The Silmarillion

(26/08/22) On a whim, I decided to do a re-read before I see Rings of Power on Wednesday. A prologue of sorts!

One aspect that has stood out to me more and more over the last few years is how words have an inherent power in Tolkien's legendarium. The entire world is sang into existence, lasting echoes of which can be heard in the waters of the world and guides the elves home westward. An oath undertaken in fury by Fëanor and his seven sons shapes the First Age and the fate of the elves. Thousands of years later, a certain timid but resolute halfling raises his “small voice” and speaks before the greatest powers of the Third Age: “I will take the ring [to Mordor], though I do not know the way.” Curses, spells and oaths are very real, the most ancient of magic, and the most powerful.

The Silmarillion is split into multiple parts. There is the Ainulindalë, detailing the creation of the world through music. The Valaquenta explores the roles and relationships of the Valar, the (small g) gods of this land when it was so young the sun and the moon did not yet exist. Akallabêth takes readers to the tumultuous Second Age and reveals the growing shadow of Sauron and the rise and fall of the island nation of Númenor, the greatest kingdom of men the world has ever seen (and will be part of the upcoming Rings of Power TV series). The final section titled Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age covers, as you might expect, those infamous three rings for elves, nine for mortal men, seven for dwarves and the One to rule them all, and the downfall of The Lord of the Rings.

The main chunk, and for many the main draw, is dedicated to the Quenta Silmarillion proper, the story of the struggle of the firstborn Elves and men against the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. It sits between the Valaquenta and Akallabêth, and tells of the awakening of the elves under the stars, their journey west to Valinor, and the crafting of the Silmarils, three beautiful jewels that have captured inside them the most radiant source of light within the world. When the Silmarils are stolen by the Morgoth, Fëanor, the jewels' creator, and his sons swear a terrible oath to pursue and take them back at any lengths.

Exiled by the Valar, Tolkien relays an account of the terrible consequences of that oath, from the initial rebellion against the gods and the first acts of bloodshed between elves, to the downfall of Morgoth, the doom of the House of Fëanor and the blood soaked end to the First Age. It features the tales of Lúthien, the elf maiden who fell in love with a mortal man and had a voice so beautiful she moved the Lord of the Dead to pity, and the tragic tale of Túrin Turambar, the child of Húrin who is unable to escape the curse spoken upon his family by Morgoth. All the while, the war for the Silmarils rages on. We know from the start how it will end. Fëanor and his children can never undo the oath they swore, nor undo the damage they wreak in fulfilling it.

“Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. [...] The Valar have spoken.”

Yes, this novel is extremely dense. It is, however, nowhere near as difficult as people have likely led you to believe. It is also incredibly beautiful. Tolkien spent his entire life working on it (first drafts written in the First World War) and never finished it in a way that satisfied him before he died. This edition was put together by his son Christopher, though other drafts and versions can be found in the 12 volume History of Middle-earth series, as well as each of the ‘Great Tales' getting their own book: The Children of Húrin (2007), Beren and Lúthien (2017) and The Fall of Gondolin (2018), also all edited by Christopher.

The Silmarillion is the only place the narrative of the First Age can be read in the format of a full novel. And despite the fact it is technically unfinished, it is truly Tolkien's magnum opus. A dazzling work of imagination, a tragedy, an adventure story and a world mythology all rolled into one. It is a book that leaves me in awe.