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{{short description|10'th volume of the 12-volume series 'The History of Middle-earth'}}
{{Short description|Tenth of the 12 volumes of 'The History of Middle-earth'}}
{{Use British English Oxford spelling|date=December 2010}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox book
{{Infobox book
|name = Morgoth's Ring
|name =Morgoth's Ring
|image =MorgothsRing.png<!--this image preferred here as visually distinctive and more likely to be recognised by readers-->
|image = MorgothsRing.png
|caption =
|caption =
|editor = [[Christopher Tolkien]]
|editor =[[Christopher Tolkien]]
|author=[[J. R. R. Tolkien]]
|author =[[J. R. R. Tolkien]]
|country = United Kingdom
|country =United Kingdom
|language = English
|language =English
|genre = [[High fantasy]]<br />Literary analysis
|genre =[[High fantasy]]<br />Literary analysis
|series=''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''
⚫
|subject = [[Tolkien's legendarium]]
|release_number= 10
⚫
|publisher=[[George Allen & Unwin]] (UK)
⚫
|subject =[[Tolkien's legendarium]]
⚫
|release_date = 1993
⚫
|publisher =[[George Allen & Unwin]] (UK)
⚫
|media_type = Print (hardback and paperback)
⚫
|release_date=1993
⚫
|pages = 496 (paperback)
⚫
|media_type =Print (hardback and paperback)
⚫
| isbn = 978-0261103009
⚫
|pages =496 (paperback)
⚫
| preceded_by = [[The History of The Lord of the Rings]]
⚫
|isbn = 978-0261103009
⚫
| followed_by = [[The War of the Jewels]]
⚫
|preceded_by=[[The History of The Lord of the Rings]]
⚫
|followed_by=[[The War of the Jewels]]
}}
}}
⚫
'''''Morgoth's Ring''''' (1993) is the tenth volume of [[Christopher Tolkien]]'s 12-volume series ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' in which he analyses the unpublished manuscripts of his father [[J. R. R. Tolkien]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Whittingham |first=Elizabeth A. |author-link=Elizabeth Whittingham |title=The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology: A Study of the History of Middle-earth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=22EqDwAAQBAJ |year=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-1174-7}}</ref>
{{HoME navbox}}
⚫
'''''Morgoth's Ring''''' (1993) is the tenth volume of [[Christopher Tolkien]]'s 12-volume series ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' in which he analyses the unpublished manuscripts of his father [[J. R. R. Tolkien]].


==Contents==
== Book ==


=== Contents ===
This volume, along with the subsequent ''[[The War of the Jewels]]'', provides detailed writings and editorial commentary pertaining to [[J. R. R. Tolkien's cosmology]] that eventually would become ''[[The Silmarillion]]''. This volume mentions a few characters excluded elsewhere, including Findis and Irimë, the daughters of [[Finwë]].


{{Tolkien's legendarium|upright=1.7|caption=Navigable diagram of [[Tolkien's legendarium]]. ''Morgoth's Ring'' presents materials related to ''Quenta Silmarillion''.}}
⚫
The title of this volume comes from a statement from one of the essays: "Just as [[Sauron]] concentrated his power in the [[One Ring]], [[Morgoth]] dispersed his power into the very matter of [[Arda (Tolkien)|Arda]], thus the whole of [[Middle-earth]] was Morgoth's Ring".<ref>{{cite book

| author = J. R. R. Tolkien
⚫
''Morgoth's Ring'' presents source materials and editorial commentary on the following:
| authorlink = J. R. R. Tolkien
| editor = [[Christopher Tolkien]]
| year = 1993
| title = Morgoth's Ring
| location = Boston & New York
| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin]]
| isbn = 0-395-68092-1
| page = xi
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/morgothsringlate00tolk
}}</ref>


