Red Book of Westmarch

The Red Book of Westmarch is the foundational document of the history of the War of the Ring, the manuscript that purports to preserve the account of the great events that ended the Third Age. It is the source from which the entire narrative of The Lord of the Rings is drawn, a framing device that transforms the epic tale into a work of recorded history. The book's own textual history—its origins, its copies, and its transmission through the generations—is as carefully detailed as the events it records, making it a central artifact in the legendarium's elaborate fiction of historical authenticity.

Origins and Composition

The Red Book of Westmarch was in origin Bilbo Baggins's private diary, which he took with him to Rivendell. When Frodo Baggins returned to the Shire, he brought the diary back with him, together with many loose leaves of notes, and during S.R. 1420-1 he nearly filled its pages with his account of the War. To this core were annexed three large volumes, bound in red leather, that Bilbo gave to Frodo as a parting gift. These volumes contained Bilbo's 'Translations from the Elvish', a work of great skill and learning in which, between 1403 and 1418, he had used all the sources available to him in Rivendell, both living and written. The original Red Book was thus a composite work: Bilbo's diary, Frodo's war narrative, and Bilbo's scholarly translations, all preserved together, probably in a single red case.

The Textual Tradition

The original Red Book has not been preserved, but many copies were made, especially of the first volume, for the use of the descendants of the children of Master Samwise. The most important copy, however, has a different history. It was kept at Great Smials, but it was written in Gondor, probably at the request of the great-grandson of Peregrin, and completed in S.R. 1592 (F.A. 172). Its southern scribe appended a note: Findegil, King's Writer, finished this work in IV 172. This copy was an exact copy in all details of the Thain's Book in Minas Tirith, which was itself a copy made at the request of King Elessar of the Red Book of the Periannath, brought to him by the Thain Peregrin when he retired to Gondor in IV 64. The Thain's Book was thus the first copy made of the Red Book and contained much that was later omitted or lost. In Minas Tirith it received much annotation and many corrections, especially of names, words, and quotations in the Elvish languages, and there was added to it an abbreviated version of those parts of The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen which lie outside the account of the War.

The Libraries of the Shire

At the end of the Third Age, the part played by the Hobbits in the great events that led to the inclusion of the Shire in the Reunited Kingdom awakened among them a more widespread interest in their own history, and many of their traditions, up to that time still mainly oral, were collected and written down. The greater families were also concerned with events in the Kingdom at large, and many of their members studied its ancient histories and legends. By the end of the first century of the Fourth Age there were already to be found in the Shire several libraries that contained many historical books and records. The largest of these collections were probably at Undertowers, at Great Smials, and at Brandy Hall. The Red Book itself was long preserved at Undertowers, the home of the Fairbairns, Wardens of the Westmarch, which is why it was so called. To the four original volumes there was added in Westmarch a fifth containing commentaries, genealogies, and various other matter concerning the hobbit members of the Fellowship.

Narrative Significance

The Red Book functions as the narrative frame for the entire story, establishing the pretense that the events of The Lord of the Rings are being recounted from a historical document. This framing device is established in the Prologue and reinforced throughout, with the book's own textual history mirroring the themes of memory, preservation, and the passing of ages that run through the narrative. The book's journey—from Bilbo's diary to Frodo's war record to the annotated copies in Gondor—parallels the journey of the Ring itself, passing through many hands and being transformed by each. The final note that the full tale of Aragorn and Arwen was written by Barahir, grandson of the Steward Faramir, some time after the passing of the King, extends the book's reach beyond the War of the Ring into the Fourth Age, making it the enduring record of an entire era. The Red Book is thus not merely a framing device but a character in its own right, its physical form and textual history embodying the very act of remembrance that the story celebrates.