15.12.2003, 17:45
Letters >211
a la question :
. Did the Witch-king ride a pterodactyl at the siege of Gondor?
Tolkien repond :
Pterodactyl. Yes and no. I did not intend the steed of the Witch-King to be what is now called a 'pterodactyl', and often is drawn (with rather less shadowy evidence than lies behind many monsters of the new and fascinating semi-scientific mythology of the 'Prehistoric'). But obviously it is pterodactylic and owes much to the new mythology, and its description even provides a sort of way in which it could be a last survivor of older geological eras.5
et la note n°5
. 5. This paragraph is taken from another text of the letter (a draft). The version sent is more brief on this point.
a la question :
. Did the Witch-king ride a pterodactyl at the siege of Gondor?
Tolkien repond :
Pterodactyl. Yes and no. I did not intend the steed of the Witch-King to be what is now called a 'pterodactyl', and often is drawn (with rather less shadowy evidence than lies behind many monsters of the new and fascinating semi-scientific mythology of the 'Prehistoric'). But obviously it is pterodactylic and owes much to the new mythology, and its description even provides a sort of way in which it could be a last survivor of older geological eras.5
et la note n°5
. 5. This paragraph is taken from another text of the letter (a draft). The version sent is more brief on this point.
