Morgoth's Ring
- Downloads：8650
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-26 09:55:01
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：J.R.R. Tolkien
- ISBN：0261103008
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
In Morgoth's Ring， the tenth volume of The History of Middle-earth and the first of two companion volumes， Christopher Tolkien describes and documents the legends of the Elder Days， as they were evolved and transformed by his father in the years before he completed The Lord of the Rings。 The text of the Annals of Aman， the "Blessed Land" in the far West， is given in full。 And in writings never before published， we can see the nature of the problems that J。R。R。 Tolkien explored in his later years as new and radical ideas， portending upheaval in the heart of the mythology。 At this time Tokien sought to redefine the old legends， and wrote of the nature and destiny of Elves， the idea of Elvish rebirth， the origins of the Orcs， and the Fall of Men。 His meditation of mortality and immortality as represented in the lives of Men and Elves led to another major writing at this time， the "Debate of Finrod and Andreth，" which is reproduced here in full。 "Above all，" Christopher Tolkien writes in his foreward， "the power and significance of Melkor-Morgoth。。。was enlarged to become the ground and source of the corruption of Arda。" This book indeed is all about Morgoth。 Incomparably greater than the power of Sauron， concentrated in the One Ring， Morgoth's power （Tolkien wrote） was dispersed into the very matter of Arda: "The whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring。"
Reviews
Noelle
，
Parts 4 and 5 of this book are excellent。 After reading the same stories over and over， it's nice to read some fresh material。Even though by the time you get to this book you've read the Silmarillion stories 100 times over， in this book you start getting some interesting revisions and some of the author's comparisons to LOTR， so all in all I still enjoyed Parts 1 through 3。 Parts 4 and 5 of this book are excellent。 After reading the same stories over and over， it's nice to read some fresh material。Even though by the time you get to this book you've read the Silmarillion stories 100 times over， in this book you start getting some interesting revisions and some of the author's comparisons to LOTR， so all in all I still enjoyed Parts 1 through 3。 。。。more
Bil Thompson
，
This was harder for me to get into but worth it。 The final 60 or so pages are various essays by Tolkien about his mythology and there were multiple ones on the origins of the orcs as he tried to determine their beginnings， also more insight into Sauron。
Turin Turambar
，
Probably a necessary book but tedious and repetitive nonetheless。 Several parts were still quite interesting， so I guess I still grudgingly recommend it especially to hardcore fans of the legendarium。
Artnoose McMoose
，
This volume in the History of Middle Earth series compiles Tolkien’s writings about the Arda mythology after the publication of the Lord of the Rings。 It includes some pretty important stuff like the conversation between Finrod and Andreth about the differences in the souls of elves and humans。 It also has a really long section about how Finwë was able to remarry after his first wife died， and wow， Tolkien spent a long time on this subject。 Toward the end is another diving into the nature of orc This volume in the History of Middle Earth series compiles Tolkien’s writings about the Arda mythology after the publication of the Lord of the Rings。 It includes some pretty important stuff like the conversation between Finrod and Andreth about the differences in the souls of elves and humans。 It also has a really long section about how Finwë was able to remarry after his first wife died， and wow， Tolkien spent a long time on this subject。 Toward the end is another diving into the nature of orcs。 。。。more
Stephen Poltz
，
