SWG Re-Read - "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin" Discussion Post

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Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin

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Summary

The Elves with whom Tuor, son of Rían and Huor, has been fostered, decide to leave the caves of Androth and try to reach the Havens of Sirion. But they are attacked by Orcs and Easterlings. Tuor is taken as a slave by Lorgan, chief of the Easterlings in Hithlum. After three years, he manages to escape. He lives as an outlaw for four years.

Ulmo needs a messenger, and decides that Tuor is a good choice. He sets it in Tuor's mind to leave the caves of Androth again. Tuor goes west across Dor-Lómin until he reaches the Gate of the Noldor. He passes through the dark tunnel beneath the mountains and comes into Nevrast. Neither Man nor Orc notices him as he leaves Hithlum.

Tuor grows enamoured with the sea, and stays by its shore all summer. In autumn, he sees seven great swans flying south and realises that they are a sign to him. He follows their flight and reaches Vinyamar, where he finds the shield, hauberk, sword and helm that Turgon left there long ago. Tuor takes these arms and goes down to the shore. A storm arises in which Ulmo reveals himself, telling Tuor to find Gondolin and warn Turgon. He gives Tuor a cloak that will hide him from Morgoth's spies.

In the morning after the storm, Tuor encounters Voronwë, who was sent as a messenger from Turgon to the West a while back. Ulmo has rescued him from the wreck of his ship as a guide for Tuor. They begin to journey eastward. They pass the pools of Ivrin and see Túrin on his way to the north, but they do not know what has happened and do not speak to him.

At last, they reach the hidden door of Gondolin. The guard take them as prisoners and bring them before Ecthelion. Tuor casts aside his cloak. Ecthelion realises that Tuor was sent by Ulmo. He lets trumpets be blown on the towers, and the trumpets in the city answer. Tuor is brought to Turgon, and warns him that the Prophecy of the North will soon be fulfilled. He advises Turgon to leave Gondolin and escape to the Havens of Sirion.

Turgon remembers that Ulmo warned him that this might happen, but he trusts that Gondolin is secret and safe. His people also do not want to return to the grief of the world outside their protective walls. The entrance to the hidden door is blocked as Húrin later finds it. News from outside Gondolin is now brought in only by Thorondor, and Turgon does not want to hear about the woes outside. After the fall of Doriath, he vows never to march alongside any son of Fëanor.

Tuor is also happy to stay in Gondolin, where he learns much from the Elves and falls in love with Idril. She also falls in love with Tuor. After seven years, Turgon grants him the hand of his daughter. There is a great feast and all the people are happy for Idril and Tuor, except for Maeglin, who wanted to have Idril for himself. Idril gives birth to a son, Eärendil, in the following spring.

Nobody in Gondolin realises that its position has been betrayed by Húrin's attempts to come there. Morgoth's spies are kept away by the vigilance of the eagles, but Morgoth's attention is nonetheless on the region between Anach and the upper waters of Sirion. Idril feels foreboding, and she secretly takes care that an escape route is prepared. She confides only in very few people, and Maeglin never learns of it.

But Maeglin, who often went mining in the mountains, is taken prisoner by Orcs as he passes beyond the leaguer of Gondolin. He is threatened with torment. To escape it, and also out of hatred for Tuor and desire for Idril, he tells Morgoth exactly where to find Gondolin. He is promised that he will become Morgoth's steward in Gondolin and will have Idril.

