Hey I thought I was the only reader who noticed Ecthelion's spiked helm in the much later, 1950s re-write.
But this brings up the issue (well not really but I'm bringing it up anyway) about employing the early Fall of Gondolin in the 'world' of
The Lord of the Rings. Ack, more canon concerns.
For example, some have argued that Orcrist possibly belongs in the hands of Ecthelion, as, based on the initial assumption that Orcrist belongs to one of the leaders of the named houses, the argument then eliminates various leaders of these Houses based on the early set of descriptions found in the
Fall of Gondolin version printed in
The Book of Lost Tales, descriptions that (in my opinion) we have no real idea Tolkien was going to necessarily keep decades later.
Well 'possibly'... but for myself I don't find this argument, given this particular mix of texts, very compelling.
Decades later, when Tolkien began to re-write the long prose Fall of Gondolin in the early 1950s, as noted the reader actually meets Ecthelion before the story is abandoned:
'All in silver was he clad, and upon his shining helm there was set a spike of steel pointed with a diamond; and as his esquire took his shield it shimmered as if it were bedewed with drops of rain, that were indeed a thousand studs of crystal.'
No mention of a sword named Orcrist, at least here; which sword now existed in Tolkien's imagination anyway. Was it going to be given to Ecthelion in the 1950s and noted later in the tale? Who knows? We find out some later details due to associated notes, like for example...
A) Turgon was going to be the tallest person in the world save Thingol -- yet according to even later text, Argon was seemingly taller than Turgon however. And according to the early Fall of Gondolin someone named 'Penlod' was 'tallest of Gnomes'.
B) Turgon would appear with 'a white and gold sword in a ruel-bone [ivory] sheath'
This wasn't noted in the early version. Anyway I'll pick a passage where the two stories can be compared:
Early FOG: Tuor and Voronwe find the outer gate, and entering it find a way, dark, rough going and circuituous,
full of fearsome echoes, and they ran at times, fearing Melko's goblins, till they perceived it was the deceit of the place. And making for a gleam of light they came to another gate,
through which they passed into the sunlight, but instantly a great gong rang out and they were surrounded by 'warriors in steel', and then they meet the Chief of the Guard of the Gondothlim, who tells them the names of Gondolin and allows them to pass on to the city,
and Tuor and Voronwe now pass over the plain to the city.
1950s FOG [or 'Later Tuor']: Tuor and Voronwe find the outer 'gate', entering it there was no light,
but all was at first silent, until Voronwe spoke, which awoke echoes that were enlarged and multiplied, and when the echoes died a voice was heard in the Elven-tongue commanding them not to stir. Elemmakil [Captain of the Guard] speaks to them, looks at them in the light of his lamp, and Noldor 'mail-clad and armed' stepped out of the darkness, and they were led to the wooden gate --
the first of various gates of course.
So the two versions, separated by decades of real time [in Tolkien's life] are alike in ways, but not wholly alike in detail, and in some ways are notably different. Christopher Tolkien comments about the array of the Gondothlim, for instance:
'Doubtless, if my father had continued the later Tuor, much would have re-emerged, however changed, if we judge by the rich 'heraldic' descriptions of the great gates and their guards in the Orfalch Echor.' Christopher Tolkien, commentary, The Array of the Gondothlim, The Fall of Gondolin, The Book of Lost Tales II
In short
I would agree that Ecthelion was 'probably' still going to spike his Balrog.
Not necessarily I guess, but it's too interesting to me that Tolkien should think to note the detail... at this point.
Pun probably intended
On that note, anyone read the Alex Lewis version?