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Old 03-17-2004, 01:04 PM   #8
Antoine
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Antoine has just left Hobbiton.
Follow a copy of the PDF proposal with the corrections of Maédhros


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Before to start with the Voyage of Earendil, we can insert a slightly modified version of the Fragment of the alliterative Lay of Eärendel found in The Lays of Beleriand (HoME 3), II Poems Early Abandoned.
This would appear as a retrospective summary of the story from the actual fall to this point in the tale.


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{But Wade of the Helsings wearyhearted}

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{of Cristhorn was cloven, the Cleft of Eagles,} *\ [in the cliffs was cloven, Cirith Thoronath,]


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to the dreadful deep digged by {Thornsir} [Thor’nhir].

Linguistics aside, 'Thornsir' is better. 'Thoronhir' has an additional syllable that spoils the fall of the line : perhaps a poetic abbreviation, e.g. 'Thor'nhir'.


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Of the thirst and hunger of the {thirty moons} [thwarting mazes]

In the later chronology a timing of thirty (or even thirteen) months is utterly impossible.
One could use "three moons" perhaps, but the exact number of months taken to pass from the Cirith Thoronath to finding of Sirion is not stated elsewhere, and we would rather not invent a number here just for the alliteration. But in the ve account is found "wandering in the wastes" and "they journeyed long tangled in the magic of those wastes only to come again upon their own tracks". For this "thwarting mazes" does well.
If the chronology must change in line with later developments, we suggest 'thwarted moons'. We would say 'thirsty moons' but the repetition would be unforgivable.


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was heard in the halls where the high {Gods} [Lords] sate


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veiled in Valinor [past] the Vanished {Isles} [Isle];

Christopher Tolkien could not interpret the word, but "past" is a good guess from sense required, and the word seems to have been a short one.

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veiled in Valinor [past] the Vanished {Isles} [Isle];

The "Vanished Isles", plural, is hard to understand. The Magic Isles are not vanished but accessible, though those who disembark there fall into enchanted sleep. But Eressëa could be entitled "Vanished Isle", singular, as no longer attainable from Middle-earth because of the enchantments placed on the Sea before it during the Hiding of Valinor. Turgon's mariners who sought to reach to Valinor would have been well aware of this. The plural form might be an error by JRRT or a misreading by CT.


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{all this have others in ancient stories
and songs unfolded, but say I further}


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There sun was softer, [there] the sweet breezes

In defiance of CJRT, 'there' looks more likely. The repetition of this word adds weight and symmetry to the line and fits the sense better than 'then'.
Perhaps "drenched then their feet" - which avoids the repetition "there their".


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and the dew enchanted, [drenched then their feet.]

This completion to the last half-line of the fragment is suggested by line 70 of "The Horns of Ylmir":
Where the long grass stirred beside me, and my feet were drenched with dew.


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[{all} [All] this have others in ancient stories
and songs unfolded, but say I further[.]]


The words in the lay "all this have others in ancient stories / and songs unfolded, but say I further" are a problem in our suggested setting at the festival. If used here, as a sample of festival song, then the final lines, 32-38, should be dropped. Another possiblity is to place it just after the arrival in Nan-tathren (where the fragment ends) without particular explanation. It just appear as a poetic fragment giving a retrospective summary of the parts of the tale previously related.


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Yet by Sirion and the sea there grew up an elven folk, the gleanings of Gondolin and Doriath[.]/*AB2 The Silmaril brought blessing upon them and*\ /*Elessar Idril wore the Elessar upon her breast*\/*AB2 , and they were healed, and they multiplied*\ /*QS77 ; and from Balar the mariners of Círdan came among them*\, and they took to the waves and {to the making of fair ships} /*QS77 the building of ships*\ /*AB2 and built a haven*\, dwelling ever nigh unto the shores /*QS77 of Arvernien*\, /*AB2 upon the delta amid the waters*\ under the shadow of Ulmo's hand. /*AB2 Many fugitives gathered unto them.*\*\

A mixture of sources for the foundation of the new havens.
We do not know the original source of either of the two addition from QS77. The first is too reasonable to reject, and the second is, perhaps, Christopher Tolkien's way of getting the name Arvernien found in Bilbo's "Song of Eärendil" in LR into QS77 text. It otherwise only appears on the QS77 map.


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/*PG {Ereinion} [Rodnor] Gil-galad son of {Orodreth} [Arothir], who had escaped the fall of Nargothrond and come to Sirion's Mouth, was /*QS77 named*\ King of the Noldor there. He was styled Gil-galad, Star of Radiance, because his helm and mail, and his shield overlaid with silver and set with a device of white stars, shone from afar like a star in sunlight or mooonlight and could be seen by Elvish eyes at a great distance if he stood upon a height.*\

