The Silmarillion in More Than 3 Minutes: A Condensed Version of the History of Middle-earth 

"Read Silmarillion. You'll feel like you've climbed the book equivalent of Mount Everest... Since like Mount Everest, an alarming number of people die before they complete the journey." Greatest Silmarillion review ever.

"Luthien, however, refuses to acknowledge she is in a tragic love story, and so, essentially asks to see the manager of the universe, somehow brokering a deal with Manwe in which Beren would live again, if luthien herself became mortal." This is my favorite oversimplification ever.

In the grand scheme of things, the Dwarves seem like to most laid back and chill race of them all. Besides the Ents, of course.

The major reason Eru destroyed Númenor (and incidentally turned the flat world into a sphere and removed Aman from "the circles of the world") wasn't due to human sacrifice but because Ar-Pharazôn built a war fleet and invaded Valinor. Eru, the world's DM, literally said "rocks fall, everyone dies".

When asked for the Silmarils, I don't think Feanor was afraid of being executed. Instead, I think he was worried that their undoing would break his spirit, since he poured so much of himself into their creation.

A bit of a tip for pronunciation (for readers in general): if you ever see two vowels next to each other and one is marked with two dots (known as a diaresis or trema - not to be confused with umlaut) that's a good sign that those vowels should be read as separate syllables. A good example is Eärendil, which should be four syllables. Other times that mark may appear when Tolkien wants to emphasize that the vowel doesn't follow the "silent E" conventions of English. Aulë for example. We see this in real life in names like the Brontë sisters; here the Irish name has been Anglicized but somebody added the diaresis (ë) to indicate that it's not a silent 'e'. Other diacritics Tolkien uses like ú or î also offer clues that the vowel is stressed or long in some way. In the case of ú as in Túrin, it's a single vowel like "oo" and not a diphthong as you would hear in the word "pure." Just as a general comment. 🙂

I think that what helps people think that the Silmarillion is to complect and not an easy read, is the fact that there are to many characters in this "anthology" and the have similar "non memorable" names. When you have like 4 main elves that star with F and are all strange names you almost forget or mix them up. I feel like the reader has to make notes while reading lol. I LOVE the Silmarillion but we all have to admit that it can get overwhelming especially in the beginning when all the characters are introduced.

Im always imagining that when the rest of the Valar are singing nicely in the choir lead by the conductor ilúvatar. Melkor is in the next room playing loudly rock music.

For people who've never read the books and got confused on the part about Sauron "surviving" the destruction of Numenor; when Pharazon and some of the "Kings of Men" (a group of humans who also hated the Valar, the elves, and they're bipolar counterpart AKA "The Faithful") secretly went to Valinor with the help of Sauron creating ship/ submarine-like contraptions to slip past the barrier; although Sauron refused to leave with Pharazon because he prefers staying in Numenor where he has full control of the Kingdom during his time using Pharazon as his puppet and being afraid of the Valar's wrath. As he stayed in the temple, Sauron maniacally laughed to himself imagining the horrors Pharazon and some of his warriors are facing in Valinor. During that time, Sauron lost his physical form during the demise of Numenor and his soul fled to Mordor where he can regain his strength once again.

I think what is most impressive about the Silmarillion is that it's fiction- it came from the imagination of one man. It's so convoluted, irregular and non-linear, it's almost as though he "received" it rather than invented it. Most authors when sitting down to write a story have an agenda, a point to make, a message to get across, they're trying to create a story with exposition, climax and denouement. With Tolkien it's like he's just reporting history as it happened, like it wasn't up to him. It adds a kind of faux authenticity that blurs the line between fact and fiction.

The part of Thingol and Melian not mentioned is that Thingol was Elwé, the Teleri leader who went to investigate Valinor. Elwé's brother Olwé took lead of the Teleri who eventualy crossed to Valinor. Royal cross-marriages meant Finarfin married Olwé's daughter, and Galadriel was one of their children. This explains both why Galadriel was accepted in Doriath, and why Thingol had a grudge against the Feanorions.

Many people die before they complete the journey The journey is so hard the author died before completing it

Just a minor correction with the two hosts of the Noldor that left Valinor: Fingolfin had the larger host out of the two half brothers. That’s the only reason they were able to overcome the Teleri at Alqualonde, when Fingolfin’s host joined the battle in their ignorance of who had instigated the kinslaying.

