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The History of Middle-Earth #2
The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two
The second of a two-book set that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion. This second part of The Book of Lost Tales includes the tale of Beren and Luthien, Turin and the Dragon, and the only full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves and the Fall of Gondolin, itself the finest and most exciting depiction of a battle that Tolkien ever wrote. Each tale is followed by a commentary in the form of a short essay, together with texts of associated poems, and contains extensive information on names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages. This series of fascinating books has now been repackaged to complement the distinctive and classic style of the 'black cover' A-format paperbacks of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.
385 pages, Paperback
First published August 16, 1984
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien
544 books72.7k followersJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
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June 26, 2019
The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth #2), J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (Editor)
The Book of Lost Tales is a collection of early stories by English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, published as the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyzes the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the complex fictional myths that would eventually comprise The Silmarillion. Each of the Tales is followed by notes and a detailed commentary by Christopher Tolkien. For publication the book was split into two volumes: The Book of Lost Tales 1 (1983) and The Book of Lost Tales 2 (1984), but this is simply an editorial division. Both volumes are separated into several "Lost Tales".
This is the second part of the Book of the Lost Tales of Elfinesse which Eriol the Mariner learned from the Elves of Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle in the western ocean, and afterwards wrote in the Golden Book of Tavrobel. Herein are told the Tales of Beren and Tinúviel, of the Fall of Gondolin and the Necklace of the Dwarves.
Book 2:
The Tale of Tinúviel —first version of the tale of Beren and Lúthien
Turambar and the Foalókë —first version of the Túrin saga
The Fall of Gondolin —the only full narrative of the Fall of Gondolin
The Nauglafring — tale of the Dwarven necklace known as the Nauglamír
The Tale of Eärendel —the only full narrative of Eärendil's travels
The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales—an essay about the changes in the framework, and the "unwritten" tales.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و ششم ماه فوریه سال 2010 میلادی
عنوان: داستانهای فراموش شده (قسمت دوم)؛ نویسنده: جی.آر.آر. تالکین؛ ادیتور: کریستوفر تالکین؛
دومین جلد از سری «تاریخ سرزمین میانه»، که نخستین بار: در ماه آگوست سال 1984 میلادی، در انگلستان، و در ماه نوامبر سال 1984 میلادی، در آمریکا، به چاپ رسید، عنوان جلد دوم سری «تاریخ سرزمین میانه»، با عنوان: «داستانهای فراموش شده (قسمت دوم)» نام دارد، و همانند کتاب نخستین از این سری، شامل نسخه های نخستین بخشهای گوناگون داستانهای منتشر شده ی «تالکین»: افسانه ها، و اسطوره های دوران اول است، که حتی برخی از آنها، نسخه های بسیار ویژه، و یکتایی هستند. پس از هر داستان، یک نقد، در قالب یک مقاله ی کوتاه، با قلم: «کریستوفر تالکین»، پسر «جی. آر. آر. تالکین»، به همراه اشعار، توضیحاتی در مورد نامها، و نحوه ی تلفظ، و نکات مهم دیگری در مورد آن داستان، برای خوانشگران پیدا و آشکار میشود. ا. شربیانی
The Book of Lost Tales is a collection of early stories by English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, published as the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyzes the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the complex fictional myths that would eventually comprise The Silmarillion. Each of the Tales is followed by notes and a detailed commentary by Christopher Tolkien. For publication the book was split into two volumes: The Book of Lost Tales 1 (1983) and The Book of Lost Tales 2 (1984), but this is simply an editorial division. Both volumes are separated into several "Lost Tales".
This is the second part of the Book of the Lost Tales of Elfinesse which Eriol the Mariner learned from the Elves of Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle in the western ocean, and afterwards wrote in the Golden Book of Tavrobel. Herein are told the Tales of Beren and Tinúviel, of the Fall of Gondolin and the Necklace of the Dwarves.
Book 2:
The Tale of Tinúviel —first version of the tale of Beren and Lúthien
Turambar and the Foalókë —first version of the Túrin saga
The Fall of Gondolin —the only full narrative of the Fall of Gondolin
The Nauglafring — tale of the Dwarven necklace known as the Nauglamír
The Tale of Eärendel —the only full narrative of Eärendil's travels
The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales—an essay about the changes in the framework, and the "unwritten" tales.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و ششم ماه فوریه سال 2010 میلادی
عنوان: داستانهای فراموش شده (قسمت دوم)؛ نویسنده: جی.آر.آر. تالکین؛ ادیتور: کریستوفر تالکین؛
دومین جلد از سری «تاریخ سرزمین میانه»، که نخستین بار: در ماه آگوست سال 1984 میلادی، در انگلستان، و در ماه نوامبر سال 1984 میلادی، در آمریکا، به چاپ رسید، عنوان جلد دوم سری «تاریخ سرزمین میانه»، با عنوان: «داستانهای فراموش شده (قسمت دوم)» نام دارد، و همانند کتاب نخستین از این سری، شامل نسخه های نخستین بخشهای گوناگون داستانهای منتشر شده ی «تالکین»: افسانه ها، و اسطوره های دوران اول است، که حتی برخی از آنها، نسخه های بسیار ویژه، و یکتایی هستند. پس از هر داستان، یک نقد، در قالب یک مقاله ی کوتاه، با قلم: «کریستوفر تالکین»، پسر «جی. آر. آر. تالکین»، به همراه اشعار، توضیحاتی در مورد نامها، و نحوه ی تلفظ، و نکات مهم دیگری در مورد آن داستان، برای خوانشگران پیدا و آشکار میشود. ا. شربیانی
April 15, 2014
In the Book of Lost Tales, volumes 1 and 2, we have a more or less full picture of the earliest work Tolkien did in the development of his personal mythology that was to grow into the tales of Middle Earth. It was a mythology meant to provide his country England with something he felt it sorely needed, a foundation myth, and it was a vehicle which allowed him to explore and expand upon his own fascination with the world and stories of Faery and his love for the invented languages of his youth. The frame of the entire mythology at this point centred on the character of an English mariner (initially called Eriol and later Aelfwine each with varying origin stories) who was shipwrecked upon the isle of Tol Eressëa, the last bastion of the Elves who have all but fled the mortal world. Here are recounted to him the ‘lost tales’ of the Elves from prior to their departure from the wider world of men.
While it always remained the case that Tolkien envisioned his Middle-Earth stories to be tales about the earliest, unknown histories of our own world as opposed to stories set on some completely alien fantasy world, the two Book of Lost Tales volumes really point out just how strongly Tolkien initially envisioned this link to be. In the first volume we were presented with some of the more cosmogonic myths: stories of the Valar and the creation of the world, the creation of the two Trees of Valinor and the Silmarils, the creation of the sun and moon, and the ultimate exile of the Elves from Valinor to the wider world. In the second volume things get a little closer to the ground as we hear tales of heroes and their deeds in their attempt to fight against the forces of Melko who would overthrow all that is good and beautiful in the world.
I have to admit that volume 2 had a bumpy start for me with the Tales of Beren & Tinúviel and Turambar & the Foalókë being distinctly inferior to what they were to become in their fuller, more developed forms. In Beren and Luthien two things stood out as road blocks to my enjoyment: Beren as first envisioned was actually an elf of the Noldor and to me this robs the tale of his love of the immortal Tinúviel of much of its tragic grandeur, though it must be admitted that some does still remain; added to that was the fact that Melko’s lieutenant in the tale, and the main opponent to the heroes, was not Sauron of the Ainur and lord of the isle of werewolves, but Tevildo Prince of Cats! It might just be me, but a giant house cat (no matter how large and mean) is a slightly less intriguing villain than one of the greatest of the gods. As I noted in my review of book 1, Tolkien was still working within a model that was much more based on traditional ‘fairy tales’ than what his stories of the First Age of Middle-Earth were to become so this element isn’t exactly unexpected, just not my particular cuppa. As to Turambar, there wasn’t anything specific I could point to as the deciding factor in my relative lack of enthusiasm, but having read what this tale was to become it certainly pales in comparison. For me that can pretty much sum up the points at which I was disappointed in both volumes: these are much paler, thinner, and in some ways shadowy versions of the tales I know. That being said, they have the virtue of being able to show me just how much the constant work and revision, the lifetime of unceasing development, love and thought that went into them truly turned what were inspired, but limited stories into things that truly were comparable to the mythic workings of a people. The depth and reality of the tales of Middle-Earth all started here with something much smaller and simpler, but which would prove to be the seeds of something so much greater. The layers that one can see were built upon these first canvasses give a fascinating glimpse into a creative process that was truly monumental.
