Home > The War of the Jewels

It is the second volume — Morgoth's Ring being the first — to explore the later 1951 Silmarillion drafts (those written after the completion of The Lord of the Rings.)

This volume includes:

• The second part of the 1951 Silmarillion drafts
• An expanded account of the "Grey Annals" — the history of Beleriand after the coming of the Elves.
• Additional narratives involving Húrin and the tragedy of his children (see Narn i Chîn Húrin). "The Wanderings of Húrin" is the conclusion to the "Narn". This was not included in the final Silmarillion because Christopher Tolkien found it too diffrent from the rest of the Silmarillion.
• Christopher Tolkien's explanation of how he, with the collaboration of fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay, revised and edited much of his father's writings in order to create a more consistent narrative for the published Silmarillion. He implied that the book would not have been so heavily edited had he had on hand his father's extensive unpublished writings.
• "Quendi and Eldar" which discusses in greater detail the origin of the Elves and their sunderings.
• Tolkien's exploration of the origins of the Ents and the great EaglesTolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the eagles were immense flying birds that were sentient, and could speak. The eagles are said in The Silmarillion to have been "devised" by Manwe Sulimo, leader of the Valar, and were often called Eagles of Ma