The Quenta Silmarillion (English: Tale of the Silmarils) is an epic legendarium
of the Elder Days, preserved by the Faithful of Middle-Earth. It consists of twenty-four
chapters, telling the history of Arda from the beginning of days to the voyage of
Eärendil and the War of Wrath. Authorship is uncertain, though it is often falsely
attributed to the loremaster Pengoloð of Gondolin.[1]
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| silmarillion #303649 - uludağ sözlük galeri |
J.R.R. Tolkien Minimalist Bibliography
http://gregorywalter.blogspot.com/2014/02/jrr-tolkien-minimalist-bibliography.html
Dr. Gregory Walter
February 7, 2014
This is my shortlist and an essential guide to the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien. I've decided to create this list because the various editions of Tolkien's work can be quite confusing, especially given the range of publications and even copyright scandals that Tolkien's work has experienced in the United States. There are a few works that at the moment only can be found in the UK but because they represent variations of Tolkien's books that cannot otherwise be found, I recommend them here. Also, I don't include links to booksellers because the information there can also get muddled.
The Essentials
1. The Lord of the Rings. 50th anniversary edition. 2005. paper. ISBN 978-0618640157
This is the edition to get. Forget picking up mass market paperback editions. Instead, you should find your way to this, the most accurate and essential edition of LOTR. Edited by W. Hammond and C. Scull, this edition finally corrects the text of tremendous error, provides corrected maps, and includes a full index. The introduction by D. Anderson tells the sorry history of the publication of the LOTR in the US. This version sets everything right. There are two higher grade bindings of this edition: I prefer the "deluxe edition" (ISBN 978-0544273443) which is better bound than the paper and more easily handled than the most expensive hardbound with slipcase (ISBN 978-0618517657)
2. The Hobbit. Cover by Peter Sis. 2001. Hardbound. ISBN 978-0618150823
There are other versions of the Hobbit available but this is the most readable and the most accessible to you and to younger Hobbits you may know. The 1973 hardbound with slipcase edition (ISBN 9780395177112) includes all of Tolkien's illustrations as well as the realization of his ideas for the cover illustrations. Interested readers of all of Tolkien's illustrations can find them collected in the excellent book The Art of the Hobbit, eds. W. Hammond and C. Skull (ISBN 978-0547928258).
3. The Silmarillion. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. 2nd. ed. Hardbound. ISBN 9780618135042
This is the book that Tolkien wanted to publish but never got to. Hobbits got in the way. Tolkien's unfinished writings on, in, and about Middle Earth exceed but include this fantastic book called the Silmarillion. This volume, edited by Tolkien's son Christopher Tolkien, includes the creation of Middle Earth (the amazing Ainulindale) and the downfall of the human civilization known as Numenor.
4. On Fairy Stories.
While planning a sequel to The Hobbit, Tolkien was invited to give a lecture about fairy stories. This essay was the result. It represents a significant reflection on aesthetics, ethics, and theology. It is essential to Tolkien. I love this essay so much it almost eclipses my love of the other writings!
The problem is that the best edition of this is unavailable in the US. Tree and Leaf (ISBN 9780007105045) contains the essay as well as the parallel poem on faerie "Mythopoeia." Older editions of this book can be found used but they are scarce. The cheapest way to get the essay is in the mass market paperback The Tolkien Reader (ISBN 9780345345066). You may find a better version of it included in the collection Tales from the Perilous Realm, 2008 (ISBN 9780547154114).
The Needful
5. History of Middle Earth (12 vols) and Unfinished Tales. Various editions.
You should only start reading these things until after you have read the appendices to LOTR and the entire Silmarillion. The History of Middle Earth and Unfinished Tales are collections of various manuscripts and writings of Tolkien some of which Christopher Tolkien edited to create the Silmarillion. This is hard to wade through but worth every effort.
6. Artist & Illustrator, eds. W. Hammond and C. Skull. 2000. Paper. ISBN 978-0618083619.
A fine collection of Tolkien's art that either land the ground for his writing or was intended to accompany it. Essential to pondering the interaction of his text and visual art.
7. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, ed. H. Carpenter. 2001. Paper. ISBN 9780618056996
Reflections on the Hobbits, their economy of birthdays, among discussions of evil, the relationships of characters, theological speculation, and ordinary human laments make these letters indispensable for any reader of Tolkien.
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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| "The Hill of the Slain" by Ted Nasmith |
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| Map of Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkien |
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| Eru Ilúvatar |
Eru Ilúvatar
http://www.bythegods.net/post/19894572185
Alright! Today is Tolkien Day, so I’m gonna tell you all about Ilúvatar, the creative force/god analogue in the Lord of the Rings universe. In the Silmarillion, which is a compilation of ancient histories by the Elves, the creation of that world is written, as they understand it.
In the timeless void before the thought of life of any sort existed, Ilúvatar, the One, dwelt alone. He brought into being, through his thought, the Ainur: a countless multitude of angelic spirits. He gave them all free will and a wide range of abilities and talents, but their first great accomplishment was their music. Iluvatar bade the Ainur to make three great themes of music, and after it was performed, they discovered that their song contained an image of the world that was yet to be, as well as the fate of that world unfolding. This was called the Ainulindalë, or the Music of the Ainur.
With a word, Iluvatar commanded the world to be, and it was formed, though it was a chaos of swirling elements. Iluvatar encouraged those of the Ainur who were willing to go down into the world and help form it as they saw in the music, and many did. They each had their own loves, and gave thought to different areas of the world. Melkor, the mightiest of the Ainur, had created dischord in the Music, and went down into the world to destroy the work of the other Ainur, desiring to be its master. Ilúvatar had spoken to the Ainur, however, saying:
"Behold your Music! This is your minstrelsy; and each of you shall find contained herein, amid the design that I set before you, all those things which it may seem that he himself devised or added. And thou, Melkor, wilt discover all the secret thoughts of thy mind, and wilt percieve that they are but a part of the whole and tributary to its glory."
At this point, Ilúvatar handed over the kingship of Arda (the world) to Manwë, the greatest of the Ainur spirits who went down into the world, save Melkor. He became the chief of the Valar: fourteen of the greatest Ainur who formed and oversaw the greatest portions of the world. Ilúvatar would not intervene until countless years later, after the Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men) had awoken.
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| Composite Map of Arda throughout the Ages |
Side Projects - from Binding Obsession
http://bindingobsession.com/misc/
Tolkien graphics
The works of J.R.R. Tolkien are some of my favorites, but they can be a little difficult to get through at times. Inspired by my own forgetfulness and confusion, these visual aids are intended as basic references of names and terms appearing in Tolkien’s works, including (but not limited to) The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. Creating these has been a useful exercise for me, and I hope they will prove helpful to others, as well. Comments and corrections (preferably with citations of sources) are most welcome; these graphics have been researched, but only with materials I have on hand.
The Silmarillion: Overview
This graphic looks at some of the major players in Tolkien’s Silmarillion and attempts to organize them in such a way that makes their relationship to each other clear. The mythic beings are at the top, and Middle Earth’s inhabitants below.
There are plenty of Lord of the Rings family trees, but I haven’t seen one for the Half-elven line that made it readily apparent which individuals are Elves, which are Half-elves, and which are men. That’s exactly what I’ve attempted to accomplish here. Note that this is not a complete family tree; only Half-elves and their direct ancestors are included.
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| http://bindingobsession.com/misc/ |
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| "Yavanna" - ladyelleth.deviantart.com |
Yavanna [jaˈvanna] is Queen of the Earth and Giver of Fruits, spouse of Aulë, also called Kementári [kemenˈtaːri]. She created the Two Trees, and is responsible for the kelvar (animals) and olvar (plants). It was she who requested the creation of the Ents, as she feared for the safety of the trees once her husband had created the Dwarves. The Two Lamps are created by Aulë at Yavanna's request, and their light germinates the seeds that she had planted. Following the destruction of the Two Lamps by Melkor and the withdrawal of the Valar to Aman, Yavanna sang into being the Two Trees of Valinor.
