A description of the island of Númenor

[Findegil]

This is the first draft of the chapter A description of the island of Númenor in the part The Black Years.

In this chapter A description of the island of Númenor (IN) from UT is the basic text.

The editing markings are:
BY-HL-zz for Black Years, Head-Lines, marking all headlines for the chapters in this part.

IN-SL-zz for A description of the Island of Númenor, Story-Line, to document all changes that construct the main text.

Some conventions of my writing:
Normal Text is from the text that is mentioned in the source information of each insert.
Bold Text = source information, comments and remarks
{example} = text that should be deleted
[example] = normalised text, normally only used for general changes
<source example> = additions with source information
example = text inserted for grammatical or metrical reason
/example/ = outline expansion
Normally if an inserted text includes the beginning of a new § these is indicated by a missing “>” at the end of the § and a missing “<” at the beginning of the next.

BY-HL-06 <A description of the island of Númenor
> IN-SL-01<Akallabêth It is said by the Eldar that Men came into the world in the time of the Shadow of Morgoth, ... and did deeds of great valour in the war against Morgoth.
Of them was sprung, ... But Eärendil came never back to the lands that he had loved.
In the Great Battle when at last Morgoth was overthrown and Thangorodrim was broken, ... And the lot of Men was unhappy.
But Manwë put forth Morgoth ... and Men marvelled to see that silver flame in the paths of the Sun.
Then the Edain set sail upon the deep waters, ... Númenórë in the High Eldarin tongue.
This was the beginning of that people ... yet their children were few.
Of old the chief city and haven of Númenor was in the midst of its western coasts, ... whom the Valar appointed to be the first King of the Dúnedain.
Now Elros and Elrond his brother were descended from the Three Houses of the Edain, ... and ruled the Númenóreans four hundred years and ten.>
IN-SL-02<UT; A description of the island of Númenor The account of the Island of Númenor that here follows ... disappeared in the Downfall.
Even such documents as were preserved in Gondor, ... The story of Ar-Pharazôn and his impious armada was all that remained generally known in later ages.
* * *
The land of Númenor resembled in outline a five-pointed star, ... and it was at all times the most populous region of Númenor.
The Mittalmar was raised above the promontories ... and they were believed to be sent by him from Aman to keep watch upon the Holy Mountain and upon all the land.
The base of the Meneltarma sloped gently into the surrounding plain, ... in which were the tombs of the Kings and Queens of Númenor.
But for the most part the Mittalmar was a region of pastures. in the south-west there were rolling downs of grass; and there, in the Emerië, was the chief region of the Shepherds.
The Forostar was the least fertile part; ... from which he could observe the mo¬tions of the stars.
The Andustar was also rocky in its northern parts, ... and hither in the earlier days the swift white ships of the Eldar of Eressëa came most often.
An about that place, ... but they did not reach the height or girth of the great groves of Númenor.
The river Nunduinë flowed into the sea at Eldalondë, and on its way made the little lake of Nísinen, that was so named from the abundance of sweet-smelling shrubs and flowers that grew upon its banks.
The Hyarnustar was in its western part a mountainous region, ... of which the chief was Nindamos.
In the Hyarrostar grew an abundance of trees of many kinds, ... From the days of Tar-Aldarion there were great plantations in the Hyar¬rostar to furnish timber for shipbuilding.
The Orrostar was a cooler land, ... especially in those parts near to the borders of Arandor.
The whole land of Númenor was so posed as if it had been thrust upward out of the sea, ... and there one pair ever dwelt and lived on the bounty of the King.
In Númenor all journeyed from place to place on horseback; ... and timber in which the Westlands were rich.
The Edain brought with them to Númenor the knowledge of many crafts, ... until the power of the Kings was spread to the coasts of the East.
Some metals they found in Númenor, ... with black-feathered arrows a full ell long from point to notch.
But for long the crews of the great Númenórean ships came unarmed among the men of Middle-earth; ... that iron was used against them by those to whom they had revealed it.
Beyond all other pursuits the strong men of Númenor took delight in the Sea, ... When six hundred years had passed from the beginning of the Second Age Vëantur, Captain of King's Ships under Tar-Elendil, first achieved the voyage to Middle-earth. He brought his ship Entulessë (which signifies "Return") into Mithlond on the spring winds blowing from the west; and he returned in the autumn of the following year. IN-SL-03<Aldarion and Erendis, Note 3 <{It was six hundred years after the departure of the survivors of the Atani [Edain] over the sea to Númenor that a ship first came again out of the West to Middle-earth and passed up the Gulf of Lhûn. Its}The captain and mariners were welcomed by Gil-galad; and thus was begun the friendship and alliance of Númenor with the Eldar of Lindon. The news spread swiftly and Men in Eriador were filled with wonder. IN-SL-04<Aldarion and Erendis, Note 3< Elsewhere in this essay it is explained that these Men dwelt about Lake Evendim, in the North Downs and the Weather Hills, and in the lands between as far as the Brandywine, west of which they often wandered though they did not dwell there. They were friendly with the Elves, though they held them in awe; and they feared the Sea and would not look upon it. It appears that they were in origin Men of the same stock as the Peoples of Bëor and Hador who had not crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand during the First Age.> Although in the First Age they had dwelt in the East, rumours of the terrible war 'beyond the Western Moun¬tains' {[i.e.}- Ered Luin{]} - had reached them; but their traditions pre¬served no clear account of it, and they believed that all the Men who dwelt in the lands beyond had been destroyed or drowned in great tumults of fire and inrushing seas. ... and they were able to converse haltingly about simple matters.
>IN-SL-05 Thereafter seafaring became the chief enterprise for daring and hardihood among the men of Númenor; and Aldarion son of Meneldur, whose wife was Vëantur's daughter, formed the Guild of Venturers, in which were joined all the tried mariners of Númenor; as is told in the tale that follows here.>

