All Questions
Tagged with tolkiens-legendarium the-silmarillion
391
questions
116
votes
7
answers
21k
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Tolkien calls Sauron Morgoth's Greatest Servant - But does he ever really earn that with his actions?
Alright, so there is a great, incredibly well informed community here so let me ask a question that's been bothering me since I finished the Silmarillion. I'll lay out my reasoning for why it's a ...
- 1,273
91
votes
6
answers
257k
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Is there a hidden significance behind the fact Galadriel gave 3 hairs to Gimli instead of one?
I just saw an interesting interpretation of Galadriel's gift to Gimli on Reddit today, I retraced the source of the image to this tumblr post:
If you’ve read the Silmarillion, you know who Fëanor was....
- 96.1k
89
votes
8
answers
183k
views
What is the true origin of the Orcs?
There are a bunch of theories about the true origin of the Orcs. Tolkien tried out a few different origins for his Orcs throughout his life but died before he could fully revise The Silmarillion with ...
- 1,219
84
votes
7
answers
23k
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Are Tolkien's orcs immortal?
Orcs were the most commonplace villains serving the Dark Powers in all of Tolkien's Legendarium, a race of sentient beings bred by the evil Vala Melkor (Morgoth) during the time of the Great Darkness.
...
- 9,582
61
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Why do people say that Peter Jackson can not make LOTR/Hobbit sequels?
I was reading a couple of posts on forums where people said that "The Silmarillion" would make a great basis for an action movie, a sequel (or would that be prequel?) to LOTR and Hobbit.
But someone ...
- 621
60
votes
4
answers
22k
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Why does Gandalf show such reverence for Galadriel and Elrond?
Particularly in the Hobbit movies, Elrond mentions that Gandalf answers to Galadriel. Though Gandalf is a Maiar, one of Ainur, shouldn't he be regarded as one of the elders one above the Noldor?
- 653
60
votes
3
answers
5k
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Did Mandos make any decisions that didn't prove to be disastrous?
Mandos is the great judge of the Valar, and his decisions are widely respected by all the other Valar. But most of his judgements have disastrous consequences for the Valar, the Elves, and all of ...
- 70.1k
59
votes
13
answers
36k
views
Who or what is the oldest sentient being in Tolkien's lore?
The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Histories of Middle Earth, all lore related to this universe is acceptable fodder. Regardless of their power, susceptibility to The One Ring, ...
- 8,271
57
votes
10
answers
86k
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How on (middle) earth did Eärendil kill a dragon as huge as Ancalagon?
We know that Ancalagon was killed by Earendil, but how exactly was he killed? Ancalagon was so incredibly massive and Earendil was just a dude in a ship with some Eagles.
This image ↓ isn't canon but ...
- 10.9k
53
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Were there two elves named Glorfindel?
In the Silmarillion, an elf named Glorfindel is killed in a duel with a Balrog at the battle for Gondolin. (He kills the Balrog as well.) Then in The Fellowship of the Ring, an elf named Glorfindel ...
- 5,629
52
votes
4
answers
9k
views
Did Tolkien ever specify that Orodruin was a volcano?
It is incredibly clear that Orodruin (Mount Doom) was a volcano. It is a mountain with fire inside of it, and it periodically belches forth ash, smoke, and rock. This is what volcanoes do best (...
- 70.1k
50
votes
7
answers
11k
views
Why aren't the Valar considered gods?
As an avid Tolkien fan and an increasingly active member of this site, I cannot count the number of times I've seen people refer to the Valar or Maiar as gods, only to be corrected by other members (...
- 38.6k
50
votes
6
answers
18k
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Can the Valar or Maiar die?
In The Lord of the Rings and the The Silmarillion some Maiar (Sauron, several Balrogs, Saruman) are defeated. But did these Maiar actually die and if they did, do they go to Halls of Mandos or what ...
- 2,662
48
votes
5
answers
27k
views
How were hobbits created?
How were hobbits created? I can't find any reference in The Silmarillion about this. Are they just men who have shrunken over generations or what?
- 3,149
47
votes
3
answers
88k
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What is the relationship between Beleriand in the Silmarillion and Middle-earth in Lord of the Rings?
