Talk:Hithlain

Source of Mallorn Fiber

Tolkien makes clear references to the use of mallorn bast fiber, in the same way as the inner bark/bast fibers of various trees such as linden and willow have been used for millenia in Europe and elsewhere.

In the HME Vol VII, The Treason of Isengard, "Galadriel," page 249:

This is a convenient place to set out my father's original scheme for the next part of the story. This was written at furious speed but has fortunately proved almost entirely decipherable.

They dwell 15 days in Caras Galadon.

Elves sing for Gandalf. They watch weaving and making of the silver rope of the fibre under mallorn bark. The [?trimming] of arrows.

Later in the same source (page 251), also from the original manuscript, comes this:

[Marginal addition of the same time as the text: Only Frodo and Elfstone went much among the Elves. They watched them at work weaving the ropes of silver fibre of mallorn bark, the [?trimming] of arrows, their broidery and carpentry.]

--Cesinde 19:41, 23 September 2019 (UTC)

Hi Cesinde - the issue was the reference you cited (page 251) did not say "inner bark". I removed it as I couldn't find it. I shall amend the article but I will remove the word "bast" which I don't think Tolkien used and which most casual readers will not know. --Mith (Talk/Contribs/Edits) 08:42, 7 October 2019 (UTC)