What are Tolkien's lasting writings?

[TheLostPilgrim]

Can someone point to what Tolkien's last writings were, as in, his last notes or drafts or writings whether on the subject of LOTR, or last revisions of The Silmarillion say between 1969 and 1973?

[Mithalwen]

I think one of his last writings was on Glorfindel of Rivendell being Glorfindel of Gondolin..but I would have to check to be certain.

[Willemijn]

I think his last writign was about Galadriel.

353, 4 August 1973-one month later he died.

Galadriel was 'unstained': she had committed no evil deeds. She was an enemy of Fëanor. She did not reach Middle-earth with the other Noldor, but independently. Her reasons for desiring to go to Middle-earth were legitimate, and she would have been permitted to depart, but for the misfortune that before she set out the revolt of Fëanor broke out, and she became involved in the desperate measures of Manwe, and the ban on all emigration.

"A wholly different story, adumbrated but never told of Galadriel's conduct at the time of the rebellion of the Noldor appears in a very late and partly illegible note: the last writing of my father's on the subject of Galadriel and Celebron, and probably the last on Middle-earth and Valinor, set down in the last month of his life"
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[mhagain]

A good resource is here: http://www.forodrim.org/daeron/md_hmch.html#sixties

The latest writings, in chronological order, are:

• A Description of the Island of Númenor
• Aldarion and Erendis
• The Palantíri
• The Line of Elros: Kings of Númenor
• The Shibboleth of Fëanor
• The Problem of Ros
• The Disaster of the Gladden Fields
• Cirion and Eorl
• The Battles of the Fords of Isen
• Of Dwarves and Men
• The History of Galadriel and Celeborn
• The Drúedain
• The bunch of texts titled "Last Writings" in HoME 12.

The bulk of these - from The Shibboleth of Fëanor onwards - are dated to 1968 onwards, with those from The Disaster of the Gladden Fields onwards being dated to 1969 onwards.

In addition to these, there are a number of other works such as the writings associated with the 2nd edition LotR and 3rd Edition Hobbit (which were both much later in Tolkien's life than may seem to be the case), as well as the abandoned 1960s rewriting of the Hobbit itself.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Willemijn

I think his last writign was about Galadriel.

353, 4 August 1973-one month later he died.

Galadriel was 'unstained': she had committed no evil deeds. She was an enemy of Fëanor. She did not reach Middle-earth with the other Noldor, but independently. Her reasons for desiring to go to Middle-earth were legitimate, and she would have been permitted to depart, but for the misfortune that before she set out the revolt of Fëanor broke out, and she became involved in the desperate measures of Manwe, and the ban on all emigration.

"A wholly different story, adumbrated but never told of Galadriel's conduct at the time of the rebellion of the Noldor appears in a very late and partly illegible note: the last writing of my father's on the subject of Galadriel and Celebron, and probably the last on Middle-earth and Valinor, set down in the last month of his life"
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Ah Galadriel not Glorfindel... I'm getting old..

[Aiwendil]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Ah Galadriel not Glorfindel... I'm getting old..

No, you were also right. The note about Galadriel is probably the very last thing he wrote about the Legendarium, but there are two essays on Glorfindel dating from perhaps just a few months earlier. Of similar vintage are a discussion of Elvish and Dwarvish reincarnation/resurrection, an essay on Cirdan, and some notes on the Istari. These are all given in HoMe XII, in the section 'Last Writings'.