Round World version of the Silmarillion
Encyclopedia
The Round World version is one of the variants of J. R. R. Tolkien
's legendarium
, published in the final volumes of The History of Middle-earth
. In this version, the Earth
was always round, and Arda
was the name for the whole solar system
instead of just the Earth.
In the Round World version the Sun and the Moon were not the fruit of the Two Trees, but actually preceded the creation of the Trees. Instead, the Trees preserved the light of the Sun before it was tainted by Melkor
when he ravished Arien
.
While this version emerged in the late stage of Tolkien's legendarium, he never entirely decided which version - Flat or Round - to choose as 'real', and while Tolkien was eventually more inclined to use the Round World version, it was never as complete as the Flat World version, and so the latter was chosen by Christopher Tolkien
for the published Silmarillion.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's legendarium
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...
, published in the final volumes of The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
. In this version, the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
was always round, and Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
was the name for the whole solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
instead of just the Earth.
In the Round World version the Sun and the Moon were not the fruit of the Two Trees, but actually preceded the creation of the Trees. Instead, the Trees preserved the light of the Sun before it was tainted by Melkor
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
when he ravished Arien
Arien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium, Arien is the maiden whom the Valar chose from among the Maiar to guide the vessel of the Sun. In the Days of the Trees in Valinor, Arien had been the one to tend the tree of Laurelin...
.
While this version emerged in the late stage of Tolkien's legendarium, he never entirely decided which version - Flat or Round - to choose as 'real', and while Tolkien was eventually more inclined to use the Round World version, it was never as complete as the Flat World version, and so the latter was chosen by Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
for the published Silmarillion.