I always thought that Morgoth would try to make it beautiful in his own way, as a mockery of Feanor.
The history of middle-earth is almost all of the middle-earth manuscripts, from the 1910s to post LOTR material. As such, some of the earlier bits hold less canonical value, but I would recommend reading Morgoth’s ring and The war of the jewels. These two books hold are large part of the “canon” content of the series.
This is not what I would recommend. However, if you are dedicated, there can be a way to make this work. To do so, you have to understand a few things.
1: The Silmarillion, unlike LOTR and the Hobbit, was not published during Tolkien's life. Tolkien had been working on it for decades, but never finished it. What we have is a combined work edited by Christopher Tolkien (His son), and Guy Gavriel Kay. This means that Tolkien did not nail down the final details. It is often contradictory.
2: The Silmarillion in a very significant way, does not follow any traditional story components. It is not one story, but many smaller ones in one big book. There is an overarching plot. This plot, however, does not have a) a main character or b) a "quest".
3: While with LOTR and The Hobbit, I would encourage avoiding spoilers at all costs, with The Silmarillion, welcome them with open arms. In my first reading of the book, I used outside resources to understand the plot. Consult pages on this Wiki.
The Youtube channel Aelfwine's road makes summary videos for various chapters of the Silmarillion, and I would encourge watching Nerd of the Rings' 3-part series on Morgoth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuHLyviVamA
Godspeed, my friend. I salute your bravery for diving into the fire before the frying pan.
Who are you quoting when you say, “for a modern audience”
As opposed to that, these maps were drawn by Tolkien.
You’re right, but in the absence of a wholly canon replacement, we grin and bear it.
There are maps of the whole of Arda. However, they are for the most part undetailed, and most were made for cosmology. You can find these in the Ambarkanta, a chapter in “The shaping of a middle Earth”
Sticking to Tolkien’s works are fundamentally important. However, I do not mind significant changes for the reasons of making a show good from the writing side of things. Compressing a timeline is a big change, but necessary to make the show understandable and accessible (it would help us connect with characters more effectively, etc.). The themes and core elements should remain, but giving the story an “amputation” or “prosthetic” is okay for the sake of making a watchable show for people who are not super into Tolkien. Just don’t stab the thematical heart.
Current canon does not include ROP. Anything could be declared canon, but as of now, only certain books are.
Non-canon. Only books are canon
The films are inherently non-canon. Only the books count. Lurtz was not in the books, and made up specifically for the movie.
My dad read me the hobbit, and I read LOTR on my own later. I read the Silmarillion (it took me three tries) and other materials later.
You’re right. Insurrection was too harsh a word. I meant that he had stepped over the line.
Okay, first of all, I am only here to enjoy Tolkien with my fellow fans, not argue over interpretation on half a sentence of writing. But…
Here is the way that I think of it:
After Aule crated the Dwarves out of line without Eru’s blessing (which think counts as insurrection), Eru allowed the Dwarves to gain sentience, but they would awaken only after the Elves. Eru also made it so the Dwarves and Elves would have a harder (but not impossible) time working together, even if they had a common purpose.
Again, this is my interpretation of this passage. I would love to hear yours, so we can have a reasonable discussion about our differences in opinion over said passage without resorting to attacks on the other or implying that we are somehow “making stuff up”. I would love to hear your interpretation.
“‘But when the time comes I will awaken (the Dwarves), and they shall be to thee(Aule) as children, and often strife shall arise between thee and mine(Elves), the children of my adoption and the children of my choice’”
-Chapter two of the Quenta Silmarillion, Of Auke and Yavanna, page 32
Speaking of which, the Dwarves and Elves did help each other quite frequently in the First Age. The moment that comes to mind is the building of Nargothrond, as well as Azaghal’s aid in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.
Didn’t Eru rule that the dwarves and elves would be enemies, because of Aule’s insurrection
It took place post last-ship, but not necessarily in the 4th age.
(Also, it was only in non-published material left out of the end of the Silmarillion by Christopher Tolkien)
The event where Morgoth breaks through the door of night is called the Dagor Dagorath, the battle of battles. Morgoth will destroy the sun and moon, and try to overthrow the Valar, but die from Turin.
Eru doesn’t dwell in Ea. He”s an outside observer.
But it seems weird that Tolkien would intentionally include such a misnomer for the sake of a character choice.