2 Of Valinor and the Two Trees

[Findegil]

Magic: When I looked up the occurrences in all our text, I could discern a clear trend that the older the basis text is the more often the word “magic” is used (the same is true for “Gods” as well). This together with the passage in LotR where Galadriel connected the word with the deceits of the enemy makes me at least cautious about a massive usage.

VT-LT-16: I like the idea of a closing sentence to the chapter, but I have some reservation about the quarrelsome spirits not dwelling among them. The reference was to Makar and Meassa. But these “Melkor party” is removed from our version. So I would edit the sentence differently:

VT-LT-16 <LT Therefore {is}was Valinor {now }built, and there {is}was great peace there, and the {Gods}[Valar] in joy, for {those quarrelsome spirits dwell not much among them, and Melko}[Melkor] {comes}came not nigh.>

On the diacritics: Okay I will take up general changes of {Nienna}[Niënna]; {Fui}[Niënna] and {Lorien}[Lóriën]; {Lórien}[Lóriën]; the spelling “Loriën” is not found in our text so fare.

Respectfully
Findegil

[ArcusCalion]

That looks fine to me

[gondowe]

In this chapter I can not opine very much save in minor points. My text structure differs so much of this. But the information is the same.

Perhaps Arvalin is changed to Avathar many times, where Avathar is the south, for example in Mandos dwelings ?(maybe I'm oxidized geographically).

Now
Aiwendil said
VT-LT-04: I don't think changing "Outer Lands" is necessary in this instance. Here, it refers to the lands outside Valinor, including Middle-earth. The problematic instance was one where it was used to mean the lands beyond Middle-earth, including Valinor.

I agree with this.

Greetings

[Aiwendil]

VT-LT-05: I realized that here I missed a change of ilwë to ilmen:

VT-LT-05<LT That house was builded of marbles white and blue and stood amid the fields of snow, and its roofs were made of a web of that blue air called ilmen that is above the white and grey. This web did Aulë and his wife contrive, but Varda spangled it with stars, and Manwë dwelt thereunder[.]>

VT-LT-16: I'm not sure I agree that we need a concluding statement for the chapter. Many chapters of the QS/LQ end with little fanfare.

However, if we do use this statement, I would retain the 'now', which is perfectly fine referring to a past time:

VT-LT-16 <LT Therefore {is}[was] Valinor now built, and there {is}[was] great peace there, and the {Gods}[Valar] in joy, for {those quarrelsome spirits dwell not much among them, and Melko}[Melkor] {comes}[came] not nigh.>

Originally Posted by gondowe

Perhaps Arvalin is changed to Avathar many times, where Avathar is the south, for example in Mandos dwelings ?(maybe I'm oxidized geographically).

My understanding of the names is this:

- In LT (or at least in "The Coming of the Valar"), "Arvalin" and "Eruman" were synonymous and refer to the southern waste between the mountains and the sea. There is no northern counterpart, because on the north side the sea comes right up to the mountains.

- In the latest post-LotR conception, "Avathar" is the southern waste and "Araman" the northern waste between the mountains and the sea.

So it should be a simple matter of changing both "Eruman" and "Arvalin" to "Avathar" at every occurrence in LT.

In the case of Mandos that you mention, we have:

So fair were these abodes and so great the brilliance of the trees of Valinor that Námo and [Vairë] his wife {of tears} might not endure to stay there long, but fared away far to the northward of those regions, where beneath the roots of the most cold and northerly of the Mountains of Valinor, that rise here again almost to their height nigh [Avathar], they begged Aulë to delve them a hall.

Note that this is not saying that Mandos (in the north) is near Avathar; rather, it's saying that the mountains in the north are high, just like they are near Avathar. So I think this is fine.

[Findegil]

VT-LT-16: I am okay with the "now" and I am not adamant on using this sentence.

