Silmarillion - Chapter 14 - Of Beleriand and Its Realms

[Aiwendil]

This somewhat unusual chapter is devoted entirely to an account of the geography of Beleriand, the setting in which the remaining history of the Silmarils will unfold. It is, of course, striking and perhaps for some readers perplexing that Tolkien interrupts the story of the Noldor with this; the more usual practice (at least in modern literature) would be to work in any necessary geographic information bit by bit, while telling the story.

It has often been observed in connection with LotR that Tolkien describes the settings and natural scenery more vividly than the characters; it would seem that a related impulse is at work here. Most of the characters in the Silmarillion receive very little in the way of physical description, but Tolkien pointedly interrupts the flow of the story for a vivid description of Beleriand itself. This is perhaps to be compared with the “Description of the Island of Numenor” given in Unfinished Tales, which is just what it sounds like – a detailed description of the geography of Numenor.

The vivid geographic description of Beleriand first appears in the 1937 ‘Quenta Silmarillion’. Besides this written account, there are also two maps of Beleriand drawn by Tolkien, the first (probably) in the late 1920s and the second in the early 1930s. Both were revised extensively, and the revisions to the second map may be thought of as constituting a third, post-LotR map. Christopher Tolkien includes with this chapter in the published Silmarillion a small map indicating the various realms of the Elves, but as far as I am aware there is no precedent for the inclusion of a special map with this chapter in his father’s work.

Additional reading:
HoMe IV – first Silmarillion map
HoMe V – QS version of this chapter and original version of second Silmarillion map
HoMe XI – Post-LotR revisions to both chapter and map.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

A general sidenote, though it does not directly concern this chapter: Tolkien's penchant for descriptive scenery over descriptions of persons parallels his artwork. His paintings and drawings are primarily of scenery, and when he does include figures, they are not nearly as well done. His landscapes, however, are excellent!

[Alphaelin]

I always linger over this chapter so I can compare Tolkien's descriptions with the maps in my old copy of 'The Silm'. I'm kind of a geek about maps anyway, and often read parts of this book with one finger at the map pages so I can refer to them. The place names also fascinate me. I spent hours of my young adult life poring over the names of the lands, comparing the words in Sindarin and Quenya, and finding out their meanings.

Aside from the aesthetic pleasure of placenames and Tolkien's descriptions, this chapter is like a divider that punctuates the return of the Noldor to Middle Earth. It gives the reader a chance to get her bearings for the stories that follow in which the lands and people described in it are drawn into the doom of the Noldor.

Also, this chapter always starts me wondering which part of Beleriand I'd like most to see, based on JRRT's descriptions. Usually I'm drawn to Nevrast and Vinyamar

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Originally Posted by Alphaelin

Usually I'm drawn to Nevrast and Vinyamar

It sounds like finding clean water might have been a problem there, but it would have been lovely otherwise, particularly for bird watchers.

Yes, this is one of the chapters that is so densely filled with information that it seems like an outline, or notes to be fleshed out fully later. And if I remember correctly one travels back and forth, east and west, and north and south quite a bit while one reads.

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

It is, of course, striking and perhaps for some readers perplexing that Tolkien interrupts the story of the Noldor with this...

Aiwendil, am I right in thinking then that Tolkien did get so far as to organize the the chapters in the Sil.? I hadn't realized, and wongly assuming it to be CT's work.

[Aiwendil]

Aiwendil, am I right in thinking then that Tolkien did get so far as to organize the the chapters in the Sil.? I hadn't realized, and wongly assuming it to be CT's work.

Well, yes and no. Tolkien did divide the 'Quenta Silmarillion' into chapters in all versions he wrote, but these chapters do not in all cases correspond to those found in the '77 published Silmarillion. In large part, this has to do with the fact that many sections of the published Silmarillion are actually conglomerations of two different texts - the 'Quenta Silmarillion' and the 'Annals' (i.e. 'Annals of Aman' and 'Grey Annals').

This chapter, though, comes more or less directly from the 'Quenta Silmarillion', so the decision to insert a whole chapter on the geography of Beleriand is indeed JRRT's.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

It has often been observed in connection with LotR that Tolkien describes the settings and natural scenery more vividly than the characters; it would seem that a related impulse is at work here. Most of the characters in the Silmarillion receive very little in the way of physical description, but Tolkien pointedly interrupts the flow of the story for a vivid description of Beleriand itself.

I think this is because we can tell more about a character by reading between the lines, or by his/her actions. After all, the appearance of the people is not that important compared to what's inside. Land, however, doesn't have actions to judge it by. The only way you can percieve land is with a physical description - which (in Tolkien's books) reflects the "character" of a place, the events that happened or going to happen there, the people that live there, and of course the plot.