The Book of Lost Tales, Part II

It's been too long since my last post. I am pleased with my reading progress though. I have now completed The Book of Lost Tales, Part II and I am close to finishing The Lays of Beleriand as well. That's volumes two and three of The History of Middle-earth and what were to be my February and March reads. Once I've accustomed myself to the structure and style of these histories it's been fascinatingly eye opening to see how Middle-earth evolved. Years of painstaking writing and revisions across Tolkien's life time. The germ of an idea that would later sprout into a published work after many revision or in some cases after decades of abandonment. As I alluded to in my lost post my motivation for this undertaking was to find scraps of story to add into my chronological read (see 2013 blog). But being 2 and 3/4's through the first books I can honestly say that even if I incorporate nothing into my reading schedule this has been a very fruitful endeavor.

Lost Tales, Part II continues the story of Eriol. The wandering man who found his way to the Elvish isel of Tol Eressëa. He longs to stay with the Elves but is given a sort of prerequisite. He must learn their histories before granting permission to stay. Thus in Tolkien's original concept the Lost Tales were Eriol's accounts of Elvish histories later found and published--in a golden book no less. Shade of the Red Book of Westmarch abound. In part two we see the stories of Luthién and Beren, Túrin, the fall of Gondolin, the Nauglafring (necklace of the Dwarves), and a rewrite of the Eriol story.

The are hints, shades, and even direct passages of these stories in the later published forms in The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin. What makes it maddening when reading is names had not yet been finalized or characters not yet invented. For example, instead of Felagund as Lord of Nargothrond, Celegorm (later a son of Fëanor) was the king. Seeing the evolution is super cool. Deciding to integrate these old texts into a reading schedule is a challenge. Plus changes like Beren the Elf (this first stories) to Beren the Man (published stories) makes for huge changes in story arcs.

I will address a couple of stories from Lost Tales, Part II in detail in other posts. However, one super interesting piece of this book was the rewrite of the Eriol story arc (which never was completed). Eriol now becomes ælfwine. This new conception of a man who finds Tol Eressëa makes it explicitly clear of the link between Middle-earth and England. In fact, Tol Eressëa was to become England in this story arc. Tolkien made notes of specific geographical locations and what modern English towns they would become. It's a fascinating idea which ties in ancient English history with invasions from the Vikings, Normans, and Romans, among others. I have to wonder if this was the predominant story if Tolkien's work would be so internationally loved.

I am now at a loss as to how the Eriol story-arc could be integrated with the published works other than perhaps picking up bits and pieces from the stories he heard that were later published. I may follow Tolkien's lead and abandon the character as well. However, there are some neat interactions between he and the Elves and some interesting characters introduced who did not fully leave the mythology though they are just a hint in the published works. We shall see.