Once again, Morgoth uses a time of festival for his attack on Gondolin. Exploiting the fact that the highest hills to the north are less well-watched, he sends Balrogs, Orcs and dragons to enter the vale of Tumladen there. Nothing can stop Morgoth's army until they reach the walls of the city and besiege it. Ecthelion fights against Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, and they slay each other. Turgon and his people long defend his tower, but eventually it falls. When Tuor wants to rescue Idril and Eärendil, he finds that Maeglin has laid hands on them. Tuor fights with Maeglin on the walls and casts him down. Tuor and Idril lead all the people they can gather out by the secret way. It is a hard road and they are ambushed by Orcs and a Balrog. Glorfindel fights the Balrog, and they both fall to their deaths. The eagles ward off the Orcs and rescue Glorfindel's body. The refugees from Gondolin bury him, and grass and golden flowers grow on his grave amid the rocks. The refugees then reach the Vale of Sirion. They rest and recover in Nan-Tathren and make a feast in memory of Gondolin. Tuor makes a song of his errand from Ulmo for Eärendil, which awakens the sea-longing in both Tuor and his son. Idril and Tuor decide to follow Sirion to the sea, where they join the people of Elwing. Thus news of Turgon's death comes to Balar, and the high kingship of the Noldor passes to Ereinion Gil-galad.

Morgoth now thinks that his triumph is complete, neither expecting danger from the Sons of Fëanor nor from the people dwelling at the Havens of Sirion under Ulmo's protection. Ulmo tries to move his fellow Valar to forgive the Noldor and make war on Morgoth at last, but the time has not yet come.

Tuor grows old and the sea-longing increases more and more. He builds a ship called Eärrámë, Sea-Wing, and with Idril sails west. It is sung that he had no mortal fate, but was counted among the Noldor.

Our Favorite Quotes

~ “And Tuor came to Nevrast, and looking upon Belegaer the Great Sea he was enamoured of it, and the sound of it and the longing for it were ever in his heart and ear, and an unrest was upon him that took him at last into the depths of the realms of Ulmo.”

~ “But there came a great storm out of the west, and out of that storm Ulmo the Lord of Waters arose in majesty and spoke to Tuor as he stood beside the sea.”

~ “Then Tuor looked down upon the fair vale of Tumladen, set as a green jewel amid the encircling hills; and he saw far off upon the rocky height of Amon Gwareth Gondolin the great, city of seven names, whose fame and glory is mightiest in song of all dwellings of the Elves in the Hither Lands.”

~ “At the bidding of Ecthelion trumpets were blown on the towers of the great gate, and far off but clear there came a sound of answering trumpets blown upon the white walls of the city, flushed with the rose of dawn upon the plain.”

~ "And [Tuor] gave warning to Turgon that the Curse of Mandos now hastened to its fulfilment, when all the works of the Noldor should perish; and he bade him depart, and abandom the fair and mighty city that he had built, and go down Sirion to the sea."

~ “And Tuor remained in Gondolin, for its bliss and its beauty and the wisdom of its people held him enthralled; and he became mighty in stature and mind, and learned deeply of the lore of the exiled Elves. Then the heart of Idril was turned to him, and his to her; and Maeglin's secret hatred grew ever greater, for he desired above all things to possess her, the only heir of the King of Gondolin.”

~ "Then there was made a great and joyful feast, for Tuor had won the hearts of all that people, save only of Maeglin and his secret following; and thus there came to pass the second union of Elves and Men."

~ "Of surpassing beauty was Eärendil, for a lights was in his face as the light of heaven, and he had the beauty and the wisdom of the Eldar and the strength and hardihood of the Men of old; and the Sea spoke ever in his ear and heart, even as with Tuor his father."

~ “But Idril Celebrindal was wise and far-seeing, and foreboding crept upon her spirit like a cloud.”

~ “Maeglin was no weakling or craven, but the torment wherewith he was threatened cowed his spirit, and he purchased his life and freedom by revealing to Morgoth the very place of Gondolin and the ways whereby it might be found and assailed. […] But Morgoth sent him back to Gondolin, lest any should suspect the betrayal, and so that Maeglin should aid the assault from within, when the hour came; and he abode in the halls of the King with smiling face and evil in his heart, while the darkness gathered ever deeper upon Idril.”

