Chronology between Hunt for the Ring and Appendix B

Was "The Hunt for the Ring" part of Unfinished Tales written by JRR Tolkien before or after the "Tale of Years in Appendix B" part of Lord of the Rings?

In the Introduction part (Part 3 - IV The Hunt for the Ring) of Unfinished Tales:

“There is much writing bearing on the events of the year 3018 of the Third Age, which are otherwise known from the Tale of Years and the reports of Gandalf and others to the Council of Elrond; and these writings are clearly those referred to as 'sketched out' in the letter just cited. I have given them the title 'The Hunt for the Ring'. The manuscripts themselves, in great though hardly exceptional confusion, are sufficiently described on p. 342; but the question of their date (for I believe them all, and also those of 'Concerning Gandalf, Saruman, and the Shire', given as the third element in this section, to derive from the same time) may be mentioned here. They were writtten after the publication of The Lord of the Rings, for there are references to the pagination of the printed text; but
they differ in the dates they give for certain events from those in the Tale of Years in Appendix B. The explanation is clearly that they were written after the publication of the first volume but before that of the third, containing the Appendices.”

Posted Jul 5, 2026, 12:36 PM UTC

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