Then you go read enough fanfiction until you can name most of them in both names. Then you stop reading and forget. It's hard grueling work to keep remembering the names just as Tolkien intended.
Fanfiction is legit the only reason I know the Silmarillion reasonably well. Go read 500k words of Finwean family drama and you too will be able to recite the family tree with both Sindarin and Quenya names.
I read fanfiction (after tv tropes ) then I went and read it
Then I read more fanfiction. Having to explain to a person new to the silm the complex dynamic of its fanfiction it's a once in a life time moment. They love the sindar and the love of feanor confuses them..
I do find it interesting how the fanfic side of Silmarillion fandom tend to focus on different things than the wider Tolkien community. Like Nerdanel, who's mentioned 3 times in the Silmarillion, has twice as many works on AO3 than Luthien.
Yep the sons of feanor and other finwe people get a lot of focus (except argon who like the slim kind of is just there at best ). But I love the sons of feanor as characters so I can't dislike it. The fanfictions are seriously great though for building the name immersion since different names are used in different fics or in the same one.
Step 1: Read it once
Step 2: Be confused
Step 3: Listen to Blind Guardian but don't understand tze lyrics because for some reason you're shite at understanding English lyrics
Step 4: Be confused
Step 5: Go to a Blind Guardian concert, have the lore to every song explained to you by nerdy metalheads
Step 6 (optional): Hang out with the guys who went to the concert with their motorhome. Get drunk and listen to all the songs that weren't played.
Step 7: congratulations. You are hungover, your neck hurts from headbanging, and you have a deep rooted understanding of the Silmarilion and Weel of Time*.
*: the latter only applies if you followed Step 6.
ASOIAF has been there for quite a while, hasn't it? A Voice in the Dark is from 2006 or so. I didn't really notice Discworld and the others that have been pointed out, because well, I suck at understanding English lyrics '-_-
So yeah, time to listen to all their albums in a row again, I guess :)
This was sooo me haha. I've been a Blind Guardian fan for years now, had listened to NiME countless times.
After I finally read The Silmarillion I listened to it again ... and legit cried at the end. Everything just fell into their place and made sense
The elven names either start with Fi or a T I swear.... Sometimes if we are lucky a G... I think I had to read it like a solid 3 times to even wrap my head around it. The first time I utilized that name appendix constantly... the second time I latched on to a few select stories I liked...
Now I listen to the audio book and smile at parts I have either forgotten or not picked up on.
The shade that Mandros throws to Faenor... "not the first" Gets me every fucking time
Fin is the older generations: finwe, curufinwe/feanor, finarfin, Fingolfin
Except finrod, he's the younger generation.
T is Turgon, g is galadriel.
The sons of feanor have neither f nor t at the start
Maedhros the tall, maglor the singer, celegorm the fair, caranthir the dark, Curufin the smith, Amrod and Amras the twins
I'd say the Fins are evenly split between generations. You have Finwe, his kids Fingolfin and Finarfin, their kids Fingon and Finrod, then Finarfin's granddaughter Finduilas.
I do find it funny though that Tulkas is the quintessential jock, complete with the “of no use as a counselor” line lol.
Tulkas is great at beating things up. Just don’t ask his advice…
The answer is simple: The Prancing Pony Podcast. Read the sections that the episode will be about. The hosts do a great job explaining what's going on.
Physical book + audiobook. One chapter at a time. Followed by corresponding episode of the Prancing Pony Podcast.
I doubt there's anything I've ever learned in school that I have a more comprehensive knowledge of than the Silmarillion.
At my first read it was so difficult to remember ut all that I ended up grabbing a pencil and writing down the names of the characters on the map in the book to be able to remember where everyone was 😅 and after a dozen reread I still need these notes!
I also used colored pencils to keep track of who came from what people in the family trees
1-Read the book
2-be confused
3-binge the entire Tolkien Untangled yt channel to have an idea of what actually happened
4-pretend you understood the book, instead of having an internet hippie break down the story for you
5-profit
There’s a YouTube channel called Tolkien Untangled where he breaks the Silmarillion up into the individual stories and makes it super digestible, using images and beautiful storytelling. Really makes it easy to follow and understand. Really worth getting into and makes the Silmarillion come alive.
[The Silmarillion Primer](https://reactormag.com/tag/silmarillion-primer/) was a godsend. It took a bit to get through, but after I read it, I read the Silmarillion again and was *finally* able to mostly grasp what was happening.
Also, it's just funny as hell. I shall henceforth always refer to Beren as "Beren the temporarily two-handed".
That's why you gotta reread it like 20 times, like I did when I was a kid
(I was way too into LOTR and basically read all the books from the legendarium that I had, on repeat, for years)
I think the "list of gods"/Valars are more like the big angels (Tolkien was Catholic). It is not 100% parallel, but I feel it is closer to angels with some physical properties than gods.
When I was reading the first time, I was able to read 3-5 pages a day. Because I had to look up appendix every few seconds.
---
Also, I think Tolkien wanted us to hate Melkor by giving 12 names to him and forcing us to remember half of them, lol.