~ “The host of Morgoth came over the northern hills where the height was greatest and the watch least vigilant, and it came at night upon a time of festival, when all the people of Gondolin were upon the walls to await the rising sun, and sing their songs at its uplifting; for the morrow was the great feast that they named the Gates of Summer. But the red light mounted the hills in the north and not in the east; and there was no stay in the advance of the foe until they were beneath the very walls of Gondolin, and the city was beleaguered without hope.”

~ "Of the deed of desperate valour there done, by the chieftains of the noble houses and their warriors, and not least by Tuor, much is told in The Fall of Gondolin: of the battle of Ecthelion of the Fountain with Gothmog Lord of Balrogs in the very square of the King, where each slew the other, and of the defence of the tower of Turgon by the people of his household, until the tower was overthrown; and mighty was its fall and the fall of Turgon in its ruin."

~ “The fume of the burning, and the steam of the fair fountains of Gondolin withering in the flame of the dragons of the north, fell upon the vale of Tumladen in mournful mists; and thus was the escape of Tuor and his company aided, for there was still a long and open road to follow from the tunnel's mouth to the foothills of the mountains. Nonetheless they came thither, and beyond hope they climbed, in woe and misery, for the high places were cold and terrible, and they had among them many that were wounded, and women and children.”

~ “Many are the songs that have been sung of the duel of Glorfindel with the Balrog upon a pinnacle of rock in that high place; and both fell to ruin in the abyss. But the eagles coming stooped upon the Orcs, and drove them shrieking back; and all were slain or cast into the deeps, so that rumour of the escape from Gondolin came not until long after to Morgoth's ears. Then Thorondor bore up Glorfindel's body out of the abyss, and they buried him ina mound of stones beside the pass; and a green turf came there, and yellow flowers bloomed upon it amid the barrenness of stone, until the world was changed.”

~ “And when the tidings came to Balar of the fall of Gondolin and the death of Turgon, Ereinion Gil-galad son of Fingon was named High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth."

~ “If [Morgoth] knew of the dwelling by the waters of Sirion, he gave no sign, biding his time, and waiting upon the working of oath and lie. Yet by Sirion and the sea there grew up an Elven-folk, the gleanings of Doriath and Gondolin; and from Balar the mariners of Círdan came among them, and they took to the waves and the building of ships, dwelling ever nigh to the coasts of Arvernien, under the shadow of Ulmo's hand.”

~ “The wise have said that the hour was not yet come, and that only one spaking in person for the cause of both Elves and Men, pleading for pardon on their misdeeds and pity on their woes, might move the counsels of the Powers; and the oath of Fëanor perhaps even Manwë could not loose, until it found its end, and the sons of Fëanor relinquished the Silmarils, upon which they had laid their ruthless claim.”

~ "Therefore [Tuor] built a great ship, and he named in Eärrámë, which is Sea-Wing; and with Idril Celebrindal he set sail into the sunset and the West, and came no more into any tale or son. But in after days it was sung that Tuor alone of mortal Men was numbered among the elder race, and was joined with the Noldor, whom he loved; and his fate is sundered from the fate of Men."

Alternate Versions

~ The original drafts for “The Fall of Gondolin” contain a lot more information than the final version. Tuor's wanderings are described in great detail, as is Gondolin in times of peace (including some street-names, specific buildings, additional festivals and the names and emblems of the noble Houses of Gondolin and their leaders) and war (including battle tactics, exact descriptions of Tuor's struggle with Meglin, Ecthelion's fight with Gothmog, and every painstaking step of the flight from Gondolin). Six of the seven names of Gondolin are also listed: Gondobar, Gondothlimbar, Gondolin, Gwarestrin, Gar Thurion and Lothengriol. (1)

~ Aside from the additional details, the plot as a whole is already much as it is in the published Silmarillion. However, there are a few notable differences:

