Q: What Would You Like to See Included in a Final Silmarillion?
ANSWER: The following request from a reader sent me into a philosophical quandry regarding what a “final” Silmarillion might look like:
I often wonder how the Silmarillion would look like if Tolkien had the chance to complete it. Would you try to guess? Which stories, characters, names, and events had he modified?…
Many people have asked this of me through the years and I have never been able to provide a coherent response. After mulling over this latest request I explained why I cannot (and will not) try to imagine what Tolkien might have included in a final version of The Silmarillion on the Tolkien Society Blog in “Silmarillion Simulations: Boldly Writing What Tolkien Never Wrote”. To sum up my reasoning, it comes down to the fact that Tolkien himself really had no idea of what should have gone into a final version; so I have nothing to work with. I can’t extrapolate from nothing and I cannot construct what seem like logical arguments from nothing. It’s impossible to fulfill that request.
I can certainly tell you what I would like to see in a post-script to The Silmarillion, but there will never be a canonical Silmarillion, not in the sense of one written by J.R.R. Tolkien. No amount of projection and justification can complete the work he never finished. My guess will be as bad as anyone’s, no better than a random collection of what if scenarios.
And yet I have no doubt that sooner or later someone will make the attempt to write a more authoritative Silmarillion than Christopher Tolkien was able to produce. This is inevitable, unless the Tolkien Estate manages to protect the whole story as intellectual property for an indefinite period of time. It may be 100 years before someone gathers enough support to convene a panel of Silmarillion experts, or simply has the cheek to write what future generations will consider to be the definitive extrapolation, but it will happen. It’s just not going to happen any time soon.
But if I could sit down with J.R.R. Tolkien in 1960 (still knowing what I know today) and persuade him to think about finishing The Silmarillion, I would ask him these questions. Please don’t confuse these questions for my guess about what he would include. I make no guesses. These are simply things I would love to know. And I acknowledge that part of what makes The Silmarillion so interesting is that it is distant and incomplete. It does not try to explain everything, but leaves some mystery. Nonetheless, I know that Tolkien could not resist the temptation to elaborate upon many details. So these are the details that I would have liked to see him elaborate on.
Would the Universe Be Created via the Big Bang? In 1927 a Belgian Jesuit priest, Monseigneur Georges Lemaître, proposed that the universe began as a primordial atom. I would love to see Tolkien use this concept (disdainfully dubbed “the Big Bang theory” by British astronomer Sir Geoffrey Hoyle) in a more explicit and detailed description of the beginning of the universe. To see the Valar enter Time and Space at the moment of creation (or just afterward) and work together to bring order out of the chaos would be interesting. How many paragraphs should be devoted to such a tale?
When, exactly, did the Maiar enter the Universe? The story of the Maiar was not fully developed; it was, with respect to The Lord of the Rings, a somewhat late concept. The Maiar replaced the earlier Valarindi and other followers of the Valar from the earlier Silmarillion stories. In “Valaquenta” we are told that “with the Valar came other spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order as the Valar but of less degree”. And yet “Ainulindale” says that the Valar drew many companions to themselves only after the first war with Melkor began. I would like some clarity on the subject, even though “Ainulindale” and “Valaquenta” are both supposed to be Elvish compositions written long after the events occurred.
What Was Elvish Society Like in Valinor? I want more details about how the Vanyar, Noldor, and Falmari lived. Not dry tedious accounts of towns and villages, but stories of interesting Elves who may or may not have gone into Exile. The early Silmarillion legends are too focused on the kingly houses. If there is a flaw in Tolkien’s Elvish world it is that all the renown is given to the kings and Finwë’s sons. We know of Mahtan and Rúmil among the Noldor, and Elemmírë of the Vanyar (who composed “Aldudénië”) but I should like to know about others among the Noldor and Vanyar who were mighty in Valinor and not necessarily from the kingly houses (and for all we know Elemmírë was related to Ingwë and Indis).
How Might the Younger Finwëans Who Went Into Exile Have Fared? In The Final Eldarin Genealogy we learn that Fingon and Turgon had a brother, Argon, who was slain by Orcs when the Noldor first arrived in Middle-earth. I should like to know the story of his death, however brief (but less brief than we have now).
Was Elmo A Relative of Elwë or Not? I like the idea of Celeborn being descended from Elwë’s youngest brother. I don’t like the idea of Celeborn being an Elf of Aman. If I could have cajoled Tolkien into keeping Celeborn in Middle-earth, I would have.
