| This article is about first Part. For Part Two, see The Book of Lost Tales Part Two. |
The Book of Lost Tales Part One is the title of the first volume of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he analyses the unpublished manuscripts of his father J.R.R. Tolkien.
It was completed in 1983. The Book of Lost Tales Part Two is its sequel and other half, which came a year later.
Purpose[]
- "This...discussion is an attempt to explain my primary motives for offering The Book of Lost Tales for publication. It is the first step in presenting the 'longitudinal' view of Middle-earth and Valinor: when the huge geographical expansion, swelling out from the centre and (as it were) thrusting Beleriand into the west, was far off in the future; when there were no 'Elder Days' ending in the drowning of Beleriand, for there were as yet no other Ages of the World; when the Elves were still 'faeries', and even Rúmil the learned Noldo was far removed from the magisterial 'loremasters' of my father's later years."
- —Christopher Tolkien, towards the end of the Foreword to the book
Content[]
The Book of Lost Tales contains the first versions of the stories which would later become The Silmarillion, and is notable because, while very primitive in style and content, it is very close to the later work in many ways. Each of the Tales is followed by notes and a detailed commentary by Christopher Tolkien.
While many of the names in the book are identical or close to those in the later versions, some of them bear almost no resemblance to their final forms. J.R.R. Tolkien changed names rather frequently, sometimes with several new variants (rejected in turn) written in a single manuscript. Confusingly, sometimes the name applied to one thing is later used to refer to a different thing, the original use abandoned. As an example, the house of Elves called "Teleri" in The Book of Lost Tales is not the same as that in The Silmarillion (see Teleri). The original usage of "Teleri" would eventually change until the name became "Vanyar". Meanwhile, the house of Elves called "Solosimpi" would inherit the name "Teleri".
The framework for the book is that a mortal Man visits the Isle of Tol Eressëa where the Elves live. In the earlier versions of the "Lost Tales" this man is named Eriol, of some vague north European origin, but in later versions he becomes Ælfwine, an Englishman of the Middle-ages.
There are more changes visible within the book, and it is not internally consistent, partially because even while still writing it, Tolkien began rewriting earlier parts as his ideas about the world changed. The Tales were eventually abandoned, but they were resurrected in part as the "Sketch of the Mythology" which would become The Silmarillion.
For publication, the book was split into two volumes: The Book of Lost Tales Part One and The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, but this is simply an editorial division. Both volumes are separated into several "Lost Tales", as chapters.
Table of Contents[]
- "The Cottage of Lost Play" — the "framework" story, recounting Eriol's arrival to the place where the following stories are told
- "The Music of the Ainur" — the first version of what would become the Ainulindalë
- "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor" — later the Valaquenta and the first chapters of the Quenta Silmarillion
- "The Chaining of Melko"
- "The Coming of the Elves and the Making of Kôr"
- "The Theft of Melko and the Darkening of Valinor"
- "The Flight of the Noldoli"
- "The Tale of the Sun and Moon"
- "The Hiding of Valinor"
- "Gilfanon's Tale: The Travail of the Noldoli and the Coming of Mankind" (which contains the first and only reference to the enigmatic "wizard" fay, Tû)
Comparison with The Silmarillion[]
The following is a direct comparison between the contents of the early Book of Lost Tales and the later sketches that became The Silmarillion.
Although one of the Lost Tales often corresponds to more tales from The Silmarillion, still the narrative in the Lost Tales is more extended (typically, 50% pages more).
In J.R.R. Tolkien's notebooks, the fourth and fifth tales were a single one, told by the character Meril-i-Turinqi, but Christopher Tolkien decided to separate them because of their length. The same applies to the sixth and seventh tales, told by Lindo.
| The History of Middle-earth (1983 - 2002) |
|
The Book of Lost Tales Part One |
The Book of Lost Tales Part Two |
The Lays of Beleriand |
The Shaping of Middle-earth: The Quenta, The Ambarkanta, and The Annals | |
Translations[]
| Translated name | |
| Afrikaans | Die Boek van verlore na sprokies Deel een |
| Albanian | Libri i Përrallave të humbura |
| Amharic | የጠፉ ታሪኮች መጽሐፍ፣ ክፍል አንድ |
| Arabic | كتاب الحكايات المفقودة الجزء الأول |
| Armenian | Կորցրած հեքիաթների առաջին մասը |
| Asturian | El Llibru de los Cuentos Perdíos, Primera Parte |