This is the tenth installment in the History of Middle Earth series edited by Christopher Tolkien。 This volume features different revisions of the creation of Middle Earth。 Like most of its predecessors， it’s for the hardcore fans who want to see the evolution of the Tolkien Legendarium。 I found this volume tougher to read than some of the others， mainly because it contained essays and fictional ruminations on the nature of the Elves， Men， and Orcs; good and evil; and life and death。 While it ma This is the tenth installment in the History of Middle Earth series edited by Christopher Tolkien。 This volume features different revisions of the creation of Middle Earth。 Like most of its predecessors， it’s for the hardcore fans who want to see the evolution of the Tolkien Legendarium。 I found this volume tougher to read than some of the others， mainly because it contained essays and fictional ruminations on the nature of the Elves， Men， and Orcs; good and evil; and life and death。 While it may sound interesting at first， one must remember that Tolkien was an Oxford professor， so his philosophical writing is very detailed and academic， even the fictional pieces。 He was exploring the deeper nature of his Legendarium as he was trying to develop The Silmarillion for publication。 I got bogged down in it as it seems Tolkien did himself。Come visit my blog for the full review…https://itstartedwiththehugos。blogspo。。。 。。。more
Dave Sammath
，
If you’ve read LOTR， The Silmarillion， Unfinished Tales， and The Letters multiple times and think that you have a firm grasp on things， go ahead and read this。 This is also the first volume of the HoMe that deals with Tolkien’s return to the earlier myths during and after writing the LOTR， and contains some of the last writings of the mythology that are later than the meatier Letters on the mythology。
Sarah Zama
，
One of the best in the HoME series。 There's a lot of philosophical talk here， but that's exactly what I loved about it。 Tolkien goes deep into the matter of the how and why of his people and world。 And I loved that he had a harder look at his villains。 I really enjoyed the part dedicated to Melkor's and Sauron's motives， as well as the speculation into the nature of orcs。 I love the 'Athrabeth Finrod ah Abdreth'， with its speculation about death， which was interesting both on a real-life level a One of the best in the HoME series。 There's a lot of philosophical talk here， but that's exactly what I loved about it。 Tolkien goes deep into the matter of the how and why of his people and world。 And I loved that he had a harder look at his villains。 I really enjoyed the part dedicated to Melkor's and Sauron's motives， as well as the speculation into the nature of orcs。 I love the 'Athrabeth Finrod ah Abdreth'， with its speculation about death， which was interesting both on a real-life level and on the light it sheds on the nature and relationship between Men and Elves。 And of course， I loved 'On the Severance of Marriage' and its insight into Fëanor， his life and his family。 An incredible book。 。。。more
Tom
，
Definitely one of the better HoME volumes。 The first half is great; it's just fun to see lots of pieces of the Silmarillion come into place and reach their "final" version。 （Plus the Laws and Customs of the Eldar is an absolute classic essay， containing all-important information about elf sex culture。） Then in the second half， this book gets really crazy， delving into the various ways Tolkien wanted to completely change the Silmarillion mythos to fix "plot holes" and bring it into line with a mo Definitely one of the better HoME volumes。 The first half is great; it's just fun to see lots of pieces of the Silmarillion come into place and reach their "final" version。 （Plus the Laws and Customs of the Eldar is an absolute classic essay， containing all-important information about elf sex culture。） Then in the second half， this book gets really crazy， delving into the various ways Tolkien wanted to completely change the Silmarillion mythos to fix "plot holes" and bring it into line with a more "realistic" cosmology。 It's kind of a relief he never got around to fully implementing those changes， since in my opinion he would have had to sacrifice way too much of what makes his legendarium so， well， legendary。All in all， this book isn't as stand-alone cool as the Book of Lost Tales or anything， but it's definitely a great read and gives some really interesting context to the published Silmarillion。 。。。more
Melissa
，
This one is tough to review。。。 I wish Christopher Tolkien has found these stories and rewritings before The Silmarillion was published， I wish further still that JRR Tolkien had been able to print this story in his lifetime the way he envisioned it。 The re-writings of these stories after LOTR contained some minor and some major revisions of the stories we know， and he often tweaked them in a way that would have suited many readers who found The Silmarillion too mythlike and not immersive story e This one is tough to review。。。 I wish Christopher Tolkien has found these stories and rewritings before The Silmarillion was published， I wish further still that JRR Tolkien had been able to print this story in his lifetime the way he envisioned it。 The re-writings of these stories after LOTR contained some minor and some major revisions of the stories we know， and he often tweaked them in a way that would have suited many readers who found The Silmarillion too mythlike and not immersive story enough， by fleshing out even further many of the characters and their motivations and relationships。 And as much as I enjoyed it， I was still left wanting more， I was hoping to get more history of hobbits and Ents meshed in with the creation stories of Elves， Men， and Dwarves。 。。。more
