Unfinished Tales...

I just had to bring this up, in part because I wanted to flap my big mouth about a scene in UT that I just love. So, what is your favorite?
I really like Aldarion and Erendis, but my favorite of all is Cirion and Eorl(iii), entirely because I think the setup for the revelation of the grave of Elendil is just beautiful. I love the description of the Firienwood. Just lovely! I got a huge kick out of knowing what became of Elendil, even if it is just the site of his grave.
And isn't the revelation of the secret vault prepared by Sauruman for the Ring and already containing the case in which Isildur carried the Ring just perfect? Especially since the implication is there that Saruman would have recovered Isildur's body and burned it? Grisly!

I love UT because it gave us the first glimpse at more of Tolkien's world after Sil. Until HOME came out it's all we had for further info. I have many favourites in UT but what I loved from the beginning was the expanded tale of Turin, the Narn i Chin Hurin. Turin is my favourite tale from Sil, so when I get UT for Christmas when it came out (my dad was so perceptive in getting me this!) I was in heaven to see an expanded version of the tale.

I love the Narn i Hîn Húrin but you are right the Cirion Eorl scene is the best. Unfinished Tales is so good, I'm sorry but I had to get that in, I love it.

I have always loved the footnotes and appendices of galadriel and celeborn and the coming of tour to gondolin-the story on the druedain is a gem also-all said CT did a great job w/ that . my only regret is that it wasn't cobbled together chronologically w/ the silmarillion.

I found The Book of Unfinished Tales to be quite possibly the best thing I have read, sacve perhaps the Silmarillion. I enjoyed "of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin", as well as "Aldarion and Erendis" the most, but found Part four, including "Of the Istari", "of the Palantiri", "of the Druedain" to contain much valuable information. I hope that in the future, more information such as this will be discovered/released into the world of JRRT.
p.s. The part about Isildur's corpse, artifacts was chilling.

As a matter of fact, I stopped buying the Tolkien arcana after UNFINISHED TALES. I got busy with college and work and marriage, and life. Things are less busy since I have left the degrading work of broadcasting.

I've always regretted that I didn't buy these books as they came out, even if only to read later.

But every two years or so, I find myself going through my entire little collection. (Even FARMER GILES OF HAM.)

UT is a great read. It adds a lot to the experience when reading the previously published stories.

Since I have gotten back on the Net for pleasure, it has been a pleasure to read the little hints and musings and articles from folk like Michael Martinez and even from many of you who post to ENTMOOT.

Others have mentioned a lot of the things about UT that I liked. Let me mention the fuller descriptions of the PALANTIR. (I greeted this with the enthusiasm a young teenager greeted the first STAR TREK Technical Manuals that came out in the 70's.)

When you read THE LORD OF THE RINGS with a fuller understanding of the Palantir, you will appreciate the depth of careful thought that Tolkien put into all of this.

And then to describe the subtle elements of the the story in a gripping plot with high prose and poetry!

Not only did Tolkien create a genre of literature, he utterly defined it. And no one will ever achieve it's like again.

The work of the Professor was like a Silmaril itself, crafted by Feanor in the Elder Days, the first and the finest jewels of their kind and destined never to be rivaled.

In my humble opinion, of course.

(And with that, the little Hobbit took a long draw on his wooden pipe and sent a smoke ring floating up and over the round doorway of his hole.)

I'm just reading unfinished tales at the moment, was pleasantly suprised to see it in my local library. I have found some bits of it rather hard going, just as I did with the Silmarillion which I read many years ago. Other bits though are stunningly beautifull, I love descriptions of places like Gondolin, and that thing of a black sword just stays with me. I just find it heavy going when it is descriptions of battles and stuff.
I love the Narn I Hin Hurin, in the middle of it at the moment. Turin seems a very tragic figure. It seems to me that this is rather an unusual story for Tolkien, as Turin is a sort of anti heroe type figure.

Actually, I've stalled reading Unfinished Tales as I'm reading other books right now (I have a ton of books that I bought but haven't read). However, I read the Numenor story first because first of all, I read the Silmarillion just before reading UT, and didn't want to read even extended versions of the Sil stories until I forgot a lot of them from the Sil.
And I was very curious about Numenor anyway. I was a bit shocked when the story came to an end though and got followed up by writings on what was supposed to happen next. It also put a few thoughts into my head; if Tolkien had lived long enough to finish all of those stories, he would have ended up with several books as long or longer than LOTR, the Silmarillion would have been too long to be told in a single book.

Quite so!

Somewhere on the net, a few months ago when I first began surfing of the shores of Middle-earth, I encountered a quote from Professor Tolkien, which I paraphrase:

...so that other hands may work...drama...stories...painting...

You get the idea. I'd sure like to find that quote again. But the gist of it was that the work was too big for a mortal lifetime. Tolkien evidently expected (hoped!) that others would build upon the foundations he uncovered.

