earlier form of the Runic inscription; for this see the
Appendix on Runes, p. 457.
X.
THE MINES OF MORIA (2):
THE BRIDGE.
We come at last to the point where my father took up the narrative
again beside Balin's tomb in Moria. A sketch for the fight in the
Chamber of Mazarbul was in existence (VI.443), going back to the
time when he wrote the original text of 'Moria (i)', and this sketch he
now for the most part followed closely. There was also a sketch from
the same time (VI.462) of Gandalf's encounter on the bridge and his
fall, when his opponent was to be a Black Rider.
The new chapter, numbered XVII, was entitled 'The Mines of
Moria (ii)', and corresponds to Book II Chapter 5 in FR, 'The Bridge
of Khazad-dum'. The original manuscript is in pencil, ink, and ink
over pencil, and was written on the same 'August 1940' examination
script as was used for so much of the preceding work. It is a very rough
draft indeed: parts of it would be quite beyond the limits of legibility
were it not for clues provided by later texts. Some very minor editorial
alteration is made here in respect of punctuation and the breaking of
sentences, increasing the readability and comprehensibility of the text
though disguising the furious haste in which it was written.
That this manuscript followed the new text of 'The Ring Goes
South' is seen at once from the occurrence of the name Blackroot (the
later Silverlode) in the Book of Mazarbul; for Blackroot replaced
Redway as that text was being written (p. 166). For evidence that it
followed the second version of 'Moria (i)' see note 3.
Two notes are written at the head of the first page: '2 West Gates'
(see note 3), and 'No dates in Book'.
THE MINES OF MORIA (ii).
The Company of the Ring stood some time in silence beside
the tomb of Balin. Frodo thought of Bilbo and his friendship
with the dwarf, and Balin's visit to Bilbo long ago.
After a while they looked about the chamber to see if they
could discover any tidings or signs of Balin's people. There was
another door on the other side, under the shaft. By both doors
they now saw that in the dust were lying many bones, and
among them broken swords, and axe-heads, cloven shields and
helms. Some of the swords were crooked: orc-weapons with
black blades.
There were recesses and shelves cut in the wall, and in them
were large iron-bound chests: all had been broken open and
plundered; but beside the broken lid of one lay the tattered
fragments of a book. It had been hewn with a sword and
stabbed, and was so stained with dark marks like old blood that
only little of it could be read. It only a cover [sic](1) and much was
missing or in small pieces. Gandalf laid it carefully on the slab
and pored over it; it was written in dwarvish and elvish script by
many different hands.
'It is a record of the fortunes of Balin's folk,' said the wizard,
'and seems to begin with their coming to the Great Gate 20
years ago. Listen!
'We drove out Orcs from ... first hall. We slew many under
the bright sun in the Dale. Floi was killed by an arrow. He
slew... We have occupied [> taken] the Twenty-first Hall of
North-end [added: to dwell in]. There is there ... shaft is...
Balin has set up his seat in the Chamber of Mazarbul... gold...
Durin's axe. Balin is Lord of Moria... We found true-
silver... Well-forged... (To)morrow Oin is... seek [> Oin
to seek] for the upper armouries and treasury of the Third Deep
... mithril.
'There are one or two more rather ill-written and much-
damaged pages of that sort. Then there must be a number
missing, and some I cannot read. Let me see. No, it is burned
and cut and stained. I can't read that. Wait! Ah, here is one
more recent, well-written. Fifth year of their colony. Look - a
large hasty hand and using elvish character!
'Balin Lord of Moria fell in Dimrill Dale. He went alone to
look in Mirror-mere. an orc shot him from behind a stone. We
slew the orc, but many... up from East up Blackroot... Now
two lines are gone. We have barred the Gates. No more is clear
on that page. What is this? The last written page - rest seems
blank [> stuck to the cover]. We cannot get out. We cannot get
out. The Pool is up to the Wall in the West. There lies the
Watcher in the Water. It took Oin. We cannot get out.
'They have taken the Gates. Frar and Loni and Nali (2) fell
there... noise in the Deeps. Poor things. They could not get out
by either Gate. It was perhaps well for us that the water had
sunk somewhat, and that the Watcher was guarding the Dwarf-
door not the Elfdoor we came by.(3) The last thing written,'
said Gandalf, 'is a hasty scrawl in elf-letters. They are coming.'
He looked round. 'They seem to have made a last stand by
both the doors of this chamber,' he said. 'But there were not
many left by that time. So ended the attempt to re-take Moria. It
was brave but foolish. The time is not yet. Their end must have
been desperate. But I fear we must now say farewell to Balin son
of Fundin: he was a noble dwarf. Here may he lie in the halls of
his fathers. We will take this book, and look at it more carefully
later. You had better keep it, Frodo, and give it to Bilbo. It will
interest him though I fear it will grieve him.(4) I think I know
where we are now. This must be the Chamber of Mazarbul and
that hall the 21st Hall of the North-end. Then we ought to leave
either by the south or the east arch in the hall, or possibly by this
other eastward door here. I think we will return to the Hall.
Come, let us go! The morning is passing.'
At that very moment there was a great sound, a great rolling
boom that seemed to come from far below and to tremble in the
stone at their feet. They sprang to the door in alarm. But even as
they did so there was an echoing blast; a great horn was being
blown in the hall, and answering horns and harsh cries were
heard in the corridors; there was a hurrying sound of many feet.
'Fool that I have been!' cried Gandalf, 'to delay here. We are
nicely trapped just as they were before. But I was not here then:
we will see what - '
Boom came the shuddering noise again, and the walls shook.
'Slam the doors and wedge them!' shouted Trotter. 'And keep
your packs on: we may get a chance to cut a way out.'
'No!' said Gandalf. 'Wedge them but keep them just ajar. We
must not get shut in. We'll go by the further door if we get a
chance.'
There was another harsh horn-call and shrill cries coming
down the corridor. There was a ring and clatter as the Company
drew their weapons. [Added: Glamdring and Sting were shining
with whitish flames, glinting at the edges.] Boromir thrust
wedges of broken blades and splinters of wooden chest under
the bottom of the western door by which they had entered.
Then Gandalf went and stood behind it. 'Who comes here to
disturb the rest of Balin Lord of Moria?' he cried in a loud voice.
There was a rush of hoarse laughter like the fall of a slide of
stones into a pit, but amid the clamour there was one deep
voice. Boom boom boom went the noises in the deep. Swiftly
Gandalf went to the opening and thrust forward his staff. There
was a blinding flash that lit the chamber and the passage
beyond. For an instant Gandalf looked out. Arrows whined and
whistled down the corridor as he sprang back.
'There are goblins: very many of them,' he said. 'Evil they
look and large: black Orcs.(5) They are for the moment hanging
back, but there is something else there. A troll, I think, or more
than one. There is no hope of escape that way.'
'And no hope at all if they come at the other door as well,'
said Boromir.
'But there is no sound outside,' said Trotter, who was
standing by the eastern entrance listening. 'The passage here
goes down steps: it [?prob(ably)] does not give on to the hall at
all. Our only chance is to gather here. Do what damage we can
to the attackers and then fly down these steps. If only we could
block the door as we went: but they both open inwards.'
Heavy feet were heard in the corridor. Boromir kicked the
wedges away from the west door and heaved it to.(6) They
retreated toward the still open eastern door, first Pippin and
Merry, then Legolas, then Frodo with Sam at his side, then
Boromir, Trotter, and last Gandalf. But they had no chance to
fly yet. There was a heavy blow at the door, and it quivered; and
immediately it began to move inwards grinding at the wedges
and thrusting them back. An enormous arm and shoulder with
dark green scaly skin (or clad in some horrible mesh) thrust
through the widening gap. Then a great three-toed foot was
thrust in also. There was dead silence outside.
Boromir leaped forward and hewed the arm with his sword (7)
but it glanced aside and fell from his shaken hand: the blade was
notched.
Frodo suddenly, and very unexpectedly, felt a great wrath
leap up in his heart. 'The Shire,' he cried, and ran forward with
Sting stabbing at the hideous foot. There was a bellow and the
foot jerked back, nearly wrenching the blade from his hand:
drops dripped from it and smoked on the stone.
'One for the Shire!' cried Trotter delightedly. 'You have a
good blade, Frodo son of Drogo.' Sam looked as if for the first
time he really liked Trotter. There was a crash and another
crash: rocks were being heaved with huge strength against the
door. It staggered back and the opening widened. Arrows came
whistling in, but struck the north wall and fell to the ground.
The horns rang again, there was a rush of feet, and orcs one
after another leaped in. Then Legolas loosed his bow. Two fell
pierced through the throat. The sword of Elendil struck down
others.(8) Boromir laid about him and the orcs [? feared] his
sword. One that dived under his arm was cloven ... by Gimli s
axe. Thirteen orcs they slew and the others fled. 'Now is the
time if ever,' said [Trotter o] Gandalf, ' - before that Troll-chief
or more of them return. Let us go! '
But even as they retreated once more a huge orc-chief, almost
man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot, leaped through
the door. Behind him but not yet daring to advance stood many
followers. His eyes were like coals of fire. He wielded a great
spear. Boromir who was at the rear turned, but with a thrust of
his shield the orc put aside his stroke and with huge strength
bore him back and flung him down. Then leaping with the speed
of a snake he charged and smote with his spear straight at
Frodo. The blow caught him on the right side. Frodo was hurled
against the wall and pinned. Sam with a cry hewed at the spear
and it broke.... but even as the orc cast the shaft aside and
drew his scimitar the sword of Elendil drove down upon his
helm. There was a flash like flame and the helm burst. The orc-
chieftain fell with cloven head. His followers who were ... by
the now nearly open door yelled and fled in dismay. Boom,
boom went the noises in the Deep. The great voice rolled out
again.
'Now!' said Gandalf. 'Now is the last chance!' He picked up
Frodo and sprang through the eastern door. The others fol-
lowed. Trotter the last to leave pulled the door behind him. It
had a great iron ring on either side, but no lock to be seen.
'I am all right,' gasped Frodo. 'Put me down!'
Gandalf nearly dropped him in amazement.
Without striking out this last passage my father at once went on to
rewrite it:
'Now!' cried Gandalf. 'Now is the last chance!' Trotter
picked up Frodo and sprang through the eastern door. Even in
the heat of battle Gimli bowed to Balin's tomb. Boromir heaved
the door to: it had a great iron ring on each side but the key was
gone and the lock broken.
'I am all right,' gasped Frodo. 'Put me down!'
Trotter nearly dropped him in amazement. 'I thought you
were dead,' he cried. 'Not yet,' said Gandalf turning round. 'But
there is no time [struck out: to count (sc. wounds)].(9) Get away
down these stairs, and look out! Wait a moment for me and
then run: bear right and south.'
As they went down the dark stairs they saw the pale light
gleam from the wizard's staff. He was still standing by the
closed door. Frodo leaning on Sam halted a moment and peered
back. Gandalf seemed to be thrusting the tip of his staff into the
ancient keyhole.
Suddenly there was a flash more dazzling... [than] any that
they had ever conceived of. They all turned. There was a
deafening crash. The swords in their hands leaped and wren-
ched in their fingers, and they stumbled and fell to their knees as
the great blast passed down the stairway. Into the midst of them
fell Gandalf.
'Well, that's that,' he said. 'It was all I could do. I expect I
have buried Balin. But alas for my staff: we shall have to go by
guess in the dark. Gimli and I will lead.'
They followed in amazement, and as they stumbled behind he
gasped out some information. 'I have lost my staff, part of my
beard, and an inch of eyebrows,' he said. 'But I have blasted the
door and felled the roof against it, and if the Chamber of
Mazarbul is not a heap of ruins behind it, then I am no wizard.
All the power of my staff was expended [?in a flash]: it was
shattered to bits.'
Here the text in ink stops for the moment. My father at once heavily
rewrote the passage beginning 'Suddenly there was a flash...' in pencil
and then continued on in pencil from the point he had reached (cf.
note 4). There is of course no question that the story was coming into
being in these pages, and the handwriting is so fast as to be practically
a code, while words are missed out or misrepresented, so that one
must try to puzzle out not merely what my father did write, but what
he intended.
Suddenly they heard him cry out strange words in tones of
thunder, and there was a flash more dazzling... [than] any that
they had ever conceived of: it was as if lightning had passed just
before their eyes and seared them. The swords in their hands
leapt and wrenched in their fingers. There was a deafening crash,
and they fell or stumbled to their knees as a rush of wind passed
down the stairway. Into the midst of them fell Gandalf.
'Well, that's that,' he said. 'I have buried poor old Balin. It
was all I could do. I nearly killed myself. [Struck out as soon as
written: It will take me years to recover my strength and
wizardry.] Go on, go on! Gimli, come in front with me. We
must go in the dark. Haste now!'
They followed in amazement feeling the walls, and as they
stumbled behind him he gasped out some information. 'I have
lost part of my beard and an inch of my eyebrows', he said. 'But
I have blasted the door and felled the roof against it, and if the
Chamber of Mazarbul is not a heap of ruins behind it, then I am
no wizard. But I have expended all my strength for the moment.
I can give you no more light.'
The echoes of Gandalf's blast seemed to run to and fro,... ing
in the hollow places of stone above them. From behind they
heard boom, boom, like the beating and throbbing of a drum. j
But there was no sound of feet. For an hour they [?hurried on
guided by Gandalf's nose]; and still there was no sound of
pursuit. Almost they began to hope that they would escape.
'But what about you, Frodo?' asked Gandalf, as they halted
to take a gasping breath. 'That is really important.'
'I am bruised and in pain, but I am whole,' said Frodo, 'if that
is what you mean.'
'I do indeed,' said Gandalf. 'I thought it was a heroic but dead
hobbit that Aragorn picked up.'
'... it seems that hobbits or this hobbit is made of a stuff so
tough that I have never met the like,' said Trotter. 'Had I known
I would have spoken softer in the Inn at Bree. That spear thrust
would have pierced through a boar.'
'Well, it has not pierced through me,' said Frodo, 'though I
feel as if I had been caught between a hammer and anvil.' He
said no more. His breath was difficult, and he thought explana-
tions could wait.
From this point ('They now went on again', FR p. 342) the original
text is very largely lost for some distance, because my father overwrote
it (and largely erased it first) as part of a revised version, but something
can be read at the end of this section:
There was no time to lose. Away beyond the pillars in the
deep [? gloom] at the west end of the hall to the right there came
cries and horn calls. And far off again they heard boom, boom
and the ground trembled [? to the dreadful drum taps]. 'Now for
the last race!' said Gandalf. 'Follow me!'
The remainder of the original text is in ink and is at first fairly
legible, but towards the end becomes in places impossible to decipher,
being written at great speed, with small words indicated by mere
marks, word-endings omitted, and scarcely any punctuation.
He turned to the left and darted across the floor of the hall. It
was longer than it looked. As they ran they heard behind the
beat and echo of many feet running on the floor.(10) A shrill yell
went up: they had been seen. There was a ring and clash of steel:
an arrow whistled over Frodo's head.
Trotter laughed. 'They did not expect this,' he said. 'The fire
has cut them off for the moment. We are on the wrong side!'
'Look out for the bridge!' cried Gandalf over his shoulder. 'It
is dangerous and narrow.'
Suddenly Frodo saw before him a black gulf. Just before the
end of the hall the floor vanished and fell into an abyss. The exit
door could not be reached save by a narrow railless bridge of
stone that spanned the chasm with a single curving leap of some
fifty feet. Across it they could only pass in single file. They
reached the chasm in a pack and halted at the bridge-end for a
moment. More arrows whistled over them. One pierced Gan-
dalf's hat and stuck there like a black feather. They looked
back. Away beyond the fiery fissure Frodo saw the swarming
black figures of many orcs. They brandished spears and scimi-
tars which shone red as blood. Boom, boom rolled the drum-
beats now advancing louder and louder and more and more
menacing. Two great dark troll-figures could be seen [?tower-
ing] among the orcs. They strode forward to the fiery brink.
Legolas bent his bow. Then he let it fall. He gave a cry of
dismay and terror. Two great dark troll-shapes had appeared;
but it was not these that caused his cry.(11) The orc-ranks had
opened as if they themselves were afraid. A figure strode to the
fissure, no more than man-high yet terror seemed to go before it.
They could see the furnace-fire of its yellow eyes from afar; its
arms were very long; it had a red [?tongue]. Through the air it
sprang over the fiery fissure. The flames leaped up to greet it and
wreathed about it. Its streaming hair seemed to catch fire, and
the sword that it held turned to flame. In its other hand it held a
whip of many thongs.
'Ai, ai,' wailed Legolas. '[The Balrogs are >] A Balrog is
come.'
'A Balrog,' said Gandalf. 'What evil fortune - and my power
is nearly spent.'
The fiery figure ran across the floor. The orcs yelled and shot
many arrows.
'Over the Bridge,' cried Gandalf. 'Go on! Go on! This is a foe
beyond any of you. I will hold the Bridge. Go on!'
When they gained the door they turned, in spite of his
command. The troll-figures strode across the fire carrying orcs
across. The Balrog rushed to the Bridge-foot. Legolas [?raised]
his bow, and [an] arrow pierced his shoulder. The bow fell
useless. Gandalf stood in the midst of the bridge. In his hand
Glamdring gleamed. In his left he held up his staff. The Balrog
advanced and stood gazing at him.
Suddenly with a spout of flame it sprang on the Bridge, but
Gandalf stood firm. 'You cannot pass,' he said. 'Go back [struck
out probably as soon as written: into the fiery depths. It is
forbidden for any Balrog to come beneath the sky since Fionwe
son of Manwe overthrew Thangorodrim]. I am the master of
the White Fire. The red flame cannot come this way.' The
creature made no reply, but standing up tall so that it loomed
above the wizard it strode forward and smote him. A sheet of
white flame sprang before him [?like a shield], and the Balrog
fell backward, its sword shivered into molten pieces and flew,
but Gandalf's staff snapped and fell from his hand. With a
gasping hiss the Balrog sprang up; it seemed to be [?half blind],
but it came on and grasped at the wizard. Glamdring shore off
its empty right hand, but in that instant as he [?delivered the
stroke] the Balrog [?struck with] its whip. The thongs lashed
round the wizard's knees and he staggered.
Seizing Legolas' bow Gimli shot, [but] the arrow fell ...
Trotter sprang back along the bridge with his sword. But at that
moment a great troll came up from the other side and leaped on
the bridge. There was a terrible crack and the bridge broke. All
the western end fell. With a terrible cry the troll fell after it, and
the Balrog [?tumbled] sideways with a yell and fell into the
chasm. Before Trotter could reach the wizard the bridge broke
before his feet, and with a great cry Gandalf fell into the
darkness.(12)
Trotter [?recoiled]. The others were rooted with horror. He
recalled them. 'At least we can obey his last command,' he said.
They [?passed] by the door and stumbled wildly up the great
stair beyond, and beyond [? up there] was a wide echoing
passage. They stumbled along it. Frodo heard Sam at his side
weeping as he ran, and then he [? realized] that he too was
weeping. Boom, boom, boom rang the echo of... behind them.
On they ran. The light grew. It shone through great shafts.
They passed into a wide hall, clear-lit with high windows in the
east. [?Through that] they ran, and suddenly before them the
Great Gates with carven posts and mighty doors - cast back.
There were orcs at the door, but amazed to see that it was not
friends that ran they fled in dismay, and the Company took no
heed of them.
The original draft of the chapter ends here, and does not recount the
coming of the Company into Dimrill Dale. There is a pencilled note
written on the manuscript against the description of the Balrog: 'Alter
description of Balrog. It seemed to be of man's shape, but its form
could not be plainly discerned. It felt larger than it looked.' After the
words 'Through the air it sprang over the fiery fissure' my father
added: 'and a great shadow seemed to black out the light.' And at the
end of the text - before he had finished it, for the concluding passage is
written around the words - he wrote: 'No - Gandalf breaks the bridge
and Balrog falls - but lassoos him.'
It will be seen that for much of its length this chapter was very fully
formed from its first emergence; while scarcely a sentence remained
unchanged into FR, and while many details of speech and event would
be altered, there really was not very far to go. But in certain passages
this earliest draft underwent substantial development in the narrative.
The first of these is the account of Gandalf's blocking of the east
door out of the Chamber of Mazarbul (FR pp. 340 - 1), where there
was as yet no suggestion that some greater power than any orc or troll
had entered the chamber, and where the blasting of the door and
felling of the roof was not caused by competing spells of great power,
but was a deliberate act on Gandalf's part to preserve the Company
. from pursuit down the stair.
It cannot be said precisely how the story stood in the lost passage (p.
196), though from a word still decipherable here and there it can be
seen that Gimli saw a red light ahead of them, and that Gandalf told
them that they had reached the First Deep below the Gates and were
come to the Second Hall. Clearly then the essential elements of the
final narrative were already present.
The second passage in which the original draft would undergo
major development is the narrative of the final attack on the fugitives
and the battle on the Bridge of Khazad - dum (FR pp. 343 - 5). That
there was a bridge in Moria, that Gandalf would hold it alone against
a single adversary of great power, and that both would fall into an
abyss when the bridge broke beneath them, had been foreseen in the
original sketch (VI.462); but the final form of the famous scene was
not achieved at a stroke. Here, the trolls do not bring great slabs to
serve as gangways over the fiery fissure, but carry orcs across (it may
be noted incidentally that 'orcs', rather than 'goblins', becomes
pervasive in this text: see note 5); the form of the Balrog is clearly
perceived; there is no blast of Boromir's horn; Legolas is pierced in the
shoulder by an arrow as he attempts to shoot; and Aragorn and
Boromir do not remain with Gandalf at the end of the bridge. The
physical contest between Gandalf and the Balrog is differently con-
ceived: Gandalf's staff breaks at the moment when the Balrog's sword
shivers into molten fragments in the 'sheet of white flame', and though
the whip catches Gandalf round his knees it is not the cause of his fall.
Here, it is the great troll leaping onto the bridge that causes it to break,
carrying with it troll, Balrog, and wizard together. But even before he
had finished the initial draft of the chapter my father saw 'what really
happened': 'Gandalf breaks the bridge and the Balrog falls - but
lassoos him'. He thereupon moved the 'sheet of white flame' and the
snapping of Gandalf's staff from the initial clash between the adver-
saries to the point where Gandalf broke the bridge.
It is clear that my father turned at once to the making of a fair copy
of the original draft text - that he did so at once, before continuing the
story, is seen from the fact that Sam's wound in the affray in the
Chamber of Mazarbul only appears in the new version but is present
at the beginning of 'Lothlorien'.
The new version (a good clear manuscript in ink, with little
hesitation in the course of composition and without a great deal of
subsequent pencilled alteration) was still called 'The Mines of Moria,
. 2'; a subtitle was added in pencil, 'The Bridge'. For some distance the
text proceeds as a characteristic polishing and slight elaboration of the
draft, bringing it very close to FR, which I take here as the basis with
which the present text is compared.
The Book of Mazarbul is not described as 'partly burned', and its
pages are said to have been written 'in both dwarf-runes and elvish
script', where in FR a distinction is made between the runes of Moria
and of Dale. The text of the first page that Gandalf read out runs thus:
'We drove out Orcs... from guard something and first hall. We
slew many under the bright sun in the Dale. Floi was killed by
an arrow. He slew... then I can only read stray words for many
lines. Then comes We have taken the Twenty-first Hall of
North-end to dwell in. There is ... I cannot read what: a shaft
is mentioned. Then Balin has set up his seat in the Chamber of
Mazarbul.'
'The Chamber of Records,' said Gimli. 'I guess that is where
we now stand.'
'Well, I can read no more for a long way, except the word
gold, ' said Gandalf; 'and, yes, Durin's axe and something helm.
Then Balin is Lord of Moria. After some stars there comes We
found true-silver and later the word well-forged; then some-
thing, I have it! Oin to seek for the upper armouries and
treasury of the Third Deep and... but I can make out no more
on the page but mithril, west, and Balin.'
This text corresponds almost exactly to the third drawing of the page
(see the Appendix, p. 459).
The text of the second page that Gandalf read out, in 'a large bold
hand writing in elvish script', now identified by Gimli as Ori's,
scarcely differs from the text given on p. 191, except that after We
have barred the Gates Gandalf can doubtfully read horrible and
suffer: all is. Thus the passage giving the date (10 November) of
Balin's death in Dimrill Dale is still absent. The earliest, or earliest
extant, drawing of Ori's page was done at the same time as the third
drawing of the first page (see the Appendix, p. 459), and obviously
accompanies the present version of the narrative.
The text of the last page of the book remains exactly the same as
that given on p. 191; and the earliest extant drawing (accompanying
the third of the first page and the first of Ori's page) fits it exactly.
In this version Gandalf no longer makes any mention of the
Watcher in the Water and the two Doors, but Gimli says: 'It was well
for us that the pool had sunk a little, and that we came to the
Elven-door that was closed. The Watcher was sleeping, or so it seems,
down at the southern end of the pool.' The italicized words were
struck out, probably at once, and so the conception of the two
separate entrances into Moria from the West was finally abandoned.
Gandalf still gives the Book of Mazarbul to Frodo, for him to give to
Bilbo 'if you get a chance.'
In his last words before the attack on the Chamber of Mazarbul
began Gandalf says that 'the Twenty-first Hall should be on the
seventh level, that is five above the Gate level' (six in FR). He still says
'There are goblins... They are evil and large: black Orcs', but the troll
becomes 'a great cave-troll' as in FR, and its three-toed foot was
changed on the manuscript to a toeless foot.(13) Sam now gets a wound
in the affray, 'a cut on the arm', which as mentioned above appears in
the original draft of 'Lothlorien' ('The cut in his arm was paining him',
p. 220). A rider to the present text changed this to 'a glancing cut in his
shoulder'. 'The sword of Elendil' still has no other name, Branding
being substituted later in pencil (see p. 165, and p. 274 and note 19).
In the story of the flight of the Company from the Chamber of
Mazarbul the new version followed the original draft fairly closely. As
Frodo and Sam peered up the steps they heard Gandalf muttering, and
the sound, they thought, of his staff tapping. The searing flash like
lightning, the wrenching of their swords in their hands, and the great
rush of wind down the stairs forcing them to their knees, were still
present (the blasting of the Chamber remaining a deliberate act); and
Gandalf still says 'I have lost part of my beard and an inch of my
eyebrows'. The long descent in the dark down flights of stairs now
enters, Gandalf feeling the ground with his staff 'like a blind man'; but
at the words 'Almost they began to hope against hope that they would
escape' (FR p. 341) this new version stops, and all this part of the
story, from the killing of the orc-chieftain in the Chamber, was
rejected.(14)
The development of the chapter from this point took much unravell-
ing, but it seems clear that my father decided at this juncture that
further drafting was required before the fair copy on which he was
engaged could be continued. He therefore wrote now a new rough
draft carrying the story from the flight of the Company from the
Chamber of Mazarbul to their final escape out of Moria; and having
done this, he returned to the fair copy and went on with it again,
following the draft quite closely. I believe that all this was continuous
work, that it can be shown that the story of the chapter 'The Bridge of
Khazad-dum' was brought almost to its final form before the story of
Lothlorien was begun (see p. 204 and note 20). For clarity, in the
remainder of this chapter I will call the new draft 'B' and the fair copy
manuscript 'C', the original draft, which has been given in full, being
'A'.(15)
This new draft B for the latter part of the chapter was written very
fast, mostly in soft pencil, and is hard to read, but for much of its
length the final narrative was now almost achieved, with scarcely any
differences of substance. Gandalf still says 'I nearly killed myself', and
he does not say 'I have met my match, and have nearly been
destroyed'; he knows 'one or two (shutting-spells) that will hold,
though they don't stop the door being smashed if great strength
comes'; and he says that the Orcs on the other side of the door 'seemed
to be talking their horrible secret language, which I never knew more
than a word or two of.' In the fair copy C these become: 'I ran up
against something unexpected I haven't met before'; 'I know several
that will hold'; and 'talking their hideous secret language.'
The overwriting of the erased passage in the primary text A (p. 196)
forms a part of the new draft, and the new text (from 'They now went
on again' to ' "Now for the last race!" cried Gandalf') is so close to the
final form in FR (pp. 342 - 3) as to need no commentary.
In the last part of the chapter (from 'He turned left and sped across
the smooth floor of the hall') the drafting of the new version is as
rough as was the original text A that it replaced in this part, the
language unpolished and the conclusion scarcely legible. The actual
narrative of FR pp. 344 - 6 is present, however, except in these points.
The Balrog when first seen beyond the fiery fissure is described as 'of
man-shape maybe, and not much larger' (cf. pp. 197, 199). The fair
copy C has here likewise 'and not much greater' (FR: 'of man-shape
maybe, yet greater').(16) Gimli's cry of 'Durin's Bane!' and Gandalf's
words 'Now I understand' were still absent from both B and C,
Gimli's words (only) being added in pencil to the latter; on this matter
see pp. 185 - 6 and note 16 to the last chapter.
Following Legolas' cry 'Ai! Ai! A Balrog is come! ' it is told in B that
'he turned to fly and an arrow struck him in the shoulder. He stumbled
and began to crawl on all fours along the Bridge.' That an arrow
pierced Legolas in the shoulder is told in the original version of the
story (p. 198). In B my father struck out the incident, then ticked it for
retention; but it is absent from C. Boromir's horncall is absent from
both texts, though my father added it in pencil to C, at first placing it
after 'A Balrog is come!' but then deciding to put it in earlier, before
'Legolas turned and set an arrow to the string', so that it was the Orcs
who were momentarily halted by the blast of the horn and not the
Balrog. In neither text do Aragorn and Boromir remain at the
bridge-foot, and thus it is said subsequently that Trotter 'ran back out
to the bridge' and 'ran out onto the Bridge', i.e. from the doorway
where he had been standing with the others.
In B it is said only that the Balrog 'stood facing him': in C 'the
Balrog halted facing him, and the shadow about him reached out like
great wings'.(17) Immediately afterwards, where in FR the Balrog drew
itelf up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall',
neither B nor C has the words 'to a great height' nor speaks of the
'wings'. Gandalf's words to the Balrog remain in B very close to the
original draft (p. 198), with 'White Fire' for 'the White Fire'; in C this
was changed in the act of writing: 'You cannot pass. I am the master
of White Flame. [Neither Red Fire nor Black Shadow can >] The Red
Fire cannot come this way. Go back to the Shadow!'
Both B and C continued a little way beyond the point where 'The
Bridge of Khazad - dum' ends in FR, the former giving first a descrip-
tion of Dimrill Dale and Mirrormere, which was omitted in C.
Northward it ran up into a glen of shadows between two great
arms of the mountains, over which towered three white peaks.
Before them (west) [read east](18) the mountains marched to a
sudden end. To their right (south) they receded endlessly into
the distance. Less than a mile away (and below them where they
stood on the skirts of the mountains) lay a mere - just clear of
the shadow, under the sunny sky. But its waters looked dark, a
deep blue such as the night sky seen through a lighted window.
Its surface was utterly still. About it lay a smooth sward, sloping
swiftly down on all sides towards its bare unbroken brink.
There lay the Mirror Mere. High on the shores above stood a
rough broken column. Durin's Stone.
This passage was an overwriting in ink, but the pencilled text beneath,
visible here and there, was written continuously with what precedes
(the Company looking back at Moria Gate), and is certainly the most
original form of the description of Mirrormere. Against it my father
wrote Not yet used. He used it in fact in the original draft of
'Lothlorien' (p. 219): a clear demonstration that the new draft B of the
latter part of the present chapter preceded work on 'Lothlorien' (see
note 20).
B then continues to its conclusion thus:
'So we have passed through Moria,' said Trotter at last, passing
his hand over his eyes. 'I know not what put the words into my
mouth, but did I not say to Gandalf: If you pass the Gates of
Moria, beware!(19) Alas that I should have spoken true. No
fortune could have been so ill as this: hardly... had all perished.
But now we must do as we can without our friend and guide. At
least we may yet avenge him. Let us gird ourselves. It is better
for us to strike hard than to mourn long.'
With slightly altered wording this was used as the conclusion of the
chapter in the fair copy C also.(20)
Throughout C, Trotter (as he is named at every occurrence save
once where Gandalf names him) was subsequently changed to Elf-
stone (see pp. 277 - 8).
NOTES.
1. Though the words 'it only a cover' seem clear, my father cannot
have intended 'it only had a cover', as the following text shows.
2. A dwarf Frar, companion of Gloin, appeared in the earliest drafts
of 'The Council of Elrond' (VI.397, 412), where he was replaced
by Burin son of Balin. The three Dwarf-names Frar, Loni, Nali,
retained in FR, were again taken from the Old Norse Elder Edda
- whereas Floi (slain in the Dimrill Dale) was not.
3. On the conception of two distinct entrances to Moria from the
West, which goes back to the original version of 'The Ring Goes
South', see p. 178. The striking out (probably at once) of the
reference in the previous chapter (ibid.) to 'The Dwarven-door
further south' (i.e. south of the Elven-door at the end of the road
from Hollin) could be taken as an indication that the present text
in fact preceded the new version of 'Moria (i)'. On the other
hand, if this were so, it is hard to see why my father should have
put in the direction '2 West Gates' at the beginning of the present
text (p. 190), seeing that the two entrances were already present
in the oldest version of the story of Moria. It seems to me most
probable that he wrote '2 West Gates' precisely because he had
now changed his mind again; this detail being therefore actually
evidence that the first writing of 'Moria (ii)' did follow the new
version of 'Moria (i)'. - Further, in the fair copy text of the
present chapter Gimli says (p. 201) that 'it was well for us that...
we came to the Elven-door that was closed', though this was at
once or soon rejected.
4. In FR Gandalf entrusted the book to Gimli, to give to Dain. - The
first page of the manuscript, which ends at approximately this
point, was written in pencil, but from the beginning of Gandalf's
reading from the book my father overwrote it in ink - and then,
from this point, carried on the initial text in ink. Thus the original
drafting of the words and phrases which Gandalf could interpret
in the Book of Mazarbul is partly obliterated; but most of the
underlying pencil can be made out, and it can be seen that the text
given here (itself emended) did not greatly differ from what it
superseded.
