Which books are canon? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mithadan*** · 07-12-2000, 08:48 AM

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<img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/sting.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Which books are canon?

The Silmarillion was synthesized from materials of varying age and varying stages of completion. CT managed to put it together within 4 years of JRRT's death. When you read HoME, you begin to understand that some of what went into the Silmarillion was in excess of 25 years old while other materials were from the late 1950s or early 1960s. In the later volumes of HoME, CT frequently voices regrets concerning "editorial" decisions he made in putting the Silmarillion together. Obviously, during the 20+ years that he has worked on HoME, he has discovered materials he missed when preparing the Silm. for publication. This is the reason some people reject the Silmarillion as "canon". However, most of the things CT regrets are minor in scope, such as the identity of Gil-Galad's father. The Silm. is mostly faithful to his father's latest "finished" conceptions of the tales it contains.

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07-12-2000, 08:48 AM	#11
*Mithadan* Spirit of Mist Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Tol Eressea Posts: 3,397	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Newly Deceased Posts: 0</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/sting.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Which books are canon? The Silmarillion was synthesized from materials of varying age and varying stages of completion. CT managed to put it together within 4 years of JRRT's death. When you read HoME, you begin to understand that some of what went into the Silmarillion was in excess of 25 years old while other materials were from the late 1950s or early 1960s. In the later volumes of HoME, CT frequently voices regrets concerning "editorial" decisions he made in putting the Silmarillion together. Obviously, during the 20+ years that he has worked on HoME, he has discovered materials he missed when preparing the Silm. for publication. This is the reason some people reject the Silmarillion as "canon". However, most of the things CT regrets are minor in scope, such as the identity of Gil-Galad's father. The Silm. is mostly faithful to his father's latest "finished" conceptions of the tales it contains. </p> __________________ Beleriand, Beleriand, the borders of the Elven-land.