HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Morgoth's Ring'' (1993) is the tenth volume of
Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English and naturalised French academic editor and writer. The son of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher edited 24 volumes based on his father's P ...
's 12-volume series ''
The History of Middle-earth ''The History of Middle-earth'' is a 12-volume series of books published between 1983 and 1996 by George Allen & Unwin in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin in the US. They collect and analyse much of J. R. R. Tolkien' ...
'' in which he analyses the unpublished manuscripts of his father
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
. It contains "The Annals of Aman" which presents the history of Arda with year-by-year entries like real-world
annals Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...
, and "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" which presents a discussion of death and immortality between an Elf and a human. Reviewers welcomed the volume, noting that it reveals Tolkien exploring hard questions about his mythology, and struggling to reconcile them, to the extent that he unsuccessfully attempts a destructive reworking of the entire cosmology of Arda. The issues covered include death, immortality, and the extent to which Tolkien embodied Christianity in Middle-earth; evil and the origin of Orcs; and Tolkien's attempts to replace his mythology with "feigned history".


Book


Contents

''Morgoth's Ring'' presents source materials and editorial commentary on the following: * Later (1951) revisions of ''The Silmarillion'', showing Tolkien's drastic revisiting and rewriting of his legends. * "The Annals of Aman" — the history of the world from the entry of the
Valar The Valar (; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. They are "angelic powers" or "gods" subordinate to the one God ( Eru Ilúvatar). The '' Ainulindalë'' describes how some of the Ainur choose to enter the ...
into Arda until the Hiding of Valinor after the revolt and exile of the
Noldor In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor (also spelled Ñoldor, meaning ''those with knowledge'' in his constructed language Quenya) are a kindred of Elves who migrate west to the blessed realm of Valinor from the continent of Middle-earth ...
. It is written in the form of year-by-year entries of varying lengths, much like real-world
annal Annals (, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between annals and histo ...
s. Tolkien attributes the work to the Noldorin lore-master and linguist Rúmil of Tirion. There are three extant versions of the text, including a carefully emended manuscript, a typescript and its carbon copy, each featuring different corrections and notes, and a typescript of the earlier sections of the text that deviates from the previous typescript. Christopher Tolkien surmises that the first typescript was composed in 1958. According to the second typescript, ''The Annals of Aman'' were remembered by the Noldorin Exiles in Middle-earth, who transmitted their knowledge to the Men of
Númenor Númenor, also called Elenna-nórë or Westernesse, is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was the kingdom occupying a large island to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was the greatest civil ...
, whence it eventually reached Arnor and
Gondor Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', '' The Return of the King'', is largel ...
. A reworking of the earlier " Annals of Valinor" and connected closely with the narrative of the incomplete 1937 '' Quenta Silmarillion'', "The Annals of Aman" moves from a compressed narrative style to a fuller accounting of the events of the chronology. * "Laws and Customs among the Eldar" — several essays and legends on the Eldar (
Elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...
), particularly their mating and naming customs, and their conceptions of the ''fëa'' (soul) and ''hröa'' (body). * "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" — A discussion between two characters, Finrod Felagund, an Elven king, and Andreth, a mortal woman, about the nature of death and immortality, and the ways in which Elves and
Men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...
suffer their different sorrows; and about the healing of the world and the fear of death by the hope of the coming of Eru Iluvatar into Middle-earth. * "Tale of Adanel" — the Middle-earth version of the Fall, attached to "Athrabeth". * "Myths Transformed" — several fragments on Morgoth, Sauron, and the problem of the origin of the Orcs. This section, which proposes inconsistent solutions to the problem, is frequently cited in discussions of
Tolkien's legendarium Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of '' The Silma ...
, and represents the author's later-evolved views on some central topics.


Title and inscription

The title of this volume comes from a statement in one of Tolkien's essays: "Just as
Sauron Sauron () is the title character and the main antagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor. He has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middle-earth, using the power of the One Ring, which he ...
concentrated his power in the
One Ring The One Ring, also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane, is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story '' The Hobbit'' (1937) as a magic ring that grants the ...
,
Morgoth Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Vala (Middle-earth), Valar and the primary antagonist of Tolkien's legendarium, the mythic epic published in parts as ''The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', ...
dispersed his power into the very matter of Arda, thus the whole of
Middle-earth Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
was Morgoth's Ring". The title page of each volume of ''The History of Middle-earth'' displays an inscription in the Fëanorian characters (
Tengwar The Tengwar () script is an artificial script, one of Tolkien's scripts, several scripts created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Within the context of Tolkien's fictional world, the Tengwar were invented by the ...
, an alphabet devised by Tolkien for High-elven), written by Christopher Tolkien and describing the contents of the book. The inscription in Volume X reads: "In this book are given many of the later writings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien concerning the history of the Elder Days from the Music of the Ainur to the Hiding of Valinor; here much is told of the Sun and Moon; of the immortal Eldar and the death of the Atani; of the beginning of the Orcs and of the evil power of
Melkor Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Valar and the primary antagonist of Tolkien's legendarium, the mythic epic published in parts as '' The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', '' Beren and Lúthi ...
, the Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World."


