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Post 1/2: When I read ”Of the Flight of the Noldor” now after reading the History of Middle-Earth (HoME), I always miss the actual inclusion of the oath of Fëanor and his sons. Reading the words feels so much more dramatic than only a narrative description. So, I‘m sharing two versions. This is the version from the tagged book.

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My favorite part of this book was learning about the culture and beliefs of the Elves. That was quite fascinating. As was some of the early ideas involving the history of orcs.
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This book was a challenging but also fascinating read. I absolutely loved many of the details that were added into the post LotR drafts without changing any of the story. I was also amazed to see how Tolkien considered changing his mythology to make it fit better with a real world perspective. This book provided insight and made me think more deeply. I‘m so ready to continue this journey through the History of Middle-Earth.

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I absolutely loved it.
It's a demanding book. There is a lot of philosophical thinking and even spiritual matters, but this is exactly why l loved it. Not just the insignt into Middle-Earth, but also its more profound meaning.

I was fascinated with the alternative versions of the Silmarillion, and also with the fact that Tolkien was prepared to change everything to make his world more credibile.

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Really enjoyed this last section about Men and mortality and the reason why Men would become immortal even if they reached Aman.
It is eerily similar to what actually happened in Numenor.

I haven‘t been reading much this past week, but in the last couple days I finally got into the first sections of Myths Transformed. I read more this morning with breakfast about the sun and moon and stars. I‘m intrigued by Tolkien‘s struggles to mesh together his earlier mythology with a more real world view, but honestly I just love the mythology.

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Fantastic section about Orcs!
This seems to have been a tricks question for Tolkien as he tried to integrate Orcs into a world that he had seen for such a long time only from the eyes of the Elves.

I was quite shocked to discover that he finally concluded that Orcs were derived from Men, not from Elves.

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I totally, totally love this examination of the personalities of Melkor and Sauron.
They seem to be very similar, instead they are so very different.

I appreciate that Tolkien gave thought also to the dark side, which he negletted in the time before the Lord of the Rings. This reflection seems to have enlarge his vision of Middle-Earth (and the universo where it exists) even more.

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I'm so impressed of how Tolkien reworked his mythology after the publication of The Lord of the Rings in a way that made it so very new, and still always the same, recognizable mythology.

I loved learning more about Morgoth, and especially l appreciate the larger role that Varda seem to take up in these new versions.

And the theory why the Valar often appear to renouce action? Fantastic!

This one is tough to review... I wish Christopher Tolkien has found these stories and rewritings before The Silmarillion was published, I wish further still that JRR Tolkien had been able to print this story in his lifetime the way he envisioned it. The re-writings of these stories after LOTR contained some minor and some major revisions of the stories we know, and he often tweaked them in a way that would have suited many readers who found ⤵️

I always assumed characters like Bombadil & Goldberry were Maiar like Melian, with their own limited kingdoms. The Eagles were messengers of Manwe & since he had affinity with air/wind/birds it just made sense. This means Huan, Beorn, Old Man Willow, & possibly Ents were all lesser fae to the Valar. As he revised his legendarium to mesh with his new LOTR, he takes up all of these & Orc/Troll/Balrogs origins, but I‘m still waiting on Hobbits. ⤵️

I learned of these free Mythgard Academy classes/discussions led by Corey Olsen through the Tolkien Society of KC meetings. Each is about 2 hours, so I listened to the 1st about Morgoth‘s Ring and then jumped to the 7th when he starts discussing the second phase. One of the most interesting aspects to me is the discussion of an increase in development of female characters in these post LotR drafts.

Continued in comments 👇

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I find this total rewoking of the creation of Arda absolutely fascinating.
Tolkien manages to keep the story arc even changing all the concept.

Though l think the loss of the creation of the Moon and Sun would ha been really gevious.

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I am totally shocked!
That after decades of working at a version of his legendarium, Tolkien considered changing all the cards is really something l didn't expect.

Changing the creation of the Sun and Moon? 😲

And turning a tradition that was always Elvish into a Mannish tradition? 😲
Though l admit that the centrality of the three Great Stories that bring Elves and Men together would made great sense.

