NEW MIDDLE-EARTH: EXPLORING BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS

Martin Baker: 37 Marlborough Ct, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear NE3 2YY, UK ([email protected])

©1996 Martin Baker; first published in Other Hands 13.

This article presents a new and original environment for exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's sub-created realm of Middle-earth; in particular its relationship to the primary world. New Middle-earth is itself a secondary, sub-created world. To all intents and purposes it is identical to the primary world we all inhabit, with one important exception: within it the 'Middle-earth' related by the late Professor J.R.R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings is not fiction, but historically true. The concept asserts Tolkien's self-professed role as editor of authentic texts originating in a remote—and previously unknown—period of world history. The consequences of this assertion provide the scope and inspiration for whatever intellectual, role-play, and creative endeavors may be enacted within it.

New Middle-earth has arisen out of the current debate concerning the validity—or otherwise—of seeking to explore beyond the boundaries of the published Tolkien canon, which is limited to north-western Middle-earth in the first three Ages of the World. In some respects, the debate is not new at all. From its beginnings, fantasy role-play has been viewed by the mainstream of Tolkien fandom with suspicion, precisely because it dared venture beyond the canvas upon which Tolkien painted his masterpiece.

It must be said that not all the suspicion was ill-judged. It has been cogently argued, from both sides of the RPG 'fence', that early attempts at role-playing within Middle-earth paid little more than lip service to the creative legacy upon which it claimed to be based. That said, the literary dogmatism present (perhaps inevitably) within Tolkien organizations has tended to intellectual snobbery, rejecting anything that seems to challenge their 'Tolkien As Literature' stance. In recent months, the 'heretical' label has also been applied to artwork and creative fiction, with the most scathing condemnations raised at anything suggesting that Tolkien might just have been telling the truth when he wrote in the Preface to The Lord of the Rings: 'This account of the end of the Third Age is drawn mainly from the Red Book of Westmarch ...'

The Teller of Lost Tales
The New Middle-earth scenario begs far-reaching questions concerning both Tolkien's role as translator of ancient texts, and the texts themselves, from which he worked. Where, when, and by whom were they originally written? How and in what form did they come down to the present day? How and when did they pass into Tolkien's possession? How was he able to translate them? Aside from the published works, what else—if anything—did they contain? Where are they now?

This is a fascinating and uncertain area, and one in which much further research is needed. No portion of the original manuscripts from which Tolkien worked has been released. Their present location is unknown. Nevertheless, a preliminary identification can be attempted. For convenience, the period between 1911—the year Tolkien started at Oxford—and 1949, when he completed writing Lord of the Rings, has been divided into six 'phases'. Each phase is marked by a distinct change of emphasis within Tolkien's writings.

1) 1911-1914: the 'Oxford MSS' Before the close of 1912, whilst still an undergraduate at Oxford, Tolkien had begun working with an Elven language related to Quenya (Biography: 67). This, the earliest mention of Elven language in relation to Tolkien, begs the question of its origins. It seems probable that he came into the possession of one or more manuscripts containing fragments of legend in some Elven tongue, possibly one spoken by the ylfe (OE 'elves') of Anglo-Saxon England. At this stage it is unlikely that Tolkien understood fully either the content or significance of the material he was learning to translate. For convenience I refer to these putative documents as the 'Oxford MSS'.

2) 1914-1917: the Cornish legends In the summer of 1914 Tolkien spent a long vacation on the Lizard peninsula which affected him deeply. Shortly after leaving Cornwall he wrote a poem entitled 'The Voyage of Earendel the Evening Star' which, according to Carpenter, marked 'the beginning of Tolkien's own mythology' (Biography: 79). I suggest that whilst exploring Cornwall Tolkien heard stories derived orally from what we may call the 'Eriol/Ælfwine tradition' (see below). These enabled him to begin making sense of the strange works he had been translating. In 1915 he graduated from Oxford and took up a commission in the British army. Married in March 1916, by the end of June Tolkien was on the Somme, where he remained until forced to return in November with trench fever. The poems of this period may have been translated out of the Oxford MSS. However, the strong personal references in such pieces as 'The Wanderer's Allegiance' suggest that they were Tolkien's own work, albeit inspired by the Oxford MSS material and by his visit to Cornwall.