Seriously so, so helpful. I just finished the Silmarillion a few days ago, and I know I missed SO much. It’s a truly overwhelming amount of information. This made the book far more accessible, and I greatly appreciate it! Now on to the Unfinished Tales…

Also important to mention that Beleriand (West Middle Earth) no longer exists as it was sunk after the War of Wrath

Great video! Enjoyed watching, although I feel like you missed out a couple of pretty important things; firstly the pretty monumental part of Turin's story where he kills Glaurung, and secondly, the event that made Eru sink Numenor, which was the Numenoreans sailing West (which they were forbidden to do) and landing in Valinor to make war on the Valar

Broad strokes. If nothing else your summary offers a window into the creation and complexities of the 'world' and its growing inhabitants. Having read the Silmarillion (several times) I enjoyed how you raced through it. If I may be so bold; you did miss a few salient points - but to explain this volume in 17 minutes is quite an achievement. Kudos!!!

yes! finally the extended edition we have all been waiting for! its amazing!

It's incredible that you condensed this down to 17 minutes, considering everything you covered. There's just so much cool stuff in there. I always try to tell people The Silmarillion is a book full of some of the most Metal legends you've ever read... interspersed with pages-long geography maps that are read out to you in text. For anyone watching this and thinking "do I want to read The Silmarillion?" and you think this all sounds cool, yes, do it. It is as cool as all this and more. But mostly if you know how to skim-read while reading the map parts. (And have an index and glossary in the back of the book if you, like me, have a terrible memory for names.)

I'm not a brave person, i can't handle the Silmarillion. Thanks for this video!! It was so great! Edit: I'm 2/3 of the way through the book, using videos and the Tolkien companion to help and its SO GOOD!!

imagine putting all these nuanced plot points together, having to pick things apart from seriously hardcore, thick-ass books. ty for the relay!

And too think one guy made ALL of this lore. Just a truely brillante writer

You actually did it, you mad lad. Great video!

Honestly a pretty good summation of so much time/events, so seriously props on that. Others have noted some fairly important points that were missed, so I won't re-hash those, but one thing no one else has mentioned that you don't address is @3:25 with why the Teleri split and one half fails to immigrate to Valinor -- namely that Thingol **is** Elwë (also known as Elu and Singollo at various times -- dude's got a lot of names). So it's not just "an elf" that Melian enchants and weds, it's the lord and high king of the Teleri, and the ambassador of the Valar to his people. Indeed, arguably the main reason the Teleri split into two groups with one remaining behind (the rest being led to Valinor by Thingol's brother, Olwë, who in turn becomes the replacement lord) is that the group that remains in Middle Earth refuse to leave without their king, who incidentally was not just "enchanted" but then also went missing for some 200 years. So to say "they got distracted" is a simplification at best. Also, maybe consider listening to the audiobook of the Silmarillion in order to get pronunciation of various things in elvish/Sindarin? I'm not really a stickler for such things, but I'm guessing you do care, and in fairness Tolkien was first and foremost a scholar/linguist, so he certainly cared (you don't invent your own languages if you don't care...). This is a good enough video that it deserves more or less correct phonetics, and I'm sure your future content on the matter would/will benefit from that kind of attention to detail!

I love that i randomly thought about your old video just as you released this one

Still a better love story than _The Rings Of Power._

I've read the silmarillion three times and this is the best summary i've ever seen!

Melkor wanted to make his own creations without the constraints of Eru which made him unable to give his creations a soul. He pretty much got angry with the other Valar for obeying Erus plan for the world and his First and Second born. That is how he turned evil. Corrupting and twisting other beings. Creating the race of orcs from elves. Hence the quote aboute evil being unable to create something new. The Undying Lands was a place for immortals to live. Not that it made the ones living there immortal. Only Eru has the power to grant life and longevity to his creations. Immortality means that your soul is tied to the world. Elves are bound to Arda. When they die they go to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor. They may reincarnate also. Men are free to create their own destinies. And due to their souls not being inherently connected to Arda, their souls wander to another place when they die. Only Eru knows where.

