The Children of Húrin

The Children of Húrin belongs to the larger body of work—called the legendarium—produced by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien on the fantasy world of Middle-earth. The events of this novel historically precede the events of one major work, The Lord of the Rings, while expanding on stories told in another work, The Silmarillion.

The third section of The Silmarillion, entitled the “Quenta Silmarillion,” describes the events of the First Age, also called the Elder Days. This period is marked by the crafting of the titular enchanted jewels, the Silmarilli, and the battle for their ownership between the Elves and a malevolent being first known as Melkor and later as Morgoth. Among the stories in the “Quenta Silmarillion” is an entry on the valiant acts and tragic life of Túrin Turambar, who is the target of a curse invoked by Morgoth. The introduction to The Children of Húrin, written by Tolkien’s son and editor Christopher Tolkien, recounts many of the relevant details from The Silmarillion that lead up to the events of The Children of Húrin. Christopher Tolkien also notes in the Preface that The Children of Húrin is one of three “Great Tales” that his father originally wrote, intended to function as a stand-alone