Christopher Tolkien adds at this point in Q77 a passage partly editorial:
And when the tidings came to Balar of the fall of Gondolin and the death of Turgon, Ereinion Gil-galad son of Fingon was named High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth.
The sources of this, so far as we can trace are all in The Peoples of Middle-earth (HoME 12):
In an isolated note found with the genealogies dated August 1965, published in PG:
His children were Finduilas and Artanáro = Rodnor later called Gil-galad. (Their mother was a Sindarin lady of the North. She called her son Gil-galad.) Rodnor Gil-galad escaped and eventually came to Sirion's Mouth and was King of the Ñoldor there.
From SF under the note The Names of Finwë's descendants, 5, under the discussion of Galadriel:
Galad also occurs in the epessë of Ereinion ('scion of kings') by which he was chiefly remembered in legend, Gil-galad 'star-of-radiance': he was the last king of the Eldar in Middle-earth, and the last male descendant of Finwë^47 except Elrond Half-elven. The epessë was given to him because his helm and mail, and his shield overlaid with silver and set with a device of white stars, shone from afar like a star in sunlight or moonlight and could be seen by Elvish eyes at a great distance if he stood upon a height. (47 He was the son of Arothir, nephew of Finrod.)
Gil-galad is no longer the son of Fingon sent to Círdan at the Havens, and we expect it was the connection to the Havens which led Christopher Tolkien to introduce Balar here. Details of Gil-galad's mother best belong in the story of Túrin. We suggest the following might be a suitable enhancement/correction of the QS77 sentence.


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/*QS77 And it is said that in that time Ulmo came to Valinor out of the deep waters, and spoke there to*\ {In Valinor Ulmo spoke unto} the Valar of the need of the Elves, and he called on them to forgive and send succour unto them and rescue them from the overmastering might of Morgoth, and win back the Silmarils wherein alone now bloomed the light of the days of bliss when the Two Trees still were shining. Or so it is said, among the {Gnomes} [Noldor], who after had tidings of many things from their kinsfolk the Quendi, the Light-elves beloved of Manwë, who ever knew something of the mind of the Lord of the {Gods} [Valar]. But as yet Manwë moved not, and the counsels of his heart what tale shall tell? The Quendi have said that the hour was not yet come, and that only one speaking in person for the cause of both Elves and Men, pleading for pardon upon their misdeeds and pity on their woes, might move the counsels of the Powers; and the oath of Fëanor perchance even Manwë could not loose, until it found its end, and the sons of Fëanor relinquished the Silmarils, upon which they had laid their ruthless claim. For the light which lit the Silmarils the {Gods} [Valar] had made.


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/*TE-B Then began the love of /*TE-C Elwing*\ and {Eärendel} [Eärendil] as girl and boy. /*TE-E The mermaids*\, the /*TE-D {Oarni} [Earni] *\, /*TE-E {come} [came] to {Eärendel} [Eärendil]*\ and /*TE-N(ii) {give} [gave] to {Eärendel} [him] a wonderful shining silver coat that {wets} [wetted] not. They loved {Eärendel} [Eärendil], in Ossë's despite, and {teach} taught him the lore of boat-building and of swimming, as he {plays} [played] with them about the shores of Sirion.*\ /*TE-D {Eärendel} [Eärendil] grew to be the fairest of all Men that were or are,*\ /*TE-N(iii) smaller than most men but nimbled-footed and a swift swimmer (but Voronwë could not swim).*\ /*TE-C And there was great love between {Eärendel} [Eärendil] and Tuor.*\*\

Mention of the Oarni and mermaids is only found in BoLT material. The Quenya word Oarni appears from the Appendix to BoLT 1 under Ónen to be from the root 'o'o and related to Ô, a poetic word for 'sea'. But this root and everything connected with it disappears in later writings, where the normal word for "sea" in Quenya is ëar from a stem AYAR-, itself explained as an extended stem from GAYA- 'awe, dread'. So it is difficult to even guess what word, if any, Tolkien would have used to replace Oarni. To further confuse the matter in TE N(viii) we find:
'The fiord of the Mermaid: enchantment of his sailors: Mermaids are not Oarni (but are earthlings, or fays? __ or both).'
However in TE D the two are equated, and in other texts it is either the Oarni or the mermaids who are named as Eärendel's friends.
Tolkien may in this note only mean that these particular hostile "mermaids" were not true Oarni but another kind of being. Therefore we keep both words. Since in late writings Tolkien claimed that most names of the Valar were not truly Quenya, but adapted forms from the language of the Valar, that is what we probably should take Oarni to be. In references to the Oarni outside of TE their gender is not given. It may be that Oarni are of both genders.
On mermaids, anything written by Tolkien is not to be disregarded unless contradicted by later ideas or in error, etc. We don't know that he did drop them. The late Eärendil information is so frustratingly sketchy, almost worse than the early material. Any scrap of information is important. And they appear in four separate notes. We don't imagine Tolkien was talking about fish-tailed women if that is what bothers. We see something along the lines of the Nereids and Okeanids of Greek myth. But who knows?


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“Oarni" comes from the stem "Oar" which meant "sea". But that later became "Ear". There's a good case for changing it to "Earni".
Regarding the Oarni:
From the Etymologies:
AYAR-, AIR- sea, only used of the inner seas of Middle-earth. Q ear (earen) and aire (airen); N oear, oer. Cf. Earráme, a Q name = Wings of the Sea, name of Tuor’s ship. Belegoer ‘great sea’, name of Western Ocean between Beleriand and Valinor, Q Alataire (see ÁLAT).
From the Book of Lost Tales I: Appendix
Ónen The root ’O’O in QL has derivatives Ô, a poetic word, 'the sea', oar 'child of the sea, merchild', oaris (-ts), oarwen 'mermaid', and Ossë; the name Ówen (antecedent of Ónen in the text, pp. 59, 80) also appears, and evidently means the same as oarwen (for -wen see Urwen). The later form Uinen in the Tales is apparently Gnomish; GL Únen 'Lady of the Sea', changed later to Uinen. A form Oinen also occurs (p. 238).


