The primitive handling of the fingers numerically was older than the personalized play-names, though the two were interconnected. In the numerical handling as the numerical list was filled up nete would come before 5, or 10: one more beyond the prominent middle-finger. In the primitive play-name series “father” (thumb) and “mother” (index) were certainly the oldest, the others being just “children”, though the notable little finger possibly early had a name = “baby”. It was here that the resemblance between net(e) and nette became effective: nete ‘one more beyond the middle’ and before the end of the count became nette ‘girl/daughter’, and so caused *tolya ‘prominent’ to become masculine, and generated for itself the definite variant selye ‘daughter’, and for tolyo the variant yonyo ‘son’: and the family was complete.
TEXT 3
This text is found on three manuscript sides, placed immediately after and closely contemporary with text 1, written in a clear hand in black nib-pen, and numbered (i)–(iii) by Tolkien. Like text 1, the manuscript is found on the blank sides of printed Allen & Unwin stationery, one sheet of which is a publication notice dated Jan.–Feb. 1968.
The fingers. The 5 “fingers” included the thumb. Their naming is of considerable interest, since it is connected with the development of the numerals 1–10, the basis of the Eldarin decimal system, and also in the “play-names” it gives a glimpse of the Eldarin children which the legends and histories do not provide.
The numbers 1, 2: one (alone, or first) and two (another, or the next) were probably the oldest and not necessarily originally connected with the fingers: though the thumb, larger, differing in shape and function from the others, and capable of being extended sideways, so that it is alone and distinct, while it can also be brought alongside the slenderer fingers and be the first in a series, is eminently suited to the development of two distinct word-stems: (a) one, only, alone and (b) one, first.[fn8]
In using the hands as assisting in counting (and in teaching counting) they were laid down flat with the thumbs touching. The count, and naming, then proceeded from thumb to little finger (in either direction), and returning to the middle continued from the second thumb. Each name thus occurred twice; and in two-handed reckoning had two numerical places, the second being + 5. Connexion therefore between numerals five apart, for example 3 and 8, would not be surprising – insofar as the numerals can be shown to have etymological relations with the finger-names occurring at the appropriate places.[fn9]
The following account is an abbreviation of a curious document, preserved in the archives of Gondor by strange chance (or by many such chances) from the Elder Days, but in a copy apparently made in Númenor not long before its downfall: probably by or at the orders of Elendil himself, when selecting such records as he could hope to store for the journey to Middle-earth. This one no doubt owed its selection and its copying, first to Elendil’s own love of the Eldarin tongues and of the works of the loremasters who wrote about their history; but also to the unusual contents of this disquisition in Quenya: Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi: The Elvish Fingers and Numerals. It is attributed, by the copyist, to Pengoloð (or Quendingoldo) of Gondolin,[fn10] and he describes the Elvish play-names of the fingers as used by and taught to children.
The fingers. The 5 “fingers” included the thumb. The Common Eldarin word for ‘finger’ was leper, pl. leperī: Q. T. leper, pl. ī; S. leber, lebir.
These were named from thumb (1) to little finger (5): (a) in Quenya 1. nápo, 2. tassa, lepetas, 3. lepenel, 4. lepente or lepekan, 5. níke or lepinke; (b) in Telerin 1. nāpa, 2. tassa, 3. i nellepe, 4. nente, 5. nīke; (c) in Sindarin 1. nawb, 2. tas or lebdas, 3. lebeneð, 4. lebent, 5. niged or lebig. In addition there was a dual formation naming thumb and index as a pair: Q. nápat, T. nāpat, S. nobad.
In the hand-play of children each hand was regarded as a “family” of 5: father, mother, brother, sister, and little-one or baby, about which and their family dealings and also, when two hands were juxtaposed, their relations to the neighbouring family, tales were made-up, some handed on traditionally, and others often improvised. There were more variations in these than in the adult names, but the following were the best known:
1. (thumb) Q. atto, atya; 2. emme, emya; 3. tollo or hanno; 4. nette; 5. wine or winimo, win(i)ke.
