Which books are canon? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***The Barrow-Wight*** · 06-13-2000, 04:38 AM

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Chief Wight
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Re: Which books are canon?

The word canon if often used in discussion of Tolkien's works. It means 'law', and people using it refer to which of the novels can be considered 'fact' and which are just speculations by later authors (in this case, Christopher Tolkien).

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are definitey canon. JRRT wrote them and had them published. The Silmarillion is also considered canon because Christopher Tolkien compiled it from materiel already written by his father.

Once you start getting into Unfinished Tales you already begin to drift from canon because you are presented with multiple versions of the same story. Even further from canon is the entire History of Middle Earth series. This group of books describes the construction of Middle-Earth rather than a narrative of it.

mailto:barrow-wight@kitgraphics.comThe Barrow-Wight</a>
http://www.barrowdowns.comThe Barrow-Downs</a></p>Edited by <A HREF=http://pub12.ezboard.com/urkittle.showPublicProfile>RKittle</A>  <IMG SRC=http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/oneringicon.gif BORDER=0 WIDTH=10 HEIGHT=10> at: 6/13/00 8:01:40 am

06-13-2000, 04:38 AM	#3
*The Barrow-Wight* Night In Wight Satin Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 4,043	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Chief Wight Posts: 0</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> Re: Which books are canon? The word canon if often used in discussion of Tolkien's works. It means 'law', and people using it refer to which of the novels can be considered 'fact' and which are just speculations by later authors (in this case, Christopher Tolkien). The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are definitey canon. JRRT wrote them and had them published. The Silmarillion is also considered canon because Christopher Tolkien compiled it from materiel already written by his father. Once you start getting into Unfinished Tales you already begin to drift from canon because you are presented with multiple versions of the same story. Even further from canon is the entire History of Middle Earth series. This group of books describes the construction of Middle-Earth rather than a narrative of it. mailto:barrow-wight@kitgraphics.comThe Barrow-Wight</a> http://www.barrowdowns.comThe Barrow-Downs</a></p>Edited by <A HREF=http://pub12.ezboard.com/urkittle.showPublicProfile>RKittle</A>  <IMG SRC=http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/oneringicon.gif BORDER=0 WIDTH=10 HEIGHT=10> at: 6/13/00 8:01:40 am __________________ The Barrow-Wight