The Treason of Isengard (32 page)

10. Rhosgobel has appeared previously, but as a subsequent addition to the fifth version of 'The Council of Elrond' (p. 149); the present passage is clearly where the name was devised. In Brownhay 'Brown' is evidently to be associated with Radagast

'the Brown', and 'hay' is the old word meaning 'hedge', as in the High Hay, Ringhay (= Crickhollow, VI.299). For the etymology of Rhosgobel see V.385, Noldorin rhosc 'brown' (stem RUSKA), and V.380, Noldorin gobel 'fenced homestead', as in Tavrobel (stem PEL(ES)).

11. Redway: original name of the Silverlode.

12. The brief account of the 'Choosing' given on p. 162 may be compared: 'In the end after the matter had been much debated by Elrond and Gandalf it was decided... ' It is possible that this text followed the first and preceded the second of the alternative versions: my father referred to the second as the 'short version'

(though it is not markedly shorter than the other), which may explain why he noted on the brief draft text that it was a sketch of a 'reduction' of the choosing of the Company. - As with the variant openings of the chapter (note 6) both alternatives were retained in the typescript.

13. A few minor changes were introduced (but not the mention of the lay of Beren and Luthien heard by the hobbits in the Hall of Fire); Bilbo now refers to the fact that Frodo's sword had been broken (see p. 136, note 7), but does not produce the pieces (and the mailcoat remains 'elf-mail', not 'dwarf-mail').

14. In these workings the last verse (for which there is a preparatory note: 'He ends: but all the while he will think of Frodo') reads: But all the while I sit and think

I listen for the door,

and hope to hear the voices come

I used to hear before.

This is the form of the verse in the typescript text, where the song first appears in the chapter.

15. A halfway stage is found in a draft for the passage: here there were still two pack-ponies, but one of them was the beast bought in Bree; this Sam addresses as 'Ferny', though it is also called

'Bill'. Cf. the note about Bill Ferny's pony given on p. 9: 'Does this remain at Rivendell? - Yes.'

16. Eregion was written in subsequently (this name appears in the isolated text given on p. 124). No Elvish name is given in the typescript.

17. This is the first occurrence of the name Dwarrowdelf. Cf. my father's letter to Stanley Unwin, 15 October 1937 (Letters no.

17): 'The real "historical" plural of dwarf ... is dwarrows, anyway: rather a nice word, but a bit too archaic. Still I rather wish I had used the word dtuarrow.' - 'Black Gulf' as a translation of Moria is found several times in the original text of

'The Ring Goes South', once as a correction of 'Black Pit'

(VI.435, note 24).

18. This is the first occurrence of the Dwarvish name Barazinbar, concerning which my father wrote long after (in the notes referred to in VI.466, notes 36, 39) that Khuzdul baraz (BRZ) probably = 'red, or ruddy', and inbar (MBR) a horn, Sindarin Caradhras < caran-rass being a translation of the Dwarvish name. - Subsequently both Caradhras and Caradras occur as the manuscript was originally written, but the latter far more frequently.

19. On Azanulbizar see VI.465, note 36. Nanduhirion here first occurs, but the form Nanduhiriath is found as an emendation to the text of the original version of the chapter, VI.433, note 13.

20. On Dimrill Stair as the name of the Redhorn Pass see p. 164.

21. The names of the other Mountains of Moria were not devised at once, however, since though entered on the manuscript they are still absent from the typescript, where my father inserted them in the same form. As first devised, the names of the other peaks were Silverhorn, Celebras (Kelebras) the White (in FR Silvertine, Celebdil), and the Horn of Cloud, Fanuiras the Grey (in FR

Cloudyhead, Fanuidhol); the Dwarvish names were as in FR, Baraz, Zirak, Shathur (but Zirak was momentarily Zirik). In the later notes referred to in note 18 my father said that since Shathur was the basic Dwarvish name the element probably refers to

'cloud', and was probably a plural 'clouds'; Bund(u) in the fuller name Bundu-shathur 'must therefore mean "head" or something similar. Possibly bund ( BND) - u - Shathur "head in/of clouds>.

