* * Principles of editing the Fall of Gondolin/Translations from the Elvish * *

[Maédhros]

Well lindil, I have finally been able to read this all.

1. The first priority is always given to the latest editions of works published during Tolkien's lifetime.

Agree with this.

2. Secondary priority is given to the latest ideas found among Tolkien's unpublished texts and letters, except where they:
a. violate the published canon without specifically correcting an error or
b. are proposed changes that do not clearly indicate the exact details that must be changed and how they are to be changed.

I agree in principle with this, but in 2b, do we drop the later ideas and keep the original ones or do we just not mention the original one.
For example the Gil-Galad thing. Would the change be to make him of the House of Finarfin as Tolkien intended or just to leave his lineage uncertain.

7. It is not for us to decide what is aesthetically superior; where we have multiple options, we must choose from among them based on the above principles; personal aesthetics (if used at all) may only be used to decide between two options given equal validity by the above guidelines. A corallary is that we may not disregard anything written by JRRT unless it is invalidated by one of the above principles; i.e., we must have a REASON for rejecting something.

I would be very interested in for example, how we would tackle the Fall of Gondolin. What would happen to the lo! that is in abundance in Bolt, in my humble opinion, some of it will have to be "edited" as to keep as smooth style as possible thought the whole Revised Silmarillion.