Accidentally Rereading for 2nd Time--An Evolving Reader's Journey

[Duguay]

So even though the Amazon streaming series is controversial, one positive outcome is that I unintentionally eased myself into re-reading The Silmarillion, my second go around. My questions are marked further down.

It started with me dabbling in The Tale of Years and the other appendices from TLotR, consulting the chronology of the 2nd age in the appendix (as well as peaking in the recently released The Fall of Numenor).

After comparing the show with the chronology of the 2nd age, I found myself reading Letter 131 in a newer copy of The Silmarillion, since the copy I originally read didn't have it. Reading through Letter 131 made real for me how material from the letters, and possibly other sources such as The Unfinished Tales and THoME could enrich the reading experience of The Silmarillion (and The Legendarium in general). I decided to take The Silmarillion really slowly, and taken the advice of booktube commentors to rely heavily on the glossary whenever something comes up that I don't recognize or don't remember from earlier. And also to reference the family trees, and the diagram illustrating the various sunderings of the elves. I've been taking it at the pace of a page or so a day (with occasional exceptions). This has actually worked well for processing the significance of events, since masssive upheavals or the time-span of a decade may be covered in a couple of paragraphs at some points.

I remember during my first read-through I sometimes got confused about the various factions of the Elves, which were the Teleri and the Noldor; and had only a tenuous understanding of Thingol as a High Elf ruling over Sindarin who had never seen the light of The Trees.

Questions:

I came across a list that had suggestions on how to augment my reading of The Silmarillion. One common augmentation I've seen is substituting The Children of Hurin book for the Turin Turambar chapter, which kind of makes sense. It seems common, and I don't often see arguments against that. What are the arguments against using The Children of Hurin in place of that chapter?

The list I found suggests following Turin Turambar's story with The Wandering of Hurin from The War of the Jewels. Any opinions on if this segement enriches the continuous narrative of The First Age?

The first major addition was the suggestion that I read The Laws and Customs of the Eldar in close proximity to the birth and rise of Feanor. This did seem to be a good idea, but the list timed it wrong; yet it still gave me insight into The Silmarillion. This is the first time I've actually been able to get into a book of The History of Middle Earth, as an enhancement of The Silmarillion. I didn't expect I would make headway into the series from this angle, and I can see how it supplies perspective on the writing process and composition history. Still not easy, but taking slowly it's finally working for me. Insofar as The Laws and Customs are concerned, I feel like I could have incorporated reading it a little at a time at the point when the Elves first awakened, and then paused my reading and saved the Finwe and Miriel part for the arrival of Feanor.

One major question I have is to do with the versions of The Fall of Gondolin. The suggestion my expanded list makes is to start with the version in The Unfinished Tales, and then shift back to the version of The Silmarillion; in order to get a more full telling of the story. On the other hand, I'm aware that the version in The Lost Tales, part II is the most complete version of The Fall of Gondolin? Even though it would have irreconcilable differences from the version in The Silmarillion? My mind is actually fairly flexible, keep in mind; I've been reading through various incompatible different versions of the Arthurian literature; so I am somewhat at ease with flitting between versions of a story and can handle inconsistency. Which version of Gondolin should I go for: The Silmarillion one; or The Unfinished Tales version as an expansion of the earlier half, with The Silmarillion version finishing it off; or should I go for The Lost Tales version even with it's incompatible aspects?

Are there Tolkien Letters that might fit well slotted into my read-through of The Silmarillion? At this point, I am a fair way into the Siege of Angband; the story of Maeglin is unfolding for me right now and the Coming of Men into the conflict is the next chapter.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts and perspectives you can offer.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Welcome back to TTF, Duguay! 🙂

The Fall of Gondolin assembles all the Tuor material, so you might want to get hold of that. There's a thread here:

https://thetolkien.forum/threads/the-fall-of-gondolin-out.23695/

I don't believe the Letters contain much pertinent Silmarillion material not published elsewhere.

One book that I found helpful is The Atlas of Middle-earth.

 

[Duguay]

Welcome back to TTF, Duguay! 🙂

Thanks!

The Fall of Gondolin assembles all the Tuor material, so you might want to get hold of that. There's a thread here:

https://thetolkien.forum/threads/the-fall-of-gondolin-out.23695/

I have a copy of the book, but haven't cracked it open yet. I followed the link that let out of that thread, too. I thought it was interesting to see that The Fall of Gondolin might not have included three version from HoME volumes 4 and 5; that's a little puzzling.