So on to what I did like in this volume: the tale of the Fall of Gondolin was almost all I could have hoped for. While I still weep at the unrealized potential of the rewrite to this story that Tolkien had started but abandoned far too early as presented in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth, I at least was able to see the story of Tuor and his flight to the doomed city of Gondolin just as it is about to be overcome by the forces of Melko in a complete, and I must say rather satisfying, version. Tied in with this is the story of the Nauglafring, or the necklace of the Dwarves, which in itself is a rousingly Germanic tale of greed, curses, and doom that also allows for two of the great love stories of Tolkien’s mythology to this point (that of Beren and Tinúviel on the one hand and of Tuor and Idril on the other) to dovetail into each other and become the genesis for the tale of Eärendel which was in many ways the very heart of Tolkien’s mythology from the beginning. Eärendel himself was the child of Tuor and Idril who falls in love with Beren & Tinúviel’s granddaughter Elwing and whose great mission is to be the only mariner able to sail to the land of Valinor. Interestingly in some early versions of the tale as presented here Eärendel is sometimes either unable to make his way to Valinor or finds that his journey there proved unnecessary and ultimately this is another case where Tolkien’s later development of the tale proved to be more satisfying than what we initially find, but it is still an intriguing (and more importantly a fuller) glimpse into what would otherwise be little more than some bare bones references in later works.
The final chapter of the volume is made up of scattered notes and poems that relate explicitly to the frame narrative and the life story of the mariner Eriol/Aelfwine. To me the greatest value these fragments hold is in showing how strongly Tolkien initially wanted to tie in his tales of Faery with the history of our own world (and specifically with England). I myself don’t worry too much about this aspect of Tolkien’s work, but it was obviously hugely important to him. Even in the later development of the tales of Middle-Earth which seem rather distant from any kind of mythological history of England we can see that the ‘historical’ element remains: specifically in the frame narrative of the ‘Red Book of Westmarch’ which lies as the pseudo-historical source of all of the published tales of Tolkien.
All in all while a bit uneven, this book gave some intriguing glimpses into Tolkien’s art, especially in places where a later development of a given tale was either never done or where what does exist is only fragmentary. Definitely something of primary interest to the Tolkien aficionado.
While it always remained the case that Tolkien envisioned his Middle-Earth stories to be tales about the earliest, unknown histories of our own world as opposed to stories set on some completely alien fantasy world, the two Book of Lost Tales volumes really point out just how strongly Tolkien initially envisioned this link to be. In the first volume we were presented with some of the more cosmogonic myths: stories of the Valar and the creation of the world, the creation of the two Trees of Valinor and the Silmarils, the creation of the sun and moon, and the ultimate exile of the Elves from Valinor to the wider world. In the second volume things get a little closer to the ground as we hear tales of heroes and their deeds in their attempt to fight against the forces of Melko who would overthrow all that is good and beautiful in the world.
I have to admit that volume 2 had a bumpy start for me with the Tales of Beren & Tinúviel and Turambar & the Foalókë being distinctly inferior to what they were to become in their fuller, more developed forms. In Beren and Luthien two things stood out as road blocks to my enjoyment: Beren as first envisioned was actually an elf of the Noldor and to me this robs the tale of his love of the immortal Tinúviel of much of its tragic grandeur, though it must be admitted that some does still remain; added to that was the fact that Melko’s lieutenant in the tale, and the main opponent to the heroes, was not Sauron of the Ainur and lord of the isle of werewolves, but Tevildo Prince of Cats! It might just be me, but a giant house cat (no matter how large and mean) is a slightly less intriguing villain than one of the greatest of the gods. As I noted in my review of book 1, Tolkien was still working within a model that was much more based on traditional ‘fairy tales’ than what his stories of the First Age of Middle-Earth were to become so this element isn’t exactly unexpected, just not my particular cuppa. As to Turambar, there wasn’t anything specific I could point to as the deciding factor in my relative lack of enthusiasm, but having read what this tale was to become it certainly pales in comparison. For me that can pretty much sum up the points at which I was disappointed in both volumes: these are much paler, thinner, and in some ways shadowy versions of the tales I know. That being said, they have the virtue of being able to show me just how much the constant work and revision, the lifetime of unceasing development, love and thought that went into them truly turned what were inspired, but limited stories into things that truly were comparable to the mythic workings of a people. The depth and reality of the tales of Middle-Earth all started here with something much smaller and simpler, but which would prove to be the seeds of something so much greater. The layers that one can see were built upon these first canvasses give a fascinating glimpse into a creative process that was truly monumental.
So on to what I did like in this volume: the tale of the Fall of Gondolin was almost all I could have hoped for. While I still weep at the unrealized potential of the rewrite to this story that Tolkien had started but abandoned far too early as presented in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth, I at least was able to see the story of Tuor and his flight to the doomed city of Gondolin just as it is about to be overcome by the forces of Melko in a complete, and I must say rather satisfying, version. Tied in with this is the story of the Nauglafring, or the necklace of the Dwarves, which in itself is a rousingly Germanic tale of greed, curses, and doom that also allows for two of the great love stories of Tolkien’s mythology to this point (that of Beren and Tinúviel on the one hand and of Tuor and Idril on the other) to dovetail into each other and become the genesis for the tale of Eärendel which was in many ways the very heart of Tolkien’s mythology from the beginning. Eärendel himself was the child of Tuor and Idril who falls in love with Beren & Tinúviel’s granddaughter Elwing and whose great mission is to be the only mariner able to sail to the land of Valinor. Interestingly in some early versions of the tale as presented here Eärendel is sometimes either unable to make his way to Valinor or finds that his journey there proved unnecessary and ultimately this is another case where Tolkien’s later development of the tale proved to be more satisfying than what we initially find, but it is still an intriguing (and more importantly a fuller) glimpse into what would otherwise be little more than some bare bones references in later works.
The final chapter of the volume is made up of scattered notes and poems that relate explicitly to the frame narrative and the life story of the mariner Eriol/Aelfwine. To me the greatest value these fragments hold is in showing how strongly Tolkien initially wanted to tie in his tales of Faery with the history of our own world (and specifically with England). I myself don’t worry too much about this aspect of Tolkien’s work, but it was obviously hugely important to him. Even in the later development of the tales of Middle-Earth which seem rather distant from any kind of mythological history of England we can see that the ‘historical’ element remains: specifically in the frame narrative of the ‘Red Book of Westmarch’ which lies as the pseudo-historical source of all of the published tales of Tolkien.
All in all while a bit uneven, this book gave some intriguing glimpses into Tolkien’s art, especially in places where a later development of a given tale was either never done or where what does exist is only fragmentary. Definitely something of primary interest to the Tolkien aficionado.
February 13, 2024
This was a continuation of the first volume in that it was almost a reference source that analyzed various tales and parts from The Silmarillion. After reading through these two volumes I found The Silmarillion more enjoyable in my opinion. It contained the original tales and felt more organic in the sense of an epic story.
Again this was very richer in overall information due to the breadth of knowledge this book presented. It
I would recommend this to J.R.R Tolkien completists, not for the newbie. Thanks!
Again this was very richer in overall information due to the breadth of knowledge this book presented. It
I would recommend this to J.R.R Tolkien completists, not for the newbie. Thanks!
October 1, 2018
The book contains six stories found in the Silmarillion, but at the origin of conception. I skipped the commentary.
The Tale of Tinuviel:
This tells the story of Beren and Luthien, different from The Silmarillion, but no less pleasurable. Beren seeks Tinuviel’s love by approaching her father on his throne. The king and his Elves laugh him to scorn and the king tells him in jest he can have her if he goes to Morgoth (a rebellious deity in Illuvitar’s creation) and retrieves the Silmaril from his crown. Beren, so in love, goes to accomplish it, despite the impossibility.