Nonethousand Oberrhein
，
Life， Death and Arda in-betweenAfter the publication of The Lord of the Rings， JRR Tolkien turns back on his old legendarium and starts revising it through short essays and philosophic dialogs between his characters… One of the deepest and dense volumes of the History of Middle-earth series， shedding a new light and giving perspective to the most metaphysical aspects of the Tolkienish mythology。 In a way， it is probably the first volume that should be read after all the Hobbit - Lord of t Life， Death and Arda in-betweenAfter the publication of The Lord of the Rings， JRR Tolkien turns back on his old legendarium and starts revising it through short essays and philosophic dialogs between his characters… One of the deepest and dense volumes of the History of Middle-earth series， shedding a new light and giving perspective to the most metaphysical aspects of the Tolkienish mythology。 In a way， it is probably the first volume that should be read after all the Hobbit - Lord of the Ring - Silmarillion reading adventure！Here below my reviews to the previous volumes of the History of Middle-earth:Vol。1: Sit down and listen Vol。2: Heroics of a young authorVol。3: The poet of Middle-earthVol。4: Sketches and Annals of the First AgeVol。5: A glimpse of NúmenorVol。6: When Trotter led the wayVol。7: From Rivendell to RohanVol。8: How the King returnsVol。9: The eagles will always come at the end 。。。more
Eleanor
，
3。5ish stars。The thing about Morgoth’s Ring is that， taken together with its sequel The War of the Jewels， it presents the latest pre-publication version of the Silmarillion manuscripts and associated writings。 Because of that， the work in here isn't too different from the published Silmarillion， so it’s not very interesting reading material compared to books that contain far earlier manuscripts。 Furthermore， this book focuses on the events pre-Noldor Exile， which is not， like， a ton of stuff wh 3。5ish stars。The thing about Morgoth’s Ring is that， taken together with its sequel The War of the Jewels， it presents the latest pre-publication version of the Silmarillion manuscripts and associated writings。 Because of that， the work in here isn't too different from the published Silmarillion， so it’s not very interesting reading material compared to books that contain far earlier manuscripts。 Furthermore， this book focuses on the events pre-Noldor Exile， which is not， like， a ton of stuff when it actually gets written out。 So this book goes over the same few creation myths and events in the very early history of the Elves a thousand times， each iteration just slightly different from the one before， and that got pretty boring after a while。I’ve also seen a lot of reviews praising the Debate between Finrod and Andreth， but it didn’t appeal a lot to me personally。 It felt unnecessarily long and pretty repetitive， and I think Tolkien’s choice at the end to make Andreth’s entire worldview stem from her attraction to a guy （yes， really） really delegitimized the Debate as a whole。 Intelligent， independent female characters are already so uncommon in Tolkien’s stories， and it was really frustrating to see this rare example almost entirely reduced to her feelings for a long-lost lover。 So even though the Debate brought up some interesting points about the early intellectual history of humans， it still underwhelmed me overall。That being said， there are some fascinating moments in here。 I really liked the Myths Transformed section， which contained some of Tolkien’s late ideas on how he might radically remake the mythology。 Some other cool items include:- How the Valar count time vs how we count time - A long treatise on marriage customs and gender roles among the Eldar as well as the metaphysical nature of their souls- The essay on Melkor and Sauron comparing their approaches to Dark Lord-ing- Tidbits about the Valar’s social systems （ex。 marriage） and how a lot of the ways in which we discuss them （ex。 