Were there Other Cities in Beleriand? Although I don’t feel the need to see a detailed map of Valinor I would like to know exactly how many major settlements Tolkien would envision for Beleriand. Some might argue he told us, but there are scattered references to unnamed settlements. I should like to know more about them.
What Other non-Royal Characters Would Have Enhanced the Legends? We do have a fairly long list of non-royal characters who enter into all the various tales of “Quenta Silmarillion”, but I sense that Tolkien would have devised many more if he could have. Take the characters in “The Wanderings of Hurin”. That story is less about Hurin and more about the society of the Folk of Haleth (the last free house of the Edain in Beleriand). Take the poet Dirhavel. At some point he would have become a significant figure. But were there not others like him, even if their great works would have been lost to posterity simply because the war destroyed everything the Eldar and Edain achieved?
Who Were Some of the Other Lords of the Eldar? Too many people reach back into the Book of Lost Tales for names of Elvish lords (such as the leaders of Gondolin). We don’t know how many of those characters would have been brought forward, how they would have been changed, or if other characters would have taken their places. But I would want to know so much more about the various adventurers that the Noldor and Sindar must have produced whose deeds, while great, did not directly contribute to the rise of the Houses of Elros and Elrond (which is essentially what The Silmarillion boils down to).
How did Maedhros Recruit the Easterlings? The brief description of his relationship with the Folk of Bor and the Folk of Ulfang is quite unsatisfying. I would like to know why they entered Beleriand, what they did to win Maedhros’ friendship, and how they were hostile to each other. From a handful of references in The History of Middle-earth we know that the Folk of Bor came around the northern end of the Ered Luin and that they were farmers; and we know that the Folk of Ulfang came through the mountains and settled in Dor Caranthir.
What Were the Ents Doing in Beleriand? They are briefly mentioned when Yavanna summons spirits to inhabit trees and then briefly mentioned again when Beren destroys the Dwarf army of Nogrod. Surely there was more to their story than that?
What Became of the Green-elves? They just fade from the scene. In one account of Beren’s ambush of the dwarf-army he is aided by the Green-elves, but in another account he is not. And did they sail to Valinor at the end of the First Age or did they remain in Middle-earth?
What Was Arvernien Like? Tuor led the exiles of Gondolin to the Mouths of Sirion and some of Doriath’s people settled there as well. Elwing and Earendil grew up together and eventually married. I should like to know more about what their early lives were like.
What was Cirdan’s haven on Balar like? Did he have one city or two? Did Gil-galad have his own city or did he dwell with Cirdan? And why not give us an adventure or two with Gil-galad leading his warriors into combat?
How did the War of Wrath Proceed? The Silmarillion makes it clear that the war was conducted beyond the knowledge of the surviving Noldor and Sindar of Beleriand, but the Edain participated in it. So why is the reader’s knowledge of the war so incomplete when we know the full tales of Turin and Beren? The ending comes too swiftly and forces us to speculate on how the War of Wrath unfolded. I would rather simply know.
Of course, these are only a sample of the questions I would ask Tolkien to resolve, not in a letter but in a book, a final Silmarillion. If I had to prioritize my list and ask only a few questions, I think they would be those listed above. But what about you? What would you> want to see in a finished Silmarillion?
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Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
I would just beg him to finish off ‘Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin’ and write something to bring the latter end of the Silmarillion into the post LOTR era. It is so tragic that the 1920’s works are the only narrative in any detail of the end of the Silmarillion: of the Fall of Doriath, the Fall of Gondolin, the War of Wrath.
Christopher Tolkien reproached himself for creating the story of the Fall of Doriath, but I think he was far too hard on himself. I think he did an excellent job, but still it would have been so much better to have had Tolkien’s own prose. ‘Tuor and his coming to Gondolin’ is excellent as it is, and nothing even happens. If it had actually continued to describe the great city, and the fall that would truly have been a story to cherish. The words ‘Great is the Fall of Gondolin’ still send a shiver down my spine nonetheless.
Totally agree about Tuor and Gondolin – especially the version in unfinished tales. My initial thought – before thinking more deeply about the Silmarillion – is that I would have loved the stories in the style of Lord of the Rings – like the tale of Tuor approaching Gondolin through the gates. Also, what happened to Ungoliant – some say she ended – but did she … ?
