The Fall of Gondolin

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The Fall of Gondolin
FallOfGondolin.png
Front cover of the 2018 hardback edition
Editor Christopher Tolkien
Author J. R. R. Tolkien
Illustrator Alan Lee
Cover artistAlan Lee
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Subject Tolkien's legendarium
Genre High fantasy
Published2018
Publisher HarperCollins
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages304 [1]
ISBN 978-0008302757
Preceded by Beren and Lúthien  

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fall of Gondolin is one of the stories which formed the basis for a section in his posthumously-published work The Silmarillion , with a version later appearing in The Book of Lost Tales . In the narrative, Gondolin was founded by King Turgon in the First Age; the city was carefully hidden, enduring for centuries before being betrayed and destroyed.

Contents

A stand-alone, book-length version of the story edited by Christopher Tolkien was published in 2018. [1] [2] The Fall of Gondolin is one of three stories from the First Age of Middle-earth that was published as a stand-alone book: the other two are Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin .

Text

Gothmog, High Captain of Angband, at the storming of Gondolin. Illustration by Tom Loback GOTHMOG-1.jpg
Gothmog, High Captain of Angband, at the storming of Gondolin. Illustration by Tom Loback

Origins

Tolkien began writing the story that would become The Fall of Gondolin in 1917 in an army barracks on the back of a sheet of military marching music. It is the first traceable story of his Middle-earth legendarium that he wrote down on paper. [3] While the first half of the story "appears to echo Tolkien's creative development and slow acceptance of duty in the first year of the war," the second half echoes his personal experience of battle. [4] The story was read aloud by Tolkien to the Exeter College Essay Club in the spring of 1920. [5]

Tolkien was constantly revising his First Age stories; however, the narrative he wrote in 1917, published posthumously in The Book of Lost Tales , remains the only full account of the fall of the city.

Publication of versions of the story

The narrative "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin" in the 1977 book The Silmarillion was the result of the editing by his son Christopher using the 1917 narrative (minus some elements all too obviously evocative of World War I warfare) and compressed versions from the different versions of the Annals and Quentas as additional sources. The later Quenta Silmarillion and the Grey Annals , the main sources for much of the published Silmarillion, both stop before the beginning of the Tuor story.

A partial later version of The Fall of Gondolin was published in the 1980 book Unfinished Tales under the title "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin". Originally titled "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin," this narrative shows a great expansion of the earlier tale. Christopher Tolkien retitled the story before including it in Unfinished Tales , because it ends at the point of Tuor's arrival in Gondolin, and does not depict the actual Fall.

There is also an unfinished poem, The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin, of which a few verses are quoted in the 1985 book The Lays of Beleriand . In 130 verses Tolkien reaches the point where dragons attack the city.

Book

Publication history

In 2018, [1] the first stand-alone version of the story was published by HarperCollins in the UK [1] and Houghton Mifflin in the US. [1] This version, illustrated by Alan Lee, has been curated and edited by Christopher Tolkien, [1] J. R. R. Tolkien's son, who also edited The Silmarillion , Unfinished Tales , and the twelve-volume The History of Middle-earth which included The Book of Lost Tales . [3]

Contents

The book ends with a list of names, additional notes, and a glossary.

Reception

By Tolkien scholars

Douglas Kane writes in Journal of Tolkien Research that The Fall of Gondolin was the first of Tolkien's three "Great Tales" to be written, and the last to be published, the other two being the Great Tale of Túrin Turambar (published in The Children of Húrin, 2007, edited into a continuous story) and Beren and Lúthien (2017, presented as a set of versions of the story). That left the tale which was "arguably the one in which the world of Middle-earth is most vividly presented and in which Tolkien’s philosophical themes are most profoundly expressed." [6] Kane adds that although the book collects material already published, "it still succeeds in rounding out that task", for instance by putting the "Sketch of the Mythology" in the prologue. He wonders, though, why the editor included part of the poem "The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor" (already in The Lays of Beleriand), but omits the poem fragment "The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin" which is far more obviously relevant. Kane admires Alan Lee's illustrations, both in colour and in black and white, as providing "a perfect complement" to the final book in the "unique and remarkable" collaboration between Christopher Tolkien and his father. [6]

Jennifer Rogers, reviewing the book for Tolkien Studies , writes that it "highlights the power of the Gondolin story in its own right with minimal editorial intrusion." [7] As Tolkien's first tale and the last one to be published by his son, the book is "laden with the sense of weight such a publication brings", taking the reader back to the place where the whole Legendarium began, the story about Eärendel (later called Eärendil). [7]

In newspapers

According to Entertainment Weekly , "Patient and dedicated readers will find among the references to other books and their many footnotes and appendices a poignant sense of completion and finality to the life's pursuit of a father and son." [8] Writing for The Washington Post , writer Andrew Ervin said that "The Fall of Gondolin provides everything Tolkien's readers expect." [9] According to The Independent , "Even amid the complexities and difficulties of the book—and there are many—there is enough splendid imagery and characterful prose that readers will be carried along to the end even if they don't know where they are going." [10]

In science

The Finnish entomologist Lauri Kaila named multiple species of moth in the genus Elachista , such as E. finarfinella , E. gildorella , and E. turgonella , after characters from The Fall of Gondolin. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Tolkien</span> British book editor, son of J. R. R. Tolkien

Christopher John Reuel Tolkien was an English and naturalised French academic editor. The son of author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien edited much of his father's posthumously published work, including The Silmarillion and the 12-volume series The History of Middle-Earth. Tolkien also drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings.

