The Silmarillion VS. Lost Tales

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Elessea
Alright, I am in the process of reading the Lost Tales right now (wicked awsome book smile) but I'm confused about one thing. WHat exactly is the difference between it and the Sil? Because in the notes Chris Tolkien has, he keeps referrring to stuff in the Sil, and all, but says, "Its differnent here...they use different names" are they two different sets of stories, or just the same stories told a little differently?

Just curious...so if anyone knows it would be nice....THanks

Smodden
Where's s-b when you need her? dontgetit

Elessea
argh...i thoguht someone had finally answerd my question stick out tongue

Smodden
Originally posted by Elessea
argh...i thoguht someone had finally answerd my question stick out tongue

laughing out loud

srry, I havn't finished the lost tales.....and was wondering the same thing myself....what the dif was between lt and the sil.

Because they seem the same to me...messed

like the telling of creation and such....

The Inkeeper
Lost tales are.....the sil, but in its....early stages? where everyone was named a lil differently etc etc?


Shads not online, Exas in Rome, so you have me and smodd to help you out big grin




























Lucky you no expression

Smodden
Originally posted by The Inkeeper
Shads not online, Exas in Rome, so you have me and smodd to help you out big grin

Lucky you no expression

hey you and I are smart too....no expression

Flying High
just Exa and Shads are a lot more smart....

Smodden
Originally posted by Flying High
just Exa and Shads are a lot more smart....

well, me and chris have 'street smarts'...yes

Flying High
well im just not smart stick out tongue

The Inkeeper
Originally posted by Smodden
well, me and chris have 'street smarts'...yes


Of course big grin

Fëanor
*hands out dollars to 'street smarts' hobos*
big grin j/k

Elessea
thanks for killing my topic stick out tongue

but anyway...you two are very smart *coughcough* lol.
thanks for the attempts and helping

Mandos
Lost tales are link to the Silmarillon. Let's say it completes it. More details.

shadowy_blue
Smodden!!! Answer the question! I know you know! wink

stick out tongue

Smodden
Originally posted by shadowy_blue
Smodden!!! Answer the question! I know you know! wink

stick out tongue

no2Your smarter! You answer.

proof:

Originally posted by Flying High
just Exa and Shads are a lot more smart....

rohan524
Hi. Newbie here joining the conversation...

I managed to begin reading both at separate times but I wasn't able to finish them. I think Silmarillion is more like the Genesis, dating back to before the Elves were even created, and narrated as one story. Lost Tales is more topical, dividing the stories according to eras and characters. LT complements Sil that way I think. Plus they have ifferent names for each of the Elven language so that may explain the differences. Am not really sure though. Hmm, maybe I should get back to my reading. confused

DCLXVI
Mostly true, rohan524. wink

Elessea> The Lost Tales of Elfinesse were the original forms of what would later become The Silmarillion, and the background for the LotR Trilogy. Tolkien still had many elements of the BLT's in his "finished" Silm., before he died, but his son, Christopher, edited it so that it would fit with LotR....and thus published the Silm. we all know and love....stick out tongue

Mandos
Damned Christopher! stick out tongue

Exabyte
Originally posted by The Inkeeper
Lost tales are.....the sil, but in its....early stages? where everyone was named a lil differently etc etc?
Originally posted by DCLXVI
The Lost Tales of Elfinesse were the original forms of what would later become The Silmarillion, and the background for the LotR Trilogy.
Originally posted by rohan524
Lost Tales is more topical, dividing the stories according to eras and characters. LT complements Sil that way I think. Plus they have ifferent names for each of the Elven language so that may explain the differences.
Basically, yea, the Silmarillion is just one of the later stages of the stories begun in the Lost Tales.

Unlike the Sil, though, the LT aren't designed to present a homogenous, 'true' story and give clear information to the reader, but rather to describe the process of developping the mythology and the languages, later continued with the other parts of the History of Middle-earth that don't as directly focus on the chronological history from within the Sil though. Even in the LT themselves, there are often different version of each story, or at least commentaries on the changes between the numerous sketches and their relationships amongst each other.

Apart from the presentation of the texts, another imo significant difference is the way they're written - the LT more have the character of the lingophile fantasies of a brilliant language professor-to-be, they focus more on names and tongues than on facts; everything's more richly told, full of amazing details and overflowing with fantastic imagination, there are irrealistic saltations and absurd protagonists and the language used is so much more careless, airily jumping from unworried, paradisic, cheerful scenaries to inevitably cruel, tearful or sinister fates.

Compared to the Lost Tales, the Silmarillion often seems like a perfect, powerful dressage horse next to the untaimed, wild, maybe naive LT-foal to me, perfectly written, perfectly serious, perfectly precise, a work of perfect beauty and perfect accuracy, leaving the observer stunned, amazed and fascinated, maybe feeling somewhat inferior next to this materialization of utter perfection; it is never wrong, each step, each leap, each turn is inevitably true.

The LT (or HMEs in general), in contrary, are often unsure, taking steps backwards just to redo them a second later, leaping aside in sudden fear, then again standing unmoving for minutes, just to jump up in the most pulchritudinous, gracile yet unpredictable saltations the next moment, quickly angered, easily lost in dreams; to follow it, a skillfull guide is needed, lest one be completely lost in the wilderness;
But in the end, the more beautiful, more fulfilling one to observe is probably the young mustang.

Ok, stop talking so much nonsense, Exa no expression


Back to facts -
The Silmarillion is history, the Lost Tales the history of history.

xXLauriëXx
*is loving silmarillion* happy

Elessea
...thanks Exa...
Its not nonsense...It makes xompleate sense yes big grin


anyway...I just got the SIlmarillion for my Birthday...and Its the giant, hardback, pictured edition that is absolutly gorgeous...I love it sooooo much, and I've hardly even opened it stick out tongue *eep*

shadowy_blue
I knew someone's eventually going to give a detailed answer. smokin'

eek!

Elessea
eek! of course they were... It was only a matter of whether Exa or you would do it first stick out tongue

xXLauriëXx
Originally posted by Elessea
...thanks Exa...
Its not nonsense...It makes xompleate sense yes big grin


anyway...I just got the SIlmarillion for my Birthday...and Its the giant, hardback, pictured edition that is absolutly gorgeous...I love it sooooo much, and I've hardly even opened it stick out tongue *eep*

my silmarillion doesn't have pictures cry

Mandos
haha!

Elessea

Mandos
uhuh...

xXLauriëXx

Mandos
I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE ELESSA, AND I'LL STEAL IT FROM YOU
MUAHAHAHAHA evil face evil face evil face evil face

rohan524
My Silmarillion doesn't have pics either. I just borrowed it from a friend who got tired waiting for me to return it so she gave it to me as a gift. Happy Dance Now, my book set's (un)neatly stacked between the Argonath book ends I got from my extended FOTR DVD.

Elessea

fini
OMG OMG OMG

Shadowy made a post with less than 1000 words
WOW

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