Which Tolkien child edited and published The Silmarillion in 1977?

Christopher Tolkien edited and published The Silmarillion in 1977.

J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, leaving behind a large and complicated body of writings about the history, languages, and legends of Middle-earth. Christopher, his third child, organized these materials into a publishable volume. The Silmarillion appeared posthumously in 1977, with assistance from the fantasy writer Guy Gavriel Kay.

The book is not a conventional novel. It includes creation myths, chronicles, genealogies, heroic tales, and accounts of the First, Second, and Third Ages. Its sections include the Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth, and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.

Christopher continued editing his father’s papers for decades. His later publications included Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth, and The Children of Húrin. Because The Silmarillion combines drafts from different periods, its editorial arrangement reflects Christopher’s reconstruction rather than a final version completed by J.R.R. Tolkien.