As a young man, after reading LoTR, then The Hobbit, then LoTR again, I finally came to The Silmarillion, and ran smack into a wall. It was so dense compared to the vaporous first books I had just devoured. I couldn’t do it. So I happily went back to LoTR again, and again, and again. Fast forward 20 years (how many agains is that?) and I’m a father looking for a good book to take on a family beach vacation. Heck, I say with shrug, why not. I can’t stress enough how wonderful this book made me feel. Like I was that boy again first reading LoTR. I was enamored and easily finished before the trip was complete. That was about 10 years ago and I’ve happily read and reread anything Tolkien since. I don’t know why I tell you this. Just a fools memories I suppose. ❤
I stood outside Sept. 13, 1977 of Coles books in Montreal with my brother to get a copy. I have read it over 50 times. More than a hundred if you count reading only certain parts. It took me ag least 10 years to understand Arda. Know with this amazing vehicle and audio books. These old eyes and dying body remember those days of 40 yrs ago fondly💯🙏🤲
@@DeadManPuttingWe are but mortal men. Our lives are short and fueled by passions pursued. I trust that you have seen many things, both joyous and painful, and that when you wake from this dream, your true journey will begin. May we meet again in some ageless land. 🫡❤️
Well done Robert - but a couple of points. Morgoth did NOT "steal the Silmarils and while he was at it, destroyed the trees". It was the other way around. The main goal was to kill the trees. AFTER doing that, he then went to Formenos and by good luck was able to take the Silmarils (Feanor was not there and could have taken the Silmarils with him - but he didn't). Also, it would be well to point out to newcomers why the trees were so important - there was no Sun or Moon yet! That is a major point a newcomer should be made aware of. The trees were the ONLY light source in the world at the time (other than the ancient starlight). When Morgoth stole the Silmarils he was in posession of the 3 greatest sources of light in the world (at that time). Other than that it was an excellent summary. Or rather, I should say, a summary of a summary of a summary.
Do you recall the way, in The Two Towers, the film looked just before Legolas realized that Sauron was 'there' (Rohan)? I always pictured a Simarillon movie having that pale look in a time before the trees (and lamps) came about.
@@bladeoflucatiel I'm sure Robert knows this stuff. This summary was not for Robert. This is a summary for newcomers, and so must be as clear as possible.
The point wasn't telling IDG something he doesn't know, we all know he knows more about this than we do. The point was adding a significant detail to the summary. @@bladeoflucatiel
Right? Every time I read "Of Turin Turambar" or "The Children of Hurin" I feel so sad and defeated by the end of it. I love that Tolkien had a go at writing a tragedy, and he absolutely pulled no punches.
Read the Silmarillion twice, first time was difficult I'll admit . Decided to read a second time and I'm glad I did . Superb book , such a wonderful world this man created !
Same for me. First read it right after Lord of the Rings (when I was 16), and said "what?" A few months later tried the Silmarillion again. Deliberately went slow, and ended up loving it. Re-reading Lord of the Rings after grasping the Silmarillion was an amazing experience, it's astounding how much is in there that you don't notice the first time.
Damn, fair play Robert. When I saw the title and the runtime I genuinely wondered if this was a joke. But that was actually a very good overview of The Silmarillion in like 11 minutes! Impressive stuff.
I waited years for Tolkien to finish and publish the Silmarillion. I once even read it in my dreams. Then he died, and I never expected to see it. Of course, it couldn't quite live up to LOTR, but then again, I loved reading and rereading the appendices of that, so I still loved it.
I'm happy that you mentioned Guy Gavriel Kay. He's one of my favorite authors! Also, as much as I love LotR, it was the Silmarillion that turned me into a nerd ;)
Let us take a moment to acknowledge Blind Guardian’s brilliance in translating this complex tale into wonderful music with their Nightfall in Middle Earth album 🤘
Thank you for providing an easily digestible summary of The Silmarillion. Back in the mid-1970s, I tried to read it, but as a teenager, I found it difficult to comprehend. Now that I’ve matured significantly and with the benefit of resources such as this channel, I can tackle Tolkien’s Silmarillion and the other subsequently published edited works. Thank you for your efforts in distilling Tolkien’s works into bite size chunks.
I was attempting to read it, but I think i'm giving up right now lol Made it about halfway Haven't read the load of the rings yet But going to I have only seen the regular versions of the movies lol And a little bit of the hobbit book, but i'm going to restart it I also have basically no understanding of Old English. So I understand every third chapter With me gaining, absolutely no knowledge of the rest If you have advice i will listen
@@tweetthechicken3870 I'm reading The Hobbit right now. It's actually my first Tolkien book I plan to finish, though I've read a chunk or two of The Silmarillion. Some points I feel like The Hobbit isn't all that, and some are really quite good. The revised chapter with Gollum and his Riddles in the Dark is excellent. Honestly I think people are too harsh on the movies. While there are things I don't like, most of the major changes from the book are actually massive improvements, or just work better in film vs literature. I'm still enjoying the book though and I plan to pick up LOTR after. My advice to you is take it at your own pace. Look up stuff that you have questions about. There doesn't need to be any hurry when reading his works. Also, understand that the tone of different stories can vary greatly, and some of the history and tone changed drastically over time as he was writing it. Really, you just have to enjoy each separate story for what it does well. I think you should do what I'm doing - read The Hobbit, then LOTR, then try to tackle The Silmarillion.
@@tweetthechicken3870read "Hobbit" first. Then, read all The Lord of the Rings. Then, make an attempt to read The Simmilarion. I, myself have yet to read it. Have read all the others, more than once,but the first/only time i made an attempt on the Simmilarion,, i was a bit young, and ,i could not keep myself interested in it. And,that killed it for me. Now, being a bit older, 🙄, like decades, I'm rady to take it on. ,👌👌. On another note, there is always audiobooks. Have heard tell of people going audiobook,first, an then reading it ,afterwards. Great material to be soaked up,one way or another, ☺👌
I see- "The Silmarillion- a summary". Then I see- 12 min video! 12 mins to summarize "the Silmarillion"!!!??? I was like, i gotta see this! If anyone can summarize the Silmarillion in 12 mins, it "in Deep Geek", i guess, lol. And, as expected, you did a pretty great job. (I expected a sped-up chipmunk voice, with the British accent, in super high speed narration fast-forwarding through a description of the book, lol.)
I've always enjoyed part 1. The music that covered everything. Not just the creation of the world, but *everything* beginning to end and everything in between. And even as Morgoth tried to disrupt things, he was told that as Morgoth was part of Eru, everything that Morgoth did was part of the music. That is such a critical thing: The very embodiment of evil in this legendarium is part of eru. The world would not be what it is without it. A lot of folks dismiss the first part as "just a simple creation myth", but it is so much more.
It's actually how I view real life spirituality. Though I'm not religious, atheists bother me. They often wonder how God could exist when life is harsh and cruel, and why a being of limitless power doesn't intervene against evil. My argument against that is simple: If life were perfect, if God intervened, then this wouldn't be life. It would be paradise/heaven. We only learn through hardship and suffering, and from the examples of kindness we see in others in spite of their own hardships. There's no day without night, no light without shadow. All of one and nothing of the other would be a static condition. Non-existence. There would be no depth without duality, only a singularity. If God intervened we could not have free will.
Tolkien IMO was expressing a view buried not only in Christian theology, but many other traditions. One must allow their children to choose their own path. Its really an act of weakness, or sentimentality, by Manwe when his eagles come swooping in to save the day, how many times? No wonder Melkor was like, "screw you guys, I'm going home." Tolkien himself wrote that the whole shebang was intended to be an English myth, so if you follow the story to it's end, you are in the present day real world. The elves (Ancient Aliens) have sailed west and man is left to determine heix own fate.
@@majorpwner241 The issue is that you're conflating two definitions of "suffering" here. Sure, one might "suffer" when they study for a test or suffer the consequences of poor decisions. But there's also the suffering from a tornado; from children getting cancer. There is so much NEEDLESS suffering. And if all of that suffering was for some mystical reason that we poor mortals can't comprehend, then why bother with it at all? Why not just make a heaven? It seems like your definition of life is begging the question.
