The History of Middle Earth: Volume 7 - The Treason of Isengard Read online

  (4) Frodo's friends are Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Boffin called Merry and Perry (only; no Odo). Peregrin drops off at Crickhollow. Merry at Rivendell. Sam only goes on to end.

  (5) Trotter is not a hobbit but a real ranger who had gone to live in Rivendell after much wandering. Cut out shoes.

  In (4) it is seen that despite the decision - which was indeed final - that Trotter was a Man, 'Peregrin Boffin' survived the loss of his alter ego, remaining an intimate of the owner of Bag End in a later generation; and for a brief moment may be said to step into the shoes of Odo Bolger - since he 'drops off at Crickhollow'.

  Pencilled emendations were made to (4) and (5). To (4) was first added: 'Peregrin stays at Hobbiton and tells Gandalf.' This was struck out, and the first sentence of the note was changed to read: 'Frodo's friends are Meriadoc Brandybuck and Ham [ilcar] Bolger and Fara- mond Took, called Merry, Ham, and Far', with the further addition: 'Ham drops off at Crickhollow, but is picked up by Gandalf and used as a decoy.?' (On this see under $6 below, p. 13.) Thus once more 'Odo Bolger' will bounce back, but now under the name of Hamilcar of that ilk. 'Hamilcar' has appeared hitherto only in a note dated August 1939, where it is proposed that 'Odo' be changed to 'Hamilcar' or 'Fredegar' (VI.373). 'Peregrin Boffin' disappears again - but only temporarily.

  To (5) was added in pencil, after 'a real ranger': 'descendant of Elendil. Tarkil.' The name Tarkil appears in the Etymologies in V.364 (stem KHIL 'follow'): * tara-khil, in which the second element evi- dently bears the sense mortal man (Hildi the Followers, an Elvish name for Men, V.245).

  (4) A page of very rough notes in pencil, covered with emendations and additions, is dated 'Autumn 1939* and headed New Plot. There now enters a very important development: a far more explicit account of what had caused Gandalf s delay than anything that has been said hitherto; and the evil figure of 'Giant Treebeard', his captor, dis- appears - though not for good (see p. 72).

  Time Scheme won't work out for Gandalf to be ahead.

  (1) Crickhollow scene - only Hamilcar [struck out: or Folco](9) there. He blows horn and startles the Riders' horses, which bolt. They run out of the house, and find a way (10) as the hue and cry wakes.

  (2) Gandalf is behind at Bree. He knows Trotter (real name Aragorn). Trotter helped him track Gollum. He brings Trotter back in April 1418 to keep watch especially S.E. of Shire. It was a message of Trotter's in July (?) that took Gandalf away (11)-fearing Black Riders. He meets Trotter at Sarn Ford.(12) He then tells him of Frodo's intended departure on Sept. 22. Begs him to watch East Road in case anything happens to Gandalf himself. He visits Bree on way back to Shire on Sept. [date illegible]. But is pursued and tries to get round to west of Shire.

  Black Riders pursue them [read him] - Gandalf has insufficient magic to cope with Black Riders unaided, whose king is a wizard. They pursue him over Sarn Ford and he cannot (or dare not) go back to Shire.

  Eventually he is besieged in the Western Tower. He cannot get away while they guard it with five Riders. But when Black Riders have located Frodo and found that he has gone off without Gandalf they ride away. Three are ahead. Three follow Frodo, but miss him and get ahead at Bree. Three come behind.(13) Gandalf follows after - meets Peregrin [written above: news from Gaffer].

  The remainder of this outline is a very rough and much corrected chronology of Gandalf's subsequent movements, which is best con- sidered together with other chronologies of this time ($6).

  A remarkable feature of this 'New Plot' is the date April 1418, for this is the first appearance of any 'exterior' chronology; moreover 1418 is the year in LR, Appendix B - according to the Shire Reckoning, i.e. 3018 of the Third Age. At the present time, at any rate, I am unable to cast any light on the chronology underlying this date, or to make any suggestion as to the process by which it had arisen.

  (5) On the reverse of the page bearing this 'New Plot' is a series of notes on unconnected topics.

  (1) Some mention of Bill Ferney's pony. Does this remain at Rivendell? [The question is answered 'Yes'.]

  (2) Real name of Trotter? [Pencilled against this: 'Aragorn'. See $$ 2,4.)

  (3) Elrond should tell more of Gilgalad?

