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The Silmarillion, now published four years after the death of its author, is an account of the Elder Days, or the First Age of the World In The Lord of the Rings were narrated the great events at the end of the Third Age; but the tales of The Sil frooth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils

Not only, however, does The Silmarillion relate the events of a far earlier tis; it is also, in all the essentials of its conception, far the earlier work Indeed, although it was not then called The Silo; and in battered notebooks extending back to 1917 can still be read the earliest versions, often hastily pencilled, of the central stories of the h soleaned fro life he never abandoned it, nor ceased even in his last years to work on it In all that tie narrative structure, underwent relatively little radical change; it becas But it was far indeed froed even in certain funda the nature of the world it portrays; while the saer and shorter fores and variants, both in detail and in larger perspectives, became so complex, so pervasive, and so many-layered that a final and definitive version seeends (&039;old&039; now not only in their derivation froe, but also in terms of my father&039;s life) became the vehicle and depository of his profoundest reflections In h is later writing ical and philosophical preoccupations: from which arose incompatibilities of tone

Onthe work into publishable form It became clear to le book the diversity of theand evolving creation extending over more than half a century - would in fact lead only to confusion and the sub of what is essential I setand arranging in such a way as seemed to me to produce the most coherent and internally self-consistent narrative In this work the concluding chapters (from the death of Turin Turambar) introduced peculiar difficulties, in that they had reed for many years, and were in some respects in serious disharmony with more developed conceptions in other parts of the book

A complete consistency (either within the compass of The Silmarillion itself or between The Sils of my father&039;s) is not to be looked for, and could only be achieved, if at all at heavy and needless cost Moreover, my father came to conceive The Sil afterwards froreat diversity (poe tradition; and this conception has indeed its parallel in the actual history of the book, for a great deal of earlier prose and poetry does underlie it, and it is to some extent a compendium in fact and not only in theory To thisspeed of the narrative and fullness of detail in different parts, the contrast (for example) of the precise recollections of place and h and reorodrioth overthrown; and also some differences of tone and portrayal, some obscurities, and, here and there, some lack of cohesion In the case of the Valaquenta, for instance, we have to assuo back to the earliest days of the Eldar in Valinor, it was remodelled in later ti of tense and viewpoint, so that the divine powers seem now present and active in the world, now reh entitled as it must be The Silmarillion, contains not only the Quenta Silmarillion, or Silmarillion proper, but also four other short works The Ainulindale and Valaquenta, which are given at the beginning, are indeed closely related with The Sils of Pohich appear at the end, are (it must to emphasised) wholly separate and independent They are included according to my father&039;s explicit intention; and by their inclusion is set forth the entire history is set forth froan to the passing of the Ringbearers froe

The nue, and I have provided a full index; but the number of persons (Elves and Men) who play an ie is very ical tables In addition I have provided a table setting out the rather co of the different Elvish peoples; a note on the pronunciation of Elvish names, and a list of some of the chief elements found in these nae in the east, Ered Luin or Ered Lindon, the Blue Mountains, appears in the extres In the body of the book there is a slance where lay the kingdoms of the Elves after the return of the Noldor to Middle-earth I have not burdened the book further with any sort of commentary or annotation There is indeed a wealth of unpublished writing by uistic, historical, and philosophical, and I hope that it will prove possible to publish some of this at a later date

In the difficult and doubtful task of preparing the text of the book I was very greatly assisted by Guy Kay, orked with me in 1974-1975

Christopher Tolkien

AINULINDALE

The Music of the Ainur There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Iluvatar; and heof his thought, and they ith hiht else wasto thelad But for a long while they sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of meof their brethren they grew but slowly Yet ever as they listened they ca, and increased in unison and harether all the Ainur and declared to thereater and lory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the Ainur, so that they bowed before Iluvatar and were silent

Then Iluvatar said to them: &039;Of the theme that I have declared to you, I will now that ye ether a Great Music And since I have kindled you with the Fla this thehts and devices, if he will But I win sit and hearken, and be glad that through you great beauty has been wakened into song&039;

Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and truans, and like unto countless choirs singing ords, began to fashion the thereatinto the depths and into the heights, and the places of the dwelling of Iluvatar were filled to overflowing, and the music and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was not void Never since have the Ainur h it has been said that a greater still shall be made before Iluvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Iluvatar after the end of days Then the the in the moment of their utterance, for all shall then understand fully his intent in their part, and each shall know the cohts the secret fire, being well pleased

