Analysis The History of Middle-earth: from a Mythology for England to a Recovery of the Real Earth Christopher Garbowski ne of J.R.R. Tolkien's great Parallels with the pro­ joined with the fortunes and mis­ Oambitions was to have The fortunes of the elves, in their Lord of the Rings and The Silmar- cess of myth creation combined struggle with Sauron, illion published together. This in found in the work of for the remainder of the Second fact delayed the publication of the contemporary philoso­ Age. After their costly self- former, since Allen & Unwin, satisfaction with apparent victory, who had originally instigated the phers the struggle resumes for the full trilogy and were willing to risk extent of the Third Age, wherein the publication of this unusual are set The Hobbit and The Lord book, were not surprisingly un­ conflagration with Morgoth are o f the Rings. The former was prepared for the additional publi­ rewarded with an Eden-like is­ independently conceived, but cation of what seemed to be an land residence set between the turned out to be essential in the altogether obscure work. In an “uttermost West” - Valinor, the history of Middle-earth: undated letter (probably from late residence of the Valar - and As the high Legends o f the begin­ 1951) to Milton Waldman, a dif­ Middle-earth, while the elves ning are supposed to look at ferent potential publisher, the au­ who do not leave Middle-earth things through Elvish minds, so thor presented a vision of his exercise a kind of ‘antiquarian the middle tale o f the Hobbits mythology. custodian function’ in the lands takes a virtually human point o f Tolkien starts by stating his orig­ they control. Meanwhile the for­ view - and the last tale binds inal motivation of creating a large mer vassal of Morgoth, Sauron, them. 3 mythology dedicated to England, grows in power, finding ways of The vision Tolkien cogently set which he felt to be missing in the undermining first the strength of out in the letter is basically the tradition of his beloved country. the elves in Middle-earth and fi­ story that readers of The Silmaril­ The cosmogonical myth, he con­ nally the nearly invincible men of lion, The Hobbit and the trilogy tinues, introduces God and the the West. Tempting them with will recognize. For those who Valar, the latter as “beings of the immortality Sauron convinces the take this as the whole story, there same order of beauty, power and Numenoreans to break the ban of is a major flaw: the former was majesty as the ‘gods’ of higher the Valar and the latter tragically and remained to the end of the mythology.”1 The cycle then pro­ assault Valinor, the forbidden author’s life a great, unfulfilled ceeds to the history of the elves, realm. Numenor is destroyed by project. As is fairly well known. “or The Silmarillion proper,” and direct intervention of Iluvatar, the The Silmarillion as it was pub­ the latter’s great accomplish­ one God (aside from the original lished constituted an edited com­ ments and travails. Slowly men creation of the world and the sub­ pilation from different versions of arc introduced in the First Age of sequent creation of his children, the myths of the ‘Elder Days’ (as the Sun, wherein ‘history’, as the Elves and Humans, this is the they came to be known upon the such, or a regular chronology be­ only such miracle in the mythol­ publication of LOTR. Moreover, gins, and together through the ogy) who changes the shape of the letter gives the false impres­ agency of Earendil, who repre­ the world to a globe and sion that each phase has been sents both ‘races’, they induce the “(thereafter there is no visible given equal treatment in the leg- assistance of the Valar to cast out dwelling of the divine or immor­ endarium. the fallen Vala Morgoth, the per­ tal on earth. Valinor (i.e. par­ Following the publication of The petrator of the major woes of both adise) and even Eressea are re­ History o f Middle-earth series by races, into the Void. moved, remaining only in the Christopher Tolkien, we have a The next cycle, or ‘Second Age,’ memory of the earth.”2 A few detailed record of the creative deals with the history of the castaway Numenoreans make process by which this mythical ‘Atlantis’ isle of Numenore their way to Middle-earth, setting world arose. Since there is no where the men who helped in the up kingdoms, and their history is definitive version of the mythol­ 21 Mallorn XXXVII ogy of Middle-earth, in a sense respondingly - were never actu­ ‘foresaw’ was that a person each part belongs to the corpus, ally completed and fizzle out to­ would achieve nothing upon with all its strengths and weak­ ward an earlier poetic