Links Between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, Part 7

Appendix A

(avg. read time: 7–14 mins.)

Part 6

While we have already seen hundreds of connections between LOTR and The Silmarillion across the last 18,000 words of notes, there are still more to consider from the Appendices. While there are six Appendices, we will be dividing them into two parts with this part being dedicated to Appendix A and the second part being dedicated to the other Appendices. Appendix A, being annals and having some more extensive stories than the other Appendices, provides more connections than the other Appendices. It should be noted that Tolkien opens Appendix A with this note:

The legends, histories, and lore to be found in the sources are very extensive. Only selections from them, in most places much abridged, are here presented. Their principal purpose is to illustrate the War of the Ring and its origins, and to fill up some of the gaps in the main story. The ancient legends of the First Age, in which Bilbo’s chief interest lay, are very briefly referred to, since they concern the ancestry of Elrond and the Númenórean kings and chieftains.

In fact, Appendix A.I.i is most directly connected with The Silmarillion, covering the history of Númenor treated in The Silmarillion and some of the preceding matter. The whole introduction to this subsection functions as a synopsis for The Silmarillion. In fact, I will quote the entire introduction and number the connections of entities and events:

Fëanor [1] was the greatest of the Eldar [2] in arts and lore, but also the proudest and most selfwilled. He wrought the Three Jewels [3], the Silmarilli, and filled them with the radiance of the Two Trees, Telperion [4] and Laurelin [5], that gave light to the land of the Valar [6]. The Jewels were coveted by Morgoth [7] the Enemy, who stole them and, after destroying the Trees [4 and 5], took them to Middle-earth, and guarded them in his great fortress of Thangorodrim [8]. Against the will of the Valar [6] Fëanor [1] forsook the Blessed Realm [9] and went in exile to Middle-earth, leading with him a great part of his people [10]; for in his pride he purposed to recover the Jewels [3] from Morgoth [7] by force. Thereafter followed the hopeless war of the Eldar [2] and Edain [11] against Thangorodrim [8], in which they were at last utterly defeated. The Edain [11] (Atani] were three peoples of Men [12] who, coming first to the West of Middle-earth [13] and the shores of the Great Sea, became allies of the Eldar [2] against the Enemy [7].

There were three unions of the Eldar [2] and the Edain [11]: Lúthien [14] and Beren [15]; Idril [16] and Tuor [17]; Arwen and Aragorn. By the last the long-sundered branches of the Half-elven [18] were reunited and their line was restored.

Lúthien Tinúviel [14] was the daughter of King Thingol Grey-cloak [19] of Doriath [20] in the First Age [21], but her mother was Melian [22] of the people of the Valar [6]. Beren [15] was the son of Barahir [23] of the First House of the Edain [12]. Together they wrested a silmaril [3] from the Iron Crown [24] of Morgoth [7]. Lúthien [14] became mortal and was lost to Elven-kind. Dior [25] was her son. Elwing [26] was his daughter and had in her keeping the silmaril [3].

Idril Celebrindal [16] was the daughter of Turgon [27], king of the hidden city of Gondolin [28]. Tuor [17] was the son of Huor [29] of the House of Hador [30], the Third House of the Edain [12] and the most renowned in the wars with Morgoth [7]. Eärendil the Mariner [31] was their son.

Eärendil [31] wedded Elwing [26], and with the power of the silmaril [3] passed the Shadows [32] and came to the Uttermost West [9], and speaking as ambassador of both Elves and Men obtained the help by which Morgoth [7] was overthrown [33]. Eärendil [31] was not permitted to return to mortal lands, and his ship bearing the silmaril was set to sail in the heavens as a star [34], and a sign of hope to the dwellers in Middle-earth oppressed by the Great Enemy [7] or his servants. The silmarilli alone preserved the ancient light of the Two Trees [4 and 5] of Valinor [35] before Morgoth poisoned them; but the other two were lost [36] at the end of the First Age [21]. Of these things the full tale, and much else concerning Elves and Men, is told in The Silmarillion.

While I have counted three dozen distinct items of connection between this summary and The Silmarillion, the actual total of references is around double.

After that summary, we are also given what functions as an introduction to the story of Númenor also contained in The Silmarillion:

The sons of Eärendil [1] were Elros [2] and Elrond [3], the Peredhil or Half-elven. In them alone the line of the heroic chieftains of the Edain [4] in the First Age [5] was preserved; and after the fall of Gil-galad [6] the lineage of the High-elven [7] King was also in Middle-earth only represented by their descendants.