3) 1917-1920: the 'Book of Lost Tales'/Eriol of Heligoland For almost the whole of 1917 Tolkien was convalescing in England. The earliest 'Book of Lost Tales' appeared at this time, probably the first Elven lore rendered into English for nine hundred years. There seems little doubt that the Tales were translated out of the Oxford MSS: Tolkien's knowledge of Elven language was by now 'very sophisticated' (Biography: 101). The relative stability of the Tales themselves is to be contrasted with the many incomplete, changing, and frequently contradictory versions that exist of the parenthetical 'Eriol Story' (see chapter VI of The Book of Lost Tales vol. 2). Eriol—the supposed narrator of the Tales—is a mariner from Heligoland (a small island off the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany) during the period 'preceding the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain' (Lost Tales I: 24). Sailing west, Eriol arrives on Tol Eressëa, the Elven island hidden from all but few mortals. Eriol learns much lore from the Elves of that isle, which he (or his son) records in a book. Already exhibiting a certain 'mythic gloss', the 'Eriol Story' becomes historically untenable when Tol Eressëa is drawn across the sea, finally achieving the position (and identity) of England. I propose that the 'Eriol story' was an early attempt by Tolkien to draw aspects of Cornish legend, relating a bold mariner who learned the lore of the ylfe and journeyed into the West, around the corpus of the Tales proper.

4) 1920-1925: the 'Leeds MSS'/Ælfwine of Warwick During this period Tolkien was at Leeds University: first as Reader and subsequently (from 1924) as Professor in English Language. About this time his work on the 'Book of Lost Tales'—or specifically its narrative framework—underwent significant development, with the appearance of a new character: Ælfwine of Warwick. Precise dating is uncertain. Christopher Tolkien considers one version of the Ælfwine story 'unlikely to be much later than 1920' (Lost Tales II: 322), while Carpenter dates the change in emphasis from Eriol to Ælfwine to Tolkien's return to Oxford in 1925 (Biography: 172). Certainly, modern translations of texts credited to Ælfwine were not made until after Tolkien's return to Oxford. However, the Old English manuscripts from which these translations were made probably came into Tolkien's possession during his time in Leeds. These 'Leeds MSS' contained Elven history and lore which Tolkien clearly considered more authoritative than his translations from the Oxford MSS. By 1926 he had abandoned the 'Book of Lost Tales' as originally conceived, and the later 'Silmarillion' texts (see below) all derive from Ælfwine. This is interesting, as the Oxford material was in an Elven tongue, and thus might be imagined the more accurate account. However, Tolkien (presumably) could not call upon the ylfe for assistance, as Ælfwine seems to have done. Various accounts exist of the 'Ælfwine Story' (see Lost Tales II, chapter VI), all more historically credible than the 'Eriol Story' (note that several of the Leeds texts equate the names 'Eriol' and 'Ælfwine'). The core of the 'Ælfwine Story' is further supported by the recently translated Tresco MS, see below. Ælfwine was a man of the Anglo-Saxon period. His mother came from 'the lost land beyond Belerion whence the Elves at times set sail' (Lost Tales II: 313). The 'lost land' is not identified; the most likely candidate is Scilly, the group of islands lying 28 miles off Lands End (the ancient name of Lands End was Belerium). Ælfwine was taken prisoner by Vikings after they sacked Warwick. Some years later he escaped, and made his way south and west, seeking the lands of his mother's birth. Sailing west, after many adventures Ælfwine came at last in sight of Tol Eressëa. In one version, unable to land, Ælfwine returns east with his companions. This would imply that references to Tol Eressëa, present in the Leeds MSS texts, were 'elaborations' added either by the author or by later hands. According to another tradition Ælfwine cast himself overboard and was never seen again by his companions: he is presumed to have reached Eressëa. The 'Eressëan' references are in this scenario explained, but not how Ælfwine's writings were returned to England.

