Fantasy

The Lays of Beleriand

The Lays of Beleriand

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  • Create Date：2021-04-07 14:53:23
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：J.R.R. Tolkien
  • ISBN：0261102265
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Summary

This， the third volume of The History of Middle-earth， gives us a privileged insight into the creation of the mythology of Middle-earth， through the alliterative verse tales of two of the most crucial stories in Tolkien's world - those of Túrin and Lúthien。 The first of the poems is the unpublished Lay of the Children of Húrin， narrating on a grand scale the tragedy of Túrin Turambar。 The second is the moving Lay of Leithian， the chief source of the tale of Beren and Lúthien in The Silmarillion， telling of the Quest of the Silmaril and the encounter with Morgoth in his subterranean fortress。

Accompanying the poems are commentaries on the evolution of the history of the Elder Days。 Also included is the notable criticism of The Lay of Leithian by CS Lewis， who read the poem in 1929。

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Reviews

Kimberley ，

i really liked the poem form of beren and luthien， but i found the other parts of this book pretty lackluster in comparison。 it felt very repetitive， and i question why these alternate versions of events werent included in the book of lost tales 2， where these stories are covered already。 it just felt very repetitive to read them immediately again， even if in different format。

Andrew ，

I have only finished the two takes on the Lay of the Children of Húrin and the brief lays of the Flight of the Noldori and Eärendel。 The Lay of Leithian shall wait until I hit 1931 as Christopher Tolkien notes his father writing that he ended writing in said year。 The former lays were 1925 by best records。While it is great to see Tolkien writing in Anglo-Saxon styled alliterative verse complete with caesura， both drafts of Túrin’s tale lie significantly incomplete。 It would be splendid to have a I have only finished the two takes on the Lay of the Children of Húrin and the brief lays of the Flight of the Noldori and Eärendel。 The Lay of Leithian shall wait until I hit 1931 as Christopher Tolkien notes his father writing that he ended writing in said year。 The former lays were 1925 by best records。While it is great to see Tolkien writing in Anglo-Saxon styled alliterative verse complete with caesura， both drafts of Túrin’s tale lie significantly incomplete。 It would be splendid to have a full verse version of Húrin’s cursed children。 Unless Leithian really transforms this， it feels like this will be significantly less important a read than the Lost Tales collections。 （Though I believe this is the Lay collected in the recently published Beren and Luthien collection， so I have already read it。。。）And now with The Lay of Leithian （1925-1931） and it’s renewed attempt and its renewed attempt after completing The Lord of the Rings （1950+）。Tolkien’s rhyming verse is often not my favorite but as I got these versions of his Beren and Lúthien tellings， I found myself appreciating his rhymes and scheme more， even as it attempts to tell the elevated epics of his ancient mythopoeia。 But once more， unfinished works。 The first ends at the point of Beren getting Tyrred and the second has far less。 。。。more

Linda ~ they got the mustard out！ ~ ，

Honestly， this probably won't be of much interest to anyone who isn't a super big Tolkien nerd。 It's the stories of Túrin and of Lúthien in verse form， and as per usual for most of Tolkien's earlier works， both are incomplete。 Still， for what is there， it's an impressive feat of prose， and it shows why Tolkien's later writings are so lyrical in nature。 There's also some excerpts from C。S。 Lewis's critique of part of the Lay of Leithian， which was also interesting and the respect he held for his Honestly， this probably won't be of much interest to anyone who isn't a super big Tolkien nerd。 It's the stories of Túrin and of Lúthien in verse form， and as per usual for most of Tolkien's earlier works， both are incomplete。 Still， for what is there， it's an impressive feat of prose， and it shows why Tolkien's later writings are so lyrical in nature。 There's also some excerpts from C。S。 Lewis's critique of part of the Lay of Leithian， which was also interesting and the respect he held for his friend。 。。。more

Moritz ，

This one took a bit longer to digest simply because of the nature of the material。 It is worth the read for the Lay of Leithien alone， but the Lay of the Children of Húrin and additional poems were enjoyable as well。 The appendix containing C。S。 Lewis’ comments on earlier versions of the Lay of Leithian made for a fun intercession。