@@deusexlacuna No, I'm not the one who's confusing things here. I'm talking specifically of things like losing your best friend to cancer for seemingly no good reason. It's the worst things that can happen in life that make you truly stop and think... reflect and grow. Studying for a test is your idea of hardship? Life is the test, and it will try you over and over again. Personally I think a world where everything is gumdrops and lollipops would be shallow and vain, and that's exactly what people who expect their life to go so easy are. Refusing to believe in a divine creator because 'bad things happen' is the antithesis of faith and comprehension. Getting back to the subject of Tolkien, he was a man of faith who fought in WW1. The modern generations are so frail and quick to throw away something as valuable as faith at the first sign of adversity. If anyone went through Hell on Earth it was a WW1 veteran, and yet so many of them would have told you about how it bolstered their strength and their belief in God. Is it that you can't comprehend the lesson, or that you've already turned your back on the possibility of a god and refuse to comprehend? Mankind's struggles are not the failure of God. They're the failures of Man if he chooses to take nothing from them.
Try reading 'Morgoth's Ring: HOME X'. Lots of fantastic lore, timelines, genaeologies and history but a tedious read if you are just in it for the stories.
evil lieutenant shapeshifts into vampire and werewolf, before big adorable dog fights him off. then, evil lieutenant trolls human king into invading land of valar, human kingdom sinks to bottom of sea
I've always struggled with being able to read it due to all strange pronunciation - but fell in love with the audio book narrated by Martin Shaw. I highly recommend that version!
You should try the version narrated by Andy Serkis. He also does LOTR and the Hobbit. He unsurprisingly does a perfect golumn. He surprisingly does a perfect everything else
@@maxwibert Not a fan, I'm not into voice acting as a narrator. I do know that the version you are referring to is well done and quite popular - just not for me.
@@shara1979 Yes, his is wonderful as well. Especially for lovers of the movies because he does quite well with all the voices we love and associate with the characters.
Incredible job as always! Very helpful summary. But at 9:12 Earendil the Mariner is not one of Beren and Luthien's descendants. He is Tuor and Idril's son. Elwing, his wife, is the granddaughter of Beren and Luthien. Its her simaril that she brings with her as she flees (with Ulmos help) to join her husband on his quest to get help from the Valar. And her coming with the simaril is what allows them passage to Aman. The world is only saved because they were together on his ship with her jewel. Beautiful picture of marriage.
The Silmarillion is my favourite book, beating even LoTR because especially the First, and to a lesser extent, the Second Ages where more heroic, less mundane than the 3rd. It contains some of the greatest acts of Heroism in the Legendarium, as well as some of the greatest acts of hubris. and the tale of Túrin Turambar is heart breaking. It might be an unpopular opinion but I believe it contains Tolkien's greatest writing.
I believe Tolkien's greatest writing was Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin from Unfinished Tales. Oh, that the whole Silmarillion would have been wrapped in such beautiful detail and prose.
I have been a dedicated student of Tolkien since grade 4 in 65 when our teacher read us "the hobbit" during story time. I must have read TLOTR 20 times and read it to my children as well when they were little. I just bought a 1st addition of the Silmarillion which have never read. not boring but exciting to me
The first few chapters are different in tone, and have tons and tons of nouns: just try to go through and be sure the important names will be repeated. Keep a small note about the valars maybe. Karen wynn fonstad's "atlas of middle earth" is also a good resource (but the silmarillion also contains a few maps, but not enough imo)
To me the Silmarillion was incredibly important, and makes LOTR so much more consistent and relevant, knowing that huge background it draws upon. I hope you'll have a great time reading it. (Then there are several tomes of History of Middle Earth, with differebt versions and often much more developoed, of the stories of the Silmarillion, but I didn't read them yet)
I really enjoy the awesome artwork you include. I haven't read this book in years, much has been forgotten. Thanks for the refresh, think I want to go and reread this again.
great story of beren and luthien. robert r u making wishes come true when you said more videos about the silmarillion. i have read it several times. but when you have no one to talk to it about....well it sux.....lol i bow in humble gratitude. thank you sir.
I'm tempted to watch this, because I've been enjoying your videos so far... but I imagine I should read it first, for full effect of the story experience
@@shamusomalley4263 I'm re-reading it now, there is some that works as a narrative tale, some is dreadful. This is within chapters, so skipping one or the other doesn't really help. Just slog through it, or ignore it altogether. There's a lot more interesting and compelling Genre Fantasy than The Silmarillion.
This was beautiful.... How amazingly Professor helps us understand how God weaves the Story in Time even in Reality.... Localised stories drawing splendor from the Cosmic Backcloth. Beautiful ❤️!
I like the main three but the tale of Beren and Luthien is my favorite and the greatest love story ever told. It truly gives a great background on a lot of little references in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
And the fact that JRR Tolkien and his wife Edith's tombs respectively have the words "Beren" or "Luthien" inscribed on it, tells how much this story was important for Tolkien.
After several attempts to read it, I decide to listen to it, through audiobook and I finally got it, felt it. Such an awesome masterpiece. I kept listening to other books of Tolkien's fabulous history and I'm not finishing the last one, the Fall of Gondolin. All are masterpieces. And thank you for trying to make a short version of the Silmarilion.
I gave up the two first times trying to read Silmarilion. My English simply not good enough. Then I came across a Danish translation, that helped a lot. Many years later when I much better in English I finally managed, and have now read it several times.
I’m reading this book right now and I am absolutely loving it but having these videos , these deep dive studies help to make it that much more clear which intern makes it that much more of an enjoyable read so thank you for this.
It took me *3 years* to finish the Silmarillion the first read. It was my second book ever. The second time, it only took one year. The third time, it took a month. Still, my favorite book ever.
A wonderful work! If you find it difficult, start with the Quenta Silmarillion and read to the end. You can always read the first two parts at a later date. One day, a publisher will - in accord with Tolkien's wishes - publish a combined Silmarillion & LOTR...
Something I have never noticed about Tolkiens writing and world building until this video is how concisely he dedicates certain sections of the story to the different races of Arda. The creation of the world and formation of Amon/Middle Earth is obviously centered on the Ainur. The 1st age recollects the deeds of the Elves. The 2nd age focuses on men. The 3rd age is a wonderful blending of the perspectives of all previously established races, while adding some much needed humility & levity with the addition of the stories of the hobbits and dwarves. A truly masterful & meticulous effort on Tolkiens behalf.
The greatest book of all time. I have read it 3 times when I was a young man. I recommend the audiobook to anyone who has a hard time reading it. The reader can't remember his name does a fantastic job and it will give you goosebumps.
For anyone having difficulty trying to get through the "Silmarillion", I recommend getting the audiobook. For me that made it far easier and more enjoyable.
it takes time to submit to the language, spelling and volume of proper nouns. I think that is part of the reason some folks give a go twice, because it takes awhile to sync with what the writing is communicating.
One of my favorite details in the Silmarillion was in the fall of Melkor. Devout Catholic that Tolkein was, the banishment and fall of an angelic figure who rebelled against God (and would go on to be the principle figure of evil on Earth) was clearly inspired by Paradise Lost (I know it isn’t biblically canon, but it’s still important), except that Melkor’s cardinal sin wasn’t pride, but envy. Coveting Eru’s creation, and the ability to create himself, festered into resentment, into hatred. It’s a great example of Tolkien using Catholic theology as inspiration without being allegory.
I'm sorry, but regarding Paradise Lost... you're not even wrong! Paradise Lost is not only not "biblically canon" - it's not even a religious text at all. It's a work epic poetry, written in the 1650s by John Milton. That's nearly 1500 years after biblical canon started to emerge! Sure its subject matter is religious in nature, but it is a work of fiction; a secular literary text. Whole I am sure it influenced Tolkien in some way, we should also remember that Paradise Lost was the work of a Protestant, and Tolkien was a Catholic.
THANK YOU! I enjoyed this Immensely! I read the book but struggling I bought the unabridged audio discs…a huge set! It was so much easier for me to have it read to me (listen to the audiobook) than trying to struggle with reading. I enjoyed this video so much! Thank you 🙏🏽
In scale, Helm's Deep was just a skirmish compared to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, which is hardly even a skirmish compared to the EPIC battle to capture Melkor/Morgoth to start the First Age. And even that was nothing compared to the 400 YEAR War of Wrath to finally throw down Melkor and essentially sink half a continent at the end of the First Age......which made the drowning of Numenor look like a blip on the screen. Brilliant stuff.
The War of Wrath didn't take 400 years. Not even close. Elros was alive for years before it started, and he took up the Kingship of Numenor when he was 91.
@@dandiehm8414You're right,it took 40 years. What the other poster was referring to was the 400 year siege before the battle of sudden flame, there's so much lore a mistake is bound to happen.
@@dandiehm8414 Google,it lasted over 40 years to be exact. Google it yourself, that's where I got the info, second source is the Simarillion. Thought you were going to be right? I gave my sources.
Strangely, I read the Silmarillion first of all Tolkien's books. I was reading politics at university and had heard that Tolkein had begun the work, scratching down the the beginnings of the Fall of Gondolin, while fighting in the First World war, and I thought this book might bring some colour to my first essay about what motivated the combatant nations to commence a conflict of total war? The Silmarillion is easily my favourite and I re-read it at least once a year; the language for me isn't, and wasn't, too difficult because being brought up in Wales helps as the rhythm of the Silmarillion is closer to old Brythonic than it is to Shakespearean English. And I think that is deliberately done by Tolkein: to echo an older tradition of myth and linguistic legend. For me Silmarillion is a creation myth that seems in scope almost like a piece of science fiction - describing technologies and transcending talents that seem like magic but are simplistic mediums to an end in the physical world by the exponents went there to make the place. And I'm reminded of the book Starmaker by English writer Olaf Stapledon in terms of its evolutionary development of the races that inhabit Ea and how they are all part of a huge thought experiment, quite literally, to allow a singular entity to understand itself in the boundless void; Illuvatur never destroys Melkor but instead allows his chaos and corruption to refine and test the working of his other servants and creations. Conceptionally, a single being however able can't hope to think and imagine everything but by creating simulacrums of his own thoughts that are diametrically opposed the work does itself without the risk of inducing schizophrenia. I suppose I'm making the point that Douglas Adams made: Deep Thought couldn't conceive of the "Great Question" and had to design a better version of his own mind to derive that was even bigger than himself. Illuvatur already possessed the answer to "being": selfawareness. But lacked the question that balanced the equation of existence? Thus the struggles of all the inhabitants of middle-earth worked to that end, and afterwards illuvatur would begin the thought experiment again in the new world that would come afterwards perfecting what was learned from the culmination of the music of the first?
...enjoyed this summary, thanks so much, Robert! I did read the Silmarillion once long time ago, but 'drowned' in its complexity, and at the same time got tired of the endless struggle between good and bad... what stuck with me was the original creation and the music of the Ainur; and the story of Beren and Luthien - it was touching to learn later on, that the last one meant so much to Tolkien, that he insisted in the engraving of those 2 names on the grave stone of him and his wife... he felt that he was Beren, and Edith was Luthien. With the background of this book, I was always suspicious about the 'elimination of evil' through the destruction of the one ring... it was the end of Sauron, who was but a lesser descendant of Morgoth, but not the end of evil. Evil is, like in our world, indestructible... you hit the one main head off, and seven new smaller ones appear... Tolkien also started on a sequel where evil would indeed creep back into the minds and hearts of the races of middle earth, but dropped it then. It is still beyond grasp to me, how Tolkien could create such an epic parallel world... you compared this book with the bible, and indeed there are so many mirroring aspects, including, that we do not even know our own history well - much is vague and hidden behind the veils of the past, and so is in his world of middle earth... ... enough said... Tolkien's works are so monumental, that it can leave us all speechless, when we touch the abysses in and around it - future generations will most likely treat his work with the same awe and respect, as we do with works like Dante's timeless 'Divine Comedy', which is by now over 700 years old...
That was a really fantastic summary. I’ve never been able To get through this book, before. I think I’m gonna read it backwards next time. Start with part 5, the part I know, then go back from there. Thank you 🙏
I inherited the Silmarilon from my mum, i remember seeing it on our bookshelf as a kid. After revisiting the hobbit, then the LOTR i decided to try the Silmarilion again... and again... but have never managed to get through it. So thank you for the insight.
I did read the Bible, all of it, page 1 to end, no skipping. Full of saga and wars and prose and poetry. If you can finish Silmarillon, you can finish the Bible too 😅 And vice versa, for me.
Not sure if anyone ever pointed this out but I noticed the fate of the Silmarils foreshadow the fate of the three races of middle earth One silmaril was thrown in the ocean, another went up in the sky, the last under the earth Well Elves travel beyond the sea by the time the 3rd age finishes. The Dwarves end up staying under ground; rarely coming out and are soon forgotten And humans (Hobbits inculded) well their spirits are not bound to the earth the way elves are so wen they die they go to a place beyond the earth. The halls of Mandos yes, but still, up beyond the world in which they live in for a short time. And once again I don't know it Tolkien subtly sang this theme into existence from the beginning or if I somehow drew this conclusion up on my own. Speaks to his brilliance and master work that is these books
@KnugLidi so theyre.......immortal? 😅 They're a subspecies of human since they're not related to elves or dwarves and since they're afterlife is not specified its under the assumption they share the same fate as men (humans)
@@orrointhewise87Dwarves and ents were created by different valar. We do not know where hobbits came from. The wording throughout the books was that Men and Elves were the Children of Illuvatar and only Men received the Gift of Death.
I grew up in the UK and became a Tolkien fan at age 8. We fans awaited The Silmarillion with bated breath. I own a first edition, which I bought in 1977, when I was in graduate school. My copy is #2 sold in the town bookstore, and I remember there was a long line outside the shop on the official publication day for the book, waiting to buy copies. I loved it at once and always have-it filled in a lot of gaps that I had been curious about. I don't understand why people find it "difficult"-I never did. It isn't a "novel" in the sense LoTR is, but it doesn't have to be. I had read the Norse sagas and the Eddas as a teenager so I was quite familiar with archaic prose as used in Medieval chronicles....as well as the Tally of the Dwarves (Dvergatal) in the Prose Edda, which lists Bilbo Baggins' companions on the Quest of Erebor......
Well done, Sir. I would not have thought it possible, but you neatly distilled and described the essence of this story somehow without shortchanging the important details (sorry, Mim). And your delivery is Gandalf-esque, as well.
Thanks for the summary. It helps me understand why I'm not drawn to _The Silmarillion._ It's mostly about elves and a confusing array of half-gods. That bores me. Among Tolkien's races, I like the hobbits best. Perhaps because, like Tolkien himself, I see myself as a hobbit wanting to live a simple, uncomplicated life. I then like the dwarves, perhaps because they're so much themselves without pretense. Then come the men, who're so variable for good or ill that they are hard to like or dislike. After that come the elves, unimpressive to me because they seem to accomplish so little despite their long lives and great power. And finally, I feel pity for the orcs. Yes, they're bad, but they're bad because someone else wants them to be so. Unlike the hobbits, they never seem to enjoy life.
The Elves accomplished little? Hmmmm.....Tirion, Alqualonde, Menegroth, Gondolin, Nargothrond, Brithombar, Eglarest, the Silmarils, the Gems, the Palantiri, the first building of ships, confining the most powerful Vala to his underground fortress for hundreds of years, the development and civilization of a whole continent (Beleriand), inventors of earthly musics, inventors of written language, inventors of mining, developers of Lothlorien..... Yep, they didn't accomplish much at all.
@@dandiehm8414 It's probably that Morgoth utterly obliterated half of their greatest accomplishments and sunk them under the sea, lmao. It feels like the elves don't have much going for them in the Third Age, but that's because the greatest of their civilizations have been destroyed, the greatest of their warriors slain, and what remains of their people and places in Middle Earth is in decline as they retreat to the Undying Lands. It's hard to blame people for having a warped perspective on them. They have a very tumultuous history and we barely glimpse their full glory.
