The Mythic Tapestry of Middle-Earth: A Summary of ‘The Silmarillion’ by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion, a collection of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son, Christopher Tolkien, provides the broad backdrop for his more popular stories: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It depicts a saga of gods and heroes, of profound love and heartbreaking treachery, tracing the history of an entire universe from its creation.
Ainulindalë and Valaquenta
The Silmarillion opens with the Ainulindalë, the cosmogonic myth of Tolkien’s universe. It tells of the creation of the Ainur, offspring of the thoughts of Eru Ilúvatar, the one God. The Ainur are spiritual beings who participate in a great music conducted by Ilúvatar, and from this music, the physical world, Eä, and within it, Arda (the world where Middle-earth is), is created.
In the Valaquenta, we learn about the two groups of Ainur who entered the world: the Valar, comparable to gods, and the lesser Maiar. Important figures among the Valar include Manwë, the lord of the Valar, and his spouse Varda, the queen of stars. Melkor, later known as Morgoth, is the greatest of the Valar, but he rebelled against Ilúvatar and brought evil into the world. The Maiar include figures familiar from The Lord of the Rings, such as Gandalf, Saruman, and Sauron.
Quenta Silmarillion
The Quenta Silmarillion is the heart of the book, providing a detailed history of the First Age of Middle-earth. It revolves around the story of the Silmarils, three holy jewels crafted by the Elf Fëanor, which contained the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, the source of light before the creation of the sun and the moon.
Driven by the theft of the Silmarils by Morgoth, Fëanor rebelled against the Valar, led his people, the Noldor, out of the Blessed Realm of Valinor, and started a hopeless war against Morgoth in Middle-earth. Fëanor’s rebellion included a tragic event known as the Kinslaying, where the Noldor killed their fellow Elves, the Teleri, for their ships. The Valar then pronounced the Doom of Mandos, a curse upon the Noldor, predicting their ultimate defeat and misery.
The tales of the First Age are filled with heroism and tragedy. Among these stories is the tale of Beren, a mortal man, and Lúthien, an elf maiden, who fell in love and together faced Morgoth to reclaim a Silmaril, fulfilling a quest set by Lúthien’s father to allow Beren to marry her.
There’s also the story of Túrin Turambar, a human hero cursed by Morgoth, whose life is a tragic sequence of disastrous decisions leading to the deaths of his loved ones. Another prominent story is the Fall of Gondolin, the last great Elven kingdom in Middle-earth, betrayed from within by the treachery of Maeglin, the king’s nephew, and destroyed by Morgoth’s forces.
Grab the book before you move on!!!
Akallabêth
The Akallabêth recounts the history of the Second Age and the rise and fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, given to Men by the Valar as a reward for their help in the war against Morgoth. Númenor was a great civilization, but over time its people grew discontent with their mortality, which they saw as a punishment rather than a gift. Influenced by Sauron, who had been taken captive, the last king of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn, attempted to invade Valinor to achieve immortality, an act that led to the destruction of Númenor. Elendil, his sons Isildur and Anárion, and their followers, who had remained faithful to the Valar, were spared and established the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor in Middle-earth.
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
The final part of The Silmarillion leads directly into the events of The Lord of the Rings. It tells the story of Sauron’s rise to power after Morgoth’s defeat, his deception of the Elves of Eregion (led by Celebrimbor, the grandson of Fëanor), and the forging of the Rings of Power. This section recounts the downfall of Sauron by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age and ends with a brief summary of events of the Third Age, concluding with the defeat of Sauron, the destruction of the One Ring by Frodo Baggins, and the departure of the Elves from Middle-earth.
The Silmarillion is a work of epic breadth, establishing the mythology and history that serve as a foundation for Tolkien’s later works. It is a story of creation and destruction, of love and loss, and of the continual struggle against evil. Its mythological scope and tragic stories give Middle-earth a depth and richness that few fictional worlds have. Through The Silmarillion, we gain a fuller understanding of Tolkien’s grand vision, providing a broader context for the stories of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring.
If you have not grabbed the book, I suggest you do it now :)!
Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!
Eldric