5) 1925-1930: the Silmarillion Tolkien returned to Oxford in 1925 as Professor of Anglo-Saxon. In the next year the 'Sketch of the Mythology' was written: 'a new starting point in the history of 'The Silmarillion" (Shaping of Middle-earth: 12). The Sketch was intended by Tolkien as a summary document for later reference: 'the entire narrative framework of the Lost Tales has disappeared' (op. cit.). In this period Tolkien wrote a large body of material, including the Quenta Noldorinwa ('History of the Noldor', the first part of which was later reworked as the Valaquenta 'Account of the Valar'); Ambarkanta ('The Shape of the World') and the Annals of Valinor and of Beleriand. All these are explicitly translations out of Ælfwine.

6) 1930-1949: translations from the Red Book MSS Tolkien's achievement in translating from the Westron 'Red Book MSS' was unprecedented in modern times, and cannot be underestimated. Begun around 1930, his version of volume Ia, 'There and Back Again', was completed by 1936 and published a year later, as The Hobbit. By this time, Tolkien was professing doubts over his earlier translations, and further work on the 'Quenta Silmarillion' was interrupted. Instead, he continued with the Red Book, translating volume Ib, Frodo's account of the War of the Ring, between 1937 and 1949. The Lord of the Rings was not published until 1954-55: in the interim period Tolkien undertook a major reappraisal of his earlier work. A revision of the 'Lay of Leithian' was begun (but not completed). The 'Annals of Aman' were begun—a 'major new work' (Shaping of Middle-earth: 262) which retold Ælfwine's 'Annals of Valinor'. The 'Annals of Beleriand' were similarly revisited as the 'Grey Annals'. These—and the many subsequent—revisions arose from Tolkien's attempts to integrate volumes II-IV of the Red Book MSS, Bilbo's 'Translations From the Elvish', into the existing opus. Despite his son's valuable—indeed valiant—reconstructions, it must remain our regret that Tolkien's perfectionism ultimately doomed his vision: namely to achieve a full English translation of the only authenticated Middle-earth texts extant in the modern world.

Retelling The Tales: the New Middle-earth Canon
How is our understanding of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion affected by the realization that these are translations by Tolkien of much more ancient texts? Wrongly, though perhaps inevitably, these works have come to assume something of the status of holy writ. Exorbitant effort has at times been expended to circumnavigate apparent contention or contradiction between the accounts, or between the accounts and our Primary world. Bernie Roessler expressed this eloquently in his recent essay "The Streets of Minas Tirith:"

If we do not choose to ignore those inconsistencies...then the role of translator of The Red Book of Westmarch, which Tolkien assumed, allows us two other choices: 1) we can say that the chronicler of The Red Book has erred, or 2) we can engage in further subcreation to somehow explain the inconsistency (Other Hands 10/11: 6).

Whilst the results of such 'further subcreation' are frequently fascinating, we should be wary of ignoring the first choice: to say, heretical though it may seem to some, that here and there, someone got it wrong. The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion are not the ineffable words of Eru. Their authors were neither all-knowing nor infallible. Neither, for that matter, was Tolkien. Within New Middle-earth, this point is far from moot. The first, and perhaps the most important point is to appreciate that the works differ widely in style, purpose and authorship.

The similarities and differences between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have frequently been commented upon, the former generally having been seen as a preliminary draft for the greater work to follow. To take the differences first, it is undoubtedly true that Tolkien's narrative skill and style developed with time. It is also clear that he regretted targeting The Hobbit so obviously for children. In this light, Tolkien may deliberately have 'written up' to his audience with The Lord of the Rings. However, the fundamental point, which seems to have eluded every commentator to date, is that the two tales were actually written by different people!

Although the original texts of The Hobbit (There And Back Again) and The Lord of the Rings received subsequent annotation in Gondor, there is no reason to doubt that each represents the work of one author, respectively Bilbo and Frodo Baggins of the Shire. Both texts are explicitly autobiographical. When reading them, we should look less for historical veracity than the honest attempts of simple folk to record their own parts in the unfolding of momentous events. In the absence of the source manuscripts we cannot be certain, but just possibly—and heretical though it may sound to some—Frodo was simply a better writer than his cousin.

