Sauron Defeated (56 page)

Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle, is named Anetig in the Old English version of the earliest Annals of Valinor (IV.281, etc.). In that work Valinor was Godepel changed to Esa-eard (IV.283), Esa being the genitive plural of Os 'god', as here in Osgeard (Valinor) and in Osfruma 'Lord of the Gods' (Manwe). Tarcaligeon, Iligen are Old English spellings representing Tarcalion, Ilien.

Comparison of this text with The Fall of Numenor $$6 - 8 (pp.

336 - 7) will show a close relation between the two. I think it very probable that this text represents my father's original idea for the single preserved page of Edwin Lowdham's manuscript, before he decided that the page should consist, in Ramer's words (p. 259), of 'a series of fragmentary extracts, separated, I should guess, by very various intervals of omission'.

A portion of this text is also found written in tengwar, with an interlinear gloss in modern script. This, I think, was the first of the texts in tengwar (see the next section).

Other Old English names found in these papers are Ealfaederburg

'the mountain of Allfather (Iluvatar)' as an alternative name for Heofonsyl 'Pillar of Heaven'; Heafiras 'High Men', of the Numenoreans (cf. Freafiras mentioned below); and se Malsca, of Sauron (cf.

Malscor, a name of Morgoth found in a list of Old English equivalents of Elvish names associated with the Quenta, IV.209; an Old English noun malscrung 'bewitching, bewildering' is recorded).

Lastly may be mentioned a slip of paper giving the Quenya fragments in their original form (that is, in the form in which they are found in The Lost Road and preceding that in manuscript E, as is seen from tera 'straight' for tena, p. 310), with the usual English glosses and queries, but also with a translation into Old English (rapidly jotted down and hard to read):

7 Saweron com to hype. Gedruron Freafiras under sceadu. Tarkalion wig gebead pam Heamaegnum. Pa tocleaf Westfrea pas woruld be paes AElmihtigan leafe. 7 fleowon pa sae inn on paet micle gin 7

wearp) Nowendaland ahwylfed.

Geo laeg riht weg westanweard, nu sind alle wegas [?forcrymbed].

Freafiras eastweard. Deapscua us lip hefig on. Nu swipe feor is seo Niperhrorene.

It is curious to see that nahamna (marked as usual with a query in the modern English gloss) was translated to hype 'to haven'. The Old English words be... leafe 'with leave' correspond to dots in the Elvish text (the word leneme being introduced here later in E, p. 310).

Freafiras and Nowendaland are mentioned by Lowdham (p. 242 and notes 42, 43) among names that have 'come through' to him which are not recorded in Old English. Heamaegnum: heah-maegen 'great power'.

Westfrea ('Lord of the West') was struck out and replaced by (apparently) Regenrices Wealdend ('Ruler of Valinor': cf. Regeneard p. 242

and note 44). No verb (for)crymban is recorded, but cf. Old English crumb 'crooked, bent', and crymbing 'curvature, bend'.

(v) The page preserved from Edwin Lowdham's manuscript written in Numenorean script.

My father's representations of this page are reproduced on pp. 319 - 21.

The first form, here called Text I, is written on both sides of a single sheet as was Edwin Lowdham's, and represents the Old English text given on pp. 313 - 14; as already explained, this was written to accompany the account in the manuscript E. My father wrote it with a dipping pen, and where the ink ran pale parts of many letters, especially the fine strokes, are extremely faint in the original and disappear entirely in reproduction. To remedy this I have worked over a photocopy of the original and darkened the strokes to make them visible; and I have added line-numbers in the margins to make my commentary on the tengwar easier to follow.

Text II corresponds to the later Old English version in the typescript F, but it covers only one side of a sheet and extends only to the words swe adwalde he for(nean) (p. 257): at that point, as it appears, it was abandoned. This may or may not relate to my father's note (p. 279):

'the Anglo-Saxon should not be written in Numenorean script'.

The reproductions of these pages are followed by commentaries on the scripts, which differ in the two versions. These commentaries are reproduced from my manuscript, since it would be very much more difficult to print them.

Text I was written quickly and has a number of errors; Text II was more carefully done. Some pages of notes accompany the original texts, but these are very rough and difficult jottings and have not proved of much help in deducing the structure. There can be no doubt that these texts were to some degree experimental, especially in the use of the diacritic marks and in the application of the script to Old English.