Some comments to the editing:
BY-HL-06: After we have set the stage in Middle-earth we will do the same for the island of Númenor.

IN-SL-01: I start here with the introduction from the Akallabêth. Since I wanted to tell the story of the Second Age in a more or less chronological way (as we did with the First Age), I had to split the text of the Akallabêth. And this intro does fit best here.

IN-SL-02: Here we change over to the basic text.

IN-SL-03: I expanded the description of the meeting of the Númenoreans with the men of Eriador with Note 3 from Aldarion and Erendis.

IN-SL-04: This insert is from a later part of the same note 3.

IN-SL-05: This only mark were we come back to the basic text. I considered if we have to change ‘Thereafter’ because the reference is now less clear than in the original text, but it still seem okay for me.

A short and straight forward chapter as it seems.
Respectfully
Findegil

[ArcusCalion]

Anything to which I do not respond, I agree.

Many of my comments stem from The History of the Akkalabeth in HoME 12. In this, CT lays out all the differences between the published version and the actual final text. I will lay the changes out here for this section. I will use the markers IN-HA-## for these, HA standing for History of the Akkalabeth.

IN-HA-01: In the third paragraph the opening phrase should be:

In the Great Battle when at last Eönwë herald of Manwë overthrew Morgoth ...

and instead of "refusing alike the summons of the Valar and Morgoth" it should "refusing alike the summons of Eönwë and Morgoth".

IN-HA-02: In the following paragraph:

... Eönwë came among them and taught them; and they were given wisdom and power and life more enduring than any others of mortal race have possessed. IN-HA-02 < Thrice that of the Men of Middle-earth was the span of their years, and to the descendants of Hador the Fair even longer years were granted, as later is told.> A land was made for the Edain ...

IN-HA-03: At the start of the next paragraph:

Then the Edain IN-SL-01.3 < gathered all the ships, great and small, that they had built with the help of the Elves, and those that were willing to depart took their wives and their children and all such wealth as they possessed, and they> set sail upon the deep waters, ....

IN-HA-04: At the end of the same paragraph a footnote was removed:

... but also Anadûnê, which is Westernesse, Númenórë in the High Eldarin tongue. IN-SL-04 < [Footnote to the text: The legends of the foundation of Númenor often speak as if all the Edain that accepted the Gift set sail at one time and in one fleet. But this is only due to the brevity of the narrative. In more detailed histories it is related (as might be deduced from the events and the numbers concerned) that after the first expedition, led by Elros, many other ships, alone or in small fleets, came west bearing others of the Edain, either those who were at first reluctant to dare the Great Sea but could not endure to be parted from those who had gone, or some who were far scattered and could not be assembled to go with the first sailing.
Since the boats that were used were of Elvish model, fleet but small, and each steered by one of the Eldar deputed by Círdan, it would have taken a great navy to transport all the people and goods that were eventually brought from Middle-earth to Númenor. The legends make no guess at the numbers, and the histories say little. The fleet of Elros is said to have contained many ships (according to some a hundred and fifty vessels, to others two or three hundred) and to have brought 'thousands' of the men, women, and children of the Edain: probably between five thousand or at the most ten thousand. But the whole process of migration appears in fact to have occupied at least fifty years, possibly longer, and finally ended only when Círdan (no doubt instructed by the Valar) would provide no more ships or guides.]>

IN-HA-05: Two paragraphs afterwards:

.... At the feet of the mountain were built the tombs of the Kings, and hard by upon a hill was Armenelos, IN-SL-05 < [Footnote: Arminalêth was the form of the name in the Númenórean tongue; but it was called by its Eldarin name Armenelos until the coming of the Shadow.]> fairest of cities, ...