Can I ask, fresh from being confused at Rings of Power trying to generate sympathy for orcs - these things were created right? They didn't go around in compact nuclear family units in an SUV?
Wow! I read the books and honestly, I thought that would be impossible to summarise them that well in less than 15:00. Outstanding work. I particularly liked when you said that the main tales are woven in the book because it’s true. They are woven and they ripple through the ages of the world from magical past to close to reality third age.
Not the easiest read for sure, but a much better book than LOTR. I would love for this book to be made into several movies. As long as they don't mess with the source material like they've been doing with that recent cable series.
You do a really great job storytelling brother. It would be awesome to see you do videos like this, which go over biblical history, and it would be a great asset for the Kingdom! Thanks
I didn't know about his connection to this when I read Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry. I found the trilogy to be magnificent and imaginative, a blend of Celtic lore and modern fantasy, and a worthy rival even of Tolkien himself. When I did hear that he'd helped Christopher, I had to wonder how much influence this had on his development as a writer, but clearly he had great talent to even be working on such a project in the first place.
I tried to read it in hard copy years ago and had such a hard time following everything that it was more trouble than it was worth and gave up. But, I was finally able to make it though on my Kindle where I could quickly look up names and I really enjoyed it that way. I'm glad I read it. Thank you for the amazing videos, love the channel!
1:40 in the video and my life suddenly has clarity in it :D Thank you I doubted myself and my english knowledge quite some time now after trying to read Silmarilion. Besides informative bombartment of names, places, items it was very hard to understand structures on sentences, while I got most of the content right it was still very heavy reading. Definitely will try it again.
When I was young as a pre-teen and teenager I'd often check out books at the local library. After working through most of the Hardy Boys and then Tom Swift series, I came to The Hobbit. I'd developed a voracious appetite for reading. I ended up reading Tolkien's major works in the order they were written - The Hobbit, LOTR, The Silmarillion. After that I thought I'd then go back and reread everything again in chronological order. But The Silmarillion kind of broke me. Now many years later I can barely get through a magazine article. LOL!
Brother you do the greatest storytelling. I know I speak not only for myself, but a great many others, when I tell you that we would love to see some Bible History videos narrated by you. God's infallible Word could reach so many this way. Thanks, God bless!!!
This is wonderful. The Silmarillion has always been a mystery to me. The language is hard to follow and I could never get through it. It makes sense to me now so, thank you for your wonderful explanation. I can see that it could be possible to make movies of the three novels you mentioned. I hope it can be done. It would be interesting to see where the Amazon TV show draws its story from.
I'm now half way through the Silmarillion, listening to the Andy Serkis audiobook! Couldn't find enough online content after being spoilt by your videos Robert! Had to hear it from the horses mouth! So to speak.
As a LOTR fan ever since the 1st trilogy movie came out when I was in 7th grade, and read and own all the books, Silmarillion besides the Hobbit is my favorite. Read them countless times. I just love the elves, and the history of Arda before LOTR took place. I find the age of elves way more interesting than the age of men. Too bad Amazon ruined what could have been a great dedication to it, if they had actually followed the books and what Tolkien had written instead of modernizing it… a shame.
The only way I could conceive of someone pulling off a film adaptation of the Silmarillion is to do something like Fantasia. Top shelf animation and music moving through episodic sequences to tell the epic story.
An excellent concise summary! I am ready to start reading The Silmarillion. I would love to see you make a character study of Earendil and his friendship with Cirdan. I'd also love to hear your opinion on whether his destiny to sail the skies at the Star of Earendil was a blessing or a curse - a punishment or a reward. Thank you for teaching me so much about what I didn't know that I didn't know. :)
May have? The Fall of Gondolin Or The Narn alone may have equaled it. But to finish it the way he wanted, would have taken him another 70 years. He was always revising and enlarging.
Tbh, Tolkien could of lived 1,000 years and I do t think he would of ever finished his world. Just like IRL there are always things to add. I love the silmarillion though. It has already eclipsed lotr IMO.
As a young man, after reading LoTR, then The Hobbit, then LoTR again, I finally came to The Silmarillion, and ran smack into a wall.
It was so dense compared to the vaporous first books I had just devoured.
I couldn’t do it. So I happily went back to LoTR again, and again, and again.
Fast forward 20 years (how many agains is that?) and I’m a father looking for a good book to take on a family beach vacation. Heck, I say with shrug, why not.
I can’t stress enough how wonderful this book made me feel. Like I was that boy again first reading LoTR. I was enamored and easily finished before the trip was complete.
That was about 10 years ago and I’ve happily read and reread anything Tolkien since.
I don’t know why I tell you this.
Just a fools memories I suppose.
❤
Thank you for sharing
I stood outside Sept. 13, 1977 of Coles books in Montreal with my brother to get a copy.
I have read it over 50 times. More than a hundred if you count reading only certain parts. It took me ag least 10 years to understand Arda. Know with this amazing vehicle and audio books. These old eyes and dying body remember those days of 40 yrs ago fondly💯🙏🤲
@@DeadManPuttingWe are but mortal men. Our lives are short and fueled by passions pursued. I trust that you have seen many things, both joyous and painful, and that when you wake from this dream, your true journey will begin. May we meet again in some ageless land. 🫡❤️
Nobody who reads the master is a fool, Secret Fire bro, Secret Fire.
Great story thank you for sharing🤙
It's a bold move, attempting to summarize The Silmarillion in 12 minutes and 27 seconds. A great effort! Thank you.
"giant lamps getting knocked over and so on" had me rolling
For me it was "got ambushed by Belrogs. Ouch"
Well done Robert - but a couple of points. Morgoth did NOT "steal the Silmarils and while he was at it, destroyed the trees". It was the other way around. The main goal was to kill the trees. AFTER doing that, he then went to Formenos and by good luck was able to take the Silmarils (Feanor was not there and could have taken the Silmarils with him - but he didn't). Also, it would be well to point out to newcomers why the trees were so important - there was no Sun or Moon yet! That is a major point a newcomer should be made aware of. The trees were the ONLY light source in the world at the time (other than the ancient starlight). When Morgoth stole the Silmarils he was in posession of the 3 greatest sources of light in the world (at that time). Other than that it was an excellent summary. Or rather, I should say, a summary of a summary of a summary.
Do you recall the way, in The Two Towers, the film looked just before Legolas realized that Sauron was 'there' (Rohan)?
I always pictured a Simarillon movie having that pale look in a time before the trees (and lamps) came about.
Do you really think he doesnt know that? The guy who did 999 videos about feanor and morgoth?
@@bladeoflucatiel I'm sure Robert knows this stuff. This summary was not for Robert. This is a summary for newcomers, and so must be as clear as possible.
The point wasn't telling IDG something he doesn't know, we all know he knows more about this than we do. The point was adding a significant detail to the summary. @@bladeoflucatiel
Actually 🤓☝️
The tale of Turin Turambar is really so epic and covers EVERY emotion from start to finish. What a story.
Right? Every time I read "Of Turin Turambar" or "The Children of Hurin" I feel so sad and defeated by the end of it. I love that Tolkien had a go at writing a tragedy, and he absolutely pulled no punches.
“Only this was wanting. Now comes the night.”
I find that the original version in Lönnrot's Kalevala- the Kullervo cycle- is even better.
I feel that it has the potential to be a really good miniseries if it was actually taken seriously and they actually followed the source material
Reading this in the silmarillion is still the only time I've shed a tear while reading a book. It was so tragically well done
Read the Silmarillion twice, first time was difficult I'll admit . Decided to read a second time and I'm glad I did . Superb book , such a wonderful world this man created !
It gets better with every re-read.
Cover to cover, every year.
The whole LOTR excluding Hobbit also.
Every reading brings new understanding and depth.
Me too! I think it is the only book I ever read twice!
Same for me. First read it right after Lord of the Rings (when I was 16), and said "what?" A few months later tried the Silmarillion again. Deliberately went slow, and ended up loving it.
Re-reading Lord of the Rings after grasping the Silmarillion was an amazing experience, it's astounding how much is in there that you don't notice the first time.
reading it for the first time and then listening to the audio and watching summaries...i'm studying it more than reading it lol
Man, you're good at this. That is about as fast as you can tell that story.
