The Silmarillion

Silmarillerna var tre perfekta juveler skapade av Fëanor, den mest begåvade av alla alver. I silmarillerna fångade han ljuset från Valinors två träd, innan de förstördes av Morgoth. När sedan den förste onde härskaren, Morgoth, stal juvelerna för sina egna syften grep Fëanor och hans släkte till vapen och utkämpade ett långt och fruktansvärt krig för att återta dem. Detta är historien om deras trots mot gudarna, deras landsflykt från Valinor och om den heroiska första åldern i Midgård. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. Included in the book are several shorter works. The Ainulindale is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings. This pivotal work features the revised, corrected text and includes, by way of an introduction, a fascinating letter written by Tolkien in 1951 in which he gives a full explanation of how he conceived the early Ages of Middle-earth.