IN-SL-03/04: When I was making my (very quick and rough) drafts of the Second Age, I used the text you used in this addition in its entirety later, in the chapter 'Aman and Mortal Men.' This addition is actually taken from Dwarves and Men, and is part of a larger discussion of the Numenorean idea of 'Middle Men.' I think it makes sense to use this part here as you did, but I just want to make sure you still intend to use the rest of the Middle Men discussion at some point.

[Findegil]

IN-HA-zz: Good catch. I agree to these changes and I will look up that part of HoME 12 when I prepair the chapters containing the rest of the Akallabêth.

IN-SL-03/04: I agree that the discussion of the Numenorean idea of 'Middle Men' should be included. But I am not sure that Aman and Mortal Men id the right place for it.

Respectfully
Findegil

[ArcusCalion]

That's fine, as long as it is placed somewhere.

[gandalf85]

Unless I'm mistaken when piecing together this chapter, it doesn't look like there is an explanation of the Men who dwelt about Lake Evendim. However, in the text it states:

Elsewhere in this essay it is explained that these Men dwelt about Lake Evendim...

I agree that the technical discussion on the exact meaning of the word "middle men" does not really fit here, but I think a small section from "Of Dwarves and Men II: The Atani and Their Languages" in HoMe 12 fits here. It could appear somewhere else in "Translations from the Elvish," I haven't reviewed every chapter yet. However, I think this would flow nicely:

The captain and mariners were welcomed by Gil-galad; and thus was begun the friendship and alliance of Númenor with the Eldar of Lindon. The news spread swiftly and Men in Eriador were filled with wonder. {Elsewhere in this essay it is explained that these Men dwelt about Lake Evendim, in the North Downs and the Weather Hills, and in the lands between as far as the Brandywine, west of which they often wandered though they did not dwell there.} <Of Dwarves and Men II: The Atani and Their Languages> In the days of the earlier settlements of Numenor there were many Men of different kinds in Eriador and Rhovanion; but for the most part they dwelt far from the coasts. The regions of Forlindon and Harlindon were inhabited by Elves and were the chief part of Gil-galad's kingdom, which extended, north of the Gulf of Lune, to include the lands east of the Blue Mountains and west of the River Lune as far as the inflow of the Little Lune. Beyond that was Dwarf territory. South of the Lune it had no clear bounds, but the Tower Hills (as they were later called) were maintained as an outpost. The Minhiriath and the western half of Enedhwaith between the Greyflood and the Isen were still covered with dense forest. The shores of the Bay of Belfalas were still mainly desolate, except for a haven and small settlement of Elves at the mouth of the confluence of Morthond and Ringlo. But it was long before the Numenorean settlers about the Mouths of Anduin ventured north of their great haven at Pelargir and made contact with Men who dwelt in the valleys on either side of the White Mountains. {Their term Middle Men was thus originally applied to Men of Eriador, the most westerly of Mankind in the Second Age and known to the Elves of Gil-galad's realm. At that time there were many men in Eriador, mainly, it would seem, in origin kin of the Folk of Beor, though some were kin of the Folk of Hador.} They dwelt about Lake Evendim, in the North Downs and the Weather Hills, and in the lands between as far as the Brandywine, west of which they often wandered though they did not dwell there.
They were friendly with the Elves, though they held them in awe; and they feared the Sea and would not look upon it...

If you don't want to include this section then we should simply remove "Elsewhere in this essay it is explained".

[ArcusCalion]

gandalf, the portion of the draft with that note reads thus:

IN-SL-03 <Aldarion and Erendis, Note 3 {It was six hundred years after the departure of the survivors of the Atani [Edain] over the sea to Númenor that a ship first came again out of the West to Middle-earth and passed up the Gulf of Lhûn. Its}The captain and mariners were welcomed by Gil-galad; and thus was begun the friendship and alliance of Númenor with the Eldar of Lindon. The news spread swiftly and Men in Eriador were filled with wonder. IN-SL-04 <Aldarion and Erendis, Note 3 {Elsewhere in this essay it is explained that these}These Men dwelt about Lake Evendim, in the North Downs and the Weather Hills, ...

To me this is explanation enough: they were the Men in Eriador.

That bit of writing is included in the Tal-Elmar chapter, so it does not need to be added here.

[gandalf85]

OK, that works.

[Findegil]

Okay, I agree to these changes.

Respectfully
Findegil

[ArcusCalion]

What changes Fin? We agreed to change nothing

[Findegil]

Okay, then I must have missed '{Elsewhere in this essay it is explained that these}These'.

Respectfully
Findegil