Melkor sang so badly that he got kicked out of the band then formed his own that was more metal than the old one every was
Siniging in the Locrian mode.
Are you saying he formed Led Zeppelin? Immigrant song?
@@cruiserflyerNo, Morgoth formed Black Sabbath.
Megadeth?
The story of Metallica and Megadeth.
Damn, fair play Robert. When I saw the title and the runtime I genuinely wondered if this was a joke. But that was actually a very good overview of The Silmarillion in like 11 minutes! Impressive stuff.
I waited years for Tolkien to finish and publish the Silmarillion. I once even read it in my dreams. Then he died, and I never expected to see it. Of course, it couldn't quite live up to LOTR, but then again, I loved reading and rereading the appendices of that, so I still loved it.
The last time I was this early the Two Trees were still giving light.
Lol
The last time I was this early, Durin had not yet awakened beneath Mount Gundabad.
The last time I was this early,I witnessed the creation of Arda.
I've never been this early. Frodo only had nine fingers by the time I met him.
A wizard is never late, nor is he early
I'm happy that you mentioned Guy Gavriel Kay. He's one of my favorite authors! Also, as much as I love LotR, it was the Silmarillion that turned me into a nerd ;)
I was very lucky to be given the Fionavar books as a child - fond memories :D
Me, too! All his other books are also extraordinarily beautiful. Definitely one of my favourite authors
Let us take a moment to acknowledge Blind Guardian’s brilliance in translating this complex tale into wonderful music with their Nightfall in Middle Earth album 🤘
I like the part where Morgoth tells the spider: "Ungoliant, get to the choppa!"
Wait a minute...
That is correct! 💯
I like the part where Beren says to Morgoth, "Your one ugly MFer!"
Robert, I would pay good money to hear you voice an audiobook of the Silmarillion. But this summary was a good start ; )
Thank you for providing an easily digestible summary of The Silmarillion. Back in the mid-1970s, I tried to read it, but as a teenager, I found it difficult to comprehend. Now that I’ve matured significantly and with the benefit of resources such as this channel, I can tackle Tolkien’s Silmarillion and the other subsequently published edited works. Thank you for your efforts in distilling Tolkien’s works into bite size chunks.
I finally read it front-to-back this year and now I think about it all the time. It really was an incredible work.
And the more you think on it the nore sense everything makes, and the more connections you can make.
I was attempting to read it, but I think i'm giving up right now lol Made it about halfway Haven't read the load of the rings yet But going to I have only seen the regular versions of the movies lol And a little bit of the hobbit book, but i'm going to restart it I also have basically no understanding of Old English. So I understand every third chapter With me gaining, absolutely no knowledge of the rest If you have advice i will listen
@@tweetthechicken3870 I'm reading The Hobbit right now. It's actually my first Tolkien book I plan to finish, though I've read a chunk or two of The Silmarillion. Some points I feel like The Hobbit isn't all that, and some are really quite good. The revised chapter with Gollum and his Riddles in the Dark is excellent. Honestly I think people are too harsh on the movies. While there are things I don't like, most of the major changes from the book are actually massive improvements, or just work better in film vs literature. I'm still enjoying the book though and I plan to pick up LOTR after. My advice to you is take it at your own pace. Look up stuff that you have questions about. There doesn't need to be any hurry when reading his works. Also, understand that the tone of different stories can vary greatly, and some of the history and tone changed drastically over time as he was writing it. Really, you just have to enjoy each separate story for what it does well. I think you should do what I'm doing - read The Hobbit, then LOTR, then try to tackle The Silmarillion.
@@tweetthechicken3870read "Hobbit" first. Then, read all The Lord of the Rings. Then, make an attempt to read The Simmilarion. I, myself have yet to read it. Have read all the others, more than once,but the first/only time i made an attempt on the Simmilarion,, i was a bit young, and ,i could not keep myself interested in it. And,that killed it for me. Now, being a bit older, 🙄, like decades, I'm rady to take it on. ,👌👌. On another note, there is always audiobooks. Have heard tell of people going audiobook,first, an then reading it ,afterwards. Great material to be soaked up,one way or another, ☺👌
I see- "The Silmarillion- a summary".
Then I see- 12 min video!
12 mins to summarize "the Silmarillion"!!!??? I was like, i gotta see this! If anyone can summarize the Silmarillion in 12 mins, it "in Deep Geek", i guess, lol. And, as expected, you did a pretty great job.
(I expected a sped-up chipmunk voice, with the British accent, in super high speed narration fast-forwarding through a description of the book, lol.)
Too bad we can't read it in 12mins. More like 12 years
I've always enjoyed part 1. The music that covered everything. Not just the creation of the world, but *everything* beginning to end and everything in between. And even as Morgoth tried to disrupt things, he was told that as Morgoth was part of Eru, everything that Morgoth did was part of the music. That is such a critical thing: The very embodiment of evil in this legendarium is part of eru. The world would not be what it is without it. A lot of folks dismiss the first part as "just a simple creation myth", but it is so much more.
It's actually how I view real life spirituality. Though I'm not religious, atheists bother me. They often wonder how God could exist when life is harsh and cruel, and why a being of limitless power doesn't intervene against evil. My argument against that is simple: If life were perfect, if God intervened, then this wouldn't be life. It would be paradise/heaven. We only learn through hardship and suffering, and from the examples of kindness we see in others in spite of their own hardships. There's no day without night, no light without shadow. All of one and nothing of the other would be a static condition. Non-existence. There would be no depth without duality, only a singularity. If God intervened we could not have free will.
Tolkien IMO was expressing a view buried not only in Christian theology, but many other traditions. One must allow their children to choose their own path. Its really an act of weakness, or sentimentality, by Manwe when his eagles come swooping in to save the day, how many times? No wonder Melkor was like, "screw you guys, I'm going home." Tolkien himself wrote that the whole shebang was intended to be an English myth, so if you follow the story to it's end, you are in the present day real world. The elves (Ancient Aliens) have sailed west and man is left to determine heix own fate.
@@majorpwner241 The issue is that you're conflating two definitions of "suffering" here. Sure, one might "suffer" when they study for a test or suffer the consequences of poor decisions.
But there's also the suffering from a tornado; from children getting cancer. There is so much NEEDLESS suffering. And if all of that suffering was for some mystical reason that we poor mortals can't comprehend, then why bother with it at all? Why not just make a heaven? It seems like your definition of life is begging the question.
@@deusexlacuna No, I'm not the one who's confusing things here. I'm talking specifically of things like losing your best friend to cancer for seemingly no good reason. It's the worst things that can happen in life that make you truly stop and think... reflect and grow. Studying for a test is your idea of hardship? Life is the test, and it will try you over and over again.
Personally I think a world where everything is gumdrops and lollipops would be shallow and vain, and that's exactly what people who expect their life to go so easy are. Refusing to believe in a divine creator because 'bad things happen' is the antithesis of faith and comprehension. Getting back to the subject of Tolkien, he was a man of faith who fought in WW1. The modern generations are so frail and quick to throw away something as valuable as faith at the first sign of adversity. If anyone went through Hell on Earth it was a WW1 veteran, and yet so many of them would have told you about how it bolstered their strength and their belief in God.
Is it that you can't comprehend the lesson, or that you've already turned your back on the possibility of a god and refuse to comprehend? Mankind's struggles are not the failure of God. They're the failures of Man if he chooses to take nothing from them.
I am actually so impressed by how good of a summary this is. Silmarillion is a wonderful beast of a book.
You're correct, Robert. It's like reading the Old Testament. 😄
Try reading 'Morgoth's Ring: HOME X'. Lots of fantastic lore, timelines, genaeologies and history but a tedious read if you are just in it for the stories.
Ah, yes: the Summarilion.
Underrated comment 😂👍
I need the summary of the summary: after 8 mins i’m bored to tears. Good grief it’s drivel.
Give this person all the points. Comment of the year award, right here.
That’s gold!
Bravo 👏
- A fellow punatic
the art selection in your videos is always great, but the images in this particular video were fantastic
Robert, this is a fantastic summary! Thank you. Please keep up your wonderful work, you really have a gift.
