The Early History of the Legend: Difference between revisions
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'''The Early History of the Legend''' is the first chapter of the first section, 'Part One: The Fall of Númenor and the Lost Road', of ''[[The Lost Road and Other Writings]]''. | '''The Early History of the Legend''' is the first chapter of the first section, 'Part One: The Fall of Númenor and the Lost Road', of ''[[The Lost Road and Other Writings]]''. [[Christopher Tolkien]] doesn't give any text here, but just explains the first conceptions of both ''[[The Fall of Númenor]]'' and ''[[The Lost Road]]''. | ||
'One day', [[Tolkien]] and [[C.S. Lewis]], unsatisfied with the stories they read, decided to write some by themselves. After choosing two literary thematics, they tossed up to see what would do each one.<ref name=Early>{{LR|P1I}}</ref>{{rp|7}} | |||
'One day', [[Tolkien]] and [[C.S. Lewis]], unsatisfied with the stories they read, decided to write some by themselves. After choosing two literary thematics, they tossed up to see what would do each one.<ref>{{LR|P1I}}</ref>{{rp|7}} | |||
{{blockquote|We agreed that he should try 'space travel', and I should try 'time-travel'. | {{blockquote|We agreed that he should try 'space travel', and I should try 'time-travel'. His result is well known. My effort, after a few promising chapters, ran dry: it was too long a way round to what I really wanted to make, a new version of the [[Atlantis]] legend. The final scene survives as ''[[Akallabêth|The Downfall of Númenor]]''.|[[Letter 294]]}} | ||
It is unknown the exact date of | Lewis's well known result was ''[[Out of the Silent Planet]]'', and Tolkien's abandoned effort was ''[[The Lost Road]]''. From [[Letter 257|a letter]] written a few years before, [[Christopher Tolkien]] suspects that his father's story was already conceived in full association with 'The Silmarillion',<ref name=Early></ref>{{rp|10}} as Tolkien seem to imply that there was an agreement with Lewis that his version of Atlantis "''was to be called Númenor''". This contradicts what Tolkien says in the same letter: that he put the first writings of the Downfall in relation with the main mythology. [[Humphrey Carpenter]] assumes the latter,<ref>{{HM|Bio}}, p. 170</ref> but Christopher concludes that both the time-travel story and the númenorean legend were works written at the same time.<ref name=Early></ref>{{rp|9}} | ||
In any case, Tolkien explains that he began the story of a father and his son travelling back through the different phases of the history, eventually reaching the time of the Downfall of Númenor. But soon he lost interest in the main time-travel plot, and became more interested in the upper end.<ref name=Early></ref>{{rp|8}} Therefore, he abandoned the story, but the Downfall remained in his [[Legendarium]] and was latter developed as the [[Second Age]]. | |||
It is unknown the exact date of the initial conversation of Tolkien and Lewis, although we know that Lewis finished by the autumn of [[1937]] and Tolkien submitted ''The Lost Road'' (unfinished) to [[Allen & Unwin]] on [[15 November]] of the same year.<ref>{{LB|Note}}, p. 364</ref> | |||
{{References}} | {{References}} | ||
Revision as of 20:20, 20 September 2019
| The Lost Road and Other Writings chapters |
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The Early History of the Legend is the first chapter of the first section, 'Part One: The Fall of Númenor and the Lost Road', of The Lost Road and Other Writings. Christopher Tolkien doesn't give any text here, but just explains the first conceptions of both The Fall of Númenor and The Lost Road.
'One day', Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, unsatisfied with the stories they read, decided to write some by themselves. After choosing two literary thematics, they tossed up to see what would do each one.[1]:7
We agreed that he should try 'space travel', and I should try 'time-travel'. His result is well known. My effort, after a few promising chapters, ran dry: it was too long a way round to what I really wanted to make, a new version of the Atlantis legend. The final scene survives as The Downfall of Númenor.
—Letter 294
Lewis's well known result was Out of the Silent Planet, and Tolkien's abandoned effort was The Lost Road. From a letter written a few years before, Christopher Tolkien suspects that his father's story was already conceived in full association with 'The Silmarillion',[1]:10 as Tolkien seem to imply that there was an agreement with Lewis that his version of Atlantis "was to be called Númenor". This contradicts what Tolkien says in the same letter: that he put the first writings of the Downfall in relation with the main mythology. Humphrey Carpenter assumes the latter,[2] but Christopher concludes that both the time-travel story and the númenorean legend were works written at the same time.[1]:9
In any case, Tolkien explains that he began the story of a father and his son travelling back through the different phases of the history, eventually reaching the time of the Downfall of Númenor. But soon he lost interest in the main time-travel plot, and became more interested in the upper end.[1]:8 Therefore, he abandoned the story, but the Downfall remained in his Legendarium and was latter developed as the Second Age.
It is unknown the exact date of the initial conversation of Tolkien and Lewis, although we know that Lewis finished by the autumn of 1937 and Tolkien submitted The Lost Road (unfinished) to Allen & Unwin on 15 November of the same year.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part One. The Fall of Númenor and The Lost Road: I. The Early History of the Legend"
- ↑ Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, p. 170
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lays of Beleriand, "Note on the original submission of the Lay of Leithian", p. 364