I don't believe the Letters contain much pertinent Silmarillion material not published elsewhere.

I only started out meaning to read the introduction and Letter 131...but the outlining of the whole mythology was fun to read and reawakened my curiousity. I remembered thinking for the longest time, "What is the big deal about the Silmarils" and even while reading through The Silmarillion again I understand the focus on Feanor, and his pride about his craftsmanship, and how the capture the light of the Trees. There's just a vague sense of how much better the light of The Trees are. It was when Letter 131 said something about how the light of The Trees illuminated and and penetrated visual darkness...I was fascinated by the impression that the Light illuminated philosophical and scientific truths that are no longer seen in the light of the Sun and the Moon (a light that is tainted or clouded by evil). The text of The Silmarillion doesn't go as far as Letter 131, seemingly, in clarifying why The Light of The Trees is much better than the light of the Sun and the Moon, and would have liked a version of that passage to have made it into The Silmarillion to make it more clear. Reading Letter 131 enhanced my perception of the tragedy of the destruction of The Trees.

On book that I found helpful is The Atls of Middle-earth.

After I had read far enough into The Silmarillion, I remembered how good that book was, and felt an urge to replace the copy that I lost. And so not long after, I did get a replacement!

Thank you for your response!

 

[Elthir]

I'd let the "reading experience" of Quenta Silmarillion "flow", so to speak, and then read the other stuff. Then you can read the The Silmarillion again. And again. And then the "other stuff" again and again. And so on . . .

I admit that's what I did back in 1977, when, in bird terms, I was barely out of the 🥚.

we had less choice back then too, of course, but there's my unhelpful opinion

 

[Ent]

I'd say be sure to read it in the Entish translation, but it's only been 46 years since publication, and we're not done with the Introduction yet.

 

[Duguay]

I've been wanting to return to this, and comment as I've made my way through my re-read of The Silmarillion.

As I've read it, and explored related material in THoMe, my notes on my planned reading trajectory has changed and expanded as I've gone along.

Elthir gives good advice, I feel, for a first time reading of The Silmarillion. But my perspective and approach to The Silmarillion has been changing as I've been reading through it. It's partly from my reading of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, which I've been viewing as an anchoring book, with spokes radiating out to alternative versions of a narrative. At one point, it seemed like Malory skipped narrating the death of a knight of the round table at Sir Gawain's hands (or at the hands of the Orkney brothers). So I branched out and read an account of that knight's death, inserting a couple different versions of a "flashback" narrative. I didn't realize that later on Malory himself would include his own version, also a flashback.

The Silmarillion is also the anchoring book, because I've already read it once. I don't actually know if I'll read it a third time in my lifetime, but while I'm going through it I've been outlining a deeper, more expanded reading schedule than the one I'm working with. Some material I haven't reached yet, but others would have to wait for a potential re-read. I can't stop now and go back to the beginning to include all the stuff I would have included if I'd known about it, like the legends of the Awakenings of the Elves and later Men; I'm past The Children of Hurin and The Wanderings of Hurin!

I'm enjoying the reading with expanded material, and parallel and comparative readings. The Ruin of Doriath is an interesting challenge given what I've learned about the composition of the chapter; I didn't know about it when I started reading near the beginning of the year. Navigating the different versions is an interesting experience, like drifting dream-like through fluctuating versions of the legend.

 

[Duguay]

Checking back in on this several months later, having now finished The Fall of Gondolin. And yes, ill-advised as it might seem to some other fellow Tolkien enthusiasts, I incorporate the reading of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin with The Fall of Gondolin (from The Book of Lost Tales Volume II) in parallel with the chapter in the published Silmarillion.

I can see why some readers would say this is an unsatisfying way to experience the story. Things such as the transition from the really well-crafted Of Tuor to the earliest version of The Fall of Gondolin with it's quirky changes between past and present tense, and it's leaning into a somewhat Middle English language. I managed to keep all of the texts somewhat in parallel, even when they diverged, the weirdest parallel moment were the three variations of Tuor's encounter with Ulmo in different circumstances, during different phases of his journeys and wanderings. It was a rocky transition from the arrival in Gondolin, when Of Tuor came to an end and I was no longer flitting between three versions of the story. I was a little sad to bid farewell to the version of Tuor who was clad in the armor that had been left for him in Vinyamar, and see the version of Tuor clad in animal skins finally meet Turgon.