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| "The Kindler" - ladyelleth.deviantart.com |
The History of MiddleEarth -
Archive:
365 Days of Middle-earth
365 Days of Middle-earth
Day 45: The Two Trees of Valinor
and the Line of the White Trees
The Two Trees, White Telperion and Laurelin the Golden, were one of the greatest creations of the Valar. Also called the Two Trees of the Valar, the Trees of Valinor, the Trees of Silver and Gold, and the White Tree and Golden Tree.
Telperion
Q. ‘Silver–’ - Telperion (also called White Telperion, the White Tree, Ninquelótë, Silpion and other names, and Eldest of Trees) was the elder of the two trees, with leaves dark green above, and bright silver below, and a dew of light dripping from them. The stars of Varda were made from the dews of Telperion, and the Moon from his last silver flower. Galathilion and the line of the White Trees were images of Telperion, as was Turgon’s Belthil. It has been said that at the End, Telperion will reappear.
Laurelin
Q. ‘Gold-song’ - Laurelin (also called Culúrien, Malinalda, the Golden Tree, the Tree of Gold, and other names) was the younger of the Two Trees, with bright green leaves edged with gold, golden-yellow horn-shaped flowers, and her dew a golden rain.
History of the Trees
The Two Trees were created Yavanna’s song of power and the tears of Nienna, and were born when Valinor was fully established, growing on Ezellohar, outside the western gates of Valmar. Their light reached far, illuminating Valinor, Eldamar, and Tol Eressëa. Varda collected their dews in great vats known as the Wells of Varda.
They inspired reverence and wonder in the Eldar, as the Silmarils of Fëanor, greatest creation of the Children of Ilúvatar, captured the light of the trees. Melkor coveted this light, and with the help of Ungoliant, he poisoned the trees, drained the Wells, and stole the Silmarils. While Yavanna and Nienna could not heal the trees, their last fruit and flower were taken by the Valar and fashioned into the Moon and Sun.
Galathilion and the line of the White Trees
S. ‘Tree-moon white’ - Galathilion (also called the White Tree, the Tree of Silver, the Tree of the High Elves, the Tree of Túna, and the Tree of Tirion) was the White Tree of the Eldar, made by Yavanna in the image of Telperion, though it did not shine. It produced many seedlings, one of them being Celeborn, which grew in Tol Eressëa and produced the seedlings of Nimloth.
Nimloth
S. ‘White blossom’ - Nimloth (also called Nimloth the Fair) was the White Tree of Númenor, given to Elros by the Eldar of Tol Eressëa. It grew in the King’s Court, but following the reign of Ar-Gimilzôr, the tree was unattended to and began to decline, until it was cut down by Ar-Pharazôn (at Sauron’s request) and burned on the altar of his Temple. Isildur, however, had stolen a single fruit of Nimloth, which bore the White Tree of Gondor, thus preserving the line of the White Trees.
First White Tree of Gondor
This tree, borne from a single fruit of Nimloth, which Isildur had recovered before the White Tree was destroyed, was planted in Minas Ithil before the house of Isildur. When Sauron returned to Middle-earth, he launched an attack on Minas Ithil, and destroyed the White Tree.
Second White Tree
When Isildur escaped the capture of Minas Ithil, he took with him a sapling of the White Tree, and planted it in the citadel courtyard of Minas Arnor, in memory of his slain brother Anárion. This tree died in 1636 during the Great Plague.
Third White Tree
King Tarondor planted another sapling in TA 1640. This tree lasted until the year 2872. By then, no seedling of the tree could be found, as it had rarely flowered after the line of the Kings had failed. So it was left standing until the return of the King.
Fourth White Tree
After Aragorn became King, he discovered a sapling of the White Tree on the slopes of Mindolluin, which he planted in the Court of the Fountain. The dead tree was placed in the Tombs of the King, and by June of TA 3019, the new sapling was already in blossom.
References
Fisher, M. (2008). Two Trees of Valinor. In Encyclopedia of Arda. Retrieved from http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/t/twotrees.html
Foster, R. (2001). In The complete guide to middle-earth: from the hobbit through the lord of the rings and beyond. New York: Del Rey.
