The Red Book of Westmarch (sometimes Red Book of the Periannath, and The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings, also known as the Thain's Book after its principal version) is a fictional manuscript written by hobbits, a conceit of author J. R. R. Tolkien to explain the source of his fantasy writings. In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Middle-earth. Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0-313-30530-7 is a collection of scholarly essays edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F

It is a collection of writings in which the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were recounted by their characters, and which Tolkien supposedly derived these and other works from. The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy The Lord of the Rings is an epic

Its name comes from its red leather binding and casing, and location at Westmarch. Leather is a material created through the Tanning of hides and Skins of Animals primarily Cattlehide The Tanning process The Shire is a region of J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works

Fictional development

There and Back Again

In The Hobbit, Tolkien writes of the protagonist and title character Bilbo Baggins composing his memoirs. Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit and also makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of Bilbo thinks of calling his work "There and Back Again, A Hobbit's Holiday". ^[1] In fact the full title of The Hobbit is The Hobbit or There and Back Again.

In The Lord of the Rings, this record is said to be written in his red leather-bound diary. For other uses of the term 'diary' see Diary (disambiguation. Bilbo says to Gandalf that his intended ending would be him living "happily ever after to the end of his days. Concept and creation Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography relates that Tolkien owned a Postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain "^[2] This is in fact a rephrased line from the final chapter of The Hobbit, originally conveyed through third-person narrative voice. A narrator (or the extremely rarely used female equivalent narratress) is within any story (literary work movie play verbal account etc ^[1]

The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings

Bilbo later expands his memoirs into a record of the events of The Lord of the Rings, including the exploits of his kinsman Frodo Baggins and others. He later leaves the material for Frodo to complete and organize. ^[3] Frodo writes down the bulk of the final work, using Bilbo's diary and "many pages of loose notes". At the close of Tolkien's main narrative the work is almost complete, and Frodo leaves the task to his servant Samwise Gamgee. Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly known as Sam, is a Fictional character in J ^[4]

Tolkien provides a "title page" inscribed with various titles that had been subsequently rejected; the final title is Frodo's:

Translations from the Elvish

Bilbo had translated material from Elvish lore from the Elder Days. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Elder Days are the first Ages of Middle-earth. This work, Translations from the Elvish, by B. B. , comprised three volumes, also bound in red leather. After the defeat of Sauron (the Lord of the Rings) Bilbo gives these volumes to Frodo. These four volumes were "probably" (according to Tolkien) kept in a single red case. ^[5][3]

Red Book

The volumes then pass into the keeping of Samwise Gamgee, Frodo's servant and later mayor of the Shire. Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly known as Sam, is a Fictional character in J In time, the volumes are left in the care of Sam's eldest daughter, Elanor Fairbairn, and her descendants (the Fairbairns of the Towers or Wardens of Westmarch). A fifth volume containing Hobbit genealogical tables and commentaries is composed and added at an unknown date by unknown hands in Westmarch. This collection of writings is collectively called the Red Book of Westmarch. ^[5]

Thain's Book

Tolkien says the original Red Book of Westmarch was not preserved. Several copies, with various notes and later additions, were made. The first copy was made by request of King Elessar of Gondor and Arnor, brought to Gondor by Frodo's companion Thain Peregrin I. Aragorn II is a fictional character from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the In the fictional Legendarium of J R R Tolkien, Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador Thain is a variant spelling of Thane or Thegn, an Anglo-Saxon term for a minor noble probably best known from Shakespeare 's Biography Pippin was the only hobbit who had not yet reached his 'coming of age' when the Fellowship set out (being eight years younger than Merry while Frodo himself was 50 This copy was known as the Thain's Book and "contained much that was later omitted or lost". In Gondor it underwent much annotation and correction, particularly regarding Elvish languages. Also added was an abbreviated version of The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen by Prince Faramir's grandson Barahir. Literature Arwen was the youngest child of Elrond and Celebrían; her elder brothers were the twins Elladan and Elrohir. In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a Fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. ^[5]

Findegil's copy

A copy of a revised and expanded Thain's Book was made probably by request of Peregrin's great-grandson and delivered to the Shire. It was written by the scribe Findegil and stored at the Took residence in Great Smials. In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium, the Took clan was one of the most famous Hobbit families Tolkien says this copy was important because it alone contained the whole of Bilbo's Translations from the Elvish. ^[5]

This version survives until Tolkien's time, and he translates the Red Book from the original languages into English. The Languages of Arda are artificial languages invented by J R English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States ^[6]

Related works

A similar work in some respects was the Yearbook of Tuckborough, the annals of the Took family of hobbits of Tuckborough. In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium, the Took clan was one of the most famous Hobbit families In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Middle-earth. It was the oldest known book in the Shire, and was most likely kept at the Great Smials of Tuckborough. The Shire is a region of J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium, the Took clan was one of the most famous Hobbit families

It was begun around the year T.A. 2000 and chronicled events dating from the foundation of the Shire in T.A. 1601 onwards. The Third Age is a time period from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings The Third Age is a time period from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings For comparison, The Lord of the Rings commences in the year T.A. 3001 (see the Timeline of Arda for more details). The Lord of the Rings is an epic The Third Age is a time period from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings This article includes several chronologies relating to J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium.

