The Silmarilli were three perfect jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the High Elves. When the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, stole the jewels and set them within an iron crown in the impenetrable fortress of Angband, Feanor and his kindred took up arms against the gods and waged a long and terrible war to recover them.
J.R.R. Tolkien is best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, selling 150 million copies in more than 60 languages worldwide. He died in 1973 at the age of 81.
Christopher Tolkien is the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. Appointed by J.R.R. Tolkien to be his literary executor, he has devoted himself to the publication of his father's unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth.