The Silmarillion | Suite101.com

Is your Canon on the loose?
An inquiry into how to establish a canon for Tolkien discussions, which inevitably leads to the question of how or whether the Silmarillion can or should be rewritten, and by whom.
silmarillion • j.r.r. tolkien • christopher tolkien • quenta silmarillion • the lord of the rings

Browsing the Compleat Middle-Earth Library
The study of J.R.R. Tolkien's life and works is an ever-expanding field. Here is a road-map for readers new and old to help them navigate their way through the winding paths of Tolkiendom.
j.r.r. tolkien • the history of middle-earth • the lord of the rings • the hobbit • the new shadow

A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 3
Part three of a three-part article examining the causes and events of the War of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. This section includes the end notes and bibliography of sources.
aule • valinor • war of the last alliance of elves and men • concerning galadriel and celeborn • unfinished tales

The Over-the-Bree-Hill Gang Rides Again
The problem with creating any sequel to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is that you can't bring in a new Dark Lord. A successor to Sauron invalidates the whole mythology.
sauron • morgoth • dark lord • gandalf • lord of the rings

Gil-galad was an Elven-king...
A discussion of Gil-galad's history and genealogy, and the importance of The Silmarillion in studying Gil-galad.
gil-galad • elendil • numenor • finwe • lindon

In Feanor's Footsteps
Could Tolkien have fully visualized the War of Wrath as he provided details for so many other events, or was it necessarily a legend about which little could or should be known?
war of wrath • host of valinor • eonwe • winged dragons • flying dragons

Does Barliman Have a Beard? And Other Important Fannish Issues
Some of Middle-earth's greatest conflicts are fought among the fans and critics of J.R.R. Tolkien. Who is right? Who is wrong? What will be the next great debate? And who will turn up that long-desired recipe for lembas?
j.r.r. tolkien • christopher tolkien • the lord of the rings • the hobbit • the silmarillion

Lonely Wanderers and the Tales That Almost Were
The story of Earendil changed considerably through the years of Tolkien's life. In a similar fashion, the history of the Lords of Dol Amroth also underwent changes. The promise of both stories was thus never fully achieved.
earendil • the book of lost tales • imrazor the numenorean • mithrellas • nimrodel

Elvish Baby Names
Elvish names are becoming increasingly popular for babies. This list describes the meanings and characters behind several beautiful Elf names from LOTR.
elvish baby names • elven names • elvish names • female elvish characters • list of tolkien elves

Have you been to Valinor lately?
An examination of the deeper Valinorean mythology which pervaded Tolkien's works. Why do so many critics miss the connections? What was Tolkien really trying to do, if not to convey some deeper meaning or to preserve some ancient storyline?
valinor • tom shippey • the lord of the rings • smith of wootton major • the adventures of tom bombadil

Middle-earth Connections: Lore of the Rings
A detailed examination of the motivations behind the Elves' creaion of the Rings of Power, and some speculations on how the Rings may have been used.
rings of power • sauron • eregion • gil-galad • tolkien

Elves By the Numbers
How many Noldor reached Aman? How many returned to Middle-earth? These questions have annoyed Tolkien fans for years. But though we cannot know what J.R.R. Tolkien intended, we can make some educated guestimates.
j.r.r. tolkien • christopher tolkien • the lord of the rings • the history of middle-earth • the peoples of middle-earth

Frodo Lives! The Graffiti of Middle-Earth
There must have been graffiti in Middle-Earth. Since graffiti occurs in almost every ancient civilization, I do not see any reason why it did not occur in the realms of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. Uh-oh. . .the Dark Lord himself has passed me some modest examples. . .
frodo • tolkien • lord of the rings • silmarillion • graffiti

Guess Who's Coming to the Disaster
Tolkien is often criticised for not including more romance in The Lord of the Rings. But the romance is scattered throughout his long pseudo-history, and the fate of Middle-earth was more than once decided by a love story.
j.r.r. tolkien • middle-earth • the lord of the rings • the hobbit • the silmarillion