core. gaining, access to Aman since his nesses. It might also be argued Around 1931 a major narrative own mortality would not be that for many the sum is worth change took place in the Silmaril- changed, indeed more than the total of the literary lion mythology. While ‘Tales’, he would become filled with envy, merit of its parts. Especially if we are oral, ‘Quenta Noldoriwa’ - deeming himself a victim, denied look at the question from a the only complete version of the the graces given to all other Franklian perspective. According Silmarillion mythology - is rather things. (...) He would not escape to Viktor E. Frank!4, “each man is like a medieval chronicle. As an the fear and sorrow o f his swift questioned by life; and he can immediate consequence, the mortality that is his lot upon only answer to life, by answering mythology acquires the elf- Earth, in Arda Marred, but would for his own life.” centred perspective Tolkien be burdened by it unbearably to A major part of the artist’s re­ refers to, as opposed to tales re­ the loss o f all delight.1 sponse to life is his creativity. counted to a human listener con- Hardly the best place for Frodo The passion with which Tolkien tempory with Arthur. Conceptu­ and eventually Sam, who make responded to his creative need ally, this is a move away from - their way there at the conclusion and the perfection he demanded though not a complete sundering of the trilogy, to have gained a of himself demonstrates to what with ‘a mythology for England.’ rest from their psychological bur­ a great extent he “answered for Jósef Lichanski suggests it is not dens as Ring bearers. his life” through his art. Indeed, a coincidence that the author had Out of the welter of texts - often the author5 claimed of his major more or less simultaneously com- fragmentary and of very mixed effort The Lord o f the Rings, “[i]t literary worth - arises at once an is written in my life-blood, such alternative world and one that is as it is, thick or thin; and I can no '... for many the sum is very much our own. A new or other.” worth more than the total o f revised geography and imaginary The earlest version of the Silmar- the literary merit o f its history grows with practically each version. Over the years illion mythology - started shortly parts. ’ after the author’s experiences in Middle-earth undergoes a growth the trenches of the First World in almost all fields of human War arose from a number of ker­ pleted the first version of thought and perception: geo­ nel stories which were originally Mythopceia, Tolkien's philosophi­ graphical, historical, philosophi­ loosely sutured together. The ear­ cal poem concerning the “sub- cal and aesthetic At the very least, liest component story itself per­ creative” urge of humanity. In with the number of genres that mitted such a construction; a other words, the author becomes are explored to convey it (novel, mortal sailor named Eriol - more interested in the cosmologi­ verse, fictional essay, etc., with a roughly from Beowulfian times - cal aspect of his mythology;6 ap­ children's story to boot!), to the reaches an enchanted island of proximately a movement from the chagrin of the traditional literary elves (which in one of the au­ particular (national), to the uni­ critic, this world has broken out thor's conceptions is eventually versal. of the convention of the closed to become England), where Almost at the very end of his text. through a succession of tales re­ creative life, Tolkien wrote fic­ Lichanski gives the writing of counted to him he learns the com­ tional essays that in theory were Mythopoeia as the turning point plicated history of Middle-earth. to help him rewrite the entire in the development of Silmaril­ Thus the history, eventually pub­ opus. Sometimes these reflections lion mythology. A serious exami­ lished in two volumes as The if taken seriously change the nation of Middle-earth must in­ Book of Lost Tales grows out of sense of completed works. Con­ clude a look at the author’s con­ an oral tradition which naturally sider the nature of Aman (the cept of myth. Maria Kuteeva ob­ enough focuses on certain high geographical location of Valinor) serves of Tolkien’s thinking as to points, or ‘tales’. The Tales, how­ where the immortal Valar and the origin of myth, that “he gener­ ever, although worked upon ex­ Eldar, or high elves, live: Tolkien ally relates it to the origins of tensively, as each new tale re­ reflected on what a mortal would language and the human mind,” quired some integration into the feel if he happened to live in this which brings him into line with whole and affected the latter cor­ blessed realm.