In what I take to be the first of these tengwar texts (not reproduced), corresponding to part of the Old English text given on p. 316, the vowel-diacritics differ from the usage in Text I. Those used for o and y in Text I are here used for u and o, while y is rendered by that for u together with a single dot (= i), reflecting the historical origin of Old English y in many instances from u followed by i in the next syllable.

(The surviving page of Edwin Lowdham's manuscript

Text I, recto.)

(The surviving page of Edwin Lowdham's manuscript

Text I, verso.)

(The surviving page of Edwin Lowdham's manuscript

Text II.)

PART THREE.

THE DROWNING

OF ANADUNE.

With the Third Version of

THE FALL OF NUMENOR,

And Lowdham's Report on

THE ADUNAIC LANGUAGE.

THE DROWNING OF ANADUNE

(i) The third version of The Fall of Numenor

Before coming to The Drowning of Anadune it is necessary to turn first to the original narrative of the legend of Numenor, which arose in close association with The Lost Road (see V.9). This, The Fall of Numenor, is extant (in addition to an initial sketch) in two versions, given in V.13 ff., which I called FN I and FN II, the second being closely similar to the first for the greater part of its length. Some subsequent work was done on this text during the period of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, including a rewriting of the passage describing 'the World Made Round' and a development of the concluding section concerning Beleriand and the Last Alliance (see V.31 ff.); but since the name Ondor appears in the latter passage it can be dated before February 1942, when Ondor became Gondor (VII.423); at that time my father was working on Book III of The Lord of the Rings.

Now there is a further text of The Fall of Numenor in fine manuscript, which I referred to but did not print in Vol.V; I noted there that 'this version, improved and altered in detail, shows however very little further advance in narrative substance,' and concluded therefore that it belongs to the same period as the revisions just referred to, i.e. to a relatively early stage in the writing of The Lord of the Rings.

Since The Drowning of Anadune shows such an extraordinary departure from The Fall of Numenor I give the third version of the latter in full here, calling it 'FN III', to make comparison of the two works easier. I have again introduced the paragraph numbers that I inserted in the earlier versions; and various alterations that were made to FN III subsequently are shown as such.

The Last Tales.

1. The Fall of Numenor.

$1 In the Great Battle, when Fionwe son of Manwe overthrew Morgoth, the three houses of the Men of Beleriand were friends and allies of the Elves, and they wrought many deeds of valour. But men of other kindreds turned to evil and fought for Morgoth, and after the victory of the Lords of the West those that were not destroyed fled back east into Middle-earth. There many of their race wandered still in the unharvested lands, wild and lawless, refusing the summons alike of Fionwe and of Morgoth to aid them in their war. And the evil men who had served Morgoth became their masters; and the creatures of Morgoth that escaped from the ruin of Thangorodrim came among them and cast over them a shadow of fear. For the gods

[> Valar] forsook for a time the Men of Middle-earth who had refused their summons and had taken the friends of Morgoth to be their lords; and men were troubled by many evil things that Morgoth had devised in the days of his dominion: demons, and dragons and ill-shapen beasts, and the unclean orcs, that are mockeries of the creatures of Iluvatar; and the lot of men was unhappy.

But Manwe put forth Morgoth, and shut him beyond the World in the Void that is without; and he cannot [> could not]

return again into the World, present and visible, while the Lords are [> the Lords of the West were] enthroned. Yet his will remaineth, and guideth [> remained, and guided) his servants; and it moveth [> moved] them ever to seek the overthrow of the gods [> Valar] and the hurt of those that obey [> obeyed] them.

When Morgoth was thrust forth, the gods [> Valar] held council.

