J.R.R. Tolkien and The Silmarillion

While still a young man, J.R.R. Tolkien set about the task of creating a "mythology for England", a supposed reconstruction of an Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) mythology that could have been passed on by generations of ancient Germanic peoples after they settled in England.

Tolkien's rationalization for creating such a work was that everything the Anglo-Saxon culture had preserved of its ancient beliefs was wiped out by the Norman Conquest of 1066. He wanted to say, "What if the ancient Anglo-Saxon peoples had told stories about ancient heroes and fairy creatures like this?"

Although he could not know what would have populated the original Anglo-Saxon mythology, he knew it would have borne a strong resemblance to the Norse and Germanic mythologies. As a Philologist, Tolkien used his knowledge of ancient Germanic root words to extapolate many concepts.

But though he finished many stories, Tolkien never completed The Book of Lost Tales, as he called his mythology. It would remain for his son Christopher to publish the incomplete work many years after Tolkien's death.

In addition to the mythology for England, J.R.R. Tolkien devised other mythologies. His Silmarillion mythology reused ideas and characters from the mythology for England, but unlike The Book of Lost Tales The Silmarillion was not supposed to be set in a prehistoric England -- nor were any of its peoples supposed to be Anglos, Saxons, and Jutes.

Another mythology Tolkien created was the Numenor or Anadune mythology. Based on Plato's Atlantis story, this mythology attempted to retell the Atlantis story as a science fiction tale.

Children's stories that borrowed elements from The Silmarillion and The Book of Lost Tales included Roverandom and The Hobbit. Some elements also appear in Smith of Wootton Major.

Around 1940 or 1941, Tolkien began tying many of these mythologies and stories together to create an elaborate backstory for The Lord of the Rings. This new mythology is appropriately called "The Middle-earth mythology".

This cycle of stories and narratives tells how the world was created by God, shaped by angels, and fought over by Melkor (strongest and most rebellious of the angels) and the Valar (leaders of the angels who remained loyal to God). The struggle for control of Arda (the "Realm") represents the struggle between Good and Evil, and the Children of God (Men and Elves) become drawn into the war.

The Elves are the Firstborn among the Children. They awaken at a time when the Valar are watchful but have withdrawn from most of the world, leaving it to dwell in a darkness imposed by Melkor. Melkor terrorizes the naive and easily awed Elves until one of the Valar discovers their homeland. The Valar then set out to defeat Melkor and protect the Elves from his influence.

After Melkor is taken prisoner, the Valar invite the Elves to migrate west to Aman, the region where the Valar have made their own home. Three groups of Elves accept the invitation and undertake the Great Journey. The third and largest group, the Teleri, becomes divided into several smaller groups including the Falmari of Aman, the Sindar (Falathrim and Eglath) of Beleriand, and the Nandor. The remainder of The Silmarillion is mostly concerned with fate of the Noldor and Sindar throughout the ages collectively known as the Elder Days.

In Aman, the Noldor become technologists who build a mighty civilization. At the height of their skills and knowledge, they achieve wonders unlike anything the world will see again. But Melkor, who has been imprisoned by the Valar, is released on parole and he plots to take revenge against the Elves, for whose sake his evil realm was overthrown. When Melkor's plan achieves fruition, he steals the three Silmarils -- jewels of surpassing beauty and power made by Prince Fëanor, greatest among the Noldor -- and murders King Finwë.

When Melkor escapes despite the vigilance of the Valar, Fëanor persuades most of the Noldor to follow Melkor back to Middle-earth, where they settle in the northern land of Beleriand. Befriended by the Sindar, the Noldor launch a hopeless war against Melkor's revived kingdom. For several hundred years the Elves are largely successful, but they fail to take either Melkor or the Silmarils. One by one, however, Fëanor and the other princes and princesses who led the Noldor into exile are slain.

The tide seems to turn with the arrival of mortal Men, the first of whom are named the Edain by the Elves of Beleriand. Nonetheless, the majority of Men serve Melkor, and with their help Melkor finally destroys most of the great civilization the Noldor and Sindar have built throughout Beleriand. In the course of a few generations, Melkor's forces sweep across Beleriand and destroy the Elven kingdoms until only a few small refuges survive.

Despite the tragic course of the war, the Elves and Edain do experience some successes. Beren, a man, and Luthien, a Sindarin princess whose mother is one of the angelic beings called Maiar, servants of the Valar, recover a Silmaril from Melkor. Although Luthien becomes mortal and passes away with Beren when he dies, the Silmaril passes to their son Dior, and then to his daughter Elwing, who marries Ëarendil, another Half-elven prince descended from the Noldorin king Turgon.

Ëarendil and Elwing rule a small enclave of Elves and Men near the sea called Arvenien, but when the surviving sons of Fëanor demand that Elwing give up the Silmaril, she refuses and the Fëanorians destroy Arvernien. Elwing casts herself into the sea with the jewel but Ulmo, one of the Valar, bears her up, gives her the form of an albatross, and sends her flying across the oceans to find E¨arendil's ship. Together, they find a way across the magical barriers raised by the Valar to prevent the Noldor from returning to Aman to seek out the help of the Valar in the last need of Elves and Men.

