THE TWELVE HOUSES OF THE GONDOTHLIM

J.R.R.Tolkien

from “The Fall of Gondolin”
in The Book of Lost Tales II
 

Then came over the plain riders who bore breathless tidings from those who kept vigil on the peaks; and they told of the fiery hosts and the shapes like dragons, and said: “Melko is upon us.” Great was the fear and anguish within that beauteous city, and the streets and byeways were filled with the weeping of women and the wailing of children, and the squares with the mustering of soldiers and the ring of arms. There were the gleaming banners of all the great houses and kindreds of the Gondothlim. Mighty was the array of the house of the king and their colours were white and gold and red, and their emblems the moon and the sun and the scarlet heart. Now in the midmost of these stood Tuor above all heads, and his mail of silver gleamed; and about him was a press of the stoutest of the folk. Lo! all these wore wings as it were of swans or gulls upon their helms, and the emblem of the White Wing was upon their shields. But the folk of Meglin were drawn up in the same place, and sable was their harness, and they bore no sign or emblem, but their round caps of steel were covered with moleskin, and they fought with axes two-headed like mattocks. There Meglin prince of Gondobar gathered many warriors of dark countenance and lowering gaze about him, and a ruddy glow shone upon their faces and gleamed about the polished surfaces of their accoutrement. Behold, all the hills to the north were ablaze, and it was as if rivers of fire ran down the slopes that led to the plain of Tumladin, and folk might already feel the heat thereof.

And many other kindreds there were, the folk of the Swallow and the Heavenly Arch, and from these folk came the greatest number and the best of the bowmen, and they were arrayed upon the broad places of the walls. Now the folk of the Swallow bore a fan of feathers on their helms, and they were arrayed in white and dark blue and in purple and black and showed an arrowhead on their shields. Their lord was Duilin, swiftest of all men to run and leap and surest of archers at a mark. But they of the Heavenly Arch being a folk of uncounted wealth were arrayed in a glory of colours, and their arms were set with jewels that flamed in the light now over the sky. Every shield of that battalion was of the blue of the heavens and its boss a jewel built of seven gems, rubies and amethysts and sapphires, emeralds, chrysoprase, topaz, and amber, but an opal of great size was set in their helms. Egalmoth was their chieftain, and wore a blue mantle upon which the stars were broidered in crystal, and his sword was bent – now none else of the Noldoli bore curved swords – yet he trusted rather to the bow, and shot therewith further than any among that host.

There too were the folk of the Pillar and of the Tower of Snow, and both these kindreds were marshalled by Penlod, tallest of Gnomes. There were those of the Tree, and they were a great house, and their raiment was green. They fought with iron-studded clubs or with slings, and their lord Galdor was held the most valiant of all the Gondothlim save Turgon alone. There stood the house of the Golden Flower who bare a rayed sun upon their shield, and their chief Glorfindel bare a mantle so broidered in threads of gold that it was diapered with celandine as a field in spring; and his arms were damascened with cunning gold.

Then came there from the south of the city the people of the Fountain, and Ecthelion was their lord, and silver and diamonds were their delight; and swords very long and bright and pale did they wield, and they went into battle to the music of flutes. Behind them came the host of the Harp, and this was a battalion of brave warriors; but their leader Salgant was a craven, and he fawned upon Meglin. They were dight with tassels of silver and tassels of gold, and a harp of silver shone in their blazonry upon a field of black; but Salgant bore one of gold, and he alone rode into battle of all the sons of the Gondothlim, and he was heavy and squat.

Now the last of the battalions was furnished by the folk of the Hammer of Wrath, and of these came many of the best smiths and craftsmen, and all that kindred reverenced Aulë the Smith more than all other Ainur. They fought with great maces like hammers, and their shields were heavy, for their arms were very strong. In older days they had been much recruited by Noldoli who escaped from the mines of Melko, and the hatred of this house for the works of that evil one and the Balrogs his demons was exceeding great. Now their leader was Rog, strongest of the Gnomes, scarce second in valour to that Galdor of the Tree. The sign of this people was the Stricken Anvil, and a hammer that smiteth sparks about it was set on their shields, and red gold and black iron was their delight. Very numerous was that battalion, nor had any among them a faint heart, and they won the greatest glory of all those fair houses in that struggle against doom; yet were they ill-fated, and none ever fared away from that field, but fell about Rog and vanished from the Earth; and with them much craftsmanship and skill has been lost for ever.

This was the fashion and the array of the eleven houses of the Gondothlim with their signs and emblems, and the bodyguard of Tuor, the folk of the Wing, was accounted the twelfth. [...]

Then the warriors of the Mole being more numerous than those few of the Wing [...]

