It was born of a friendly challenge. While CS Lewis would write a story with space travel,
JRR Tolkien would write a tale involving time travel. The result would be an entire Trilogy
for Lewis, and for Tolkien a furthering of the story of his tragic realm of Numenor.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover The Lost Road: Tolkien’s Time Travel Tale.
While we don’t know the exact time this famous prompt took place, we know that sometime prior to
the fall of 1937, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, having been unsatisfied with the stories they read,
decided to write stories themselves featuring two distinct and incredible forms of travel.
It was agreed that Lewis would take on space travel, while Tolkien would tackle time travel.
While Lewis fans will no doubt be familiar with his resulting Space Trilogy, Tolkien would
ultimately abandon his work. Though in the four chapters he wrote, we see some impactful dialogue
that in light of the entire Numenor tale, is incredibly interesting to Middle-earth fans.
I began an abortive book of time-travel of which the end was to be the presence of my hero
in the drowning of Atlantis. This was to be called Númenor, the Land in the West. The
thread was to be the occurrence time and again in human families (like Durin among the Dwarves)
of a father and son called by names that could be interpreted as Bliss-friend and Elf-friend.
Tolkien’s time travel tale would begin with a father-son affinity between Edwin and Elwin
in the present and would involve combinations of fathers and sons etymologically connected.
These pairs would include Eadwine and Aelfwine from Anglo-Saxon legends,
Audoin and Alboin of Lombardic, and through other traditions reaching back finally to
Amandil and Elendil and the Downfall of Tolkien’s Atlantis legend - Numenor.
The first two of the four chapters Tolkien wrote feature Alboin. Alboin is kind of lost
in a daydream when his father Oswin finds him and the two talk about his namesake,
referencing the Lombard king and Aelfwine and revealing his name’s meaning of Elf-friend.
Finally, the father and son go back into their house, but before going to bed Alboin looks
westward over the sea and says “They look like the eagles of the Lord of the West coming upon
Numenor.” Despite not knowing what it meant, the words that came to him do not feel strange,
even seemingly made up names like Numenor, Amon-ereb, and Beleriand.
Obviously, to those of us who know Middle-earth lore, these names have significant meaning,
which makes it all the more interesting that a present day person - or at least present day
when Tolkien wrote this - would have these names come to them. Over time, it seems young Alboin
would turn more toward traditional scholarship and he would have a large chunk of time pass
without any of the dreams that connected him to these unknown languages and myths.
In chapter two, we meet Alboin as he is a middle-aged professor,
a widower, and a father of a son named Audoin. And here many have
noted that the way the relationship and interests and traits of Alboin
and Audoin are described seems quite similar to that of JRR and Christopher Tolkien themselves.
One night, the dreams and language come back to Alboin and he comes to view the events he sees
not as dreams, but of memory. He finds himself wishing for a time machine, yet also saying that
time is not to be conquered by machines. Alboin goes back to sleep and returns to dreaming.
In a wide shadowy place he heard a voice. ‘Elendil!’ it said. ‘Alboin,
whither are you wandering?’ ‘Who are you?’ he answered.
‘And where are you?’ A tall figure appeared, as if descending an unseen stair towards him.
For a moment it flashed through his thought that the face, dimly seen, reminded him of his father.
‘I am with you. I was of Númenor, the father of many fathers before you. I am Elendil,
that is in Eressëan “Elf-friend”, and many have been called so since. You may have your desire.’
The very Elendil of Numenorean legend, the future High King of Gondor and Arnor,
and father of Isildur reveals that both Alboin and his son Audoin
are invited to come to the past. Alboin asks about time travel being a violation of natural law,
to which Elendil responds that it is rather a rule than a law - and that rules may have exceptions.
Here, with the third written chapter, The Lost Road shifts in time to Numenor
at a time when tensions are high and the last king
of the realm rules - though in this version his name is Tarkalion rather than Ar-Pharazon.
Here we see Elendil finding his son - here named Herendil - along the beach of Numenor.
