![]() It seemed that the Necromancer was moving again, and that Gandalf’s confidence that the North would be freed from him for many an age had not been justified. But they constantly mentioned the Necromancer, or the Enemy and sometimes referred to the Land of Mor-dor and the Black Tower. “They would seldom, however, say anything very definite. In it, the narrator explains that as the Elves and dwarves visited Bilbo, they seemed troubled. While this new chapter didn’t tell the Gilgalad story, it did bring us up to speed on Sauron. The second chapter was now called “Ancient History” and was a precursor to the published chapter “The Shadow of the Past.” After petering out with the first draft of the Rivendell chapters, Tolkien went back to the beginning, fully rewriting the texts. It is on part of that dreary land that the Forest of Mirkwood now stands, and it derives its darkness and dread from the ancient evil of the soil.”īut soon after this was written, Tolkien thought it through. And we became weary, and sickness was heavy on us, made by the spells of Sauron – for we had come at last to Mordor, the Black Country, where Sauron had rebuilt his fortress. ![]() “The armies of Elves and Men were joined once more, and we marched eastward, and crossed the Misty Mountains, and passed into the inner lands far from the memory of the Sea. During the short conversation between Elrond, Gandalf and the hobbits that eventually evolved into the Council of Elrond, Elrond gives the story of Gilgalad battling “Sauron the Magician.” Here’s a bit of it: So where was Mordor that this early stage? Apparently, it was in Mirkwood. Sure, there was some mention of the Fiery Mountain, but that was vague and all he knew was that it was somewhere off the map. Well, how about Mordor? Just where was Mordor? During the first draft of the Rivendell chapters, Tolkien had not yet figured out much beyond the maps used for The Hobbit – thus far, he didn’t need to. So I guess there’s not really much to talk about, right? Gandalf’s line, too, was nearly identical to the first drafts: “The Lord of the Ring is not Bingo, but the Lord of the Dark Tower of Mordor, whose power is growing again, and we are here sitting only in a fortress of peace. Now, what it led to was Gandalf explaining that: “The Lord of the Ring is not Frodo, but the master of the Dark Tower of Mordor, whose power is again stretching out over the world. I guess that means he really thought it worked. So fine, Tolkien had a decade or so to change it and he didn’t. Three cheers for Bingo Lord of the Ring!'” And, don’t you know, it was there from the start: “‘Hullo,’ said Merry, ‘here is our noble uncle. So that got me wondering when this wording actually came into being. It’s clumsy and sounds ridiculously out of place. You’re shoehorning the title of the book into a bit of dialog for no real reason at all. ![]() Okay, look, Tolkien – I see what you’re doing there. ‘Here is our noble cousin! Make way for Frodo, Lord of the Ring!'” It might be heady or a bit much in places, but clunky it was not. Say what you like about Tolkien, the man didn’t write clunky dialog.
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