Morgoth's Ring (38 page)

'Orome is' in the 1951 revision.

With the additions and alterations made in the course of that revision the variations continue. In LQ $10a, for instance, 'there are nine Valar', contrasting with the original passage in $3, 'The chieftains of the Valar were nine', which goes back through QS to Q; or in the passage about the Maiar in $10b 'Among them Eonwe... and Ilmare

... were the chief', but 'Many others there are' (altered from 'were').

The same mixture of present and past is found in AAm* (p. 65, $3).

The situation remains the same in the Vq texts, and in preparing the Valaquenta for publication I altered (with misgiving and doubt) some of the tenses. The readings of the published work which were altered from those in Vq are:

p. 25: 'The Lords of the Valar are seven; and the Valier... are seven also'; 'The names of the Lords in due order are'; 'the names of the Queens are'

p. 26: 'Manwe is dearest to Iluvatar and understands most clearly his purposes'; 'he hated her, and feared her'

p. 27: 'Ulmo loves both Elves and Men'

p. 28: 'The Feanturi... are brethren'

p. 30: 'it is otherwise in Aman'; 'Chief among the Maiar ... are Ilmare... and Eonwe'

In all these cases, except 'he hated her, and feared her' on p. 26, the tense was changed from past to present. The change on p. 28 seems in any case mistaken (cf. p. 26, 'Manwe and Melkor were brethren in the thought of Iluvatar'); and to make any of them was probably a misjudgement. But the problem is real. A leading consideration in the preparation of the text was the achievement of coherence and consistency; and a fundamental problem was uncertainty as to the mode by which in my father's later thought the 'Lore of the Eldar' had been transmitted. But I now think that I attached too much importance to the aim of consistency, which may be present when not evident, and was too ready to deal with 'difficulties' simply by eliminating them.

*

THE EARLIEST VERSION OF THE STORY OF

FINWE AND MIRIEL.

The story of Finwe and Miriel, which would assume an extraordinary importance in my father's later work on The Silmarillion, began as a rider in manuscript to the 'first phase' revision of Chapter 6, Of the Silmarils and the Darkening of Valinor; it was inserted after the account of the marvellous skill of Miriel, called Serende 'the Broideress', mother of Feanor, at the end of LQ $46b (p. 185). I shall refer to this rider as 'FM 1' (i.e. the first text treating of the story of Finwe and Miriel in the Quenta Silmarillion).

A curious feature of this text is the presence of marginal dates; and three late insertions to the Annals of Aman (p. 101, notes 1 and 4) are closely associated with it. The entry in AAm for the Valian Year 1179

(p. 92) gave the birth of Feanor in Tirion and his mother's name Byrde Miriel. Afterwards my father changed this date to 1169, and at the same time added these new annals:

1170 Miriel falls asleep and passes to Mandar.

1172 Doom of Manwe concerning the espousals of the Eldar.

1185 Finwe weds Indis of the Vanyar.

In the present rider to LQ the dates, which were a good deal changed, are the same, or the same to within a year or two. It is obvious that the insertions to AAm and the rider to LQ are contemporary; and while my father probably only put in the dates in the latter as a guide to his thought (they are absent from the subsequent texts of Finwe' and Miriel), the fact that he did so seems a testimony to the closeness that the two 'modes' now had for him.

The text FM 1 was subsequently emended in ball-point pen; the changed readings are shown in the text that now follows. It may be noted here that at the first three occurrences of the name my father wrote Mandar, changing it before the text was completed to Mandos.

The inserted entry in AAm for the year 1170, cited above, also has Mandar. Thus even this very long-established name, going back to the earliest form of the legends, was still susceptible of change; but it was a passing movement and does not appear again.

