Sun and Moon (Middle-earth)
Encyclopedia
The fantasy
author J. R. R. Tolkien
of Middle-earth
fame included Earth's sun
and moon
for the cosmology
of his fictionalized version of existence.
These astronomical bodies
appear in various versions of The Silmarillion
, a history of an alternative Earth populated by Elves
and other fantastic creatures as well as Men
. A version of The Silmarillion, edited by the author's son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien, was posthumously published in 1977. However the Sun and Moon already appear in the author's writings dating from the 1920s.
The sun and moon in Tolkien's legendarium
were described in the Narsilion, the "Song of the Sun and Moon".
Aulë
; he and his people made a vessel to hold the radiance of the last fruit of Laurelin. The vessel of the sun was guided by Arien
, a Maia.
Names of the Sun amongst the Elves
included Anar or The Fire-golden, a name given to it by the Vanyar
; Anor, the common name for the Sun in Sindarin
, as seen in Minas Anor (later Minas Tirith
) and the Gondor
ian province of Anórien; and Vása, or Heart of Fire, a name given to the Sun by the Noldor
.
A poetic name for the Sun was The Daystar, and Gollum
referred to it as The Yellow Face.
The Sun was seen by the Elves as made in memory of Men
, and they valued the Moon more highly. Morgoth
's creatures, the Orcs
, feared the Sun, and with the exception of the Uruk-hai
, they did not travel while it was in the sky.
The Trolls
of Middle-earth
feared the Sun even more, and with great reason: they turned to stone under its light. Only the later Olog-hai were able to move under the Sun.
Tilion
was chosen to guide the vessel of the Moon.
Names of the Moon amongst the Elves
included Isil or The Sheen, a name given to it by the Vanyar
; Ithil, the common name for the Moon in Sindarin
, as seen in Minas Ithil (later Minas Morgul
) and the Gondor
ian province of Ithilien
; and Rána, or The Wayward, a name given to the Moon by the Noldor
.
A poetic name for the Moon was The Silver Flower, and Gollum
referred to it as The White Face.
The Moon was more highly valued than the Sun by the Elves, both because it came from the Elder Tree, and because it rose first.
as described in The Book of Lost Tales 1
, a part of The History of Middle-earth
series, the Sun was described in great detail as an immense island of fire. The Moon was described as an immense island of crystal. It was also said there that the youth Tilion
, who guided the Moon, was said to secretly be in love with Arien, the maiden who guided the Sun, and that because he steered the Moon too close to the Sun the Moon was burned, causing the darker spots on the Moon (the Lunar maria).
Aulë devised vírin, a crystalline material from which he made a cup wherein the flower was set. The markings on the moon are caused as Lórien tried to pluck the "Rose of Silpion". The withered bough breaks, and the flower falls to the ground, and "a petal was crushed and tarnished" (HoME 1, p.214). In a later version, the fruit of Laurelin also fell to the ground, when Aulë stumbled and its weight was too great for Tulkas to bear alone (HoME 1, pp. 207, 215, 226; HoME 4, p.57)
In writings not included in the Silmarillion tradition, Morgoth at one point was infatuated with Arien, and wanted to claim her as his wife: he is at one point even described as ravishing her, so she abandoned her body and 'died': the Sun after this for a while left its course, burning a large part of Arda
the world (apparently creating the deserts of Far Harad
).
In writings which are older than the material from which the published Silmarillion was drawn, the Moon was described at one point as being created by Morgoth
as a mockery of Arda
the world, but this notion was abandoned.
In the Round World
version of the legendarium
, 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
.
, the sword of King Elendil
(later reforged for Aragorn
as Andúril), contains the elements nar and thil, "fire" and "white light" respectively in Quenya
, referring to the Sun and Moon.
is even described in those writings, as being an old Elf who secretly hid on the island of the Moon, and built a minaret
there. This is alluded to further in Tolkien's Roverandom
, in which the Man in the Moon also lives in a minaret. Combined with the Elven lore, as presented in the legendarium
of Silmarillion, the Man in the Moon of the Hobbit
s' tales must have his origins in the legend of Tilion
the Maia. In The Book of Lost Tales
, his name is given as Uolë Kúvion, but the tale of how he came to live there was never fully told.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
author J. R. R. Tolkien
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,...
of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
fame included Earth's sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
and moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
for the cosmology
Middle-earth cosmology
This is an overview of the cosmology of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Each entry is followed by any alternative names, any roughly corresponding primary world name in parentheses, and a brief description...
of his fictionalized version of existence.
