The War of the Jewels (ISBN 0-395-71041-3) is the eleventh volume of Christopher Tolkien's series The History of Middle-earth, analysing the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien.
It is the second volume (Morgoth's Ring being the first) that explores the later 1951 Silmarillion drafts, i.e. those which were written after the completion of The Lord of the Rings.
This volume includes:
- The second part of the 1951 Silmarillion drafts
- An expanded account of the Grey Annals the history of Beleriand after the coming of the Elves.
- Additional narratives involving Húrin and the tragedy of his children (see Narn i Chîn Húrin). "The Wanderings of Húrin" is the conclusion to the "Narn". This was not included in the final Silmarillion because Christopher Tolkien feared that the heavy compression, which would have been necessary to make it, a stylistic match with the rest of the book would have been too difficult and would have made the story overly complex and difficult to read.
- Christopher Tolkien's explanation of how he, with the collaboration of fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay, constructed Chapter 22 of the Silmarillion, since none of the texts left by Tolkien for this purpose were up-to-date enough to serve the purpose. In particular, the old texts all have Thingol portrayed as a miserly swindler who cheats the Dwarves out of their payment, and the portrayal of the Girdle of Melian in the older stories is much weaker than the impenetrable barrier of the post-LOTR writings.
- "Quendi and Eldar", which discusses in greater detail the origin of the Elves and their sunderings.
- Tolkien's exploration of the origins of the Ents and the great Eagles
Table of Contents
- Part One: The Grey Annals
- Part Two: The Later Quenta Silmarillion
- Part Two, chapter 1: "Of Men"
- Part Two, chapter 2: "Of the Siege of Angband"
- Part Two, chapter 3: "Of Beleriand and its Realms"
- Part Two, chapter 4: "Of Turgon and the Building of Gondolin"
- Part Two, chapter 5: "Concerning the Dwarves"
- Part Two, chapter 6: "Of the Coming of Men into the West"
- Part Two, chapter 7: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
- Part Two, chapter 8 (?) : "The Last Chapters"
- Part Three: The Wanderings of Hurin and other writings not forming part of the Quenta Silmarillion
- Part Three, chapter 1: "The Wanderings of Húrin"
- Part Three, chapter 2: "Ælfwine and Dirhaval"
- Part Three, chapter 3: "Maeglin"
- Part Three, chapter 4: "Of the Ents and the Eagles"
- Part Three, chapter 5: "The Tale of Years"
- Part Four: Quendi and Eldar
- Part Four: Index
Translations around the World
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Die Oorlog van die Juwele |
| Albanian | Lufta e Bizhuteritë |
| Arabic | حرب الجواهر |
| Armenian | Պատերազմը զարդերից |
| Azerbaijani | Cavahirat Müharibə |
| Basque | Bitxiak Gerrak |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Вайна Камянёў |
| Bengali | ওয়ার রত্নের ? |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Войната на бижута |
| Cambodian | សង្គ្រាមនៃរតនវត្ថុនោះ |
| Catalan | La Guerra de les Joies |
| Cebuano | Ang Gubat sa mga Mutya |
| Chinese | 珠宝之战 |
| Croatian | Rat od Dragulja |
| Czech | Válka drahokamůO |
| Danish | Krigen i Juveler |
| Dutch | Oorlog van de Juwelen |
| Esperanto | La Milito de la Juveloj |
| Estonian | Sõda pärleid |
| Fijian | Na ivalu ni na iyau talei |
| Filipino | Ang Digmaan ng mga Hiyas |
| Finnish | Sodan Jalokivet |
| French | La Guerre des Joyaux |
| Frisian | De Oarloch fan de Juwielen |
| Galician | A Guerra das Xoias |
| Georgian | ომი სამკაულებს |
| German | Der Krieg der Juwelen |
| Greek | Ο πόλεμος των κοσμήματα |
| Gujarati | યુદ્ધ જ્વેલ્સ |
| Haitian Creole | De Bèl grenn pèl yo gè |
| Hebrew | המלחמה התכשיטים |
| Hindi | रत्नों के युद्ध |
| Hungarian | A Háború az ékszereket |
| Indonesian | Perang permata |
| Irish Gaelic | An Cogadh na ? |
| Italian | La Guerra dei Gioielli |
| Japanese | 宝石の戦争 |
| Kannada | ಆಭರಣಗಳು ಯುದ್ಧ |
| Korean | 보석 전쟁 |
| Latin | Ed Gemmae ad Bellum ? |
| Latvian | Karš no dārgakmeņiem |
| Lithuanian | Iš brangakmenis karas |
| Luxembourgish | De Krich vun de Bijouen |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Војна на Бижута |
| Malagasy | Ny Ady Tamin' ny Firavaka |
| Malay | Perang permata |
| Marathi | या रत्नांनी युद्ध |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Эрдэнэд дайн |
| Nepalese | गहने को युद्ध |
| Norwegian | Krigen av Juveler |
| Pashto | د ګاڼې جګړې |
| Persian | جنگ جواهرات |
| Polish | Wojna o Klejnoty |
| Portuguese | A Guerra das Joias |
| Punjabi | ਜੰਗ ਜਵੇਹਰ ਦੀ |
| Romanian | Războiul bijuteriilor |
| Russian | Война Самоцветов |
| Scottish Gaelic | Tha Cogadh nan Seudan |
| Serbian | У Pату од драгуља (Cyrillic) U Ratu od Dragulja (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | මෙම ආභරණ ආරම්භ වූ යුද්ධය ? |
| Shona | Hondo yemabwe anokosha |
| Slovak | Vojna drahokamov |
| Slovenian | Vojna draguljev |
| Somalian | Dagaalka oo ah Jowharadahaaga |
| Spanish | La Guerra de las Joyas |
| Sudanese | Perang tina sosoca |
| Swahili | Vita ya Vyombo |
| Swedish | Kriga av Juveler |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Ҷанги аз Сангҳои |
| Tamil | போர் ஆபரணங்களின் |
| Telugu | ఆభరణాలు యుద్ధం |
| Thai | สงครามของอัญมณี |
| Turkish | Mücevherler Savaşı |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Війна коштовності |
| Urdu | ہیرے جواہرات کی جنگ |
| Uzbek | Жавҳар уруш (Cyrillic) Javhar urush (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Cuộc chiến của Tam Bảo |
| Welsh | Y Rhyfel y Tlysau |
| Yiddish | די מלחמה פון די דזשעוועלס |
| Yoruba | Awọn Ogun ti awọn Iyebiye |
| Yucatec Maya | Le K'atun le Joyas |