Roots of the Mountains

William Morris

Description

Said to have been one of the source materials upon which J. R. R. Tolkien drew when creating his beloved Lord of the Rings series, The Roots of the Mountains is a classic fantasy that takes place on an epic scale. Two civilizations are drawn together by a pair of star-crossed lovers - and by the threat of an encroaching enemy that could destroy the world as they know it.

Sujets

• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: The Floating Press
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781775459651
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE ROOTS OF THE MOUNTAINS
WHEREIN IS TOLD SOMEWHAT OF THE LIVES OF THE MEN OF BURGDALE, THEIR FRIENDS, THEIR NEIGHBORS, THEIR FOEMEN, AND THEIR FELLOWS IN ARMS
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WILLIAM MORRIS
 
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The Roots of the Mountains Wherein is Told Somewhat of the Lives of the Men of Burgdale, Their Friends, Their Neighbors, Their Foemen, and Their Fellows in Arms First published in 1889 ISBN 978-1-77545-965-1 © 2012 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
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Chapter I - Of Burgstead and its Folk and its Neighbours Chapter II - Of Face-Of-God and His Kindred Chapter III - They Talk of Divers Matters in the Hall Chapter IV - Face-Of-God Fareth to the Wood Again Chapter V - Face-Of-God Falls in with Menfolk on the Mountain Chapter VI - Of Face-Of-God and Those Mountain-Dwellers Chapter VII - Face-Of-God Talketh with the Friend on the Mountain Chapter VIII - Face-Of-God Cometh Home Again to Burgstead Chapter IX - Those Brethren Fare to the Yewwood with the Bride Chapter X - New Tidings in the Dale Chapter XI - Men Make Oath at Burgstead on the Holy Boar Chapter XII - Stone-Face Telleth Concerning the Wood-Wights Chapter XIII - They Fare to the Hunting of the Elk Chapter XIV - Concerning Face-Of-God and the Mountain Chapter XV - Murder Amongst the Folk of the Woodlanders Chapter XVI - The Bride Speaketh with Face-Of-God Chapter XVII - The Token Cometh from the Mountain Chapter XVIII - Face-Of-God Talketh with the Friend in Shadowy Vale Chapter XIX - The Fair Woman Telleth Face-Of-God of Her Kindred Chapter XX - Those Two Together Hold the Ring of the Earth-God Chapter XXI - Face-Of-God Looketh on the Dusky Men Chapter XXII - Face-Of-God Cometh Home to Burgstead Chapter XXIII - Talk in the Hall of the House of the Face Chapter XXIV - Face-Of-God Giveth that Token to the Bride Chapter XXV - Of the Gate-Thing at Burgstead Chapter XXVI - The Ending of the Gate-Thing Chapter XXVII - Face-Of-God Leadeth a Band through the Wood Chapter XXVIII - The Men of Burgdale Meet the Runaways Chapter XXIX - They Bring the Runaways to Burgstead Chapter XXX - Hall-Face Goeth Toward Rose-Dale Chapter XXXI - Of the Weapon-Show of the Men of Burgdale and TheirNeighbours Chapter XXXII - The Men of Shadowy Vale Come to the Spring Market atBurgstead Chapter XXXIII - The Alderman Gives Gifts to Them of Shadowy Vale Chapter XXXIV - The Chieftains Take Counsel in the Hall of the Face Chapter XXXV - Face-Of-God Talketh with the Sun-Beam Chapter XXXVI - Folk-Might Speaketh with the Bride Chapter XXXVII - Of the Folk-Mote of the Dalesmen, the Shepherd-Folk,and the Woodland Carles: The Banner of the Wolf Displayed Chapter XXXVIII - Of the Great Folk-Mote: Atonements Given, and MenMade Sackless Chapter XXXIX - Of the Great Folk-Mote: Men Take Rede of the War-Faring, the Fellowship, and the War-Leader Folk-Might TellethWhence His People Came the Folk-Mote Sundered Chapter XL - Of the Hosting in Shadowy Vale Chapter XLI - The Host Departeth from Shadowy Vale: The First Day'sJourney Chapter XLII - The Host Cometh to the Edges of Silver-Dale Chapter XLIII - Face-Of-God Looketh on Silver-Dale: The Bowmen'sBattle Chapter XLIV - Of the Onslaught of the Men of the Steer, the Bridge,and the Bull Chapter XLV - Of Face-Of-God's Onslaught Chapter XLVI - Men Meet in the Market of Silver-Stead Chapter XLVII - The Kindreds Win the Mote-House Chapter XLVIII - Men Sing in the Mote-House Chapter XLIX - Dallach Fareth to Rose-Dale: Crow Telleth of HisErrand: The Kindreds Eat Their Meat in Silver-Dale Chapter L - Folk-Might Seeth the Bride and Speaketh with Her Chapter LI - The Dead Borne to Bale: The Mote-House Re-Hallowed Chapter LII - Of the New Beginning of Good Days in Silver-Dale Chapter LIII - Of the Word Which Hall-Ward of the Steer Had for Folk-Might Chapter LIV - Tidings of Dallach: A Folk-Mote in Silver-Dale Chapter LV - Departure from Silver-Dale Chapter LVI - Talk Upon the Wild-Wood Way Chapter LVII - How the Host Came Home Again Chapter LVIII - How the Maiden Ward was Held in Burgdale Chapter LIX - The Behest of Face-Of-God to the Bride Accomplished: AMote-Stead Appointed for the Three Folks, to Wit, the Men ofBurgdale, the Shepherds, and the Children of the Wolf