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In those days Tuor felt old age creep upon him /*TE-C and Ulmo's conches far out west {over the sea} {call} [called] him louder and louder*\, and ever a longing for the deeps of the sea grew stronger in his heart. Wherefore he built a great ship {Eärrámë} [Eärámë], Sea-wing, /*TE-D with white sails*\. /*TE-E One evening /*TE-D Ulmo beckoned to him*\ [and] he {calls} [called] {Eärendel} [Eärendil] and they {go} [went] to the shore. There {is a skiff} [was Eärámë]. {Tur} [Tuor and Idril] {bids} [bade] farwell to {Eärendel} [Eärendil] and {bids} [bade] him thrust it off /*EL {And} [but] before Idril set sail she said to Eärendil her son: “The Elessar I leave with thee, for there are grievous hurts to Middle-earth which thou maybe shalt heal. But to none other shalt thou deliver it.” *\ {and with Idril he} [They] set sail /*TY [(and some say Voronwë with them)]*\ into the sunset and the West[.] /*TE-E {Eärendel} [Eärendil] {hears} [heard] a great song swelling from the sea as {Tur} [Tuor]'s skiff {dips} [dipped] over the world's rim. {His} [Great was his] passion of tears upon the shore.*\ {, and} [And Tuor] came no more into any tale or song.

Insert from ”The Elessar”
From the Elessar essay in UT is that before Idril sailed she gave the Elessar to Eärendil. That one can reasonably suppose that Idril and Tuor were in the Eärámë.


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But /*QS77 in after days it was sung that*\ Tuor alone of mortal Men was numbered among the elder race, and joined with the {Noldoli} [Noldor] whom he loved, and in after time dwelt still, or so it hath been said, ever upon his ship voyaging the seas of the Elven-lands, or resting a while in the harbours of the {Gnomes} [Elves] of Tol Eressëa; and his fate is sundered from the fate of Men. Bright {Eärendel} [Eärendil] was then lord of the folk of Sirion and their many ships; and he took to wife Elwing the fair, and she bore him Elros and Elrond, who are called the Halfelven. Yet {Eärendel} [Eärendil] could not rest, and his voyages about the shores of the Hither Lands eased not his unquiet. Two purposes grew in his heart, blended as one in longing for the wide sea: he sought to sail thereon, seeking after Tuor and Idril Celebrindal who returned not; and he thought to find perhaps the last shore and bring ere he died the message of Elves and Men unto the Valar of the West, that should move the hearts of Valinor and the Elves of {Tûn} [Tirion] to pity on the world and the sorrows of Mankind.
Vingelot he built, fairest of the ships of song, the Foamflower; white were its timbers as the argent moon, golden were its oars, silver were its shrouds, its masts were crowned with jewels like stars. In the Lay of {Eärendel} [Eärendil] is many a thing sung of his adventures in the deep and in lands untrodden, and in many seas and many isles. Ungoliantë in the South he slew, and her darkness was destroyed, and light came to many regions which had yet long been hid. But Elwing sat sorrowing at home.
{Eärendel} [Eärendil] found not Tuor nor Idril, nor came he ever on that journey to the shores of Valinor, defeated by shadows and enchantment, driven by repelling winds, until in longing for Elwing he turned him homeward toward the East. And his heart bade him haste, for a sudden fear was fallen on him out of dreams, and the winds that before he had striven with might not now bear him back as swift as his desire.



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Upon the havens of Sirion new woe had fallen. The dwelling of Elwing there, where still she possessed the Nauglamír and the glorious Silmaril, became known unto the remaining sons of Fëanor, {Maidros} [Maedhros] and Maglor and {Damrod} [Amrod] {and {Díriel} [Amras]}; and they gathered together from their wandering hunting-paths, and messages of friendship and yet stern demand they sent unto Sirion. But Elwing and the folk of Sirion would not yield that jewel which Beren had won and Lúthien had worn, and for which Dior the Fair was slain; and least of all while {Eärendel} [Eärendil] their lord was in the sea, for them seemed that in that jewel lay the gift of bliss and healing that had come upon their houses and their ships.

To follow the death of Amras in The Shibboleth of Fëanor


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And so came in the end to pass the last and cruellest of the slayings of Elf by Elf; and that was the third of the great wrongs achieved by the accursed oath. For the sons of Fëanor came down upon the exiles of Gondolin and the remnant of Doriath and destroyed them. Though some of their folk stood aside, and some few rebelled and were slain upon the other part aiding Elwing against their own lords (for such was the sorrow and confusion of the hearts of {Elfinesse} [Elvenesse] in those days), yet {Maidros} [Maedhros] and Maglor won the day. Alone they now remained of the sons of Fëanor, for in that battle {Damrod} [Amrod] {and {Díriel} [Amras]} were slain[.]{; but the folk of Sirion perished or fled away, or departed of need to join the people of Maidros,} /*QS77 Too late the ships of Círdan and Gil-galad the High King came hasting to the aid of the Elves of Sirion; and Elwing was gone, and her sons. Then such few of that people as did not perish in the assault joined themselves to Gil-galad, and went with him to Balar; and they told that Elros and Elrond were taken captive{,}*\[.]{, who claimed now} [Maedhros now claimed] the lordship of all the Elves of the Hither Lands{. And yet Maidros} [and yet he] gained not the Silmaril, for Elwing seeing that all was lost and her children Elros and Elrond taken captive, eluded the host of {Maidros} [Maedhros], and with the Nauglamír upon her breast she cast herself into the sea, and perished as folk thought.

