The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of mythological narratives by J.R.R.
Tolkien, published posthumously in 1977.
It presents the creation myth and ancient history of Middle-earth, covering events thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
The title refers to the Silmarils—three jewels containing sacred light whose theft drives much of the tragedy.
Often used as shorthand for Tolkien's dense, archaic legendarium: I tried reading The Silmarillion but couldn't get past the genealogies.
Making something exist
- subcreationInvented fictional universe
- VoidNamed cosmic emptiness
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
- world-buildingCreating fictional universes
Extended heroic narrative
- chronicleOrdered historical record
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- legendariumComprehensive fictional mythology collection
- tragedyDisastrous or sorrowful event
heroism · doom · fate · oath · exile · fall · redemption · hubris
Tolkien's constructed languages
- etymologyWord origin study
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- philologyStudy of historical texts
Middle-earth
Fantasy world with hobbits
Morgoth
creation
Making something exist
- subcreationInvented fictional universe
- VoidNamed cosmic emptiness
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
saga
Extended heroic narrative
- chronicleOrdered historical record
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- legendariumComprehensive fictional mythology collection
tragedy · heroism · doom · fate · oath · exile · fall · redemption · hubris · quest
Elvish
Tolkien's constructed languages
- etymologyWord origin study
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- philologyStudy of historical texts
Orcs
Monstrous humanoid fantasy race