On this day, 3019 T. A., the Fellowship of the Ring reached the Chamber of Mazarbul in Moria, where they found the Book of Mazarbul, which consisted of the final records of Ori as Orcs stormed Moria and killed Balin, Lord of Moria. How did #Tolkien create this page? 1/7
#LotR
#LotR
Tolkien used his knowledge of Medieval manuscripts to create three facsimile pages from the book. He burnt the edges with his pipe, pierced holes where the pages would have been stitched to the binding, and washed the paper with red and brown paint to make dried bloodstains. 2/7
The scanned picture above, owned by Tolkien Estate, is the final page of the book, where Ori wrote desperately in the book as the Orcs were gaining victories. Look at the Elvish script at the bottom; it was the final ominous words of Ori: "they are coming." 3/7
Why was the final message in Elvish script instead of Dwarf runes? Seems like Tolkien wanted to convey the fear and desperation of the writer: Elvish script is faster to scribble on the page. Its flowing style requires less physical control to jot down than individual runes. 4/7
Take a look at that Elvish script. Compared to the runes, the writing looks a bit sloppy, with the final "tail" drawn almost out of the page. You can imagine Ori's final moment as the Orcs broke in after he had written it. Fear, desperation, and fatal determination mingled. 5/7
Tolkien had wanted these three pages to be included in the first edition of LOTR, but his publisher refused for budget reason. They already gambled big time to publish a giant fantasy fiction manuscript like LOTR, not to mention printing budget limitation after the war. 6/7
The three pages were finally included in the English edition of LOTR in 2004, 50 years after its very first publication. The final page of the manuscript above was also featured in Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth exhibition by Bodleian Library. 7/7
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