- There is no mention of Rían yet. Tuor's father is named Peleg. He comes from a people who walk the woods and do not know the sea, but Tuor himself lives a solitary life by Lake Mithrim. He hunts, wears clothing made of bear-skins, and occasionally plays on a rugged harp that is strung with the sinews of bears. There is power in his song, and he meets and learns much from wandering Noldoli. They also guide him through the cavern and into the Rainbow Cleft. He sees three gulls, climbs out of the cleft (luckily, as the rising tide fills it with water) and follows them to the shore. (1)

- Tuor not only tarries in what later becomes Nevrast (where he builds a shelter of driftwood which he carves with the images of trees and beasts, especially swans, and makes himself a spear barbed with fishbone), but – after following three swans and falling in with wandering Noldoli again – also in Nan-Tathren. Tuor and the Noldoli so love that land that they have no desire to leave it. Ulmo grows desperate and departs from his dwellings, travelling in a car pulled by narwhals and sea lions until he reaches the mouth of Sirion. He has to travel on foot from there to the Land of Willows, where he can finally speak to Tuor. (1)

- Ulmo wants the company of Noldoli to guide Tuor to Gondolin. But they are afraid of acting so directly against the will of Melko (who has nominally enslaved all Elves not living in Gondolin), so they leave Tuor. One Bronweg, however, follows Tuor from afar and eventually speaks to him. Bronweg is a craftsman and does not actually know the way, but he has heard rumours. They find the passage into Gondolin after a long search and by luck. (1)

- Ulmo's message to Turgon is also different. Preferably, Turgon is to gather an army and seek open war with Melko, in which case Tuor is to gather mortal warriors to him because only an alliance of Elves and Men can overcome Melko. If Turgon does not want to fight, the Gondolindrim are to leave the city, travel down Sirion, build boats and return to Valinor. Turgon's reaction to Tuor's words, however, is the same: He ignores Ulmo's warning and advice. To be fair, however, the Gondolindrim at least craft a great deal of armour and weaponry. (1)

- Melko's spies discover the way into Gondolin by themselves, both across the mountains and through the secret entrance. They see Gondolin from afar and the Gondolindrim are aware of their presence. Turgon reinforces the watch upon the hills, and no creature of Melko ever makes it into the valley. Therefore Turgon is content and feels safe, while Idril and Tuor are increasingly worried.

- Idril is called “a daughter of the king”, implying that she may have had one or several sisters (it is made explicit that Turgon has no son). Her forebodings are described vividly: She has a dream in which Meglin builds a furnace and throws Baby Eärendel in. When he then also wants to push Tuor and Idril in, they do not resist out of grief for their child. Idril decides that she has to take measures to prevent the dream from coming true, and confides in Tuor. She tells him to gather such delvers and craftsmen as love Meglin least, some to keep watch on Meglin and some to make a second secret road out of Gondolin. Tuor objects that the ground in Tumladen is so hard that making a tunnel there will take years, but he obeys his wife and gets to work. (1)

- Idril takes other precautions. She tells Tuor to gather a guard of the stoutest and bravest men who openly wear his emblem (a swan's wing). She also has a small shirt of mail crafted that she gives to seven-year old Eärendel when the red light appears in the North, and she wears a sword which she knows how to use. When Meglin comes to take Eärendel to the flames, Idril fights “like a tigress”. When Tuor comes upon them and Meglin realises that he cannot cast Eärendel off the walls, he wants to stab him with a shirt knife, but Eärendel is saved by his mail-shirt. He bites Meglin's left hand, causing Meglin to let go of him. Tuor then breaks Meglin's arm in wrenching the knife from him, and throws him off the wall. (1)

- Melko attacks Gondolin with monster-shaped machines (rather than “real” dragons). There are snakes of iron that slither or coil over all surfaces and around all obstacles, with Orcs in their bellies; snakes of fire that burn or melt anything they touch, except for the Balrogs which ride on them; and robots of bronze and copper that trample everything in their way and shoot fire at everything around them. These fill the valley with fire and ruin. The escape from Gondolin only has a chance because after the long battle, they begin to run out of fuel. (1)

