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The Silmarillion
Ainulindalë
Valaquenta
Quenta Silmarillion
Akallabêth
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

Quenta Silmarillion is a collection of fictional legends written by the fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published after the author's death in The Silmarillion together with four shorter stories. As Tolkien did not finish it it was completed by his son Christopher with assistance of fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. The title Quenta Silmarillion is translated as "the Tale of the Silmarils".

Quenta Silmarillion tells about the history of Arda (the Earth), after its creation by the god Eru Ilúvatar. The Valar, angelic beings, enter into the world and try to shape it after a vision given to them by Eru. The initial shape of Arda, chosen by the Valar, was of a symmetrical continent lit by the Two Lamps. However, the lamps were destroyed by the vicious Melkor; Arda was darkened, and the lamps' fall spoiled the symmetry of Arda's surface. Two main continents were created that are of concern to the story: Aman in the west, and Middle-earth in the east.

Following this, Melkor hid himself from the Valar in his fortress Utumno in the north of Middle-earth. He also surrounded himself with horrible beasts, many of them Maiar in the form of fell animals, known as Balrogs.

The Valar moved to the western continent Aman where they established the realm Valinor of which Manwë was made king. The Vala Yavanna created the Two Trees which illuminated Valinor. Middle-earth, by contrast, was in perpetual darkness, and was seldom visited by the Valar. Only some of them, most notably Oromë, visited it periodically, especially to prepare for the coming of the Elves, which the Valar had foreseen in their vision and to keep an eye on Melkor's activities.

On one of his expeditions Oromë discovered the newly-awakened Elves at Cuiviénen. The Valar, aware of the risk Melkor posed to the Elves, beleaguered his fortress and finally overthrew him and took him prisoner to Valinor to serve "three ages" in the Halls of Mandos.

Oromë was then sent to the Elves again, to invite them to come with him to Aman and live there. Some of the Elves did not follow him or became sidetracked and stayed in Middle-earth, and so the Elves became sundered. These notably included the Sindar, who stayed in Middle-earth when their king, Thingol, became lost in the forest. He was to later emerge, married to the Maia Melian, and found the Kingdom of Doriath.

The Elves who accepted the summons were carried across the sea on a floating island.

Finwë, the first King of the Noldor, had a son Fëanor. At his birth Fëanor drew so much life from his mother Míriel that she grew weary of life and her spirit left her bodily form, departing to the halls of Mandos. Eventually, Finwë remarried, and had two further sons, Fingolfin and Finarfin. Fëanor became the most famous elven craftsman, especially by making the Silmarils, three jewels in which he trapped the light of the Two Trees. The Silmarils were hallowed by Varda, and would burn any evil or mortal creature who touched them.

About this time, Melkor, having completed his sentence, was released. By various lies he managed to play Fëanor and Fingolfin against each other, creating strife and division amongst the Noldor; furthermore, he convinced the Noldor that they had been brought to Aman primarily so the Valar could keep them under control. Finally, Fëanor rebelled against the Valar, publicly advocating leaving and then drawing his weapon against Fingolfin.

The Valar were soon aware of Melkor's ultimate responsibility in this. Tulkas sought for him, but Melkor had hidden and could not be found. Because he threatened Fingolfin's life, Fëanor was exiled from Tirion for twelve years. With his seven sons and his father Finwë he moved to a newly-built stronghold, Formenos.

After an argument with Fëanor at Formenos, Melkor travelled to Avathar in secret, where he met the giant spider-like creature Ungoliant. With her help, he travelled into Valinor secretly, killed the Two Trees, assassinated Finwë at Formenos, and stole the Silmarils, before escaping in the confusion. He made his way back to Middle-earth, and after escaping from Ungoliant with the help of some of his former servants, re-established an empire from his secondary fortress of Angband, and placed the three Silmarils, which now were the only source of the unmarred light of the Two Trees, in his Iron Crown.

Fëanor was furious at the death of his father and the theft of the Silmarils. Travelling to Tirion in violation of his exile, he publicly blamed both Melkor, whom he named Morgoth, and the Valar (for failing to protect Finwë and the Silmarils). He urged the Noldor to leave Valinor, for a punitive expedition against Morgoth and a new life in Middle-earth. He and his sons then swore the notorious Oath of Fëanor, vowing to pursue with hatred anyone who withheld a Silmaril from them.

Most of the assembled Noldor left Tirion, and travelled to Alqualondë, attempting to persuade the Teleri to join them, or at least to lend them ships to cross the Great Sea. When the Teleri refused, Fëanor ordered that the swan-ships be taken by force; the notorious Kinslaying ensued, in which many Teleri were slaughtered. Shortly afterwards, at the northern boundary of Eldamar, the Noldor met Mandos, who cursed all Noldor who left with Fëanor. At this point, Finarfin, who had always been reluctant to leave, turned back to Valinor with a small number of followers. The rest of the Noldor crossed into Middle-earth; Fëanor and his sons used the swan-ships, while Fingolfin and his followers were obliged to cross the ice-floes of the Helcaraxë.

