What counts as "canon"?

[Ashbranch]

Is the concept of "canon" useful when discussing the works of Tolkien? The vast amount that has now been published of his writings over the course of his life now present us with many, many different versions of stories and events. In my opinion this is a good thing. If we take as an analogy the Arthurian myths of Britain, we find that they too exist in many variant and contradictory versions, and this only adds to their interest, rather than detracting from it. Indeed, part of the fascination is sifting through all the contrasictory tales looking for common elements, and seeing how one led to another, etc. As a historian of Middle-earth, I think this is all for the good.