What is the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumously published 1977 mythology collection?

The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumously published 1977 mythology collection.

The book presents stories about the creation of Eä, the divine Valar, the First Age, and the histories of Elves and Men. Its central section, the Quenta Silmarillion, recounts the wars surrounding the three Silmarils, jewels made by the Elf Fëanor. The collection supplies much of the deep history behind The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien died in 1973 without preparing a final publishable version of the entire work. His son Christopher Tolkien edited the surviving manuscripts, arranged differing texts, and helped bring the volume to print in 1977. The result is a constructed editorial work rather than a novel completed for publication by Tolkien himself.

The Silmarillion is sometimes confused with Unfinished Tales, another posthumous collection edited by Christopher. Unfinished Tales appeared in 1980 and contains separate narratives and background material, while The Silmarillion is organized as a broad mythology of Tolkien’s world.