The Wars of the Glorfindels
Glorfindel has been the subject of much curiosity and discussion through the years despite how little J.R.R. Tolkien actually told us about this character. And yet it wasn't always that way....
glorfindel • gondolin • turgon • noldor • vanyar

Et Tu, Faramir?
Tolkien's vivid mythology captures the imagination with a careful retelling of supposedly ancient stories which were long forgotten. But just exactly what were the imaginary sources for Tolkien's imaginary sources? Middle-earth's undiscovered literature evokes a wheels-within-wheels mystique, much as real literature draws upon older sources to build up its own power and breadth.
epic of gilgamesh • indo-european • tyr • zeus • julius caesar

Introducing &quot;Ancanar&quot;, A Mid-Summer's Film Fantasy
A discussion of the true importance to the world of Tolkien fandom of Elemental Films' recently announced 'Ancanar' project.
elemental films • ivanhoe • sir walter scott • swiss family robinson • the lord of the rings

Unwritten Tales of Love and War in Middle-Earth
Both the First Age and the Third Age are highlighted by tales of love and tragedy. Yet the Second Age reveals only pieces of what might have been another enchanting cycle of stories of love, heroism, and the long struggle against evil.
second age • first age • third age • middle-earth • elrond

Female Elvish Names and Meanings
Elf names have become increasingly popular for babies since Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings was made into a film trilogy. Here are some beautiful Middle-Earth names and
female elf names • elvish baby names • lotr names • female elves in lotr • tolkien names

Tolkien's Time Machine: When Literary Worlds Collide
Most readers agree that The Lord of the Rings is a unique book. And though J.R.R. Tolkien is credited with helping launch the modern fantasy literary genre, there are no other books which approach LoTR in quality and perfection. Why? Could it be that Tolkien was pursuing a goal which no one else has yet attempted?
the lord of the rings • j.r.r. tolkien • middle-earth • medieval romand • heroic romance

Looking beyond Peter Jackson to...J.R.R. Tolkien
A speculation on the impact that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies will have on the fantasy film industry, and the impact Tolkien may have on the 21st century.
j.r.r. tolkien • christopher tolkien • peter jackson • the lord of the rings • the hobbit

Before the Numenoreans Came
What was Eriador like in the years between the departure of the Numenoreans over Sea and their eventual return? We can extrapolate a few ideas based on things J.R.R. Tolkien said concerning the history of the Dunedain.
gil-galad • elrond • lindon • beleriand • cirdan

Copyright Laws Play a Role in The Hobbit Movie
The Tolkien Trust is a prime example of how an author can use copyright laws to protect future assets gained from published novels.
the hobbit movie • the hobbit • the lord of the rings • lord of the rings movie • copyright laws

Bingo Baggins, Frodo Took and a Hobbit in Wooden Shoes
Wherein the author speaks of Tolkien's decades-long struggle in writing his masterpiece, 'The Lord of the Rings'.
tolkien • anduin • numenor • hobbit • baggins

The Middle-earth Mysteries
A brief discussion of some of the unanswerable questions about Middle-earth's peoples, creatures, and history.
ents • spiders • dunedain • woses • druedain

Biblical Creation Is a True Myth
Genesis 1-3, the story of creation, is not about debates over science and evolution. It is a grand, meaning-making mythology, defining and shaping human life.
creation vs. evolution • is genesis literal • is the bible true • christian mythmaking • the meaning of life

Choosing a Baby Name from Tolkien
JRR Tolkien has inspired a number of parents to call their babies Galadriel and Arwen. Here are some Professor-esque alternatives for Middle-Earth baby names.
baby names tolkien • baby names lotr • baby names lord of the rings • choosing tolkien baby names • elvish names

The Breaking of the One Ring
This is Part 1 of an examination of the meaning of the One Ring in Tolkien's trilogy.
mythology • fantasy • tolkien • middle-earth • psychology