5. My father first wrote here: 'veritable Orcs'. Cf. the original sketch
for the chapter given in VI.443: 'Gandalf says there are goblins -
of very evil kind, larger than usual, real orcs', and my discussion
of 'goblins' and 'orcs' in VI.437 note 35. In FR at this point
Gandalf says: 'There are Orcs, very many of them. And some are
large and evil: black Uruks of Mordor.'
6. In FR it was at this point that Boromir, closing the west door of
the chamber, wedged it with broken sword-blades and splinters
of wood. It is odd that in the present text it is said here that
Boromir kicked the wedges away from the door and heaved it to,
and yet immediately afterwards the door 'began to move inwards
grinding at the wedges and thrusting them back.'
7. This sentence replaced: 'Gandalf leaped forward and hewed the
arm with Glamdring.'
8. The reforging of the Sword of Elendil has been told in the new
version of 'The Ring Goes South' (p. 165).
9. In a subsequent version of the passage Gandalf says 'There is no
time for counting wounds.'
10. This sentence was first written: 'As they ran cries and the noise of
many feet entered the far end behind them.'
11 This passage, with the two references to the appearance of the
Trolls, is confused. Though all was written at the same time,
phrases were added and rejected phrases were left standing, and
my father's intention is in places impossible to determine.
12. Written in the margin at the time of composition: 'Go on... Do I
fight in vain? Fly!' Cf. Trotter's words 'At least we can obey his
last command' in the text immediately following.
13. The oddity of the original story (see p. 193 and note 6) in the
matter of the wedging of the western door is now removed, for
when Boromir had kicked away the wedges and heaved it to he
then re-wedged it. All the passages concerned were corrected,
probably at once, to give the story as it is in FR.
14. The rejected part of the manuscript (a single sheet written on
both sides) was found among my father's papers, the rest of it
having gone to Marquette.
15. The sequence of development in this chapter can be expressed
thus:
A -> C (C interrupted); B -> C (C continued).
16. In a pencilled addition in C to the scene of the Balrog's fall from
the Bridge my father changed 'the stone upon which it stood' (the
text of FR) to 'the stone upon which the vast form stood'.
17. The second him is Gandalf, not only from the syntax, but also
because the Balrog is always referred to as it. FR has 'the shadow
about it'.
18. See p. 237 note 5.
19. Aragorn's words to Gandalf If you pass the doors of Moria,
beware! had entered in 'Moria (i)', p. 178.
20 With this revised wording the passage is found at the beginning of
the first draft of 'Lothlorien' (p. 219). In the fair copy C of the
present chapter my father subsequently struck it out, and wrote
at the end of the text that precedes it: End of Chapter. It is clear
from this that not only the draft B but also the fair copy of
'The Mines of Moria (ii): The Bridge' were completed before
'Lothlorien' was begun.
XI.
THE STORY FORESEEN FROM MORIA.
At about this time, and still using the reverse pages and blue covers of
the same invaluable examination script, my father wrote a much more
elaborate outline of the story to come than any he had yet done. When
this was written in relation to the narrative that had been achieved
cannot be precisely demonstrated, but far the most likely time, to
judge from the beginning of the outline, would be when 'The Mines of
Moria (ii)' was at least initially drafted (and probably actually
completed in the fair copy) and 'Lothlorien' was immediately contem-
plated; and therefore I give it in this place.
It is particularly interesting to observe what elements in this new
plot derive from earlier sketches, and how those ideas had evolved by
this time, as the actual writing of the narrative drew nearer. These are:
(1) an isolated page which I have tentatively dated to August 1939
(VI.380); (2) a page actually dated August 1939 (VI.381); (3) an
outline set down at the time of the first drafting of 'The Council of
Elrond' (VI.410 - 11).
The new text was written very quickly and roughly, mostly in
pencil, and is in places hard to make out. I have expanded contractions
and made a few other very small editorial clarifications. It will be seen
that despite its fullness it does not at all represent a clearly defined,
step-by-step sequence: ideas were emerging and evolving as my father
wrote it.
Sketch of Plot.
Reach Lothlorien Dec. 15.(1) Take refuge up Trees. Elves be-
friend them. Dec. 15, 16, 17 they journey to Angle between
Anduin and Blackroot.(2) There they remain long. (While they
are up trees orcs go by - also Gollum.)
At Angle they debate what is to be done. Frodo feels it is his
duty to go straight to Fire Mountain. But Aragorn and Boromir
wish to go to Minas Tirith, and if possible gather force. Frodo
sees that that will not help. As Minas Tirith is still a long way
from Fire Mountain and Sauron will only be the more warned.
(Boromir is secretly planning to use the Ring, since Gandalf is
gone.)
Boromir takes Frodo apart and talks to him. Begs to see Ring
again. Evil enters into his heart and he tries to daunt Frodo and
then to take it by force. Frodo is obliged to slip it on to escape
him. (What does he see then - cloud all round him getting
nearer and many fell voices in air?)
Frodo seeing that evil has entered into the Company dare not
stay and does not want to imperil hobbits or others. He flies.
His loss is not discovered for some time because of Boromir's
lies. (Boromir says he has climbed a tree and will be coming
back soon?) The hunt eventually fails because Frodo went a
long way invisible.
The search. Sam is lost. He tries to track Frodo and comes on
Gollum. He follows Gollum and Gollum leads him to Frodo.
Frodo hears following feet. And flies. But Sam comes up too
to his surprise. The two are too much for Gollum. Gollum is
daunted by Frodo - who has a power over him as Ringbearer.
(But use of Ring proves bad since it re-establishes power of Ring
over Frodo after his cure. At end he cannot willingly part with
it.)
Gollum pleads for forgiveness and feigns reform. They make
him lead them through the Dead Marshes. (Green faces in the
pools.) Lithlad Plain of Ash. The Searching Eye of Barad-dur (a
single light in a high window).
* At point where Sam, Frodo and Gollum meet return to
others - for whose adventures see later. But they should be told
at this point.
The Gap of Gorgoroth not far from Fire Mountain. There are
Orc guard-towers on either side of Gorgoroth.(3) They see a host
of evil led by Black Riders. Gollum betrays Frodo. He is beaten
off, but escapes shrieking to the Black Riders. The Black Riders
now have taken form of demonic eagles and fly before host, or
[? take eagle-like] vulture birds as steeds.
Frodo toils up Mountain to find Crack.
Rumour of Battle had already reached Frodo, Sam and
Gollum. (That is why the host of Mordor was riding out.)
While Frodo is toiling up Mountain he looks back and sees
Battle gathering. He hears faint sound of horns in the hills. A
great dust where the Horsemen are coming. Thunder from
Baraddur and a black storm comes up on an East wind. Frodo
wonders what is happening but has no hope that he himself can
be saved. The Ringwraiths swoop back. They have heard
Gollum's cries.
Orodruin [written above: Mount Doom] has three great
fissures North, West, South [> West, South, East] in its sides.
They are very deep and at an unguessable depth a glow of fire is
seen. Every now and again fire rolls out of mountain's heart
down the terrific channels. The mountain towers above Frodo.
He comes to a flat place on the mountain-side where the fissure
is full of fire - Sauron's well of fire. The Vultures are coming. He
cannot throw Ring in. The Vultures are coming. All goes dark in
his eyes and he falls to his knees. At that moment Gollum comes
up and wrestles with him, and takes Ring. Frodo falls flat.
Here perhaps Sam comes up, beats off a vulture and hurls
himself and Gollum into the gulf?
Function for Sam? Is he to die? (He said there is something I
have to do before [I die >] the end.)(4)
Sam could get hold of the Ring. Frodo betrayed by Gollum
and taken by orcs (?) to Minas Morgol.(5) They take his ring and
find it is no good; they put him in a dungeon, and threaten to
send him to Baraddur.
How can Sam get hold of Ring? He keeps watch at night and
hears Gollum muttering to himself, words of hatred for Frodo.
He draws his sword and leaps on Gollum, [?dragging] him off.
He tries to [insert utter] horrible words over Frodo - incanta-
tion of sleep. A spider charm, or does Gollum get spiders' help?
There is a ravine, a spiders' glen, they have to pass at entrance to
Gorgoroth. Gollum gets spiders to put spell of sleep on Frodo.
Sam drives them off. But cannot wake him. He then gets idea of
taking Ring. He sits beside Frodo. Gollum betrays Frodo to the
Orc-guard. They are overwhelmed and Sam knocked silly with
a club. He puts on Ring and follows Frodo. (A ring from
Mazarbul would be useful.)(6)
Sam comes and uses Ring. Passes into Morgol and finds
Frodo. Frodo feels hatred of Sam and sees him as an orc. But
suddenly the orc speaks and holds out Ring and says: Take it.
Then Frodo sees it is Sam. They creep out. Frodo is unable....
Sam dresses up like an orc.
They escape but Gollum follows.
It is Sam that wrestles with Gollum and [? throws] him finally
in the gulf.
How are Sam and Frodo saved from the eruption?(7)
An additional passage, but contemporary with the rest, is marked
for insertion to this part of the outline.
When Ring melts Dark Tower falls or is buried in ash. A great
black cloud and shadow floats away east on a rising west wind.
(The smell and sound of the Sea?)
Eruption. The forces of Mordor flee and Horsemen of Rohan
pursue.
Frodo standing on side of Fire Mountain holds up sword. He
now commands Ringwraiths and bids them be gone. They fall
to earth and vanish like wisps of smoke with a terrible wail.
How is Frodo (and Sam) saved from Eruption?
Story turns for a while - after first meeting of Sam, Frodo and
Gollum - to others.
Owing to Boromir's treachery and Frodo's use of Ring the
hunt fails. Merry and Pippin are distracted by loss of Sam and
Frodo. They themselves get lost following echoes. They come to
Entwash and the Topless Forest,(8) and fall in with Treebeard
and his Three Giants.
Legolas and Gimli also get lost and get captured by Saruman.?
Boromir and Aragorn (who notes a change in Boromir - who
is keen to break off the chase and go home) reach Minas Tirith,
which is besieged by Sauron except at back. ? Siege is briefly
told from point of view of watchers on battlements. Evil has
now hold of Boromir who is jealous of Aragorn. The Lord of
Minas Tirith is slain (9) and they choose Aragorn. Boromir deserts
and sneaks off to Saruman, to get his help in becoming Lord of
Minas Tirith.
How does Gandalf reappear?
All this section, concerned with the 'western story', was struck out
and replaced, immediately, by a fuller and altered version, in which
the idea that Legolas and Gimli were captured by Saruman is rejected
and their new story is linked to the reappearance of Gandalf.
Story turns for a while to the others - ? after first meeting of
Sam, Frodo and Gollum.
(one chapter) Owing to Boromir's treachery and Frodo's use of
Ring the hunt fails. Aragorn is overwhelmed with grief, thinking
he has failed trust as Gandalf's successor. Merry and Pippin are
distracted by losing Sam and Frodo, and wandering far (deluded
by echoes) they also get lost. Merry and Pippin come up
Entwash into Fangorn and have adventure with Treebeard.
Treebeard turns out a decent giant. They tell him their tale. He
is very perturbed by news of Saruman, and more so by the fall of
Gandalf. He won't go near Mordor. He offers to carry them to
Rohan and perhaps Minas Tirith. They set off.
(one chapter) Boromir, Aragorn, and Legolas and Gimli.
Legolas feels the Company is broken up, and Gimli has no
more heart. The four part. Aragorn and Boromir to Minas
Tirith, Legolas and Gimli north. Legolas means to join Elves of
Lothlorien for a while. Gimli means to go back up Anduin to
Mirkwood and so home. They journey together. Legolas and
Gimli both sing laments. Suddenly they meet Gandalf!
Gandalf's story. Overcame Balrog. The gulf was not deep
(only a kind of moat and was full of silent water). He followed
the channel and got down into the Deeps. ?? Clad himself in
Mithril-mail and fought his way out slaying many trolls.
[?Does] Gandalf shine in the sun. He has a new power after
overcoming of Balrog? He is now clad in white.
Gandalf is dreadfully downcast at the news of the loss of
Frodo. He hastens south again with Legolas and Gimli.
(one chapter) Inside Minas Tirith. Aragorn began to suspect
Boromir at the time of the loss of Frodo. A sudden change seems
to come over Boromir. He is anxious to go away home at once
and not look for Frodo.
Minas Tirith is besieged by Sauron's forces that have crossed
Anduin at Osgiliath, and by Saruman who is come up in rear.
There seems no hope. Evil has now got complete hold of
Boromir. The Lord of Minas Tirith is slain. They choose
Aragorn as chief. Boromir is jealous and enraged - he deserts
and sneaks off to Saruman, seeking his aid in getting lordship.
At this point the siege must be broken by Gandalf with
Legolas and Gimli and by Treebeard. (But not too much fighting
or it will spoil last battle of Gorgoroth.) Gandalf might simply
walk through lines, or else have a contest with Saruman.
Treebeard walks through. They see a huge tree walking over
plain.
Saruman shuts himself up in Isengard.
Sally from Minas Tirith. Gandalf drives Black Riders back
and takes crossing of Anduin at Osgiliath. Horsemen ride
behind him to Gorgoroth. Hear a great wind and see flames out
of Fire Mountain.
Somehow or other Frodo and Sam must be found in Gorgor-
oth. Possibly by Merry and Pippin. (If any one of the hobbits is
slain it must be the cowardly Pippin doing something brave. For
instance -
Here the outline breaks off, but after a large space continues again
lower down on the same page, and now with numbered chapters,
beginning at 'XXVI'. Since 'Moria (ii)' was XVII, my father envisaged
eight further chapters to this point.
After fall of Mordor. They return to Minas Tirith. Feast.
Aragorn comes to meet them. Moon rises [?on] Minas Morgol.
XXVI Aragorn looks out and sees moon rise over Minas
Morgol. He remains behind - and becomes Lord of Minas Ithil.
What about Boromir? Does he repent? [Written later in margin:
No - slain by Aragorn.]
Gandalf calls at Isengard (see addition). [This addition is
found on a separate slip: On way home: they ride horses from
Rohan. The[y] call at Isengard. Gandalf knocks. Saruman
comes out very affable. 'Ah, my dear Gandalf. What a mess the
world is in. Really we must consult together - such men as we
are needed. Now what about our spheres of influence?'
Gandalf looks at him. 'I am the White Wizard now,' he said -
'look at your many colours.' Saruman is [?clad] in a filthy mud
colour. 'They seem to have run.' Gandalf takes his staff and
breaks it over his knee. [?He gives a thin shriek.] 'Go, Saruman,'
he said, 'and beg from the charitable for a day's digging.'
Isengard is given to the Dwarves. Or to Radagast?]
They ride home to Rivendell.
XXVII Song of the Banished Shadow.
Rivendell. Meeting with Bilbo.
XXVIII What happens to Shire?
Last scene. Sailing away of Elves [added faintly: Bilbo with
them] and the [sic]
XXIX Sam and Frodo go into a green land by the Sea?
Certain of these narrative ideas had appeared before, in the earlier
plot-sketches referred to on p. 207, such as the siege of Minas Tirith,
Frodo's separation from the Company and Sam's seeking for him,
Gollum's seeming reform and guidance to the Mountain of Fire, the
Searching Eye, the 'host of evil' led by Black Riders, Gollum's
treachery, Frodo's inability to cast the Ring into the Fire, and the
and secure.
To look through this new outline in sequence: the fact that nothing
is told herc about Loth l6rien (though its people are mentioned- 'Elves
befriend them', and later it is told that it was Legolas' intention 'to join
Elves of Lothlorien for a while') suggests, not that the Lothlorien story
had been written, but that my father was on the verge of writing it and
had no need to set down much about it. If it had been written he
would surely not have included it in the outline at all; and the words
'While they are up trees orcs go by - also Gollum' look like the first
written emergence of this element in the story. But the actual name
Lothlorien has already made its appearance in the LR papers, in the
new version of 'The Ring Goes South', p. 167.
The 'angle' between the river flowing down from Dimrill Dale
(Redway, Blackroot, Silverlode) and the Great River (see the original
rough sketch-map given in VI.439) is now called Angle. Here the
Company 'remained long', but there is no indication whether Elves of
Lothlorien were present. It is at Angle that a major feature of the
structure of LR first enters. In an earlier outline (VI.410) Frodo
becomes separated from the Company, involuntarily as it seems,
through fear of Gollum; but now (being already determined to go
directly to Mordor rather than by way of Minas Tirith) he is brought
to the point of fleeing away alone through Boromir, who desires to
appropriate the Ring for the purposes of Minas Tirith. Already my
father foresaw that Boromir, speaking to Frodo apart, would ask to
see the Ring again, that (as is implied) Frodo would refuse, and that
Boromir would then try to take it by force and oblige Frodo to put it
on in order to escape from him - explaining how it was that Frodo got
clear away and could not be found despite the hunt for him. On the
other hand, since all this takes place at Angle, there is no journey
down Anduin, boats are never mentioned - and there is no mention
even of Frodo's need to cross the river. The whole story of how Sam
i would come to accompany Frodo on his journey to the Fiery
Mountain would be entirely changed (though not before it had been
further developed from its form in this outline).
In the account of that journey several new names appear. Lithlad
the Plain of Ash appears once in LR (The Two Towers IV.3, 'the
mournful plains of Lithlad and of Gorgoroth'), though for some
reason the name was not entered on either of the maps published in
LR; it is found however on the First Map (p. 309) and subsequently.
The plain of Lithlad lay south of Ered Lithui, the Ash Mountains,
away to the east of Barad - dur; there would thus seem no reason for
Frodo and Sam ever to have come to it, as seems to be implied in this
outline. The valley of Gorgoroth, above which was built the Dark
Tower, appears in the fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond' (p. 144),
and the Gap of Gorgoroth ('with Orc guard-towers on either side') in
this outline is the first intimation of a pass between the mountain-walls
fencing Mordor on north and west (afterwards Udun, between the
Morannon and the Isenmouthe).
The winged Nazgul - Black Riders horsed now upon vultures -
appear, but here in the role of leaders of the host of Mordor as it rides
out to battle. Sam's part in the final events was still very shadowy and
speculative, but already the idea enters that Gollum (whose inner
motives seem to have been far less complex in respect of Frodo than
they afterwards became) would betray Sam and Frodo to spiders in a
ravine or glen 'at the entrance to Gorgoroth'. At this stage, as will be
seen later, the entry into Mordor by way of the Stairs of Cirith Ungol
did not exist, and when that name appears it will bear a different
geographical sense. The spiders seem to have arisen in the context of
explaining how Sam came to take the Ring from Frodo; and features
of the later story begin to take shape: Sam's rout of the spider(s),
Gollum's betrayal of the unconscious Frodo to the orcs, his capture
and imprisonment (but here in Minas Morgol), Sam's entry into the
fortress wearing the Ring, Frodo's sudden hatred of Sam whom he sees
as an orc, and their escape.
The Breaking of the Fellowship imposed on my father the need to
follow two distinct narrative paths, but he would still follow the
fortunes of Frodo and Sam somewhat further before returning to the
others (since the reunion of Sam and Frodo, involving Sam's first
falling in with Gollum, was much less swiftly achieved than it is in
FR).
The second narrative again takes a huge step forward here, but there
was still a great way to go. Most important, Merry and Pippin now
move into a central position in the story, and it is they (not as in a
former outline Frodo, VI.410) who encounter Treebeard - although
the entire narrative of the attack by Orcs on the camp beneath Amon
Hen, Boromir's death, the forced march across Rohan, and the battle
between the Rohirrim and the Orcs on the eaves of Fangorn is absent.
Merry and Pippin merely become lost as they seek for Frodo and Sam,
and wandering along the river Entwash (which here first appears)
come to the Forest of Fangorn without any relation to the larger story;
but through them Treebeard (now finally established as a 'decent' sort
of person, cf. p. 71) comes to play a part in the breaking of the siege of
Minas Tirith.
On the other hand, for Aragorn and Boromir my father had at this
time a plan almost wholly different from what would soon emerge.
Departing together to Minas Tirith, the original Company will be still
further fragmented, for Legolas and Gimli (escaping the fate of
capture by Saruman momentarily projected for them, p. 210) set off
north together. It is indeed Legolas and Gimli who fall in with Gandalf
returned, now clad in white and possessed of new powers, and with
him they turn back and hasten south; but there is no indication of
where they met him (save that it was south of Lothlorien), and in fact
no indication of geography for any of these events. Rohan plays no
part in the story at all (beyond the several mentions of the Horsemen
riding against Mordor), and the Siege of Minas Tirith is (mysteriously)
to be 'broken by Gandalf with Legolas and Gimli and by Treebeard.'
Boromir would play a shameful part, treacherously fleeing to Saruman
(a faint adumbration of Wormtongue?) in his hatred for Aragorn,
chosen to be successor to the slain lord of Minas Tirith. Isengard
remains inviolate, and the Ents do not appear (10) - yet the visit of
Gandalf to Saruman in his fortress, and his humiliation, is present,
placed here on the homeward journey.
Much of the narrative 'material', it may be said, was now assem-
bled. But the structure of that narrative in the lands west of Anduin as
my father now foresaw it would be wholly changed, and changed
above all by the emergence of the Kingdom of Rohan into the full light
of the story, and of its relations with Gondor and with Isengard.(11)
NOTES.
1. 'Reach Lothlorien Dec. 15': this date does not agree with the
chronology, which is surprising. The time-scheme referred to on
p. 169, which clearly accompanied this state of the narrative,
continues on from 'December 9 Snow on Caradras' (a date that
actually appears in the text) thus:
Dec. 10 Retreat. Wolves at night.
11. Start for Moria. Reach Doors at sundown.
Travel in Mines till midnight (15 miles).
12. Well-chamber. All day in Moria (20 miles). Night in
21st Hall.
13. Mazarbul. Battle of Bridge. Escape to Lothlorien.
This scheme was made when the 'Lothlorien' story was at
any rate in progress, but the earliest sketch of the march of
the Company from Dimrill Dale (p. 218) demands the date
13 December.
2. The name Anduin, thus written and not the result of subsequent
correction, occurs in the fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond'
(p. 157 note 5). The name Blackroot shows that this outline was
written after the new version of 'The Ring Goes South' (see
p. 166).
3. This sentence was put in as an afterthought at a different point in
the manuscript, but it seems appropriate to insert it here.
4. Sam said this to Frodo after the night spent with the Elves in the
Woody End (FR p. 96).
5. This part of the text was written in pencil, but these few lines
were overwritten in ink later (apparently simply for clarity's
sake), and the form as overwritten is actually Morgul; elsewhere
in the outline, however, the form is Morgol.
6. The 'ring from Mazarbul' evidently refers back to what is said
earlier: 'They take [Frodo's] ring and find it is no good.'
7. A scrap of torn paper found in isolation bears the following
pencilled notes dashed down in haste:
Could Sam steal the Ring to save Frodo from danger?
The Black Riders capture Frodo and he is taken to Mordor -
but he has no Ring and is put in prison.
Sam flees - but is pursued by Gollum.
It is Sam and Gollum that wrestle on the Mountain.
Frodo is saved by the fall of the Tower.
It seems very probable that these notes belong to the same time as
the present outline. On the same scrap are notes referring to the
Shire at the end of the story, when Frodo and Sam returning find
that 'Cosimo [Sackville-Baggins] has industrialised it. Factories
and smoke. The Sandymans have a biscuit factory. Iron is found.'
The last words are: 'They go west and set sail to Greenland.'
Greenland is clear, however improbable it may seem; but cf. the
last words of the present outline (p. 212): 'Sam and Frodo go into
a green land by the Sea'.
8. Fangorn is called 'the Topless Forest' in a rejected sentence in the
new version of 'The Ring Goes South', p. 167.
9. In the outline given in VI.411 the King of Ond was Boromir's
father.
10. Since in the sketch-plot given in VI.410 the 'tree-giants' assailed
the besiegers of Ond, it may be that their presence was under-
stood in this outline also; but this is not in any way suggested.
11. Looked at in terms of the movements of the principal persons, it
seems that a crucial idea, though at once rejected, would turn out
to have been the capture of Legolas and Gimli by Saruman
(p. 210). My father remained convinced, perhaps, that Saruman
did nonetheless play a part in the fragmentation of the Company
of the Ring; and the aimless wanderings of Merry and Pippin
along the Entwash that brought them to Treebeard's domain
were transformed into the forced march of captives to Isengard -
for Isengard was close to the Forest of Fangorn. Thus entered also
the death of Boromir, and the withdrawal of Aragorn from
immediate departure to Minas Tirith.
XII.
LOTHLORIEN.
In the first fully-written narrative, the two chapters 6 and 7 in Book II
of FR ('Lothlorien' and 'The Mirror of Galadriel') are one, though
here treated separately. This text is extremely complex in that, while it
constitutes a nearly complete narrative, the form in which it exists is
not the result of writing in a simple sequence; parts of it are later, with
later names, and were written over a partly or wholly erased earlier
form. Other parts were not rewritten and earlier names appear,
sometimes corrected, sometimes not; and the original text was much
emended throughout.
In fact, it seems to me certain that the whole text, including some
scraps of initial drafting and outlining on isolated pages, belongs to
the same time and the same impulse. The 'August 1940' examination
script was once again used for the entire complex of papers. The
manuscript varies greatly in difficulty, some sections being fairly clear
and legible, others very much the reverse. In places words are so
reduced and letter-shapes so transformed that one might well hit upon
the right word but not know it, if there are insufficient clues from the
context or from the later text. Word-endings are miswritten or
omitted, successive forms of a sentence are left standing side by side,
and punctuation is constantly lacking. This is a case where the actual
appearance of the manuscript is exceedingly different from the printed
interpretation of it.
No satisfactory presentation of such a text as this is really possible.
If the earliest form of the story is given, and the later alterations
ignored, then difficulties such as the following are encountered. In the
passage where Legolas reports to the others his conversation with the
Elves in the mallorn-tree (FR p. 357) the original narrative (in ink)
had:
Now they bid us to climb up, three in each of these trees that stand
here near together. I will go first.
This was corrected (in pencil) to a form close to that of FR:
Now they bid me to climb up with Frodo, of whom they seem to
have heard. The rest they ask to wait a little, and to keep watch at
the foot of the tree.
But the primary narrative then continues (in pencil) on the next sheet
with this revised story, in which Legolas and Frodo are the first to
ascend (with Sam behind). On the other hand, if all later alteration
(which is in any case far from achieving an overall consistency) is
admitted, the FR form is closely approached and the earlier stages
ignored. I have adopted therefore the former method, and attempt to
clarify complexities as they arise. The notes to this chapter form a
commentary on the text and are integral to its presentation.
A few brief notes about the sojourn of the Company in Lothlorien
begin the long preparatory synopsis given in the last chapter (p. 207).
There is there no suggestion of Galadriel and Celeborn; and it is 'at
Angle', between Blackroot and Anduin, that Boromir accosts Frodo
and attempts to take the Ring. The first march from Moria is more
fully sketched in the following notes.
They pass into Dimrill Dale. It is a golden afternoon, but dark in
the Dale.
Mirrormere. Smooth sward. Deep blue like night sky.
[Notes scribbled in later: Orcs won't come out by day. Frodo's
wounds dressed by Trotter, so they discover the mithril-mail.]
No time to stay. Gimli's regret. See the black springs of
Morthond;(1) follow it.
Make for Lothlorien. Legolas' description. The wood is in winter
but still bears leaves that have turned golden. They do not fall till
spring, when the green comes, and great yellow flowers. It was a
garden of the Wood-elves long ago - before the dwarves disturbed
the evils beneath the mountains, he said (Gimli does not like that).
They lived in houses in trees before the darkening world drove them
underground.(2)
In dusk Frodo again hears feet but cannot see anything following.
They march on into the dusk.
They take refuge in trees, and see Orcs march by beneath.
Frodo long after sees a sloping back[ed] figure moving swiftly. It
sniffs under the tree, stares up, and then disappears.
The passage of the Orcs beneath, and the coming of Gollum, were first
referred to in the outline given on p. 207.
I turn now to the narrative. The chapter is numbered XVIII, and
paginated continuously (with one gap), but it has no title. As I have
said, I give (so far as possible) the most original form of the text, and
do not, as a rule, indicate small subsequent emendations bringing it
nearer to FR, though many or all of them may well belong to the same
time.
'Alas, I fear we cannot wait here longer!' said Aragorn. He
looked towards the mountains, and held up his sword.
'Farewell, Gandalf,' he cried. 'Did I not say to you: if you pass
the doors of Moria, beware? I know not what put the words
into my mouth, but alas! that I spoke true. No fortune could
have been more grievous. What hope have we without you?' He
turned to the Company. 'We must do without hope!' he said.
'At least we may yet be avenged. Let us gird ourselves and weep
no more. It is better to strike hard than to mourn long! Come!
We have a long road and much to do!'
They rose and looked about them. Northward the Dale ran
up into a glen of shadows between two great arms of the
mountains, above which three tall white peaks towered.(4) Many
torrents fell white over the steep sides into the valley. A mist of
foam hung in the air.
To the west [read east](5) the mountains marched to a sudden
end, and far lands could be descried beyond them vague and
wide. To the south the mountains receded endlessly as far as
sight could reach. Less than a mile away, and below them a little
(for they stood still on the skirts of the mountains) lay a mere: it
was long and oval, shaped like a great spear-head that-thrust up
deep into the northern glen. Its southern end was beyond the
edge of the shadow, under the sunny sky. But its waters were
dark: a deep blue like the night sky seen through a lighted
window. Its face was still and unruffled. About it lay a smooth
sward shelving on all sides down to its bare unbroken rim.(6)
'There lies Kheledzaram,(7) the Mirror-mere!' said Gimli sadly.
'I hoped to look on it in joy and linger here a while. I remember
that he said: "May you have joy of the sight, but whatever you
may do I cannot stay." Now it is I that must hasten away, and
he that must stay.'
The Company went down the road, fading and broken, but
still showing that here a great paved way had once wound up
from the lowlands to the gate. It passed hard by the sward of
Mirror-mere, and there not far from the road by the brink of the
water there stood a single column, now broken at the top.
'That is Durin's Stone,' said Gimli. '[We >] I cannot pass
without pausing there a minute, to look upon the wonder of the
Dale.'
'Be swift then,' said Trotter, looking back towards the Gate.
'The sun sinks early. Orcs will not come out till it is dusk, but
we must be far away ere night comes. The moon will appear for
the last time tonight and it will be dark.'
'Come with me, Frodo,' said the dwarf, 'and any else who
wish., But only Sam and Legolas followed.(8) He ran down the
l
sward and looked at the pillar. The runes upon it were worn
away. 'This stone marks the spot where Durin first looked in the
Mirror-mere,' said the dwarf. 'Let us look.' They stooped over
the water.
For a while they could see nothing. No shadow of themselves
fell on the mere. Slowly at the edges they saw the forms of the
encircling mountains revealed, mirrored in a profound blue, and
amidst it a space of sky. There like jewels in the deep shone
glinting stars, though the sunlight was in the sky above. No '
shadow of themselves was seen.
'Fair Kheledzaram,' said Gimli. 'There lies the crown of
Durin till he wakes. Farewell.' He bowed and turned away, and
hastened back up the sward to the road again.
It wound now quickly down running away southwest [read
southeast](9) out from between the arms of the mountains. A
little below the Mere they came upon a deep well of dark water
almost black; from it a freshet fell over a stone lip and ran
gurgling away in a stony channel. 'This is the spring whence the
Blackroot rises,' said Gimli. 'Do not drink from it: it is icy cold.'
'Soon,' said Trotter, 'it will become a swift river, fed by many
other torrents from [?all the land]. Our road leads beside it. And
we must go swifter than it runs. There is our way.' Out on
before them they could see the Blackroot winding away in the
lower land, until it was lost in a distance that glowed like pale
gold on the edge of sight.
'There lie the woods of Lothlorien,' said Trotter. 'Their eaves
are yet many miles away (four leagues or more), but we must
reach them before night.'
[Now they went on silently](10) for some time, but every step
grew more painful for Frodo. In spite of the bright [?winter] sun
the air seemed biting after the warm dark of Moria. Sam at [his]
side was also failing. The cut in his arm was paining him.(11)
They lagged behind together. Trotter looked back anxiously.
'So much has happened,' he said, 'that I had forgotten you,
Frodo, and Sam. I am sorry: you are both hurt, and we have
done nothing to ease you or to find out how serious are your
hurts. What shall we do? There is nothing we can do in this
empty region, with the gate and our foes so near behind.'
'How far is there still to go?' said Frodo.
They have a first meal 2 1/2 hours after noon. Beside a
beautiful little fall in the Blackroot, where another torrent
coming from west flowed out and they both fell over some green
stone. Trotter dresses Sam's wound. 'The cut is looking ill - but
luckily is not (as orc-cuts may be) poisoned.' Trotter bathes it in
the water and lays a leaf of athelas against it.
Then he turns attention to Frodo. Reluctantly he strips off his
jacket and tunic, and suddenly the mithril-corslet shines and
flashes in the sun. Trotter strips it from him and holds it up.
Description of its radiance.
'This is a pretty hobbit-skin!' said Trotter. 'If it were known
they wore such a hide, all the hunters of the world would be
crowding to the Shire.'
'And all the hunters of the world [would] shoot in vain,' said
Gimli, staring in amazement. 'Bilbo saved your life - it was a
generous and timely gift.'
There was a great dark bruise on Frodo's side and breast, the
rings driven through shirt into flesh... His left side also was
bruised against the wall.
'Nothing is broken,' said Trotter.
The text now becomes for a space very ragged, the story being in its
most primitive form of composition, and soon passes into a rough
sketch of the narrative to come.
Kindle fire warm water bathed in athelas. Pads fastened under
the mail, which is put on again.
They hurry on again. Sun sinks behind mountains. Shadows creep
out down mountain side and over the land. Dusk is about them, but
there is a glow on the land to the East.... pale yellow in dusk.(12)
They have come 12-14 miles from Gate and are nearly done.
Legolas describes Lothlorien.
Near forest gate another small river comes in from right (west)
across the path. The bridge is no longer there. They wade across and
halt on other side with water as defence. Climb trees.