These astronomical bodies
Astronomical object
Astronomical objects or celestial objects are naturally occurring physical entities, associations or structures that current science has demonstrated to exist in the observable universe. The term astronomical object is sometimes used interchangeably with astronomical body...
appear in various versions of The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
, a history of an alternative Earth populated by Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
and other fantastic creatures as well as Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
. A version of The Silmarillion, edited by the author's son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien, was posthumously published in 1977. However the Sun and Moon already appear in the author's writings dating from the 1920s.
The sun and moon in Tolkien's legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
were described in the Narsilion, the "Song of the Sun and Moon".
Sun
The published Silmarillion states that the Sun was created by the ValaVala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
Aulë
Aulë
Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who is primarily discussed in The Silmarillion, but appears also in Tolkien's other works. In Tolkien's pantheon of Middle-earth, Aulë is a knowledge deity, sometimes worshipped as a god by men, representing skill and craftsmanship,...
; he and his people made a vessel to hold the radiance of the last fruit of Laurelin. The vessel of the sun was guided by 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...
, a Maia.
- "...and Anar the Fire-golden, fruit of Laurelin, they named the Sun. But the Noldor named [it] Vasa, the Heart of Fire, that awakens and consumes; for the Sun was set as a sign for the awakening of Men and the waning of the Elves..." (Silmarillion 99)
Names of the Sun amongst the Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
included Anar or The Fire-golden, a name given to it by the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
; Anor, the common name for the Sun in Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
, as seen in Minas Anor (later Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
) and the Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
ian province of Anórien; and Vása, or Heart of Fire, a name given to the Sun by the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
.
A poetic name for the Sun was The Daystar, and Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
referred to it as The Yellow Face.
The Sun was seen by the Elves as made in memory of Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
, and they valued the Moon more highly. Morgoth
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...
's creatures, the Orcs
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
, feared the Sun, and with the exception of the Uruk-hai
Uruk-hai
The Uruk-hai are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth. They are introduced in The Lord of the Rings as an advanced breed or breeds of Orcs that serve Sauron and Saruman...
, they did not travel while it was in the sky.
The Trolls
Troll (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Trolls are large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect.While in Norse mythology, the Troll was a magical creature with special skills, in Tolkien's writings they are portrayed as evil, stupid, with crude habits, although still intelligent enough to...
of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
feared the Sun even more, and with great reason: they turned to stone under its light. Only the later Olog-hai were able to move under the Sun.
Moon
The MaiaMaia (Middle-earth)
The Maiar are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. They are lesser Ainur who entered Eä in the beginning of time. Tolkien uses the term Valar to refer both to all the Ainur who entered Eä, and specifically to the greatest among them, the fourteen Lords and Queens of the Valar...
Tilion
Tilion
In the high fantasy world of famous English author J. R. R. Tolkien, there was a youth in the world of Middle-earth named Tilion whom the Valar chose from among the Maiar to steer the island of the Moon....
was chosen to guide the vessel of the Moon.
- "Isil was first wrought and made ready, and first rose into the realm of the stars, and was the elder of the new lights, as was Telperion of the Trees."
Names of the Moon amongst the Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
included Isil or The Sheen, a name given to it by the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
; Ithil, the common name for the Moon in Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
, as seen in Minas Ithil (later Minas Morgul
Minas Morgul
Minas Morgul , also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil , is a fictional fortified city in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth...
) and the Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
ian province of Ithilien
Ithilien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Ithilien is a region and fiefdom of Gondor.Ithilien, or "Moon-land," is the easternmost province of Gondor, the only part of Gondor across the Great River Anduin lying between the river and the Mountains of Shadow , subdivided by the stream of...
; and Rána, or The Wayward, a name given to the Moon by the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
.
A poetic name for the Moon was The Silver Flower, and Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
referred to it as The White Face.
The Moon was more highly valued than the Sun by the Elves, both because it came from the Elder Tree, and because it rose first.
Other versions
In the early versions of The SilmarillionThe Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
as described in The Book of Lost Tales 1
The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
, a part 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...
series, the Sun was described in great detail as an immense island of fire. The Moon was described as an immense island of crystal. It was also said there that the youth Tilion
Tilion
In the high fantasy world of famous English author J. R. R. Tolkien, there was a youth in the world of Middle-earth named Tilion whom the Valar chose from among the Maiar to steer the island of the Moon....
, who guided the Moon, was said to secretly be in love with Arien, the maiden who guided the Sun, and that because he steered the Moon too close to the Sun the Moon was burned, causing the darker spots on the Moon (the Lunar maria).