Moved by E¨arendil's petition, the Valar forgive the Noldor for their rebellion and send a mighty army to Middle-earth. There for 50 years they struggle with Melkor and finally defeat him. Middle-earth is freed from Melkor's rule forever, and the majority of Noldor elect to return to Aman. But Maedhros and Maglor, the surviving sons of Fëanor, steal the two remaining Silmarils for themselves.

Unable to bear the pain that the holy jewels now inflict upon them, Maedhros throws himself and his Silmaril into a fiery chasm and Maglor throws his jewel into the sea. The two Silmarils are lost forever.

"Akallabeth" and "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"

Two supplementary narratives follow the fate of the descendants of those Edain who survived the wars of Beleriand. Rewarded by the Valar for their suffering and sacrifices, the Edain are granted a special land in the sea which they name Numenorë. The Numenoreans become a mighty people and build a great civilization. But they eventually become drawn into a war between Sauron, a former servant of Melkor who establishes a new evil realm in Middle-earth, and the Elves of Middle-earth.

Sauron at first deceived the Elves and tricked their mightiest craftsmen, led by Celebrimbor descendant of Fëanor, into creating the Rings of Power. The Great Rings, consisting of the Nine, the Seven, and the Three, had the power to delay or hold back the effects of Time so that the Elves could make Middle-earth more like Aman, which is a paradise of immortal beauty. But Sauron secretly made the One Ring, through which he hoped to enslave the Elves. When Sauron put on the One Ring the Elves realized their utter folly and they hid their Rings. The remaining centuries of the Second Age saw endless warfare between Sauron and the Elves.

As the Numenoreans became more powerful they also became more arrogant and fearful of death. At first envious of the immortal Elves, the Numenoreans began to resent their mortality, the more so because they had been granted longer lifespans than most men but also because their kings were descended from E¨arendil and Elwing the Half-elven. In their growing despair the Numenoreans became divided into two groups, the Kings Men and the Faithful.

Seeking glory, wealth, and to increase their power and influence the Numenoreans began colonizing Middle-earth. The Faithful chose to settle mostly near the Elven realm of Gil-galad, last heir of the Noldorin kings in exile. The Kings Men became drawn into conflict with Sauron's forces, and eventually Ar-Pharazôn the last King of Numenor led a great army to Middle-earth, where he humbled Sauron and took him prisoner.

However, Sauron's objective was merely to be taken to Numenor, where he used the power of the One Ring to corrupt the Kings Men and turn them wholly against the Valar. When Ar-Pharazoˆn at last began to feel his mortality waning, he led a huge army west to demand immortality from the Valar. The Valar laid down their guardianship of the world and God intervened, destroying the rebellious Numenoreans and their island.

Some Numenoreans survived the Downfall, and these remnants of the Faithful sailed to Middle-earth under the leadership of Elendil (a descendant of E¨arendil). Befriended by Gil-galad, Elendil and his sons established two kingdoms: Arnor and Gondor. But though his body perished in Numenor's destruction, Sauron's spirit survived and returned to Middle-earth with the One Ring, where he fashioned a new body for himself and gathered his old forces. Seeking to destroy the Faithful Numenoreans once and for all, Sauron struck at Gondor before he was fully recovered. This attack led Elendil and Gil-galad to form the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

Unlike their ancestors in the previous age, the Elves and Numenoreans of Middle-earth were able to defeat Sauron. But at the very end, in a desperate act, Sauron himself came forth and attacked Gil-galad. Though the Elven-king died quickly, Elendil came to Gil-galad's aid and struck Sauron a mortal blow before Sauron struck him down too. Isildur, Elendil's son and successor, then cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, weakening Sauron's spirit so effectively that it fled into hiding.

But Isildur ignored the advice of Elrond Half-elven, who insisted that the One Ring be destroyed immediately. Instead Isildur kept the Ring for himself. The Ring, which exerted a corrupting influence over all who came near it and which called to all evil things, betrayed Isildur to his death and was lost for many centuries. Late in the Third Age, two hobbits (Smeagol and Deagol) found the One Ring near the Great River (called Anduin by the Elves).

Smeagol murdered Deagol and took the Ring for himself, but he was driven into exile by his people. Miserable, Smeagol sought refuge in deep caverns far from the penetrating sunlight. There the One Ring preserved him and gave his mortal lifespan the appearance of having been extended by centuries. In fact, Smeagol was experiencing the process of fading, by which the Ring was slowly corrupting him and turning him into a wraith. This fate had befallen nine men in the Second Age who became the Nazgul, greatest of Sauron's servants.

When nearly 3,000 years had passed since Isildur's death the One Ring left Smeagol, so that it was found by another passing hobbit from the west: Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. Bilbo, taveling with a company of Dwarves as explained in The Hobbit, took the Ring home with him, where he eventually left it to his heir and successor, Frodo Baggins. Frodo undertook the mighty quest to destroy the Ring as described in The Lord of the Rings.