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By Root 1114 0

world to time and change’. But the very notion of a history, a consecutive story, self-evidently implies time and change; how then can Valinor be said only now to come under the necessity of change, with the ordering of the motions of the Sun and Moon, when it has undergone vast changes in the course of the story of the Lost Tales? Moreover the Gods now know ‘that hereafter even they should in counted time be subject to slow eld and their bright days to waning’. But the very statement (for instance) that Ómar-Amillo was ‘the youngest of the great Valar’ who entered the world (p. 67) is an assertion that the other Valar, older than he, were ‘subject to eld’. ‘Age’ has of course for mortal beings two aspects, which draw always closer: time passes, and the body decays. But of the ‘natural’ immortality of the Eldar it is said (p. 59): ‘nor doth eld subdue their strength, unless it may be in ten thousand centuries’. Thus they ‘age’ (so Gilfanon is ‘the most aged that now dwelt in the isle’ and is ‘one of the oldest of the fairies’, p. 175), but they do not ‘age’ (do not become enfeebled). Why then do the Gods know that ‘hereafter’ they will be ‘subject to slow eld’—which can only mean ageing in the latter sense? It may well be that there is a deeper thought here than I can fathom; but certainly I cannot explain it.

Finally, at the end of all the early writing concerning it, it may be remarked how major a place was taken in my father’s original conception by the creation of the Sun and the Moon and the government of their motions: the astronomical myth is central to the whole. Afterwards it was steadily diminished, until in the end, perhaps, it would have disappeared altogether.

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GILFANON’S TALE: THE TRAVAIL OF THE NOLDOLI AND THE COMING OF MANKIND

The rejected draft text of The Hiding of Valinor continues a little way beyond the end of Vairë’s tale, thus:

Now after the telling of this tale no more was there of speaking for that night, but Lindo begged Ailios to consent to a tale-telling of ceremony to be held the next night or as soon as might be; but Ailios would not agree, pleading matters that he must needs journey to a distant village to settle. So was it that the tale-telling was fixed ere the candles of sleep were lit for a sevennight from that time—and that was the day of Turuhalmë1 or the Logdrawing. ‘’Twill be a fitting day,’ saith Lindo, ‘for the sports of the morning in the snow and the gathering of the logs from the woods and the songs and drinking of Turuhalmë will leave us of right mood to listen to old tales beside this fire.’

As I have noticed earlier (p. 204), the original form of the Tale of the Sun and Moon and The Hiding of Valinor belonged to the phase before the entry of Gilfanon of Tavrobel, replacing Ailios.

Immediately following this rejected draft text, on the same manuscript page, the text in ink of the Tale of Turambar (Türin) begins, with these words:

When then Ailios had spoken his fill the time for the lighting of candles was at hand, and so came the first day of Turuhalmë to an end; but on the second night Ailios was not there, and being asked by Lindo one Eltas began a tale…

What was Ailios’ tale to have been? (for I think it certain that it was never written). The answer becomes clear from a separate short text, very rough, which continues on from the discussion at the end of The Hiding of Valinor, given above. This tells that at length the day of Turuhalmë was come, and the company from Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva went into the snowy woods to bring back firewood on sleighs. Never was the Tale-fire allowed to go out or to die into grey ash, but on the eve of Turuhalmë it sank always to a smaller blaze until Turuhalmë itself, when great logs were brought into the Room of the Tale-fire and being blessed by Lindo with ancient magic roared and flared anew upon the hearth. Vairë blessed the door and lintel of the hall and gave the key to Rúmil, making him once again the Doorward, and to Littleheart was given the hammer of his gong. Then Lindo said, as he said each year:

‘Lift up your voices,