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'''''The Silmarillion''''' is a collection of [[J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien's]] works, edited and published [[wikipedia:posthumously|posthumously]] by his son [[Christopher Tolkien|Christopher]], with the assistance of fantasy fiction writer [[wikipedia:Guy Gavriel Kay|Guy Gavriel Kay]].
+
'''''The Silmarillion''''' is a collection of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s works, edited and published posthumously by his son [[Christopher Tolkien|Christopher]], with the assistance of fantasy fiction writer [[wikipedia:Guy Gavriel Kay|Guy Gavriel Kay]].
 
==Overview==
 
[[Image:Silmarillion-cover.jpg|left|thumb|129px]]
 
   
  +
==Content==
 
[[File:Silmarillion-cover.jpg|thumb|right|129px|First Edition cover]]
 
''The Silmarillion'' comprises five parts:
 
''The Silmarillion'' comprises five parts:
# ''The [[Ainulindalë]]'' - the creation of [[Eä]], Tolkien's universe.
+
#''The [[Ainulindalë]]''<span style="line-height:20px;"> - The creation of </span>[[]]<span style="line-height:20px;"> (Tolkien's universe) and Ainur by </span>[[Eru Ilúvatar]]<span style="line-height:20px;">  and the start of the corruption of Melkor.</span>
# ''The [[Valaquenta]]'' - a brief description of the [[Valar]] and [[Maiar]], the supernatural beings
+
#''The [[Valaquenta]]'' - A brief description of the [[Valar]] and [[Maiar]], the supernatural beings. The Valar Lords were called [[Manwë]], [[Ulmo]], [[Aulë]], [[Oromë]], [[Mandos]], [[Lórien]], and [[Tulkas]] in that order. And the Valar Queens were called [[Varda]], [[Yavanna]], [[Nienna]], [[Estë]], [[Vairë]], [[Vána]] and [[Nessa]].
# ''The [[Quenta Silmarillion]]'' - the history of the events before and during the [[First Age]], which forms the bulk of the collection.
+
#''The [[Quenta Silmarillion]]'' - The history of the events before and during the [[First Age]], which forms the bulk of the collection.
# ''The [[Akallabêth]]'' - the history of the [[Second Age]]
+
#''The [[Akallabêth]]'' - The history of the [[Second Age]]
# ''[[Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age]]''
+
#''[[Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age]]''
   
 
This five-part work is also known as ''Translations from the Elvish''.
 
This five-part work is also known as ''Translations from the Elvish''.
   
These five parts were initially separate works, but it was the elder Tolkien's express wish that they be published together. Additionally, the book incorporates portions of several other documents not part of the original text, such as the story of Maeglin.
+
[[File:182.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Second Edition Cover]]These five parts were initially separate works, but it was the elder Tolkien's express wish that they be published together. Additionally, the book incorporates portions of several other documents not part of the original text, such as the story of Maeglin. ''Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age'' along with the ''Akallabêth'' are wholly seperate and independent from the rest of the Silmarillion.
[[Image:182.jpg|left|thumb|113px|Second Edition Cover]]
 
''The Silmarillion'', along with other posthumous collections of Tolkien's works, such as ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'' and ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' series, form a comprehensive, yet incomplete narrative that describes the universe within which ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' take place.
 
   
 
''The Silmarillion'', along with other posthumous collections of Tolkien's works, such as ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'' and ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' series, form a comprehensive, yet incomplete narrative that describes the universe within which ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' take place.
''The Silmarillion'' is a complex work that explores a wide array of themes inspired by many ancient, medieval, and modern sources, including the ''[[wikipedia:Kalevala|Finnish Kalevala]]'', the [[wikipedia:Iceland|Icelandic]] sagas, ''[[wikipedia:The Bible|The Bible]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Greek mythology|Greek mythology]]'', ''[[wikipedia:World War I|World War I]]'', and [[wikipedia:Celtic|Celtic]] myths. For instance, the name of the supreme being, [[Il&uacute;vatar]] (Father of All) is clearly borrowed from [[wikipedia:Finnish Mythology|Finnish Mythology]]. The archaic style and gravitas of the ''Ainulindal&euml;'' resembles that of the [[wikipedia:Old Testament|Old Testament]]. And the island civilization of [[N&uacute;menor]] is reminiscent of [[wikipedia:Atlantis|Atlantis]] &mdash; one of the names Tolkien gave that land was Atalant&euml;, though he gave it an [[Elvish language|Elvish]] derivation.
 