The Silmarillion: An elf makes some gems, a dark lord steals them, all the elves get really pissed off and try to get them back.
daring a human to go grab a gem from his crown cause there is no way he could succeed.
evil lieutenant shapeshifts into vampire and werewolf, before big adorable dog fights him off. then, evil lieutenant trolls human king into invading land of valar, human kingdom sinks to bottom of sea
Not all the elves, just the asshole ones.
Dark lord almost kills all the elves so the gods have to come and save their backsides and drag the naughty dark lord back home for some time out.
@@Ilikefinalfantasy795 A common trope in many myths. Not that it's a bad thing, some plots work well because that's just how people are.
I’m so happy there’s an audio book for this. There is no way I would’ve either enjoyed or gotten past the first couple chapters
I've always struggled with being able to read it due to all strange pronunciation - but fell in love with the audio book narrated by Martin Shaw. I highly recommend that version!
You should try the version narrated by Andy Serkis. He also does LOTR and the Hobbit. He unsurprisingly does a perfect golumn. He surprisingly does a perfect everything else
Love that version too! I have to say, my biggest battle was remembering the different names most characters have...I need a cheat sheet!🤣
I also have the Shaw version. Great stuff. I listen to it at least once er year.
@@maxwibert Not a fan, I'm not into voice acting as a narrator. I do know that the version you are referring to is well done and quite popular - just not for me.
Martin shaw version is fire. It gets me through my job on a monthly basis.
I was never able to read through it but when I bought Andy serkis narrated audio version I basically played it through in 3 days
Ooh I didn't know he did that. Thanks!
The audio version by Martin Shaw is amazing. I tried the Andy Serkis version but couldn't vibe with it.
I like the Martin Shaw reading, it's awesome
I've tried listening to other readers, but I give up on it, & go back to shaw's
@@shara1979 Yes, his is wonderful as well. Especially for lovers of the movies because he does quite well with all the voices we love and associate with the characters.
Incredible job as always! Very helpful summary. But at 9:12 Earendil the Mariner is not one of Beren and Luthien's descendants. He is Tuor and Idril's son. Elwing, his wife, is the granddaughter of Beren and Luthien. Its her simaril that she brings with her as she flees (with Ulmos help) to join her husband on his quest to get help from the Valar. And her coming with the simaril is what allows them passage to Aman. The world is only saved because they were together on his ship with her jewel. Beautiful picture of marriage.
The Silmarillion is my favourite book, beating even LoTR because especially the First, and to a lesser extent, the Second Ages where more heroic, less mundane than the 3rd. It contains some of the greatest acts of Heroism in the Legendarium, as well as some of the greatest acts of hubris. and the tale of Túrin Turambar is heart breaking. It might be an unpopular opinion but I believe it contains Tolkien's greatest writing.
I believe Tolkien's greatest writing was Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin from Unfinished Tales. Oh, that the whole Silmarillion would have been wrapped in such beautiful detail and prose.
I have been a dedicated student of Tolkien since grade 4 in 65 when our teacher read us "the hobbit" during story time. I must have read TLOTR 20 times and read it to my children as well when they were little. I just bought a 1st addition of the Silmarillion which have never read. not boring but exciting to me
The first few chapters are different in tone, and have tons and tons of nouns: just try to go through and be sure the important names will be repeated. Keep a small note about the valars maybe. Karen wynn fonstad's "atlas of middle earth" is also a good resource (but the silmarillion also contains a few maps, but not enough imo)
To me the Silmarillion was incredibly important, and makes LOTR so much more consistent and relevant, knowing that huge background it draws upon. I hope you'll have a great time reading it. (Then there are several tomes of History of Middle Earth, with differebt versions and often much more developoed, of the stories of the Silmarillion, but I didn't read them yet)
I really enjoy the awesome artwork you include. I haven't read this book in years, much has been forgotten. Thanks for the refresh, think I want to go and reread this again.
great story of beren and luthien. robert r u making wishes come true when you said more videos about the silmarillion. i have read it several times. but when you have no one to talk to it about....well it sux.....lol i bow in humble gratitude. thank you sir.
My favourite part. I've reread it more often than the lotr itself.
I couldn't get thru it reading it. But i listened to it being read out loud and got it and LOVED it.
Is it okay for me to be here for the calming narration and the cliff notes version? Cool? K
I'm tempted to watch this, because I've been enjoying your videos so far... but I imagine I should read it first, for full effect of the story experience
It's about as enjoyable as reading the bible.
@@shamusomalley4263 I'm re-reading it now, there is some that works as a narrative tale, some is dreadful. This is within chapters, so skipping one or the other doesn't really help. Just slog through it, or ignore it altogether. There's a lot more interesting and compelling Genre Fantasy than The Silmarillion.
@@shamusomalley4263 Correct - wonderful reading!
Watch this, read the book along with the audio book. Watch two dozen videos analyzing the story, and you will understand about 30% of the book 🙃
@@shamusomalley4263Some fairy stories are better than others
This was beautiful.... How amazingly Professor helps us understand how God weaves the Story in Time even in Reality.... Localised stories drawing splendor from the Cosmic Backcloth. Beautiful ❤️!
Thank you for reliable content. You are our go-to
I can't recommend enough the audiobook on audible i don't know who is narrating but he is great!!!
Admittedly, a difficultread for sure but I’m glad I did.
I now listen to the audiobook regularly.
It’s amazing how much you forget each time.
I like the main three but the tale of Beren and Luthien is my favorite and the greatest love story ever told. It truly gives a great background on a lot of little references in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
And the fact that JRR Tolkien and his wife Edith's tombs respectively have the words "Beren" or "Luthien" inscribed on it, tells how much this story was important for Tolkien.
Robert, you are the greatest.
After several attempts to read it, I decide to listen to it, through audiobook and I finally got it, felt it. Such an awesome masterpiece. I kept listening to other books of Tolkien's fabulous history and I'm not finishing the last one, the Fall of Gondolin. All are masterpieces. And thank you for trying to make a short version of the Silmarilion.
Cracking video of a very difficult subject - thanks, love the channel.
I gave up the two first times trying to read Silmarilion. My English simply not good enough. Then I came across a Danish translation, that helped a lot. Many years later when I much better in English I finally managed, and have now read it several times.
I’m reading this book right now and I am absolutely loving it but having these videos , these deep dive studies help to make it that much more clear which intern makes it that much more of an enjoyable read so thank you for this.
It took me *3 years* to finish the Silmarillion the first read. It was my second book ever.
The second time, it only took one year. The third time, it took a month. Still, my favorite book ever.
Great summary! Thanks Robert!
A wonderful work! If you find it difficult, start with the Quenta Silmarillion and read to the end. You can always read the first two parts at a later date. One day, a publisher will - in accord with Tolkien's wishes - publish a combined Silmarillion & LOTR...
Something I have never noticed about Tolkiens writing and world building until this video is how concisely he dedicates certain sections of the story to the different races of Arda. The creation of the world and formation of Amon/Middle Earth is obviously centered on the Ainur. The 1st age recollects the deeds of the Elves. The 2nd age focuses on men. The 3rd age is a wonderful blending of the perspectives of all previously established races, while adding some much needed humility & levity with the addition of the stories of the hobbits and dwarves. A truly masterful & meticulous effort on Tolkiens behalf.
The greatest book of all time.
I have read it 3 times when I was a young man.
I recommend the audiobook to anyone who has a hard time reading it.
The reader can't remember his name does a fantastic job and it will give you goosebumps.
Beautiful.
Perhaps the different scales are what have so many people intrigued by the story.
I found the audio book version (On UA-cam) of the Silmarillion is a great addition to the book.
For anyone having difficulty trying to get through the "Silmarillion", I recommend getting the audiobook. For me that made it far easier and more enjoyable.
Yup, this is my theory. I just bought the audiobook & will begin listening this weekend on my drive to camp. 🤞
it takes time to submit to the language, spelling and volume of proper nouns. I think that is part of the reason some folks give a go twice, because it takes awhile to sync with what the writing is communicating.