The Elves [> Eldar] were summoned to return into the West; and those that obeyed dwelt once more in Eressea, the Lonely Isle; and that land was named anew Avallon: for it is hard by Valinor and within sight of the Blessed Realm. But to men of the three faithful houses rich reward was given. Fionwe son of Manwe came among them and taught them; and he gave them wisdom, and power, and life stronger than any others have of mortal race. [Added: and the span of their years, being un-assailed by sickness, was thrice that of Men of Middle-earth, and to the descendants of Hurin the Steadfast even longer years were granted, I even to three hundreds [> as is later told].](1) $2 A land was made for them to dwell in, neither part of Middle-earth, nor of Valinor; for it was sundered from either by a wide sea, yet it was nearer to Valinor. It was raised by Osse out of the depths of the Great Water, and it was established by Aule and enriched by Yavanna; and the Eldar brought thither flowers and fountains out of Avallon, and they wrought gardens there of great beauty, in which at times the children of the Gods

[> Valar] would walk. That land the Valar called Andor, the Land of Gift; and by its own folk it was at first called Vinya, the Young; but in the days of its pride they named it Numenor, that is Westernesse, for it lay west of all lands inhabited by mortals; yet it was far from the true West, for that is Valinor, the land of the Gods. But the glory of Numenor was thrown down [> overthrown] and its name perished; and after its ruin it was named in the legends of those that fled from it Atalante, the Downfallen.

Of old the chief city and haven of that land was in the midst of its western coasts, and it was called Undunie [> Andunie],(2) because it faced the sunset. But the high place of the king was at Numenos in the heart of the land, the tower and citadel that was built by Elros son of Earendel [>Earendil], whom the gods and elves and men chose to be the lord [> who (was) appointed to be the first lord] of the Numenoreans. He was descended from the line of both Hador and Beor, fathers of Men, and in part also from both the Eldar and the Valar, for Idril and Luthien were his foremothers. But Elros and all his folk were mortal; for the Valar may not withdraw the gift of death, which cometh to men from Iluvatar. [This passage, from 'He was descended

...; was struck out and replaced by the following rider: 'Now Elrond, and Elros his brother, were descended from the line of both Hador and of Beor, fathers of Men, and in part also both from the Eldar and the Valar, for Idril and Luthien daughter of Melian were their foremothers. None others among Men of the Elder Days had kinship with the Elves, and therefore they were called Halfelven. The Valar indeed may not withdraw the gift of death, which cometh to Men from Iluvatar, but in the matter of the Halfelven Iluvatar gave them judgement. And this they judged: choice should be given to the brethren. And Elrond chose to remain with the Firstborn, and to him the life of the Firstborn was given, and yet a grace was added, that choice was never annulled, and while the world lasted he might return, if he would, to mortal men, and die. But to Elros, who chose to be a king of men, still a great span of years was granted, seven times that of mortal men; and all his line, the kings and lords of the royal house of Numenor, [added: being descended from Hurin,]

had long life even according to the span of the Numenoreans, for some of the kings that sat at Numenos lived four hundred years. But Elros lived five hundred years, and ruled the Numenoreans four hundred years and ten. Thus, though long in life and assailed by no sickness, the men of Numenor were mortal still.] Yet the speech of Numenor was the speech of the Eldar of the Blessed Realm, and the Numenoreans conversed with the Elves, and were permitted to look upon Valinor from afar; for their ships went often to Avallon, and there their mariners were suffered to dwell for a while.

$3 In the wearing of time the people of Numenor grew great and glorious, in all things more like to the Firstborn than any other of the kindreds of Men; yet they were less fair and less wise than the Elves, though greater in stature. For the Numenoreans were exceedingly tall, taller than the tallest of the sons of men in Middle-earth. Above all arts they nourished ship-building and sea-craft, and became mariners whose like shall never be again, since the world has been diminished. They ranged from Eressea in the West to the shores of Middle-earth, and came even into the inner seas; and they sailed about the North and the South and glimpsed from their high prows the Gates of Morning in the East. And they appeared among the wild men and filled them with wonder and dismay; for men in the shadows of the world deemed that they were gods or the sons of gods out of the West. Here and there the Numenoreans sowed good seed in the waste-lands, and they taught to the wild men such lore and wisdom as they could comprehend; but for the most part the men of Middle-earth feared them and fled; for they were under the sway of Sauron and the lies of Morgoth and they believed that the gods were terrible and cruel. Wherefore out of that far time are descended the echoes of legends both bright and dark; but the shadow lay heavy upon men, for the Numenoreans came only seldom among them and they tarried never long in any place. Upon all the waters of the world they sailed, seeking they knew not what, yet their hearts were set westward; and they began to hunger for the undying bliss of Valinor, and ever their desire and unquiet increased as their power and glory grew.