I think that this draft has a problem with the Gil-Galad situation. We have earlier that Gil-Galad is the King of the Ñoldor in Sirion's Mouth and that Eärendil is the lord of the folk of Sirion. Hmmmm. I can live with that because in the map of Beleriand in HoME 11, we can see that the place where Eärendil dwelt and Sirion's mouth are not exactly the same. (Eärendil's place is a little to the west of the Mouth of Sirion). My problem is that when the Fëanorians attack the settlement of Eärendil, we don't hear nothing from Gil-Galad. I would propose this emendation.


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But Ulmo bore her up and he gave unto her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the shining Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek {Eärendel} [Eärendil] her beloved. And on a time of night {Eärendel} [Eärendil] at the helm saw her come towards him, as a white cloud under moon exceeding swift, as a star over the sea moving in strange course, a pale flame on wings of storm. And it is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of Vingelot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of her speed, and {Eärendel} [Eärendil] took her unto his bosom. And in the morn with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her hair upon his face; and she slept.
But great was the sorrow of {Eärendel} [Eärendil] and Elwing for the ruin of the havens of Sirion, and the captivity of their sons; and they feared that they would be slain But it was not so. For Maglor took: pity on Elros and Elrond, and he cherished them, and love grew after between them, as little might be thought; but Maglor's heart was sick and weary, with the burden of the dreadful oath. Yet {Eärendel} [Eärendil] saw now no hope left in the lands of Sirion, and he turned again in despair and came not home, but sought back once more to Valinor with Elwing at his side. He stood now most oft at the prow, and the Silmaril he bound upon his forehead; and ever its light grew greater as they drew unto the West. Maybe it was due in part to the puissance of that holy jewel that they came in time to the waters that as yet no vessels save those of the Teleri had known; and they came to the Enchanted Isles and escaped their enchantment; and they came into the Shadowy Seas and passed their shadows; and they looked upon the Lonely Isle and there they tarried not; and at the last they cast anchor in the Bay of Elvenhome upon the borders of the world; and the Teleri saw the coming of that ship and were amazed, gazing from afar upon the light of the Silmaril, and it was very great. But {Eärendel} [Eärendil], alone of living Men, landed on the immortal shores; and he said to Elwing and to those that were with him, three mariners who had sailed all the seas beside him, and Falathar, Aerandir, and Erellont were their names: Here shall none but myself set foot, lest you fall under the wrath of the {Gods} [Valar] and the doom of death; for it is forbidden. But that peril I will take on myself for the sake of the Two Kindreds.'
And Elwing answered: 'Then shall our paths be sundered for ever. Nay, all thy perils I will take on myself also! ' And she leaped into the white foam and ran towards him; but {Eärendel} [Eärendil] was sorrowful, for he deemed that they would now both die ere many days were past. And there they bade farewell to their companions and were taken from them for ever.
And {Eärendel} [Eärendil] said to Elwing: 'Await me here; for one only may bear the messages that I am charged with'; and he went up alone into the land, and it seemed to him empty and silent. For even as Morgoth and Ungoliantë came in ages past, so now {Eärendel} [Eärendil] had come at a time of festival, and wellnigh all the Elvenfolk were gone to Valinor, or were gathered in the halls of Manwë upon Taniquetil, and few were left to keep watch upon the walls of Tirion.
These watchers rode therefore in great haste to Valmar; and all the bells in Valmar pealed. But {Eärendel} [Eärendil] climbed the great green hill of Túna and found it bare; and he entered into the streets of Tirion and they were empty; and his heart was heavy, for he feared that some evil had come even to the Blessed Realm. He walked now in the deserted ways of Tirion, and the dust upon his raiment and his shoes was a dust of diamonds, and he shone and glistened as he climbed the long white stairs. And he called aloud in many tongues, both of Elves and Men, but there were none to answer him. Therefore he turned back at last towards the shores, thinking to set sail once more upon {Vingelot} [Vingilot] his ship and abandon his errand, and live for ever upon the sea. But even as he took the shoreward road and turned his face away from the towers of Tirion one stood upon the hill and called to him in a great voice, crying: 'Hail {Eärendel} [Eärendil], radiant star, messenger most fair! Hail thou bearer of light before the Sun and Moon, the looked for that comest unawares, the longed for that comest beyond hope! Hail, splendour of the children of the world, slayer of the dark! Star of the sunset, hail! Hail, herald of the morn! '
And that was the voice of Eönwë herald of Manwë; and he came from Valmar and he summoned {Eärendel} [Eärendil] to come before the {Gods} [Valar]. And {Eärendel} [Eärendil] went to Valinor and to the halls of Valmar, and never again set foot upon the lands of Men. There before the faces of the undying {Gods} [Valar] he stood, and delivered the errand of the Two Kindreds. Pardon he asked for the Noldor and pity for their great sorrows, and mercy upon unhappy Men and succour in their need. And his prayers were granted.
