The Silmarillion
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The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a book consisting of a collection of myths 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. 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'', tel ...
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Tolkien's Artwork
Tolkien's artwork was a key element of his creativity from the time when he began to write fiction. The philologist and author J. R. R. Tolkien prepared illustrations for his Middle-earth fantasy books, facsimile artefacts, Tolkien's maps, more or less "picturesque" maps, calligraphy, and sketches and paintings from life. Some of his artworks combined several of these elements to support his fiction. In his lifetime, some of his artworks were included in his novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''; others were used on the covers of different editions of these books. Posthumously, collections of his artworks have been published, and academics have begun to evaluate him as an artist as well as an author. Influences Influences on Tolkien's artwork identified by scholars include Japonisme, Art Nouveau, Viking art, Viking design, and William Morris. Japonisme is seen in stylised features like Tolkien's mountains, waves, and Dragon (Middle-earth), dragons. Morris's book ...
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Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic literature. Beleriand also appears in the works ''The Book of Lost Tales'', ''The Children of Húrin'',''The Guardian'', Book Review, John Crace, ''The Children of Húrin'' by JRR Tolkien, 4 April 2007. and in the epic poems of ''The Lays of Beleriand''. Fictional history At the end of the First Age of Middle-earth, Beleriand was broken in the War of Wrath by the angelic beings, the Maiar, against the demonic Morgoth (a Vala fallen into evil). As the inhabitants of Beleriand, including masterless Orcs, beasts of Angband, Elves, Men and Dwarves, fled, much of Beleriand sank in the sea. Only a small section of East Beleriand remained, and was known thereafter as Lindon, in the N ...
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Akallabêth
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. It tells of Eä, a fictional universe that includes the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the once-great region of Beleriand, the sunken 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 "worl ...
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Silmaril
The Silmarils (Quenya in-universe ''pl''. ''Silmarilli'', ''radiance of pure light''J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien, J. R. R., "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part Two" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in ''Vinyar Tengwar'', 46, July 2004, p. 11) are three fictional brilliant jewels in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They were made by the elf Fëanor, capturing the unmarred light of the Two Trees of Valinor. The Silmarils play a central role in J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien's book ''The Silmarillion'', which tells of the creation of Eä (the universe) and the beginning of Elves (Middle-Earth), Elves, Dwarf (Middle-earth), Dwarves and Men. Tolkien, a philologist, derived the idea of Silmarils, jewels that actually contained light, from the Old English word ''Siġelwara''; he concluded that ''Siġel'' meant both ''sun'' and ''jewel''. Scholars have described the Silmarils as embodying elvish pride in their own creation, or a Biblical desire for Tree of knowle ...
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First Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional universe. Time from that point was measured using Valian Years, though the subsequent history of Arda was divided into three time periods using different years, known as the Years of the Lamps, the Years of the Trees and the Years of the Sun. A separate, overlapping chronology divides the history into 'Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar'. The first such Age began with the Awakening of the Elves during the Years of the Trees and continued for the first six centuries of the Years of the Sun. All the subsequent Ages took place during the Years of the Sun. Most Middle-earth stories take place in the first three Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar. Major themes of the history are the divine creation of the world, followed by the splintering of the creat ...
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Quenta Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. It tells of Eä, a fictional universe that includes the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the once-great region of Beleriand, the sunken 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 "worl ...
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Maia (Middle-earth)
The Maiar (singular: Maia) are a fictional class of beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium. Supernatural and angelic, they are "lesser Ainur (Middle-earth), Ainur" who entered the cosmos of ''Middle-earth cosmology, Eä'' in the beginning of time. The name ''Maiar'' is in the Quenya tongue (one of several languages invented by Tolkien, languages constructed by Tolkien) from the Elvish languages, Elvish root maya- "excellent, admirable".J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien, J. R. R., "Words, Phrases and Passages", ''Parma Eldalamberon'' 17, p. 174. Commentators have noted that since the Maiar are immortals but can choose to incarnate fully in Men's bodies on Middle-earth, they can be killed; Tolkien did not explain what happened to them then. Others have observed that their semi-divine nature and the fact that they can be sent on missions to work out the divine purpose makes them much like the angels of Christianity. Description Lesser Ainur Tolkien s ...
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Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar (; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are "angelic powers" or "gods", #154 to Naomi Mitchison, September 1954 subordinate to the one God (Eru Ilúvatar). The Ainulindalë describes how those of the Ainur who chose to enter the World (Arda (Middle-earth), Arda) to complete its material development after its form was determined by the Music of the Ainur are called the Valar, or "the Powers of the World". The Valaquenta indicates that the Elves generally reserved the term "Valar" for the mightiest of these, calling the others the Maia (Middle-earth), Maiar. The Valar are mentioned briefly in ''The Lord of the Rings'' but were developed earlier in material published posthumously in ''The Silmarillion'', ''The History of Middle-earth'', and ''Unfinished Tales''. Scholars have noted that the Valar resemble angels in Christianity but that Tolkien presented them rather more like pagan gods. Their role in providing what the characters on Mid ...
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Valaquenta
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. It tells of Eä, a fictional universe that includes the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the once-great region of Beleriand, the sunken 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 "worl ...
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Ainulindalë
The ''Ainulindalë'' (; "Music of the Ainur") is the creation account in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, published posthumously as the first part of ''The Silmarillion'' in 1977. The "''Ainulindalë''" sets out a central part of the cosmology of Tolkien's legendarium, telling how the Ainur, a class of angelic beings, perform a great music prefiguring the creation of the material universe, ''Eä'', including Middle-Earth. The creator Eru Ilúvatar introduces the theme of the sentient races of Elves and Men, not anticipated by the Ainur, and gives physical being to the prefigured universe. Some of the Ainur decide to enter the physical world to prepare for their arrival, becoming the Valar and Maiar. Tolkien wrote the initial version of the "''Ainulindalë''" between November 1919 and the spring of 1920 as "Music of the Ainur", and then completely rewrote it in 1930. He continued to make further revisions throughout his life. The early version was eventually published by hi ...
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Stanley Unwin (publisher)
Sir Stanley Unwin, KCMG (19 December 1884 – 13 October 1968) was a British publisher, who founded the Allen & Unwin publishing firm. Career Unwin started his career at the publishing firm of his step uncle Thomas Fisher Unwin. In 1914 Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in the firm George Allen and Sons, and established George Allen & Unwin, later to become Allen and Unwin. The company found success publishing authors such as Bertrand Russell, Sidney Webb, R. H. Tawney and Mahatma Gandhi. In the 1930s he published two bestsellers by Lancelot Hogben: ''Mathematics for the Million'' and ''Science for the Citizen''. In 1936, J. R. R. Tolkien submitted ''The Hobbit'' for publication and Unwin paid his ten-year-old son Rayner Unwin a shilling to write a report on the manuscript. Rayner's favourable response prompted Unwin to publish the book. Once the book became a success, Unwin asked Tolkien for a sequel, which eventually became the bestselling ''The Lord of the Ring ...
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The Lord Of The Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'', but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, ''The Lord of the Rings'' is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. The title refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who, in an earlier age, created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power given to Men, Dwarves, and Elves, in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. Although often called a trilogy, the work was intende ...
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