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The earlier existence of the story of the rescue of Maidros by Finweg (Fingon) is implied by a reference in the Lay of the Children of Húrin (see III. 65, 86) – that in the Lay of Leithian is some two years later than S (III. 222). A curious point arises in the account in S: it seems that it was only at this juncture that Manwë brought into being the race of Eagles. In the tale of The Theft of Melko Sorontur (the ‘Elvish’ form of Gnomish Thorndor) had already played a part in the story before the departure of the Noldoli from Valinor: he was the emissary of the Valar to Melko before the destruction of the Trees, and because Melko tried to slay the Eagle

between that evil one and Sorontur has there ever since been hate and war, and that was most bitter when Sorontur and his folk fared to the Iron Mountains and there abode, watching all that Melko did (I. 149).

It may be noted that Lake Mithrim is placed in Hisilómë/Hithlum/Dorlómin; see III. 103.

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For this section of the narrative the earliest materials are so scanty that we may almost say that the ‘Sketch’ is the starting-point. In an outline for Gilfanon’s Tale (I. 238) there is mention of a meeting between Gnomes and Ilkorins, and it was with the guidance of these Ilkorins that Maidros led an army to Angamandi, whence they were driven back with slaughter leaving Maidros a captive; and this was followed by Melko’s southward advance and the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. As I have noted (I. 242):

The entire later history of the long years of the Siege of Angband, ending with the Battle of Sudden Flame (Dagor Bragollach), of the passage of Men over the Mountains into Beleriand and their taking service with the Noldorin Kings, had yet to emerge; indeed these outlines give the effect of only a brief time elapsing between the coming of the Noldoli from Kôr and their great defeat.

In another outline (I. 240) there is a slight suggestion of a longer period, in the reference to the Noldoli ‘practising many arts’. In this outline the meeting of Gnomes and Ilkorins takes place at ‘the Feast of Reunion’ (where Men were also present). But beyond this there is really nothing of the later story to be found in these projections. Nor indeed had S (as originally written) made any very remarkable advances. Men ‘already dwelt in the woods of the North’, which is sufficiently strange, since according to S Men awoke at the first rising of the Sun (§6), when also Fingolfin marched into Middle-earth (§8), and far too little time had elapsed, one would think, for Men to have journeyed out of ‘the far East’ (§6) and become established in ‘the woods of the North’. Moreover there is no suggestion (even allowing for the brief and concentrated nature of the ‘Sketch’) that the Leaguer of Angband lasted any great length of time, nor is the breaking of the Leaguer particularly characterised: Morgoth ‘sends out his armies’, and ‘Gnomes and Ilkorins and Men are scattered’; that is all. But the breaking of the Leaguer was already seen as a turning-point in the history of the Elves of Beleriand. It is perfectly possible that much of the new material that appears at this place in the Quenta (see pp. 104 ff.) was already in my father’s mind when he wrote S (i.e., S was a précis, but a précis of an unwritten story); for instance, the blasting of the great grassy northern plain in the battle that ended the siege (not even mentioned in S) was already present when the Lay of the Children of Húrin was written (III. 55).