Then the host of the Valar prepared for battle, and the captain of their host was Eönwë to whom Manwë gave his sword. Beneath his white banner marched also the Vanyar, the Fair-elves, the people of Ingwë; and among them were also those of the Noldor of old who had never departed from Valinor, and Ingwion son of Ingwë was their chief. But remembering the slaying at the Swan-haven and the rape of their ships, few of the Teleri were willing to go forth to war; but Elwing went among them, and because she was fair and gentle, and was come also upon her father's side from Thingol who was of their own kindred, they harkened to her; and they sent mariners sufficient to man and steer the ships upon which most of that army was borne east oversea; but they stayed aboard their ships and none ever set foot upon the shores of the Hither Lands.
And thus it was that Elwing came among the Teleri. {Eärendel} [Eärendil] was long time gone and she became lonely and afraid; and she wandered along the margin of the sea, singing sadly to herself; and so she came to Alqualondë, the Swan-haven, where lay the Telerian fleets; and there the Teleri befriended her. When therefore {Eärendel} [Eärendil] at last returned, seeking her, he found her among them, and they listened to her tales of Thingol and Melian and the Hidden Kingdom, and of Lúthien the fair, and they were filled with pity and wonder.
Now the {Gods} [Valar] took counsel concerning {Eärendel} [Eärendil], and they summoned Ulmo from the deeps; and when they were gathered together Mandos spoke, saying: 'Now he shall surely die, for he has trodden the forbidden shores.' But Ulmo said. "For this he was born into the world. And say unto me: whether is he {Eärendel} [Eärendil] Tuor's son of the line of Hador, or Idril's son Turgon's daughter of the Elvenhouse of Finwë? Or being half of either kindred, which half shall die?' And Mandos answered: 'Equally was it forbidden to the Noldor that went wilfully into exile to return hither.'
Then Manwë the Elder King gave judgement and he said: 'To {Eärendel} [Eärendil] I remit the ban, and the peril that he took upon himself out of love for the Two Kindreds shall not fall on him; neither shall it fall upon Elwing who entered into peril for love of {Eärendel} [Eärendil]: save only in this: they shall not ever walk again among Elves or Men in the {Outer} [Hither] Lands. Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be granted to them; but in this matter the power of doom is given to me. This is my decree: to {Eärendel} [Eärendil] and to Elwing and to their sons shall be given leave each to choose freely under which kindred they shall be judged.'
Then {Eärendel} [Eärendil] and Elwing were summoned, and this decree was declared to them. But {Eärendel} [Eärendil] said to Elwing: 'Choose thou, for now I am weary of the world.' And she chose to be judged among the Firstborn, because of Lúthien, and for the sake of Elwing {Eärendel} [Eärendil] chose alike, though his heart was rather with the kindred of Men and the people of his father.
The {Gods} [Valar] then sent Eönwë, and he came to the shore where the companions of {Eärendel} [Eärendil] still remained, awaiting tidings. And Eönwë took a boat and set therein the three mariners, and the {Gods} [Valar] drove them away East with a great wind. But they took Vingilot, and they hallowed it, and they bore it away through Valinor to the uttermost rim of the world, and there it passed through the Door of Night and was lifted up even into the oceans of heaven. Now fair and marvellous was that vessel made, and it was filled with a wavering flame, pure and bright; and {Eärendel} [Eärendil] the mariner sat at the helm, glistening with dust of elven-gems; and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow. Far he journeyed in that ship, even into the starless voids; but most often was he seen at morning or at eve, glimmering in sunrise or sunset, as he came back to Valinor from voyages beyond the confines of the world.
On those journeys Elwing did not go, for she had not the strength to endure the cold and pathless voids, and she loved rather the earth and the sweet winds that blow on sea and hill. Therefore there was built for her a white tower upon the borders of the outer world, in the northern region of the Sundering Seas; and thither all the sea-birds of the earth at times repaired. And it is said that Elwing learned the tongues and lore of birds, who had herself once worn their shape; and she devised wings for herself of white and silver-grey, and they taught her the craft of flight. And at whiles, when {Eärendel} [Eärendil] returning drew near again to earth, she would fly to meet him, even as she had flown long ago, when she was rescued from the sea. Then the farsighted among the Elves that dwelt most westerly in the Lonely Isle would see her like a white bird, shining, rose-stained in the sunset, as she soared in joy to greet the coming of {Vingelot} [Vingilot] to haven.
Now when first {Vingelot} [Vingilot] was set to sail on the seas of heaven, it rose unlooked-for, glittering and bright; and the folk of earth beheld it from afar and wondered, and they took it for a sign, and they called it Gil-Estel, the Star of high hope. And when this new star arose in the West, {Maidros} [Maedhros] said unto Maglor: 'Surely that is a Silmaril that shineth in the sky?' And Maglor said: If it be verily that Silmaril that we saw cast into the sea that riseth again by the power of the {Gods} [Valar], then let us be glad; for its glory is seen now by many, and is yet secure from all evil.' Then the Elves looked up, and despaired no longer; but Morgoth was filled with doubt.



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Yet it is said that Morgoth looked not for the assault that came upon him from the West. So great was his pride become that he deemed that none would ever again come up with open war against him. Moreover he thought that he had for ever estranged the {Gnomes} [Noldor] from the {Gods} [Valar] and from their kin; and that content in their blissful Realm the Valar would heed no more his kingdom in the world without. For to him that is pitiless the deeds of pity are ever strange and beyond reckoning.