2. T. atta(ke); 2. emme(ke); 3. tolle or hanna(ke); 4. nette or nettike; 5. winike (winke, pinke).
3. S. atheg; 2. emig; 3. tolch, toleg, honeg; 4. (neth), nethig; 5. niben, gwinig.
IV
HAIR
This text is found among notes “in explanation of revised names in genealogy”, and is dated by Tolkien “Dec. 1959” (see XII:359 n.26). It is written in a clear hand in black nib-pen. These notes are mostly linguistic and etymological, but one passage, pertaining to words related to “hair”, provides certain details that are of relevance here.
Ingwë had curling golden hair. Finwë (and Míriel) had long dark hair, so had Fëanor and all the Noldor, save by intermarriage which did not often take place between clans, except among the chieftains, and then only after settlement in Aman. Only Finwë’s second son by Indis had fair hair,[fn1] and this remained generally characteristic of his descendants, notably Finrod. Elwë and Olwë had very pale hair, almost white. Melian was dark, and so was Lúthien.
This is a convenient place to give a late (1969) typescript note found elsewhere amongst Tolkien’s linguistic papers:
Base √ÑAL ‘shine, glitter’, always with reference to reflected radiance from a bright surface. As in the name Gil-galad ‘star of radiance’ given to Finwain, last High-king of the Eldar, because of the radiance of his silver hair, armour, and shield that, it is said, could even in the moonlight be seen from many leagues afar. The same word occurs in the name Galadriel (kinswoman of Finwain), ‘lady of the radiant crown’, referring to the shining of her golden hair.
V
BEARDS
This text is found among the “Last Writings” that Christopher Tolkien dated to the last year of his father’s life (see XII:377), thus 1972–3. It occupies two and a half pages and is written in a slightly hasty hand in black nib-pen. Christopher made reference to it in Unfinished Tales, with a brief quotation, pp. 247–8.
Beards
An account of these and the fact that the Elvish race had no beards, so that this also became a mark of an Elvish strain in certain kingly families of Númenórean descent.
A note was sent to Patricia Finney (Dec. 9/72), answering a question about beards, that mentioned some of the male characters which she and a friend did not imagine as having beards.[fn1][1] I replied that I myself imagined Aragorn, Denethor, Imrahil, Boromir, Faramir as beardless. This, I said, I supposed not to be due to any custom of shaving, but a racial characteristic. None of the Eldar had any beards, and this was a general racial characteristic of all Elves in my “world”.[2] Any element of an Elvish strain in human ancestry was very dominant and lasting (receding only slowly – as might be seen in Númenóreans of royal descent, in the matter of longevity also).[3] The tribes of Men from whom the Númenóreans were descended were normal, and hence the majority of them would have beards. But the royal house was half-elven, having two strains of Elvish race in their ancestry through Lúthien of Doriath (royal Sindarin) and Idril of Gondolin (royal Noldorin). The effects were long-lasting: e.g. in a tendency to a stature a little above the average, to a greater (though steadily decreasing) longevity, and probably most lastingly in beardlessness. Thus none of the Númenórean chieftains of descent from Elros (whether kings or not) would be bearded. It is stated that Elendil was descended from Silmariën, a royal princess.[fn2][4] Hence Aragorn and all his ancestors were beardless.
The matter of Denethor and his sons is not so clear. But I explained this by referring to Gandalf’s remarks concerning Denethor: that “by some chance” the Númenórean was nearly “true” in him[5] – meaning that by some event in Denethor’s ancestry which Gandalf had not investigated,[6] he had this mark of ultimately “ro
yal” descent. This “chance”, I said, was to be seen in the fact that Húrin the First Steward (from whom Denethor was directly descended) must have been a kinsman of King Minardil (see L.R. III 319, 332, 333)[7] sc. of ultimately royal descent, though not near enough in kinship for him or his descendants to claim the throne. I did not but could have noted the following points. The Kings of Gondor had no doubt had “stewards” from an early time, but these were only minor officials, charged with supervision of the King’s halls, houses, and lands. But the appointment of Húrin of Emyn Arnen, a man of high Númenórean race, was different. He was evidently the chief officer under the crown, prime counsellor of the King, and at appointment endowed with the right to assume vice-regal status, and assist in determining the choice of heir to the throne, if this became vacant in his time. These functions all of his descendants inherited. It may also be noted that they had Quenya names,[fn3][8] which had long been a privilege only of those of proved royal descent.
