61 pages • 2 hours read
J. R. R. TolkienThe Children of Húrin
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Series Context: The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion
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 narrative.
The Children of Húrin shares few characters with The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion even goes on to reveal that Beleriand, the westernmost part of Middle-earth and the setting of Húrin, is destroyed at the end of the First Age during the War of Wrath. While The Lord of the Rings takes place on an entirely different part of the continent, many of its events echo the struggle for the Silmarilli, which provides the backdrop for The Children of Húrin. For instance, one of Morgoth’s servants, Sauron, survives the War of Wrath and continues his malevolence as the primary antagonist of The Lord of the Rings. When the Elves craft Rings of Power, Sauron crafts his own master ring to control them all, initiating a great war to control Sauron’s ring.
The Lord of the Rings also features themes that appear in The Children of Húrin, the most important of which is The Frail Nature of Humanity, which is represented through the relationship between the mortal Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, and the timeless Elf Arwen. The Lord of the Rings also explores questions of Fate Versus Free Will as the protagonist, Frodo, becomes increasingly tempted by Sauron’s ring during his quest to destroy it. In this sense, The Children of Húrin can help to inform and deepen one’s reading of The Lord of the Rings.
Genre Context: Fantasy and Tolkien’s Legendarium
J. R. R. Tolkien’s chief contribution to the fantasy genre is his legendarium, a body of work encompassing several novels, short stories, poems, and maps centered around a fictional world known as Middle-earth.
In Tolkien’s world, there are several recognizable features that align with (and helped establish) popular fantasy tropes, such as the medieval setting and the presence of sentient beings other than humans, like Elves, Dwarves, and Dragons. Each of these races maintain particular dynamics with one another. For instance, Elves and Men (Tolkien’s term for humans generally) are often described as being friendly with one another, their close relationship affirmed through acts of alliance and mutual support. Dwarves, on the other hand, keep to themselves but are generally “good,” recognizing the threat that Dragons and other evil creatures pose to the existence of all races. Tolkien’s legendarium also introduces a malevolent race called Orcs, who resemble goblins.
Tolkien’s most famous stories center on quests and adventures, another staple of the fantasy genre. In Tolkien’s 1937 novel The Hobbit, a young Hobbit (a short subspecies of humans) named Bilbo decides to leave the Shire with a band of Dwarves who are seeking to win back their home from an evil Dragon. In Tolkien’s later novel The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, is tasked with making the long journey from the Shire to the perilous Mount Doom to destroy an enchanted ring. The Children of Húrin does not center around a particular quest but relates many adventures in the lives of the warrior Túrin Turambar and his sister, Niënor Níniel. Along the way they encounter Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Dragons.
What sets Tolkien’s legendarium apart from most fantasy work is its sheer scale, continuity, and enduring popularity. While The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are the most significant entries in Tolkien’s career, his body of work continues to expand even after his death. Following Tolkien’s passing in 1973, his son Christopher took on the role of editing his unpublished work and presenting it to the world. Hence, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, which provides an overview of the history of Middle-earth through The Lord of the Rings, was published posthumously in 1977. Much more material that was unpublished at the time of Tolkien’s death has since been edited and presented to the reading public; these works include The Children of Húrin, published in 2007, Beren and Lúthien, published in 2017, and The Fall of Gondolin, published in 2018. The popularity of Tolkien’s legendarium has likewise been bolstered by several adaptations, most notably the series of Peter Jackson films known as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, released between 2001 and 2003.
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