The Yearbook recorded births, deaths, marriages, land-sales, and other events in Took history. Much of this information was later included in the Red Book of Westmarch. It was also known as the Great Writ of Tuckborough and the Yellowskin, suggesting that it was bound in yellow leather or some other yellow material.

Tolkien writes of several other historical documents related to the Red Book, but it is unclear whether these were integrated into editions. These works include the Tale of Years (part of which was used as the timeline for The Lord of the Rings) and Herblore of the Shire, written by Frodo's contemporary Meriadoc Brandybuck, used for information about pipe-weed. Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a Fictional character from J This is a list of all fictional Plants that appear in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth writings ^[5]

Relationship to real works

See also: The Hobbit#Revisions

As a memoir and history, the contents of the Red Book probably correspond to Tolkien's work as follows:

• Bilbo's journey: The Hobbit
• Frodo's journey: The Lord of the Rings
• Background information: the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings, as well as essays such as published in Unfinished Tales
• Hobbit poetry and legends: The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (in the Red Book, scattered throughout the margins of the text of Bilbo and Frodo's journeys)
• Bilbo's translation of Elven histories and legends: The Silmarillion

Some events and details concerning Gollum and the magic ring in the first edition of The Hobbit were rewritten for The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy The Lord of the Rings is an epic Unfinished Tales (full title Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth) is a collection of stories and essays by J The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of poetry written by J In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in Character overview Originally known as Sméagol, this character was later named Gollum after his habit Retroactive continuity is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction The Hobbit was later revised for consistency. Tolkien explains the discrepancies as Bilbo's lies (influenced by the ring, now the sinister One Ring).

He also said the original version of the Red Book contained the story of Bilbo's journey from the first edition of the Hobbit. Beginning with the Thain's Book, later copies of the Red Book contained, as an alternative, the true account (from notes from Frodo and Sam). Tolkien says neither hobbit seemed willing "to delete anything actually written by the old hobbit himself. "

Adaptations

Bilbo writing There and Back Again in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring; note subtitle "A Hobbit's Tale"

In Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring, There and Back Again comprised the basis for the voiceover for the scene "Concerning Hobbits", greatly extended in the Special Extended Edition. Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit and also makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first Bilbo's writing of it provides his motive for wanting privacy in the film, substituting for a more complicated situation in the novel.

Bilbo only says his line about his intended "happy ending" after he gives up the One Ring. The exchange is tweaked to symbolize the great weight of the ring having been removed from Bilbo's character — he is now free to choose his own 'ending'.

There and Back Again is subtitled A Hobbit's Tale rather than A Hobbit's Holiday.

The Red Book in full appears at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This article is about the live-action movie which shares a title with a book, video game, and animated film. Frodo's title is just The Lord of the Rings instead of The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King.

Inspirations

Tolkien's inspiration^[7][8] for this repository of lore was the real Red Book of Hergest, the early 15th century compilation of Welsh history and poetry that contains the manuscript of the Mabinogion. The Red Book of Hergest ( Welsh: Llyfr Coch Hergest) is one of the most important Medieval Welsh language Manuscripts Bound (and rebound) in red leather, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, the manuscript was well known to Tolkien. The Bodleian Library ( the main Research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England

The phrase "there and back again" may be borrowed from a line in Vergil's Aeneid, Book V:

Nate dea, quo fata trahunt retrahuntque, sequamur

"Let us follow wherever the fates take us, there and back again. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in "

Literary criticism

The title There and Back Again represents an archetypal Hobbit outlook on adventures. Frodo looks upon the going "there and back again" as an ideal throughout The Lord of the Rings similar to the Greek concept of nostos. Nostos (νόστος (pl nostoi is the Greek word for homecoming.

One critic has suggested that the Red Book modernizes the medieval ploy of giving one's work more authority by pretending it comes from antiquity.

Tolkien's Red Book, pastiche of scholarship though it is, functions as such a medieval 'spurious source', but the 'authority' it imparts is by an appeal not to the tried-and-true but to the modern mystique of 'scholarly research'. ^[9]

Another has quoted one of Tolkien's letters to suggest that his pose as translator reflected his perception of the writing process:

'I always had the sense of recording what was already "there", somewhere, not of "inventing",' (Letters, p. 131), a feeling that lay behind the fictional device of the 'Red Book of Westmarch'…^[10]

See also

• Calendar of Imladris
• Third Age
• Westmarch
• Story within a story

References

External links

• Reproduction of the Red Book of Westmarch movie prop
• The Chroniclers of Middle-earth describing the fictional origins and history of the Red Book