Today marks the 45th anniversary since Christopher Tolkien, the son of J. R. R. Tolkien, edited and published posthumously The Silmarillion. Read through these five facts to celebrate!
With Amazon’s new prequel gaining traction, Middle-earth is being explored all over again. 45 years ago J. R. R. Tolkien’s son published and edited The Silmarillion, a collection of stories put together by Tolkien himself to help explain the lore and origin of the world we all know and obsess over. I put together five facts about The Silmarillion that will make you want to read (or reread) it all over again.
1. What’s Inside?
The Silmarillion consists of different myths and lore created by Tolkien. It tells the story of many different areas such as Eä, a fictional universe that holds the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the region of Beleriand, the sunken island of Númenor, and Middle-earth. Tolkien built an entire universe filled with many fictional places to help explain his stories. Isn’t that the coolest?
2. Rejection?!
I was shocked to learn that Tolkien originally sent a draft of The Silmarillion to his publisher after the success of The Hobbit, but it was rejected. This lead Tolkien to begin working on another story, which we now know as The Lord of the Rings.
4. How Long?
It is said that J. R. R. Tolkien began writing the stories that would eventually make up this book in 1914. Over 100 years ago! Can you believe it?
5. How Many?
While the first edition was published in 1977, two more editions followed in the late 90s and 2000s. The book has sold over a million copies!
3. A Little More Detail…
We know that Middle-earth has four ages, but what exactly is in Tolkien’s The Silmarillion? The book consists of five parts. The first part tells the creation of the universe. The second part gives details of the supernatural powers of the universe. The third part dives into the history and events before and during the First Age. The fourth part tells parts of the history taking place in the Second Age. Lastly, the fifth and final part explores the rings of power and the Third Age that led us to the story explored in The Lord of the Rings.
It’s safe to say Tolkien created a masterpiece of a universe. I’m still shocked of just how much detail is connected to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and now The Rings of Power!
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