I'm getting ready to try my own hand at a little of this with a story set in S.R. 1483. To this purpose, I'm working up a board of my own, GILTHALION'S GREAT ADVENTURES:
pub22.ezboard.com/bgreatadventures

And with that, the hobbit drew a sharp little penknife, expertly trimmed the nib of his quill, and began scratching out the story that he had begun.

Gil, I think that's in Letter #131. I only know this, because I read it the other day. I'll have to read through it again to find it; it's a long letter. I'll post it if I come across it.

From Letter #131, in which JRRT explains the scope of his attempted legendarium to Milton Waldman:

"Do not laugh! But once upon a time (my crest has long since fallen)I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story--the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendour from the vast backcloths--which I would dedicate simply to: to England; to my country. It should possess the tone and quality that I desired, somewhat cool and clear, be redolent of our 'air' (the clime and soil of the North West, meaning Britain and the hither parts of Europe: not Italy or the Aegean, still less the East), and, while possessing (if I could achieve it) the fair elusive beauty that some call Celtic (though it is rarely found in genuine ancient Celtic things), it should be 'high', purged of the gross, and fit for the more adult mind of a land long now steeped in poetry. I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama. Absurd."

Wow!

That was much longer than the snippet I saw!

I even better understand now that Tolkien would indeed have wanted folks to pick up their pens (keyboards) and fill in the sketches and add new tales fitting into the whole.

Thanks again! I'm going to use the last part of that quote, excepting the self-deprecating "Absurd!" as the theme for my board.

I gave the whole paragraph to put the quote in its original context. The whole letter itself is monsterously long, almost 20 pages of text and according to the editor over 10,000 words in it's entirety. It basically summarizes the entire legendarium. The last sentence given in Letters is the best: "I wonder if (even if legible) you will ever read this??" The addressee, Milton Waldman, did indeed read it. We are told it interested him so much he had a typist make a copy.

Really, when you think about it, Tolkien's body of work, even unfinished, is absolutely remarkable. You'd just about have to be Michael Martinez to notice any flaws.

Reading his articles, and posts from folk like you, Eruve, really shows me how much more detail there is to Middle-earth than one might guess. Even someone such as myself, who has read THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE SILMARILION, UNFINISHED TALES, and a few of the smaller works.

On the internet I'm reading more and more articles that cast light upon things that I thought were well known to me.

***
I have a question, and this has to do with the fan fiction I've begun, do we know when Eldarion, son of Aragorn and Arwen, was born? I haven't yet found a reference on this and I was wondering if there were any GREAT objection to it being S.R. 1483? Does anyone know?

If I may be so bold as to conjecture, without better knowledge, birth in 1483 would make Eldarion about 58 years old, "a man full-ripe for kingship."

I can't imagine him very much younger or older, unless there is some fairly direct evidence to the contrary. (Such as an actual date!)

Obviously it has a bearing on my tale, and it would be convenient, since Sam passes West in 1482, and Merry & Pippin retire and head for Rohan and later Gondor in 1484. It would be very convenient to me to also schedule the birth of the Heir of Elendil in that space of years.

Please tell me I may!

As far as I know, the entire story of Eldarion's days are a LOST TALE!

I don't know of a date for Eldarion's birth. Perhaps Michael does. Tolkien did begin to write a "sequel" more or less that was set in the Fourth Age during Eldarion's reign. But JRRT apparently didn't go very far with it. It's in one of the HOME volumes (XII), I haven't read yet, so I can't tell you if there's any indications that could help you.

Great thundering pollywogs!

There are 12 (or more!) volumes of the History of Middle Earth?

Egad! How incredible!

But I'd still like to know if there is a definitive birth date for Eldarion...

You didn't know? Exactly 12, actually...

Well, I knew the HOME was out there, but I'd never really paid it any attention. For 22 of the last 23 years, I've been engaged in a broadcasting career. I sacrificed a lot of things, keeping up with Tolkien publications was one of them.

NOW, having forsaken the media (except as a hobby...I still do a show each Saturday), I am a Lab Technician, and have time to enjoy Life again!

I actually got an email back from Ian McKellan! (Or his publicist. Whatever!) This has been a lot of fun for a "Bohemian Interrupted!"

Really, the experience over the last few weeks, here on ENTMOOT and elsewhere in Middle-earth, has been a great source of enjoyment to me. That's part of why I'd like to return the favor and write a nice little tale.

On Michael Martinez' Suite 101 site I found a few answers that I needed to know. It'll be a whiz bang story alright, and I'll have a draft out...one day.

I may do it a chapter at a time. That way, if it's any good, there will be pressure to finish it.

Wow...
Where were you broadcasted?

Well, my smelly friend, I only had only broadcast in Alabama. I've been a DJ, EMCEE, ANNOUNCER, NEWSCASTER, NEWSREPORTER, TALKHOST, INFOMERCIAL HOST, AD WRITER, and VOCAL TALENT.

None of which pays much unless you hit it big.

And with my attitudes about Life, that was not to be. After a couple of decades, I wearied of it and decided to do the Mrs. and myself some good and ESCAPE!

Now I'm back to my mathematical inclinations at work, and find my freetime has swung back to the artistic.

So here I be!