The Shaping Of Middle-Earth

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By J. R. R. Tolkien & J.R.R. Tolkien

Publisher Description

The Shaping Of Middle-Earth is the fourth volume that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.

In this fourth volume of The History of Middle-earth, the shaping of the chronological and geographical structure of the legends of Middle-earth and Valinor is spread before us.

We are introduced to the hitherto unknown Ambarkanta or “Shape of the World”, the only account ever given of the nature of the imagined Universe, ccompanied by maps and diagrams of the world before and after the cataclyusms of The War of the Gods and the Downfall of Numenor. The first map of Beleriend is also reproduced and discussed.

In The Annals of Valinor and The Annals of Beleriend we are shown how the chronology of the First Age was moulded: and the tale is told of Aelfwine, the Englishman who voyaged into the True West and came to Tol Eressea, Lonely Isle, where he learned the ancient history of Elves and Men.

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The Shaping Of Middle-Earth Reviews

3.5

Angus Murchie

Created 1 day ago

“Definitely only one for true Tolkien fanatics - but if you are one, probably essential reading at some stage. This fourth book in The History of Middle-earth series is yet another further development of the tales which would eventually become The Silmarillion. I found the first 5 sections very interesting, seeing how things had developed since The Book of Lost Tales and moved very much closer to the published version in The Silmarillion. This is also how the story stood at the time when The Hobbit was written. The Sketch of the Mythology is quite fascinating in its own right, and was then succeeded by the Quenta, or Qenta Noldorinwa - the most fully complete version of The Silmarillion that JRR Tolkien ever made. The conceit is maintained that the stories being related are translations by Aelfwine/Eriol of Elvish books he had read on Tol Eressëa - even to the extent that the beginning of each of the versions within this volume were translated by JRRT into Old English - Tolkien was a man truly fascinated by language. Also included are the original maps used for The Silmarillion and the Ambarkanta, attempting to describe the overall “Fashion of the World”. These can be heavy going and require a lot of concentration to grasp the ideas and follow the numerous changes. Finally we get the Annals of Valinor and the Annals of Beleriand, both in a couple of forms, which assign timescales to the key parts of the overall stories already related in the Sketch and in the Quenta. Inevitably these feel quite repetitive and there is also much very detailed discussion on the changes in dates of key events and innumerable changes to names of key characters and locations. These two sections were very heavy going for me, and whilst I admire, and am in awe of Christopher’s dedication in sifting through and documenting all these changes they are not the most scintillating read. About 10 pages a night was all I could take in one sitting and I was very glad to finally finish them - these won’t be sections I’ll ever choose to read again. So, overall a bit of a mixed bag ranging from truly fascinating to a dull slog, but as before a book I’m glad to have finally read a mere 39 years after I first bought it.”

Steven Hughes J2H

Created about 2 months ago

st.john__alec

Created 4 months ago

Change and grow Minor characters stand out Morally ambiguous Multilayered Original Strong villain Ancient Atmospheric Enchanted Innovative Majestic Setting fits the story Beautifully-written

Danielle Mizerek

Created 10 months ago

Matt Siders

Created 10 months ago

About J. R. R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over sixty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.