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Re: Principles of editing the Silmarillion
I would submit the following as a provisional set of rules to follow:
1. What is published is canon.
2. Tolkien's latest conceptions are canon, except where they: a) violate the 1st law or
b) contradict the rest of the legendarium in an intractible way.
3. No new names may be introduced; all names that are changed must be changed either in accordance with a universal change by JRRT or with a logical reason and a sound etymology.
4. The actual words used by Tolkien may not be changed unless:
a) they are changed only to bring them into agreement with established canon or
b) they are changed for unity of style (this is obviously a dubious one, requiring some debate).
5. It is not for us to decide what is aesthetically superior; where we have multiple options, we must choose from among them based on the above principles, not on our preferences. A corallary is that we may not disregard anything written by JRRT unless it is invalidated by one of the above principles; i.e., we must have a REASON for rejecting something. (This one might also have some exceptions that can be agreed upon.)
What does everyone else think?
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[ October 15, 2002: Message edited by: Aiwendil ]
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