describing Varda and Manwë as “married”） are actually more of a projection of our social systems than an accurate representation of theirs， which are much looser- The mechanics of Elvish reincarnation- The Statute of Finwë and Míriel debate， which brought a whole new dimension to their story and showcased a lot of the deeper philosophical ramifications/dimensions of Elvish death and remarriage- The idea that the Silmarillion is not the stories of Elves， but corrupted versions of the stories of Elves as passed down through and blended with human tradition and written down in Númenor On the whole， the book did get more interesting as it went along， but I still had to force myself to the finish line。 As such， I’m choosing to round my rating down to 3 stars， as I think that's a more accurate reflection of my experience than 4 stars （though， really， it's in the middle somewhere）。 I think the fact that I had to force myself to sit down and read this a lot of the time is the deciding factor in that。 I’m unsure if I’ll pick up The War of the Jewels—I avoided reading Morgoth’s Ring for so long because I suspected I wouldn’t enjoy it so much due to the first reason I outlined in this review， and I think that would still stand （and potentially be more of an issue） in The War of the Jewels。 However， I would still highly recommend the History of Middle-Earth series on the whole！ This installment just wasn’t my favorite :（ 。。。more
Rob
，
My TL;DR ReviewThis is a fantastic book for Tolkien fans and a great place to start reading the History of Middle Earth series。 But don’t read this until you’ve read the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion first， and probably rereading the Silmarillion a second time。 The depth here is amazing， but you need to be very familiar with the story of the Silmarillion to really get the most enjoyment out of this one。 My Unexpurgated ReviewHaving just finished my first ever re-read of the Silmarillion My TL;DR ReviewThis is a fantastic book for Tolkien fans and a great place to start reading the History of Middle Earth series。 But don’t read this until you’ve read the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion first， and probably rereading the Silmarillion a second time。 The depth here is amazing， but you need to be very familiar with the story of the Silmarillion to really get the most enjoyment out of this one。 My Unexpurgated ReviewHaving just finished my first ever re-read of the Silmarillion， I decided to take my first step into the 12-volume History of Middle a Earth series。 The biggest challenge was deciding where to start。 I picked this one based on a number of reasons。 First， it is the first of two volumes that covers the development of the Silmarillion， which was still fresh in my mind。 Secondly， I heard the hosts of the Prancing Pony Podcast refer to this book frequently during their a Silmarillion episodes。 Lastly， I’ve read on many sites that the background material in this volume is some of the most critical source material of Tolkien’s legendarium。 This volume， the tenth in the series of the History of Middle Earth， covers Tolkien’s return to his Silmarillion tales after having completed the Lord of the Rings。 The book is divided into five parts。 Parts one though three cover revised manuscripts of the Ainulindale， the Annals of Aman， and the Later Quenta Silmarillion。 These works eventually become the published Silmarillion up to chapter VIII of the Quenta Silmarillion。 To be honest， I skimmed through these sections。 It was interesting seeing how Tolkien’s creative process worked， but it was far more detailed and technical than what I was interested in。 However， the first nugget of gold for me （pardon the dwarvish pun） of this book for me is found starting at page 207 - The Laws and Customs of the Eldar。 Here you will get the a lot of information about the race of Elves including such things as marriage， death， and nature of the race - both male and female。 It really is a treasure trove of backstory that helps you understand his published works better。 Additionally there is substantial writing about the tale of Finwe and Miriel。 I won’t go into spoilers but it involves the question of remarriage。 In Tolkien’s world， where marriage is for life - what are we to make of remarriage when the beings have unending life？ Elves can be killed， but they are eventually restored to life and are doomed to live as long as Middle Earth exists。 So they are not technically immortal， but very long lived。 Tolkien launches into a fascinating philosophical and theological debate among his characters on this very issue of remarriage。 The conclusion is that remarriage is a “permission， not counsel。” The results are tragic， which you can read in the Silmarillion。 