The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Silmarillion - Chapter 24 - Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath

Aiwendil · 09-26-2011, 07:29 AM

For all its importance, the final story of the First Age received significantly less attention from Tolkien than the few tales preceding it. In part, this can be attributed to its being the last tale - Tolkien's habit of leaving texts unfinished meant that they often broke off before reaching the story of Earendil and the War of Wrath.

The germ of the Earendil story actually predates the 'Book of Lost Tales'. As Tolkien explained in a 1967 letter, he was struck by the name in the Old English poem 'Crist': Eala Earendel engla beorhtast. In 1914-1915 he wrote several poems on the subject of 'Earendel': 'Eala Earendel Engla Beorhtast', 'The Bidding of the Minstrel', 'The Shores of Faery', and 'The Happy Mariners', which, though not yet part of a coherent Legendarium, prefigured certain elements of the later Earendil story.

In the Book of Lost Tales, 'The Tale of Earendel' was conceived on a grand scale; indeed, it was actually to be a series of six connected tales. But these tales were never written, and all that we have of them is a series of tantalizing notes and outlines. Notably, in these outlines the end of the story is very different from that in the later Silmarillion. Here, the War of Wrath is unconnected with Earendil; birds from Gondolin bring the news of its fall to Valinor, and the Teleri and Solosimpi (i.e. Vanyar and Teleri), against the wishes of the Valar, go to war against Morgoth. Meanwhile Earendil reaches Kor (i.e. Tirion) and finds it empty. He then sails back to Sirion and finds it empty. Eventually he sails west again and launches his ship over the edge of the world and into the sky.

In the 1920s Tolkien wrote a fragment of alliterative verse that appears to be the beginning of a 'Lay of Earendel', but this proved to be the last time he would undertake to write a full version of the story. In the 'Sketch of the Mythology' and the 'Quenta Noldorinwa' the story is summarised - and though these texts differ in many ways from the 'Lost Tales' notes, the coming of the Valar and the War of Wrath are still unconnected with Earendil. In the 'Quenta', Earendil's chief motive for sailing west becomes his desire to seek aid from the Valar, but in this version 'he came too late'. It was only in a subsequent revision of the 'Quenta' that the key role of Earendil in obtaining the aid of the Valar was introduced. The 1937 'Quenta Silmarillion' breaks off after Turin's story, but it does include an isolated text that starts with Earendil's arrival in Tirion and extends to the end of the First Age; the chapter in the published Silmarillion is based partly on this text and partly on the 'Quenta Noldorinwa'.

Additional readings
HoMe II - Notes and outlines for the 'Tale of Earendel'; early poems
HoMe III - Fragment of a 'Lay of Earendel'
HoMe IV - 'Sketch of the Mythology' and 'Quenta Noldorinwa'
HoMe V - 'Quenta Silmarillion' ending

09-26-2011, 07:29 AM	#2
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	For all its importance, the final story of the First Age received significantly less attention from Tolkien than the few tales preceding it. In part, this can be attributed to its being the last tale - Tolkien's habit of leaving texts unfinished meant that they often broke off before reaching the story of Earendil and the War of Wrath. The germ of the Earendil story actually predates the 'Book of Lost Tales'. As Tolkien explained in a 1967 letter, he was struck by the name in the Old English poem 'Crist': Eala Earendel engla beorhtast. In 1914-1915 he wrote several poems on the subject of 'Earendel': 'Eala Earendel Engla Beorhtast', 'The Bidding of the Minstrel', 'The Shores of Faery', and 'The Happy Mariners', which, though not yet part of a coherent Legendarium, prefigured certain elements of the later Earendil story. In the Book of Lost Tales, 'The Tale of Earendel' was conceived on a grand scale; indeed, it was actually to be a series of six connected tales. But these tales were never written, and all that we have of them is a series of tantalizing notes and outlines. Notably, in these outlines the end of the story is very different from that in the later Silmarillion. Here, the War of Wrath is unconnected with Earendil; birds from Gondolin bring the news of its fall to Valinor, and the Teleri and Solosimpi (i.e. Vanyar and Teleri), against the wishes of the Valar, go to war against Morgoth. Meanwhile Earendil reaches Kor (i.e. Tirion) and finds it empty. He then sails back to Sirion and finds it empty. Eventually he sails west again and launches his ship over the edge of the world and into the sky. In the 1920s Tolkien wrote a fragment of alliterative verse that appears to be the beginning of a 'Lay of Earendel', but this proved to be the last time he would undertake to write a full version of the story. In the 'Sketch of the Mythology' and the 'Quenta Noldorinwa' the story is summarised - and though these texts differ in many ways from the 'Lost Tales' notes, the coming of the Valar and the War of Wrath are still unconnected with Earendil. In the 'Quenta', Earendil's chief motive for sailing west becomes his desire to seek aid from the Valar, but in this version 'he came too late'. It was only in a subsequent revision of the 'Quenta' that the key role of Earendil in obtaining the aid of the Valar was introduced. The 1937 'Quenta Silmarillion' breaks off after Turin's story, but it does include an isolated text that starts with Earendil's arrival in Tirion and extends to the end of the First Age; the chapter in the published Silmarillion is based partly on this text and partly on the 'Quenta Noldorinwa'. Additional readings HoMe II - Notes and outlines for the 'Tale of Earendel'; early poems HoMe III - Fragment of a 'Lay of Earendel' HoMe IV - 'Sketch of the Mythology' and 'Quenta Noldorinwa' HoMe V - 'Quenta Silmarillion' ending Last edited by Aiwendil; 04-14-2014 at 07:25 AM.