Meanwhile, Morgoth attempted to conquer the Doriath, the realm of Thingol and Melian in Middle-earth. In the first of five great Battles, he sent out two armies of Orcs, forcing Thingol and his Maia Queen Melian to protect Doriath by a magic fence, the "Girdle of Melian", and the coastal Elves to retreat into their fortified harbour towns. Fëanor and his army arrived during this, and defeated the Orc armies in the second Battle, Dagor-nuin-Giliath (the "Battle under the Stars"). However, Fëanor, chasing after the retreating Orcs, was ambushed and killed by Balrogs.

The Valar created the Moon and the Sun from the remains of the Two Trees. These new lights illuminated Middle-earth, stimulated much new plant and animal growth, and put a halt to the plans of Morgoth, who feared light, for a while. At this time, Men, the second of the Children of Ilúvatar, awoke in eastern Middle-earth, and some began to migrate westward.

The Noldor established kingdoms and principalities in northern and central Beleriand, which were ruled by the descendants of Fëanor, Fingolfin and Finarfin. Many of the Sindar, the native Elves of Beleriand, were absorbed into the Noldorin kingdoms. Others were in Sindarin states: Thingol's kingdom in Doriath, the coastal Falas ruled by Círdan, and the secretive Green-Elves of Ossiriand. Relations between the Noldor and the independent Sindar were at first amicable but eventually deteriorated due to the isolationism of Thingol, and even more because of rumours of the Kinslaying and the Curse.

After fifty years, the Noldor defeated Morgoth in the third Battle, called Dagor Aglareb, the Glorious Battle. They went on to besiege Angband for four hundred years. Towards the end of this time, the first Men arrived in Beleriand. Some of them became allies of the Noldor in the war against Morgoth, and settled in Noldorin realms.

Morgoth, however, merely used the Siege as an opportunity to build up strength, and in Y.S. 455, he renewed the war on his own terms. In the fourth Great Battle, Dagor Bragollach (Sudden Flame), famous for the emergence of the Dragon Glaurung, Morgoth's armies overthrew the Siege, conquering Ard-galen and Dorthonion, and Fingolfin died in single combat with Morgoth. Sixteen years later, the northern Noldor made a last attempt to destroy Morgoth. In the resulting battle, Nirnaeth Arnoediad (Unnumbered Tears), they lost almost all their armies and Morgoth conquered the entire North. Afterwards, he destroyed the remaining Elf-kingdoms one by one.

In this part, the Quenta Silmarillion also includes two stories dealing more with individuals.

The story of Beren and Lúthien tells of the Man Beren and the elf-maiden Lúthien who fall in love. Lúthien was the daughter of King Thingol, and Thingol, who disliked mortal Men, said they could marry if Beren brought him a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. Beren, with Lúthien's help, achieved this, but was killed by Carcharoth, a giant Wolf from Angband. Lúthien travelled in spirit to the Houses of the Dead, to plead with Mandos for Beren's release; she and Beren were sent back to Middle-earth alive, but Lúthien became a mortal woman. Eventually they died and left the Universe together.

Also included is the story of Túrin Turambar. His father, Húrin was captured at the end of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, and Morgoth placed a curse on his family. Túrin became a great hero, but due partly to his hot temper and partly to a string of bad luck, many things he became involved in went wrong. To make matters worse, he and his sister, Nienor, were manipulated by Glaurung after the dragon sacked Nargothrond and took up residence there. Eventually Túrin killed Glaurung, but both he and Nienor became insane at the horror of what they did while under Glaurung's control, and committed suicide.

The last Elf-Kingdom to survive was the hidden city of Gondolin. Tuor, a mortal man, was sent by Ulmo as a messenger to Gondolin, to warn King Turgon of the city's impending destruction. Remaining in Gondolin, Tuor married Turgon's daughter, Idril, and they had a son Eärendil. Gondolin was eventually betrayed to Morgoth, and was destroyed. Tuor, Idril and Eärendil escaped, together with a number of refugees.

Eärendil grew up and married Elwing, grand-daughter of Beren and Lúthien and current keeper of the Silmaril they took from Morgoth. With the help of the Silmaril, Eärendil and Elwing sailed to Valinor, and pleaded with the Valar, asking them to pardon the Noldor and assist Elves and Men in their need. The Valar agreed to this request, and set Eärendil, with the Silmaril, to sail the skies as a star until the ending of the world.

The Valar finally attacked Morgoth in Angband. In this battle, the Great Battle (also known as the War of Wrath), Morgoth was utterly defeated; his armies were destroyed, with only a few remnants scattered across the Earth. He was taken prisoner and his two remaining Silmarils were confiscated. Maedhros and Maglor, Fëanor's two surviving sons, stole the Silmarils from the Valar, but they found the Silmarils would not tolerate their touch, instead tormenting them with burning pain. Maedhros committed suicide by jumping with the Silmaril into a chasm in the earth, and Maglor threw his Silmaril away into the sea.

The Valar pardoned the Noldor for their rebellion, and the Teleri offered forgiveness for the Kinslaying. Many of the Noldor and the Sindar left Middle-earth and travelled into the West, to live in Valinor. Many still stayed in Middle-earth. Morgoth was cast out of the World, imprisoned in the Void that lies behind the Walls of the Night. The Silmarils were lost "unless the World be broken and re-made", but each one found its home in one of the elements: fire, water and air.