Who completed and edited J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumously published The Silmarillion?

Christopher Tolkien completed and edited J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumously published The Silmarillion.

The Silmarillion was published in 1977, four years after J.R.R. Tolkien’s death. Christopher Tolkien assembled and edited material his father had written and revised across many decades, creating a coherent published volume from drafts, versions, notes, and incomplete passages.

The book presents the mythology and history behind Middle-earth, beginning with creation stories and continuing through the First Age. It includes the creation of the world, the Valar, the Silmarils, the downfall of Númenor, and the early history of the Rings.

Christopher Tolkien’s role was editorial rather than that of an independent co-author inventing an unrelated sequel. He later published extensive additional source material in collections such as Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth, helping readers trace how Tolkien’s ideas developed.