Which Tolkien son edited and published The Silmarillion in 1977?

Christopher Tolkien edited and published The Silmarillion in 1977.

J.R.R. Tolkien left a vast, unfinished body of stories about the First Age and the earlier history of his imagined world. After his father’s death in 1973, Christopher Tolkien selected, arranged, and edited these materials into a publishable volume. The Silmarillion appeared four years later through George Allen & Unwin.

The book is not a conventional sequel to The Lord of the Rings. It begins with a creation account and then presents the history of Arda, including the Valar, the Elves, the Silmarils, and major events such as the fall of Númenor. Because Tolkien revised many stories repeatedly, Christopher had to make editorial decisions and connect texts from different stages of development.

Christopher Tolkien later published extensive volumes showing the evolution of these writings. Readers should therefore distinguish the 1977 edited book from the many later source-text collections.