Less learned, perhaps, but since when has erudition been a guarantor of effective communication skills? As to similarities, there are certainly many structural parallels between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In part, this may be explained by both having passed through Tolkien's hands in his role as translator and compiler. That said, many of the similarities can be traced back to the original authors. Bilbo and Frodo were of the same, Halfling, race. Until the events related in their accounts neither had experienced much of the world beyond the cozy confines of the Shire. More significantly, Frodo was 'taught his letters' by Bilbo, and was familiar with both his cousin's adventures and story-telling style. Bilbo's writings, the original 'Red Book', were indeed entrusted into the care of Frodo after their completion (and before Frodo wrote the bulk of his own story). Given all this, it would be remarkable if there were not a degree of similarity between the two accounts.

In contrast, The Silmarillion is explicitly a compilation of works. Certain of the texts, most notably the Ainulindalë and the Valaquenta, are distinctly mythic in style, although presented historically—indeed, as firsthand accounts of the earliest periods of Creation. Elsewhere, in the Quenta Noldorinwa, the Annals of Beleriand and the Akallabêth, we find detailed political histories of the peoples of Valinor, Beleriand and Númenor throughout the First and Second Ages of the World. The differences in style, compared to the earlier-published works, is unmistakable. In this regard, we need to appreciate the convoluted provenance of the material. As shown in the accompanying figure, The Silmarillion as published is the distillation of material from three distinct sources. We need also to acknowledge the editorial hand of C.J.R. Tolkien (see Book of Lost Tales I).

The Tresco MS
At least one other body of material originating in the Fourth Age has come down to the present day. This is the so-called 'Tresco MS', named for the island of Tresco upon which it was found in or around VI 1835. This remarkable document, entitled by its author Boc þaera Hehsighðana ('The Book of Visions'), comprises a revised English translation of the 'ancient book of Finan'. Although the original work is lost—as also are the intermediate Old English translations—it seems certain that Finan's Book was written, in Westron, sometime after IV 1485.

The Tresco MS is the work of one Hundred Elf-friend (Ælfwine) of Warwick. The autobiographical details provided in the Preface to the manuscript leave little doubt that in Hundred we have the historical Eriol/Ælfwine, the author/compiler of the 'Leeds MSS', and thus also the progenitor of the entire 'Silmarillion' tradition. The Boc itself provides much valuable information concerning the historical and political development of the Reunited Kingdom, over the first fifteen centuries of the Fourth Age (see timeline), as seen through the eyes of the Man Aerlinn, of the House of the Wise of Dol Amroth. The remainder of the work describes in detail the workings of various Mannish divinatory and wisdom traditions over this period, including the concerns and practices of the Wise.

Where Be Dragons? Reassessing The Maps of New Middle-earth
There is a temptation to take the published maps of Middle-earth as accurate and complete, as though they were drawn up by the Middle-earth equivalent of the Ordnance Survey. Sadly, perhaps, this is not the case. The maps vary significantly in origin, style and purpose. An appreciation of this fact is essential if we are to employ them as they were intended. Our primary sources are those maps prepared by J.R.R. and C.J.R. Tolkien:

The Hobbit: Map A. Thrór's map
Map B. Wilderland

The Lord of the Rings: Map C. The Shire
Map D. North-western Middle-earth
Map E. Rohan/Gondor/Mordor

The Silmarillion: Map F. First Age Beleriand

These are supplemented by a number of rough or unfinished maps and diagrams, published by C.J.R. Tolkien with the History of Middle-earth series. Of particular interest are the cosmological representations of Arda in its earliest development, published in The Shaping of Middle-earth, and the map of Númenor in Unfinished Tales.

As with the published texts, the maps which accompany them differ markedly in style and purpose. For example, the Hobbit maps A and B differ in being more pictorial than cartographic in style. The map of Beleriand printed within chapter 15 of The Silmarillion is essentially political, in that it shows the realms of the Noldor and Sindar races, as well as the dwellings of the most important figures in the narrative. The maps as published are clearly not of Third Age origin, being labeled in modern English. Even Thrór's map uses European Futhark runes in place of the original cirth (see opening page to The Hobbit), although the authentic letters were known to Tolkien and are reproduced in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings. Furthermore, the distance scales included with the Lord of the Rings maps are marked in miles. It should be noted that these are the only Middle-earth maps to be provided with a scale of any sort.