⚫
''Morgoth's Ring'' presents source material and editorial on the following:
* Later (1951) revisions of ''The Silmarillion'', showing Tolkien's drastic revisiting and rewriting of his legends.
* Later (1951) revisions of ''The Silmarillion'', showing Tolkien's drastic revisiting and rewriting of his legends.
⚫
* ''The Annals of Aman'' — the history of the world from the entry of the [[Valar]] into [[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]] until the [[Valinor#The Hiding of Valinor|Hiding of Valinor]] after the revolt and exile of the [[Noldor]]. It is written in the form of year-by-year entries of varying lengths, much like real-world [[annal]]s. [[Tolkien's frame stories|Tolkien attributes the work]] to the Noldorin lore-master and linguist Rúmil of Tirion. According to the second typescript, ''The Annals of Aman'' were remembered by the Noldorin Exiles in Middle-earth, who transmitted their knowledge to the Men of [[Númenor]], whence it eventually reached Arnor and [[Gondor]]. Tolkien wrote ''The Annals of Aman'' after the completion of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. There are three extant versions of the text, including a carefully emended manuscript, a typescript and its carbon copy, each featuring different corrections and notes, and a typescript of the earlier sections of the text that deviates from the previous typescript. Christopher Tolkien surmises that the first typescript was composed in 1958. A reworking of the earlier ''[[Annals of Valinor]]'' and connected closely with the narrative of the incomplete 1937 ''[[Quenta Silmarillion]]'', ''The Annals of Aman'' moves from a compressed narrative style to a fuller accounting of the events of the chronology.
* "[[Annals of Aman]]" — detailed chronology from the creation of the world through to the end of the [[First Age]], including an explanation of time reckoning in [[Valian Years]].
* "Laws and Customs among the Eldar" — several essays and legends on the [[Eldar (Middle-earth)|Eldar]], particularly mating and naming customs of the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]], and Tolkien's conceptions of the Fëa and hröa (soul and body).
* "Laws and Customs among the Eldar" — several essays and legends on the [[Eldar (Middle-earth)|Eldar]] ([[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]]), particularly their mating and naming customs, and their conceptions of the ''fëa'' (soul) and ''hröa'' (body).{{anchor|Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth}}
* "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" — A discussion between two characters, an Elven king [[Finrod Felagund]] and Andreth, a mortal woman, about the tragedy of death and immortality, and the way Elves and [[Edain|Men]] suffer their different sorrows; and about the healing of death by the Resurrection and the Incarnation.
* "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" — A discussion between two characters, [[Finrod Felagund]], an Elven king, and Andreth, a mortal woman, about the natures of [[Death and immortality in Middle-earth|death and immortality]], and the ways in which Elves and [[Edain|Men]] suffer their different sorrows;{{efn|These themes are discussed further at [[The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen#Love and death]].}} and about the healing of death by the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]] and the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation]].
* "Tale of Adanel" — the Middle-earth version of the tale of [[original sin]], included in "Athrabeth", being told by Andreth to Finrod as a story about the past of Men.
* "Tale of Adanel" — the Middle-earth version of the Fall, attached to "Athrabeth".
* "Myths Transformed" — several fragments on Morgoth, Sauron, and the origin of the [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orcs]]. This section is frequently cited in discussions concerning the Tolkien [[legendarium]], and represents the author's later-evolved views on some central topics.
* "Myths Transformed" — several fragments on Morgoth, Sauron, and the [[Tolkien's moral dilemma|problem of the origin of the Orcs]]. This section, which proposes inconsistent solutions to the problem, is frequently cited in discussions of [[Tolkien's legendarium]], and represents the author's later-evolved views on some central topics.

=== Title and inscription ===

⚫
The title of this volume comes from a statement in one of Tolkien's essays: "Just as [[Sauron]] concentrated his power in the [[One Ring]], [[Morgoth]] dispersed his power into the very matter of [[Arda (Tolkien)|Arda]], thus the whole of [[Middle-earth]] was Morgoth's Ring".<ref>{{cite book |author=J. R. R. Tolkien |author-link=J. R. R. Tolkien |editor=Christopher Tolkien |editor-link=Christopher Tolkien |year=1993 |title=Morgoth's Ring |location=Boston & New York |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]] |isbn=0-395-68092-1 |page=xi |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/morgothsringlate00tolk}}</ref>

⚫
The title page of each volume of ''The History of Middle-earth'' displays an inscription in the [[Fëanorian]] characters ([[Tengwar]], an alphabet devised by Tolkien for [[High-elven]]), written by Christopher Tolkien and describing the contents of the book. The inscription in Volume X reads: "In this book are given many of the later writings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien concerning the history of the Elder Days from the [[Music of the Ainur]] to the [[Valinor#The Hiding of Valinor|Hiding of Valinor]]; here much is told of the Sun and Moon; of the immortal Eldar and the death of the Atani; of the beginning of the [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orcs]] and of the evil power of [[Melkor]], the Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World."


