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Red Book of Westmarch

2011-08-23T22:02:56Z

75.182.48.154: grammatical

{{cleanup}}
{{disambig-more|Westmarch|[[Westmarch (disambiguation)]]}}
[[Image:Red Book of Westmarch.jpg|thumb|''Red Book of Westmarch'' by Jeffrey Reitz]]
The '''Red Book of Westmarch''' (sometimes ''Red Book of the [[Hobbits|Perian]]nath'') is the book in which the [[legendarium]] of [[Middle-earth]] was written. It is bound in red leather.

The first Red Book was written as a diary by the [[Hobbits|Hobbit]] [[Bilbo Baggins]] and recounted his quest for [[Erebor]], which he called ''There and Back Again''. He filled it with Elven lore while he retired to [[Rivendell]] (''[[Translations from the Elvish]]'') where he gave it to Frodo.

Frodo organized Bilbo's manuscript and used it to write down his own quest during the [[War of the Ring]]. Inscribed within, it reads:

<center>
My Diary. My Unexpected Journey. 
'''There and Back Again.''' '''And What Happened After.''' 
Adventures of Five Hobbits. 
The Tale of the Great Ring, 
compiled by Bilbo Baggins from his own observations and the accounts of his friends. 
What we did in the War of the Ring. 
'''THE DOWNFALL''' 
'''OF THE''' 
'''LORD OF THE RINGS''' 
'''AND THE''' 
'''RETURN OF THE KING''' 
(as seen by the Little People; being the memoirs of Bilbo and Frodo of the Shire, 
supplemented by the accounts of their friends and the learning of the Wise.) 
Together with extracts from Books of Lore translated by Bilbo in Rivendell.
</center>

Apart from Bilbo's translations of Elven legends from the [[Elder Days]], there were various Hobbit poems and a lot of background information on the realms of [[Arnor]], [[Gondor]] and [[Rohan]], added to it by [[Peregrin Took]] and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] from their contacts in [[Rohan]] and [[Gondor]]. Other material was provided by [[Aragorn|King Elessar]].

After Bilbo and Frodo left for [[Valinor]], the Red Book passed into the keeping of [[Samwise Gamgee]], mayor of [[the Shire]]. The book was left in the possession of Sam Gamgee's eldest daughter, ''[[Elanor Gardner|Elanor Fairbairns]]'', and her descendants (the ''[[Fairbairn Family|Fairbairns]] of the Towers'' or ''[[Warden of Westmarch]]'').

The original book was kept in a red case (with a three-volume Elvish Translation and a fifth volume [genealogical tables and commentaries]). Several copies, with various notes and later additions, were made and copies were passed on to future generations, of which one, the "''[[Thain's Book]]''", is the most important.

The "original" version of the Red Book contained the story of Bilbo's journey as it originally stood: thus, Gollum willingly gives [[the One Ring]] to Bilbo, and there is no trace of the Ring's hold over Gollum. Later copies of the Red Book contained, as an alternative, also the true account (later written in by Frodo), where Bilbo comes across the Ring by accident.

==Inspiration==
{{quote|But most of all he [Tolkien] found delight in the Fairy Books of Andrew Lang, especially '''the Red Fairy Book''', for tucked away in its closing pages was the best story he had ever read. This was the tale of Sigurd who slew the dragon Fafnir: a strange and powerful tale set in the nameless North.|[[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography]]}}

Tolkien's inspiration 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]]. Bound (and rebound) in red leather, in the [[Bodleian Library]], Oxford, the manuscript was well known to Tolkien.

In the first edition of ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', Tolkien's foreword claimed he had translated the Red Book from the original [[Westron]] into English, and it therefore must be supposed that copies of the book survived throughout several Ages.

The contents of the Red Book were probably as follows:
*Bilbo's journey: ''[[The Hobbit]]''
*Frodo's journey: ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''
*Background information: the [[The Lord of the Rings Appendices|Appendices]] to ''The Lord of the Rings,'' [[Unfinished Tales]], [[The History of Middle-earth]]
*Hobbit poetry and legends: ''[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]''
*[[Translations from the Elvish]]: ''[[The Silmarillion]]''

==Portrayals in adaptations==
In [[Peter Jackson]]'s movie trilogy, the Red Book appears at the end of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]'', where Frodo entrusts the book to Samwise just before he leaves Middle-earth. It also seen in the extended version of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', where Bilbo is seen writing in it at [[Rivendell]].
==See also==
* [[Third Age]]
* [[Westmarch]]

[[Category:Books within the Legendarium]]
[[de:Das Rote Buch der Westmark]]
[[fi:Länsikairan Punainen Kirja]]

Red Book of Westmarch

2011-08-23T22:01:30Z

75.182.48.154: /* Inspiration */

{{cleanup}}
{{disambig-more|Westmarch|[[Westmarch (disambiguation)]]}}
[[Image:Red Book of Westmarch.jpg|thumb|''Red Book of Westmarch'' by Jeffrey Reitz]]
The '''Red Book of Westmarch''' (sometimes ''Red Book of the [[Hobbits|Perian]]nath'') is the book in which the [[legendarium]] of [[Middle-earth]] was written. It is bound in red leather.