Orcs ... at night. But a pleasant [? adventure] with Wood-elves
next day. They are escorted to Wood-elves' houses in trees in angle
of Blackroot and Anduin by light marches (no orc comes). Several
(2-3) pleasant days. 40 miles. Sorrow of whole world for news of
fall of Gandalf. They are now nearly 100 leagues (300 miles) south
of Rivendell.(13)
An isolated page of very rough drafting takes up with Frodo's reply to
Gimli's question (' "What is it?" said the dwarf', FR p. 351):
'I don't know,' said Frodo. 'I thought I heard feet, and I thought I
saw light - like eyes. I have done so often since we entered Moria.'
Gimli paused and stooped to the ground. 'I can hear nothing but
the night-speech of plant and stone,' he said. 'Come, let us hurry!
The others are out of sight already.'
The night wind blew chill up the valley to meet them. They passed
many scattered trees, tall with pale stems. In front a great shadow
loomed, and the endless rustle of leaves like poplars in the breeze.
'Lothlorien,' said Legolas. 'Lothlorien. We are come to the
[?gates] of the golden wood. Alas that it is winter.'
Here the formed narrative takes up again. (14)
Under the night the trees stood tall before them, arched over
the stream and road that ran suddenly beneath their spreading
boughs. In the dim light of the stars their stems were grey, and
their quivering leaves a hint of fallow gold.
'Lothlorien!' said Aragorn. 'Glad I am to hear the leaves! We
are barely five leagues from the Gates, but we can go no further.
Let us hope that there is some virtue of the Elves that will
protect us this night - if Elves indeed dwell here still in the
darkening world.'(15)
'It is long since any of my folk returned hither,' said Legolas;
'for we dwell now very far away; yet it is told that though some
have gone for ever some abide still in Lothlorien, but they dwell
deep in the wood many leagues from here.'(16)
'Then we must fend for ourselves tonight,' said Aragorn. 'Let
us go on yet a little way until the wood is all about us, and then
will turn aside from the road.'
A mile within the wood they came upon another stream
flowing down swiftly from the tree-clad slopes that climbed
back towards the Mountains. They heard it splashing over a fall
away among the shadows on their right. Its dark hurrying
waters ran across the path before them and joined the [Black-
root >] Morthond in a swirl of dim pools among the roots of
trees.
'Here is the [Taiglin >] Linglor,' said Legolas. 'Of it the
wood-elves made many songs, remembering the rainbow upon
its singing falls and the golden flowers that floated in its foam.
All is dark now, and the Bridge of Linglor that the elves made is
broken down. But it is not deep. Let us wade across. There is
healing in its [cold >] cool waters / But I will bathe my feet in it
- for it is said that its waters are healing. On the further bank
we can rest, and the sound of running water may bring us
sleep.'(17)
They followed the elf, and one by one climbed down the steep
bank and bathed their [feet](18) in the stream. For a moment
Frodo stood near the bank and let the cold water flow about his
tired feet. It was cold but its very touch was clean, and as it
mounted to his knees he felt that the stain of travel and the
weariness of his limbs was washed away.
When all the Company had crossed they sat and rested and
ate a little food, while Legolas told them tales of Lothlorien
before the world was grey.
Here there is a space in the manuscript, with the words insert song.
There are many pages of rough working for Legolas' song of Amroth
and Nimrodel, leading to a version that (while certainly belonging to
this time) is for much of its length very close to the form in FR (pp.
354 - 5). The name of the maiden is Linglorel (once Inglorel), becom-
ing Nimladel, Nimlorel (see note 17), and in the final version found
here Nimlothel (corrected to Nimrodel). Her lover was Ammalas (as
he appears in the narrative that follows), and the form Amroth can be
seen emerging as my father wrote the first line of the ninth verse:
'When Ammalas beheld the shore', with a rejected name Amaldor
momentarily appearing before the line became 'When Amroth saw the
fading shore'.
Associated with the texts of the song is a version of the words of
Legolas that preceded it (FR p. 353):
'I will sing you a song,' he said. 'It is a fair song in the woodland
tongue: but this is how it runs in the common speech, as some in
Rivendell have turned it.' In a soft voice hardly to be heard amid the
rustle of the leaves above he began.
This is apparently the first appearance of the term Common Speech. -
The final version found here is virtually as that in FR through the first
six verses (but with the name Nimlothel); then follows:
A wind awoke in Northern lands
and loud it blew and free,
and bore the ship from Elven-strands
across the shining sea.
Beyond the waves the shores were grey,
the mountains sinking low;
as salt as tears the driving spray
the wind a cry of woe.
When Amroth saw the fading shore
beyond the heaving swell
he cursed the faithless. ship that bore
him far from Nimlothel.
An Elven-lord he was of old
before the birth of men
when first the boughs were hung with gold
in fair Lothlorien.
A variant of this verse is given:
An Elven-lord he was o f old
when all the woods were young
and in Lothlorien with gold
the boughs of trees were hung.
The eleventh verse, and the last verse, are as in FR, but the twelfth
reads here:
The foam was in his flowing hair,
a light about him shone;
afar they saw the waves him bear
as floats the northern swan.
Pencilled suggestions in the margins, no doubt of this same time, move
the verses a little further towards the final form; and at the end of the
song my father noted: 'If all this is included, Legolas will have to say
that it represents only a few of the verses of the original (e.g. the
departure from Lorien is omitted).'
An outline for the next part of the story may be given here. It is very
roughly written indeed, and I have made one or two obvious
corrections.
Legolas sings song of Linglorel.
Legolas describes the houses of the Galadrim.
Gimli says trees would be safer.
Aragorn decides to climb for night.
They find a group of great trees near the falls (to right). Legolas is
about to climb one with many low boughs when a voice in
elven-speech comes from above. He fears arrows. But after a
converse in elven-speech reports that all is well. Warnings of things
afoot have reached folk of Lorien from the Gladden Fields, when
Elrond's messengers came East. They have set guards. (Saw many
orcs passing west of Lorien towards Moria: put this in later, when
Elves talk to Company.) [See pp. 227 - 8.]
They did not challenge or shoot because they heard Legolas' voice
- and after the sound of his song. They have a great platform in 2
trees by the falls.
Legolas, Sam and Frodo go on platform with 3 elves. Others on
another platform and Aragorn and Boromir in crotch of a large tree.
Orcs come to Linglorel in night. The Elves do not shoot because
they are in too great number: but one slips away to warn folk in
wood and prepare an ambush.
After all is quiet again Frodo sees Gollum creep into wood. He
looks up and begins to climb, but just as the Elves fit arrows to bow
Frodo stays them. Gollum has a sense of danger and fades away.
Next day the Elves lead them to Angle.
After the song of Legolas the narrative continues:
His voice faltered and fell silent. 'I do not remember all the
words,' he said. 'It is a fair song, and that is but the beginning;
for it is long and sad. It tells how sorrow came upon Lothlorien,
Lorien of the flowers, when the world darkened, and the
dwarves awakened evil in the Mountains.'
'But the dwarves did not make the evil,' said Gimli.
'I said not so,' said Legolas sadly. 'Yet evil came. And it was
told that Linglorel (19) was lost. For such was the name of that
maiden, and they gave the same name to the mountain-stream
that she loved: she sang beside the waterfalls playing upon a
harp. There in spring when the wind is in the new leaves the
echo of her voice may still be heard, they say. But the elves of
her kindred departed, and she was lost in the passes of the
mountains,(20) and none know where she now may be. It is said
in the song that the elven ship waited in the havens long for her,
but a wind arose in the night and bore him into the West; and
when Ammalas (21) her lover saw that the land was far away he
leaped into the sea, but whether he came ever back to the Hither
Shores and found Linglorel is not told.
'It is said that Linglorel had a house built in branches of a
tree; for that was the manner of the Elves of Lorien, and may be
yet; and for that reason they are called Galadrim, the Tree-
people.(22) Deep in the wood the trees are very tall and strong.
And our people did not delve in the ground or build fastnesses
before the Shadows [read Shadow] came.'
'Yet even so, in these latter days, a dwelling in the trees might
be thought safer than sitting on the ground,' said Gimli. He
looked across the water to the road that led back to Dimrill
Dale, and then up into the roof of dark boughs above them.
'Your words bring good counsel, Gimli,' said Aragorn.(23) 'We
have no time to build, but tonight we will become Galadrim and
seek- refuge in the tree-tops, if we can. We have sat here beside
the road longer already than was wise.'
The Company now turned aside from the path, and went into
the shadows of the deeper woods westward, away from the
Blackroot. Not far from the falls of Linglorel they found a
cluster of tall strong trees, some of which overhung the
stream.(24)
'I will climb up,' said Legolas, 'for I am at home among trees,
or in their branches; though these trees are of a kind strange to
me. Mallorn is their name, those that bear the yellow blossom,
but I have never climbed in one. I will see now what is their
shape and growth.' He sprang lightly upward from the ground
and caught a branch that grew from the tree-bole high above his
head. Even as he swung a voice spoke from the shadows above
them.
'Daro!'(25) it said, and Legolas dropped back again in surprise
and fear. He shrank against the tree-bole. 'Stand still,' he
whispered to the others, 'and do not speak!'
There was a sound of laughter above their heads and another
clear voice spoke in the Elven-tongue. Frodo could catch little
that was said, for the speech of the silvan folk east of the
mountains, such as they used among themselves, was strange.(26)
Legolas looked up and answered in the same tongue.
'Who are they and what do they say?' said [Pippin >] Merry.
'They're elves,' said Sam. 'Can't you hear the voices?'
'They say,' said Legolas, 'that you breathe so loud that they
could shoot you in the dark. But that you need have no fear.
They have been watching us for a long time. They heard my
voice across the Linglorel and knew of what people I came, so
that they did not oppose our crossing. And they have heard my
song and heard the names of Linglorel and Ammalas. Now they
bid us to climb up, three in each of these trees that stand here
near together. I will go first.'
The last part of Legolas' remarks was changed in pencil to the text
of FR: 'Now they bid me to climb up with Frodo, of whom they seem
to have heard. The rest they ask to wait a little, and to keep watch at
the foot of the tree.' The manuscript then continues for a short stretch
in pencil, and clearly belongs with this alteration, since Legolas and
Frodo are the first to ascend.
Out of the shadows there was let down a ladder of silver rope
- very slender it looked, but proved strong enough to bear many
men. Legolas climbed swiftly followed more slowly by Frodo,
and behind came Sam trying not to breathe loud. The tree was
very tall [written above: a mallorn], and its large bole was fair
and round with a smooth silken bark. The branches grew out
nearly straight at first and then swept upwards; but near the top
of the main stem dwindled into a crown, and there they found a
wooden platform [added: or 'flet' as such things were called in
those days: the elves called it talan. It was] made of grey
close-grained wood - the wood of the mallorn.
Three elves were seated on it. They were clad in grey, and
could not be seen against the tree-stems unless they moved. One
of them uncovered a small lamp that gave out a slender silver
beam and held it up, looking at their faces. Then he shut out the
light and spoke words of welcome in the Elven tongue. Frodo
spoke haltingly in return.
'Welcome,' they said again in ordinary speech. Then one
spoke slowly. 'We speak seldom any tongue but our own,' he
said; 'for we dwell now in the heart of the woods and do not
willingly have dealings with any other folk. Some only of us go
abroad for the gathering of tidings and our protection. I am one.
Hathaldir is my name. My brothers Orfin and Rhimbron speak
your tongue but little. We have heard of your coming, for the
messengers of Elrond passed through Lothlorien on their way
home by the Dimrill Stair.(27) We had not heard of hobbits
before, nor even seen one until now. You do not look evil, and
you come with Legolas, who is of our northern kindred. We are
willing to do as Elrond asked and befriend you. Though it is not
our custom we will lead you through our land. But you must
stay here tonight. How many are you?'(28)
'Eight,' said Legolas. 'Myself, four hobbits, two men (one is
Aragorn, an elf-friend, beloved of Elrond), and a dwarf. [And
we are yet weighed with sorrow, for our leader is lost. Gandalf
the wizard was lost in Moria.]'(29)
'A dwarf!' said Hathaldir. 'I do not like that. We do not have
dealings with dwarves since the evil days. We cannot allow him
to pass.'
'But he is an elf-friend and known to Elrond,' said Frodo.
'Elrond chose him to be of our company; and he has been
valiant and faithful.'
The Elves spoke together in soft voices, and questioned
Legolas in their own tongue. 'Well then,' said Hathaldir. 'We
will do this though it is against our liking. If Aragorn and
Legolas will guard him and answer for him he shall go blindfold
through Lothlorien.
'But now there is need of haste. Your company must not
remain longer on the ground. We have been keeping watch on
the rivers, ever since we saw a great troop of orcs going north
along the skirts of the mountains towards Moria many days
ago. Wolves were howling on the wood's border. If you have
indeed come from Moria the peril cannot be far behind.
Tomorrow you must go far. The hobbits shall climb up here and
stay with us - we do not fear them! There is another [guard's
nest > flet >] talan in the next tree. There the others must go.
You Legolas must be our security. And call to us if aught is
amiss. Have an eye on that dwarf!'
Legolas went down again bringing Hathaldir's message; and
soon afterwards Merry and Pippin climbed up onto the high
[?platform]. 'There,' said Merry, 'we have brought up your
blankets for you. The rest of our baggage Aragorn has hidden in
a deep drift of old leaves.'
'There was no need,' said Hathaldir. 'It is chill in the tree tops
in winter, though the wind is southward; but we have drink and
food to give you that will keep out night chills, and there are
skins and wraps to spare with us.'
The hobbits accepted the second supper gladly, and soon,
wrapped as warmly as they could, they tried to get to sleep.
Weary as they were it was not easy for them, for hobbits do not
like heights and do not sleep upstairs (even when they have any
upstairs, which is rare). The flet was not at all to their liking. It
had no kerb or rail, and only a wind screen on one side which
could be moved and fixed in different places. 'I hope if I do get
to sleep I shan't roll off,' said Pippin. 'Once I get to sleep, Mr
Pippin,' said Sam, 'I shall go on sleeping whether I roll off or
no.'
Frodo lay for a while and looked at the stars that glinted now
and again through the thin roof of pale rustling leaves above
him. Sam was snoring at his side before he himself, lulled by the
wind in the leaves above and the sweet murmur of the falls of
Nimrodel (30) below, fell into a sleep with the song of Legolas still
running in his mind. Two of the elves sat with arms about their
knees speaking in whispers; one had gone down to take up his
post on one of the lower boughs.
Late in the night Frodo woke. The other hobbits were asleep.
The elves were gone. The last thin rind of the waning moon was
gleaming dimly in the leaves. The wind was still. A little way off
he heard a harsh laugh and the tread of many feet. Then a ring
of metal. The sounds died away southward going deeper into
the wood.
The grey hood of one of the elves appeared suddenly above
j
the edge of the flet. He looked at the hobbits. 'What is it?' said
Frodo, sitting up.
'Yrch!' said the Elf in a hissing whisper, and cast onto the flet
the rope-ladder rolled up.
'Orcs,' said Frodo, 'what are they doing?' But the Elf was
gone.
There was no more sound', even the leaves were silent. Frodo
could not sleep. Thankful as he was that they had not been
caught upon the ground, he knew that the trees offered little
protection save concealment, if orcs discovered where they
were, and they have a scent keen as hounds. He drew out Sting
and saw it glow like a blue flame, and slowly fade.
[Before long Hathaldir came back to the flet and sat near the
edge with drawn bow and arrow in the string. Frodo rose and
crawled to the edge of the flet and peered over.](31) Nonetheless
the sense of immediate danger did not leave him. Rather it
deepened. He crawled to the edge of the flet and peered over. He
was almost sure he heard the soft sound of stealthy movement
in the leaves at the tree's foot far below. Not the elves, he feared,
for the woodland folk were altogether noiseless in their move-
ments (so quiet and deft as to excite the admiration even of
hobbits). And there seemed to be a sniffing noise. Something
was scrabbling on the bark of the tree. He lay looking down
holding his breath. Something was climbing, and breathing with
a soft hissing sound. Then coming up close to the stem he saw
two pale eyes. They stopped and gazed upwards unwinking.
Suddenly they turned away and a shadowy figure slipped round
the trunk and vanished on the further side. Shortly afterwards
Hathaldir climbed up.
'There was something in this tree that I have never seen
before,' he said. 'Not an orch [sic]. But I did [not] shoot because
I was not sure, and we dare not risk battle. It fled as soon as I
touched the tree-stem. There was a strong company of orcs.
They crossed the Nimrodel (curse them for defiling our water)
and went on - though they seemed to pick up some scent, and
halted for a while searching on both sides of the path where you
sat last evening. We dare not risk a battle, three against a
hundred, and we did not shoot, but Orfin has gone back by
secret ways to our folk, and we shall not let them return out of
Lorien if we can help it. There will be many elves hidden
[?beside] Nimrodel ere another night is gone. But now we too
must take the road as soon as it is light.'
Dawn came pale from the East. As the light grew it filtered
through the golden leaves of the mallorn, and chill though the
dawn-wind blew it seemed to be sunshine of an early summer
morning. The pale blue sky peeped between the moving leaves.
Climbing a slender branch up from the flet Frodo looked out
and saw all the valley southward, eastward of the dark shadow
of the mountains, lying like a sea of fallow gold tossing gently in
the breeze.
[When they had eaten the sweet food of the elves, sparing
their own dwindling store,] The morning was still young and
cold when / the Company set out again, guided by Hathaldir.
Rhimbron remained on guard on the flet. Frodo looked back
and caught a gleam of white among the grey tree-stems.
'Farewell Nimrodel! ' said Legolas. 'Farewell,' said Frodo. It
seemed to him that he had never heard a running water so
musical: ever changing its note and yet playing ever the same
endless music.
They went some way along the path on the east [read west](32)
of the Blackroot, but soon Hathaldir turned aside into the trees
and halted on the bank under their shadow. 'There is one of my
people over there on the other side,' he said, 'though you may
not see him. But I see the gleam of his hair in the shadow.' He
gave a call like the low whistle of a bird, and from the tree-stems
an elf stepped out, clad in grey, but with his hood thrown back.
Skilfully Hathaldir flung over the stream to him a coil of stout
grey rope. He caught it and fastened it to a tree-stem near the
bank.
'The river has already a strong stream here,' said Hathaldir.
'It is not wide; but it is too deep to wade. And it is very cold. We
do not set foot in Morthond unless we are compelled. This is
how we cross! Follow me!' Securing his end of the rope to
another tree, he stepped onto it and ran lightly across, as if he
was on a firm path.
'I can walk this path,' said Legolas, 'but only with care, for
we have not this skill in Mirkwood; but the rest cannot. Must
they swim?'
'No,' said Hathaldir. 'We will cast two more ropes. Fasten
them to the tree man-high and half-high, and then with care
they can cross.' The Elves drew the strong grey ropes taut across
the stream. Then first Aragorn crossed slowly, holding the
upper rope. When it came to the hobbits' turn Pippin went first.
He was light of foot and went across with fair speed, holding
only with one hand on the lower rope. Merry trying to rival him
slipped for a moment and hung over the water. Sam shuffled
across slowly and cautiously behind Frodo, looking down at the
dark eddying water below his feet as if it was a chasm of many
fathoms deep. Gimli and Boromir came last.
When they had all crossed Rhimbron (33) untied the ends of the
ropes and cast two back. Then coiling up the other he returned
to Nimrodel to keep watch in his post.
'Now,' said Hathaldir, 'you have entered the Gore, Nelen (34)
we call it, which lies in the angle between Blackroot and Anduin
the Great River. We do not allow strangers to walk here if we
can prevent it, nor to go deep into the angle where [our
dwellings are o] we live. As was agreed I shall here blindfold the
eyes of Gimli the dwarf; the others shall walk free for a while
until we get nearer to our hidden dwellings.'
This was not at all to Gimli's liking. 'The agreement was
made without my consent,' he said. 'I will not walk blindfold
like a prisoner or traitor. My folk have ever resisted the Enemy,
nor had dealings with orcs or any of his servants. Neither have
we done harm to the Elves. I am no more likely to betray your
secrets than Legolas or any others of the Company.'
'You speak truly, I do not doubt,' said Hathaldir. 'Yet such is
our law. I am not master of the law, and cannot set it aside at
my own judgement. I have done all that I dared in letting you set
foot in [Nelen >] the Gore.'
But Gimli was obstinate. He set his feet firmly apart and laid
his hand upon the haft of his axe. 'I will go forward free, or I
will go back north alone, though it be to perish in the
wilderness,' he said.
'You cannot depart,' said Hathaldir grimly. 'You cannot
cross Morthond, and behind you north are hidden defences and
guards across the open arms of the Angle between the rivers.
You will be slain before you get nigh them.' The other elf fitted
an arrow to his bow as Gimli drew his axe from his belt.
'A plague on dwarves and their stiff necks!' muttered Legolas.
'Come!' said Aragorn. 'If I am to lead the Company you must
all do as I bid. We will all be blindfold, even Legolas. That will
be best, though it will make the journey slow and dull.'
Gimli laughed suddenly. 'A merry troop of fools we shall
look!' he said. 'But I will be content, if only Legolas shares my
blindness.'
This was little to Legolas' liking.
'Come!' said Aragorn. 'Let us not cry "plague on your stiff
neck" also. But you shall not be our hostage. We will all share
the necessity alike.'
'I shall claim full amends for every fall and stubbed toe, if you
do not lead us well,' said Gimli as they bound a cloth about his
eyes.
'You will not have need,' said Halthadir. 'We shall lead you
well, and our paths are smooth and green.'
'Alas! for the folly of these days,' said Legolas in his turn.
'Here all are enemies of the one Enemy, and yet I must walk
blind, while the sun is shining in the woodland under leaves of
gold!'
'Folly it may seem,' said Hathaldir. 'And in truth in nothing is
the evil of the Enemy seen more clear than in the estrangements
that divide us all. Yet so little faith and trust is left that we dare
not endanger our dwellings. We live now in ever-growing peril,
and our hands are more often set to bowstring than to harp. The
rivers have long defended us, [but] they are no longer a sure
guard. For the Shadow has crept northward all about our land.
Some speak [?already] of departing, yet for that maybe it is
already too late. The mountains to the west have an evil name
for us. To the east the land is waste. It is rumoured that we
cannot with safety go south of the mountains through Rohan,
and that even if we did pass into the western lands the shores of
the sea are no longer secure. It is still said that there are havens
in the north beyond the land of the half-high,(35) but where that
lies we do not know.'
'You might at least guess now,' said Pippin. 'The havens lie
west of my land, the Shire.'
The elf looked at him with interest. 'Happy folk are hobbits,'
he said, 'to dwell near Havens of Escape. Tell me about them,
and what the sea is like, of which we sing, but scarce remember.'
'I do not know,' said Pippin. 'I have never seen it. I have never
been out of my land before. And had I known what the world
was like outside, I do not think I should have had the heart to
leave it.'
'Yes, the word is full of peril, and dark places,' said Hathal-
dir. 'But still there is much that is very fair, and though love is
now mingled with grief it is not the less deep. And some there
are among us who sing that the Shadow will draw back again
and peace shall be. Yet I do not believe that the world will be
again as of old, or the light of the sun as it was before. For the
Elves I fear it will mean only a peace in which they may pass to
the Sea unhindered and leave the middle-earth for ever. Alas!
for Lothlorien. It would be a life far from the mellyrn. But if
there are mallorn-trees beyond the Sea none have reported it.'
As they spoke thus the Company went slowly along paths in
the wood. Hathaldir led them and the other elf walked behind.
Even as Hathaldir had said they found the ground beneath their
feet smooth and soft, and they walked slowly but without fear
of hurt or fall.(36) Before long they met many grey-clad elves
going northward to the outposts.(37) They brought news, some of
which Legolas interpreted. The orcs had been waylaid, and
many destroyed; the remainder had fled westward towards the
mountains, and were being pursued as far as the sources of
Nimrodel. The elves were hastening now to guard the north
borders against any new attack.
I interrupt the text here to introduce a page of fearsomely rough
notes which show my father thinking about the further course of the
story from approximately this point. They begin with references to
Cerin Amroth and to 'a green snowdrop', with the Elvish words nifred
and nifredil. It may well be that this is where the name nifredil arose
(both nifred 'pallor' and nifredil 'snowdrop' are given under the stem
NIK-W in the Etymologies, V.378). Then follows:
News. H[athaldir] says he has spoken much of Elves. What of
Men? The message spoke of 9. Gandalf. Consternation at news.
With this cf. p. 227 and note 29. My father was thinking of
postponing the revelation of Gandalf's fall to the halt at Cerin
Amroth, before he finally decided that it should not be spoken of until
they came to Caras Galadon.
There is then a sentence, placed within brackets, which is unhappily
- since it is probably the first reference my father ever made to
Galadriel - only in part decipherable: '[?Lord] of Galadrim [?and?a]
Lady and...... [? went] to White Council.' The remaining notes are as
follows:
They climb Cerin Amroth. Frodo says [read sees] Anduin far
away a glimpse of Dol Dugol.(38) H[athaldir] says it is reoccupied and
a cloud lowers there.
They journey to Nelennas.(39)
Lord and Lady clad in white, with u hite hair. Piercing eyes like a
lance in starlight.(40) Lord says he knows their quest but won't speak
of it.
They speak [of] Gandalf. Song of Elves.
Of the [?harbour] to Legolas and aid to Gimli. Beornings.(41)
Leave Lothlorien. Parting of ways at Stonehills.
I return now to the draft text.
'Also,' said Hathaldir, 'they bring me a message from the
Lord of the Galadrim. You may all walk free. He has received
messages from Elrond, who begs for help and friendship to you
each and all.' He removed the bandage from Gimli's eyes. 'Your
pardon,' he said bowing. 'But now look on us nonetheless with
friendly eyes. Look and be glad, for you are the first dwarf to
behold the sun upon the trees of Nelen-Lorien since Durin's
day!'
As the bandage dropped from his eyes Frodo looked up. They
were standing in an open space. To the left stood a great mound
covered with a sward of grass, as green as if it were springtime.
Upon it as a double crown grew two circles of trees: the outer
had a bark of snowy white and were leafless but beautiful in
their slender and shapely nakedness; the inner were mallorn-
trees of great height, still arrayed in gold. High amid their
branches was a white flet. At their feet and all about the sides of
the hill the grass was studded with small golden starshaped
flowers, and among them nodding on slender stalks flowers of a
green so pale (42) that it gleamed white against the rich green of
the grass. Over all the sky was blue and the sun of afternoon
slanted among the tree-stems.
'You are come to Coron [written above: Kerin] Amroth.(43)
For this is the mound of Amroth, and here in happier days his
house was built. Here bloom the winter flowers in the unfading
grass: the yellow elanor (44) and the pale nifredil. Here we will rest
a while, and come to the houses of the Galadrim (45) at dusk.
They cast themselves on the soft grass at the mound's foot;(46)
but after a while Hathaldir took Frodo and they went to the hill
top, and climbed up to the high flet. Frodo looked out East and
saw not far away the gleam of the Great River which was the
border of Lorien. Beyond the land seemed flat and empty, until
in the distance it rose again dark and drear. The sun that lay
upon all the lands between seemed not to lie upon it.
'There lies the fastness of Southern Mirkwood,' said Hathal-
dir. 'For the most part it is a forest of dark pine and close fir -
but amidst it stands the black hill Dol-Dugol, where for long the
Necromancer had his [? fort]. We fear it is now rehabited and
threatens, for his power is now sevenfold. A dark cloud lies
often above it. [?? Fear of the time is] war upon our eastern
borders.'
The draft text continues ('The sun had sunk behind the mountains')
without a break, whereas in FR a new chapter, 'The Mirror of
Galadriel', now begins; and I also pause in the narrative here (it was
not long before my father introduced this division). It will be noticed
that towards the end of the earliest 'Lothlorien' material given thus far
the narrative is less advanced towards the final form, and notably
absent is Frodo's sight southward from Cerin Amroth of 'a hill of
many mighty trees, or a city of green towers', Caras Galad(h)on (FR p.
366).
The next text of 'Lothlorien' is a good clear manuscript, thus titled,
with a fair amount of alteration in the process of composition; but it
cannot be entirely separated off from the initial drafting as a distinct
'phase' in the writing of the story, for it seems certain that at the
beginning of the chapter the draft and the fair copy overlapped (see
note 14). There seems nothing to show, however, that the rest of the
new text actually overlapped with the drafts, and it is in any case most
convenient to treat it separately.
The text of 'Lothlorien' in FR was now for the most part very
closely approached, the chief differences of substance being the
absence of all passages referring to or implying Aragorn's previous
knowledge of Lothlorien,(47) and the meeting of the Company with
the Elves coming up from the south shortly after their rest at noon on
the first day of their journey from Nimrodel (see note 37). The original
story was still followed in various minor points, as in its being Pippin
and not Merry who speaks to Haldir (replacing Hathaldir of the draft
text, see note 28) of the Havens (p. 232); Sam does not refer to his
uncle Andy (FR p. 361), and it was still in his arm that he was
wounded in Moria (p. 201).(48)
By an addition to the text that looks as if it belongs with the first
writing of the manuscript the Dimrill Stair acquires its later meaning
(see p. 164): ' "Yonder is the Dimrill Stair," said Aragorn pointing to
the falls. "Down the deep-cloven way that climbs beside the torrent we
should have come, if fortune had been kinder" ' (FR p. 347).
The Silverlode was at first named Blackroot or Morthond, but in the
course of the writing of the manuscript the name became Silverlode
(the Elvish name Kelebrant being added afterwards). The Company
'kept to the old path on the west side of the Blackroot' (FR p. 360; cf.
note 32); but ten lines later Haldir says, in the text as written,
'Silverlode is already a strong stream here'. It was presumably at this
juncture that my father decided on the transposition of the names of
the northern and southern rivers (see note 36), a transposition that
had already taken place in the initial drafting of 'Farewell to Lorien'
(p. 279).
One of Haldir's brothers is still called Orfin as in the original draft;
at one occurrence only, he is changed to Orofin, and in the drafting of
'Farewell to Lorien' he is Orofin (p. 279; FR Orophin). The other, in
the draft text Rhimbron, is now Romrin, becoming Rhomrin in the
course of the writing of the manuscript.
The Elvish name for 'the Gore' is here Narthas, where the original
text (p. 231) has Nelen (replacing Nelennas): 'you have entered
Narthas or the Gore as you would say, for it is the land that lies like a
spear-head (49) between the arms of Silverlode and Anduin the Great,
and 'I have done much in letting you set foot in Narthas'. But Haldir
here says also: 'The others may walk free for a while until we come
nearer to the Angle, Nelen, where we dwell', where the original draft
has 'until we get nearer to our hidden dwellings'; and when they come
to Kerin Amroth (as it is now written) he tells Gimli that he is 'the first
dwarf to behold the trees of Nelen-Lorien since Durin's Day!' - where
the original draft has Nelen-Lorien likewise (p. 234).
This seems to show that in the first stage my father intended Nelen,
Nelen-Lorien, 'the Gore', 'the Gore of Lorien', as the name for Lorien
between the rivers, without devising an Elvish name for the southward
region where the Elves of Lorien actually dwelt; while in the stage
represented here Narthas 'the Gore' is the larger region, and Nelen
'the Angle' the smaller, the point of the triangle or tip of the
spearhead. If this is so, when Hathaldir/Haldir first spoke of 'the trees
of Nelen-Lorien' the name bore a different sense from what he
intended by the same words in the present manuscript.(50)
In the first sentence of this chapter in this manuscript Trotter is so
named, as he was throughout the preceding one (p. 204); this was
changed at once to Aragorn, and he is Aragorn as far as the
Company's coming to the eaves of the Golden Wood, where he
becomes Elfstone in the text as written.(51) Subsequently Aragorn, so
far as it went, was changed to Ingold, and Elfstone was likewise
changed to Ingold; then Ingold was changed back to Elfstone.(52)
There remain to notice some remarkable pencilled notes that occur
on pages of this manuscript. The first is written on the back of the page
(which is marked as being an insertion into the text) that bears the
Song of Nimrodel, and reads:
Could not Balrog be Saruman? Make battle on Bridge be between
Gandalf and Saruman? Then Gandalf... clad in white.
The illegible words might conceivably be comes out. This was struck
through; it had no further significance or repercussion, but remains as
an extraordinary glimpse into reflections that lie beneath the written
evidence of the history of The Lord of the Rings (and the thought,
equally baldly expressed, would reappear: p. 422).
A second rejected note was written at some later time against
Haldir's words 'they bring me a message from the Lord and Lady of
the Galadrim':
Lord? If Galadriel is alone and is wife of Elrond.
A third note, again struck through, is written on the back of the
inserted page that carries the preliminary draft of Frodo's perceptions
of Lothlorien (note 46):
Elf-rings
.... [illegible word or name]
The power of the Elf-rings must fade if One Ring is destroyed.
NOTES.
1. On 'the black springs of Morthond' see p. 166.
2. At this point, then, my father conceived of the Elves of Lothlorien
as dwelling underground, like the Elves of Mirkwood. Cf.
Legolas' later words on p. 225: 'It is said that Linglorel had a
house built in branches of a tree; for that was the manner of the
Elves of Lorien, and may be yet... And our people [i.e. the Elves
of Mirkwood] did not delve in the ground or build fastnesses
before the Shadow came.'
3. This passage was first used at the end of the preceding chapter,
'Moria (ii)': see p. 204 and note 20.
4. On the emergence of the three peaks (the Mountains of Moria) in
the new version of 'The Ring Goes South' see p. 166.
5. The word west is perfectly clear, but can only be a slip; FR has of
course east. The same slip occurs in the first emergence of this
passage at the end of 'Moria (ii)' (p. 203), and it occurs again in
the fair copy of 'Lothlorien'.
6. This passage, from 'Northward the Dale ran up into a glen of
shadows, was first used at the end of Moria (ii): see pp. 203-4.
7. For the first appearance of Kheledzaram see p. 166.
8. In FR Legolas did not go down with Gimli to look in Mirrormere.
9. The word southwest is clear (and occurs again in the fair copy of
'Lothlorien'), yet is obviously a slip; d. note 5.
10. The words Now they went on silently were struck out emphati-
cally, but they are obviously necessary.
11. It is not told in the original text of 'Moria (ii)' (p. 194) that Sam
received any wound in the Chamber of Mazarbul; this story first
appears in the fair copy of that chapter (see p. 201).
12. The text becomes illegible for a couple of lines, but elements of a
description of the wood can be made out.