Reception


Death, immortality, and Christianity

Reviewing the book for ''
Mythlore ''Mythlore'' is a biannual (originally quarterly) peer-reviewed academic journal founded by Glen GoodKnight and published by the Mythopoeic Society. Although it publishes articles that explore the genres of myth and fantasy in general, special a ...
'', Glen GoodKnight wrote that in it, Christopher Tolkien leads the reader into "new third phase of his father's concept of Middle-earth after the writing of ''The Lord of the Rings'' — his recasting and adding to the mythos." In his view, the book is a major "earthquake" bringing "astounding revelations" about Tolkien's development of Middle-earth. One is the "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" (The Debate of Finrod and Andreth), meant to be the last item in ''The Silmarillion's'' appendix; it presents opinions of death held by Men and Elves. Andreth complains of how unfair Man's short life is, believing death to be imposed by
Morgoth Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Vala (Middle-earth), Valar and the primary antagonist of Tolkien's legendarium, the mythic epic published in parts as ''The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', ...
, while Finrod speaks of hope, and that he believes human's death to be given by Eru, and not imposed by Morgoth. Tolkien comments on the passage that "Finrod has already guessed that the redemptive function was originally specially assigned to Men", leading GoodKnight to observe that Tolkien here aligns "his mythology very closely to his faith and theological belief in the primary world." In her 2008 '' The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology'', Elizabeth Whittingham calls the ''Athrabeth'' the nearest that Tolkien got to
Christian theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...
anywhere in his legendarium. Further, she notes, Glorfindel is the only Elf who is reincarnated, while he abandoned the concept everywhere else. According to Deidre Dawson, who reviewed her book, this suggests that Tolkien kept the "possibility" of this non-Christian concept to allow his Elves to be immortal.


Evil and the origin of Orcs

Tolkien had a long-standing and unresolved challenge with the origin of Orcs, whether they were "irredeemably evil" (if derived from evil) or as Tolkien here states, bred from Men (who would be redeemable). Amelia Rutledge writes that "
theodicy In the philosophy of religion, a theodicy (; meaning 'vindication of God', from Ancient Greek θεός ''theos'', "god" and δίκη ''dikē'', "justice") is an argument that attempts to resolve the problem of evil that arises when all powe ...
, the study of justice and of the nature of evil" is the "central concern" of ''Morgoth's Ring''. David Bratman, in '' Mythprint'', finds interesting Tolkien's explanation that unlike Sauron, Morgoth's evil could not be fully purged from the world, because he had spread himself all through its physical matter. All in all, Bratman writes, the philosophical writings in the volume are "unlike almost anything else" in ''History of Middle-earth'', as "what they most resemble is some of the long self-explanatory letters that Tolkien wrote to readers in the late 1950s".


"Feigned history" versus mythology

Noad writes that Tolkien was "virtually attempting a estructivereinvention of his mythology", including Arda's cosmology, "Elvish reincarnation, the origins of Orcs, and the powers of Morgoth." Noad comments that the attempt to rework the cosmology was an "alarming and destructive débâcle" that would effectively had demythologised his whole mythology, but that Tolkien broadly succeeded in his other attempted problem resolutions. Dawson describes the situation as Tolkien's "steady movement away from the archetypes and structures of ancient pagan myths, towards a mythology for the modern era which includes more elements inspired by biblical texts," as seen in ''Morgoth's Ring''. Bratman comments that the reader enters the "Myths Transformed" section at their peril, "for here you will see the author probing the absolute rock-bottom theoretical base of his subcreation." The material reveals, too, why Tolkien could not complete ''The Silmarillion'', as he grappled with his changing view of the acceptability of a mythology as against a "feigned history". The later volume '' The Nature of Middle-earth'' presents more of Tolkien's attempts to resolve the dilemma.


Structure of ''The Silmarillion''

GoodKnight writes that the materials in ''Morgoth's Ring'' could have radically changed ''The Silmarillion'', had Tolkien lived to finish it "to his satisfaction". Charles Noad, reviewing ''Morgoth's Ring'' in '' Mallorn'', approves of Tolkien's intention to give his planned ''The Silmarillion'' shape with the ''Athrabeth'' at the end, with the " Great Tales" printed in full as appendices to the text, a structure that would in his view have been a great improvement. He praises Christopher Tolkien for his "clarity of exposition ... clothed in expressive grace".


See also

* History of Arda


Notes


References

{{Middle-earth Middle-earth books 1993 books *10