I understand better now the tragedy that Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin is such a beautifully written fragment, and everyone who says it's a real shame that it doesn't go any further. It was particularly pleasant to go through it at a very slow pace, to take time with Tuor on his journeys in solitude. Tuor's solitary nature appealed to me (I have my moments were I can relate from similar solitary situations were I am at peace), and the landscapes that he lingers in were very peaceful to read about.

The hide and seek journey to Gondolin had some wonderful moments of suspense, particularly the simple moment of crossing a major road between very watchful companies of Morgoth's warriors. It was also nice to experience the world of the First Age in a way that was almost as zoomed in as moments of TLotR, where the action is close and immediate.

The early version of The Fall of Gondolin was still beneficial for filling in what I'll loosely call "the second half". I appreciated a more filled out sense of Tuor's stay in Gondolin, even as it seemed detatched from Tuor's solitary nature during his earlier wanderings. I was surprised at one point to realize I was able to compare Tuor's life story to Turin's, and it's kind of nice that this comes after Turin's tragedies (even though I know they aren't comparable/contrastable cousins in the early Fall of Gondolin).

One aspect of the early Fall of Gondolin that surprised me was how long the siege and battle of Gondolin was, how much of the page count it took up in the story. It didn't feel as steampunk as I've seen some readers and reviewers comment on. And there are so many Balrogs, surely all those Balrogs can't be comparable to the one single Balrog that Gandalf the Grey has difficulties with several thousands of years later. I couldn't believe how many were dropping in battle.

There were some very sad things contained in the narrative of the early Fall of Gondolin, that effectively does not gloss over in a sentence or a paragraph the magnitude of the catastrophy. Sometimes there's an impression with Tolkien that the sadness that he writes about is the passages of characters feeling sad about things we don't see. The Fall of Gondolin says clearly upfront that terrible things happen to the non-combatants during Gondolin's collapse, and it was painful and dismaying to read about. And even more, the refugees who escape continue to suffer for an extended period of time after the trauma of their flight.

I think overall it was effective to read all three of these texts side-by-side. Tuor is now more real to me, and I've spent about as much time with him as I have with Turin when reading the Children of Hurin. Gondolin is more real to me now, too. And the tragedy of it's fall is more nuanced.

I remember reading The Hobbit for the second time, after having read The Silmarillion for the first time; before TLotR movies started coming out. At the time I remember thinking something like "Oooh, neat! Orchrist and Glamdring, and Sting! They all came from Gondolin! I know Gondolin, I remember the tragedy of it." It feels much more somber, to reflect on it now.

 

[Duguay]

I've finally finished!

It was great to take the slow road through The Silmarillion, learn to understand it better, and make use of it as a gateway as the published Silmarillion into the larger and more nebulous Silmarillion. I think I felt a little spent by the time I finished making my way through the expanded material, and Alkalabeth and Of the Rings of Power were a return to my one page a day pacing was a kind of slow, meditative victory lap that was easy to keep steady with.

I think I toed the line a little with nearing burn out. Part of what became challenging was that I had started The Silmarillion alongside a similar steady reading of Le Morte D'Arthur, which had already been going on for a year before I started my Silmarillion re-read.

My initial plan was to transition from The Silmarillion to The Fall of Numenor (First Age, then the Second Age), and that plan is still in place. I need a rest, though. Planning on taking a month's break from Tolkien, and maybe fantasy reading in general, possibly.

I have plans to re-visit The First Age from a kind of slanted angle, as well as the major Second Age works from The Unfinished Tales, before starting The Fall of Numenor (and the Second Age). So I thought I would read the Elves legend of their awakening from Quendi and Eldar, the fragmentary legend of the Elves discovering the sleeping place of Men, re-read the first fall of Man (The Tale of Adanel). I know that at least two of those stories are just the myths Elves and Men believe about themselves, but all the Legendarium has the feel of a collection of myths and legends anyway, my mind isn't very discriminating. It's just meant to be for fun.

Then I figured The Shibboleth of Feanor. I'm looking at the work called Of Dwarves and Men as something that can unify and transition from The First Age to the later ages, and as a springboard to The Druedain work, which I had intended to read around the time of Turin and Hurin's dealings with the community of Brethil. I dropped that suggested reading placement for The Druedain because it became too cluttered, making the transition from The Children of Hurin to The Wanderings of Hurin, and the even more cluttered transition to the Ruin of Doriath (and parallel readings of alternative tellings of that kingdom's collapse).

