What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s eldest son, who edited The Silmarillion?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s eldest son, who edited The Silmarillion, was Christopher Tolkien.

Christopher Tolkien was born in 1924 and became the principal editor of his father’s extensive posthumous writings. After J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, Christopher organized, compared, and edited manuscripts that had been developed and revised over many years.

The Silmarillion was published in 1977. It presents creation stories, legends of the First Age, and later material concerning Númenor and the Rings of Power. Christopher shaped the published arrangement from a large and sometimes contradictory body of drafts, rather than simply copying a single finished manuscript.

Christopher also edited Unfinished Tales and the twelve-volume History of Middle-earth. His editorial role is sometimes misunderstood: The Silmarillion was not completed and published by J.R.R. Tolkien during his lifetime. It was assembled and prepared for publication after Tolkien’s death.