The Fall of Gondolin

Paperback

J. R. R. Tolkien 저자(글)

Harper Collins UK · 2023년 10월 26일

책 소개

In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar.

Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo's desires and designs.

Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin, the instrument of Ulmo's designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes great; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon's daughter, and their son is Eärendel, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo.

At last comes the terrible ending. Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Tuor and Idril, with the child Eärendel, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Eärendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources.

Following his presentation of Beren and Lúthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same 'history in sequence' mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’ and, together with Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin, he regarded it as one of the three 'Great Tales' of the Elder Days.

작가정보

저자(글) J. R. R. Tolkien

남아프리카공화국 출신의 영미작가로, 20세기 영미 문학의 거장, 판타지 문학의 아버지다. 저명한 문헌학자이자 언어학자이기도 하다. 어려서부터 언어학과 고전문학에 뛰어난 재능을 보였고, 옥스퍼드대학교 교수로 재직하며 C.S. 루이스 등과 깊은 우정을 나누었다. 하지만 학문적인 성과보다는 오히려 판타지 문학의 기본 바탕을 마련한 '미들랜드'의 창조자로서 전 세계 문학 애호가들의 사랑과 숭배의 대상이 되고 있다. 저작들은 전 세계 30여 개가 넘는 언어로 번역되었다. 세계에서 가장 많이 판매된 책 중 하나인 『호빗』과 『반지의 제왕』의 작가로 유명하며, 가운데땅의 신화에 근거한 방대한 세계관으로 20세기 이후 현대 환상문학과 게임, 미디어 등에 막대한 영향을 미치고 있다. 또한 자신이 창조한 세계 속에서 사용된 다양한 언어들까지 새롭게 창조하는 등, 언어학과 영문학자로서의 업적도 높이 평가받고 있다. 1973년 사망 후 아들 크리스토퍼 톨킨에 의해 『실마릴리온』, 『끝나지 않은 이야기』, 『가운데땅의 역사』, 『후린의 아이들』, 『베렌과 루시엔』, 『곤돌린의 몰락』 등이 출간되었다.

기본정보

ISBN	9780008655662 ( 0008655669 )
발행(출시)일자	2023년 10월 26일
쪽수	304쪽
크기	128 * 198 * 18 mm / 204 g
총권수	1권
언어	영어