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The Fall of Gondolin

The earliest legend of the First Age: the hidden city of Gondolin, its betrayal and its destruction.

Supplementary writingsFrom posthumously published works, notes, drafts or appendices.
Author
J.R.R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)
Published
2018
Format
Collection

Synopsis

Tolkien’s earliest Middle-earth tale, begun during the First World War, tells how Tuor is guided by Ulmo to the secret city of Gondolin, how he weds Idril the Elven-princess, and how the city is at last betrayed by Maeglin and overrun by Morgoth’s dragons and orcs. Christopher Tolkien assembles the versions — from the vivid, archaic early prose through the condensed account in The Silmarillion and the later, unfinished retellings — so that the reader can follow the complete arc of the story. Like Beren and Lúthien, the book is a study of a tale’s growth as much as a narrative in its own right.

Setting

The hidden city of Gondolin in the Encircling Mountains, and the vale of Tumladen in First Age Beleriand.

Themes

  • the doom of secrecy and pride
  • betrayal from within
  • hope and flight
  • the earliest roots of the legendarium

Where to go next

Publication note

Publication note

Published posthumously in 2018 by Christopher Tolkien, illustrated by Alan Lee. It draws together early prose, poetry and later drafts to give the most complete available account of the city’s ruin.

Sources

  • The Fall of Gondolin · 2018

    Assembled versions of the earliest tale of the First Age.