===The Annals of Aman===
== Reception ==
{{see also|Timeline of Arda}}
'''''The Annals of Aman''''' date to the period following the completion of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. There are three extant versions of the text, including a carefully emended manuscript, a typescript and its carbon copy each featuring different corrections and notes, and a typescript of the earlier sections of the text that deviates from the previous typescript.
Christopher Tolkien surmises that the first typescript was composed in 1958.


Reviewing the book for ''[[Mythlore]]'', [[Glen GoodKnight]] wrote that in it, Christopher Tolkien leads the reader into "new third phase of his father's concept of Middle-earth after the writing of ''The Lord of the Rings'' — his recasting and adding to the mythos." In his view, the book is a major "earthquake" bringing "astounding revelations" about Tolkien's development of Middle-earth. One is the "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" (The Debate of
A reworking of the earlier ''[[Annals of Valinor]]'' (which was the working title of the manuscript until Tolkien changed it) and connected closely with the narrative of the incomplete 1937 ''[[Quenta Silmarillion]]'', ''The Annals of Aman'' moves from a compressed narrative style to a fuller accounting of the events of the chronology.
Finrod and Andreth), meant to be the last item in ''The Silmarillion's'' appendix, Tolkien's authoritative last word on the subject; it reveals that death was the product of the evil will of [[Morgoth]]. GoodKnight comments that the materials in the book could have radically changed ''The Silmarillion'', had Tolkien lived to finish it "to his satisfaction".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=GoodKnight|first=Glen|date=1994-03-15|title=A Thing Wholly Different|url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol20/iss2/10|journal=[[Mythlore]]: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature|volume=20|issue=2|issn=0146-9339}}</ref>


== See also ==
⚫
''The Annals of Aman'' presents the history of the world from the entry of the [[Valar]] into [[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]] until the [[Valinor#The Hiding of Valinor|Hiding of Valinor]] after the revolt and exile of the [[Noldor]] in the form of year-by-year entries of varying lengths, much in the style of real-world [[annal]]s. Tolkien attributes the work to the Noldorin lore-master and linguist [[List of Middle-earth Elves#Rúmil|Rúmil of Tirion]]. According to the second typescript, ''The Annals of Aman'' were remembered by the Noldorin Exiles in Middle-earth, who transmitted their knowledge to the Men of [[Númenor]], whence it eventually reached [[Arnor (Middle-earth)|Arnor]] and [[Gondor]].


⚫
* [[Aman (Middle-earth)|Aman]]
==Title page==
⚫
* [[Eru Ilúvatar]]
The title page of each volume of ''The History of Middle-earth'' displays an inscription in the [[Fëanorian]] characters ([[Tengwar]], an alphabet devised by Tolkien for [[High-elven]]), written by Christopher Tolkien and describing the contents of the book. The inscription in Volume X reads:
⚫
* [[History of Arda]]
⚫
{{quote|''In this book are given many of the later writings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien concerning the history of the Elder Days from the [[Music of the Ainur]] to the [[Valinor#The Hiding of Valinor|Hiding of Valinor]]; here much is told of the Sun and the Moon; of the immortal Eldar and the death of the Atani; of the beginning of the [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orcs]] and of the evil power of [[Melkor]], the Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World.''}}


==See also==
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{Portal|Speculative fiction}}
⚫
*[[Aman (Middle-earth)|Aman]]
⚫
*[[Eru Ilúvatar]]
⚫
*[[History of Arda]]


==References==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{Middle-earth}}
{{Middle-earth}}

Latest revision as of 07:40, 4 September 2024

Morgoth's Ring
EditorChristopher Tolkien
AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe History of Middle-earth
Release number
10
SubjectTolkien's legendarium
GenreHigh fantasy
Literary analysis
PublisherGeorge Allen & Unwin (UK)
Publication date
1993
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages496 (paperback)
ISBN978-0261103009
Preceded byThe History of The Lord of the Rings 
Followed byThe War of the Jewels 

Morgoth's Ring (1993) is the tenth volume of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyses the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien.[1]

Book

[edit]

Contents

[edit]
Diagram of the documents comprising Tolkien's Legendarium, as interpreted very strictly, strictly, or more broadlyThe HobbitThe Lord of the RingsThe SilmarillionUnfinished TalesThe Annotated HobbitThe History of The HobbitThe History of The Lord of the RingsThe Lost Road and Other WritingsThe Notion Club PapersJ. R. R. Tolkien's explorations of time travelThe Book of Lost TalesThe Lays of BeleriandThe Shaping of Middle-earthThe Shaping of Middle-earthMorgoth's RingThe War of the JewelsThe History of Middle-earthNon-narrative elements in The Lord of the RingsLanguages constructed by J. R. R. TolkienTolkien's artworkTolkien's scriptsPoetry in The Lord of the Ringscommons:File:Tolkien's Legendarium.svg
Navigable diagram of Tolkien's legendarium. Morgoth's Ring presents materials related to Quenta Silmarillion.

