Silmarillion - Chapter 20 - Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Aiwendil · 09-04-2011, 05:51 PM

I have to offer my apologies to everyone for consistently failing to keep these discussions going, and my thanks to Estelyn for reviving them.

I thought that I might as well post the (incomplete) notes I had put together for the remaining chapters - particularly, just for completeness, the lists I had been making of 'additional readings' from HoMe with material relating to each chapter. So here's what I had for chapter 20:

A whole chapter is devoted to the fifth great battle of Beleriand, an event that plays a critical role in the all the various strands of the history of the First Age. As with ‘The Ruin of Beleriand’, this chapter leaves a number of kingdoms defeated and characters slain, and when all is over, the balance of power has shifted drastically; Morgoth now rules most of Beleriand.

The chapter begins with a paragraph that really seems like the conclusion of the previous story, ‘Beren and Luthien’, before passing on to relate the Union of Maedhros. I find it interesting that it is apparently the deeds of Beren and Luthien that inspire Maedhros to consider an assault on Angband. It’s also interesting that something like Maedhros’s idea was contemplated by Fingolfin before the Bragollach (beginning of chapter 18) but at that time the sons of Feanor were very much against the idea. One wonders if Fingolfin would perhaps have been able to form a broader and more effective coalition, since it seems that at least some of the unwillingness of Thingol and Orodreth to join Union was a result of their poor relations with the Feanorians.

We then move on to the Nirnaeth itself. Things go ill from the start, with Maedhros delayed by Uldor’s ‘false warnings of assault from Angband’ and Fingon’s host is drawn from their fortifications by the killing of Gwindor’s brother. Yet victory seems tantalizingly close, especially with the unexpected arrival of Turgon and the army of Gondolin. One can only speculate whether victory was, in fact, ever possible. In any case, it’s interesting to note that for all the sheer size and strength of Morgoth’s forces, the key to his victory is the treachery of Uldor and his followers: ‘Yet neither by wolf, nor by Balrog, nor by Dragon, would Morgoth have achieved his end, but for the treachery of Men.’

The Battle of Unnumbered Tears existed from the earliest version of the mythology, 'The Book of Lost Tales', but the section in which it was to be narrated, 'Gilfanon's Tale', was never written. From the extant notes and outlines, however, we can glean two major differences from the later story: first, the battle was to take place much sooner, perhaps almost immediately upon the return of the Noldoli to Beleriand; second, Morgoth's victory was to be even more complete, so that nearly all of the surviving Noldoli became his thralls.

The narrative that appears in the published Silmarillion is an amalgamation formed from three different sources: the 'Quenta Silmarillion' version, the long 'Grey Annals' entry for the year 472, and the account of the battle written for the 'Narn i Chin Hurin'. There are some interesting subtleties in the relations among those three texts, which Christopher Tolkien does his usual excellent job of analyzing in HoMe XI.

Additonal readings:
HoMe I - Outlines for 'Gilfanon's Tale'
HoMe IV, V - 'Sketch of the Mythology', 'Quenta Noldorinwa', and 'Quenta Silmarillion' versions
HoMe XI - 'Grey Annals' version and CT's discussion of the three different sources
The Children of Hurin - Chapter 2 of this book is the 'Narn i Chin Hurin' version mentioned above.

09-04-2011, 05:51 PM	#8
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	I have to offer my apologies to everyone for consistently failing to keep these discussions going, and my thanks to Estelyn for reviving them. I thought that I might as well post the (incomplete) notes I had put together for the remaining chapters - particularly, just for completeness, the lists I had been making of 'additional readings' from HoMe with material relating to each chapter. So here's what I had for chapter 20: A whole chapter is devoted to the fifth great battle of Beleriand, an event that plays a critical role in the all the various strands of the history of the First Age. As with ‘The Ruin of Beleriand’, this chapter leaves a number of kingdoms defeated and characters slain, and when all is over, the balance of power has shifted drastically; Morgoth now rules most of Beleriand. The chapter begins with a paragraph that really seems like the conclusion of the previous story, ‘Beren and Luthien’, before passing on to relate the Union of Maedhros. I find it interesting that it is apparently the deeds of Beren and Luthien that inspire Maedhros to consider an assault on Angband. It’s also interesting that something like Maedhros’s idea was contemplated by Fingolfin before the Bragollach (beginning of chapter 18) but at that time the sons of Feanor were very much against the idea. One wonders if Fingolfin would perhaps have been able to form a broader and more effective coalition, since it seems that at least some of the unwillingness of Thingol and Orodreth to join Union was a result of their poor relations with the Feanorians. We then move on to the Nirnaeth itself. Things go ill from the start, with Maedhros delayed by Uldor’s ‘false warnings of assault from Angband’ and Fingon’s host is drawn from their fortifications by the killing of Gwindor’s brother. Yet victory seems tantalizingly close, especially with the unexpected arrival of Turgon and the army of Gondolin. One can only speculate whether victory was, in fact, ever possible. In any case, it’s interesting to note that for all the sheer size and strength of Morgoth’s forces, the key to his victory is the treachery of Uldor and his followers: ‘Yet neither by wolf, nor by Balrog, nor by Dragon, would Morgoth have achieved his end, but for the treachery of Men.’ The Battle of Unnumbered Tears existed from the earliest version of the mythology, 'The Book of Lost Tales', but the section in which it was to be narrated, 'Gilfanon's Tale', was never written. From the extant notes and outlines, however, we can glean two major differences from the later story: first, the battle was to take place much sooner, perhaps almost immediately upon the return of the Noldoli to Beleriand; second, Morgoth's victory was to be even more complete, so that nearly all of the surviving Noldoli became his thralls. The narrative that appears in the published Silmarillion is an amalgamation formed from three different sources: the 'Quenta Silmarillion' version, the long 'Grey Annals' entry for the year 472, and the account of the battle written for the 'Narn i Chin Hurin'. There are some interesting subtleties in the relations among those three texts, which Christopher Tolkien does his usual excellent job of analyzing in HoMe XI. Additonal readings: HoMe I - Outlines for 'Gilfanon's Tale' HoMe IV, V - 'Sketch of the Mythology', 'Quenta Noldorinwa', and 'Quenta Silmarillion' versions HoMe XI - 'Grey Annals' version and CT's discussion of the three different sources The Children of Hurin - Chapter 2 of this book is the 'Narn i Chin Hurin' version mentioned above.