- Ecthelion has felled three Balrogs before the walls of Gondolin before he is wounded so sorely that Tuor has to keep him on his feet. They retreat into the city, where Gothmog attacks Tuor. Tuor falls, but Ecthelion with his last strength goes between the two when Gothmog wants to deliver his killing blow. He makes Gothmog drop his weapon, and when the Balrog raises his whip, Ecthelion jumps at him head-first, driving him into the deep basin of the king's fountain. The Balrog is quenched and drowns. Unfortunately, Ecthelion's armour drags him down as well. (1)

- Turgon officially gives the command of the army to Tuor, disheartened by the ruin of his city. He tells them to try and get out, but that he will burn with Gondolin. Idril wants to die defending the King's tower, believing that her husband is dead, but Tuor comes across her in time. They see Turgon's tower fall. Then they gather as many survivors as they can from all houses of Gondolin (except for the House of the Hammer of Wrath, who have all fallen in battle) and make their escape, following the men of Tuor's guard who have already gone ahead with Eärendel. Some do not trust the secret way Tuor has prepared at Idril's behest, and try to use the old tunnel. They are all waylaid and slain by Orcs. The others are guided by one Legolas Greenleaf of the House of the Tree towards Cristhorn, where they reach Eärendel and his protectors just as they are attacked by wolf-riders. They slay the wolf-riders and are reunited. (1)

- The eagles appear to have been neutral dwellers of the mountains, rather than having served as messengers for Turgon and as guards. However, they interfere at last when the Orcs and Balrog attack the escapees. Glorfindel takes on the Balrog and cuts off its arm. The Balrog falls, but manages to grab Glorfindel's hair and thus takes him down alongside him. The fugitives want to reunite with those who decided to use the old escape route, but find the place burned and trampled and know that the others have been killed. Out of the almost eight hundred who followed Tuor out of the ruin of Gondolin, only 320 men and boys and 260 women and girls reach the Land of Willows. (1)

~ Interestingly, the narrator of “The Fall of Gondolin” - Littleheart son of Bronweg - compares it to other great battles in (later) history: Bablon, Ninwi, Trui and “all the many takings of Rûm”. So it seems that the Elves of Tol Eresseä are aware of Babylon, Niniveh, Troy and Rome, although they have garbled the names a little. (1)

~ Further reference to real-world legend can be found in the fragment of the alliterative “Lay of Eärendel”. Eärendel's father is here named “Wade of the Helsings | wearyhearted / Tûr the earthborn”. Tuor is thus linked to the legendary figure of Wade who appears in the Anglo-Saxon poem Widsiþ and is referred to in the works of Malory and Chaucer. Almost nothing is known today of the actual Wade legend, except that Wade had power over the sea, super-human powers, and a boat called “Guingelot”. (2)

~ Although several drafts of the “Fall of Gondolin” as well as the version in the published Silmarillion allude to the “Lay of the Fall of Gondolin”, the latter has never been published in full. Christopher Tolkien says that “it does not, as far as the main narrative is concerned, add anything to the Tale; and my father found, as I think, the metrical form unsuitable to the purpose”. The most elaborate published description of the brave deeds of the noble chieftains, Ecthelion's battle with the Balrog and the defense of the Tower of the King is therefore not that in the “Lay”, but that in The Book of Lost Tales 2. However, the “Lay” appear to be the first place in which Turgon is the grandson of Finwë and son of Fingolfin, rather than Finwë's son directly. (3)

~ In “The Earliest 'Silmarillion'”, Turgon first has the passage into Gondolin closed after the ruin of Doriath. (4; 15) Rían is first named and introduced as the wife of Húrin's brother Huor who sought for her husband's body after the Nirnaeth, leaving her young son behind. However, there is no mention of Tuor being fostered by Elves. He appears to fall into the hands of Easterlings immediately after Rían's departure, and ends up as a solitary outlaw by necessity after escaping his masters. The will of Ulmo rather than friendly Noldoli now guides him to the Gate of the Noldor and along the subterranean river, unmarked by any. Tuor encounters Bronweg and nobody else by the mouths of Sirion. Bronweg has now seen Gondolin before. They journey to Nan Tathren, where Ulmo reveals himself and gives Tuor his errand, which still is to tell Turgon to go to war (which is foretold to be terrible but victorious) or else return with his people to Valinor. Idril is not merely Turgon's daughter (and only descendant), but also “the wiser of his counsellors”.

