[Roa_Aoife]

I'm not really an authority on the unpublished works, so I think the question of their importance, again, goes to his intent. Were they unpublished because he didn't want them to be, or because he simply didn't have enough time? If it is the latter, then I think they should carry nearly the same weight of the published.

Also, if LotR was meant as a pre-history for our world, then it would stand to reason that Tolkien would keep at "meshable" with our reality as possible. There was never a stage of his life in which Tolkien wasn't Catholic, believing the Christian God to be part of our reality.

Of course, I'm arguing the supposed intent of a dead man, so this is really just blowing smoke.