|
11-16-2001, 12:06 PM | #1 |
Queen of Nargothrond
Administrator Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Akron, Ohio - USA
Posts: 7,121
|
Trashing the Silmarillion
How much of the labor of the Silmarillion is actually JRRT's? I have bought and read some of the HoMe which gives different accounts of events as published in the Silmarillion. Inoldonil informed me that the Nauglamir was actually made for Thingol and not Finrod The Silmarillion was edited by C.T.. So are the HoMe. Why are the accounts in the histories more acceptable than in the Sil.? Should I just trash my Silmarillion and believe the histories now? I loved the Silmarillion, but the HoMe are changing the story that I grew to love so much. Now I don't know what versions to believe. Maybe I should trash the HoMe, but I can't Thoughts please?
|
11-16-2001, 02:08 PM | #2 |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 319
|
RE
That's exactly how I feel I looove the Silmarillion!
|
11-16-2001, 03:02 PM | #3 |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Lindon
Posts: 637
|
Re:
If I remember correctly, Christopher Tolkien decided for that particular version of the Silmarillion because it was the most complete of the latest versions the professor wrote.
We must also remember that the professor changed many times his opinion. There is no guarantee that the latest version he wrote would be the one he would choose to develop and publish as the “official” Silmarilion. Nevertheless, HoME does clarify many subjects about Tolkien’s universe and is invaluable.
__________________
**************************************** "None are more hoplessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Reality is just an illusion, albeit a very persistent one - Albert Einstein The Caffeine Mantra It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Brazil that the thoughts aquire speed, The hands aquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion... Elvellon Erelion Last edited by Elvellon : 11-18-2001 at 08:11 AM. |
11-16-2001, 07:29 PM | #4 | |
Elf Lord
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: California
Posts: 60,865
|
Of course it does! Though I don't agree that the published Silmarillion is the best version possible. It is certainly not made up of the latest ideas (late in his life J. R. R. Tolkien wrote some experimental essays that would radically change his entire mythology so as to be in accord with science, and stuck to that, for one thing). Look at the Foreword:
Quote:
But this needn't be done at all, you can still enjoy a good book.
__________________
Falmon -- Dylan |
|
12-28-2001, 04:02 AM | #5 |
Sapling
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 7
|
Good points. But no matter how many published works one reads, one can only form one's own opinion which will, inevitably differ from another's. Hence the lively debates that ensue!
Obviously it would be blasphemous to suggest that Tolkien's 'notes' and essays had remained simply that, and not been published posthumously. Certainly it might have lessened the confusion (namely mine, lol). |
12-31-2001, 04:44 AM | #6 |
Elven Loremaster
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 892
|
No one should be led to trash either The Silmarillion or the stories which Christopher drew upon to compose the published book. The value of reading and studying the sources varies for each of us. Some people, such as linguists, want to learn more about select portions of the imaginary world J.R.R. Tolkien created. Some people want to learn more about the process of evolution which led to books like The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
In terms of understanding Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth -- which emerged in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and underwent subsequent enlargement and revision throughout the rest of his life -- it is acceptable to ignore the first four volumes of The History of Middle-earth, but the information provided in the next 8 books is only partially useful, as there are many rewrites and inconsistencies. There is no canonical definition of Middle-earth. Tolkien never wrote down any sort of "Bible" for Middle-earth. There is no governing document which distinguishes between "correct" stuff and "incorrect" stuff. So one must develop a sense about what works with what. Regrettably, some people disregard common sense and just start grabbing at passages willy-nilly, tossing them into discussions as if they have any sort of authority on their own. Nothing in Tolkien's writings overrides anything else. Everything must be placed into a context, and the same passages may have multiple contexts. If you simply want to learn more about Middle-earth, you still must define what the scope of your authority for that Middle-earth shall be. No one can make that definition for you; but you may devise an invalid or illogical definition. It is easier to point out why something should not be included than it is to ascertain what should or must be included. |
01-24-2002, 01:00 PM | #7 |
'Sober' Mullet Frosh
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Queen's
Posts: 1,245
|
Well some things change Gnomish-Noldor etc. and much of the HoME material has evolved. Also at the end of his life the good professor became very nitpicky, as his fans were, it's an evolving process, and the Silmarillion is part of the process, but not all of it.
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Silmarillion Artwork | Beor | The Silmarillion | 25 | 05-22-2004 05:45 PM |
If Jackson made "The Silmarillion the Movie" | jerseydevil | Lord of the Rings Movies | 86 | 01-16-2004 08:53 PM |
Silmarillion discussion ch. 13: Of the Return of the Noldor | azalea | The Silmarillion Project | 36 | 09-19-2003 02:11 PM |
Did Tolkien want silmarillion published? | SilvaRanger | The Silmarillion | 11 | 04-09-2001 01:01 AM |
a little orientation needed | DrFledermaus | The Silmarillion | 9 | 02-12-2001 05:48 AM |