Turambar and the Faoloke:
A tragic and sad story. Hurin, a great warrior in The Battle of Unnumbered Tears, becomes captive to Morgoth. Balrogs (if you're new to this, Balrogs are demons of fire who strike with whips) torture Hurin but he will not give them information nor join them, so Morgoth places him on a mountain pinnacle and gives him the sight of the gods, to see all. Morgoth curses his son, Turin, and dooms Hurin to watch his tragic life in helpless, bound captivity. Turin faces disaster after disaster. The story ends with a fight with a dragon (the Faoloke), which leads to another terrible crisis.
The Fall of Gondolin:
This overwhelmed me with awe. Multiple Balrogs ride on serpents of fire to Gondolin, with orcs and other creatures and a massive battle unfolds at the end. It starts with the travels of Tuor, and his meeting with Ulmo, the god of the sea, and Ulmo’s message through him to Gondolin. He warns them they must leave the city before an ivevitable fall. The people don’t believe him, laugh at him and refuse to leave, but Tuor continues with the people, until the end. Earendil, Tuor’s boy, flees to escape in the battle.
The Naugarfring:
At the end of Turambar’s tale, he takes the dragon’s gold, with a curse on it, to an Elven king for vengeance. He pretends loyalty and gratitude. The gold turns the heart to greed, lust and violence and works in the people to tragic ends (like Sauron’s ring).
The Tale of Earendale:
Earendale becomes a major part of the history but Tolkien write scattered pieces about him. They are difficult to understand.
The History of Eriol:
Again, these offered scattered, incomplete narratives and were difficult to read (considering I skipped all commentary).
The stories made my heart burn with awe. It reminded me how I felt as a child reading and listening to fantasy stories and fairy tales. As it consumed the mind then, as an enormous, real, believable place, so Tolkien’s stories accomplished this for me now, at forty.
I have a desire from Tolkien to read mythology, folklore, legends, and Arthurian tales. It makes me rethink my literary path. The stories have awakened a slumbering love and passion for the fantastic.
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” -C.S. Lewis (close friend of Tolkien)
The Tale of Turambar and The Fall of Gondolin almost broke me to tears. The have great power and passion. This made me wonder at what point in Tolkien’s life he began to hate tragedy. These were both tragic stories he borrowed from mythology. He spent his life writing the essay “On Fairy-stories,” in which he denounced tragedy (and Shakespeare in particular) in favor of what he called Euchatastrophe (good overcoming evil). Yet, in view of the entire history, he ends it with a tiny hero and a friend carrying a ring alone through darkness and despair.
The Tale of Tinuviel:
This tells the story of Beren and Luthien, different from The Silmarillion, but no less pleasurable. Beren seeks Tinuviel’s love by approaching her father on his throne. The king and his Elves laugh him to scorn and the king tells him in jest he can have her if he goes to Morgoth (a rebellious deity in Illuvitar’s creation) and retrieves the Silmaril from his crown. Beren, so in love, goes to accomplish it, despite the impossibility.
Turambar and the Faoloke:
A tragic and sad story. Hurin, a great warrior in The Battle of Unnumbered Tears, becomes captive to Morgoth. Balrogs (if you're new to this, Balrogs are demons of fire who strike with whips) torture Hurin but he will not give them information nor join them, so Morgoth places him on a mountain pinnacle and gives him the sight of the gods, to see all. Morgoth curses his son, Turin, and dooms Hurin to watch his tragic life in helpless, bound captivity. Turin faces disaster after disaster. The story ends with a fight with a dragon (the Faoloke), which leads to another terrible crisis.
The Fall of Gondolin:
This overwhelmed me with awe. Multiple Balrogs ride on serpents of fire to Gondolin, with orcs and other creatures and a massive battle unfolds at the end. It starts with the travels of Tuor, and his meeting with Ulmo, the god of the sea, and Ulmo’s message through him to Gondolin. He warns them they must leave the city before an ivevitable fall. The people don’t believe him, laugh at him and refuse to leave, but Tuor continues with the people, until the end. Earendil, Tuor’s boy, flees to escape in the battle.
The Naugarfring:
At the end of Turambar’s tale, he takes the dragon’s gold, with a curse on it, to an Elven king for vengeance. He pretends loyalty and gratitude. The gold turns the heart to greed, lust and violence and works in the people to tragic ends (like Sauron’s ring).
The Tale of Earendale:
Earendale becomes a major part of the history but Tolkien write scattered pieces about him. They are difficult to understand.
The History of Eriol:
Again, these offered scattered, incomplete narratives and were difficult to read (considering I skipped all commentary).
The stories made my heart burn with awe. It reminded me how I felt as a child reading and listening to fantasy stories and fairy tales. As it consumed the mind then, as an enormous, real, believable place, so Tolkien’s stories accomplished this for me now, at forty.
I have a desire from Tolkien to read mythology, folklore, legends, and Arthurian tales. It makes me rethink my literary path. The stories have awakened a slumbering love and passion for the fantastic.
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” -C.S. Lewis (close friend of Tolkien)
The Tale of Turambar and The Fall of Gondolin almost broke me to tears. The have great power and passion. This made me wonder at what point in Tolkien’s life he began to hate tragedy. These were both tragic stories he borrowed from mythology. He spent his life writing the essay “On Fairy-stories,” in which he denounced tragedy (and Shakespeare in particular) in favor of what he called Euchatastrophe (good overcoming evil). Yet, in view of the entire history, he ends it with a tiny hero and a friend carrying a ring alone through darkness and despair.
February 27, 2021
The big stories from The Silm - "Beren and Lúthien," "Fall of Gondolin," "The Children of Húrin," the Nauglamir, and Eärendel - are all here in their earliest conceptions. Some of them are barely recognizable from what we're familiar with, but they've all got elements of the stories they would later become. I adored Tevildo, the wicked kitty cat. Okay, okay, he was an evil fae in the form of a cat, but still.
Seeing some of the original concepts for these stories was intriguing. Lúthien, or just Tinúviel as she was called throughout the earliest writings, originally had an older brother. Beren was originally intended to be an Elf as well, instead of a man. Túrin always had an attitude, but he initially didn't keep his past a secret from those he met after exiling himself. Tolkien's original manuscript of the hijinks caused by the Nauglamir was quite different. Eärendel's story sadly never got out of the outline stage, and had conflicting outlines at that. It was as though he couldn't figure out how to wrap up the Lost Tales, which is boggling when you know how important Eärendel's story is, not just for The Silm but for LOTR as well. But of course, LOTR wasn't even conceived of at this point. Neither was The Hobbit, for that matter.
But the strangest thing was reading about his initial conclusion planned for the Tales. I've always known that Tolkien originally starting writing his works because he wanted England to have its own mythology, and that Middle-earth was our earth before the current age. But it's quite another thing for Eriol to turn into Ælfwine of London. LONDON! Tol Eressëa was originally going to be what later became England. Lúthien (as a name) first makes its appearance as the original name for the British Isle. How it became the name of our fair Elven maid is a mystery. Then suddenly there were Vikings, and Charlemange possibly, and Warwick, and Eärendel sailing around like Sinbad, and it was all too trippy. It felt so wrong, and not in the way you want it to be right, lol. Thank Gandalf, Tolkien changed his mind about all that nonsense.
He was a young man when he wrote the bulk of these Tales. Many of them were written during the Great War or shortly after during his early years at Oxford. He was often inspired by his circumstances, and certainly inspired by the books he loved. While much of this was abandoned (though not necessarily forgotten and discarded), this provides a wealth of potential AU plot ideas for fanfic writers, if nothing else.
Seeing some of the original concepts for these stories was intriguing. Lúthien, or just Tinúviel as she was called throughout the earliest writings, originally had an older brother. Beren was originally intended to be an Elf as well, instead of a man. Túrin always had an attitude, but he initially didn't keep his past a secret from those he met after exiling himself. Tolkien's original manuscript of the hijinks caused by the Nauglamir was quite different. Eärendel's story sadly never got out of the outline stage, and had conflicting outlines at that. It was as though he couldn't figure out how to wrap up the Lost Tales, which is boggling when you know how important Eärendel's story is, not just for The Silm but for LOTR as well. But of course, LOTR wasn't even conceived of at this point. Neither was The Hobbit, for that matter.
