The Lost Road and Other Writings. Christopher Tolkien

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Oswin Errol’s reference to a ‘substratum’ (p. 40). Put very simply, the substratum theory attributes great importance, as an explanation of linguistic change, to the influence exerted on language when a people abandons their own former speech and adopts another; for such a people will retain their habitual modes of articulation and transfer them to the new language, thus creating a substratum underlying it. Different substrata acting upon a widespread language in different areas is therefore regarded as a fundamental cause of divergent phonetic change.

The Old English verses of Ælfwine Wídlást (p. 44). These verses, in identical form except for certain features of spelling, were used in the title-pages to the Quenta Silmarillion (p. 203); see also p. 103.

Names and words in the Elvish languages. Throughout, the term Eressëan was a replacement of Númenórean. Perhaps to be compared is FN II, §2: ‘Yet they [the Númenóreans] took on the speech of the Elves of the Blessed Realm, as it was and is in Eressëa.’ The term ‘Elf-latin’, applied by Alboin to ‘Eressëan’ (pp. 41, 43), is found in the Lhammas (p. 172). There it refers to the archaic speech of the First Kindred of the Elves (the Lindar), which ‘became early fixed … as a language of high speech and of writing, and as a common speech among all Elves; and all the folk of Valinor learned and knew this language.’ It was called Qenya, the Elvish tongue, tarquesta high-speech, and parmalambë the book-tongue. But it is not explained in The Lost Road why Alboin should have called the language that ‘came through’ to him by this term.

Amon-ereb (p. 38): the rough draft of this passage had Amon Gwareth, changed more than once and ending with Amon Thoros. Amon Ereb (the Lonely Hill) is found in the Annals of Beleriand (p. 143, annal 340) and in QS §113.

‘The shores of Beleriand’ (p. 38): the draft has here ‘the rocks of the Falassë.’ The form Falassë occurs on the Ambarkanta map IV (IV. 249).

‘Alda was a tree (a word I got a long time ago)’ (p. 41). Alda ‘tree’ is found in the very early ‘dictionary’ (I. 249), where also occurs the word lómë, which Alboin also refers to here, with the meanings ‘dusk, gloom, darkness’ (I. 255).

Anar, Isil, and Anor, Ithil (p. 41): in QS §75 the names of the Sun and Moon given by the Gods are Úrin and Isil, and by the Elves Anar and Rana (see the commentary on that passage).

The Eressëan fragment concerning the Downfall of Númenor and the Straight Road (p. 47) is slightly different in the draft text:

      Ar Sauron lende nūmenorenna… lantie nu huine… ohtakárie valannar… manwe ilu terhante. eari lantier kilyanna nūmenor atalante… malle tēra lende nūmenna, ilya si maller raikar. Turkildi rómenna… nuruhuine me lumna.

       And Sauron came to-Númenor… fell under Shadow… war-made on-Powers… ? ? broke. seas fell into-Chasm. Númenor down-fell. road straight went westward, all now roads bent. ? eastward. Death-shadow us is-heavy.

The name Tar-kalion is here not present, but Sauron is (see p. 9), and is interpreted as being a name. Most notably, this version has manwe (which Alboin could not interpret) for herunūmen ‘Lord-of-West’ of the later; on this see p. 75.

      On the name Herendil (= Audoin, Eadwine) see Etymologies, stem KHER.

(ii)

       The Númenórean chapters

      My father said in his letter of 1964 on the subject that ‘in my tale we were to come at last to Amandil and Elendil leaders of the loyal party in Númenor, when it fell under the domination of Sauron.’ It is nonetheless plain that he did not reach this conception until after the extant narrative had been mostly written, or even brought to the point where it was abandoned. At the end of Chapter II the Númenórean story is obviously just about to begin, and the Númenórean chapters were originally numbered continuously with the opening ones. On the other hand the decision to postpone Númenor and make it the conclusion and climax to the book had already been taken when The Lost Road went to Allen and Unwin in November 1937.

      Since the Númenórean episode was left unfinished, this is a convenient point to mention an interesting note that my father presumably wrote while it was in progress. This says that when the first ‘adventure’ (i.e. Númenor) is over ‘Alboin is still precisely in his chair and Audoin just shutting the door.’

      With the postponement of Númenor the chapter-numbers were changed, but this has no importance and I therefore number these ‘III’ and ‘IV’; they have no titles. In this case I have found it most convenient to annotate the text by numbered notes.

      Chapter III

      Elendil was walking in his garden, but not to look upon its beauty in the evening light. He was troubled and his mind was turned inward. His house with its white tower and golden roof glowed behind him in the sunset, but his eyes were on the path before his feet. He was going down to the shore, to bathe in the blue pools of the cove beyond his garden’s end, as was his custom at this hour. And he looked also to find his son Herendil there. The time had come when he must speak to him.

      He came at length to the great hedge of lavaralda¹ that fenced the garden at its lower, western, end. It was a familiar sight, though the years could not dim its beauty. It was seven twelves of years² or more since he had planted it himself when planning his garden before his marriage; and he had blessed his good fortune. For the seeds had come from Eressëa far westward, whence ships came seldom already in those days, and now they came no more. But the spirit of that blessed land and its fair people remained still in the trees that had grown from those seeds: their long green leaves were golden on the undersides, and as a breeze off the water stirred them they whispered with a sound of many soft voices, and glistened like sunbeams on rippling waves. The flowers were pale with a yellow flush, and laid thickly on the branches like a sunlit snow; and their odour filled all the lower garden, faint but clear. Mariners in the old days said that the scent of lavaralda could be felt on the air long ere the land of Eressëa could be seen, and that it brought a desire of rest and great content. He had seen the trees in flower day after day, for they rested from flowering only at rare intervals. But now, suddenly, as he passed, the scent struck him with a keen fragrance, at once known and utterly strange. He seemed for a moment never to have smelled it before: it pierced the troubles of his mind, bewildering, bringing no familiar content, but a new disquiet.

      ‘Eressëa, Eressëa!’ he said. ‘I wish I were there; and had not been СКАЧАТЬ