But the true gem of this book for me is the Athrabeth。 In it the high elf Finrod has a conversation with Andreth， a wise woman from the race of Man。 They discuss the nature of death。 It is a despairing and bitter topic for Andreth for a reason you won’t see until the end of the story。 Such beautiful prose。 He even ties in a foretelling of Christ and makes a brilliant theological connection with modalism， which would be an understandable error at this point in ‘history’。 It is a shame this tale is hidden away in the middle of a nearly 500 page book in the tenth volume of a twelve volume series。 The final section is entitled Myths Transformed。 It is a collection a various writings。 Several are conceptions of a ‘new mythology’ where Tolkien tried to remove the flat earth myth of the first two ages to be more in line with scientific understanding。 However you can how much damage to the overall legendarium such a change would cause。 The editor， Christopher Tolkien， suggests the solution was already in place in that the tales are told from the perspective of Men in the third age， who are telling tales from men over a millennial ago， who in turn had tales told to them from elves of even earlier times， etc。 This frame narrative allows for mythological conceptions to still bear truth despite being scientifically ‘incorrect’ to a modern reader。 I’m glad the published Silmarillion retains Tolkien’s original conception。Other writings include Tolkien’s struggle with defining where orcs actually came from， why exactly Man is banned from the Blessed Realm of Aman， and the elvish naming of the planets。 Lastly， why is this book called Morgoth’s Ring when we know that it was Sauron who dealt with rings？ Essentially， just as Sauron poured a part of himself into the One Ring， so did Morgoth when the world was created。 So the whole world bears the shadow of Morgoth。 The whole world is his ring。 One reason I enjoy reading Tolkien so much is the astounding level of detail he put into creating his world。 His attention to detail and cohesiveness is unparalleled。 Modern authors can only hope to emulate his achievement but will never surpass it - and yes I include George R。 R。 Martin and J。 K。 Rowling among them。 Having read my first volume in this History of Middle Earth series， I am even more convinced this is true。 。。。more
Jon
，
The next Mythgard Academy session features Morgoth's Ring begins on Wednesday March 18， 2020。 To register， click this link: https://mythgard。org/academy/morgoths。。。Morgoth's Ring will meet on Wednesdays at 10 pm Eastern TimeHere's the schedule: Week 1Read: Part One: Ainulindale （1-45）Date: March 18， 2020Week 2Read: Part Two: Annals of Aman， Sections 1-3 （47-91）Date: March 25， 2020Week 3Read: Part Two: Annals of Aman， Sections 4-6 （92-138）Date: April 1， 2020Week 4Read: Part Two， continuedDate: Ap The next Mythgard Academy session features Morgoth's Ring begins on Wednesday March 18， 2020。 To register， click this link: https://mythgard。org/academy/morgoths。。。Morgoth's Ring will meet on Wednesdays at 10 pm Eastern TimeHere's the schedule: Week 1Read: Part One: Ainulindale （1-45）Date: March 18， 2020Week 2Read: Part Two: Annals of Aman， Sections 1-3 （47-91）Date: March 25， 2020Week 3Read: Part Two: Annals of Aman， Sections 4-6 （92-138）Date: April 1， 2020Week 4Read: Part Two， continuedDate: April 8， 2020Week 5Read: Part Three: The Later Quenta， I: The First Phase （141-199）Date: April 15， 2020Week 6Read: Part Three: The Later Quenta， II: The Second Phase， through “Laws and Customs among the Eldar” （199-253）Date: April 22， 2020Week 7Read: Part Three: The Later Quenta， II: the rest of The Second Phase （254-300）Date: May 6， 2020Week 8 through Week 12 （6/10/2020 。 。 。 we've been stuck here for quite awhile）Read: Part Three， continuedDate: May 13， 2020Read: Part Four: Athrabeth （303-366）Date: July 22， 2020 （total guess as the schedule is now completely off the rails）Read: Part Four: Athrabeth， continuedDate: July 29， 2020 （see previous parenthetical）**Actually Session 24 almost wrapped up the Athrabeth on 9/30/2020。 Almost。 Read: Part Five: Myths Transformed （369-431）Date: October 2020 Read: Part Five: Myths Transformed， continuedDate: October 2020 。。。more
Webbo
，
