The Book of Lost Tales, Part I

I've never experienced a polar vortex before. Apparently it shuts down a city (along with a foot of snow) for several days. As a result I head plenty of time to read. Plenty of time. The Book of Lost Tales, Part I is complete. The Book of Lost Tales, Part II is begun. I honestly thought I would trudge along fairly slowly with the Histories of Middle-earth need all of each month for the 12 books.

However, I have found my readings quite interesting and daunting thus far. Interesting to see the earliest forms of Tolkien's great stories (As early as 1915!), what themes and characters survived and which ones faded from Middle-earth. It's daunting because my ultimate desire is to glean what I can from these stories to add to my already begun chronological reading of Middle-earth. I'm not sure how long it might take me to figure out what can be useful without being terribly contradictory or how to translate old names into the published names that ultimately exist.

I'm sure for some folks out there the very thought of adding sections of unfinished, abandoned, corrected texts into the published cannon my seem a bit sacrilegious. Indeed, in one Tolkien site I follow  (TORn) there are many discussion on what is a Tolkien "purist" and it could be that my pursuit does not abide by the purist definition. However, a mythology is meant to grow and expand and in the end the way I seek to grow and expand it is by the author's own words (or in some rare occurrences the words of his literary guardian and son Christopher Tolkien).

Alas, I digress. Now for my entirely too short summary of The Book of Lost Tales, Part I. Many of the earliest histories of Middle-earth are contained in this book published, as it were, in a much more concise form in The Silmarillion. Some interesting features in the earliest writings: Gnomes, Fairies, and Elves all seem to be somewhat interchangeable--which takes a bit of getting used to since not a Gnome or Fairy appears in the published works.

I've heard it said and read somewhere that Tolkien lamented the fact that England had no distinct mythology or legends. What most would consider English, King Arthur, is actually of French descent. This lament fueled Tolkien's early writings. Indeed, Middle-earth was to be tied directly to England. In Lost Tales I we meet a man, Eriol who has found his way to the Elvish island of Tol Eressëa. He meets many interesting characters at the Cottage of Lost Play where Elves and children of Men reside. In his wonderment Eriol seeks to learn all he can.

Thus, nearly every night, Eriol is drawn into the Lost Tales as told by different island residents. He learns of the Music of the Ainur, Melkor's wroth, the beginnings of the Eldar as well as the Sun and Moon, and so on. Many of these elements were further amended and released in The Silmarillion but Eriol did not survive the revisions. Indeed, it's been hinted at by Christopher Tolkien (and should be fully revealed in part II) the island that Eriol discovered will eventually become England. Indeed, some of the features described in the landscape match rather well with the home of Edith Tolkien (J.R.R. Tolkien's wife) or places the Professor was stationed/trained while in the service.

For my processes I pondering how I might integrate some of the works. Do I simply focus on the tales and perhaps add bits and pieces of truncated detail to The Silmarillion? Or do I keep the Eriol character and place him somewhere chronologically? To that end, the second age, perhaps around Tar-Ancalimon would make sense. The Númenórean's had establishments in Middle-earth at this point and on the island of Númenor it's clear groups are forming that either are friendly with the Elves or not.

It's clear that Eriol is a sea-fairing wanderer who did not come from Númenor. I can easily imagine him arriving at Númenor and harboring there a while and perhaps learning of Tol Eressëa from the Elf-friends. After a season of rest and replenishing supplies I could envision him sailing for the Elvish refuge. Perhaps a lot of conjecture on my part but it gives insight on how my mind works to reconcile the stories.

I'd rather not lose Eriol if possible but I don't know that I would enjoy reading the same story I've previously read in the chronological history. I'll keep the blog posted on ways I might reconcile this "problem" (as if it were truly a problem that deserved time and devotion). I can always fall back on the fact that Professor Tolkien (as confirmed by his son) enjoyed rehashing the same details over and over again though perhaps in slightly different wordings.

I will look forward to discussing some other key stories from Part II post. A hint: Cats and Dogs. Until next time.