We would change Gnomes to Noldor rather than Elves as does CT does in the Published Silmarillion. The estrangement was between the Ñoldor and the Valar not all of the Elves of Beleriand.


VE-13
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{Of the Great Battle and the War of Wrath}
Of the march of the host of Eönwë to the North little is said in any tale; for in his armies went none of those Elves who had dwelt and suffered in the Hither Lands, and who made the histories of those days that still are known; and tidings of these things they learned long afterward from their kinsfolk, the Light-elves in Valinor. But at the last Eönwë came up out of the West, and the challenge of his trumpets filled the sky; and he summoned unto him all Elves and Men from Hithlum unto the East; and Beleriand was ablaze with the glory of his arms, for the host of the {Gods} [Valar] were arrayed in forms of Valinor, and the mountains rang beneath their feet.
The meeting of the hosts of the West and of the North is named the Great Battle, the Battle Terrible, and the War of Wrath. There was marshalled the whole power of the Throne of Morgoth, and it had become great beyond count, so that Dor-na-Fauglith could not contain it, and all the North was aflame with war. But it availed not. The Balrogs were destroyed, save some few that fled and hid themselves in caverns inaccessible at the roots of the earth. The uncounted legions of the Orcs perished like straw in a great fire, or were swept like shrivelled leaves before a burning wind. Few remained to trouble the world for long years after. And it is said that all that were left of the three Houses of the Elf-friends, Fathers of Men, fought for Eönwë; and they were avenged upon the Orcs in those days for Baragund and Barahir, Galion and Gundor, Huor and Húrin, and many others of their lords; and so were fulfilled in part the words of Ulmo, for by {Eärendel} [Eärendil] son of Tuor help was brought unto the Elves, and by the swords of Men they were strengthened on the fields of war. But a great part of the sons of Men, whether of the people of Uldor or others newcome out of the East, marched with the Enemy; and the Elves do not forget it.
Then, seeing that his hosts were overthrown and his power dispersed, Morgoth quailed, and he dared not to come forth himself. But he loosed upon his foes the last desperate assault that he had prepared, and out of the pits of Angband there issued the winged dragons, that had not before been seen; for until that day no creatures of his cruel thought had yet assailed the air. So sudden and ruinous was the onset of that dreadful fleet that Eönwë was driven back; for the coming of the dragons was with a great thunder, and lightning, and a tempest of fire, and their wings were of steel.



VE-14
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Then {Eärendel} [Eärendil] came, shining with white flame, and about {Vingelot} [Vingilot] were gathered all the great birds of heaven, and Thorondor was their captain, and there was battle in the air all the day and through a dark night of doubt. And ere the rising of the sun {Eärendel} [Eärendil] slew Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the dragon-host, and he cast him from the sky, and he fell upon the towers of Thangorodrim and they were broken and thrown down. Then the sun rose, and the {Children of the Valar} [host of the Valar] prevailed, and all the dragons were destroyed, save two alone; and they fled into the East. Then all the pits of Morgoth were broken and unroofed, and the might of Eönwë descended into the deeps of the earth. And there Morgoth stood at last at bay, and yet unvaliant. He fled into the deepest of his mines and sued for peace and pardon; but his feet were hewn from under him and he was hurled upon his face. Then he was bound with the chain Angainor, which he had worn aforetime; and his iron crown they beat into a collar for his neck, and his head was bowed upon his knees. But Eönwë took the two Silmarils which remained and guarded them.
Thus an end was made of the power of Angband in the North, and the evil realm was brought to nought; and out of the pits and deep prisons a multitude of thralls came forth beyond all hope into the light of day, and they looked upon a world all changed. For so great was the fury of those adversaries that the northern regions of the western world were rent asunder, and the sea roared in through many chasms, and there was confusion and great noise; and rivers perished or found new paths, and the valleys were upheaved and the hills trod down; and Sirion was no more. Then Men, such as had not perished in the ruin of those days, fled far away, and it was long ere any came back over Eredlindon to the places where Beleriand had been.



VE-15
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{Of the Last End of the Oath of Fëanor and his Sons}
But Eönwë marched through the western lands summoning the remnant of the Noldor, and the Dark-elves that had not yet looked on Valinor, to join with the thralls released and to depart from Middle-earth. But {Maidros} [Maedhros] and Maglor would not harken, and they prepared, though now with weariness and loathing, to attempt in despair the fulfilment of their oath. For {Maidros} [Maedhros] would have given battle for the Silmarils, were they withheld, ever. against the victorious host of Valinor and the might and splendour of the {sons of the Gods} [West]: even though he stood alone in all the world. And he sent a message unto Eönwë, bidding him yield up now those jewels which of old Fëanor made and Morgoth stole from him.


I would replace sons of the Gods with West, instead of Maiar.


