 1977 George Allen & Unwin hardback edition. It features Tolkien's drawing of one of Lúthien Tinúviel's emblems. | |
| Editor | |
|---|---|
| Author | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Illustrator | Christopher Tolkien (maps) |
| Cover artist | J. R. R. Tolkien (device) |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Tolkien's legendarium |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | George Allen & Unwin (UK) |
Publication date | 15 September 1977[1] |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 365 |
| Award | Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (1978)[2] |
| ISBN | 978-0-04-823139-0 |
| OCLC | 3318634 |
| 823.914 | |
| LC Class | PZ3.T576 Si PR6039.O32 |
| Followed by | Unfinished Tales |
The Silmarillion (Quenya: [silmaˈrilːiɔn]) is a book consisting of a collection of myths[a][T 1] and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited, partly written, and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by Guy Gavriel Kay, who became a fantasy author.[T 2] It tells of Eä, a fictional universe that includes the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the ill-fated region of Beleriand, the island of Númenor, and the continent of Middle-earth, where Tolkien's most popular works—The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—are set. After the success of The Hobbit, Tolkien's publisher, Stanley Unwin, requested a sequel, and Tolkien offered a draft of the writings that would later become The Silmarillion. Unwin rejected this proposal, calling the draft obscure and "too Celtic", so Tolkien began working on a new story that eventually became The Lord of the Rings.
The Silmarillion has five parts. The first, Ainulindalë, tells in mythic style of the creation of Eä, the "world that is." The second part, Valaquenta, gives a description of the Valar and Maiar, supernatural powers of Eä. The next section, Quenta Silmarillion, which forms the bulk of the collection, chronicles the history of the events before and during the First Age, including the wars over three jewels, the Silmarils, that gave the book its title. The fourth part, Akallabêth, relates the history of the Downfall of Númenor and its people, which takes place in the Second Age. The final part, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, tells the history of the rings during the Second and Third Ages, ending with a summary of the events of The Lord of the Rings.
The book shows the influence of many sources, including the Finnish epic Kalevala, Greek mythology in the lost island of Atlantis (as Númenor) and the Olympian gods (in the shape of the Valar, though these also resemble the Norse Æsir).
Because J. R. R. Tolkien died leaving his legendarium unedited, Christopher Tolkien selected and edited materials to tell the story from start to end. In a few cases, this meant that he had to devise completely new material, within the tenor of his father's thought, to resolve gaps and inconsistencies in the narrative,[4] particularly Chapter 22, "Of the Ruin of Doriath".[5]
The Silmarillion was commercially successful, but received generally poor reviews on publication. Scholars found the work problematic, not least because the book is a construction, not authorised by Tolkien himself,[3] from the large corpus of documents and drafts also called "The Silmarillion". Scholars have noted that Tolkien intended the work to be a mythology, penned by many hands, and redacted by a fictional editor, whether Ælfwine or Bilbo Baggins. As such, Gergely Nagy considers that the fact that the work has indeed been edited actually realises Tolkien's intention.[3]
- ^ Rayner Unwin (1978), in Amon Hen, bulletin of the Tolkien Society, no. 32 p. 13.
- ^ "The Locus Index to SF Awards". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
Nagy 2020was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Silmarillion". Tolkien Estate.
- ^ Rérolle, Raphaëlle (5 December 2012). "My father's "eviscerated" work – son of Hobbit scribe J.R.R. Tolkien finally speaks out". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
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