The Tale of the Sun and Moon

From Tolkien Gateway
The Book of Lost Tales Part One chapters
  1. The Cottage of Lost Play
  2. The Music of the Ainur
  3. The Coming of the Valar
  4. The Chaining of Melko
  5. The Coming of the Elves
  6. The Theft of Melko
  7. The Flight of the Noldoli
  8. The Tale of the Sun and Moon
  9. The Hiding of Valinor
  10. Gilfanon's Tale

The Tale of the Sun and Moon is the eighth chapter of The Book of Lost Tales Part One.

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Eriol still desired limpë, the magical elven drink. He enquired of Lindo regarding the Sun and Moon. Gilfanon was among the guests of the Cottage of Lost Play at that time, and Lindo remarked that it would be well for Eriol to travel with Gilfanon to his House of the Hundred Chimneys, for Gilfanon could tell him much of such things. Gilfanon joked that one might think Lindo was trying to get rid of two guests at once, but said that he would stay for about a week, and that Lindo could now tell the tale. Pleased, Lindo did so:

After the flight of Noldoli and slaughter of Solosimpi, the Elves and Valar were outraged.

Vána and Lórien with Urwendi, Silmo, and many other Valar and Elves unsuccessfully tried to heal the Trees, but they were only wasting the light that remained. Manwë and Aulë stopped them and Yavanna was asked to heal the trees. She agreed but was not expecting success.

She put forth all her power, but to no avail. However, Vána stayed with Laurelin and wept when the others had gone in despair. Much to Vána's surprise, a shoot sprang from Laurelin where her tears had fallen, and she called to the folk of Valinor, who rushed to see what had happened. Yavanna was praised for her spells, but she said Vána's tenderness was the true cause of the healing. After some time the branch produced a single golden fruit. Then Aulë with the help of the others made a vessel for the fruit, a ship named by the Valar Sári, meaning the Sun, and by the Elves Ûr, meaning fire. Urwendi and her maidens volunteered to steer the Sun across the sky, and it rose into the heavens and filled the world with light.

But its flaming was overpowering, and Lórien sang to Silpion that the Valar were trapped between golden heat and shadows full of death. When he touched its wound, one of the branches produced the gleaming Rose of Silver, from which Aulë made a second vessel, the Ship of the Moon (Rána or Sil). Silmo longed to sail it, but he could not, and Manwë chose Ilinsor for the task.

See also[edit | edit source]