Now it is told that in the bearing of her son Miriel was consumed in spirit and body; and that after his birth she yearned for rest from the labour of living. And she said to Finwe: 'Never again shall I bear a child; for strength that would have nourished the life of many has gone forth into Feanaro.'*

Then Manwe granted the prayer of Miriel. And she went to Lorien, and laid her down to sleep upon a bed of flowers

[) beneath a silver tree]; and there her fair body remained unwithered in the keeping of the maidens of Este. But her spirit passed to rest in the halls of Mandos.

Finwe's grief was great, and he gave to his son all the love that he had for Miriel; for Feanaro was like his mother in voice and countenance. Yet Finwe was not content, and he desired to have more children. He spoke, therefore, [> After some years, therefore, he spoke] to Manwe, saying: 'Lord, behold! I am bereaved; and alone among the Eldar I am without a wife, and must hope for no sons save one, and no daughter. Whereas Ingwe and Olwe beget many children in the bliss of Aman. Must I remain ever so? For I deem that Miriel will not return again ever from the house of Vaire.'

Then Manwe considered the words of Finwe; and after a time he summoned all the counsellors of the Eldar, and in their hearing Mandos spoke this doom: 'This is the law of Iluvatar for you [> This is the way of life that Iluvatar hath ordained for you], his children, as you know well: the First-born shall take one spouse only and have no other in this life, while Arda endureth. But this law takes no account [) But herein no account is taken] of Death. This doom is therefore now made, by the right of lawgiving that Iluvatar committed to Manwe: that if the spirit of a spouse, husband or wife, forsaking the body, shall for any cause pass into the keeping of Mandos, then the living shall be permitted to take another spouse. But this can only be, if the former union be dissolved for ever. Therefore the one that is in the keeping of Mandos must there remain until the end of Arda, and shall not awake again or take bodily form. For none among the Quendi shall have two spouses at one time alive and awake. But since it is not to be thought that the living shall, by his or her will alone, confine the spirit of the other to Mandos, this disunion shall come to pass only by the consent of (* [footnote to the text] Thus she named her son: Spirit-of-Fire: and by that name he was known among the Eldar. [Feanaro is so spelt here, but Feanaro subsequently.]

both. And after the giving of the consent ten years of the Valar shall pass ere Mandos confirms it. Within that time either party may revoke this consent; but when Mandos has confirmed it, and the living spouse has wedded another, it shall be irrevocable until the end of Arda. This is the doom of Namo in this matter.'

It is said that Miriel answered Mandos saying: 'I came hither to escape from the body, and I do not desire ever to return to it'; and after ten years the doom of disunion was spoken. [Added: And Miriel has dwelt ever since in the house of Vaire, and it is her part to record there the histories of the kin of Finwe and all the deeds of the Noldor.] And in the years following [> But when three years more had passed] Finwe took as second spouse Indis of the Vanyar, of the kin [> sister] of Ingwe; and she bore five fair children of whom her two sons are most renowned in the histories of the Noldor. But her eldest child was a daughter, Findis, and she bore also two other daughters: Irime and Faniel

[> Faniel and Irime].

The wedding of the father was not pleasing to Feanaro; and though the love between them was not lessened, Feanaro had no great love for Indis or her children, and as soon as he might he lived apart from them, being busy from early childhood upon the lore and craft in which he delighted, and he laboured at many tasks, being in all pursuits eager and swift.

There is a direction here to return to LQ (at the beginning of $46c, p. 185) with the words 'For he grew swiftly...'

LAWS AND CUSTOMS AMONG THE ELDAR.

As I have explained (p. 199), I have found that the best method of presenting the material is to give at this point the long essay concerning the nature and customs of the Eldar, although of course it cannot be said to be a part of the Quenta Silmarillion.

This work is extant in two versions, a completed manuscript ('A') and a revision of this in a typescript ('B') made by my father that was abandoned when somewhat less than halfway through. The two texts bear different titles, and since both are long I shall use an abbreviated form, Laws and Customs among the Eldar (in references later, simply Laws and Customs). From the existence of the two versions arises a difficulty of presentation frequently encountered in my father's work.

