The Treason of Isengard (3 page)

Sept. 25.

Tues.

Sept. 27

Wed. Reaches Hobbiton; sees.

Sept. 28 Perry Boffin.

Thurs. Crickhollow.

Sept. 29

Fri. Leaves Crickhollow,

Sept. 30 goes to Bombadil.

Sat. Leaves Bombadil;

Oct. 1 reaches Bree.

Sun. Leaves Bree in morning.

Oct. 2

Mon.

Oct. 3

Tues. Breaks through Riders.

Oct. 4 and reaches.

Weathertop.

B.

Escapes from Tower at

dawn.

Reaches Hobbiton; sees

Perry Boffin (morning).

Reaches Crickhollow

late.

Leaves Crickhollow

early, goes to Bombadil.

Leaves Bombadil,

reaches Bree late, 'very

tired'.

Leaves Bree early.

Reaches Weathertop

late.

Pursued by Riders

leaves Weathertop early.

C.

Leaves White Tower at

dawn.

Reaches Hobbiton.

Reaches Crickhollow

via Bridge, evening.

Riders attack at night.

Dawn: breaks out with

Ham and 'rides off' to

Bombadil.

Reaches Bree in evening.

Leaves Bree.

Reaches Weathertop in

evening. Leaves during

night.

D.

Returns to Shire.

Riders attack

Crickhollow; carry off

Ham, pursued by

Gandalf (midnight).

Early morning: rescues

Ham, goes to Bombadil.

Leaves Bombadil early,

reaches Bree.

Leaves Bree with Ham

early.

Reaches Weathertop in

evening. Holds out

during night.

Flies from Weathertop

pursued by Riders.

With this d. the addition to $3 above: 'Ham drops off at Crickhollow, but is picked up by Gandalf and used as a decoy.' Scheme C says that it was at dawn on the 30th (the morning on which the hobbits left Bree with Trotter after the attack on the inn) that 'Gandalf broke out with Ham'; he then 'rode off to Tom' (which way did he go?).

A different story is seen in D, in which it is told that at midnight on the 29th/30th Black Riders crossed the Brandywine by the Ferry, attacked the house at Crickhollow, and carried off Ham, 'pursued by Gandalf'; and that in the early morning of the 30th Gandalf rescued Ham, the Black Riders fled in terror to their King, and Gandalf went on to visit Tom.

For narrative drafts reflecting these versions of the events at Crickhollow see pp. 53-6, 68-70.

All the schemes agree that Gandalf went from Buckland to visit Tom Bombadil; cf. the original version of 'The Council of Elrond', VI.401, where Gandalf says that 'when I had chased the Riders from Crickhollow I turned back to visit him.'

Scheme D has a note that 'Trotter reaches the Shire border Sept. 14

and hears ill news on morning of 25th from Elves.' This scheme also provides an account of the movements of the individual Riders, who are identified by the letters A to r. It was n who came to Hobbiton on 23 September, the night on which Frodo left, and it was n and z who trailed the hobbits in the Shire, while G H I were on the East Road and was to the southward. On the 25th, the day that Frodo reached Crickhollow, DEGHI assembled at the Brandywine Bridge; c waited there while H and I passed through Bree on Monday the 26th. On the 27th n and E 'got into Buckland and looked for Baggins'; on the 28th they 'located' him and went to get the help of c. On the night of the 29th DEG crossed the River by the Ferry; and on the same night H and 1 returned and attacked The Prancing Pony. Pursued by Gandalf from Crickhollow DEG fled to the King. ABCDEFG 'rode East after Gandalf and the supposed Baggins' on 1 October; F and c were sent direct to Weathertop, and the other five, together with H and I, rode through Bree at night, throwing down the gates, and from the inn (where Gandalf was) the noise of their passage was heard like a wind.

F and G reached Weathertop on the 2nd; Gandalf was pursued North from Weathertop by C D E, while A B F G H I patrolled the East Road.

