The Second Age Read Along - Part 3 - Week 1: HoMe5: The Fall of Númenor

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#What we’re reading today

For this week, head to the fifth volume of the HoMe: The Lost Road and Other Writings. We’re reading two (relatively) short sections of this volume, from Part One: ‘The Fall of Númenor and The Lost Road’, sections I and II: ‘The Early History of the Legend’ and ‘The Fall of Númenor’.

#Resources

• Referenced to by Christopher, diagram of the World Made Round from another volume

#Before you read

We are revisiting the narrative of Númenor’s downfall, except this time around we are going back to the roots of the tale of Númenor. Much of HoMe is presenting the writing history of Tolkien’s works, and as such, we get to see many of the early forms that the different names and plot elements took. The first section of this week’s readings will talk about the relationship between this week’s readings and next week’s, so bear that in mind when reading it (and remember The Lost Road, as it’s the title for next week’s reading, so you can safely keep yourself uninformed on it when you come across it in this reading).

Christopher Tolkien provides a commentary at the beginning and end of each segment, you can tell what part of the draft he is talking about in his commentary based on the §# indications matching the §# paragraphing of the drafts. As an extra note, Christopher distinguishes his father’s writing mostly by either a larger font, indentation, or quotation marks, the rest is mostly Christopher’s own writing.

As you are reading, expect many names to be unfamiliar (for instance, in (ii) “Sûr” and “Thû” are that version’s Sauron and "Gnomes" are elves). Much of the overall plot should be familiar, however, so attempt to figure out who is who based on the context and commentaries given by Christopher, but definitely feel free to ask if you are confused. Don’t feel a need to follow every reference to another volume or section of the book, this is a mistake I fell into while reading HoMe. Christopher is usually just making a point related to some other version, you don’t always need to go to the other version to understand the point.

Finally, Christopher uses some specific abbreviations to refer to different texts. These are:

• Q: second version of ‘The Silmarillion’, found in HoMe IV
• QS: third version of ‘The Silmarillion’, located later in HoMe V
• FN: The Fall of Númenor, the versions we are reading, referred to collectively as FN or specifically with either the (ii) first version as FN I or (iii) second version as FN II Again, you don’t necessarily need to visit Q and QS, as our primary focus should be on this week’s readings.

#After you read

Most of the readings were simplified and alternate versions we read during Part 1 of this read along. Section (i) is the basic outline, which presents the basic origin of Atalantë (Númenor) and gives the narrative of the mariner lifestyle and eventual moral dilemma of mortality, followed by the attack on Valinor and the changing of the world. FN I, section (ii), is a first draft of a narrative version developed from the outline, with FN II, section (iii), being the second draft. Section (iv) provided some extra commentary from Christopher on how these drafts developed following their original writing as Tolkien began working on The Lord of the Rings.

Notable changes occur from the outline to FN I to FN II: most obvious are the changes in names (Atalantë is a historical term while the narrative name is now Númenor and others of a similar nature), while more subtle are changes such as “the kings of Númenor once in their lives being permitted to go to Valinor” or the transition from “Númenorean longevity is due to being close to the lights of Valinor” to “Númenorean longevity is a gift of the Valar”. Elrond switches from a leader of elves during the Last Alliance to the founder of Númenor (his brother Elros still not invented). Many changes seem small, but overall they add up, and some can change the tone entirely. For discussion, bring up any differences between any versions we’ve read so far, and give us your thoughts on how they change the tone/story/theme. Some are mentioned below, but anything that interests you, feel free to add!

#Discussion questions

• Some early versions of names are given here, and as an aspect of language, we know they were very important to Tolkien. Did any stand out to you? Do you prefer some to their final form?
• Christopher mentions that the atmosphere in Númenor of a tomb culture and death obsession is absent in these versions, being instead only found as part of the Númenorean culture after the downfall. What effect does this have? If you had started without the death cult aspect and you were the author, would you have come up with something different to create a different atmosphere?
• There is a notable lack of Isildur and Anarion in these versions. What reasons do you think (apart from their inclusion in The Lord of the Rings) Tolkien had for their addition to versions following this?
• In these versions it is said that the exiled Númenoreans built ships that could "sail in the air", which Christopher says is the only time aerial craft appear in any of Tolkien's works. If kept, how would this have changed later narratives?
• After seeing the early evolution of the narrative, is there a direction you would’ve taken the story, other than the direction it went in the end?