Beardless

[Galin]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hickli

Normally-held, but mistaken. Surely after twenty years people are aware that Appendix F was garbled, and that the 'dark-haired' description there was intended to refer to the Noldor alone, not all the Eldar?

Christopher Tolkien objects to the implication concerning the Vanyar, but he also notes...

'But my father carefully remodeled the passage in order to apply it to the Eldar as a whole, and it does seem 'extraordinary' that he should have failed to observe this point.' Christopher Tolkien The Appendix on Languages HME XII

I agree it does seem extraordinary and so I cannot agree with characterizing a Tolkien-published description in a prime source such as The Lord of the Rings as a garbled mistake because a draft reads differently.

In any case I see no great reason to give the 'Vanyarin concern' textual parity here: published text concerning the Eldar outweighs unpublished text concerning the Vanyar in my opinion (and certainly outweighs draft text).