In the case of Faramir and Boromir another “strain” appears. Their mother was Finduilas (another “Silmarillion” name), daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth, and sister of Prince Imrahil. But this line had also a special Elvish strain according to its own legends, as clearly noted in the text (III 148).[9]
The people of Belfalas (Dol Amroth) were mainly Númenórean in origin, descendants of settlers before the division of the people or the armada of Ar-Pharazôn. Hence they often used Númenórean Adûnaic names, since the use of these was not then yet connected with rebellion against Eru. But as Legolas’s mention of Nimrodel shows there was an ancient Elvish port near Dol Amroth, and a small settlement of Silvan Elves there from Lórien.[10] The legend of the prince’s line was that one of their earliest fathers had wedded an Elf-maiden: in some legends it was indeed (evidently improbable) to have been Nimrodel herself; more probably in other tales it was one of Nimrodel’s companions who was lost in the upper mountain glens.[11]
In any case I do not imagine Imrahil as bearded.
VI
DESCRIPTIONS OF CHARACTERS
In 1970 Allen & Unwin published a poster-sized Map of Middle-earth, executed by the artist Pauline Baynes, and based upon that included in The Lord of the Rings. On the map itself are a series of vignettes portraying various locations significant to the story, such as the Barrow-Downs and Minas Tirith; and above and below the map proper, Baynes depicted the members of the Fellowship of the Ring, the Black Riders, Gollum, Shelob, and other enemies of the West. On seeing the finished art, Tolkien wrote a set of comments on these depictions of places and characters. Some of these comments are appreciative: e.g. Tolkien found four of the vignettes, sc. those depicting the Teeth of Mordor, the Argonath, Barad-dûr, and Minas Morgul, particularly well-executed, and described them as agreeing “remarkably with my own vision … Minas Morgul is almost exact”; and he found the depiction of Aragorn good, those of Sam and Gimli “good enough”, and that of Boromir to be “the best figure, and most closely related to the text”. Other comments are less positive: e.g. of the vignettes he singled out those of Minas Tirith and Hobbiton for particular dislike; and of the depictions of characters he most disliked those of Gandalf, Legolas, Gollum, the Black Riders (though he found them “impressive as sinister cavaliers”, he decried the addition of “hats and plumes” and the “relief” of “their hell-black with elvish green”), and Shelob (faulting in particular the positioning of her legs as “all apparently growing out of her head”) – also that of Bill the Pony: “On the scale of the men and the hobbits Bill is no pony. Also he was represented as having become the special care and friend of Sam, who should be leading him”. In the course of these comments he offers details of how some of these characters appeared in his own vision (some of which have been presented elsewhere),[1] as well as on the personality and roles of some, and these details are selected and arranged for presentation here.[2]
The map in question is reproduced on p. 385 of the catalogue of the recent Bodleian exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth (Catherine McIlwaine, 2018), q.v.
Gandalf
In the story he was one of the Immortals, an emissary of the Valar. His visible form was therefore a guise in which he walked among the peoples of Middle-earth, a cloak for his power, wisdom, and compassion. But his body was not a phantom: it was corporeal and could suffer and be hurt, and though more slowly than mortal men he aged and was at the time of the story white-haired and bent with care and labour. (He had then been wandering – the Grey Pilgrim – mostly on foot through all the Westlands for some two thousand years). His looks, and his manners, had touches of the comic or grotesque (especially to hobbit-eyes), reflecting the sense of humour of a fundamentally humble spirit. Even the rare glimpses that he gave to those whom he specially loved of the founts of hope and mirth that lay beneath were touched with it; a figure strongly built with broad shoulders, though shorter than the average of men and now stooped with age, leaning on a thick rough-cut staff as he trudged along – at the side of Aragorn.[fn1] Gandalf’s hat was wide-brimmed (a shady hat, H. p. 14) with a pointed conical crown, and it was blue; he wore a long grey cloak, but this would not reach much below his knees. It was of an elven silver-grey hue, though tarnished by wear – as is evident from the general use of grey in the book.
