As I've continued my casual reading through shards of the Legendarium in the HoMe, The Unfinished Tales, the Appendices, ect, from time to time I come across material that isn't accessible, or worryingly obscure. And I'm wondering what other fragments are out there, and how a reader can find them. The last couple years have been lucky, and happy accidents, in terms of availability of materials.
Ósanwe-kenta - It was a happy accident that I ordered compilation copies of the Vinyar Tengwar, and when this cropped up as material cut from Quendi and Eldar, I was relieved to learn that I accidentally had access to it. Even more so, it's nice that it's available in The Nature of Middle-earth, so even more accessible now. Although, Vinyar Tengwar 39 has the Osanwe-kenta, but Vinyar Tenwar 41 has "Etymological Notes on the Osanwe-kenta, which I get the impression is a further expansion of that fragment of the Quendi and Eldar essay? Can anyone clarify if I've misunderstood.
Following from the above question, does anyone else have the Vinyar Tengwar material and read through them extensively? Not all of it is Tolkien, but issue 39 and 41 are standout issues for including Tolkien's writings that were cut from The History of Middle-earth. Are there other standout issues that contain obscure Tolkien writings about Middle-earth and the languages he made for it?
The Complaint of Mim - Came across this twice, a work that is part poem and part prose, about Mim. The first time I came across it, and discovered it had only been published in a German translation?! But the original English version was not published?! The second time a came across it, a year or two later, to realize that my "on a whim" purchase of The Collected Poems of JRR Tolkien had the original English version. I had forgotten about it, and coincidentally, luckily, bought the Poems on a whim, without a targeted understanding that I was remedying a search that had hit a dead end a couple years ago. In a somewhat similar vein...
The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin - apparently wasn't included in it's entirety in The Lays of Beleriand, although I'm puzzled by this decision. It's really short! It's also in the Collected Poems. I don't have my copy of The Fall of Gondolin, so I don't know if that book included the complete poem. Christopher Tolkien's rationale is that it didn't add anything to the Fall of Gondolin story. So although I don't know if it was included in complete for in The Fall of Gondolin book, I gather the complete version has been included in The Collected Poems, another reason I'm happy I bought it on a whim
Are there any other fragments that are alluded to in The History of Middle-earth volumes, like the Osanwe-kenta? How obscure and inaccessible are some of these fragments? I like the idea of reading Quendi and Eldar and inserting/including Osanwe-kenta in the gap where it belongs. I did that with the Of Dwarves and Men essay, reinserting The Druedain excerpt back into to where it would have been part of the original text. Anyone else do this with their reading?
Are there other issues of the Vinyar Tengwar that could suppliment material in THoMe? And what about the Parma Eldalamberon, does anyone have those and are able to comment on them...do they also have material that would suppliment the Histories?
Thank you for any help, feedback and perspective you can provide!
Ósanwe-kenta - It was a happy accident that I ordered compilation copies of the Vinyar Tengwar, and when this cropped up as material cut from Quendi and Eldar, I was relieved to learn that I accidentally had access to it. Even more so, it's nice that it's available in The Nature of Middle-earth, so even more accessible now. Although, Vinyar Tengwar 39 has the Osanwe-kenta, but Vinyar Tenwar 41 has "Etymological Notes on the Osanwe-kenta, which I get the impression is a further expansion of that fragment of the Quendi and Eldar essay? Can anyone clarify if I've misunderstood.
Following from the above question, does anyone else have the Vinyar Tengwar material and read through them extensively? Not all of it is Tolkien, but issue 39 and 41 are standout issues for including Tolkien's writings that were cut from The History of Middle-earth. Are there other standout issues that contain obscure Tolkien writings about Middle-earth and the languages he made for it?
The Complaint of Mim - Came across this twice, a work that is part poem and part prose, about Mim. The first time I came across it, and discovered it had only been published in a German translation?! But the original English version was not published?! The second time a came across it, a year or two later, to realize that my "on a whim" purchase of The Collected Poems of JRR Tolkien had the original English version. I had forgotten about it, and coincidentally, luckily, bought the Poems on a whim, without a targeted understanding that I was remedying a search that had hit a dead end a couple years ago. In a somewhat similar vein...
The Lay of the Fall of Gondolin - apparently wasn't included in it's entirety in The Lays of Beleriand, although I'm puzzled by this decision. It's really short! It's also in the Collected Poems. I don't have my copy of The Fall of Gondolin, so I don't know if that book included the complete poem. Christopher Tolkien's rationale is that it didn't add anything to the Fall of Gondolin story. So although I don't know if it was included in complete for in The Fall of Gondolin book, I gather the complete version has been included in The Collected Poems, another reason I'm happy I bought it on a whim
Are there any other fragments that are alluded to in The History of Middle-earth volumes, like the Osanwe-kenta? How obscure and inaccessible are some of these fragments? I like the idea of reading Quendi and Eldar and inserting/including Osanwe-kenta in the gap where it belongs. I did that with the Of Dwarves and Men essay, reinserting The Druedain excerpt back into to where it would have been part of the original text. Anyone else do this with their reading?
Are there other issues of the Vinyar Tengwar that could suppliment material in THoMe? And what about the Parma Eldalamberon, does anyone have those and are able to comment on them...do they also have material that would suppliment the Histories?
Thank you for any help, feedback and perspective you can provide!
