Silmarillion: how was it born?

[Fat middle]

i know that the published Sil is not 100% original from JRRT.

in HOME appears a lot of alternative material (among other stories) that could be used in the Sil but was refused by Chris judging them imperfect or not being the "last version" of each story.

my question is: and what about the selected material? i mean: Chris chose some versions and unified the style, solved contradictions, reduced and completed those tales to give us a "finished" book. (and a wonderful one if i may say ;))

so, which were his "corrections" and "additions"? does he explain this point in any of the HOME books?

thanks

[ringbearer]

I could not enjoy "The Silmarillion" as much...too bad Tolkien (the father) "had sailed to the West"! Christopher is a poor substitute in literary style. He just took his father's notes and wrote an essay! I think we would have all enjoyed it much more, if he just would have published his father's notes. No ne could have done better, though, except his father. I do not think J.R.R intended to publish the "Sil".

[Curandir]

I do think that JRR wanted to write a "history" of Middle Earth. Although Christopher took what I beleive a different tack then what his father would have. I beleive that JRR was setting himself up for another series simular to LOTR.

[Erewe]

If I'm not mistaken, according to his biography, Tolkien tried several times to publish the Silmarillion, but it just never happened because he was too busy. I just wish he would have finished it completely before he died. As I'm reading it, I've been noticing those inconsistencies CT mentions in the foreword.

--Erewë

[Sister Golden Hair]

I think, considering the compexity of the task, that CT did a fantastic job. I understand that much of the work is J.R.R.'s. Christopher worked from a incomplete manuscript and notes, many of which were hurried scribbles and were illegible. This, I believe is how the mistake was made involving the parentage of Orodreth, which CT admitted to, but would not rewrite the Silmarillion. All in all, I think it came out to be a beautiful story and had it not been published, the world would have been deprived of a masterpiece.

[Fat middle]

Can anybody tell me what's about "The War of the Jewels"? Does it contains material pertaining to this question?

[ringbearer]

Yes! The Silmaril are the "Jewels".

[Ñólendil]

Silmarilli, yeah. The War of the Jewels is the history of the creation of the Later Silmarillion (Part II). It also contains some writings not intended to be published in The Silmarillion (like the Maeglin work and The Wanderings of Húrin, which were nonetheless used after a fashion in the published Silmarillion). I believe Tolkien suggested the Maeglin story be inserted into the FG (=Fall of Gondolin, Of Tuor and Fall of Gondolin, published in Unfinished Tales with modified name). I imagine it would have been a flash back of Lómion's and/or Turucáno's (Maeglin's and/or Turgon's).

My 'favourite' writing in there is Quendi and Eldar, a linguistic essay dealing with words used by and names belonging to the various Elven kindreds. Also what Christopher believes to be all we will ever know about Valarin (the language of the Valar) is to be found there, not to mention the only account (in Elvish fairy tale form) of the Awakening of the first Elves (Mina, Tata and Enel).

I sometimes wonder whether we would have ever seen the Lord of the Rings published in its author's lifetime had the Silmarillion been published first. I bet we'd see the Silmarillion in all its splendour and glory, much greater than what has actually been published, with Appendices from the author and all that, the whole deal. And the rest of his life Tolkien would have worked on the sequel, never giving up hope for it but never bringing it to a fixed form. Then Christopher Tolkien would have a go, and nobly bring it together so we can all have a look. Probably the material we've seen in The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, Sauron Defeated and the first part of the Peoples of Middle-earth in the History of Middle-earth series would be the texts from which Christopher would have had to put together a Lord of the Rings.

[Fat middle]

thanks for the input Inoldonil. TWOTJ has not been published yet in Spanish but it seems very attractive...

but i'm not sure to agree with you. i woudn't change the LOTR i've read for a better Sil. i actually love Sil as it is. well, i'd rather it would include some more appendixes (the Athrabeth for sure would be one of them) but i don't think the core story would have been much different...

what would you think we can have won if JRRT had time to finish it?

[Ñólendil]

The overall general 'storyline' of the whole work would not have changed, but the story you read would have. Of course we prefer the Lord of the Rings as we have it now to a truly completed and revised Silmarillion. The Lord of the Rings is tangible, we know what we're getting. You have not read, maybe, the HoMe books I named off (containing the history of how the Lord of the Rings was made). I haven't read all of it, but I've read enough to know the finished version is quite obviously (!!) better. Of course it would be.

This then, is the comparison. The finished, the truly finished Silmarillion would have been as different, revised and improved from its drafts, essays, unfinished and/or outdated (old mythological) writings as The Lord of the Rings is from its own. Had the Silmarillion been completed, but not so the Lord of the Rings, Christopher Tolkien would have had to put a Treebeard chapter together from what JRR Tolkien said 'wrote itself'. But it wouldn't have written itself, and poor CT would have had to do something with hardly anything. The Tree-giant would have told Pippin and Merry that had he not heard their voices, he would have just beat them with his club, and then Christopher would have had a go at writing it.

I like the Silmarillion too. I love the published Silmarillion. But we don't know another one. Oh, we know the essays and other things that have been published in The History of Middle-earth, but we naturally don't know the Silmarillion as it would have been. It would have been greater, a classic equal to the Lord of the Rings in all aspects (which would not have been completed), an (arguably) flawless masterpiece of a heroic romance. It would have taken the place the Lord of the Rings has. And then you would tell me: I wouldn't change the Sil I've read for a better LOTR. I actually love the LOTR as it is. Well, I'd rather it would include some more Appendices (Durin's Folk for sure would be one of them), but I don't think the core story would have been much different.

What do you think we could have won if JRRT had time to finish it?

[Ñólendil]

Yesterday I read something in Morgoth's Ring that changed my mind about this. I hope to put it here tomorrow :)