Quote:
Originally posted by Elenhin:
<STRONG>Elrian, I'm afraid you have the textual history backwards.
The texts found in the latest volumes of the History of Middle-Earth series are the latest pieces of text JRRT wrote about Middle-Earth. Cristopher gives them completely unaltered: he even refuses to change words which are obviously false (such as Fingolfin in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad - that should obviously be Fingon) or to insert words which obviously belong there.
The published Silmarillion, on the other hand, is by no means the finished version JRRT was aiming for. It was pieced together by Cristopher, most often using the latest stories but sometimes he had to fall back to older stories (Fall of Gondolin) or even make up some stuff (Fall of Doriath). This is because JRRT was constantly rewriting the texts and so they often became inconsistent with each other. Cristopher also had to combine two separate texts, Quenta Silmarillion and the Grey Annals, into one. All this often leads to confusion and problems when trying to find out where a phrase or a passage in the published Silmarillion really comes from.
(Not that Cristopher didn't do a good job - I really like the version because of its internal consistency, but sometimes it just is confusing people about the latest intentions of JRRT.)
[ November 15, 2001: Message edited by: Elenhin ]</STRONG>
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Confusing indeed as Melkor/Morgoth was in the beginning the most powerful Vala, saying Sauron was more powerful than Morgoth in the third Age is like saying Sauron would have been more powerful than Manwe at that time. For most of the Third Age Sauron had a lack of power, until he started to gain power again in the later part of the Third Age. Perhaps that was not meant to be inner power but a bigger army than Morgoth.
Cool Eye ikon you got there Mordor dude!
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