At the end of the First Age the Valar [8] gave to the Half-elven an irrevocable choice to which kindred they would belong. Elrond [3] chose to be of Elven-kind, and became a master of wisdom. To him therefore was granted the same grace as to those of the High Elves [7] that still lingered in Middle-earth: that when weary at last of the mortal lands they could take ships from the Grey Havens and pass into the Uttermost West [9]; and this grace continued after the change of the world [10]. But to the children of Elrond a choice was also appointed: to pass with him from the circles of the world; or if they remained to become mortal and die in Middle-earth. For Elrond [3], therefore, all chances of the War of the Ring were fraught with sorrow.

Elros [2] chose to be of Man-kind and remain with the Edain; but a great life-span was granted to him many times that of lesser men.

I could continue, but suffice it to say that this whole section well summarizes the “Akallabêth” section of The Silmarillion, though it also adds the complete list of the Kings and Queens of Númenor. Others have been noted in the course of the main story of LOTR as they came up. It should also be noted that throughout this Appendix and others, we still have the many common characters between LOTR and The Silmarillion noted in the first part. It is simply that now they are joined by many others, such as the One (Eru Ilúvatar), Tar-Palantir, and Ar-Pharazôn.

In subsections ii and iii, “The Realms in Exile” and “Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur,” there are a few connections to note. One, there are scattered cases of kings and stewards sharing names with characters from The Silmarillion (Beleg, Eärendil, Turambar, Húrin, Túrin, Beren, Turgon, Ecthelion, and Denethor). Two, we once again have reference to the High Elves. Three, in a footnote about the steward Vorondil the Hunter, who hunted the kine Boromir’s horn was taken from, we are told, “The wild white kine that were still to be found near the Sea of Rhûn were said in legend to be descended from the Kine of Araw, the huntsman of the Valar, who alone of the Valar came often to Middle-earth in the Elder Days. Oromë is the High-elven form of his name.” This note is an important reminder that the Valar went by several names, as also noted in The Silmarillion. Four, in this case, it also makes clear that “Elder Days” extended beyond when the first year of the First Age was accounted with the first rising of the sun. Five, as at multiple points across Appendix A, the narrator notes the presence of the palantirí and the histories of the various Stones of Seeing. Six, Arvedui, the last King of Arnor (before Aragorn), after taking refuge with the Lossoth and attempting to depart from their frozen land by ship against their counsel, gave them as a parting gift of thanks a ring: “This is a thing of worth beyond your reckoning. For its ancestry alone. It has no power, save the esteem in which those hold it who love my house. It will not help you, but if ever you are in need, my kin will ransom it with great store of all that you desire.” This ring was none other than the Ring of Barahir. This was the ring given by Finrod to Barahir when the latter saved his company from an onslaught of Orcs during the Dagor Bragollach. It became not only a sign of friendship between their houses (with which Beren called upon Finrod to help him in his quest for a Silmaril), but it also specifically became an heirloom of the House of Barahir, which produced the Kings of Númenor (as well as the Lords of Andúnië) and the Kings of Gondor and Arnor after them. It is one of the identifying markers of this line of kings, along with the shards of Narsil, the star of Elendil, and the sceptre of Annúminas. On this last marker, a foonote says the following:

The sceptre of Númenor [1] is said to have perished with Ar-Pharazôn [2]. That of Annúminas was the silver rod of the Lords of Andúnie [3], and is now perhaps the most ancient work of Men’s hands preserved in Middle-earth. It was already more than five thousand years old when Elrond surrendered it to Aragorn. The crown of Gondor was derived from the form of a Númenórean war-helm. In the beginning it was indeed a plain helm; and it is said to have been the one that Isildur [4] wore in the Battle of Dagorlad [5] (for the helm of Anárion [6] was crushed by the stone-cast from Barad-dûr [7] that slew him).

Subsection iv, concerning “Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion,” has some additional connections to make beyond the obvious ones of Elendil and his sons. We are told in a footnote that Umbar, which was at various turns part of the domain of Gondor or part of its enemies’ domain, was one of the earliest holdings in Middle-earth of the Númenóreans. In later times, after the Númenóreans had turned from their traditional allegiances, Umbar became a stronghold of the faction known as “the King’s Men,” those who composed the majority of the Númenóreans and sought to go their own way, impose their own mastery on the world in defiance of the Valar, persecute the Faithful, and even try to find ways to attain immortality for themselves. After the fall of Númenor, they were called “the Black Númenóreans, corrupted by Sauron, and who hated above all the followers of Elendil.” We are also told that the waning of the Dúnedain in the South slowly came about by mingling with the Men of Middle-earth and by, “the slow withdrawing of the gifts of the Númenóreans after the downfall of the Land of the Star.” This is something mentioned in subsection i, which also plays prominently in the more extensive version of the story in The Silmarillion. That is, these Men have been granted a longer lifespan, around thrice longer than the average Man. This would be good setup for the fact that, while their longer lifespans allowed them to accomplish more, they could not ultimately stave off the dissatisfaction with mortality and the envy of immortality.