13. This passage possibly suggests that at this stage the Company did
not encounter Elves on the first night. The 'several (2 - 3) pleasant
days' are clearly the days of their journey through Lothlorien, not
the days they spent at 'Angle' (cf. the plot outline, p. 207: 'Dec.
15, 16, 17 they journey to Angle between Anduin and Blackroot.
There they remain long').
That they were now nearly 300 miles south of Rivendell
accords precisely with the First Map: see Map II on p. 305, where
the distance from Rivendell to the confluence of Silverlode and
Anduin on the original scale (squares of 2 cm. side, 2 cm. = 100
miles) is just under six centimetres measured in a straight line.
Aragorn's reckoning, when they came to the eaves of the Golden
Wood, that they had come 'barely five leagues from the Gates',
does not accord with the First Map, but that map can scarcely be
used as a check on such small distances.
14. It seems that my father began making a fair copy of the chapter
when the draft narrative had gone no further than the point
where Frodo and Sam began to lag behind as the Company went
down from Dimrill Dale. When he came to this point he stopped
writing out the new manuscript in ink, but continued on in pencil
on the same paper, as far as Legolas' words 'Alas that it is
winter!' He then overwrote this further passage in ink and erased
the pencil; and then went back to further drafting on rough paper
- which is why there is this gap in the initial narrative, and why it
takes up again at the words 'Under the night the trees stood tall
before them...' Overlapping of draft and fair copy, often writing
the preliminary draft in pencil on the fair copy manuscript and
then erasing it or overwriting it in ink, becomes a very frequent
mode of composition in later chapters.
15. In FR these last words are given to Gimli, for Aragorn in the later
story had of course good reason to know that Elves did indeed
still dwell in Lothlorien.
16. In a preliminary draft of Legolas' words here they take this form:
So it is said amongst us in Mirkwood, though it is long since we
came so far. But if so they dwell deep in the woods down in
Angle, Bennas between Blackroot and Anduin.
The name Bennas occurs only here in narrative, but it is found in
the Etymologies, V.352, under the root BEN 'corner, angle':
Noldorin bennas 'angle'. The second element is Noldorin nass
'point; angle' (V.374 - 5).
17. The passage beginning 'A mile within the wood...' (of which the
first germ is found on p. 221) appears also in a superseded draft:
A mile within the wood they came upon another stream
flowing down swiftly from the tree-clad slopes that climbed
back towards the Mountains to join the Blackroot (on their
left), and over its dark hurrying waters there was now no
bridge.
'Here is the Taiglin,' said Legolas. 'Let us wade over if we
can. Then we shall have water behind us and on the east, and
only on the west towards the Mountains shall we have much to
fear.'
In the consecutive narrative at this point the name Taiglin (from
The Silmarillion: tributary of Sirion in Beleriand) underwent
many changes, but it is clear that all these forms belong to the
same time - i.e., the final name had been achieved before the first
complete draft of the chapter was done (see note 30). Taiglin was
at once replaced by Linglor, and then Linglor was changed to
Linglorel, the form as first written shortly afterwards in the
manuscript and as found in the rough workings for Legolas'
song. This was succeeded by Nimladel, Nimlorel, and finally
Nimrodel.
18. The word actually written was waters.
19. Linglorel was altered in pencil, first to Nimlorel and then to
Nimrodel (see note 17). I do not further notice the changes in this
case, but give the name in the form as it was first written.
20. the mountains changed to the Black Mountains (the White
Mountains FR).
21. Ammalas changed in pencil to Amroth; see p. 223.
22. In a separate draft for this passage the reading here is: 'Hence the
folk of Lorien were called Galadrim, the Tree-folk (Ornelie)'.
23. Aragorn was here changed later to Elfstone, and at some of the
subsequent occurrences; see p. 236 and note 52.
24. Written in the margin here: 'Name of the tree is mallorn'. This is
where my father first wrote the name; and it enters the narrative
immediately below.
25. On daro! 'stop, halt' see the Etymologies, V.353, stem DAR.
26. A detached (earlier) draft describes the event differently:
Turning aside from the road they went-into the shadows of
the deeper wood westward of the river, and there not far from
the falls of Linglorel they found a group of tall strong trees.
Their lowest boughs were above the reach of Boromir's arms;
but they had rope with them. Cast[ing] an end about a bough
of the greatest of the trees Legolas... up and climbed into the
darkness.
He was not long aloft. 'The tree-branches form a great
crown near the top,' he said, 'and there is a hollow where even
Boromir might find some rest. But in the next tree I think I saw
a sheltered platform. Maybe elves still come here.'
At that moment a clear voice above them spoke in the
elven-tongue, but Legolas drew himself hastily [?close] to the
tree-bole. 'Stand still', he said, 'and do not speak or move.'
Then he called back into the shadows above, [? answering] in
his [?own] tongue.
Frodo did not understand the words, for [the speech of the
wood-elves east of the mountains differed much from] the
language was the old tongue of the woods and not that of the
western elves which was in those days used as a common
speech among many folk.
There is a marginal direction to alter the story to a form in which
the voice from the tree speaks as Legolas jumps up. The passage
which I have bracketed is not marked in any way in the
manuscript, but is an example of my father's common practice
when writing at speed of abandoning a sentence and rephrasing it
without striking out the first version.
For a previous reference to the 'Common Speech' see p. 223;
now it is further said that the Common Speech was the tongue of
'the western elves'.
27. The words by the Dimrill Stair still refer to the pass (later the
Redhorn Pass or Redhorn Gate): see p. 164. FR has here (p. 357)
up the Dimrill Stair.
28. In a rejected draft for this passage, in content otherwise very
much the same as that given, none of the three Elves of Lorien
speak any language but their own, and Legolas has to translate.
The three Elves are here called Rhimbron, [Rhimlath >] Rhimdir,
and Haldir: when this last name replaced Hathaldir it was thus a
reversion. - Hathaldir the Young was the name of one of
Barahir's companions on Dorthonion (V.282).
29. This passage was enclosed in square brackets in the manuscript,
and subsequently struck out. It is explicit later (p. 247) that the
loss of Gandalf was not spoken of at this time.
30. The name Nimrodel now appears in the text as written; see notes
17 and 19.
31. These two sentences are not marked off in any way in the
manuscript, but were nonetheless obviously rejected at once. In
the narrative that follows Hathaldir did not climb up to the flet
until Gollum had disappeared (as in FR, p. 360); Frodo's peering
over the edge is repeated; and 'Nonetheless the sense of immedi-
ate danger did not leave him' must follow on the fading of Sting
at the end of the previous paragraph.
32. 'They went back to the old path on the west side of the
Silverlode', FR p. 360 (second edition: 'to the path that still went
on along the west side of the Silverlode'). Since the Nimrodel
flowed in from the right, and they had to cross it, the road or path
from Moria was on the right (or west) of the Blackroot (Silver-
lode), which was on their left, as is expressly stated (see note 17);
the word east here, though perfectly clear, is therefore a mere slip
(cf. notes 5 and 9).
33. Earlier (p. 230) Rhimbron has remained at the flet, and the
Company is guided by Hathaldir alone; now Rhimbron, like
Rumil in FR (pp. 360 - 1), comes with Hathaldir as far as the
crossing of the river and then returns. It is seen from the
manuscript that my father perceived here the need for Rhim-
bron's presence at the crossing.
34. A rejected form here was Nelennas; cf. Bennas 'Angle' in note 16,
and stem N E L 'three' in the Etymologies, V.376. On Nelennas see
note 39.
35. Contrast Hathaldir's words earlier (p. 227): 'We had not heard of
hobbits before' (i.e. before they received tidings of the Company
from the messengers of Elrond). At the corresponding point in FR
(p. 357) Haldir said: 'We had not heard of - hobbits, of halflings,
for many a long year, and did not know that any yet dwelt in
Middle-earth.'
36. An isolated passage, dashed down on a sheet of the same paper as
that used throughout and clearly belonging to the same time,
shows the first beginning of the passage in FR p. 364, 'As soon as
he set foot upon the far bank of Silverlode a strange feeling had
come upon him...':
As soon as they pass Silverlode into Angle Frodo has a curious
sense of walking in an older world- unshadowed. Even though
'wolves howled on the wood's border' they had not entered.
Evil had been heard of, Orcs had even set foot in the woods,
but it had not yet stained or dimmed the air. There was some
secret power of cleanness and beauty in Lorien. It was winter,
but nothing was dead, only in a phase of beauty. He saw never
a broken twig or disease or fungus. The fallen leaves faded to
silver and there was no smell of decay.
A part of this appears a little later in FR, p. 365, where however
the 'undecaying' nature of Lothlorien is expressed in terms less
immediate: 'In winter here no heart could mourn for summer or
for spring. No blemish or sickness or deformity could be seen in
anything that grew upon the earth.' Cf. note 46.
Silverlode has here replaced Blackroot: see p. 235. On the same
page as this passage are the following notes:
Transpose names Blackroot and Silverlode. Silverlode
dwarfish Kibilnala elvish Celeb(rind)rath.
The meaning of this is seen from Boromir's words in the new
version of 'Moria (i)', p. 177: 'Or we could go on far into the
South and come at length round the Black Mountains, and
crossing the rivers Isen and Silverlode enter Ond from the regions
nigh the sea.' The two river-names being transposed, Silverlode in
this speech of Boromir's in the earlier chapter was changed at this
time to Blackroot (p. 187 note 1); and in the new version of 'The
Ring Goes South' the Dwarvish name of the northern river was
changed from Buzundush to Kibil-nala (p. 167 and note 22).
In the original text of 'The Ring Goes South' occurs by later
substitution the form Celebrin (VI.434 note 15). For rath in
Celeb(rind)rath (and also rant in the later name Celebrant) see
the Etymologies, V.383, stem R A T.
37. The following passage was rewritten several times. In the original
form this dialogue occurs:
'What is this?' said one of the Elves, looking in wonder at
Legolas. 'By his raiment of green and brown [?he is an] Elf of
the North. Since when have we taken our kindred prisoner,
Hathaldir? '
'I am not a prisoner,' said Legolas. 'I am only showing the
dwarf how to walk straight without the help of eyes.'
Later, a passage was inserted making the blindfold march longer:
All that day they marched on by gentle stages. Frodo could
hear the wind rustling in the leaves and the river away to the
right murmuring at times. He had felt the sun on his face when
they passed across a glade, as he guessed. After a rest and food
at noon, they went on again, turning it seemed away from the
river. After a little while they heard voices about them. A great
company of elves had come up silently, and were now speaking
to Hathaldir.
In the corresponding passage in FR (p. 364) they had passed a
day and a night blindfold, and it was at noon on the second day
that they met the Elves coming from the south and were released
from their blindfolds.
38. Dol Dugol occurs in 'Moria (i)', p. 178.
39. 'They journey to Nelennas': at an earlier occurrence of Nelennas
(see p. 231 and note 34) it was changed to Nelen, 'the Gore'.
Since they are now deep in 'the Gore', Nelennas perhaps refers
here to the city (Caras Galadon); see p. 261 note 1.
40. It is notable that the Lady of Lothlorien at first had white hair;
this was still the case in the first actual narratives of the sojourn of
the Company in Caras Galadon (pp. 246, 256).
41. For explanation of these references see p. 248 and note 15.
42. The actual text here is extremely confused, and I set it out as a
characteristic, if extreme, example of my father's way of writing .
when actually composing new narrative (nothing is struck out
except as indicated):
... the grass was studded with small golden [struck out:
flowers] starshaped and slanting [?leaved] and starshaped and
among them on slender nodding on slender stalks flowers of a
green so pale...
43. In the Etymologies, V.365, stem KOR, both coron and cerin
appear as Noldorin words, the latter being the equivalent of
Quenya korin 'circular enclosure' (cf. the korin of elms in which
Meril-i-Turinqi dwelt in The Book of Lost Tales, where the word
is defined (1.16) as 'a great circular hedge, be it of stone or of
thorn or even of trees, that encloses a green sward'). But the
meaning of cerin in Cerin Amroth is certainly 'mound', and
indeed long afterwards my father translated the word as 'circular
mound or artificial hill'. - Amroth has now replaced Ammalas in
the text as written; see note 21.
44. This is the first appearance of the name elanor, which replaced at
the time of writing another name, yri (see note 45).
45. After 'the houses of the Galadrim' my father wrote Bair am Yru
(see note 44), but struck it out.
46. A page inserted into the manuscript (but obviously closely
associated in time with the surrounding text) gives the primitive
drafting for the passage in FR p. 365 beginning 'The others cast
themselves down upon the fragrant grass' and continuing to
Sam's words about the 'elvishness' of Lorien. The latter part of
this is of an extreme roughness, but I give the rider in full as a
further exemplification of the actual nature of much preliminary
drafting:
The others cast themselves down on the fragrant grass, but
Frodo stood for a while lost in wonder. Again it seemed to him
as if he had stepped through a high window that looked on a
vanished world. It was a winter that did not mourn for summer
or for spring, but reigned in its own season beautiful and
eternal and perennial. He saw no sign of blemish or disease,
sickness or deformity, in anything that grew upon the earth,
nor did he see any such thing in [Nelen o] the heart of Lorien.
Sam too stood by him with a puzzled expression rubbing his
eyes as if he was not sure that he was awake. 'It's sunlight and
bright day,' he muttered. 'I thought Elves were all for moon
and stars, but this is more Elvish than anything in any tale.'
and caught his breath for the sight was fair in itself but it had
a quality different to any that he felt before [variant: had beside
a beauty that the common speech could not name]. The shapes
of all that he saw All that he saw was shapely but its shapes
seemed at once clearcut and as if it had been but newly
conceived and drawn with swift skill swift and [?living] and
ancient as if [it] had endured for ever. The hues were green,
gold and blue white but fresh as if he but that moment
perceived them and gave them names.
47. Thus the entire passage (FR pp. 352 - 3) in which Boromir demurs
at entering the Golden Wood and is rebuked by Aragorn is
absent, as also is the conclusion of the chapter in FR, from 'At the
hill's foot Frodo found Aragorn, standing still and silent...' (pp.
366-7).
This is a convenient point to mention a small textual corrup-
tion in the published form of this chapter (FR p. 359). In the fair
copy manuscript Pippin says: 'I hope, if I do get to sleep in this
bird-loft, that I shan't roll off'; but in the typescript that
followed, not made by my father, bird-loft became bed-loft, and
so remains.
48. A few other details worth recording are collected here:
wood-elves (p. 222) remains, where FR (p. 353) has Silvan
Elves.
the common speech (p. 223) remains, where FR (p. 353) has
the Westron Speech.
in ordinary speech (p. 227) becomes in ordinary language,
changed later to in the Common Tongue (in the Common
Language FR p. 357).
Hathaldir's words about hobbits (p. 227) are scarcely changed:
We had not heard of - hobbits before, and never until now have
we seen one; see note 35.
and that even if u e did pass into the western lands the shores of
the sea are no longer secure in the original draft (p. 232) becomes
and the mouths of the Great River are held by the Enemy (are
watched by the Enemy, FR p. 363).
there are still havens to be found, far north and west, beyond
the land of the half-high (cf. p. 232 and note 35), where FR
(p. 363) has havens of the High Elves... beyond the land of the
Halfings.
near Havens of Escape (p. 232) was at first retained, but
changed at once to near the shores of the Sea, as in FR.
49. 'Narthas or the Gore as you would say, for it is the land that lies
like a spear-head': the word for (preserved in FR p. 361) is used
because gore, Old English gara (in modern use meaning a
wedge-shaped piece of cloth, but in Old English an angular point
of land) was related to gar 'spear', the connection lying in the
shape of the spear-head.
50. Later, Narthas and Nelen-Lorien were changed to the Naith (of
Lorien), though in 'the Angle, Nelen, where we dwell' Nelen was
left to stand. - Dol Dugol, retained from the original draft, with
the reference to the Necromancer (p. 234), was later changed to
Dol Dughul.
51. This is to be connnected with the interruption in the writing of
the fair copy manuscript (note 14).
52. In fact, there is a good deal of variation, since when making these
name-changes my father worked through the manuscripts rapidly
and missed occurrences. Thus in this manuscript, in addition to
Aragorn > Ingold > Elfstone and Elfstone > Ingold > Elfstone,
there is found also: Aragorn > Elfstone; Elfstone > Ingold;
Elfstone > Ingold > Aragorn; Elfstone > Aragorn. This
apparently patternless confusion can be explained: see pp.
277 - 8. The name Ingold for Aragorn has been met before, in
later emendation to the text of Gandalf s letter at Bree (p. 80 and
note 17).
XIII.
GALAD RIEL.
I have divided the draft manuscript of the 'Lothlorien' story into two
parts, although at this stage my father continued without break to the
end of FR Book II Chapter 7, 'The Mirror of Galadriel'; and I return
now to the point where I left it on p. 234. From the coming of the
Company to Cerin Amroth the draft is in thick, soft pencil, and very
difficult.
The sun had sunk behind the mountains, and the shadows
were falling in the wood, when they went on again. Now their
paths went deep into dense wood where already a grey dusk had
gathered. It was nearly night under the trees when they came
out suddenly under a pale evening sky pierced by a few early
stars. There was a wide treeless space running in a vast circle
before them. Beyond that was a deep grass-clad dike, and a high
green wall beyond. [? Rising] ground inside the circle was
[?? thick with] mallorn-trees, the tallest they had yet seen in that
land. The highest must have been nearly 200 feet high, and of
great girth. They had no branches lower than 3 fathoms above
their roots. In the upper branches amid the leaves hundreds of
lights gold and white and pale green were shining.
'Welcome to Caras Galadon,' he said, 'the city of Nelennas
which [?mayhap] in your tongue is called Angle.(1) But we must
go round; the gates do not look north.'
There was a white paved road running round the circuit of
the walls. On the south side there was a bridge over the dike
leading to great gates set on the side where the ends of the wall
overlapped. They passed within into deep shadow where the
two green walls ended [? in a] lane. They saw no folk on guard,(2)
but there were many soft voices overhead, and in the distance he
[sc. Frodo] heard a voice falling clear out of the air above them.
The original pencilled text continues for some distance from this
point, but my father partly overwrote it in ink, and (more largely)
erased it wholly before the new text was set down in its place. Here
and there bits of the original text were retained, and where it was not
erased but overwritten a name or a phrase can be made out. There was
no long interval between the two forms of the text; my father may in any
case have rewritten this section mainly because it was so nearly illegible.
They passed along many paths and climbed many flights of
steps, until they saw before them amid a wide lawn a fountain.
It sprang high in the air and fell in a wide basin of silver, from
which a white stream ran away down the hill. Hard by stood a
great tree. At its foot stood three tall elves. They were clad in
grey mail and from their shoulders hung long white cloaks.
'Here dwell Keleborn and Galadriel,(3) the Lord and Lady of the
Galadrim,' said Halldir.(4) 'It is their wish that you should go up
and speak to them.'
One of the elf-wardens then blew a clear note on a small
horn, and a ladder was let down. 'I will go first,' said Haldir.
'Let the chief hobbit go next, and with him Legolas. The others
may follow as they wish. It is a long climb, but you may rest
upon the way.'
As he passed upwards Frodo saw many smaller flets to this
side or that, some with rooms built on them; but about a
hundred feet above the ground they came to a flet that was very
wide - like the deck of a great ship. On it was built a house so
large that almost it might have been a hall of men upon the earth.
He entered behind Haldir, and saw that he was in a chamber of
oval shape, through the midst of which passed the bole of the
great tree. It was filled with a soft golden light. Many elves were
seated there. The roof was a pale gold, the walls of green and
silver. On two seats at the further end sat side by side the Lord
and Lady of Lothlorien. They looked tall even as they sat, and
their hair was white and long.(5) They said no word and moved
not, but their eyes were shining.
Haldir led Frodo and Legolas before them, and the Lord bade
them welcome, but the Lady Galadriel said no word, and
looked long into their faces.
'Sit now, Frodo of the Shire,' said Keleborn. 'We will await
the others.' Each of the companions he greeted courteously by
name as they entered. 'Welcome, Ingold son of Ingrim!'(6) he
said. 'Your name is known to me, though never in all your
wanderings have you sought my house. Welcome, Gimli son of
Gloin! It is almost out of mind since we saw one of Durin's folk
in Calas Galadon. But today our long law is broken: let it be a
sign that though the world is dark, better things shall come, and
friendship shall grow again between our peoples.'
When all the Company had come in and were seated before
him, the Lord looked at them again. 'Is this all?' he asked. 'Your
number should be nine. For so the secret messages from
Rivendell have said. There is one absent whom I miss, and had
hoped much to see. Tell me, where is Gandalf the grey?'(7)
'Alas!' said Ingold. 'Gandalf the grey went down into the
shadows. He remains in Moria, for he fell there from the
Bridge.'
At these words all the Elves cried aloud with grief and
amazement. 'This is indeed evil tidings,' said Keleborn, 'the
most evil that have here been spoken for years uncounted. Why
has nothing been said to us of this before?' he asked, turning to
Haldir.
'We did not speak of it to [your people >] Haldir,' said
Frodo. 'We were weary and danger was too nigh, and after-
wards we were overcome with wonder.(8) Almost we forgot our
grief and dismay as we walked on the fair paths of Lothlorien.
But it is true that Gandalf has perished. He was our guide, and
led us through Moria; and when our escape seemed beyond
hope he saved us, and fell.'
'Tell me the full tale,' said Keleborn.
Ingold then recounted all that had happened upon the pass of
Caradras and afterwards; and he spoke of Balin and his book
and the fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul, and the fire, and the
narrow bridge, and the coming of the Balrog.
'A Balrog!' said Keleborn.(9) 'Not since the Elder Days have I
heard that a Balrog was loose upon the world. Some we have
thought are perhaps hidden in Mordor [?or] near the Mountain
of Fire, but naught has been seen of them since the Great Battle
and the fall of Thangorodrim.(10) I doubt much if this Balrog has
lain hid in the Misty Mountains - and I fear rather that he was
sent by Sauron from Orodruin, the Mountain of Fire.'
'None know,' said Galadriel, 'what may lie hid at the roots of
the ancient hills. The dwarves had re-entered Moria and were
searching again in dark places, and they may have stirred some
evil.'(11)
There was a silence. At length Keleborn spoke again. 'I did
not know,' he said, 'that your plight was so evil. I will do what I
can to aid you, each according to his need, but especially that
one of the little folk that bears the burden.'
'Your quest is known to me,' said Galadriel, [?seeing] Frodo's
look, 'though we will not here speak more openly of it. I was at
the White Council, and of all those there gathered none did I
love more than Gandalf the Grey. Often have we met since and
spoken of many things and purposes. The lord and lady-of
Lothlorien are accounted wise beyond the measure of the Elves
of Middle-earth, and of all who have not passed beyond the
Seas. For we have dwelt here since the Mountains were reared
and the Sun was young.(12)
'Now we will give you counsel.(13) For not in doing or
contriving nor in choosing this course or that is my skill, but in
knowledge of what was and is, and in part of what shall be. And
I say that your case is not yet without hope; yet but a little this
way or that and it will fail miserably. But there is yet hope, if all
the Company remains true.' She looked at each in turn, but
none blenched. Only Sam blushed and hung his head before the
Lady's glance left him. 'I felt as if I hadn't got nothing on,' he
explained afterwards. 'I didn't like it - she seemed to be looking
inside me, and asking me whether I would like to fly back to the
Shire.' Each of them had had a similar experience, and had felt
as if he had been presented with a choice between death and
something which he desired greatly, peace, ease [written above:
freedom), wealth, or lordship.
'I suppose it was just a test,' said Boromir. 'It felt almost like a
temptation. Of course I put it away at once. The men of Minas
Tirith at any rate are true.'(14) What he had been offered he did
not say.
'Now is the time for any to depart or turn back who feels that
he has done enough, and aided the Quest as much as he has the
will or power to do. Legolas may abide here with my folk, as
long as he desires, or he may return home if chance allows. Even
Gimli the dwarf may stay here, though I think he would not
long be content in my city in what will seem to him a life of
idleness. If he wishes to go to his home, we will help him as
much as we can; as far as the Gladden Fields and beyond. He
might hope thus to find the country of the Beornings, where
Grimbeorn Beorn's son the Old is a lord of many sturdy men.
As yet no wolf or orc make headway in that land.'
'That I know well,' said Gimli. 'Were it not for the Beornings
the passage from Dale to Rivendell would not be possible.(15) My
father and I had the aid of Grimbeorn on our way west in the
autumn.'
'You, Frodo,' said Keleborn, 'I cannot aid or counsel. But if
you go on, do not despair - but beware even of your right hand
and of your left. There is also a danger that pursues you, which I
do not see clearly or understand. You others of the little folk I
could wish had never come so far. For now unless you will dwell
here in exile while outside in the world many years run by, I see
not what you can do save go forward. It would be vain to
attempt to return home or to Rivendell alone.'
The whole of this passage, from 'Now is the time for any to depart',
is marked off with directions 'To come in later' and 'At beginning of
next chapter before they go'. At the top of the page, and no doubt
written in after this decision was made, is the following:
'Now we have spoken long, and yet you have toiled and
suffered much, and have travelled far,' said Keleborn. 'Even if
your quest did not concern all free lands deeply, you should here
have refuge for a while. In this city you may abide until you are
healed and rested. We will not yet think of your further road.'
The character of the manuscript now changes again. Very roughly
written in ink, it is evidently the continuation of the original pencilled
text that was over-written or erased in the preceding section (see p.
245). At the top of the first page of this part are notes on the names of
the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien. In pencilled text visible in the last
section their original names Tar and Finduilas had changed to Aran
and Rhien (note 3), and then to Galdaran and Galdri(e)n (note 9) -
Galadriel on p. 246 belongs with the later, overwritten text. Their
names now change further:
Galathir = GalaD-hir tree-lord
Galadhrien = GalaD-rhien tree-lady
The name of the Lord does not appear in the concluding part of this
chapter, but the name of the Lady is Galadrien (at the first occurrence
only, Galdrien), with pencilled correction in some cases to Galadriel.
This is a convenient place to set out my father's original scheme for
the next part of the story. This was written at furious speed but has
fortunately proved almost entirely decipherable.
They dwell 15 days in Caras Galadon.
Elves sing for Gandalf. They watch weaving and making of the
silver rope of the fibre under mallorn bark. The [? trimming] of
arrows.
King Galdaran's mirror shown to Frodo. Mirror is of silver filled
with fountain water in sun.
Sees Shire far away. Trees being felled and a tall building being
made where the old mill was.(16) Gaffer Gamgee turned out. Open
trouble, almost war, between Marish and Buckland on one hand -
and the West. Cosimo Sackville-Baggins very rich, buying up land.
(All / Some of this is future.)
King Galdaran says the mirror shows past, present, and future,
and skill needed to decide which.
Sees a grey figure like Gandalf [?going along] in twilight but it
seems to be clad in white. Perhaps it is Saruman.
Sees a mountain spouting flame. Sees Gollum?
They depart. At departure Elves give them travel food. They
describe the Stone hills, and bid them beware of Fangorn Forest
upon the Ogodruth or Entwash. He is an Ent or great giant.
j
It is seen that it was while my father was writing the 'Lothlorien'
story ab initio that the Lady of Lothlorien emerged (p. 233); and it is ]
also seen that the figure of Galadriel (Rhien, Galadrien) as a great
power in Middle-earth was deepened and extended as he wrote. In this
sketch of his ideas, written down after the story had reached Caras
Galadon, as the name Galdaran shows (note 9), the Mirror belongs to
the Lord (here called King).
It is also interesting to observe that the images of the violated Shire
seen in the Mirror were to be Frodo's. The Stone hills mentioned at the
end of this outline are mentioned also in the plot-notes given on p.
233, where the 'parting of the ways' is to take place 'at Stonehills'. The
Entwash (though not the Elvish name Ogodruth) has been named in
the elaborate outline that followed the conclusion of the story of
Moria (p. 210): 'Merry and Pippin come up Entwash into Fangorn
and have adventure with Treebeard.' Here the name Entwash clearly
implies that Treebeard is an Ent, and he is specifically so called (for the
first time) in the outline just given; but since Treebeard was still only
waiting in the wings as a potential ingredient in the narrative this may
be only a slight shift in the development of the word. The Troll-lands
north of Rivendell were the Entish Lands and Entish Dales (Old
English ent 'giant'); and only when Treebeard and the other 'Ents' had
been fully realised would the Troll-lands be renamed Ettendales and
Ettenmoors (see p. 65 note 32).
I return now to the narrative, which as I have said recommences
here in its primary form (and thus we meet again here the names
Gal(a)drien, Hathaldir, and Elfstone, which had been superseded in
the rewritten section of the draft text).
'Yet let not your hearts be troubled,' said the Lady Galdrien.
'Here you shall rest tonight and other nights to follow.'
That night they slept upon the ground, for they were safe
within the walls of Caras Galadon. The Elves spread them a
pavilion among the trees not far from the fountain, and there
they slept until the light of day was broad.
All the while they remained in Lothlorien the sun shone and
the weather was clear and cool like early spring rather than
mid-winter. They did little but rest and walk among the trees,
and eat and drink the good things that the Elves set before them.
They had little speech with any for few spoke any but the
woodland tongue. Hathaldir had departed to the defences of the
North. Legolas was away all day among the Elves. [Marginal
addition of the same time as the text: Only Frodo and Elfstone
went much among the Elves. They watched them at work
weaving the ropes of silver fibre of mallorn bark, the [? trim-
ming] of arrows, their broidery and carpentry.]
They spoke much of Gandalf, and ever as they themselves
were healed of hurt and weariness the grief of their loss seemed
more bitter. Even the Elves of Lothlorien seemed to feel the
shadow of that fall. Often they heard near them the elves
singing, and knew that they made songs and laments for the
grey wanderer [written above: pilgrim], as they called him,
Mithrandir.(17) But if Legolas was by he would not interpret,
saying that it passed his skill. Very sweet and sad the voices
sounded, and having words spoke of sorrow to their hearts
though their minds understood them not.(18)
On the evening of the third day Frodo was walking in the cool
twilight apart from the others. Suddenly he saw coming towards
him the Lady Galadrien gleaming in white among the stems. She
spoke no word but beckoned to him. Turning back she led him
to the south side of the city, and passing through a gate in a
green wall they came into an enclosure like a garden. No trees
grew there and it was open to the sky, which was now pricked
with many stars.(19) Down a flight of white steps they went into a
green hollow through which ran a silver stream, flowing down
from the fountain on the hill. There stood upon a pedestal
carved like a tree a shallow bowl of silver and beside it a ewer.
With water from the stream she filled the bowl, and breathed on
it, and when the water was again still she spoke.
'Here is the mirror of Galadrien,' she said. 'Look therein!'
Sudden awe and fear came over Frodo. The air was still and
the hollow dark, and the Elf-lady beside him tall and pale.
'What shall I look for, and what shall I see?' he asked.
'None can say,' she answered, 'who does not know all that is
in your heart, in your memory, and your hope. For this mirror
shows both the past and the present, and that which is called the
future, in so far as it can be seen by any in Middle-earth.(20) But
those are wise who can discern [to] which of [these] three [the]
things that they see belong.'
Frodo at last stooped over the bowl. The water looked hard
and black. Stars were shining in it. Then they went out. The
dark veil was partly withdrawn, and a grey light shone;
mountains were in the distance, a long road wound back out of
sight. Far away a figure came slowly: very small at first, but
slowly it drew near. Suddenly Frodo saw that it was like the
figure of Gandalf. So clear was the vision that he almost called
aloud the wizard's name. Then he saw that the figure was all
clothed in white, not in grey, and had a white staff. It turned
aside and went away round a turn of the road with head so
bowed that he could see no face. Doubt came over him: was it a
sight of Gandalf on one of his many journeys long ago, or was it
Saruman? (21)
Many other visions passed over the water one after another.
A city with high stone walls and seven towers, a great river
flowing through a city of ruins, and then breathtaking and
strange and yet known at once: a stony shore, and a dark sea
into which a bloodred sun was sinking among black clouds, a
ship darkly outlined was near the sun. He heard the faint sigh of
waves upon the shore. Then... nearly dark and he saw a small
figure running - he knew that it was himself, and behind him
[?stooped to the ground] came another black figure with long
arms moving swiftly like a hunting dog.(22) He turned away in
fear and would look no more.
'Judge not these visions,' said Galadrien, 'until they are
shown true or false. But think not that by singing under the trees
[? and alone], nor even by slender arrows from [? many] bows,
do we defend Lothlorien from our encircling foes. I say to you,
Frodo, that even as I speak I perceive the Dark Lord and know
part of his mind - and ever he is groping to see my thought: but
the door is closed.' She spread out her hands and held them as in
denial towards the East.(23) A ray of the Evening Star shone clear
in the sky, so clear that the pillar beneath the basin cast a faint
shadow. Its ray lit the ring upon her finger and flashed. Frodo
gazed at it stricken suddenly with awe. 'Yes,' she said, divining
his thought. 'It is not permitted to speak of it, and Elrond [?said
nought]. But verily it is in Lothlorien that one remains: the Ring
of Earth, and I am its keeper.(24) He suspects but he knows not.
See you not now why your coming is to us as the coming of
Doom? For if you fail then we are laid bare to the Enemy. But if
you succeed, then our power is minished and slowly Lothlorien
will fade.'(25)
Frodo bent his head. 'And what do you wish?' he said at last.
'That what should (26) be shall be,' she said. 'And that you
should do with all your might that which is your task. For the
fate of Lothlorien you are not answerable; but only for the
doing of your own task.'
Here the narrative ends (and on the last page of the manuscript my
father wrote 'Chapter ends with Lady's words to Frodo' - meaning of
course the whole story from Dimrill Dale), but the text continues at
once with Sam's vision in the Mirror (see note 19), which my father
did not at this stage integrate with what he had just written. What Sam
saw in the water appeared already in the preliminary outline (p. 249),
though there given to Frodo.
(Put in Sam's vision of the Shire before the ring scene.)
Sam saw trees being felled in the Shire. 'There's that Ted
Sandyman,' he said, 'a-cutting down trees that.shouldn't be.
Bless me, if he's not felling them on the avenue by the road to
Bywater where they serve only for shade. I wish I could get at
him. I'd fell him.' Then Sam saw a great red building with a tall
[? smoke] chimney going up where the old mill had been.