  (4) New name of Dimrilldale (now transferred to South). River Hoarwell flowing out of ? Hoardale. Nen fimred. Wolfdale [written above: Entishdale]. The region west of the Misty Mountains north of Rivendell is called the Entishlands - home of Trolls.(14)

  (5) Gandalf says Tom Bombadil never leaves his own ground. How then known to Butterbur? Tom's boundaries are from Bree to High Hay?(15) [Against the words 'How then known to Butterbur?' my father pencilled 'Not'.]

  (6) Trotter is a Ranger - descendant of Elendil? - he is known to Bilbo, and Gandalf. He has previously been to Mordor and been tormented (caught in Moria). Gandalf brought him back towards borders of Shire in April. It was a message from Trotter that fetched Gandalf away in summer before Frodo left.

  (7) Note Frodo's red sword is broken. Hence he accepts Sting.(16)

  A final note was added in pencil: '(8) Not Barnabas Butterbur.' - In the remarks about Trotter here the only point that has not appeared in notes already given is that Trotter was captured in Moria: cf. the original story of the Council of Elrond (VI.401): 'Trotter had tracked Gollum as he wandered southwards, through Fangorn Forest, and past the Dead Marshes, until he had himself been caught and imprisoned by the Dark Lord.' It is seen here that the story of Trotter's capture and torturing survived his change from hobbit to man. Since Trotter's real name is not yet known these notes evidently preceded those in $2 and $4; but no doubt they all come from the same time.

  (6) Time-schemes. In this section I attempt to present four chronologies of Gandalf's movements, which I label A, B, C, D. A is the conclusion of the 'New Plot' given in $4 above, and was probably the first to be set down. The schemes vary among themselves, each one giving slightly different chronologies; and it is hard to be sure to what extent the story differed in each, since my father was more explicit and less explicit at different points in the different schemes. They were working chronologies, much confused by alternatives and additions, and they cannot be usefully reproduced as they stand, but in the table on p. 12 I set out comparatively the (final) dates in each, with statements in the original wording or closely based on it. The dates of Frodo's journey from Hobbiton to Weathertop remain of course unchanged, but I repeat them here for convenience:

  Thurs. Sept. 22. Frodo's party

  Fri. 23. Frodo and his friends leave Hobbiton

  Sat. 24. Night with the Elves

  Sun. 25. Farmer Maggot; reach Crickhollow

  Mon. 26. Old Forest; first night with Bombadil

  Tues. 27. Second night with Bombadil.

  Wed. 28. Leave Bombadil; Barrow-downs.

  Thurs. 29. Reach Bree.

  Fri. 30. Leave Bree; in Chetwood.

  Sat. Oct. 1. In Chetwood.

  Sun. 2. In the Midgewater Marshes.

  Mon. 3. Second day in the Marshes.

  Tues. 4. Camp by stream under alders.

  Wed. 5. Camp at feet of the hills.

  Thurs. 6. Reach Weathertop; attack at night.

  Notes on the Time-schemes (table on p. 12).

  The relative chronology of Gandalf's movements is much the same in all four, though the actual dates differ; but in C he takes longer from Hobbiton to Crickhollow, and in D he takes a day less from Bree to Weathertop. In A and B the date of Gandalf s escape from the Tower was first given as 24 September, the night that Frodo and his companions passed with the Elves in the Woody End, and in B there is a suggestion, struck out, that Frodo 'dreamt his dream at night with the Elves'; as is seen from the other schemes, he dreamed of Gandalf in the Western Tower. In C it is said that Frodo dreamt of the Tower when 'with the Elves near Woodhall', but against this my father wrote: 'No - at Crickhollow'; he also noted here that the attack on Crickhollow should be told on the night of The Prancing Pony (whence the 'doubled' opening of FR Chapter 11, 'A Knife in the Dark'). In D the placing
of Frodo's 'vision of Gandalf' or 'Dream of the Tower' hesitates between the night he spent with the Elves, the night at Crickhollow, and the first night at Bombadil's house. - For the remarkable history of the dream see pp. 33-6.

  The mention in A and B of Gandalf's meeting with Peregrin Boffin (Perry) at Hobbiton after his escape belongs with the addition made to the 'final decisions' given in $3 above: 'Peregrin stays at Hobbiton and tells Gandalf.' This was a short-lived idea - indeed already in the 'New Plot' ($4) my father scribbled in here 'news from Gaffer': a reference to the story that will appear in the next phase of work on 'The Council of Elrond' (p. 135; FR p. 276).

