"GL4" - читать интересную книгу автора (vol10)

PART FOUR.

ATHRABETH
FINROD
AH
ANDRETH.

ATHRABETH FINROD AH ANDRETH.

While this very remarkable and hitherto unknown work, 'The Debate
of Finrod and Andreth', is set at a later time in the history of the Elder
Days than is otherwise reached in this book, it should clearly be given
here on account of its association, both in date and content, with the
writings and revisions of the 'Second Phase' of the post-Lord of the
Rings history of The Silmarillion. I have thought it best to let it stand
as a separate Part in this book rather than include it with the
miscellaneous writings in Part Five, since unlike those it is a major and
finished work, and is referred to elsewhere as if it had for my father
some 'authority'.
The textual situation, so far as the actual narrative of the 'Debate' is
concerned, is simple. There is one manuscript ('A'), very similar in
style and appearance to that of Laws and Customs among the Eldar,
and like it clear and fluent - although in this case there are some pages
of drafting extant, with clear indications that others existed (see
pp. 350 ff.). There are also two amanuensis typescripts, taken indepen-
dently from the manuscript after all emendation had been made to it.
One of these ('B'), probably the first to be made, is of slight value: it
has many errors, and was looked through very cursorily by my father
with scarcely any emendation. The other ('C'), extant also in a carbon
copy, is a better text though not without errors; this he read more
carefully and introduced a number of minor changes, but missed some
errors through not checking it against the manuscript. The text printed
here is therefore established from the manuscript, taking up emenda-
tions made to the typescripts.
Neither of the typescripts of the Athrabeth has any title; both begin
with the words 'Now it chanced that on a time of spring...' (p. 307).
The manuscript, on the other hand, bears the title Of Death and the
Children of Eru, and the Marring of Men (with another title or
sub-title added later, The Converse of Finrod and Andreth), and two
pages of introductory text precede the sentence with which the
typescripts open. This introduction to the 'Converse' was in fact the
continuation of an essay which my father removed and let stand
separately: see pp. 424 ff., where this work, entitled Aman, is given.
This introductory section was subsequently typed by my father,
with a carbon copy, on the new typewriter (see p. 300), and attached
to the beginning of the copies of the amanuensis typescript C. It has no
title or heading. In typing it he substantially recast it; but the actual

matter of the manuscript version was largely retained, so that only a
few differences need be noted (see pp. 305 - 6).