On Zirak and the longer form Zirakzigil see note 22.

22. When Silverlode superseded Blackroot, as it did before the original text of the 'Lothlorien' story was completed, the passage was changed to its form in FR: Dark is the water of Kheledzaram," said Gimli, "and cold are the springs of Kibil-nala."'

The name Kheledzaram first appears in these variant passages; see VI.466, note 39, where I cited my father's much later note explaining the name as meaning 'glass-pool'. In the same notes he discussed the Dwarvish word for 'silver':

Zirak-zigil should mean 'Silver-spike' (cf. 'Silvertine', and Celebdil < Sindarin celeb 'silver' + till 'tine, spike, point'). But

'silver' is evidently KBL in Kibil-nala - KBL seems to have some connexion with Quenya telep- 'silver'. But all these peoples seem to have possessed various words for the precious metals, some referring to the material and its properties, some to their colour and other associations. So that zirak (ZRK) is probably another name for 'silver', or for its grey colour. Zigil is evidently a word for 'spike' (smaller and more slender than a

'horn'). Caradhras seems to have been a great mountain j

tapering upwards (like the Matterhorn), while Celebdil was simply crowned by a smaller pinnacle.

Still later pencilled notes reversed this explanation, suggesting that zigil (ZGL) meant 'silver' and zirak meant 'spike'. - Of Kibil-nala my father noted that 'the meaning of nala is not known. If it corresponds to rant [in Celebrant] and lode [in Silverlode], it should mean "path, course, rivercourse or bed".'

He added later: 'It is probable that the Dwarves actually found silver in the river.'

23. Delduath: 'Deadly Nightshade', Taur-na-Fuin; Dor-Daedeloth:

'Land of the Shadow of Dread', the realm of Morgoth. See references in the Index to Vol. V, entries Delduwath, Dor-Daideloth.

24. Literally: 'fire be for saving of us'.

25. The passage that follows here must have been rejected as soon as written:

As he stepped forward Boromir suddenly stumbled on some hidden point of stone, and fell headlong. Trotter, who was just behind, was taken unawares and fell on top of him. Merry and Pippin were flung from their shoulders and vanished deep into the snow.

This, though changed to suit the altered story of the descent, was derived from the old version, VI.427.

IX.

THE MINES OF MORIA (1):

THE LORD OF MORIA.

It seems very probable, if not actually demonstrable, that a new version of the first part of the Moria story (corresponding to FR II Chapter 4, 'A Journey in the Dark') preceded the first draft of its continuation, and I therefore give the texts in their narrative sequence.

The original draft of 'The Mines of Moria' (VI.445-60) had come to an end as the Company stood before the tomb of Balin, and at this time the narrative of The Lord of the Rings went no further - apart from a preliminary sketch of the further events in Moria, VI.442 - 3

and 462. This therefore is the last chapter for which formed narrative from an earlier phase of work existed.

In a manuscript that bears a distinct resemblance in style to that of the new version of 'The Ring Goes South' described in the last chapter, my father now rewrote the first part of the story of the journey through the Mines. As in the last chapter, there are a few pages of rough initial drafting for particular passages, but (unless more have been lost) the development of the new version was very largely achieved in the actual writing of this manuscript, which is a mass of (mostly small) corrections made at the time of composition. Of subsequent pencilled emendation there is not a great deal, for the text of FR II.4 was effectively reached here: for most of its length the only differences from the final form are extremely minor points of sentence structure and choice of words, with no significance for the narrative, and for substantial stretches the two texts are identical. There are however certain features where this is not the case.

The chapter, numbered XVI, was given a title, 'The Mines of Moria (i)'. Pencilled titles were written in beside this: 'The Lord of Moria'

and 'The Tomb'; the latter was struck through, and the typescript that followed this manuscript was titled: 'The Mines of Moria (1): The Lord of Moria'. The original version had included the debate of the Company after the descent from the Pass of Cris-caron and the discussion of Moria in 'The Ring Goes South' (VI.428 - 30), and 'The Mines of Moria' had begun at 'Next day the weather changed again'

(VI.445; FR p. 313). Now, of course, the new chapter XVI follows on from the end of the new chapter XV, and the division is as in FR.

