Silmarillion - Chapter 12 - Of Men - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Aiwendil · 04-29-2007, 09:37 PM

In this brief chapter we are finally introduced to the race of Men. Though it is said here that ‘of men little is told in these tales’, this strikes me as actually being rather misleading. As we will see, much of the latter half of the Silmarillion focuses on the Men of the three houses of the Edain. I rather wonder why Tolkien makes this somewhat strange statement.

One could spend a lot of time comparing the awakening of Men to the awakening of the Elves. As is observed here, no Vala is sent to the aid of Men. Do you think this, on the whole, to their benefit or to their detriment, as compared to the Elves?

One point that is conspicuously absent from this chapter is the “fall of Man”; absent entirely is the conception of a primeval Eden which humans, as a result of their own sin, lose. However, in Letters, no. 131, Tolkien suggests that such a Fall did take place, but that he deliberately omitted it from the narrative. In fact, in HoMe X, ‘Adanel’s Tale’ does give an account of Melkor’s corruption of the earliest humans.

This chapter began as little more than a paragraph in the ‘Sketch of the Mythology’ and was subsequently expanded in the ‘Quenta Noldorinwa’ and the pre- and post-LotR versions of the ‘Quenta Silmarillion’. In the earliest version of the mythology (the ‘Book of Lost Tales’) the origins of Men were to have been told in ‘Gilfanon’s Tale’, of which, however, only a few pages were ever written. Some tantalizing notes, however, suggest a story very different from that which appeared later. It concerns a mysterious wizard named Tu or Tuvo and a Dark Elf called Nuin, the ‘Father of Speech’, who comes across the first Men still sleeping and wakes two of them before the rising of the Sun. Then a servant of Melkor variously called Fukil, Fangli, or Fankil, comes among Men and corrupts them, and the ‘Battle of Palisor’ is fought between Men and Elves. It’s a pity Tolkien never wrote this intriguing tale.

It should also be noted that in the projected change to the ‘Myths Transformed’ cosmology (wherein the Sun and Moon were to have existed from the beginning of Arda), the awakening of Men was necessarily dissociated from the first appearance of the Sun. In the outlines for this revised form of the mythology, the awakening of Men was to take place far earlier than it does in the Silmarillion.

Additional Readings
HoMe I – contains what exists of ‘Gilfanon’s Tale’.
HoMe IV, V – Pre-LotR versions of the chapter
HoMe XI – Post-LotR revision
HoMe X – contains the tale concerning the first fall of Men told by Adanel; also contains the ‘Myths Transformed’ notes.

04-29-2007, 09:37 PM	#1
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	Silmarillion - Chapter 12 - Of Men In this brief chapter we are finally introduced to the race of Men. Though it is said here that ‘of men little is told in these tales’, this strikes me as actually being rather misleading. As we will see, much of the latter half of the Silmarillion focuses on the Men of the three houses of the Edain. I rather wonder why Tolkien makes this somewhat strange statement. One could spend a lot of time comparing the awakening of Men to the awakening of the Elves. As is observed here, no Vala is sent to the aid of Men. Do you think this, on the whole, to their benefit or to their detriment, as compared to the Elves? One point that is conspicuously absent from this chapter is the “fall of Man”; absent entirely is the conception of a primeval Eden which humans, as a result of their own sin, lose. However, in Letters, no. 131, Tolkien suggests that such a Fall did take place, but that he deliberately omitted it from the narrative. In fact, in HoMe X, ‘Adanel’s Tale’ does give an account of Melkor’s corruption of the earliest humans. This chapter began as little more than a paragraph in the ‘Sketch of the Mythology’ and was subsequently expanded in the ‘Quenta Noldorinwa’ and the pre- and post-LotR versions of the ‘Quenta Silmarillion’. In the earliest version of the mythology (the ‘Book of Lost Tales’) the origins of Men were to have been told in ‘Gilfanon’s Tale’, of which, however, only a few pages were ever written. Some tantalizing notes, however, suggest a story very different from that which appeared later. It concerns a mysterious wizard named Tu or Tuvo and a Dark Elf called Nuin, the ‘Father of Speech’, who comes across the first Men still sleeping and wakes two of them before the rising of the Sun. Then a servant of Melkor variously called Fukil, Fangli, or Fankil, comes among Men and corrupts them, and the ‘Battle of Palisor’ is fought between Men and Elves. It’s a pity Tolkien never wrote this intriguing tale. It should also be noted that in the projected change to the ‘Myths Transformed’ cosmology (wherein the Sun and Moon were to have existed from the beginning of Arda), the awakening of Men was necessarily dissociated from the first appearance of the Sun. In the outlines for this revised form of the mythology, the awakening of Men was to take place far earlier than it does in the Silmarillion. Additional Readings HoMe I – contains what exists of ‘Gilfanon’s Tale’. HoMe IV, V – Pre-LotR versions of the chapter HoMe XI – Post-LotR revision HoMe X – contains the tale concerning the first fall of Men told by Adanel; also contains the ‘Myths Transformed’ notes.