This one was hard work。 I really enjoyed the children of hurin and the first book of lost tales plus the silmarillion。 If you enjoy the stories of middle-earth then skip all the notes and footnotes。 I would far rather that this had been a best approximation of a story in a cohesive and chronological order than a semi critique and constant questioning of contradictory texts （even referencing typist errors！）this read much more like a commentary than a history or satisfying storyline。definitely wor This one was hard work。 I really enjoyed the children of hurin and the first book of lost tales plus the silmarillion。 If you enjoy the stories of middle-earth then skip all the notes and footnotes。 I would far rather that this had been a best approximation of a story in a cohesive and chronological order than a semi critique and constant questioning of contradictory texts （even referencing typist errors！）this read much more like a commentary than a history or satisfying storyline。definitely worth it for Tolkein fans and people who want to understand the creation ark and early Valar years but man alive it was tough going！ 。。。more
Mert
，
5/5 Stars。 （%92/100）The History of Middle-Earth is a 12 book series I really need to collect。 Sadly， I have the physical copy of this book only even though I've read the others or at least checked them out。 However， this is probably my favourite out of all。 "Just as Sauron concentrated his power in the One Ring， Morgoth dispersed his power into the very matter of Arda， thus the whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring" （One of my favourite quotations from the book）The book is split into six part 5/5 Stars。 （%92/100）The History of Middle-Earth is a 12 book series I really need to collect。 Sadly， I have the physical copy of this book only even though I've read the others or at least checked them out。 However， this is probably my favourite out of all。 "Just as Sauron concentrated his power in the One Ring， Morgoth dispersed his power into the very matter of Arda， thus the whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring" （One of my favourite quotations from the book）The book is split into six parts:1） 1951 revisions of Tolkien about The Silmarillion。 You can compare and contrast with the earlier versions。 2）Annals of Aman: The detailed explanation of the creation of the world。 There are also a great deal of information about the First Age and the concept of time in Valian Years。3）Laws and Customs among the Eldar: As it can be understood from the title it talks about the customs of the elves especially about the names and how they breed。 Tolkien also talks about the idea of soul and body here。4）Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth: One of my favourite chapters in the book。 Finrod Felagund and a mortal woman Andreth talk about the issue of immortality by comparing the lives of Elves and Men。 5）Tale of Adanel: This is Tolkien's version of the original sin。 （Adam and Eve） Andreth is the one who tells the story to Felagund。 6）Myths Transformed: My favourite chapter of the book because it deals with Morgoth （Melkor）， Sauron， and the origin of the Orcs。 There are lots of useful and important information in this chapter。Overall， it is a brilliant book and as I said before， it is my favourite in The History of Middle-Earth。 。。。more
Thijs
，
This may be the best part out of the CHoME so far。 It has some amazing entirely new writing， which also provides some interesting background， such as the Story of Finwë and Miriel， Debate of Finrod and Andreth a number of similar stories which touch upon interesting stories such as mortality and the origin of Orcs。 It is with stories like these in mind that I originally started the CHoME， and I am glad to be after so many parts rewarded with this （though the other parts were also very good）。 Oh， This may be the best part out of the CHoME so far。 It has some amazing entirely new writing， which also provides some interesting background， such as the Story of Finwë and Miriel， Debate of Finrod and Andreth a number of similar stories which touch upon interesting stories such as mortality and the origin of Orcs。 It is with stories like these in mind that I originally started the CHoME， and I am glad to be after so many parts rewarded with this （though the other parts were also very good）。 Oh， and one more thing: THIS PART HAS THE FIRST DIRECT MENTION OF SEX IN ANY OF TOLKIENS WRITINGS。So SUCK ON THAT critics that say there is no sex in Tolkien's works。 It's here。 All you need to do is read a 5392 page long highly detailed breakdown of his most important works to find it。 。。。more
Michael Pryor
，
Eye-opening， comprehensive， detailed。
Anna C
，
I swear Christopher was sitting on all this great info just as a purity test。 As in， "only if you've stuck with me through the first nine volumes of the History of Middle Earth do you even *deserve* the elflore I'm about to hand down。" I swear Christopher was sitting on all this great info just as a purity test。 As in， "only if you've stuck with me through the first nine volumes of the History of Middle Earth do you even *deserve* the elflore I'm about to hand down。" 。。。more