~ Perhaps most importantly, Morgoth now learns of Gondolin's exact position and the ways to attack it only after capturing Meglin. There is no more mention of Morgoth's battle-machines, only of dragons, Balrogs and Orcs. (4; 16) In this version, the survivors of the Fall of Gondolin reach the mouths of Sirion first, and Elwing arrives only later. The idea that Tuor builds a ship and sails west with Idril appears. (4;17)

~ There are two typescripts for “The Quenta” dealing with this matter, but both mainly follow the narrative of “The Earliest 'Silmarillion'”. A major difference can be found in QI, where the Valar decide to act on Ulmo's words and prepare for war before even Tuor sets sail. In QII, however, they refuse to act just yet. As in the finished version, the wise say that the Valar are waiting for one who speaks for both Men and Elves. A minor change is that Bronweg has now become an escaped thrall from Angband itself, much like Flinding/Gwindor in the Túrin chapte. Some of the wording is already that of the final version. (5)

~ There is virtually no new material in “The Earliest Annals of Beleriand”, either, but it is useful in that it makes note of events happening more or less simultaneously. Tuor's secret escape from Hithlum takes place in the year that Nargothrond is sacked (195), and Tuor and Bronweg meet Ulmo in Nan-Tathrin and consequently journey to Gondolin when Morwen and Nienor travel to Nargothrond and encounter Glómund (Glaurung) in 196) Tuor and Idril are getting married while Túrin kills Glómund, Brandir, and himself (199). Eärendil is born the following year (200), as is Elwing, while in Nargothrond Húrin kills Mîm and brings his cursed treasure to Thingol. In 206, while the Fëanorians attack Dior, Meglin is taken prisoner by Orcs and betrays Gondolin. Morgoth attacks only one year later, rather than preparing for several more years as in the first and final versions (207). The survivors from Gondolin now arrive at the Havens of Sirion after Elwing and her small company in 208. (6)

~ The "Later Annals of Beleriand" has, apart from the extension of the timeline and some minor wording differences, only one major change: in 496, Ulmo's appearance in Nanthrin is explicit as his guiding Tuor up the Sirion. (Bronweg exists, but there is no mention of him guiding Tuor.) (7)

~ The first draft of the "Tale of Years" has no changes from the "Later Annals." The second draft lists Idril's marriage in 502; Eärendil's birth in 503; Ulmo's last warning to Gondolin in 509 (a new element); the fall of Gondolin in 510; and the gathering at the Havens in 511. Maeglin is not mentioned. The third draft begins with different dates but was soon edited back to the ones in the second. Maeglin returns. The main difference is that in 530, Eärendil weds Elwing and his parents sail. The fourth draft began with Idril wedding occuring in either 502 or 503, but was edited to 502. Maeglin is again captured in 509—but Sauron may have a hand in it, rather than Orcs. The attack in 510 is explicitly Maeglin's fault for revealing Gondolin's location, but Christopher said in a note to "The Wandering of Húrin" that due to Húrin's revealing the location, Maeglin was instead required by Morgoth to undermine the resistance. (9, Note 30) Eärendil's wedding and his parents' departure are now in 525. (8)