The typescript B, so far as it goes, follows the manuscript A pretty closely for the most part - too closely to justify printing them both in full, even if space allowed. On the other hand there are many points in which B differs significantly from A. The options are therefore to give A in full with important divergences in B in textual notes, or to give B

as far as it goes with A's divergences in notes, and then the remainder from A. Since B is a clearer and improved text I have decided on the latter course.

It is not easy to say from what fictional perspective Laws and Customs among the Eldar was composed. There is a reference to the Elves who linger in Middle-earth 'in these after-days' (p. 223); on the other hand the writer speaks as if the customs of the Noldor were present and observable ('Among the Noldor it may be seen that the making of bread is done mostly by women', p. 214) - though this cannot be pressed. It is clear in any case that it is presented as the work, not of one of the Eldar, but of a Man: the observation about the variety of the names borne by the Eldar, 'which ... may to us seem bewildering' (p. 216; found in both texts, in different words) is decisive. AElfwine is indeed associated with the work, but in an extremely puzzling way. He does not appear at all in A as that was originally written; but among various corrections and alterations made in red ball-point pen (doubtless as a preliminary to the making of the typescript) my father wrote 'AElfwine's Preamble' in the margin against the opening of the text - without however marking where this

'preamble' ended. In B the first two paragraphs are marked 'AElfwine's Preamble' and placed within ornate brackets, and this very clearly belongs with the making of the typescript, although it is by no means obvious why the opening should be thus set apart; while later in B

(p. 224) there is a long observation, set within similar brackets, that ends with the words 'So spoke AElfwine' - but this passage is absent in any form from A.

There are no initial drafts or rough writings extant, and if none existed the manuscript text is remarkably clear and orderly, without much correction at the time of composition, though a good deal changed subsequently. It may be that it had been substantially composed, the product of long thought, before it was first written down; at the same time, my impression is that my father had not fully planned its structure when he began. This is suggested by the curious way in which the judgement of Mandos in the case of Finwe and Miriel precedes the actual story of what led to the judgement (pp.

225 - 6, 236-9); while after the account of Finwe's marriage to Indis there follows the Debate of the Valar, although that was held before

'the Statute of Finwe and Miriel' was promulgated. It is hard to believe that my father can have intended this rather confusing structure, and the view that the work evolved as he wrote seems borne out by the title in A: Of the marriage laws and customs of the

Eldar, their children, and other

matters touching thereon

At the same time as the words 'AElfwine's Preamble' and other corrections in red ball-point pen were made to the manuscript (see above) he wrote in bold letters beneath the title: 'The Statute of Finwe and Miriel' - almost as if this was to be the new title of the work as a whole, although the original one was not struck out.

The typescript B has the long title given at the beginning of the text below; the text in this version ends before the story of Finwe and Miriel and the Debate of the Valar is reached. Why my father abandoned it I cannot say; perhaps he was merely interrupted by some external cause, perhaps he was dissatisfied by its form.

But all these questions are very secondary to the import of the work itself: a comprehensive (if sometimes obscure, and tantalising in its obscurity) declaration of his thought at that time on fundamental aspects of the nature of the Quendi, distinguishing them from Men: the power of the incarnate fea (spirit) in relation to the body; the

'consuming' of the body by the fea; the destiny of Elvish spirits, ordained by Eru, 'to dwell in Arda for all the life of Arda'; the meaning of death for such beings, and of existence after death; the nature of Elvish re-birth; and the consequences of the Marring of Arda by Melkor.

There follows now the typescript version B so far as it goes. At the end of the text (pp. 228 ff.) are notes largely limited to the textual relations of the two versions; these are necessarily very selective, and do not record the very many changes of wording in B that modify or improve the expression without altering the sense of the original text in any important way. B itself was scarcely changed after it had been typed; but a pencilled note on the first page reads 'For hrondo read hroa', and this change was carried out in the greater part of the text.