The Fall of Numenor and The Lost Road, Chapter 3, The Lost Road Summary and Analysis

Chapter three includes the two completed chapters of The Lost Road along with brief comments. The first chapter begins with a conversation between the young Alboin and his father Oswin Errol. Oswin told Alboin the tale of Alboin, son of Audoin, the Lombard King. Alboin doesn't much like his name but Oswin assures him that thought went into it and notes that he could well have named Alboin versions of the name "Elf-friend" in other languages. This began Alboin's interest in languages. Over the years, he would learn Latin, Greek, Old English, Norse, Welsh and Irish. His father was a historian but Alboin studied the old northern languages, the "unclassical" languages.

When Alboin turned eighteen, Oswin wondered whether his...