The Númenörean scale fixed by the Valar (for other than Elros) was for a life in full (if not “resigned” earlier) of thrice that of ordinary men. This was reckoned so: A “Númenórean” reached “full-growth” at 24 (as with Elves; but this was for them reckoned in Sun-years); after that, 70 × 3 = 210 years were “permitted” = total 234. But decline set in (at first slow) at the 210th year (from birth); so that a Númenórean had an expectation of 186 fully active years after reaching physical maturity.
For more on the Númenórean scale of life, see chaps. XI, “Lives of the Númenóreans”, and XII, “Ageing of Númenóreans”, in part three of this book.
XIX
ELVISH LIFE-CYCLES
These two texts, while written with different implements on different types of paper, were clipped together by Tolkien and are closely connected conceptually. The second text, as shown below, can be confidently dated to c. 1969, and there is no reason to think that the first text doesn’t date from about that time as well. Regarding Elvish life-cycles, cf. the c. 1968 text “From The Shibboleth of Fëanor” (VT41:9): “A note elsewhere in the papers associated with this essay reads: ‘Elves did not have beards until they entered their third cycle of life. Nerdanel’s father [cf. XII:365–6 n.61] was exceptional, being only early in his second.’” On the matter of Elvish beards, see chap. IV, “Beards”, in part two of this book.
TEXT 1
This brief text was written somewhat hastily in black nib-pen, on one side of a sheet of lined paper.
The Elvish lives should go in cycles. They achieved longevity by a series of renewals. After birth and coming to maturity and beginning to show age, they began a period of quiet in which when possible they “retired” for a while, and issued from it renewed again in physical health to approximately the vigour of early maturity. (Their knowledge and wisdom were however progressively cumulative.)
This had not appeared in the periods dealt with (or had only begun towards the end of the Third Age).
The “Fading” was apparent in this way:
1)The periods of activity and full vigour became progressively shorter, and
2) The renewal was not so complete: they were a little older at each renewal than at the previous renewal.
TEXT 2
This text was written increasingly hastily in soft pencil on the versos of two sheets of Allen & Unwin publishing calendars for February and March of 1970.
Elves lived in life-cycles? sc. birth, childhood to bodily and mental maturity (as swift as that of Men) and then a period of parenthood (marriage, etc.) which could be delayed for a long time after maturity.[1] This “cycle” proceeded until all children of the “first period of parenthood” were grown up. Then there was a youth-renewing.
Elves married in perpetuity and as long as a first mate was alive and incarnate they had no thought of other marriage. In Aman the only case of a breach was Míriel/Finwë. In Middle-earth, especially in the Elder Days, violent death was frequent; but the slain ([?etc.]) could by the Valar be restored to life.[fn1][2] At their own choice. The Valar became more [?gentle] in this matter – and the griefs of the Eldar were often so great before death that being unwilling to return was held pardonable – especially to those having no wife or ungrown children. (Only in one known case, Beren, did the Valar – by special permission of Eru – restore a human body to life and suffer its fëa to return.) If a wife was left widowed (or vice versa) forever remarriage was permissible, but seldom occurred.
In lives not marred by death or who enter [it] the “youth-renewing” left the pair young and vigorous, but for awhile though they dwelt together they went about their own businesses and [?recovered] in [?] before a second period of parenthood arose. (Some never entered such a new period.) But, though it was long before it was noticed, at each new “cycle” their vigour of the Eldar waned a little. Before the end of the Second Age youth-renewals and the re-Generation of children were becoming rare.[fn2] The Eldar were “fading”: whether this was by the original design of Eru, or a “punishment” for the sins of the Eldar, is not certain. But their “immortality” within the Life of the World was guaranteed, and they could depart to the Blessed Realm if they willed.
XX
TIME AND ITS PERCEPTION
This text occupies six sides of three sheets of unlined paper, which Tolkien has pinned together. It is written in an increasingly hasty hand in black nib-pen, with additions and some revisions made in red ball-point pen. It dates from c. 1959.
The Valar reckoned in twelves. During the Days of the Trees:
12 Tree-hours = 1 Valian Day VD
144 VD = 1 Valian Year VY
144 VY = 1 Valian Age VA
But:
1 VY = 144 Years of Men MY
1 VD = 1 MY
1 VH = 1⁄12 MY or one month about 30½ days
Any (mortal) creature (sc. things appearing inside Eä) in Valinor during the Trees would have aged only with the rate of 1/144 of its natural Middle-earth speed (save only the Quendi who were immortal). At the awaking of the Quendi this proportion 1/144 (with regard especially to Men) was natural, and those that came speedily to Aman maintained this. But in spite of “immortality” (within Arda) the ageing of Arda soon affected those who remained in Middle-earth: quickest those who refused the Summons. But the Eldar who remained (or the Sindar) were soon reduced to a rate of 1/100 more or less and that proportion can be used in reckoning the “relative age” of Elves in the Silmarillion. For High Elves it probably remained more or less so until the end of the Third Age and then, for those remaining in Middle-earth, it quickened rapidly.