Beth Fox ，

I think I like Tolkien’s poetry more than his prose。 As with all the works published by his son， I appreciate the information in the notes， but prefer to skip them in the initial reading as I think they interrupt the flow of the narrative。

Kevin Godfrey ，

This was the most challenging book for me so far in the history books。 Particularly the alliterative poem was hard to read。 I enjoyed the Lay of Leithian as the rhyming couplets seemed to flow through my mind easier than the alliterative poem。

Kate ，

I picked up The Lays of Beleriand because I was writing alliterative verse and wanted to see how Tolkien did it。 Tolkien's poetry is brilliant （lot's of clever things including triple alliteration and AB BA alliteration） but also on quite a depressing subject。 I picked up The Lays of Beleriand because I was writing alliterative verse and wanted to see how Tolkien did it。 Tolkien's poetry is brilliant （lot's of clever things including triple alliteration and AB BA alliteration） but also on quite a depressing subject。 。。。more

Mihály Szabó ，

Túrin， illetve Beren és Lúthien történetei tényleg méltók a "megéneklésre"。 Kár， hogy Tolkien befejezetlenül hagyta ezeket a költeményeket， de az olvasásuk így is élmény。 Igaz， a rettentő alapos jegyzetapparátus és filológiai kommentárok nagyon sűrűn szakítják meg a szöveget， ami itt már az élvezet rovására ment nálam。 Érdekes és szokatlan a Húrin gyermekeinek alliteráló versformája， nem is sikerült teljes mértékben ráhangolódnom。Nagyon komoly feladat lehetett összeállítani ezt a kötetet， le a k Túrin， illetve Beren és Lúthien történetei tényleg méltók a "megéneklésre"。 Kár， hogy Tolkien befejezetlenül hagyta ezeket a költeményeket， de az olvasásuk így is élmény。 Igaz， a rettentő alapos jegyzetapparátus és filológiai kommentárok nagyon sűrűn szakítják meg a szöveget， ami itt már az élvezet rovására ment nálam。 Érdekes és szokatlan a Húrin gyermekeinek alliteráló versformája， nem is sikerült teljes mértékben ráhangolódnom。Nagyon komoly feladat lehetett összeállítani ezt a kötetet， le a kalappal a fordítók， a szerkesztők és a szakmai lektor előtt。 （Érdekes módon kb。 a 400。 oldal után néhány kisebb szerkesztési hiba előfordult， de nem volt zavaró。） Értékeltem az informatív kiadói utószót is。 。。。more

Noelle ，

I have never ever ever enjoyed long form poetry， and in general haven't liked Tolkien's poetry， so this one was a mental exercise for me。 That being said， I have to say I still enjoyed it。 This was the first book where some of the stories are starting to get stale after reading so many versions of them， but honestly that's saying something because there are so many versions in the previous books。 And the unique format still makes them worth reading。 I actually really enjoyed the alliterative ver I have never ever ever enjoyed long form poetry， and in general haven't liked Tolkien's poetry， so this one was a mental exercise for me。 That being said， I have to say I still enjoyed it。 This was the first book where some of the stories are starting to get stale after reading so many versions of them， but honestly that's saying something because there are so many versions in the previous books。 And the unique format still makes them worth reading。 I actually really enjoyed the alliterative verse that I thought would be annoying， and I was surprised that the poetry throughout didn't feel forced。 Overall， not bad。 。。。more

Mark Redman ，

The Lays of Beleriand: The History of Middle-earth volume 3， gives an insight into the myth-making of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth。 This volume gives us two of Tolkien’s major works Túrin Turambar or the story of the Children of Húrin。 The second is the alliterative verse tale of Beren and Lúthien， called the Lay of Leithian。 Both poems come with commentary by Christopher Tolkien。 This book should appeal to fans of Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion。 If you want to further explore Tolkien’s myth c The Lays of Beleriand: The History of Middle-earth volume 3， gives an insight into the myth-making of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth。 This volume gives us two of Tolkien’s major works Túrin Turambar or the story of the Children of Húrin。 The second is the alliterative verse tale of Beren and Lúthien， called the Lay of Leithian。 Both poems come with commentary by Christopher Tolkien。 This book should appeal to fans of Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion。 If you want to further explore Tolkien’s myth creation then this book should appeal to you。 The first point to make is these stories are told in verse， so avoid if poetry isn't your thing。 That said， I found the alliterative verse of Lay of Leithian to be powerful， moving and evocative。 Tolkien's mastery of language shines through， it was great to be able to explore the mind of Professor Tolkien's Middle-Earth mythology。 Also， Tolkien absolutely excels at writing a powerful leading female character in Lúthien。 Lays of Beleriand is easily one of the best books in the History of Middle-Earth， so far。 A Powerful book with beautiful verse language that will stay with me for a long time。 Easily one of my favourite books。 。。。more

