"Thus came it to pass in the court of Thingol
that Turin tarried for twelve long years..."

The Lays of Beleriand

And now we are back to the History of Middle-Earth. All the tales in The Lays of Beleriand will be familiar if you have been following my Tolkien Tuesday posts. There is one major difference this time and that is that these tales are written in prose. They are incomplete poems and there are some differences as Tolkien often reworked and changed things as his legendarium progressed. What is fascinating is that Christopher Tolkien said that these poems are but a mere fraction of what Tolkien had originally planned. It isn't surprising considering his knowledge of the Early English Poets, some he translated himself.

The Lays of Beleriand begins with the Battle of Unnumbered Tears and how Morgoth captured Hurin, Turin's father. However, his family does not know his fate. In fact, Morgoth specifically wanted Hurin to be captured alive since he had knowledge of Gondolin. Knowing that Turin's life would be in danger Morwen sent her son to the Halls of Thingol where Thingol welcomed Turin and treated him as though he was his own son. In this version, there are quite of few references to the friendship of Beren (from the story Beren and Luthien) and Hurin. In fact, in other versions, Morwen even says that Beren is a family relation. So that helped with Turin's acceptance.

We also get to meet Beleg. He is described a little differently in this version. He is more mysterious. He is described as "ageless" and "son of the wilderness." Beleg, as we know, will become more important as the story goes on.

Turin's demeanor is described at length. When the description is in prose, I felt as if it were more emotional. Turin's grief has a depth that no one seems to understand.

"Much lore he learned, and loved wisdom,
but fortune followed him in dew desires;
oft wrong and awry, what he wrought turned;
what he loved he lost, what he longed for he won not;
and full friendship he found not easily,
nor was lighly loved for his looks were sad.
He was gloom-hearted, and glad seldom,
for the sundering sorrow that seared his youth..."

The Lays of Beleriand

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