Of these four time-schemes only D treats fully the chronology from Weathertop to the Ford. A mentions that Gandalf went North 'via Entish Lands' and reached Rivendell on 14 October; two Riders pursued him 'towards Entish Dale; these are they that came from the flank at the Ford. ' B also has Gandalf reach Rivendell on the 14th, and says:

But messages from the Elves of the Shire have travelled swiftly since Sept. 24. Already Elrond has heard in Rivendell that the Ring had set out alone, and that Gandalf is missing, and the Ringwraiths are out. He sends out scouts North, South, and West. These scouts are Elves of power. Glorfindel goes along the Road. He reaches the Bridge of Mitheithel (18) at dawn on Oct. 12 and drives off the Black Riders and pursues them West till they escape. On Oct. 14 he turns and searches for traces of Frodo*s party for several days (2/3), finds them, and then comes after them, catching them up on the evening of Oct. 18.

In Scheme D the final chronology for this part of the story, agreeing (except in one point) with that in LR Appendix B though fuller, was attained. For earlier phases of the development see VI.219, 360.

October.

Wed. 5. Camp near hills.

Thurs.6. Attack on camp at Weathertop.

Fri. 7. Frodo leaves Weathertop.

Sat. 8. News reaches Elrond.

Sun. 9. Glorfindel leaves Rivendell.

Mon. 10. Frodo in the Cheerless Lands.

Tues. 11. Gandalf at Hoarwell (Mitheithel).

Rain. Glorfindel at Bridge

of Mitheithel.

Wed. 12. Frodo and Trotter see Road and rivers.

Thurs. 13. Frodo crosses Last Bridge.

Fri. 14. Frodo in hills. Glorfindel finds tracks.

Sat. 15. Hills (wet).

Sun. 16. Hills (shelf) [See FR p. 214:'a stony shelf'].

Mon. 17. Troll-ridge.

Tues. 18. Trolls. Gandalf and Ham reach.

Rivendell

Glorfindel finds Trotter etc.

Wed. 19. Bend [See FR p. 224: 'the Road bent right'].

Thurs. 20. Battle at Ford of Bruinen (19)

Fri. 21.

Sat. 22. Frodo unconscious.

Sun. 23.

Mon. 24. Frodo wakes.

Tues. 25.

Wed. 26. Council of Elrond.

The only point in which this differs from the final chronology is that a whole day passes between Frodo's waking and the Council of Elrond, which thus takes place here on the 26th of October, not on the 25th.

But this is not a slip, for the same appears in other closely related chronologies of this period.

NOTES.

1. Faramond Took replaced Folco Took in the original version of

'The Council of Elrond', VI.406 and subsequently.

2. Turin of course had no descendants. Possibly Turin was a slip for Tuor, grandfather of Elrond.

3. That it was Trotter who found Gollum appears in the original version of 'The Council of Elrond' (VI.401 and note 20).

4. The meaning of this very elliptical remark is possibly that when Trotter was a hobbit the injury to his feet caused him to wear shoes, which for a hobbit was highly unusual; but if he was a man that would not be the case.

5. From its appearance the illegible word could well be otiose, but that does not seem likely. If however this is what it is, 'Hence there is no need for' must be a sentence left in the air, followed by

'Gandalf otiose' - i.e. Gandalf need have nothing to do with Weathertop: Aragorn 'steered them to Weathertop' simply because it was 'a good lookout'. But the whole passage is very obscure.

6. I.e., if Bilbo went off with Peregrin Boffin there would be a duplication when Frodo in his turn went off with younger companions.

7. Cf. the story of Peregrin Boffin in VI.385-6: there Peregrin and Frodo stood in the same relationship (first cousins once removed) to Bilbo.

8. The bracketed sentence was struck out, with the note: 'No, because that would give away suspense.' On the same piece of paper as these 'final decisions' there is a sketch of such a conversation, although in this there is no suggestion of a party:

'I am going for a holiday, a long holiday!' said Bilbo Baggins to his young 'nephew' Frodo. 'What is more, I am going tomorrow. It will be April 30th, my anniversary and a good day to start on. Also the weather is fine! '

Bilbo had made this announcement a great many times before; but each time he made it, and it became plainer that he really meant it, Frodo's heart sank lower. He had lived with Bilbo for nearly 12 years and known him longer, and he was devoted to him. 'Where are you going?' he asked, but he did not expect any answer, as he had also asked this question often before and got no satisfactory reply.

