Errantry
Errantry is a Hobbit poem which was probably composed by Bilbo Baggins, shortly after his return from the Lonely Mountain in T.A. 2941, and probably having heard Elvish tales of the First Age. The attribution to Bilbo is made because of its similarity to the Song of Eärendil, believed to be a transformed and applied to the legend of Earendil version of this poem.
It is a three-page long poem by J.R.R. Tolkien, first published in 1933. Tolkien himself considered it his most attractive poem.
While it referred to original Elvish names, they were probably fictitious.
Metre
The poem has complex trisyllabic assonances with a metre that Tolkien invented, and was difficult enough that he never wrote another poem again in this style. A much shorter version would be included in The Fellowship of the Ring: the Song of Eärendil.
Melody
This poem was set to music by Donald Swann. The sheet music and an audio recording are part of the song-cycle The Road Goes Ever On.
List of words
Below is a partial list of rare and/or obsolete words used in the poem.
- Aerie, or an invention that rhymes on Faerie.
- Argosies
- Belmarie - unknown, possibly an invention.
- Cardamom
- Chalcedony
- Derrilyn - unknown, possibly a invention.
- Dumbledors, see also Dumbledors.
- Errantry
- Faerie
- Filament
- Foraying
- Furbished
- Gondola
- Gossamer
- Habergeon
- Honeycomb
- Hummerhorns - see Dumbledors.
- Malachite
- Marigold
- Marjoram
- Morion
- Paladins, see also Paladin Took II.
- Panoply
- Plenilune
- Provender
- Roving
- Sigaldry
- Stalactite
- Thellamie - unknown, possibly an invention.
- Tourneying