VE-16
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But Eönwë said that the right to the work of their hands, which Fëanor and his sons formerly possessed, had now perished, because of their many and merciless deeds, being blinded by their oath, and most of all because of the slaying of Dior and the assault upon Elwing. The light of the Silmarils should go now to the {Gods} [Valar], whence it came in the beginning; and to Valinor must {Maidros} [Maedhros] and Maglor return and there abide the judgement of the Valar, by whose decree alone would Eönwë yield the jewels from his charge.
Maglor desired indeed to submit, for his heart was sorrowful, and he said: 'The oath says not that we may not bide our time, and maybe in Valinor all shall be forgiven and forgot, and we shall come into our own in peace.' But {Maidros} [Maedhros] said that, if once they returned and the favour of the {Gods} [Valar] were withheld from them, then their oath would still remain, but its fulfilment be beyond all hope. 'And who can tell to what dreadful doom we shall come, if we disobey the Powers in their own land, or purpose ever to bring war again into their holy realm? ' And Maglor said: 'Yet if Manwë and Varda themselves deny the fulfilment of an oath to which we named them in witness, is it not made void?' And {Maidros} [Maedhros] answered: 'But how shall our voices reach to Ilúvatar beyond the circles of the World? And by Him we swore in our madness, and called the Everlasting Darkness upon us, if we kept not our word. Who shall release us?' 'If none can release us,' said Maglor, 'then indeed the Everlasting Darkness shall be our lot, whether we keep our oath or break it; but less evil shall we do in the breaking.' Yet he yielded to the will of {Maidros} [Maedhros], and they took counsel together how they should lay hands on the Silmarils.
And so it came to pass that they came in disguise to the camps of Eönwë, and at night they crept in to the places where the Silmarils were guarded, and they slew the guards, and laid hands upon the jewels; and then, since all the camp was roused against them, they prepared to die, defending themselves until the last. But Eönwë restrained his folk, and the brethren departed unfought, and fled far away. Each took a single Silmaril, for they said: Since one is lost to us, and but two remain, and two brethren, so is it plain that fate would have us share the heirlooms of our father.'
But the jewel burned the hand of {Maidros} [Maedhros] in pain unbearable (and he had but one hand, as has before been told); and he perceived that it was as Eönwë had said, and that his right thereto had become void, and that the oath was vain. And being in anguish and despair he cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire, and so ended; and the Silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of Earth.
And it is told of Maglor that he could not endure the pain with which the Silmaril tormented him; and he cast it at last into the sea, and thereafter he wandered ever upon the shores singing in pain and regret beside the waves. For Maglor was the mightiest of the singers of old [save Daeron], but he came never back among the people of the Elves. And thus it came to pass that the Silmarils found their long homes: one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires of the heart of the world, and one in the deep waters.


We have of course to make the clarification that it was Daeron who was the mightiest of the singers of old.


VE-17
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{Of the Passing of the Elves}
In those days there was a great building of ships upon the shores of the Western Sea, and upon the great isles which, in the disruption of the northern world, were fashioned of ancient Beleriand. Thence in many a fleet the survivors of the {Gnomes} [Noldor], and of the companies of the Dark-elves of Doriath and Ossiriand, set sail into the West and came never again into the lands of weeping and of war. But the Vanyar the Light-elves, marched back beneath the banners of their king, and they were borne in triumph unto Valinor. Yet their joy in victory was diminished, for they returned without the Silmarils {and the light before the Sun and Moon}, and they knew that those jewels could not be found or brought together again until the world was broken , and re-made anew.



VE-18
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And when they came into the West the {Gnomes} [Elves of Beleriand] for the most part rehabited the Lonely Isle, that looks both West and East; and that land became very fair, and so remains. But some returned even to Valinor, as all were free to do who willed; and there the {Gnomes} [Teleri] were admitted again to the love of Manwë and the pardon of the Valar; and the Teleri forgave their ancient grief, and the curse was laid to rest.

Here we follow CRT in QS77


VE-19
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Yet not all the Eldalië were willing to forsake the Hither Lands where they had long suffered and long dwelt; and some lingered many an age in the West and North, and especially in the western isles and in the Land of Leithien. And among these were Maglor, as hath been told; and with him for a while was Elrond Halfelven, who chose, as was granted to him, to be among the Elf-kindred; but Elros his brother chose to abide with Men. And from these brethren alone the blood of the Firstborn and the seed divine of Valinor have come among Mankind: for they were the sons of Elwing, Dior's daughter, Lúthien's son, child of Thingol and Melian; and {Eärendel} [Eärendil] their sire was Idril's son Celebrindal, the fair maid of Gondolin. But ever as the ages drew on and the Elf-folk faded upon earth, they would set sail at eve from the western shores of this world, as still they do, until now there linger few anywhere of their lonely companies.


VE-20
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This was the doom of the {Gods} [Valar], when Eönwë {and the sons of the Valar} [and his host] returned to Valmar and told of all the things that had been done. Thereafter the Hither Lands of Middle-earth should be for Mankind, the younger children of the world; but to the Elves, the Firstborn, alone should the gateways of the West stand ever open. And if the Elves would not come thither and tarried in the lands of Men, then they should slowly fade and fail. This is the most grievous of the fruits of the lies and works that Morgoth wrought, that the Eldalië should be sundered and estranged from Men. For a while other evils that he had devised or nurtured lived on, although he himself was taken away; and Orcs and Dragons, breeding again in dark places, became names of terror, and did evil deeds, as in sundry regions they still do; but ere the End all shall perish. But Morgoth himself /*MT [was] taken as a mere criminal to Aman and delivered to Námo Mandos as judge – and executioner. He was judged, and eventually taken out of the Blessed Realm and executed{:}[.]*\ /*MT When {that} [his] body was destroyed he was weak and utterly 'houseless' *\ [and] the {Gods} [Valar] {thrust} [thrusted him] through the Door of Night into the Timeless Void, beyond the Walls of the World; and a guard is set for ever on that door, and {Eärendel} [Eärendil] keeps watch upon the ramparts of the sky.
Yet the lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that doth not die and cannot by the {Gods} [Valar] be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days. Some say also that Morgoth himself has at times crept back, secretly as a cloud that cannot be seen, and yet is venomous, surmounting the Walls, and visiting the world to encourage his servants and set on foot evil when all seems fair. But others say that this is the black shadow of Sauron, whom the {Gnomes} [Sindar] named Gorthaur, who served Morgoth long ago and came with him into the world, and was the greatest and most evil of his underlings; and Sauron fled from the Great Battle and escaped, and he dwelt in dark places and perverted Men to his dreadful allegiance and his foul worship.


