Spiritual Ring: The Origin of the Ring: The Origin of the Ring

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The Lord of the Rings was praised upon its first publication in 1977 with the following review: "This work, written by one person over more than half a century, has become the source of inspiration for a whole group—how is this possible?" —The Guardian. The Silmarillion is a history of the Elves, translated by Bilbo when he lived in Rivendell (from Elvish into the Common Speech of the Third Age) in the Red Book, which was later passed down to his daughter and then to Sam, who gave it to his children. The Silmarillion primarily records the great events of the First and Second Ages since the beginning of time. The Lord of the Rings tells the story of the Third Age. After Sauron was defeated, from the Fourth Age onward, humans ruled the world, and the Elves gradually disappeared. The world we live in today belongs to the Sixth or Seventh Age (as Tolkien said).
Why did Elrond so strongly oppose Arwen and Aragorn's love? Do you know that Aragorn actually has Elven blood? Why did Arwen choose to marry a mortal and cannot regret it or return to the Undying Lands after her husband's death? What are the Undying Lands like? Why is the friendship between Legolas and Gimli so extraordinary, given that their peoples were once mortal enemies? Do you want to know the origins of the Dwarves? How did the Ents come to be? And the most important question of all: how did such a charming species as the Elves come into existence, and why must they eventually disappear from Middle-earth? How did Sauron rise to power? Who was Melkor? Where did the Balrogs and Orcs come from? Gandalf and Saruman were originally angels sent to help Middle-earth—did you know that? But how did Saruman turn into a villain? I could list a truckload of questions from The Lord of the Rings, and all their answers are in The Silmarillion.
The title The Silmarillion is a shortened form of "The History of the Silmarils," which tells the story of the three great jewels created by the most gifted Elf, F?anor. He stored the light of the Two Trees that illuminated the gods' dwelling, Valinor, within these gems. When the Dark Lord Melkor destroyed the Two Trees, that brilliant light survived only in the Silmarils. Melkor stole the jewels and set them in his crown, ruling from the impregnable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion records how F?anor and his kind betrayed the gods, were exiled to Middle-earth, and waged war against the great and terrible enemy Melkor, writing a series of desperate yet heroic stories of Elves and Men.