There can be no doubt that the published maps were drawn by J.R.R. and C.J.R. Tolkien. The issue is rather upon what their cartography was based. It is possible that they redrew and relettered maps contained within the source manuscripts. Alternatively, the maps might have been based upon information contained within the narrative itself. In the former case we should find as great, but no greater, accuracy and detail than we might expect of First to Third Age cartography. In the latter we should expect the degree of detail to mirror that found in the texts, given that the text as published may have been condensed to a greater or lesser degree. Of course, these options are not exclusive. Given the Halflings' recorded predilection for map-making it is likely that Bilbo and Frodo included maps of some sort covering their journeys. The There And Back Again maps A and B, with their distinctive pictorial style, may well be relettered facsimiles of originals by Bilbo himself.

The more detailed Shire map C is clearly not the work of the same hand. It is probably based upon an original by Frodo, or perhaps a 'standard' Halfling map of their land, incorporated into the manuscript for illustration when the Thain's Book copy of the Red Book was prepared for the King's court (Halfling readers would not have needed a general map of their own lands). Conversely, some representation of the wider world beyond the Shire would have been necessary to illustrate Frodo's narrative. The Lord of the Rings maps D and E are thus probably based upon originals, no doubt amended in light of the textual evidence (some of which represents subsequent additions by scholars of Gondor). The Silmarillion maps are probably of the same origin, although here the situation is less clear, not least because of the uncertain pedigree of the source texts themselves.

Maps of Middle-earth have been published by other artists, mostly renderings of the Lord of the Rings map D. Of particular note is Pauline Baynes' version, published in poster form in 1970. Created in collaboration with J.R.R. Tolkien, this map contains certain additions and amendments to the original. More recently, C.J.R. Tolkien has himself produced a revised 'official' version of map D, reproduced (poorly) in post-Centenary editions of The Lord of the Rings. Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-earth has extensively elaborated the cartography of Middle-earth. The canonical maps have been enlarged, extended and annotated with close regard to the published texts.

Iron Crown Enterprise's Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP) products provide a wealth of cartographic detail otherwise unavailable to the traveler in New Middle-earth. The MERP version of map D is of particular value, and undoubted artistic merit. Despite this profusion of charts there is a need for maps covering areas of the New Middle-earth realm not previously considered. These may include 'new' geographical areas of Middle-earth in the first three Ages of the World, but more fundamentally there is need for charting the eons of geographical development from the end of the Third Age to the present day.

The New Middle-earth Timescape
The primary source must be Appendix B in The Lord of the Rings, also The Silmarillion. Iron Crown Enterprises' MERP modules provide a wealth of additional information covering the Second and Third Ages of the World. A partial Sixth Age timeline is provided below. However, with a few exceptions, almost nothing is known of any other period in the history of New Middle-earth from the end of the Third Age. It follows from the above discussion that the New Middle-earth timescape, up to and including the 'present day' (i.e. late C20, Sixth Age), differs little from what is known of primary world history. Note, however, the use of the word 'known'. Discoveries coming to light may—indeed, inevitably will—shatter theories and assumptions hitherto cherished by Sixth Age historians, scientists, Tolkienists and the general populace.

The Ages of the Lamps, Trees, and Stars
The epochs from the Creation to the overthrow of the Two Lamps by Melkor are uncharted, and essentially unchartable: the measurement of 'Time' itself only begins with the creation of Two Trees. An unknown period then passes until the Kindling of the Stars by Elbereth. The Ages of Stars begin with the awakening of the Elves. They encompass the Elves' exodus into the West, the creation and theft of the Silmarils, the subsequent exile of the Noldor and the first Wars in Beleriand. The Ages of Stars end with the creation of the Moon and Sun.

The Ages of the Sun
With the exception of those marked (*), the following dates are presently unverified:

Age	Approx. start	Approx. duration	Notes
First	c 11,850 BCE	c 600 yrs.	Men awaken; Siege of Angband; Wars of Beleriand. Ends with defeat of Morgoth.
Second	11,242 BCE	3,441 yrs.*	Rise and fall of Númenor; assault on Blessed Realm; Drowning of Númenor and changing of World. Ends with overthrow of Sauron by Last Alliance.
Third	7,801 BCE	3,021 yrs.*	Rise of Arnor & Gondor; return of Sauron & Nazgûl. Ends with the WotR.
Fourth	4,780 BCE	2,600 yrs.	The 'Age of Men'; Most Elves pass into the West.
Fifth	2,180 BCE	2,180 yrs.
Sixth	1 CE	2,000 yrs.	The present Age (AD, or Common Era).
Seventh	2,000 CE	(unknown)	The 'New Age'

