The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Volume 3: Reader’s Guide PART 2. Christina Scull

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СКАЧАТЬ Age until after the writing of *The Lord of the Rings.

      In *The Lay of the Children of Húrin (c. 1919–25) the rulers of Doriath are Thingol and Melian, and the Noldorin stronghold of Nargothrond has replaced the more humble caves of the Rodothlim. Although two of Fëanor’s sons, Celegorm and Curufin, establish Nargothrond, at the time of the events of the Lay it is ruled by Orodreth, who seems to be unrelated to Finwë. *Christopher Tolkien has suggested, as an explanation of the change of ruler, that when writing the early part of the lay his father thought of Nargothrond as being founded after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears by Celegorm and Curufin, but as the writing progressed he decided that it was founded before that battle, but afterwards the brothers settled elsewhere, and Orodreth became the ruler of Nargothrond.

      The first consecutive, if brief, account of the matter of this chapter appeared in the *Sketch of the Mythology (c. 1926). At this stage Thingol willingly accepts the Noldor in his realm. Turgon still builds Gondolin after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, inspired by Ylmir (Ulmo), who foretells that it will last the longest of elven refuges. As written, Celegorm and Curufin establish Nargothrond, but are replaced in an emendation by Felagund and his brothers (Felagund, Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor having already appeared by emendation earlier in the story as the sons of Finrod (later Finarfin) and grandsons of Finwë). This same development took place during the writing of the *Lay of Leithian in the second half of the 1920s. In the *Quenta Noldorinwa (c. 1930) Felagund founds Nargothrond after the Battle of Sudden Flame, in which his brothers Angrod and Egnor were slain. Christopher Tolkien comments that, though in the Quenta Noldorinwa Gondolin is still established after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, the description of its building suggests a much longer period than the chronology allows.

      The ‘earliest’ *Annals of Beleriand (early 1930s) provide a chronological framework for the events. In the entry for Year 50 Tolkien introduced the idea that Turgon and Felagund were inspired by dreams and foreboding to build their strongholds, which both do immediately: thus Gondolin is founded before the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, which takes place in Year 172, when for the first time since its founding Turgon and his people leave Gondolin. In an incomplete second version of these annals, Turgon finds the site of Gondolin in Year 50, but does not lead his people there until the following year, after the Dagor Aglareb. The building of both Nargothrond and Gondolin is complete at about Year 102. Although Tolkien did not finish this version, it is clear that the Battle of Unnumbered Tears would have taken place in Year 272. In the ‘later’ Annals of Beleriand of the mid-1930s Turgon delays his departure until Year 52 (emended to Year 64). The *Quenta Silmarillion (begun mid-1930s) seems to tell the same story.

      In the Grey Annals (c. 1951, see *Annals of Beleriand), moving from annal to narrative form, Tolkien added much new material, including the various conversations between Galadriel, Melian, Thingol, and Inglor (= Felagund, Finrod); Thingol’s ban on the language of the Noldor; and Turgon remaining at Nevrast while Gondolin is being built. He moves to Gondolin in 116, and as instructed, leaves armour at Nevrast to be found by Ulmo’s messenger. At about the same time or a little later, while revising the Quenta Silmarillion, Tolkien added a short chapter (three pages of manuscript), ‘Of Turgon and the Building of Gondolin’, partly new and partly copied almost word for word from the Grey Annals, replacing the original text there with a ‘short notice’ (*The War of the Jewels, p. 199).

      The first part of ‘Of the Noldor in Beleriand’ in The Silmarillion, concerning Gondolin, was taken from this new chapter, incorporating a few emendations made by Tolkien. The second part, concerning Galadriel, her brothers, Melian, and Thingol, was taken from the Grey Annals.

      Noldorin see Languages, Invented

‘Noldorin Dictionary’. Brief dictionary of the early Elvish language Noldorin (see *Languages, Invented), published as part of ‘Early Noldorin Fragments’ in Parma Eldalamberon 13 (2001), pp. 157–65, edited with commentary by Christopher Gilson, Bill Welden, Carl F. Hostetter, and Patrick Wynne.

      Tolkien based this unfinished work on his *‘Noldorin Word-Lists’ and organized it on principles similar to those underlying the *Gnomish Lexicon, with etymologically related words grouped together, ‘with derivatives listed under the more basic Noldorin word from which they derive, with the Old Noldorin form of words indicated (where different from the “modern” form) as well as prehistoric reconstructions, and with listings of cognates in Qenya, Telerin, and Ilkorin’ (p. 157). This complex scheme seems to have been devised as Tolkien proceeded, working on slips of paper in manuscript and typescript, probably c. summer 1923. Most of the paper (from the University of *Leeds) bears a printed date, 16 April 1923.

‘Noldorin Word-Lists’. Lists of words, names, and components of words in the early Elvish language Noldorin (see *Languages, Invented), published as part of ‘Early Noldorin Fragments’ in Parma Eldalamberon 13 (2001), pp. 133–56, edited with commentary by Christopher Gilson, Bill Welden, Carl F. Hostetter, and Patrick Wynne.

      Tolkien compiled these typewritten lists, with additions and revisions in manuscript, c. 1921–3, reflecting his work on *The Book of Lost Tales and *The Lay of the Children of Húrin and closely associated with the *‘Early Noldorin Grammar’ and slips added to the *Gnomish Lexicon.

Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings. A guide to names in *The Lord of the Rings, prepared by Tolkien for the use of translators. It grew out of his objections to the alteration of names in the first translations of The Lord of the Rings, in Dutch (In de ban van de ring) and Swedish (Sagan om ringen), published in 1956–7 and 1959–61 respectively. On 3 July 1956 he wrote to his publisher *Rayner Unwin concerning the version in Dutch:

      In principle I object as strongly as is possible to the ‘translation’ of the nomenclature at all (even by a competent person). I wonder why a translator should think himself called on or entitled to do any such thing. That this is an ‘imaginary’ world does not give him any right to remodel it according to his fancy, even if he could in a few months create a new coherent structure which it took me years to work out.

      The correct way to translate The Lord of the Rings, he felt, ‘is to leave the maps and nomenclature alone as far as possible, but to substitute for some of the least-wanted Appendices a glossary of names (with meanings but no ref[erence]s.). I could supply one for translation. May I say at once that I will not tolerate any similar tinkering with the personal nomenclature. Nor with the name/word Hobbit’ (Letters, pp. 249–51).

      But he was only partly successful in having his way with the Dutch edition, despite lengthy correspondence (see further, *Translations). Later he had a similar experience with the Swedish Lord of the Rings, all the more distressing because the translator of the first Swedish *Hobbit (Hompen, 1947) had also taken liberties with the text. On 7 December 1957 Tolkien wrote to Rayner Unwin: ‘I do hope that it can be arranged, if and when any further translations are negotiated [after the Dutch and Swedish], that I should be consulted at an early stage …. After all, I charge nothing, and can save a translator a good deal of time and puzzling; and if consulted at an early stage my remarks will appear far less in the light of peevish criticisms’ (Letters, p. 263).

      At last Tolkien himself took the initiative. He continued to prefer that The Lord of the Rings in translation preserve the essential Englishness of many of its personal and place-names; but he came to accept that other translators were likely to take a line similar to those of the Dutch and Swedish editions, who had sometimes misunderstood their source, and instead of insisting on no translation of nomenclature, he attempted to influence the translator through an explanatory document. On 7 December 1957 he had also written to Rayner Unwin:

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