The Tale of Adanel is quite simple both in structure and intuition, still l find it interesting because it incarnates the essence of one of Tolkien's strongest themes, as l see it: because strength (and therefore power) comes from the innermost part of us, the Enemy needs to deforme the truth in order to makes un weak.
A lie that is partially true (as the Noldor know well) is much more powerful that any other lie.

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I don‘t know how I fell so far behind #FellowshipofTolkien, but I just made it to our last section of reading (so 10ish days behind)! There was some great stuff in the expanded Silmarillion chapters....so much I wish he had found and included with the original publication. Lots more about that final fallout that led to the Doom and so much later heartache. I really felt for Feanor‘s half-brother here, who literally just promised to let...

I‘m continuing my reading of the notes and commentary for “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” with lunch. This is section is philosophical but still fascinating in how it continues to show Tolkien‘s thinking about the world he created, even so many years into the process.

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I'm totally loving this parte of HoME, even if some part, like this Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, are all but light reading.

I'm so in awe of Tolkien‘s dedication to his world. His pgilodophical and spiritual reflections are so inspiring.

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I just barely started “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” with supper and I‘m already intrigued! Christopher starts out by attempting to determine when it was written using dates on the back of some of the paper, the dates of the newspaper it was wrapped in, and the fact that it was typed on the “new typewriter.” Then it is introduced as the discussion between Finrod and a wise woman of the house of Beor.

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Absolutely loved these additions to the Darkening of Valinor.
Characters and situation become so much more complex.
It's a joy to read.

It‘s been a while since I‘ve had a chance for leisurely breakfast reading, but this morning thanks to the rain I have a bit of time before church. I‘m continuing the last few chapters of the Second Phase, and I appreciate the further character development that we get to see in these sections.

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Really really enjoyed the additional details about Ungoliant and Morgoth.
I like that Tolkien gives us their fears and their (terrible) hopes. And their lust.
They become more as the other characters, not just perfectly evil enemies.

Loved it.

I truly enjoyed this short section about Nerdanel, the wife of Feanor. There‘s the hint of an amazing character here. Descriptions like this show that Tolkien could and did create strong female characters throughout his world. I will always defend that point while also wishing that he had chosen to flesh out more of them with greater roles in his stories.

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The Unrest of the Noldor is one of those difficult chapters. It's where we have to accept that truth and acknowledging the truth is not enough. Sometimes the damege is already so large and so deep that discovering the truth only makes things more sorrowful, but it solves nothing 😢

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I know Feanor is an extremely difficult character and did a lot of bad things, but l still think he's an incredible, complex and very human character.
I loved these new details about his marriage.

And Nerdanel is one of those Tolkien women readers should know a lot more about.

What a fun etymological fact about the word willy-nilly from Tolkien! I love learning about the history of words and how they change over time, so this note was especially interesting to me.

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I fide every little adjustment to Finwe and Miriel's story so interesting. I never realised it was such complex story and so full of meaning, both in itself and for the legendarium. There's so little of any of this in the Silmarillion.

I haven‘t had much reading time recently, but this evening I read through the rest of the first section of the Laws & Customs Among the Eldar (Laws B). There are some complex ideas to consider here, including the intriguing relationship between the spirit (fea) and body(hroa ). I admit I would have liked a bit more about the rebirth of elves, and the section on houseless fea might have just made me more curious.

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I totally loved it!

Certainly not a light read, but absolutely fantastic on a thoughtful - but l'd even say - philosophical level.
Many of Tolkien's favourite themes appear here (l loved the reflection on hope and despair), and as usual, Tolkien manags to put himself in everybody's shoes so that in the end putting the blame on anyone becomes really really hard.

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This section about the body and spirit of the Elves is absolutely fascinating.
And it may seem nerdy that Tolkien went in such details into things that might seem quite abstract. But it true, it makes a lot of sense in the world of Middle-Earth and l can see why and in which stories this was relevant.

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Really enjoyed reading these essay. There are some things that filter through in the stories, but it's nice to read about them with more awareness.

The distintion between who dedicate themselves to life and healing and who dedicate themselves to fight and killing reminded me something an Iroquois friend of mine told me once about her people.
It isn't the first time Tolkien's philosophy make me think to Native Americans.

I‘ve made it to the Second Phase of the Later Quenta Silmarillion and I‘m really looking forward to reading information from this section that I‘ve heard referenced.