~ "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin” was written in 1951 and is a great expansion of the narrative from Tuor's birth until he reaches Gondolin, where the text ends. (It was originally called "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin" but Christopher changed the name as it never reached that point.) As such, there are a great many details left out of the published Silmarillion. Tuor finds the Gates of the Noldor by playing his harp next to a well, which suddenly overflows, following the stream to a tunnel, where he meets two Elves who lead him to the Gates of the Noldor. (These Elves are Gelmir and Arminas, who later unsuccessfully warn Nargothrond.) Tuor climbs the ravine to follow gulls, thus inadvertently saving his life from the rising tide. He spies the Great Sea at sunset, possibly being the first Man to see it. After he puts on the armor, the seven swans he followed to Vinyamar each give him a feather from their wings. Ulmo tells Tuor much of the history of the Noldor, but then informs Tuor that he must leave the oceanside due to Ossë's wrath about the Valar's design of non-interference seemingly thwarted by Ulmo.

~ It is in Ossë's storm that Voronwë's ship sinks. Voronwë tells Tuor of his travels, his lengthy sojourn in Nan-tathren, and his time on the Sea. They still do not speak to Túrin as he passes by, but he cries aloud the names of those who he has lost. The Fell Winter gives the travellers much trouble, though Tuor has the worse of it. Most of the way through their journey, they come across an Orc band, and Voronwë has to talk Tuor out of attacking (while he may be willing to lead Tuor to Gondolin, he will not do so with foes chasing them). Voronwë spies Eagles flying overhead, which assures him they may cross a ford safely. They reach the tunnel to Gondolin on the thirty-eighth day of their journey.

~ They are, after a brief walk in the dark, met in the tunnel by guards, who inform Voronwë that he is a prisoner due to leading Tuor there and that Tuor should be executed. However, by naming their errand and under whose authority they come, they convince the captain of the guard to lead them to the Warden of the Great Gate. The captain brings Tuor and Voronwë through the Gates of Wood, Stone (where they rest briefly), Bronze, Writhen Iron, Silver, and Gold. The Gates of Silver and Gold have the likenesses, respectively, of Telperion and Laurelin on them. Maeglin wrought the Gate of Steel. Ecthelion, the Warden of the Steel Gate (also known as the Great Gate), meets them and then leads them through it. The cloak falls from Tuor's shoulders when he spies Gondolin, thus revealing the armor and reassuring Ecthelion that Tuor is indeed who he says he is and that he came from Ulmo. The narrative ends here. Notes indicating that a lengthy description of Gondolin was to follow, along with Tuor's meeting with Turgon, Maeglin, and Idril. (10)

~ The last bit of information dealing with Gondolin is found in a late essay written in 1972. (The text is actually two essays put together under one heading.) It deals specifically with Glorfindel—are the Glorfindels of Rivendell and Gondolin the same person? The first essay says they are the same person and that Glorfindel befriends Gandalf and comes with him to Middle-earth in Third Age 1000. The second essay starts with Tolkien considering the notion that the name was simply reused—but he rejects it due to linguistic impossiblity (the name neither fits Sindarin nor, interestingly enough, Quenya) as well as the fact that no major characters in any Elvish legend have shared any name of importance. JRRT then goes on to say that his self-sacrificing death helped mitigate the fact that he was an Exile (though not a Kinslayer), and Manwë allowed him to be restored to life. He again befriended Gandalf. Now, however, Glorfindel returns to Middle-earth before Númenor falls, likely in Second Age 1600. (11) At the same time as this essay, JRRT wrote a text dealing with Elvish reincarnation, wherein he again empatically rejected the "reborn as children" notion. Christopher did not include the text of it, save for a few paragraphs dealing with the Dwarven version. (11, Note 17)



Food for Thought

~ Is Tuor the Anti-Túrin?

~ By what means do you think did Ulmo influence Tuor's decisions before he revealed himself?

~ Is it coincidence that the actions Turgon takes out of fear of treason are what leads to Húrin's accidental betrayal of Gondolin's position?

~ Do you think that Gondolin would have fallen so swiftly if Tuor had never come there, thus giving Maeglin no additional cause for bitterness? In other words, did Ulmo create a self-fulfilling prophecy by sending his messenger?