Matthew Barnes ，

Some really beautiful insights into Tolkien's writing process Some really beautiful insights into Tolkien's writing process 。。。more

Daniel ，

This is a book for Tolkien fans。 Those who do not love his works， particularly those who are indifferent--or even hostile--to The Silmarillion will find this particularly tedious （though they might enjoy some of the poetry）。But for those of us who love Tolkien， this book is a delight。 We can read some wonderful verses and see how two of the three legends of mortal men （which form the backbone of The Silmarillion） developed。。。。。。

Caleb Jore ，

This one was mostly poetry， but it was an enjoyable read and I found myself acquiring a newfound appreciation for this literary form which I had previously neglected。The Lay of the Children of Húrin， written in Old English half line alliterative verse， was a difficult read at first but I grew to enjoy the form of poetry as I read it。 It doesn't change， however， the tragedy of the story。 The Lay of Leithian， written in octosyllabic rhyming couplets， was a much more enjoyable read as it told the f This one was mostly poetry， but it was an enjoyable read and I found myself acquiring a newfound appreciation for this literary form which I had previously neglected。The Lay of the Children of Húrin， written in Old English half line alliterative verse， was a difficult read at first but I grew to enjoy the form of poetry as I read it。 It doesn't change， however， the tragedy of the story。 The Lay of Leithian， written in octosyllabic rhyming couplets， was a much more enjoyable read as it told the familiar story of Beren and Lúthien。CS Lewis' commentary on The Lay of Leithian was hysterical and enjoyable to read。 It was interesting to see the two scholars disagree over certain minute aspects of the poetry and meter and also cool to see Tolkien adopt some of Lewis' suggestions。 I do， however， agree with the Tolkien's opinion about "the shiners three"。 xDThis book is best read after the first two volumes in the series but can stand alone as well。 。。。more

Matias Cerizola ，

Las Baladas De Beleriand。- J。R。R。 Tolkien⁣⁣⁣"Entonces Luthien no irá a su hogar，⁣ sino que vagará por los bosques llorando，⁣ sin atender al peligro， sin conocer la risa。⁣Y si ella no puede caminar a tu lado，⁣ contra tu voluntad tus desesperados pies⁣ perseguirá， hasta que encuentren，⁣ Beren y Luthien， una vez más el amor⁣ en la tierra o en la orilla sombría"⁣⁣⁣Las Baladas de Beleriand es un libro editado por Christopher Tolkien y contiene dos poemas extensos sobre la mitología de la Tierra Media Las Baladas De Beleriand。- J。R。R。 Tolkien⁣⁣⁣"Entonces Luthien no irá a su hogar，⁣ sino que vagará por los bosques llorando，⁣ sin atender al peligro， sin conocer la risa。⁣Y si ella no puede caminar a tu lado，⁣ contra tu voluntad tus desesperados pies⁣ perseguirá， hasta que encuentren，⁣ Beren y Luthien， una vez más el amor⁣ en la tierra o en la orilla sombría"⁣⁣⁣Las Baladas de Beleriand es un libro editado por Christopher Tolkien y contiene dos poemas extensos sobre la mitología de la Tierra Media escritos por John en diferentes épocas。 El primero es La Balada De Los Hijos De Hurin， escrito en versos aliterados， y el segundo es La Balada De Leithian， escrito en pareados octosilábicos。 Como complemento se incluyen también tres poemas prontamente abandonados （así los describe Christopher） y un fragmento de una interesante crítica escrita por C。S。 Lewis， amigo de Tolkien y autor entre otras cosas de Las Crónicas De Narnia， sobre la Balada de Leithian。⁣⁣⁣Cómo es habitual en esta serie de libros， contiene un análisis exhaustivo de la obra por parte de Christopher， con notas sobre los nombres， sinopsis， diferencias con lo que después terminó formando parte de El Silmarillion y demás detalles。 Créase o no， hasta vamos a tener información sobre el tipo de papel que usaba John para escribir y de dónde provenía。 Así de exhaustivo…⁣⁣⁣Tuve sentimientos encontrados al cerrar el libro por última vez。 Por un lado creo que este volumen de La Historia De La Tierra Media contiene algunos de los textos más bellamente escritos por Tolkien， pero por otro， al estar los poemas incompletos queda una sensación extraña al llegar al final de los mismos， una especie de impotencia lectora al no encontrar ese punto final que cierra la historia。 Esto se da sobre todo en La Balada De Leithian， que tiene una extensión de más de 4200 versos divididos en 14 cantos y por lo que conocemos de la historia， no quedaba tanto para ser finalizada。⁣⁣⁣De todas formas considero esta lectura como otro de los puntos altos de la #tolkienreadalong2019 y sé que seguramente tendrá una relectura en un futuro， aunque inacabados， siguen siendo poemas de alta fantasía que merecen no olvidarse。⁣⁣⁣🤘🤘🤘🤘⁣⁣ 。。。more