But now Iluvatar sat and hearkened, and for a great while it seeood to hiressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to interweavethat were not in accord with the theht therein to increase the power and glory of the part assigned to hiifts of power and knowledge, and he had a share in all the gifts of his brethren He had gone often alone into the void places seeking the I into Being things of his own, and it seeht for the Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness Yet he found not the Fire, for it is with Iluvatar But being alone he had begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his brethren

Sohtway discord arose about hirew despondent, and their thought was disturbed and their an to attune their ht which they had at first Then the discord of Melkor spread ever wider, and the melodies which had been heard before foundered in a sea of turbulent sound But Iluvatar sat and hearkened until it see storm, as of dark waters that made war one upon another in an endless wrath that would not be assuaged

Then Iluvatar arose, and the Ainur perceived that he san amid the storathered power and had new beauty But the discord of Melkor rose in uproar and contended with it, and again there was a war of sound more violent than before, until er, and Melkor had the ain Iluvatar arose, and the Ainur perceived that his countenance was stern; and he lifted up his right hand, and behold! a third therew amid the confusion, and it was unlike the others For it seeentle sounds in delicate melodies; but it could not be quenched, and it took to itself power and profundity And it see at one time before the seat of Iluvatar, and they were utterly at variance The one was deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with an immeasurable sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly came The other had now achieved a unity of its own; but it was loud, and vain, and endlessly repeated; and it had little harmony, but rather a cla upon a few notes And it essayed to drown the other music by the violence of its voice, but it seemed that its most triumphant notes were taken by the other and woven into its own solemn pattern

In the midst of this strife, whereat the halls of Iluvatar shook and a tremor ran out into the silences yet unmoved, Iluvatar arose a third time, and his face was terrible to behold Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firht of the eye of Iluvatar, the Music ceased Then Iluvatar spoke, and he said: &039;Mighty are the Ainur, andthem is Melkor; but that he s that ye have sung, I will show them forth, that ye may see what ye have done And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite For he that atte of things ined&039;

Then the Ainur were afraid, and they did not yet comprehend the words that were said to theer But Iluvatar arose in splendour, and he went forth froions that he had made for the Ainur; and the Ainur followed him

But when they were come into the Void, Iluvatar said to them: &039;Behold your Music!&039; And he showed to the; arid they saw a new World lobed amid the Void, and it was sustained therein, but was not of it And as they looked and wondered this World began to unfold its history, and it seeazed for a while and were silent, Iluvatar said again: &039;Behold your Music! This is your minstrelsy; and each of you shall find contained herein, as which it may seem that he himself devised or added And thou, Melkor, wilt discover all the secret thoughts of thy mind, and wilt perceive that they are but a part of the whole and tributary to its glory&039;

And s Iluvatar spoke to the Ainur at that tie that each has of the music that he himself made, the Ainur know s are unseen by thes there are that they cannot see, neither alone nor taking counsel together; for to none but himself has Iluvatar revealed all that he has in store, and in every age there co, for they do not proceed from the past And so it was that as this vision of the World was played before thes which they had not thought And they saith a of the Children of Iluvatar, and the habitation that was prepared for them; and they perceived that they themselves in the labour of their , and yet knew not that it had any purpose beyond its own beauty For the Children of Iluvatar were conceived by him alone; and they came with the third theme, and were not in the the, and none of the Ainur had part in theirTherefore when they beheld thes other than thee and free, wherein they saw the mind of Iluvatar reflected anew, and learned yet a little more of his wisdom, which otherwise had been hidden even from the Ainur

Now the Children of Iluvatar are Elves and Men, the Firstborn and the Followers And amid all the splendours of the World, its vast halls and spaces, and its wheeling fires, Iluvatar chose a place for their habitation in the Deeps of Time and in the ht see to those who consider only the majesty of the Ainur, and not their terrible sharpness; as who should take the whole field of Arda for the foundation of a pillar and so raise it until the cone of its summit were more bitter than a needle; or who consider only the immeasurable vastness of the World, which still the Ainur are shaping, and not the s therein But when the Ainur had beheld this habitation in a vision and had seen the Children of Iluvatar arise therein, then ht and their desire towards that place And of these Melkor was the chief, even as he was in the beginning the greatest of the Ainur who took part in the Music