But the strangest thing was reading about his initial conclusion planned for the Tales. I've always known that Tolkien originally starting writing his works because he wanted England to have its own mythology, and that Middle-earth was our earth before the current age. But it's quite another thing for Eriol to turn into Ælfwine of London. LONDON! Tol Eressëa was originally going to be what later became England. Lúthien (as a name) first makes its appearance as the original name for the British Isle. How it became the name of our fair Elven maid is a mystery. Then suddenly there were Vikings, and Charlemange possibly, and Warwick, and Eärendel sailing around like Sinbad, and it was all too trippy. It felt so wrong, and not in the way you want it to be right, lol. Thank Gandalf, Tolkien changed his mind about all that nonsense.
He was a young man when he wrote the bulk of these Tales. Many of them were written during the Great War or shortly after during his early years at Oxford. He was often inspired by his circumstances, and certainly inspired by the books he loved. While much of this was abandoned (though not necessarily forgotten and discarded), this provides a wealth of potential AU plot ideas for fanfic writers, if nothing else.
January 7, 2016
Finished at last! While I'm Tolkien/Middle Earth enthusiast, and this book is generally pretty insightful about the creation and mythology of the Elder Days, I found it a bit of a slog, honestly.
However, this book is (almost) redeeemed by the bits on the Fall of Gondolin (which is pretty compelling stuff!) and the Nauglarung (Necklace of the Dwarves.)
I'm hoping my enthusiam for the series stays high, overall; I'm diving right into Book 3 ,but if that's a slog, too, a break may be in order after that.
However, this book is (almost) redeeemed by the bits on the Fall of Gondolin (which is pretty compelling stuff!) and the Nauglarung (Necklace of the Dwarves.)
I'm hoping my enthusiam for the series stays high, overall; I'm diving right into Book 3 ,but if that's a slog, too, a break may be in order after that.
February 8, 2013
This is the second in the set of five books in which J.R.R. Tolkien's son, Christopher, has collected and edited his father's unpublished works--or in several cases, unpublished earlier versions of stories that later were published in different form.
This volume consists of:
* The Tale of Tinúviel, a much longer and much different version than is published in the Silmarillion as "The Tale of Beren and Lúthien." While many of the elements of the story here are interesting, I do like the published version better--for one thing, its plot is much tighter and easier to follow.
* Turambar and the Foalókë, an earlier telling of the story of Turin Turambar from the Silmarillion. Again, the earlier version published here is much longer, and much more rambling. Most of the essential plot points are the same, or similar, though there are a few major differences (such a Turin and the outlaws' encounter with Mim the Dwarf and his sons); but the edited published version is a much better read.
* The Fall of Gondolin--this, now, is a masterpiece, and a shame it's not as widely known as some of the Professor's other works. The version in the Silmarillion is much shorter. The version here gives great detail about the layout and organization of the hidden city of Gondolin; the various military units that defended it (down to details of heraldry and uniforms); and the ebb and flow of battle when the forces of Melko discovered the location of the city and forced their way through its defenses. It's a gripping tale beautifully told.
* The Nauglafring, or the Necklace of the Dwarves. This is a chronologically direct follow-on to the Fall of Gondolin, describing the flight of a handful of survivors from the sack of that city. It's unpolished and rambling, and apparently went through many revisions, and it's hard to know which details Tolkien eventually meant to be canonical.
* The Tale of Earendël, an earlier and much harder-to-follow version of the Earendil the Mariner story and poems from the Silmarillion and LOTR. In places the narrative here becomes almost incomprehensible, and Earendël's pergrinations all over the oceans between Beleriand (although it is not named as such) and Tol Eressëa and Valinor (also not named as such) are well nigh impossible to follow.
* The History of Eriol or Aelfwine and the End of the Tales, which is something even the most devout Tolkien fan (I am one) will be glad to hear by this point. This section mainly deals with how Tolkien originally intended the Lonely Island of Tol Eressëa to be England, but the thread of reasoning slips back and forth from actual terrestrial geography to various incarnations of Middle Earth geography and back again, that even having just read it I am challenged to summarize it.
I don't blame Christopher for the mess that most of these chapter are. He was working with (sometimes literally) scraps of paper with his father's scribblings on them, or manuscripts that had been written in pencil, then erased and overwritten in ink, then typed but then emended by hand. His mission was to set out the evolution of his father's conceptions in chronological order, then present the most evolved version as his father might have wanted it published; but in order to show that evolution, he has by necessity included so many versions of names and events and places and altered plots that it becomes an utter chore to read, and to try to remember who and what is where and when.
I'm glad I read this book just so I can claim to be a "Tolkien scholar" of the lowest order, but unless I ever need to look up some obscure fact--or enjoy "The Fall of Gondolin" again--I'm relieved to be through it. Sorry, Professor, and sorry, Christopher.
This volume consists of:
* The Tale of Tinúviel, a much longer and much different version than is published in the Silmarillion as "The Tale of Beren and Lúthien." While many of the elements of the story here are interesting, I do like the published version better--for one thing, its plot is much tighter and easier to follow.
* Turambar and the Foalókë, an earlier telling of the story of Turin Turambar from the Silmarillion. Again, the earlier version published here is much longer, and much more rambling. Most of the essential plot points are the same, or similar, though there are a few major differences (such a Turin and the outlaws' encounter with Mim the Dwarf and his sons); but the edited published version is a much better read.
* The Fall of Gondolin--this, now, is a masterpiece, and a shame it's not as widely known as some of the Professor's other works. The version in the Silmarillion is much shorter. The version here gives great detail about the layout and organization of the hidden city of Gondolin; the various military units that defended it (down to details of heraldry and uniforms); and the ebb and flow of battle when the forces of Melko discovered the location of the city and forced their way through its defenses. It's a gripping tale beautifully told.
* The Nauglafring, or the Necklace of the Dwarves. This is a chronologically direct follow-on to the Fall of Gondolin, describing the flight of a handful of survivors from the sack of that city. It's unpolished and rambling, and apparently went through many revisions, and it's hard to know which details Tolkien eventually meant to be canonical.
* The Tale of Earendël, an earlier and much harder-to-follow version of the Earendil the Mariner story and poems from the Silmarillion and LOTR. In places the narrative here becomes almost incomprehensible, and Earendël's pergrinations all over the oceans between Beleriand (although it is not named as such) and Tol Eressëa and Valinor (also not named as such) are well nigh impossible to follow.
* The History of Eriol or Aelfwine and the End of the Tales, which is something even the most devout Tolkien fan (I am one) will be glad to hear by this point. This section mainly deals with how Tolkien originally intended the Lonely Island of Tol Eressëa to be England, but the thread of reasoning slips back and forth from actual terrestrial geography to various incarnations of Middle Earth geography and back again, that even having just read it I am challenged to summarize it.
I don't blame Christopher for the mess that most of these chapter are. He was working with (sometimes literally) scraps of paper with his father's scribblings on them, or manuscripts that had been written in pencil, then erased and overwritten in ink, then typed but then emended by hand. His mission was to set out the evolution of his father's conceptions in chronological order, then present the most evolved version as his father might have wanted it published; but in order to show that evolution, he has by necessity included so many versions of names and events and places and altered plots that it becomes an utter chore to read, and to try to remember who and what is where and when.
I'm glad I read this book just so I can claim to be a "Tolkien scholar" of the lowest order, but unless I ever need to look up some obscure fact--or enjoy "The Fall of Gondolin" again--I'm relieved to be through it. Sorry, Professor, and sorry, Christopher.
January 30, 2022
Ne mogu vam opisati koliko sam uzivao u ove dve "Knjige Izgubljenih Prica"!
Kao neko ko neopisivo zudi za svakom recju koju je Tolkin napisao neizmerno sam srecan sto one postoje.
Kristofer Tolkin nas na jedan fantastican nacin, uz jako svrsishodne komentare, vodi kroz rane verzije dogadjaja koji ce kasnije, u svojim "finalnim" oblicima, postati kanon, odnosno Silmarilion.
Citaocima Silmariliona ce brzo postati jasno da su neke dobro poznate price radikalno izmenjene u Tolkinovim revizijama, dok su se neke druge odrzale u svom manje vise originalnom obliku.
Dosta stvari ce te prepoznati, pa cete samim time moci i da pratite razvoj Tolkinove misli sto se mitologije sveta Srednje Zemlje tice. To je po meni, pored svih onih sjajnih novih informacija, i najlepsa stvar vezana za ovo delo.
