A decade or more later, he received a detailed, and remarkably unconstrained, criticism of the poem from someone who knew and admired his poetry. In 1937 he said in a letter that ‘in spite of certain virtuous passages’ the Lay of Leithian had ‘grave defects’ (see p. Lewis, who sent him a most ingenious commentary on a part of it I acknowledge with thanks the permission of C. In 1929 it was read so far as it then went by C. My father worked on the Lay of Leithian for six years, abandoning it in its turn in September 1931. It exists in two versions, the second being a revision and enlargement that proceeds much less far into the story, and both are given in this book. It marks also an important stage in the evolution of the Matter of the Elder Days, and contains passages that strongly illumine his imagination of Beleriand it was, for example, in this poem that the great redoubt of Nargothrond arose from the primitive caves of the Rodothlim in the Lost Tales, and only in this poem was Nargothrond described. But this poem, which though extending to more than 2000 lines is only a fragment in relation to what he once planned, is the most sustained embodiment of his abiding love of the resonance and richness of sound that might be achieved in the ancient English metre. 3), and I do not recollect his ever speaking of it.
I have found no reference to it in any letter or other writing of his that has survived (other than the few words cited on p. The alliterative poem was composed while my father held appointments at the University of Leeds (1920–5) he abandoned it for the Lay of Leithian at the end of that time, and never turned to it again. Tolkien concerned with the legends of the Elder Days: the Lay of the Children of Húrin in alliterative verse, and the Lay of Leithian in octosyllabic couplets. This third part of ‘The History of Middle-earth’ contains the two major poems by J. If your e-reader is not displaying these characters you may find this affects your reading enjoyment of the ebook. Where no hyperlink is present you can use your ebook reader’s search tool to find a specific word or passage.Īll of the special characters below appear in this ebook. After a hyperlink has been activated we recommend using your device’s “Back” button to return to the original location. Hyperlinks have been added which will direct you to the relevant reference. The internal page references in this text relate to the printed version of the book they do not match the pages of your ebook.
Glossary of Obsolete, Archaic, and Rare Words and Meanings Note on the original submission of the Lay of Leithian and The Silmarillion in1937 XII (Fingolfin and Morgoth the meeting with Carcharoth) XI (The disguising of Beren and Lúthien and the journey to Angband) II (Gorlim’s betrayal and Beren’s revenge) The opening of Canto 2 in the Lay of Leithian recommencedįragment of an alliterative Lay of Eärendel No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.Įbook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2019 ISBN: 9780007348206įind out more about HarperCollins and the environment at HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. ® and ‘Tolkien’® are registered trade marks of The Tolkien Estate LimitedĪll rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. First published in Great Britain by George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd 1985Ĭopyright © The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R.