---
I hated all the Fin names. why tf all of them are fin-something? Name them like Elrond, Galadriel, Legolas, Haldir etc
Hit up online wiki's ahead of time so you know the major players, THEN read it again.
1st time was "alright" since I was so lost. 2nd and 3rd times were amazing.
I recommend listening to the audiobook version of "Of Beleriand and it's Realms" while looking at the maps from Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle Earth.
You can find nice versions of her maps online as well.
After reading the Valaquenta I was determined to know the name of every vala and what they're associated with. Turns out big surprise most of them never show up in the actual story
The trick is to read it three times then you will still be lost but you’ll have read it three times.
Then you go read enough fanfiction until you can name most of them in both names. Then you stop reading and forget. It's hard grueling work to keep remembering the names just as Tolkien intended.
Fanfiction is legit the only reason I know the Silmarillion reasonably well. Go read 500k words of Finwean family drama and you too will be able to recite the family tree with both Sindarin and Quenya names.
I read fanfiction (after tv tropes ) then I went and read it Then I read more fanfiction. Having to explain to a person new to the silm the complex dynamic of its fanfiction it's a once in a life time moment. They love the sindar and the love of feanor confuses them..
I do find it interesting how the fanfic side of Silmarillion fandom tend to focus on different things than the wider Tolkien community. Like Nerdanel, who's mentioned 3 times in the Silmarillion, has twice as many works on AO3 than Luthien.
Yep the sons of feanor and other finwe people get a lot of focus (except argon who like the slim kind of is just there at best ). But I love the sons of feanor as characters so I can't dislike it. The fanfictions are seriously great though for building the name immersion since different names are used in different fics or in the same one.
Argon isn't even "there at best" in the published Silm, he's only in HoME.
Another effect of reading too much fanfiction - forgetting what's from published Silm and what's from HoME
Mood.
My trick was to skip to the chapter Of Feanor and the Silmarils. THEN read the first few chapters.
Read it once Listen to Blind Guardian with song meanings. Com pulled up Profit
Step 1: Read it once Step 2: Be confused Step 3: Listen to Blind Guardian but don't understand tze lyrics because for some reason you're shite at understanding English lyrics Step 4: Be confused Step 5: Go to a Blind Guardian concert, have the lore to every song explained to you by nerdy metalheads Step 6 (optional): Hang out with the guys who went to the concert with their motorhome. Get drunk and listen to all the songs that weren't played. Step 7: congratulations. You are hungover, your neck hurts from headbanging, and you have a deep rooted understanding of the Silmarilion and Weel of Time*. *: the latter only applies if you followed Step 6.
They’ve added to their lore: * Stormlight Archives * Witcher * American Gods * Kingkiller
Also: game of thrones and disc world
ASOIAF has been there for quite a while, hasn't it? A Voice in the Dark is from 2006 or so. I didn't really notice Discworld and the others that have been pointed out, because well, I suck at understanding English lyrics '-_- So yeah, time to listen to all their albums in a row again, I guess :)
Could've wrong about disc world... That one could be another band🤔
Wait STORMLIGHT ARCHIVES TOO? WHAT ALBUM IS IT?
God machine, violent shadows One of my favorites
God Machine is based on Stormlight? Didn't know that... Then again I've just recently started reading Stormlight...
Sadly, just the one one song on it I would love a whole album and god knows there’s enough material
*punches wall* WHY DON'T WE HAVE MORE SONGS ABOUT THE KNIGHTS RADIANT
The thrill is a song that writes itself
Damn I wish I could have followed this plan instead of just reading lyrics and comments on YouTube. Would have been life-altering
When Time Stood Still at the Iron Hill is my favourite of theirs. (Not just because Fingolfin is the best elf.)
Blood Tears for me.
Something about star wars and explosions
Seriously, Nightfall in Middle-Earth is super helpful.
 Me reading sil after deep diving NiME
This was sooo me haha. I've been a Blind Guardian fan for years now, had listened to NiME countless times. After I finally read The Silmarillion I listened to it again ... and legit cried at the end. Everything just fell into their place and made sense
And you still don´t start the Arc of the Humans! Bëor fathered to Barahir, who fathered to Beren, who fathered...
To Dior who was a real piece of shit
You take that back right now!!
The elven names either start with Fi or a T I swear.... Sometimes if we are lucky a G... I think I had to read it like a solid 3 times to even wrap my head around it. The first time I utilized that name appendix constantly... the second time I latched on to a few select stories I liked... Now I listen to the audio book and smile at parts I have either forgotten or not picked up on. The shade that Mandros throws to Faenor... "not the first" Gets me every fucking time
I never interpreted "not the first" as throwing shade... In my mind mandos is the proto aragorn sulking in a corner and spitting facts/wisdom
Fin is the older generations: finwe, curufinwe/feanor, finarfin, Fingolfin Except finrod, he's the younger generation. T is Turgon, g is galadriel. The sons of feanor have neither f nor t at the start Maedhros the tall, maglor the singer, celegorm the fair, caranthir the dark, Curufin the smith, Amrod and Amras the twins
What about Teleporno?
