Middle-earth

Library

The Silmarillion

The mythological foundation of the legendarium: the Music of the Ainur, the First Age, and the long wars against Morgoth.

Supplementary writingsFrom posthumously published works, notes, drafts or appendices.
Author
J.R.R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)
Published
1977
Format
Collection

Synopsis

The Silmarillion is the deep backbone of Tolkien’s invented world: a cosmology and a cycle of legends assembled by his son Christopher from decades of drafts. It begins with the Ainulindalë, the great Music through which Ilúvatar creates the world, and the rebellion of Melkor. It tells of the making of the Silmarils by Fëanor, their theft by Morgoth, and the ruinous oath and wars of the Elves in Beleriand; of the sorrow of Túrin, the fall of Gondolin, and the War of Wrath that ends the First Age; and then of the rise and drowned downfall of Númenor, and the forging of the Rings of Power. It is less a novel than a sustained and solemn mythology, and its published form is an editorial achievement as much as an authorial one.

Setting

Before the making of the world, then Valinor, Beleriand and Númenor across the first two Ages of Arda.

Themes

  • creation and sub-creation
  • the pride that leads to ruin
  • oaths and their curses
  • doom and free will
  • loss and longing

Where to go next

Publication note

Publication note

Published posthumously in 1977, edited by Christopher Tolkien from his father’s unpublished manuscripts with the help of Guy Gavriel Kay. Tolkien never completed a single authoritative version, so the book represents a careful editorial selection rather than a finished text.

Sources

  • The Silmarillion · 1977

    Posthumously edited. Contains the Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power.