* An unofficial New Silmarillion Outline *

[ArcusCalion]

I just wanted to comment on this thread to boost it to the top of the list for the newcomers. This is the full outline of the entire project as it currently stands. The chapters labeled "Finished" are generally the result of multiple rounds of editing and multiple (4 or more) members coming to an agreement that the chapter is in a finished state. Of course, such chapters can always be critiqued and changed further if some new material or unforeseen issue is raised, but generally these chapters are not the most fertile for discussion and work.

If you want some direction as to where to start with the project I would take a look at some finished chapters to get a feel for the methods of the project, but then to start participating in discussion I would try a Semi-finished or Work in Progress chapter.

I will say that the entirety of the Second and Third Ages will likely be revised once we finish our review of the first age material, so if you have a special interest in those time periods feel free to read those threads.

The Private Forum is not always up-to-date with the texts, so please consider the Private Forum the 'first draft' of the full text before all the changes have been made which arise over the course of discussion.

[Arvegil145]

I have a suggestion, since I can't seem to find it in the outlines for TNS:

Should we include a 'Tale of Years' in the outline - I'm itching to create one!

I mean - short of the mess in the NoME, that is.

[Findegil]

You mean a Tale of the Years for the First Age of the Sun I suppose, since the Second and Third Age are covered in the cannon published by JRR Tolkien himself.

Since we only have texts from Tolkien for The Tale of the Years for the last section of the First Age, I don't see how we could under our rules create such a text. Beside that we would have to fix not only a sequence of events, which is hard enough in parts, but we would have to put fixed dates on any event mentioned in such text. That is asking for a lot of dispute and the result would be questionaled at best.

Respectfully
Findegil

[Arvegil145]

Originally Posted by Findegil

You mean a Tale of the Years for the First Age of the Sun I suppose, since the Second and Third Age are covered in the cannon published by JRR Tolkien himself.

Since we only have texts from Tolkien for The Tale of the Years for the last section of the First Age, I don't see how we could under our rules create such a text. Beside that we would have to fix not only a sequence of events, which is hard enough in parts, but we would have to put fixed dates on any event mentioned in such text. That is asking for a lot of dispute and the result would be questionaled at best.

Respectfully
Findegil

You misunderstand me - I'm not talking about the 'Tale of Years' from WotJ.

I'm talking more about a 'Chronology of Arda', so to speak - covering everything from the beginning of the world all the way to the events of 'The New Shadow' (and maybe even beyond that - all the way to the Seventh Age, which is attested in the NoME).

For example, we have an approximate year for the end of the Fourth Age (c. FoA 2700) - as per PoME.


Besides, I'm not advocating for any in-depth depiction of the events - just cursory ones, so that readers can have a go-to reference for any date relating to events/characters/etc.

[Findegil]

As much as I see that time-line project as interesting, I don't see that under the goal and rules this project has given to itself it can be a part of it. Don't get me wrong, I would like to see such project and its result. It is tempting as well to work on it. So I encourage you to discuss it further in the Books forum. But I don't see that it has any place in TftE. If such a timeline would be necessity for or work or for the potential reader, I would agree that we could place it in the appendices. But I don’t see it that way.

Respectfully
Findegil

[gondowe]

I think a Tale of Years of the First Age (and including from the creation of Arda) is indispensable. Because Tolkien gave so much importance to the cronologies and the geography. But of course without invent anything.
The only Tale of years we have is that of WotJ/Annals. And I think it could be adapted with material from NoME in the way I said two years ago. Erasing every mention to the 9.8 or 144 SY for each VY. The inverosimilitude of some events woul be evitent. But if it's taken as Mannish tradition it would be 'explainable'.
Well, it is an opinion.

Greetings

[Arvegil145]

I don't see anything wrong with keeping the 'Annals of Aman' + 'The Grey Annals' + 'Tale of Years (WotJ)' in our (flat-world) conception.

Of course, we could (and should) add bits and pieces from other works when we have evidence for their chronological place, if it fits our 'flat-world' framework.

I wasn't suggesting any fanfiction with my 'Chronology of Arda' .

Though I would go further than Gondowe, and extend the 'Chronology' into the Second, Third, Fourth, and even further Ages (as long as we have textual evidence that fits TNS criteria, that is).