One of my favorite details in the Silmarillion was in the fall of Melkor. Devout Catholic that Tolkein was, the banishment and fall of an angelic figure who rebelled against God (and would go on to be the principle figure of evil on Earth) was clearly inspired by Paradise Lost (I know it isn’t biblically canon, but it’s still important), except that Melkor’s cardinal sin wasn’t pride, but envy. Coveting Eru’s creation, and the ability to create himself, festered into resentment, into hatred. It’s a great example of Tolkien using Catholic theology as inspiration without being allegory.
Also, Melkor wasn't "banished" from heaven, but went of his own free will to try to dominate creation.
I'm sorry, but regarding Paradise Lost... you're not even wrong! Paradise Lost is not only not "biblically canon" - it's not even a religious text at all. It's a work epic poetry, written in the 1650s by John Milton. That's nearly 1500 years after biblical canon started to emerge!
Sure its subject matter is religious in nature, but it is a work of fiction; a secular literary text. Whole I am sure it influenced Tolkien in some way, we should also remember that Paradise Lost was the work of a Protestant, and Tolkien was a Catholic.
THANK YOU! I enjoyed this
Immensely! I read the book but struggling I bought the unabridged audio discs…a huge set! It was so much easier for me to have it read to me (listen to the audiobook) than trying to struggle with reading. I enjoyed this video so much! Thank you 🙏🏽
In scale, Helm's Deep was just a skirmish compared to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, which is hardly even a skirmish compared to the EPIC battle to capture Melkor/Morgoth to start the First Age. And even that was nothing compared to the 400 YEAR War of Wrath to finally throw down Melkor and essentially sink half a continent at the end of the First Age......which made the drowning of Numenor look like a blip on the screen. Brilliant stuff.
The War of Wrath didn't take 400 years. Not even close. Elros was alive for years before it started, and he took up the Kingship of Numenor when he was 91.
@@dandiehm8414You're right,it took 40 years. What the other poster was referring to was the 400 year siege before the battle of sudden flame, there's so much lore a mistake is bound to happen.
@@c.antoniojohnson7114 Hello. Where did you get your 40 year figure? I don't recall a tmeframe ever being given for the War Of Wrath.
@@dandiehm8414 Google,it lasted over 40 years to be exact. Google it yourself, that's where I got the info, second source is the Simarillion. Thought you were going to be right? I gave my sources.
@@dandiehm8414we are given multiple time frames for the war of wrath, but the most prominent one is 40 years
Strangely, I read the Silmarillion first of all Tolkien's books.
I was reading politics at university and had heard that Tolkein had begun the work, scratching down the the beginnings of the Fall of Gondolin, while fighting in the First World war, and I thought this book might bring some colour to my first essay about what motivated the combatant nations to commence a conflict of total war?
The Silmarillion is easily my favourite and I re-read it at least once a year; the language for me isn't, and wasn't, too difficult because being brought up in Wales helps as the rhythm of the Silmarillion is closer to old Brythonic than it is to Shakespearean English. And I think that is deliberately done by Tolkein: to echo an older tradition of myth and linguistic legend.
For me Silmarillion is a creation myth that seems in scope almost like a piece of science fiction - describing technologies and transcending talents that seem like magic but are simplistic mediums to an end in the physical world by the exponents went there to make the place.
And I'm reminded of the book Starmaker by English writer Olaf Stapledon in terms of its evolutionary development of the races that inhabit Ea and how they are all part of a huge thought experiment, quite literally, to allow a singular entity to understand itself in the boundless void; Illuvatur never destroys Melkor but instead allows his chaos and corruption to refine and test the working of his other servants and creations.
Conceptionally, a single being however able can't hope to think and imagine everything but by creating simulacrums of his own thoughts that are diametrically opposed the work does itself without the risk of inducing schizophrenia.
I suppose I'm making the point that Douglas Adams made: Deep Thought couldn't conceive of the "Great Question" and had to design a better version of his own mind to derive that was even bigger than himself.
Illuvatur already possessed the answer to "being": selfawareness. But lacked the question that balanced the equation of existence?
Thus the struggles of all the inhabitants of middle-earth worked to that end, and afterwards illuvatur would begin the thought experiment again in the new world that would come afterwards perfecting what was learned from the culmination of the music of the first?
Frankly just needed to see what someone’s 12 minute summary of the Silmarillion look like
Edit: dense.
haha that's the same reason i watched it.
Well, how do you think he did? Clear & succinct, if you ask me...
Not really dense though
A beautifully written episode. Thank you.
...enjoyed this summary, thanks so much, Robert!
I did read the Silmarillion once long time ago, but 'drowned' in its complexity, and at the same time got tired of the endless struggle between good and bad... what stuck with me was the original creation and the music of the Ainur; and the story of Beren and Luthien - it was touching to learn later on, that the last one meant so much to Tolkien, that he insisted in the engraving of those 2 names on the grave stone of him and his wife... he felt that he was Beren, and Edith was Luthien.
With the background of this book, I was always suspicious about the 'elimination of evil' through the destruction of the one ring... it was the end of Sauron, who was but a lesser descendant of Morgoth, but not the end of evil. Evil is, like in our world, indestructible... you hit the one main head off, and seven new smaller ones appear... Tolkien also started on a sequel where evil would indeed creep back into the minds and hearts of the races of middle earth, but dropped it then.
It is still beyond grasp to me, how Tolkien could create such an epic parallel world... you compared this book with the bible, and indeed there are so many mirroring aspects, including, that we do not even know our own history well - much is vague and hidden behind the veils of the past, and so is in his world of middle earth...
... enough said... Tolkien's works are so monumental, that it can leave us all speechless, when we touch the abysses in and around it - future generations will most likely treat his work with the same awe and respect, as we do with works like Dante's timeless 'Divine Comedy', which is by now over 700 years old...
Thanks Robert! Appreciate your efforts!
That was a really fantastic summary. I’ve never been able
To get through this book, before. I think I’m gonna read it backwards next time. Start with part 5, the part I know, then go back from there. Thank you 🙏
Didn't know Mr. Kay was involved in this. Good to know! Love his work 😊
I inherited the Silmarilon from my mum, i remember seeing it on our bookshelf as a kid. After revisiting the hobbit, then the LOTR i decided to try the Silmarilion again... and again... but have never managed to get through it. So thank you for the insight.
Thank you for this. I couldn't get into this book. I tried twice. Glad to have this information.
I did read the Bible, all of it, page 1 to end, no skipping. Full of saga and wars and prose and poetry.
If you can finish Silmarillon, you can finish the Bible too 😅
And vice versa, for me.
Most people think the Silmarillion is boring. I thought it was fascinating. It's the only Tolkien book I've ever actually read in its entirety.
Saving this for 3 months from now when I finish reading the book 5 pages at a time
When I saw the title of this one I honestly expected it to be a day long.
Not sure if anyone ever pointed this out but I noticed the fate of the Silmarils foreshadow the fate of the three races of middle earth
One silmaril was thrown in the ocean, another went up in the sky, the last under the earth
Well Elves travel beyond the sea by the time the 3rd age finishes. The Dwarves end up staying under ground; rarely coming out and are soon forgotten
And humans (Hobbits inculded) well their spirits are not bound to the earth the way elves are so wen they die they go to a place beyond the earth. The halls of Mandos yes, but still, up beyond the world in which they live in for a short time.
And once again I don't know it Tolkien subtly sang this theme into existence from the beginning or if I somehow drew this conclusion up on my own.
Speaks to his brilliance and master work that is these books
Hobbits are not men and do not share the gift of Death.
@KnugLidi so theyre.......immortal? 😅
They're a subspecies of human since they're not related to elves or dwarves and since they're afterlife is not specified its under the assumption they share the same fate as men (humans)
@@orrointhewise87Dwarves and ents were created by different valar. We do not know where hobbits came from. The wording throughout the books was that Men and Elves were the Children of Illuvatar and only Men received the Gift of Death.
@@KnugLidi In letter 131, Tolkien did say Hobbits were an offshoot of Men.
