Oxonmoot 2024

The main narrative found in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, the Quenta Silmarillion, contains ninety deaths of named characters, as well as countless deaths of characters who remain unnamed. How these deaths are presented in the text varies, revealing narrative bias that shapes how readers understand the purpose and meaning of The Silmarillion within the wider legendarium. The Silmarillion narrator can be difficult to discern, but my prior research shows the narrator of much of the Quenta Silmarillion is most likely Pengolodh. Presentation of characters—including their death scenes—adhere to his biases, inviting consideration of how other perspectives might produce different "Silmarillions" with varying emphases and prejudices. In this paper, I continue prior research on death and grieving in the Quenta Silmarillion to consider depictions of the Other—characters who are not Noldorin or Sindarin—and how those characters are permitted (or not) to die with dignity and grieve.