   
 
''The Silmarillion'' is a complex work that explores a wide array of themes inspired by many ancient, medieval, and modern sources, including the ''[[wikipedia:Kalevala|Finnish Kalevala]]'', the [[wikipedia:Iceland|Icelandic]] sagas, ''[[wikipedia:The Bible|The Bible]]'', ''[[wikipedia:Greek mythology|Greek mythology]]'', ''[[wikipedia:World War I|World War I]]'', and [[wikipedia:Celtic|Celtic]] myths. For instance, the name of the supreme being, [[Ilúvatar]] (Father of All) is clearly borrowed from [[wikipedia:Finnish Mythology|Finnish Mythology]]. The archaic style and gravitas of the ''Ainulindalë'' resembles that of the [[wikipedia:Old Testament|Old Testament]]. And the island civilization of [[Númenor]] is reminiscent of [[wikipedia:Atlantis|Atlantis]] &mdash; one of the names Tolkien gave that land was Atalantë, though he gave it an [[Elvish language|Elvish]] derivation.
Some of the notable chapters in the book include:
 
  +
* "Of [[Beren]] and [[Lúthien]]"
 
 
Some of the notable stories in the book include:
* "The [[Narn i Ch&icirc;n H&uacute;rin]]" - The Tale of the Children of H&uacute;rin <!-- please note Chîn is the correct spelling -->
 
* "The Fall of [[Gondolin]]"
+
* "[[Of Beren and Lúthien]]"
  +
* "[[Of Túrin Turambar]]"
  +
* "[[Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin]]"
   
 
==Development of the text==
 
==Development of the text==
 
The earliest drafts of ''The Silmarillion'' stories date back to as early as [[1925]], when Tolkien wrote a 'Sketch of the Mythology'. However, the concepts for characters and themes were developed for a previous mythology in [[1917]] when Tolkien, then a British officer stationed in France during [[wikipedia:World War I|World War I]] was laid up in a military field hospital with [[wikipedia:trench fever|trench fever]]. At the time, he called his collection of nascent stories [[The Book of Lost Tales]]. These stories comprised an English mythology intended to explain the origins of English history and culture (as Greek mythology explains the origins of Greek history and culture).
   
 
Many years after the war, encouraged by the success of ''[[The Hobbit]]'', Tolkien submitted an incomplete but more fully developed version of [[The Silmarillion]] to his publisher, but they rejected the work as being obscure and "too Celtic". The publisher, George [[Allen & Unwin]], instead asked Tolkien to write a sequel to ''The Hobbit'', which became his significant novel ''The Lord of the Rings''.
The earliest drafts of ''The Silmarillion'' stories date back to as early as [[1925]], when Tolkien wrote a 'Sketch of the Mythology'. However, the concepts for characters and themes were developed for a previous mythology in [[1917]] when Tolkien, then a British officer stationed in France during [[wikipedia:World War I|World War I]] was laid up in a military field hospital with [[wikipedia:trench fever|trench fever]]. At the time, he called his collection of nascent stories [[The Book of Lost Tales]]. These stories comprised an English mythology intended to explain the origins of English history and culture (as Greek mythology explains the origins of Greek history and culture).
 
   
 
But Tolkien never abandoned ''The Silmarillion'', he regarded it as the most important of his work, seeing in its tales the genesis of [[Middle-earth]] and later events as told in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He renewed work on [[The Silmarillion]] after completing ''The Lord of the Rings'' but eventually turned to other texts more closely associated with the events and characters depicted in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Near the end of his life in [[1973]], Tolkien began to substantially revise the cosmology and its related myths, but he did not progress very far.
Many years after the war, encouraged by the success of ''[[The Hobbit]]'', Tolkien submitted an incomplete but more fully developed version of [[The Silmarillion]] to his publisher, but they rejected the work as being obscure and "too Celtic". The publisher, George Allen & Unwin, instead asked Tolkien to write a sequel to ''The Hobbit'', which became his significant novel ''The Lord of the Rings''.
 
 
But Tolkien never abandoned ''The Silmarillion'', he regarded it as the most important of his work, seeing in its tales the genesis of [[Middle-earth]] and later events as told in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He renewed work on [[The Silmarillion]] after completing ''The Lord of the Rings'' but eventually turned to other texts more closely associated with the events and characters depicted in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Near the end of his life in [[1973]], Tolkien began to substantially revise the cosmology and its related myths, but he did not progress very far.
 
   
 
==After Tolkien's death==
 
==After Tolkien's death==
Line 37: Line 35:
 
Due to Christopher's extensive explanations of how he compiled the published work, much of ''The Silmarillion'' has been debated by the hardcore fans. Christopher's task is generally accepted as very difficult given the state of his father's texts at the time of his death: some critical texts were no longer in the Tolkien family's possession, and Christopher's task compelled him to rush through much of the material. Christopher reveals in later volumes of [[The History of Middle-earth]] many divergent ideas which do not agree with the published version. Christopher Tolkien has suggested that, had he taken more time and had access to all the texts, he might have produced a substantially different work. But he was impelled by considerable pressure and demand from his father's readers and publishers to produce something publishable as quickly as possible. However, it is a severe misapprehension to think that Christopher "wrote" ''The Silmarillion,'' which, except in its concluding part, is almost entirely in his father's own words.
 
