HoME XIII: The Weird Bits

[Urwen]

This is the book that contains, among other things, a tale of Northern Orcs, who worshipped Aurora Borealis and captured humans alive to eat as popsicles; the list of King Elessar's full names; how the 'treasure' of Petty-Dwarves are actually a bunch of old ratty shoes (they loved eating leather - don't ask) which explains why other people couldn't eat them; how the Eagles double as a taxi service during their spare time (but are deathly afraid of lava for some reason, which was why they bailed out on whole 'destroy the Ring' business); how Maglor lived on till modern era and gathered several punks who were rebelling against their parents and formed a band with them, calling it the Blind Guardian, and went on to describe his experiences through music.

But of course, there is more. Stay tuned!

[Huinesoron]

I love HoME XIII; it's such a quirky book, every few pages you run into something new and deeply strange.

Like the Dwarf Naming Fragments, where Tolkien experimented with "true Rhovani names for the dwarves" (actually just Gimli, because we all know about Tolkien and ambitious mission statements). Which one should we take as (pseudo-)canon - the 'what if their language was all suffixes?' Kadhrolissontaforil, the 'is this a bit too on the nose?' Moshes, or the 'technically gimli is a word in Adunaic anyway, and stars are pretty close to fire, so let's just call him' Gimli?

Or maybe we should ignore them all, on the ground that (as Christopher said), 'my father was clearly immensely displeased with this whole line of thought; the fragments were discarded, and indeed appear only to have survived due to my mother retrieving them from the waste-paper basket for use as shopping lists'.

hS

[Huinesoron]

Just stumbled across the Numenorean Pharmacopeia section, which was a bit of a surprise. I guess we knew that the Numenoreans had a lot of plants with 'interesting' properties - after all, Gondor called pipe-weed 'westmansweed', and athelas was a Numenorean herb. But I still wouldn't have expected three whole pages on Numenorean drugs and psychotropics!

I guess it shows what Tolkien was thinking about when he drew those lovely ranalinque and linque surisse sketches, and it's certainly nice to know more about them - but I could have done without quite so detailed a description of the aftereffects of pilinehtar inhalation.

(I understand an early draft of this text is going to be in the Hostetter book. Given how much longer it's supposed to be, will we finally get details on that cryptic "bark of the mellyrn" reference in Unfinished Tales? I sure hope so!)

hS

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

will we finally get details on that cryptic "bark of the mellyrn" reference in Unfinished Tales?

We knew all along that Middle-earth had walking trees, but barking trees? That's quite a revelation!

EDIT: Actually, this is a thing, as per a footnote in HoME XIII. When Isengard was searched after Saruman's downfall, evidence was discovered that, not content with cross-breeding Orcs and Men, he had been working on hybridising the two most fearsome warrior races of ME - huorns and wargs! (What did you think he was after on his visits to Fangorn? Treebeard's mistrust was more justified then he knew!) If his experiments had reached fruition before the War of the Ring, the Battle of Helm's Deep would have gone differently...

[Urwen]

Did we mention a little-known fact that Numenor didn't sink because of Valar/Eru? The truth is that Uinen loved other women, and that she and her lover were raising a leviathan in secret, in hopes of getting rid of Pharazon and freeing his wife from that marriage. They named him UM, after their initials. Unfortunately, he misunderstood their commands and nuked the island completely, while Miriel was still on it, when he wasn't supposed to do either. The Valar lied about what really happened in order to save face. It's all in there.

[Pitchwife]

This is how the story goes in the first draft, which (as usual) underwent several revisions and transformations. According to Tolkien's latest notes

Originally Posted by HoME XIII, Of Uinen and Miriel, Footnote 23

The leviathan is not to be thought of as a dumb beast but had speech and understanding alike to Manwë's eagles. It would have followed Uinen's command to the tehta had its orders not been countermanded by the higher authority of Ossë, who had learned about his wife's infidelity. Beside himself with jealous wrath, he incited the leviathan to destroy his rival together with all of her native isle.

Ossë, both a homophobe and a genocide - seems his brief flirt with Melkor in the beginning of Arda had left a deeper influence than we thought up to now.

[Huinesoron]

Oh, are we talking the "Gal Pals" phase of the Legendarium? I've never been convinced by the claim that C.S. Lewis accidentally persuaded Tolkien that lesbianism lay outside the traditional Catholic condemnation of homosexuality, but it's pretty clear something did. Uinen and Miriel, Galadriel and Luthien, that obscure note about Haleth (I know C.T. rejected the "meets Aredhel in [Nan] Elmoth" reading, but it makes more sense than his version), and not even mentioning that weird thing with Níniel being "filled with great affection and longing" at Turin's description of his sister Nienor.

I know, he had a whole essay about the Pure Love of Woman, and how nakedness = innocence (see also: Tom Bombadil's 'naked over the grass'), and... what was that quote?

Originally Posted by HoME XIII: Rejected Extracts from the 'Laws and Customs'

The Eldar considered the procreative urge a barrier to friendships between man and woman; yet between woman and woman this love could be practiced in its unmarred form.

... but really, who was he kidding?

I've always thought it odd that Christopher shuffled most of this material off to The Weird Bits, but let the whole Indis/Nerdanel[/Miriel] thing slip through into Morgoth's Ring:

Originally Posted by HoME X: Morgoth's Ring

But Nerdanel would not go with him, and she asked leave to abide with Indis, whom she had ever esteemed, though this had been little to the liking of Feanor.

hS

[Urwen]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

and not even mentioning that weird thing with Níniel being "filled with great affection and longing" at Turin's description of his sister Nienor.

Are we talking about suiphilia here? Because why not?

Speaking of love, it also says that the Elves that Morgoth captured indulged in an intercourse with Orc-women. That's how Alvar and later, Morleg, were born. It's also why Gwindor was so marred when he returned to Nargothrond. He had an intercourse with Orc-woman and she marked him as her own. It also explained why Morleg fell in love with his cousin; she, being an independent woman, and headstrong as well, reminded him of his grandmother.

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Urwen

Are we talking about suiphilia here? Because why not?

Because thou shalt not mix thy Greek and Latin roots. I take it you mean autophilia or ipsamory.

Originally Posted by Urwen

That's how Alvar and later, Morleg, were born.

I've heard of Morleg, and even his stillborn twin brother Lessleg, but who's Alvar?

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

I've heard of Morleg, and even his stillborn twin brother Lessleg, but who's Alvar?

Oh, I know this one! Originally known as Alwē, he was the leader of the tiny breakaway Vanyar group who refused to leave Cuivienen (along with Morwē and Nurwē for the Noldor and Teleri). They eventually travelled west, and intermarried with the Nandor of Lorien and Mirkwood - hence the high number of blond elves in those kingdoms (see: Haldir).

It's all in HoME XIII.

hS

PS: "automobile", "television", and, indeed, "homophobia" and "polyamory".

[Urwen]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

Oh, I know this one! Originally known as Alwē, he was the leader of the tiny breakaway Vanyar group who refused to leave Cuivienen (along with Morwē and Nurwē for the Noldor and Teleri). They eventually travelled west, and intermarried with the Nandor of Lorien and Mirkwood - hence the high number of blond elves in those kingdoms (see: Haldir).

It's all in HoME XIII.

hS

Actually, he is not. Alvar is the son of Albus and Varda, and they used the portmanteau of their names to name him. Just as Morleg is the combination of Miriel and Gothmog (Mrle+Go).