DS25 ，

Di gran lunga il migliore tra quelli che ho letto - anche perché il materiale è molto meno frammentario， e per il mio amore per la lirica tolkeniana。Ci sono tutte le versioni dei Lai （sia di Tùrin che di B&L）。 Segnalo come estremamente interessante lo scarto tra "Beren & Tinuviel" e "Lay of Leithian"， dove la costruzione della storia esce parzialmente dal reame della fairytale。 Immagino che se Tolkien avesse potuto finire la ricostruzione della lirica anche le parti rimaste （pipistrelli e licant Di gran lunga il migliore tra quelli che ho letto - anche perché il materiale è molto meno frammentario， e per il mio amore per la lirica tolkeniana。Ci sono tutte le versioni dei Lai （sia di Tùrin che di B&L）。 Segnalo come estremamente interessante lo scarto tra "Beren & Tinuviel" e "Lay of Leithian"， dove la costruzione della storia esce parzialmente dal reame della fairytale。 Immagino che se Tolkien avesse potuto finire la ricostruzione della lirica anche le parti rimaste （pipistrelli e licantropi） sarebbero parzialmente scomparse。 。。。more

Kelly Buchanan ，

An illuminating look at some of the early versions of the major players in the history of Middle Earth。 The alliterative， Old English-style verse that makes up 'The Lay of the Children of Hurin' is technically virtuosic and I found to be a pleasure to read。 Its formality is certainly not for everyone， but it warmed this English major's hearth。 The sing-song style of 'The Lay of Luthien' is somewhat more jarring to get behind， but the subject matter is such that it remains engaging and laced with An illuminating look at some of the early versions of the major players in the history of Middle Earth。 The alliterative， Old English-style verse that makes up 'The Lay of the Children of Hurin' is technically virtuosic and I found to be a pleasure to read。 Its formality is certainly not for everyone， but it warmed this English major's hearth。 The sing-song style of 'The Lay of Luthien' is somewhat more jarring to get behind， but the subject matter is such that it remains engaging and laced with passages of great beauty。 Christopher Tolkien's extensive editorial notes are in turns helpful and somewhat frustrating， but certainly demonstrate the scholarly rigor with which he approaches his father's works。 The labor of gathering together and producing a cohesive whole out of the many scattered drafts and manuscripts left by Tolkien is clearly a gargantuan task， and I'm certainly glad he took the time。 。。。more

Simon Huffman-Gottschling ，

I decided to stop reading this early。 I love Tolkien and even stuff from the Lost Tales series， but the style in this book is quite archaic and dense。 Definitely worth a read if you're looking for that， but otherwise just a heads up。 I decided to stop reading this early。 I love Tolkien and even stuff from the Lost Tales series， but the style in this book is quite archaic and dense。 Definitely worth a read if you're looking for that， but otherwise just a heads up。 。。。more

