Palanlri (Seeing Stones)

"They are not all accounted for, the lost seeing stones. We do not know who else may be watching." —Gandalf to Saruman, in The Fellowship of the Ring

The Palanlri were seeing stones. There were seven in all and were used to communicate in Middle Earth and beyond.

“The lore of the Stone’s has since been forgotten and can only be partly recovered by conjecture and from things recorded about them. They were perfect spheres, appearing, when at rest, to be made of solid glass or crystal deep black in hue. At their smallest, they were about a foot in diameter, but some, certainly, the Stones of Osgiliath and Anon Sul, were much larger and could not be lifted by one man.”

Unfinished Tales, J.R.R. Tolkien, pg. 472

The Drúedian

The Drúedian are a race of peoples mentioned in Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales. The Drúedian were unattractive in appearance; “they were stumpy (some were only four feet high), but very broad, with heavy buttocks and short thick legs; their wide faces had deep-set eyes with heavy brows, and flat noses. They typically grew no hair below their eye brows (with the exception of a few) a small tail of black hair in the midst of their chins.” Those who were to grow these tails were highly favored and held in high esteem.

Unfinished Tales, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Istari

This is the first in a series of three posts of interesting quotes from J.R.R. Tolkien’s, Unfinished Tales. The posts will highlight three obscure facets of Middle Earth.

“Wizard is a translation of Quenya istar (Sindarin ithron): one of the members of an “order” (as they called it), claiming to possess, and exhibiting, eminent knowledge of the history and nature of the World. The translation (though suited in its relation to “wise” and other ancient words of knowing similar to that of istar in Quenya) is not perhaps happy, since the Heren Islarion or “Order of Wizards” was quite distinct from the “wizards” and magicians of the later legend.”

During the Third Age of Middle Earth there were five wizards:

Saruman	the White
Gandalf	the Grey
Radagast	the Brown
Morinehtar	the Blue
Rómestámo	the Blue

Dol Guldur

Hobbit-The Battle of the Five Armies

“During the Third Age Galadriel became filled with foreboding, and with Celeborn she journeyed to Lorien and stayed there long with Amroth, being especially concerned to learn all the news and rumors of the growing shadow in Mirkwood and the dark stronghold in Dol Guldur.” (J.R.R. Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales, 256)

The Hobbit-The Battle of the Five Armies

"Anon Lana, “Naked Hill” was the highest point in the highland at the south-west corner of Greenwood, and was so called because no trees grew on its summit. In later days it was Dol Guldur, the first stronghold of Sauron after his awakening.” (J.R.R. Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales, 292)

The Hobbit-The Battle of the Five Armies

Dol Guldur- “Hill of Sorcery” was the treeless height in the south-west of Mirkwood, where the Necromancer dwelt until he was finely revealed as Sauron (The Dark Power). He would eventually be banished by Galadriel and the other members of the White Council.

A Recollected Conversion of Gandalf

Gandalf thought the Bilbo Baggins, to be a suitable companion for Thorin and his Dwarves for their quest to Lonely Mountain, for a number of reasons, however the Dwarves needed some persuasion.

“The Hobbit that I have in mind has ornaments of gold, and eats with silver tools, and drinks wine out of shapely crystal. ‘Ah! I see your drift at last’, said Balin. ‘He is a thief, then? That is why you recommend him?’ At than I fear I lost my temper and my caution. The Dwarvish conceit that one can have or make anything of value save themselves, and that all the fine things in other hands must have been got, if not stolen, from the Dwarfs at some time, was more than I could stand at the moment…the Dwarfs must bend their stiff necks.”

The Quest of Erebor, Unfinished Tales.

Horse in Numenor are Honored

“In Numenor all journeyed from place to place on horseback, for in riding the Numenoreans, both men and woman, took delight, and all the people of the land loved horses, treated them honorable and housed them nobly. The horses were trained to hear and answer calls from great distances and it is said that they could be summoned at need by thought alone."

A Description of Numenor, Unfinished Tales, J.R.R. Tolkien

Mariners are Men of two Minds

Now Almarian, the queen of Numenor asked her son Aldarion. "Must you depart again"? Almarian said this because the king was getting along in years and had hoped his son, being his only heir, would soon take over as the king. Queen Almarion continued. "Is there nothing that will hold you in this fairest of all mortal lands?"

"Not yet", Aldarion answered, "but there are fairer things in Armenelos than a man could find elsewhere, even in the land of the Eldar. But mariners are men of two minds, at war with themselves, and the desire of the Sea still holds me."

Aldarion and Erendis, Unfinished Tales, J.R.R. Tolkien

Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin

And of Tuor a son of Huor and kin to Hurin, a lord of Man traveled abroad during the first-age of middle earth.

“Tuor went on now in great hope and delight, finding a path beneath the southern wall…

…thus Tuor journeyed slowly for three days, drinking the cold water, but desiring no food though there were many fish that shone as gold and silver, or gleamed with colors like to the rainbow in the spray above.”

Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin, Unfinished Tales-The Lost Lore of Middle Earth, J.R.R.Tolkien.

Unfinished Tales, by J.R.R. Tolkien-First Impressions

Unfinished Tales, like the Silmarillion was published posthumously by J.R.R. Tolkien’s son. The mass marketed paperback edition contains 493 pages including a 59 page index. Unfinished Tales includes lore from the first, second and third ages of Middle Earth. The text includes maps from three locations of Middle Earth; Númenórë, Far Harad, and Dagorlad.

Although many topics are discussed within this text the publisher has featured three topics at the preface of the text. They are:

1. The telling of the origins of Middle Earths wizards
2. The story of Galadriel, the daughter Finarfin and the co-ruler and Lady of Lothlórien. It is said that she had almost unlimited magical powers
3. And the story of Bilbo Baggins before his great adventure.

Unfinished Tales will bring depth to many topics that are mentioned only briefly in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I have started my reading of Unfinished Tales at, Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin. This is one of those texts where I can see myself jumping around a bit.