: : I thought he was nearing completion on editing QS. Be that as it may, how do we balance the above published works against those works published posthumously? To which do we defer when there are contradictions between the two? I would defer to the above works, but others may disagree.

:
: An interesting point. I think that the Silmarillion would need to be added. According to the Professor, it was his most important work, and I think he considered it the backbone of his world. This, in addition to The Hobbit and the LOTR would be, in my opinion, the sources of import. And indeed there might be contradictions, but that is to be expected in such a vast undertaking.

: But an interesting point. . .

I'd have to reject the Silmarillion since it was no where near completion (or completely revised) when JRRT died. Much of the book was cobbled together by Christopher Tolkien and, if I understand correctly, some of it was written by him. Which parts are which I don't know. But we all know JRRT's exactitude and that he would not have published the Silmarillion until it met his own criterion. At his death it did not meet JRRT's requirements, and Christopher almost says as much in his foreward. And yet the two books are so intertwined it would be impossible to omit it entirely.

Does any one here think that the Silmarillion would have been better had Christopher decided to finish his fathers work of revision to make both books match each other? Frankly, I think the contradictions, unfinished stories and varying accounts add the the richness of the whole. Like real history there are differing views about various incidents. And it certainly provides the fodder we need for debates and discussions on this board and others.

But this whole process reminds me of a group of Rabbis trying to determine which books are canonical and can be added to the Holy Scriptures. I mean no disrespect, but the image is mildly amusing.