'There's some devilry at work in the Shire,' he said. 'Elrond
knew what was what, when he said Mr Brandybuck and Pippin
should go back.'(27)
Suddenly Sam gave a cry and sprang away. 'I can't stay here,'
he said wildly. 'I must go home. They're digging up Bagshot
Row and there is the poor old gaffer going down the hill with
his bits of stuff in a barrow. I must go home!'
'You cannot go home,' said the Lady. 'Your path lies before
you. You should not have looked if you would let anything that
you see turn you from your task. But I will say this for your
hope: remember that the mirror shows many things, and not all
that you see have yet been. Some of the things it shows come
never to pass, unless one forsakes the path [? and] turns aside to
prevent them.'
Sam sat on the grass and muttered. 'I wish I had never come
here.'
'Will you now look, Frodo? said the Lady, 'or have you heard
enough?'
'I will look,' said Frodo... Fear was mingled with desire.
Here the manuscript ends, with the following notes scribbled at the
foot of the page: 'Chapter ends with Lady's words to Frodo. Next
Chapter begins with departure from Lothlorien on New Year's Day,
midwinter day, just before the sun turned to the New Year and just
after New Moon.'(28)
On a separate slip, certainly of this time, is written (in ink over
pencil) the passage in which Frodo sees the searching Eye in the Mirror
(see note 23). This is almost word for word the same as in FR (pp.
379 - 80), except for these sentences: 'the black slit of its pupil opened
on a pit of malice and despair. It was not still, but was roving in
perpetual search. Frodo knew with certainty and horror...'
On the back of this slip is scribbled the original draft of the speeches
of Galadriel and Frodo beside the Mirror in FR pp. 381 - 2:
Frodo offers Galadriel the Ring. She laughs. Says he is revenged
for her temptation. Confesses that the thought had occurred to her.
But she will only retain the unsullied Ring. Too much evil lay in the
Ruling Ring. It is not permitted to use anything that Sauron has
made.
Frodo asks why he cannot see the other rings. Have you tried?
You can see a little already. You have penetrated my thought deeper
than many of my own folk. Also you penetrated the disguise of the
Ringwraiths. And did you not see the ring on my hand? Can you see
my ring? she said, turning to Sam. No, Lady, he said. I have been
wondering much at all your talk.
In this passage there emerges at last and clearly the fundamental
conception that the Three Rings of the Elves were not made by
Sauron: 'She will only retain the unsullied Ring. Too much evil lay in
the Ruling Ring. It is not permitted to use anything that Sauron has
made.'
With this compare the passage from the original version of 'The
Council of Elrond' (VI.404) cited on p. 155: 'The Three Rings remain
still. They have conferred great power on the Elves, but they have
never yet availed them in their strife with Sauron. For they came from
Sauron himself, and can give no skill or knowledge that he did not
already possess at their making.' In the fifth version of that chapter
(p. 156) Elrond's words become: 'The Three Rings remain. But of them
I am not permitted to speak. Certainly they cannot be used by us. From
them the Elvenkings have derived much power, but they have not been
used for war, either good or evil.' I have argued in the same place that
though no longer explicit the conception must still have been that the
Three Rings came from Sauron, both because Boromir asserts this
without being contradicted, and because it seems to be implied by
'Certainly they cannot be used by us.' If this is so, there is at least an
apparent ambiguity: 'they cannot be used by us', but 'from them the
Elvenkings have derived much power' - though in 'they cannot be
used by us' Elrond is evidently speaking expressly of their use for war.
But any ambiguity there might be is now swept away by Galadriel's
assertion: nothing that was Sauron's can be made use of: from which
it must follow that the Three Rings of the Elves were of other origin.
A page found wholly isolated from other manuscripts of The Lord
of the Rings carries more developed drafting for Galadriel's refusal of
the Ring. This page had been used already for other writing, on the
subject of the origin of the Rings of Power; but I have no doubt at all
that the two elements (the one in places written over and intermingled
with the other) belong to the same time. This other text consists of
several distinct openings to a speech, each in turn abandoned - a
speech that I think was intended for Elrond at the Council in
Rivendell, since the following very faint pencilling can be made out on
this page: ' "Nay,> said Elrond, that is not wholly true. The rings
were made by the Elves of the West, and taken from them by the
Enemy..." '
The first of these openings reads thus, printed exactly as it stands:
In Ancient Days, the Rings of Power were made long ago in the
lands beyond the Sea. It is said that they were first contrived by
Feanor, the greatest of all the makers among the Elves. His purpose
was not evil, yet in it was the Great Enemy But they were stolen
by the Great Enemy and brought to Middle-earth. Three Rings he
made, the Rings of Earth, Sea and Sky.
This was at once replaced by:
In Ancient Days, before he turned wholly to evil, Sauron the Great,
who is now the Dark Lord that some call the Necromancer, made
and contrived many things of wonder. He made Rings of Power
Then follows, written out anew, the opening sentence of the first
version; and then:
In Ancient Days the Great Enemy came to the lands beyond the Sea;
but his evil purpose was for a time hidden, even from the rulers of
the world, and the Elves learned many things of him, for his
knowledge was very great and his thoughts strange and wonderful.
In those days the Rings of Power were made. It is said that they
were fashioned first by Feanor the greatest of all the makers among
the Elves of the West, whose skill surpassed that of all folk that are
or have been. The skill was his but the thought was the Enemy's.
Three Rings he made, the Rings of Earth, Sea and Sky. But secretly
the Enemy made One Ring, the Ruling Ring, which controlled all
the others. And when the Enemy fled across the Sea and came to
Middle-earth, he stole the Rings and brought them away. And
others he made like to them, and yet false.
And many others he made of lesser powers, and the elves wore
them and became powerful and proud
Breaking off here, my father began once more: 'In Ancient Days the
Great Enemy and Sauron his servant came'; and at this point, I think,
he definitively abandoned the conception.
These extraordinary vestiges show him revolving the mode by
which he should withdraw the Three Rings of the Elves from inherent
evil and derivation from the Enemy. For a fleeting moment their
making was set in the remote ages of Valinor and attributed to Feanor,
though inspired by Morgoth: cf. the Quenta Silmarillion, V.228, $49,
'Most fair of all was Morgoth to the Elves, and he aided them in many
works, if they would let him.... the Gnomes took delight in the many
things of hidden knowledge that he could reveal to them.' And
Morgoth stole the Rings of Feanor, as he stole the Silmarils.
The fair copy manuscript of 'Chapter XVIII, Lothlorien' (p. 235)
continued on without break, following the primary draft, into the
account of the arrival of the Company in Caras Galadon and the story
of Galadriel's Mirror. My father's decision to divide the long chapter
into two seems however to have been made at the point where
Galadriel silently searched the minds of each member of the Company
in turn;(29) and it had certainly been taken by an early stage in the
writing of 'Farewell to Lorien' (p. 272). The new chapter (XIX) was
given the title 'Galadriel', which I have adopted here; and it advances
in a single stride almost to the text of FR for most of its length, though
there remain some notable passages in which the final form in 'The
Mirror of Galadriel' was not achieved.
When the Company came to the city of the Galadrim, Haldir said:
'Welcome to Caras Galadon, the city of Angle' (cf. p. 245 and note 1),
which was changed in the act of writing to 'Welcome to Caras
Galadon, the city of Lothlorien'; continuing 'where dwell the Lord
Arafain and Galadriel the Lady of the Elves'. Since the present text is
self-evidently the successor of the text (written over the original draft,
see p. 245 and note 3) in which Keleborn and Galadriel first appear,
Arafain must have been a fleeting substitution for Keleborn, which
was immediately restored, and is the name as written throughout the
remainder of the manuscript. The journey round the circuit of the
walls of Caras Galadon seems to have been differently conceived from
its representation in the earliest version, to judge by the little sketch
inserted into the manuscript (see note 2), from which it appears that
the Company, coming from the north, would pass down the western
side - as they did in FR (p. 368). Here, on the other hand, the city
climbed 'like a green cloud upon their right', and the gates of the city
'faced eastward'.
Both Galadriel and Keleborn still have long white hair (pp. 233,
246), though this was early changed to make Galadriel's hair golden.
As in the rewritten portion of the first draft, 'Aragorn' is greeted by
Keleborn as 'Ingold, son of Ingrim' (p. 246 and note 6), and Ingold is
his name in the text as written at subsequent occurrences in the
chapter.(30) Keleborn speaks the same words to him as in the first draft:
'Your name was known to me before, though never yet in all your
wanderings have you sought my house'; and no greeting to Legolas is
yet reported, as it is in FR, where he is named 'son of Thranduil'.
In Keleborn's opening words to the Company he says here: 'Your
number should be nine: so said the messages. Can we have mistaken
them? They were faint and hard to read, for Elrond is far away, and
darkness gathers between us: even in this year it has grown deeper.'
Galadriel then intervenes: 'Nay, there was no mistake...' (see note 7).
But most notably, it is here that the history and significance of the
Balrog of Moria first appears (see pp. 185-6, and p. 247 and note 11).
The passage in the present version is as follows:
Ingold then recounted all that had happened upon the pass of
Caradras, and in the days that followed; and he spoke of Balin
and his book, and the fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul, and
the fire, and the narrow bridge, and the coming of the Balrog.
'At least, that name did Legolas give to it,' said Ingold. 'I do not
know what it was, save that it was both dark and fiery, and was
terrible and strong.'
'It was a Balrog,' said Legolas: 'of all elf-banes the most
deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower.'
'A Balrog!' said Keleborn. 'Your news becomes ever more
grievous. Not since the Days of Flight have I heard that one of
those fell things was loose. That one slept beneath Caradras we
feared. The Dwarves have never told me the tale of those days,
yet we believe that it was a Balrog that they aroused long ago
when they probed too deep beneath the mountains.'
'Indeed I saw upon the bridge that which haunts our darkest
dreams, I saw Durin's Bane,' said Gimli in a low voice, and
terror was in his eyes.
'Alas! ' said Keleborn. 'Had I known that the Dwarves had
stirred up this evil in Moria again, I would have forbidden you
to pass the northern borders, you and all that went with
you....'
The remainder of this passage is virtually as in FR (p. 371). -
Galadriel's words following 'But we will not here speak more openly
of it' were at first retained exactly from the first draft (pp. 247 - 8), but
were changed immediately to read thus:
'... The Lord and Lady of the Galadrim are accounted wise
beyond the measure even of the Elves of Middle-earth, and of all
who have not passed beyond the Seas. For we have dwelt here
since the mountains were reared and the sun was young. Was it
not I that summoned the White Council? And if my designs had
not gone amiss, it would have been governed by Gandalf the
Grey; and then mayhap things would have gone otherwise. But
even now there is hope left....'(31)
The account of the thoughts and sensations of the members of the
Company as Galadriel looked at each in turn at first followed closely
the text of the original draft (p. 248), but this was changed, probably
at once, to the form in FR (pp. 372 - 3), with however these differ-
ences: whereas in the first version 'none blenched' beneath her gaze,
and in FR 'none save Legolas and Aragorn could long endure her
glance', here 'none of them could long endure her glance' (changed
subsequently to 'none of the hobbits'); and their feelings are thus
described: 'It seemed that each of them had had a similar experience,
and had felt that he was offered a choice between a shadow full of fear
and something he greatly desired, that lay clear before his mind lit
with an alluring light.' Boromir's remarks on the subject and Ingold's
reply here run:
'To me it seemed exceedingly strange,' said Boromir, 'and I
do not feel too sure of this elvish lady. Maybe it was only a test,
and she sought to read our thoughts for her amusement; but
almost I should have said that she was tempting us, and offering
us what she had the power to give. It need not be said that I
refused to listen, since the gift was not offered to all alike. The
Men of Minas-Tirith at least are true to their friends.' But what
he thought the Lady had offered him Boromir did not tell.
'Well, whatever you may think of the Lady,' said Ingold, 'she
was a friend of Gandalf, it seems. Though this was one of his
secrets that he did not tell me. Tonight I shall sleep without fear
for the first time since we left Rivendell...'
Nothing is said yet of Frodo's experience.(32)
A curious detail arises here, in that in the conversation of the
Company in their pavilion near the fountain, before they began to
discuss the encounter with Galadriel, 'they talked of their night before
in the tree-tops'. At this stage in the evolution of the narrative they met
the northbound Elves at Cerin Amroth, and had their blindfolds
removed, on the same day as they left Nimrodel (see pp. 233, 235); the
whole journey to Caras Galadon thus took a single day, and so it was
indeed 'the night before' that they passed in the tree-tops. In FR (p.
364) the journey was extended, and they passed the first night after
leaving Nimrodel in the woods: 'Then they rested and slept without
fear upon the ground; for their guides would not permit them to
unbind their eyes, and they could not climb.' In the light of this, the
passage in FR (pp. 372 - 3) required revision that it did not receive: the
words 'the travellers talked of their night before in the tree-tops'
survive from the present version, as does Aragorn's 'But tonight I shall
sleep without fear for the first time since I left Rivendell.'
The remainder of the chapter in this manuscript is very close indeed
to FR. The Company 'remained many days in Lothlorien, so far as
they could tell or remember', where FR has 'some days'; but the
meeting with Galadriel was now on the last evening spent there, not
on the evening of the third day (p. 251).(33) At first my father followed
the original draft of Galadriel's reply to Frodo's questions 'What shall
we look for, and what shall we see?' (ibid.), then changed it to read:
'None can tell, who do not know fully the mind of the beholder. The
Mirror will show things that were, and things that are, and things that
yet may be. But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot always
tell. Do you wish to look?' This was further developed to the text of
FR in an inserted rider that I think belongs to the time of the writing of
the manuscript.
On the back of this inserted page is the following, struck out:
In Ancient Days Sauron the Great contrived many things of
wonder. For a time his purpose was not turned wholly to evil,
or was concealed; and he went much among the Elves of
Middle-earth and knew their secret counsels; and they learned
many things of him, for his knowledge was very great. In those
days the Rings of Power were made by elven-smiths, but Sauron
was present at their making: his was the thought and theirs the
skill; for these Rings (he said) would give the Elves of Middle-
earth power and wisdom like that of the Elves of the West.
[Struck out as soon as written: They made many rings, but One
and Three and Seven and Nine were rings of special potency.
The One only did Sauron take as his reward]; but he cheated
them. [Struck out as soon as written: For knowing the secret of
the rings he] The Elves made many rings at his bidding: Three,
Seven and Nine of special potency, and others of lesser virtue.
But knowing the secret of their making, secretly Sauron made
One Ring, the Ruling Ring that governed all the rest, and their
power was bound up with it, to last only so long as it too should
last. And as soon as he had made it and set it upon his hand, the
Elves found that he was master of all that they had wrought;
and they were filled with fear and anger. Then Sauron sought to
seize all the Rings, for he saw that the Elves would not lightly
submit to him. But the Elves fled and hid themselves, and the
Three Rings they saved; and these Sauron could not find
because the Elves concealed them, and never again used them
while Sauron's mastery endured. War and enmity has never
ceased between Sauron and the Elves since those days.
It seems to have been on this page (in view of the rejected words
'The One only did Sauron take as his reward') that the final
conception of the relation of the Rings of Power to Sauron emerged, at
least in this essential: the Rings of Power were made by the Elven-
smiths under the guidance of Sauron, but he made the One in secret to
govern all the rest. (This idea had indeed been approached in one of
the passages given on p. 255, but there it had been Feanor himself who
made the Rings of Power, and Morgoth who made the Ruling Ring in
secret.) It is not said in the passage just cited that Sauron had no part
in the making of the Three, which were unsullied by his hand,
although this is very clearly implied in the original draft of Galadriel's
refusal of Frodo's offer of the One (p. 254).
As with the earlier passages on this subject, I do not think it was
written for inclusion in 'Galadriel', but its association with this
chapter is again not accidental: for here the questions of the relation of
the Three to the One, and the nature of the Three, were at last -
through the showing forth of the Ring of Earth on Galadriel's finger -
brought to the point where they must necessarily be answered.
Ultimately, this passage foreshadows that in Of the Rings of Power in
The Silmarillion (pp. 287 - 8); my father at this stage probably
intended it for 'The Council of Elrond' (cf. p. 255).
Sam's visions in the Mirror, Galadriel's response to his outburst, and
Frodo's visions of the wizard and of Bilbo proceed almost word for
word as in FR; but the further scenes that appeared to Frodo follow
the draft given in note 21, without the mysterious 'vast figure of a
man' leaning on a tree. Gollum is no longer seen (p. 252); and the
vision of the Eye reaches the form in FR, as does all that follows, with
these differences. The white stone in Galadriel's ring is not mentioned;
and as in the original text she still calls it 'the Ring of Earth.' In
response to Frodo's offer to her of the One Ring Galadriel laughed
'with a sudden clear laugh of pure merriment': 'pure' was struck out
early, and afterwards 'of merriment'. And as my father first wrote her
words she said: 'And now at last it comes, the final probe.'(34)
A further text of this chapter may be mentioned here. This is an
unfinished typescript of the fair copy manuscript just described. Some
early emendations made to the manuscript were taken up, but there is
no variation whatsoever in the phrasing (always a clear sign that a text
was not made by my father). I have noticed (p. 256 and note 30) that
in the manuscript Aragorn was 'Ingold' throughout, changed at one
occurrence to 'Aragorn' and at another to 'Elfstone', but at the other
three left unchanged. The typescript has 'Ingold' at all occurrences
except at that where in the manuscript the name was changed to
'Elfstone'. From this I judge that it belongs to the period we have
reached, i.e. before 'Aragorn' was restored (see pp. 277 - 8). But this
typescript stops at the bottom of its sixth page, at the words The air
was cool and soft, as if it were (FR p. 374); and the text is continued to
the end of the chapter in a very carefully written manuscript that I
made when I was seventeen, beginning at the head of 'page 7* with the
words that follow: early spring, yet they felt about them the deep and
thoughtful quiet of winter (it is thus obvious that my manuscript
simply took up from the point where the typescript stopped). The text
in my copy shows no further development from my father's manu-
script: thus Galadriel's ring remains the Ring of Earth, and she still
laughs 'with a sudden clear laugh of merriment'. At the end of it I
wrote the date: 4 August 1942.
Whatever the date of the typewritten part of this composite text, my
continuation of it in manuscript was certainly made well after my
father had completed work on the 'Lothlorien' story. He himself
declared, many years later, that he reached Lothlorien and the Great
River late in 1941, and it will be seen subsequently that he was writing
'The Breaking of the Fellowship' and 'The Departure of Boromir' in
the middle of the winter of that year (p. 379).
NOTES.
1. My father first wrote here 'Welcome to Nelennas', immediately
striking out Nelennas and substituting Caras Galadon (which
here first appears), and continuing 'the city of Nelennas which
[?mayhap] in your tongue is called Angle'. This seems to show
that Nelennas was very briefly the name of the city, as I have
suggested (p. 242 note 39) is the case in the plot-notes given on
p. 233: 'They journey to Nelennas'. But the alteration changes
the meaning of Nelennas back to the 'Gore' or 'Angle', replacing
Nelen (see p. 231 and note 34).
2. A little rough diagram set in the body of the text shows a circular
figure shaped like one ring of a coil, with a very substantial
overlap between the ends of the line: the external opening (the
entrance into Caras Galadon through the walls) is on the left side
of the figure, and the internal opening (the opening from the
'lane' into the city) is at the bottom (i.e. the walls overlap for a
full quarter of the circuit or more).
There is no mention of how they passed through the gates
(contrast FR p. 368). My father actually wrote here: 'They saw
... the elves on guard at the gate they saw no folk on guard', etc.,
striking no words out.
3. This is the first appearance of Celeborn and Galadriel. Just visible
in the underlying pencilled text are other names: Tar and
Finduilas struck out, and then Aran and Rhien. Rhien is perhaps
to be equated with Rian (the name of Tuor's mother); cf. the
Etymologies, V.383, stem RIG: 'Rhian name of a woman, =
"crown-gift", rig-anna'. See notes 5 and 9.
4. The first occurrence of Halldir (sic) for Hathaldir; a few lines
further on the name is spelt Haldir and so remains. Haldir was
the original name for this Elf; see p. 240 note 28. In the
underlying text the superseded name Hathaldir can be seen.
5. This passage (from 'The roof was a pale gold') was retained (i.e.
not overwritten in ink or erased) from the original pencilled text,
and here reappear (after the words 'side by side') the names Aran
and Rhien (see note 3), subsequently struck out. On the white
hair of Galadriel cf. the plot-notes given on p. 233.
6. Ingold son of Ingrim for Aragorn replaced Elfstone (see p. 239
note 23), since that name can be made out in the pencilled text
beneath. At his last appearance in this manuscript (p. 232) he was
still Aragorn; and it is thus here that Elfstone first appears ab
initio (as also does Ingold in the secondary text).
7. Written in here is the following, apparently of the same time but
disconnected from the narrative:
'Nay, there was no mistake,' said Galadriel, speaking for the
first time. Her voice was deeper but clear and musical / clear
and musical but deep, and seemed to carry knowledge that was
too deep for mirth.
This depends on something said by Keleborn, of which however
there is no trace in this manuscript; see p. 257.
8. See p. 227 and note 29.
9. In the underlying pencilled text Aran was changed here, as my
father wrote, to Galdaran; and at the head of the page are written
the names Galdaran and Galdrin (perhaps miswritten for Gal-
drien, see pp. 249 - 50).
10. On the survival of Balrogs from the Elder Days see V.336, $16.
11. Parts of the underlying pencilled text of this passage can be made
out, and the purport of Keleborn's words was very much the
same - except that it was Keleborn (Galdaran) himself, not
Galadriel, who raised a doubt:
'A Balrog,' said [Aran >] Galdaran. 'Of them I have not heard
since the Elder Days ... had hidden in Mordor but of them
naught has been seen since the fall of Thangorodrim. I doubt
much if this Balrog has ... and I fear rather ... Orodruin in
Mordor by Sauron. Yet who knows what lies hid at the roots
of the ancient hills...'
At the bottom of the page is a variant, added to the revised text
but belonging to the same time, in which it is Galadriel who
expresses the opinion previously given to Keleborn, and more
decisively:
'No Balrog has lain hid in the Misty Mountains since the fall
of Thangorodrim,' said Galadriel. 'If truly one was there, as is
told, then it is come from Orodruin, the Mountain of Fire, and
was sent by the Lord whom we do not name in this land.'
In FR, of course, the view expressed here by Keleborn or
Galadriel that the Balrog, sent from Mordor, had entered Moria
not long since ('it is come from Orodruin') has no place. In LR
the Balrog of Moria came from Thangorodrim at the end of the
First Age, and 'had lain hidden at the foundations of the earth
since the coming of the Host of the West' (see pp. 142 - 3).
I have suggested (p. 186) that although a Balrog appears in the
original sketch of the Moria story, the connection with the flight
of the Dwarves from Moria had not yet been made. The present
passage is the chief evidence for this. It is true that in the version
in the main text Galadriel is less positive than Keleborn, but in
the subsequent variant she utters an emphatic denial that a Balrog
could have 'lain hid in the Misty Mountains since the fall of
Thangorodrim' (not that anybody present had suggested that it
did). This must have been my father's view, since it would be
strange indeed to introduce the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien,
'accounted wise beyond the measure of the Elves of Middle-
earth', in the immediate expression of an erroneous opinion.
12. The phrases 'The lord and lady of Lothlorien are accounted wise
beyond the measure of the Elves of Middle-earth' and 'For we
have dwelt here since the Mountains were reared and the Sun was
young' strongly suggest that my father conceived them to be Elves
of Valinor, exiled Noldor who did not return at the end of the
First Age. The Noldor came to Middle-earth in exile at the time
of the making of the Sun and the Hiding of Valinor, when the
Mountains of the West were 'raised to sheer and dreadful height'
(V.242). Afterwards, when my father returned to The Silmaril-
lion again, Galadriel entered the legends of the First Age as the
daughter of Finarfin and sister of Finrod Felagund.
13. The first word in this sentence could be 'Nor' or 'Now', but must
in fact be 'Now' since it is followed by 'we will', not 'will we'. But
in FR Galadriel says 'I will not give you counsel', and her
explanation of why she will not is almost word for word the same
as what she says here. I think therefore that my father must have
changed his mind concerning Galadriel's speech as he wrote, but
failed to alter her opening words.
14. A scribble at the foot of the page advances Boromir's words
towards the form in FR (p. 373): 'she was tempting me, and
offered something that she had the power to give. It need not be
said that I refused to listen.' Cf. p. 258.
15. A first suggestion of Keleborn's offer to Legolas and Gimli
appears in the plot-notes on p. 233. The last two sentences of
Keleborn's speech and the first part of Gimli's reply were
subsequently used in Gloin's conversation with Frodo at Riven-
dell (FR p. 241): 'Frodo learned that Grimbeorn the Old, son of
Beorn, was now the lord of many sturdy men, and to their land
between the Mountains and Mirkwood neither orc nor wolf
dared to go. "Indeed," said Gloin, "if it were not for the
Beornings the passage from Dale to Rivendell would long ago
have become impossible." '
16. The biscuit factory of Sandyman &c Son (p. 216).
17. This is the first appearance of the name Mithrandir (see V.345).
18. Scribbled notes at this point direct that Merry and Pippin should
speak of Gandalf, and that they should speak of the 'temptation
of Galadriel'; there is also a reference to the 'Song of Frodo and
Sam' (FR pp. 374-5). A page of rough workings for the song
is found with these papers, though without any narrative
framework. The first and third verses were almost in final form;
the second at this time read:
When morning on the Hill was bright
across the stream he rode again;
beside our hearth he sat that night
and merry was the firelight then.
The second verse in FR, From Wilderland to Western shore, was
added in, apparently to stand between verses 2 and 3. The fourth
verse ran:
A shining sword in deadly hand,
a hooded pilgrim on the road,
a mountain-fire above the land,
a back that bent beneath the load.
The fifth verse had virtually reached the form in FR; the sixth
read:
Of Moria, of Khazaddum
all folk shall ever sadly tell
and now shall name it Gandalf's tomb
where hope into the Shadow fell.
19. The meeting with Galadriel was altered at the time of writing to
the form given. At first my father did not say that it was the
evening of the third day, and when they came to 'a green hollow
over which there was no roof or trees' the sun, which was in the
south, looked down into it; cf. the outline given on p. 249;
'Mirror is of silver filled with fountain water in sun'.
A note in the margin directs that Sam should also be present,
and another reads: 'Answer to remarks of Sam and Frodo that
these elves seem simple woodland folk, skilled, but not specially
magical' (cf. FR pp. 376 - 7).
20. At this point the following was entered disconnectedly in the
manuscript: 'Frodo (Sam?) had been heard to say to Elfstone:
Elves seem quiet, and ordinary. Have they magic as is reported?'
Cf. note 19.
21. Against this passage my father wrote in the margin: Bilbo. In an
isolated draft developing this passage the vision of Bilbo in his
room at Rivendell (FR p. 379) is found almost as in the final
form. In this draft the vision of 'a fortress with high stone walls
and seven towers' is followed by 'a vast figure of a man who
seemed to be standing leaning on a tree that was only up to his
breast'; this was placed in brackets. This is followed by 'a great
river flowing through a populous city' (as in FR), and then by the
vision of the Sea and the dark ship, as in the primary text.
22. Cf. the outline of the visions in the Mirror given on p. 250: 'Sees
Gollum?'
23. It is notable that in this earliest form of the story the visions that
Frodo sees in the Mirror have no reference to Sauron, yet
Galadriel at once speaks of him, and the contest of their minds,
introducing thus her revelation that she is the keeper of the Ring
of Earth. In FR (p. 380) it is because Galadriel knows that Frodo
has seen the Eye that she at once speaks to him of the Dark Lord,
and the showing of her Ring is directly related to his vision: 'it
cannot be hidden from the Ring-bearer, and one who has seen the
Eye.'
24. For 'the Ring of Earth' see VI.260, 269, 319.
25. Cf. the isolated note concerning the fading of the power of the
Elf-rings if the One Ring were destroyed, p. 237.
26. The word could be equally well read as 'shall' or 'should';
'should' in the next manuscript of the chapter (and in FR).
27. Cf. pp. 115, 162. In FR Sam says here that 'Elrond knew what he
was about when he wanted to send Mr. Merry back'; earlier (FR
p. 289) Elrond had said that he had thought to send both Merry
and Pippin back to the Shire, but after Gandalf's support for their
inclusion in the Company he expressed doubt specifically con-
cerning Pippin.
28. In the outline given on p. 249 'They dwell 15 days in Caras
Galadon'. Starting from 15 December as the date of arrival in
Lothlorien, even though that seems to be two days out (see p. 215
note 1), and seeing that in the original story it was only a single
day's journey from the night spent on the flet near the falls of
Nimrodel to the arrival in Caras Galadon at nightfall, the date of
departure can be reckoned to be 1 January.
29. Up to this point the pagination is doubled, e.g. 'XVIII.34 /
XIX.8'; from this point only that of 'XIX' is given.
30. At three occurrences Ingold was never changed; at one it was
changed afterwards to Elfstone, and at one to Aragorn. See pp.
277-8.
31. An addition to the manuscript after the words 'For we have dwelt
here since the mountains were reared and the sun was young'
reads: 'And I have dwelt here with him since the days of dawn,
when I passed over the seas with Melian of Valinor; and ever
together we have fought the long defeat.' This was not taken up
into the following typescript text (p. 260), though it was entered
onto it in manuscript, and no doubt belongs to a later time. For
the coming of Melian to Middle-earth in a very remote age of the
world see IV.264, V.111.
32. There are pencilled additions to the manuscript after the words
'But what he thought the Lady had offered him Boromir did not
tell': 'Here insert what Frodo thought?' and 'Neither did Frodo.
Whether it had been a temptation, or a revealing to himself of the
way of escape from his task that he had already secretly
considered, he could not tell. But now that the thought had been
made plain he could not forget it.' Against this my father wrote:
'(rather so:) And as for Frodo, he would not speak, though
Boromir pressed him with questions. "She held you long in her
gaze, Ringbearer," he said. "Yes," said Frodo, "but I will say no
more than this: to me no choice was given." He drooped and laid
his head upon his knees.'
Frodo's reply to Boromir was then struck out, with the note:
'No! for this does not fit with the scene at the Mirror', and the
following substituted: ' "Yes," said Frodo, "but whatever came
into my mind then, I will keep there" ' (as in FR, p. 373).
None of this appears in the following typescript text (though
the two latter versions were written onto it in turn), and as with
the passage cited in note 31 must be accounted a later revision.
But what is hinted at in the words 'the way of escape from his
task that he had already secretly considered'? My father meant, I
think, that Frodo, under Galadriel's gaze, pondered the thought
of surrendering the Ruling Ring to her (cf. the passage cited on p.
254).
33. Of Frodo's song of Gandalf it is said: 'yet when he wished to
repeat it to Sam only snatches remained that said little of what he
had meant.' At this point there is a large space on the manuscript
page and a pencilled note: 'Insert Frodo's Song?' The verses are
found on a page of the familiar examination script, headed
'Frodo's Song', and were evidently written before this point in the
manuscript was reached. For the earliest form of the song see
note 18. The song has now 8 verses, since both When morning on
the Hill was bright and From Wilderland to Western shore are
included, and the last verse in FR He stood upon the bridge alone
here appears as the penultimate (with the fourth line the cloak of
grey is cast aside), the final verse being the same as in the earliest
version, Of Moria, of Khazad-dum.
34. 'Earendil, the Evening Star' is spelt thus, not Earendel (see p. 290
note 22). - In Frodo's question 'why cannot I see all the others'
(FR p. 381) 'I' should be italicized; and in Sam's reply to
Galadriel's question at the end of the chapter 'Did you see my
ring?' he should say 'I saw a star through your fingers', not
'finger'.
XIV.
FAREWELL TO LORIEN.
In the earliest materials for this chapter (without title) my father did
not complete a continuous primary text, but (as it might be described)
continually took two steps forward and one step back. He halted
abruptly, even at mid-sentence, at certain points in the narrative, and
returned to revise what he had written, often more than once; the
result is a great deal of near-repetition and a very complex sequence.
On the other hand, much (though by no means all) of this drafting is
written in ink in a quick but clear and orderly hand on good paper (the
'August 1940' examination script being now virtually exhausted).
The reason for this situation is clear. The first consecutive text of the
chapter, a well-written 'fair copy' manuscript, stands in very close
relation to the draft materials. By this time it had become my father's
method to begin making a fair copy before a new stretch of the
narrative had proceeded very far: it has been seen in 'The Bridge of
Khazad-dum' (p. 202) and in 'Lothlorien' (pp. 221 - 2 and note 14)
that drafting and fair copy to some extent overlapped. This was the
case here also (thus the extracts from Keleborn's description of the
Great River given on pp. 282 - 3 were drafts for the text found in the
fair copy, and they immediately preceded that point in the writing of
that text), but to a much more marked degree: for in this case, as I
think, the fair copy was built up in stages, as the different sections of
draft were completed.
Before turning to the original text, or texts, of this chapter,
however, I give first some very difficult pencilled outlines, which I will
call (a), (b) and (c). I take (a) to be the first since in it the name
Tofl-ondren, which occurs also in the others, is seen at the point of
emergence. The pencil is now faint to the point of vanishing, and the
first lines (as far as 'the Bridges of Osgiliath'), which were written
before and apparently disconnectedly from the following portion, are
partly illegible.
(a)
The travellers must choose which side of Anduin [?to be on] at
[?Naith] Lorien. River is narrow but... at Stone Hills.(1) Not
possible to cross without a boat until the Bridges of Osgiliath.
Keleborn says they must [?journey] in the morning. Though his
people do not often go outside borders he will send them by boat as
far as [struck out: Toll-ondu Toll-onnui] Toll-ondren the Great
Carrock.(2) The east bank is perilous to elves. River winds among the
Border Hills [struck out: Duil] Emyn Rain.(3) There they must decide
because the Wetwang Palath Nenui (4) lies before them and to reach
Minas Tirith they must go west round and across [added: along hills
and then across] Entwash. But to go the other way they must cross
Dead Marshes.
(b)
This outline is also extremely faint. It takes up towards the end of
the narrative in this chapter and extends beyond it, but was written at
an early stage in the development of the story, since the presence of
Elves accompanying the travellers is mentioned, and this element was
soon abandoned.