Due to Christopher's extensive explanations of how he compiled the published work, much of ''The Silmarillion'' has been debated by the hardcore fans. Christopher's task is generally accepted as very difficult given the state of his father's texts at the time of his death: some critical texts were no longer in the Tolkien family's possession, and Christopher's task compelled him to rush through much of the material. Christopher reveals in later volumes of [[The History of Middle-earth]] many divergent ideas which do not agree with the published version. Christopher Tolkien has suggested that, had he taken more time and had access to all the texts, he might have produced a substantially different work. But he was impelled by considerable pressure and demand from his father's readers and publishers to produce something publishable as quickly as possible. However, it is a severe misapprehension to think that Christopher "wrote" ''The Silmarillion,'' which, except in its concluding part, is almost entirely in his father's own words.
   
 
During the [[1980s]] and [[1990s]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] published most of his father's Middle-Earth-related writings as the 12-volume ''History of Middle-earth'' series.
As of 2005, ''The Silmarillion'' is available in several editions, such as the [[1990]] version from Ballantine Books, ISBN 0345325818.
 
 
During the [[1980s]] and [[1990s]], Christopher Tolkien published most of his father's Middle-Earth-related writings as the 12-volume ''History of Middle-earth'' series.
 
   
 
In addition to the source material and earlier drafts of several portions of ''The Lord of the Rings'', these books greatly expand on the original material published in ''The Silmarillion'', and in many cases diverge from it. Part of the reason for this is that Christopher Tolkien heavily edited the Silmarillion to ready it for publication, in places having to choose between contradictory versions of the text. J.R.R. Tolkien also sketched ideas for radical transformations of the mythology which never reached narrative form. These later books also reveal which parts of ''The Silmarillion'' Tolkien developed more than others.
 
In addition to the source material and earlier drafts of several portions of ''The Lord of the Rings'', these books greatly expand on the original material published in ''The Silmarillion'', and in many cases diverge from it. Part of the reason for this is that Christopher Tolkien heavily edited the Silmarillion to ready it for publication, in places having to choose between contradictory versions of the text. J.R.R. Tolkien also sketched ideas for radical transformations of the mythology which never reached narrative form. These later books also reveal which parts of ''The Silmarillion'' Tolkien developed more than others.
   
  +
==Miscellaneous information==
==See also==
 
* [[Sindarin]]
 
* [[Quenya]]
 
* [[Silmaril]]
 
 
 
In [[1998]], the German power metal band [[Blind Guardian]] produced ''[[Nightfall in Middle-Earth]]'', a concept album about key events from the [[Quenta Silmarillion]].
 
In [[1998]], the German power metal band [[Blind Guardian]] produced ''[[Nightfall in Middle-Earth]]'', a concept album about key events from the [[Quenta Silmarillion]].
 
 
==External links==
 
* [http://www.lotrlibrary.com/ The Lord of the Rings Fanatics Library - Tolkienian information]
 
   
 
{{Silmarillion}}
 
{{Silmarillion}}
 
{{Middle-earth}}
 
{{Middle-earth}}
  +
 
==External link==
  +
 
*{{TGlink|The Silmarillion}}
   
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silmarillion}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silmarillion}}
{{enWP|The Silmarillion}}
 
[[de:Das Silmarillion]]
 
   
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[[de:Das Silmarillion]]
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[[es:El Silmarillion]]
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[[fr:Le Silmarillion]]
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[[it:Il Silmarillion]]
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[[ja:シルマリルの物語]]
 
[[nl:De Silmarillion]]
 
[[nl:De Silmarillion]]
[[Category:Books|Silmarillion]]
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[[pl:Silmarillion]]
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[[pt-br:O Silmarillion]]
[[Category:Novels]]
 
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[[ru:Сильмариллион]]
 
[[Category:Books]]

Revision as of 23:03, 5 February 2014

The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher, with the assistance of fantasy fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay.

Content

Silmarillion-cover

First Edition cover

The Silmarillion comprises five parts:

  1. The Ainulindalë - The creation of (Tolkien's universe) and Ainur by Eru Ilúvatar  and the start of the corruption of Melkor.
  2. The Valaquenta - A brief description of the Valar and Maiar, the supernatural beings. The Valar Lords were called Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos, Lórien, and Tulkas in that order. And the Valar Queens were called Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estë, Vairë, Vána and Nessa.
  3. The Quenta Silmarillion - The history of the events before and during the First Age, which forms the bulk of the collection.
  4. The Akallabêth - The history of the Second Age
  5. Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

This five-part work is also known as Translations from the Elvish.