Aulë devised vírin, a crystalline material from which he made a cup wherein the flower was set. The markings on the moon are caused as Lórien tried to pluck the "Rose of Silpion". The withered bough breaks, and the flower falls to the ground, and "a petal was crushed and tarnished" (HoME 1, p.214). In a later version, the fruit of Laurelin also fell to the ground, when Aulë stumbled and its weight was too great for Tulkas to bear alone (HoME 1, pp. 207, 215, 226; HoME 4, p.57)
In writings not included in the Silmarillion tradition, Morgoth at one point was infatuated with Arien, and wanted to claim her as his wife: he is at one point even described as ravishing her, so she abandoned her body and 'died': the Sun after this for a while left its course, burning a large part of 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...
the world (apparently creating the deserts of Far Harad
Harad
In J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy legendarium, Harad was the name for the immense lands south of Gondor and Mordor. Called Haradwaith from the people who lived there, it literally means "South-folk", from the Sindarin harad, "South" and gwaith, "people"...
).
In writings which are older than the material from which the published Silmarillion was drawn, the Moon was described at one point as being created by Morgoth
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...
as a mockery of 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...
the world, but this notion was abandoned.
In the Round World
Round World version of the Silmarillion
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...
version of the 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...
, 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
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...
.
Narsil
The name of NarsilNarsil
Narsil is a fictional sword featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is introduced in The Lord of the Rings as having once belonged to King Elendil of the Dúnedain...
, the sword of King Elendil
Elendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
(later reforged for Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
as Andúril), contains the elements nar and thil, "fire" and "white light" respectively in Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
, referring to the Sun and Moon.
The Man in the Moon
The Man in the MoonMan in the Moon
The Man in the Moon is an imaginary figure resembling a human face, head or body, that observers from some cultural backgrounds typically perceive in the bright disc of the full moon...
is even described in those writings, as being an old Elf who secretly hid on the island of the Moon, and built a minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
there. This is alluded to further in Tolkien's Roverandom
Roverandom
"Roverandom" is a novella written by J.R.R. Tolkien, originally told in 1925. It deals with the adventures of a young dog, Rover. In the story, an irritable wizard turns Rover into a toy, and Rover goes to the moon and under the sea in order to find the wizard again to turn him back into a...
, in which the Man in the Moon also lives in a minaret. Combined with the Elven lore, as presented in the 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...
of Silmarillion, the Man in the Moon of the Hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s' tales must have his origins in the legend of Tilion
Tilion
In the high fantasy world of famous English author J. R. R. Tolkien, there was a youth in the world of Middle-earth named Tilion whom the Valar chose from among the Maiar to steer the island of the Moon....
the Maia. In The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
, his name is given as Uolë Kúvion, but the tale of how he came to live there was never fully told.
See also
- The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too LateThe Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too LateThe Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late is the imagined original ditty that is recorded in 'our time' as the simplified nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". The supposed original was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien...
- Sól (Sun), the personified, female sun from Germanic mythologyGermanic mythologyGermanic mythology is a comprehensive term for myths associated with historical Germanic paganism, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, Continental Germanic mythology, and other versions of the mythologies of the Germanic peoples...
. - MániManiMani is a name or word occurring in several etymologically unrelated languages and cultures, including:* Maní - a legend of the indigenous tribe Tupi in Brazil.* Mani , the founder of Manichaeism....
, the personified, male moon from Norse mythologyNorse mythologyNorse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. - AnárionAnárionAnárion is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. His name is derived from Anar, which means "Sun" in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya...
- Door of NightDoor of NightIn J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Door of Night was a place set at the utmost West of Arda, near to Avakúma, the void. The Door was created by the Valar at the time of the making of the Sun and Moon...
- IsildurIsildurIsildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
Sources
- "Of the Sun and Moon", The SilmarillionThe SilmarillionThe Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
. - "The Tale of the Sun and Moon", HoME 1.
Further reading
- The Astronomy of Middle-earth: Astronomical Motifs and Motivations in the Work of J.R.R. Tolkien, a collection of papers presented by Kristine Larsen
- from Larsen: "A Little Earth of His Own: Tolkien's Lunar Creation Myths." Tolkien 2005, Birmingham, UK. August 12, 2005.
- Kisor, Yvette L. "Elves (and Hobbits) always refer to the Sun as She": Some Notes on a Note in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien StudiesTolkien StudiesTolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review is an academic journal publishing papers on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D. C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger. It states that it is the first scholarly journal published by an academic press in the area of Tolkien...
– Volume 4, 2007, pp. 212–222 - Honnegger, Thomas "The Man in the Moon: Structural Depth in Tolkien", published in "Root and Branch" (2000), from Walking Tree PublishersWalking Tree PublishersWalking Tree Publishers was founded in 1996 by members of the Swiss Tolkien Society with the aim of publishing the proceedings of the Cormarë conference held that year to mark the 10th anniversary of the Swiss Tolkien Society. The company is run by volunteers and on a no-profit basis, with surplus...
book review.