And he feigned, even to hio thither and order all things for the good of the Children of Iluvatar, controlling the turh him But he desired rather to subdue to his will both Elves and Men, envying the gifts hich Iluvatar promised to endow them; and he wished himself to have subject and servants, and to be called Lord, and to be a master over other wills

But the other Ainur looked upon this habitation set within the vast spaces of the World, which the Elves call Arda, the Earth; and their hearts rejoiced in light, and their eyes beholding ladness; but because of the roaring of the sea they felt a great unquiet And they observed the winds and the air, and the matters of which Arda was old and reatly praised And it is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Iluvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen

Noater had that Ainu whoht, and of all most deeply was he instructed by Iluvatar in music But of the airs and winds Manwe most had pondered, who is the noblest of the Ainur

Of the fabric of Earth had Aule thought, to whoe scarce less than to Melkor; but the delight and pride of Aule is in the deed ofmade, and neither ives and hoards not, and is free fro ever on to some neork

And Iluvatar spoke to Ulmo, and said: &039;Seest thou not how here in this little realm in the Deeps of Tiht him of bitter cold immoderate, and yet hath not destroyed the beauty of thy fountains, nor ofwork of frost! Melkor hath devised heats and fire without restraint, and hath not dried up thy desire nor utterly quelled the lory of the clouds, and the everchanging mists; and listen to the fall of rain upon the Earth! And in these clouds thou art drawn nearer to Manwe, thy friend, whom thou lovest&039;

Then Ulmo answered: &039;Truly, Water is becoined, neither had ht conceived the snowflake, nor in allof the rain I will seek Manwe, that he and I ht!&039; And Manwe and Uls have served most faithfully the purpose of Iluvatar

But even as Ul upon this vision, it was taken away and hidden froht; and it see, Darkness, which they had not known before except in thought But they had becorossed in the unfolding of the World which ca, and their minds were filled with it; for the history was incoht when the vision was taken away And some have said that the vision ceased ere the fulfil of the Firstborn; wherefore, though the Music is over all, the Valar have not seen as with sight the Later Ages or the ending of the World

Then there was unrest a the Ainur; but Iluvatar called to them, and said: &039;I know the desire of your minds that what ye have seen should verily be, not only in your thought, but even as ye yourselves are, and yet other

Therefore I say: Ea! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be; and those of you that will ht, as it were a cloud with a living heart of flame; and they knew that this was no vision only, but that Iluvatar had : Ea, the World that Is

Thus it came to pass that of the Ainur some abode still with Iluvatar beyond the confines of the World; but others, and areatest and most fair, took the leave of Iluvatar and descended into it But this condition Iluvatar made, or it is the necessity of their love, that their power should thenceforward be contained and bounded in the World, to be within it for ever, until it is complete, so that they are its life and it is theirs And therefore they are named the Valar, the Powers of the World

But when the Valar entered into Ea they were at first astounded and at a loss, for it was as if naught was yet made which they had seen in vision, and all was but on point to begin and yet unshaped, and it was dark For the Great Music had been but the growth and flowering of thought in the Tuneless Halls, and the Vision only a foreshowing; but now they had entered in at the beginning of Time, and the Valar perceived that the World had been but foreshadowed and foresung, and they reat labours in wastes unotten, until in the Deeps of Time and in the midst of the vast halls of Ea there came to be that hour and that place where was made the habitation of the Children of Iluvatar And in this work the chief part was taken by Manwe and Aule and Ulmo; but Melkor too was there fro it if he reat fires When therefore Earth was yet young and full of flame Melkor coveted it, and he said to the other Valar: &039;This shall be dom; and I name it unto myself!&039;

But Manas the brother of Melkor in the mind of Iluvatar, and he was the chief instruainst the discord of Melkor; and he called unto hireater and less, and they came down into the fields of Arda and aided Manwe, lest Melkor should hinder the fulfilment of their labour for ever, and Earth should wither ere it flowered And Manwe said unto Melkor: &039;This kingdofully, for many others have laboured here do less than thou&039; And there was strife between Melkor and the other Valar; and for that tiions and did there what he would; but he did not put the desire of the Kingdom of Arda from his heart