Round World version of the Silmarillion

The Round World version is one of the variants of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, published in the final volumes of The History of Middle-earth. In this version, the Earth was always round, and Arda was the name for the whole solar system instead of just the Earth.

In the Round World version the Sun and the Moon were not the fruit of the Two Trees, but actually preceded the creation of the Trees. Instead, the Trees preserved the light of the Sun before it was tainted by Melkor when he ravished Arien.

While this version emerged in the late stage of Tolkien's legendarium, he never entirely decided which version - Flat or Round - to choose as 'real', and while Tolkien was eventually more inclined to use the Round World version, it was never as complete as the Flat World version, and so the latter was chosen by Christopher Tolkien for the published Silmarillion.

References

Tolkien, J. R. R. (1993), Christopher Tolkien, ed., Morgoth's Ring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, "Ainulindalë", ISBN 0-395-68092-1

J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium

Writings

Principal works	The Silmarillion The Hobbit The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King

Other works	The Adventures of Tom Bombadil The Road Goes Ever On

Posthumous publications	Unfinished Tales The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien The History of Middle-earth (12 volumes) Bilbo's Last Song The Children of Húrin The History of The Hobbit

Fictional universe	Characters Peoples Individual Dwarves Individual Elves Individual Hobbits Hobbit families Individual Númenóreans Individual Orcs Kings of Arnor House of Isildur Rangers of the North Arvedui Aragorn Eldarion Kings of Dale Kings of Gondor House of Anárion Eärnil II Kings of Rohan Éomer Théoden Rulers of Númenor Realms Cosmology Ages or timeline Animals Plants Food and drink Objects Rings of Power One Ring Three Rings Palantír Silmarils Weapons and armour Sting Wars and battles Rivers Anduin Roads Languages Magic Hobbit Day

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