Raul Pegan
，
Read mainly for the expanded information regarding the Quendi。 Part of my full chronological Tolkien exploration！ Tons of less interesting stuff in this volume that I generally wouldn’t recommend。
Warren Dunn
，
The first half of this book exhibited the next-to-last drafts of the Silmarillion， and as such， were very little different from what came before， and what came after， and it took me a long time to make any progress。 In later days， Tolkien started second-guessing his mythology -I'd have loved to know the reason for that。 The second half of the book presented essays on how this transformation would take place， while maintaining the central myth， and were very interesting， indeed。http://ossuslibrar The first half of this book exhibited the next-to-last drafts of the Silmarillion， and as such， were very little different from what came before， and what came after， and it took me a long time to make any progress。 In later days， Tolkien started second-guessing his mythology -I'd have loved to know the reason for that。 The second half of the book presented essays on how this transformation would take place， while maintaining the central myth， and were very interesting， indeed。http://ossuslibrary。tripod。com/Bk_Fan。。。 。。。more
Rossrn Nunamaker
，
Morgoth's Ring and The War of the Jewels are companion pieces within HoME。Morgoth's Ring revisits the early part of the Silmarillion， The Legends of Aman， that Tolkien considered/revised following the completion of LoTR。The final section of this work Myths Transformed is interesting and insightful。 These are short pieces that Christopher Tolkien was unable to date， but related to the early years。 Morgoth's Ring and The War of the Jewels are companion pieces within HoME。Morgoth's Ring revisits the early part of the Silmarillion， The Legends of Aman， that Tolkien considered/revised following the completion of LoTR。The final section of this work Myths Transformed is interesting and insightful。 These are short pieces that Christopher Tolkien was unable to date， but related to the early years。 。。。more
Lady Brainsample
，
I decided I wasn't going to read any more of the Tolkien histories after the last one I read。 It seemed like each one just had slightly different versions of Silmarillion bits with some commentary， and I got to the point where I'd rather just re-read the Silmarillion than detailed commentary and minute changes all over the place。However。I made an exception for one little section of this book （which is all of it that I read， thank you very much） that contained marriage and naming customs of elves I decided I wasn't going to read any more of the Tolkien histories after the last one I read。 It seemed like each one just had slightly different versions of Silmarillion bits with some commentary， and I got to the point where I'd rather just re-read the Silmarillion than detailed commentary and minute changes all over the place。However。I made an exception for one little section of this book （which is all of it that I read， thank you very much） that contained marriage and naming customs of elves。 This part was delightful。 。。。more
Sparrow
，
Rating only applies to "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" （The Debate of Finrod and Andreth）， which is the only selection of this text that I've read （so far）。 I do highly recommend the "Athrabeth" to those interested in a discussion of the gift of mortality given to Men， and how it affects relationships between Elves and Men。 Rating only applies to "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" （The Debate of Finrod and Andreth）， which is the only selection of this text that I've read （so far）。 I do highly recommend the "Athrabeth" to those interested in a discussion of the gift of mortality given to Men， and how it affects relationships between Elves and Men。 。。。more
Mitch Milam
，
OK there is no way that HoME gets better than this！
Max
，
Great book。 A lot of information about Morgoth， Sauron and the Orcs。 One of the better in the series！
Steven Tryon
，
Heavy， fascinating reading。 The collected musings and essays of JRR Tolkien as he rethought the early history of Arda after the publication of LOTR。
Martha
，
3。75
Marko Vasić
，