Morgoth's Ring presents source materials and editorial commentary on the following:

  • Later (1951) revisions of The Silmarillion, showing Tolkien's drastic revisiting and rewriting of his legends.
  • The Annals of Aman — the history of the world from the entry of the Valar into Arda until the Hiding of Valinor after the revolt and exile of the Noldor. It is written in the form of year-by-year entries of varying lengths, much like real-world annals. Tolkien attributes the work to the Noldorin lore-master and linguist Rúmil of Tirion. According to the second typescript, The Annals of Aman were remembered by the Noldorin Exiles in Middle-earth, who transmitted their knowledge to the Men of Númenor, whence it eventually reached Arnor and Gondor. Tolkien wrote The Annals of Aman after the completion of The Lord of the Rings. There are three extant versions of the text, including a carefully emended manuscript, a typescript and its carbon copy, each featuring different corrections and notes, and a typescript of the earlier sections of the text that deviates from the previous typescript. Christopher Tolkien surmises that the first typescript was composed in 1958. A reworking of the earlier Annals of Valinor and connected closely with the narrative of the incomplete 1937 Quenta Silmarillion, The Annals of Aman moves from a compressed narrative style to a fuller accounting of the events of the chronology.
  • "Laws and Customs among the Eldar" — several essays and legends on the Eldar (Elves), particularly their mating and naming customs, and their conceptions of the fëa (soul) and hröa (body).
  • "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" — A discussion between two characters, Finrod Felagund, an Elven king, and Andreth, a mortal woman, about the natures of death and immortality, and the ways in which Elves and Men suffer their different sorrows;[a] and about the healing of death by the Resurrection and the Incarnation.
  • "Tale of Adanel" — the Middle-earth version of the Fall, attached to "Athrabeth".
  • "Myths Transformed" — several fragments on Morgoth, Sauron, and the problem of the origin of the Orcs. This section, which proposes inconsistent solutions to the problem, is frequently cited in discussions of Tolkien's legendarium, and represents the author's later-evolved views on some central topics.

Title and inscription

[edit]

The title of this volume comes from a statement in one of Tolkien's essays: "Just as Sauron concentrated his power in the One Ring, Morgoth dispersed his power into the very matter of Arda, thus the whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring".[2]

The title page of each volume of The History of Middle-earth displays an inscription in the Fëanorian characters (Tengwar, an alphabet devised by Tolkien for High-elven), written by Christopher Tolkien and describing the contents of the book. The inscription in Volume X reads: "In this book are given many of the later writings of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien concerning the history of the Elder Days from the Music of the Ainur to the Hiding of Valinor; here much is told of the Sun and Moon; of the immortal Eldar and the death of the Atani; of the beginning of the Orcs and of the evil power of Melkor, the Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World."

Reception

[edit]

Reviewing the book for Mythlore, Glen GoodKnight wrote that in it, Christopher Tolkien leads the reader into "new third phase of his father's concept of Middle-earth after the writing of The Lord of the Rings — his recasting and adding to the mythos." In his view, the book is a major "earthquake" bringing "astounding revelations" about Tolkien's development of Middle-earth. One is the "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" (The Debate of Finrod and Andreth), meant to be the last item in The Silmarillion's appendix, Tolkien's authoritative last word on the subject; it reveals that death was the product of the evil will of Morgoth. GoodKnight comments that the materials in the book could have radically changed The Silmarillion, had Tolkien lived to finish it "to his satisfaction".[3]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ These themes are discussed further at The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen#Love and death.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Whittingham, Elizabeth A. (2017). The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology: A Study of the History of Middle-earth. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1174-7.
  2. ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (1993). Christopher Tolkien (ed.). Morgoth's Ring. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin. p. xi. ISBN 0-395-68092-1.
  3. ^ GoodKnight, Glen (15 March 1994). "A Thing Wholly Different". Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature. 20 (2). ISSN 0146-9339.
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