The Fourth Age
The following Fourth Age timeline is taken from material contained in the Tresco MS. Although for the most part unverified by external evidence, it should for the present be taken as historically true.

c. 50 Celeborn removes to Rivendell.
64 The Thain's Book, a copy of the Red Book of Westmarch, is taken to Minas Tirith and is subsequently amended and annotated in Gondor.
c. 100 Celeborn passes into the West. Gelydion (Rómendil) is retained by Elessar as Master of Lore.
120 The passing of King Elessar. Eldarion succeeds to the throne of the Reunited Kingdom.
172 Findegil's copy of the annotated Thain's Book is taken to Great Smials in the Shire.
183 Rómendil completes the Parma Taratirion.
c. 187 (Quenya) copies of the Parma Taratirion are established at Annúminas and Dol Amroth.
227 The passing of King Eldarion. Rómendil leaves the Court.
c. 500 The illustrated Commentaries first appear in the North.
512 Scholars of Annúminas record the appearance of the Commentaries (cited by Aerlinn).
c. 970 Unrest begins throughout the Reunited Kingdom.
976 Southron invasion of Eriador during the reign of Arbelleth, thirteenth king of the Reunited Kingdom.
c. 977 The death of Arbelleth and division of the kingdom. Arbalad becomes southern king: a northern throne is established at Annúminas. The civil disruption reawakens interest in the Book of Visions. The Wise of both kingdoms integrate the Parma with their star-lore and calendrical traditions. Amongst the populace the Westron Book of Visions and Commentaries give rise to new systems of divination: lassi ('leaves', i.e. cards) in the North, serni ('stones') in the South.
1223 The library of Minas Tirith transfers to Dol Amroth.
c. 1280 Following the loss by fire of the library of Annúminas, Dol Amroth becomes the principal center of learning in the Two Kingdoms.
c. 1420 Birth of Aerlinn of Tol Falas.
c. 1434 At age fourteen, Aerlinn begins his studies at Dol Amroth.
c. 1445 Aerlinn discovers a 'lost' copy of the Commentaries. Recognizing it as the link between the 'Wisdom of Life' and the popular 'Lore of Life, Leaf & Stone', Aerlinn works over some forty years to prove his conviction.
1485 Aerlinn completes his Notes on the History of the Parma Taratirion & the Commentaries of Rómendil at Dol Amroth.

At some later point the Parma Taratirion, Commentaries and Aerlinn's Notes became integrated into a single work, together with the unattributed text 'The Lore of Life, Leaf & Stone', which was most likely composed after 1485. A copy of this composite work comprised the 'ancient book' which arrived on Lindisfarne in the seventh century of the Common Era.

The Sixth Age
The following Sixth Age timeline is to be taken as historically true, except those marked (?), the dates of which remain speculative at this time.