I understood more in this video than reading the whole book. THANK YOUUUU

Hey Thank you for this brilliant breakdown. Your work does not go unappreciated! Cheers!

Ha! This is the most condensed, yet precise overview of the Silmarillion that I have ever seen. Good job! Makes me want to read it again. Thanks.

What a great video and synopsis! Loved it!!!

Thanks, it was very concise but also very good: I read the Silmarillions and it was indeed a lot, and this kind of puts back things into prospective, and is great as a sort of extended table of content that helps to find the part that I want to deepen by understanding the general story

I have been waiting for this ever since I saw the original.

10:36 "NOT A TRAP" Brilliant.

"an alarming of people die before they complete the journey." is a perfect summary of the Silmarillion

These are amazing I just casually assumed that this had millions of views and you were a massive youtuber was shocked to see the view count. One day this is gonna be a huge channel and you deserve it

One thing that wasn't mentioned was that Elwë, one of the Elves who got the all-expenses paid trip to Valinor, IS Thingol, the Elf who fell in love with Melian and fathered Lúthien (the most beautiful woman, Elf, Human, Hobbit or Dwarf,* to ever live). So he decided to hang out in Doriath with her, and became King of a bunch of his Elf-buddies who had waited for him after he disappeared for awhile (being enchanted by Melian's otherworldly charms for an unknown amount of time, intimated by Tolkien as many months at least) on the journey to the West (those who didn't wait - the Noldor and Vanyar - kept on travelling). Thingol was the lone Calaquendi (Elf who had seen the light of the Two Trees of Valinor**) among his people. Edit: The Prophecy of the North (or the Doom of the Noldor), handed down by Mandos himself in the wake of the First Kinslaying and the beginning of the flight of the Noldor, should've been part of this synopsis. It's riveting stuff, so I reproduce it here in full: _Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. _*_To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass._*_ The Dispossessed shall they be for ever._ _Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the land of Aman. For blood ye shall render blood, and beyond Aman ye shall dwell in Death's shadow. For though Eru appointed to you to die not in Eä, and no sickness may assail you, yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide and yearn for your bodies, and find little pity though all whom ye have slain should entreat for you. And those that endure in Middle-earth and come not to Mandos shall grow weary of the world as with a great burden, and shall wane, and become as shadows of regret before the younger race that cometh after. The Valar have spoken._ In bold is the most important line - Mandos prophesied that the Noldor (and any Elves, Dwarves or Men who allied themselves with the Noldor) could never prosper for long in Middle-Earth. Everything that they did turned to crap in the end. Also, note that last part: "[Those] that endure in Middle-Earth [...]." Mandos knew even then that the Noldor, the most OP of the Elves (both by nature and because they had lived in Valinor, seen the Trees before they were destroyed, and had their knowledge increased exponentially by studying with gods, Aulë in particular), would experience this precipitous decline should they remain in Middle-Earth...a decline that is approaching its inevitable terminus in Lord of the Rings. The power of the Silmarils, and the bitter oath to reclaim them are both gone by this point, and yet the prophecy still holds true (Mandos did say that they would be dispossessed for ever, which is a long time, I'm told). It's also worth remembering that the creator of the three Elven rings of power is none other than Celebrimbor, Fëanor's grandson. Being a part of the House of Fëanor, *at which the wrath of the Valar was directed most severely,* Celebrimbor's creation of the Three (which looked like a blessing for the Elves, a way to keep their power alive) ultimately made things worse in the end (indeed, Elrond plainly states that it would have been better if they had never been made). Once the One was destroyed, the Elves could either become a shadow of their former selves, or do as Galadriel herself did and seek the pardon of the Valar, following the straight path to the undying lands. Edit 2: Oh, and Tuor and Idril couldn't have survived the Fall of Gondolin without the help of an Elf called Glorfindel, who slew a Balrog barring their escape route. He saved the refugees, but died in the process. HOWEVER, in an interesting parallel to what happened in Gandalf's fight with a Balrog, Glorfindel didn't stay dead (zombie Elf?). He was sent by the Valar BACK to Middle-Earth...and eventually helps our boy Frodo (and Sam, Pippin, Merry and Aragorn) out on their road to Rivendell, when they are facing the Nazgûl. This ties him to both the salvation of the peoples of the First AND Third Ages. *Or orc, I suppose (shudders). Now that I think about it though, Peter Jackson implied that orcs were hatched from slimy, amniotic fluid-containing egg-like structures, and not birthed. And Tolkien didn't really deign to favour us with the details of #orcsex, so I'm wondering if there even WERE female orcs. The questions that keep a geek up at night... **This is important because the Calaquendi were the most powerful of the Elves. Somehow they got power, wisdom and even beauty from merely glancing at the Two Trees.