~ What difference would leaving Gondolin have made in the long run? Wouldn't it just have made the Havens a more tempting target for Morgoth's forces?

~ Morgoth has already shown himself capable of crossing high mountains. Why did the people of Gondolin not keep as vigilant a watch there as they did everywhere else?

~ If it is true that only one who could speak for both Elves and Men could move the Valar to make war on Morgoth, why should Tuor – born mortal, but judged among the Noldor – not be qualified? Similarly, if the sons of Fëanor had to relinquish their claim to the Silmarils before the Valar could interfere, why does the War of Wrath happen before they do anything of the sort?

~ Do you believe that Tuor became one of the Elves or did he remain mortal with the rumor being simply that?

~ What do you think the climate in Gondolin is like? How do you explain its (apparent) self-sufficiency given the fact that it's located pretty far up north?

~ Many named characters that appear in the earlier versions either become nameless or have disappeared altogether from the published Silmarillion, such as most of the lords of Gondolin and Eärendil's nurse, or (in previous chapters) Elwing's nurses, Melian's maid, Morwen's faithful servants, Nellas, etc. Why do you think that is? Do you regret their disappearance, or are you relieved that there are less names to remember?

Works Cited

(1) The Book of Lost Tales 2. “The Fall of Gondolin”.
(2) The Lays of Beleriand. Poems Early Abandoned, “Fragment of an alliterative Lay of Eärendel”.
(3) The Lays of Beleriand. Poems Early Abandoned, “The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin”.
(4) The Shaping of Middle-earth. “The Earliest 'Silmarillion'”, 15, 16 & 17
(5) The Shaping of Middle-earth. “The Quenta”, 15, 16 QI and QII.
(6) The Shaping of Middle-earth. “The Earliest Annals of Beleriand”, 195 – 208
(7) The Lost Road, "The Later Annals of Beleriand," 295-324
(8) The War of the Jewels, "The Wandering of Húrin and Other Writings not Forming Part of the Quenta Silmarillion," The Tale of Years
(9) The War of the Jewels, "The Wandering of Húrin and Other Writings not Forming Part of the Quenta Silmarillion," The Wandering of Húrin, Note 30
(10) Unfinished Tales, "Part One: The First Age," Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin
(11) The Peoples of Middle-earth, "Late Writings," Last Writings, "Glorfindel"

Please note: We don't know everything and it's perfectly possible that we missed something. These summaries and questions are by no means supposed to be complete and exhaustive. If you have looked further into this particular topic or would like to discuss something that we've overlooked, please share it!

Also, please don't be afraid to talk amongst yourselves. We don't want this to be an echo chamber or for us to be lecturing to you. We want this to be a discussion among the community as a whole - everybody's got something to contribute!

Finally, don't forget to rec your favorite fanworks related to this chapter in the Fanworks Rec Post.

“Of the Voyage of Eärendil” is due November 16.

Comments

[independence1776]

I think it's a matter of symmetry, or rather, asymmetry. Túrin is cursed by a Vala and Tuor is being helped by a Vala. (Maybe that they're both being manipulated by them, one for good and one for bad.) Add in that Morgoth seeks to dominate, rule, and write his own theme in the Music and that Ulmo is actively helping despite the Valar's stated noninterference policy, they're both rebels of one sort or another.

Beyond that, I can't think of anything beyond it being one of those random events that we don't think anything of at the time only to later find out its significance, which doesn't seem right.

[zambla.livejournal.com]

symmetry-- yes, i see that it's in there, and maybe also as an echo for their fathers' stories and love for each other. but the scene still seems ambiguous, even within that framework.

i really like this aspect of tolkien's storytelling in the silmarillion and beyond, where there is often not very clear symbolic meaning -- or where there are multiple or ambiguous meanings. it makes the story feel layered and substanced, as if many minds had run their hands through it. and i really like this scene, with its strangeness.