A Balrog is a powerful demonic monster in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, where the Fellowship of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in the Mines of Moria. Balrogs appear also in Tolkien's The Silmarillion and other posthumously published books. Balrogs are tall and menacing beings who can shroud themselves in fire, darkness, and shadow. They are armed with fiery whips "of many thongs", and occasionally use long swords.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic literature, with a pervasive sense of doom over the character's actions. Beleriand also appears in the works The Book of Lost Tales, The Children of Húrin, and in the epic poems of The Lays of Beleriand.

In J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, Gondolin is a secret city of Elves in the First Age of Middle-earth, and the greatest of their cities in Beleriand. The story of the Fall of Gondolin tells of the arrival there of Tuor, a prince of Men; of the betrayal of the city to the dark Lord Morgoth by the king's nephew, Maeglin; and of its subsequent siege and catastrophic destruction by Morgoth's armies. It also relates the flight of the fugitives to the Havens of Sirion, the wedding of Tuor and the Elf Idril, and the childhood of their son Eärendil.

<i>Unfinished Tales</i> 1980 collection of unfinished writings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. Many of the tales within are retold in The Silmarillion, albeit in modified forms; the work also contains a summary of the events of The Lord of the Rings told from a less personal perspective.

Túrin Turambar is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Turambar and the Foalókë, begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. Túrin is a Man of the First Age of Middle-earth, whose family had been cursed by the Dark Lord Morgoth. While trying vainly to defy the curse, Túrin brings ruin across much of Beleriand, and upon himself and his sister Niënor. His title, "Turambar", means master of fate.

Tuor Eladar and Idril Celebrindal are fictional characters from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. They are the parents of Eärendil the Mariner and grandparents of Elrond Half-elven: through their progeny, they become the ancestors of the Númenóreans and of the King of the Reunited Kingdom Aragorn Elessar. Both characters play a pivotal role in The Fall of Gondolin, one of Tolkien's earliest stories; it formed the basis for a section in his later work, The Silmarillion, and was expanded as a standalone publication in 2018.

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<i>The Lays of Beleriand</i> Third volume of the 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth

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<i>The Shaping of Middle-earth</i> Fourth volume of the 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the real-world history and notable fictional elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy universe. It covers materials created by Tolkien; the works on his unpublished manuscripts, by his son Christopher Tolkien; and films, games and other media created by other people.

The term Middle-earth canon, also called Tolkien's canon, is used for the published writings of J. R. R. Tolkien regarding Middle-earth as a whole. The term is also used in Tolkien fandom to promote, discuss and debate the idea of a consistent fictional canon within a given subset of Tolkien's writings.

<i>Beren and Lúthien</i> Book by J. R. R. Tolkien

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<i>The Children of Húrin</i> Novel by J. R. R. Tolkien

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolkien's legendarium</span> J. R. R. Tolkiens mythological writings

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The Maiar are a fictional class of beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. Supernatural and angelic, they are "lesser Ainur" who entered the cosmos of Eä in the beginning of time. The name Maiar is in the Quenya tongue from the Elvish root maya- "excellent, admirable".

Morgoth Bauglir is a character, one of the godlike Valar, from Tolkien's legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin.

<i>The Silmarillion</i> Collection of J. R. R. Tolkiens mythopoeic works

The Silmarillion is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. It tells of Eä, a fictional universe that includes the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the once-great region of Beleriand, the sunken island of Númenor, and the continent of Middle-earth, where Tolkien's most popular works—The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—are set. After the success of The Hobbit, Tolkien's publisher, Stanley Unwin, requested a sequel, and Tolkien offered a draft of the writings that would later become The Silmarillion. Unwin rejected this proposal, calling the draft obscure and "too Celtic", so Tolkien began working on a new story that eventually became The Lord of the Rings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Helen, Daniel (10 April 2018). "The Fall of Gondolin to be published". Tolkien Society. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  2. ↑ Helen, Daniel (30 August 2018). "The Fall of Gondolin published". Tolkien Society. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 "J.R.R. Tolkien's First Middle-Earth Story, The Fall of Gondolin, to Be Published". BBC. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Garth, John (2013). Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth . Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 217. ISBN   978-0544263727.
  5. ↑ Tolkien 1984b "The Fall of Gondolin"
  6. 1 2 Kane, Douglas Charles (2018). "[Review:] The Fall of Gondolin (2018) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien". Journal of Tolkien Research . 6 (2). Article 1.
  7. 1 2 Rogers, Jennifer (2019). "[Review] The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R Tolkien". Tolkien Studies . 16 (1): 170–174. doi:10.1353/tks.2019.0013. S2CID   211969055.
  8. ↑ Lewis, Evan (25 August 2018). "The Fall of Gondolin is an indispensable examination of Tolkien's first Middle-earth story: EW review". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Ervin, Andrew (28 August 2018). "J.R.R. Tolkien's latest posthumous book may actually be the last". The Washington Post . Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  10. ↑ Griffin, Andrew (31 August 2018). "JRR Tolkien, The Fall of Gondolin review: A vast and fitting last look at Middle Earth" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  11. ↑ Kaila, Lauri (1999). "A Revision of the Nearctic Species of the Genus Elachista s. l. III.: The bifasciella, praelineata, saccharella and freyerella groups (Lepidoptera, Elachistidae)". Acta Zoologica Fennica (211): 1–235.

Sources

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