  Scheme A makes no mention of what happened at Crickhollow, but the 'New Plot' that precedes it begins with the statement that only Hamilcar Bolger was there, and that the horses of the Riders bolted when he blew a horn: which presumably means that the attack took place before Gandalf arrived. An addition to B (contradicting the chronology of that scheme) says that

  The Black Riders creep into Buckland, but too late to see Frodo depart. They track him to Crickhollow and guard it, and see Gandalf enter. But Gandalf (and Ham pretending to be Frodo) burst out on night of Sept. 29.

  With this d. the addition to $3 above: 'Ham drops off at Crickhollow, but is picked up by Gandalf and used as a decoy.' Scheme C says that it was at dawn on the 30th (the morning on which the hobbits left Bree with Trotter after the attack on the inn) that 'Gandalf broke out with Ham'; he then 'rode off to Tom' (which way did he go?).

  A different story is seen in D, in which it is told that at midnight on the 29th/30th Black Riders crossed the Brandywine by the Ferry, attacked the house at Crickhollow, and carried off Ham, 'pursued by Gandalf'; and that in the early morning of the 30th Gandalf rescued Ham, the Black Riders fled in terror to their King, and Gandalf went on to visit Tom.

  For narrative drafts reflecting these versions of the events at Crickhollow see pp. 53-6, 68-70.

  All the schemes agree that Gandalf went from Buckland to visit Tom Bombadil; cf. the original version of 'The Council of Elrond', VI.401, where Gandalf says that 'when I had chased the Riders from Crickhollow I turned back to visit him.'

  Scheme D has a note that 'Trotter reaches the Shire border Sept. 14 and hears ill news on morning of 25th from Elves.' This scheme also provides an account of the movements of the individual Riders, who are identified by the letters A to r. It was n who came to Hobbiton on 23 September, the night on which Frodo left, and it was n and z who trailed the hobbits in the Shire, while G H I were on the East Road and was to the southward. On the 25th, the day that Frodo reached Crickhollow, DEGHI assembled at the Brandywine Bridge; c waited there while H and I passed through Bree on Monday the 26th. On the 27th n and E 'got into Buckland and looked for Baggins'; on the 28th they 'located' him and went to get the help of c. On the night of the 29th DEG crossed the River by the Ferry; and on the same night H and 1 returned and attacked The Prancing Pony. Pursued by Gandalf from Crickhollow DEG fled to the King. ABCDEFG 'rode East after Gandalf and the supposed Baggins' on 1 October; F and c were sent direct to Weathertop, and the other five, together with H and I, rode through Bree at night, throwing down the gates, and from the inn (where Gandalf was) the noise of their passage was heard like a wind. F and G reached Weathertop on the 2nd; Gandalf was pursued North from Weathertop by C D E, while A B F G H I patrolled the East Road.

  Of these four time-schemes only D treats fully the chronology from Weathertop to the Ford. A mentions that Gandalf went North 'via Entish Lands' and reached Rivendell on 14 October; two Riders pursued him 'towards Entish Dale; these are they that came from the flank at the Ford. '(17) B also has Gandalf reach Rivendell on the 14th, and says:

  But messages from the Elves of the Shire have travelled swiftly since Sept. 24. Already Elrond has heard in Rivendell that the Ring had set out alone, and that Gandalf is missing, and the Ringwraiths are out. He sends out scouts North, South, and West. These scouts are Elves of power. Glorfindel goes along the Road. He reaches the Bridge of Mitheithel (18) at dawn on Oct. 12 and drives off the Black Riders and pursues them West till they escape. On Oct. 14 he turns and searches for traces of Frodo*s party for several days (2/3), finds them, and then comes after them, catching them up on the evening of Oct. 18.

  In Scheme D the final chronology for this part of the story, agreeing (except in one point) with that in LR Appendix B though fuller, was attained. For earlier phases of the development see VI.219, 360.

  The only point in which this differs from the final chronology is that a whole day passes between Frodo's waking and the Council of Elrond, which thus takes place here on the 26th of October, not on the 25th. But this is not a slip, for the same appears in other closely related chronologies of this period.

  NOTES.