If I had known that Pauline Baynes was going to make a picture of Gandalf, I could have shown her a sketch I made long ago, showing him coming up the path to Bilbo’s hole with his (“battered”) blue hat more or less so.[3] Or better: the picture from which my personal vision of him was largely derived. This is a picture postcard acquired years ago – probably in Switzerland.[4] It is one of a series of six taken from the work of a German artist J. Madlener, called Gestalten aus Märchen und Sage [‘Characters from Stories and Legends’]. Alas! I only got one called Der Berggeist [‘The Sorcerer’, lit. ‘The Mountain-spirit’]. On a rock under a pine-tree is seated a small but broad old man with a wide-brimmed round hat and a long cloak talking to a white fawn that is nuzzling his upturned hands. He has a humorous but also compassionate expression – his mouth is visible and smiling because he has a white beard but no hair on his upper lip. The scene is a woodland glade (pine, fir, and birch) beside a rivulet with a glimpse of rocky mountain-towers in the distance. An owl and four other smaller birds are looking on from the branches of the trees. The Berggeist has a green hat, and a scarlet cloak, blue stockings and light shoes. I altered the colours of hat and cloak to suit Gandalf, a wanderer in the wild, but I have no doubt that when at ease in a house he wore light blue stockings and shoes.
He was the friend and confidant of all living creatures of good will (I 375).[5] He differed from Radagast and Saruman in that he never turned aside from his appointed mission (“I was the Enemy of Sauron”, III 294)[6] and was unsparing of himself. Radagast was fond of beasts and birds, and found them easier to deal with; he did not become proud and domineering, but neglectful and easygoing, and he had very little to do with Elves or Men although obviously resistance to Sauron had to be sought chiefly in their cooperation. But since he remained of good will (though he had not much courage), his work in fact helped Gandalf at crucial moments. Though it is clear that Gandalf (with greater insight and compassion) had in fact more knowledge of birds and beasts than Radagast, and was regarded by them with more respect and affection. (This contrast is already to be seen in The Hobbit 124-5. Beorn, a lover of animals, but also of gardens and flowers, thought Radagast a good enough fellow, but evidently not very effective.)
Legolas
The Legolas of the story was an Elvish prince of Sindarin race (III 363), clad in the green and brown of the Silvan Elves over whom his father ruled (I 253): tall as a young tree (II 28), lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgul,[fn2][7] endowed with the still tremendous vitality of elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow (I 306), the most tireless of all the Fellowship.[8]
Hobbits
The descriptions and assumptions of the text are not in fact haphazard, and are based on a standard: the average height of a male adult hobbit at the time of the story. For Harfoots this was taken as 3 ft. 6; Fallohides were slimmer and a little taller; and Stoors broader, stouter, and somewhat shorter. The remarks in the Prologue [concerning the height of hobbits] are unnecessarily vague and complicated, owing to the inclusion of references to supposed modern survivals of the race in later times; but as far as the LR is concerned they boil down to this: the hobbits of the Shire were in height between 3 and 4 feet, never less and seldom more. They did not of course call themselves Halflings.
Heights
The Quendi were in origin a tall people. The Eldar were those who accepted the invitation of the Valar to remove from Middle-earth and set forth on the Great March to the Western Shores of Middle-earth. They were in general the stronger and taller members of the Elvish folk at that time. In Eldarin tradition it was said that even their women were seldom less than 6 ft. in height; their full-grown elfmen no less than 6 ft. 6, while some of the great kings and leaders were taller.
The Nature of Middle-earth Page 15