Love the "gauge-o-evil" on "E" -- brilliant :)

Sending this to everyone I know that are watching RoP. Thanks for making this!

I found the best way to read The Silmarillion is a little at a time, each day. This helps greatly in digesting all of the intricate details, names, descriptions, relations, etc, without feeling overwhelmed by so much information bombarding your brain. The time and place that I found that worked best at limiting my exposure to information overload was (if you're easily offended by reality, read no further) during my first morning "break" at work when I had a 15-20 minute period all to myself while resting in that alliterative room... ... lol

I loved this. Illustrations were great. Content excellent. Side bar comments superb. Had me laugh out loud a number of times. Great work by all.

The coloquialisms you sprinkle in crack me up every time. Never expected and so deadpan!

3:35 i thought most of the mirkwood elves would be Nandor rather than sindar as the Nandor elves were the ones who left the journey east of the misty mountains specifically

I'm glad you agree that musical battles are so cool.

Had the original in my recommended! Excited!

Excellent video! One of the things that always drew me to the silmarillion is the way in which you kind of sympathise with Feanor throughout even as he slowly descends into madness. At each stage in the journey to too feel frustration with the valar for being slow to act, and being seemingly so naive in letting morgoth go free again. You feel like in a way it is all the Valar's fault even as Feanor slays his own kin. It has extraordinary parallels to real life tragedies.

Immensely enjoyed this. Well done, my friend!! 😃👏🏽

First I was not sure if you could do a complex, wide-ranging topic like the Silmarillion in more than 3 minutes. To be honest my doubts were enormous. But then you did it. You just did it. And I am still puzzled :)

amazing work my friend. I have started the Silmarillion several times, but never got past the first chapter. Way to go!

Thanks for this! It's been so long since I read it that it was all a mush in my head. The refresher is super helpful!

Great (and hilarious) summary!

Loved it, and even better with subs, it has the pace of your voice, good job really

Thanks for this! Helped to understand a very high level of what's been going on, especially that vague reference to when "Morgoth looked upon the Silmarils" that Celebrimbor made in Rings of Power. But also nice to have some plot spoilers, as it appears Rings of Power takes place during Akallabeth.

Thank you and Love your Illustration.

Fire, fine work old boy.

I've read The Silmarillion three times (once physical, twice audio), and still never understood it, until now. Thanks.

"Halls of Mandos in a handbasket" 😂

This was as informative as it was entertaining. I did laugh out loud quite a few times. Very well done, JP.

I love stuff like this. Thanks so much, and there were bits that were quite funny. Well done.

Hey man this was an incredible video, if you had a catalogue of videos like this you sre basically guaranteed to hit higher subs!

It has been several years since my last reading of the Silmarillion, but I would say you did a great Cliff Notes version! I wish someone would make it into a series of films or extended TV series. It deserves to be shown to those that lack the ability or patience to read. Because let's face it, it starts off about as fun as reading Genesis in the Old Testament...

Dang, that was enlightening. Thank you for that!

I've read the Silmarillion thrice and still found this video helpful. Thanks!

This was excellent. I loved the presentation. The animated idea was very clever and it worked really well. Timing of jokes was great. I am about to read the Silmarillion and I know it will be tough going. LOTR took 2+ months to read and was great but not easy. thanks

I always forget about how the genealogy goes. I think it's hilarious how closely Galadriel and Elrond are related when you look at the new Rings of Power series.

You are the best human on the planet. The best walkthrough I have seen to date.

16:52 Also up to that point the Earth (Arda) was flat and then it became round, while a good chunk of it (Valinor) was removed to basically float in space as a kind of practical paradise.

Great video, halariously done 👍

This was outstanding

This is a true work of passion and love. Thank you.