Pomenu sam kanon. To je rec kojom mnogi tumaci Tolkinovog dela vole da se frljaju kako stignu.
Razumem da cemo se prvo voditi Gospodarom Prstenova i Silmarilionom a kasnije i Nezavrsenim Pricama kako bi smo dosli do sto koherentnije kanonske istorije Valinora i Srednje Zemlje.
Medjutim ove najstarije verzije dogadjaja obiluju morem informacija koje nikada nisu usle u kanonske verzije izdate u Silmarilionu. Moja ideja kanona je da sam u svoju glavu, kao dodatak kanonu, ubacio sve one nove informacije koje Tolkinov svet cine sirim i bogtijim ali ni na koji nacin ne menjaju originalni tok radnje. Te informacije su uglavnom siri opisi ili ne ispricani delovi prica, koji opet kazem ne mogu utiati na originalnu - kanonsku radnju. Na primer kao kanon cu preuzeti nikada objavljeni opis borbe na ulicama i belim zidinama Gondolina, ali necu prihvatiti cinjenicu da je u Melkorovoj vojsci bilo na stotine Balroga. Tolkin je u svojim pismima pomenuo da ih je moglo biti najvise sedam. Ako oduzmemo Durinovu Propast, Balroga koji se sakrio u Moriju mozemo reci da je u Padu Gondolina ubijeno najvise sest Balroga. Moja racunica ide ovao: Jednog je ubio Glorfindel, jednog (Gotmoga) Ehtelion, Rog i negovi ljudi dva, dok je jednog ubio Tuor. To znaci da su dva Balroga prezivela, Opet dajem prostor tome da je kraljeva (Turgonova) garda takodje ubila jednog. Sto Durinovu Propast cini mozda i jedinim prezivelim Balrogom koji je nekim cudom preziveo i Rat Besnih. Eto to je neka moja verzija toga kako se moze na jedan hibridan nacin tumaciti kanon. Da ne bih o padu Gondolina kanonski razmisljo kroz tri recenice date u Silmarilionu ja sam preuzeo citavu originalnu verziju ali sam iz nje izbacio sve ono sto bi kasnije moglo uticati na radnju Silmariliona ili na dogadjaje iz drugog i treceg razdoblja.
Iskoristite svoju sansu da na najbolji moguci nacin pratite razvoj Tolkinove mitologije, da nadogradite sve ono sto ste do sada znali ili mozda niste a vezano za dogadjaje u Silmarilionu tako sto cete tumaciti kanon na jedan jako fleksibilan nacin. Sa druge strane sve ono sto vam ne moze doprineti vecem volumenu price nagradice vas prosto onim osecajem koji jednino nosi Tolkinovo pisanje.
Kao neko ko neopisivo zudi za svakom recju koju je Tolkin napisao neizmerno sam srecan sto one postoje.
Kristofer Tolkin nas na jedan fantastican nacin, uz jako svrsishodne komentare, vodi kroz rane verzije dogadjaja koji ce kasnije, u svojim "finalnim" oblicima, postati kanon, odnosno Silmarilion.
Citaocima Silmariliona ce brzo postati jasno da su neke dobro poznate price radikalno izmenjene u Tolkinovim revizijama, dok su se neke druge odrzale u svom manje vise originalnom obliku.
Dosta stvari ce te prepoznati, pa cete samim time moci i da pratite razvoj Tolkinove misli sto se mitologije sveta Srednje Zemlje tice. To je po meni, pored svih onih sjajnih novih informacija, i najlepsa stvar vezana za ovo delo.
Pomenu sam kanon. To je rec kojom mnogi tumaci Tolkinovog dela vole da se frljaju kako stignu.
Razumem da cemo se prvo voditi Gospodarom Prstenova i Silmarilionom a kasnije i Nezavrsenim Pricama kako bi smo dosli do sto koherentnije kanonske istorije Valinora i Srednje Zemlje.
Medjutim ove najstarije verzije dogadjaja obiluju morem informacija koje nikada nisu usle u kanonske verzije izdate u Silmarilionu. Moja ideja kanona je da sam u svoju glavu, kao dodatak kanonu, ubacio sve one nove informacije koje Tolkinov svet cine sirim i bogtijim ali ni na koji nacin ne menjaju originalni tok radnje. Te informacije su uglavnom siri opisi ili ne ispricani delovi prica, koji opet kazem ne mogu utiati na originalnu - kanonsku radnju. Na primer kao kanon cu preuzeti nikada objavljeni opis borbe na ulicama i belim zidinama Gondolina, ali necu prihvatiti cinjenicu da je u Melkorovoj vojsci bilo na stotine Balroga. Tolkin je u svojim pismima pomenuo da ih je moglo biti najvise sedam. Ako oduzmemo Durinovu Propast, Balroga koji se sakrio u Moriju mozemo reci da je u Padu Gondolina ubijeno najvise sest Balroga. Moja racunica ide ovao: Jednog je ubio Glorfindel, jednog (Gotmoga) Ehtelion, Rog i negovi ljudi dva, dok je jednog ubio Tuor. To znaci da su dva Balroga prezivela, Opet dajem prostor tome da je kraljeva (Turgonova) garda takodje ubila jednog. Sto Durinovu Propast cini mozda i jedinim prezivelim Balrogom koji je nekim cudom preziveo i Rat Besnih. Eto to je neka moja verzija toga kako se moze na jedan hibridan nacin tumaciti kanon. Da ne bih o padu Gondolina kanonski razmisljo kroz tri recenice date u Silmarilionu ja sam preuzeo citavu originalnu verziju ali sam iz nje izbacio sve ono sto bi kasnije moglo uticati na radnju Silmariliona ili na dogadjaje iz drugog i treceg razdoblja.
Iskoristite svoju sansu da na najbolji moguci nacin pratite razvoj Tolkinove mitologije, da nadogradite sve ono sto ste do sada znali ili mozda niste a vezano za dogadjaje u Silmarilionu tako sto cete tumaciti kanon na jedan jako fleksibilan nacin. Sa druge strane sve ono sto vam ne moze doprineti vecem volumenu price nagradice vas prosto onim osecajem koji jednino nosi Tolkinovo pisanje.
February 1, 2019
Tevildo Prince of Cats is the best villain in the Legendarium. None other need apply.
August 20, 2020
Wow! All I can say after completing this volume...and the 1st...is that Tolkien had an incredible, complex, ultra-creative mind! "The Book of Lost Tales 2" was interesting in its slowest sections and downright epic in its faster ones! Indeed, it seemed to have a lot more action than the first volume. From an alternate telling of Luthien and Beren to the siege of Gondolin to Aelfwine, this is a must-read for any fellow Tolkienite!
March 28, 2018
This review will go over both of the Lost Tales parts
This is for those who just can't get enough of Tolkien's works. If you have not read or did not enjoy The Silmarillion, do not even bother reading The Book of Lost Tales. I would actually recommend reading The Silmarillion a couple of times before reading these books. The Book of Lost Tales seems to be a first draft of The Silmarillion. Lost Tales is more convoluted and probably drier, and is full of Christopher Tolkien's commentary (about the last 3rd of each chapter) that you probably have to slog through. Also I felt the tale of Eriol and "The Cottage of Lost Play" was a bit irrelevant.
I kept The Silmarillion with me for reference as I read due to the name differences. Many of the names in Lost Tales are significantly different than those in The Silmarillion. Some of the stories that you may know and love are also different. If you want more details, you'll just have to read for yourself.
Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy these books. It was a cool spin on The Silmarillion. I will probably just stick with The Silmarillion though if I want to reread about the First Age of Middle Earth.
This is for those who just can't get enough of Tolkien's works. If you have not read or did not enjoy The Silmarillion, do not even bother reading The Book of Lost Tales. I would actually recommend reading The Silmarillion a couple of times before reading these books. The Book of Lost Tales seems to be a first draft of The Silmarillion. Lost Tales is more convoluted and probably drier, and is full of Christopher Tolkien's commentary (about the last 3rd of each chapter) that you probably have to slog through. Also I felt the tale of Eriol and "The Cottage of Lost Play" was a bit irrelevant.
I kept The Silmarillion with me for reference as I read due to the name differences. Many of the names in Lost Tales are significantly different than those in The Silmarillion. Some of the stories that you may know and love are also different. If you want more details, you'll just have to read for yourself.
Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy these books. It was a cool spin on The Silmarillion. I will probably just stick with The Silmarillion though if I want to reread about the First Age of Middle Earth.
January 10, 2020
Tolkien was such an amazing person 😭😭😭
July 29, 2023
The second of the 12 volume "History of Middle-Earth" was another dry read, but had much more interest to me than the first volume. Notably, the early versions of the Fall of Gondolin and Beren and Luthien were very interesting. That said, these are historic tomes full of fragments that are only for the Tolkien completionist. (Which I am).
January 23, 2013
Well, the reason I read this book is because Richard Armitage, the actor who plays Thorin in The Hobbit, has read it. If he is fluent in Tolkien lores, then why can't I? :-)
The story that I wanted to read is actually the Nauglafring (Necklace of the Dwarves). But it was interesting as well to read a more thorough version (at least from the version told in The Silmarillion) of Beren-Luthien's and Turin Turambar's stories. I found out that Beren was a gnome (don't freak out yet, gnome here apparently means that he was one of the Noldors) and that he was helpless without Luthien went to rescue him and left her kingdom shattered, broke her parents' hearts and her brother lost. Spoiled brat. Melian should have put her girdle around that girl. Anyway, Turin's story is awesome, it's always is. Children of Hurin, if you haven't read it then fly you fools to the nearest book store! Sad, extremely harrowing. Tolkien at his best.
And then came the story of Nauglafring. A bit shorter that what I expected but alright. It explained to me the origin of the enmity between the elves and the dwarves. Both sides were wrong, that's the gist. The elves were ungrateful SOBs and the dwarves clearly overreacted. Alliance with the orcs? Seriously, guys.
Then the book went downhill for me. The Tale of Earendil was really boring. Or maybe because there were just so many versions of it in one chapter so it became hellishly repetitive. And I still didn't understand why he got separated from Elwing and why she drowned.
The weirdest part from the book to me is not the scholarly remarks and analysis given by Christopher Tolkien on various subjects from etymology of names to different versions of poems, but it was the fact that Elves became fairies. So while Men were getting more evil and stuff, Elves were fading, became transparent and smaller, until finally Men could not see them. I had a feeling by then that there would be some connection made with the real (our) world. And I was right. So apparently Tol Eressea is now the modern day England! Weird huh? So that confirms the theory that Middle Earth is now the modern day continental Europe. Ha! Can you guess which country is Hobbitton? Mordor?
Anyway, this is not a book for everyone. You have to at least read The Silmarillion first. And you gotta love Tolkien alot.
The story that I wanted to read is actually the Nauglafring (Necklace of the Dwarves). But it was interesting as well to read a more thorough version (at least from the version told in The Silmarillion) of Beren-Luthien's and Turin Turambar's stories. I found out that Beren was a gnome (don't freak out yet, gnome here apparently means that he was one of the Noldors) and that he was helpless without Luthien went to rescue him and left her kingdom shattered, broke her parents' hearts and her brother lost. Spoiled brat. Melian should have put her girdle around that girl. Anyway, Turin's story is awesome, it's always is. Children of Hurin, if you haven't read it then fly you fools to the nearest book store! Sad, extremely harrowing. Tolkien at his best.
And then came the story of Nauglafring. A bit shorter that what I expected but alright. It explained to me the origin of the enmity between the elves and the dwarves. Both sides were wrong, that's the gist. The elves were ungrateful SOBs and the dwarves clearly overreacted. Alliance with the orcs? Seriously, guys.
Then the book went downhill for me. The Tale of Earendil was really boring. Or maybe because there were just so many versions of it in one chapter so it became hellishly repetitive. And I still didn't understand why he got separated from Elwing and why she drowned.
The weirdest part from the book to me is not the scholarly remarks and analysis given by Christopher Tolkien on various subjects from etymology of names to different versions of poems, but it was the fact that Elves became fairies. So while Men were getting more evil and stuff, Elves were fading, became transparent and smaller, until finally Men could not see them. I had a feeling by then that there would be some connection made with the real (our) world. And I was right. So apparently Tol Eressea is now the modern day England! Weird huh? So that confirms the theory that Middle Earth is now the modern day continental Europe. Ha! Can you guess which country is Hobbitton? Mordor?
Anyway, this is not a book for everyone. You have to at least read The Silmarillion first. And you gotta love Tolkien alot.
April 2, 2022
More great Tolkien archaeology! I really appreciate the time and effort his son Christopher put into researching his father's writing process. This covers Tolkien's earliest conception of the tales of Middle-earth, presented in a very different way than the published versions of LotR and the Silmarillion. Love the earliest version of Sauron-- an evil anthropomorphic cat named Tevildo. 😻 Never gets old!
April 21, 2018
As with Part One lots depth and early development of what would eventually become the Silmarillion, from brainstorming to outlines, to early and discarded drafts & entirely reworked ideas, all researched and expertly presented by Christopher Tolkien. As always great history into Middle Earth, but even more so into the writing process and the writer’s working evolution as they craft their unique story.
June 28, 2022
“And now is the end of the fair times come very nigh,
and behold, all the beauty that yet was on earth–
fragments of the unimagined loveliness of Valinor
whence came the folk of the Elves long, long ago
now goeth, it all up in smoke…”
THE BOOK OF LOST TALES VOLUME 2
The final Tolkien Tuesday post for the Book of Lost Tales Vol. 2!https://amandasbookreviewsite.wordpre...
and behold, all the beauty that yet was on earth–
fragments of the unimagined loveliness of Valinor
whence came the folk of the Elves long, long ago
now goeth, it all up in smoke…”
THE BOOK OF LOST TALES VOLUME 2
The final Tolkien Tuesday post for the Book of Lost Tales Vol. 2!https://amandasbookreviewsite.wordpre...
April 13, 2023
Księga zaginionych opowieści. Część 1 J.R.R. Tolkiena, wraz z cudownymi komentarzami syna autora Christophera, spowodowała iż Śródziemie na nowo zawładnęło moim sercem. Dlatego z radością przywitałam w moich rękach Księgę zaginionych opowieści. Część 2 wraz z którą mogłam odkrywać ponownie historię Berena i Lúthien (Tinúviel).
Sześć opowieści wraz z komentarzami.
Standardowo nie będę Wam streszczać opowiadań, ale pozostawię tu tylko ich tytuły.
Opowieść o Tinúviel;
Turambar i Foalókë
Upadek Gondolinu;
Nauglafring;
Opowieść o Eärendelu;
Historia Eriola albo Ælfwine’a i koniec opowieści.
Znane z Silmarilionu historie plus notatki.
Pozwolę pokusić się o stwierdzenie, że Księga zaginionych opowieści. Część 2 spodobała mi się bardziej niż Część 1. ;)
Jest to oczywiście zasługa dłuższych historii, które już w Silmarilionie, czy Niedokończonych opowieściach robiły na mnie wrażenie.
Teraz dodatkowo opowiadania o Berena i Lúthien (Tinúviel) czy Dzieciach Húrina (Turambar i Foalókë) nabierają dodatkowego smaku dzięki wspaniałym komentarzom Christophera Tolkiena.
Ten odkrywa przed miłośnikami Śródziemia świat, który pokochali we Władcy Pierścieni i pokazuje jakimi ścieżkami mogły podążać myśli jego ojca, który wielkim perfekcjonistą i detalistą był. :D
Oczywiście, tak jak w przypadku Części 1 Księgi mogą pojawić się głosy, że jest ona trudna w odbiorze, że język momentami może być nieco archaiczny. Wydaje mi się, że fanom Tolkiena, ten detal nie będzie przeszkadzał, bo wiedzą, w których latach pisane były poszczególne opowieści, a rozmach całego przedsięwzięcia pozwoli tylko docenić wysyłek autora w stworzenie tak pięknego uniwersum.
Dlatego sięgajcie i czytajcie po Księga zaginionych opowieści. Część 2 J.R.R. Tolkiena, by docenić kunszt autora i nacieszyć oczy wspaniałym wydaniem, które dostarczyło nam Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka.
Polecam bardzo! :D
https://unserious.pl/2023/04/ksiega-z...
Sześć opowieści wraz z komentarzami.
Standardowo nie będę Wam streszczać opowiadań, ale pozostawię tu tylko ich tytuły.