I've got the impression that The Fall of Numenor book doesn't include as many of the writings about the Second Age as I might have thought, so before I actually go through a slow read of that book, I planned to read The History of Galadriel and Celeborn, and possibly Aldarion and Erendis in their Unfinished Tales presentation, and take notes about how I would want to re-visit the material in those works while reading The Fall of Numenor, and my subsequent plan to slow read through Third Age as depicted in TLotR appendices.

 

[Olorgando]

I've got the impression that The Fall of Numenor book doesn't include as many of the writings about the Second Age as I might have thought, ...

Brian Sibley's 2022 "The Fall of Númenor" can be compared, within limits, withe Christopher Tolkien's books "Beren and Lúthien" (2017) and "The Fall of Gondolin" (2018). All three collect writings scattered throughout the 12 volumes of HoMe (and elsewhere) into a single specifically themed volume. This is in contrast to Carl F. Hostetter's 2021 book "The Nature of Middle-earth", which contains mainly material not previously published and can thus be considered the (posthumous) 13th volume of CRT's HoMe.
FoN differs from the two "Great Tales" compilations by CRT mentioned above in having a sort of "annalistic spine".
The main "spine" is Appendix B "The Tale of Years" for the Second Age in LotR. It is augmented by Appendix A "Annals of the Kings and Rulers" in LotR for the Númenórean Kings, and by "The Line of Elros: Kings of Númenor" in Unfinished Tales. Basically an expanded "Tale of Years" for the Second Age.

 

[Duguay]

Brian Sibley's 2022 "The Fall of Númenor" can be compared, within limits, withe Christopher Tolkien's books "Beren and Lúthien" (2017) and "The Fall of Gondolin" (2018). All three collect writings scattered throughout the 12 volumes of HoMe (and elsewhere) into a single specifically themed volume. This is in contrast to Carl F. Hostetter's 2021 book "The Nature of Middle-earth", which contains mainly material not previously published and can thus be considered the (posthumous) 13th volume of CRT's HoMe.
FoN differs from the two "Great Tales" compilations by CRT mentioned above in having a sort of "annalistic spine".
The main "spine" is Appendix B "The Tale of Years" for the Second Age in LotR. It is augmented by Appendix A "Annals of the Kings and Rulers" in LotR for the Númenórean Kings, and by "The Line of Elros: Kings of Númenor" in Unfinished Tales. Basically an expanded "Tale of Years" for the Second Age.

I'm quite keen to get to The Fall of Numenor eventually. And I know it isn't comparable to the Second Age the way The Silmarillion might be to the First Age. I'm mostly fascinated by how it's compiled. I'm pleased that so many other sources have been drawn on to be included, from a look at the back where the sources are cited. My fascination comes from having flipped through it, seeing passages from Akallabeth and Of the Rings of Power interwoven with, say, an expositional passage from Chapter 2 of The Lord of the Rings to explain the Elven Smiths of Eregion. Or the poem Sam recites about Gil-galad inserted when he appears. I got the impression though, that there's some misreading of it including all material about the Second Age. I've experimentally added Tal-Elmar into the chronology during the reign of one of the more conquest-focused Numenorean Kings. Other similar omissions I've learned about online I've scouted out and put in my reading guide notes to include/incorporate into my planned future read through of the Fall of Numenor.

Ever since reading through portions of The History of Middle-Earth, I've got the impression of Tolkien's papers and drafts about the world as having something of a scrapbook quality (I mean that in a good way, the charm of eclectic collections of stationary which many writings in different form). Even when Tolkien had "a fair copy" prepared, there's notes about additions written in, and slips of paper slotted in, ect. I think I like the idea of The Fall of Numenor as similarly something of a scrapbook collection, just assembled for us in the form of a "fair copy", much as certain editions of The History of Middle-earth are presented. Having seen pictures of some of the fair copies, I'll bet there might even be some appeal to having reproductions of certain fair copies published in the future, similar to how reproductions of Leonardo Da Vinci's journals have been published.

 

[Starbrow]

Over a year ago I went to an exhibition at Marquette University titled J. R. R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript. Many samples of his work were displayed, including his writing and artwork. It was fascinating.