AS DOZE CASAS DOS GONDOTHLIM

J.R.R.Tolkien

de “A Queda de Gondolin”
em O Livro dos Contos Perdidos II
Trad. Ronald Kyrmse

Vieram então por sobre a planície cavaleiros trazendo notícias ofegantes dos que mantinham vigília nos picos; e falavam dos exércitos abrasadores e das formas semelhantes a dragões, e diziam: – Melko está sobre nós. – Grande foram o medo e a angústia no interior daquela linda cidade, e as ruas e os caminhos estavam cheios do choro das mulheres e do lamento das crianças, e as praças cheias da convocação dos soldados e do tilintar das armas. Lá estavam os reluzentes estandartes de todas as grandes casas e famílias dos Gondothlim. Era poderosa a formação da casa do rei, e suas cores eram o branco e o dourado e o vermelho, e seus emblemas eram a lua e o sol e o coração escarlate. Mas no meio deles estava Tuor, acima de todas as cabeças, e rebrilhava sua cota de malha prateada, e em sua volta havia uma multidão dos mais robustos da gente. Eis que todos eles usavam asas, como que de cisnes ou gaivotas, sobre os elmos, e o emblema da Asa Branca estava em seus escudos. Mas a gente de Meglin estava disposta no mesmo local, e eram negros seus apetrechos, e não portavam sinal nem emblema, mas seus casquetes redondos de aço eram cobertos de pele de toupeira, e lutavam com machados de duas cabeças, como picaretas. Lá Meglin, príncipe de Gondobar, reuniu em torno de si muitos guerreiros de semblante escuro e olhar carrancudo, e um fulgor avermelhado luzia sobre seus rostos e brilhava nas superfícies polidas de seus equipamentos. Eis que todas as colinas ao norte estavam em chamas, e era como se rios de fogo descessem pelas encostas que levavam à planície de Tumladin, e todos já conseguiam sentir-lhes o calor.

E lá estavam muitas outras famílias, a gente da Andorinha e do Arco Celeste, e dessa gente vinha o maior número e os melhores arqueiros, e estavam dispostos nas partes largas das muralhas. Mas a gente da Andorinha portava um leque de penas sobre os elmos, e estavam trajados de branco, azul escuro, púrpura e preto, e exibiam uma ponta de flecha nos escudos. Seu senhor era Duilin, o mais rápido na corrida de todos os homens, e o mais certeiro dos que atiravam com flechas. Mas os do Arco Celeste, como eram gente de riqueza incontável, trajavam-se em glória multicor, e suas armas eram incrustadas de gemas que chamejavam na luz que então cobria o firmamento. Cada escudo daquele batalhão era de azul celeste, e seu tachão era uma jóia montada com sete gemas, rubis e ametistas e safiras, esmeraldas, crisópraso, topázio e âmbar, mas enormes opalas estavam incrustadas em seus elmos. Egalmoth era seu chefe, e usava um manto azul no qual as estrelas eram bordadas em cristal, e sua espada era recurvada – nenhum outro dos Noldoli usava então uma espada curva – porém confiava mais no arco, e com ele atirava mais longe que qualquer outro daquela hoste.

Lá estava também a gente do Pilar e da Torre de Neve, e essas duas famílias eram comandadas por Penlod, o mais alto dos Gnomos. Havia os da Árvore, e eram uma grande casa, cujas vestimentas eram verdes. Lutavam com bastões crivados de ferro ou com fundas, e seu senhor Galdor era considerado o mais valente de todos os Gondothlim, exceto pelo próprio Turgon. Estava presente a casa da Flor Dourada, que portava nos escudos um sol raiado, e seu chefe Glorfindel usava um manto de tal forma bordado com fios de ouro que era adornado com padrões de celidônia como um campo na primavera; e suas armas eram damasquinadas de ouro sutil.

Do sul da cidade veio então a gente da Fonte, e Ecthelion era seu senhor, e deleitavam-se com prata e diamantes; e empunhavam espadas muito longas, reluzentes e claras, e iam à batalha com música de flautas. Atrás deles veio a hoste da Harpa, que era um batalhão de bravos guerreiros; mas seu líder Salgant era um covarde, e adulava Meglin. Estavam trajados com borlas de prata e borlas de ouro, e uma harpa de prata reluzia em seus brasões sobre um fundo negro; mas Salgant portava uma de ouro, e somente ele dentre todos os filhos dos Gondothlim cavalgava para o combate, e era pesado e atarracado.

Mas o último dos batalhões era composto pela gente do Martelo da Ira, e deles vinham muitos dos melhores ferreiros e artesãos, e toda aquela família reverenciava Aulë, o Ferreiro, mais do que todos os outros Ainur. Lutavam com grandes maças semelhantes a martelos, e seus escudos eram pesados, pois tinham braços fortíssimos. Nos tempos de outrora haviam sido muito recrutados dos Noldoli que escapavam das minas de Melko, e o ódio daquela casa pelas obras desse maligno e pelos Balrogs, seus demônios, era imenso. Mas seu líder era Rog, o mais forte dos Gnomos, pouco menos valoroso que Galdor da Árvore. O sinal dessa gente era a Bigorna Golpeada, e um martelo que lança fagulhas em redor adornava seus escudos, e deleitavam-se com ouro vermelho e ferro negro. Era muito numeroso aquele batalhão, e nenhum dentre eles era covarde, e conquistaram naquele combate contra a perdição a maior glória de todas as belas casas; porém era triste o seu destino, e nenhum jamais saiu daquele campo de batalha, pois tombaram em torno de Rog e desapareceram da Terra; e com eles muita perícia e habilidade perdeu-se para sempre.

Esta era a natureza e a disposição das onze casas dos Gondothlim com seus sinais e emblemas, e a guarda pessoal de Tuor, a gente da Asa, era tida como a décima segunda. [...]

Então os guerreiros da Toupeira, como eram mais numerosos que os poucos da Asa [..]