182

Second Edition Cover

These five parts were initially separate works, but it was the elder Tolkien's express wish that they be published together. Additionally, the book incorporates portions of several other documents not part of the original text, such as the story of Maeglin. Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age along with the Akallabêth are wholly seperate and independent from the rest of the Silmarillion.

The Silmarillion, along with other posthumous collections of Tolkien's works, such as Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth series, form a comprehensive, yet incomplete narrative that describes the universe within which The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place.

The Silmarillion is a complex work that explores a wide array of themes inspired by many ancient, medieval, and modern sources, including the Finnish Kalevala, the Icelandic sagas, The Bible, Greek mythology, World War I, and Celtic myths. For instance, the name of the supreme being, Ilúvatar (Father of All) is clearly borrowed from Finnish Mythology. The archaic style and gravitas of the Ainulindalë resembles that of the Old Testament. And the island civilization of Númenor is reminiscent of Atlantis — one of the names Tolkien gave that land was Atalantë, though he gave it an Elvish derivation.

Some of the notable stories in the book include:

Development of the text

The earliest drafts of The Silmarillion stories date back to as early as 1925, when Tolkien wrote a 'Sketch of the Mythology'. However, the concepts for characters and themes were developed for a previous mythology in 1917 when Tolkien, then a British officer stationed in France during World War I was laid up in a military field hospital with trench fever. At the time, he called his collection of nascent stories The Book of Lost Tales. These stories comprised an English mythology intended to explain the origins of English history and culture (as Greek mythology explains the origins of Greek history and culture).

Many years after the war, encouraged by the success of The Hobbit, Tolkien submitted an incomplete but more fully developed version of The Silmarillion to his publisher, but they rejected the work as being obscure and "too Celtic". The publisher, George Allen & Unwin, instead asked Tolkien to write a sequel to The Hobbit, which became his significant novel The Lord of the Rings.

But Tolkien never abandoned The Silmarillion, he regarded it as the most important of his work, seeing in its tales the genesis of Middle-earth and later events as told in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He renewed work on The Silmarillion after completing The Lord of the Rings but eventually turned to other texts more closely associated with the events and characters depicted in The Lord of the Rings. Near the end of his life in 1973, Tolkien began to substantially revise the cosmology and its related myths, but he did not progress very far.

After Tolkien's death

For several years after his father's death, Christopher Tolkien compiled a Silmarillion narrative which, at the time, he felt best approximated his father's intentions. As explained in The History of Middle-earth, Christopher drew upon numerous sources for his narrative, relying on post-LoTR works where possible, but ultimately reaching back as far as the 1917 Book of Lost Tales to fill in portions of the narrative which his father had planned to write but never addressed. On some of the later parts of the "Quenta Silmarillion", which were in the roughest state, he worked with Guy Gavriel Kay (later a noted fantasy author himself) to construct a narrative practically from scratch. The final result, which included genealogies, maps, an index, and the first-ever released Elvish word list was published in 1977.

Due to Christopher's extensive explanations of how he compiled the published work, much of The Silmarillion has been debated by the hardcore fans. Christopher's task is generally accepted as very difficult given the state of his father's texts at the time of his death: some critical texts were no longer in the Tolkien family's possession, and Christopher's task compelled him to rush through much of the material. Christopher reveals in later volumes of The History of Middle-earth many divergent ideas which do not agree with the published version. Christopher Tolkien has suggested that, had he taken more time and had access to all the texts, he might have produced a substantially different work. But he was impelled by considerable pressure and demand from his father's readers and publishers to produce something publishable as quickly as possible. However, it is a severe misapprehension to think that Christopher "wrote" The Silmarillion, which, except in its concluding part, is almost entirely in his father's own words.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Christopher Tolkien published most of his father's Middle-Earth-related writings as the 12-volume History of Middle-earth series.

In addition to the source material and earlier drafts of several portions of The Lord of the Rings, these books greatly expand on the original material published in The Silmarillion, and in many cases diverge from it. Part of the reason for this is that Christopher Tolkien heavily edited the Silmarillion to ready it for publication, in places having to choose between contradictory versions of the text. J.R.R. Tolkien also sketched ideas for radical transformations of the mythology which never reached narrative form. These later books also reveal which parts of The Silmarillion Tolkien developed more than others.

Miscellaneous information

In 1998, the German power metal band Blind Guardian produced Nightfall in Middle-Earth, a concept album about key events from the Quenta Silmarillion.

J.R.R. Tolkien's - The Silmarillion
Ainulindalë | Valaquenta | Quenta Silmarillion | Akallabêth | Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
The History of Middle-earth
(earlier versions of the story of The Silmarillion)
J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium

External link