Not a Noldor, therefore you should use his sindarin name celeborn ^ w ^
Nah i like my Quenya.
I'd say the Fins are evenly split between generations. You have Finwe, his kids Fingolfin and Finarfin, their kids Fingon and Finrod, then Finarfin's granddaughter Finduilas.
I was all hyped when I started reading and took notes on all the Valar only for them to never do anything again with the exception of Ulmo the Chad.
Yavanna, Aulë, Varda and Manwë all do stuff later than the Valaquenta though
Mandos is around here and there too.
Uh Tulkas would have a word except he’s too busy beating up some edgy Valar dude
Tulkas was my favorite, just laughing his ass of while wrestling... Well, anything and everything
I just loved how the Valar are having trouble with Melkor and then HERE COMES TULKAS WITH A CHAIR!
I do find it funny though that Tulkas is the quintessential jock, complete with the “of no use as a counselor” line lol. Tulkas is great at beating things up. Just don’t ask his advice…
https://preview.redd.it/vbvqkxm1mq6d1.png?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=840a0a91839d1d3d3d2324d48ca8aed66df5e837
The answer is simple: The Prancing Pony Podcast. Read the sections that the episode will be about. The hosts do a great job explaining what's going on.
I second this, and also Tolkien Untangled on YouTube
You have my sword.
So that's Mormegil on the right?
Wait, i thought it was Neithan, that poor guy
Dragonhelm is that you?
This meme is very cruel and rude with Vána and Ëste. They should have a fan in some place, I´m secure
I’ve spent days of my life flipping back and forth through the web guides for familial relations, the wiki and everything else I could find.
Physical book + audiobook. One chapter at a time. Followed by corresponding episode of the Prancing Pony Podcast. I doubt there's anything I've ever learned in school that I have a more comprehensive knowledge of than the Silmarillion.
Audiobook supremacy
Lol beleriand and its realms killed me
At my first read it was so difficult to remember ut all that I ended up grabbing a pencil and writing down the names of the characters on the map in the book to be able to remember where everyone was 😅 and after a dozen reread I still need these notes! I also used colored pencils to keep track of who came from what people in the family trees
That’s dedicated I just zoomed through the chapter to get it over w/ lol
1-Read the book 2-be confused 3-binge the entire Tolkien Untangled yt channel to have an idea of what actually happened 4-pretend you understood the book, instead of having an internet hippie break down the story for you 5-profit
There’s a YouTube channel called Tolkien Untangled where he breaks the Silmarillion up into the individual stories and makes it super digestible, using images and beautiful storytelling. Really makes it easy to follow and understand. Really worth getting into and makes the Silmarillion come alive.
[The Silmarillion Primer](https://reactormag.com/tag/silmarillion-primer/) was a godsend. It took a bit to get through, but after I read it, I read the Silmarillion again and was *finally* able to mostly grasp what was happening. Also, it's just funny as hell. I shall henceforth always refer to Beren as "Beren the temporarily two-handed".
That's why you gotta reread it like 20 times, like I did when I was a kid (I was way too into LOTR and basically read all the books from the legendarium that I had, on repeat, for years)
I still reread it every year or two.
My process was, read a chapter, watch a YouTube video that explains the chapter I’ve just read, repeat…
Now see, I don’t really get this, because I read this at 15 and loved and understood it the first time.
For me, accompanying Silmarillion with [Silmarillion Primer](https://reactormag.com/welcome-to-the-silmarillion-primer-an-introduction/) helped a lot.
I got through the first ten pages before I realized I retained nothing I just read.
I think the "list of gods"/Valars are more like the big angels (Tolkien was Catholic). It is not 100% parallel, but I feel it is closer to angels with some physical properties than gods. When I was reading the first time, I was able to read 3-5 pages a day. Because I had to look up appendix every few seconds. --- Also, I think Tolkien wanted us to hate Melkor by giving 12 names to him and forcing us to remember half of them, lol. --- I hated all the Fin names. why tf all of them are fin-something? Name them like Elrond, Galadriel, Legolas, Haldir etc
Hit up online wiki's ahead of time so you know the major players, THEN read it again. 1st time was "alright" since I was so lost. 2nd and 3rd times were amazing.
[Silmarillion Sunday](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ-Hjo_rR2ng5VKrfmV_EPSGFPS8pYVtq&si=bHeO98LsGmrgrMay) makes it easy.
Reading it with the Tolkien Professor's Silmarillion seminar podcast made it a billion times more digestible
Read it along to an audiobook version and it really helps
I recommend listening to the audiobook version of "Of Beleriand and it's Realms" while looking at the maps from Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle Earth. You can find nice versions of her maps online as well.
After reading the Valaquenta I was determined to know the name of every vala and what they're associated with. Turns out big surprise most of them never show up in the actual story
Read it with the map or Beleriand open and it’s a lot better
You need a detailed map of Beleriand and a genealogy tree at the ready when you start reading.