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I‘m finally caught up again, and now it‘s getting good....all the laws and customs of the Eldar I didn‘t know I wanted to know! 🤭

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I'm very intrigued by the story of Miriel and Finwe because l think his parents' decisions had a very important impatto on Feanor and his own decisions.
And l think this is one of those cases where everyone acts in good faith and with reasons, and still everything ended up going terribly wrong.
Tolkien was a master in this kind of plot 😆

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The Valar aderenti such a huge transformation since The Book of Lost Tales.
They were quite strightforward in that book. Veri similar to human in their emotional and attitudes. But over the many revisions, they have become quite complex and almost mysterious.
It's a very fascinating evolution.

“Of the Silmarils and the Darkening of Valinor” contains a few details that caught my attention.

I enjoyed this additional description of Feanor‘s mother Miriel and the skill and beauty of her needlework.

We‘ve read about Feanor‘s other creations before, but it‘s only in my most recent reading of The Silmarillion that I understood these are most likely the Palantir. It‘s also mentioned in the commentary on this passage.

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The Flight of the Noldor is definitely one of the most complex parts in the Silmarillion and in my opinion, one of the most thought-provoking.
It is incredibile layered. Reflections of a life time came into it.

Nachos loaded with fresh garden vegetables for supper and a few more pages of Tolkien! I don‘t really have much to say about the sections of the Later Quenta Silmarillion that I‘ve read so far, but I‘m enjoying seeing another step in the process and the extra details to consider. Also, it looks like I should read a bit more tonight as I‘m still a few days behind schedule.

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Loved it!
I especially enjoyed the little tidbits that didn't make it into the Silmarillion, like the fact that Feanor created the Silmarils because maybe he had a premonition and wanted to preserve the light of the Trees.

I can't wait to read more about Feanor.

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I'm still not sure what to think about the Valar and their summon of the Elves to Valinor.
I'm sure they acted out of love and worry, so certainly not for the selfish reasons Morgoth alleged, but l'm also quite sure much of the terrible things that befell the Noldor afterward came about because of this summoning.

It's a complex matter. As usual 😆

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I've always loved the story of Thingol and Melian. I've always find it so romantic.

Still, last year some friends discussed the possibility that Melian didn't fall in love with Thingol, but she exchanged him, and she was sent to Middle-Earth precisely with that task.
I didn't believe it, but l'll admit that reading the Silmarillion that possibility sound ed quite possible.

Yet, the Annals of Aman tell the other story.

I‘ve seen the word amanuensis a few times in the History of Middle-Earth books, so last night I finally took the time to look it up. What an interesting and specific word!

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I've always been fascinated with the concept of the five battles of Middle-Earth, l don't know why.
I suppose that in a way l feel that the sequences of the battle helps to bring together a story that at first glance may seem too large and too scattetered.

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It's kind of weird reading these older versions of the story after reading more recent once and especially the published Silmarillion.
Still there are passages to discover, even little things that didn't make it into the published book.

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I had kind of decided that since we're going over material l have posted numerus times before, l wasn't going to post on every chapter. But you know what? I missed the ritual of posting my ideas after reading The chapter.
So l'm afraid you'll have to put up with me 😆

This meme was included in my local Tolkien Society newsletter as I was reading section five of the Annals of Aman which describes Feanor‘s oath, so I couldn‘t resist sharing with our reading group here. The oath and the power of Feanor‘s words over many of the Noldor is impressive, and this is always an interesting section of the story to me.

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I found this note about Feanor possibly being the firstborn child of the Eldar, or the first elf born to parents, fascinating!

From: Annals of Aman section 3 commentary

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You know, l'm slowly changing my mind about the Valar and their decision to hide Valinor.
In the beginning, l thought they were forsaking their role as protectors of the Children of Ilúvatar and were really abandoning the rebellious Noldor. But now l'm starting to think their action where actually more subtle, and their mistakes might have been before rather then after the Flight of the Noldor.

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The Flight of the Noldor has always been one of my super favourite parts of The Silmarillion.
I loved that here there were a bit more details, though other were missing.
I remember a previous version of the story where the full debite between Feanor, Fingolfin and Finarfin was written. It was absolutely fantastic. Hope to have more of it soon.