651-661 Finan, second bishop of Lindisfarne. In this time the 'ancient book' arrives on Lindisfarne. Finan is succeeded by Colman.
c. 680 Herefrid, abbot of Lindisfarne, translates much of the Parma Taratirion and Commentaries into Old English (Anglo-Saxon) in the Grey Book of Lindisfarne.
c. 870 Witmaer, monk of Lindisfarne, completes Herefrid's translations in the Grey Book. He also translates Aerlinn's Notes in the Green Book of Lindisfarne.
860-c. 910 Life of Hundred ('Ælfwine') of Warwick.
c. 882 Hundred obtains the Grey and the Green Books of Lindisfarne, from the monk Witmaer.
c. 892 With the aid of the ylfe, Hundred completes his Boc þaera Hehsighðana. Some time after this (but before 915), Hundred sails 'into the west', taking with him the Grey and Green Books. The Boc þaera Hehsighðana is left on Scilly, probably with Christian hermits.
1834-72 Augustus Smith Governor of Scilly.
c. 1835 The 'Tresco MS' is discovered during the building of Tresco Abbey or the excavation of its gardens on the site of the old priory.
1872-1918 Thomas Algernon Dorrien Smith Governor of Scilly.
1883 The Tresco MS is acquired by Rev G Bennett from TA Dorrien Smith.
1885-6 Bennett translates Hundred's Preface and the first part of Aerlinn's Notes, and also writes brief notes on the manuscript's discovery.
1892 Birth of J.R.R. Tolkien.
? c. 1911 Discovery by Tolkien of the 'Oxford MSS'.
? c. 1920 Discovery by Tolkien of the 'Leeds MSS'.
? pre-1930 Discovery by Tolkien of the 'Red Book MSS'.
1937 Publication of The Hobbit.
1954-5 Publication of The Lord of the Rings.
1968 The Tresco MS and associated material is obtained by Alice Bailey.
c. 1970 First realization by Alice Bailey that the Tresco MS provides historical verification of the tales translated and published by Tolkien.
1973 Death of J.R.R. Tolkien.
1977 Publication of The Silmarillion.
1990-5 First full translation of the Tresco MS into modern English (present author, currently unpublished).
1992-3 Archaeological excavations at Sørøya, northern Norway (see New Scientist April 17 1993, page 4).
1995 Pottery shards and silver jewelry found at the primary Sørøya site are identified as artifacts from the lost northern kingdom of Arnor (unpublished communication to the author).

Exploring New Middle-earth
Exploration within New Middle-earth is limited only by the imaginations of those wishing to explore. Readers of Other Hands are no doubt wondering about the opportunities for role-play. Up to and including late Third Age Middle-earth, the arena is little different from the existing MERP realm. So what is so new about New Middle-earth? Just think about it for a moment. Some 6,500 years link the world described by Tolkien to the present day. Such a period spans almost the whole of human history from the close of the New Stone Age onwards, yet in terms of its relevance to Middle-earth (and, indeed, Middle-earth's relevance to it) almost nothing of this period is known or has been explored. Tolkien's The Lost Road and The Notion Club Papers offer almost the only foray into this arena. Much work needs to be done here—and 6,500 years ought to provide enough scope for anyone!

The late ninth to early tenth centuries of the Sixth Age are particularly interesting: this is the period in which Hundred/Ælfwine lived and worked. According to the evidence (the 'Ælfwine Story' contained in Lost Tales II, and Hundred's Preface to the Tresco MS), this was a pivotal moment in the history of men and Elves. Britain was under attack and occupation by the 'Viking' Norse and Danes. Up until this time, it would seem that the ylfe had occupied a number of sites throughout Britain, in at least some cases living alongside men. However, in face of the Northron invasion, they seem to have abandoned their former habitations, moving ever south and west. This disengagement led to resentment on the part of the English, who the ylfe considered little better than invaders themselves: their natural sympathies lying much more with the British.

Only west of the river Tamar, in modern day Cornwall, did (British) men and ylfe continue to live together in mutual understanding and peace. From there, the ylfe mostly seem to have sailed west to Súli (the Isles of Scilly), probably their last major habitation in the north west of Middle-earth, and thence set sail into the West.

Those interested might pursue their investigations in the primary world, visiting and exploring locations significant to the developing New Middle-earth timescape. At present, the majority of these are in the UK and western Europe, but who knows where the Quest may lead. Where, in the modern world, would you look for further evidence? Another possibility exists for those interested in guided meditations, or Pathworking. Consider exploring some corner of the New Middle-earth worldscape, and see where your investigations lead you.

As examples (only), the following scenarios might be undertaken by individuals or groups to explore and enhance the New Middle-earth Realm. The first concerns the archaeological findings at Sørøya in northern Norway. Note that the primary site is 450 kilometers inside the Arctic Circle!

