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The Tolkien Canon

Definition of the Tolkien Canon is as follows:

Any and all content published under the name of J.R.R. Tolkien or works curated by Christopher Tolkien in his father’s name and which are based upon his father’s original works.

These are of course Tolkien’s writings that concern the world of Arda and Middle-earth including all written texts, diagrams, maps and languages. We also include all appendices attached to the written works as part of the Tolkien Canon.

If you see this symbol, then you know what you are reading is derived from the Tolkien Canon and is therefore true to the original text of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Whenever possible we will delineate, between what we term ‘Tolkien Canon’ and the larger Middle-earth world of the ‘Expanded Mythology’, which include films, music, video games, cards games, board games, role-playing games and other sources for Middle-earth content with invented story, character and locations.

You can go HERE to read more about our definition of the Expanded Mythology of Middle-earth. And HERE for a discussion on The Canon vs The Legendarium.

Some may argue that Tolkien Canon should only be the works published directly by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, excluding all works by Christopher Tolkien, however we feel that is too narrow an interpretation of the world of Middle-earth. We believe the writings in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth and the Book of Lost Tales series offer much that informs us about the historical details and chronology that make Middle-earth such a richly detailed world.

This is how we choose to define the Tolkien Canon.

Our interpretation of the Tolkien Canon includes all the following texts written by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien…

The Hobbit: or There and Back Again. Author J.R.R. Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1937.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Author J.R.R. Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1954.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Author J.R.R. Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1954.

The Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King. Author J.R.R. Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1955.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book. Author J.R.R. Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1962.

The Father Christmas Letters. Edited by Baillie Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1976.

The Silmarillion. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1977.

Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1980.

Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Edited by Humphrey Carpenter with Christopher Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1981.

The Book of Lost Tales, Part I. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 1. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1983.

The Book of Lost Tales, Part II. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 2. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1984.

The Lays of Beleriand.  The History of Middle-earth: Volume 3. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1985.

The Shaping of Middle-earth. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 4. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1986.

The Lost Road and Other Writings. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 5.  Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Unwin Hyman, London, 1987.

The Return of the Shadow. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 6. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Unwin Hyman, London, 1988.

The Treason of Isengard. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 7. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Unwin Hyman, London, 1989.

The War of the Ring. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 8. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Unwin Hyman, London, 1990.

Sauron Defeated. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 9. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollins, London, 1992.

Morgoth’s Ring. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 10.  Edited by Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollins, London, 1993.

The War of the Jewels. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 11. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollins, London, 1994.

The Peoples of Middle-earth. The History of Middle-earth: Volume 12. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. HarperCollins, London, 1996.

The Children of Húrin. Edited by Christopher Tolkien with illustrations by Alan Lee. HarperCollins, London, 2007.