The Silmarillion Summary: A Guide to Tolkien's Book of Myths
What The Silmarillion is about
The Silmarillion is a collection of myths and stories by J.R.R. Tolkien, published in 1977 after his death. His son Christopher edited it and wrote parts of it. He was helped by Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a fantasy author himself. The book tells the deep history of Tolkien's invented universe, Eä. That universe includes the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the ill-fated region of Beleriand, the island of Númenor and the continent of Middle-earth, where The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set.
This is a set of linked tales in varying styles rather than a single novel with one hero. It has five parts. Ainulindalë tells of the creation of the world. Valaquenta describes the Valar and Maiar, the supernatural powers of that world. Quenta Silmarillion, the longest part at 24 chapters, follows the First Age and the wars over three jewels called the Silmarils. Akallabêth tells of the Downfall of Númenor in the Second Age. Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age traces the history of the rings and ends with a summary of the events of The Lord of the Rings.
The book begins with a creation story. Eru, also called Ilúvatar, creates the Ainur, eternal spirits born of his thought. He gives them a theme and asks them to make a great music. Melkor, the most powerful of the Ainur, breaks from the harmony to sing his own song. Some Ainur follow him. Three times this happens, and three times Ilúvatar answers with a new theme. He then shows the Ainur a vision of Arda, the world, and offers them the chance to enter it and govern it. Those who go become bound to the world. The greater become the Valar and the lesser become the Maiar. For thousands of years the Valar shape the world for the Elves and Men who are to come, while Melkor tears their work down.
The Quenta Silmarillion opens with the Valar retreating west to Aman after Melkor destroys the two great lamps that lit the world. There they make their home, Valinor. Yavanna creates the Two Trees, Telperion and Laurelin, to light it. Middle-earth is left in darkness. When the stars of Varda begin to shine, the Elves awaken. The Valar capture Melkor and invite the Elves to Aman, and the Elves divide over whether to go. In Aman, Fëanor, son of the Noldor king Finwë, makes the Silmarils. These jewels hold the captured light of the Two Trees.
How the war over the jewels begins (spoilers)
Stop here if you want to avoid plot details. Melkor is released after pretending to repent. He tells Fëanor that his younger half-brother Fingolfin is turning Finwë against him. Fëanor draws his sword on Fingolfin and is banished from the city of Tirion. With the help of Ungoliant, a dark spider spirit, Melkor kills the Two Trees. He then kills Finwë, steals the Silmarils and flees to Middle-earth. Fëanor renames him Morgoth. He swears an oath of vengeance against anyone who keeps the jewels from him, even the Valar, and makes his seven sons swear it too. He leads most of the Noldor after Morgoth. On the way his sons seize ships from the Teleri, killing many of them, and betray others of their own people.
The main characters
Ilúvatar is the creator, above all other powers. Melkor, later Morgoth, is the rebel among the Ainur and the source of evil in the world. Among the Valar, Manwë, Varda, Aulë and Yavanna all play parts. Aulë, the smith, creates the Dwarves. Fëanor is the gifted and proud maker of the Silmarils. His father Finwë and his half-brother Fingolfin are central to the quarrel that splits the Noldor. Thingol and Melian rule the Elvish kingdom of Doriath. Readers of The Lord of the Rings will notice that Sauron and the Balrogs begin as Maiar who were drawn into Melkor's service.
The themes
Power and its misuse run through the whole book. Melkor is given the greatest power and knowledge of the Ainur, yet he wants Arda for himself. Ambition drives the tragedy of the Elves. Fëanor's pride in his own work turns into an oath that binds his sons and leads to bloodshed. War is constant, from the long struggle over the shaping of the world to the five battles of Beleriand.
Redemption is handled with caution. Melkor's repentance is false, and the Valar's mercy towards him leads to disaster. The book asks what can be restored after a great wrong, and it rarely offers an easy answer.
Tolkien drew on many sources. The packet notes the influence of the Finnish epic Kalevala and of Greek mythology. Númenor echoes the lost island of Atlantis. The Valar resemble the Olympian gods, and also the Norse Æsir.
Who it suits
The book suits readers who finished The Lord of the Rings and want the history behind it. It also suits anyone who enjoys myth, legend and epic. It reads like a chronicle, so readers expecting the style of The Hobbit should be prepared for something different. When Tolkien first offered an early draft to his publisher, Stanley Unwin, it was rejected as obscure and "too Celtic".
Why it still matters
The Silmarillion sits at the root of Tolkien's work. After The Hobbit succeeded, Unwin asked for a sequel. Tolkien offered the material that would become this book. When Unwin turned it down, Tolkien started a new story, and that story became The Lord of the Rings.
The book was a commercial success, though reviews on publication were generally poor. Scholars have found it problematic, because Tolkien never authorised this version. Christopher Tolkien built it from a large body of drafts. In places he had to write new material to fill gaps, most notably Chapter 22, "Of the Ruin of Doriath". Some scholars see this differently. Tolkien imagined the work as a mythology written by many hands and gathered by a fictional editor. Gergely Nagy argues that the real editing of the book fulfils that intention.