The Breaking of the One Ring-Part 2
This the concluding part of the exploration of the meaning of the ring of power in The Lord of the Rings.
fantasy • tolkien • psychology • transitional object • dreams

Lord of the Rings Homeschooling Art Projects
Tolkien's LOTR is rich with imagery and iconography. Use his maps of Middle-Earth, heraldic symbols and Elvish script for a number of homeschooling art projects.
tolkien projects • art project ideas • lotr • tolkien artist • middle-earth

Music Inspired by The Lord of the Rings
Fans of JRR Tolkien can enjoy a number of musical renditions of poetry found in Tolkien's works, as well as songs and music inspired by the LOTR books.
lord of the rings music • lotr soundtrack • tolkien music • tolkien poems • lord of the rings musical

Reading List: Fall & Winter 2009 – 2010
When the weather outside begins to cool off for the year, and the next rain or snow storm begins to set in, it is nice to have a good book list to curl up with.
book • books • lists • fiction • reading

The Quests of Middle-earth
A look at Tolkien's use of quests in his stories, long and short, and of how role-playing games and more recent fantasy stories have departed from Tolkien's ideas.
quest • gilgamesh • j.r.r. tolkien • the lord of the rings • fellowship

The Sauron Strategies: Footsteps into Failure
The first of two articles examining Sauron's strategies and objectives. In the Second Age, Sauron proved to be flexible and resilient, but he consistently underestimated his enemies' abilities and resources.
sauron • elendil • anardil • numenor • of the rings of power and the third age

There Are Games Afoot!
How have role-playing games tried to depict Tolkien's world in the past? With the prospect of a new role-playing game based on The Lord of the Rings facing us, are there perhaps better methods of depicting Tolkien's vision while retaining playability?
iron crown enterprises • middle-earth role-playing game • new line cinema • peter jackson • the lord of the rings

Where Have All the Dragons Gone?
J.R.R. Tolkien's first story concerned a "green great dragon", which he was told was not the correct way to speak of dragons. Years later, the author found the means to speak of dragons in a most compelling fashion. But how great were his dragons, and why did they like gold so much?
j.r.r. tolkien • dragon • the hobbit • the lord of the rings • fram

An Elvocentric Habitat
Elves of the forest live in perfect harmony with their environment. But what of progress for civilization? DO elves have rights in light of this?
elves • dwarfs • folklore • legends • myths

A Last and First Book
This summer we asked readers to write an essay telling us what science fiction story is their favorite and why. Here we present the winning piece, written by Charles E. Stebbins, in which he discusses Olaf Stapeldon’s Last and First Men. We hope you enjoy this excellent essay. ,This summer we asked readers to write an essay telling us what science fiction story is their favorite and why. Here we present the winning piece, written by Charles E. Stebbins, in which he discusses Olaf Stapeldon’s Last and First Men. We hope you enjoy this excellent essay.
book and stories by olaf stapeldon • last and first men • articles and essays about science fiction books an • science fiction • sci-fi

Classic Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien
A brief biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, with many links to Web sites on the British author.
j.r.r. tolkien • oxford • linguistics • the hobbit • lord of the rings

East of Anduin: Fangorn's Search for Fenethril - Part I
What happened to the Entwives in "The Lord of the Rings?" Tolkien only tells us that they vanished east of the Anduin River when Sauron blasted that land toward the close of the Second Age of Middle Earth. Let us listen now to Treebeard's tale of lost love and journey in search of his beloved wife, Fenethril.
tolkien • lord of the rings • treebeard • fangor • fenethril

A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 1
First of three parts of a research paper covering the history of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Part one covers events leading up the war.
the last alliance of elves and men • gil-galad • elendil the tall • isildur • anarion

Is That an Orc in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy to Be Evil?
In classic story-teller fashion, J.R.R. Tolkien used good and evil in Middle-earth to reflect human ambitions and failings.
good and evil • orcs • men • elves • nargothrond

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