This is the Naith or Angle.(5) Calendil or the Green Spit.
[Struck out: Nelen] Calennel. (6)
We are come before you to make all ready, said the Lady
Galadriel, and now at last we must bid you farewell. Here you are
come at last to the end of our realm, to Calendil, the green-spit
tongue. Green-tine.(7) Three boats await you with rowers.
They get into the boats. Elv[en] archers in one behind and before.
Company 2 in first, Ingold, Boromir. Hobbits in middle. Legolas,
Gimli behind.
Parting gifts.
Warning against Entwash (Ogodruth) and Fangorn (8) - not neces-
sary to Boromir and Ingold, but probably Gandalf did not tell them
all.
Blessing of Galadriel on Frodo.
Song of Farewell of Elves.
Swift passing down the River.
Description of the [? Green Ravines].
Tollondren.
Scene with Boromir and loss of Frodo.
End of Chapter.
In this outline the names Galadriel and Ingold were written ab initio.
(c)
This third outline, again in very faint pencil, belongs with the others; a
further section was added to it, but not I think after any significant
interval.
Argument in pavilion at night.
They postpone decision until they reach Tolondren the Great
Carrock.
They sail in [number changed between 2, 3, 4, final figure
probably 3] boats. 1 filled with bowmen before and after.
Farewell of Galadriel.
They pass into the Rhain hills (9) where river winds in deep ravines.
A few arrows from East.
Elves give travellers special food and grey cloaks and hoods.
They say farewell at Tol Ondren and leave travellers [struck out:
a boat > 2 small boats].
The Company lands and goes up into Rhain Hills for a safe place.
The debate. Then comes Boromir's attempt at seizing Ring and
Frodo's flight.
Arrows from East shore as they pass down river?
The Company lands on Tollondren. Then debate. Frodo (and
Sam) want to go on with the Quest and get it over. Boromir against
it (vehemently?). They beg Elves to wait while they decide. They
cross to East bank and go up into Green Hills (or Emyn Rhain?) to
look around.
The journey by boat down Anduin enters in outline (a) (see p. 213);
in (b) the 'scene with Boromir and loss of Frodo' is removed from
'Angle' (see pp. 207 - 8, 213) and takes place after the journey down
the river, while in (c) it occurs in the 'Rhain Hills'.
The geography of these regions was coming into being. My father
knew at this stage that the Great River wound in ravines (the 'Green
Ravines' doubtfully read in outline (b)?) through a range of hills
(Stone Hills; Emyn Rhain, Rhain Hills, Border Hills; Green Hills -
which were not merely alternative names, as will be seen in the next
chapter); and that there was a great rock or tall island (the Great
Carrock; Tolondren, variously spelt) in the midst of Anduin. This was
associated with the hills, since the Company lands on the island and
goes up into Emyn Rhain or into the Green Hills. In the added section
of (c) they cross the river to do so. The Wetwang now appears,
obviously if not explicitly associated with the confluence of Anduin
and Entwash (or Ogodruth), flowing out of Fangorn (p. 210).
I turn now to the earliest narrative texts of 'Farewell to Lorien', in
which indications are found that the fair copy manuscript of 'Galad-
riel' was already in existence (notes 10 and 21). The opening portion
of the chapter, in which the Company came before Keleborn and
Galadriel on the eve of departure and then returned to their pavilion to
debate their course, is extant in several different versions. The earliest
of them begins clearly but soon descends to my father's roughest
script; it was written in ink over a faint pencilled text some of which
can be read (see note 12).
(i)
That night (10) the Company was summoned again to the
chamber of Keleborn, and the Lord and Lady of the Galadrim
looked upon their faces. After a silence Keleborn spoke to them.
'Now is the time,' he said, 'when those who wish to continue
the Quest must harden themselves to depart. And now is the
time for those to say farewell to the Company who feel that they
have gone as far as they have the strength to go. All that do not
wish to go forward may remain here until there is a chance for
them to return to their own homes.(11) For we stand now on the
edge of doom; and ere long things will grow better, or will grow
so evil that all must fight and fall where they stand. There will
be no homes to seek, save the long home of those that go down
in battle. Here you may abide the oncoming of the hour till the
ways of the world lie open again, or we summon you to help us
in the last stand of Lorien.'(12)
'They are all resolved to go forward,' said Galadriel.
'As for me,' said Boromir, 'my way home lies onward.'
'That is true,' said Keleborn. 'But are all the Company going
with you to Minas Tirith?'
'We have not decided that yet,' said Ingold.
'But you must do so soon,' said Keleborn. 'For after you leave
Lothlorien the River cannot easily be crossed again until you
come to Ondor,(13) if indeed the passage of the river in the South
is not held by the Enemy. Now the way to Minas Tirith lies on
this side of the River, on the West bank, but the straight way of
the Quest lies upon the other, upon the East bank. You should
choose before you go.'
'If they take my advice it will be the west side,' said Boromir,
'but I am not the leader.'
'It shall be as you choose. But as you seem still in doubt, and
do not maybe wish to hasten your choice, this is what I will do.
It will speed your journey somewhat, and show you my good
will - for I do not send my people often and only at [?great]
need beyond my borders. I will furnish you with boats which we
use upon the rivers. Some of my folk shall go with you as far as
the Green Hills, where the river winds deep among [?wooded]
slopes. But beyond the Toll-ondren, the isle that is there amid
the river flood, they shall not go. Even so far there are perils for
Elves upon the East bank; beyond that it is not safe for any to go
by water.'
The words of Keleborn lightened their hearts a little that were
heavy with the thought of departure. They took leave of the
Lord and Lady and went back to their pavilion. Legolas was
with them. They debated long but they came to no decision.
Ingold was evidently torn between two things. His own plan
and desire was to have gone to Minas Tirith; but now that
Gandalf was lost he felt that he could not abandon Frodo if he
could not be persuaded to come. To the others there was little
choice, for they knew nothing of the... of the land in the South.
Boromir said little but kept his eyes ever fixed on Frodo as if he
waited for his decision. At length he spoke. 'If you are to destroy
the Ring,' he said, 'then there is little use in arms, and Minas
Tirith cannot help you greatly. But if you wish to destroy the
Lord, then there is little use in going without force into his
domain. That is how it seems to me.'
Here this text ends.
(ii)
The next version is a fair copy of (i) so far as it went, and follows it
closely, improving the wording but introducing few significant
changes; but it extends further into the chapter.
Keleborn now speaks with greater certainty of the crossings of
Osgiliath: 'it is said that the Enemy holds the passages [> bridges].'
Elves of Lorien shall go with the Company 'as far as the Green Hills
where the river winds among deep ravines'; here Rhain is written in
pencil over Green. 'There is a wooded island there, Toll-ondren, amid
the branching waters. There at last in the midst of the stream you must
decide your courses, left or right.' Above (Toll-)ondren is written in
pencil Galen?, i.e. Tol Galen: another use of a name from the legends
of the Elder Days (the Green Isle in the river Adurant in Ossiriand,
home of Beren and Luthien after their return, and a further instance of
an island amid a river's 'branching waters' - from which indeed the
Adurant took its name, V.268).
In the part of this version that extends beyond the point reached in
(i) the text of FR (pp. 385 - 6) is closely approached. Boromir now
breaks off at the words 'and no sense in throwing away...', finishing
his sentence lamely after a pause with 'no sense in throwing lives
away, I mean.' And as in FR Ingold was deep in his thoughts and made
no sign at this, while Merry and Pippin were already asleep.
The passage describing the bringing of the Elvish cakes and Gimli's
delight at discovering that they were not cram is at once almost exactly
as in FR, the only difference being that the words 'But we call it lembas
or waybread' do not appear. The description of the cloaks is however
much briefer than in FR - and there is no mention of the leaf-shaped
brooches that fastened them.
For each member of the Company they had provided a grey
hood and cloak made according to his size of the light but warm
silken stuff that the Galadrim used.
'There is no magic woven in these cloaks,' they said, 'but they
should serve you well. They are light to wear, and at need warm
enough and cool enough in turn...'
Later, my father would not have the Elves introduce the idea of
'magic' cloaks, and it is Pippin who uses the word, which the leader of
the Elves finds hard to interpret. The remainder of the passage is as in
FR, except just at the end: 'We have never before clad strangers in the
garb of our own people, certainly never a dwarf.' With these words the
second text stops abruptly.
(iii)
The next text, going back once more to the beginning of the chapter,
carries the number XX, showing that the story of Galadriel's Mirror
had been separated off, as XIX 'Galadriel', from XVIII 'Lothlorien'
(see p. 256). This manuscript rapidly becomes very complex through a
process of what might be called 'overlapping false starts'. The form in
FR is now very closely approached as far as the point where Keleborn
says 'I see that you have not decided this matter' (cf. FR p. 383). It is to
be noted that Ingold was changed subsequently, at both occurrences in
the opening dialogue, first to Elfstone and then to Trotter (see pp.
277 - 8). Keleborn now says: 'And are not the bridges of Osgiliath
broken down, and the passages of the river held now by the Enemy
since his late assault?'(14) But from the point mentioned the story is
developed thus:
'I see that you have not decided this matter, nor yet made any
plan,' said Keleborn. 'It is not my part to choose for you, but I
will do what I can to help you. Are there any among you that
can manage boats upon a strong river?'
Boromir laughed. 'I was born between the mountains and the
sea, on the borders of the Land of Seven Streams,'(15) he said,
'and the Great River flows through Ondor.'
'I have journeyed by boat on many rivers,' said Ingold;(16) 'and
Legolas here is from the elf-folk of Mirkwood who use both
rafts and boats on the Forest River. One at least of the hobbits is
of the riverside folk that live on the banks of Baranduin. The
rest can at least sit still. They have all now passed through such
perils that I do not think a journey by boat would seem so
terrible as once it might.'
'That is well,' said Keleborn. 'Then I will furnish you with
two small boats. They must be small and light, for if you go far
by river there are places where you will have to carry your craft:
there are the falls of Rhain where the River runs out of the
ravines in the Green Hills,(17) and other places where no boat can
pass. [The following struck out as soon as written: This I will do
to show you my good will. Two Elves shall guide you for a short
way, but far abroad I cannot permit my folk to stray in these
evil days. But when you leave the River, as you must whichever
way you go at the last, I ask only that you should not destroy
my boats save only to keep them from the orcs, and that you
should draw them ashore and] In this way your journey will be
made less toilsome for a while, though perhaps not less perilous.
How far you can go by water who now can tell? And the gift of
boats will not decide your purpose: it may postpone your
choice, yet at the last you must leave the River and go either east
or west.'
Ingold thanked Keleborn many times in the name of all the
Company. The offer of the boats comforted him much, and
indeed it cheered most of the travellers. Their hearts were heavy
with the thought of leaving Lothlorien, but now for a while the
toils of the road at least would be lessened, though the dangers
doubtless would remain. Sam only felt a little alarm. In spite of
all the perils he had now passed through
(iv)
Here the third text breaks off, and all from 'Are there any among
you that can manage boats upon a strong river?' was rejected, and
begun again; the narrative now becoming close to the form in FR:
'There are some at least among you that can handle boats: Legolas,
whose folk go on rafts and boats on the Forest River; and Boromir of
Ondor, and Ingold [> Elfstone] the traveller.' The Elves to accompany
them down the River have now gone; and the falls of Rhain 'where the
River runs out of the ravines in the Green Hills' become the Falls
of Rosfein (with the same comment).
After Ingold (> Elfstone > Trotter) had thanked Keleborn, and
after the account of the lightened hearts of all the travellers,(18) the new
text continues with Keleborn's words 'All shall be prepared for you
and await you before noon tomorrow at the haven' (FR p. 384); but
whereas in texts (i) and (ii) - as in FR - Keleborn's offer of boats is
followed by the withdrawal of the Company to their pavilion, and
there is no mention of gifts, this new version has Galadriel say: 'Good
night, fair guests! But before you go I have here parting gifts which I
beg you to take, and remember the Galadrim and their Lord and
Lady.' The outline (b) on p. 268, obviously earlier than the stage now
reached since there is mention in it of Elves going with the Company in
boats, placed the Parting Gifts at the time of the final departure down
the River, and this must have been my father's original intention,
which he now temporarily changed. In this version (iv) there now
follows the recital of the gifts to each member of the Company.
Galadriel's gift to Ingold (the name not here changed) is the sheath
that had been made to fit his sword, which is called Branding:(19)
overlaid with silver and with runes of gold declaring the name of the
sword and its owner. Nothing more is said, and there is no mention of
the great green stone (FR p. 391). Boromir's belt of gold, the silver
belts for Merry and Pippin, and the bow of the Galadrim given to
Legolas, appear and are described in the same words as in FR.
Galadriel's gift to Sam and her words to him are almost exactly as in
FR. The box containing earth from her garden was 'unadorned save
for a single flowering rune upon the lid' ('a single silver rune,' FR). On
the manuscript page my father drew an Old English G-rune ('X') in the
form of two flowering branches crossed one upon the other:(20)
The word 'flowering' was later crossed out, and another, purely
formal elaboration of the rune was drawn at the head of the next page:
The gift to Gimli differs, however, from his gift in FR, and differ's in
the most remarkable way.
'And what gift would a dwarf ask of Elves?' said the Lady to
Gimli.
None, Lady, answered Gimli. It is enough for me to have
seen the Lady of the Galadrim and known her graciousness. I
will treasure the memory of her words at our first meeting.'(21
[Rejected, but not struck out, as soon as written: Hear, all
you Elves!' said the Lady, turning to those about her. 'And say
not that dwarves are all rough and ungracious, grasping at gifts
and / I have heard it said that dwarves are openhanded - to
receive, and count their words - when they give thanks'] 'It is
well that those about me should hear your fair words,' said
Galadriel, 'and may they never again say that dwarves are
grasping and ungracious. Let this small token be given as a sign
that goodwill may be remade between dwarves and elves, if
better days should come.' She put her hand to her throat and
unclasped a brooch, and gave it to Gimli. On it was an emerald
of deep green set in gold. 'I will set it near my heart,' he said,
bowing to the floor, 'and Elfstone shall be a name of honour in
my [?kin] for ever, and like a leaf [?amid]... gold.'
Once again the text was stopped short, before Frodo's gift was
reached. Beneath the last words my father wrote: Elfstone Elfhelm,
and then:
'Hail, Elfstone,' she said. 'It is a fair name that merits a gift to
match.'
It was clearly at this point that 'the Elfstone' first emerged, as a green
gem set in a brooch worn by Galadriel and given as a parting gift to
Gimli; and it seems equally plain that my father immediately adopted
it (or more accurately, re-adopted it) as the true name of Trotter. To
this question I will return in a moment.
(v)
He now started again from Keleborn's words 'All shall be prepared
for you and await you at the haven before noon tomorrow' (p. 273),
and repeated what he had written of the gifts to Boromir, Merry,
Pippin, and Sam, but omitting Ingold; and now Gimli's request and
gift (a strand of Galadriel's hair) are told word for word as they
appear in FR (pp. 392 - 3), the sole difference being that at the end,
after 'and yet over you gold shall have no dominion', Galadriel said:
'Dark are the waters of Kheledzaram, yet there maybe you shall one
day see a light.' The phial in which was caught the light of Earendel's
star,(22) her gift to Frodo, now appears, and this passage also is almost
word for word as in FR.
It looks as if Ingold's gift was omitted inadvertently; or else my
father may have briefly intended to make it the last. There are four
versions describing it, the final one being a rider marked for insertion
into the text at the beginning of the gift-giving.
It has been seen that the Elfstone was at first the gift to Gimli, and
that Gimli in accepting it took it also as a name; but that the moment
he had set this down my father wrote: ' "Hail, Elfstone," she said. "It
is a fair name that merits a gift to match" '; and this is obviously
addressed to Trotter. The variant versions of the description of
Galadriel's gift to the leader of the Company are developed from this;
and the pages on which they stand are covered with names: Elfstone,
Elfstone son of Elfhelm, Elfstan, Eledon, Aragorn, Eldakar, Eldamir,
Qendemir. There is no need to cite these successive variants except in
their opening sentences, until the last, which I give in full.
(1) 'Eledon!' she said to Trotter. 'Elfstone you are named; it is a fair
name, and my gift shall match it.' (She then gives him a green gem.)
(2) 'Elfstone,' she said. 'It is a fair name...' (as in 1, except that
here she unclasps the gem from her throat).
(3) 'Here is the gift of Keleborn to the leader of the Company,' she
said to Trotter...' (continuing as in the final version, 4).
(4) (The version inserted into the text)
'Here is the gift of Keleborn to the leader of your Company,'
she said to Elfstone [> Trotter], and gave him a sheath that had
been made to fit his sword. It was overlaid with a tracery of
flowers and leaves wrought of silver and gold, and on it were set
in runes formed of many gems the name Branding and the
lineage of the sword. 'The blade that is drawn from this sheath
shall not be stained or broken even in defeat,' she said. 'Elfstone
is your name, Eldamir in the language of your fathers of old,
and it is a fair name. I will add this gift of my own to match it.'(23)
She put her hand to her throat and unclasped from a fine chain a
gem that hung before her breast. It was a stone of clear green set
in a band of silver. 'All growing things that you look at through
this,' she said, 'you will see as they were in their youth and in
their spring. It is a gift that blends joys and sorrow; yet many
things that now appear loathly shall seem otherwise to you
hereafter.'
The seeming conundrum presented by the bewildering movements
in the names which replaced 'Aragorn' in this phase of the work must
now be confronted.
For all the apparently contradictory changes, whereby Aragorn
becomes Elfstone but Elfstone also becomes Aragorn, and Elfstone
becomes Ingold but Ingold also becomes Elfstone, it is in fact perfectly
clear that the first change was from Aragorn to Elfstone. This took
place in the course of the writing of the original draft of the long
'Lothlorien' chapter (see p. 262 note 6) and in the fair copy (p. 236).
That this is so is confirmed and explained by a note on the 'August
1940' examination script:
NB. Since Aragorn [> Trotter] is a man and the common speech
(especially of mortals) is represented by English, then he must not
have an Elvish name. Change to Elfstone son of Elfhelm.
Beside this are written other names, Elf-friend, Elfspear, Elfmere. It
was now that Aragorn (or Trotter) was changed to Elfstone in earlier
chapters;(24) but at this stage the name 'Elf-stone' will not have had any
particular significance or association.
That Ingold was a replacement of Elfstone is shown by its appear-
ance ab initio (i.e. not as a correction of an earlier name) in the
overwritten part of the original draft of the 'Lothlorien' story, where
Elfstone can be read in the primary pencilled text beneath (p. 262 note
6). This change is the subject of another note written on the same
paper as the first:
Instead of Aragorn son of Kelegorn and instead of the later variant
Elfstone son of Elfhelm use Ingold son of Ingrim; since Trotter is a
man he should not have a Gnome-elvish name like Aragorn.(25) The
Ing- element here can represent the 'West'.
Some texts, therefore, call him Ingold from the first; and at the same
time Ingold replaced (in principle) Elfstone in texts already extant at
this time.
When my father wrote the first version of the Parting Gifts passage
(p. 275) the gift of Galadriel to Gimli of the green gem set in gold was
totally unforeseen, as was Gimli's thereupon taking the name Elfstone
to be 'a name of honour' in his kin. At that very moment a sudden new
possibility and connection emerged. Trotter had been for a while
Elfstone - a name chosen for linguistic reasons; that had been rejected
and replaced by Ingold; but now it turned out that Elfstone was after
all the right name. The Elfstone was the Lady's gift to him, not to
Gimli; and in giving it to him she made a play on his name.
The next step, therefore, and principal ' cause of the apparent
confusion, was a reversion from the short-lived Ingold to Elfstone,
and the chain of changes now becomes:
Aragorn (or Trotter) > Elfstone > Ingold > Elfstone
The further emendation of this new Elfstone to Trotter (pp. 272-3,
276) does not necessarily mean that Elfstone had been abandoned
again as his real name, but rather that my father now wished to make
his name Trotter for general use in the immediate narrative (thus he is
Trotter throughout the fair copy manuscript of 'Farewell to Lorien',
see p. 293). Ultimately Aragorn returned; and thus the circular series is
completed:
Aragorn (or Trotter) > Elfstone > Ingold > Elfstone (> Trotter) >
Aragorn
This series appears in more or less fragmentary form in the manu-
scripts (cf. p. 244 note 52) for various reasons, but largely because my
father carried out the corrections to the extant texts at each stage
rather haphazardly. In some cases only parts of the series are found
because in these cases the succession of changes was already more or
less advanced; in some cases the expected change is not made because
the text was rejected before the occasion for it arose (note 16).
Running through and crossing this is the name Trotter, which might
be changed or retained according to my father's changing view of
when it should be employed.
Afterwards, of course, when Galadriel gave Aragorn the Elfstone
she conferred on him the name 'that was foretold' for him (FR p. 391);
Aragorn became Elessar, the Elfstone in that hour. On the history and
properties of the Elfstone or Elessar see Unfinished Tales pp. 248 ff.;
cf. especially 'For it is said that those who looked through this stone
saw things that were withered or burned healed again or as they were
in the grace of their youth.' In FR nothing is said of the properties of
the stone.
This text (v) continues - since the gift-giving took place on the last
night, in the chamber of Keleborn and Galadriel - with a further
version of the debate of the Company, and the gifts next morning of
elven-cloaks and food for the journey. The text of FR is further
approached in many details of wording; but of Trotter's thoughts on
the question of what they should do now this is said:
Elfstone [> Trotter] was himself divided in mind. His own
plan and desire had been to go with Boromir, and with his
sword help to deliver Ondor. For he had believed that the
message of the dreams was a summons, and that there in Minas
Tirith he would become a great lord, and maybe would set up
again the throne of Elendil's line, and defend the West against
assault. But in Moria he had taken on himself Gandalf's
burden...
The remainder of the debate is now virtually as in FR (p. 385), the
only difference being that the sentence 'He [Boromir] had said
something like this at the Council, but then he had accepted the
correction of Elrond' is here absent. The passage concerning the cloaks
remains the same as in the previous draft (p. 272), except that the
Elves now add that 'All who see you clad thus will know that you are
friends of the Galadrim', and the words 'certainly never a dwarf are
omitted. Thus there is still no mention of the detail, afterwards
important, that each cloak was fastened with a leaf-shaped brooch.
But the sentence previously absent (p. 271), 'But we call it lembas or
waybread', now appears.
(vi)
For the next part of the chapter, from 'After their morning meal
they said farewell to the lawn by the fountain' (FR p. 386), the form of
the text changes, though the actual writing was clearly continuous
with what precedes. There was first a draft in very faint pencil which
went as far as the Elves' warning about the handling of the boats, and
then became an outline of the further course of the narrative:
They were arranged thus. Elfstone and Frodo and Sam in one,
Boromir and Merry and Pippin in another, and in a third Legolas
and Gimli ( ... dwarf become more friendly).(26) The last boat being
more lightly burdened with passengers took more of the packs.
They are steered and driven by broad-bladed paddles. They practise
on advice of Elves and though they will only be going downstream
practise going up the Silverlode.
Thus they meet the Lord and Lady in their swan-shaped barge.
Curved neck, and jewelled eyes, and half-raised wings. They take a
meal on the grass and then a last farewell. Here comes in advice of
Keleborn and last farewell of Galadriel.
Frodo looks back and sees in the westering sun upon the haven a
tall, slender, and sad figure with an upraised hand. Last sight of the
Ring of Earth. (He never saw it again?)
Song of Galadriel.
On top of the pencilled draft my father wrote a new text in ink, so that
virtually all - except the outline just given, which was left intact - was
obliterated. He then continued this new text, which soon became very
rough and petered out at Keleborn's invitation to eat with them. Since
this was in turn overtaken by a further version which followed it
closely so far as it went, nothing is lost by turning at once to that.
(vii)
This text is in soft pencil on large and now very battered sheets, but
legible. The story as told in FR appears fully formed, even to much of
its wording, and I shall not give it in full; there are however many
interesting features of names and geography.
With Haldir, returned from the 'northern fences' and acting as guide
to the Company from Caras Galadon, his brother Orofin came also. It
is said that 'Haldir brought news': ' "There are strange things happen-
ing away back there," he said. "We do not know the meaning of them.
But the Dimrill Dale is full of clouds of smoke and vapour..." ' (see
note 11).
The Tongue is thus described (cf. FR p. 387):
The lawn ran out into a narrow tongue of green between bright
margins: on the right and west glittered the narrower and
swifter waters of the Silverlode, and on the left and east ran the
broader greener waters of the Great River. On the far banks the
woodlands still marched southwards as far as they could see,
but beyond the Naith or Angle (as the elves called this green
sward) and upon the east side of the Great River all the boughs
were bare. No mallorn-trees grew there.(27)
On 'Naith or Angle' as a name of the Tongue see note 5. This sentence
was corrected, probably at once, to: 'but beyond the Tongue (Lamben
the elves called this green sward)'; then the words 'Lamben the elves
called this green sward' were in turn crossed out. On Elvish names of
the Tongue see p. 268 and note 6.
The passage in FR concerning the ropes and Sam's interest in
rope-making is wholly absent, just as his realisation too late that he
has no rope before leaving Rivendell (p. 165) and his bemoaning that
he has none in Moria (p. 183) are also lacking.(28) The old text reads
here:
Three small grey boats had already been prepared for the
travellers, and in these the elves stowed their goods.
'You must take care,' they said. 'The boats are light-built, and
they will be more deeply laden than they should be, when you
go aboard. It would be wise if you accustomed yourselves to
getting in and out here, where there is a landing-place, before
you set off downstream.'
In the first draft (vi) of this passage Trotter is here called Elfstone,
and it is said that 'Trotter led them up the Silverlode'; in this second
version (vii) he is Eldamir at both occurrences, replaced (at the time of
writing) by Trotter. Eldamir ('Elfstone') appears in Galadriel's address
to him at the time of her parting gifts (p. 276); as will be seen shortly,
my father was on the point of removing the gift-giving from the
evening before their departure to their final farewell on the Tongue,
and this apart from any other consideration would probably explain
his removing Eldamir at this point in the story.
A curious detail in the description of the swan-boat was subsequent-
ly removed:
Two elves, clad in white, steered it with black paddles so
contrived that the blades folded back, as a swan's foot does,
when they were thrust forward in the water.
It may be that my father saw this as too much of a 'contrivance', too
much a matter of ingenious carpentry. - There is no suggestion that
Galadriel's song on the swan-boat, though it is referred to in the same
words as in FR, was or would be reported.
Where FR has 'There in the last end of Egladil upon the green grass'
(see note 5), this earliest version had 'There in the green Angle',
changed to 'There in the Tongue of Lorien'; this was a change made at
the time of composition. The description of Galadriel as Frodo saw
her then is almost exactly as in FR; but as my father wrote it there was
included in it a notable phrase which he (then or later) struck out:
She seemed no longer perilous or terrible, nor full of hidden
power; but elven-fair she seemed beyond desire of heart.
Already she appeared to him (since her refusal in the garden)(29)
as by men of later days elves at times are seen: present, and yet
remote, a living vision of that which has already passed far
down the streams of time.
I cite in full the text of Keleborn's advice to the Company:
As they ate and drank, sitting upon the grass, Keleborn spoke
to them again of their journey, and lifting his hand he pointed
south to the woods beyond the Tongue. 'As you go down the
water,' he said, 'you will find that for a while the trees march
on. For of old the Forest of Lorien was far greater [added: than
the small realm which we still maintain between the rivers].(30)
Even yet evil comes seldom under the trees that remain [added:
from ancient days]. But you will find that at length the trees will
fail, and then the river will carry you through a bare and barren
country / before it flows [replaced by: winding among the
Border Hills before it falls down] into the sluggish region of
Nindalf. The Wetwang men call it, a marshy land where the
streams are tortuous and much divided: there the Entwash
River flows in from the West. Beyond that are [struck out:
Emyn Rhain the Border Hills and] the Nomenlands, dreary
Uvanwaith that lies before the passes of Mordor. When the trees
fail, you should travel only by dusk and dark and even then with
watchfulness. The arrows of the orcs are bitter and fly straight.
Whether you will journey on by river after the falls I do not
know. But beyond the Entwash it may be that [Ingold >]
Elfstone (31) and Boromir know the lands well enough to need no
counsel. If you decide to go west to Minas Tirith, you will do
best to leave the river where the isle of Toll-ondren stands in the
stream above the falls of Rosfein and cross the Entwash above
the marshes. But you will be wise not to go far up that stream,
or to risk becoming entangled in the Forest of Fangorn. But that
warning I need hardly give to a man of Minas Tirith.'
'Indeed we have heard of Fangorn in Minas Tirith,' said
Boromir. 'But what I have heard seem to me for the most part
old wives' tales, such as are told to our children. For all that lies
north of Rohan seems now to us so far away that fancy can
wander freely there. Of old Fangorn lay upon the borders [of
the realm of Anarion >] of our realm; but it is now many lives
of men since any of us visited it to prove or disprove the legends
that have survived. I have not myself been there. When I was
sent out as a messenger - being chosen as one hardy and used to
mountain-paths, I went round by the south about the Black
Mountains and up the Greyflood - or the Seventh River as we
call it.(32) A long and weary journey [struck out: but not at that
time yet one of great peril, other than from thirst and hunger].
Four hundred leagues I reckoned it, and it took me many
months, for I lost my horses at the crossing of the Greyflood at
Tharbad.(33) After that journey, and the road I have so far
travelled with this Company, I do not much doubt that I shall
find a way through Rohan, and Fangorn too, if need be.'
'Then I will say no more,' said Keleborn. 'But do not wholly
forget the old wives' tales! '
Then follows: 'Remove the gift scene and place it at this point just
before drink of farewell.'
On an isolated page are two further versions of Keleborn's descrip-
tion of the Great River, immediately preparatory to the passage in the
fair copy manuscript, and both beginning in mid-sentence. The first of
these was at once replaced by the second and need only be cited in its
opening sentences: (34)
(i) [For of old the Forest of Lorien] was greater than it now is, and
even yet evil comes seldom under the trees upon the shores of the
River. But after some nine leagues you will be brought to a bare
and barren country of heath and stone, and the river will wind in
deep ravines until it divides about the tall island of Tolondren....
(ii) [you will find that] the trees will fail, and you will come to a
barren country. There the river flows in stony vales among high
moors, until it comes to the tall island of Tolondren. About the
rocky shores of the isle it casts its arms, and then falls with noise
and smoke over the cataracts of Rhosfein [written above in
pencil: Dant-ruin] down into the Nindalf - the Wetwang as it is
called in your speech. That is a wide region of sluggish fen, where
the stream becomes tortuous and much divided; there the
Entwash river flows in by many mouths from the West. Beyond,
on this side of the Great River, lies Rohan. On the further side are
the bleak hills of Sarn-gebir [in version (i) Sarn > Sern Gebir].
The wind blows from the East there, for they look out over the
Dead Marshes and the Nomenlands [in version (i) the Nomen-
lands (of Uvanwaith)] to the passes of Mordor: Kirith Ungol.
This passage in its variant forms is the fullest account of the geography
of these regions yet encountered, and I postpone discussion of it, in
relation to the earliest map of The Lord of the Rings, to the next
chapter.
Despite his direction to bring in the gift scene 'just before the drink
of farewell' (p. 282) my father now changed his mind, and introduced
the cup of parting here, in the same place as in FR (pp. 390-1), and in
the same words, except that Galadriel first said 'though the hour of
shadow has come in its appointed time', and then 'though shadows
long foretold approach', before her words in FR were reached:
'though night must follow noon, and already our evening draweth
nigh.' After 'Then she called to each in turn' my father directed: 'Here
take in gift-scene (in short or longer form).' The 'short form' of the
scene is found under the heading 'If the gift-scene is cut out, or down,
it might run thus."
To each of the guests she gave a small brooch shaped like a golden
flower with three leaves of jewelled green. 'This shall be in
remembrance of Lothlorien,' she said, 'and all elves that see these
shall know that you are friends. For you two,' she said, turning to
Frodo and Sam, 'I have also small gifts of my own in remembrance
of our last meeting. To you, little gardener and lover of trees, I will
give this, though it may seem little to look on. She beckoned to Sam
and laid in his hand (... so to end of Sam... )
'And for you, Frodo, I have prepared this,' she said...
(The last part of this text is written thus in the original.)
(viii)
The conclusion of the chapter in its earliest extant form is written in
ink in clear script with little hesitation in the phrasing, and closely
approaches FR (despite very many small differences in the actual
words). The feeling of the Company as the River bore them away from
Lorien is expressed thus (and is the first suggestion of the idea that
Lorien existed in a mode of Time distinct from that of the world
beyond its borders, unless it is present in Keleborn's words on p. 249):
Lorien was slipping backward like a green vessel masted with
trees sailing to forgotten shores, while they were cast again on
the grey never-halting water of time.
Galadriel's song heard in the distance as the boats slipped down
Anduin is not recorded; indeed there is a clear suggestion that when he
first wrote this concluding passage my father did not intend that it
should be (although the words 'Song of Galadriel' in the outline on p.
279 perhaps suggest otherwise):
But she sang in [the ancient elvish tongue >] some ancient
hidden tongue, and he heard not the words. [Added: The music
was fair but it bore no heart's ease.] Then suddenly the river
swept round a bend and the banks rose upon either side. They
saw her never more. Turning now their faces to their journey
they faced the sun...
The initial workings for Galadriel's songs were nonetheless found
with the earliest manuscripts of this chapter, both her song upon the
swan-boat (of which there is also a finished text) and Namarie'. The
completed form of the first reads:
I sang o f leaves, o f leaves o f gold, and leaves o f gold there grew:
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand o f Tirion there grew a golden Tree.
Beneath the stars of Evereve in Eldamar it shone,(35)
In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
But far away and far away beyond the Shadow-meres
Now long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching
years.
And Lorien, 0 Lorien! the river flows away
And leaves are falling in the stream, and leaves are borne away;
0 Lorien, too long I dwell upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown I twine the golden elanor.
But if a ship I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a sea?
Pencilled changes bring the song in all points to the form in FR. My
father was working at the same time on the Elvish song, which had
reached this form:
Ai! laurie lantar lassi surinen
inyalemine ramar aldaron
inyali ettulielle turme marien
anduniesse la miruvorion
Varda telumen falmar kirien
laurealassion omar mailinon.