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Whiles carried o'er the iron road, We hurry by some fair abode; The garden bright amidst the hay, The yellow wain upon the way, The dining men, the wind that sweeps Light locks from off the sun-sweet heaps - The gable grey, the hoary roof, Here now—and now so far aloof. How sorely then we long to stay And midst its sweetness wear the day, And 'neath its changing shadows sit, And feel ourselves a part of it. Such rest, such stay, I strove to win With these same leaves that lie herein.
Chapter I - Of Burgstead and its Folk and its Neighbours
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Once upon a time amidst the mountains and hills and falling streamsof a fair land there was a town or thorp in a certain valley. Thiswas well-nigh encompassed by a wall of sheer cliffs; toward the Eastand the great mountains they drew together till they went near tomeet, and left but a narrow path on either side of a stony streamthat came rattling down into the Dale: toward the river at that endthe hills lowered somewhat, though they still ended in sheer rocks;but up from it, and more especially on the north side, they swelledinto great shoulders of land, then dipped a little, and rose againinto the sides of huge fells clad with pine-woods, and cleft here andthere by deep ghylls: thence again they rose higher and steeper, andever higher till they drew dark and naked out of the woods to meetthe snow-fields and ice-rivers of the high mountains. But that wasfar away from the pass by the little river into the valley; and thesaid river was no drain from the snow-fields white and thick with thegrinding of the ice, but clear and bright were its waters that camefrom wells amidst the bare rocky heaths.
The upper end of the valley, where it first began to open out fromthe pass, was rugged and broken by rocks and ridges of water-bornestones, but presently it smoothed itself into mere grassy swellingsand knolls, and at last into a fair and fertile plain swelling upinto a green wave, as it were, against the rock-wall whichencompassed it on all sides save where the river came gushing out ofthe strait pass at the east end, and where at the west end it poureditself out of the Dale toward the lowlands and the plain of the greatriver.
Now the valley was some ten miles of our measure from that place ofthe rocks and the stone-ridges, to where the faces of the hills drewsomewhat anigh to the river again at the west, and then fell abackalong the edge of the great plain; like as when ye fare a-sailingpast two nesses of a river-mouth, and the main-sea lieth open beforeyou.
Besides the river afore-mentioned, which men called the WelteringWater, there were other waters in the Dale. Near the eastern pass,entangled in the rocky ground was a deep tarn full of cold springsand about two acres in measure, and therefrom ran a stream which fellinto the Weltering Water amidst the grassy knolls. Black seemed thewaters of that tarn which on one side washed the rocks-wall of theDale; ugly and aweful it seemed to men, and none knew what laybeneath its waters save black mis-shapen trouts that few cared tobring to net or angle: and it was called the Death-Tarn.
Other waters yet there were: here and there from the hills on bothsides, but especially from the south side, came trickles of waterthat ran in pretty brooks down to the river; and some of these sprangbubbling up amidst the foot-mounds of the sheer-rocks; some had clefta rugged and strait way through them, and came tumbling down into theDale at diverse heights from their faces. But on the north sideabout halfway down the Dale, one stream somewhat bigger than theothers, and dealing with softer ground, had cleft for itself a widerway; and the folk had laboured this way wider yet, till they had madethem a road running north along the west side of the stream. Soothto say, except for the strait pass along the river at the easternend, and the wider pass at the western, they had no other way (saveone of which a word anon) out of the Dale but such as mountain goatsand bold cragsmen might take; and even of these but few.
This midway stream was called the Wildlake, and the way along itWildlake's Way, because it came to them out of the wood, which onthat north side stretched away from nigh to the lip of the valley-wall up to the pine woods and the high fells on the east and north,and down to the plain country on the west and south.
Now when the Weltering Water came out of the rocky tangle near thepass, it was turned aside by the ground till it swung right up to thefeet of the Southern crags; then it turned and slowly bent roundagain northward, and at last fairly doubled back on itself before itturned again to run westward; so that when, after its second double,it had come to flowing softly westward under the northern crags, ithad cast two thirds of a girdle round about a space of land a littlebelow the grassy knolls and tofts aforesaid; and there in that fairspace between the folds of the Weltering Water stood the Thorpwhereof the tale hath told.
The men thereof had widened and deepened the Weltering Water aboutthem, and had bridged it over to the plain meads; and athwart thethroat of the space left clear by the water they had built them astrong wall though not very high, with a gate amidst and a tower