The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Silmarillion - Chapter 23

Aiwendil · 09-18-2011, 09:08 AM

I do indeed have some notes on the sources.

The original tale of 'Tuor and the Exiles of Gondolin' was the very first of the 'Lost Tales' that Tolkien wrote, while he was on sick leave from the army in 1916 or 1917, and is thus, in a sense, the germ of the whole mythology. This original version was, like the rest of the 'Lost Tales', a very full telling of the story, and it is noteworthy that whereas the Silmarillion summarizes the siege and sack of Gondolin in the space of about two paragraphs, the old 'Tale' spends twenty pages or so giving a vivid account of the battle.

When, in the 1920s, Tolkien turned for a while to poetry in developing his legendarium, 'The Fall of Gondolin' was among the tales he began to cast into verse. But, unlike the 'Lay of the Children of Hurin' or the 'Lay of Leithien', the 'Lay of the Fall of Gondolin' did not get very far.

A very short summary of the story appears in the 'Sketch of the Mythology' and, based on this, a slightly fuller summary in the 'Quenta Noldorinwa'. As with 'The Ruin of Doriath', the 'Quenta Noldorinwa' text of 1930 was the last time the story of Tuor was told from beginning to end, and it was upon this text that chapter 23 of the published Silmarillion was based. It's worth noting that associated with the 'Quenta Noldorinwa' text there is a (very beautiful, in my opinion) poem called 'The Horns of Ylmir', which is purportedly a song Tuor sings to his son Earendel telling of his vision of Ylmir (Ulmo). The earliest version of this poem was actually written in 1914 - before the 'Lost Tales' had even been begun - but was later reworked to fit into the story.

Unfortunately, the 'Quenta Silmarillion' and the post-LotR 'Grey Annals' both break of before reaching the story of Tuor. In the post-LotR period, Tolkien did, however, begin to write a new full-length prose version of the story, comparable in scale to the Narn i Chin Hurin. This text, which runs to about thirty-five pages even though it breaks off before Tuor even enters the Hidden City, is given in Unfinished Tales under the title 'Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin'.

Additional Readings
HoMe II: Lost Tales version.
HoMe III: Discussion of the abandoned 'Lay' (the text is not given in full)
HoMe IV: 'Sketch' and 'Quenta Noldorinwa' versions; poem 'The Horns of Ylmir'
UT: Beginning of a post-LotR full version

09-18-2011, 09:08 AM	#2
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	I do indeed have some notes on the sources. The original tale of 'Tuor and the Exiles of Gondolin' was the very first of the 'Lost Tales' that Tolkien wrote, while he was on sick leave from the army in 1916 or 1917, and is thus, in a sense, the germ of the whole mythology. This original version was, like the rest of the 'Lost Tales', a very full telling of the story, and it is noteworthy that whereas the Silmarillion summarizes the siege and sack of Gondolin in the space of about two paragraphs, the old 'Tale' spends twenty pages or so giving a vivid account of the battle. When, in the 1920s, Tolkien turned for a while to poetry in developing his legendarium, 'The Fall of Gondolin' was among the tales he began to cast into verse. But, unlike the 'Lay of the Children of Hurin' or the 'Lay of Leithien', the 'Lay of the Fall of Gondolin' did not get very far. A very short summary of the story appears in the 'Sketch of the Mythology' and, based on this, a slightly fuller summary in the 'Quenta Noldorinwa'. As with 'The Ruin of Doriath', the 'Quenta Noldorinwa' text of 1930 was the last time the story of Tuor was told from beginning to end, and it was upon this text that chapter 23 of the published Silmarillion was based. It's worth noting that associated with the 'Quenta Noldorinwa' text there is a (very beautiful, in my opinion) poem called 'The Horns of Ylmir', which is purportedly a song Tuor sings to his son Earendel telling of his vision of Ylmir (Ulmo). The earliest version of this poem was actually written in 1914 - before the 'Lost Tales' had even been begun - but was later reworked to fit into the story. Unfortunately, the 'Quenta Silmarillion' and the post-LotR 'Grey Annals' both break of before reaching the story of Tuor. In the post-LotR period, Tolkien did, however, begin to write a new full-length prose version of the story, comparable in scale to the Narn i Chin Hurin. This text, which runs to about thirty-five pages even though it breaks off before Tuor even enters the Hidden City, is given in Unfinished Tales under the title 'Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin'. Additional Readings HoMe II: Lost Tales version. HoMe III: Discussion of the abandoned 'Lay' (the text is not given in full) HoMe IV: 'Sketch' and 'Quenta Noldorinwa' versions; poem 'The Horns of Ylmir' UT: Beginning of a post-LotR full version