Elves of Mirkwood are not Sindar, they are Sylvan Elves, the ones that never went to Valinor and simply dwelt in Middle Earth. Their rulers Thranduil and Legolas are Sindar though. Most other elves in Middle Earth are also Sindar - including elves of Lorien, Rivendell and Grey Havens.

To add to the fun: you mentioned three elves that went first to Valinor. Finwe, Olwe and Elwe. Then, they return to Middle-Earth and start the journey again with their folk. And then we are told about how a dude named Thingol quits the journey and stays with Melian. Well, Thingol and Elwe are the same character. Elwe Singollo or Elu Thingol. Four names, one dude. FML

Bro even with this brilliantly compacted and explained version of the book I got so damn confused by minute 8, that I put it away to repeat watch later lol

Super entertaining man! Very well done

That was actually hilarious with some of the stuff you did in the video. I would have liked the third age and the rings in depth but we all know at least some version of that story

thank you so much, I read the book when I was 14 and it was such a slog! I started again and then I found your video, and whew! btw, I also just think it's cool that Galadriel is Elrond's mother in law.

The sigh of relief at 14:46, after he says “and finally” (because there is just so much information)

This was simply great & well illustrated!

Leaving out Turin Truambar's encoutner with the dragon is sacriledge. It's one of the best parts in the entire Tolkien universe. Also I think saying how Luthien sang Melkor to sleep after being captured from her cage is worth including. If you edit things? Amazing job tho.

Ive read the Silmarillion and I still didn’t get it fully. This was a good visual to go over the main points, thanks!

Thank you for this. I needed a recap

well done. this is a great audiobook btw. it's a lot easier when someone else reads the names.

Huan the wolf? Huan the hound of Valinor!

The Children of Hurin is honestly one of the best stories set in the First Age.

Fantastic job! I have learned a lot ( even though i have red the book , there were so many confusing things for me ) This video really explains the “big picture “ 👏🏻

I like the end where you say "read the Silmarillion". ROFL. I found your excellent recap tough to get through,A few fun details to know in there but I'm so glad I didn't have to grind through the book. I also have zero ability to keep all those names straight whilst reading. I'd need to read with a spreadsheet and constantly reference and recap when it's already tragically long to get through. Thanks for making this!

Aragorn and Arwen were cousins both 63 and 69 times removed, since Isildur's line, which ruled Arnor, and his brother Anarion's line, which ruled Gondor, rejoined when Arvedui (23 generations from Isildur) and Firiel (29 generations from Anarion) married and bore Aragorn's ancestor Aranarth.

correction: only Thranduil was a Sindar. the other elves in Mirkwood were not Sindar but Silvan.

Great video! Loved the narration. Only thing that comes to mind that is rather important for the overall story is the battle between elves and dwarfs in Dorian where their rivalry truly began.

This was actually fantastic, thank you for your time 😂

Didn't Eru Ilúvatar destroy Numenor because they went off to invade the undying lands? After that they got trapped in the caves of the forgotten by Eru Ilúvatar and he made the world round as to make invading an impossibility. He actually made a way for the elves to go the the undying lands by creating a path that curves of the angle of the earth. Then he destroyed Numenor. I also remember they called it a variation of Atlantis after that. I know it's a summary, but you missed so much info there i had to comment.

Fëanor did not attempt to make himself king. He was the king. His father had died and he was the eldest son. He had been exiled along with his father from Tirion because he threatened Fingolfin first (even though Fingolfin also was ready to fight Fëanor). So in the meantime Fingolfin had ruled the remaining noldor. It is only after Fëanor's death that his son Maedhros feels sorry for the other noldor and lets the kingship pass to Fingolfin.

Dude this is brilliant

this chanel will be so good to freshen up on my tolkien knowledge while crying myself to sleep after watching rings of power,thank you!

Love it! Thank you much for taking the time. This really helps me understand a few things better & in the end i feel enlightened😎 perhaps you can do the unfinished tales next...however your non commitment leads you😉

SpongeBob narrative: 8 years later* Lol love the video

Good job. And quality upgraded

This is an incredible description. I don't know what else to say.

Superb video mate. Just one thing... Huan was a Hound 🐕