The first Red Book was written as a diary by the [[Hobbits|Hobbit]] [[Bilbo Baggins]] and recounted his quest for [[Erebor]], which he called ''There and Back Again''. He filled it with Elven lore while he retired to [[Rivendell]] (''[[Translations from the Elvish]]'') where he gave it to Frodo.

Frodo organized Bilbo's manuscript and used it to write down his own quest during the [[War of the Ring]]. Inscribed within, it reads:

<center>
My Diary. My Unexpected Journey. 
'''There and Back Again.''' '''And What Happened After.''' 
Adventures of Five Hobbits. 
The Tale of the Great Ring, 
compiled by Bilbo Baggins from his own observations and the accounts of his friends. 
What we did in the War of the Ring. 
'''THE DOWNFALL''' 
'''OF THE''' 
'''LORD OF THE RINGS''' 
'''AND THE''' 
'''RETURN OF THE KING''' 
(as seen by the Little People; being the memoirs of Bilbo and Frodo of the Shire, 
supplemented by the accounts of their friends and the learning of the Wise.) 
Together with extracts from Books of Lore translated by Bilbo in Rivendell.
</center>

Apart from Bilbo's translations of Elven legends from the [[Elder Days]], there were various Hobbit poems and a lot of background information on the realms of [[Arnor]], [[Gondor]] and [[Rohan]], added to it by [[Peregrin Took]] and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] from their contacts in [[Rohan]] and [[Gondor]]. Other material was provided by [[Aragorn|King Elessar]].

After Bilbo and Frodo left for [[Valinor]], the Red Book passed into the keeping of [[Samwise Gamgee]], mayor of [[the Shire]]. The book was left in the possession of Sam Gamgee's eldest daughter, ''[[Elanor Gardner|Elanor Fairbairns]]'', and her descendants (the ''[[Fairbairn Family|Fairbairns]] of the Towers'' or ''[[Warden of Westmarch]]'').

The original book was kept in a red case (with a three-volume Elvish Translation and a fifth volume [genealogical tables and commentaries]). Several copies, with various notes and later additions, were made and copies were passed on to future generations, of which one, the "''[[Thain's Book]]''", is the most important.

The "original" version of the Red Book contained the story of Bilbo's journey as it originally stood: thus, Gollum willingly gives [[the One Ring]] to Bilbo, and there is no trace of the Ring's hold over Gollum. Later copies of the Red Book contained, as an alternative, also the true account (later written in by Frodo), where Bilbo comes across the Ring by accident.

==Inspiration==
{{quote|But most of all he [Tolkien] found delight in the Fairy Books of Andrew Lang, especially '''the Red Fairy Book''', for tucked away in its closing pages was the best story he had ever read. This was the tale of Sigurd who slew the dragon Fafnir: a strange and powerful tale set in the nameless North.|[[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography]]}}

Tolkien's inspiration 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]]. Bound (and rebound) in red leather, in the [[Bodleian Library]], Oxford, the manuscript was well known to Tolkien.

In the first edition of ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', Tolkien's foreword claimed he had translated the Red Book from the original [[Westron]] into English, and it therefore must be supposed that copies of the book survived through several Ages.

The contents of the Red Book were probably as follows:
*Bilbo's journey: ''[[The Hobbit]]''
*Frodo's journey: ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''
*Background information: the [[The Lord of the Rings Appendices|Appendices]] to ''The Lord of the Rings,'' [[Unfinished Tales]], [[The History of Middle-earth]]
*Hobbit poetry and legends: ''[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]''
*[[Translations from the Elvish]]: ''[[The Silmarillion]]''

==Portrayals in adaptations==
In [[Peter Jackson]]'s movie trilogy, the Red Book appears at the end of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]'', where Frodo entrusts the book to Samwise just before he leaves Middle-earth. It also seen in the extended version of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', where Bilbo is seen writing in it at [[Rivendell]].
==See also==
* [[Third Age]]
* [[Westmarch]]

[[Category:Books within the Legendarium]]
[[de:Das Rote Buch der Westmark]]
[[fi:Länsikairan Punainen Kirja]]