Gilfanon's Tale: The Travail of the Noldoli and the Coming of Mankind is the tenth and last chapter of The Book of Lost Tales Part One, the first volume of Christopher Tolkien's The History of Middle-earth. It contains varying versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's disunified account of a tale told by Gilfanon, a resident of the Cottage of Lost Play, immediately following Vairë's narration of The Hiding of Valinor.
Chapter synopsis[]
The majority of this chapter is Christopher Tolkien's commentary of the complicated variance of Gilfanon's tale, which essentially concerns the early sundering of the Elves (the 'Qendi'), the discovery by characters Tû and Nuin of a deep valley in which the Fathers of Men are about to awaken, and the deeds of Melkor's son, Fankil, of brewing hatred between Man and Elves. Tû, the "Dark Elf" Nuin, and Fankil do not appear elsewhere in Tolkien's legendarium, nor do human siblings Ermon and Elmir and the Ilkorindi Elf Tareg, who are involved with Fankil's deeds.
After a sudden point where Gilfanon's tale of the discovery of the Fathers of Men ends, Christopher Tolkien summarizes two accounts of the Awakening of Men, and two of the "History of the Exiled Gnomes", according to four different outlines by his father in which Fankil's conflict takes place. These accounts preceded the altered, finalized story found in the chapter "Of Men" in The Silmarillion.
The commentary finishes with a long explanation of which story elements survived or evolved into the material of Quenta Silmarillion, such as the Oath of Fëanor, Fëanor's death, and the first meeting of Grey-elves and Ñoldor in Mithrim.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| French | Le Conte de Gilfanon : la Peine des Noldoli et la Venue des Hommes |
| Georgian | ამბავი გილფანონისა: ნოლდოლის წამება და ადამიანთა მოსვლა |
| German | Gilfanons Geschichte: Das Leid der Noldoli und die Ankunft des Menschengeschlechtes |
| Hungarian | Gilfanon meséje: a noldók vándorútja és az emberek eljövetele |
| Italian | Il racconto di Gilfanon: il travaglio dei Noldoli e l'avvento dell'Umanità |
| Polish | Opowieść Gilfanona: Znój Noldolian i przybycie Ludzi |
| Russian | История Гилфанона: труды Нолдоли и приход Людей |
| Spanish | El cuento de Gilfanon: las penurias de los Noldoli y la llegada de la humanidad |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Історія Гілфанона: праці Нолдолі і прихід Людей |