[Maédhros]

VE-03

<PG {Ereinion} [Rodnor] Gil-galad son of {Orodreth} [Arothir], who had escaped the fall of Nargothrond and come to Sirion's Mouth yet he then joined Círdan in the Isle of Balar and, 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.>

Explanation of the change:

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.

After revising the changes of Gil-Galad, now I'm not so sure about using the Havens/Balar location.
Look at the last part of that note:

There can be no doubt that this was my father's last word on this subject; but nothing of this late and radically altered conception even touched the existing narratives, and it was obviously impossible to introduce it into the published Silmarillion. It would nonetheless have been very much better to have left Gil-galad's parentage obscure.

If this was JRRT last word on the subject, then why do we choose only the parentage part of it (that he was the son of [Orodreth]) and not that he dwelled in Sirion's Mouth. It doesn't seem right.

Originally posted by Aiwendil
The issue of Gil-Galad in general needs some thought. As for his presence at the mouths of Sirion: the note from "The Parentage of Gil-Galad" used in FG-C-27 is a bit tricky. I'm not sure whether it constitutes a change from the older story (wherein he and Cirdan leave the havens and take up residence on Balar) or not. I am inclined to think that it does not, and that Gil-Galad still ends up on Balar with Cirdan - and the story proceeds as in Q30 and QS77. If that's so, then FG-C-27 may need to change.

From The Later Quenta 2

Later evidence makes it certain that the notes on the QS manuscript represent a rejected idea for the incorporation of Gil-galad into the traditions of the Elder Days; and the passage just cited from the Grey Annals is to be taken as showing that it had been abandoned. That Gil-galad was the son of Fingon (The Silmarillion p. 154) derives from the late note pencilled on the manuscript of GA (§157), stating that when Fingon became King of the Noldor on the death of Fingolfin 'his young son (?Findor) [sic] Gilgalad he sent to the Havens.' But this, adopted after much hesitation, was not in fact by any means the last of my father's speculations on this question.

Again, if we accept that Gil-Galad is not the son of Fingon, then we do not need to accept that he was sent to the Havens. I think that we should have a look at that and try to figure out if there is a way to deal with Gil-Galad going to Sirion's Mouth.

Note: I would have dropped the usage of the name [Arothir] to replace [Orodreth].

After re-reading our previous discussion:

Originally posted by Findegil
Than we must take the note about Gil-Galad in The Shiboleth less literarily to mean the area of Sirions mouth since the most of the People (Sindar under Círdan and Noldor under Gil-Galad after he came there) dwelt upon the isle of Balar, with Gil-Galad joining Círdan upon the isle.
It is to be mentioned that at the time of the Fall of Gondolin most Noldor that had fled to the south were probably people of the house of Finarfin (e.g. Arminas and Gelmir that brought the message of Ulmo to Nargothrond). The people of Fingon would have been in a big part rescued by Turgon when he withdrew from the Nirneath, or could we imagine the rest of host of Fingon taken refuge in Gondolin when the women and children were left behind in Hithlum? (The people of Annael lived fare to the west and so were not "rescued".) And the Fëanorians were gathered in East Beleriand even after Himring had fallen. So only the Elves of Dorthonion and Nargothrond would have taken refuge with Círdan whom they knew as a friend of their former Lords (Finrod and Orordreth).

I wonder if my emendation is ok.

Note:
PG: Refers to the Parentage of Gil-Galad in HoME 12.