Home » Reading & Literature » J.R.R. Tolkien » Middle-Earth Revised, Again - Page 8

Middle-Earth Revised, Again - Page 8

© Michael Martinez

Beruthiel's history foreshadows the explosive effort J.R.R. Tolkien put forth only a few years later in an attempt to flesh out the history of the Third Age. The essays from 1969-71 were "the rush at the end". It was almost as if Tolkien sensed that time was finally running out for him, and he felt compelled to jot down everything possible. But he left just enough to both tantalize and almost sate the average reader who wants to know more. Typical reviews of Tolkien's career note with appropriate solemnity that it fell upon his son Christopher's shoulders to bear the burden of bringing a Silmarillion to publication. And that book, while a worthy text in itself, only approximates what might have been, had J.R.R. Tolkien only lived another few years (or however long it would have taken him to finish it). But few people seem to have noticed that he never actually finished working on the first part of the mythology, the sequel to The Hobbit which his publisher was so impatient to receive. Who is to say that, had he lived longer, Tolkien would not have divulged a full history of the events of the Kingdom of Arnor? It might only have required a few questions from interested readers to prompt Tolkien into explaining the history of Bree, who the kings of Cardolan and Rhudaur were, and why their dynasties failed so quickly. And who knows? Maybe one day he would have returned to the New Shadow with a fresh outlook, and might have produced something heroic, if not entirely mythological, beyond the scope of a mere thriller.

The copyright of the article Middle-Earth Revised, Again - Page 8 in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish Middle-Earth Revised, Again - Page 8 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.