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The Lost Road is the name of a time-travel work of which J.R.R. Tolkien only wrote four chapters (and assorted notes), though is entirely integrated with his mythology.[1]
Background[]
The Lost Road - published in The Lost Road and Other Writings, the fifth volume The History of Middle-earth - tells of the voyage of Ælfwine and his trip to Tol Eressëa along with other characters journeys in later times. Much of this story was later influenced the details of the similar The Notion Club Papers, published in Sauron Defeated, the ninth volume of the History, (with at least one of the characters referencing the general events of the The Lost Road). Tolkien wrote:
- "I began an abortive book of time-travel of which the end was to be the presence of my hero in the drowning of Atlantis. This was to be called Númenor, the Land in the West. The thread was to be the occurrence time and again in human families (like Durin among the Dwarves) of a father and son called by names that could be interpreted as Bliss-friend and Elf-friend. ..... It started with a father-son affinity between Edwin and Elwin of the present, and was supposed to go back into legendary time by way of an Eädwine and Ælfwine of circa A.D. 918, and Audoin and Alboin of Lombardic legend, and so to the traditions of the North Sea concerning the coming of corn and culture heroes, ancestors of kingly lines, in boats (and their departure in funeral ships). ..... In my tale we were to come at last to Amandil and Elendil leaders of the loyal party in Númenor, when it fell under the domination of Sauron."
- —Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Fall of Arthur (p. 150).
The importance of the story is that it was an early introduction to the Fall of Númenor.
The tale's title is a reference to the Straight Road, a secret path leading from Middle-earth to Aman.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Die Verlore Pad |
| Albanian | Rruga e humbur |
| Amharic | የጠፋ መንገዱ |
| Arabic | الطريق الضائع |
| Armenian | Կորած ճանապարհը |
| Azerbaijani | Kaybolan yol |
| Basque | Galdutako bidea |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Страчаная дарога |
| Bengali | হারিয়ে যাওয়া রাস্তা |
| Bosnian | Izgubljeni put |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Изгубеният път |
| Cambodian | ផ្លូវដែលបាត់បង់ |
| Catalan | El Camí Perdut |
| Cebuano | Ang Nawala nga Dalan |
| Chinese | 失落的道路 |
| Corsican | U strada Perdida |
| Croatian | Izgubljeni put |
| Czech | Ztracená cesta |
| Danish | Den Forsvundne Vej |
| Dutch | De Verloren Weg |
| Esperanto | La Perdita Vojo |
| Estonian | Kadunud tee |
| Fijian | Na Gaunisala ni Yali |
| Filipino | Ang Nawala na Daan |
| Finnish | Kadonnut tie |
| French | La Route perdue |
| Galician | A Estrada Perdida |
| Georgian | დაკარგული გზა |
| German | Die Verlorene Straße |
| Greek | Ο χαμένος δρόμος |
| Gujarati | ખોવાયેલો રસ્તો |
| Haitian Creole | Wout la Pèdi |
| Hebrew | הדרך האבודה |
| Hindi | खोया सड़क |
| Hungarian | Az elveszett út |
| Icelandic | Missti vegurinn |
| Indonesian | Jalan Yang Hilang |
| Irish Gaelic | An Bóthar Caillte |
| Italian | La strada perduta |
| Japanese | 失われた道 |
| Javanese | Jalan sing ilang |
| Kannada | ಕಳೆದುಹೋದ ರಸ್ತೆ |
| Kazakh | Жоғалған жол (Cyrillic) Joğalğan jol (Latin) |
| Korean | 잃어버린 길 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Жоголгон жол |
| Laotian | ເສັ້ນທາງທີ່ສູນຫາຍ |
| Latvian | Pazudušais ceļš |
| Lithuanian | Prarastas kelias |
| Luxembourgish | De Verluerene Strooss |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Изгубениот пат |
| Malagasy | Ny Lalana Very |
| Malayalam | നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട റോഡ് |
| Malaysian | Jalan Yang Hilang |
| Maltese | It-Triq Mitlufa |
| Marathi | हरवलेला रस्ता |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Алдагдсан зам |
| Nepalese | हराएको सडक |
| Norwegian | Den Tapte Veien |
| Pashto | ورک شوی سړک |
| Persian | جاده از دست رفته |
| Polish | Zaginiona droga |
| Portuguese | A Estrada Perdida |
| Punjabi | ਗੁੰਮ ਹੋਈ ਸੜਕ |
| Romanian | Drumul pierdut |
| Russian | Утраченный путь |
| Samoan | Le auala na leiloa |
| Serbian | Изгубљени пут (Cyrillic) Izgubljeni put (Latin) |
| Sindhi | گم ٿيل روڊ |
| Sinhalese | නැතිවූ මාර්ගය |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Втрачений шлях |
| Scottish Gaelic | An Rathad Chaill |
| Slovak | Stratenú cestu |
| Slovenian | Izgubljena cesta |
| Somali | Wadadii lumay |
| Spanish | El camino perdido |
| Swahili | Njia iliyopotea |
| Swedish | Den Förlorade Vägen |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Роҳи гумшуда |
| Tamil | இழந்த சாலை |
| Tatar | Югалган юл |
| Telugu | కోల్పోయిన రహదారి |
| Thai | ถนนที่หายไป |
| Turkish | Kayıp Yol |
| Turkmen | Ýitirilen ýol |
| Urdu | گمشدہ سڑک |
| Uzbek | Йўқолган йўл (Cyrillic) Yo'qolgan yo'l (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Con đường bị mất |
| Welsh | Y Ffordd a Gollwyd |
| Xhosa | Indlela elahlekileyo |
| Yiddish | די פאַרפאַלן וועג |