Arvalin: It seems time to do this once right through:

a) The first occurrence is in VT-EX-02 when the Valar arrive in the West. Since they come from the war against Utumno we could suppose that they came from the north. Therefore I would use “Araman” here.

b) Next is VT-EX-03b when the Valar collect the rocks to build the Pelori. Here “Araman and Avathar” seems the right replacement.

c) In VT-EX-03.1 we are told that “Erumani” is very flat now due to the collecting of the rocks be the Valar. So again I think “Araman and Avathar” is the right replacement.

d) VT-LT-06 we are told that the mist that Aulë used to build the house of Lóriën, Murmuran, was gathered beyond “Arvalin”. I am a bit lost here. Murmuran is in the south of Valinor, but the farthest south is rather connected in Tolkiens Legendarium with “heat” then with cold, So I would again opt for “Araman” as a replacement, but I would like to here other opinions on this case.

e) VT-LT-12b is as well not easy: It compares the height of the Pelori above Manods with that “nigh Arvalin”. The comparison must be with Taniquetil which as seen from Mandos is nigh to the southern coastland even so, as far as I remember, it is on the northern side of the bay of Eldamar. So in this case I would see “Avarthar” as replacement.

f) The next case is EP-EX-12.1 which we already agree upon to replace “Arvalin” by “Eldamar”.

g) to j) There are four occurrences of “Arvalin” in EPE-EX-17:

g) The first is referring to the “south shore of the Shadowy Seas”, which means we have to take “Avathar” replacing “Arvalin or Erumani”.

h) The second say that “beyond Arvalin” are the mountains of Valinor, here we should take “Avathar and Araman”.

i) The next tells that the bay of Eldamar is north of “Arvalin”; here again “Avathar” is the right replacement.

j) Next comes a queer statement that about Taniquetil “looking across Arvalin half south and half north across that mighty Bay of Faery”. I think we have to edit this to: “looking across {Arvalin half}[Avathar] south and {half}[Araman] north across that mighty Bay of {Faery}[Eldarmar]”.

k) EPE-EX-18: Here the one side of Taniquetil is in the gloom of “Arvalin” and we should replace it with “Avathar and Araman”.

l) Between SM-02.7 and SM-03 is one occurrence of “Erumani” in the phrase “happiness will be once more twixt Erumani and the Sea”. In this case I think we should replace it be “Avathar”. More correct would be “Avathar and Araman” but that is awakward due to the double “and” and if we have to chose than the south is probably better since in the north are Mandos, which is by no means a place of happyness.

m) SM-EX-10.8 has Tilion pass swiftly over “either Arvalin or Aruman” which we naturally change to “either Avathar or Araman”.

n) In Luthien song of lengthening she sings of “Gilim the giant of Eruman”. What so ever is meant by this we must change it “Araman” I suppose (happyliy that does fit the rhyming to “Glend the sword of Nan”. (Thinking now about it, “Gilim the giant of Araman” could be a mountain, since we are told that in the north near to Mandos the Pelori were nearly as high as Taniquetil.)

o) There is one occurrence in the Ambrakanta draft of AcrusCalion where it descripes the coastlands of the western continent and specifies “South is Arvalin” and “North is Eruman”, so that the replacements are clear “Avathar” to the south and “Araman” to the north.

Most of the cases are clear but I would like to have some opinion about d), e), j) and l). And of course as allway you are free to disagree with my opinion in any of the cases.

Respectfully
Findegil

[gondowe]

In my humble opinion there are many cases that must be skipped the word simply without loss of sense. Always is less risky.
And for example in c) can be used Aman
In d) can be used Avathar, in my opinion, the mist could be located in hot and cold regions
In e) I'm confused, perhaps is due to my understanding of English translated into Spanish.

The other cases I have to reach the chapters, with time.
Greetings

[ArcusCalion]

I agree with all of these, except for d) as I think the correct geography is more important than the south = heat general rule. The entirety of the south was not hot, as the AMbarkanta tells us that the Helcaraxe was only 1 of 4 such locations, 2 of which were in the south. I say stick with Avathar