The Lay of Leithian

''The Lays of Beleriand'', published in 1985, is the third volume of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume book series, ''The History of Middle-earth'', in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien.

Book

Inscription

There is an inscription in the Fëanorian characters (Tengwar, an alphabet Tolkien has devised for High-Elves) in the first pages of every History of Middle-earth volume, written by Christopher Tolkien and describing the contents of the book. The inscription in Book III reads: "In the first part of this Book is given the Lay of the Children of Húrin by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, in which is set forth in part the Tale of Túrin. In the second part is the Lay of Leithian, which is the Gest of Beren and Lúthien as far as the encounter of Beren with Carcharoth at the gate of Angband".

Contents

The book contains the long heroic lays or lyric poetry Tolkien wrote: these are ''The Lay of the Children of Húrin'' about the saga of Túrin Turambar, and ''The Lay of Leithian'' (also called ''Release from Bondage'') about Beren and Lúthien. Although Tolkien abandoned them before their respective ends, they are both long enough to occupy many stanzas, each of which can last for over ten pages. The first poem is in alliterative verse, and the second is in rhyming couplets. Both exist in two versions.

In addition to these two poems, the book also gives three short, soon-abandoned alliterative poems, which are ''The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor'', ''The Lay of Eärendel'', and ''The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin''.

The first versions of the long lays fit chronologically in with Tolkien's earliest writings, as recounted in ''The Book of Lost Tales'', but the later version of ''The Lay of Leithian'' is contemporary with the writing of ''The Lord of the Rings''.

The book is split into these main sections:

# ''The Lay of the Children of Húrin''
## First version
## Second version
# Poems Early Abandoned:
## ''The Flight of the Noldoli''
## Fragment of an alliterative ''Lay of Earendel''
## ''The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin''
# The Lay of Leithian:
## ''The Gest of Beren son of Barahir and Lúthien the Fay called Tinúviel the Nightingale or the Lay of Leithian - Release from Bondage'' (split into fourteen cantos)
## Unwritten cantos
## Appendix: Commentary by C. S. Lewis
# ''The Lay of Leithian'' Recommenced

In the book Christopher Tolkien mentions a third Túrin poem, this time in rhyming couplets and incomplete. It is called ''The Children of Húrin'' and is only 170 lines long (compared to the 2276 lines of the first of the alliterative poems); that poem, however, has been omitted from the book.

Reception

David Langford reviewed ''The Lays of Beleriand'' for ''White Dwarf'' #70, stating that "A few gleams of humour come from C S Lewis' 15-page critique of an early draft: for the rest, poor old Tolkien lies entombed and fossilized in earnest commentary, like a set text for Eng Lit."

Reviews

*Review by Helen McNabb (1985) in ''Vector'' 128
*Review by Ray Thompson (1986) in ''Fantasy Review'', April 1986
*Review by Don D'Ammassa (1986) in ''Science Fiction Chronicle'', #80 May 1986
*Review by Thomas A. Easton s by Tom Easton(1986) in ''Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact'', August 1986
*Review by Andy Sawyer (1987) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #69
*Review panishby Eugenio Sánchez Arrate (1998) in ''Gigamesh'', 12, January 1998

See also

*''Beren and Lúthien''
*''Narn i Chîn Húrin''
*''The Children of Húrin''
*''The Silmarillion''

References

External links

Review by Suzanna Rowntree
a fantasy novelist

"The Adapted Text: The Lost Poetry of Beleriand"
by Gergely Nagy in ''Tolkien Studies''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lays Of Beleriand, The
Middle-earth books
*03
1985 short story collections
History of Middle-earth Vol IV: Lays of Beleriand, The
Unfinished books
Middle-earth poetry
Allen & Unwin books
Books published posthumously