Thread: Ambarkanta
View Single Post
Old 02-15-2019, 06:25 PM   #7
Findegil
King's Writer
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,694
Findegil is a guest of Tom Bombadil.
I think we should update completely how we want to update this chapter.
Quote:
Amb-01{Ambrakanta}[Ambracanta]
Of the Fashion of the World
Rúmil
Amb-02 About all the World are the {Ilurambar}[Eärambar], or Walls of the World. They are as ice and glass and steel, being above all imagination of the Children of Earth cold, transparent, and hard. They cannot be seen, nor can they be passed, save by the Door of Night.
Amb-02.2<MT, Text II The Stars{, therefore,} in general {will be}are other and remoter parts of the Great Tale of Eä, which do not concern the Valar of Arda. Though{, even if not explicitly, it will be an underlying assumption that} the Kingdom of Arda is of central importance, selected amid all the immeasurable vast of Eä as the scene for the main drama of the conflict of Melkor with Ilúvatar, and the Children of Eru. Melkor is the supreme spirit of Pride and Revolt, not just the chief Vala of the Earth, who has turned to evil.>
Amb-02.3<Ainulindalë{§23 So began their great labours in}In these wastes unmeasured and unexplored{, and in ages uncounted and forgotten, until in the Deeps of Time} and in the midst of the vast halls of {the }Eä there {came to be that hour and }lay that place where was {made }the habitation of the Children of Ilúvatar. >Amb-02.4 Within {these}the walls[ of Night] the Earth is globed: above, below, and upon all sides is Vaiya, the Enfolding Ocean. But this is more like to sea below the Earth Amb-03 <editorial additon and is called Ekkaia,> and more like to air above the Earth. In Vaiya below the Earth dwells Ulmo. … But in the North and South, where there is most cold and darkness and Middle-earth extends nigh to the Walls of Amb-03.5{the World}[Night], Vaiya and Vista and Ilmen flow together and are confounded.
Ilmen is that air that is clear and pure being pervaded by light though it gives no light. … for in Ilmen Varda Amb-04 ordained the courses of the <editorial additon newer> stars, and later of the Moon and Sun.
From Vista there is no outlet nor escape save for the Amb-05 {servants of Manwë}[Ainur], or for such as {he gives}[is given] powers like to {those of his people}[those of the Ainur], that can sustain themselves in Ilmen or even in the upper Vaiya, which is very thin and cold. … The Western shores of Valinor are therefore not far from the Walls of Amb-05.5{the World}[Night]. Yet there is a chasm which sunders Valinor from Vaiya, and it is filled with Ilmen, … and of the light of the luminaries of heaven.
In the regions of Ulmo the stars are sometimes hidden, … and when she sinks behind the Mountains of Valinor it is evening.
But days are otherwise in Valinor than in Middle-earth. … and the {Gods}[Valar] smile remembering the mingling of Laurelin and {Silpion}[Telperion] long ago.

The Land of Valinor slopes downward from the feet of the Mountains, and its western shore is at the level of the bottoms of the inner seas. And not far thence, as has been said, are the Walls of the World; and over against the westernmost shore in the midst of Valinor is Ando Lómen the Door of Timeless Night that pierceth the Walls and Amb-06 opens upon the Void. For the World is set amid Kúma, the Void, the Night without form or time. But none can pass the chasm and the belt of Vaiya and come to that Door, save the great Valar only. And they made that Door Amb-06.2{when Melko}[in the time Melkor] was overcome and put forth into the Outer Dark; and it is guarded by {Earendel}[Eärendil].

The Middle-earth lies amidst the World, … and they spilled into the chasm, and them waterfalls became ice and bridges of ice because of the cold; so that the chasm of Ilmen was here closed and bridged, and the ice reached out into {Vaiya}[Ekkaia], and even unto the Walls of Amb-06.5{the World}[Night].

Now it is said that the Valar coming into the World descended first upon Middle-earth at its center, save {Melko}[Melkor] who descended in the furthest North. Amb-07{But the Valar took a portion of land and made an island and hallowed it, and set it in the Western Sea and abode upon it, while they were busied in the exploration and first ordering of the World. As is told they desired to make lamps, and Melko offered to devise a new substance of great strength and beauty to be their pillars.} And {he}they set up {these }great pillars north and south of the Earth's middle yet nearer to it than the chasm; and the {Gods}[Valar] placed lamps upon them and the Earth had light for a while. Amb-07.1b <Moved from above But the Valar took a portion of land and made an island and hallowed it, and set it in {the Western Sea}[a Great Lake] and abode upon it, while they were busied in the exploration and first ordering of the World.>