Aragorn is called Trotter throughout, and throughout Trotter was changed later in pencil to Elfstone (see pp. 277 - 8).

In the debate of the Company Boromir's references to the geography of the southern lands are very curious (cf. FR p. 309):

'It is a name of ill-omen,' said Boromir. 'Nor do I see the need to go there. If we cannot cross the mountains, let us take the road to my land that I followed on my way hither: through Rohan and the country of Seven Streams. Or we could go on far into the South and come at length round the Black Mountains, and crossing the rivers Isen and Silverlode (1) enter Ond from the regions nigh the sea.'

'Things have changed since you came north, Boromir,' said Gandalf. 'Did you not hear what I told of Saruman? We must not come near Isengard or the Gap of Rohan. As for the even longer road, we cannot afford the time....'

The remainder of Gandalf's reply is very much as in FR, except that he tells Boromir that 'you are free to leave us and return to Minas Tirith by any road you choose.'

The 'Seven Rivers' have been referred to in the first version of Gandalf's story to the Council of Elrond, where he reported Radagast's words to him (p. 132): 'even if you set out this hour you will hardly come to him [Saruman] before the Nine cross the Seven Rivers'

(in the next version this becomes 'before the Nine have crossed the seventh river', p. 149).

Features of the geography much further to the South were already in being. Before the story had got very much further it is made plain that

'the Land of Seven Streams' lay 'between the mountains [i.e. the Black Mountains, the later White Mountains] and the sea' (see p. 272); yet Boromir's words here seem only to allow of a quite contrary interpretation of 'the country of Seven Streams'. The choices he proposes are essentially as in FR: through Rohan from the West (i.e. passing through the Gap of Rohan) and so to Minas Tirith, or going on South, crossing the Isen, and coming to Minas Tirith through the lands between the mountains and the sea; but they will traverse 'the country of Seven Streams' if they choose the first option, and pass north of the mountains. I cannot explain this, except on the assumption that it was a mere slip, or else on the assumption that the geography of these regions was still in a more fluid state than one would otherwise suppose.

The river Isen first appears here in the narrative,(2) and the 'Silverlode', which was afterwards the 'Blackroot', the two names being transposed (see p. 235). In this passage also are the first occurrences of an Elvish name for Sauron's dwelling in Southern Mirkwood, and of the name Barad-dur:

'I alone of you have ever been in the dungeons of the Dark Lord; and only in his older and lesser dwelling at Dol-Dugol in Southern Mirkwood. Those who pass the gates of Barad-dur, the Dark Tower in the Land of Shadow, do not return.'

The confusion over Thror and Thrain is no longer present: 'Yet it will not be the first time that I have been to Moria: I sought there long for Thrain son of Thror after he was lost.' And Trotter utters his warning to Gandalf (on the change of roles between Gandalf and Trotter in their willingness to consider the passage of Moria see p. 168).

The episode of the attack by the Wargs enters in this text, and reached virtually the final form outright, with relatively little correction in the course of composition;(3) and the account of the journey of the Company from the little hill where the attack took place to the arrival of Gandalf, Gimli, and Frodo at the top of the steps by the Stair Falls reaches the FR text in almost every point.(4) But Gandalf's words when they saw what had happened to the Gate-stream were much changed. At first he made no reference to the Door(s); then the following was substituted:

'That is where the Door stood once upon a time,' said Gandalf pointing across the water to the cliff opposite. But Frodo could see nothing that marked the spot, unless it was some bushes at the foot of the wall, and some rotting stems and branches that stood up from the water near its further side.

This was in turn rejected and replaced by:

'That is where the Doors stood once upon a time,' said Gandalf pointing across the water. 'There was the Elven-door at the end of the road from Hollin by which we have come, [struck out: and the Dwarven-door further south]. We must get across