| Azerbaijani | İtirilmiş nağıllar kitabı Birinci hissə |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Кніга згубленых паданняў Частка першая |
| Basque | Galdutako ipuinen liburua, zatia bat |
| Bengali | লস্ট টেলস অফ বুক |
| Bosnian | Prvi dio knjige izgubljene priče |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Книгата на изгубени приказки част първа |
| Burmese | ပျောက်ဆုံးပုံပြင်များ၏စာအုပ် |
| Catalan | El llibre dels Contes Perduts I |
| Cebuano | Ang Libro sa Nawala nga mga sugilanon Bahin Usa |
| Chinese | 遗失的故事书第一部分 |
| Croatian | Knjiga izgubljenih pripovijesti 1 |
| Czech | Kniha ztracených pověstí - Část 1 |
| Danish | Tolkiens Bog med Glemte Fortællinger - 1. Del |
| Dutch | Het Boek met Verloren Verhalen, Deel Een |
| Esperanto | La Libro de Perdita Rakontoj, Unua Parto |
| Estonian | Kaotatud teadete esimene osa |
| Filipino | Ang Aklat ng nawalang kuwento |
| Finnish | Kadonneitten tarujen kirja, Osa yksi |
| French | Le Livre des Contes Perdus I |
| Frisian | It Boek fan Ferlern Ferhalen (Western) |
| Friulian | Il Libri des Storis Pierdudis, Part Prime |
| Galician | O Libro de Contos Perdidos |
| Georgian | დაკარგული მოთხრობების წიგნი 1 |
| German | Das Buch der Verschollenen Geschichten Teil 1 |
| Greek | Το Βιβλίο των Χαμένων Ιστοριών, Μέρος Ι |
| Gujarati | ધ બુક ઓફ લોસ્ટ સ્ટોરીઝ, ભાગ એક |
| Hawaiian | Ka Buke o Ka Wa Kahiko kaʻao |
| Hebrew | הספר סיפורי אבודים, חלק ראשון |
| Hindi | खोई हुई कहानियों की किताब, भाग एक |
| Hungarian | Az elveszett mesék könyve I |
| Icelandic | Bókin um Glatað Sögur Hluti einn |
| Indonesian | Buku Kisah yang Hilang Bagian Pertama |
| Irish Gaelic | Leabhar na Scéalta Caillte Cuid a ceann |
| Italian | Il Libro dei Racconti Persi, La Prima parte |
| Japanese | 失われた物語パート1の本 |
| Javanese | Buku Kisah Hilang, Bagean Siji |
| Kannada | ದಿ ಬುಕ್ ಆಫ್ ಲಾಸ್ಟ್ ಟೇಲ್ಸ್ ಪಾರ್ಟ್ ಒನ್ |
| Kazakh | Жоғалған ертегілер кітабы Бірінші бөлім (Cyrillic) Joğalğan ertegiler kitabı Birinşi bölim (Latin) |
| Konkani | द बुक ऑफ लोस्ट टेल्स, पयलो भाग |
| Korean | 잃어버린 이야기의 제 1 부 ? |
| Kurdish | Kitêba çîrokan a ji dest da (Kurmanji) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | жоголгон жомоктору китеби, Биринчи бөлүк |
| Latin | Liber de Perierat Fabulas |
| Latvian | Pirmā daļa zaudēta pasaku grāmata |
| Lithuanian | Prarastųjų istorijų knyga, I dalis |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Книга за изгубени приказни Прв дел |
| Malagasy | Ny Bokin' ny Tantara Very dia Ampahany Iray |
| Malaysian | Buku Kisah Hilang Bahagian Satu |
| Malayalam | നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട കഥകളുടെ പുസ്തകം, ഭാഗം ഒന്ന് |
| Maltese | Il-Ktieb ta 'Rakkonti mitlufa, L-Ewwel Parti |
| Manx | Leih ny Scanshyn Caillt, yn Chied ayrn |
| Marathi | हरवलेल्या कथांचे पुस्तक, भाग एक |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Алдагдсан үлгэрийн номыг нэгдүгээр хэсэг |
| Nepalese | हराएको कहानिहरु पुस्तकका |
| Norwegian | Bok av Tapt Historier Del En |
| Occitan | Lo Libre dels Contes Perduts, Primièra Partida |
| Pashto | د ورک شوي کیسو کتاب، لومړۍ برخه |
| Persian | کتاب داستان های از دست رفته قسمت اول |
| Polish | Księga zaginionych opowieści Część pierwsza |
| Portuguese | O Livro dos Contos Perdidos 1 |
| Punjabi | ਗੁੰਮੇ ਕਿੱਸੇ ਦੀ ਕਿਤਾਬ ਦੇ |
| Romanian | Cartea poveștilor pierdute 1 |
| Russian | Книга утраченных сказаний Том Первый |
| Samoan | O le Tusi o Tala fatu leiloa |
| Sardinian | Su Libru de sos Contos Pèrdidos, Prima Parte |
| Scottish Gaelic | Tha an leabhar de sgeulachdan chall |
| Serbian | Књига Изгубљених прича, први том (Cyrillic) Knjiga Izgubljenih priča, prvi tom (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Lu Libbru dî Cunti pirduti, Prima Parti |
| Sindhi | گم ٿيل ڪهاڻين جو ڪتاب، حصو پهريون |
| Sinhalese | නැතිවුණු කතා පොත, පළමු කොටස |
| Slovak | Kniha stratených príbehov, časť prvá |
| Slovenian | Knjiga izgubljenih zgodb Prvi del |
| Somali | Buuga Sheekooyinka Lumay, Qaybta Koowaad |
| Spanish | El libro de los cuentos perdidos 1 |
| Sundanese | Kitab dongeng leungit ? |
| Swahili | Kitabu cha Hadithi Waliopotea Moja ya sehemu |
| Swedish | De förlorade sagornas bok Del Ett |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Китоби афсонаҳои гумшуда, қисми якум |
| Tamil | லாஸ்ட் டேல்ஸ் பாகம் ஒன் புத்தக |
| Tatar | Югалган хикәяләр китабы, беренче өлеш |
| Telugu | ది బుక్ ఆఫ్ లాస్ట్ టేల్స్ పార్ట్ వన్ |
| Thai | ตำนานอันสาบสูญ เล่ม 1 |
| Turkish | Kayıp Öyküler Kitabı Birinci Bölüm |
| Turkmen | Ostitirilen Hekaýalar kitaby Birinji bölüm |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Книга Втрачених сказань, том 1 |
| Urdu | گم شدہ کہانیوں کی کتاب حصہ اول |
| Uzbek | Йўқотилган Ҳикоялар Китоби, Биринчи Қисм (Cyrillic) Yo'qotilgan Hikoyalar Kitobi, Birinchi Qism (Latin) |
| Venetian | El Libro dei Conti Persi Prima Parte |
| Vietnamese | Cuốn sách câu chuyện bị mất phần một |
| Welsh | Llyfr o Straeon a Gollwyd, Rhan Un |
| Yiddish | דער ספר פון לאָסט טאַלעס חלק איינער |