Amb-08b But <editorial addition Melkor assailed> the pillars{ were made with deceit, being wrought of ice; and they melted}, and the lamps fell in ruin, and their light was spilled. But the Amb-08.5b{melting of the ice}[fall of the pillars of the Lamps] made two small inland seas, north and south of the middle of the Earth, and there was a northern land and a middle land and a southern land. … That to the North is {Eruman}[Araman], and that to the South is {Arvalin}[Avathar]; and there is only a narrow strait between them and the corners of the Middle-earth, but these straits are filled with ice.
For their further protection the Valar thrust away Middle-earth at the center and crowded it eastward, … across the seas which divide them from the shores of Middle-earth.
And the thrusting aside of the land caused also mountains to appear in four ranges, … and they look southward. Amb-09 <LQ 1 {But the}[And other] mountains were the Hithaeglir, the Towers of Mist upon the borders of Eriador; yet they were {taller}[tall] and {more} terrible in those days, and they were reared by Melkor to hinder the riding of Oromë.> And in the middle land there were the Mountains of the Wind, … But {Kuivienen}[Cuiviénen] where Oromë found the Elves is to the North beside the waters of {Helkar}[Helcar].
But the symmetry of the ancient Earth was changed and broken in the Amb-09.1b{first Battle of the Gods,}[War of the Powers] when Valinor went out against Utumno, which was {Melko}[Melkor]’s stronghold, and {Melko}[Melkor] was {chained}[captured]. Then the sea of {Helkar}[Helcar] (which was the Amb-10 <editorial addition ancient place of the> northern lamp) became an inland sea or great lake, but the sea of Ringil (which was the Amb-11 <editorial addition ancient place of the> southern lamp) became a great sea flowing north-eastward and joining by straits both the Western and Eastern Seas.
And the Earth was again broken in Amb-11.1{the second battle}[the War of Wrath], when {Melko}[Melkor] was again overthrown, and it has changed ever in the wearing and passing of many ages. But the greatest change took place, when the First Design was destroyed, and the Earth was rounded, and severed from Valinor. This befell in the days of the assault of the Númenóreans upon the land of the {Gods}[Valar], as is told in the Histories. And since that time the world has forgotten the things that were before, and the names and the memory of the lands and waters of old has perished.
Amb-01: I agree to these up date.

Amb-02: When we change {Ilurambar}[Eärambar] (as we should) then we talk here about the outer fence of Eä. And that we should make clear.

Amb-02.1: This was the addition of ‘now’ that gondowe suggested, but we all found not adequate.

Amb-02.2 to Amb-02.4: I adde here a parts from MT, Text II and Ainulindalë and edited them to fit the circumference. Then I change the reference from the Walls of the World to the Walls of Night. I think that we should follow here Christopher Tolkien’s suggestion of two walls which is found in his discussion The Annals of Aman.

Amb-03: I agree to this addition.

Amb-03.5, Amb-05.5 & Amb-06.5: Again this must be the Wall of Night.

Amb-04: This is a good idea, how to deal with the different stars.

Amb-05: I again agree to this change.

Amb-06: Mybe we should think about the Door of Night a little bit less in physical sense. Anyhow if it opens to the Void outside Eä then it must be a transcending thing rather then a physical door. But such an opening into another ‘dimension of being’ might be anywhere (since the Void has anyhow nothing corresponding to the dimensions of our space). So the door might have a kind of double function: opened in the one ‘way’ it led out of Arda, but open in another ‘way’ know only to the great Valar that made the Door it will led out of time and space into the Void out side Eä. At least in that way we could argue. On the other hand we have this passage from MT: “We read that he[Morgoth] was then thrust out into the Void. That should mean that he was put outside Time and Space, outside Eä altogether; but if that were so this would imply a direct intervention of Eru (with or without supplication of the Valar). It may however refer inaccurately[footnote to the text Since the minds of Men (and even of the Elves) were inclined to confuse the 'Void', as a conception of the state of Not-being, outside Creation or Ëa, with the conception of vast spaces within Ëa, especially those conceived to lie all about the enisled 'Kingdom of Arda' (which we should probably call the Solar System).] to the extrusion or flight of his spirit from Arda.“ Thus the Door might simply lead out of Arda and as Morgoth left by his own choice a special protection against he return might simply not be necessary for a very long time (until Dagor Dagorath).

Amb-06.2: I agree to this change suggested by gondowe.

Amb-07 & Amb-07.1b: As the sequence change in the history, we should chang it here as well, as gondowe suggested. In addition I think we should change {the Western Sea}[a Great Lake] (using the unspecific articel).

Amb-08b & Amb-08.5b: ArcusCalion edition looks simpler to me, but I think we should be more specific what caused the building or sees.

Amb-09: I think we all agree to the addition of the Hithaeglir.

Amb-09.1b & Amb-11.1b: As these Battles are named in the later stages of the legendarium we should us these names here.

Amb-10 & Amb-11: I would very much like to have a smother editings for these changes, but I couldn’t find them for the time being.

Diagrams and Maps: Yes, if we can manage we will include them.

Respectfully
Findegil

Last edited by Findegil; 02-15-2019 at 06:30 PM.
Findegil is offline   Reply With Quote