This part of "The History of Middle-Earth" is the most complex hitherto。 But my infatuation with it is immense。 After "The Later Quenta Annals"， came the chapters with abandoned ideas about Finwë and Míriel。 And that was sheer literary gem to read of。 Especially for that story was （or meant to be） basis and onset for the development of the chapter about Laws and Customs among the Eldar。 The one that included real philosophical and metaphysical discussion about Elvish naming， their incarnations a This part of "The History of Middle-Earth" is the most complex hitherto。 But my infatuation with it is immense。 After "The Later Quenta Annals"， came the chapters with abandoned ideas about Finwë and Míriel。 And that was sheer literary gem to read of。 Especially for that story was （or meant to be） basis and onset for the development of the chapter about Laws and Customs among the Eldar。 The one that included real philosophical and metaphysical discussion about Elvish naming， their incarnations and reincarnation， of death and the severance of body and soul， about matrimonial customs and severance of marriage among Elves， and about differences between firstborn and the second-born of the Children of the Illuvatar。 Finally， pinnacle of this tractate about Tolkien's mythology development and its shifting is the final chapter - "Myths Transformed"， with an exquisite philosophical debate about relations and differences between Morgoth and Sauron， as well as Tolkien's mind turmoil about Sun and Moon creation and reckoning of the years and hours。 All in all， I'm bursting with impressions after finished the book， thinking and tiding notes that I've collected during the reading and choosing what parts will re-read again for myriad times。 。。。more
Paul
，
The History of Middle Earth series is roughly 5，000 pages， 4，500 of which are useless。 I'm guessing that even Tolkien scholars don't really care about having nineteen different drafts of the Grey Annals or whatever。 Of all twelve volumes in the series， Morgoth's Ring is by far the most worthwhile （volumes 3 and 12 aren't bad either）。 It's the only place， including Tolkien's letters， where he goes into any detail about the theology/mythology of Middle-Earth， and is worth the price of admission fo The History of Middle Earth series is roughly 5，000 pages， 4，500 of which are useless。 I'm guessing that even Tolkien scholars don't really care about having nineteen different drafts of the Grey Annals or whatever。 Of all twelve volumes in the series， Morgoth's Ring is by far the most worthwhile （volumes 3 and 12 aren't bad either）。 It's the only place， including Tolkien's letters， where he goes into any detail about the theology/mythology of Middle-Earth， and is worth the price of admission for those sections alone， though there's also some other interesting material。 。。。more
Jeremy
，
This is an odd book。 The revised versions of the Silmarillion， the last major revisions that Tolkien did in his life， resemble so much the published Silmarillion that I lament that so many trees had to die for this to be published。 These make up the vast majority of the book。 When C。 Tolkien sat down with father's papers， it seems to me he basically took these versions， and changed the remainder of the texts， which were older， to best match them。 Thus， most of this is superfluous。That said， the This is an odd book。 The revised versions of the Silmarillion， the last major revisions that Tolkien did in his life， resemble so much the published Silmarillion that I lament that so many trees had to die for this to be published。 These make up the vast majority of the book。 When C。 Tolkien sat down with father's papers， it seems to me he basically took these versions， and changed the remainder of the texts， which were older， to best match them。 Thus， most of this is superfluous。That said， the final two works in here are revelatory。 The discussion between Finrod Felagund and a previously unknown wise woman is simply excellent。 It covers topics previously unknown about the nature of man， Elves， eternal life， spirit， evil， the origins of men， and so on。 Myths transformed， the other collection of short essays， is even better。 You see Tolkien trying to figure out how to address various nagging questions， things like where did Orcs come from， was Middle Earth really flat， could Elbereth really create the stars in the firmament， etc。 And most particularly， the nature of Morgoth's evil。 Many readers may want to avoid the first 80%， and read just these last parts。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Morgoth's Ring
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Morgoth's Ring&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Morgoth's Ring&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0