It must be considered that (disregarding actual length of the time scale) Quendi were similar to Men in these respects: though they began quicker they soon slowed down, and reached maturity about 20. Their normal marriage time was therefore approximately between 20 and 60. But in earlier times, before the end of the Third Age, while they were still physically vigorous, unlike Men, they could postpone the marriageable state. Normally they only had one period of child-begetting and bearing lasting 20–40 years or more after marriage. But if they did not use this power at the normal time it could be postponed till they were 100 or a little more.
But it must then be considered that in earliest times and in Aman always that meant a “year” was in fact the yên or 144 years (and even later, after the Death of the Trees, was 100 years). So that an Elf in earlier times or in Aman matured in mortal terms when about 2,880 years old, and could bring forth children up to the age 8,660, or an exceptional one 14,400. In later times these ages reduced to 2,000, 6,000, and 10,000.
At some point Tolkien struck through all the above text, but specifically retained the following:
Elves should awake about VY 1050 and reach Beleriand c. 1450 = 400 VY = after 57,600 years. Their West-march began about 1445 and took 144 × 5 MY = 720 years.[1]
Men awake in VY 1500 and reach Beleriand in 1531 = 31 VY × 144 = 4,464 years. (Too little!)
Men must awake before Melkor is taken to Valinor, or after his escape. In the former case it must be about VY 1050, in the latter much more time must be devised between the Return of Melkor and the arrival of Men in Beleriand.[2] Fleeing Aman, crossing the Ice, sojourn in Arvalin could take a [?great while].[3]
If Men awake in 1050, Elves must awake earlier.[4]
Time in Lórien? See explanation in LR vol. I but adjusted except for Elves. Probably mortals entering had [?their] growth-rate and ageing altered, not to the Elvish rate but much slowed, say to 1 : 7: so the true 30/28 days seemed about 4. Then downstream for a short while.[5]
These rates and calculations are concerned only with growth and ageing, and not with the perception or appreciation of time as subjectively long or short (except in so far as such perception may be affected by ageing, etc).
The question of “perception of Time” is more difficult to deal with, since it varies with persons, circumstances, and kinds of persons, and it is difficult also to express or communicat
e, so that when the Eldar conversed with the Atani on such matters neither side was sure that they understood the other’s clearly. And again the fëar of Elves and of Men are not corporeal or subject [?actually] to Time, and [are] able to move in it in thought and retrospect and so can have divergent views of the subjective length of one and the same time or experience. They may say of [?such] it fleeted by and yet it seemed to endure for ages.
These things however, so far as the Eldar are concerned, seem specially to influence time-perception and/or its recollection. On one side youth (inexperience, vigour) and eagerness; on the other age (experience, failing vigour), dullness. And secondly, full occupation in delight, affection, or mutual interest; and on the other side lack of occupation, or mutual interest, and absence of delight or a presence of distaste or pain.
The “length of time” that is attributed to Youth as against Age is probably chiefly one of hope and expectation, [?allowed] to inexperience. A child’s afternoon seems a boundless vista – but this is chiefly in [?thought] or before it is spent. If it is fully of “occupation” it [?will race by soon] like a flash, and teatime will come before anything but a beginning of the [?plan] is achieved.
The old look forward with hard experience – an afternoon they know will not suffice for much achievement. It seems brief in prospect (as it proves), but whether it actually during the experiencing of it seems any briefer than the same actual period in childhood (spent in about the same amount of occupation) may be much doubted.
In Age to Men (and Elves) years seem to go swiftly they say, but that is for various reasons, some really of “reasoning” rather than feeling. They go “swiftly” because of experience: (1) as few new things or none are encountered, there is little to [?save] in a memory already [?stocked]. (The mind is also duller and hardly notes the present.) (2) there is all the same no desire to come to the end, or rather desire not to do so; the time therefore seems to stop though [?hands] are unable to stay it. As if two travellers went along the same road: the one has never journeyed there before, and he is young and full of hope, maybe eager to reach the end and enter upon other roads; the other has travelled the same way many, many times, and barely notes the things seen or passed, and he is tired maybe, and yet fears to reach the end, having little hope of going on to further journey. To which will that road seem shorter? To the young [?halting (at least in light and??]) barely at all [?] and yet not [?hoarding] the [?moments] it may seem a long and memorable journey in experience and in retrospect. To the older it will hold little of memory to distinguish it from other journeys like it, and yet its end will come too soon. It will seem swift, at least in retrospect.
The older also will in retrospect retain the feeling of [?experience here???]. As when an old man wonders at the short time in which a babe is born and grows up to run. For this occurs now while [?his mind] is [?] and the days go by quickly, but such things he remembers occurring earlier in his life (or his own childhood) and they seemed longer. But he knows they were not.[6] Therefore he says now the time seems short in which they occur!