The thing I loved about the Gondolin tale was it gave me a story where I could focus on the greatness of the 1st age (and even its mystery) without the horror/darkness of Mr Melkor and his activities. I would also love more of Luthien Tinuviel – she captured my heart as a teenager – to read about the build up as Beren enters the land – sees her first time – searches for her – captures her heart – and then enters the glories of Menegroth. Wow!
How about a first hand description of meeting a Balrog or Ancalagon the Black (may be misspelled) just like the up and close encounter with Smaug so that you can feel the charisma and be awed. But also, even more, Melian, the two trees, the undying lands, Elbereth – to capture a glipse of Middle Earth heaven! So, yes to more of the Ents and all you have mentioned.
I need more of Middle Earth! I am a self-confessed Middleeartholic and will need not just an Ultimate version but Omega Ultimate version of the Silmarillion.
I would beg him to leave the theory of Orcs from Elves 🙂 since it makes Morgoth even more monstrously repugnant, number of Balrogs to at least several dozens not those seven hehe :), to retain many elements from the Fall of Gondolin re-written into the version of Unfinished Tales (having both those mechanical vehicles and true dragons and Twelve Houses and their wealth of jewels haha). I would aks him whether the sentences about Morgoth enslaving captured Elves ”some he so daunted by the terror of his eyes that they needed chains no more”, ”their wills were chained to his” basically mean that Morgoth could dominate minds of elves through terror :), I would ask him more about magical capabilities of elves and whether they could change shape like Luthien or Finrod more often and their enchantments haha. I would ask to add something about different unnamed creatures, monsters of diverse kind that are left unknown, that he wrote something about bat-like vampires, Stone Giants, Wargs and Werewolves and differences between them to make them more distinguishable, I would ask him whether he could put something about origin of Hobbits for example in form of stories brought by Men from east. Actually I would ask Tolkien about everything hahah.
Re: the Maiar, I had always assumed that all of the Ainur (i.e both Valar and Maiar) entered the world at the same time, and then the spirits that Manwe summoned were a *different* batch of spirits, neither Ainur nor Children, but created within Ea as part of the Music. (Tom Bombadil would naturally have been one of them.)
Unfortunately Tolkien is rather free with his use of the word “spirits”, and seems to sometimes write “Valar” when what he really means is “both Valar and Maiar”, but I think my reading of this tangled mess holds up well enough.
I would want to hear more about the Dagor Bragollach.
Oh if only I could talk with Him! If I went back to 1960(knowing what I do now) I would gently grip the author’s lapels and say(yell actually), “Professor! Focus! You have much work to do!” Of course I jest.
I too would love to see a final version of Gondolin! Did Elured and Elurin actually perish(a pet nit of mine I pick) or are they amongst a colony of Silvan/Sindarin Elves to this day? Michael you brought up the War Of Wrath and other heroes not from Finwe’s lineage or the named Edain. That too I would like to know more about. I would like to know why the Dwarves have not tried to reclaim Mt. Gundadbad as it seems to have been Durin’s ancestral waking place. I would also like to know what lies beyond the borders of the northwest of Middle Earth. Where is Hildorien? The Orocarni? We know of only the homes of three of the seven dwarf fathers so how about the rest? I love maps and would love to see the author flesh out his world. I would also like to know the process by which the most entitled group of humans in Middle Earth, the Numenoreans, turned from the Valar and Eldar to Sauron and Melkor so completely. My what a story! And what ever everybody else said. So much left unsaid and unwritten. What-ifs and could-have-beens.
I would ask him why he gave Cirdan a beard in LOTR….:)
And then I would just thank him for invigorating the universe of mythic words for all of us…
I’d like to see more stories about people like Erendis, Morwen, Haleth, Vidumavi, additional information about Arwen, even Dis. to put to rest the mostly baseless accusations that J.R.R. Tolkien did not include or know how to write about strong women.
On a more on-topic note, one of the most fascinating time periods for me is from the Awakening of Elves at Cuiviénen up to the entry into Beleriand, and I’d love to see more fleshed-out details of that. There is a lot of info to be dug up from various texts in HoME, but not enough to satisfy my thirst. Names, places, stories and legends, maps, information and events about the Great Journey, more information about the sojourn of the Teleri at the Sea of Rhun, where exactly the three Kings fit into the geaneology relative to the first awakeners, more about the Avari and the various others who split off along the Journey, etc etc etc.