@@istari0 Interesting! Not the first time he clarified something that seemed to contradict his earlier thoughts (dwarves, orcs)
I grew up in the UK and became a Tolkien fan at age 8. We fans awaited The Silmarillion with bated breath. I own a first edition, which I bought in 1977, when I was in graduate school. My copy is #2 sold in the town bookstore, and I remember there was a long line outside the shop on the official publication day for the book, waiting to buy copies. I loved it at once and always have-it filled in a lot of gaps that I had been curious about. I don't understand why people find it "difficult"-I never did. It isn't a "novel" in the sense LoTR is, but it doesn't have to be. I had read the Norse sagas and the Eddas as a teenager so I was quite familiar with archaic prose as used in Medieval chronicles....as well as the Tally of the Dwarves (Dvergatal) in the Prose Edda, which lists Bilbo Baggins' companions on the Quest of Erebor......
Always a delightful content. Thank you Robert.
Well done, Sir. I would not have thought it possible, but you neatly distilled and described the essence of this story somehow without shortchanging the important details (sorry, Mim). And your delivery is Gandalf-esque, as well.
Thanks for the summary. It helps me understand why I'm not drawn to _The Silmarillion._ It's mostly about elves and a confusing array of half-gods. That bores me.
Among Tolkien's races, I like the hobbits best. Perhaps because, like Tolkien himself, I see myself as a hobbit wanting to live a simple, uncomplicated life. I then like the dwarves, perhaps because they're so much themselves without pretense. Then come the men, who're so variable for good or ill that they are hard to like or dislike. After that come the elves, unimpressive to me because they seem to accomplish so little despite their long lives and great power. And finally, I feel pity for the orcs. Yes, they're bad, but they're bad because someone else wants them to be so. Unlike the hobbits, they never seem to enjoy life.
The Elves accomplished little? Hmmmm.....Tirion, Alqualonde, Menegroth, Gondolin, Nargothrond, Brithombar, Eglarest, the Silmarils, the Gems, the Palantiri, the first building of ships, confining the most powerful Vala to his underground fortress for hundreds of years, the development and civilization of a whole continent (Beleriand), inventors of earthly musics, inventors of written language, inventors of mining, developers of Lothlorien..... Yep, they didn't accomplish much at all.
@@dandiehm8414 It's probably that Morgoth utterly obliterated half of their greatest accomplishments and sunk them under the sea, lmao. It feels like the elves don't have much going for them in the Third Age, but that's because the greatest of their civilizations have been destroyed, the greatest of their warriors slain, and what remains of their people and places in Middle Earth is in decline as they retreat to the Undying Lands. It's hard to blame people for having a warped perspective on them. They have a very tumultuous history and we barely glimpse their full glory.
Can I ask, fresh from being confused at Rings of Power trying to generate sympathy for orcs - these things were created right? They didn't go around in compact nuclear family units in an SUV?
Wow! I read the books and honestly, I thought that would be impossible to summarise them that well in less than 15:00. Outstanding work. I particularly liked when you said that the main tales are woven in the book because it’s true. They are woven and they ripple through the ages of the world from magical past to close to reality third age.
Not the easiest read for sure, but a much better book than LOTR.
I would love for this book to be made into several movies.
As long as they don't mess with the source material like they've been doing with that recent cable series.
You do a really great job storytelling brother. It would be awesome to see you do videos like this, which go over biblical history, and it would be a great asset for the Kingdom! Thanks
9:10 Earendil isn't their descendant, he is their grandson-in-law
😂😂😂
I didn't know about his connection to this when I read Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry. I found the trilogy to be magnificent and imaginative, a blend of Celtic lore and modern fantasy, and a worthy rival even of Tolkien himself. When I did hear that he'd helped Christopher, I had to wonder how much influence this had on his development as a writer, but clearly he had great talent to even be working on such a project in the first place.
Would love a series on Finwë and his descendants :) Great job as always
Glad you're doing this. I tried reading this back in the day, but it was like reading from Genisis
I tried to read it in hard copy years ago and had such a hard time following everything that it was more trouble than it was worth and gave up. But, I was finally able to make it though on my Kindle where I could quickly look up names and I really enjoyed it that way. I'm glad I read it. Thank you for the amazing videos, love the channel!
1:40 in the video and my life suddenly has clarity in it :D Thank you I doubted myself and my english knowledge quite some time now after trying to read Silmarilion. Besides informative bombartment of names, places, items it was very hard to understand structures on sentences, while I got most of the content right it was still very heavy reading. Definitely will try it again.
When I was young as a pre-teen and teenager I'd often check out books at the local library. After working through most of the Hardy Boys and then Tom Swift series, I came to The Hobbit. I'd developed a voracious appetite for reading. I ended up reading Tolkien's major works in the order they were written - The Hobbit, LOTR, The Silmarillion. After that I thought I'd then go back and reread everything again in chronological order. But The Silmarillion kind of broke me. Now many years later I can barely get through a magazine article. LOL!
A film adaptation of this book done right would be absolutely incredible... I can just imagine it...
They would totally screw it up just like they did the movies.
That film adaption would have to be about 15 films long. The three great tales could each be trilogies.
@@LKMNOP Unfortunately - yes. That is why we have the books, and our imaginations. :)
God no. Not with modern politics and feminist, anti white Hollywood screwing it up.
Amen brother. But not by the current bunch of woke goofballs that currently own the rights.
I've enjoyed the Silmarillion a lot, thanks for doing the summary Robert.
Excellent summary and visuals. Well done Sir. As you say, not an easy read, but a rewarding one.
Brother you do the greatest storytelling. I know I speak not only for myself, but a great many others, when I tell you that we would love to see some Bible History videos narrated by you. God's infallible Word could reach so many this way. Thanks, God bless!!!
So this is a chance meeting after having just blown my budget on a first edition plus another few copies for my nieces. Fantastic work as ever
This is wonderful. The Silmarillion has always been a mystery to me. The language is hard to follow and I could never get through it. It makes sense to me now so, thank you for your wonderful explanation. I can see that it could be possible to make movies of the three novels you mentioned. I hope it can be done. It would be interesting to see where the Amazon TV show draws its story from.
I'm now half way through the Silmarillion, listening to the Andy Serkis audiobook! Couldn't find enough online content after being spoilt by your videos Robert! Had to hear it from the horses mouth! So to speak.
Very well made and exactly a right size summary. 🙏🏻
You tied a lovely bow with the end of your summary.
As a LOTR fan ever since the 1st trilogy movie came out when I was in 7th grade, and read and own all the books, Silmarillion besides the Hobbit is my favorite. Read them countless times. I just love the elves, and the history of Arda before LOTR took place. I find the age of elves way more interesting than the age of men. Too bad Amazon ruined what could have been a great dedication to it, if they had actually followed the books and what Tolkien had written instead of modernizing it… a shame.
I had the multiple CD box set narrated by Martin Shaw. I loved it!
I also have that and have listened once a year for at least 10 years. Well worth having. With every listen you gain more understanding.
Honest question - how many CDs was it? 😅
@@RoganGunn The Silmarillion (Martin Shaw version) is only 15 CDs. The Lord Of The Rings (the Robert Inglis version) is 46!
13
The only way I could conceive of someone pulling off a film adaptation of the Silmarillion is to do something like Fantasia. Top shelf animation and music moving through episodic sequences to tell the epic story.
An excellent concise summary! I am ready to start reading The Silmarillion. I would love to see you make a character study of Earendil and his friendship with Cirdan. I'd also love to hear your opinion on whether his destiny to sail the skies at the Star of Earendil was a blessing or a curse - a punishment or a reward. Thank you for teaching me so much about what I didn't know that I didn't know. :)
Honestly if Tolkien actually finished The Silmarillion the way he wanted I honestly believe it may have eclipsed Lord Of The Rings.
May have? The Fall of Gondolin Or The Narn alone may have equaled it. But to finish it the way he wanted, would have taken him another 70 years. He was always revising and enlarging.
@@dandiehm8414 Particularly in view of the changes he wanted to make as outlined in either Morgoth's Ring or The War of the Jewels.
Tbh, Tolkien could of lived 1,000 years and I do t think he would of ever finished his world. Just like IRL there are always things to add.
I love the silmarillion though. It has already eclipsed lotr IMO.