trees far off in the North-west; the drowning of Isengard was not begun till night. At night Battle of the Hornburg.
(Day 5) February 2 In the morning Theoden and Gandalf and their company ride to Isengard, and find it drowned.
IV.
The chronology was then changed to that of 'The Road to Isengard'
in TT, whereby Theoden and Gandalf and their company do not leave Helm's Deep until much later on Day 5, pass the night camped below Nan Gurunir, and do not reach Isengard until midday on Day 6
(February 3). This chronology is set out in a time-scheme (additions of mine in brackets):
[Day 3] January 31 Ents arrive at Isengard, night. Break in.
[Day 4] February 1 Dawn, they go away north to make dams. All that day Merry and Pippin alone until dusk. Gandalf arrives at Isengard at nightfall, and meets Treebeard. Drowning of Isengard begins late at night. [Battle of the Hornburg.]
[Day 5] February 2 Isengard steams all day and column of smoke arises in evening. [Gandalf, Theoden, &c. see this from their camp below Nan Gurunir.] Huorns return in night to Isengard.
[Day 6] February 3 Morning, Treebeard returns to Gates. Sets Merry and Pippin to watch. Wormtongue comes. [Gandalf, Theoden, &c. arrive shortly after noon.]
This is the chronology of LR, as set out in The Tale of Years, though the actual dates are of course different (in LR March 2 = January 31
in this scheme).
*
This, I believe, is how the chronology evolved; but as will be seen in the following chapters, earlier time-schemes appear in the drafts for passages far on in the actual narrative, because as I have said all this part of LR was written as a whole. Thus for example in the first draft of Merry's story of the destruction and drowning of Isengard (in TT
in the chapter 'Flotsam and Jetsam') the chronology belongs with the scheme described in II above, and against it my father noted:
'Drowning must not begin until night of Hornburg battle.'
Despite the way in which this part of the story was written, I think that it will in fact be clearest to break my account into chapters corresponding to those in The Two Towers; this inevitably entails a certain amount of advance and retreat in terms of the actual sequence of composition, but I hope that this preliminary account will clarify the shifting chronological basis in the different texts.
NOTES.
1. The extra day of the Entmoot (TT pp. 87-8) was not added until much later: VII.407, 419.
2. Nan Gurunir, the Valley of Saruman, was added in to a blank space left for the name in the manuscript of 'Treebeard' (VII.420
note 9).
II.
HELM'S DEEP.
A first draft of this story, abandoned after it had proceeded for some distance, differs so essentially from its form in The Two Towers that I give it here in full. This text bears the chapter number XXVIII, without title. For the chronology see p. 4, $I.
There was a much-ridden way, northwestward along the foothills of the Black Mountains. Up and down over the rolling green country it ran, crossing small swift streams by many fords. Far ahead and to the right the shadow of the Misty Mountains drew nearer. Beneath the distant peak of Methedras in dark shadow lay the deep vale of Nan Gurunir; a great fume and vapour rose there and drifted towards them over the plain.(1) Halting seldom they rode on into the evening. The sun went down before them. Darkness grew behind.
Their spears were tipped with fiery red as the last shafts of light stained the clouds above Tindtorras;(2) the three peaks stood black against the sunset upon the northmost arm of the Black Mountains. In that last red light men in the van saw a horseman riding back towards them. As he drew near, the host halted, "waiting him.
He came, a weary man with dinted helm, and cloven shield.
Slowly he climbed from his horse, and stood there a while, panting. At length he spoke. 'Is Eomer here?' he asked. 'You come at last, but too late and too few. Things have gone evilly, since Theodred fell.(3) We were
(Day 5) February 2 In the morning Theoden and Gandalf and their company ride to Isengard, and find it drowned.
IV.
The chronology was then changed to that of 'The Road to Isengard'
in TT, whereby Theoden and Gandalf and their company do not leave Helm's Deep until much later on Day 5, pass the night camped below Nan Gurunir, and do not reach Isengard until midday on Day 6
(February 3). This chronology is set out in a time-scheme (additions of mine in brackets):
[Day 3] January 31 Ents arrive at Isengard, night. Break in.
[Day 4] February 1 Dawn, they go away north to make dams. All that day Merry and Pippin alone until dusk. Gandalf arrives at Isengard at nightfall, and meets Treebeard. Drowning of Isengard begins late at night. [Battle of the Hornburg.]
[Day 5] February 2 Isengard steams all day and column of smoke arises in evening. [Gandalf, Theoden, &c. see this from their camp below Nan Gurunir.] Huorns return in night to Isengard.
[Day 6] February 3 Morning, Treebeard returns to Gates. Sets Merry and Pippin to watch. Wormtongue comes. [Gandalf, Theoden, &c. arrive shortly after noon.]
This is the chronology of LR, as set out in The Tale of Years, though the actual dates are of course different (in LR March 2 = January 31
in this scheme).
*
This, I believe, is how the chronology evolved; but as will be seen in the following chapters, earlier time-schemes appear in the drafts for passages far on in the actual narrative, because as I have said all this part of LR was written as a whole. Thus for example in the first draft of Merry's story of the destruction and drowning of Isengard (in TT
in the chapter 'Flotsam and Jetsam') the chronology belongs with the scheme described in II above, and against it my father noted:
'Drowning must not begin until night of Hornburg battle.'
Despite the way in which this part of the story was written, I think that it will in fact be clearest to break my account into chapters corresponding to those in The Two Towers; this inevitably entails a certain amount of advance and retreat in terms of the actual sequence of composition, but I hope that this preliminary account will clarify the shifting chronological basis in the different texts.
NOTES.
1. The extra day of the Entmoot (TT pp. 87-8) was not added until much later: VII.407, 419.
2. Nan Gurunir, the Valley of Saruman, was added in to a blank space left for the name in the manuscript of 'Treebeard' (VII.420
note 9).
II.
HELM'S DEEP.
A first draft of this story, abandoned after it had proceeded for some distance, differs so essentially from its form in The Two Towers that I give it here in full. This text bears the chapter number XXVIII, without title. For the chronology see p. 4, $I.
There was a much-ridden way, northwestward along the foothills of the Black Mountains. Up and down over the rolling green country it ran, crossing small swift streams by many fords. Far ahead and to the right the shadow of the Misty Mountains drew nearer. Beneath the distant peak of Methedras in dark shadow lay the deep vale of Nan Gurunir; a great fume and vapour rose there and drifted towards them over the plain.(1) Halting seldom they rode on into the evening. The sun went down before them. Darkness grew behind.
Their spears were tipped with fiery red as the last shafts of light stained the clouds above Tindtorras;(2) the three peaks stood black against the sunset upon the northmost arm of the Black Mountains. In that last red light men in the van saw a horseman riding back towards them. As he drew near, the host halted, "waiting him.
He came, a weary man with dinted helm, and cloven shield.
Slowly he climbed from his horse, and stood there a while, panting. At length he spoke. 'Is Eomer here?' he asked. 'You come at last, but too late and too few. Things have gone evilly, since Theodred fell.(3) We were
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