Elentari Vardan Oiolossean
Tintallen mali ramar ortelumenen
arkandava-le qantamalle tulier
e falmalillon morne sindanorie
no mirinoite kallasilya Valimar.
I have mentioned earlier (p. 266) the very close relationship between
the writing of the foregoing drafts and the writing of the fair copy
manuscript; and the result of this mode of composition is that there is
very little that need be said about the new text (numbered XX but
without title: 'Farewell to Lorien' was pencilled in later).
In Keleborn's words to the Company on the last evening (see p. 273)
he still speaks of 'the great falls of Rosfein, where the River runs out of
the ravines among the Green Hills', but this was changed, before the
manuscript was completed, to 'where the River thunders down from
Sarn-gebir'. His parting advice at the Tongue on the following day
naturally scarcely differs from the text (pp. 282 - 3) which was written
for this place in the fair copy (note 34); but 'the cataracts of Rhosfein'
become 'the cataracts of Dant-ruinel' (Dant-ruin is pencilled over
Rhosfein in the draft text), and at the end of the passage Keleborn
says, not 'to the passes of Mordor: Kirith Ungol', but 'to Kirith Ungol,
and the gates of Mordor'.
Pencilled alterations to the passage in the fair copy manuscript
changed Tolondren to Eregon, then to Brandor, then to the Tindrock
that we call Tol Brandor; and Dant-ruinel to Rauros (with marginal
notes Rauros = 'Rush-rain' or 'Roar-rain'). At this time Rosfein in
Keleborn s earlier speech was changed to Rauros.(36)
The much fuller account in FR (p. 386) of the elven-cloaks provided
for the members of the Company (see p. 272) was added in, probably
not much later (see p. 343 and note 35), and the words of the Elves
'There is no magic woven in these cloaks' removed with the introduc-
tion of Merry's question (Pippin's in FR) 'Are these garments magical?'
The leaf-brooches were a further and subsequent addition (see p. 398).
When Haldir reappeared to act as their guide from Caras Galadon
(now without his brother Orofin) he said, just as in the draft for this
passage, 'There are strange things happening away back there. We do
not know what is the meaning of them' (see pp. 279 - 80). This was
subsequently struck out on the fair copy, but then marked Stet; this
was in turn struck out, and Haldir's words do not appear in the
following text of the chapter or in FR (p. 387). It is very hard to see
why my father removed them, and why he hesitated back and forth
before finally doing so. Apparently as a comment on this, he pencilled
a note on the manuscript: 'This won't do - if Lorien is timeless, for
then nothing will have happened since they entered.' I can only
interpret this to mean that within Lorien the Company existed in a
different Time - with its mornings and evenings and passing days -
while in the world outside Lorien no time passed: they had left that
'external' Time, and would return to it at the same moment as they left
it. This question is further discussed later (pp. 367 - 9). But it does not
seem to me to explain why only Haldir's opening words were
removed. His announcement, which was allowed to stand, that the
Dimrill Dale was full of smoke and that there were noises in the earth,
merely explains what the 'strange things' were which the Elves did not
understand; and these 'strange things' had obviously only begun since
the Company entered the Golden Wood.
As in the draft (p. 281) the words of Galadriel's song on the
swan-boat are not reported, but my father subsequently put a mark of
insertion on the manuscript, with the word 'Song'. On the completed
text of her song found with the draft papers and given on p. 284 he
then wrote 'Galadriel's Song for XX.8', this being the number of the
page in the present manuscript. Similarly there is no suggestion that
Galadriel's parting song ('in some ancient tongue of the West, from
beyond the margin of the world') should be given, though 'he heard
not the words' was changed on the manuscript to 'he did not
understand the words', as in FR; but here again my father subsequent-
ly pencilled a mark of insertion and the word 'Song' in the margin.
'They saw her never more' of the draft (p. 284) becomes now 'Never
again did Frodo see the Lady Galadriel', where in FR it is said 'To that
fair land Frodo never came again.'
The following outline is found on a small, isolated scrap of paper.
The only evidence of date that I can see is the fact that 'Sam's casket'
(i.e. his gift from Galadriel) is referred to, and it therefore followed the
present chapter. But this seems as good a place as any to give it, in
relation to the end of the major outline which I have called 'The Story
Foreseen from Moria' on p. 212.
The Three Rings are to be freed, not destroyed by the destruction of
the One. Sauron cannot arise again in person, only work through
men. But Lorien is saved, and Rivendell, and the Havens - until they
grow weary, and until Men (of the East) 'eat up the world'. Then
Galadriel and Elrond will sail away. But Frodo saves the Rings.
Frodo saves the Shire; and Merry and Pippin become important.
Sackville-Bagginses are chucked out (become pot-boys at Bree).
Sam's casket restores Trees.
When old, Sam and Frodo set sail to island of West and [sic] Bilbo
finishes the story. Out of gratitude the Elves adopt them and give
them an island.
At the head of the page is written: 'Saruman becomes a wandering
conjuror and trickster'.
NOTES.
1. The Stone Hills are named in the outlines given on pp. 233 and
250. The last word in the illegible phrase preceding 'at Stone
Hills' might possibly be 'drop', which taken with the note in the
outline on p. 233 that the 'parting of ways' would take place 'at
Stonehills' might suggest that this was a first hint of the great falls
in Anduin.
2. The word Carrock is very indistinct; it occurs again in outline (c),
but is there equally so. Yet I think that this is what it must
certainly be, especially since it seems very suitable: for Tolondren
was the origin of Tol Brandir, and thus the 'Great Carrock'
would answer to Beorn's 'Little Carrock' or 'Lesser Carrock',
itself also rising amid the waters of Anduin but far to the North;
ondren being no doubt a derivative of the stem GOND 'stone'
(Etymologies, V.359).
3. With the rejected word Duil cf. Duil Rewinion, name of the Hills
of the Hunters (west of the river Narog) on the first Silmarillion
map, IV.225. - Emyn Rain is subsequently spelt Rhain (see note
9); cf. the Etymologies, V.383, stem REG, Noldorin rhein, rhain
'border', also Minas rhain (Minas Tirith) p. 116.
4. This is the first occurrence of the Wetwang. The second word in
the Elvish name Palath Nenui is slightly uncertain, but seems
probable. Cf. the Etymologies, V.380, stem PAL, Noldorin
palath 'surface'; also palath 'iris', VI.432, VII.101. Palath
Nen(ui) occurs also on the First Map (see pp. 299, 308).
5. The word Naith 'Angle' (see the Etymologies, V.387, stem SNAS,
Noldorin naith 'gore') seems in the context of this outline to be
a name for the 'green spit' or 'Tongue' where the Company
embarked from Lorien on their journey down Anduin (cf. also
Naith Lorien in outline (a)); and subsequently (p. 280) this is
expressly stated: 'The Naith or Angle (as the elves called this
green sward)'.
The name Angle is variously used. In the earliest mention of the
Lorien story, p. 207, the Company 'journey to Angle between
Anduin and Blackroot. There they remain long'; and 'at Angle
they debate what is to be done.' Since this was written before the
actual story of Lothlorien had been begun, the precise wording
cannot perhaps be pressed; and in the original text of the first
'Lothlorien' chapter the meaning seems entirely unambiguous. As
soon as they had crossed the Blackroot Hathaldir told them that
they had 'entered the Gore, Nelen we call it, which lies in the
angle between Blackroot and Anduin' (p. 231), and he told Gimli
(ibid.) that in the north there were 'hidden defences and guards
across the open arms of the Angle between the rivers'. The other
references in that text do not contradict the obvious conclusion
from these two passages, that whatever the extent of the woods
of Lothlorien may have been, the Angle or Gore (Bennas, Nelen,
Nelennas) was 'the heart of Lorien' (see p. 243 note 46), Lorien-
between-the-Rivers, the base of the triangle being the eaves of the
forest in the North.
Thus 'Naith or Angle' in this outline, and again in the text of
the present chapter, referring expressly to the 'Tongue' (the apex
of the triangle), represents either a changed meaning of Angle, or
else perhaps the use of the English word to signify both the large
triangle ('Lorien-between-the-Rivers') and the very small triangle
(the Tongue) that was the apex of the other.
On the other hand, in the fair copy manuscript of 'Lothlorien'
the distinction is between Narthas 'the Gore', the larger region,
and Nelen 'the Angle', the region in the south where the Elves
dwelt (see p. 236). I doubt that any clearly correct and consecu-
tive formulation can be reached amid such fluidity.
In FR (p. 361) 'the Naith of Lorien, or the Gore' is the large
triangle, entered after passage of the Silverlode; and in the same
passage Haldir speaks of the dwellings of the Elves down in
Egladil, in the Angle between the waters. Egladil occurs once
again in FR, p. 389: There in the last end of Egladil upon the
green grass the parting feast was held.' Robert Foster, in The
Complete Guide to Middle-earth, defines Naith as 'That part of
Lorien between Celebrant and Anduin', adding: 'The Naith
included Egladil but was of greater extent'; and he defines Egladil
as 'The heart of Lorien, the area between Anduin and Celebrant
near their confluence. Called in Westron the Angle.'
6. Nelen (with changed application) and Calennel were presumably
other possible names, beside Naith (see note 5) and Caletdil, of
the 'green spit' or 'Tongue', for which in FR no Elvish name is
given.
7. Green-tine: translation of Calendil; Old English tind (cf. the
Tittdrock, Tol Brandir), later tine, spike, prong, tooth of a fork;
now probably known chiefly of the branches of a deer's horn. Cf.
Silvertine, one of the Mountains of Moria (Celebdil).
8. Cf. the outline on p. 250: the Company is told to 'beware of
Fangorn Forest upon the Ogodruth or Entwash'.
9. In the original text of the chapter the word is clearly spelt Rhain,
while Rain is clear in outline (a). In this outline (c) it seems to be
Rhein at the first occurrence, with Rhain written above, but Rhan
at the second and third; but the writing is very unclear and I read
Rhain here also.
10. The showing of the Mirror now took place on the last evening in
Lothlorien: see p. 259. Very probably the fair copy manuscript of
'Galadriel' was now in existence.
11. Obviously written at the same time as the rest of the text on the
page is a disconnected passage that seems best placed here:
At present that is not possible. Westward the servants of
Sauron are far abroad and are ... the land ... the Baranduin
and the Greyflood. Northward there are strange things hap-
pening which we do [not] understand clearly. The Dimrill
[Dale] is filled with ash and smoke, and the mountains are
troubled. You, Gimli and Legolas, would find it hard to make
your way back even with a great company.
'What of the Beornings?' said Gimli.
'I do not know,' said Keleborn. 'They are far away. But I do
not think you could now reach them'
The illegible passage could possibly be read (assuming rejection
of the word 'are') as 'and have taken over the land between the
Baranduin and the Greyflood.' See further note 12. - A part of
Keleborn's speech here was afterwards given to Haldir, returned
from the northern borders of Lorien to guide the Company from
Caras Galadon: pp. 280, 285 - 6.
12. With this speech of Keleborn's compare that in the last chapter
(pp. 248 - 9) which was marked for transference to the beginning
of this. That passage was indeed quite different, in that Keleborn
seemed almost to assume that Gimli and Legolas at least would
not continue the Quest, and offered them both the hospitality of
Lorien, while also advising Gimli that he might be able to make
his way back through the land of the Beornings. Now (quite
closely approaching the text of FR, p. 383) he offers a generalised
invitation to remain to any of the Company who wish. But from
what can be read of the underlying pencilled text it is seen that
my father at first retained the passage transferred from the
previous chapter in much the same form. The passage given in
note 11 shows a change of mind: Gimli and Legolas would stand
little chance if they tried to return.
13. The form Ondor (as written ab initio) occurs in the fifth version
of 'The Council of Elrond' (p. 144 and note 6).
14. In a rejected form of this passage Keleborn takes up Ingold's
remark that he doubted whether even Gandalf had had any clear
plan:
'Maybe,' said Keleborn. 'Yet he knew that he would have to
choose between East and West ere long. For the Great River
lies between Mordor and Minas Tirith, and he knew, as do you
Men at least of this Company, that it cannot be crossed on foot,
and that the bridges of Osgiliath are broken down or in the
hands of the Enemy since the late assault.'
15. On 'the Land of Seven Streams' see p. 177 and pp. 310-12.
16. Here and again below ('Ingold thanked Keleborn many times')
Ingold was not changed to Elfstone because the passage was
rejected before my father decided to abandon the name Ingold
(see pp. 277 - 8).
17. This is the first mention of the great falls in Anduin (apart from a
very doubtful hint of their existence referred to in note 1).
18. As the text was written Sam's attitude to the boats was different
from what it had been in the previous version (where he felt 'a
little alarm') and from what it is in FR:
Even Sam felt no alarm. Not long ago crossing a river by a ferry
had seemed to him an adventure, but since then he had made
too many weary marches and passed through too many
dangers to worry about a journey in a light boat and the peril
of drowning.
This was subsequently changed to the passage in FR.
19. The name of the Sword of Elendil reforged, Branding, was first
devised here, and then written into 'The Ring Goes South' at the
time of the reforging in Rivendell: 'and Elfstone gave it a new
name and called it Branding' (p. 165). Branding is obviously an
'English' name (Old English brand 'sword'), and consorts with
the names Ingold, Elfstone: see my father's notes on this subject
cited on p. 277.
20. The drawing, in pencil, is now very faint. I have reinforced the
drawing on a photocopy, and the reproduction is based on this.
21. In the original account of the first meeting of the Company with
the Lord and Lady of the Galadrim (pp. 246 ff.) Galadriel
addresses no words to Gimli. These first appear in the fair copy
manuscript of 'Galadriel', where she says just as in FR (p. 371)
'Dark is the water of Kheled-zaram, and cold are the springs of
Kibil-nala...': a further indication that that text was already in
existence.
22. Although Earendil appears in the fair copy manuscript of 'Galad-
riel' (p. 266 note 34), Earendel is the spelling here, both in the
draft and in the fair copy. In my copies of these chapters made in
1942 I wrote Earendil in Chapter XIX and Earendel in Chapter
XX.
23. The meaning of Galadriel's words to Trotter is plainly that
Elfstone was his real name. The fact that the final version of the
passage begins ' "Here is the gift of Keleborn to the leader of your
Company," she said to Elfstone' - before the green gem, the
Elfstone, has been mentioned - is decisive.
24. This change has often been remarked in earlier parts of this book.
The first examples of Aragorn > Elfstone are p. 80 note 17 (at
Bree) and pp. 146 ff. (the fifth version of 'The Council of
Elrond'). It was carried through the fair copy manuscripts of 'The
Ring Goes South' (p. 165; including Trotter > Elfstone), and of
the two 'Moria' chapters (pp. 176, 204, the change here being
always Trotter > Elfstone).
25 With the statement in both these notes that Trotter's real name
must not be 'Elvish' or 'Gnome-elvish' ('like Aragorn') contrast
LR Appendix F ('Of Men'): 'The Dunedain alone of all races of
Men knew and spoke an Elvish tongue; for their forefathers had
learned the Sindarin tongue, and this they handed on to their
children as a matter of lore, changing little with the passing of the
years', together with the footnote to this passage: 'Most of the
names of the other men and women of the Dunedain [i.e. those
whose names were not Quenya], such as Aragorn, Denethor,
Gilraen are of Sindarin form...'
26 In the first draft following this outline it is said of Gimli and
Legolas that they 'had grown more and more friendly during
their stay in Lothlorien'; in the following version (vii) that they
'had grown strangely friendly of late'. In FR they 'had now become
fast friends'. - The complement of each boat is now as in FR, and
not as in outline (b) to this chapter (p. 268), although there
already Legolas and Gimli were placed together in the third boat.
27 In the fair copy manuscript of 'Farewell to Lorien' the text here
IS:
On the further shores the woodlands still marched on south-
wards, as far as eye could see; but beyond the Tongue and
upon the east side of the River all the boughs were bare. No
mallorn-trees grew there.
The intended meaning seems clear: on the west bank beyond the
confluence of Silverlode and Anduin, and all along the east bank
of Anduin, there was still forest, but the trees not being mallorns
they were leafless. So Keleborn says that as they go down the
River they will find that 'the trees will fail', and they will come to
a barren country. In the following manuscript, which I made
(undated, but clearly following on my copy of 'Galadriel' dated
4 August 1942, p. 261), the sentence reads 'all the banks were
bare'. This, I think, must have been a mere error (as also was 'the
eye could see' for 'eye could see', retained in FR), since (in
relation to 'the woodlands still marched on southwards') it is
obviously a less well-chosen and somewhat ambiguous word:
'bare banks' suggests treeless banks, not wooded banks in winter.
Probably in order to correct this, but without consulting the
earlier manuscript and so not seeing that it was an error, my
father at some stage changed 'further shores' to 'further western
shores' on my copy, but this still gives a confused picture. The
text in FR (p. 387) removes the reference to the west shores of
Anduin altogether, but retains the 'bare banks', which must
therefore be interpreted as 'wooded banks in winter'.
28. In the earliest draft for the scene in the first 'Lothlorien' chapter
in which the Company encounters the Elvish scouts near the falls
of Nimrodel (p. 239 note 26) the lowest boughs of the trees 'were
above the reach of Boromir's arms; but they had rope with them.
Casting an end about a bough of the greatest of the trees Legolas
... climbed into the darkness.'
29. There is no more than the briefest outline sketch of Galadriel's
'refusal in the garden' in the original 'Lothlorien' chapter (p.
254), whereas in the fair copy the scene is fully formed (p. 260).
30. This reference to the once far greater extent of the Forest of
Lothlorien is not found in FR (see note 34). Perhaps to be
compared is Unfinished Tales, p. 236: the Nandorin realm of
Lorinand [Lorien] ... was peopled by those Elves who forsook
the Great Journey of the Eldar from Cuivienen and settled in the
woods of the Vale of Anduin; and it extended into the forests on
both sides of the Great River, including the region where
afterwards was Dol Guldur.'
31. Ingold here can only have been a slip for Elfstone.
32. The Seventh River has been mentioned in the fifth version of 'The
Council of Elrond', p. 149. See pp. 310 - 12.
33. Tharbad has been named in the second version of 'The Ring Goes
South', p. 164 and note 8.
34. These passages were actually written when the fair copy had
reached this point. In the fair copy a page ends with the words
'you will find that for a while the trees march on. For of old the
Forest of Lorien'. It was at this point that my father wrote the
first of these passages, which was in fact simply the top of
the next page of the fair copy. Deciding however to cut out the
reference to the once much greater extent of Lothlorien, he struck
out these words at the bottom of the preceding page in the fair
copy, and wrote the second draft given here.
35. In the original workings the fourth line was And by the mere of
Tirion there grew the golden tree. Another version of the fifth line
was Beneath the Hill of Ilmarin lies Aelinuial - Aelinuial 'Lakes
of Twilight' being the name of the region of great pools at the
confluence of the rivers Aros and Sirion in Beleriand; cf. the
Shadow-meres in the seventh line. In Bilbo's song at Rivendell
occur the lines
beneath the hill o f Ilmarin
where glimmer in a valley sheer
the lights of Elven Tirion
the city on the Shadowmere
and also From Evereven's lofty hills (see pp. 93, 98; FR pp. 247 - 8).
36. Boromir's words 'I have not myself been there' (referring to
Fangorn), p. 282, were changed to 'I have not myself ever crossed
Rohan.'
Additional Notes on the name Elfstone.
A puzzling detail in the fair copy manuscript of this chapter is that
while Trotter is referred to as Trotter throughout the narrative (see
pp. 277 - 8), on the two occasions where he is named by Keleborn the
name is Ingold. According to the explanation advanced on pp. 277-8
he should now, if called by his true name, be Elfstone. Moreover when
we come to the scene of the Parting Gifts in this manuscript Galadriel's
words to Trotter remain exactly as in the draft text on p. 276
('Elfstone is your name ... and it is a fair name. I will add this gift of
my own to match it'). How then can Keleborn call him Ingold?
The answer, I feel sure, is (as I have suggested, p. 267) that the fair
copy manuscript itself grew in close relation to the drafts, where the
names were not stable; and that it was not carefully revised in this
point. In the first case, near the beginning of the chapter, where in the
draft text Keleborn names 'Boromir of Ondor and Ingold the traveller'
among those of the Company accustomed to boats, Ingold was
changed subsequently to Elfstone (p. 273), but in the fair copy 'Ingold
the traveller' remained unchanged. In the second case also, towards
the end of the chapter, where in the draft Keleborn says 'it may be that
Ingold and Boromir know the lands well enough to need no counsel' -
which can only have been a casual inadvertence, note 31 - Ingold was
corrected to Elfstone in the draft but not in the fair copy.
Later, my father corrected the second Ingold on the fair copy to
Aragorn but did not notice the first. Without knowledge of the earlier
texts this hasty and incomplete revision of names can produce
incomprehensible tangles later on, when amanuenses such as myself
simply followed what they saw before them: so in the next text of this
chapter, a manuscript that I made (note 27), I wrote Ingold at the first
occurrence and Aragorn at the second.
Galadriel's words at the gift-giving, Elfstone is your name, Eldamir
in the language of your fathers of old, and it is a fair name, were struck
out on the fair copy, with the curious result that in the manuscript that
I wrote in 1942 Galadriel says: 'The blade that is drawn from this
sheath shall not be stained or broken even in defeat. I will add this gift
of my own to match it.' Later on, my father wrote on his fair copy
manuscript (but not on the one that I made), against the description of
Galadriel's gift and her words concerning it (retained exactly from the
draft on p. 276): Make this the reason for his taking the name
Elfstone; and after the words 'yet many things that now appear
loathly will appear otherwise to you hereafter' he wrote in: 'And
[Eldamir >] Elessar shall be a name for you hereafter, Elfstone in
[the tongues of common speech >] your speech. Long may it be
remembered.'
XV.
THE FIRST MAP
OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
Of the various small-scale maps of the western regions of Middle-
earth that my father made, one is very easily seen to be the earliest;
and I have no doubt at all that this was not only the earliest of the
maps that are extant, but was in fact the first one that he made (other
than the hasty sketches of particular regions published in Vol. VI).
This 'First Map' is a strange, battered, fascinating, extremely
complicated and highly characteristic document. To gain understand-
ing of it, its construction must first be described. It consists of a
number of pages glued together and on to backing sheets, with a
substantial new section of the map glued over an earlier part, and
small new sections on top of that. The glue that my father used to stick
down the large new portion was strong, and the sheets cannot be
separated; moreover through constant folding the paper has cracked
and broken apart along the folds, which are distinct from the actual
joins of the map-sections. It was thus difficult to work out how the
whole was built up; but I am confident that the following account is
correct. In this account I refer to the figure 'Construction of the
Original Map of The Lord of the Rings' on p. 297. This is a diagram
and not a map, but I have inserted a few major features (the sea-coast,
Anduin, Mirkwood, the rough outlines of the mountainous regions) as
a guide.
The original element in the map consisted of two pages glued
together along their vertical edges, and is the big rectangle framed in
the figure by a black and white line and lettered A. East of the vertical
line of squares numbered 22 it extended for a further three lines, but
these were left blank.
A new section (made up of three portions glued together) extended
the original map to North and West. (I say 'new section', since the
paper is slightly different, and it was obviously added to what was
already in existence.) This section is marked B on the figure and
framed in double lines. It extends north of what is shown on the figure
by five more horizontal lines of squares (A-E, I - 17).
As already mentioned, a third section, marked C on the figure and
framed in double lines (squares o-w, 9-19), was superimposed on a part
of the original map 'A', obliterating almost all of its southern half.
This new section 'C' extends further south than did 'A', by three
horizontal lines of squares (U-W, 9 - 19). Fortunately, a good part of this
section has no backing paper, and by shining a bright light through it
it has been possible to make out certain names and geographical
features on the 'lost', southern half of 'A'. This is a difficult and
confusing operation, and the results are very incomplete, but they are
quite sufficient to show the essentials of what lies beneath 'C'. All that
I can make out after long peering is shown on the map numbered III (A)
(p. 308).
The small rectangle lettered D on the figure and framed in dots was
replaced over and over again, and is by far the most complex part of
the map, as the region covered is also crucial in the story: from the
Gap of Rohan and Isengard to Rauros and the mouths of Entwash.
The original element in the First Map
The First Map was my father's working map for a good while, and
thus as it stood when he left it - as it stands now - it represents an
evolution, rather than a fixed state of the geography. Determination of
the sequence in which the map was built up does not, of course,
demonstrate that names or features on 'A' are necessarily earlier than
names or features on 'B' or 'C', since when 'A' + 'B' + 'C' were in
being the map was a single entity. There are, however, certain clues to
relative dating. The earliest layer of names is recognisable from the
style of lettering, and also to some extent from the fact that my father
at that stage used red ink for certain names, chiefly in the case of
alternatives (as for example Loudtwater in black ink, Bruinen beside it
in red). On the directly visible part of 'A', virtually all of which is
shown on Map II (p. 305), all the names are 'original' with the
exception of the following: Torfirion (Westermanton); North Downs,
Fornobel (Northbury); Forodwaith (Northerland); Enedwaith (Mid-
dlemarch); Caradras; Nimrodel, Silverlode; Mirkwood the Great,
Southern Mirkwood, Rhovanion; Rhosgobel, Dol Dughul (but Dol
Dugol in red ink, struck out, on M 15 - 16 is original); Bardings; Sea of
Rhunaer and Rhun. Notable is the case of Silverlode: here the original
name was Redway, struck out and changed in the same script to
Blackroot, and this change is very precisely documented in the second
version of 'The Ring Goes South', p. 166.
In this 'original layer' of names are a few others which I have not
included in the redrawn map (II) since I could not find room for them
without unnecessarily confusing it, the scale being so small: these are
Chetwood, Midgewater, Forest River, Woodmen, Wood Elves, Dale.
F.I. (so written in the original) on the Road east of Bree stands for
Forsaken Inn. On the River Rushdown (Rhimdad) cf. V.384, VI.205,
where the form is Rhimdath (also Rhibdath).
Three of the original names were changed, and I have entered the
later form. These are the river Isen, first written Iren on P 8 (Old
English, 'iron', which varied with Isen); Andrath on L 8, where the
original form is unclear since a broken fold of the map runs through it,
but seems to have been Amrath (as in a draft for a portion of the
chapter 'Many Meetings', see pp. 69 - 70 and note 7); and Anduin
(M-N 13, Maps II and IV ), first written Andon (see p. 299).
Of geographical features, most of what is represented on the directly
visible part of 'A' goes back to the beginning, and of course a
substantial part of that was derived from the Map of Wilderland in
The Hobbit. Elements that are not 'original' are the highlands in the
North-west of Map II (I 8-9, J 7 - 8); the markings representing the Iron
Hills (though the name itself is original); the Sea of Rhunaer, the
mountainous region to the South-west of it, the river flowing into it
from the Iron Hills, and the lower course of the (unnamed) River
Running, which as the map was first made scarcely extended beyond
the eastern edge of the Wilderland Map in The Hobbit.
Some other geographical features are slightly doubtful, but the
western arm of the Misty Mountains across squares I 10-11 was
probably a subsequent addition, and the vast region of highland
between Mirkwood and the Sea of Rhunaer, together with the streams
flowing from it into the Dead Marshes (N 16), almost certainly so. The
original siting of the name Dol Dugol (M 15; see p. 296) probably had
nothing to do with these highlands (at the first occurrence of the name
on p. 178 Gandalf speaks of Sauron's 'older and lesser dwelling at Dol-
Dugol in Southern Mirkwood'): faint traces of green colour suggest to
me that originally Mirkwood extended much further to the South-
east, covering L 15 and a good part of M-N 15 - 16, and that this region
of the forest was erased. The hills that emerge onto N 15 from the area
which I have left blank on Map II are also additional: this region will
be discussed later in this chapter.
The river Isen is a bit doubtful, since though the name as originally
written (R. Iren, see above) clearly belongs with the primary layer of
names, the coastline as drawn had no river-mouth opposite the
off-shore island on P 7, and a pencilled indentation was made
subsequently. The same is true of the unnamed river (afterwards
Lefnui) to the south of Isen, whose mouth was drawn in on R 8 (Map
III).
On the part of the original map 'A' that is obliterated by the sticking
on of portion 'C' some names and features can be seen, as already
described (p. 296., Map III (A)). It is clear that at that stage relatively
little was entered on the map. Those in black ink can be readily seen,
and I do not think that there were any others beyond Land of
Mor-dor, Minas Morgol (with Ithil in red ink), Osgiliath, Minas Tirith
(with Anor in red ink), Blackroot > Silverlode (see under Map II on p.
306), Tolfalas, Bay of Belfalas, and Ethir-andon (as it seems to have
been written, before being changed to -anduin, as on the northern part
of 'A'). Dead Marshes is in red ink; other names seem to have been
entered in red chalk (Land of Ond) or pencil. The actual sites of Minas
Morgol and the Dark Tower cannot be seen, nor can the last two
letters of Palath Nen[ui] (on which see p. 268 and note 4); and the
mountain-chains are extremely hard to make out. The bits of the
mountains of Mordor in the North-west that I have been able to
distinguish with certainty suggest however a disposition essentially the
same as that in 'C'. The occurrence of Dol [?Amroth] at this stage is
notable.
It is thus clear that, whenever the First Map was actually begun, it
had reached the stage seen in the original 'layer' of portion 'A' before
the time we have now reached in the texts, and also that much of that
layer belongs to this period of the work: many of these original names
on the map emerge first in the texts given in this book - for example
Sarn Ford (p. 9), Entish Land (p. 10), Mitheithel (p. 14), Bruinen (p.
14), Minas Tirith (p. 115), Minas Morgol (p. 116), Minas Anor, Minas
Ithil (p. 119), Bay of Belfalas (p. 119), Tharbad (p. 164), etc. Andon
(Ethir-andon) was a form preceding Anduin which never occurred in
the texts: Anduin appears in the fifth version of 'The Council of
Elrond' where the name Sirvinya 'New Sirion' appears in the third (pp.
119, 144).
The 1943 Map.
In 1943 (see Letters nos. 74 and 98) I made a large elaborate map in
pencil and coloured chalks, companion to a similar one of the Shire
(see VI.107, 200). It was the First Map that I had in front of me when I
made it. My map is thus of historical value in showing what the state
of the First Map was at that time - especially in respect of names, for
though I was as faithful to the courses of rivers and coasts as I have
attempted to be 45 years later, I used pictorial forms for the mountains
and hills, which are less precise.(1)
The redrawn maps in this book.
In Unfinished Tales I referred (pp. 13 - 14) to my father's maps of
The Lord of the Rings as 'sketch-maps'; but this was an ill-chosen
word, and in respect of the First Map a serious misnomer. All parts of
the First Map were made with great care and delicacy until a late stage
of correction, and it has an exceedingly 'Elvish' and archaic air. The
difficulties of interpretation do not arise from any roughness in the
original execution, but in part from subsequent alteration in very
small space, and in part from its present condition: it is wrinkled,
creased, and broken from constant use, so that connections are lost,
and many names and markings added in pencil are so blurred and
faint as to be almost invisible. My father made a good deal of use of
pencil and coloured chalks: mountain-chains are shaded in grey, rivers
(for the most part) represented in blue chalk, marshland and wood-
land in shades of green (Mirkwood is conveyed by little curved marks
in green chalk, suggestive of treetops); and this colouring is rubbed
and faded (it is often very difficult to be sure of the courses of rivers).
In regions where the development of the story caused substantial
alteration in the geography, notably where the hills and mountains
were much changed and overlaid by new representations, there are so
many lines and strokes and dots that it is impossible to feel certain
what my father intended, or even to make out what there is on the
paper.(2)
Inevitably, the attempt to redraw the map involves more than
merely copying (and since it must be represented in black and white,
different symbolisation, notably of wooded regions, must to some
extent be used, or else dispensed with); to redraw is in such a case to
interpret. My redrawings are therefore to an extent simpler, less
subtle, and more decisive in detail, than the original, and of course
uniform in appearance, since they have all been made at one time and
with the same pens. These maps are therefore quite insufficient in
themselves as a substitute for the original, and the discussion of the
redrawn maps is an integral part of my attempt to present this
remarkable document.
The major question to resolve, however, arose from the fact that
this map was a continuous development, evolving in terms of, and
reacting upon, the narrative it accompanied. To redraw it involved a
decision on what to include and what to exclude. But to attempt to
limit its content to the names and features that might be supposed to
have been present at a particular time (in terms of the narrative) would
involve a host of complexities and dubious or arbitrary decisions. It
was clearly far better to represent the map in a developed form; and
except in the case of Map III (A) (where a large part of the original map
'A' was early abandoned) and of maps IV (A-E) (where there are six
successive and distinct versions) I have therefore taken my 1943 map
as a conveniently fixed and definite terminus, though not without a
number of exceptions. It is to be understood throughout the following
discussion that everything on my redrawn versions in this book
appears in that form on the 1943 map unless something is said to the
contrary. Many of the subsequent alterations made to the First Map or
to the 1943 map or to both are however mentioned.
The map-squares of the original are of 2 centimetre side (on my
1943 map the squares were enlarged to 4 centimetres). No scale is
given; but a later and much rougher map, also ruled in squares of this
size, gives 2 centimetres = 100 miles, and this was clearly the scale of
the First Map also.
Maps I and I (A).
Map I, with the extreme North and North-east on I, gives virtually
the whole of the added portion 'B' (see the figure on p. 297): thus 'B'
extends from A to H, 1-17, and from I to Q, 1-6 and a portion of 7. The
section marked off on the right-hand side of Map I is the left-hand side
of the original portion 'A', and this is duplicated on Map II.
This portion 'B' received no emendation whatsoever after its first
drawing except in one minor point. The great highlands (afterwards
called the Hills of Evendim) between the river Lune and the North
Downs certainly belong with the rest of 'B', and were extended into
square J 7 of 'A', already in existence; and the North Downs were
entered on 'A' at the same time (for the place-names see under Map II).
