"Unfinished Tales" Read Along Part I. "Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin"

Part I The First Age

Ok, I know I didn’t technically say read the “Introduction”, for that you have my apologies, so for any first time readers of UT it is important to know what you’re getting into (and I hope you took the initiative to read it anyway). Below are excerpts from the Introduction by Christopher Tolkien about the purpose of this book and why he decided to compile these “unfinished” works in this manner.

The problems that confront one given responsibility for the writings of a dead author are hard to resolve. Some persons in this position may elect to make no material whatsoever available for publication, save perhaps for work that was in a virtually finished state at the time of the author’s death. […] But whatever view may be taken of this question, for some, as for myself, there is a value greater than the mere uncovering of curious detail in learning that Vëantur the Númenórean brought his ship Entulessë, the ‘Return’, into the Grey Havens on the spring winds of the six hundredth year of the Second Age, that the tomb of Elendil the Tall was set by Isildur his son on the summit of the beacon-hill Halifirien, that the Black Rider whom the Hobbits saw in the foggy darkness on the far side of Bucklebury Ferry was Khamûl, chief of the Ringwraiths of Dol Guldur – or even that the childlessness of Tarannon twelfth King of Gondor (a fact recorded in an Appendix to The Lord of the Rings) was associated with the hitherto wholly mysterious cats of Queen Berúthiel.

The construction of the book has been difficult, and in the result is somewhat complex. The narratives are all ‘unfinished’, but to a greater or lesser degree, and in different senses of the word, and have required different treatment…

The inclusion of the unpublished narratives and sketches of narrative on this subject therefore entails at once the acceptance of the history not as a fixed, independently-existing reality which the author ‘reports’ (in his ‘persona’ as translator and redactor), but as a growing and shifting conception in his mind. When the author has ceased to publish his works himself, after subjecting them to his own detailed criticism and comparison, the further knowledge of Middle-earth to be found in his unpublished writings will often conflict with what is already ‘known’; and new elements set into the existing edifice will in such cases tend to contribute less to the history of the invented world itself than to the history of its invention. In this book I have accepted from the outset that this must be so; and except in minor details such as shifts in nomenclature (where retention of the manuscript form would lead to disproportionate confusion or disproportionate space in elucidation) I have made no alterations for the sake of consistency with published works, but rather drawn attention throughout to conflicts and variations.

He then goes on to give a broad overview of each section.

Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin

'Now no further proof is needed; and even the name he claims as son of Huor matters less than this clear truth, that he comes from Ulmo himself."

The version we have here is not “Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin” (as it is titled in The Silmarillion and Book of Lost Tales, Christopher has retitle the section “Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin”, as ends around the time of his sighting of the city. The only “full version” is a very early work, not consistent with Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion (as it is published) and written in a more archaic language. What we were presented is a work written after LotR was written.

I wasn’t planning on providing much summary for this section, though I can if so desired, since it appears in different form in other places and any short summary would gloss over such details that make this version unique. I think there is more importance in these small details and changes from other versions of the story than there is to the story itself. What makes UT (and other writings like HoME) so good is we get a look at the “growing and shifting conception in his [Tolkien’s] mind”. However, I realize for some for you this may have been your first exposure to this tale, and since “Of Tuor and His Coming to (/the Fall of) Gondolin” is my person favorite story of the Elder Days and still encourage discussion of the tale itself.

I personally find Tuor’s contrast to his cousin Turin (who’s tale is next week, though again it appears in many other places) the most interesting part. Each have a Vala on their shoulder (so to speak), each have the love of one of the Eldar (though this version stops short before Tuor meets Idril), one lives “happily ever after” while the other well, doesn’t. Their lives could have easily switched.

Also, in the LotR thread there were some suggestions that some of it was too much like quiz and perhaps stifled some more organic discussion. So I won’t be (or should say “haven’t been”) “providing” discussion points so much as putting down my own thoughts (which I will edit in here or as comments). So please, for those of you who have read The Silmarillion or Book of Lost Tales please bring up such changes, and for everyone else voice your opinions/ideas/questions on what is brought up (and what I’ve already said above). And everyone of course discussion the tale itself. Really, just talk about whatever you want (as long as it is Tolkien and hopefully “Of Tuor” related).

If this less directed method doesn’t work out I’ll happily provide points like the LotR discussion for next week (or try to come up with some for this week). By the way, next week will cover the second section of Part I, “Narn I Hîn Húrin”. (About 40 more pages than this section 1 so let me know if that is too much).