Silmarillion

Silmarillion is a work of J.R.R. Tolkien, published in a posthumous way in 1977 by his/her son Christopher. It recalls the genesis and the first Ages of Eä, world being used as theater with Bilbo the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings .

General information

Silmarillion is resulting from notebooks of J.R.R. Tolkien. The first drafts go back to 1917. They were not published, but Tolkien continued to work all its life there lasting (these first texts are published under the name of the Livre of the lost tales ). It thus is not about a usual, coherent and completed literary work, but of a whole of accounts of sometimes disparate tone and contents. Besides Tolkien wished to make Silmarillion a kind of compilation of myths and folklore of the Ground of the Medium. As his/her father had asked him, Christopher Tolkien and the author of Fantasy Guy Gavriel Kay carried out with the remainder a work of selection and rewriting to make the unit about coherent; Christopher regretted some of the choices thereafter that it could make, of which an entirely rewritten chapter. This is why it published the texts which were used to him as a basis for this publication in the series of the Histoire of the Earth of the Medium .

Composition of work

Silmarillion breaks up into five parts.

The Ainulindalë

This short text reports the creation of Eä, the universe of Tolkien, by the will of Eru. The world of Arda (the place which includes the Ground of the Medium and Valinor, immortal Grounds), was born from an original music composed by the Ainur, under the aegis of Eru. Once this materialized world, Ainur or not choose to reside at it, knowing that this choice is without return. Thus part of Ainur will choose to live this young world and to develop it, most powerful among them were named the Valar, and the least powerful, their servants, were named the Maiar. Ainur which chooses to remain at Eru do not see their names mentioned and no one will never know anything of it.

Among those which choose to reside on Arda, one finds in particular Manwë and Melkor which will become later Morgoth Bauglir. It is also a resumption of the topic of the fall of Lucifer, brought back by the Jewish, Christian and Moslem traditions: Melkor was largest of Valar, but he was opposed to Eru (the reason first could be pride, but it appears that it is the desire of creation which is in the beginning, then follows frustration from there to be able to create what it hears, and finally pride not). This set of themes is briefly taken again by Saint Paul and is also detailed in the Coran (Ézéchiel, XXVIII-14,17, Coran-XXXVIII, 71-83, etc). It is nevertheless important to note that Tolkien is denied any allegory or interpretation (religious, racial, etc) whatever they are in its works.

The Valaquenta

A short description of Valar and Maiar, supernatural beings born from the spirit of Eru.

The Quenta Silmarillion

It is in fact the history of the Silmaril S and the account of the events before and during the First Age, which forms the greatest part of the work and which relates to mainly the Elfes, even if the Hommes and the Nains are also present and play a big role. That occurs between the imprisonment from Morgoth and the destruction from its fortress, Angband.

After the imprisonment of Morgoth, with Aman (Valinor), Fëanor, wire of Finwë, became largest of the goldsmiths. It worked in secrecy but ends up showing its work, which would end up bringing misfortune on the world: Silmarils.

These jewels contained the light of the trees and consumed those which touched them so much they were powerful. They were three.

Morgoth, seeing the jewels, was again let invade of desire and hatred towards the Elves and especially Fëanor. One day, helped of its allied Ungoliant, it killed the trees of Valinor, seized Silmarils by killing Finwë, the father of Fëanor.

The Akallabêth

History of the Second Age and engloutissement of Númenor. Númenor was an island halfway of the Earth of the Medium and Valinor, the city of the Gods. It had been offered to the men having fought Morgoth at the sides of the Elves lasting the Guerre of the Great Anger. These men were called Númenóréens or Dunedains and Valar equipped them with a long life (approximately 500 years for Elros first King de Númenor, which was also brother of Elrond of Fondcombe).

The power of Númenóréens was étincelante at that time but they failed, perverted by the lies of Sauron. They coveted the eternal life of Valar and, under commandemant of the King Ar-Pharazôn, left to conquer their kingdom, Valinor in the west. They found only death there, and their island was absorbed by the fury of Eru the creator, separating Valinor d' Arda forever.

But certain Númenóréens had not left to the conquest Valinor because they had remained faithful to Valar, and could flee of Númenor in boat before its engloutissement. Their chief was Elendil which founded the kingdoms in exile of Gondor and of Arnor out of Ground of the Medium. Thus a handle of Númenóréens does not perish, just as Númenóréens Noirs of Umbar (port in the south of Gondor in Harad), which was combined later of Sauron and large enemies of the kingdoms in exile. Thus Númenor, the wonder of the west fell, by the greed of the men, if powerful and so weak all at the same time…

Rings of being able and the Third Age

This summary shows how the Rings of being able were forged by the Elves with the assistance of Sauron and how Sauron used the Rings of being able to try to control the Earth of the Medium. Bilbo the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings are held during this period.

See too

Ground of the Medium

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