And what we get over these third and fourth chapters will no doubt be the most interesting
to fans of the Numenor storyline. If you’ve seen my video on Tolkien’s New Shadow - the abandoned
sequel to the Lord of the Rings - the tone here is very similar. There’s an unease in the subject
matter as they speak of the Valar, the elves, and the coming of Sauron to Numenor.
Herendil gives us a sense of what the prevailing thought is among the majority of Numenoreans in
these days. That their ancestor Earendil did not awake the valar to their cause, but is instead
held captive by the valar because he showed them the lost road to the undying lands. And now,
it should be that his heir, King Tarkalion should complete his work and win immortality for men.
Elendil and Herendil go back and forth regarding these thoughts
and of Sauron’s influence over Numenor.
‘But others of greater age and knowledge than mine – or thine – have chosen,’ said Herendil.
‘And they say that history confirmeth them,
and that Sauron hath thrown a new light on history. Sauron knoweth history, all history.’
‘Sauron knoweth, verily; but he twisteth knowledge. Sauron is a liar!’ Growing
anger caused Elendil to raise his voice as he spoke. The words rang out as a challenge.
Knowing the danger of having what would be seen as a traitorous conversation outdoors,
Elendil and Herendil go back to their home, where we find Elendil
also has a foster-daughter - Firiel, the daughter of his departed friend Orontor.
There in the safety of their home, Elendil tells of Morgoth, the Valar, dragons, elves,
the great war, and how Numenor came to be. Much of this lines up remarkably well with what we find
in the published Silmarillion. In one of my favorite portions, we get dialogue from
Sauron as he surrenders to the king of Numenor with a great display of power…
Suddenly the sea became unquiet; it rose until it became like a mountain,
and it rolled upon the land. The ships were lifted up, and cast far inland, and lay in the fields.
Upon that ship which was cast highest and stood dry upon a hill there was a man,
or one in man’s shape, but greater than any even of the race of Númenor in stature.
‘He stood upon the rock and said: “This is done as a sign of power. For I am Sauron the mighty,
servant of the Strong” (wherein he spoke darkly). “I have come. Be glad, men of Númenor,
for I will take thy king to be my king, and the world shall be given into his hand.”
Just as in the tale with which we are familiar, Sauron convinces the Numenoreans to build a temple
for the worship of Morgoth. Yet, despite his promises, the king grows old and Elendil tells
Herendil that they are clearly preparing for a great war, despite the fact that they have no
real enemies. Elendil reveals to his son that he is among those who would be called rebels - what
we know as the Faithful - remaining loyal to the Valar. As the chapter closes, he gives Herendil
a choice - he may leave and report his father as a traitor, or he can join Elendil, learning more
and taking counsels with others among the Faithful in their resistance against Sauron.
In the end, Herendil vows to stay with his father, and with that,
Tolkien’s Lost Road chapters come to an end.
One of the things I find interesting in this time travel story is how unconventional the
time travel element seems to be. Rather than the more standard approach of a present-day character
being transported, it seems like that character would instead live out the days of his namesake.
For gamer fans out there, it reminds me a lot of the way Assassins Creed storytelling works,
where a present day person, though with the help of a machine,
lives out the life of their famous assassin ancestor.
What I enjoy most about reading this, however, is not necessarily the time travel or present
day aspect, but the more intimate scenes of Elendil during the dark days of Numenor.
The sense of secrecy they must operate within is something we don’t get a lot
of in most of the Second Age writings, and the amount of dialogue here was a pleasant
surprise when I first read The Lost Road. Seeing that being among the Faithful is
a dangerous business and how and when parents would reveal this to their children
is a really fascinating concept and makes for some great drama.
As we know, Tolkien would never finish this Lost Road novel, though he would later take
a second pass at it - which we can cover in a future video. but his friend CS Lewis
would indeed publish his space travel story. In fact, Lewis even refers to an Atlantean location
of Numinor, though he spells it differently because he hadn’t seen Tolkien's spelling,
it is meant to be the same location. And if you want to learn all about that, check out
my friend over at Into the Wardrobe, who will soon be publishing his video on Lewis’ space trilogy.
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