'I would tell you if I knew myself for certain - or perhaps I would,' answered Bilbo as usual. 'To the Sea maybe, or the Mountains. Mountains, I think; yes, Mountains,' he said, as if to himself.

'Could I come with you?' asked Frodo. He had never said that before; and he had not really any desire to leave Bag-End or the Shire that he loved; but that night with Bilbo's departure so near

Here this fragment ends.

9. or Folco: cf. $3 (4): 'peregrin [Boffin] drops off at Crickhollow.'

10. find a way is clear, but my father possibly intended ride away, or flee away, or something similar.

11. In the 'third phase' version Gandalf still left Bag End 'one wet dark evening in May' (VI.323). In FR (p. 76) he left at the end of June.

12. The name Sarn Ford is here met for the first time. It is found on the most original part of the original LR map (pp. 299, 305).

13. The numbers were first written two ahead, four following Frodo, three behind. The passage was bracketed with a note: 'No, see Black Riders' movements': this is a reference to the full account in Scheme D (see p. 13).

14. For the transference of Dimrill-dale to the South and the other side of the Misty Mountains and its replacement by Hoardale see VI.432-3, notes 3 and 13. The present note is very probably where the River Hoarwell (see VI.192, 360) rising in Hoardale, and the Entish Lands, first emerged. No doubt it was at this time that Hoardale was written on the manuscript of the first version of 'The Ring Goes South' (VI.432, note 3); but Entish Dale evidently soon replaced it - it is found in one of the Time-schemes (p. 13) and was written in on the present note. On Ent as used in these names, in the sense of Old English erst 'giant', the Ents of Fangorn not having yet arisen, see VI.205.

15. In the 'third phase' narrative Tom Bombadil was still thought of as visiting The Prancing Pony (VI.334), but in the first version of

'The Council of Elrond' (VI.402) Gandalf says that 'the mastery of Tom Bombadil is seen only on his own ground - from which he has never stepped within my memory.'

16. Bilbo's gift to Frodo of Sting is first mentioned in the initial draft for 'The Council of Elrond' (VI.397), and Frodo's possession of it in the sketch for the Moria story (VI.443). - Why is Frodo's sword called 'red'? In another isolated note, written much later, this reappears: 'What happened to the red sword[s] of the Barrows? In Frodo's case it is broken at the Ford and he has Sting.' In the 'third phase' version of 'Fog on the Barrow-downs'

they were 'bronze swords, short, leaf-shaped and keen' (VI.128, 329); at some later time the reading of FR (p. 157), according to which they were 'damasked with serpent-forms in red and gold', was entered on that manuscript.

17 On Entish Dale see note 14. - In the 'third phase' version of the story there were six Riders in ambush at the Ford (VI.361); in FR

there were four (cf. p. 62).

18. This is the first appearance in the texts of the Elvish name Mitheithel of the River Hoarwell (see note 14) and of the Last Bridge, by which the East Road crossed the river (but they are found on the sketch-maps redrawn in Vol. VI, p. 201).

19. This is the first occurrence of the name Bruinen, other than on one of the sketch-maps mentioned in note 18.

II.

THE FOURTH PHASE (1):

FROM HOBBITON TO BREE.

The rethinking and rewriting of this period led to an extremely complex situation in the actual constituent chapter-manuscripts of the book as it stood. Some of the manuscripts of the 'third phase' were now in their turn covered with corrections and deletions and inters-persed with inserted riders, so that they became chaotic (cf. VI.309). In this case, however, since substantial parts of those manuscripts were in no need of correction, or of very little, my father wrote out fair only those parts of the chapters that had been much affected by revision, and added to these the unaffected portions of the original 'third phase'

texts. For this 'fourth' phase, therefore, some of the manuscripts are textually hybrids, while others remain common to both 'phases' (no doubt a somewhat artificial conception).

The rejected parts of the 'third phase' manuscripts were separated and set aside and in a sense 'lost', so that when the 'fourth phase' series was sent to Marquette University some eighteen years later these superseded pages - and a good deal of preliminary draft writing for their replacement - remained in England. To put it all together again, and to work out the intricacies of the whole complex become so widely separated, has been far from easy; but I have no doubt that in the result the history of these texts has been correctly ascertained.'