Opowieść o Tinúviel;
Turambar i Foalókë
Upadek Gondolinu;
Nauglafring;
Opowieść o Eärendelu;
Historia Eriola albo Ælfwine’a i koniec opowieści.
Znane z Silmarilionu historie plus notatki.
Pozwolę pokusić się o stwierdzenie, że Księga zaginionych opowieści. Część 2 spodobała mi się bardziej niż Część 1. ;)
Jest to oczywiście zasługa dłuższych historii, które już w Silmarilionie, czy Niedokończonych opowieściach robiły na mnie wrażenie.
Teraz dodatkowo opowiadania o Berena i Lúthien (Tinúviel) czy Dzieciach Húrina (Turambar i Foalókë) nabierają dodatkowego smaku dzięki wspaniałym komentarzom Christophera Tolkiena.
Ten odkrywa przed miłośnikami Śródziemia świat, który pokochali we Władcy Pierścieni i pokazuje jakimi ścieżkami mogły podążać myśli jego ojca, który wielkim perfekcjonistą i detalistą był. :D
Oczywiście, tak jak w przypadku Części 1 Księgi mogą pojawić się głosy, że jest ona trudna w odbiorze, że język momentami może być nieco archaiczny. Wydaje mi się, że fanom Tolkiena, ten detal nie będzie przeszkadzał, bo wiedzą, w których latach pisane były poszczególne opowieści, a rozmach całego przedsięwzięcia pozwoli tylko docenić wysyłek autora w stworzenie tak pięknego uniwersum.
Dlatego sięgajcie i czytajcie po Księga zaginionych opowieści. Część 2 J.R.R. Tolkiena, by docenić kunszt autora i nacieszyć oczy wspaniałym wydaniem, które dostarczyło nam Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka.
Polecam bardzo! :D
https://unserious.pl/2023/04/ksiega-z...
June 15, 2020
El Libro De Los Cuentos Perdidos 2.- J.R.R. Tolkien
"La canción que conozco son trozos de recuerdos
de ilusiones doradas que surgen desde el sueño,
un cuento susurrado junto a las brasas que se
extinguen de historias antiquísimas
que muy pocos recuerdan"
Segunda y última parte de El Libro De Los Cuentos Perdidos, la antología publicada por Christopher Tolkien, en donde compila y analiza los primeros escritos de su padre John y que luego sirvieron de base para el nacimiento de La Tierra Media.
En este segundo tomo, tenemos algunas de las historias más queridas por los fanáticos de El Silmarillion: El Cuento De Tinúviel (luego convertido en la Balada de Beren y Lúthien), Turambar y el Foalóke (Los Hijos De Hurin) y La Caída de Gondolin. El cuarto cuento del libro se llama Nauglafring y trata sobre un collar forjado con oro maldito, una gran historia que no tuvo (creo) casi participación en El Silmarillion y esto la convirtió en una de las sorpresas (para mí al menos) de esta segunda parte de los Cuentos Perdidos.
Otro gran trabajo por parte de Christopher (y van…), con un desarrollo muy detallista, ofreciéndonos después de cada cuento información sobre los cambios en los nombres que se hicieron (para darle coherencia a la historia "grande"), las distintas versiones de algunos fragmentos y hasta poemas escritos por John relativos al cuento.
Totalmente imprescindibles ambos volúmenes para los fanáticos de El Silmarillion y de la Alta Fantasía en general.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
#tolkienreadalong2019
"La canción que conozco son trozos de recuerdos
de ilusiones doradas que surgen desde el sueño,
un cuento susurrado junto a las brasas que se
extinguen de historias antiquísimas
que muy pocos recuerdan"
Segunda y última parte de El Libro De Los Cuentos Perdidos, la antología publicada por Christopher Tolkien, en donde compila y analiza los primeros escritos de su padre John y que luego sirvieron de base para el nacimiento de La Tierra Media.
En este segundo tomo, tenemos algunas de las historias más queridas por los fanáticos de El Silmarillion: El Cuento De Tinúviel (luego convertido en la Balada de Beren y Lúthien), Turambar y el Foalóke (Los Hijos De Hurin) y La Caída de Gondolin. El cuarto cuento del libro se llama Nauglafring y trata sobre un collar forjado con oro maldito, una gran historia que no tuvo (creo) casi participación en El Silmarillion y esto la convirtió en una de las sorpresas (para mí al menos) de esta segunda parte de los Cuentos Perdidos.
Otro gran trabajo por parte de Christopher (y van…), con un desarrollo muy detallista, ofreciéndonos después de cada cuento información sobre los cambios en los nombres que se hicieron (para darle coherencia a la historia "grande"), las distintas versiones de algunos fragmentos y hasta poemas escritos por John relativos al cuento.
Totalmente imprescindibles ambos volúmenes para los fanáticos de El Silmarillion y de la Alta Fantasía en general.
🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
#tolkienreadalong2019
May 3, 2022
Another fascinating glimpse into the evolution of Middle-Earth. Seeing an earlier, darker version of the dwarves was both intriguing and somewhat disturbing.
September 30, 2023
TOLKIEN maratonu #2
January 26, 2023
So stinking cool
June 16, 2024
the one where sauron is a furry and the noldor are consistently referred to as gnomes
July 20, 2020
I won't lie. Christopher Tolkien's literary analysis of the background notes for his father's legendary works is not an easy or quick read. While the actual tales themselves are enjoyable fantasies from out of faerie land, innumerable end notes and discussion of fine points (such as the state of the hand written notebooks from which the current work is sourced, or his father's biography at the time he wrote in the aforementioned notebooks) is nothing less than a slog.
That having been said; Tolkien, to my mind at least, is one of the reigning champions of successful world-building. I know I may be in the minority with that opinion, but my subsequent re-reads of the Lord of the Rings emphasized to me that there was less of the drier material than I remembered as a child (though it was present in parts). More importantly, Tolkien was a professor of the English language and his knowledge of both Old English and the history and of Northern Europe, including his beloved Isles, infused his writing with an authenticity that is, in my opinion, sadly lacking from much of the epic fantasy that has been written since then.
So why read it, if it only rates two stars? Well, as a fan of his other writings (LOTR, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion) I thought it was worth the time to try and understand the amount of work that went into developing this master-craft exemplar of world building. The most critical lession that I think an aspiring writer can gain from these is that in the preparation of a novel (or any material you want to publish), more is written, edited, modified, discarded, and re-written than is ever seen by the public. Look at the long years that went into developing a coherent series of myths, just to form the background for later stories to look back to. And these were written and re-written two to three times each, and by hand. Don't expect it to happen overnight.
Like him or hate him, every aspiring and successful writer of epic fantasy has been informed by J.R.R. Tolkien. But perhaps fewer have had the in-depth grounding that allowed a fantasy world to not only live vividly in our imaginations, but to haunt our hearts with echoes of our own real world. His syntax, place names, songs, and poems drip with it, offering honey to the soul of the reader. Do you need to read the History of Middle-Earth to enjoy Middle-Earth? Not in the slightest. But if you have the time and patience, you will find jewels here and there to pique your interest. And if you are either a serious fan (devotee?) of Tolkien's world, or in learning more about the process of developing epic fantasy and world building, then you might consider perusing these notes. Tolkien was after all the grand-daddy of epic fantasy architects.
That having been said; Tolkien, to my mind at least, is one of the reigning champions of successful world-building. I know I may be in the minority with that opinion, but my subsequent re-reads of the Lord of the Rings emphasized to me that there was less of the drier material than I remembered as a child (though it was present in parts). More importantly, Tolkien was a professor of the English language and his knowledge of both Old English and the history and of Northern Europe, including his beloved Isles, infused his writing with an authenticity that is, in my opinion, sadly lacking from much of the epic fantasy that has been written since then.
So why read it, if it only rates two stars? Well, as a fan of his other writings (LOTR, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion) I thought it was worth the time to try and understand the amount of work that went into developing this master-craft exemplar of world building. The most critical lession that I think an aspiring writer can gain from these is that in the preparation of a novel (or any material you want to publish), more is written, edited, modified, discarded, and re-written than is ever seen by the public. Look at the long years that went into developing a coherent series of myths, just to form the background for later stories to look back to. And these were written and re-written two to three times each, and by hand. Don't expect it to happen overnight.