Jennifer ，

I read this for the verse， skimmed some of the commentary。

Tristan Fry ，

DNF

Molly ，

SO GOOD。

Dustin Huffman ，

Not good。 It's just two very long poems about "The Children of Hurin/Turin and the Dragon" and "Beren and Luthien。 I just skimmed over it as I'm not really into poetry。 Not good。 It's just two very long poems about "The Children of Hurin/Turin and the Dragon" and "Beren and Luthien。 I just skimmed over it as I'm not really into poetry。 。。。more

Katie （BooksRUs） ，

More backstories on Beren and Luthien as well as Turin。

Steven Pennebaker ，

5 stars but only for the hardcore fan or those interested in arcane poetic forms。

Mitch Milam ，

The Lay of Leithian is one of Tolkien's most stunning achievements， and it is a real shame that the final cantos were never written。 Still， I'm extremely grateful that so much of the narrative is represented in such stunning and evocative verse！ The Lay of Leithian is one of Tolkien's most stunning achievements， and it is a real shame that the final cantos were never written。 Still， I'm extremely grateful that so much of the narrative is represented in such stunning and evocative verse！ 。。。more

Viel Nast ，

The third book of the history of middle earth series is even more difficult and hard to read than the two before it！ Now we deal with the abandoned poems that consisted of the first attempts for Tolkien to tell the story of the silmarils in verse。 Christopher had found and presents in this books the many different versions of the long poems mainly the “lay of leithian” and we can see how the named ideas and descriptions evolved noticing some major differences from the earlier stages to the final The third book of the history of middle earth series is even more difficult and hard to read than the two before it！ Now we deal with the abandoned poems that consisted of the first attempts for Tolkien to tell the story of the silmarils in verse。 Christopher had found and presents in this books the many different versions of the long poems mainly the “lay of leithian” and we can see how the named ideas and descriptions evolved noticing some major differences from the earlier stages to the final form that was presented in the Silmarillion although the stories of the first age were never put into a finished book by the professor himself。 Nonetheless， the book is a tedious reading because of the many details comments names and indexes and the useful parts are small and few。 I wouldn’t recommend this book for people who had just seen the movies but for the most hardcore middle earth fans and mainly scholars 。。。more

Warren Dunn ，

Because of the style of this book -poetry， I definitely had less interest in it。 However， the story was very clear， and the commentary concise enough to make the book thoroughly enjoyable。http://ossuslibrary。tripod。com/Bk_Fan。。。 Because of the style of this book -poetry， I definitely had less interest in it。 However， the story was very clear， and the commentary concise enough to make the book thoroughly enjoyable。http://ossuslibrary。tripod。com/Bk_Fan。。。 。。。more

Chuck Zeitvogel ，

Great look at the shaping of Middle Earth， but only fans of The Lord of the Rings will enjoy it。 I only read Tolkien's words。 I skip his sons notes and commentary。 Great look at the shaping of Middle Earth， but only fans of The Lord of the Rings will enjoy it。 I only read Tolkien's words。 I skip his sons notes and commentary。 。。。more

Morphé Soui ，

Great book ！

Ava ，

I love this one， especially the one about Tinuviel。

Thijs ，

This part contains mostly the alliterative poem 'The Lay of The Children of Hurin' and the poem in rhyming couplets of the most completed 'Lay of Leithian'。 While the Lay of the Children of Hurin I found hard to get through and couldn't really hold my attention （the story in itself is phenomenal， but I would recommend reading the published novel version）， the Lay of Leithian was in my opinion the best version of the Tale of Beren and Luthien I have read so far。 This part contains mostly the alliterative poem 'The Lay of The Children of Hurin' and the poem in rhyming couplets of the most completed 'Lay of Leithian'。 While the Lay of the Children of Hurin I found hard to get through and couldn't really hold my attention （the story in itself is phenomenal， but I would recommend reading the published novel version）， the Lay of Leithian was in my opinion the best version of the Tale of Beren and Luthien I have read so far。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Lays of Beleriand

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Lays of Beleriand&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Lays of Beleriand&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0