The “Tale of Aragorn and Arwen” in subsection v also requires comment. There, Aragorn is identified as the Heir of Isildur and the Lord of the Dúnedain. More than that, in foreshadowing of his role as restorer, he is said to have a great doom awaiting him, “either to rise above the height of all your fathers since the days of Elendil, or to fall into darkness with all that is left of your kin.” He is also given the Ring of Barahir when he was 20, along with the shards of Narsil. Elrond withholds the Sceptre of Annúminas, as that would be more appropriate for when he might actually attain the throne. We also see how Aragorn had by this time in his life known the story of Beren and Lúthien, and he was specifically singing the part of the Lay of Lúthien telling of their meeting in the forest of Neldoreth. And it seemed to him that as he sang Lúthien appeared to him in Rivendell, “fair as the twilight in Elvenhome” (that is, Eldamar). He even called to her “crying, Tinúviel, Tinúviel! even as Beren had done in the Elder Days long ago.” Of course, this was Arwen, and she said in this conversation with Aragorn that it was possible that her doom would be the same as Lúthien’s. Indeed, Aragorn also connects their story as echoing Beren and Lúthien’s when he says, “I have turned my eyes to a treasure no less dear than the treasure of Thingol that Beren once desired. Such is my fate.” Arwen would also make for him a kingly standard worthy of one “who claimed the lordship of the Númenóreans and the inheritance of Elendil.” This is the standard the Grey Company brought to him and which he displayed on his ship when he led his forces to join the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Curiously, when Aragorn is dying, he will refer to himself as, “the last of the Númenóreans and the latest King of the Elder Days,” as this seems to assign a different meaning to “the Elder Days” than is typical. Arwen will say in this moment, “For if this indeed, as the Eldar say, the gift of the One to Men, it is bitter to receive.” The Silmarillion makes much at key points (particularly in the “Akallabêth”) of death being the Gift of Men from Eru Ilúvatar, though one will need to consult the “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” from Morgoth’s Ring for a fuller exploration of this idea. Indeed, the state of Men after death is left as something of a mystery in The Silmarillion, but it is said that they will rise again to take part in the Second Music and Arda Remade (referred to here as when “the world is changed”).

Section II on the House of Eorl has little to add. This is, of course, unsurprising, since the Eorlingas, later known as the Rohirrim, only became prominent late in the Third Age, and little is said of their history before Eorl and his host arrived at the Field of Celebrant to aid Cirion of Gondor. However, there is one note, which I have already provided information on in Part 5: “It was upon Felaróf that Erol rode to the Field of Celebrant; for that horse proved as long-lived as Men, and so were his descendants. These were the mearas, who would bear no one but the King of the Mark or his sons, until the time of Shadowfax. Men said of them that Béma (whom the Eldar call Oromë) must have brought their sire from West over Sea.”

Section III on Durin’s Folk has more connections to The Silmarillion. It makes some vague reference to the origins of the Dwarves, which is told in full in The Silmarillion. It also explains why Dwarves are called “Durin’s Folk,” since Durin is the eldest of the Seven Fathers of their race. He was the one who founded the kingdom of Khazad-dûm and he came to be called the “Deathless” for having an incredibly long lifespan for Dwarves. Although he would eventually die before the end of the Elder Days, he would retain this distinction because the Dwarves believed, as is also said in The Silmarillion, “his line never failed, and five times [really, six by late in the Fourth Age and as shown in the genealogy] an heir was born in his House so like to his Forefather that he received the name of Durin. He was indeed held by the Dwarves to be the Deathless that returned; for they have many strange tales and beliefs concerning themselves and their fate in the world.”

Beyond this, a reference to Sauron as “servant of Morgoth,” and, of course, the reference to the Balrog, the main connections with The Silmarillion reside in the third paragraph of this section: “After the end of the First Age the power and wealth of Khazad-dûm was much increased; for it was enriched by many people and much lore and craft when the ancient cities of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains were ruined at the breaking of Thangorodrim.” These two cities were the realms of the Dwarves that were most prominent in the war against Morgoth and in alliance with certain Elvish rulers.

Finally, we are told that Legolas ultimately went into the West after Aragorn’s death. Gimli went with him, and Galadriel appealed on his behalf to the Lords of the West. And he alone among Durin’s Folk was able to spend his last days in the Undying Lands.