XXI
NOTES ON ELVISH TIME-REFERENCE
The following texts are all derived, not from the “Time and Ageing” file, but rather from Tolkien’s late (c. 1968) writings on his invented languages. This seems a convenient place to share Tolkien’s further thoughts on the Elvish perspective on time.
TEXT 1
Elvish time.
Our language is confused, using after or before both (in certain circumstances) of the future. We sometimes think and speak of the future as what lies before us, we look ahead, are pro-vident, forward-looking, yet our ancestors preceded us and are our fore-fathers; and any event in time is before one that is later. We speak as if events and the succession of human lives were an endless column moving forward into the unknown, and those born later are behind us, will follow us; yet also as if though facing the future we were walking backwards or being driven backwards, and our children and heirs (posterity!) were ahead of us and will in each generation go further forwards into the future than we. A widow is a relict, one left behind, by a husband who goes on.[1]
As far as a single experiencing mind goes, it seems a most natural transference of spatial or linear language to say that the past is behind it, and that it advances forward into the future; that later events are before or in front of earlier ones. At the point when the individual ceases the survivors go on further ahead of him. All living creatures are in one mass or column marching on, and falling out individually while others go on. Those who do so are left behind. Our ancestors, who fell out earlier, are further behind, behind us for ever.
In Elvish sentiment the future was not one of hope or desire, but a decay and retrogression from former bliss and power. Though inevitably it lay ahead, as of one on a journey, “looking forward” did not imply anticipation of delight. “I look forward to seeing you again” did not mean or imply “I wish to see you again, and since that is arranged and/or very likely, I am pleased.” It meant simply “I expect to see you again with the certainty of foresight (in some circumstances), or regard that as very probable” – it might be with fear or dislike, “foreboding”. Their position, as of latter-day sentiment, was as of exiles driven forward (against their will), who were in mind or actual posture ever looking backward.
But in actual language time and place had distinct expressions.
TEXT 2
The Eldar regarded all that was past as behind them, their faces being towards the future. With reference to time therefore words with a basic sense “behind, at the back” = “before”; and those originally meaning “in front, ahead” = “after”.
Nonetheless in thinking of people and the generations they spoke as if the elders were leaders marching at the head of a line of followers. It thus became difficult to speak of “those behind” = “peoples of former days” being followed by later generations. But such terms as leading and following were to them pictorial analogies, only used with a definite transfer of sense: as if we were to speak of looking back into the dark mists of days before our time.
For ordinary purposes, e.g., as what happened before my time, “behind” was used, at least originally. In practice, Common Eldarin had developed four distinct prepositional or adverbial bases:
A. (1) before of time (2) behind of place
B. (1) after of time (2) in front of, ahead of place
TEXT 3
Time reference
The Eldar spoke of people and generations as if the picture before their minds was of a line on the march with the elders leading ahead and the later-born following. This was no doubt due to the fact that the elder-born so frequently remained among them. It coloured all their speaking of time. They usually imagined themselves looking [?inwardly] to what has been, that is they found the past (and do not call it “looking back”) and had their backs to the future and would not call anticipation of it “looking ahead” but “looking back” as looking over the shoulder.
Tolkien struck through this text, and began again:
The Eldar did not use a linear-space picture of the time relation, unless they were deliberately constructing an analogical picture. That is, they conceived the relation of precedence or consequence in time as something different from preceding or following in space.
Of course they could, speaking of a long experience as a journey, as if passing from one year to another were like going from one place to another (though the much decreased speed of time-apprehension??? was envisioned made this much less usual than with us). Or they could speak of older people as if they were at the head of the march, and the later-born as following: this was a fairly common “figure of speech”, but was much more a figure than with us. They did not call elders ancestors = preceders.
For one thing (as they said) in space one can turn and look in many directions; in time one’s position is fixed. Hence the two groups confused in our language were distinct:
A. (1) before, earlier of time (2) before, in fr
ont of place
B. (1) after, later of time (2) after, behind of place
XXII
A FRAGMENT FROM THE ANNALS OF AMAN
This brief typewritten text appears to be a late reworking of part of the chronology of The Annals of Aman. (see X:47, and especially X:92–5), and so probably dates from c. 1958.
1260. The last of the Vanyar leave Tirion and go to dwell upon the west-slopes of Taniquetil. Fingon son of Fingolfin awoke.[1]
1300. Thingol (by which name Elwë Singollo was after known in Beleriand) and Melian his Queen begin the building of Menegroth in Doriath, with the help of the Naugrim.
Daeron, minstrel and lore-master of Thingol, contrives his Runes (i Cirdh Daeron).
Turgon son of Fingolfin and Inglor son of Finrod awoke in Eldamar.[2]
1320. The Orcs first appear in Beleriand.[3]
1350. The Nandor led by Denethor cross the Mountains of Lindon and come to Ossiriand. They are called the Green-elves.[4]
The Nature of Middle-earth Page 13