I've read both The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. Both take place in the 'west' of Arda, and Beleriand (where most of The Silmarillion takes place) is destroyed. So where is the Middle-earth ...
- 1,730
47
votes
2
answers
14k
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What happened to Radagast The Brown?
The Maia Radagast The Brown disappeared from Arda after the first book The Fellowship of the Ring. What happened to him?
- 837
47
votes
8
answers
11k
views
Did Sauron and Finrod Felagund really get into a singing fight?
In The Silmarillion, in the chapter "Of Beren and Lúthien", we read of what can only be called a singing fight, at least if we take the account at face value.
I won't repeat it in its entirety, but ...
- 70.1k
45
votes
5
answers
17k
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Who did the Elves think Annatar (Sauron) was?
Sauron posed in fair form to the Elves as "Annatar" (Lord of Gifts). Considering many of the elves Annatar appeared to have probably been alive for hundreds or even thousands of years, who did they ...
- 1,783
44
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Why aren't Dwarves immortal?
Ever since I read The Silmarillion, I've been wondering why the Dwarves were created mortal. Since mortality is the gift of Men from Ilúvatar, it didn't make sense to me that Dwarves also have the ...
- 613
40
votes
6
answers
8k
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Was Sauron's body destroyed before or after the ring was cut from his hand?
I'm a bit confused as to the ordering of events leading to Sauron's demise at the end of the second age.
From the Silmarillion it appears that Sauron was hewn down by Gil-galad and Elendil, and ...
- 2,272
36
votes
3
answers
6k
views
What was the first sentient race that awoke on Arda?
Some background: Tolkien's history of elves singing and ents walking and talking.
One of the foundations of Tolkien's mythology is the Elves being the Firstborn. The Dwarves are even put back to ...
- 11k
35
votes
2
answers
5k
views
What magical powers do balrogs have?
J. R. R. Tolkien wrote:
For of the Maiar many were drawn to his splendour in the days of his greatness, and remained in that allegiance down into his darkness; and others he corrupted afterwards to ...
- 38.7k
34
votes
5
answers
14k
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How many Balrogs were there?
There are guesstimates of their numbers ranging from as little as three all the way up to hundreds. Still other accounts say there were actually a thousand strong.
We know five were "killed" ...
- 26.6k
34
votes
3
answers
8k
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Did Tolkien come up with the Ents as he was writing Lord of the Rings, or before?
Ents play a pretty important role in The Lord of the Rings. However, they existed as far back as the First Age.
I expected them to have a pretty big role in The Silmarillion when I started reading it. ...
- 5,602
34
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Why did Christopher Tolkien remove all references to England and Ælfwine from the published Silmarillion?
Reading through the History of Middle-Earth series, it's quite clear the Tolkien had England and Eriol/Ælfwine of England in his mind though most of the history of developing the legendarium. The idea ...
- 4,446
33
votes
2
answers
4k
views
In what language did Túrin converse with Mîm?
Túrin spoke the Mannish tongue of the House of Hador and also Sindarin (in a noticeably archaic Doriathrim way). On the other hand the petty-dwarves being largely isolationist and hating the Eldar, ...
- 2,878
33
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Are there real world creation myths that inspired The Silmarillion?
In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, the creation myth is based on music - the creation of elves, etc. are new themes in the music, the "devil" introduces discords that are then used to develop the ...
- 573
32
votes
7
answers
18k
views
What powers, if any, did the Silmarils have?
In the Silmarillion, the Silmarils were described as being very powerful, holy jewels.
What form did this power take exactly?
- 20.1k
32
votes
3
answers
18k
views
Why is "the time of elves" considered to be over?
From the movie series, it seems obvious that the civilization of Elves, once great and important, is declining. Their numbers keep reducing and they retreat into some remote islands and in general "...
- 810
32
votes
1
answer
5k
views
What would've happened had Melkor won?
I'm interested to know if there were any notes on what would've happened has Melkor successfully overthrown the other Valar and assumed complete control of Arda.
Obvious answers like "He'd kill ...
- 5,229