Tolkien Calendar: The Great Years

As one can imagine, the chapter The Council of Elrond went through many versions...many revisions. Some major parts and major themes remained virtually intact, while others were altered significantly or eliminated altogether.

* Tolkien knew he would have spill over from the multiple back story parts of the Council, and so created the chapter Many Meetings to deal with several parts of it.

* In the first preliminary writings, the original (now odd sounding names) were still being used for the characters...Trotter...Folco...Old Rory...Peregrin was shortened to Perry, not Pippin...and we stilled had Bingo...Odo...Faramond...Burin...and more.

* Here also, at last, Tolkien begins to decide that the character of Trotter (who the Hobbits met at Bree and guides them to Rivendell), can no longer be a Hobbit himself. This was "where the idea that the Rangers were Men, 'the last remnant of the kingly people from beyond the Seas' first emerged." But this was a long time coming and for many edits Trotter remained Peregrin Boffin.

* It is also during the writing and revisions to this chapter that Tolkien made a decision about the Rings of Power. Originally Tolkien wrote that during the Council the Three were indeed made by Sauron and they gave the Elves great power. If was only later in the writing that Tolkien decided that Celebrimbor should have made the Three, and Sauron made the One Ring in answer to them. "This is the first appearance of this central idea concerning the origin and nature of the Rings:".

* Tolkien, as can be expected, struggled mightily with the make-up of the Fellowship. Many, many versions emerged...the first being Gandalf, Trotter, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Folco, Odo, Glorfindel, and Burin (son of Balin). It is odd to think that this first group contained no Men.

Glorfindel becomes Legolas. Burin becomes Gloin. Odo is finally eliminated from the tale altogether. Folco becomes Pippin. Boromir is added to the Fellowship. But...probably the most significant transformation is that of Trotter.

In Christopher Tolkien's words...

" 'Trotter would also be useful' was changed to 'Trotter will also be essential'; and probably at the same time my father wrote in the margin: 'Trotter is connected to the Ring.' This alteration thus comes from somewhat later, when he was reaching the conception of Aragorn and his ancestry. Trotter was of course still a hobbit. In the margin my father wrote against this passage: 'Correct this. Only Trotter is of ancient race' (i.e. Trotter is a Númenorean, but Boromir is not)."

Gotta LOVE that Tolkien!

Artwork: "The Council of Elrond" by Alan Lee