Will a "definitive" version of The Silmarillion ever be released? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

TheLostPilgrim · 01-05-2012, 02:40 PM

If only Tolkien had been immortal...Imagine what could've come from his mind...He probably would've at some point finished The Silmarillion in total; it was dear to his heart and even the 1977 version is a masterpiece and a work of art. Although, it seems his mind was always changing, even on small issues, and perhaps he would've never reached any definitive conclusion even if given 100 years...He might have always been tinkering with it, never truly "satisfied" with it, always finding some new idea or twist on a story or new angle on a character. Consider the way he jumped around with what the origin of the Orc were...He never did seem totally sure.

I tend to look at The Silmarillion as one version of incredibly ancient tales: Some of the details might have been "lost in translation" but the story is mostly the same. As such, to me it is canon. It is a distillation of the tales, which seem to have changed many times over the course of JRRT's life. It is the best we would probably ever get given what I've read here. Sort of like how the Eddas or Beowulf were probably tampered with and Christianized a bit. Still the "definitive" Beowulf.

01-05-2012, 02:40 PM	#8
TheLostPilgrim Haunting Spirit Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 72	If only Tolkien had been immortal...Imagine what could've come from his mind...He probably would've at some point finished The Silmarillion in total; it was dear to his heart and even the 1977 version is a masterpiece and a work of art. Although, it seems his mind was always changing, even on small issues, and perhaps he would've never reached any definitive conclusion even if given 100 years...He might have always been tinkering with it, never truly "satisfied" with it, always finding some new idea or twist on a story or new angle on a character. Consider the way he jumped around with what the origin of the Orc were...He never did seem totally sure. I tend to look at The Silmarillion as one version of incredibly ancient tales: Some of the details might have been "lost in translation" but the story is mostly the same. As such, to me it is canon. It is a distillation of the tales, which seem to have changed many times over the course of JRRT's life. It is the best we would probably ever get given what I've read here. Sort of like how the Eddas or Beowulf were probably tampered with and Christianized a bit. Still the "definitive" Beowulf. Last edited by TheLostPilgrim; 01-05-2012 at 02:46 PM.