This is the only map that shows the far northern coast, and the vast
bay shaped like a human head and face (E-G 7-9, on map I (A)). In view
of Appendix A (I. iii) to The Lord of the Rings, where there is a
reference to 'the great cape of Forochel that shuts off to the north-west
the immense bay of that name', it is clear that this bay is 'the Icebay of
Forochel' (see Unfinished Tales p. 13 and footnote) - although on a
subsequent map of my father's the much smaller southern bay (H 6-7)
is very clearly labelled and limited 'the Icebay of Forochel', as it is on
my map published with The Lord of the Rings (3). No names are given in
this region on the First Map, but subsequently my father pencilled in
North Sea across G 4-5, and this I entered on my 1943 map, though
inadvertently omitted on Map I.
On the islands of Tol Fuin and Himling see p. 124 and note 18.
- The 'sea-lines' are not present in the original, but they are marked on
parts 'A' and 'C' and I have therefore extended them throughout. - I
cannot explain the wavy line that extends roughly parallel to the coast
from H 4 to K 3 .(4)
It will be seen on Map I that the distinction between the North and
South Havens (here Forlorn and Harlorn for later Forlond and
Harlond), situated in bays of the Gulf of Lune, and Mithlond, the Grey
Havens, at the head of the gulf, was already present (but see p. 423).
With this first representation of Ered Luin, the Blue Mountains, in
the context of The Lord of the Rings cf. the revision of the end of The
Fall of Numenor cited on pp. 122 - 3. Very notable is the appearance of
Belegost (L 5), which is marked on the 1943 map also, but on no
subsequent one. The Dwarf-cities of the Blue Mountains were not
originally marked on the second Silmarillion map (V.409, 411), but
were put in roughly later: Belegost being situated on the eastern side of
the mountains somewhat north of Mount Dolmed and the pass by
which the Dwarf-road crossed them. Cf. Unfinished Tales p. 235:
There were and always remained some Dwarves on the eastern side
of Ered Lindon, where the very ancient mansions of Nogrod and
Belegost had been - not far from Nenuial; but they had transferred
most of their strength to Khazad-dum.
The White Towers on the Tower Hills are represented by three dots
in a line (K 6). - The letter F on square M 7 of Map I and the letters ITH
on square H 11 of Map I (A) belong to Forodwaith, on which see under
Map II.
Map II.
This redrawing, as will be seen by comparison with the diagram on
p. 297, covers almost all the still directly visible part of 'A', the only
areas not included being the almost blank squares I - T 20 eastwards and
Q-T 7 - 8 in the South-west, which is mostly sea (and is shown on Map
III). It also covers the two top lines of squares of the superimposed
portion 'C (0-P 9 - 19), and the rectangle 'D', which is here left blank
apart from the continuation of certain names. On the left Map II
overlaps with Map I and at the bottom with Map III.
I have noted under Map I that the eastern end of the highlands
afterwards called the Hills of Evendim and the North Downs were
extended onto portion 'A' (I 8 - 9, J 7-8) when 'B' was added. The names
Torfirion (changed from Tarkilmar) or Westermanton occur in the
fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond', p. 144; on the First Map my
father afterwards scribbled Annuminas here, but Torfirion (Wester-
manton) appears on my 1943 map. The name originally written here
on the First Map was in fact Fornobel, but this seems to have been
changed at once, and Fornobel (Northbury) written against the
habitation on the North Downs. The earlier name for this was
Osforod, the Northburg (pp. 120 - 1, 129), but Fornobel appears by
emendation in the fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond' (p. 147).
Here my father scribbled in the later name Fornost, but the 1943 map
still has Fornobel (Northbury).
Most of the names and features on the 'A' part of Map II are
original, and have been commented on already (p. 296). On the
significance of Greyflood or Seventh River see pp. 310 - 12. Gwathlo is
certainly an original name, though it has not appeared in any text.
The various additions made to 'A' (listed on p. 296) were made in
the same spidery lettering and very fine lines characteristic of the
superimposed section 'C'. The name Enedwaith (Middlemarch) was
written across 'A' and 'C' after 'C' had been stuck on, and Forod-
(waith) (Northerland) belongs with it (though -waith was a further
and rougher addition). Enedwaith here denotes a much greater region
than it afterwards became (the lands between Greyflood and Isen): the
original conception, it is seen, was of a great 'triad', Forodwaith or
Northerland, bounded on the South-east by the Greyflood, Enedwaith
or Middlemarch between Greyflood and Anduin, and Haradwaith or
Sutherland (on Map III) bounded on the North-west by Anduin (or by
the river Harnen). All this remains on the 1943 map, but my father
wrote on that map against Forodwaith: (or Eriador).
On the changed names Iren > Isen, Amrath (?) > Andrath (not
entered at all on the 1943 map), and Andon > Anduin, see p. 298.
I have mentioned (p. 298) that the great highland between Mirk-
wood and the Sea of Rhunaer was almost certainly not an original
element of 'A', and the streams flowing down from it into the Dead
Marshes (N 16) were continued with the same pen-strokes onto 'C' (0
16), which had already been added. (Of this highland region there is no
trace on my 1943 map: all this area is a pure blank, though the
streams on N 16 are shown.) Within the outline of these highlands
pencilled markings showing lines of high hills or mountains are now
extremely faint, and disrupted by a large cracked fold that extends
across the map through line M; and a pencilled name on M 16 is
illegible save for the initial element East....
The name Mirrormere (L 11) is original. The Misty Mountains are
not named, nor are the Mountains of Moria other than Caradras (an
addition); on the 1943 map appears also Kelebras (p. 174 note 21),
but not the third peak (Fanuiras). Afterwards my father pencilled on
the First Map the final names Celebdil and Fanuidol (so spelt). As
already mentioned (p. 296) Silverlode was a correction (in the style of
portion 'C') of Blackroot, itself replacing Redway; and the southern
river Blackroot appears on the hidden portion of 'A' (Map III ) -
where however it also was changed to Silverlode! The change here
should have been the other way about: for the names of the two rivers
were transposed, the northern 'Blackroot' becoming 'Silverlode', and
the southern 'Silverlode' becoming 'Blackroot' (see p. 177 and note 1,
and p. 241 note 36). But there is no doubt that the first name written
against the southern river was Blackroot, and that this was then
changed to Silverlode. Subsequently my father struck out Silverlode
and wrote stet against Blackroot: I suppose therefore that this was
either a passing hesitation, when he thought for a moment of going
back on his previous decision to change the names, or else a mere slip.
Entish Land Q 11) is original, but is absent from the 1943 map; a
later note against this on the First Map says: 'Alter Entish Lands to
[Trollfells > Bergrisland >] Ettenmoor'. This would seem to be the
place where Ettenmoor(s) was first devised, but see p. 65 note 32.
Bergrisland is from Old Norse berg-risi 'hill-giant'.
On the two sites of Dol Dugol (Dol Dughul) see p. 298. For the
emergence of the name Rhosgobel see p. 164.
Against Lonely Mt. is pencilled Dolereb, and also Erebor with a
query (neither of these names appear on the 1943 map). Erebor first
occurs in the fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond', p. 142 and note
2. The Grey Mountains and the Iron Hills were originally marked only
as names, but my father afterwards drew in the latter, and also rather
vague pencillings to show a mountainous region to west and south-
west of the Sea of Rhunaer; these features are shown on the 1943 map,
as also are the river flowing from the Iron Hills and the eastward
extension of the River Running to join it (K 16 - 17), though on the 1943
map the River Running is very much the major stream and that from
the Iron Hills a slender tributary. Rhun was an addition in the 'C'
style. The name Rhunaer (i.e. 'Eastern Sea'), also an addition to 'A' (as
was the Sea itself), is unclear on the First Map on account of a crack in
the paper, but is confirmed by its appearance on the 1943 map and on
a later map of my father's, where, though the Sea itself is not included,
there is a direction that the River Running flows into the Sea of
Rhunaer. On the map published in The Lord of the Rings, it is the Sea
of Rhun, and there are three references to the Sea of Rhun in Appendix
A (see also p. 333 in the next chapter). The forest bordering the Sea of
Rhunaer (L 19) extends on the First Map round the north-eastern point
of the Sea and down its eastern shore (L-M 20), and against it my father
pencilled Neldoreth; no name for the forest is marked on the 1943
map, which ends at the same point eastwards as does Map II in this
book.(5) The island in the Sea is coloured green on the First Map, and
on the 1943 map is marked as wooded.
The name Bardings on J 15 was a pencilled addition that appears on
the 1943 map; the pencilled addition of Eotheod on I 12, however,
does not (on the regions where the Eotheod dwelt, at first between the
Carrock and the Gladden Fields and afterwards in the region of the
source-streams of Anduin, Greylin and Langwell, see Unfinished Tales
pp. 288, 295).
For features marked on the south-east corner of Map II, 0 - P 15 - 19,
see under Map III.
Maps III (A) and III.
The line of squares P 7-19 overlaps with Map II. Map III contains no
portion of the original map 'A' except for the two lines of squares on
the left, P - T 7 - 8, where the river (afterwards Lefnui) on Q 8-9, P 9 seems
certainly a later addition. Map III (A) shows the names and geographical
features of the original map 'A' that I can make out through the
overlay (pp. 298 - 9). Granting the difficulty of seeing what was there, it
is clear, I think, that when this part of 'A' was made the story itself had
not advanced into these regions, and only a few names and features
were entered. Comparison of Maps III (A) and III will show that in the
second version Ethir Anduin was moved south and east, becoming a
vast delta, and the course of Anduin was entirely changed, flowing in a
great eastward bend between Nindalf and the Mouths, whereas
originally its course was almost in a straight line south-south-west.
Concomitantly with this, Minas Tirith and Osgiliath were moved
almost 200 miles to the east. Only the name and not the actual site of
Minas Morgol can be seen on the underlying map, but it seems to have
been a good deal further to the east of Osgiliath than was subsequently
the case.(6) On other features of Map III see pp. 298 - 9, and on
Blackroot > Silverlode see p. 306.
Turning to the superimposed portion 'C' of the First Map (of which
the uppermost horizontal line of squares 0 9-19 is found on Map II), as
I have said the lettering and representation of geographical features
were here done with an exceptionally fine pen-nib; at the same time it is
scarcely possible to distinguish earlier and later elements by this means
- for example, Harondor ( S. Gondor) is obviously later than Ondor,
but there is nothing in the appearance of the lettering to show this.
(Ondor here replaces Ond of the underlying map; for the first
appearance of Ondor in the Lord of the Rings papers see p. 144.) My
1943 map is however effectively identical with the First Map in almost
every feature, and only a few points need to be specially noticed here.
I postpone discussion of the Dead Marshes and No Man's Land to
the notes on the development of Map IV. The original name Dagras of
the Battle Plain was replaced in pencil by Dagorlad, which appears on
the 1943 map but is omitted on the redrawing through lack of space.
Kirith Ungol still appears in 1943 as the name of the chief entrance
into Mordor, but I placed Minas Morgul (q 15) further to the north,
and so further north than Minas Tirith - very near to the northern tip
of the Mountains of Shadow (P 15). This change complied with a
direction by pencilled arrow on the First Map (where incidentally the
name was originally spelt Minas Morgol, as on the overlaid portion of
'A' beneath). Among several changes that my father made to the 1943
map in these regions he replaced Minas Morgul in its original position
on Q 15. Another was the addition of Ephel to Duath on both maps.
For the significance of the two small circles on either side of the n of
Kirith Ungol on P 15 see p. 349 note 41.
The Nargil Pass (S 17) is clearly represented and lettered on the 1943
map, whereas on the First Map it was scribbled in very hastily and is
hardly legible (but apparently reads Narghil Pass). Mount Mindolluin
was similarly added in roughly between Minas Tirith and the original
mountain shown in the north-east corner of Q 13, but is carefully
shown on mine (see note 1); the name is left off the redrawing through
lack of space.
On the 1943 map only, my father moved Dol Amroth from R 9 to
R 11 (south of the mouth of the river Morthond); on both maps he
changed Belfalas to Anfalas; on the First Map only, he changed
Anarion on q 14 to Anorien, and altered Land of Seven Streams to
Land of Five Streams; and on the 1943 map he struck out Anarion and
Lebennin (Land of Seven Streams) and re-entered Lebennin in the
place of Anarion on q 14.
This question of the southern rivers is very curious. In the original
draft of Gandalf's story of his adventures to the Council of Elrond
(p. 132) Radagast told him that he would scarcely come to Saruman's
abode 'before the Nine cross the Seven Rivers', which in the next
version (p. 149) becomes 'before the Nine have crossed the seventh
river'. In 'the Lord of Moria' (p. 177) Boromir advises that the
Company should 'take the road to my land that I followed on my way
hither: through Rohan and the country of Seven Streams. Or we could
go on far into the South and come at length round the Black
Mountains, and crossing the rivers Isen and Silverlode [> Blackroot]
enter Ond from the regions nigh the sea.' I have remarked there that
this can only mean that the Company would pass through 'the country
of Seven Streams' if they went to Minas Tirith by way of Rohan, north
of the Black Mountains. On the other hand, in 'Farewell to Lorien'
(p. 282) Boromir on his journey to Rivendell 'went round by the south
about the Black Mountains and up the Greyflood - or the Seventh
River as we call it.' And earlier in the same chapter (p. 272) he says
that he was born 'between the mountains and the sea, on the borders
of the Land of Seven Streams.'
The naming of Greyflood the Seventh River is an original element of
the oldest portion 'A' of the First Map, and is surely to be associated
with the Land of Seven Streams, especially in view of the change in the
drafts of Gandalf's tale to the Council of Elrond, cited above, from
'the Seven Rivers' to 'the seventh river'. But what then were these
rivers? I am certain that there is no river save Blackroot (with a
tributary) west of Ethir Anduin on the hidden part of A (Map III (A)).
Even if Anduin itself is counted, and the tributary of Blackroot, and if
the unnamed river (later Lefnui) is supposed a very early addition, Isen
is the fifth and Greyflood the sixth. I have not been able to find any
solution to this puzzle.
With the replacement portion 'C' the nature of the puzzle changes.
Lebennin (Land of Seven Streams) is a small region, and it is notable
that seven rivers are indeed shown here (Map III, Q-R 11 - 14):
Morthond and an unnamed tributary; Ringlo and an unnamed
tributary; an unnamed river that enters Anduin above the Mouths;
and an unnamed river entering Anduin further up its course (R 14),
formed of two tributaries one of which flows from Minas Tirith.(7) But
Greyflood, some 450 miles to the north-west of the most westerly of
these seven streams, remains the Seventh River.(8) A further twist to the
problem arises from the fact that Lebennin does not in any case mean
'Seven Streams', but 'Five Streams'. The original Quenya word for
'five' was lemin (1.246); and in the Etymologies (V.368) are found the
Quenya word lempe 'five' and the Noldorin word lheben (cf. Q. lepse,
N. lhebed, 'finger'). Ossiriand was the Land of Seven Rivers (cf. the
Etymologies, V.379, Quenya otso, Noldorin odog 'seven'). As noted
above, my father afterwards changed 'Seven' to 'Five' on the First
Map, and in The Lord of the Rings the name Lebennin means 'Five
Streams': cf. The Return of the King V.1 (p. 22), 'fair Lebennin with
its five swift streams'.
A later map of my father's does not solve these problems, but carries
a note that is very interesting in this connection. When this map was
made Lebennin had been moved to its final position. The note reads:
Rivers of Gondor.
Anduin
From East.
Ithilduin or Duin Morghul.
Poros Boundary
From West.
Ereg First.
Sirith. The 5 rivers.
Lameduin (of Lamedon) with tributaries. of Lebennin.
Semi (E.) and Kelos (W.)
Ringlo, Kiril, Morthond and Calenhir that
all flow into Cobas Haven.
Lhefneg Fifth
In counting only the mouths are counted: Ereg 1, Sirith 2, Lame-
duin 3, Morthond 4, Lhefneg 5, Isen 6, Gwathlo 7.
Thus in relation to the final geography of the region:
- Ereg (the unnamed river on the First Map flowing into Anduin on
R 14) became Erui.
- Sirith (the unnamed river on the First Map flowing into Anduin on
R 13) remained.
- Lameduin here has tributaries Serni and Kelos, which evidently
constitute Lameduin from their confluence. On the First Map
Lameduin is Ringlo, with unnamed tributaries. In the final form
Lameduin became Gilrain, with its tributary Serni, while Kelos was
transferred to become a tributary of Sirith.(9)
- Of the four rivers Ringlo, Kiril, Morthond, and Calenhir 'that all
flow into Cobas Haven' the first three only are named on this map;
but though the Calenhir is not, it is shown as an unnamed river,
most westerly of the four, flowing eastwards from Pinnath Gelin.
These four rivers join together not far from the coast, and flow (as
Morthond, according to the list of river-mouths above) into the sea
in the bay north of Dol Amroth, which is named Cobas Haven.(10) In
the final geography this configuration remains, although Calenhir is
lost.
- Lhefneg became Lefnui.
- Isen remained.
- Gwathlo or Greyflood is on this map given an alternative name
Odotheg, changed to Odothui (i.e. 'seventh').
and the Valley of Gorgoroth see p. 144; cf. also the Gap of
Gorgoroth, p. 208. Kirith Ungol ('the passes of Mordor') appears in
'Farewell to Lorien', p. 283. For Lithlad ('Plain of Ash') see pp. 208,
213, and for the first occurrence of Orodruin p. 28. Lothlann (U 17-18)
was apparently an original name on portion 'C' of the First Map, but
it was struck out; whether it appeared on the 1943 map cannot be
said, for the bottom right-hand corner of that map was torn off.
Lothlann ('wide and empty') derives from The Silmarillion: see the
Index to Vol. V.
On Haradwaith (Sutherland) see pp. 304, 306. The name Swertings
appears in The Two Towers, IV.3 (p. 255), where Sam speaks of 'the
big folk down away in the Sunlands. Swertings we call 'em in our tales.'
Barangils is found later as a name in Gondor for the men of the Harad.
Maps IV (A) to IV (E).
We come now to what is by far the most complex part of the First
Map, the rectangle of fifteen squares (N-P 10 - 14) lettered 'D' on the
figure on p. 297, and left blank on Map II. This section was redrawn
and replaced many times.
IV (A).
In Map IV (A) the uppermost line of squares N 10 - 14 is part of the
original 'A' portion of the First Map, whereas lines 0 and P are part of
the superimposed portion 'C'; but I believe that most of the features
and names shown on the line N were added in after portion 'C' had
been glued on, and that there is no need to trouble with this
distinction. The little that can be seen (and very little seems to have
been marked in) on lines o and P of the original 'A' portion is shown
on Map III (A), where the line of Anduin below Palath Nenui (Wetwang)
was entirely different (see p. 307).
The vertical line of squares N-P 15 on the right-hand side of Map IV (A)
is repeated from Map II, and is merely added to make the conjunction
easier to follow (it includes also the remainder of the name Border
Hills, which was later struck out). The shaded area on N-P 10 - 11 is
invisible owing to a later pasted overlay (see under Map IV (D) below).
I think it is certain that the hills marked Green Hills and those
marked Emyn Rhain (Border Hills) were put in at the same time, at
the making of portion 'C'; but I do not think that they were named at
once. This matter is rather complex, but it reveals, as I believe, an
interesting aspect of the relation between my father's narrative writing
and his maps. I set out first the various statements made in the earliest
texts of the chapter 'Farewell to Lorien' about the country through
which the Anduin flowed south of Lothlorien.
(i) The River winds among the Border Hills, Emyn Rain. They
must decide their course there, because the Wetwang lies
before them (p. 268).
(ii) They pass into the Rhain Hills u here the River winds in deep
ravines (p. 269).
(iii) The Company lands (on Tolondren, the island in Anduin)
and goes up into the Rhain Hills (p. 269).
(iv) The Company lands on Tolondren.... They cross to the East
bank and go up into the Green Hills (or Emyn Rhain?)
(p. 269).
(v) Elves of Lorien shall go with the Company as far as the
Green Hills where the River winds among deep ravines (with
Rhain written above Green) (p. 271).
(vi) Keleborn speaks of the falls of Rhain where the River runs
out of the ravines in the Green Hills (p. 273).
(vii) Keleborn says that the River will pass through a bare and
barren country before it flows into the sluggish region of
Nindalf, where the Entwash flows in. Beyond that are Emyn
Rhain the Border Hills... The Company should leave the
River u here the isle of Tolondren stands in the stream above
the falls of Rosfein and cross the Entwash above the marshes
(pp. 281 - 2).
(Here the Border Hills are displaced southwards, beyond Tolondren
and the Nindalf. Keleborn's words were rewritten to say:)
(viii) the River will pass through a bare and barren country,
winding among the Border Hills before it falls down into the
sluggish region of Nindalf (p. 281).
There is clearly a doubt or confusion here as to the Green Hills and
the Border Hills, and different views of how the Border Hills relate to
Tolondren, the falls, and the Nindalf or Wetwang. I do not think that
any definite conclusion can be drawn from these texts taken by
themselves, but from the Map IV (A) I believe that the development can
be tolerably well understood.
The line of hills extending on either side of Anduin (N 12 - 14), and
the hills rising to east and south-east of these (N - O 14 - 15), were drawn
in at the same time and in the same style, characteristic of portion 'C',
with outlining in short strokes. The lettering, I feel sure, was put in
subsequently. My belief is that these ranges were a datum already
provided, illustrating my father's words in his letter to Naomi
Mitchison of 25 April 1954 (Letters no. 144), I wisely started with a
map, and made the story fit'; and that the confusing statements in the
earliest 'Farewell to Lorien' papers show him moving towards a
satisfactory relation between the evolving narrative, his vision of the
lands about Anduin in these regions, and what was drawn on the map
(i.e. these ranges of hills).
At one stage he decided that the hills should be the Green Hills and
the Border Hills respectively. He wrote in these names, and at the same
time extended the latter (more roughly, and with dotted outlines)
southwest, so as to embrace both sides of Anduin (O 14, P 13 - 14). This
perhaps illustrates Keleborn's words in extract (vii) above, where the
Border Hills are south of Tolondren and the Nindalf. But in the
margin of the First Map he noted: 'Place [?Tolondren a little more
south] and combine Green Hills with Border Hills, and make Nindalf
or Wetwang all round mouths of Entwash.' The last remark probably
refers to the curious feature seen on Map IV, that the Wetwang lies
distinctly northward of the mouths; that concerning Tolondren is no
doubt reflected in the striking out of the name on N 13 and its
reintroduction in a more southerly position (P 13, at the confluence
with Anduin of a stream flowing in from the Black Mountains), where
it was again struck out. This bit of the map had clearly become in need
of redrawing.
It may be noted incidentally that the stream from the Black
Mountains rises in an oval lake on P 11; and it seems perfectly clear
that the Morthond rises in this lake also: see Map III, Q 11.
Map IV(B).
What now happened to the geography is clear. In the extract (viii)
above Keleborn says that the River will pass through 'a bare and
barren country, winding among the Border Hills before it falls down
into the sluggish region of Nindalf.' In the draft (ii) given on p. 282 he
says that 'the trees will fail, and you will come to a barren country.
There the river flows in stony vales among high moors, until it comes
to the tall island of Tolondren' (largely preserved in FR, p. 389). Thus
the Brown Lands emerge, in place of the original Green Hills, on Map
IV(B), which is a detached slip of 9 squares that was never pasted in.
Here Tolondren (but no longer so named) is definitively in the more
southerly position, and in relation to this the course of Entwash is
greatly changed, bending in a great southward sweep, so that the
Wetwang is still south of Tolondren and the falls (here called Dant
Ruinel, this name being struck out: Rauros was later added in
pencil).(11) In fact, the new course of Entwash partly takes over that of
the unnamed river in IV(A), flowing in from the Black Mountains
(P 12-13). The southwestward extension of the Emyn Rhain, lightly
entered on IV(A), is now called Sarn Gebir and strongly reinforced (cf.
Keleborn's reference to 'the bleak hills of Sarn-gebir', p. 283), but this
was done very coarsely, clearly after the little slip was first drawn; on
account of the heavy lines marking these hills other markings are
difficult to interpret, but it can be seen that there is now a large lake
(coloured blue), and a large island in the lake named the Isle of
Emris,(12) while on either shore are dark spots, no doubt representing
Amon Hen and Amon Lhaw.
The name [Staniland] beneath Ond(or) was entered in pencil. The
Wold of Rohan is coloured green, as are the hills on N 12 - 13. The river
Limlight now appears (N 12-13), though the name was only pencilled
in later.
Map IV(C).
This is another detached slip showing the same 9 squares and not
differing greatly from IV, save in the representation of Sarn Gebir to
the west of Anduin, where the line of hills now runs North-South. The
names Tolbrandir,(13) Rauros, and River Limlight were now entered
(the latter two added in pencil on IV ), and the rapids, called Sarn-
Ruin, north of the lake. In pencil the names Westemnet, Eastemnet,
and the Entwade, not included in the redrawing, were added. G was
written before Ondor, and an arrow moved Wold of Rohan to N 12,
north of the hills (again coloured green) on N 12-13. The name
(Rhov)annion is spelt thus, with doubled n. The name Eodor was
entered in pencil on P 12, but struck through, and (apparently) moved
westwards onto P 11 (the six squares N - P 10-i 1 at this time existing in
the form they have on Map IV, where however much is obliterated
by later overlay).
Maps IV(D) and IV(E).
Map IV(D) is a section of twelve squares (N-P 10-13) which was glued
onto the map when it was in the state represented by Map IV(A), but
here the glue has only adhered on the left-hand side, and thus much of
IV(A) is revealed. The vertical line of squares N-P 14 was cut off from
IV(C), and IV(D) was drawn to join (more or less) with this strip. Then,
the four squares 0-P 10-11 were overlaid by yet another superimposed
section (IV(E)), and here the corresponding part of IV is totally hidden.
On IV(D) pencilled changes made to IV(C) were now included: Gondor
for Ondor, the Entwade, Eastemnet and Westemnet, and the move-
ment of the Wold of Rohan northwards. The two great loops in
Anduin on N 13 (afterwards called the North and South Undeeps: see
Unfinished Tales p. 260 and Index, entry Undeeps) appear,(14) while the
course of Limlight is changed. No name is given to the rapids in
Anduin - Sarn is not written to join with Ruin on the strip cut from
IV(C); Sarn Gebir was written here subsequently in pencil. The names
Anarion on Q 14 (Map III) and Ithilien opposite on the eastern bank of
Anduin were entered at the same time as Anarion on P 13 here. On the
First Map my father changed Anarion to Anorien on Q 14; on my 1943
map he changed Anarion to Anorien on P 13, whereas on Q 14 he
changed Anarion to Lebennin (p. 310). On the western side of the
Misty Mountains Dunland was entered (N 10), and against the vale to
the south was written Westfold, which was struck through.
It seems that when map IV(E) was glued on much of the adjoining
region on IV(D) was rather coarsely overdrawn, and this is a very
difficult part to interpret and to represent; but as this part of the
geography has not yet been reached in the texts I shall not consider it
here. The westward extension of the Black Mountains on P 8-9 (Map
III) belongs with this.(15) Map IV(E) is the first representation of Isengard
and the Gap of Rohan that can be reached, IV" and IV being
invisible. Here appear Helm's Deep, Tindtorras (earlier name for
Thrihyrne), the Ford of Isen, Dunharrow, and Methedras. Eodoras
appears on P 11 (see above under Map IV ),. Eastfold appears to be
represented by a dot, which may however be no more than a mark on
the paper; and Westfold is pencilled in along the northern foothills of
the Black Mountains. The letters rch on 0-P 10 continue the name
Middlemarch (see Map II).
On IV(D-E) (but not on the 1943 map) certain roads or tracks are
shown which I have not inserted on the redrawing. At about 12 miles
NNW of Eodoras there is a road-meeting: one road goes to the Ford of
Isen, keeping near to the foothills but running across the outer limits
of the Westfold Vale; another goes north-east to the Entwade and then
north along the east bank of Entwash, passing between the river and
the downs; and a third runs south-east and east to Minas Tirith,
crossing the streams that flow down into Entwash.
The 1943 map is here anomalous and I cannot relate it to the series
of replacements made to the First Map. My map was obviously made
when the First Map had reached its present state (i.e. when IV had
been stuck on, and IV(E) on top of a part of that), for it agrees in every
feature and name in its representation of the Gap of Rohan and
Helm's Deep; Dunland, Methedras, Tindtorras, Dunharrow, etc. all
appear. On the other hand, the courses of Anduin and Limlight on
N 12 - 13 are very distinctly as on Map IV(C). Seeing that the course of the
Entwash in the square below (O 12) is carefully represented in the later
form of IV(D), this is inexplicable, except on the assumption that the
courses of Anduin and Limlight on N 12 - 13 (introducing the Undeeps)
were changed after the 1943 map had been made; but I cannot detect
any sign of alteration or erasure on IV(D). On the 1943 map the rapids
in Anduin are named Sarn Ruin, and the hills Sarn Gebir.
My father afterwards changed Black Mountains to White Moun-
tains on the 1943 map (only).
No Man's Land and the Dead Marshes.
In 'Farewell to Lorien' (p. 281) Keleborn says that beyond the
Wetwang are the Nomenlands, dreary Uvanwaith that lies before the
passes of Mordor; and in a subsequent draft of the passage (p. 283) he
speaks of the bleak hills of Sarn-gebir, where the wind blows from the
East, for they look out over the Dead Marshes and the Nomenlands to
the passes of Mordor: Kirith Ungol. With the later names Emyn Muil
and Cirith Gorgor, this was retained in FR (p. 390): 'On the further
side are the bleak hills of the Emyn Muil. The wind blows from the East
there, for they look out over the Dead Marshes and the Noman-lands
to Cirith Gorgor and the black gates of Mordor.' This is the land
described in The Two Towers, IV.2 (p. 238):
The air was now clearer and colder, and though still far off, the
walls of Mordor were no longer a cloudy menace on the edge of
sight, but as grim black towers they frowned across a dismal waste.
The marshes were at an end, dying away into dead peats and wide
flats of dry cracked mud. The land ahead rose in long shallow
slopes, barren and pitiless, towards the desert that lay at Sauron's
gate.
And when Sam and Frodo at last approached the Black Gate (ibid.
p. 239):
Frodo looked round in horror. Dreadful as the Dead Marshes had
been, and the arid moors of the Noman-lands [First Edition: of
Nomen's land], more loathsome far was the country that the
crawling day now slowly unveiled to his shrinking eyes.
It will be seen that when the mouths of Entwash and the Wetwang
were moved south (Maps IV(B), IV(C)) 'No Man's Land' lay between the
Wetwang and the Dead Marshes. My 1943 map is in complete agree-
ment with this. On my father's later maps, when the geographical
relations in this region had shifted somewhat, the Wetwang and the
Dead Marshes are continuous, and no map later than that of 1943
shows No Man's Land (Noman-lands, Nomenlands, Nomen's Land).
From these passages in The Two Towers, however, it is plain that this
region of 'long shallow slopes, barren and pitiless', of 'arid moors',
that succeeded the marshes still lay between Frodo and Sam and the
pass into Mordor (see the large-scale map of Gondor and Mordor
accompanying The Return of the King).
After this demanding journey across the First Map we can return to
the lands themselves, and in the next chapter follow the fortunes of
(unexpectedly, as it may seem) Sam and Frodo.
NOTES.
1. A note of my father's about this map is extant:
This map was made before the story was complete. It is
incomplete and much is missed out.
Chief errors are in Gondor and Mordor. The White Moun-
tains are not in accord with the story. Lebennin should be
Belfalas. Mindolluin should be immediately behind Minas
Tirith, and the distance across the vale of Anduin much
reduced, so that Minas Tirith is close to Osgiliath and Osgi-
liath closer to Minas Morgul. Kirith Ungol is misplaced.
2. The style in which natural features were represented varied. In
particular, my father when drawing the Black Mountains sur-
rounded them with a fine continuous line (whereas for the
Mountains of Shadow and Ered Lithui he used small strokes to
define the foothills), and this can be very confusing in relation to
the similar lines representing streams falling from the mountains
(see note 7). To make my redrawing as clear as possible, I have
substituted lines of dots or small strokes in representing the
foothills of the Black Mountains (see note 15).
3. On the revised map first published in Unfinished Tales an arrow
directs that the name Icebay of Forochel applies to the great bay
of which the southern bay is only a small part.
4. In the absence of 'sea-lines' the inner line could itself be taken to
be the coast; but on my 1943 map the coastline follows the outer
line on the First Map (and neither the inner wavy line nor the
small circular area are present). This no doubt followed my
father's instruction.
5. For another use of Neldoreth, from the legends of the First Age,
in The Lord of the Rings see VI.384.
6. The three cities were still relatively far apart on the redrawn
portion 'C' of the First Map, repeated on the 1943 map; see
note 1.
7. That this river flowed from Minas Tirith is not perfectly clear on
the First Map, owing to a difficulty in distinguishing between the
fine lines that mark the outer contours of the mountains and
those that mark streams (see note 2); but on my 1943 map it is
shown very clearly as flowing out of the city (and I have so
redrawn it on Map III).
8. This is still the case not only on the 1943 map but also on a later
map of my father's (p. 312).
9. This is a convenient place to notice that the redrawn version of
the LR map first published in Unfinished Tales contains an error,
in that I showed Sirith as the western arm and Celos, its tributary,
as the eastern, whereas it should be the reverse (as it is on the
large-scale map of Mordor, Gondor, and Rohan in The Return of
the King).
10. Cobas Haven: cf. Kopas Alqalunte in The Book of Lost Tales
(1.257 and Index). In the Etymologies (V.364 - 5) Quenya kopa
'harbour, bay' was given under the stem KOP, but this entry was
replaced by a stem KHOP, whence Quenya hopa, Noldorin
hobas, as in Alfobas = Alqualonde.
11. For Dant-ruin, Dant-ruinel, and Rauros see pp. 283, 285.
12. This name can in fan only be made out in the light of the
appearance of the Isle of Emris in a time-scheme of this period
(see p. 367), where it was changed to Eregon, and that to
Tolbrandir. On the fair copy manuscript of 'Farewell to Lorien'
Tolondren was changed to Eregon (p. 285)-
13. For earlier forms Brandor, Tol Brandor see p. 285.
14. The divided course of Anduin on o 13 is very clear on the map.
15. I have represented the extension of the Black Mountains on P 8-9
with dots and strokes to make it consistent with the represen-
tation of mountains elsewhere on Map III (see note 2); in
the original the contours are shown by continuous lines, as on
Map IV(E).