• You are part of the original archaeological team from the Tromsø Museum. As the excavations progress, artifacts and remains are found which convince you of the objective truth of Tolkien's Middle-earth. Dating the finds is difficult: some seem to span the Third Age, with others more likely dating from the early Fourth Age. Conflicts arise over your deductions, both within the group and back at the museum. What are the artifacts, and how do you proceed / report your findings to the world? Then, reports come through of a large 'unidentified creature', buried in the ice north of the Sørøya site...
• You are part of an independent Psychic Questing group, investigating some aspect of the New Middle-earth timescape. Perhaps you are trying to locate a 'missing' manuscript or artifact. If this sounds at all dull read anything by Andrew Collins. Your quest may lead you into the supernatural realm of dreams, magic, mediums and visitations. You may find yourself beset by sinister forces. You may receive messages or apports (physical materialization of items valuable to your quest). At present, items 'known to be missing' include the manuscripts from which Tolkien worked; the three Old English books from which Hundred compiled the Tresco MS; also the MS's original Westron source text, last reported hidden in the ninth century VI upon the island of Lindisfarne.
• A psychiatrist is found by walkers, almost dead from exposure, beside a huge weathered boulder on the Yorkshire moors. He recovers physically, but seems to have suffered a total breakdown and is now acutely psychotic, reporting visual and auditory hallucinations. His condition almost precisely echoes that of one of his former patients, Eric Stone, who has just been discharged from hospital following a sudden and total recovery. You are called in by the family of the deceased to investigate. As you read the tortured daily journal kept by Eric during his period of hospitalization, you begin to feel uneasy.

Out of the western sky, I am as I was made. A line of kings walked faithful to the gods across the sea. But kings forgot their gods and the seas were changed. Those who survived held me as a token of the world made round, and mapped their new lands upon me. Set me high in the hills. New kings laid hand upon me, vows of allegiance wrought in awe and in fear...

Just who—or what—is 'Eric Stone', and what the hell happened out there on the moors?

Whatever interests and skills you bring to bear, the important thing is to share your findings and ideas with others. New Middle-earth is not fixed. It unfolds as news, developments, and experiences are circulated and become available to others. Those who contribute have the satisfaction of taking part in the sub-creation of a unique realm. It is envisaged that information will be circulated via occasional newsletters and articles (The Journal of Middle-earth Studies), distributed to contributors and any other interested parties. At the Editor's discretion, New Middle-earth contributions may be considered for inclusion in Other Hands.

Whilst people are free to explore New Middle-earth in whatever ways they wish, some light 'historical mediation' may prove necessary to avoid blatant contradictions between the 'findings' of different explorers. One important aspect is that the realm can only be explored in 'real time'. That is, explorations can shed light on the past or present of New Middle-earth (i.e. up to and including year VI 1996), but the future must remain a matter for conjecture. All that said, as in the Primary world, absolute consistency is neither necessary nor desirable. There must always be room for 'the Unexplained'.

Conclusions
The basic premises of New Middle-earth can be summarized as follows. These points have previously appeared in Amon Hen, the Bulletin of the Tolkien Society of Great Britain, Issue 135, September 1995.

1. Tolkien's true creative legacy is not Middle-earth, but a Secondary world that is the equivalent of our Primary world in all respects, except that within it, Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings are history not fiction. For convenience, I propose the term 'New Middle-earth' for this broader Secondary world.
2. There are no monopolies on exploring reality in the Primary world. History, politics, science, literature and anthropology exist legitimately alongside fine arts, historical romance, fantasy, science fiction and reworkings of ancient lore. The full spectrum of disciplines should be available to those wishing to explore New Middle-earth. The scope of such explorations should be limited only by the imagination of those accepting the challenge.
3. In relation to such explorations, Tolkien's writing will always command great respect, yet they must not become too precious. Precious should carry its own warning for us all.

Recommended Reading
Unless otherwise stated, page references in the text are to paperback editions.

1. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, especially the Preface and Appendices. The Preface outlines Tolkien's role as translator: the Appendices contain much valuable information, in particular the annals of the first three Ages of the world.
2. The Ælfwine and Eriol stories, by J.R.R. Tolkien (in The Book of Lost Tales II).
3. The Lost Road, by J.R.R. Tolkien (in The History of Middle-earth, volume 5, The Lost Road and other writings).
4. The Notion Club Papers, by J.R.R. Tolkien (in The History of Middle-earth, volume 9, Sauron Defeated).
5. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, by H Carpenter (Unwin Paperbacks, 1978).
6. The Atlas of Middle-earth, by Karen Wynn Fonstad (HarperCollins, 1994)
7. The Seventh Sword, by Andrew Collins (Century Books, 1991). Factual account of modern day psychic questing in Britain.