The Second Age Read Along - Part 1 - Week 3: Silm: Of the Rings of Power / Letter 131 To Milton Waldman

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#What we’re reading today

• Silmarillion: Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.

  This can be found in the back of The Silmarillion, right after “Akallabêth”. Start at the beginning, but only read until “and he took no visible shape again for many long years.” Do not continue after “Thus began the Third Age of the World”.

• Letter to Milton Waldman

  Can be found in the preface of many editions of The Silmarillion. If your edition is missing it, it can also be found in Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (#131), and here.

  Start at “The next cycle deals (or would deal) with the Second Age.” (about halfway through the version in The Silmarillion). End with “So ends the Second Age with the coming of the Númenórean realms and the passing of the last kingship of the High Elves.” Some versions like Letters continue past that point, but that is where you should stop. Do not continue after “The Third Age is concerned mainly with the Ring.”.

#Resources

Maps:

• Atlas of Middle-earth, Relocation of Refugees
• Atlas of Middle-earth, Advent of the Dark Years
• The Realms in Exile
• Atlas of Middle-earth, Last Alliance
• From Amazon, Late Second Age

#Before you read

“Of the Rings of Power” is a work that Tolkien worked on in conjunction with the chapters “The Shadow of the Past” and “The Council of Elrond” from The Lord of the Rings as Tolkien worked out a balance for how to distribute the backstory he had created for the rings. We will only be reading the first part of this work, which covers the Second Age. Keep in mind that there may be terms from the histories of the First Age, don’t be too thrown off by them. The important players are Gil-Galad (Elven high-king), Sauron/Annatar (forger and wielder of the One Ring), and Celebrimbor (Elf of the line of Fëanor, the greatest smith of his time).

“Letter to Milton Waldman” is a letter Tolkien wrote back when he was trying to find a publisher willing to publish The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings together. Tolkien wrote Milton a long letter giving a synopsis of all three ages of his legendarium. Milton wasn't willing to take the financial risk though, and Tolkien eventually had to settle with George Allen & Unwin's offer to publish just The Lord of the Rings by itself. The second half of this letter, covering the third age, can be found in full in The Lord of the Rings Reader's Companion.

#After you read

“Of the Rings of Power” is distinct from our previous readings in that, rather than a focus on the history of Númenor, we see in more detail the events of continental Middle-Earth during the Second Age. Following the brief history of Sauron, we learn what the lay of the land is like in the Northwest of Middle-Earth following the First Age. The geography is quite different after the loss of most of Beleriand, but some elves are hanging about, notably those in Lindon under Gil-Galad by the Grey Havens and in the new kingdom of Eregion in the region of Eriador.

Then Sauron comes out of his hiding as Annatar, Lord of Gifts, and begins the creation of the Rings of Power. He is welcomed into Eregion as a wise friend. We hear in closer detail about the betrayal of the Elves of Eregion, especially Celebrimbor. There is not much resistance to Sauron during this time, until he goes to Númenor, when the Elves get a chance to counter Sauron’s previous advancements. After Númenor’s downfall, the remnants of Númenor establish two kingdoms: Arnor in Eriador led by Elendil, and Gondor in the south led by Elendil’s sons, Isildur and Anárion. We also see some of the great heirlooms/locations of these kingdoms in their youth (Fornost, Minas Ithil, Minas Arnor, Isengard, Osgiliath, palantíri, White Tree, etc.). Yet Sauron resumes his conquest, and the War of the Last Alliance begins, resulting in the siege of Barad-dûr and the vanquishing of Sauron, which produces the events of the Third Age.

The letter to Milton Waldman gives a much different perspective of the Second Age. We hear Tolkien speak about his world in an almost objective way. This makes obvious some things that were somewhat obscure in the narrative.

One of these things is the intentions of Sauron after the First Age. Tolkien makes it sound like Sauron really did repent his deeds in following Morgoth’s defeat, but he refuses to return to Valinor out of fear of the Valar’s judgement. His motives in Middle-Earth seems noble at first: to reorganize and rehabilitate Middle-earth. Unfortunately, this morphs into a desire for complete power and an extreme hate for those that get in his way.

Tolkien also reveals what he thinks are the main themes of the second age: the Delaying of the Elves, the Rise of Sauron, and the Downfall of Numenor. He continues, further explaining these themes and the rest of the history of the Second Age. This gives the history in a unique form from that the Tale of Years or Akallabeth, and provides an interesting perspective on the events of the Second Age.

#Discussion questions

• Now that we are finishing part one of the read-along, you should have encountered three different versions from Tolkien of the two main narratives of the second age. How do they compare to each other? Which one did you enjoy the most?
• What similarities and/or differences do you see between Sauron's surrender to Eonwe at the end of the First Age, and his later surrender to Ar-Pharazon? What do you make of the suggestion that his repentance of evil may not at first have been "falsely done"?
• What do you think of the Noldor's willingness to accept Sauron's ringlore? How do you interpret the Elven desire to delay and preserve time on Middle-earth? Is this unwillingness to move on a personal failing, or a noble endeavor?
• Tolkien enumerated to Milton Waldman three themes of the Second Age. Do you feel that accurately represents the texts you’ve been reading?
• Although the versions in the back of LotR and the Silmarillion put the Númenor perspective before the “Of the Rings of Power” perspective, Tolkien wrote in the letter with the other way around. Which order makes more sense to you?
• Is there any way that Sauron could have been saved from turning evil?
• It is clear from the letter that Númenor is Tolkien’s ‘Atlantis’/flood myth. What are your thoughts on his version vs. some of the various versions from real life mythologies/religions (Genesis flood, Norse Bergelmir, the Chinese Gun-Yu, etc.)?