Like him or hate him, every aspiring and successful writer of epic fantasy has been informed by J.R.R. Tolkien. But perhaps fewer have had the in-depth grounding that allowed a fantasy world to not only live vividly in our imaginations, but to haunt our hearts with echoes of our own real world. His syntax, place names, songs, and poems drip with it, offering honey to the soul of the reader. Do you need to read the History of Middle-Earth to enjoy Middle-Earth? Not in the slightest. But if you have the time and patience, you will find jewels here and there to pique your interest. And if you are either a serious fan (devotee?) of Tolkien's world, or in learning more about the process of developing epic fantasy and world building, then you might consider perusing these notes. Tolkien was after all the grand-daddy of epic fantasy architects.
February 24, 2022
The story of Lúthien Tinúviel and Beren is probably one of my favourite of Tolkien's stories. And for that reason alone, I love this book. It presents several version of the story, esentially the same but with important and characteristic differences. And a different version still it the one found in The Silmarillion, but more on that book.
I think, on the whole, I like the stories in this book better than the stories in part I. But they're all connected and I think it is an important strength to this entire story of characters telling each other important myths and tales from their Peoples. You really can't read part II, without having read part I, I believe. At least you get a very different persepctive on the tales of part II, if you haven't read part I.
I think the most interesting stories in part II is the ones that aren't written. The last two tales that is, they're mostly notes and outlines and plans of Tolkien's for stories he wanted to write. Some exist in the form of poems, some don't. But really, they're ridiculously interesting. And if I remember correctly, feature in The Silmarillion, but as it has been years, I can't say for sure.
Christopher Tolkien does a marvelous job of stitching the tales together from various manuscripts of his father's, J . R. R. Tolkien, and with the help of a well-structured note section following each tale, as well as a commentary manages to bring back a large portion of the stories that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote in the trenches of WWI. And which was, many many years later, to become The Silmarillion, simplified: the origin on Middle-earth as we know it from LotR and the history of the elves. And thus, reading these books has made me want to reread The Silmarillion, but that probably is a way off.
NB: when I simply write "Tolkien", I of course refer to J. R. R. Tolkien.
For more thoughts on Lost Tales, see my review of Part I here.
Also reviewed together on my blog Bookish Love Affair.
I think, on the whole, I like the stories in this book better than the stories in part I. But they're all connected and I think it is an important strength to this entire story of characters telling each other important myths and tales from their Peoples. You really can't read part II, without having read part I, I believe. At least you get a very different persepctive on the tales of part II, if you haven't read part I.
I think the most interesting stories in part II is the ones that aren't written. The last two tales that is, they're mostly notes and outlines and plans of Tolkien's for stories he wanted to write. Some exist in the form of poems, some don't. But really, they're ridiculously interesting. And if I remember correctly, feature in The Silmarillion, but as it has been years, I can't say for sure.
Christopher Tolkien does a marvelous job of stitching the tales together from various manuscripts of his father's, J . R. R. Tolkien, and with the help of a well-structured note section following each tale, as well as a commentary manages to bring back a large portion of the stories that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote in the trenches of WWI. And which was, many many years later, to become The Silmarillion, simplified: the origin on Middle-earth as we know it from LotR and the history of the elves. And thus, reading these books has made me want to reread The Silmarillion, but that probably is a way off.
NB: when I simply write "Tolkien", I of course refer to J. R. R. Tolkien.
For more thoughts on Lost Tales, see my review of Part I here.
Also reviewed together on my blog Bookish Love Affair.
January 26, 2024
"Ecco! Avete armi di eccellente fattura e ancora la maggior parte di esse è monda del sangue dei vostri nemici. Rammentate la Battaglia delle Innumerevoli Lacrime e non scordate quanti della vostra gente sono caduti laggiù, e non cercate di fuggire, ma combattete e resistete".
Riconosco che sia un tomo che non dovrebbe mancare nella libreria di ogni fan della Terra di Mezzo… ma, mi tocca quasi ripetere quanto già detto per il il primo volume: sembra un vero e proprio testo da studio accademico!
Anche questa volta, per il fatto che non ha una vera e propria narrazione scorrevole (la storia scritta da Tolkien padre è orrendamente interrotta dagli "spiegoni" di Tolkien figlio), ho avuto difficolta a portarne a termine la lettura… e lo dico in tutta sincerità: ho letto gli ultimi due capitoli in modo molto sbrigativo e svogliato (giusto per non abbandonare il libro)!
Da segnalare, comunque, che questo secondo volume inizia nel punto esatto dove finisce il precedete e, soprattutto, per la prima volta compaiono i personaggi di Sauron (qui nelle vesti di Negromante), Gimli e Legolas… tre dei comprimari de "Il signore degli anelli".
[https://lastanzadiantonio.blogspot.co...]
Riconosco che sia un tomo che non dovrebbe mancare nella libreria di ogni fan della Terra di Mezzo… ma, mi tocca quasi ripetere quanto già detto per il il primo volume: sembra un vero e proprio testo da studio accademico!
Anche questa volta, per il fatto che non ha una vera e propria narrazione scorrevole (la storia scritta da Tolkien padre è orrendamente interrotta dagli "spiegoni" di Tolkien figlio), ho avuto difficolta a portarne a termine la lettura… e lo dico in tutta sincerità: ho letto gli ultimi due capitoli in modo molto sbrigativo e svogliato (giusto per non abbandonare il libro)!
Da segnalare, comunque, che questo secondo volume inizia nel punto esatto dove finisce il precedete e, soprattutto, per la prima volta compaiono i personaggi di Sauron (qui nelle vesti di Negromante), Gimli e Legolas… tre dei comprimari de "Il signore degli anelli".
[https://lastanzadiantonio.blogspot.co...]
January 6, 2014
This will be my 12-volume write-up of the entire series "The History of Middle Earth".
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This series is ONLY for the hardcore Tolkien fanatic. Predominantly written by JRR's son, based on JRR's notes on the creation of The Silmarilion and The Lord of the Rings (much less on The Hobbit). It is somewhat interesting to see the evolution of the story (for example, "Strider" was originally conceived as a Hobbit (one of those who "went off into the blue with Gandalf" as alluded to in The Hobbit).
But the downside to this is that it isn't very fun to read. You can only read yet another version of Beren and Luthien so many times before you're tired of seeing the miniscule changes from one version to the next.
So, overall, I slogged through this over about a year. I'd say it was worth it in the end for someone like me who loves Tolkien and his entire created world of Arda (and Ea in general). But I'll never re-read them. They come off too much as seeming like Christopher Tolkien just bundled every scrap of paper he could find, rather than thinning them down into a logical consistency.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This series is ONLY for the hardcore Tolkien fanatic. Predominantly written by JRR's son, based on JRR's notes on the creation of The Silmarilion and The Lord of the Rings (much less on The Hobbit). It is somewhat interesting to see the evolution of the story (for example, "Strider" was originally conceived as a Hobbit (one of those who "went off into the blue with Gandalf" as alluded to in The Hobbit).
But the downside to this is that it isn't very fun to read. You can only read yet another version of Beren and Luthien so many times before you're tired of seeing the miniscule changes from one version to the next.
So, overall, I slogged through this over about a year. I'd say it was worth it in the end for someone like me who loves Tolkien and his entire created world of Arda (and Ea in general). But I'll never re-read them. They come off too much as seeming like Christopher Tolkien just bundled every scrap of paper he could find, rather than thinning them down into a logical consistency.
April 17, 2008
Though I liked the first Book of Lost Tales better, this one was still amazing. The stories in it not only give depth to the Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, but also as JRR Tolkien himself AND what being a human and an artist really means. Some of the work of both prose and poetry in this volume is equal in beauty to the most wonderfully beautiful pieces Tolkien himself published. Anyone who enjoys writing in any form should read these tales.
November 19, 2019
This was quite hard to get through. There are some interesting bits, but the stuff in between them is just a tough cookie. A must-read for die-hard Tolkien fans (the whole series is) but don't expect a compelling book that grips you from start to end.
February 28, 2018
I really tried to get through this. In all honesty, all of these “lost and unfinished” tales books have all the same stories in them. The tales of Turin or Beren and Luthien are all great stories, but I don’t need to read them five times.
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