I have tried to add the little detail about the fate of Melkor that is found in Myths transformed.

when Eönwë {and the sons of the Valar} [and his host]

I would use and his host instead of and the other Ainur.

the {Gnomes} [Sindar] named Gorthaur

Like in Of the rings of power in QS77


VE-21
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{The Second Prophecy of Mandos
Thus spake Mandos in prophecy, when the Gods sat in judgement in Valinor, and the rumour of his words was whispered among all the Elves of the West. When the world is old and the Powers grow weary, then Morgoth, seeing that the guard sleepeth, shall come back through the Door of Night out of the Timeless Void; and he shall destroy the Sun and Moon. But {Eärendel} [Eärendil] shall descend upon him as a white and searing flame and drive him from the airs. Then shall the Last Battle be gathered on the fields of Valinor. In that day Tulkas shall strive with Morgoth, and on his right hand shall be Eönwë, and on his left Túrin Turambar, son of Húrin, returning from the Doom of Men at the ending of the world; and the black sword of Túrin shall deal unto Morgoth his death and final end; and so shall the children of Húrin and all Men be avenged.
Thereafter shall Earth be broken and re-made, and the Silmarils shall be recovered out of Air and Earth and Sea; for {Eärendel} [Eärendil] shall descend and surrender that flame which he hath had in keeping. Then Fëanor shall take the Three Jewels and bear them to Yavanna Kementári; and he will break them and with their fire Yavanna will rekindle the Two Trees, and a great light shall come forth. And the Mountains of Valinor shall be levelled, so that the Light shall go out over all the world. In that light the Gods will grow young again, and the Elves awake and all their dead arise, and the purpose of Ilúvatar be fulfilled concerning them. But of Men in that day the prophecy of Mandos doth not speak, and no Man it names, save Túrin only, and to him a place is given among the {sons of the Valar} [Ainur].}



VE-22
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/*Vala {Here ends The Valaquenta.} If it has passed from the high and beautiful to darkness and ruin, that was of old the fate of Arda Marred; and if any change shall come and the Marring be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos.*\


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Here endeth The Silmarillion[.] /*Vala {Here ends The Valaquenta.} If it has passed from the high and beautiful to darkness and ruin, that was of old the fate of Arda Marred; and if any change shall come and the Marring be amended, Manwë and Varda may know; but they have not revealed it, and it is not declared in the dooms of Mandos.*\ {: which is drawn out in brief from those songs and histories which are yet sung and told by the fading Elves, and (more clearly and fully) by the vanished Elves that dwell now upon the Lonely Isle, {Tol Eressëa,} whither few mariners of Men have ever come, save once or twice in a long age when some man of {Eärendel} [Eärendil]'s race hath passed beyond the lands of mortal sight and seen the glimmer of the lamps upon the quays of {Avallon} [Tol Eressëa], and smelt afar the undying flowers in the meads of Dorwinion. Of whom was {Ereol} [Eriol] one, that men named Ælfwine, and he alone returned and brought tidings of Cortirion to the Hither Lands.}


VE-24
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Appendice A
/*The Second Prophecy of Mandos
Thus spake Mandos in prophecy, when the Gods sat in judgement in Valinor, and the rumour of his words was whispered among all the Elves of the West. When the world is old and the Powers grow weary, then Morgoth, seeing that the guard sleepeth, shall come back through the Door of Night out of the Timeless Void; and he shall destroy the Sun and Moon. But {Eärendel} [Eärendil] shall descend upon him as a white and searing flame and drive him from the airs. Then shall the Last Battle be gathered on the fields of Valinor. In that day Tulkas shall strive with Morgoth, and on his right hand shall be Eönwë, and on his left Túrin Turambar, son of Húrin, returning from the Doom of Men at the ending of the world; and the black sword of Túrin shall deal unto Morgoth his death and final end; and so shall the children of Húrin and all Men be avenged.
Thereafter shall Earth be broken and re-made, and the Silmarils shall be recovered out of Air and Earth and Sea; for {Eärendel} [Eärendil] shall descend and surrender that flame which he hath had in keeping. Then Fëanor shall take the Three Jewels and bear them to Yavanna Kementári; and he will break them and with their fire Yavanna will rekindle the Two Trees, and a great light shall come forth. And the Mountains of Valinor shall be levelled, so that the Light shall go out over all the world. In that light the Gods will grow young again, and the Elves awake and all their dead arise, and the purpose of Ilúvatar be fulfilled concerning them. But of Men in that day the prophecy of Mandos doth not speak, and no Man it names, save Túrin only, and to him a place is given among the {sons of the Valar} [Ainur].*\

Last edited by Antoine; 03-17-2004 at 02:56 PM.
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