  1. Faramond Took replaced Folco Took in the original version of 'The Council of Elrond', VI.406 and subsequently.

  2. Turin of course had no descendants. Possibly Turin was a slip for Tuor, grandfather of Elrond.

  3. That it was Trotter who found Gollum appears in the original version of 'The Council of Elrond' (VI.401 and note 20).

  4. The meaning of this very elliptical remark is possibly that when Trotter was a hobbit the injury to his feet caused him to wear shoes, which for a hobbit was highly unusual; but if he was a man that would not be the case.

  5. From its appearance the illegible word could well be otiose, but that does not seem likely. If however this is what it is, 'Hence there is no need for' must be a sentence left in the air, followed by 'Gandalf otiose' - i.e. Gandalf need have nothing to do with Weathertop: Aragorn 'steered them to Weathertop' simply be- cause it was 'a good lookout'. But the whole passage is very obscure.

  6. I.e., if Bilbo went off with Peregrin Boffin there would be a duplication when Frodo in his turn went off with younger companions.

  7. Cf. the story of Peregrin Boffin in VI.385-6: there Peregrin and Frodo stood in the same relationship (first cousins once removed) to Bilbo.

  8. The bracketed sentence was struck out, with the note: 'No, because that would give away suspense.' On the same piece of paper as these 'final decisions' there is a sketch of such a conversation, although in this there is no suggestion of a party:

  'I am going for a holiday, a long holiday!' said Bilbo Baggins to his young 'nephew' Frodo. 'What is more, I am going tomorrow. It will be April 30th, my anniversary and a good day to start on. Also the weather is fine! '

  Bilbo had made this announcement a great many times before; but each time he made it, and it became plainer that he really meant it, Frodo's heart sank lower. He had lived with Bilbo for nearly 12 years and known him longer, and he was devoted to him. 'Where are you going?' he asked, but he did not expect any answer, as he had also asked this question often before and got no satisfactory reply.

  'I would tell you if I knew myself for certain - or perhaps I would,' answered Bilbo as usual. 'To the Sea maybe, or the Mountains. Mountains, I think; yes, Mountains,' he said, as if to himself.

  'Could I come with you?' asked Frodo. He had never said that before; and he had not really any desire to leave Bag-End or the Shire that he loved; but that night with Bilbo's departure so near

  Here this fragment ends.

  9. or Folco: cf. $3 (4): 'peregrin [Boffin] drops off at Crickhollow.'

  10. find a way is clear, but my father possibly intended ride away, or flee away, or something similar.

  11. In the 'third phase' version Gandalf still left Bag End 'one wet dark evening in May' (VI.323). In FR (p. 76) he left at the end of June.

  12. The name Sarn Ford is here met for the first time. It is found on the most original part of the original LR map (pp. 299, 305).

  13. The numbers were first written two ahead, four following Frodo, three behind. The passage was bracketed with a note: 'No, see Black Riders' movements': this is a reference to the full account in Scheme D (see p. 13).

  14. For the transference of Dimrill-dale to the South and the other side of the
Misty Mountains and its replacement by Hoardale see VI.432-3, notes 3 and 13. The present note is very probably where the River Hoarwell (see VI.192, 360) rising in Hoardale, and the Entish Lands, first emerged. No doubt it was at this time that Hoardale was written on the manuscript of the first version of 'The Ring Goes South' (VI.432, note 3); but Entish Dale evidently soon replaced it - it is found in one of the Time-schemes (p. 13) and was written in on the present note. On Ent as used in these names, in the sense of Old English erst 'giant', the Ents of Fangorn not having yet arisen, see VI.205.

  15. In the 'third phase' narrative Tom Bombadil was still thought of as visiting The Prancing Pony (VI.334), but in the first version of 'The Council of Elrond' (VI.402) Gandalf says that 'the mastery of Tom Bombadil is seen only on his own ground - from which he has never stepped within my memory.'

  16. Bilbo's gift to Frodo of Sting is first mentioned in the initial draft for 'The Council of Elrond' (VI.397), and Frodo's possession of it in the sketch for the Moria story (VI.443). - Why is Frodo's sword called 'red'? In another isolated note, written much later, this reappears: 'What happened to the red sword[s] of the Barrows? In Frodo's case it is broken at the Ford and he has Sting.' In the 'third phase' version of 'Fog on the Barrow-downs' they were 'bronze swords, short, leaf-shaped and keen' (VI.128, 329); at some later time the reading of FR (p. 157), according to which they were 'damasked with serpent-forms in red and gold', was entered on that manuscript.